Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 213

“Huhhh…”

The moment I returned to the Waiting Room after the match, I slumped down.

I didn’t care about the eyes on me.

It felt like a tiny brain in my head was heating up.

But it was just a trick of the mind. The temperature hadn’t actually increased.

It was merely my brain, whipped to its limits, sending me a signal to take a break.

“Blood Demon King…!”

My beloved Blood Demon King. The Snow Mage followed my commands faithfully.

Until the game ended, she never once strayed from the central line.

The reason I was able to play the game so freely was largely due to her influence.

“How… how did you fight?”

You ask how I fought? I simply gave it my all.

I tried to change the topic with an awkward smile, but I couldn’t escape the intense glares from all around.

The other team members who had come with me into the Waiting Room.

Not a single one of them was looking away from me.

In their gazes, I could sense a strange mix of awe and faint hope shimmering.

Though we had played on the same map, they hadn’t witnessed my pivotal moments in battle.

They must be curious; they were likely very curious.

But what I needed was rest.

The break after the match lasted a little over 5 minutes.

To prepare for the next match, I needed to cool my brain down.

“Yeo… what about…”

“Weren’t we streaming our match live? We could just rewatch it…”

“Oh, right…!”

The player Bisu, who had started talking to me, nodded in agreement and waved his hand in the air.

The other team members followed suit, mimicking Bisu’s gestures.

“Gah…”

A look of horror crossed Bisu’s face as he began searching for our match footage.

Hearing his short exhale, I tilted my head in confusion just as he slowly opened his mouth.

“W-wait… there were 20,000 viewers watching our match?”

“20,000? Is that a lot?”

“Ah, well… sure, compared to first-string stars like Wild, it’s not much, but for us second-string players, it’s a number we could only dream of…”

Bisu looked at me with a strange expression.

Not just him; the other two players next to him were doing the same.

I shrugged and avoided their gazes.

No matter how many average viewers there were, it didn’t really resonate with me.

As time passed and all matches concluded,

a message signaling the Waiting Time appeared before me.

It was then that Bisu found our match footage.

He projected it large in the air for everyone to see.

From the start of the first match, the observer’s view darted all over the place.

After grasping the positions of the enemies and our team, the observer latched onto one user and didn’t let go.

Naturally, that user was me.

“Hmm…”

The team members were continually expressing their admiration while watching the match footage.

Yet they kept sneaking glances at me.

I pressed my twitching lips tightly and turned my body around.

Everyone must have realized.

That the reason the viewership was so high for that match was all thanks to me.

Everyone must have known.

That we won that match because of my super play.

Praise my performance, worship my skills.

Send me even hotter gazes.

“That was incredible…”

The praise that slipped out felt a bit lacking. I could use a more direct compliment.

As I subtly turned my gaze, I locked eyes with the Snow Mage.

A peculiar smile was on her lips.

“Truly… you’re amazing!”

The Snow Mage, locking eyes with me, spread her arms wide and demonstrated an exaggerated reaction.

I was immensely satisfied. The Snow Mage had quick wit.

“That was an amazing play… something I want to cherish forever…”

A member from W.S mumbled as he watched the video.

I silently agreed with him.

Looking back, I’d rarely showcased such a dazzling performance before.

“Haah…”

While watching the video, it seemed some unexplainable emotion settled among the players.

They let out soft sighs and nodded their heads.

Everyone seemed to harbor the same thought, shining their eyes as they looked at me.

Could it be?

Could it really be?

Were they about to applaud my magnificent performance?

My lips began to curl up uncontrollably.

I covered my mouth with both hands.

After exchanging glances with the other team members, Bisu slowly spoke up.

“Starting from the next match, how about we play entirely around Yeo? What does everyone think?”

However, what spilled from Bisu’s mouth were not praises for my brilliance.

It was a statement straight out of a professional’s playbook; to raise our win rate, he was willing to throw away his pride.

“I think that makes sense.”

“I have no objections.”

There was no need to even solicit Snow Mage’s opinion.

She always followed my wishes.

“Really, is everyone okay with this?”

It must have been a tough decision. As a pro player, he must have had his own ego, yet he bent it.

He handed over the command of the game to someone like me, who wasn’t even a regular VRS player.

During the matches, Bisu respected my position as much as possible.

However, the direction of the game followed his commands.

