Became a tyrant of defense games - Episode 401
◈ 401. [Side Story] Plague
“majesty.”
My shoulders trembled at the voice I heard from next to me..
“Why are you doing this, Your Majesty? Are you drunk already??”
“Uh, huh? what?”
Look to the side, Jupiter is sitting.
The one-eyed veteran wore a familiar mischievous smile. Holding a cup filled with strong liquor in one hand and a smoking cigar in the other. He crossed his eyebrows next to me..
“This is difficult. You decided to be my drinking partner all night today, right??”
“uh……?”
“Anyway, that's it, Junior. What did that pale, pale thing say to this old lady?…….”
This was the bar of the mercenary guild. I looked at the empty liquor bottles in front of me..
what?
Since when have I been drinking here??
I clearly…….
“majesty?”
“uh?”
“It looks like you're really drunk, so should we call it a day??”
“No, no! I'm okay.”
“Then please fill this old man’s glass quickly. Your Majesty didn't follow along, so you've been wandering around alone since a while ago with your throat burning..”
I quickly picked up the bottle in front of me and filled Jupiter's glass..
I was embarrassed at first, but then a smile slowly spread across my face..
How long has it been since I drank like this with Jupiter?.
“Hey Jupiter. I don't know if I'm suddenly being rude, but it's really nice to talk to you over a drink like this..”
As I said that and poured the drink, I looked to the side.,
Suddenly, this was no longer a mercenary guild. It was on the southern wall.
The smell of blood, gunpowder... … And on this wall filled with the corpses of the fallen, Jupiter fell dead..
There were scars on his chest where he had been pierced by blood bullet magic. The old soldier had died a long time ago, with fresh blood splattered all over his old black uniform..
“……?!”
what.
What is this all of a sudden.
Embarrassed, I quickly took a step back. Then the surrounding scenery changed again..
This was an annex next to the manor house. It was a place used by shadow troops as lodgings..
“Prince!”
“His Royal Highness!”
Two young elves I hadn't seen in a while came running towards me..
There was an old girl who always smiled and waved when she saw me, and there was a skull with a face covered in scars. The two elves stood on either side of me and started fighting..
“I want to drink our fruit juice!”
“The nut snack you gave me last time was delicious.!”
“Okay, guys. I'll take care of it. But, wait a minute… … Prince, take a breath.…….”
I was out of breath and looked down at the two of us again.,
dump.
patter…….
Old Girl collapsed, turning into a dried old tree as all the blood drained from her body, and Skull was hit by a barrage of blood magic and shattered into pieces..
My whole body became stiff..
“OMG……?!”
I turned around with a squeak, and I ran..
As I ran away, I found myself in front of the barracks. Kuilan's older brother Kureha, a red-tailed beastman, was standing there quietly..
“Kureha! Call the people! something is wrong…….”
“……majesty.”
The next moment, Kureha transformed into a huge wolf monster..
His deep well-like sad eyes looked at me.
《Give, give, order, oh.》
And like an old tower collapsing, he fell down and died..
I held back my screams and ran into the city..
In front of the alchemist's workshop, Godhand stood peeking into the workshop. In his hand was a bouquet of many flowers..
Is he hiding here to scare Lily??
My eyes opened when I saw the shy smile on his lips..
“God Hand! Thank goodness you were here.!”
When I ran and grabbed God Hand's shoulder,
Ususoo…….
Flowers were scattered on the floor.
Along with the prosthetic hand that was holding the bouquet, only a bunch of flowers were scattered on the floor... … God Hand disappeared without a trace..
“ah…….”
It was difficult to breathe.
I staggered back and entered the temple next to me..
But, here too.
In front of the goddess statue in the temple… … Margerita was lying down with an arrow in her chest..
quietly. Like falling asleep. Quietly. With my last breath.
“Ugh, ugh.……!”
I gritted my teeth, suppressed a scream, left the temple, and ran through the crossroads. To run away anywhere.
but.
There was no place in this city for me to run to..
The whole city was a memory with people.,
That's why the whole city was dead.
-city on the grave.
Crossroads' tinnitus slowly stirred my brain..
The corpses of my heroes, my soldiers, filled the city. In the end, I couldn't hold on and ran out of the city..
“Huh! Heo Eok!”
When I opened the gate and ran out, I saw Ken surrounded by a swarm of black spiders from afar..
The shield knight who died in the tutorial stage looked at me and muttered in a tearful voice..
“Damn, I knew it would be like this…….”
The spiders' claws swung and Ken was slaughtered..
I stared at the scene blankly..
The whole horizon... … filled with the deaths of my people.
I couldn't hold on any longer and I knelt on the floor..
It was then. As I was catching my breath, someone came slowly, shuffling their feet next to me..
When I looked up, it was a thin old man with a beard..
It was an unforgettable face. I called his name.
“……margrave.”
“How about it??”
Former lord, Margrave Charles Cross asked with a bitter smile:.
“To the extent of sacrificing what is most precious to you to protect this city... … Was it worth it??”
And before I could even answer.
Crunchy soup……!
His body, eaten by rats, fell next to me. The broken spear and shield followed his body and fell to the ground with a thunderous sound..
