A Village Appeared on My Desktop

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Chapter 96 – Devouring and Evolution (6)

The Dragon Slaying Sword. It was a weapon that originally did not exist. It was a kind of reward born from Riena’s achievement in defeating the Chapter 3 boss allied with bugs.

‘I can feel the power.’

Riena picked up the sword made of pure dragon bones from the corpses of the fallen enemies sprawled on the ground.

It radiated a different kind of strength compared to the swords she had used until now, a sensation she felt coursing through her hands.

It bore a similarity to special equipment imbued with the magic of mutants.

He brought her back here with the purpose of arming Riena before heading into the fight to fend off the bugs’ onslaught.

“A new evil of unknown origin is attempting to consume the world; even the gods have prepared measures to thwart them. A great warrior who has already slain countless demons. Please, take up that sword and face the enemy.”

“I don’t know if you’ll believe me when I say this, but the Black Monsters are attacking my hometown even as we speak.”

“I can understand that. Those guys are definitely not just simple beasts.”

Before long, Regnor, who had arrived with a cart, stood in front of Riena wielding the Dragon Slaying Sword, gazing at her.

Regnor chuckled upon hearing her mention the bugs.

“I truly hope that the power you’ve gained here will help you defeat the foes in your hometown. Only then can you return to this place again. We will be waiting.”

“…Understood.”

With Regnor’s straightforward words, Riena nodded with a serious expression.

Certainly, the game was merely a means to become stronger. However, for Riena, separating that from her feelings proved impossible.

This place was another world where others lived and the land that the bugs wished to devour. She wanted to slay the enemies and save them.

It was a testament to her transformation from a mere rookie warrior into a true hero, steadily gaining solid beliefs and inner strength.

‘If I can keep obtaining items, I should keep coming back.’

On the other side of the screen, someone controlling the mouse, bringing Riena back to the village after she retrieved the Dragon Slaying Sword, shared similar thoughts.

Not that he felt a noble sense of mission like Riena, but as he played Dark Blood, the benefits kept multiplying, making him reluctant to halt his gameplay.

Especially since the bugs’ encroachment was gradually reaching reality, he had just made practical use of the items he obtained.

“It seems like almost everyone who can come has arrived.”

“It’s hard to accurately gauge the scale of the enemy coming through the dense forest.”

“That’s not very important. We absolutely must defend this place.”

Riena arrived at the fortress wielding the Dragon Slaying Sword.

Excluding the essential personnel to protect the village and those gathering resources within the game, Chieftain Balun had already mobilized the maximum army the Arin Tribe could muster while observing the various Defense Turrets scattered around.

“The Guardian Deity sent those Defense Towers to protect this place. To fail or abandon our duty here would mean betraying His will.”

Balun encouraged the soldiers, mentioning that this was the holy war desired by the Guardian Deity. It wasn’t wrong.

Junyung, who was watching the scene from afar, also desired to fend off the enemies with the invested Defense Towers. Losing this fortress would mean losing the value of their investments.

“More of these incidents will surely occur in the future. They will attempt to kill us, and we must stop them. Although they’re coming in numbers unlike anything we’ve faced before, don’t think it’s a grand issue. Just take your positions and shoot your arrows. As always, He is with us, and we will be victorious!”

The mention of the Guardian Deity’s company was not just a mere encouragement; it was the truth.

In fact, he was currently preparing to crush some desktop items, activating the defense game called Glory Tower, and checking the Defense Towers.

As resources accumulated, it was to build new Defense Towers.

‘I’m fighting alongside them too.’

As long as such means existed, he believed that they needed to be in sync to easily win this war.

Reading the situation properly, constructing Defense Towers in the correct locations, and providing support would help the residents effectively.

“They’re coming! From the north!”

Soon enough, numerous bugs revealed themselves and charged forward.

These horrific monsters knew no fear. They moved like a program receiving commands, driven solely by one purpose.

“Prepare to fire!”

The residents set their shields and, together with the Defense Turrets, aimed their arrows.

‘It’s real. They’re forming ranks.’

Riena, ready to step in at a moment’s notice, sighed softly as she watched the enemies, forming ranks and presenting their helmets as shields against the ally’s fire.

The way they marched slowly in such tight formation felt more like an army than a pack of beasts.

“They’re coming this way too. They just keep pouring in.”

“Stay calm and raise your spears. We haven’t even built the wall on this side yet.”

The bugs, armed with sheer numbers, attacked simultaneously in various directions without concentrating their forces.

It was the same here, where the transporters had not yet made the wall.

All they had to defend with was a hastily dug two-block deep and five-block wide trench made by miners.

“These bastards!?”

However, the gigantic ants did not fall into the pit designed as an obstacle.

