Chapter 19

I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game

[Translator: Dawn ]

[Proofreader: Alissa ]

Chapter 19: [STAGE 1] The Kill Zone

<Empire Defense> is fundamentally a defense game. 

What is the main principle of defense games? 

It is that the monsters have a clear pattern of behavior. Identify the patterns so that players can plan their defenses. 

Most of the monsters in <Empire Defense> have one objective. 

‘Kill humans.’ 

In the shortest route, kill the closest human. 

This clear pattern of behavior allows multiple strategies to be utilized. 

The easiest operation is to lure. You can send a small unit to attract the attention of the monsters and guide them to the desired point. 

And next, the strategy I use the most is ‘path forcing’. 

Blocking the road with wooden fences, walls, barricades, etc, causes a change in their movement route. 

If the path is completely blocked, the monsters will break through the obstacles and move forward.  

But if you make even a small path, and lure them into it with a small group of units, the monsters will be guided that way. 

And then I place a crossfire at the end of the path. 

By driving the monsters into a narrow space, concentrating the firepower, and sweeping them out all at once. 

This is one of the basic defense game strategies. 

“‘Kill Zone’!” 

I clenched my fists and shouted. 

Boom! Ka-boom! 

The monsters slowly poured in through the entrance between the outer walls of the fence. 

The cannons on the wall blew fire one after another at those monsters. 

Bang! Boom! 

With the dizzying explosions, the Living Armors that had passed through the door melted. 

“Keep firing-!” 

I waved my arms one after another and shouted as loud as I could. 

“Fire! Fire! Don’t even wait between the fires! Fire until the barrel of the cannon melts down-!” 

Lucas repeated my order and delivered it to the soldiers. 

“Fire, reload, and fire again! Don’t give them any time to rest at all!” 

The soldiers adhering to each cannon were sweating profusely while repeatedly reloading and firing the cannonballs. 

Distant gunshots resounded one after another and constantly exploded at the point of impact. The Living Armors were shattered helplessly. 

But this isn’t the end of it yet. 

“Lily!” 

I quickly turned to look at my side. 

“How’s the Gravitational field Artifact?” 

“Preparation is finished!” 

Lily, who happened to become the Artifact Director, responded quickly. I nodded. 

“Activate it!” 

“Yes, Your Highness! Gravitational field artifact, activate!” 

The alchemists who were waiting shouted all at once and activated the gray-brown magic apparatus. 

“Activating the artifact!” 

Voooom- 

With the strange activating noise, the Gravitational field artifact unfolded. 

This was one of the few R-rank artifacts that were repaired. 

The effect is extremely simple. Strengthens gravity in a certain area, slowing the opponent’s movement. 

However, it is powerful because of its simplicity. 

As the gravitational field covered the kill zone, the Living Armors, which were also wrapped in heavy armor, began to struggle. 

And naturally, the accuracy of the cannon shots also increased. 

“…All we need to do now is keep firing and it’ll be over, right?” 

Demian, who was watching the inferno with me, asked in a disinclined manner. 

“Those monsters aren’t able to pass through that point.” 

“……” 

I kept my mouth shut and watched the Living Armors being ripped apart by the crossfire. 

If it had been possible to easily block them with such a simple operation, I would not have defined the Living Armors as the worst enemy. 

And just as expected. 

Clunk, clunk…! 

The monsters escaped the Kill Zone one by one through the thick smoke of the explosion. 

All Living Armors hold shields. 

They held up their shields without any gaps in front of them, reduced the power of the cannons, and endured the explosions. 

In the first place, they are monsters made of strong armor. 

Even if the bombardment was concentrated to inflict as much damage as possible, it was impossible to kill every single of them cleanly. 

“Ballista unit!” 

That’s why I prepared for a clean-up team. 

“Start shooting at those that escape from the crossfire!” 

Lucas immediately repeated my orders. 

“Ballista, fire!” 

“Yes, sir! Fire-!” 