I couldn't breathe..
I couldn't breathe.
I crouched down and laid down. The whole world was darkness, death, blood and screams..
It was a world I created.
There was nowhere to run to.
……It was then.
《ash!》
Someone called my name from far away,
《Calm down, Ash.!》
An outstretched hand grabbed the back of my head..
***
《ash!》
“……!”
I suddenly opened my eyes.
I was sitting on the floor, and Salome was in front of me..
Both of his hands were holding my shoulders. Did he try to shake me awake??
Panting heavily, I ran my hands over my face. I'm covered in cold sweat.
“Just now, what the heck…….”
《That's what he did.》
Salome glared into the space behind me. I hesitated and looked back..
……There was a black and ugly ‘something’ wriggling and floating there..
A swarm of bugs? No, fog? Is it a rat? Crow? or not…….
All kinds of monstrous things that couldn't even maintain their own form were tangled together and pulsating. And then something terrible gave voice.
《Hey, are you awake, Ash?.》
Although it was torn and crushed,.
The unmistakable leader of the Plague Corps... … It was Raven's voice..
《You are conscious even though you are infected with my new plague. Indeed, your spirit is strong..》
“Plague, it's called……?”
I stood up with Salome’s support. My legs are still shaking..
“What happened to me just now is the plague.……?”
《Yes. A new level I have reached. It is the ultimate plague that eats away not only the body, but also the spirit, and even rots the soul..》
Raven let out a low laugh and 'stared' at Salome. He already had no eyes or anything, but he could clearly sense its evil will..
《Salome. Meanwhile, I've always wondered what kind of plague would be born if I used you as a seedbed for the plague..》
《hic……!》
Salome quickly hid behind me. Raven continued as if she was happy..
《If it is a mental body with a greater proportion of mind than body, if the body and mind are given as food - what form will the plague take? Will my plague, which only destroys the body, evolve into a new form?.》
Raven leaned back and swaggered - if you can even call that hideous mass a body..
《But, when I thought about it, I was like that too. I, too, had long ago escaped the limitations of my body..》
“…….”
《So, I used my mind and soul as a seedbed. They broke my soul, crushed it, rotted it, and used it as material - Then, oh! Finally I reached it! Physical immunity too! Beyond the mental barrier! To a new level where even the soul is rotting!》
Even if he becomes like that, his theatrical and over-the-top way of speaking doesn't change. I clicked my tongue..
Anyway, what he said was long-winded - but it's easy to summarize..
‘It is now possible to attack the mind directly..’
[Phantom Pain], which Raven's alter ego has been using - the phantom pain is just a fake..
All it did was give the illusion of a plague on the body..
But this is on a different level.
The plague in Raven's body is 'really' gnawing away at her mind and devouring her soul... … It has evolved into a plague of mental and conceptual pollution..
‘Sounds like something, really.…….’
I clicked my tongue..
It's a plague that affects the mind..
My passive skill, [Indomitable Commander], is immune to all mental status ailments. The problem lies in determining this immune status..
The defense score for each status abnormality is determined as immunity starting from 100 points..
For example, if your ice attribute defense score exceeds 100, you will not take damage from any ice attribute attacks..
Thanks to this principle, I have never been harmed by any mental attacks..
However, the plague condition continuously reduces this defense score..
And if your defense score is reduced by even 1 point, you are no longer ‘immune’. The damage penetrates little by little..
Raven was reborn as a monstrous being known as a mental plague, and this succeeded in reducing my mental defense points by a small amount..
Just as Achilles was killed by an arrow in his heel, the only one that was not invincible..
That plague ate away at my mental defenses, creating a gap and infiltrating my mind, showing me the terrible vision from before..
‘If I get hit again, will I be able to get out??’
I have been immune to mental status abnormalities so far. So there was no need to devise a defense plan..
But Raven turned that premise on its head..
I remembered the terrible nightmare I had just seen - the deaths of my comrades. He bit his lip until it bled and clenched his fist..
Those waves of guilt,
If I face it again, will I be able to endure it??
I took a deep breath and racked my brain to come up with a plan to deal with it. Even in this situation, Raven continued to ramble..
《Now that I am rotting away in body, mind, and soul, I am truly the ultimate plague! Even that arrogant king of kings will not be my opponent.!》
slap!
The black darkness glared at me.
《But my goal is Ash first. It's you.》
“…….”
《I will melt you to death first. And you too, Salome, who is now useless! We will get rid of it together. And then after! All other Nightmare Commanders too! Even the King of Kings! will rot away!》
Sighaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Raven flew towards me with the sound of thousands of insects flapping their wings..
《This lake kingdom! And all the royalties! I will cover everything with my plague.-!》
Raven's black mist swept like a tidal wave. It was then.
Boom!
Someone's strong arm grabbed my stomach. The arm that grabbed Salome then picked us up and raced backwards..
Turn around, it was Mason..
Mason carried us on his back and ran towards the sewer..
In front of the place full of black water, Geomgeum and Changgui on a ferry were waiting with oars in hand..
“Hurry and get on the boat!”
The two highwaymen shouted with unprecedented urgency on their faces..
“hurry-!”
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