I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game Chapter 203

Among the heroes at the front lines taking hits from the Sli Emperor, there were those who had newly joined the fray.

"Uh? Uhm?! Cough! Eeek!"

Elize gripped the tonfas she had drawn from her Sword Coffin in both hands, making strange noises that she would normally never utter as she barely managed to repel the tentacles.

Although she had frequently dealt with humans to the point of growing weary of them, she had never had the chance to face off against such alien monstrosities.

Especially not ones as massive as this.

This is much harder than I thought...?

The monsters attacks were completely different from those of humans.

Humans had limitations in height, range of joint movent, and the length of their arms and weapons.

Monsters had none of that.

Their tentacles seed to stretch out endlessly, and their attacks followed bizarre trajectories. On top of that, their force was,

Wham!

Comparable to being hit by a trebuchet.

Grimacing, Elize was pushed back. Her arms were starting to go numb from repeatedly blocking the attacks.

Is this what its like? These kinds of monsters keep coming, and we have to keep holding them off...?

Elize had taken her position atop the fortress walls to gain a more accurate understanding of the situation on the front lines.

And her conclusion was as follows:

What kind of insane situation is this?!

Bam!

A flying tentacle destroyed one of Elizes tonfas. Tentacles continuously rained down in front of a flustered Elize.

Im done for?!

Just then, Kuilan rushed in front of Elize.

Pop! Pop! Boom!

Kuilan swung fists and kicked, sending the tentacles flying. They were repelled with sounds like air bursting.

"Rough day, huh, Miss Swordsman? You seem like a newbie when it cos to big monster fights!"

With a swift flick of his red dreadlocks, Kuilan grinned at Elize.

"Do you really have to fight so hard? Why not take it easy~"

"..."

Elizes deep blue eyes narrowed.

In this battlefield where everyone was fighting for their lives, Kuilan and his party stood out for their lackadaisical approach.

From a distance, it might appear as if they were fighting monsters just as intensely as everyone else, but up close, it was clear.

Kuilans party feigned defense by holding up their shields against the tentacles. They rolled around dramatically on the ground, but there was no substance to their actions. They were rely pretending to fight.

"Thanks for saving , but why are you guys fighting so half-heartedly?"

"Haha! What changes if you fight hard? Are they going to give you a dal for patriotically defending the empire?"

Kuilan casually kicked the tentacles while speaking.

"Were part of the Penal Squad, serving our sentences in lieu of imprisonnt. Were not even proper citizensjust a group of criminals."

"..."

"Whether we work a little or a lot, we get the sa pay. Why risk our lives to defend soone elses territory? Just going along is good enough."

Although it was irritating, Elize thought it was a response she should have expected.

To begin with, they werent regular troops, not even rcenaries fighting for money.

They were bandits who had once survived by robbing others.

Prince Ash had clearly recruited them based on their combat abilities alone, a judgnt that turned out to be rather hasty.

Though he might not have expected loyalty or pride from them in the first place, what they fundantally lacked was a reason.

A reason to fully commit to the battle at this monstrous front line.

"Why are you fighting so hard? You dont seem to belong here either. Why not just take it easy like the rest of us?"

Kuilan chuckled and lazily swung his leg.

After all, the two knights at the forefront were blocking the strongest attacks. Kuilan and his party mbers planned to just half-heartedly go through the motions.

Ti slipped away ineffectually, and the attacks aid at Kuilan and his party mbers gradually diminished.

The partys energy began to wane.

And then,

Huh?

In the great battle against monsters, complacency could lead straight to

Death.

Whoosh!

Caught off guard, one tentacle wrapped around Kuilans left ankle as he stood on his right foot, preparing a kick.

"What? Wh-what?"

Then it pulled.

Thud! Crash!

Kuilan, who had fallen clumsily, scread. His hefty body was being dragged relentlessly toward the main body of the sli monster.

"Boss?!"

"Damn it, save the Boss!"

Kuilans lackadaisical party mbers, who had been mockingly swinging their weapons, rushed to save him.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Ahhh?! Let go!"

"Cut it! Cut it off now!"

But tentacles wrapped around them too, and they were dragged in alongside Kuilan.

Elize, clearly flustered, tried to sever the tentacles with her sword, but more tentacles quickly entangled her as well. She was powerless.

Squish.

A massive hole appeared at the center of the Sli Emperors body, almost like a mouth.

The tentacles were dragging Kuilans party directly into that hole.

And finally,

"Ahhhhh...!"

"Please, no...!"

Their screams echoed as they were all swallowed by the Sli Emperor.

"..."

"..."

The remaining heroes and soldiers, covered in filth and blood, could only watch the scene in disbelief.

***

"Ugh"

I was clutching my aching head, lost in thought.

I had managed to mollify the regular bandits from the Penal Squad and reintroduce them to the front line, but they were still a ss. Their morale looked low.

