Season 2. Chapter 136: Invincible Commander (1)
[BoySchool: What's going on here?]
[CheesyAttackJudge: He lost the game...]
[VeryVeryCastle: This wasn't supposed to be the game.]
[Ronaldo: Why did we lose after doing so well?]
[Sand Spoon: Seriously, no answer lol]
At first, everyone seemed confused about why they lost.
'It's understandable.'
Chi-Seung could relate. Even he didn't quite understand why they won the game. It wasn't a victory due to the commander's capability or strategic play. It was literally a win by the momentum on the battlefield.
[Brr: Ah... I'm sorry, everyone.]
Brr appeared and apologized for the defeat.
[BoySchool: ... lol]
[VeryVeryCastle: Well fought despite the loss.]
[CheesyAttackJudge: Let's not be too hard on him...]
Their messages conveyed a deflated spirit. The reaction was different from when they lost because of AK47. Right after that defeat, they were more heated and blamed AK47. The atmosphere wasn't like this at all.
AK47's match didn’t end with a surrender, but an offline incident due to his mother's intervention. Hence, the chat group members didn't perceive it as a true defeat. What about Brr?
Brr almost had the game in his hands, but everything suddenly turned around. His military had purely been outmatched and suffered a clean defeat. It was a real defeat due to skills. This defeat caused not only a downturn in their mood, but also division.
[SandSpoon: How can we gather to stream snipe and still lose to one guy lol]
[CheesyAttackJudge: Still, our reputation hasn't been tarnished. We didn't use any cheap tactics and proposed legit methods to stop Almond...]
[Ronaldo: lol, so it's about the process since we lost?]
[CheesyAttackJudge: Why are you acting like this, Sand Spoon? Did we come here to judge each other? Why the quarrel? Especially when things are already bad.]
They started to irritate each other, which eventually exploded.
[BoySchool: Seriously, stop causing trouble. People who don't even try to stop the strat, tsk tsk. Brr did well enough. If it weren't for Almond, we would have won.]
[SandSpoon: What do you mean we would have won if it hadn't been for Almond? Wasn't the original goal to defeat BornToB and Almond? lol]
[BoySchool: Then you try it.]
[SandSpoon: I said I wouldn't from the start. Oh, but didn't you say you would? Let's see your skills lol]
[VeryVeryCastle: Let's maintain some manners, please. And I said I wouldn't participate either. But now I think I need to make some time.]
VeryVeryCastle, who had the highest rank there, declared that he would participate.
'Will he do well?'
Kimchi Warrior was most curious about this person. After all, he did have the highest rank.
'I guess we won't meet in the promotion match.'
VeryVeryCastle's rank was close to S, so it was unlikely he would be matched with Almond and BornToB, who were just about to face their A+ promotion matches.
[CheesyAttackJudge: No need for that. It's something that can end on my level. I just said something because I hate to see trouble. I didn't say I wouldn't do it.]
[Ronaldo: So, what’s next?]
[CheesyAttackJudge: If no one else goes, I will.]
[BoySchool: I'll go. No need for you.]
'Huh?'
Did the division somehow motivate them? From a deflated mood, there was now a clamor of those willing to step forward.
[VeryVeryCastle: Then let BoySchool go.]
[BoySchool: Yeah, I'll go.]
The next participant seemed to be BoySchool.
'Who is this guy?'
Chi-Seung momentarily wondered who this player was because their chat nickname had changed.
'It used to be... Extroverted_Personality... right.'
The nickname had been shortened due to its length.
'What a dumb nickname.'
Chi-Seung grew annoyed, but it wasn’t because of the nickname. Their very existence was the problem. They were a significant reason why Civil Empire wasn’t popular at the moment.
He calmed down and briefly examined BoySchool's specs. He could guess some things from the contents of their chat.
'It seems his rank isn’t any higher than Brr's.'
