Season 3: Chapter 82: The Time I Got Almond’s Number (3)
After the game ended, the Spanish players were busy logging out. Normally, they would conduct a feedback session and analyze the causes of their defeat, but that was only possible if their mental states allowed it. Despite being called an all-pro team, the Spanish team was currently unstable.
"… Sigh."
"Dammit…"
Was there any point in continuing the conversation at this meeting table where only sighs and curses faintly echoed?
Nacho hung his head and thought, 'These guys aren't mentally weak.'
It wasn't fair to say that Spain's think tank, the players, or even the hot-tempered Tres were mentally weak.
'This situation is the worst.'
Even Gandhi would spew fire if he were in this situation. They suffered the humiliation of a first era defeat by the weakest team in the group stage. That alone would be a difficult trial to endure, but it seemed trivial compared to the overall team situation.
Spain had also lost the previous game against Italy. This defeat was particularly painful because they had spent the most time preparing for Italy.
Now, Spain had suffered two losses. Fortunately, France also had two losses and stood shoulder to shoulder with them.
In a system where only two teams could advance, looking around only meant they would both fall into the abyss together. To advance through this group stage, they had to win every upcoming game.
Spain needed to win against Korea again, defeat Italy, and even beat France twice. The anxiety that not even one loss could be tolerated spread like a contagion within the Spanish team.
"If we lose to that, what are we supposed to do? Huh? I can't even remember the last time we lost with first era weapons!!!"
Tres handled his anxiety with loud complaints and anger. It was hard to say he felt genuinely angry about anything.
Therefore, Nacho decided to stop the feedback.
"Disband."
Nacho knew what it meant for a defeated team to disband without reviewing the game, but the situation was just that bad.
[Logout]
Phew.
He soon vanished from the conference table. It was a momentary escape from the pain and an attempt to cool his head.
However, the world still had trials for them. When he emerged from the capsule, a large TV was still on and showing the broadcast.
“... I just have to ask this question! You showed us an incredible ceremony earlier, didn't you? Could you tell us what that meant?”
The broadcast was in the middle of the MVP interview. It was in Korean, so Nacho had to read the subtitles. That was why Nacho thought for a moment.
'There must be a subtitle error.'
Almond's answer sounded too absurd.
“One, one, seven, four, eight…”
Was he saying Uno’s name and they were translating it into numbers? Almond hadn't even encountered Uno in this game. It was a strange error.
Nacho was about to dismiss it.
“... It's Wish Bank.”
Finally, a subtitle that wasn't just numbers appeared.
'… Bank?'
The word made Nacho briefly tilt his head. Then, he thought, 'Could it be?'
If someone had seen his face turning redder and paler like autumn leaves, they would have called an ambulance for an allergic reaction. The volcano under his skin started to erupt with Almond's next words.
“Ah, this is for the bounty on me. Please deposit the money there.”
Bounty? Of course, Nacho knew as part of the Spanish team. He knew that fans had placed a bounty on Almond's head. Shamefully, no one managed to kill Almond even once.
Of course, they wouldn’t have changed their strategy just to kill Almond because of the bounty. It was still a disgrace for Spain.
How did Almond know about it?
The screen displayed Almond's victory ceremony. He climbed up the town hall under the fluttering Korean flag and shot an arrow at his own head.
Thump!
Almond comically fell with an arrow stuck in his head.
— es una lástima
— LOLOL
— I'd rather put a bounty on Nacho.
— I want you to shoot Nacho with that arrow
— Whooosh~
Although it was clearly a Spanish server chat, a few Korean messages popped up. Turning on the translation would likely reveal insulting words. Even if they weren't in Korean, countless insulting messages flooded in.
The Spanish fans felt furious. Almost all of them blamed Nacho for the defeat and that was understandable.
The commander-in-chief usually bore the greatest responsibility. In a defeat that felt like they were completely outmaneuvered, he was almost invariably treated as the culprit. The heat began to rise to his head.
Regardless, that guy kept babbling.
“Spain placed a bounty on you... And in such a situation, you never died once!”
“No, I did die once.”
He said he died once?
For a moment, Nacho thought, 'Did that happen...?' He desperately tried to recall. Of course, no such memory existed. It was a lie.
“I killed myself in the end.”
"Ah... shit..."
