Season 2: Chapter 121. Distraction Influence (3)
The ten workers were defenseless against Almond.
"How did this happen!?"
OrangeKing couldn't comprehend it. He understood the confusion caused by the curve shot, but this seemed unusual since the enemy commander would know where the arrow came from.
Kimchi Warrior explained, "BornToB has almost complete visibility in his own territory, meaning he can continuously provide accurate pings for Almond. AK47 doesn’t have such visibility!"
"Oh! Because buildings provide commanders with visibility! Almond gets information from BornToB! AK47 can’t see as well, so even the enemy commander can’t properly find Almond’s location?!"
"Exactly."
The explanation concluded.
"The massacre begins now!"
Almond started rapid firing.
Thwack!
Workers dropped like dominoes.
"Almond is smiling! He's laughing! It's madness!"
— LOL
— He's grinning from ear to ear
— Why is he so excited? LOL
Almond kept firing with fierce determination.
"Almond fires away! It’s a crazy arrow party! He’s continuously firing! Workers are dying all at once and AK47 still can’t find him! You need to look quickly!"
Around seven to eight seconds later, AK47 belatedly issued an order to retreat. However...
"What is this!? All the workers...! They’re all dead!"
An arrow struck the back of a fleeing worker's head. The rest had already died.
"Ten workers have died! This is huge!"
Kimchi Warrior nodded and explained, "One worker is worth almost forty gold right now. Almond conducted a solid counterattack!"
"The spearmen who went in a weird direction earlier are desperately returning to Almond! They've realized now!"
As OrangeKing said, five spearmen frantically rushed back.
"They’re pointing at Almond and cursing furiously!"
Almond didn't flee despite being pursued by five enemies. Instead, he stood in front of them and drew his bow.
"Almond? Are you taking them head-on?"
They were rushing at Almond, but suddenly turned in a different direction. Almond also ran in the direction they fled in.
[Wooden Defense Tower]
Almond chased them as they ran to the defense tower. Five men were fleeing from one.
"It’s a one vs. five situation and the one is chasing the five?!"
— What's happening?
— LOL
— They rushed in as if to kill and then what?
— ??
The situation looked comical with one person oddly chasing five.
Almond's bowstring rang out.
Twang!
An arrow flew and successfully pierced a soldier’s head.
Thump.
"One spearman out! Only four left! They’ve split into two groups and entered the defense tower! Almond suddenly has nothing to do! What’s going on!?"
The five spearmen fled even though they could easily take down a regular archer. What kind of decision was that?
Kimchi Warrior knew why.
'Because Almond isn’t just a regular archer.'
The enemy commander knew Almond already, but couldn't outright say he was stream sniping. He had to slightly rephrase his words to his soldiers.
"Apparently, commanders in Civil Empire always observe the combat power of enemy mercenaries to respond accordingly. It seems that Almond is a highly valued target."
"Oh, is that so?"
Kimchi Warrior nodded and continued explaining, "Yes. Anyone can see that Almond isn’t just any archer. That's why AK47 chose the safer path. They just want to restrict resources here and upgrade their own camp to move into the mid game."
OrangeKing found the explanation satisfactory.
"Really! That makes sense!"
— LOL
— Anyone can see he’s not just any normal archer LOL
— It just seems like stream sniping though... hmm...
Some viewers grew suspicious of stream sniping. However, the game moved quickly and the topic soon shifted.
"Anyway, AK47 is starting to upgrade the internal management of his base! He's starting to move into the second era and aiming for a longer game."
"Yes. He's just tying up the opponent's resources while beefing up his own and aiming for a mid game confrontation. Since AK47 lost ten workers, it might not go as smoothly as he planned."
"Oh, right! But BornToB is still mining gold at the 1 o'clock mine. Isn't this a close match?"
AK47 lost ten workers and BornToB had to mine gold at a distant mine.
"Uh, it's more like seventy to thirty in favor of AK47."
Kimchi Warrior still gauged that AK47 had a significant advantage.
"Really? He has that much of an advantage? I thought it was more like sixty to forty! BornToB has found a new resource line now!"
"Yes, but the enemy has towers positioned like gates to the camp. Even scouting will be difficult."
This was a tactical and geographical problem. It wasn't just resources and the number of soldiers that mattered in this game. The ease of advancing, formations during combat, and other complex variables also determined the game.
"Ah... Is that also important?"
OrangeKing was surprised, but the disadvantages for BornToB didn't end there.
"Resources aren't infinite. If the gold mine that BornToB is currently mining runs out, he will have no other options left."
Gold mines weren’t infinite and would eventually run out.
"Ah...! So BornToB has to make a move with just five hundred gold?"
"Yes. That's right. AK47 knows this, so he has a psychological advantage. AK47 also has a lot more soldiers. He might even attack the gold mine at 1 o'clock right away."
AK47 kept producing spearmen and reached a total of twelve spearmen, not counting the four trapped in the tower.
"Uh? As you speak, an enemy squad is moving! They’re circling BornToB's camp toward 1 o'clock!!"
The enemy squad began to move, circling the area at 1 o'clock where BornToB was mining gold.
"Ah...! They’re going toward the gold mine! Won’t they discover it at this rate!?"
"Fortunately, a forest is blocking the way. They won't be able to move too quickly, but BornToB needs to build more houses!"
