Genius Chapter 119: Who is the Commander?

Chapter 119: Who is the Commander?

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

“Are they kidding?” ScarletFruit couldn’t believe it.

Old Banana replied, “Everyone said it’s true. My deputy leader told me. How about I start a broadcast for you to listen?”

ReturnToSimplicity was positioned as the leader of the first team where major guild management was located, but he would switch to the coordination channel when commanding. Not everyone could access the coordination channel; it was populated by current leaders of elite teams and some top players. ScarletFruit had just joined the team and managed to get into the Fruit Gang’s group, which was not easy, let alone squeezing into the coordination channel crowded with big shots.

Old Banana was one of the elite team leaders of the Fruit Gang and had the privilege to access the coordination channel. At this moment, he was listening to the commands given by Momo, who was using the ReturnToSimplicity account, and simultaneously broadcasting the instructions in real-time for his own team’s coordination.

As soon as the broadcast started, the entire team heard the voice of ReturnToSimplicity in the coordination channel.

The coordination channel had two types of relay instructions. One allowed the team leader within the coordination channel to relay commands directly to the entire team, enabling everyone to hear the voice of the overall commander in the coordination channel. The other type was where the leader did not open the relay directly but adjusted and redistributed the commands received to their own team members after receiving them, to prevent commands from different channels from getting mixed up and causing errors.

The voice of ‘ReturnToSimplicity’ was completely different from Momo’s voice—a calm young adult tone versus a teenage voice. ScarletFruit and the others had been coordinating with Momo for such a long time; if they couldn’t recognize Momo’s command style, then that would be strange. Upon hearing the tone and style of ‘ReturnToSimplicity,’ ScarletFruit was more than 80% sure that the person behind this alias was definitely his elder brother who had logged in with another account.

Old Banana remarked, “Right?”

ClearWind added, “It sounds like it… the callouts, the skill timings—I heard them not long ago.”

ZenSlasher noted, “Momo likes to use abbreviations for skills.”

Apple commented, “He also likes to call out specific guilds and teams now.”

ScarletFruit nodded with a sense of sadness, “It can’t be wrong.”

Old Banana stopped the broadcast after they finished listening, saying, “We’ll talk more later; let’s take down the boss first.”

He listened to the coordination channel and quickly said, “Team 1, get ready to shield. Teams 2 and 3, healers, be ready—ultimate skill is coming.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the boss indeed started using its ultimate skill. The few who were targeted immediately activated their skills, successfully defusing the crisis of the ultimate skill.

“Well done,” Old Banana listened to the coordination channel and continued to relay, “Next up are minor skills, watch your health.”

Originally, they relayed through the coordination channel, but since momo took over command, they adjusted to receiving and redistributing orders. Each team’s internal skill coordination was different, something only the team leaders knew best. Using the coordination channel directly was prone to chaos, but this layered relay system had its time limitations, especially against a Global Boss like this where delays in command were common in past experiences.

Interestingly, Momo seemed to anticipate such situations. He always gave the team leaders a 3-4 second advance notice, predicting possible moves or sequences of moves. These few seconds were crucial, allowing elite leaders familiar with their team configurations to allocate professions and skills accordingly for seamless transitions.

Especially in this situation where various guilds were mixed together, no one from the opposing guilds would yield to each other. Besides the ocean team, if the land team had to reform, it might lead to internal chaos. Therefore, it was best for each guild to rely on their own elite teams. What’s even more strange is… up to now, aside from occasional unexpected situations, all guilds have had no major issues. On one hand, it was due to the high operational standards of the elite teams themselves, and on the other hand, it was the hidden competition brewing among them.

Momo seemed to accurately grasp the lifeline of each guild. With just a few words, he ignited the competitive spirit of the passionate players.

“Make a mistake? That’s impossible! Seeing others make mistakes is just as good? Whoever makes the first mistake is the loser!”

A group of shrewd team leaders were subtly competing against each other.

By 9 AM in the morning, the Global Boss’s health had already dropped to 20%.

A series of major skills followed one after another. Despite the early warnings from the command, a few people still underestimated the damage. In one wave, several positions surprisingly had casualties.

Su Mo frowned slightly and didn’t mince words as he pointed out, “Zenith Expanse Team 3, Falling Blossoms Team 1, Freedom Team 2, move quickly to rescue and revive, then return to the crowd and recover mana.”

“Increase the healing output, keep two major healers on standby. Adjust the team early if healing is insufficient. Deaths will increase the difficulty of our attack. We aim for stability, not death,” Su Mo continued, moving on to the next instruction. “Watch out at 18% health, prepare two shields and two heals for two skills. Leaders, allocate in advance.”

