Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 159

“Moving as soon as we get the enemy’s location report.”

It was well past a reasonable hour; I should have logged off long ago. But that wasn’t an option, not with the war against the Exorcist Guild going on.

The clock read 4 AM, yet the number of Soft & Chewy Cow Guild members online showed no signs of dwindling. In fact, it was increasing, as guild members contacted their acquaintances, rousing them from sleep.

“There’s an Exorcist party near the Dire Wolf hunting ground.”

“Let’s send Snow there immediately.”

After flattening Andersen during our first ambush, the Exorcist Guild had dispersed and stopped fighting. They were now avoiding direct confrontations and opting for guerrilla tactics with smaller groups.

We couldn’t just sit back and take it.

Even at this hour, I granted admin permissions to the guild members who were hunting and issued a summon order. If the enemy struck, they were to use it right away.

It wasn’t possible to control all guild members forcibly; that was never the atmosphere of our guild.

The same went for the Exorcist Guild; some of those who participated in the initial ambush had scattered to do their own things. I began tracking the locations of the Exorcist guild members.

“I’ve heard there are about 10 of them spotted in the dungeon entrance quest area. The number’s not precise, though; the informant was a Demon Clan user and got himself killed…”

“The first party will go.”

I responded to the guild member, immediately starting to move. Behind me were 40 members, the full capacity of a party.

Ten healers focused on keeping me alive, twenty wizards backing us up, and the remaining nine were a somewhat peculiar combination of tanks.

I’d handle the direct confrontations. The healers would focus their healing on me, while the wizards provided ranged support. The rest of the tanks would shield the wizards and healers.

Upon arriving at the dungeon entrance quest area, I noticed that there were no Demon Clan users around.

It was still early in the game. If Demon Clan users were missing in a crowd that should be filled with players, it pointed to one conclusion.

There was an Exorcist Guild specializing in hunting Demon Clan users.

I immediately drew my sword.

According to the report, they were wandering around this area.

We were in the same channel. If they hadn’t moved, that would still hold true.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a player.

Hunched over, they were diligently gathering a large patch of grass.

[National Chicken Association]

[Found it!!!]

[ChickMani]

Perfect timing. Although they were a Human Clan user, they didn’t seem particularly interested in the faction system. I didn’t know what they were doing, but they were the kind of player who gathered herbs all day long even before the server merge.

“Excuse me.”

“Whoa…!”

As I approached, the player known as ChickMani startled and instinctively covered the large grass patch with their body, as if protecting a valuable treasure from a thief.

“Oh, it’s the Soft & Chewy Cow folks.”

Of course, being Korean, they couldn’t possibly be unaware of our guild.

I nodded and asked, “Have you seen any Exorcist guild members?”

“Exorcists? Hmm…”

Unless someone pays close attention, it’s easy to forget the guild names of other players, especially when it’s written in English rather than familiar Korean. I needed to provide a more memorable description.

“They all wore the same outfit, a blue robe.”

“Oh, those guys… They went that way.”

ChickMani nodded as they recalled, pointing toward the forest beyond.

We’d have to cross into a section where the pale moonlight faded and dark mist began to rise.

“Thanks.”

“No, thank you.”

ChickMani said this while glancing behind me.

I turned to see who they were looking at, but I was clueless.

Did they know someone who was helping them?

“Be careful and switch channels.”

I left that parting warning and dashed into the mist.

As I crossed over the area lit brightly by the moon, a dense fog rolled in.

This place limited my visibility; I couldn’t see far ahead. The longer I lingered, the more stifling it became, but I had to pass through for the quest.

“Call out immediately if you spot the enemy.”

I moved ahead, awakening all my senses. I was determined to commit fully to this war.

Maintaining a constant, sharp pain.

Long and slender, I’d explode the heat only at crucial moments.

The more I focused, the clearer my senses became.

The soft crunch of footsteps, the rustle of wind, and voices from somewhere beyond this place.

Over there.

Even if I couldn’t see them, I was certain.

I led my party forward.

“Helena, as soon as you spot them, use Time Acceleration.”

“Okay.”

Just as we couldn’t see the enemy, they couldn’t see us either.

No signs of stealthy thieves. The enemy was completely unaware.

I lowered my posture and moved cautiously.

After an undetermined amount of time passed, a faint movement was detected beyond the hazy fog.

I couldn’t see their nicknames or guild names, but I could tell the color of their outfits.

Contrary to the report of 10, there appeared to be more than that.

A squirming mass of blurry blue.

No doubt about it. It was the Exorcists.

“Helena.”

No need for lengthy explanations.

At that instant, black lightning crashed down from the sky, and my body began to transform.

