Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 223
◈ 223. [STAGE 9] Shutdown Protocol
Even if I try, I lose, late at night.
“Whoo, whoo, whoo.”
I took a deep breath and glared at the last werewolf in front of us..
He was the last gray werewolf.
The guy, whose limbs had already been torn off, was breathing in a hazy manner, making blood-curdling cries through his torn lungs..
The battle with the last werewolf pups was truly tiresome..
These guys did everything to stop us from destroying the core..
Not only do they take turns attacking us and interfering with us, but they also break our drills and kill us while being stabbed by our swords and spears..
Before I collapse, won’t I die by hugging my nerve center with my body?.
As if to protect this nerve center.
But that terrible resistance is now over..
“Is this the ending that interfered with us until I crawled out of the snake shit hole??”
I raised my middle finger in front of the last werewolf's face..
“Yes, no matter how much you mess with the balance, I will clear it. Please continue to praise me like that. I'm going to chew it all and use it to help raise my children..”
The main principles of RPG. Trials that don't kill me only make me stronger.
‘I got enough experience from 40 werewolves, and I'll get additional rewards after clearing..’
Thinking like that, I look down at the werewolf.,
Smirk.
laughed.
This guy.
As if I was very satisfied..
“……What are you splitting, you monster?.”
I was so dumbfounded that I muttered.
《We have accomplished our purpose, human..》
Suddenly, the answer came back in words..
I was surprised because I didn't know he was going to say anything, so he continued to mumble..
《We took as much time as we wanted. Now you can't stop the snake.》
“What are you talking about?…….”
I tried to continue the conversation, but he stopped breathing..
After looking down at that guy's corpse with a frown, I looked up at the nerve center..
The corpses of the last werewolves were piled up in layers around the nerve center..
That figure, illuminated by the bright moonlight, looks like a bone covered in leather..
I got goosebumps. I gritted my teeth and opened the system window..
[Jormungand - Part Destruction Progression]
- first center : 86%
- second center : 99%
- third center : 100%
Just when I thought, the second mid-autumn period is almost over..
ring!
With a notification sound, the destruction of the second central part was completed..
Now all that's left is this part of the head..
I took out the flare launcher from my pocket, loaded it with yellow flares, and fired upwards..
Piyuuuu- pow!
The meaning of the yellow flare is ‘order to gather’’.
Now all party members in the back row will gather together. All we have to do is work together to destroy the last nerve center..
I turned my gaze and looked at the main party members..
Everyone is covered in blood and has minor injuries, but they don't show it and are trying to quickly resume the work of destroying the area..
“Just break this damn horn and it's all over..”
I shouted as I kicked the last nerve center..
“Let's cheer up for a few more hours!”
The party members nodded in unison and began tearing away the corpses of the werewolves stuck to their nerve centers..
While I was helping out, I glanced towards the north..
The crossroads was much closer than before..
My mouth has become dry. I turned my attention back to tearing apart the werewolf's corpse..
***
It took quite some time to remove the werewolf corpses from the nerve center..
As the work was completed, the party members in the back row joined the head one by one on hooks..
“If I just destroy this damn thing, the three days of hard work will be over.?”
Kuilan, whose face was yellow from playing with the drill all day, and the members of the punishment unit started shouting and destroying the nerve center with the drill..
“Please give me plenty of vacation and bonuses, Your Majesty.!”
“Don't give it. Of course you won't take care of it?.”
Although everyone was in terrible shape, they desperately tried to destroy the last nerve center..
Go go go go-!
While the five members of the punishment unit began work on destroying the parts, the main party members stepped back and took a short rest..
In particular, Junior, who continued to play despite being injured, was in very poor condition..
Evangeline placed Junior's head on her lap and let him sleep for a while..
As I was wiping my tired, dizzy forehead with my hand, Raina, who had flown in on a hook, spoke to me..
“majesty.”
“Why, Sir Raina.”
“Not long until Crossroads.”
Rayna muttered as she glared at the Crossroads, which was now clearly visible to the naked eye. I kept my mouth shut..
“At this rate, we'll reach the wall within the next hour..”
“……What do you want to say, Lord Rayna??”
“Can you stop this snake in just one hour, Your Majesty??”
i didn't answer.
Even as we were talking, the walls were getting closer by the minute..
‘Damn it.’
Among the three nerve centers destroyed, if 10% of the durability of the last part remains,.
At this time, various hardening buffs are applied to the last nerve center..
In other words, it becomes stronger. This means that destruction becomes more difficult than before. This is the final gimmick.
not enough time.
Just barely... … It's not enough.
“……majesty.”
Reina kicked the foot underneath her..
“You said that this snake, Jormungand, is a ‘predator of civilization.’ Crushing the world, eating civilization, and growing in size.”
“……okay.”
“Then it will grow even bigger after it climbs the castle wall and eats the Crossroads. After that, there will be virtually no way to stop it.?”
“Yes.”
There was silence for a moment..
“……majesty. Do you know that human sacrifice has been practiced in the Imperial Capital??”
I looked back at Raina at the sudden conversation. The old wizard's face was expressionless and cold..
“okay. They say that magical power was extracted through human sacrifice and used to activate Everblack..”
“We, the magic corps, are in charge of the human sacrifice task..”
When talking about killing and burning people, Raina lightly blurted it out by saying, 'I handled accounting work.'.
“This is because they are better at using magic than any other army in the empire. So, we moved our affiliation from the 1st Corps to the Imperial Center, and took charge of human sacrifice by burning prisoners and prisoners to use as firewood..”
