Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 157

“Those guys aren’t showing up again, right?”

“Well, who knows…”

After wrapping up Andersen’s party, Chloe murmured with concern.

Considering the reaction he showed just before dying, the chances of him coming back here were pretty high.

I slung my sword over my shoulder and spoke to my party members.

“Let’s switch channels and keep going.”

Thank goodness for the channel system. While there was still a possibility that Andersen could track us, at least it would be safer than continuing the quest in the same channel.

After switching channels, the quest continued.

[Where the Fallen Goddess Went]

Collect Fallen Moonlight 0/20

This time, the task wasn’t about hunting monsters.

It was a super simple quest where we just had to collect quest items located in specific places.

In this case, it was better to search separately rather than crowding together.

“Everyone, let’s split up and search. If anything comes up, ping for help right away.”

“Be careful, Guild Leader. That Andersen guy seemed a bit unhinged…”

So, everyone scattered to search for the quest items.

The occasional counting sounds of the quest items confirmed that the party members were diligently doing their tasks.

Now’s my chance. I quietly moved my feet.

My destination was the direction Arthur went.

I dove into the cool moonlit grass, heading towards where Arthur was.

“Hmm…”

The moonlight shining down from the sky made Arthur’s blonde hair stand out even more.

Admiring the mystical blend of gold and silver, I cautiously emerged from the underbrush.

That’s when it happened.

Swish—

The sword drawn with speed reflected the moonlight, pointing in my direction.

Arthur’s previously cozy aura shifted in an instant.

It felt as cold as a well-sharpened blade.

“Oh, Yeo.”

Upon realizing that I was the approaching presence, the sharp intensity faded from her eyes.

She was a woman who grew more appealing the more I looked at her. I licked my lips and waved my hand.

“Yep, it’s me.”

“What are you doing here? Do you have something to say?”

“Yeah, I came to talk about something.”

“Umm…”

Arthur tilted her head slightly at my words and retracted her sword.

This was going to be a pretty important conversation.

I checked the locations of the other party members and opened my mouth.

“Do you ever think about reincarnating as a Demon Clan member?”

“Demon Clan?”

“Yeah.”

“Umm…”

“I want to play the game with you, Arthur. I mean, we’re playing together now, but thinking about future faction battles and stuff…”

“Ah, I see what you mean?”

Arthur nodded with a relatively serious expression at my words.

Of course, I didn’t expect an answer right now.

I just wanted Arthur to understand that I wanted her.

That I wanted to be with her.

Did my sincerity reach her?

I awkwardly smiled as I looked up at Arthur.

“Sorry, I can’t really give an answer right now. You know, as the Guild Leader, it’s a bit tricky. You get that, right?”

“Yeah, of course. I wasn’t expecting an answer right away. Just…”

At that moment, a blue dot, previously far away, started approaching us at a terrifying speed.

Flashing, it looked like someone was using Blink.

Among our party members, the only wizard was Helena.

“Helena?”

What on earth could this be about? We still had loot left to collect from the quest items, so it wasn’t time to gather yet.

Just to be sure, I checked Helena’s status in the party window, but there were no signs of wounds or debuffs.

That meant she hadn’t encountered any enemies, so why was she running towards us?

Helena’s clothes were snagged all over with rough leaves from her hasty passage through the bushes.

“Helena? What’s going on?”

“What were you doing here?”

“What do you mean what was I doing…”

I turned around at Helena’s question.

There stood Arthur, bathed in moonlight.

A strange smile hung on her lips.

“I was talking with Arthur.”

“Just the two of you?”

“Yeah. It was a pretty important discussion.”

“Im-Important discussion…!”

Helena’s face turned pale.

What on earth was going on? I tilted my head in confusion as Helena staggered closer.

“Was it a secret talk just between you two?”

“Huh? No… not exactly a secret, but I thought it’d be better to talk privately.”

“Tell me, tell me too.”

I nodded confidently.

Then I shared the content of the conversation I had with Arthur earlier.

I mentioned my suggestion of reincarnating as a Demon Clan member and that Arthur seemed to be considering it quite seriously.

I was, after all, engaging in diplomatic activities as the Guild Leader.

Even I thought that was a pretty cool Guild Leader move. While doing the quest, I was gathering talent for the future of the guild.

It didn’t even matter if they weren’t in the same guild. I would turn them into the same clan, weaken the enemy factions, and strengthen our own.

What a brilliant notion that was.

There must be few people more suited to the role of Guild Leader than me.

“Is that really all there is to it?”

“Yep. That’s all.”

Helena’s face, pale like the cold moonlight, began to brighten.

