Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 303

“Spread out and take your positions!”

There wasn’t any time to devise a detailed strategy. After all, ships were still being blown apart by the enormous whale’s attacks at this very moment.

Having lost the main vessel, I had no choice but to board the ship led by Iyap.

Iyap, who had suddenly been demoted to pilot from captain, performed his duties without a single complaint.

“Attack!”

At my shout, countless shells began to rain down.

After a long time of fighting, the Observer of Chaos writhed in agony, its body covered in wounds.

[■■■■-!]

In the midst of this heavy bombardment, the Observer of Chaos started to display bizarre movements.

Its underbelly began to swell, and its fins spread wide.

Paaaah—!

At the moment the Observer of Chaos opened its mouth wide, it unleashed small monsters from within.

They were grotesque creatures resembling deep-sea fish, whales, and rays.

Just as I had expected, it was the summoning of minions.

I drew my Demon Sword and yelled.

“Prepare for battle!”

I had arranged the classes of the users onboard the ship in anticipation of this moment.

I watched as numerous monsters began to fly towards the ship.

As they got closer, I realized their sizes were much larger than I had thought.

“Crazy…”

Each one was far bigger than an average user. They were each big enough to be considered medium monsters.

It was only because the Observer of Chaos was so enormous that they appeared small.

[Kieeeek!]

A long, eel-like creature charged at me.

It was wrapped in lightning, suggesting it possessed electric-type skills.

If I wasn’t careful, I could get paralyzed and beaten up by the monsters.

“Hyah!”

The battle aboard the ship erupted all at once.

Even while fighting, the ships didn’t stop moving.

This was because the Observer of Chaos didn’t cease its attacks even behind the minion summoning pattern.

Amidst the chaotic battle, I suddenly heard a short scream from behind.

“Ah—!”

It was a voice so small that if I didn’t have sharp senses, I wouldn’t have heard it.

The owner of that familiar voice was Helena.

I caught a glimpse of her being dragged out of the ship by fish from all directions.

Helena was doing her best to resist, but her weapon was the problem.

A world-class item that hadn’t had its Ether rating raised.

[Sea God – The One with Ten Arms]

Made of bizarre tentacles, it was a weapon that couldn’t be expected to do proper damage this season.

“Helena!”

Helena expelled a rough flame, but she couldn’t shake off the fish wrapping around her body.

The distance was far. Even at this moment, she was getting farther away.

I had a brief moment of contemplation, but my actions were without hesitation.

I kicked off the ship’s deck and jumped into space.

As soon as my body moved beyond a certain distance from the ship, the gravity that pressed down on me vanished.

In the zero-gravity environment, the only thing I could do was extend forward and swing my sword.

Swoosh!

The Demon Sword, cloaked in dark magic, sliced through the head of a deep-sea anglerfish.

The attack didn’t end there.

I infused rotation into the hand gripping the Demon Sword.

Swoosh!

The trajectory of the sword changed in an instant.

With just two strikes, I shook off all the monsters clinging to Helena.

“Yeo…”

She looked as if she were blaming me for coming out here.

But what could I do? My body had moved before I could think.

I also knew how reckless my actions were.

There was no ship I could summon.

I couldn’t summon a mount to escape either.

I needed to either await someone’s Summon Order or find another means of movement.

I wrapped my arms around Helena’s waist.

Immediately, I surveyed the surroundings.

Not only Helena, but other users were also trapped by monsters and drifting through space.

How could I rescue all those people?

Using a Summon Order was also problematic.

If I used it, all guild members responding to the Summon Order would gather in one location.

That would exceed the maximum passenger limit of the ship in an instant.

It was certain that penalties would be imposed.

“What should I do…”

All I could do was float in space, gripping Helena tightly.

As I drifted through space, I spotted a very familiar girl.

White hair, a high-exposure armor that revealed her armpits.

The large, pristine white wings spread behind her, along with a shining halo.

It was Jupiter.

“What are you doing here…?”

“Eh…?”

An unanticipated and absurd meeting.

Jupiter, who had been floating, looked at me in shock.

“Blood Demon King… You can’t possibly…!”

Could it be that she had been caught by the monsters and dragged out here?

No, this was actually a good thing.

I beamed as I watched Jupiter get closer.

“Good to see you, Jupiter.”

It was a selfish act towards Jupiter, but there was no other way now.

I twisted my body so that my legs pointed toward Jupiter.

“Yeo…?”

“Jupiter, I won’t forget your sacrifice.”

“Sacrifice? What do you mean… Blood Demon King…? Why are your legs pointing at me…?”

I calculated the angle of various debris floating in space.

If I kicked Jupiter from this distance and used the impact to propel myself, I could reach the nearest ship.

Rescuing Jupiter would mean piloting that ship.

“Yap!”

Once I made my decision, I sprang into action.

I aimed a kick at Jupiter’s armor.

No, I intended to kick her.

“What in the world are you doing!!!”

