Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 141

With the number of heads to share the gold increasing from four to five, the success of the raid accelerated further with Helena’s exceptional skills.

What do you think is the greatest talent needed for a wizard user?

If I were to ask users playing Deron, most would likely respond that it’s the calmness to remain unflustered in any situation.

Helena could be considered a prime example of such a wizard. She doesn’t flinch at the attacks directed at her. With a composed face, she stares down her opponent, contemplating her next move.

It was a playstyle that was absolutely impossible if one couldn’t trust their party members or their own skills.

“Hyahhh!”

With a rough shout, the enemy’s attack flew towards Helena, but her gaze wasn’t on the foe. Instead, she used the [Time Stop] skill on the opponent behind him.

The enemy mage, who had been raising his staff behind a warrior, froze in place.

In that moment, Iyap, who had jumped out from behind the mage, plunged his dagger deep into the enemy’s neck.

Squish!

It was a quiet ambush, not even a scream to be heard.

Immediately afterward, at the moment when the enemy warrior’s sword was about to slash Helena, her body appeared at a distance accompanied by a flurry of light.

A getaway using Blink. Ignoring the warrior chasing her, she stalled for as long as possible to deal with the most troublesome ranged users first.

Her staff stored magic was inconsistent. Sometimes multiple instant skills with short cooldowns were reloaded, and at other times, she had stored three Blinks.

Though the stored skills differed, the outcome was the same.

She had never died in any fight.

Clang!

“Grrr!”

Swinging my sword fiercely, I severed the enemy’s upper body.

The moment I saw the chest now laid bare, I quickly spun around, swinging my dull-colored sword.

Slash!

“Mmm.”

As I decapitated the fallen foe, I surveyed the surroundings.

Overall, things were going well. After a long time of continuous fighting, the others were accustomed to battling against multiple enemies, so there hardly seemed to be a need for assistance.

Even the Snow Mage was similar.

While Helena maneuvered and fought with precise calculations, the Snow Mage did the opposite.

Using her Blink liberally and employing psychological warfare along with her physical prowess, she picked off her enemies.

Waiting for her targets frozen in ice, she regenerated her skill cooldowns.

Such an improvised fighting style occasionally worked as a threat, but once Hwarang’s support fire came in, even that shortcoming vanished.

Bang-!

In a deviously clever manner, Hwarang, who had acquired the world item “Twilight and Dawn,” fought ruthlessly.

Hiding behind a large rock, he briefly checked the enemy’s positions before firing his gun from behind it.

The hook shot bursting forth from his swinging arm bent acutely as it flew and pierced through an enemy’s head.

He never revealed his position. Thanks to that fighting style, no one could approach Hwarang.

How could one approach an enemy when their attacks keep raining down from an unreachable location?

But those hidden behind the rocks weren’t safe either.

Hook Shot. A skill that fires bullets that curve.

The bullet fired by Hwarang flew past the enemies’ cover and pierced through the hidden enemy’s head.

Finally, Iyap…

“Graaah!”

Emerging silently from the shadows, Iyap stabbed a blade into the neck of an enemy user.

And then he vanished again.

“Doing great. That’s what a thief is all about—performing their role unnoticed.”

I nodded, swinging my sword.

It was quite a scale of a Gold Rush party, but I couldn’t just let it slip away.

“Ah, no! Please! Please stop!”

At the end, the last surviving user looked back at the wagon and pleaded, but it was no use.

If they had been a Demon Clan user, I might have felt some pang of sympathy, but this person was an evil human clan player.

“What’s the last thing you want to say?”

A fearsome wilderness raider sometimes displayed a touch of mercy.

This was one of those moments.

“Mi, mi…”

“Mi?”

“Mi-crazy…!”

Before the enemy’s words could even finish, I swung my sword.

As the blade sliced through the air, it shone, completely severing their neck.

No survivors from the party in the middle of the Gold Rush.

We had successfully dominated.

With a wicked grin, I approached the enormous wagon.

It was time to see how much gold was inside.

“Hehehe—!”

Swoosh!

As I pulled back the cloth covering the wagon, gigantic chunks of gold glittering inside were revealed.

Gigantic gold! This was all gold.

“Gasp…”

There was more gold than I expected. It seemed I would earn even more than the first raid.

“Haha! What a massive amount!”

The Raider NPC, Sibyric at Twilight, also grinned at the sight of the enormous gold.

Sibyric, who had previously lost to Hwarang in a one-on-one duel, had died and respawned as a new NPC.

He naturally didn’t remember the conversation he’d had with Hwarang.

Hwarang was watching Sibyric with a complicated expression.

“Hmm…”

“What, feeling strange?”

“The opponent doesn’t know me, but I know the opponent… Is this what it feels like to be a reincarnated returnee?”

“… Stop saying weird things.”

