Season 3: Chapter 95: Joseon’s Secret Weapon (2)
The caster realized Cookie's intention and exclaimed, "Ah! They're attacking Rome back?!"
Although Joseon's 6 o'clock base was currently under attack, they chose to attack rather than defend. The first ten players to receive crossbows immediately ran to the two o'clock base.
"That's right! Even if ten archers went to defend at six o'clock, it wouldn’t turn out well!"
"Exactly. The enemies would fight from a more advantageous position."
"So instead, they’re charging into enemy territory to sweep away the workers! But how will the archers break through those walls and gates!"
Due to the characteristics of the Ancient Walls map, it wouldn’t be easy to breach the two o'clock base.
"Archers can't set fires, can they!?"
Furthermore, ranged soldiers couldn’t use torches against buildings.
"Even if they could use torches, walls are made of stone and won’t burn down! But!"
Using fire to burn stone was nonsensical, so how could these archers inflict damage on the two o'clock base?
"Once Joseon reaches the third era, soldiers can simply create basic siege weapons on the spot!"
They could get through with siege weapons.
"They're making siege weapons on the spot!?"
Joseon’s soldiers could instantly produce siege weapons upon reaching the third era.
"Siege weapons become much faster to produce on the spot! The stats of these siege weapons are a bit different though!"
Although these siege weapons were inferior to those produced in a factory, they could be made much faster on the spot.
"Ah! They’re going to fight with shovels then!"
— This is K-army LOL
— Shovels LOL
— Is this the defense industry’s corrupt siege weapon?
— The strongest soldier = engineer
— Now the quartermaster gets it, season 2
"Currently, the available siege weapons are battering rams, siege ladders, and stuff like that... What will they make!?"
"I don't know!"
OrangeKing didn’t know what siege weapon they would choose to make. However, the answer soon became clear.
The archers arrived near the two o'clock location and gathered briefly out of enemy sight.
[Siege Ladder]
They began making ladders and planned to climb over the walls rather than knock them down.
"Ah! They’re making ladders? They’re really making them in a flash!"
Ladders were the least lethal of siege equipment and the quickest to produce. A ladder could be made in the blink of an eye.
"But can they properly set them up? It’ll be chaos if those ladders are simply kicked away from the walls!"
Ladders could be simply made, but successfully placing them on walls was the problem. If the enemy properly countered them, the entire group of soldiers on the ladder would be in danger.
"Are you sure they won't be noticed?"
"Anyway! They're making ladders and approaching!"
Joseon had settled on making ladders as their strategy.
"But there are watch troops up there!"
An enemy watch troop roamed the walls. However, Joseon's six o'clock base was under attack so hardly any enemy troops remained at the two o'clock base.
The broadcasters suddenly lowered their voices as if they were also sneaking in.
"This is risky even if it’s just one enemy."
"Yes. If they get noticed, a report will go in immediately! More troops could be summoned here."
"Exactly. If there’s a barracks, soldiers at the main base can be dismissed and summoned here instead."
— Why are they whispering?
— Siege ASMR
— LOL OrangeKing is even crouching LOL
Currently, around one hundred fifty troops were stationed at Rome's eleven o'clock main base. From there, troops could be dismissed and recruited to the two o'clock barracks. They could quickly be regrouped at the two o'clock base.
In other RTS terms, this was akin to killing soldiers and reproducing them, which was an uncommon function. Given Rome’s unique circumstances, they would highly likely use this strategy.
"But is there a way to enter without being noticed!?"
"Um..."
OrangeKing paused to think before offering a solution.
"If you kill the enemies in one shot without them even being able to report, that would work."
"The soldier on the wall?!"
Almond and the other Joseon archers occasionally managed a headshot in one try.
— That??
— LOL
— Too high
— Against heavy infantry?
The caster had reason to be surprised. The wall was simply too high and it was the third era.
"The soldier up there! Isn’t that one of Rome’s heavy infantry?!"
Rome's heavy infantry units from the third era were especially infamous. Wrapped in layers of armor, they could completely block ranged attacks. They moved slowly with their spears and mace, but could effectively secure territories.
Unlike knights, they weren’t expensive and dozens could be produced quickly. The only downside was their mobility, but that hardly mattered if their task was just to patrol the walls.
"Now, the group of ten archers is approaching."
The soldiers started advancing toward the wall guarded by the heavy infantry.
***
Rustling sounds filled the air near the forest by the wall. A group of ten soldiers crouched and moved stealthily. As the leader of the archery squad, Pang raised his fist.
Click.
He signaled for everyone to stop.
"There might be watch troops on top of the wall."
Even with limited personnel, one or two watch troops would typically be stationed. The soldiers murmured among themselves.
"How many could be inside?"
"I don't know."
"Me neither..."
It was hard to guess on the spot how many troops would be beyond the wall. Only a commander viewing the entire situation from above would have a better guess.
Ding.
Just then, a message arrived.
[The six o'clock base is being attacked, so the estimated troop count at the two o'clock base is around ten.]
While Cookie had the most credible opinion, it was still just an opinion and couldn't be entirely trusted. Nonetheless, Pang took this data into account.
"Around ten enemies... then there will be watch troops on the walls. It'll be too conspicuous if the ladders are too close..." He called out to Almond, "Come with me."
Almond nodded and stepped forward. The two of them left the rest behind and started moving closer to the wall.
"There."
As they got closer, they could see a figure moving back and forth on top of the wall. Pang swallowed hard.
'Crazy, heavy infantry?'
It was as if the enemy had anticipated that Joseon would conduct guerrilla warfare with archers and blatantly positioned heavy infantry on the wall. Normally, one would expect crossbowmen who could also attack from a distance.
