Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 44

“Ha, what should we do? Should we just call it quits?”

“Hold on…”

I racked my brain while listening to the party members’ chatter. If there were a bug that made the raid impossible, it should definitely be stuck in my memory.

But no matter how hard I tried to recall, I couldn’t find any mention of bugs with the Divine Blessing of the Sun.

Of course, my brain isn’t a computer, so I can’t summon every old memory, but at least the bigger issues should have stuck with me.

“What if there’s a problem with the Divine Blessing of the Sun?”

In that moment, I glanced up at Helena, who had been staring blankly.

Other party members also began to look her way.

“This raid is related to the Sun God, so maybe it’s intended? Like, telling us not to use the Divine Blessing…”

“That’s a pretty plausible theory.”

The others nodded along with Helena’s words.

But I couldn’t believe it. No, it’d be more accurate to say I didn’t want to believe it.

In the other world’s Deron, there wasn’t such a design.

This season’s raid was supposed to be an exceptionally easy dungeon where we’d drink the Divine Blessing and smash through it!

But I couldn’t just deny Helena’s words outright. This was a different world. There was a chance that the patch hadn’t been applied as I remembered.

Even if I wanted to deny it, there was undeniable evidence plastered all over Deron’s official site.

The event preparing for the global server was one that didn’t exist in the other world’s Deron.

“Then, let’s start without using the Divine Blessing.”

I checked the party members for any signs of Divine Blessing doping. I also instinctively stopped myself from pouring the Divine Blessing potion into my mouth.

“Shall we enter?”

“Yes.”

As Dogrik, our main tank, cautiously approached with his massive shield, the giant dragon’s head slowly began to rise.

And then, it showcased a different pattern than before.

[Is life that cheap? I still can’t comprehend human thought.]

Grrr—

The massive body of Sunforce slowly began to move, letting out a huge roar into the air.

[Kraaaak!]

Indeed, the pattern had changed.

It was the moment when the conviction I held deep inside was shattered to pieces.

“Party Leader!”

At the urgent call of my name, I turned my head.

Most of the other party members were looking at me.

As if they wanted me to give orders.

At that moment, an explosive sound echoed.

Sunforce’s enormous tail slammed heavily against the ground.

A familiar sight—the tail smack pattern. An attack meant to scatter the melee dealers clinging to it.

What was I just zoning out for? The raid had already begun.

I bit my lip and leaped to the side of Sunforce.

As my body soared high into the air and collided with the ground, my colossal greatsword crushed into Sunforce’s scales.

Ka-bang!

“Everyone, focus on the patterns! Melee dealers! Stay away from the tail line and hit the sides!”

While issuing minor orders to the party members, my gaze swept over the endlessly massive body of the dragon.

Front paw swipes, heavy drops, massive jaws chomping down.

Patterns that were lodged into my memory rained down toward the tank.

At that moment, a red circle appeared beneath me.

It was a curse pattern falling from the sky. If hit, it would block health recovery for a certain time—an unremovable forced pattern even by a healer’s purification skill.

I had to avoid it.

Ranged dealers could take a few hits, but if the tank were to get hit, we’d be in big trouble.

“Watch out for the circle beneath you!”

I yelled to the party members and dodged to the side, just as black lightning crashed down where I had been standing.

Zzap!

There were some who didn’t manage to dodge, but most were able to escape.

“Heal! Heal! Nothing’s going through!”

I turned my head towards the panicked voice.

The healers pouring heals on the main tank were looking at Dogrik with desperation in their eyes.

Black currents were coursing through Dogrik’s body; it seemed he hadn’t managed to dodge that pattern.

“Oh no!”

No matter how much of a tank role one chose, if they couldn’t get healed, they wouldn’t last long.

As Dogrik’s health began to drop rapidly, I shouted to the sub tank who was waiting by the side.

“Tank transfer! Hold him until the main tank’s debuff wears off!”

The debuff duration was 20 seconds, an incredibly long time.

Dogrik was in a precarious situation, on the brink of death, as he exchanged places with the sub tank and slipped away to the side.

Five seconds had passed since the curse pattern appeared.

I started counting time in my head. As far as I remembered, the pattern would keep dropping at 10-second intervals.

And as another 5 seconds ticked by, just as I recalled, a red circle was back beneath me again.

“Cursed pattern! Everyone, get out of the way!”

The dealers weren’t worried. The most concerning were the sub tank currently engaged with Sunforce.

He began to push back Sunforce’s front paw with his massive shield, retreating.

Right after that, black lightning fell onto the spot he had just stood.

Zzap!

Time continued to flow. As the next cursed black lightning fell, Dogrik, free from the debuff, dashed forward and took the aggro.

He pounded at Sunforce’s body with his gigantic greatsword, keeping his eyes roaming endlessly.

I was anxious, hoping no other patterns might pop up that I wasn’t aware of.

Because the crucial doping of the Divine Blessing was missing, Sunforce’s health was decreasing more slowly.

It was the moment when Sunforce’s health hit 80%.

That giant dragon curled its body and began to move its wings, previously using them merely as decoration.

Whoosh—

The colossal flapping of wings caused my body to stumble.

As the powerful wind began to surge all around, Sunforce started to rise into the sky.

The flight pattern was here; when in this state, melee dealers would have nothing to do.

But at that moment, my gaze caught sight of Iyap.

He was using the Knight Walker’s unique mobility skill to climb onto Sunforce’s back, stabbing it repeatedly.