The named team leaders promptly responded. For a moment, other leaders in the channel couldn’t help but look over. Being called out by the command was too obvious; everyone in the channel heard which guild had made the mistake.

The Lord of the Deep Sea was not an ordinary boss. After the preliminary tasks in the mission scene, its attack power had noticeably increased. In the past, Celestial Horizon’s Global Boss could be defeated in just over two hours. Now, with increased difficulty and rich rewards, as long as the strategy was clear and the boss didn’t go berserk, finishing it faster was entirely feasible.

Everyone wanted to finish quickly and claim their rewards. Making mistakes in this situation would only cause trouble for others, wouldn’t it?

After the 20% mark, most of the leaders became increasingly cautious. Similarly, they felt the sudden increase in pressure. Once the boss dropped below 20% health, it seemed to enter a new phase. The unexpectedly large amount of damage inflicted required every leader to adjust their healing positions to ensure the group’s survival.

Leaders hurriedly made adjustments within their own teams. The tense atmosphere spread along the East Sea beach. More and more players logged on, gathering at the East Sea, where the risk of death gradually increased.

“This is really tough.”

“Stop assisting with heals, go full throttle on healing.”

“Priority is to protect the squishies.”

“The front line has no room to retreat, find your own spot to hide.”

“Wow, Team 1’s single healer is completely overwhelmed.”

“Teams 1 and 2, get closer and benefit from the healer’s group healing.”

Su Mo monitored the health drop closely. “12% health, pay attention. After dropping below 10%, healing pressure doubles. Array masters rotate shields, warriors switch forms to protect, healers focus on maximum healing. Each group maintains 5-10 DPS for full output, others provide support. Aim for stability, not death.”

Other leaders in the Unified Command Channel were somewhat surprised by this command. A full group with 50 people, subtracting 10-12 healers and 8-10 array masters, left around 25 DPS. Should they really maintain such high DPS output? Wasn’t this a bit exaggerated?

“Focus solely on support?”

“Isn’t this a bit exaggerated?”

“Let’s follow the command first, adjust the teams, and see how it goes below 10%.”

“Adjust teams, prioritize main DPS in the first three groups, focus healing on them.”

“I won’t adjust. Our healing is strong; it should be fine.”

At 10%, the boss entered a new phase unexpectedly, where 4-5 skills activated simultaneously outside the usual 2% or 5% thresholds. They thought the healing pressure doubled due to the increased power of the boss’s skills, but they didn’t expect this level of intensity.

Boss’s knockbacks, AoE red circles, small monsters, ink pools, lashes… almost everything hit around the 10% mark. Prepared teams immediately started defensive measures, but unprepared ones were caught off guard. This terrifying scene led to a massive wave of deaths on the beach.

Previously, dealing with 2-3 boss skills simultaneously was troublesome enough. Now, facing 4-5, teams without proper preparation easily faced wipeouts.

Su Mo frowned as he observed the situation. The patterns on the boss’s body grew brighter, indicating that typically, after dropping below 10%, the boss’s attacks should double while its defenses decrease. However, due to the significant casualties, the boss’s defense not only did not decrease but seemed to have increased.

“Living healers, revive the fallen healers around you. All other DPS, come to the resurrection points, don’t revive in place,” Su Mo immediately adjusted. “Team leaders, change your team configurations. If you want to finish this, listen carefully. Protect the main force, everyone else focus on support.”

Now, the teams that had previously harbored illusions about their healing capabilities dared not boast anymore. They obediently followed the commander’s orders. Their earlier assumptions were too idealistic. When all the skills were activated, even with powerful healing, they had to wait for skill cooldowns. One or two seconds might seem short, but in critical moments, teammates could end up lying on the ground.

The dead were rushed to the resurrection points, while the living protected their surviving DPS.

After 10%, it was high-energy all the way. The boss’s skills appeared randomly without any pattern, except for the two ultimate skills based on fixed percentages. The marine teams died and were revived repeatedly, while the land teams died and were carried to the resurrection points. The relentless efforts led to the boss’s health declining slowly. It felt like they were enduring a calamity throughout the battle, barely able to catch their breath. They even hoped the boss would reach the next percentage of health soon, just to have a brief respite when the ultimate skills appeared.

At that moment, the small mobs with doubled damage descended into the crowd.

ScarletFruit was almost unable to keep up with the healing. Seeing assassins in the team dying out, and ZenSlasher had gone out to pull mobs but hadn’t returned yet, ScarletFruit thought they were about to face the miserable situation of lying on the ground. Just then, he suddenly saw a barrage of arrows raining down from the sky. A marksman descended like a god, sweeping attacks that nearly cleared all the small mobs around them. The powerful attacks immediately drew the aggro away from the small mobs.