"That's right! He has no population! Currently, his only soldier is Almond!"
A population referred to the total number of mercenaries a commander could employ. The maximum was two hundred and it started at a cap of ten. Building houses could continually increase this cap by eight until it reached the maximum.
The enemy had burnt down all of BornToB's houses.
Ping!
[Population Limit!]
This message would pop up if a commander tried to hire mercenaries without enough houses. BornToB kept forgetting and hadn't even attempted to hire mercenaries yet. If he ever tried, this warning message would remind him to quickly build more houses.
Waiting for the warning would cause significant delays. It was always better to build them in advance. Each of these little things could make a big difference later on.
The viewers grew frustrated.
— Ah, this is so frustrating
— Born2Lose... is craving a beatdown
— The population limit is crazy
— So is Almond supposed to fight alone? LOL
OrangeKing intervened as the comments grew more intense.
"Guys, guys. It's easy to forget things in Civil Empire. Let's not be too hard on each other."
— Eh
— Ok
— LOL, let's not say anything more
— Annoying backseat gamers
Once the chat calmed down, OrangeKing continued the commentary.
"Ah, meanwhile! The spearmen squad is moving closer toward BornToB's precious gold mine! It seems BornToB has noticed."
AK47's spearmen squad gradually closed in on the gold mine.
Kimchi Warrior urged BornToB, "BornToB, you need to place Almond near the gold mine quickly."
"That's right! It could be a different story if Almond blocks them in the forest."
He believed that placing Almond in the forest would significantly trouble the enemies, but...
"Yes, it's easier to fight one against many in the forest. If Almond waits for them in the forest, the odds might... Huh?"
Kimchi Warrior paused, seemingly surprised.
"Is this Almond's decision?"
"What? What's going on?"
OrangeKing looked closer at the screen in surprise.
"!"
His eyes widened.
Almond wasn't heading to protect the 1 o'clock gold mine at all. Instead, he ran toward 7 o'clock in the direction of the enemy's defensive towers.
In other words, he ran in the complete opposite direction.
"Almond is running toward the 7 o'clock towers? What's going on!?"
Another strange phenomenon occurred.
"Wait? Even BornToB is evacuating his workers to the 7 o'clock side! He's abandoning the 1 o'clock gold mine!"
Their workers also started marching toward the 7 o'clock gold mine.
"Mr. Kimchi! What's happening?"
"It seems like they're trying to reclaim the 7 o'clock gold mine."
"But there are still towers there! Am I seeing an illusion or something? There are definitely towers there! And at least two enemy soldiers inside them each!"
The 7 o'clock gold mine still had two fully standing defensive towers nearby. How could they reclaim it? Regardless, Almond kept running toward the towers and BornToB's workers kept marching about a kilometer behind him.
"What are they planning to do!? Seriously!"
— ???
— What's happening?
— Did they lose their minds? LOL
— A blind rush?
— A declaration of surrender???
The viewers couldn't think of any other explanation for BornToB and Almond's actions except that they had simultaneously lost their minds.
Just then, Almond stepped into the range of the towers.
"Almond is really entering the towers’ range! What is he doing?"
The towers, as if waiting for this moment, started shooting arrows.
Phew! Phew!
[Tower]
[2/5]
Two spearmen were inside the tower, so the attack speed was quite fast.
Of course, Almond naturally dodged the arrows.
"He dodged the arrows! But what next?"
He couldn't be doing this just to show off his arrow dodging skills. An archer couldn’t destroy a tower. What exactly was he trying to do?
Almond shockingly aimed his bow at the tower. He stood upright, drew his bow, and looked like he had already claimed victory.
Kimchi Warrior speculated, "Is he trying to hit someone inside?"
"What!? But that tower is like the height of a five story building!?"
The tower stood as tall as a five story apartment building.
For an archer, height made a crucial difference. Hitting something high up was more challenging than hitting something far away.
"Plus, he'd have to squeeze an arrow through the hole from where the enemy shoots..."
It was a steep uphill challenge. The opening, from Almond's perspective, looked like the eye of a needle.
"Is it possible!?"
"I, I'm not sure!"
OrangeKing and Kimchi Warrior doubted the success rate.
Almond fired his arrow.
Whizz!
The arrow soared high and cut through the wind.
Then...
Thump!
It pierced deep into the enemy’s collarbone.
"It, it hit?!"
The arrow shattered through cartilage and burrowed into the enemy’s heart.
Creak!
"It's...!"
Kimchi Warrior's eyes widened. Almond had used a screw nail arrow known for its penetrative power.
[Tower]
[1/5]
One soldier inside the tower suddenly died.
OrangeKing abruptly stood up.
"He got him! From such a distance! Almond took down a soldier inside the tower with one shot!!"
— Wow, WTF
— That was...?
— Wow
— One shot??
— Insane
OrangeKing shrugged his shoulders.
"As expected of Almond!"
Out of nowhere, OrangeKing put on a propeller hat he recently purchased in This World.
Whirrr!
He twirled the propeller and shouted in celebration, "Hey! BornToB! Almond! There’s no problem with heights! Raynamu Helicopter!!!"
— LOL, what the hell
— Ahahaha
— Raynamu Helicopter LOL
— When did he prepare that? That’s insane LOL