Season 2: Chapter 132. The Return of the Elite Four (3)
“Uh...”
When Almond first realized the walls trapped him, he initially tried to find a gap to escape.
"I'm trapped."
This was the first time he ever realized such a strategy existed, which startled him.
— Trapped Almond is still cute
— Almond is caged like a bird
— Trapped Almond? Even better
Trapping soldiers with walls like this wasn't a common play. In fact, it was very rare and almost always resulted due to a random accident. One had to know exactly when and where a soldier would appear to use such a strategy.
As Almond openly made a human pyramid against the wall, it was very clear when and where he would enter. Such a trap was only possible thanks to that. It didn’t happen often and not many knew how to counter it.
He asked his viewers, "Is there really no way out?"
It was unbelievable that a soldier could be rendered powerless by such means.
— Hard to believe that expression
— Exactly
— Yep!
Almond scratched his head while reading the chat.
"Seems like there's really no way out."
He grabbed the emergency dagger that every soldier carried and tried jumping toward the wall.
Thud!
Despite being a wooden wall, the dagger didn't stick to it. Apparently, the game’s code didn’t allow sticking to the wall, let alone breaking it.
Thud! Thud!
Almond wondered if he could find a spot to stick to and jabbed at other places for a while. Then—
Ba-bam!
[EggPlant has donated 100,000 won!]
[It's my younger sibling's birthday today~!]
— ???
— It's your sibling's birthday, so why are you the one donating 100,000 won, LOL
— Is that allowance for your sibling?
— What a crazy concept
— Wow, 100,000 won???
EggPlant usually donated less than 10,000 won, but unexpectedly donated 100,000 won along with a message about their sibling's birthday.
"Ah, happy birthday to your sibling, EggPlant."
Eggplant always seemed to be short on cash, so Almond wondered if he should do something special in response.
'Wait.'
He glanced at his bow and stopped abruptly.
'A reaction?'
Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind.
"Can I die here alone?"
— ??
— There's no suicide function
— It's possible in theory
— Jumping toward the enemy town hall is suicide.
— You can't kill yourself with a sword.
The viewers generally said there was no suicide function in the game. Then, a certain chat message caught his eye.
— You can with siege weapons. It's just that directly hitting yourself doesn’t work.
Siege weapons like catapults could kill friendlies if the launched stones hit them. The one who launched the stones wasn’t an exception either.
Then, what about a bow?
‘A bow could also work.’
Arrows could also kill allies, which made them somewhat less useful once enemies and allies collided.
Almond pulled the bow over his head.
"EggPlant, thank you for the donation.
He wanted to also react to the recent donation.
— ?? A reaction and quitting for 100,000 won??
— What the? So generous lol
— Is this possible?
The arrow he shot would inevitably return to pierce his skull.
Thud!
The screen momentarily turned black and white.
***
"Eh~~ Trap me again!! I’ll just die and it's over~~~!!" OrangeKing shouted while the propellers on his hat spun.
— Legendary lol
— Lol
— Screenshot done
— Lol
— The propeller is really madness
This scene wandered the internet like a ghost for a while as a gif, jpg, etc.
"Kimchi, how does this work? Is it supposed to work?"
"It's not something that happens often. Theoretically, it should be possible."
"It's not a common occurrence?"
"Well, it's rare for people to get trapped with walls."
— Lol
— Right lol
— Indeed lol
In Civil Empire, choosing suicide was almost never an option. It was much more beneficial to kill at least one more enemy before dying.
"And hitting yourself so precisely for the kill isn’t easy."
"Is that so?"
— Almond's viewers might not know
— Nutcase, he's been doing that since Kingdom lol
— Was that difficult?
Viewers who always watched Almond found it strange. They were already accustomed to seeing arrows piercing his skull.
"Yes. It's similar to hitting a barely visible target from two hundred meters away. You have to shoot the arrow as high as possible and you can't even see your own skull while aiming."
Viewers felt it was indeed difficult after hearing Kimchi Warrior's explanation.
— Now that I hear that, it makes sense
— Right, and the arrow has to come back down to hit
— An unimaginable difficulty!
"Ah! While we were talking! A bloody battle is happening in front of BornToB's base!"
While Almond was out, Brr's cavalry almost reached BornToB's base. BornToB hastily countered with a few spearmen and gathered more archers.
"Wow, they even deployed spearmen!" OrangeKing exclaimed in admiration of BornToB's decision.
Deploying spearmen was a natural counter to cavalry, but BornToB received high praise for doing so.
"If there are spearmen, the cavalry won’t be able to proceed so easily. This could be manageable. Their formation is good."
Thud! Thud!
As the spearmen blocked in front with their spears and archers poured arrows from behind, the cavalry of second era knights quickly faltered.
"Ah! The stable upgrade isn't done yet! If they fall off their horses, they're just infantry!"