With a sharp scream, Jupiter clung to my leg.

She wrapped her arms around it with a desperate expression.

The cold touch of the armor enveloped my entire leg.

I could feel her soft skin through the gaps.

“Let go of me!”

“No!”

“Just be a stepping stone!”

“No!”

It was useless despite my efforts to shake her off.

Jupiter’s strength stat was about on par with mine.

Jupiter activated a defensive buff as if preparing for an attack.

I could feel her immense willpower not to fall off.

There was no other way. If this continued, everyone would be doomed.

I urgently began typing in the guild chat.

One hand moved rapidly towards the void.

The other arm was holding onto Helena’s waist, so I couldn’t type with that.

“Blood Demon King!!!”

“Yeo!”

As I completed my typing, the screams of the two reached my ears.

Wondering what was happening, I turned my head just in time to see the giant whale opening its mouth wide, approaching me.

“Ah—”

When did it get this close?

Before I could even question it, my vision darkened.

Moments later, my body fell somewhere.

With a small impact, I rolled across the ground.

“Ugh…”

“Hyah…”

Unlike before, I felt gravity.

I had entered a space where gravity existed.

I got up and looked around.

It was dark, but I could make out the shapes of the surroundings.

A space colored in reds and pinks.

It looked as if I was inside some kind of creature’s body.

“Ugh…”

And it was sticky.

I grimaced as I shook off Jupiter, who was still clinging to my leg.

Was it from rolling on the ground when I arrived? My body was covered in a slimy mucus.

Jupiter and Helena were in a similar predicament.

“It’s, it’s sticky…!”

Jupiter tumbled across the ground once more and jumped to her feet, shouting.

The translucent liquid dripping from her body made her angel wings look shabby.

“Is this…?”

“It feels like the inside of the Observer of Chaos’s stomach…?”

Indeed.

We had ended up inside that gigantic whale’s belly.

Who would have thought there was a separate map implemented inside its stomach?

This meant that to raid the Observer of Chaos, we had to enter its belly.

What a ridiculous strategy.

I sighed and glanced at Helena.

“Ugh…”

The sticky fluid covering her body was making her grimace.

The red robe enveloping her figure was also soaked and clinging closely to her.

I swallowed hard at the sight.

The tightly clinging robe was revealing the contours of Helena’s chest and hips.

I quickly shook my head.

There was no time to admire such a sight. There was probably an ongoing battle outside even now.

I pulled out the Summon Order from my inventory and raised it high.

Even as the sticky liquid slid down my arm, tickling my armpit, my posture remained firm.

“Owner!”

Paaah—!

As I used the Summon Order, a short flash erupted, and a message appeared before me.

[Strange magic is obstructing the use of the Summon Order.]

“Ha…”

So they don’t want me using a loophole, huh?

Furrowing my brows, I composed a guild chat and a union chat message.

Union – [There’s a strange map inside the belly of the Observer of Chaos. If anyone has lost medium or large ships, please enter through its mouth using a small ship.]

Snow Mage – [Blood Demon King!!! What’s the environment like inside!!!]

Union – [Very slimy, humid, and unpleasant.]

Snow Mage – [Wow!!!!]

Having relayed the important information, I moved on.

“I suppose we have to go inside first.”

I said while holding onto Helena’s hand.

Jupiter and Helena seemed to share the same thought and nodded.

Everything was sticky because of the fluid enveloping us.

The hand holding Helena’s was no exception.

As Helena’s fingers began to move slightly, a squelching sound echoed loudly.

Squeak—

Suddenly, a strange stillness descended.

Even Jupiter looked at Helena and me with a peculiar expression.

“Ah…”

This feels somewhat strange.

I quickly let go of the hand.

Helena, too, seemed to feel something odd, staring down at her hand silently.

“Ahem…”

Clearing her throat, she turned her body.

The atmosphere became a bit awkward, but we couldn’t stop walking.

After a while, we arrived at a very peculiar place.

The vast open area didn’t seem much different from before, but the wave-like undulation above posed a problem.

“Egg…”

That’s right.

What was inside here were eggs.

Eggs that seemed like they were about to hatch at any moment, wriggling around.

It turned out that all those deep-sea fish were being created here.

“I feel a sinister energy…!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Jupiter pulled out her Holy Sword.

She charged toward the enormous egg before I could say anything.

“Hyahraahhhh!”

With a peculiar battle cry, she swung the white flash.

As Jupiter’s Holy Sword struck the massive egg, a small explosion erupted, sending the sticky liquid splattering everywhere.

“Ugh!!!”

Soaking in that liquid, Jupiter stepped back, screeching.

I wiped my cheek where the liquid had splattered.

It was an even stickier, high-viscosity fluid.

Jupiter, drenched in the liquid, was making a face that looked close to tears.

Who on earth planned this raid?

I couldn’t help but want to see their face.

I sighed again as I swiped off the sticky liquid.