Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 179

January 13th.

With the server merge and the expansion pack patch that followed, enough time has passed.

User specifications have overall increased dramatically, and top-tier users have reached a plateau.

At that moment, the content everyone had been waiting for was unlocked.

It was none other than the Conquest system.

After the server merge, all the forts and territories held by each guild have been reset, so it’s time for a fight to seize those forts and territories anew.

Our Soft & Chewy Cow Guild was also busy preparing for the upcoming battle.

I furrowed my brow as I looked at the sprawling map alongside the guild leaders.

There were three regions marked in circles on the map, all of which were being targeted by the Exorcist Guild.

“It’s going to be a fierce competition. We’ll be hard-pressed to even put in a bid for all three.”

“Is this plan a bit too much?”

I nodded, hearing the opinions of Iyap and the Snow Mage.

I was thinking the same thing.

The method I intended to use was similar to when I had smashed through things before.

We would place a higher bid for the conquest castle that the rival guild desires, preventing them from entering.

In that way, we could waste a whole week.

But this method was only feasible before the server merge. After the server merge, the number of users in Deron had skyrocketed.

Naturally, this meant more competing guilds as well.

Of course, if there were enough guild funds to operate, it would be fine to use methods like before.

“For now, we have enough guild funds. Let’s try that until we’ve used it all up.”

“Since it’s the first conquest after the merge, the bid will be extremely high. We can manage that, right…?”

The Snow Mage cautiously posed the question, glancing at Helena sitting next to me.

Helena, who had been quietly listening to everything, slowly nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’ll prepare everything with Yeo.”

What is she talking about? The gold in my inventory barely reached three digits.

I’ve been giving all my gold to Helena to pay off the Transcendence Stones I borrowed during that time.

As I glared at her for a while, Helena smiled and said.

“Right?”

I couldn’t make the guild members anxious. I nodded.

“Are we really fine on gold…? Then we’ll keep an eye on the bid situation?”

In the first week of the conquest, no fights occur. So, there was nothing for the guild members to prepare.

The side with more gold would claim the fortress. However, to maintain that fortress, strength matching that level was needed.

No matter how much gold you throw at the fortress in the first week, if you lose to a rival guild in the following week, it’d be like tossing that gold away.

I began to monitor the guild members’ activity rates while researching various items we could use moving forward.

With the arrival of the new expansion pack, the max level for crafting skills such as alchemy and magical engineering has also been expanded.

[Interference Signal Generator]

For a short time, it prevents all users in a wide radius from using skills related to summoning.

*Duration: 1 minute

*Cooldown: 5 minutes

When I was attacked in the Vampire Clan bear’s habitat, I couldn’t use a summon order to call the guild members.

The reason was precisely this item.

This item alone would change the tempo of a boring and drawn-out fight.

“Bidding has started!”

At that moment, the Snow Mage spoke up.

I closed the sub-skill menu and focused on the map before me.

On each region, the conquest button popped up, which hadn’t been visible before, and beneath it was the bid amount that was increasing in real-time.

Since the conquest system was only possible in Deron’s original regions, the competition was extremely fierce.

The region with the highest number of users in Deron.

Lunaris Capital City.

The bidding, which started at 500 gold, skyrocketed to 5,000 gold in less than a minute.

Even in the remote regions that people tended to ignore, the situation was the same.

“Has the Exorcist Guild started bidding?”

“Not yet.”

“They seem to be waiting.”

I listened to the comments from the guild leaders while checking the guild’s available funds.

Helena had been adding coins to the guild piggy bank like it was nothing, steadily contributing 1,000 or 2,000 gold, so our guild funds were in a very comfortable position.

We had 30,000 gold available.

Looking at the soaring bid amounts, I thought.

Perhaps today, I might have to use all this gold.

At that moment, the guild funds began to noticeably increase.

100 gold, 200 gold, or even 10 gold.

As I checked the donation records, it appeared the regular guild members were rapidly throwing in gold.

It seemed they were also feeling anxious seeing the escalating bid amounts.

“The Exorcists have started bidding.”

Finally, it seemed they were moving. Although our guild had started as a joke, the Exorcist Guild was indeed a large-scale guild.

I had intel indicating their operational guild funds were also substantial. They would definitely move to claim the fortress.

“Don’t follow too closely; just observe.”

A peculiar silence followed. The leaders watching the regional bidding stared silently at the map.

As time passed, the bidding closing time drew closer to 5 minutes.

“Please report the situation.”

“The Exorcists have bid 7,000 gold for the Moonlit Monastery.”

“What about the other regions?”

“There’s nothing else. It looks like they’re set on taking this one. Once it starts competing, they quickly raise the bid.”

“Got it. Keep an eye on them.”

“Four!!!”

I nodded at the Snow Mage’s reply.

“Everyone else, keep monitoring the other regions.”

The time felt short as it flowed slowly.

I swallowed a weak groan and looked at the map.

How long had it been? Finally, the remaining time surpassed 1 minute and was now showing 50 seconds.

It was soon time to move.

“Prepare to bid.”

“Yes!”

