Season 2: Chapter 137. Invincible Commander (2)
Match-fixing and psychological warfare proved ineffective against the invincible commander BornToB, who mastered the fast archer rush and reached the second era seven seconds faster at an unprecedented speed.
"Is this even possible!?" OrangeKing asked in bewilderment.
Chi-Seung responded, "It is! I've even seen S+ rank experts do it ten seconds faster."
"What? But why is there such a difference!?"
The intricacies of resource collection and the construction of buildings all affected the speed. Those who weren’t highly skilled would be left puzzled.
Chi-Seung began explaining worker movement, map layout, investment in buildings, and resource choices. However, the explanation grew too lengthy.
"Sum it up in one line!" OrangeKing demanded a summary.
"... It's due to the randomness of the map. That requires flexibility in planning," Chi-Seung summarized.
"So it's all about luck with the map!?" OrangeKing concluded.
"Well, that's one way to see it," Chi-Seung admitted as the chat debated about the role of luck.
— Luck again?
— Stupid RNG
"Anyway, if you're not going to play, why bother?"
— LOL
— I can tell he’s from Civil Empire
— LOL that’s kinda sad...
Chi-Seung dismissed the luck argument as the battle raged on. Enemy spearmen and workers began their assault on BornToB's camp.
"Looks like BoySchool's spearmen are charging at BornToB's camp! Almond isn't out yet, right?" "There are quite a few spearmen."
"Yes! Four of them are heading toward BornToB!"
Four spearmen was one more than AK47's previous spearman rush. However, the timing was different. This time, the enemy's rush was much slower.
"But the archer training center is almost complete!?"
BornToB was ready to face the enemy with an almost completed archer training center.
"Ah! BornToB! You're so accustomed to this now, aren't you!?"
BornToB swiftly responded. His indecision in the past would have cost him time, but that didn’t happen anymore.
"BornToB is efficiently using the town hall to save at least some resources while coolly sacrificing the rest!?"
As the spearmen attacked the distant wood resource, BornToB chose to protect his workers over the wood.
"People first, right BornToB!?"
— LOL
— Human rights policy now? LOL
"He chose to save the workers over the wood. The spearmen did hinder the wood collection, but it feels frustrating now!"
"Right, BornToB already secured enough wood to produce about four archers. Sending workers to a farther wood source would suffice. Losing workers would be far more costly. It was a very wise decision," Chi-Seung praised BornToB as they discussed what happened.
Then, the first archer appeared unexpectedly early.
[04:40]
Almond appeared an entire thirteen seconds earlier than usual.
"Almond! Rise like a beast!"
— What's with the 'rise like a beast?’ LOL
— He was hatching all along? LOL
"Now, there are five spearmen against Almond alone! But!"
The enemy had five spearmen when Almond appeared. It was then that the opposing commander's mistake was revealed.
"Aren’t the spearmen too far? Almond is already out!" OrangeKing noticed the opponent's mistake.
"Why didn't they wait in front of the archer training center?"
The biggest difference between archers and spearmen was the range they required. If a spearmen rush was coming, the first building they needed to attack was the archer training center.
"If they had seen the archer training center and waited in front of it, they could have killed Almond as soon as he appeared!"
The enemy spearmen waiting in front would mean that archers would die upon appearing. This was more important than killing workers. Workers couldn't kill spearmen, but archers could. The enemy spearmen could keep killing archers like this and workers too later.
If archers didn't appear, they would go back to harassing workers and return to the training center if more archers were produced. This process would be repeated until a sufficient number of spearmen accumulated. This was the basic process of an early spearmen rush.
Chi-Seung felt that this was not a mistake a player of that rank would typically make.
'Could it be... because of stream sniping?'
Stream sniping meant the enemy was also watching the stream while playing. It could offer a strategic advantage, but could also impair a player’s physical performance.
Managing one's own RTS screen was challenging enough. Also checking the opponent's screen increased the likelihood of making unusual mistakes. It seemed like BoySchool wasn't accustomed to such tactics.
'Maybe he's originally a capsule user who switched to desktop for stream sniping...'
If BoySchool was originally a capsule user, he would have to use an unfamiliar desktop for stream sniping. He probably thought he could easily beat BornToB, but the evolved BornToB was not an easy opponent.
OrangeKing exclaimed, "Almond has begun hunting the spearmen!"
Almond hunting the spearmen was an apt description. If the distance was sufficient, an archer of Almond's caliber wouldn’t be scared even if a squad of spearmen came charging.
An arrow struck the head of the leading spearman.
"One shot hits immediately! Kya! It's always so satisfying!"
Two more arrows flew and two more spearmen fell.
"Three instantly fell!?"
The spearmen suddenly halted as if they all hit the brakes.
"Ah! They're losing momentum! Don't stop! You need to keep running!"
No one wanted to knowingly charge into certain death even in a game.
However, Almond didn't even give them time to hesitate. Another arrow pierced the forehead of a hesitating spearman.
"One more has gone down. Now, only one is left! More spearmen are coming from a distance, but another archer has joined!"
"Almond alone managed to knock down four spearmen. Now there are two archers!"
Even with additional forces arriving, the outcome was similar. The spearmen's numbers continued to decrease while the archers increased. Soon...
"Ah. Now the number of spearmen and archers is the same!?"
OrangeKing cautiously asked, "... Isn’t this over?"
