Season 2: Chapter 143: You Said You Were an Archer (2)
Almond was participating in the national competition without much knowledge about it. It seemed unlikely that he would have a chance to shine considering all the players here were pros.
‘A club…’
The only weapon he held was something resembling a club. Of course, this was the same for all soldiers. Everyone would fight with clubs until a weapons workshop was built to produce spears or axes.
‘And this must be linen armor.’
He had a club for a weapon and armor made of several layers of linen. It offered almost no protection, but it was better than nothing.
‘I need to get better weapons and armor quickly…’
Almond didn't know who would get better equipment first, but he felt like his turn wouldn't come any time soon. After all, he was a newcomer here. He needed to show some prowess to receive better weapons. However, it would be difficult to stand out without a good weapon.
[Scouting]
Ping!
As expected, his assignment was to scout. Doing this task was unlikely to earn him any glory.
‘Damn.’
Almond didn't know that every soldier received similar orders. He just assumed others were sent to fight. Being a novice in the national competition, he wasn't displeased with the assignment.
‘I can't be greedy in the first game. Let's learn.’
Then, a team assignment followed.
[You have been assigned to a 5 person squad]
He wouldn’t be scouting alone and was grouped with four other comrades. They exchanged brief nods without any words.
One of them started to say something, "Ah, this is the new..."
The oldest looking man cut him off, "Don't talk nonsense. Only speak about operational matters."
A symbol indicating he was the [Leader] floated above his head. His ID was [Pang].
"Ah, yes..."
— That's harsh.
— Well, no point in getting friendly for nothing.
— Didn't expect this;
— For someone whose ID is Pang, he sure is serious.
Idle chat between soldiers seemed fundamentally prohibited. Perhaps that was why no one had spoken to Almond before. It was hard to imagine players chatting away during a national soccer team match too.
Their conversations had to be strictly about in-game strategies.
"Move out."
Following the leader's command, they began scouting.
Besides them, all soldiers formed five person groups and dispersed. The leader Pang explained the scouting operation.
"The enemy will be scouting as well. We don't know how many are in their groups. If they outnumber us, we run."
"Yes!"
The scouts didn't question his judgment.
Almond also committed this to memory to properly execute the plan.
"If outnumbered, run..." he muttered to himself as the viewers felt uneasy.
— Feels risky lol
— Why's he suddenly listening to others? This feels ominous.
— Can our guy do teamwork?
Given that Almond hadn't showcased much teamwork before, their concern was understandable.
— He won the LIL Championship though.
— He had good synergy in LIL, right?
— He got along with Pizza Bread and the cafeteria lady too ^^
Whenever situations like this arose, there were always those who cited the LIL championship as an example. However, the team play required in the LIL championship and the organizational teamwork demanded in these types of battles felt quite different. LIL was a game where one had to make decisions independently, whereas some decisions were delegated to different commanders and leaders here.
‘In some ways, this might be more optimal for me.’
In reality, Almond was not the best at making big picture decisions even in LIL. He thought this situation actually suited him better, but viewers didn’t know his inner thoughts. Since Almond wasn’t looking at the chat, the conversation continued to blaze on about the topic.
— That's different from this.
— Kick out all the inexperienced folks!
— Ah, the inexperienced ones...lol
Discussions eventually drifted toward military service and university prestige since Civil Empire gave off a somewhat military vibe. This tended to exhaust chat rooms.
— The moderator is inexperienced too, lol
— There are a lot of women here; if you kick out all the inexperienced, what are you, Thanos?
— Are you telling Almond to end the stream? lol
— Ask for an end-of-stream reaction~~
Disparaging the inexperienced wouldn't fly there given that Almond, the streamer himself, had no experience in the military. Fortunately, the controversy quickly subsided.
‘Huh.’
Shuffling─
At that moment, footsteps could be heard. They weren't coming from Almond’s teammates.
Click.
Their leader Pang at the front stopped. Almost simultaneously, Almond also stopped. It was a very close call.
‘What's that?’
Pang glanced back at Almond and observed him.
‘... Did he hear that?’
Pang had heard that the newcomer specialized in archery. Typically, those who specialized in combat didn't also excel in the area of sensory perception. Almond reacted as fast as him, which was unusual.
‘Did he stop because he saw me stop?’
Pang thought Almond could have also just reacted because of him. It was common knowledge that Almond had quick reflexes, which was evident from just a few gameplay videos.
His gaze returned to the front. The sound of footsteps grew closer.
‘They're approaching fast.’
Pang raised his fist and crouched, blending his upper body into the bushes to camouflage.
"There are enemies nearby."
— Oh. What's this? His hearing is insane.
— Is it different because it's a national competition?
— Kyah, so cool.
Only then did the viewers realize an enemy was close by. No one ordinary could sense the presence of enemies yet.
Meanwhile, Pang accurately predicted their route.
"They'll come around the tree."
Swoosh.
Using his leader's authority, he pinged a certain tree and informed them.
— Can he really know that precisely?
— What perception...
— Is this for real?
His senses were indeed accurate.
Thud. Thud.
The enemies circled around the tree and came into view one by one.
— Wow, it’s real Englishmen
— It really feels like a national battle
— Woah
The English team, attempting to appear as savage as possible, wore beards and makeup to look their fiercest.
"There are four of them."
Four enemies circled around the tree. Pang confirmed their numbers and so did Almond.