It was the moment a smile gradually spread across Helena’s face.

[Where the Fallen Goddess Went]

Collect Fallen Moonlight 20/20

The quest condition was complete.

While the three of us were goofing off here, Iyap and Chloe had been diligently collecting the quest items.

*

Exactly five hours had passed since completing the quest.

As the first person to post the information said, the connected dungeon quest was unnecessarily long.

The difficulty of the quest itself wasn’t particularly hard.

But there was a ridiculous amount of unnecessary traveling.

Revisiting places, returning to the village to chat, going back the way we came to collect items again, and then back to where we were to hunt monsters…

It had been painfully boring, but at last, the end was nearing.

Finally, the dungeon entry had been activated.

It was the moment of liberation from the tedious quest.

“Did everyone look up the dungeon information?”

I asked the party members before entering the dungeon.

Though it had only recently been discovered, many players were actively playing Deron, so information about the dungeon was continuously being uploaded.

Even a strategy video posted an hour ago had already hit 100,000 views.

From what I gathered from the video, there wasn’t much strategy to discuss.

That was because the dungeon’s difficulty was exceedingly low.

Perhaps it was something that was to be expected.

It was simply a dungeon for growth and storytelling.

It was unlikely that a high-difficulty dungeon would appear when most players’ skills were restricted.

Before entering the dungeon, I checked the doping drugs and potions.

I had roughly grasped even the basic patterns, so it was truly time to head into the dungeon.

Just as I was about to approach the dungeon, though…

“Wait a sec…”

“What is it?”

“At the entrance…”

Arthur blocked my way and crouched down.

“What? What’s there?”

I peered around Arthur to get a glimpse of the dungeon’s entrance.

I followed her hand with my gaze.

Just slightly away from the dungeon entrance, there was a small thicket.

Someone was hiding there.

At times, it rustled, hinting at its presence, but if I hadn’t been paying attention, I probably wouldn’t have noticed it.

A piece of clothing protruded from the dense thicket, glimmering a shade of blue.

“Is that…”

“It’s suspicious… Should I go take a look?”

I nodded at Iyap’s suggestion.

Then, his body melted into the shadows and vanished.

He was using stealth to scout the enemy.

Having gathered the information, Iyap soon returned.

He emerged slowly from stealth and opened his mouth.

“It’s an Exorcist.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I checked the guild name. They were indeed wearing blue robes.”

Once confirmation was done, it was time to move.

I drew my sword.

Even though it was the thief who specialized in ambush, as the Guild Leader, I couldn’t inflict a PVP penalty on Iyap.

No one would say my actions were cowardly.

The Exorcist Guild was the one who declared war first. I had no intention of showing mercy to their members until their guild was dismantled.

“I’m going to kill them?”

“Yeah.”

Standing up, I slowly made my way forward.

The one hiding in the thicket didn’t seem to sense the shadow of death approaching him; he showed no signs of reaction.

Holding my breath. Not making a sound.

Die. And atone for your sins.

Crack!

“Ugh…”

Silently swung the Demon Sword pierced through his heart. There was no time to turn his head.

I kicked his head and pressed it against the ground as it lifted.

He wouldn’t know who killed him.

They were the ones searching for demons. If they wanted that badly, they could easily become one.

The blue-robed priest vanished just like that.

“Yay!”

I eliminated the annoyance.

I raised both hands high and rushed toward the dungeon entrance.

[Fallen Sanctuary of the Moon]

That was the name of the dungeon we needed to enter.

The remnants of the collapsed temple and the goddess statues visible all around left an impression.

I’d seen something similar in Lunaris Capital City.

Unlike the gentle moonlight from before, this goddess statue emitted a dull energy, lacking all light.

It felt somewhat similar to when the Sun God Solara fell, yet the sensation was different.

This time, it was a stronger sense of foulness.

Just as I was about to enter the dungeon.

I felt a sharp gaze from behind me.

Turning my head, I saw Iyap, Chloe, and Helena staring at me.

I understood what that gaze meant.

Now I knew. Just how cute I looked bouncing around.

So, let their eyes feast upon my grace.

As I murmured a small gratitude in my heart, I hopped up and down.

“Oh-”

It was a short exclamation from Arthur.

As I exited the dungeon entrance, a vast sanctum unfolded before me.

No, to be precise, it used to be a sanctum.

The gentle moonlight had turned into a corpse-like cold luminescence, illuminating the area.

At that moment, the rest of my party members jumped in behind me.

Just as I indicated, they all bounced in after me.

“Um, um… Is this how everyone enters in Korea?”

I nodded with a confident expression.