Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 134

After arriving at the new area, the Ruthless Wilderness, the first thing I checked was the Gold Rush content.

Fortunately, the way the Gold Rush content worked was just as I remembered.

In the Ruthless Wilderness, there are randomly formed gold veins. The Gold Rush content is all about discovering those veins.

However, you couldn’t find them through normal means. To track the gold veins, you had to hire specialist NPCs capable of tracking them with hefty amounts of gold, and then hire additional equipment and worker NPCs to extract the gold.

The amount of gold you had to invest was enormous. Not many users could bear that burden.

It’s a job that requires money to make money.

Because of this, in the other world of Deron, this task wasn’t done alone.

Typically, it was done on a guild scale, or by equivalent groups.

Once all the preparations were complete, the expedition team for the Gold Rush would set off.

The departing Gold Rush expedition team would wander the wilderness for long hours in search of gold veins.

It was only when the hired expert NPCs successfully discovered the veins that the work would truly begin.

Starting the extraction didn’t mean it was all over. The amount of gold extracted would vary depending on the workers’ speed and the state of the vein.

Spending a long time extracting large quantities of gold didn’t mean it was finished.

There was still further work to do. You had to transport the mined gold back to the city and go through the process of converting it into gold.

The problem arose right here. Transporting large quantities of gold. The outlaws of the wilderness couldn’t possibly miss the scent of gold.

Users escorting the gold-laden wagon back to the city would be ambushed by raider groups made up of NPCs right in the middle of the wilderness.

Of course, there was no guarantee that this raider group consisted solely of NPCs.

“So, in simple terms, you’re saying we should rob gold, right?”

“Exactly.”

Nodding at Iyap’s words, the Snow Mage sitting next to us sparkled her eyes.

“That’s our captain! Not satisfied with pillaging at sea, now you’re pulling it off in a new area!”

Nodding at the Snow Mage’s words, I looked at Hwarang.

He was already deeply captivated.

Just looking at the long cowboy hat he was wearing up top showed that.

When had he started wearing such a costume?

He certainly didn’t have that hat on when we disembarked from the ship.

“Hmm… Pillaging, huh.”

Hwarang said this as he swiftly drew his holstered weapon.

A white revolver in his hand shone brightly under the sunlight.

He had even changed his weapon’s appearance.

Hwarang was dead serious now.

“But captain, would there really be that many people willing to invest so much gold in a brand new content?”

The Snow Mage’s point was valid.

That’s right. Since it was a content introduced for the first time today, no one had yet launched the first signal shot of this Gold Rush.

But there was no need to worry. People’s greed is often larger than you might expect.

“Everyone, let’s get moving.”

“Where are we going?”

“We need to join the raider group.”

To raid the expedition team currently indulging in the Gold Rush, it was necessary to join with the raider group comprised solely of NPCs.

That was the only way to proceed with the pillaging.

Before leaving the village, I bought a cowboy hat at the cash shop and put it on.

Such preparations were necessary to fully enjoy the game.

The Snow Mage also followed my lead and bought a cowboy hat.

Only Iyap remained.

I silently gazed at Iyap.

“Ah…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Iyap eventually bought and put on the same cowboy hat.

What a good man. I almost wanted to give him some praise.

“Come forth!”

I shouted energetically with my arms wide open. Out of the large magical formation that formed, a Hellfire Horse Pony appeared instead of a horse or chick.

“Yee-haw…”

In the Wild West, every protagonist rides a horse. I too intended to ride one here.

But for some reason, the pony looked a bit lethargic.

I summoned it after so long, and it better not be like that.

I approached and climbed on top of the pony.

The Ruthless Wilderness area was designed with a Wild West theme.

Thus, summoning flying mounts was impossible here.

“You know where the raider group is, right?”

“No, I don’t.”

Iyap replied with confidence, but then his expression twisted grotesquely.

No matter how charming and outstanding a guild leader I am, there are things I don’t know.

“Let’s go!”

“Yee-haw!”

As I vigorously shook the reins in my hand, the pony started to gallop rapidly.

Behind me, my loyal subordinates followed suit.

The sharpshooter Hwarang.

The malevolent Psy Mage Snow Mage.

The conniving Thief Iyap.

The most perfect me.

Our party of four charged vigorously across the expansive wilderness.

We ran and kept running.

The unknown world ahead, with no one knowing what lay beyond, offered quite the thrill simply by running.

Only five members could join the raider group at a time.

This limit was imposed for balance reasons.

Finding the raiders was a task in itself; they always wandered the wilderness.

“Ah! Over there!”

At that moment, the Snow Mage pointed at a distant spot with her finger.