“Pfft… The Sibyric from the previous run… was a strong opponent.”

I shook my head and distanced myself from Hwarang.

I understood what he meant, but hearing such words from him felt odd.

“Load the wagon!”

At Sibyric’s command, the surviving Raider NPCs began to climb onto the wagon and start driving.

From now on, the real battle would begin.

[Gold Rush raid successful]

[Your infamy is widely spreading throughout this wilderness.]

[From this moment, you will be under a bounty and unable to leave the Ruthless Wilderness area.]

[You will be hunted by sheriffs and bounty hunters.]

[Even if you log out, your character will remain in that spot.]

[Your location will be marked on the map.]

[The sentence and fine will be determined according to the amount of stolen gold.]

[Estimated Sentence – 15 days]

[Estimated Fine – 25,000 gold]

The estimated sentence was the same as the first raid, but the fine had increased.

It meant we had taken more gold in the wagon than during our first raid.

“Run!”

“Hyahhh!”

As I cracked the reins like a whip, the pony darted away quickly.

Unfolding the map while running, I noticed red dots rapidly closing in on us from various spots on the map.

They were all sheriffs and other users coming to catch us.

During our first raid, Helena had blended into that crowd.

I turned my head and stared at Helena intently.

If I hadn’t had the escape tactic of Transmutation, I would have been caught right there.

If I had been caught because of Helena, how would I have reacted toward her?

“Why are you looking at me like that…?”

“Because you’re pretty.”

In response to Helena’s question, I shook my head and answered.

A fierce fight was about to unfold ahead. I didn’t want to clutter my mind with unnecessary thoughts.

The red dots marked on the map weren’t following us as before.

They were merely gathering in one place.

“As expected…”

Where would they wait to easily block the Gold Rush raiders?

At the entrance of the raiders’ village, “No Pain No Gain.”

Sheriff users had to do everything they could to seal that entrance, while raider users had to do everything possible to break through it.

The Gold Rush raid wasn’t just attempted by us. Two days had passed since the raiders’ village was first raided.

During that time, many users had attempted raids and had succeeded.

Users had become accustomed to fighting against raiders.

But we had Helena with us.

Before the wagon arrived in the village, if she used area-based Time Stop and unleashed the area spells stored in her staff, she could wipe out those stationed at the entrance singlehandedly.

“Helena!”

“Uh, uh?”

“I’m depending on you!”

“Ah… okay…”

Helena nodded with a flushed face.

I wondered why she had that expression. Could it be because she was hot?

Whatever the reason, Helena began casting her magic with a crimson face.

“Snow!”

“Yes!!!”

“When we enter the village, please give the party members Time Acceleration and the enemies Time Stop!”

“Just trust me, Demon King of Thieves!!!”

As expected, the Snow Mage was the most responsive party member.

I smiled with satisfaction and nodded.

“Enemies ahead!”

As the rapidly speeding golden wagon neared the raiders’ village, the NPC driving it shouted loudly.

Just as he said, and as expected.

Numerous users blocked the entrance of the village we had to pass through, drawing their weapons.

“It’s the Cow King party!”

“Blood Demon King! Look here!”

Right now, I was neither the Blood Demon King nor the Cow King. I was a fearsome lawless wilderness raider. The Demon King of Thieves was my true identity.

I turned my head and called for Helena.

My loyal subordinate and most reliable friend.

“Helena!”

“Phew—”

Helena stepped forward at my call, raising her staff.

Behind her, the Snow Mage also pulled out their staff.

Excluding the first and second job ranks, their job trees were the same.

Kiiing—!

The moment a large clock-like effect radiated from the two of them, many users standing guard at the village entrance froze.

All preparations were complete. Helena raised her staff high, her eyes shining.

The time paused for all users lasted merely a second. Moreover, not everyone present was frozen.

One second. It was a brief moment. But for Helena, that one second was more than enough.

Goohh—!

Four magic circles rose into the sky, revealing massive flaming comet chunks within them.

It was the four consecutive casts of the [Meteor Strike] skill, which, although taking longer to cast, had wide coverage and remarkable destructive power.

The moment the four comets blanketed the sky, time began to flow again.

“R-run!”

“Don’t run! Fight back! If the path opens, we’ll be losing gold!”

The massive comets began to shift in the sky.

That message meant Helena’s magic had left her hands.

There was no cancellation now. Four comets began to descend toward the ground.

KABOOOM!

The earth was torn apart, gray corpses of users scattered everywhere.

The effect was great, but the road the wagon needed to pass through was destroyed.

But I wasn’t worried. We had the Snow Mage with us.

“Yap!”

With a playful smile, the Snow Mage waved their staff, and ice covered the overturned ground, creating a temporary path.

She had cleared the way and created a path.

The wagon made a rumbling sound as it safely entered the depths of the village.