BoySchool did not have a higher rank than Brr, who was slightly ahead. They could be considered to have similar skills. It was hard to say who was better than the other. Chi-Seung wondered why BoySchool had such confidence.
Fortunately, someone asked instead of Chi-Seung.
'Who is this again?'
This player seemed like a newcomer due to the frequent nickname changes, but fit right in. Anyway, Chi-Seung was grateful that someone asked on his behalf.
[BoySchool: Of course. Now, I'll win by any means necessary. I'm irritated.]
By any means necessary? Chi-Seung's eyebrows slightly raised. They were already stream sniping. What more unscrupulous methods could they use?
[Ronaldo: By any means?? How?]
[BoySchool: You'll see. Lol]
'Could it be?'
Stream sniping, using cheap strategies... The only remaining thing by any means would be match-fixing.
'Are they really going to resort to match-fixing?'
This act would also be condemned on Embul. Almond was already recognized as someone who could be considered a professional player. They would resort to match-fixing to stop him?
'That's insane.'
Being together all the time, these extremists couldn’t see how things would turn out.
“... Sir Trash, thank you for the 10,000 won donation! Thank you! Yes, I'll work harder!"
Meanwhile, OrangeKing thanked a donor after the game ended.
"LurkerLove, thank you for the 1000 won donation. Ah... Kimchi Warrior, why are you so silent?"
Suddenly, Chi-Seung's name came up. He had been silently watching the stream snipers’ chat room for a while.
"Ah... I was just in a meeting with my team for a moment."
"Really? Speaking of which, aren't you participating in the scrim tonight?"
"Yes. It will be Almond's first game under national competition rules."
"Wow! Will that be broadcasted too?"
Chi-Seung hesitated for a moment.
"Ah. I might have to get permission from the opposing team... but it should be possible. Most of them are streamers anyway."
It could never be publicly shared if it were a professional scrim. However, the Civil Empire national competition was fundamentally made of amateurs. Therefore, most of those playing this game were streamers themselves. They would probably be fine with broadcasting scrims to make a profit.
"They might even request it first."
"Ah, really? In that case..."
— Is OrangeKing participating??
— OrangeKing is drooling lol
— Just a little taste? Lol
"Can I join in too?"
"Ah."
Chi-Seung nodded readily.
"Yes, if broadcasting is approved, there should be no problem. It would be better if more people watched it since we're streaming anyway."
"Wow!"
OrangeKing clenched his fist as if he had caught a big opportunity.
"I'll do my best. Thank you."
Thus, he essentially secured the right to stream the Civil Empire national competition scrim.
"Ah. The moment I mentioned that! We've got a match!"
Just then, a new match was found.
"Let's..."
OrangeKing's expression brightened when he saw the opponent.
"Oh? It’s a foreigner this time?"
"Ah, yes."
The stream snipers had failed to interfere consecutively because sniping wasn’t guaranteed every time.
***
Around ten minutes passed.
"Jeez, jeez!!!"
BornToB and Almond won swiftly.
— Foreigners got beat lol
— Fast archer rush is disgusting lol
— Kimchi-flavored Almond, first time? lol
— If you don't know, you die ~^^
If caught unaware, the fast archer rush could make one lose pathetically. Without stream sniping, such results were expected.
The transition to the next game was also very fast.
[Waiting for match...]
Almond and BornToB immediately queued up again.
"Wow, they're queueing up right away without any preparation? They seem excited...” OrangeKing started speaking when he realized something. "Wait. I just realized! They only have one more game left!? That's why they're in a hurry!"
They had just secured the second win in their promotion matches and only needed one more win for a promotion.
OrangeKing preemptively said goodbye to BornToB, "Nice knowing you! Let's never meet again!"
— Why do that to BornToB...?
— So it's goodbye to BornToB after one more win
— No lol that’s too much lol
"OrangeKing, BornToB's parents are also watching today."
"What!? Ah, it was just something I said. It wasn’t really meant for BornToB!"
