Season 3: Chapter 58: Black Death (1)
The Korean team had a significantly smaller cheering squad and an unfavorable match-up against a team with a history of victories. They had many disadvantages in this game.
[30 seconds until the game starts]
Almond calmed his mind as he waited for the game to begin.
"Ah, bro. I'm really nervous," someone next to him spoke.
The player’s nickname was Latte. He was an affable younger peer who often talked to Almond since the first scrimmage.
"Just shake it off."
"Should I?"
Latte began to shake his body vigorously.
"Sh-sh-sh-sh-shaking...!"
— lmao
— What an extrovert lol
— lol
— What's with the break dance?
— Is he doing this because his senior asked him to? lol
"Uh, uh, uh, uh, it seems like I'm the only one shaking, d-d-d-doesn't it? You're not nervous, right bro?"
"Yes."
"Because you're on the national team?"
"I’m not on the national team. I didn't make it."
— Almond's blunt replies are hilarious lol
— This guy only talks about himself lol
— Latte lol
— It's like I'm texting my crush, this brings tears to my eyes... Go Latte!
"Ah~~ I really like this calm energy of yours, Almond bro. I just have to stick with you!"
Latte preferred to stick close to Almond unless given specific orders because he liked Almond.
Almond thought the real reason was because sticking with him significantly reduced Latte's chances of dying.
[Game start!]
Suddenly, the countdown ended and the game began.
Ping!
Ping!
Pings started appearing everywhere.
[Scout team designated]
[Move]
Almond was assigned to a scouting team of about five members and began to move. Latte, as usual, was right beside him.
Commanders usually dragged nearby players together for collective orders. Players who worked well together often arranged beforehand to stick together. Sometimes, the commander specifically assigned them to the same groups. They often ended up seeing the same members.
"Hey~ Almond~ we meet again?"
'As expected...'
This bulky friend was often humming. He was the youngest on the team, but felt like a ten year veteran.
"Hey! Spaaaaaaam!"
"Latte ham~ always together."
— Humming but his username is Spam lol
— His concept is insane lol
— Is there a gangster here or what?
— How can someone's name be Spam…? lol
— Does he also talk a lot because of his username? lol
Fortunately, unlike his username, Spam was not very talkative. All their interactions were limited to him greeting Almond with "Almond ham~" whenever they met.
The downside was that his size made him easy to spot, but he wasn't bad to have around as a shield when fleeing.
"You guys are together again. Doesn’t it get old?"
The next person to speak up was Pang, often designated as the leader of the archery unit.
"Pang ham~"
"Yo! Paaaaaang! And why are you here again, bro?"
"Because they told me to."
At their first meeting, he had put on quite a leader-like demeanor. Initially intimidating, they soon discovered that he was just a middle-aged man who loved fishing. Moreover, he rather disliked leading and took a liking to Almond, who occasionally took on the leader role.
"Ah~ I prefer just chilling in the back, shooting away like fishing."
The connection between archery and fishing was unclear, but he often made such comparisons. Considering he was as good a shot as Almond from long range, Almond sometimes thought there could be something to the fishing analogy.
"We're here again."
The last person joined them with a low sigh. This person wasn’t always in the group, but Cookie had persistently paired him with Almond. It seemed like he had been ordered to join them again this time.
"Yoooo! Carrot!"
"... Hi."
Her username was Carrot Cake, but everyone on the team just called her Carrot. She wasn't particularly sociable. However, she was generally the smartest among the physically-oriented archers.
"Does this mean everyone's here now?"
As the scouting party of five assembled, a ping marked their location.
Ping!
They were designated a scouting area.
[Move]
[Defensive scouting]
"Alright, let's skip the introductions since we always see the same faces. Let’s get moving."
Pang clapped and refocused everyone’s attention.
[Leader]
In this scouting party, he was the designated leader. This pattern always emerged when Cookie opted to play conservatively.
"Since it's defensive scouting, let’s maintain concealment and move carefully without getting noticed."
Pang took the lead and the other four prepared to follow.
Carrot commented, "There's no need to be too careful. The French probably don't want to fight us either. Both sides want to safely reach the second era. Being too cautious only makes us lose out in a game of chicken."
"… Okay, Carrot Juice."
Pang modified his command.
"Then, let’s run like hell! Let’s go!"
— Carrot Juice lol
— Isn't Pang the guy who used to act tough? Nice guy though lol
— lol, changing names to Juice, such a dad move lol
— Let’s go~
***
Although they encountered several enemies, neither side aggressively engaged the other as Carrot predicted. A tame first era unfolded with both sides scouting the map's resources and layout.
"Uh?! OrangeKing! They're not attacking each other!?" the puzzled caster asked.
After all, OrangeKing said that Joseon could win if they attacked early.
"If it continues like this, isn't it disadvantageous for Korea? They just keep scouting!"
OrangeKing shrugged, unable to say for sure.
"Ah. Right? What are they thinking, Cookie?"
