I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 94

Barracks. Training grounds.

“What’s going on?!”

“They’re having a match!”

“Who’s fighting who?”

“The lord’s personal guard versus the rookies!”

“Wow, crazy. Is there any leftover snacks from yesterday?! Bring them here!”

…The surroundings are as noisy as a marketplace.

The mercenaries, excited by the news of the sparring match, flocked to watch.

“A sparring match… It’s been a while since I’ve had a battle that wasn’t real combat.”

“I’m still more used to sparring!”

On one side of the training grounds were Lukas and Evangeline, the two SSR-grade [Super Super Rare, a high-ranking classification] knight duo.

“……”

“……gulp.”

“Can we really do this…”

And on the other side were the challengers – a party of five N-grade [Normal, a low-ranking classification] heroes.

Both sides stood holding wooden swords and shields.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay without us…?”

“…It seems like we’d fight better without us. Yeah.”

Damian and Lily were watching from below the training grounds, their faces full of anxiety.

Me? I’m in the middle of the training grounds. I’m the referee for now.

“The victory condition is the complete suppression of one party.”

I raised my voice, looking at both sides.

“It will be considered suppression if you drop your weapon, are pushed out of the training grounds, are unable to use your weapon anymore, raise both hands, or surrender. And so on.”

That should be enough for the suppression rules. Now for the more important safety issues.

“Skill usage is prohibited. Inflicting serious injuries is also prohibited. Of course, lethal attacks are prohibited. Only suppression is allowed. If I see that a match is decided, I will immediately declare the winner. Any objections?”

Both sides nodded.

“Ready, missy?”

“You should be the one asking that, mister.”

Lukas and Evangeline didn’t have any special strategy meeting.

The two had already been fighting monsters together, their teamwork honed. They had even mixed swords and spears before.

Rather than having a long, drawn-out meeting before the sparring match, it would be more efficient to adapt to the situation.

On the other hand, the N-grade party was.

“…This is the revised strategy.”

They were whispering, having their final meeting.

“Okay. Just do as we trained, as planned. Got it?”

The rest of the party members nodded at Dion’s words.

“Got it, Dion…!”

“Let’s do this!”

Dion looked at his party members and nodded resolutely.

“Okay… Let’s go!”

The five N-grade party members walked forward with determined expressions.

“I don’t know what kind of strategy you’ve come up with.”

On the other hand, Lukas and Evangeline calmly raised their wooden swords and spears.

“We’ll finish this in an instant.”

“I’ll try not to hurt you too much~!”

Go easy on them, you two.

I raised my hand up and then quickly brought it down, shouting.

“Okay, get ready… Start!”

At the same time,

Thud-!

The N-grade party rushed forward first.

Their party composition was simple.

Three warriors. Two rogues.

The warrior is an all-around versatile class.

They can use most weapons and can handle both damage dealing and tanking roles well.

They have the inherent weakness of such a hybrid class, which is that they become ‘neither here nor there’ in the late game, but in the early game, they are very powerful damage dealers and tanks due to their versatility.

And the rogue is a melee damage dealer.

They can deal overwhelming burst damage in close to mid-range if the conditions are met. But the problem is the harshness of this game.

Even if they dodge ten times, they die if they get hit once.

The rogue, a melee light armor damage dealer, always has to walk a tightrope with the same amount of risk as their damage dealing ability.

‘Let’s see how they fight?’

I watched the sparring match with a bit of anticipation, wondering what kind of strategy they had brought to challenge the main party so confidently.

And the N-grade party’s movements were simple.

Thud! Thud thud!

Dion, the party leader, headed towards Lukas.

The other four rushed towards Evangeline.

“Let me see the martial prowess I’ve only heard rumors about! Sir Knight!”

Dion shouted, readjusting the wooden daggers in his hands, and charged straight at Lukas. Lukas’s eyebrows twitched.

“Just because it’s a wooden sword doesn’t mean I’ll hold back.”

Whoosh-!

Lukas’s wooden sword cut through the air with a tremendous sound.

The horizontally swung wooden sword had a tremendous force, as if it would cut Dion’s waist in two.

Whoosh!

But Dion didn’t block or deflect it; instead, he leaned his body back and narrowly dodged the wooden sword.

He slid across the floor and rolled behind Lukas.

Dion let out a low laugh, his face pale.

“Haha, what! It’s easier to dodge than I thought, Sir Knight?”

“Such bravado…”

Lukas spun his wooden sword, readjusted his grip, and straightened his posture.

“I’ll finish you off right away.”

Meanwhile, the other four mercenaries were approaching Evangeline.

Evangeline smiled contentedly and readjusted her wooden spear and shield.

“Hehe, so I looked more dangerous, right? That’s why four of you came to me?”

“……”

“You have a good eye! I’m four times stronger than that old man-”

Before Evangeline could finish her excited chatter, the four mercenaries charged at her without hesitation.

Evangeline licked her lips and raised her shield. She looked like she was ready to block any attack.

But.

The mercenaries had no intention of ‘attacking’ in the first place.

Clang-!

“Huh?”

A bewildered sound escaped Evangeline’s lips.

Three of the mercenaries who had rushed at her didn’t even draw their weapons. They all held shields and launched a full-body charge.

The shields collided, making a heavy sound.