OrangeKing turned red and grew flustered.
— His parents!! lol
— Why so surprised then? lol
— lol Kimchi got a mouth on him
While they were chatting, a match was found.
[Match found!]
[Extroverted_Personality]
"Ah, a Korean this time? Extroverted_Personality...?"
Chi-Seung swallowed dryly.
'As expected.'
The guy had finally succeeded in stream sniping. This would make it the second time today that they were being stream sniped. Could BornToB handle this?
"Let's go into the game between BornToB and Extroverted_Personality... That ID is too long, isn't it?"
"Let's just shorten it to BoySchool."
"Oh, that's better! BoySchool vs. BornToB! BornToB vs. Almond!"
— BornToB vs. Almond lol
— That phrase never misses lol
— Almond... what kind of battle will it be...?
"The game starts now!"
The game began and Chi-Seung had a stiff expression from the start.
'If it's really match-fixing...'
If the opponent resorted to match-fixing, this match couldn’t even be considered practice. It would be a waste of time. Countering the opponent's strategy could appear in national competitions, but match-fixing was out of the question.
Secondly, it was questionable if they could win against an opponent who resorted to match-fixing. If their winning streak broke here, the rank-up bonus would significantly decrease and slow down their journey to S+.
"Both sides are starting with scouting."
Scouts from both sides began moving.
'... I can't tell yet.'
At least, it seemed they were genuinely scouting or pretending not to match-fix. Chi-Seung had no way of knowing for sure.
"Let's see. I think this is a stream snipe. I wonder what strategy they've prepared against the fast Almond rush?"
— So stream sniping is a given now lol
— It's become the fast Almond rush lol
— We should just call it the Almond Fast, really
"Who knows? Given the variety of tactics we've seen from stream snipers so far, I wonder if there's anything more they can do. From the current movements, it seems like they're thinking of a first era spearman all-in rush," Chi-Seung speculated.
If Chi-Seung's guess was right, BoySchool was preparing for a first era all-in rush and intended to end it before Almond even appeared.
"Is that so? They're already setting up a spearmen training center."
"... But the timing is a bit off."
"Why?"
"It's just..."
Chi-Seung felt something was off.
'What's going on? Why does it seem a bit slow?'
For a spearmen all-in rush, it felt a step slower than expected. The enemy should have been fully prepared. It didn't make sense.
A moment later...
"...!?"
Chi-Seung's eyes widened in surprise.
'It's a bit slow, but not by that much.'
The opponent wasn't that slow when he checked the clock.
'BornToB is just too fast!'
BornToB's build speed was astonishingly faster than ever before. From Chi-Seung's perspective, the opponent only seemed slower when he compared both camps.
Dudum!
[2nd Era - Feudal Age]
As expected, BornToB reached the second era at a record speed. At this rate, his fast archer rush build was nearing S rank level.
"No way!? BornToB is already in the second era! This is quite fast, isn't it? What's the lap time?"
"It's about seven seconds faster than usual."
"Whaaat!??"
Reducing even one to two seconds could change the game's outcome in fast builds, but this was seven seconds faster.
Then, Chi-Seung realized something.
'Wait.'
BornToB never thought. He always started with the fast archer rush and ran with it. That was why he was so fast and getting even faster.
What about the opponent? The enemy claimed to be match-fixing, which would slow down their spearmen rush while juggling two screens. They could have been about five seconds faster if they had gone straight ahead with it without overthinking anything.
“Pfft...!” Chi-Seung couldn't help but laugh.
"Why are you laughing, Mr. Kimchi?"
"Oh, no... It's nothing."
It was funny to think about it. The enemy went through all that trouble to match-fix.
'BornToB wouldn't be affected by match-fixing anyway.'
Match-fixing was meaningless against BornToB since he was always going for the fast archer rush. Even psychological warfare was pointless. He wouldn't understand it anyway!
'BornToB... might be unexpectedly invincible?'