Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 224

After solving all the problems that had occurred, we resumed the strategy.

The cycle of wipes and retries continued.

It was not at all embarrassing to wipe on the first try.

It wasn’t even a mistake. It was just part of the process to move forward.

As the strategy dragged on, the number of retries increased exponentially.

But we were definitely making progress.

Shadow Yeo’s remaining health was at 60%.

There were 25 survivors in the party.

The healer dedicated to the main tank was still alive, but all the other healers who could support the dealers and sub-tank had wiped out.

The situation was not good. But we didn’t give up.

We needed to chip away at her health a little more to see the next pattern.

“Ha-yah!”

With a loud shout, I swung my sword.

The cursed crimson blade of the Demon Sword slashed across Shadow Yeo’s back, but she didn’t flinch or cower from my attack.

She only ruthlessly swung the sword at Dogrik, the one blocking her way.

Kaang!

Bang!

As Shadow Yeo’s health decreased, her attack speed and the power packed into her sword only grew stronger.

It was thanks to the Berserker’s skill called [Rage].

“Grrr!”

Dogrik let out a pained grunt.

I scowled as I checked on Dogrik’s condition.

With every swing of her sword, his health was being shredded.

There were three healers working to care for the main tank, but looking at his wobbling health, that didn’t seem sufficient.

In such a precarious situation, Shadow Yeo’s health finally reached 50%.

In Deron, when a boss monster drops below 50% health, the second phase usually begins.

And Shadow Yeo was no exception.

“Grrr…”

With a small groan, Shadow Yeo slumped down and reached for the sky.

Just as I thought that pose seemed a bit familiar, dark clouds started forming above, and a massive bolt of lightning rained down to engulf Shadow Yeo.

Kwah!

Staring blankly at the flashing black light, I opened my mouth in shock.

This effect was different from the skill used for wide-area attacks called [Devastating Lightning].

This was…

Shrrr!

A tiny hand began to grow larger, while her pale skin gradually started to discolor.

As the fingers turned black, the dark lightning surged, and sharp claws emerged.

Her lower half began to change too.

Her soft thighs revealed beneath her skirt turned black, and a demonic figure started to appear on top of them.

Crackle!

[Awakening]

The second phase change of Shadow Yeo was the use of her Awakening Skill.

Awakening was a transformation skill that significantly boosts overall stats.

Among regular users, this skill is regarded as one of the best buffs.

But for a boss monster, using such a skill?

It was hard to predict what kind of horrifying situation would unfold.

“This thing…!”

[Not a bad look at all…]

The Shadow Yeo, transformed into a Demon Lord, smiled in satisfaction at her new form and then swung her sword at Dogrik, who was blocking her way.

Swish!

Her speed was incomparable to before.

At that moment, a red blade streaked through the air, and Dogrik raised his shield just in time.

Kwah!

“Grr!”

Dogrik had raised his shield at the perfect moment.

Yet, it was hard to believe that the health he lost could be blocked by the shield.

Even normal attacks were severely draining his health.

This was bad. If he got hit by a strong skill, the main tank might just die in one shot.

We needed to manage health more carefully than ever.

I shouted towards Dogrik.

“Dogrik! Let your guard down! Don’t get hit!”

“It’s not that easy!”

I know. It’s not easy.

But what else can we do?

It was essential for Dogrik to push himself harder.

Suppressing my frustration, I swung my sword as if to shake off the feeling.

However, Shadow Yeo seemed to disregard my attacks, focusing only on Dogrik.

“Grr, urgh!”

Bang!

Kwah—!

Every time swords clashed, a deafening sound echoed, as if a bomb had exploded.

“Dodge!”

It was an obviously telegraphed attack.

But Dogrik didn’t dodge.

Actually, it would be more accurate to say he couldn’t.

Kwah!

As Dogrik’s health swayed dangerously, the healers’ mana drained swiftly as well.

They couldn’t guzzle down mana potions like water due to cooldowns, so if we continued in this exhausting fight, their mana would run out and lead to a wipe.

In that moment, Shadow Yeo curled her body and her eyes sparkled.

The first pattern to appear in the second phase.

No one could predict what was coming next.

Shadow Yeo halted her attack and drew the Demon Sword behind her.

I recognized the stance right away since we shared the same class.

The strongest skill held by a Berserker.

A blood-red vortex that sweeps across a wide area.

And then [Wheel Wind] was unleashed.

Sshraaaaak-!

Not even a scream could be heard.

