Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 129

The cold air began to warm up.

Whoosh—

Flames engulfed Helena’s body, dispersing in strange shapes.

The fire flowing from her body started to cover the surroundings.

“T-That evil Demon Clan wizard…!”

Jupiter began to tremble as he looked at the wizard. It seemed he had a deep-seated trauma regarding wizards.

“Are those the people?”

A hot blaze soared, cutting through the cold air.

Helena’s flames moved as if responding to her emotions.

“Yeah. Those are the bad people.”

“They have been bullying our Yeo, right?”

“Bully? What are you talking about… That guy is an evil Demon Lord!”

Jupiter was utterly entrenched in the world he had set up.

He was truly a man immersed in role-playing.

As the thick shield swayed menacingly, holy wings spread out behind Jupiter.

Seeing him don his helmet again made it seem like he was genuinely ready to fight.

“I shall vanquish evil… That is my duty as the Holy Sword Warrior, Jupiter!”

Jupiter’s hefty bulk started to charge in with a resounding thud.

It was a brazen rush, using his formidable defense and high resistance.

I narrowed my eyes and fixed my gaze on Melvin, who stood behind him.

After Jupiter’s rush, he started to roll his eyes restlessly as if he was lost in thought.

However, that hesitation didn’t last long.

Melvin made a decision.

Whoosh—

Utilizing stealth, Melvin merged into the shadows like a specter.

But he was visible. Thanks to the rain falling from the sky, I could clearly read his movements.

“Melvin! Help me!”

Jupiter’s mindless charge was possible because he trusted Melvin, who was standing behind him.

However, Melvin ignored the call. He turned and started to flee.

Cold rain fell over his transparent form, revealing his ugly visage.

But it was a wise choice. The opponent was none other than me.

“Ahhh!”

Clang!

I blocked the sword aimed at Helena.

The clash of black magic and golden divine power created a sharp sound.

As I fought to counter Jupiter’s sword, Helena approached from behind and extended her staff.

Whoosh!

“Ahhh!”

The flames erupting from the tip of the staff resembled a dragon’s breath.

Those flames enveloped Jupiter’s body. He groaned in anguish, covering himself with his shield.

But it was just a brief respite.

I circled around Jupiter’s crunched form and thrust my sword through the gaps in his armor.

Thud—!

“Uwaah! Melvin! Where are you?!”

Jupiter, having not looked back, was unaware that Melvin had abandoned him.

As a result, he kept holding on. He had become a gigantic wall, with a strong shield embedded atop his dark-scaled body.

Enduring the scorching flames pouring over him, he bore my sword with his entire body.

That tightly curled posture thoroughly protected his vital points, making it hard for me to kill him easily.

Damn, he was incredibly tough. But it was just buying time.

Just when I thought that, the cold raindrops falling began to slow down, and I caught sight of something transparent wiggling toward me from the edge of my vision.

The transparent thing was racing towards Helena at an incredible speed.

Suddenly, Helena’s gaze entered my field of vision.

She was completely oblivious to the approaching object.

Her fiery gaze, reminiscent of flames, was fixed on Jupiter’s tightly curled form.

To be honest, it was too late. The transparent movement had been rushing toward Helena long before it came into view.

There wasn’t even time to scream. The moment I pushed off the ground, the very space I stood in twisted and exploded.

Boom!

“Yeo?”

The delayed question slipped out as I was distracted.

Swoosh!

Helena’s expression turned to one of horror. Only then did she realize the attack aimed at her.

The figure emerging hazily from the transparent air was Melvin.

The one I thought had fled had tricked us all.

Just before Melvin’s blade reached Helena, I barely managed to deflect the attack with a sword of my own.

Clang!

Magic entwined with the sword and a white chill dispersed.

“Melvin!”

“This…!”

I just managed to block Melvin’s attack. If I had recognized his movement even a moment later, Helena would have been mercilessly sliced by his blade.

My heart pounded as I stood before Melvin.

With my attack blocked, Melvin didn’t press forward for another strike.

He melted back into the hazy shadows.

I took a breath and stepped back. Fighting to protect someone was unfamiliar to me.

The psychological pressure felt immense.

Helena, being a fire-magic-wielding wizard, had almost no means to protect herself compared to frost-magic wizards.

She was like a glass cannon. With even the smallest mistake, Melvin’s dagger would silently pierce her heart.

In that moment, Helena pulled several talismans inscribed with characters from her bosom.

In the chaotic storm, there was no need for concern over whether those talismans would function properly.

Whoosh!

The talismans scattered in every direction, and roaring flames rose to form a gigantic magical formation.

But Helena’s actions didn’t stop there.

She scattered something onto the ground.

At that moment, the rough fire powder spreading from her hand engulfed the black dragon.

Whoosh!

A massive area-of-effect debuff was deployed, continuously dealing damage to the enemies inside.

Melvin, hidden in stealth, had no choice but to widen the distance to avoid the erupting flames.

And so, the standoff continued. It was a combination of Helena and me, against Melvin and Jupiter.

The battles around us grew more intense with the passage of time. Those who had died and returned appeared with a summon order once again.

The black dragon was also in no good condition. Its health was running low, and the smooth scales along its back were starting to fall off one by one.

Now was the time to settle things.

“Yeo.”

“Yeah.”

“When I signal, charge right in.”

“What about Helena…?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just fight comfortably.”

The moment we entered into full-scale battle, Helena wouldn’t be able to ensure her survival.

Blink and Time Stop.

The survival-related skills that Helena’s job tree possessed were limited to just those.

She could use Time Acceleration to dash out suddenly, but for a wizard, running didn’t amount to much.

However, Helena merely responded to my worried gaze with a confident smile.

[Kiieeeek!]

The moment the black dragon writhed in pain was the signal.

