Season 2: Chapter 148: Important Responsibility (2)
Almond was hiding in the bushes and Jaydril was armed with a spear and shield instead of his famous longbow.
The compatibility and their positioning favored Almond.
"Almond has encountered Jaydril!"
"What should he do? If it's Jaydril, he won't be able to shake him off easily! That’s a commander!"
The problem was the enemy’s status. Being a commander meant having significantly higher health and defense. It was reasonable to assume that a one-on-one duel would be unwinnable.
"Fortunately, England is still in the first era! It's a relief he's armed with a spear and shield instead of a longbow!"
"Is that really a relief?"
"Isn't he famous for his longbow play?"
"Well, from Almond's perspective, a longbow would be preferable. You can dodge arrows."
"Really? Is that how it works?"
This happened in LIL as well. Even if deity A was the perfect counter to B, B often strangely countered A in high rank challenger matches. The compatibility could reverse based on each player's understanding.
"Right! Here, spear soldiers have faster movement than archers! If Jaydril just blocks Almond's arrows with his shield and gets close, he wins! Especially since he's a commander and can take several hits!"
Jaydril was a skilled player who could block even curve shots on reaction. If he saw it, his shield would likely block the arrow.
Even if Almond managed to hit after avoiding any attacks, he would have to repeat the same action a few more times to kill the enemy.
"He could kill Jaydril, but…"
It would take time. And time was on England's side, not Korea's.
"A decision has to be made."
Almond pondered for a moment. Meanwhile, Jaydril was quickly approaching.
Suddenly, Almond burst out of the bushes and started running toward his own troops.
"He just ran out like that!? Leaving the safety of the bushes!?"
"He's completely exposed now! Running side by side with the enemies!"
From being on the enemies' flank to running toward his own camp, Almond ended up running alongside the enemies.
"If you exaggerate a bit, the enemies might think he's one of their own right now!"
"Almond seems to be trying to return to his own camp!"
"But Jaydril is running incredibly fast!"
Almond also ran desperately, but the opponent's speed was more remarkable. This was probably due to the penalty associated with the weapons he was carrying.
"Carrying close-range weapons makes you faster. That's the game's system!? Did he take that into account!?"
With terrifying speed like a machine, Jaydril closed the distance. It was evident Almond would be caught eventually.
"Then…"
Almond took out four arrows from his quiver, fitting them each between his fingers.
"Give up on that strange skill."
He didn't aim at Jaydril, who was following him. Instead, he turned his upper body to the right and aimed at the English soldiers charging in.
Almond shot the four arrows in quick succession and instantly killed three English soldiers. One fell over despite Almond not using the focus trait.
"They're dead! He hit them during such chaos!"
None of the rapidly fired arrows missed. Each struck a different target precisely.
No wonder OrangeKing was excited.
"Who cares about the focus trait? Real men just go and shoot!"
— For real, lol
— Lol
— Crazy...
— What did I just witness?
The sight of Almond taking down enemies like a machine gun was awe-inspiring, yet he showed no change in expression as he reached for his quiver again.
"There are too many."
Almond had no time to be shocked or surprised with a mountain of enemies to deal with. He immediately resumed shooting.
This time, he knocked down four soldiers running in a line and instantly killed them. All four of them died just like that.
"No way, they all died! All of them!" OrangeKing screamed and thrashed about.
— Are you the one dying? lol
— Lol
— Does OrangeKing have family in England?
— All deeaad!!!
"Who needs the focus trait when a single shot takes them down!? How does this work, Kimchi Warrior!? This will get us reported for hacking again! We're from South Korea!!"
"Yes! It's not a hack! The closer you hit to the center of a critical spot, the more the damage doubles! It's the magic of compound interest!"
"Wait, the closer to the center of a critical spot? To instantly kill with a short bow’s damage..."
"Yes! You have to hit right in the center!"
— Son of Kingdom, Almond!!
— Almost a perfect shot
— Wow, lol
— King~~~ You can't beat us! Dom~~
— Amazing;
"Shooting while running and hitting that precisely?"
As this went on, Almond continued to shoot. His accuracy seemed to increase with nearly 90% of his shots resulting in instant death.
"Ah! They keep dying even as we speak!!"
The way he drew and released the bowstring looked so effortless and smooth.
"Keep going!"
OrangeKing likened it to playing a harp.
"It's like a harpist continuously plucking the bowstring!"
Tiriling~!
Suddenly, OrangeKing summoned a harp and started playing. Of course, the tune was a mess.
"It's the Harp of Death! Every pluck shatters an enemy's skull!"
— Lol, what the hell
— The naming sense from hell
— The Harp of Death, LOL
— I'm at a loss for words, really lol
— Stop forcing it~~
Perhaps because of the show that was being put on, an uncommon donation came through in the chat.
Bababam!
[Dionysus has donated 10,000 won.]
[Almond, since you've shattered the mood, you're responsible.]
OrangeKing's eyes widened. A 10,000 won donation was not much individually, but donations usually flowed together. Just one coming in was significant.
— Lol, what
— Lol
— Ah, it's been a while!
