Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 301

“Long time no see, everyone.”

A tear in the dimensions.

In front of an unnamed island beyond it.

All the promised attendees had gathered.

I boarded my ship with representatives from each guild and exchanged greetings.

There wasn’t any special operation to discuss.

And rightly so, the raid boss that had appeared this time had no known patterns, and we couldn’t be sure we could take it down alone.

This gathering was just a feeling of let’s-try-it-out.

I watched the paladin standing out among the crowd.

Instead of the guild leader of Slowforest, it was Jupiter who attended in their place.

“Ahem…”

Was being a representative of the guild that proud?

Jupiter puffed out his chest and wore a grown-up expression.

“There aren’t any special operations.”

“I know.”

“It’s just about giving it a shot.”

I’m glad everyone understands.

I had spoken first, but I nodded and turned my body.

The Soft & Chewy [Temporary] Alliance formed by the various guilds.

There were fewer members than in the heyday of the Soft & Chewy Alliance, but this number was still a blessing.

Total number of members: 680.

Number of medium ships: 55.

Number of large ships: 7.

If the combinations of the members boarding the ships didn’t match, we would mix and rearrange the guild members.

As soon as the work was done, I shouted while marking the coordinates of the area known as the Ruins of Destruction.

“Let’s set sail!”

The large ships began to depart.

The medium ships that followed extended in a long line.

I turned around and wore the demon wings from my costume menu.

Normally, it was a costume worn only when using an awakening skill, but this was an exceptional situation.

Although it was called temporary, I was leading a coalition close to 700 people.

I had to be special, of course, more than the average user.

BEEP-!

At that moment, a message alert rang out.

I wondered who sent it and looked down to see a message from Jupiter.

Jupiter – [Oh Blood Demon King, did you not say? Wings restrict the view of party members…!]

This guy.

Is he watching me?

When I turned my head, I saw a Saint Eagle flying closely by the roar of Deathwing.

And at the top of the Saint Eagle.

I locked eyes with Jupiter, who was standing on a giant eagle’s head statue.

Yeo – [You should wear them too.]

Jupiter – [Really…? Are you saying it’s okay to wear them?]

It’s not the role where he has to act as a tank.

Most of the battle would happen with ships.

So, wearing the wing costume wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Even from a distance, I could tell.

How happy Jupiter was.

A bright smile spread across Jupiter’s face, and behind her, pure white angel wings spread out.

At that moment, a message popped up before my eyes.

[Entering the Ruins of Destruction!]

This is an area where PVP penalties do not apply.

I immediately sent a message to all the guild leaders.

Yeo – [We are entering the Ruins of Destruction. It’s like a lawless sea, so be cautious of attacks from other users!]

The atmosphere of the whole space changed.

Ruined buildings and wreckages of ships vividly felt the rough signs of battle.

The air in this cosmic space was permeated with a dreadful scent of death.

The entry of over 50 ships naturally began to push back the users loitering near the entrance of the Ruins of Destruction.

The usernames of users we weren’t allied with glowed red.

An indication of enemies who could be attacked at any time.

If raiding wasn’t the purpose, we would have swept the area and played space pirates.

But now, we had a clear objective.

Ignoring the smaller ships around us, I headed deeper.

After flying for some time.

Could we have been caught? – I thought at that moment, when I suddenly heard a peculiar crying sound from far away.

[■■■-!]

It’s him. The Observer of Chaos.

I quickly turned the direction of the ship and wrote a message.

Yeo – [Moving to the right. Follow me! I heard its sound.]

The roar of Deathwing in the front shifted direction, causing the ships that followed to also change course in unison.

After pushing through the remnants of the unnamed island and the destroyed buildings for some time.

I finally spotted the target we had been searching for.

[■■■-!]

A massive whale writhing in pain and shaking its body.

Flashing lights and ships bursting everywhere.

The empty spaces left by bursting ships were taken up by other ships flying in.

It was too late.

Another faction appeared to have started raiding the Observer of Chaos.

We were a step behind.

“Hmm…”

Jupiter – [Blood Demon King, what shall we do…?]

Chunpoong – [Shall we wait? We could enter once those people fail the raid.]

Turtle – [By the way, there are a ton of people. It looks like they are at least twice as many as us…]

Uncle Turtle’s words were indeed true.

Continuous attacks from the great fin were bursting our ships, but endless ships were pouring in to confront them.

It was a battle of numbers with no strategy.

A deadly race toward destruction.

I fell into serious contemplation.

This area has no PVP penalties.

Which means it’s a place designed for players to fight each other.

Should we push them out?

Those conducting the raid are vulnerable to attacks from other factions.