After observing the map for a moment, OrangeKing seemed to realize something.
"Ah! But! France thought an attack was coming and was preparing in various ways!?"
The Joseon scouts did not attack, but conducted aggressive reconnaissance as if they would attack.
"Ah...! Are we being fooled by a feint!?"
"Yes! If it's Korea, they must overwhelm France early on! This idea is fixed in their minds!"
"Cookie cleverly exploited the fact that they had few options and baited the enemy! Impressive!"
Unable to shake off the thought that Korea would attack, France prepared for an early tower rush from them.
"Does preparing mean using up resources?"
"Correct! This makes a difference in the speed of advancing to the second era! Korea is confident that France won't do anything in the first era! They’re just going ahead without looking back and building second era buildings!"
To advance to the next era, they needed specific buildings. This involved costs and time. Building defensive towers or taking defensive actions like France inevitably delayed the second era.
"This means Korea will reach the second era much faster!"
Sure enough, drums echoed across the battlefield.
Doom!
[Korea has entered the second era!]
France could also see this notification.
"It's urgent now for France!"
The movements of the soldiers visibly changed. Their scouting forces returned to the main base.
"This is going well, isn't it!?"
"Ah. Is that so? If France follows them into the second era, doesn't that still put them at a disadvantage?"
Korea and France had very different faction dynamics after the second era. The French army, primarily composed of royal knights, was a hundred times better than Joseon's archers.
Therefore, Korea had to inflict some damage while France was still in the first era.
"If both of them are in the second era, that's a different story! With Korea advancing to the second era first, doing something now is even better than a first era rush! Harassing them with archers is completely different than doing it with clubs!"
France fell slightly behind in advancing to the second era. The game could dramatically change if Korea found an opportunity during this gap.
"If they capture even a gold mine, France really might not be able to recruit knights!"
Advancing to the next era required a significant amount of gold. The same was true for high-end units like royal knights. Historically, France would be easily defeated if they lost their gold mines.
"Yes! Korea is now starting to produce bows! Archers are also being produced!"
Korea quickly distributed short bows to the produced archers.
"How many to produce and attack with? This must be decided carefully. If you get too greedy, it’ll be too late!"
Korea produced around ten archers.
Doom!
[France has entered the second era.]
France also advanced to the second era.
"Now, France has also reached the second era!"
"Meanwhile, Korea has distributed quite a few short bows!"
Having already advanced to the second era, Korea had at least twenty players armed with short bows.
"They only have one opportunity!"
"France still can't produce royal knights! They don’t have enough gold to recruit them yet! It's still far off!"
The most vulnerable moment was right after just advancing to the second era. For Korea, this opportunity was worth its weight in gold.
"Here we go! Charge!"
Twenty short bow archers ran forward. Behind them, barbarian soldiers armed only with clubs also charged forward.
"It's a full-scale attack!"
It wasn't just a simple attack, but almost an all-in rush.
"Ah! And! Indeed, a famous player can be seen! Almond has been organized into the first group of ten runners!"
Around twenty short bow archers came out and Almond was in the leading group of ten.
"Are they going to harass the workers!? Is it really harassment!? It looks like they're going to destroy everything!?"
"Yes! This will be different from harassing with clubs in the first era! They could really collapse everything! Wow! This is a surprising strategy!"
— Reminds me of the triple rush lol
— Timing is killer omg
— Does France really win this match-up???
— Cheese rush?
Cookie excitedly executed the plan they had come up with.
"Boldly giving up on any first era harassment and turning that time they gained into a fast transition to the second era! Now they’re harassing with second era archers! No! They're going for a full assault!? Joseon's strength lies in the second era archers, but they're at a disadvantage against royal knights. However, they successfully avoided that problem and proceeded with a perfect strategy prepared just for France!"
— lol for real
— Rapper OrangeKing omg
— But will this work?
— The timing is brilliant for real
The caster also raised his voice, "Ah! This reminds me of the Imjin War! But France is not just standing by! All their soldiers are gathering to build a defense line!"
"So what! France only has barbarian soldiers right now! Even if they block, the damage will be huge! If they can't block, the game could end!"
— The legend of the triple rush lol
— Oh please lol
— May the spirit of the beans bless us!
France was also desperate. If the archers got through even a little, the damage to their workers would be substantial.
[Block them!!!]
With a shout, the club soldiers steadfastly guarded the path.
"Who are you blocking!? You damn targets! Just give up the Buddhist teachings!"
— lmao
— There it goes lol
— Why is this person mad?
— Buddhist teachings, lol
Numerous French barbarian soldiers blocked the path.
Korea faced them with the addition of twenty archers. The battle looked much more favorable for Korea.
"Now! Shoot your arrows! The first shot announcing the start of the war is important, right!?"
"Yes! It has a huge impact on morale... Oh they shot! Who is it!?"
The leading archer for Korea drew his bow.
[Almond]
It was Almond.
Suddenly, everyone stopped talking and swallowed dryly.