- I dont want to die to monsters in soone elses country!

Soone elses country, huh

The heroes I had recruited so far had all been part of the Empire. But these people were different.

They were outsiders who harbored resentnt against the Empire. And this was the Empires southern front.

Theres no way they could not feel resistance to risking their lives and fighting here.

For people like them, a simple salary or exemption from punishnt would not bring about true loyalty.

Sothing more was needed.

A deeper understanding and incentive. This realization finally dawned on .

I was nave.

Going forward, I planned to rally many others who have been marginalized by the Empire.

And all of them would not be integrated into this army by material rewards alone.

For true loyalty to sprout from the heart, active inclusion is necessary.

Its complicated, this commander role.

I realized anew and rubbed my forehead.

In the ga, everyone was all about loyalty if you just gave them so gold and occasional rare items!

Reality was much more complex than the ga.

So how should I truly inspire loyalty in these bandits on the front lines? That was the question on my mind when

"Waaah?!"

I heard Kuilans scream.

Panicked, I looked ahead to see Kuilan and his party of five being dragged by the tentacles of the Sli Emperor. What the heck?

A grab pattern from a boss-level sli?

Grab & Swallow.

It was a common pattern among boss-level slis.

If a character doesnt display any distinct attacks or defense within the slis close range for more than 3 turns, the sli considers them as preparing so threat and prioritizes engulfing them.

But I sent lee characters ard with maces and shields to block! There shouldnt be a reason for that pattern to trigger! All they have to do is defend diligently!

In the ga, 3 turns are equivalent to 10 minutes in reality. One would need to neither attack nor defend for 10 minutes to beco a target of that grab pattern.

Could it be, these bastards...

Were they rely pretending to fight while actually goofing off in front of the Sli Emperor?

Thwack! Thwack!

Damien frantically tried to snipe the tentacles and stop them, but other tentacles quickly intervened and continued to pull Kuilans party.

Ultimately,

"Waaah...!"

"Save us...!"

Gulp!

All five were swallowed...

"...This is driving insane," I muttered, putting my hand to my forehead. What am I supposed to do with them?

The Sli Emperor, having swallowed Kuilans party, retracted all its tentacles.

Simultaneously, its gelatinous, water droplet-like form began to harden.

It was preparing to switch to Digestion Mode.

Digestion would also take 3 turns.

In 10 minutes, Kuilan and his party would be completely dissolved, becoming nutrients for the Sli Emperor.

"Junior! How much longer until [Elental Disassembly] is ready?"

I shouted, and Junior, who was surrounded by mages preparing her ultimate skill, responded.

"Ten more minutes, Your Highness!"

...Coincidentally, Juniors ultimate skill would also be available in 10 minutes.

"My Lord."

Lucas ran up to and said bluntly,

"Leave them."

"What?"

"Let those bandit bastards be digested by the sli."

Lucas glanced at the hardening Sli Emperor.

"Ive heard slis dont attack while digesting their prey. It seems to be the case now."

"..."

"We have at least 10 minutes for digestion. We can use Junior and Reinas magic to cleanly wipe out the boss monster at that ti."

"There are people trapped inside it, Lucas."

"People without the will to fight properly, a bunch of bandits."

Lucas showed the injuries all over his body. There wasnt a spot untouched by acid.

"While everyone else was vomiting blood in combat, those jokers were just going through the motions. Even if we save them now, do you think theyll change? Theyll continue to be a burden if we keep them on the front lines."

"..."

"My Lord said we should give them one last chance, right? In my view, theyve already wasted that chance themselves."

There was no counter-argunt to be made.

Had they even just put up a decent defense, that grab pattern wouldnt have happened.

The ones who drove themselves to death were Kuilans party.

"If we let those five die, we can smoothly finish this defense battle without incurring additional casualties."

"..."

"My Lord."

I looked at the soldiers standing on the defensive line.

Not a single one of them was uninjured after blocking the gigantic slis with their bodies.

Even Evangeline, who had the best defense among us, was panting, hunched over from exhaustion.

If we left Kuilans party to die as they were, the other soldiers could finish without dying or getting injured.

Five bandits who failed to fight properly despite the chance, who harbored resentnt towards this frontline, and dug their own graves.

"..."

I turned my head to look at the regular bandits of the Penal Squad.

Their faces were as pale as death, frozen as they stared at .

The dregs who ran away first, while all the other soldiers bravely took the front lines.

If anyone deserved to be abandoned, it was them.

The weight of life on the front lines is not equal. As the frontline commander, I had to ticulously weigh and judge that balance.

I knew this from past gaming experience.

"...Fine."

I didnt hesitate for long. I opened my mouth.

"Were saving them."

A bright sigh of relief crossed the bandits faces. Lucass face twisted in dismay.

"Why, my Lord? Thats an irrational decision."

After sighing deeply,

I reluctantly answered.

"That bastard Kuilan swallowed two premium items..."