— What?
OrangeKing shouted as if he had been waiting, "Yes, Dionysus!"
Then, he started frantically plucking the harp. It was a frenzied performance. He shook his head wildly, contorting his body as if there was an actual rhythm.
— I'm dying here lol
— Heavy metal lol
— Headbanging harp, lol
— Someone, give me a BGM lol
— Is this a reaction to 10,000 won?!
OrangeKing, noticing Kimchi Warrior standing cluelessly beside him, nudged him with his hip and made eye contact. Only then did Chi-Seung grasp the situation and stood up to reluctantly sway his body.
— Lol
— Wow lol
— What reflexes
— This guy was a clown too lol
The viewers went wild over Chi-Seung's rare dance moves.
[BGMSorcerer has donated 2,000 won.]
[Music Donation - Your requested heavy metal is now playing.]
As the music donation came in, OrangeKing seized the moment and shook his head even more vigorously while screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Die! Dieee!!"
"Just die! Die!"
Whether or not it was the madness spreading, Chi-Seung also joined in the shouting.
Then, the real English soldiers started to drop like flies.
— Lol, they're really dropping like flies
— They're getting trashed, lol
— What am I even watching?
— Lol, legend
— The way they're just dropping dead is hilarious, lol
[??? has donated 5,000 won.]
[Almond's archery is really amazing. Blessings to his beautiful talent!]
[Hey has donated 10,000 won.]
[Almond is a clown? In the face of what’s real, one can only become solemn...]
***
Jaydril's eyes wavered.
"Rapid fire like that?"
Almond’s arrows were getting faster. He began rapid firing and wasn’t using the focus trait.
"The damage should be lacking..."
The reason Korean archers were feared was because of the focus trait. The arrows' increased destruction meant that even lightly armored targets could be instantly killed if hit near a critical spot. Shooting so quickly meant Almond wouldn't benefit from the increased destruction of the focus trait. Surely that was the case.
"Ugh!"
"Damn!"
Thud!
Soldiers instantly fell.
"What?"
It was incomprehensible. No, it was unacceptable. He didn't understand why this was happening.
It was due to the long-range damage calculation mechanism.
"Hitting the very center of the critical spot while running?"
The closer a player hit to the center of a critical spot, the more the damage doubled. If this were archery targets, each inner ring hit increased the damage by 1.5 times.
Thus, perfectly hitting the center multiplied the damage due to the magic of compound interest. The first era English barbarians, virtually unprotected, naturally died in one shot.
"That doesn't make sense?"
Hitting the very center of a critical spot. Hitting the critical spot itself was hard enough, let alone the very center. It was only possible with the perfect opportunity. It was impossible in such a chaotic situation while running.
Was there a golfer who could score a hole-in-one every time? Such a thing didn't exist nor should it exist.
"And he's running?"
While running, Almond avoided the arrows from his allies and still struck the very center of the enemies’ vital spots.
Jaydril watched Almond's back with a fierce expression. He couldn't accept it.
"If this is possible, then what am I…?"
His feet hit the ground as he ran and tensed up with power. His speed increased as he almost caught up.
Archers inherently moved slower and couldn’t run away forever.
"He will be caught by me personally."
With his spear raised high, Jaydril thrust toward Almond's nape and aimed for the center of the critical spot. The enemy's reaction wasn’t perfect, almost nonexistent.
"Die!"
Almond was too focused on shooting arrows. This would end here.
However, a sudden strong impact came from the side. With the sound of flesh being pierced countless times, Jaydril’s vision suddenly turned to the left. He was sent flying away and the distance between him and Almond grew again.
"!?"
In his excitement, he had momentarily forgotten that the Korean archers were still targeting him. Not just the one enemy in front of him, but the entire Korean archery unit. He knew this, of course.
He fell to the ground, depleted of health. Even if he wasn't hit directly in a critical spot, being hit by dozens of arrows at once was enough.
"Why did they shoot dozens of arrows at me? The soldiers should have been charging."
As a ghost, Jaydril finally realized the situation. His soldiers had already been annihilated. He was the only one left.
Feeling empty and humiliated, he wondered if he had gotten too carried away. His gaze turned toward Almond, who had finally stopped to catch his breath.
"I didn't think you'd stop shooting."
He hadn't failed to react to Jaydril's attack. He had simply trusted his allies to cover him, knowing they would be more accurate.
Jaydril had been completely outplayed.
"This operation is a failure."
After informing the commander of the situation, Jaydril ascended into the sky. Once a commander died, they lost their command authority and couldn’t be revived. This was the burden they carried for the buffs they received.
"It's okay. Adelwald has won decisively. The command will be passed on to the next in line."
Fortunately, aside from this battle, the situation looked favorable. It seemed likely they would win the war, yet Jaydril couldn't take his eyes off the man he had been following.
"A face I've never seen before."
Was it just a feeling? That player seemed like a newcomer.
"That can't be. Korea can't have a new player displaying such gameplay."
He shivered at the thought that his hunch could be correct.
A newcomer displaying such gameplay without any data and performing above veterans? What could be more terrifying?