The soldiers, who were waiting with their ballistae loaded, started firing all at once. 

Twang! Twang! 

With the blunt springing noises, large arrows were fired from the ballistae. 

The arrows that were shot flew toward the Living Armors who had their shields up and came out of the Kill Zone. 

Crush! 

The horrible sound of the shields being crushed resounded through the field. 

The Living Armors who were previously severely damaged from the bombardment couldn’t withstand the shots from the ballistae and fell to the ground one by one. 

Gaaah…! 

Thud, thud! 

As I looked down at the Living Armors who fell like scarecrows, I turned on the enemy information window. 

[Enemy Information – STAGE 1] 

– Lv.? ??? : 1  

– Lv.5 Living Armor Assaulters: 810 (Kill Count: 242) 

The kill count was rising at a really fast rate. 

‘Alright, just as planned.’ 

Form a ‘Kill Zone’ in order to tie the enemies down for as long as possible, and wipe them out all at once. 

That was the basic and standard strategy of <Empire Defense>. It was only the first stage, and yet everyone was doing quite well. 

If we can maintain the battlefield like this, then… 

“Your Highness!” 

However… 

* * * 

[Translator: Dawn ] 

[Proofreader: Alissa ] 

Join our discord for release updates! 

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* * * 

“Monsters are going around the wall!” 

“……!” 

This isn’t that easy of a game. 

I quickly turned to the direction Lucas was pointing at and looked in with my telescope. 

A portion of the Living Armors was going around the fence from both left and right. 

If I completely blocked the place, they’d simply destroy the wall, so I left a little space in the middle and each end of the wall. 

When the middle road was blocked, the Living Armors in the back row started to detour left and right. 

Not many of them were taking different routes. However, they had to be stopped. 

“Jupiter!”

I immediately called for Jupiter. Jupiter and her party were standing by the castle after the first retreat. 

“I leave you with the Living Armor units coming to the right of the fence! Stop them with the hit-and-run tactic!”

“As you wish.” 

Jupiter nodded at me and lightly kicked the horse’s stomach. 

“Let’s get to work, giddy up!” 

Jupiter’s party of five ran out. 

Jupiter, who rushed to the detouring Living Armors, swung her hands. 

“Take this!” 

Flash-!

Thunder! 

Lightning struck, and the Living Armors were fried in the lightning. 

‘Good. Jupiter’s doing well on blocking that side.’ 

All that’s left are those on the left. 

I turned to the side. When our eyes met, Demian took a dry gulp. 

“Demian.” 

“Y-yes, Your Highness!” 

“It’s your turn.” 

I gestured toward the Living Armors approaching from afar. 

“Snipe those monsters coming from the left.” 

“…Yes, Your Highness.” 

Demian clenched the crossbow in his hand, approached the wall, and stood up. 

He mounted his crossbow on the wall, and after aiming at the Living Armor that was running in the front… 

“Fuu…” 

He closed both his eyes, took a deep breath, then— 

He pulled the trigger. 

Twant! 

Woosh-! 

An arrow was fired from the crossbow, ripping through the air. 

The fired arrow flew far beyond the range of a typical crossbow. 

Clunk! 

The leading Living Armor targeted by the sniper raised his shield, but… 

Whoosh-!

The arrow bent its body like a snake, drew a vicious orbit in the air, and pierced around the shield. 

Thwack!

It penetrated the gap between the Living Armor’s helmet and chest plate. 

The will-o’-the-wisp waving blue inside the armor started scattering out. 

Clunk, thud!

The movement of the armored monster stopped in an instant as if it had been pierced in the heart. Then, empty armor fell to the floor. 

The mouths of the soldiers who were watching this side opened all at once. I smiled happily. 

This is the [Thousand-Miles Eyes]. 

It finds the enemy’s weak point and shoots at it accurately. 

‘Even so, I didn’t think it would pierce through the phantom’s soul core with a normal arrow…” 

Just how broken is this overpowered trait?! 