The red setting sun, gently blowing sand, and tumbleweeds rolling around.

A perfect scene from a Western movie.

Beyond that backdrop, a group of horseback riders was slowly making their way forward.

They had no visible guild or title above their heads, and their names were tinged gray.

They were NPCs with a goodwill level of zero.

“Let’s go!”

I urged the pony as we approached the NPCs alongside my subordinates.

The raider group always had its numbers change randomly. However, there was one person who would never change.

The leader of the raiders, a legendary figure of the wilderness.

Sibyric, the Twilight Eye.

[Twilight Eye]

[Sibyric]

With a deeply pulled cowboy hat and long, flowing white hair beside it.

The scars and wrinkles on his face showed he was of considerable age.

My party stood silently facing Sibyric’s raider group.

The long silence was broken by Sibyric.

“Do you, or rather, do we have business together?”

A line I remembered well. If I express a desire to join the raider group here, Sibyric would accept us without further ado.

“I’m looking to join your ranks.”

“Join? Do you know what we do?”

Of course, I came because I knew what we were up to.

I nodded.

“I want to earn money.”

“Money? You? You lot?”

Sibyric chuckled softly at my words as he pulled out a huge cigar from his pocket.

Bang—!

The old man lit the cigar with a fiery resolve.

The revolver that Sibyric had drawn at some point was billowing white smoke.

“Huff—”

With the firmer of the revolver, Sibyric ignited the cigar and took a deep drag.

“Hey, kid. Can you shoot?”

I frowned at Sibyric’s response.

That was a line I didn’t recall. Sure, thanks to the high-functioning AI embedded in major NPCs, chatting was somewhat possible, but Sibyric’s gaze was not directed at me.

The Twilight Eye’s gaze was fixed on Hwarang behind me.

“Kid? Are you talking about me?”

“Yeah, unless there’s another kid here?”

Heh heh heh!

When Sibyric answered Hwarang’s question, the unpleasant raider NPCs around erupted into laughter.

In that moment, fiery sparks began rising in Hwarang’s eyes, and his hand moved swiftly.

Bang—!

A small bullet was fired from Hwarang’s fingertips. The revolver, drawn swiftly, gleamed in his hand.

The long trajectory pierced through Sibyric’s hat.

Thud—

Sibyric looked down at his hat that had fallen to the ground and chuckled lightly.

“Not bad.”

Turning away from the lengthy sunset, Sibyric extended his hand to Hwarang.

“Welcome, kid.”

Could it be that there was a hidden Easter egg for archer users?

The names of Sibyric and the raiders turned green.

Hwarang’s attitude had increased the affinity level.

“Hmm.”

Hwarang glanced at Sibyric’s hand, then turned his head.

Then, he quickly spun his revolver in his hand and holstered it.

Regardless of the process, we had joined the band of outlaws.

At that moment, the guild marks and title nicknames hovering over the heads of my party members disappeared.

[You have become a Raider.]

All preparations were complete. From now on, I had become a merciless raider without an ounce of compassion.

“Snow Mage.”

“Yes, captain!”

“From now on, do not call me captain but rather Demon King of Thieves.”

“Got it…!”

“Iyap.”

“Yes…”

“You too shall call me Demon King of Thieves.”

“Understood.”

Finally, it was Hwarang. He was silently staring at me.

In the air, Hwarang and my gaze intertwined.

We understood without words.

Hwarang nodded.

We began to mix in with the raider group, wandering the wilderness. Though it seemed aimless, that was not the case.

The raiders that respawned in the field had an instinctive tendency to rush toward the area when the last transportation of the Gold Rush began. This place would likely be no different.

It was while we were walking that Sibyric, leading the raiders, suddenly stopped and stared into the empty sky.

The sky of the Ruthless Wilderness was always painted with a sunset.

That meant there were no mornings or evenings.

The lengthy twilight enveloped Sibyric, and in that moment, he spoke.

“It is time.”

As if his words were a signal, the lethargic atmosphere of the raiders transformed in an instant.

The ones who had appeared to be ordinary men now had sparks in their eyes, and a sharp aura began radiating from their bodies.

“Chase the scent of gold!”

Yee-haw—!

Sibyric shouted loudly and started galloping.

We couldn’t lose sight of him. I too whipped the pony and galloped forcefully.

“Yee-haw!”

“King of Thieves! Your pony is too small!”

“Be quiet!”

I responded loudly to the Snow Mage’s remark.

I knew too. Among countless horses, mine stood out as the tiniest.

The pony, looking like a small donkey, shook its head vigorously and bolted ahead.