'We need to kill him in one shot. This is tricky.'
The only scenario in which a soldier could report to their commander was after surviving a hit. If they killed the enemy with a single blow, reporting through the system would be impossible. The commander would only know if they paid specific attention to this spot. However, killing heavy infantry in a single shot was extremely difficult.
'But it's just one person.'
Given the small number, there was a way.
"Almond, let’s shoot together."
"Why? It's just one person."
"Man, if we don't hit their head just right, it’ll only do half the damage."
"Ah..."
Significant damage could be inflicted by hitting the helmet, but it wouldn't be enough to bring him down in one shot. To do so effectively, they would need to hit between the eyes. Expecting to hit the eyes from this distance to the wall would be overly optimistic. It was more efficient to aim for the head together.
"If we both hit the head at the same time, we can kill him in one shot."
Almond nodded and strung an arrow onto his bowstring.
'The crossbow...'
Almond felt a bit of tension.
'It's my first time.'
This would be his first shot with a crossbow in actual competition. He had used it many times during scrimmages, but never in an official match. One could say it was just another bow, but each weapon was authentically crafted and had a distinct feel in Civil Empire. The crossbow, compared to a regular bow, felt more robust even when just pulling it.
The tip of the arrow blazed with a light of focus.
Pang began to count, "Alright. When I count to three, we shoot. One..."
Almond recalled how it felt when he first shot this bow. Even pulling the string sounded different like a beast steadying its breath, rumbling...
***
"Look at this, Sang-Hyeon."
His coach appeared much younger without a single white hair. He held something coiled up in his hand. It looked like a half-finished hula hoop at a glance, but he seemed quite proud of it.
"This is a crossbow."
"A crossbow?"
Sang-Hyeon asked what it was and the coach seemed baffled by the question.
"Yes, a crossbow. Don't you know?"
"I know about archery."
The coach made a disbelieving face.
"No, of course you know archery because you’re in the archery club! Were you asleep during history class?"
"I don't sleep during class. It messes up my sleep cycle."
He hadn’t slept in class. He just didn’t listen.
"… Well, alright."
The coach looked at the crossbow he brought out and proudly showed it off. Was he casting pearls before a swine?
"Sigh. Well, it's because I feel good. Just look at it. I brought it out to show you anyway."
"So what is it?"
"It's a bow. A bow."
"?!"
Sang-Hyeon approached with wide eyes in amazement. It seemed to finally pique his curiosity.
"It's so round... this is a bow?"
"It gets rounded like this with the initial tension..."
The coach began heating the crossbow on a hearth placed on the table. Then, he inserted one end of the bow into a mold to shape it and pressed firmly.
"It's about reversing the direction it was initially coiled in."
The bow, which was originally shaped like a C, stretched out into a } shape.
Creeeeak...
Once it settled perfectly into place, it resembled the bows that Sang-Hyeon saw in historical dramas.
"They call this stringing the crossbow."
"… Wow."
"Imagine the tension if it's forcibly pulled back from how it was initially curled."
Pulling it back from its forward curl was why it was called a recurve bow in English.
"How is it?"
Ting~
The coach smiled wryly as he strung the finished bow and plucked it. The twanging sounded clear, almost like a stringed instrument because it was traditionally made using animal tendons.
"Do you want to shoot it?"
At the time, Sang-Hyeon was too young to understand. Even his coach had never fired the crossbow after buying it. He simply nodded as if mesmerized.
"Good."
The coach handed him the bow with a grin.
"It's a bit different from archery."
Just like when Sang-Hyeon first learned archery, the coach guided both his hands and corrected his stance.
"Left hand here... and don't position the string near your mouth like in archery. It's too different in size..."
After merely tapping to adjust his posture, the coach stepped back. There was no need to teach Sang-Hyeon how to draw and release the bow any further.
"Now, just pull."
Sang-Hyeon nodded and gently pulled the string.
Grrrrr...
'What is this?'
The sensation felt different from the clean pull of modern technology. The rough feel of the wood and string dragging out told him exactly how much he was pulling and how much force he was applying.
'This is about right.'
Sang-Hyeon realized he had pulled the bowstring with as much tension as he could handle. The bow and string were in a tug-of-war at full draw.
'Where to shoot?'
However, they were indoors.
"Coach..."
Sang-Hyeon turned to ask the coach where to shoot.
"Hey, kid! Don't aim at me! Over there! There!"
Slam!
The coach quickly opened a window. A slit of winter air seeped through the slightly opened window. Yes, it was also winter then. The window gap was just wide enough for an arm to pass through.
Sang-Hyeon could see a target, three colored circles, outside. Hitting the center of the distant target through such a small gap was not easy, but no one in the room doubted it.
"Now, shoot it there—"
At that moment, Sang-Hyeon's right hand let the arrow fly.
Whooosh!
The arrow would surely pierce the target.
Thud!
"Hey, kid! Who's chasing you? Why such a rush with the bow?"
***
"Two… What, kid! Why did you shoot early?"
Whooosh!
An arrow flew before Pang could shoot. The timing was off, but—
Thunk!
It precisely hit the target.
The heavy infantry clutched his eyes and fell backward.
"The angle I just shot was right…"
Crash!
Something heavy fell below the wall.
"Whoa…!?"
Pang, briefly startled, waved to the others.
"Yeah! Shooting quickly is better! Hey, everyone come here! The watcher is down!"
Almond's lips curled slightly. Perhaps he was reminded of his coach.
‘He’s probably not watching.’
Although it was highly unlikely that his coach was watching, Almond wondered what he would say if he heard Almond being praised for shooting so quickly.