Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 273

As usual, I logged into Deron.

But something was subtly off about the atmosphere.

The capital city Solaris, bustling with the new expansion pack.

Given that it’s a location where many people come and go, this city should always have a certain level of users in any channel.

“Um…”

I looked around, furrowing my brow.

It’s sparse. It’s not just my imagination.

I could distinctly feel that the number of users wandering around the city had decreased.

Is it simply because I entered a quiet channel with fewer people?

No, that’s not it. When I log into Deron, the channel I’m assigned is randomized.

Therefore, in such a large city, there should have been a consistent number of users in any channel.

A mass exodus of users?

No.

I shook my head and checked the channel list.

Channels 1 and 2, where people always flock, were still at capacity.

In contrast, the other channels displayed signs of being sparsely populated.

It’s strange. Such a vast city should usually maintain a regular population in any channel.

As I scrolled down the channel list, I spotted one channel blaring bright red.

Channel 15.

[Full]

Only then did I realize why the other channels were marked as pleasant.

Everyone had gathered in one place. That channel 15.

People don’t congregate without a reason.

A specific channel being at full capacity must have a valid reason behind it.

I recalled the ongoing discussion in the community about the Satan and Babel guilds.

It sparked some genuine interest.

I didn’t want to get involved in the fighting itself, but watching it was another story.

I began persistently tapping on the overcrowded channel 15, trying to break through.

After about 5 minutes, I was able to switch channels with a little light.

“Whoa…”

The transition was instant.

The previously quiet view of the city began to fill with unfamiliar users, one by one.

“Yeo…?”

Just as I was admiring the crowd filling the plaza, a familiar voice echoed from behind me.

Who could forget a voice you’ve heard once?

I turned around and smiled brightly.

“Arthur!”

With blonde hair and blue eyes.

Arthur, looking like a typical Western beauty, stood right behind me.

She looked at me with a slightly worried expression.

Is something the matter?

“It’s been ages since we met in person. Are you here to join the fight too?”

“Fight?”

Could it be that Arthur is involved in this battle as well?

I shook my head and replied.

“No. I just came to watch.”

“Thank goodness… I was worried what would happen if we ended up fighting each other.”

“Can you tell me the details? I just switched over and have no idea what’s going on.”

Arthur glanced around cautiously and then nodded slightly before turning away.

It seems this isn’t the place to talk about it.

I carefully followed her.

“Do you know the general situation?”

“Just that Satan and Babel’s sides are fighting, and that the conflict has spread to alliances.”

Arthur began to speak carefully as we moved.

What she said wasn’t significantly different from the information circulating online.

Except for one detail.

“Babel has never defeated a boss?”

“Right. It’s not a world boss, so who would defeat a plain field boss that just gives ordinary gear… People just run raids for items.”

“That’s quite different from what I saw online. I thought the two groups fought over a field boss.”

“Babel has never defeated a boss nor tried to steal one. It just suddenly started making noise on Satan’s side.”

“Are the claims from Babel also lies?”

“Exactly. Why would they say they had a boss stolen if they’ve never caught one?”

In a rarely visited, quiet spot.

Arthur began to pout as we arrived at a narrow alley.

As I listened to her, I rubbed my chin.

If what she said is true, then all the information currently circulating online is just propaganda spread by Satan’s side.

Cunning. Really cunning.

I had suspected that one of the two groups was lying, but I never imagined it would all be Satan’s propaganda.

“Babel is just the victim…?”

“Exactly.”

Arthur nodded in agreement with a solemn expression.

Seeing her like that, I let out a low sigh.

“I think I should get going. It seems they’re about to start an all-out war.”

“Are you really going to fight?”

“I have no choice. I can’t just let it happen without doing anything. No matter how much I try to explain, it will just get overshadowed by more propaganda.”

Arthur said that and slipped out of the alley.

Behind her, a bright halo gleamed.

Her long blonde hair caught the sunlight, shimmering brilliantly.

Right after Arthur disappeared into the crowd of users, a large-scale war announcement message appeared across the entire server.

[Satan guild declares war on Babel guild.]

[Satan guild declares war on Knights of the Round Table guild.]

[Satan guild declares war on…

Messages of war announcements continued to roll in.

The moment I saw them, it was clear that a massive bloodbath was impending.

Just looking at the number of guilds declared upon exceeds twenty.

Today marked the largest war in the history of Deron.

War declaration messages could be seen by all users, regardless of the channel.