Even though we were outnumbered, if we ambushed, we could definitely push them out.

But there was an issue regarding the image of the guild, or rather, of the allied members.

Yeo – [Let’s just wait…]

I sighed and slumped back onto the head of Deathwing.

If only we had been a bit faster, could we not have tried first?

While I was continuing to think that.

From the distance. From very far away, a tiny guild mark began to come into view.

What had started as one mark grew into two, three, multiplying to dozens.

Of course, that wasn’t the end.

The emergence of another guild mark tightly grouping beside it.

From small to large.

A great force whose enormity was clear even from afar.

They must also be gathered to raid the Observer of Chaos.

The fact that we recognized them meant they recognized us as well.

The newly appeared faction seemed to stop, aware of our presence.

Thus began a delicate standoff.

The faction raiding the Observer of Chaos.

Our Soft & Chewy [Temporary] Alliance.

And the newly appeared faction.

All of us were watching each other’s moves in silence for a while.

The first to move was the newly appeared faction.

They began bombarding the group already conducting the raid, ignoring us.

Boom-! Kaboom-!

Ships exploding in an instant.

Massive explosions and dazzling skills extending into the cosmic space.

Jupiter – [Those cowardly bastards…!]

Seeing their actions, Jupiter labeled them cowards in anger, but I could understand their actions.

They simply did what was natural for a group that had gathered to reap benefits.

If they succeeded in the raid now, the purpose of our gathering would vanish.

Plus, this is a disputed area with no PVP penalties.

An obvious understanding of the developer’s intent for players to fight and consume resources.

I raised my lips and firmly pulled down my pirate hat.

We are going too.

Yeo – [Let’s fight.]

Chunpoong – [Huh…? Are we really fighting?]

Turtle – [I had thought we’d have to fight in a disputed area.]

Yeo – [We can’t just let it go like this.]

Chunpoong – [That’s true…]

Jupiter – [I agree!]

Seeing Jupiter’s message, I rubbed my forehead.

While she represents a guild, it wasn’t certain whether she had indeed expressed her intention to participate from her guild.

I turned my head to inspect the Saint Eagle.

Jupiter, wearing the angel wings, was darting around with nine guild members keeping close.

Despite having seen Jupiter’s message, there was no particular reaction.

Instead, they were taking out their weapons and preparing to fight.

I let out a breath of relief and continued chatting.

Yeo – [Then we’ll proceed with the fight. Are there any guilds who oppose this?]

I sent the message and waited for a while.

There were no opposing opinions.

Here it comes. I had waited for this moment.

As a pirate, no, as a space pirate, the moment to destroy and plunder everything in sight.

The raid boss? It’s ours. The materials spilling out from the ship explosions? They’re ours.

“Let’s go!!!”

I am the Blood Demon King.

An evil and terrifying cosmic plunderer.

Gugugugugu-!

Mimi – [Blood Demon King!!! Who is the enemy!!!]

Yeo – [Everything in sight!]

Mimi, the fourth guild master of Ramji Thunder.

I answered Mimi’s question and opened fire toward the front.

Immediately, Hwarang and Snow Mage began to move.

The distance was still far.

After waiting for about 20 seconds.

I drew the demon sword and shouted.

“Attack!!!”

Boom-! Kaboom-!

Countless shots exploding.

A dazzling light show decorating the cosmic space.

Powerful magic firing from all directions.

Finally, a massive meteor flew from behind and crashed into a ship.

Boom-!

I didn’t even need to look back to know.

That magic was from Helena.

Caught in a crossfire from both sides, the faction was beginning to get pushed back without any resistance.

Eventually, they turned to flee.

I shouted at them.

“Get them all! If we let them go now, they could come back later to interfere!”

Not a single one can escape.

I rushed around inside the ship, busy issuing orders.

“Captain!!!”

In that moment, a voice filled with shock reached my ears.

Wondering what was going on, I turned my head to see Snow Mage pale, pointing upward.

Following her gesture, I turned my gaze to see a massive body.

The sleek black ship was charging toward us with a giant lion’s head leading the way.

“What the…?”

Judging by its size and appearance, that must be the Level 15 ship, the Black Lion.

But why on earth was it suddenly charging in this direction?

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Just after I screamed a warning akin to a shriek.

The giant head of the Black Lion crashed into the body of Deathwing.

Boom-! Kaboom-!

With a tremendous impact, the ship’s body shook.

I stared in shock at the debris flying apart.

Giant bones of the dragon shot out into the cosmos.

How much would it cost to repair?

“Yaaah!”

The moment my vision turned white.

I sprinted toward the Black Lion, demon sword drawn.