Becoming the Wasteland Overlord With My Harem System!-Chapter 227: I’ll Drag You Down from There!

Emperor Cyril was an ambitious yet rather cowardly man.

He did not consider himself immortal, nor did he believe he was undefeatable. He did not even think he was stronger than his soldiers. In short, to him, everyone around him was a "threat" to his life.

As a result, he feared that anyone, given the opportunity, could kill him.

"What’s wrong?" he grinned, looking down at Eve, who had stopped in her tracks. "Weren’t you going to send me to hell, little girl?"

—And that was why he was always adorned with protective artifacts.

All his accessories, which made him appear like a gaudy, greedy pig, were not mere decorations. Each served a specific purpose: to enhance his protection from various threats!

For example, the necklace he wore—the Necklace of Absolute Protection (Projectile)—was an artifact that shielded him from all projectiles as long as its mana lasted. Any physical projectiles would lose their power before it reached him.

Of course, he did not fear the artifact losing its charge anytime soon. He had all the mages take turns charging his artifacts, after all. Just his necklace alone held enough mana to last him a decade!

"Holy Arrows!"

Eve, however, did not relent.

Knowing that guns were ineffective, she switched to magic.

Twelve arrows made of brilliant light formed and flew, following complex trajectories. Their speed made them unpredictable and nearly impossible to dodge! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

However...

"Futile efforts!"

The Emperor did not even glance at the arrows.

The dark mana arrows appeared behind him, forming swiftly before launching toward Eve’s glowing projectiles. They quickly overpowered her attacks and continued on, mirroring the path of her arrows, forcing her to dodge.

"Ugh...!"

The black arrows hit harder than her own, which was puzzling. It felt as if they carried double the power of Eve’s Mana Arrows!

This was yet another defensive artifact of Emperor Cyril: the Bracelet of Magic Reflection.

This artifact didn’t just block attacks; it reflected any magical assault back at double the intensity. It absorbed the energy from the incoming attack, using it as "fuel" to amplify the reflected power!

"Guns are no good. Magic is no good either. This only leaves one option...!" Arianne exclaimed as she lunged forward. "Have a taste of my blade...!"

The ground behind her exploded.

With her high stats, she kicked off, moving faster than lightning, and reached Emperor Cyril’s side in an instant. Her sword surged forward, channeling the strength of a mountain, and aimed for his head, but—

"As I said, futile!"

"...!"

This time, a force field materialized around him.

Arianne’s blade couldn’t even approach before it was sent flying back with a force that matched her own strength.

"Another reflective defense artifact?!" she quickly realized.

Arianne backed off, her arms trembling and numb from the backlash. A deep frown formed on her lips as she clicked her tongue in frustration. "Damn, you sure made yourself a fortress...!"

Eve and the others quickly moved closer to Arianne, checking on her condition.

"Are you alright?" Ria asked, her voice filled with concern. "That looked painful!"

Arianne waved her left hand dismissively, as if trying to shake off the pain. "Just my arm getting numb, nothing much. We should move faster..."

As they spoke, the gallery began to shift, attempting to escape the looming danger.

"Where do you think you’re going?"

Of course, Nina wasn’t going to let them escape easily.

Those marked on the hit list were eliminated with a single Death Curse, while the others were simply put to sleep. The number of deaths was significantly higher. This place was essentially a "den of evil," where most of the targets were held captive, after all.

BANG!

Even Eve assisted her, firing at those on the hit list who attempted to flee, those ensnared in the Mirror Maze curse, and those too frightened to do anything but hide behind the throne.

Those standing closest to Emperor Cyril were the safest, shielded by his protective artifacts. Nina’s curses and Eve’s bullets couldn’t reach them!

"Hah..."

The Emperor sighed, observing as high nobles, wealthy merchants, and his own wives, sons, and daughters fell victim to the chaos. Yet, despite the grim spectacle, his expression bore no trace of sadness. Instead, it was filled with indifference... and rage.

"You rebels who dared to challenge my Empire..." he murmured, glaring at Eve’s group before turning his gaze to Tiffany. "And you, traitor, who dared to betray me. Don’t think your death will come easily!"

"Really?"

Eve smiled.

"I don’t think you can do anything to us, though?"

"Bah!" He spat, dismissing the little princess’s words. "I have the finest soldiers, the most advanced weapons, and the best artifacts! Just wait until General Dylan and his First Army arrive here, and you all shall perish!"

"Pfft...!"

At his declaration, the girls couldn’t suppress their laughter.

Cyril raised an eyebrow, confused by their reaction. He had expected them to despair upon hearing that the continent’s elite forces were coming for them—but instead, they were laughing!

"Poor lasses. Has fear driven you mad?" He sneered, only for Arianne to respond, breathless from laughter.

"Ah... No, my stomach... I haven’t laughed this much in ages!" She gasped for air, wiping away the tears that had formed from her amusement. "I never thought a pig like you could tell jokes. It really caught me off guard!"

"P-Pig? Jokes?!"

"Hey, calm down. Your face is all red now, as if you’re getting roasted." She waved her hand dismissively. "And just to clarify, if you’re waiting for the First Army to save you... they won’t be coming."

With a casual gesture, she tossed a ring to the ground, and it rolled closer to Cyril.

He focused intently on the ring, narrowing his eyes. Strangely, it felt familiar, as if he had seen it almost daily—not rolling on the ground by itself, but rather worn by someone.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as realization hit him like a freight train.

"T-this is... Dylan’s...!"

"Exactly." Arianne grinned. "Your backup? They’re already down."

For a brief moment, panic flashed across the Emperor’s face, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Fu...! That still doesn’t change the fact that you can’t hurt me!"

Their attacks couldn’t harm him. Yet, he couldn’t actively "fight" them either—he was too weak for that. At best, he could rely on his reflective artifacts, but he had already seen Eve’s magic get dodged by Arianne easily.

Arianne had taken the full brunt of her reflected strength once, but she wasn’t foolish enough to hit him again, knowing it would only bounce back at her.

"Huh? And who told you that?"

Ria tilted her head cutely.

Right...

Although it appeared to be a stalemate at first glance...

The girls still had plenty of ways to secure victory.