Season 2: Chapter 125: The Named (2)
Indeed, Jancos made a heroic entrance like the main character of a war movie. He appeared at the most critical moment to lead the enemies to victory, but this wasn't a movie and Jancos didn’t say any grand lines.
He killed his next target with no emotions and continued to swing his curved sword mechanically like a robot.
Swoosh!
In the blink of an eye, a head flew through the air and the curved sword swung again.
Swoosh!
An archer right in front of Almond fell.
Then─
“!”
Clang!
Sparks flew from Jacos’ sword as he deflected an arrow from Almond.
'It doesn't work.'
Like the veteran knight that Almond had fought before, ranged attacks didn't work. Attacks with a small surface area like arrows didn’t work on them.
Clang!
Clang!
Jancos didn't even use a shield. He blocked everything with his gauntlets or his sword. He wasn't in a hurry at all.
Despite being attacked by several arrows from Almond, he calmly eliminated the soldiers around him without flustering.
Swoosh!
Another neck flew. Almond had no time to notice each one.
'He’ll attack me next.'
Almond rolled to the side.
Whoosh!
The veteran knight's sword passed where his neck used to be.
Wham!
Almond shot an arrow at the same time.
Shhh─
This time, it sounded different because it was a curve shot. This very steep curve shot was meant to disorient the opponent.
Jancos quickly covered his neck with his gauntlet.
Clang!
He successfully blocked again.
'It seems to work a bit.'
Almond noticed a slight delay in the opponent’s reaction speed. This time, Jancos had blocked a bit slower. There was also a slight panic in his eyes.
“…?”
Sure enough, Jancos stared at Almond intently as they stood in a standoff. It was strange. Anyone could have stabbed Almond from behind or attacked him. However, no one stood between them as if everyone had stepped aside.
Was this because of their so-called aura? In a fight between predators, herbivores didn’t dare to intervene.
Shrrr.
Jancos momentarily rested his curved sword on his shoulder, yet he seemed ready to deflect arrows at any moment. He gestured as if to ask if Almond had any last words and was provoking Almond.
Almond said what could possibly have been his last words like the opponent wanted.
“700,000 won.”
— LOL.
— Ah, that's 700,000 won LOL.
— LOL.
— LMAO.
The opponent didn't even understand. He wouldn’t even with proper translation. Had he understood the context, maybe he would have grown a bit angry.
However, he looked calm and even cracked his neck to stretch.
Crack.
At that moment, Almond shot an arrow.
Wham─
Jancos’ eyes sparkled as if waiting for this. Of course, he was only acting at ease.
Clang!
The arrow broke, but Almond rapidly fired multiple shots.
Wham! Wham! Wham!
He shot three consecutive arrows.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
However, a shield blocked all of them.
'A shield?'
Jancos hadn’t used a shield before. He probably took it out when his hand reached back earlier as he pretended to stretch his neck. The shield seemed to have been attached to the saddle.
Almond chose to distance himself and shot again.
Wham!
He fired two shots in rapid succession this time.
Jacos lightly deflected them with his gauntlet, but his horse couldn't.
“Neigh!”
The horse stumbled in agony.
It was a good horse and didn’t even consider dying on one leg.
Jancos quickly jumped off the horse and cut down another soldier as he jumped off.
Swoosh!
He also blocked Almond's arrows again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The three arrows pierced a corpse instead.
— This feels like a strong villain...
— Wow!
— Is this a national team match? Is this a national team match?
The viewers grew excited. Would such monsters also appear in the national team matches?
— Wow...
— The difference between a knight and an archer is too big!
— It's an unfair fight from the start.
— Almond should change to a knight.
Some opinions thought that Almond would have a better chance as a knight. There was a significant difference between Almond's archer class and the veteran knight’s class.
Even if they had the same skills, an archer would need the courage to fight in front of a veteran knight.
'He's coming.'
Jancos walked nonchalantly toward Almond and naturally swung his curved sword.
Whoosh!
Almond didn't retreat this time. He dodged the sword and rolled forward.
'Let's get closer.'
He shot at close range once to see how Jancos would dodge.
Click!
Almond drew his bow and released it almost at the same time. Aiming was unnecessary at such a close range.
Wham!
He shot while rolling and pierced through Jancos’ flank joint.
“!”
Thud!
The arrow had hit. However, no blood flowed from the opponent's flank.
'His ranged defense is too high.'
The plate armor wasn’t covering the veteran knight’s flank, but he was probably wearing chainmail underneath. It wasn't even a critical hit. Only normal damage from an arrow went through.
[HP: 92%]
Even if ten archers shot simultaneously, they would only deal 20% damage due to his defense. The opponent knew this, so he didn't bother to block that arrow. He didn’t even get agitated and swung his sword at Almond instead.
Slash!
Jancos managed to slash the back of Almond’s hand from such a close distance. It wasn't a deep wound.
[HP: 71%]
However, even a graze took away 30% of Almond’s health. Such a damage exchange wouldn't work.
In terms of LIL, it felt like Almond was fighting an opponent whose growth had already outpaced him by more than three times.
Everything went against Almond from the difference in their equipment, experience, and the matchup. Only one thing was on his side. Time.
“Waaaaaaaah!”
The allied cavalry, who had annihilated the enemy cavalry in the north, was now returning. There was also an ally veteran knight as well.
“Sweep them all away!”
A hint of irritation crossed Jancos' face for the first time. Was it because he also had to deal with them? No, it was because of this text that appeared before his eyes.
[Connection with the opponent has been lost!]
***
Around two minutes ago…
“Damn it.”
AK47 clasped his hands and prayed.
“Please kill him! Please!”