I felt the sensation of horns lengthening above my head and sharp claws sprouting from my hands and feet.

The use of an Awakening Skill to enhance my character’s specs.

Right afterward, my body began to move faster, synchronized with my accelerated thoughts.

Helena’s Time Acceleration skill was bestowed upon me.

It felt as if I were crossing through frozen time. The moment I bolted forward, the mist parted, allowing me to see the enemy clearly.

The startled expressions of the Exorcist guild members locked onto me.

Time stretched out, but in reality, it was fleeting.

I swung my sword in a panic.

A deadly strike aimed at a critical spot. The rough swing of the Demon Sword unleashed a torrent of abyssal magic as I began slicing through enemy necks.

No one could withstand such a powerful blow more than once.

Even if they had on sturdy helmets, it didn’t matter. Nobody could endure two or three strikes.

Slash!

With the final blow, time began moving again.

As my agile body felt heavy, it was clear I had pushed my limits—my body couldn’t keep up with the accelerated thoughts.

“Oh, demon!”

“Demon ambush!”

With the first strike, I had taken the heads of five.

Now only ten remained. Overhead, a line of support attacks from the wizards rained down.

Boom! Bam! Bang!

I had already declared war across the entire new area. There were no PVP penalties to worry about.

“You cowardly demon bastards…!”

I looked down at the last remaining member with an impassive gaze.

Sitting on the ground, they looked up at me with trembling eyes.

This was a game where the value of life was light. There was no Exorcist begging for their life now.

Without hesitation, I swung my sword and decapitated them.

Slash!

After taking down the last user, I closed my eyes. The specs of the other users had risen. Now it was clear that I couldn’t dominate them without using my Awakening Skills.

It was a crucial moment for a spec-up.

I browsed the auction house to check the market for Transcendence Stones.

It had been a while since the route to acquiring the Glowing Transcendence Stones was revealed.

While it wasn’t a time when many were being stocked in the auction house, there were occasional listings.

But the prices were an issue.

At that moment, listings for Transcendence Stones began disappearing at an alarming rate.

Except for the absurdly overpriced stones, all inventory was vanishing.

Upon seeing that, I sighed.

It seemed a big spender was cleaning up the stock of Transcendence Stones to boost their specs.

Then, a large exclamation mark popped up in my mailbox.

That meant a new message had arrived.

I wondered if it was a position report from an Exorcist guild member, but it wasn’t.

“Helena…”

The sender was none other than Helena.

[I’ll lend you some]

From: Helena

Pay me back slowly.

Attached items: [Glowing Transcendence Stone x30]

The auction house had started listing items, but the price of each one wasn’t light.

The Transcendence Stones had been priced from 300 gold to as much as 700 gold each.

That was a whopping 30 stones.

“Get strong. YeoNa.”

Helena’s gaze was intense. She looked at me with an unwavering desire.

I understood what that burning passion in her eyes meant. Oh, Helena, you want to crush the Exorcist Guild too.

I nodded. I was touched by Helena’s commitment. Excitement began heating my body.

Having received the Transcendence Stones, it was time to enhance my item.

Coincidentally, I needed to imbue my weapon with special options using the Purified Moon Shard.

“I’m going to head back to the village for a moment. I need to enhance my items…”

“Guild Master… Did you really buy all the ones that went up in the auction house…?”

I hesitated to answer the guild member’s question.

I hadn’t technically bought them, but it ended up being that way.

Since I borrowed it, it wasn’t an incorrect statement.

Anyway, I hurriedly moved on.

After arriving at Solaris Capital City, I headed straight for the blacksmith to start enhancing my items.

I had enough defense. What I needed was offense. I needed overwhelming power.

I pounded the 30 Transcendence Stones and Purified Moon Shards into my weapon.

[Corrupted Demon Sword – Black Sun]


Strength +750 → 900 World


Physical Attack Power 4700 → 5200


Ether Grade 5 → 10


Two-Handed Sword


Bound


Level Limit 85


Additional damage of 110 → 120% when attacking Ether monsters


[Physical Attack Power +300]


[Attack Speed Increased by 15%]


[Maximum Damage Increased by 20%]


[Additional Damage Increased by 20%]


■30% chance to trigger the Moonlight Slash skill upon attack.


※Maximum slots reached.

Bonus effect of Ether grade 10.


Stats granted to the item increase by 10%.

After exhausting all 30 Transcendence Stones, my weapon reached the maximum grade attainable with Glowing Transcendence Stones.

I drew my sword and raised it high into the sky.

Around the ominous demon sword swirled the transparent wind, a special effect of Ether grade.

Exorcists, you are all dead.

I smirked as I sheathed my sword behind me.

The enormous greatsword shrank in an instant.