It was like a scene from the most common novels where a deity descended. ScarletFruit couldn’t think of any other way to describe it. When he saw that ID, his mind went blank, and out of habit, he instinctively buffed the marksman with a slew of buffs, unable to hold back shouting, “Bro!! I love you!! You’re like a brother to me!!”

The marksman ahead heard the voice and paused for a moment, turning his head to glance at ScarletFruit’s position. Utilizing the various buffs stacked on him by “LuckyScarletFruit,” he drew his bow to release a rain of arrows, using his high attack power to instantly draw aggro from nearly seven stacks of small mobs around them, thus relieving the pressure on the nearby players in one fell swoop.

This scene was truly spectacular. All the surrounding small mobs were fixated on the marksman. In the blink of an eye, he systematically pulled them out of the crowd, following the reserved empty spaces, and led them away from the main combat area towards the rocky shore.

But it didn’t end there. He continued kiting the small mobs towards the rocks by the seaside, all the while maintaining ranged attacks on the boss. “ReturnToSimplicity” was a top-tier marksman ID, with exceptionally high attack power and incredibly fast movement speed. Moreover, most of the marksman’s skills didn’t require channeling, which was a perfect fit for Su Mo, allowing him to continue dealing damage while on the move.

The terrain of the rocky beach undulated, and as the small mobs approached Vicinity, they had to climb and move along the rocky terrain. Su Mo leaped and used the terrain to create distance, steadfastly bearing the brunt of the small mobs while intensively dealing damage.

“Don’t stand still if you’ve been resurrected,” Su Mo shouted after pulling a wave of mobs, quickly jumping back into the fray. “We’re down to 3%. Use all your burst abilities now and push through to the end.”

As the boss’s health dwindled, its attacks intensified and its defenses weakened.

At 3%, the boss’s attacks reached their peak. Everyone faced unprecedented pressure but, under the coordinated commands of the leader and officers, unleashed their burst abilities while maintaining protection, fighting with all their might. They watched as the boss’s health slowly ticked down: 3%, 2.95%, 2.63%, 1.26%, 0.65%…

In the command channel, only the voice of ‘ReturnToSimplicity’ remained calm and orderly, reporting positions and skills promptly like a precise machine, providing all the guild leaders with the most advantageous information. Outside the command channel, other guild leaders were shouting hysterically, turning their shouts into motivation for output, as if one less shout meant one second less of damage dealt.

Some leaders lay on the ground, others rushed to resurrection points, all the while still rallying their guilds.

“Charge! I’ll tank for you upfront, let’s kill this giant octopus!”

“Physical swordsman, did you skip breakfast? I’ll shield you for maximum damage output!”

“I didn’t eat! I came here on an empty stomach!”

“Shield’s up!! Push it!!”

“Leader, you’re dead! Why aren’t you using shields?!”

“It’s down!!! It’s down!!!”

Amidst the chaos, the attacks of the Global Boss, Lord of the Deep Sea, suddenly ceased. The colossal creature collapsed with a resounding crash, its malevolent tentacles freezing in place. A gleaming golden server-wide announcement appeared before everyone.

[Server-wide Announcement] On the shores of the Eastern Sea, united efforts have led to the successful defeat of the Global Boss, Lord of the Deep Sea (★★★★★★). This accomplishment unlocks the achievement [Lord of the Deep Sea·First Victory], and participating players receive the [Basic Conquest Reward].

[Now entering the server-wide conquest ranking evaluation. Based on evaluation grades [S-A-B-C-D], players will receive the [Lord of the Deep Sea·Conquest Commendation Gift Box] according to their rank, marking their first conquest.

[As this is the first conquest, first-time loot includes the First Conquest Gift. Random loot chests will drop in subsequent conquests, with each containing 10 chests ranging in grade from [★★★★—★★★★★]].

[The [Global Boss Conquest Gameplay] mechanism is now active, introducing a new conquest gameplay statistics leaderboard: [Server Conquest Leaderboard], [Sect Conquest Leaderboard], and [School Conquest Leaderboard]. Currently featured boss: [Conquest·Lord of the Deep Sea], permanent area: [Eastern Sea], with random challenge difficulties ranging from [★★★—★★★★★]. The database has been updated.]

[Other Global Bosses will be randomly activated through quest gameplay. Best wishes to all.]