He was praying to Jancos. Luckily, he picked a veteran knight and got an S+ grade. Moreover, it was the 18th ranked Jancos whose appearance turned around the war.
AK47 just had to wait for Almond to die.
“... What the hell? What's Almond doing?” AK47 sighed in disbelief.
He thought Almond would be dead by the time he came back.
“How is he still alive fighting a veteran knight!? That's Jancos!”
He thought Jancos would have quickly handled Almond. However, Jancos still couldn’t kill Almond yet.
The worst part was when the enemy cavalry began merging toward Almond's side.
AK47 turned to the screen to check his internal affairs again and sent more cavalry as reinforcements.
“I have superior commander skills. My commanding skills are...”
He was definitely faster at collecting resources and converting them into troops, but he had to admit some of BornToB's tactics hit the mark.
The duo of BornToB and Almond had gained the upper hand in this war. This game was about more than just the commanders doing well to win. If that were the case, why would players play the role of mercenaries?
Everyone had to perform well to win the game. AK47 understood that well enough.
However─
‘We have Jancos. Jancos…’
He couldn’t make any more excuses now. When the heavyweight Jancos appeared as a veteran knight, luck was no longer a factor in the war.
Then─
“Huh?”
Boom!
Suddenly, the entire world shook.
Zzzz!
Some noise interfered with the screen. From a distance, a voice could be heard.
“Dong-Hyeon! Are you in there again?! Huh?! Aren't you coming out soon!?”
Bang!
The power in his capsule suddenly turned off.
Hiss!
The capsule door swung open with the sound of hydraulics.
“... Mom! I was almost there!
“Are you playing this after finishing your homework?! Huh? Why are you still the same even after becoming a college student!?”
A storm of nagging struck him, but AK47 secretly felt relieved inside.
‘Whew. What an honorable death.’
He almost lost that game despite stream sniping a B rank commander. It was his mom who came and turned off the game, so at least it wasn't technically his loss.
He listened to his mom's lecture for a while and turned on his laptop, pretending to do homework.
[Brr: What happened? Did the internet cut out???]
[BoySchool: Hmm... Your mom turned it off?]
[Brr: Ah... is that it?]
Plenty of messages in the group chat kept asking him what happened. The game had already been considered a loss.
Almond and BornToB were already searching for another game.
[AK47: Ah... sorry, sorry… My mom ganked me… Ah... she kept nagging even during the game… I played too carelessly because of that...lol]
He tried to maintain his pride, claiming he had played carelessly even though he fiercely fought with cheesy tactics.
[CheesyAttackJudge: Ah. You played carelessly, huh lol? We can’t do much about your mom turning off the game, but... aren't you a college student?]
[AK47: Not yet? I'm a high schooler.]
[CheesyAttackJudge: I thought you were since you asked to drink together. You're spoiled.]
[Brr: You're a college student, aren't you? High school student? lol]
AK47's face turned red for a moment. He knew what they would say next.
[CheesyAttackJudge: Your mom ganked you? A college student still living with your mom...?]
[AK47: My mom is a bit... she has a fiery personality lol]
[Brr: lolololololololol]
[BoySchool: If you're a college student, you're still a kid! A kid! You’re a freshman, right?]
[Brr: You asked about job interviews before, so I’m guessing you’re in your senior year?]
[BoySchool: Oh~ haha did you grow up in a strict household haha]
[CheesyAttackJudge: Aha haha]
Why did they keep typing “Haha” so much? AK47 hurriedly typed in the chat to end the conversation.
[AK47: Ah, if I had focused, we would have won. What a pity. Sorry, good luck to the next players!]
[BoySchool: kk, the last battle was good...]
[CheesyAttackJudge: We even used a cheesy tactic and still lost lol]
“Ah... that damn bastard.”
It was a shameful situation. The fact that a fourth-year college student didn’t have basic freedom and used a cheesy tactic only to still lose the game. At least he could claim that he lost because of his mom.
[AK47: My mom kept coming in and I couldn't focus!? How am I supposed to beat those freaks playing hardcore games when she's banging on the capsule every 5 minutes!?]
He thought they would let it go if he said this much, but CheesyAttackJudge attacked him back as if waiting.
[CheesyAttackJudge: Oh~ But Almond was even doing a mission while playing the game? Is that being hardcore? lol]
[BoySchool: Just accept the defeat lol]
[Brr: Eek, lol I saw it too. He was counting money while playing lol]
[CheesyAttackJudge: Maybe Almond didn't end the game early on purpose because of the per-kill mission lol]
[Brr: Eh, I doubt it lol]
A per-kill mission? AK47 shakily moved his mouse and entered the community. He quickly searched and found the posts.
[Couldn't reach 700,000 won because the opponent disconnected]
[Wow, the opponent really had good manners]
[Ending it at 690,000… ugh]
It seemed Almond really was doing a per-kill mission while playing the game.
[Almond trying to hold back laughter during the massive battle.]
AK47 clicked on the trending post and played the video.
[450,000~ 460,000~ 470,000!]
Almond kept shooting arrows while counting money. As a streamer, it was simply a performance for the viewers. However, it seemed like mockery from AK47's perspective.
— Lol, true madness.
— The perfect streamer!
— I really enjoyed the per-kill mission vibe.
— Enjoying the game alone lol~
— Mom, that's why! Just pull this line and you get ten thousand won right away!? Why don’t you believe me?
└ Lolololololololol.
└ ThisWhyWin lol.
AK47 read every comment one by one. Then, he closed the laptop and...
“Sigh.”
He didn't log into Civil Empire or the Embul community for a long time.
From then on, the half-and-half opinions on Embul gradually shifted toward Almond's side.
1. They should just put Almond on the national team right now. If you agree, upvote this like crazy.