Startled by the writhing of the black dragon, Helena cried out.

“Yeo!”

At that moment, my body began to accelerate.

Thanks to Helena’s use of [Time Acceleration].

My body started to pick up speed. As I realized this, my mind went blank, but then my thoughts began to flow back into place.

The alignment of my body and mind finally fell into sync.

There couldn’t be a better moment. At this very second, I had confidence that I wouldn’t be beaten by anyone.

My rapidly advancing body slid as I swung my sword. It was an attack aimed at Melvin, who was hiding in stealth.

The long-reaching strike grazed Melvin’s body, sending a clear sensation up the blade.

But.

This attack was a failure. What embedded itself in the ground wasn’t Melvin’s body, but a giant log.

Just after that, Jupiter approached, blocking my way.

But he was slow. Incredibly slow.

I dashed over the back of the black dragon, swinging my sword.

Of course, Melvin, who had fled from me, was headed towards where Helena was.

Despite knowing that an assassin was after her, Helena’s gaze remained utterly calm.

Thud—

Helena’s staff lightly tapped the ground.

The shockwave originating from the end of her staff radiated outward, halting Melvin’s movements.

But in the next moment, Melvin’s figure hazily disappeared, replaced by a log that fell in its place.

He had used a swapping skill to forcibly escape the effects of the Time Stop skill.

Having successfully evaded, Melvin smiled subtly as he split and moved in two directions.

It was evident he was attempting to confuse Helena using the Shinobi’s skill of duplication.

I began to sprint toward Helena, trying to understand why she had asked me to charge in.

Helena’s actions now seemed little different from charging headlong at death.

From the right and left, attacks targeted Helena.

But she didn’t dodge. She didn’t even use Blink.

In her gaze was a firm conviction.

Thud-!

Helena used the Time Stop skill once again.

In that instant, the figures of Melvin rushing toward her from the sides vanished in an instant.

The main body had never been there in the first place.

“Heavenly Flow Blood Kill Slash!”

Melvin let out a mighty battle cry as he fell from the sky.

His descent, amidst the howling storm, resembled a black lightning bolt.

Helena recognized that fact too.

In that moment, she raised her staff.

The only skill she could use now was the [Time Stop] skill stored in her staff.

Kiiing—!

Just as expected, a large clock-shaped effect burst from Helena’s staff.

But, what was going on? Melvin didn’t vanish. Instead, his falling speed accelerated, and he plunged a dagger into Helena’s shoulder.

Crack!

Helena’s hand was grazed deeply, and blood burst forth.

However, Helena’s gaze remained steady. It was as if she had anticipated this would happen.

“Uh, uh…!”

In contrast, Melvin was exhibiting a peculiar behavior.

He rapidly swung his sword towards Helena, but that attack was close to a flailing motion.

It lacked the sharpness of previous strikes.

“Ugh…!”

This wasn’t a Time Stop skill.

Helena had cast a Time Acceleration buff on Melvin.

Melvin struggled to adapt to the sudden increase in speed.

It was a perfect opening.

Without slowing my rush, I swung my sword.

Clang!

“This, you bastards!”

Melvin, his face alarmed, swung his sword but could barely stave off my attack.

His sword trembled precariously at the tip.

The accuracy had dropped. He couldn’t swing his sword accurately in the intended direction due to his inability to adjust to the speed increase.

At that moment, another Time Acceleration buff was cast over Melvin and me.

As my slowed body accelerated again, I swung my sword.

Kakakak!

The elongated sword tip whipped around like a snake, pressing Melvin.

Clearly, Melvin and I were now swinging our swords at the same speed.

But his mind was not. He couldn’t keep up. The reactions of mind and body had diverged.

Crack!

In the end, Melvin’s sword never touched me.

But my sword struck him.

The sword, scattering dark magic, pierced Melvin’s heart.

Melvin couldn’t escape death.

He had already lost all his escape options thanks to Helena.

He had step right into Helena’s life-and-death trap.

“Melvin!”

Jupiter, having finally grasped the situation, began to rush towards us, but Melvin was already fading into a gray hue.

I had killed the most troublesome one.

The moment I pulled my sword from Melvin’s heart, his grayish corpse flopped limply out of the black dragon’s body.

“You’re next.”

I aimed my sword, declaring Jupiter’s death.

However, that declaration failed to bring about Jupiter’s demise.

[Kiieeeek!]

The black dragon writhed violently, shaking off all its riders.

“Ah, aahhh!”

It wasn’t just Jupiter and me, along with Helena.

All the players around were thrown off the writhing body of the black dragon.

“Ahhh! Demon Lord!”

Even in the chaos of falling, Jupiter clung to his character’s trait.

His tiny body rolled helplessly.

The black dragon’s scales were so slick from the rain.

“Ugh!”

The black dragon’s remaining health hovered around 2%.

But in this situation, there were no users able to attack.

Everyone clung onto the body of the black dragon to avoid falling off.

In that moment, my hand slipped greatly as my body began to plummet.

“Yaaahhh!”

I scratched at the scales using the claws that had emerged from awakening, but my speed hadn’t slowed.

My body kept rolling and bouncing off the clouds below.

As I slipped through the clouds, I caught a glimmering object beneath the black dragon’s chin.

Squinting, I peered at it closely.

A scale, unlike the others, sparkled.

And the direction it grew in was different.

A scale that protruded in the opposite direction.

The black dragon’s weakness. Its reverse scale.

“Come forth!”

I quickly spread both hands and summoned the chick.

“Piyack!”

As I commanded the chick to charge, I swung my sword.

The blade spun swiftly, perfectly piercing the reverse scale.

Crack—!

[Fallen Divine Beast – Black Dragon]

Remaining health: 0%

[Kiieeeek!]