Friend chat, guild chat, world chat. Every single one was heating up.

This was unprecedented.

I felt bewildered as I slowly stepped out of the alley.

The movements of users beyond my line of sight pointed in one direction.

It was evident that a real fight was about to unfold there.

Caught in a daze, I blended into the crowd and exited the capital city.

The fighting had already begun the moment we crossed the fortress walls.

Spectacular magic adorned the sky.

Shouting echoed from all sides.

The endless struggle of dying and respawning.

Those who respawned rushed out of the castle to start fighting again.

Onlookers observed everything from a distance.

Overall, the Babel alliance seemed to be in the lead.

Naturally. There were far more users on the Babel side.

However, the faces of those from the Satan side who were losing appeared surprisingly calm.

As if they knew they would be on the losing end right from the start.

I frowned at the Satan side.

The number of guilds competing with Satan barely numbered four to five.

Compared to Babel, their numbers were overwhelmingly small.

And the strangest thing was that the [Requiem] guild was nowhere to be seen.

Where did that sane uncle who suggested joining Satan’s side go?

The war continued unabated.

While the Satan faction was clearly at a numerical disadvantage, they compensated for their lack of personal with special potions and magic engineering items.

They were using large-scale bombs, worth dozens of gold, like water, and chugging elixirs that restored all their health like it was nothing.

After watching the war for about 30 minutes, some allied guilds fighting alongside Babel suddenly started to behave passively.

That was the moment. The previously losing Satan alliance began to push back significantly.

The direction of the battle at the castle gates began to shift.

The Satan side, which had been on the back foot, started shoving the Babel alliance members into the castle.

“Yeo.”

While I was keenly watching the thrilling aspects of the war.

I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

A tall woman in a red robe, her ample bosom, and impressive horns atop her head was Helena.

“Oh, Helena.”

I wondered when she had logged in.

I naturally approached Helena and took her hand.

“What are you doing?”

“In the midst of a war.”

“Are we fighting too?”

“No.”

I had no intention of fighting.

At least not right now.

A battle of such a grand scale wasn’t going to end in a day or two.

If the war between guilds dragged on, the ones getting tired would be the ordinary guild members underneath.

*

The first war fought in front of the capital city.

The result of that fight wasn’t any victory for anyone.

It was because the back and forth continued.

But the momentum belonged to the Babel alliance. Everyone who watched that fight believed so.

After the battle paused and about an hour had passed, an unexpected event occurred.

The allied guilds fighting alongside Babel began to withdraw one by one.

The withdrawal of positions indicated a departure from the alliance.

“Ah…”

I exhaled a sigh in shock.

Now I understood.

The reason why the sane uncle from the Requiem guild was missing.

Requiem was definitely siding with the Satan guild.

They just hadn’t revealed themselves yet.

So, where was the Requiem guild, and what were they up to?

If the guild’s nature wasn’t originally PVP-oriented, even if a war broke out between the guilds, only a few would come out to fight.

Requiem and the other factions likely targeted them.

Requiem was almost certainly hunting the Babel alliance members who had chosen not to fight.

Could those people withstand a sudden PK?

Surely not.

It was all too obvious.

Complaints had probably been swirling in the guild chat.

The sudden withdrawal of small guilds on the Babel alliance side was undoubtedly due to such reasons.

Thinking about it this way, everything lined up.

“Yeo.”

“Yes?”

“Gold has gotten expensive.”

“Gold?”

As I pondered and nodded in comprehension, Helena began to speak.

She muttered quietly, her face twisted in displeasure as if something troubled her.

I took a small step back and replied.

“Maybe because of the chaos?”

“Chaos?”

It was certain. In just over an hour of fighting, an enormous number of magic engineering bombs had gone off, and elixirs had been consumed.

Where did all those items come from? It must have been cash.

“They’re using a ton of magic engineering items on Satan’s side. I bet they bought all that with gold.”

“I don’t like this…”

“You don’t like it…?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t buy the gold I needed today, so I’m frustrated.”

“How much did you plan to buy…?”

“Not a lot. Just a bit…”

How much gold could she possibly want to buy to be acting this way?

I swallowed dryly while looking up at Helena.

“Yeo. I’m heading out for a bit.”

“Uh…? Okay…”

With that, Helena vanished somewhere.

But when will Jupiter log in?

I tilted my head while looking worriedly at Arthur, who was in the process of getting ready.