Snap...!
Nacho heard something snap within himself. People would think he was crazy, but it felt real. It sounded like several blood vessels had burst in his ears.
"Ugh..."
He couldn’t help but scream as loud as he could, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
Regrettably, the pain from this game wasn’t even over yet.
***
At the same time, someone else also had a day filled with anger like Nacho. It was Tres. He had openly provoked Almond. No, he had provoked the entire Korean team with a video and suffered the most afterward.
The frequency of insults toward Tres in the chat was as high as it was toward Nacho.
— Tres only has a big mouth
— The only one who missed the chance to kill Almond is the culprit
— I knew it since he was busy on Runestagram
His activity on Runestagram, his advertisements, his behavior up until now, and his significant mistakes in the game… all of this became arrows coming back at him.
"Sigh..."
He remained silent while watching the interview perhaps because he had already shouted all he could at the meeting table earlier. His face looked as if he had chewed on something unpleasant.
He didn't cause any more uproars. He thought this would allow Uno, whom he lived with, to rest more peacefully.
"What!?" Tres suddenly shouted as if he had seen something.
"Even these guys?!"
He saw something in Spain's Civil Empire community.
"You're really something, Tres. Going there is like a moth to the flame."
Uno tried to rest his eyes in preparation for another meeting and waved dismissively.
"It's not that! This is serious!"
"Why. Are the French making fun of us for surviving the first era longer?"
"It's not that simple!?"
Tres excitedly showed his phone to Uno.
The previously annoyed Uno widened his eyes as if enlightened.
"!?"
Suddenly, he wore an indescribable expression.
***
— la recompensa será depositada
(The bounty will be deposited.)
A Spanish user left a comment on YouTube.
Ju-Hyeok and Sang-Hyeon stared at the comment with their foreheads almost touching.
"Is this real?"
"Who knows."
For a comment supposedly written as a joke, it was rapidly gaining likes. The account truly seemed to belong to a Spanish person.
"Wait, I'll look it up."
Ju-Hyeok seemed to recall something and started searching for the bounty on a community website. He was looking for posts translated from foreign reactions.
"Here it is."
He examined the profile of the person who had written about the bounty. It was all in Spanish, which was confusing. Surprisingly, Ju-Hyeok knew a little Spanish. Living in the US, he often interacted with Spanish-speaking communities.
"It looks like the ID is real?"
"Really?"
Sang-Hyeon compared the two spellings. They seemed the same to him.
'I didn't really think they would pay.'
It was merely meant to mock the Spanish for placing a bounty on his own head. He hadn’t really intended to collect it.
"But the username could just be an imitation for fun. Check your account."
"Ah, yeah. Let's see."
They checked Sang-Hyeon’s account.
"Are international transfers this easy?"
"Just look."
Upon checking, they didn’t see any peculiarities with the account.
"..."
"Eh..."
Disappointed, Ju-Hyeok’s attention returned to the YouTube video.
"I think it's probably not true, but..."
Then—
Ding!
A real-time comment notification rang out. They received a notification for a comment?
[$3,000 Donation]
[No puedo enviar dinero, así que solo lo envío aquí.]
It turned out to be a comment with a $3,000 donation tag from the same username as before.
Ju-Hyeok slowly read the Spanish comment.
"I can't send money... so I’ll send it here...?"
"!?"
Sang-Hyeon and Ju-Hyeok's eyes instantly met.
"Oh, wooooow!"
"This is crazy! It's huge!"
Clap!
The two exchanged a victorious high-five and jumped around.
However, someone on the other side of the world was jumping in anger.
***
"... What the hell are these guys saying?"
Uno looked at the community post in disbelief.
"How is this supposed to help!"
Thud!
His reaction was understandable.
[A bounty has been placed again]
At first glance, the title seemed like a grateful post about placing another bounty. Even the author was the same person who had placed the previous bounty.
However—
[If they don't make it to the main competition, chop these guys' heads off and you'll get the bounty. The amount is still being collected.
DEAD or ALIVE
(Photo)
*For reference, the previous bounty has been awarded.]
The photo contained three individuals. It was Nacho, Uno, and Tres.
— Wise choice, my friend
— Was this meant for our team?
└ A real nutcase XD
— This is what I wanted to do
— Nacho should have more bounties on him
— I support