'Four?'
At that moment, Almond recalled the command from earlier.
‘If our number is less... we run.’
He had been told to flee against more enemies.
‘Then, what if the enemies are less than us?’
There was no need to ask. Naturally, the situation was reversed so they had to attack. In most games, including LIL, missing the timing for an attack often led to significant losses.
With that knowledge, Almond immediately kicked off the ground and charged forward. The sound of wind and bushes filled his ears to the point of deafness as his surroundings blurred. He ran like a madman.
The English were surprised and started to shout something, but Almond already raised his club before they could finish.
‘It's done.’
At that moment, Almond thought he could take down one of them right there. If he did, the enemies would instantly be down to three while they had five members. They would completely seize the advantage.
Crack!
***
"Now they've encountered each other! England formed groups of ten whereas Korea formed groups of five!?" OrangeKing's voice was laced with urgency.
Firstly, because Almond had encountered the enemy scouting team. Secondly, because of their strategy.
"England is in groups of ten! They only showed four members upfront, making it seem like they've paired up in fours!? We can't fall for this!"
It was a cunning strategy like that of an anglerfish. They distributed their ten members and sent four ahead in intervals to avoid detection.
"This shows the pathfinder on the English side has even more sensitive perception."
Someone among the enemy scouts had quite the sensitive senses, allowing them to successfully deploy such a bait strategy.
"Aaaaack! Almond!?" OrangeKing suddenly screamed because Almond had dashed off.
— As expected, he never disappoints lol
— A true man's special: Just charge
— lol, awesome.
While the viewers grew excited, OrangeKing felt worried.
"Eh, Almond! He suddenly rushed out!"
Kimchi Warrior was at a loss for words. He had a major stake in this game since he was the one who recruited Almond and almost felt responsible for him. If Almond made a mistake, it was as if he also made a mistake.
"This is... "
Fast decision-making and boldness. These were both Almond's strengths and weaknesses. It wasn't a matter of good or bad. Kimchi Warrior highly valued these traits when recruiting him.
"He's always been like this..."
What mattered was the outcome. If the results were good, it was a proactive and aggressive play. If it was bad, this would be a reckless accident. Such was the harsh reality of competitive play.
"Please..."
In a world unfamiliar to newcomers, freezing up could lead to a figurative death. Almond wasn't like that. This world was as familiar to him as a stroll through the neighborhood.
Crack!
His club accurately struck the head of the leading English soldier.
"It's done!"
"He hit him!!!"
Kimchi Warrior stood up abruptly. They had successfully managed to take down one enemy in a surprise attack.
"Did, did he kill him!?”
"No! A club can't kill in one hit! But it seems like he received a knockout at least!"
While a sharp weapon could maximize bonus damage and kill in one hit by targeting vital points, a club could only hope for a knockout. Almond had achieved just that.
Regardless, being unable to fight meant the attack did its job.
Then, the problem followed.
Swoosh!
Six English soldiers hidden behind sprang into action.
***
As Almond reacted first, the four scouts with him were taken aback.
"What, what! Follow him!" Pang hastily ordered the rest to pursue.
'Is this his first time?'
He found it strange looking at Almond leading the charge. No matter how much one excelled in solo ranks, everyone experienced a first time.
For everyone, the first time was scary. The weight of a national competition could suppress one's true skills.
Someone who could charge in without a moment's hesitation fell into two categories.
'... He’s either crazy or a genius.'
Perhaps he was both.
Thwack!
Pang thought so as he watched Almond knock down an English soldier.
To enter at such an angle, exposing his own head yet striking the enemy's head precisely. Such decision-making in his first skirmish of the first scrim in a national competition could only be done by someone who was both mad and a genius.
"The enemy is stunned!"
Anyhow, one out of four enemies had been immobilized. Pang wasn't going to let this advantageous situation slip by.
Ratatat!
He dashed like mad, swinging his club at a soldier trying to target Almond from the side.
Clang!
After several clashes between clubs…
Thwack!
Eventually, Pang successfully hit a critical spot first.
"We've knocked down two..."
Just as he thought it was over after knocking down two out of four enemies, the sensitive Pang immediately sensed it.
'Ah.'
It was a trap.
Swoosh!
Multiple bushes rustling could be heard.
He immediately shouted out, "It's a trap!"
However it was already too late.
Pfthud!
Sounds of clubs swinging could be heard all around.
Almond and Pang were being hit.
"Just go in!"
"Fight!"
"We've knocked down two already! It's five against eight! We can do this!"
Having cleanly knocked down two enemies to start, the battle wasn't overwhelmingly disadvantageous. They just had to fight. Stopping here would lead to much greater losses.
Pububung..!
The dust raised by their clubs obscured the surroundings.
"Ah, damn!"
"Ah! Shit..."
Screams of agony rang out from somewhere.
Unlike battles with sharp weapons, club fights in the barbaric age tended to last longer. However, the fight would end once an enemy was knocked out.
Their fight didn't seem to end so quickly due to the larger numbers.
Thwack!
Thwack!
The smaller side was surprisingly putting up a good fight, especially since Almond had already stunned three enemies consecutively.
"?"
Pang stared blankly with his mouth agape at Almond, who was fighting like a possessed man with just a club.
'Wasn't he an archer?'
— Crazy, knocking them all out?? Lol
— Physics (physical)
— How does he fight so well with a club lol