Twang! Twang! Twang! 

Demian didn’t even take a breath and continued to shoot the arrows. 

Guh… 

Gaagh! 

And all those arrows pierced through every single Living Armor that was targeted. 

One shot, one kill. 

It was truly a godly skill. The soldiers around us opened their mouths and stared at Demian as he continued shooting. 

Demian continued to load and shoot arrows without paying any attention to those around him. 

The middle road was covered with the Kill Zone, right with Jupiter, and left with Demian. 

The defensive battle proceeded extremely smoothly, 

[Enemy Information – STAGE 1] 

– Lv.? ??? : 1  

– Lv.5 Living Armor Assaulters: 560 (Kill Count: 492) 

And we were about to hit 500 kills!

I nodded, examining the stabilized front line. 

‘At this rate, it will be smooth until the appearance of the boss monster!” 

It was at that moment. 

Hazy mists appeared out from the armor of the monsters that had collapsed all over the battlefield. 

“……?” 

I blinked in astonishment. 

What the hell is that now? 

I don’t recall seeing that in the game. 

The mists gathered slowly in the air, clumping together and merging. 

What was whitish became more and more vivid. The more monsters die, the more vivid it became… 

And the moment when the kill count reached exactly 500, 

Ring! 

A change happened in the enemy information window. 

[Enemy Information – STAGE 1] 

– Lv.25 Specter Knight: 1  

– Lv.5 Living Armor Assaulters: 552 (Kill Count: 500) 

The name of the hidden boss monster was revealed. 

The boss monster of the Living Armor Legion, ‘Specter Knight’. 

I was already aware of the information revealed so far. 

But at the same time as the name was revealed, 

Shaaa-! 

A cloud of mist gathered in the air and began to take shape. 

Pale limbs that were bent bizarrely, and wearing tattered clothes… A giant ghost, should I say? 

‘That’s the boss monster of the Living Armor Legion, Specter Knight!’ 

This monster only appeared after the defeat of every single normal monster of the Living Armor Legion and was formed from all the phantoms combined. 

This is what gives strength to the Living Armor Legion. 

The legion itself was strong, but after all of them were defeated, the boss monster would appear, much like a Phase 2. 

‘But we haven’t even defeated all of the Living Armors yet?” 

Why did it show itself already? 

The Specter Knight that appeared did not take any action. It did not apply an AoE debuff, nor did it launch a powerful attack skill. 

It just floated in the air, doing nothing. 

“U-uwaah…?!” 

“Wh-wh-what the hell is that?!” 

However, this wasn’t just a game. It was a reality. 

Just by the sudden appearance of a huge monster in the sky, the soldiers all fell into a panic. 

‘Damn it!’ 

I clenched my teeth. 

This is the difference between a war between humans and a war between humans and monsters. 

The primal fear given by the existence of the uncanny deformity. 

The appearance of the boss monster scares the soldiers, dropping the efficiency of the front line to the ground. 

And, it’s not just humans who get terrified. 

Neigh-!

The horses could not overcome the fear and began to struggle. They couldn’t stand the eeriness emitted by the boss-level monster. 

The war horses in Jupiter’s party, which were conducting guerrilla operations outside the city walls, were no exception. 

The horses started going wild, and Jupiter, who was preparing for the next lightning spell, lost her balance and fell off the saddle. 

“What the hell…?!”

Thud! 

Jupiter fell to the ground. 

“Argh?!” 

“Ugh!”

And so did the rest of Jupiter’s party members. Everyone groaned as they fell from the frantic horse. 

“Urgh… ugh?” 

Jupiter seemed to be out of her mind since she hit head first when she fell off of the horse. 

She struggled to get back on her feet and lost consciousness in the end. 

Gaaaah!

Meanwhile, the Living Armors, who had escaped the loosened Kill Zone, started to rush like crazy. 

In order to kill the living humans in front of them. 

____