An attack method that couldn’t have happened in the original world.

In that moment, one question flew through my mind.

– Why was I clinging to the old methods?

The Deron there and the Deron here were entirely different games.

We had been banned from using the Divine Blessing, which meant they expected us to tackle it normally without any cheats.

I immediately soared down to use a powerful strike on Sunforce’s massive body.

Kabang!

As I landed atop my rising body, Iyap turned his head while continuing to stab.

“Can you hold on?”

“Well, my reflexes aren’t as good as Yeo’s…”

Whoosh!

Sunforce began to rise with both Iyap and me strapped to its back.

I steadied myself on the wildly bobbing body and shouted down.

“Ranged dealers, keep dealing damage!”

Right now, there was nothing the melee dealers could do.

Unless they climbed onto the back of this enormous dragon, just like Iyap and me.

I couldn’t use Wheel Wind. It forced movement for its duration, which meant I risked falling off Sunforce’s back.

“Yaggh!”

I swung my greatsword wildly while maintaining balance.

Thanks to the Berserker’s powerful attack speed and incredible velocity, Sunforce’s health began to drop rapidly.

“Ugh!”

In that moment, Sunforce spun its body heavily.

I managed to plant my weapon in its back, but Iyap couldn’t keep up.

He began to roll down its slick back.

I reached out desperately, but I couldn’t grasp him.

“Ahhh!”

Iyap didn’t just fall. He pulled out his dagger and scraped his way down Sunforce’s body.

Sizz!

It was the moment just as Iyap fell.

A very faint sound reached my ears. His voice fading away as he screamed.

– The sound of tearing?

In that instant, my gaze scanned over the membrane of Sunforce’s wings.

There, I noticed a minuscule hole had formed, right where Iyap had just been clinging.

I had no certainty. It was merely a gut feeling.

When the pain reached a white-hot intensity, I got back up and began striking at Sunforce’s wings.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As Sunforce’s health began to drop rapidly, it started to summon and drop massive boulders from the air.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The flight pattern was nearing its end.

I yelled downwards.

“Hwarang!”

There was no response. A boy, like my younger self from days long gone, looked up to meet my gaze.

“Attack the wings!”

As he dodged the boulders falling from the sky, Hwarang suddenly stopped moving and aimed his musket upwards.

The end of it was surely directed at the spot where I was attacking the connection of the wings.

Bang!

A bright flash shot forth and struck true. The slightly torn wound widened even more.

Bang! Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat!

In the moment that followed, a series of bullets rained down around that wound.

Sunforce began to rise higher, inhaling deeply. It was a precursor to its breath pattern.

Our damage wasn’t enough to sever its wings.

We needed a far more overwhelming hit.

With the boss’s health now at just over 30%, my gaze fell to Iyap’s cold body lying on the ground below.

He had died from the impact of the fall.

The system for parts destruction that hadn’t existed in the game had now emerged.

And the physical laws that hadn’t applied were also following some of reality’s rules.

What about the monsters, then?

“We have to dodge the breath!”

The party members began to act instinctively at my warning.

The boulders that had fallen went unchanged.

Naturally, they seemed to know exactly how to use these rocks.

[Rage]

Using the buff skill from my necklace, I continued to swing my massive sword.

But it seemed like the boss was still oblivious to me hanging on its back and started to unleash its breath.

Kraaaak!

The blackened breath engulfed the ground below.

To avoid the breath pattern, I had to hide behind the rocks.

Which meant I couldn’t move.

Hadn’t I been dealt an odd hand?

Black lightning dropped upon the party members.

Zzap!

The curse pattern hit them all, preventing healing for 20 seconds.

None escaped.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I swung my sword endlessly.

Scales began to peel off the connection of the wings, exposing flesh and bone beneath.

According to Deron’s setting, dragon bones were sturdier than any metal.

But the weapon I wielded was made from the dragon’s parts as well.

“Yahhh!”

I activated Wheel Wind, which I had refrained from using out of fear.

Since it forced movement, Sunforce’s heavy movements would likely send me tumbling off.

But it was exhaling breath, so it wasn’t moving in the air.

Blood sprayed wide as the body spun rapidly.

Due to the Rage buff enhancing my attack speed, the rotation was remarkably fast.

Kaga-kaga-kaga!

The massive greatsword repeatedly scraped against the wings’ connective point.

How long did this go on? As the spin began to slow down, I felt something give way beneath my fingertips.

It snapped.

The moment Wheel Wind stopped, Sunforce’s massive body began to drop towards the ground.

Next to it, the great wings that had unfurled began to slowly fall as well.

KRAAAK!

As the enormous body plummeted, the ground flipped upside down.

Debris flew everywhere, and the impact reverberated through my body.

But I held on. Thanks to the activation of my immortality skill, my health was fixed at 1 for 3 seconds.

Sunforce hadn’t died yet. With 25% of its health gone, it glared at me with living eyes.

I drew my larger-than-life greatsword back behind me.

Strength began to concentrate in my arms, legs, and waist.

Then, I brought it crashing down.

KRAAAANG!

[Fracture]

With the activation of the Fracture skill, a colossal shockwave slammed into Sunforce’s head.

As the massive head that had slowly risen smashed into the ground, torrents of blood gushed down upon it.

Kragagagaga!

“Haah!”

Just as the duration of my immortality was coming to an end, the light faded from Sunforce’s eyes.