I frowned without hiding my displeasure..
“……Why are you telling me that now, Lord Reyna??”
“majesty.”
Reina took a deep breath and,
“I will tell you without any hesitation. There is now a human sacrifice magic circle called 'Shutdown Protocol' installed in Crossroads..”
……I made crazy noises.
I opened my eyes wide..
“what?”
“While His Majesty was away here, we came down as reinforcements and set up here. In fact, this was the reason for our dispatch..”
To me who was frozen, Reina continued her explanation without any hesitation..
“Because Your Majesty was excessively hostile to the central government and showed signs of rebelliousness, the central government decided that it was necessary to put a leash on Your Majesty. So I installed it.”
“what is that-.”
“In the future, if His Highness disobeys the imperial family's orders, it can be used as a means of intimidation. It was conducted in secret. Since only the magic circle was engraved and no magic power was supplied, it was not discovered by others..”
My trembling hands clenched into fists..
“When this shutdown protocol is activated, it burns all the humans in the camp and uses its enormous energy to magically stuff all space in the area. This space becomes impossible to invade from the outside..”
“…….”
“It is mainly installed in areas suspected of rebellion or areas in conflict with enemy countries. Just install it and monitor it, and if any impure movement is detected, it will explode.!”
Raina snapped her fingers and smiled bitterly..
“……It's roughly like this magic..”
Shut up!
I rushed over and grabbed Reina by the collar. I gritted my molars and barely got the words out..
“So, now I have placed bomb necklaces around the necks of my citizens... … ! Why are you so kind as to inform me, Lord Rayna??”
“……This is because by activating this protocol, Jormungand can be stopped..”
Reina looked up at me with emotionless eyes..
“It was you, Your Highness, who said that if Jormungand was not stopped, the world would be destroyed..”
“……!”
“Due north of the Crossroads here is New Terra, the ecliptic capital. What would happen if Jormungand grows even bigger and tramples New Terra??”
I pictured a giant snake trampling over the beautiful coastal city I had seen just a few weeks ago..
“The lives of millions of New Terra residents are at risk. Is that all? Every city in Jormungand's path will be devastated..”
“…….”
“Half of the empire's population and more than 80% of its industry are concentrated in the imperial capital. If the ecliptic is lost, the empire will fall. As a soldier, I have a duty to protect the imperial capital and the empire..”
Raina calmly confirmed..
“If the lives of tens of thousands of Crossroads citizens could preserve the entire empire, wouldn't that be a cheap price??”
“I am the Lord of the Crossroads! I think I'll tolerate that.?!”
“I am a soldier of the Empire. majesty. What I want to protect is the well-being of the empire and the imperial family, not the preservation of small local towns like this..”
Reina glanced north..
“Two of my men are already preparing to move the magic circle..”
I clenched my fists.
The two wizards who initially fell behind when Jormungand was swept away by the landslide..
Was it not a failure, but a planned departure?……!
“And when I send a signal to this beacon, it will immediately execute the shutdown protocol..”
Reina took out a black signal from her arms and waved it..
“Then the snake will stop before it crosses the crossroads, giving us time to destroy the nerve center..”
“I think I'll take that offer.?!”
“Didn't you say you were fighting to protect the world, Your Majesty? Please judge calmly.”
Reina scolded coldly as she shook the switch in her hand..
“Crossroads, and the world. Will I lose both or will I lose just one?.”
“……”
“If Your Majesty cannot judge accurately,.”
Reina raised her finger on the signal in her hand..
“……I have no choice but to decide at my own discretion..”
***
Same time. crossroads.
“Why is it eerie when the city is empty?…….”
“Haha, sure. Everyone took refuge upstairs..”
Damien and Kureha were having a long conversation as they walked along the alley in front of the temple..
While all the residents fled to the north of the city, the two secretly stayed in the city and spent time together..
They slept in hiding, ate in hiding, and even when people from the temple came looking for them and called out their names, they hid together in the corner of the alley..
In short, it was a bad comrade.
“This isn't really fun?”
The two became close friends over the next few days, and Kureha, who was older, was talking to Damian..
“I'm going to be a bit scolded when everything is over tomorrow, but it's fun because I feel like I'm going out and having fun without listening to my mom..”
“Hahaha, sure.”
After the evacuation order ends tomorrow, Margerita and Lily will be very upset..
Damien's face was quite relaxed because doing something he was told not to do was so fun..
“It's soon time for the monsters to attack.…….”
Damien muttered while looking towards the southern wall..
Since it was soon time for the monster to attack, neither of them could sleep, so they were walking along the empty street at night..
“……I always participated in defensive battles, but since I was this far away, it was rather difficult.…….”
“Rather, what is it like??”
“I'm more nervous.”
Damian looked down at his empty hands..
“I thought it would be easier if we were apart…….”
“…….”
Hearing those words from a boy who would be better suited to being away from the battlefield, Kureha looked at Damian a little pitifully. Just as I was about to say something.
“huh?”
“what?”
found something strange.
The central square of the city where the two people just entered..
In this place where there should definitely be no one... … Two wizards dressed in white robes and black uniforms were drawing a blood-red magic circle..
They were two wizards from the reinforcement party. Damian blinked..
Weren't they clearly the ones who left to exterminate Jormungand??
“What are you doing there, wizards??”
Damian, who hesitated, shouted and asked,,
“……Ex?”
“……omg!”
Kitty and Piggy, wizards from the reinforcement party who were preparing the shutdown protocol, broke into a cold sweat..
An awkward silence fell between the four of you..
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