The three warrior mercenaries began to push Evangeline backward.

“No, wait, wait! Really?! Is this really what you’re trying to do?!”

Evangeline, who was pushed back helplessly, was quickly pushed to the edge of the training grounds.

If she was pushed out of the training grounds, it would be a ring out. A suppression judgment.

Evangeline, horrified, gritted her teeth and lowered her stance. Her retreating feet slowly stopped, making a screeching sound.

Even though three sturdy adult men were pushing with all their might, Evangeline stood her ground, holding her shield up.

“Hmph-!”

Not stopping there, Evangeline began to push the mercenaries back.

The mercenaries’ faces showed signs of panic.

“Ugh…?!”

“How can she have so much strength…!”

Evangeline, with a strength that was unbelievable for her small frame, slowly began to push the mercenaries back.

Right then.

Thud!

The rogue mercenary who had been waiting rushed behind Evangeline.

The female rogue, the only woman in the party, apologized as she sharply thrust her wooden dagger.

“Sorry, missy!”

“Eek?!”

The dagger was aimed at Evangeline’s feet, and Evangeline, unable to let it hit her, jumped up to avoid the attack.

And that was the end of it.

“Huh?”

Evangeline’s body, which had lost its solid center of gravity, immediately lost its balance,

“Uryaah!”

“Push her out-!”

The three warrior mercenaries immediately pushed Evangeline back with all their might.

“Waaah! Wait, wait, wait-!”

Evangeline, who had lost her balance, tried to hold on, but it was impossible.

Thump thump!

She ended up rolling out of the training grounds…

Evangeline, who had rolled once on the ground, quickly righted herself like a squirrel.

Then, she shouted at me.

“Wait a minute, that’s a foul! Isn’t that a foul?!”

“Nope~ Not a foul. Ring out. You’re suppressed.”

“No, how can this be? Can’t you give me one more chance, please?!”

I shook my head. There’s no such thing in a match.

‘Even though Evangeline has the [Clumsy] trait, the N-grade heroes did well, considering that.’

Even though it was 2 vs 5, the difference in grade and level between the main party and the N-grade party was like heaven and earth.

They overcame that with a momentary concentration of personnel and a surprise ring-out tactic.

These guys did well.

While Evangeline was tearing at her hair and screaming ‘Uaaah-‘, the four N-grade heroes high-fived each other and turned around.

It was to suppress Lukas, who was now alone.

But.

“Ah~ Sorry, guys.”

The scene unfolding on the opposite training ground was not very hopeful.

Lukas was holding Dion by the collar with one hand, dangling him in the air.

Dion, who was holding up both hands in a surrender gesture, muttered in a daze.

“This knight is too strong…”

The next moment, Lukas lightly threw Dion, who was in his hand, out of the training grounds.

Thump thump-!

“Cough!”

Dion, who had barely managed to land, barely managed to get himself together.

Step. Step.

Lukas growled lowly as he moved towards the remaining opponents.

“Next.”

The N-grade heroes’ faces turned pale in an instant.

***

In the end, the remaining members of the N-grade party were each grabbed by Lukas and thrown out of the training grounds like balls.

I smiled bitterly as I watched the N-grade heroes groaning on the ground.

‘There’s a difference in grade, but there’s also a big difference in level.’

Lukas’s current level is 37.

On the other hand, the average level of the N-grade party is in the mid-teens. The match was not even fair from the start.

‘Still, their first strategy was good.’

They used the fact that Evangeline was more inexperienced than Lukas to ring her out quickly. Then, the five of them would gang up on Lukas.

The strategy itself was good. The problem was that Lukas was too strong to break the framework of that strategy.

“Haha.”

Dion, who was sitting sprawled on the ground, laughed in a daze.

In the end, Lukas was the one standing in the middle of the training grounds.

The main party had won.

“I had a hunch, but we’re no match for them.”

“Still, it wasn’t bad.”

After grabbing the winner Lukas’s hand and giving it a quick shake.

After patting the dejected Evangeline on the shoulder.

I came down next to Dion and gave him a bright smile.

“The formulation of tactics tailored to the opponent. And the decisiveness to put it into action.”

Dion scratched the back of his head. The young man, who looked like a chick, had an embarrassed smile on his face.

“Above all… the courage to attack an enemy bigger than yourself without flinching.”

I looked around. All the main party members and the N-grade heroes were listening to my words.

I nodded heavily.

“That is the first virtue needed for those who face monsters.”

To achieve a Giant Killing.

You must be able to fight against an enemy bigger than yourself without backing down.

That alone is a great talent.

“I apologize for underestimating you and not using you properly, everyone.”

I took each of the N-grade heroes by the hand and helped them up.

“And I’ll apologize in advance again.”

After helping Dion up last, I curled up one corner of my mouth wickedly.

“Because you have proven yourselves useful, you will now be worked to the bone.”

“That’s what we wanted, Your Highness.”

Dion smiled ambitiously, even with his innocent, chick-like face.

“If we were going to hide in a corner and live a long and quiet life, we wouldn’t have become mercenaries in the first place.”

In this way, unexpectedly and suddenly, personnel that I had previously neglected came into my hand.

All of them were N-grade.

The weakest party among the combinations I used, both in the game and here.

The moment the second sub-party – ‘Dion’s Mercenary Group’ – was called up to the first team.