The enemy launched an early rush and was overwhelmingly defeated in combat. Sure enough, a message appeared.
[The enemy commander has surrendered!]
OrangeKing's eyes widened as he loudly celebrated, "Victoryyyy!"
Despite the lack of tension in the match, he was overly joyous for a good reason.
“Finally! Finally!!!"
"Wow..."
— This is crazy
— It’s really happening
— Wow, they’re really going for it
"Almond has finally been promoted to A+ rank!!!"
— Almond got promoted like a boss lol
— Almond's ID really is a laugh trigger
— lol wow
— Congratulations!
Almond and BornToB were both successfully promoted to A+ rank.
"Wow! Congratulations! Mr. Almond, you’re finally free!"
— Why no congratulations to BornToB? lol
— That's too much lol
— Free lol
— Breaking news: The Nut Brigade collectively announces their freedom from the BornToB colonial era!
***
For the first time in a while, Almond comfortably sat down on the battlefield and looked up at the sky. The sky, which he hardly ever paid attention to, looked so well-rendered, clear, and sunny. One word floated above it.
[Victory]
Almond whispered in admiration as he looked at those letters floating among the clouds against the blue sky, "... Wow."
Unless he seriously miscalculated, he had now reached A+ rank.
— Congratulations!!!
— Congratulations :D
— Wow!!
— You really did it
— A+ with a perfect record!?
The chat scrolled up at a speed that almost wasn’t readable.
[Current Viewers: 31,000]
The number of viewers continued to remain at an incredible figure. Being able to attract 30,000 viewers was encouraging.
A number like this was usually only attainable after winning a national competition. The fact that Almond still maintained this amount of viewers suggested that the concept of him climbing to S+ rank while carrying BornToB was quite well-received.
Whether these 30,000 would remain as steady viewers in the future or if this was a temporary phenomenon would be determined by their next content.
For now, Almond decided to enjoy the moment.
"Ah, thank you for the 100,000 won donation, Mr. Rag. Thank you for the 50,000 won donation, EggPlant. Thank you for the 300,000 won donation, RubySword."
A barrage of donations followed.
— The corners of his mouth are rising lol
— Wow, it was worth it playing as a duo with BornToB lol
— BornToB: Oh? You're carrying me? Wage increased by 100 times
— Wow, all in the tens of thousands
— Are Almond's viewers rich? ;
Almond's viewers were more well-off than expected and often made substantial donations. Perhaps the story of a promising archer overcoming tragedy resonated with higher age demographics and the mainstream media. Mentioning an archery athlete typically received positive views from adults.
In short, Almond was a streamer who got off to a good start. The journey up to this point was thanks to the efforts of Sang-Hyeon, Ju-Hyeok, Ji-Ah, and many other helpers.
Swish.
After the match ended, Almond was summoned back to the lobby with a medieval tavern concept.
"Wow! Mr. Almond!? When did you become so strong!!"
The fairy Peeeeanuuut was surprised and spun around in awe. The mercenaries in the tavern, who initially dismissed the rookie mercenary Almond, stared at him in disbelief.
The rank of A+ signified that he was no longer just a simple mercenary.
"... You've made it big. Really big."
"Hey, watch your gaze. He's a noble now."
"Wow... That was a rapid promotion."
The mercenaries, sipping their strong ale, sent envious glances his way.
"Mr. Almond! Now that you've received a knight's title, you can command these drunk good-for-nothing bums to walk on their hands if you want!!"
— LOL
— That fairy lol, why is it so excited lol
— Peeeeanuuut is spicy
Almond's fairy Peeeeanuuut, displeased with the mercenaries' attitude, demanded them to be educated. However, Almond didn't have time for that. After all, these were just NPCs for ambiance.
"Uh, Peeeeanuuut. You handle that."
"What!?"
Pretending to be surprised, the corners of Peeeeanuuut's mouth twitched.
"Me, granted the authority of a noble...?"
"Yeah."
"Uh-oh... It's a lot of pressure, but I'll do my best!"
"I'll be back in a bit."
"Yep!"
Almond intended to meet BornToB one last time. He stepped into the portal.
Peeeeanuuut's voice faintly echoed from beyond, "Now line up in front of me in one row!"
Then, the world momentarily went dark.
***
OrangeKing, Kimchi Warrior, and even BornToB were already in This World.
"Wow! Mr. Almond, congratulations!"
OrangeKing rushed over first and grasped his hand to congratulate him.
— Someone would think he won a championship lol
— Congratulations on being able to cut ties with BornToB!
— When will you remove that propeller? lol
"Ah, yes."
Almond smiled in response. Then, he turned his gaze to BornToB. Greeting OrangeKing was one thing, but he would continue to see OrangeKing in the future. He was concerned this would be the last time with BornToB.
Having grown somewhat fond of playing games together, Almond approached him to initiate the conversation.
"Mr. BornToB, thank you for your hard work. Today’s first game was really..."
Almond wanted to mention how precisely BornToB commanded one of the fans during the first game and thought it was an incredible feat. He wanted to discuss this more after all the games they played, which led to their connection in that moment.
It was the exhilaration of perfect teamwork. Something Almond deeply appreciated because he had always competed in solo sports and felt isolated at work.
"... Mr. BornToB?"
It seemed Almond wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Since we won’t see each other again..."
BornToB looked up at the sky with tears trickling down his chin despite his uplifted head.