The cavalry quickly turned into infantry.
"BornToB has much better positioning!"
BornToB's troops fought at an advantageous location. The archers took positions behind rocks on a hill and the spearmen blocked narrow paths between buildings like walls and houses.
"BornToB is looking impressive. This building layout is quite strategic!"
In RTS genres, the placement of buildings was a crucial strategic element. Strategically placing buildings could prevent enemy invasions without much effort.
Normally, only veterans ever acquired this know-how. Somehow, BornToB was utilizing such tactics. Houses and walls narrowed down the originally wide plain where cavalry could roam freely.
Then, spearmen and archers blocked the enemies’ paths. This way, maximum efficiency could be achieved with minimal troops.
"Brr! You should retreat now! Did you let your guard down?"
Brr had rushed his cavalry through a narrow passageway into a very disadvantageous battle.
"But?"
However, Brr was far ahead in terms of internal management.
Doom!
Brr entered the third era, the Age of Lords.
"Ah... He was preparing for this and couldn't properly focus on the battle!"
While BornToB busily defended his attacks, Brr's workers had been building something since five minutes ago.
[Knight School]
Brr finally constructed the knight school.
"The knight school is up!"
Following that, several cavalry training grounds appeared and the upgraded third era cavalry eagerly started to emerge.
[Veteran Knight]
The main benefit of reaching the third era, a veteran knight was also created. A massive cavalry force led by the veteran knight was swiftly formed.
"Ah, a massive force is gathering!"
Dust flew as the additional third era forces headed toward BornToB's main base. BornToB would need something beyond just a trick with building placement to stop them.
"They're heading straight for BornToB's main base!"
"BornToB is in the third era now. He needs to react quickly."
Constantly being disturbed by the enemy's invasions, BornToB had reached the third era late.
[Veteran Spearman]
Instead of veteran knights, he opted for the much cheaper veteran spearmen. However, his numbers of troops were still insufficient. In such times, one presence always came to mind.
"By the way, why hasn't Almond come yet!? Has Almond been resummoned?"
If Almond was here, the battle would be easier. His presence was nowhere to be seen.
"It's been over five minutes since he died..."
Five minutes was a very long time in this game with the average game duration being thirty minutes. That essentially meant he had been absent for one-sixth of the match. It was strange for him to not show up for so long.
"The two forces are colliding!"
Meanwhile, BornToB and Brr's forces clashed again. This time, it seemed like the spearmen were holding their ground well too.
"But the veteran knight is leaping forward!"
A knight on a white horse leaped over BornToB’s soldiers. The shadow of the giant horse covered the spearmen and its heavy weight pressed down on them.
“Aargh!”
“Crazy!”
The horse died, but it crushed several spearmen underneath it. The veteran knight who leaped past them landed behind the spearmen.
“He's behind us!”
“There's a knight behind us!”
Before the spearmen could turn around, the knight drew his sword and made a sweeping strike. The spearmen all collapsed as the barricade fell.
"The veteran knight has broken through the shield wall! He’s a true veteran knight indeed!"
The knight exclaimed, “Now's the time! Charge!”
The horses, in a prancing frenzy, leaped over the fallen spearmen.
“The archers are defenseless!”
“Charge!”
The cavalry plunged directly into BornToB's archers and a massacre began.
“Shoot! Shoot!”
“Keep shooting until you die!”
Despite firing their bows desperately, the archers' efforts against the charging cavalry were futile.
The dark shadows of the horses loomed over them and sharp blades tore through everything. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"Ah! It's brutal! I can't even watch this!" OrangeKing screamed as numerous forces were mercilessly slaughtered.
Without the protecting spearmen, the archers stood no chance. The enemy cavalry decimated the archers as they passed through.
Then—
A shadow flashed by and a cavalryman's head flew off for the first time. It was the silhouette of a mounted man.
"Wow! BornToB has summoned a cavalryman too!?"
He was cloaked in a blue cape, signifying that he was BornToB's cavalryman.
"Wouldn't more spearmen have been better!?" OrangeKing wondered.
Spearmen were usually preferred against cavalry, especially for defense where they were overwhelmingly more efficient. However, a cavalryman appeared instead. Why?
The commentators quickly realized the reason. Every time the cavalryman spurred his horse and swung his sword, the heads of red cavalrymen flew.
"He keeps killing them! This isn't even a veteran knight. He’s just a cavalryman! How come he's so—"
His riding seemed somewhat clumsy, yet the blue cavalryman who just appeared didn't stop. His speed increased and he never slowed down even while swinging his sword.
Every time his horse passed, the necks of enemy cavalrymen flew off. Every move he made was one, no, two steps faster than the enemies.
He beheaded them and spilled their blood.
"Another one! That's the fourth!"
Everything happened so fast. It was as if he was just riding and the enemies fell by themselves.
[Cavalryman - Almond]
It was Almond.