With the death of the Global Boss, a deluge of experience rained down. Su Mo scanned through two chests in the package, one Basic Chest and one S-class Chest. Participating players received basic rewards, while deeply involved players earned ratings and subsequently different rating chests. Overall, the Global Boss Conquest gameplay was challenging but rich and fair in rewards, likely to become a popular permanent feature.

“Even though we’ve finished, I still have to swear, damn you, main brain!!” 

“Every time they make it so difficult, do they really think we players can’t handle it?” 

“If you dare to add two more, increase the rewards, I can still fight!” 

“Fight for three days and nights, I’m not afraid of you!” 

“That was so exhilarating, I got an A-class chest.”

Channels were filled with cheers from players. Su Mo stood on the reef, enjoying the lively atmosphere of server-wide celebration. Suddenly, he felt a unique sense of novelty, different from the usual feeling of clearing dungeons. Fighting the first boss with so many players didn’t feel difficult or annoying to him. Instead, he felt a sense of joy in being part of their happiness.

He couldn’t quite put it into words, but he was genuinely happy.

“Big bro! Come down!!” ScarletFruit’s voice echoed in the Vicinity channel as he climbed up the rocks. “Big bro!!!”

Su Mo caught a glimpse of the ID below, and ScarletFruit’s name was familiar to him. He hadn’t seen the others much, but it wasn’t hard to guess they were ClearWind’s alt accounts. He closed the noisy command channel, and suddenly, it was quiet. He activated the Vicinity voice chat and asked, “How much did you get in rewards?”

“Is that a question about rewards?” ScarletFruit couldn’t help shouting, “You told me last time that you weren’t familiar with ReturnToSimplicity! Yet you have his login authorization. How many more secrets are you hiding? Can’t you just tell us and share the burden?”

Su Mo recalled, “Did I ever say I wasn’t familiar with him?”

ScarletFruit was speechless.

Did he say it, or didn’t he? But was that the point?!

ClearWind’s gossip-loving soul was ablaze with curiosity. It was bursting out of him, “Bro, satisfy our curiosity! What exactly is your relationship?”

Seeing that they were all too curious, Su Mo thought for a moment and replied tactfully, “He’s my neighbor?”

ClearWind: “???”

ScarletFruit: “!!!”

Even Apple, who had come over to watch the commotion, was stunned, “Holy crap!”

This was unheard of! Such a big scoop!

Yu Zhen happened to approach just as Su Mo said this. He paused briefly upon hearing it, then looked ahead at the figure sitting on the rocks with his back to him, unable to hide his smile.

“Hey? Where did the commander go?” 

“Did the big boss log off? Why isn’t he saying anything?” 

“The big boss is amazing!!! So impressive!!!” 

“Thanks to ReturnToSimplicity, we owe this victory to your command.” 

Up ahead, a group of people were still lively chatting. Yu Zhen heard various leaders inquiring about ReturnToSimplicity. He continued, “ReturnToSimplicity’s account used for the counterattack wasn’t actually him.”

Those who were informed already knew, but those who weren’t were completely puzzled. If it wasn’t ReturnToSimplicity, then who was it??? Someone else was capable of commanding such a large-scale battle in the game?

Setting aside dungeon commanders, there were only a few capable of leading large-scale battles like this. CloudTraveller, BrokenOracle, and others were all in this guild. Who else could it be?

“Damn, who was it then? This commander is unbelievable!” 

“Could it be a dungeon commander? There are too many people involved. Seems like those who are close to ReturnToSimplicity are all here.” 

“Yeah, I thought it was ReturnToSimplicity too.”

“He speaks softly, but somehow there’s such a strong sense of oppression.” 

“Yeah, several times I didn’t realize what was happening until after a round, then suddenly I understood, oh, we’re supposed to dodge this!”

“Master, who’s playing ReturnToSimplicity’s account?” The sea was calm and the sun was shining brightly. The sea breeze gently blew, tousling the slightly messy hair of a young man. In the channel, voices of questioning rose and fell. Yu Zhen looked at the people ahead, turning slightly against the wind and sunlight.

Su Mo turned around and noticed an array master approaching behind him, suddenly feeling nervous. The other seemed to notice his gaze, nodding slightly in acknowledgment. Lips slightly parted, it seemed like they said something.

“Brother?” Su Mo couldn’t hear the voice and couldn’t help but glance over, a curiosity he had never felt before surged in his heart. When did Zhen come over? What did he say?

Yu Zhen said, “You know each other. Summoner Momo.”

Author’s note: 

ScarletFruit: Childhood friends… this is bad.

ClearWind: Calm down, Fruit. Childhood friends are unstoppable!!!

Apple: Oh my god, this is unreal.