Amid the anxieties flowing through the air, I felt the passage of time.

Even without using Acceleration, 1 second felt like a minute.

And with only 20 seconds left.

“Place your bid.”

Though it felt a bit rushed, it was the right moment to strike since the enemy would be relaxed.

The waiting Snow Mage nodded and placed a bid for the Moonlit Monastery region.

[Moonlit Monastery]

[Conquest Guild: None]

[Bid Amount: 8,000 Gold]

[Challenger: Soft & Chewy Cow]

I checked the information marked on the map and nodded.

“Once they bid, quickly update our bid. We’ll raise it by a thousand, or rather, two thousand gold.”

There were only 10 seconds left.

No one relaxed their tension.

I squinted my eyes, checking our guild’s remaining funds.

Despite the guild members continuing to contribute gold, 8,000 gold slipped away in an instant. It hurt a little.

The bidding guild for the Moonlit Monastery began shifting continuously.

The pursuing Exorcist Guild and our guild would follow suit.

As the competition continued, the remaining time dwindled to 5 seconds.

“The Exorcists have bid for the Hill of the Sun!”

At the very moment where time was running out, a sudden shift occurred.

I didn’t panic and opened my mouth.

Two seconds had already been consumed here.

“Bid there as well.”

And again, the gold slipped away.

When it was time to use it, I didn’t hesitate. We needed to tighten the enemy’s throat so they couldn’t breathe.

To wield a sharp blade at the enemy’s neck, we had to expose our own necks to that blade as well.

With the guild fund dropping by 20,000 gold due to bidding in two areas, only 2 seconds remained. But perhaps unnerved by our aggressive moves, the Exorcist Guild ultimately failed to place another bid for a different area.

I frowned as I watched the bidding situation.

One guild can’t occupy two areas simultaneously. The 10,000 gold used for the bid would be wasted.

But it wasn’t a bad choice. If the hostile guild couldn’t use the guild hideout’s functionality and the regional conquest buff for a week, I’d be satisfied with that.

*

After finishing the conquest bidding, I slipped out alone and perched myself on a large rock.

There was someone who had been bothering me.

“Ugh…”

I opened a transparent internet window in front of my eyes and accessed the Deron Online gallery.

Logging into the new ID I created, I checked the posts I had written, and as expected, new comments had been added.

It was a post made just a few hours ago. Given the gallery’s nature, where an enormous number of posts regenerate daily, it would be impossible to find this post through general means.

You had to search for specific keywords or my ID to see this post.

[Jupiter’s skill is declining too much, isn’t it?] [6]

He fights similarly to the Blood Demon King, doesn’t he?


Is it just me?

Jupiter is one of the accounts I’m working hard on to turn the tide against criticisms that he can’t play.

Clearly, the last number of comments had been 5.

Someone must have come later and left a comment.

I frowned as I checked the comments.

[Comment]

[Lololol]

[Can he really play? My puppy could probably do it better]

ㄴ[Seriously ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Are those sparrow kids crazy? ㅋㅋㅋ Do they think winning an arena tournament is like Zos?]

ㄴ[For real ㅋㅋ; no matter how washed-up the Demon King is, his skills can’t compare…]

That was the last comment I had checked.

Under such comments, a brand new comment had appeared.

[Hmmm… You seem to have a discerning eye…]

As soon as I saw it, chills ran down my spine. The tone was quite cringeworthy.

In the game, since it aims for role-playing, using various tones isn’t considered weird, but on the internet, it’s a little…

“Ugh…”

I rubbed my arms and checked other posts.

And sure enough.

There were continuous comments written from the same IP.

This guy, could he be a devoted follower of Jupiter?

[You pass. A discerning person, would you join me? https://open.kak…..]

It seemed my hunch was right.

He left the URL for an open talk room on my post.

In that moment, I came up with a good idea.

If I could gather Jupiter’s fanatics and use them, I could possibly reverse the opinion in the gallery.

I hurriedly entered the open talk room.

My nickname there would be [Soft & Chewy Raccoon].

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [Hello.]

About a minute later, I finally received a response from the room owner.

Guide of Light – [Oh, is that you…?]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [I came here after seeing your comment on my post.]

Guide of Light – [I see… Did you finally notice the traces I left behind?]

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [Are you perhaps a follower of Jupiter?]

Guide of Light – [One could say that. Are you not as well?]

Just as I expected.

This guy was an utter fool who was head over heels for Jupiter.

Ever since Jupiter’s appearance was revealed, many followers emerged.

This guy was certainly one of them.

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [Is it just the two of us?]

Guide of Light – [Indeed. Soft & Chewy Raccoon. It seems others do not have the vision to see Jupiter’s skills.]

I nodded, stroking my chin.

If it was just the two of us… great.

Considering he left the URL to the open talk room and came to my post, he was clearly new to the gallery.

If I wanted to carry out a covert opinion operation, I had to reveal a lot to him.

Soft & Chewy Raccoon – [Please delete the URL you left on my post. What if strange people come? There’s no password.]

Guide of Light – [Thanks for the advice, Soft & Chewy Raccoon.]