“The team with Wild also plays around Wild. It raises their win rate.”

“Oh…”

“Honestly, we did ignore you on purpose until now. I knew you were good, but I didn’t realize you could play this well.”

As Bisu spoke, he switched his character to Paladin.

He, who had only ever played aggressive characters, now pulled out a defensively specialized Paladin.

“I checked the video comments. You’re the master of a pretty influential guild in Deron and managing several raid parties… I may not have vast experience in RPGs, but I’m not completely clueless. I understand RVR experience and decision-making as a raid leader. So please.”

Hearing this surprisingly caught me off guard.

I hesitated and finally spoke up.

“But… wouldn’t it be better for someone with more experience to give the orders?”

“I want to win.”

“Yes…?”

“I think it would be better to follow Yeo’s judgment than for me to give orders. With the situational judgement you showed in the video, I believe you could lead the team to victory. It’s a pro player’s perspective; you’ll have a higher win rate.”

Did the other team members feel the same?

I had just heard their response, but thoughts could change midway.

I blinked and looked at the two knights standing nearby.

Seeing my gaze, they nodded.

“Ugh…”

A wave of pressure hit me. Out of the blue, I was going to lead again.

However, it wasn’t a bad feeling.

I was quite used to such situations.

“Ahem… well, I’ll give it a shot…”

Bisu smiled lightly at my words and nodded.

That smile felt strangely heavy.

Well then, there’s no time to waste.

I stood up and approached the small table.

The time spent searching the video was 4 minutes.

The remaining break time was 1 minute.

It was an incredibly tight timeframe to devise a strategy.

A total of 8 matches had been fought.

The teams that had emerged victorious included four, ours being one of them.

As I scanned the list of teams that had risen, one naturally seemed to stand out.

Jupiter.

The team associated with that annoying sparrow girl’s nickname.

That team had also won and risen up.

I wondered what that brat was thinking.

Perhaps just like me, they were trying to come up with strategies to target my team.

A hunch hit me.

The next match would be against that team.

It was an absolute feeling. No doubt about it.

“Bisu, do you know the players in that team?”

“Ah…”

Bisu groaned as he looked at the team I had picked.

His gaze moved rapidly.

30 seconds until the next match began.

“Time…”

“There’s no need for in-depth details. Just their characteristics. What kind of playstyle do they prefer?”

“If that’s the case…”

Bisu began succinctly giving information about the pro players in the team to which Jupiter belonged.

W.S-Jin. A skilled first-string player. Knight. Prefers aggressive play over stable play.

N.R-Kevan. Recently promoted to first-string. Assassin. Favors following the overall flow depending on teammates’ tendencies.

S4-gus12. A rookie from the second-string. No specific class. Lack of information.

That was all Bisu had to say.

I glanced down at the usernames beneath them.

Jupiter.

Wangbangbang.

Both were users from Deron.

I knew Jupiter’s tendencies better than anyone.

The other one, Wangbangbang, with a nickname so hard to pronounce—

I had no information on him.

Time left: 10 seconds.

“Oh, the ‘Bbang’ guy… that one was a wizard ranker.”

It was the Snow Mage who provided information about Wangbangbang.

Time left: 5 seconds.

Yet there was enough time to think of a strategy.

Focus.

Don’t waste time.

As I felt a white pressure engorging my head, I became aware of time dragging.

Time left: 4 seconds.

Divide time up.

Use even 0.1 seconds longer.

In the heightened acceleration of time, I allowed my thoughts to flow freely.

I formulated strategies considering all situations.

However, that pesky sparrow served as the biggest obstacle in crafting a strategy.

I let out a low sigh.

No time was wasted.

I confirmed the countdown in motion and closed my eyes.

Time left: 0 seconds.

With a bright light, the entire team was transported to the battlefield.

The next match had begun.

In the semifinals of the Conquest match,

the opponent turned out to be the team Jupiter belonged to, just as I had predicted.

“Blood Demon King…! That sparrow is on the opposing team…!”

The Snow Mage was well aware of Jupiter.

When Jupiter was still roaming around in human male form, the Snow Mage had used the typical cockiness of an ice mage and her deceptive skills to torment Jupiter all day without killing him.

“Snow, that sparrow is mine.”

“Y-yes…?”

“I mean, to eliminate.”