The wide-spread blood-red blades instantly shredded nearby melee dealers and Dogrik, our main tank.

“Ah…”

I, too, was caught in the attack range and couldn’t escape death.

After three seconds of invulnerability, my body went limp, and I collapsed to the ground.

As I lay dead, I watched Shadow Yeo’s movements.

With our main tank dead, Shadow Yeo approached the nearest healer.

All while maintaining that massive blood-red vortex.

Sshraaaaak-!

Like blades in a blender, everything was ground to bits.

And thus, once again, we faced the wipe.

The party members reborn outside the Named Room sat in heavy silence.

Especially Dogrik, the main tank, had a dark expression.

The party’s atmosphere was grim.

A change in mood was needed.

Clap clap!

“10 minutes! Let’s take a break!”

I clapped my hands and declared a break.

It wasn’t really time for a break, but no party member refused.

As the party members took a breather, I sat down with a serious expression.

At this rate, we wouldn’t clear.

That was my conclusion.

The problem lay with the main tank.

Dogrik.

Our party’s main tank.

The guy who’d ended up in the main tank role when I carelessly shifted to a dealer.

Honestly, I couldn’t say Dogrik had good physical stats.

He was still holding onto the main tank role due to his diligent nature and attitude toward the game.

He was someone who continuously worked hard, reviewing his gameplay videos even during the hours spent strategizing named monster fights.

Taking down the boss monster in a raid wasn’t that complicated.

When the boss monster posed a challenge, the player must come up with the right answer.

That was the fundamental way a raid unfolds.

The individual’s physical abilities were a story for later.

However, this time, Shadow Yeo was different.

She was demanding a higher physical capability from the main tank than any raid boss I had encountered before.

Dogrik must have sensed it too.

He must have felt that under the current circumstances, we could never surpass this named monster.

A change of main tank was necessary.

We needed a tank that could respond to and deflect the Awakening state attacks of Shadow Yeo.

As her health got lower, her attack speed was only bound to increase.

A regular user couldn’t handle that.

We needed someone with excellent physical stats and a sense for the tanking role.

I thought of one user in my mind.

A tall, blonde beauty.

Arthur.

She met the criteria I had in mind.

But I shook my head.

Our party already had 40 members.

I couldn’t just pull in external personnel and displace existing members, so I discarded the thought of bringing in Arthur.

What else could I do?

For now, we’d have to try on our own.

The promised time was nearing.

I stood up and gathered the party members.

“Dogrik.”

I called out to Dogrik before we resumed our strategy.

“Yeah?”

“Can we continue?”

Dogrik hesitated, unable to answer, glancing around as if assessing the mood. He seemed to have the desire to take on the challenge.

I nodded and opened my mouth.

“We proceed as planned!”

Keeping up the aired-out atmosphere, we once again jumped into the strategy.

But the outcome didn’t change.

Wipe.

Wipe.

Wipe.

The wipes continued to repeat.

With each iteration of this scenario, Dogrik’s expression grew darker.

As we surpassed ten retries, Dogrik finally spoke up first.

“Leader…”

“Yeah?”

“Is it possible to switch the main tank…?”

I’d been waiting for those words.

I nodded.

We switched the positions of the sub-tank and main tank as requested by Dogrik.

With that, we initiated the next retry.

However, the results remained unchanged.

Another wipe.

Wipe.

Wipe.

“Again!”

We had managed to chip away at Shadow Yeo’s health a bit more.

But retrying led to the same results.

All the tanks in the party rotated in and out of the main tank position.

Yet we could not progress.

“Ah…”

By now, the party members must have sensed it.

That we could absolutely not clear at this rate.

I sighed and contemplated.

Should we really recruit outside help…?

Using this short break, I glanced around at the party members.

Some were slumped in their seats, letting time pass, while others switched to a waiting state to step out for a smoke.

Among them, the pair that stood out were Helena and the Snow Mage.

Fire and ice.

The contrasting two mages were engaged in conversation.

The Snow Mage was laughing incessantly at something, while Helena kept her usual neutral expression.

That’s when a long-forgotten memory came to mind.

The rank reset ticket.

A cash item that allows a player to reset their entire class back to the start and choose anew.

It was something the Snow Mage bought every month, enjoying both PVP and PVE.

I couldn’t afford to give up our party members.

If switching my class could lead to a clear…

If this meant I could continue progressing with this team of 40…

I bought the rank reset ticket at the cash shop.

There was no hesitation in that decision.