The leading ones stretched their bodies to create legs, and the ones behind casually trampled over them and advanced.

“Raise your shields!”

Now there was nothing between them and the enemies. The soldiers who should have formed walls raised their shields to brace, while those wielding spears began to poke at the advancing foes.

‘No way.’

This was a desperate battle unlike just raining arrows down.

In that fleeting moment, some were caught by the bugs’ mandibles, dragged away, and torn apart, while others fell to the ground, trampled.

Rasen, assigned to provide fire support, clutched his staff, his face pale and trembling.

It was more intense than any war he had previously experienced. He had triumphantly defeated Luhan’s tribe, yet it was not as harrowing as this.

Even as the Defense Turrets kept firing arrows and magic ceaselessly, the numbers of the enemies showed no signs of decreasing.

Instead, they nonchalantly trampled over the corpses of their fallen brethren as they continued forward.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and use your magic!”

“Kuhk!”

Shura, who slapped Rasen’s back, pointed at the hulking enemy approaching from the front, shouting.

These were enemies too challenging for the soldiers to face, which meant warriors like them had to step in.

Rasen hurriedly raised his staff and began launching a series of blazing fireballs.

‘Who would appreciate this struggle?’

As Rasen gasped at the sight of the enemy staggering from the flames he unleashed, he saw terrifying monsters seeking to devour the world, and people falling as they fought against them.

In an unnamed front in the northern territories, they held their ground. It was a moment when Rasen’s beliefs wavered in the face of harsh reality.

After all, he was not the only one feeling shaken; anyone faced with a brutal battlefield and overwhelming enemies would feel despair.

“What’s that!”

“Another Defense Tower has appeared!”

But then, a miracle occurred to steady their wavering hearts once more.

New Defense Towers emerged amid the corpses of the enemies, shining with a brilliant light and positioning themselves to fire upon the enemy.

The soldiers, who had been starting to succumb, erupted into cheers at the sight.

“The Deity is watching over us. That is enough.”

Shura, sword drawn, pointed at the sky while looking at Rasen.

*

“The damage is severe. Those guys have indeed become smarter…”

If the bugs had recklessly charged at them like last time, the allies would have calmly drawn them in and annihilated them with minimal losses.

However, it seemed that the bugs had learned to form ranks in that short period. Consequently, the war turned from a hunt for beasts into an army-versus-army scenario.

While they still had the advantage with overwhelming ranged attacks, including the Defense Towers, the longer the standoff continued, the more damage piled up.

Those insecticoms probably didn’t care if they lost one of their soldiers… but to me, every one of our residents was precious, making their losses incomparable.

‘Resources are coming in nicely. With this war of attrition, I can win.’

And at the cost of those sacrifices, I was currently amassing a vast amount of magic.

The magic used for constructing Defense Towers could be acquired each time an enemy was killed, and such large-scale wars were a literal honey pot. A honey pot stained with blood.

But since I couldn’t dump that honey pot, I began to plaster it with Defense Towers.

Level 1 Defense Towers based on shabby wooden structures could easily be destroyed by the monsters’ assaults, but at least if they could take damage instead of the residents, that would be enough.

With every added Defense Tower, both tanking and dealing damage increased.

Meanwhile, the Defense Towers positioned in the rear began trying to level up and upgrade.

As the Defense Towers leveled up, they fired bigger arrows and stronger magic, gradually reducing the numbers of the swarming enemies.

Occasionally, I wielded a chainsaw to shred important enemy targets, repairing and adding Defense Towers, forgetting about eating for hours at a time.

Just as the health of the residents actively fighting and my nerve management, which needed to oversee everything, reached their limits.

“I can see the end.”

I realized that almost all of the thousands of incoming enemies had been vanquished, and I let out a hollow chuckle.

We had successfully repelled the three hives’ total assault.

Holding my throbbing head, I took my hand off the mouse, and on one side, the status of the residents showed the numerous wounded and dead in stark relief.

“—, —. —!!”

We have won. We have held off the enemies. But it wasn’t over yet.

Because what can be viewed as a kind of game also requires not just defense but offense too.

Regnor gathered warriors and soldiers who were in good condition.

It was to target the enemy nests that, as expected, would be empty from exhausting their troops.

It was indeed tiring and hard. But if we did not dismantle the enemies’ stronghold, they would consume all the life force in the area and regenerate their forces to attack us again.

‘I guess I need to help them a bit.’

There was something I could do for them.

Attempting it while the enemies swarmed would result in instant destruction upon installation, essentially throwing money into the void, but it was different now that their numbers had significantly reduced.

That was to place Defense Towers near the passageways and enemy nests to protect the allies and attack the enemies.

It was a kind of map illumination act to maximize the health of the exhausted residents and secure safety throughout the entire area.