Season 3: Chapter 112: Destroy (2)
After losing eight siege vehicles and seven soldiers due to Spain’s ambush conversion…
“Ah...”
“...”
The commentators’ booth fell completely silent.
“Gulp…”
They could hear each other swallowing dryly.
On the field, countless Spanish fans cheered. They sounded distant and muffled, overshadowed by the silence in the booth.
“... Ah... this, this is...”
Korea’s rush consisted of eight siege vehicles and over fifty soldiers, but their plan collapsed after a single move.
Only around half of the Joseon soldiers survived the missionaries’ ambush conversion. The stragglers were all fleeing.
— Wow
— Damn
— This is messed up
— What happened?
— Wow...
The viewers felt shocked and were relatively better off. The worst part was that many didn’t even understand what had just happened.
— ???
— What happened?
— Why did they suddenly lose???
— Wow
The commentators had to explain.
OrangeKing swallowed and shouted, “Spain’s ambush missionaries delivered a huge hit and struck a jackpot!”
The caster picked up his energy and added excitedly, “Oh, Spain! They prepared such a move! No wonder they pushed to build a castle!”
“Yes, it was all a part of their plan!”
“The ambush missionaries took down the Joseon troops in one move! Plus, they got eight free siege vehicles! They could start a used car dealership now!”
— They took everything??
— Wow lol
— Really? Wow…
— Eight stolen Elantra N…
— Used car dealership lol
— What is this…?
Even after the explanation, many viewers still didn’t grasp what happened because it went by too quickly.
Fortunately, a useful function existed for those who couldn’t keep up.
“Oh, there’s a replay. Let’s watch.”
The replay started from when the Spanish soldiers were lying in ambush.
“Oh, they were waiting there? They predicted the path? They could have taken the mountain path instead.”
“Cookie was lured into rushing in because Spain built a castle. He had no other choice.”
It became apparent with a clear view and slower playback.
It wasn’t luck, but Cookie’s mistake. Spain had deliberately set them up.
“Once Spain built a castle and their resources kept increasing, Cookie had no choice but to take the shortcut.”
“That’s correct.”
Everything had flowed according to Spain’s plan.
“They even knew the exact timing.”
“Yes, they placed the ambush missionaries along that route. They did well to not show the missionaries immediately.”
The screen showed musketeers standing up and firing first.
Bang! Bang!
“They sent out the musketeers first, so the missionaries wouldn’t be suspected.”
“Yes, and there were so few musketeers that Joseon thought they could handle them.”
“That’s right. It was all intentional! A successful conversion is difficult without a chaotic melee battle!”
As the soldiers fought, the missionaries started to move toward the siege vehicles and Joseon soldiers. This was a complete and well-executed division of labor.
“Ah... Joseon was completely caught.”
The Joseon infantry retreated in panic and the slow siege vehicles could not escape.
“The only saving grace is that the soldiers disembarked from the siege vehicles. Is that correct?”
“It’s not confirmed, but it seems like most of them got out. Quite a few rushed out.”
The Joseon soldiers scrambled out of the siege vehicles. The subsequent battle was not worth watching.
Without siege vehicles, Joseon couldn’t conduct a siege on Spain.
Ultimately, Cookie ordered a retreat and reorganization. The replay ended.
“There’s a lingering regret regarding not having prepared any bows. Archers could have kited while getting in and out of the siege vehicles...”
OrangeKing expressed his regret over the battle.
“If they had done that, the resource system on the highland would have been fully operational, widening the resource gap even more.”
Joseon didn’t have any bows yet because of the timing.
“That’s true. We have to acknowledge Spain’s brilliant strategy.”
No matter how they rationalized it, Spain’s strategy was impeccable. They had to give credit where it was due.
“Has Spain awakened after their loss to Italy? They’re reaping the benefits of using an unconventional strategy like missionary conversion!”
“Yes, the resource gap is starting to widen. The highland base is fully operational.”
The resource gap would become enormous from now on and the game heavily tilted in favor of Spain. Even so, the commentators didn’t speak in despairing terms.
Korea still had several opportunities even if they lost this match.
“The players need to keep their morale up. Spain may be desperate, but we aren’t.”
“That’s right, but OrangeKing…”
“Yes?”
“Since it’s a lull, I’m curious. Didn’t Cookie see the number of missionaries earlier? Almond scouted until the end...”
“!?”
OrangeKing flinched at those words.
‘Indeed.’
He had forgotten, but that was true.
Didn’t Cookie eventually see the missionaries since Almond had survived?
“If Cookie saw the number of missionaries, he likely knew about the conversion strategy. If he saw it.”
Even if Almond saw it, there was a chance that Cookie didn’t.
OrangeKing thought Cookie hadn’t seen it. It made no sense for Cookie to ignore the possibility of conversion after seeing it.
“He probably didn’t see it. Siege vehicles are not a good choice against conversion missionaries, yet he produced so many...”
“Oh. So Cookie might not have seen it? That’s unfortunate...”
“Oh! Speaking of which!?”
At that moment, the observer changed the view to Spain’s commander.
“Another view change?”
Spain was guiding the captured siege vehicles into their highland castle. They were preparing to use them later for an attack.
“Oh... those are Joseon’s siege vehicles!”
The caster looked at the siege vehicles regretfully.
OrangeKing added his thoughts, “It’s unfortunate. Even though siege vehicles are among the cheapest siege weapons... losing eight is really painful. They were brand new with no depreciation yet!”
— LOL
— Depreciation LOL
— Mint condition!
“But why did they hide the view again?”
Hiding the view meant that the observer thought it would be more interesting not to show Joseon’s situation. In other words, there was more to it.
"Can Joseon show anything more from here?"
— From here…?
— Is that even possible??
— Will they show something? lol
At that moment, mounted Joseon soldiers began to appear near the dark area.
"Huh? What's that!?"
"They look like mounted archers to me!"
A Spanish scout moved closer.
Again, mounted Joseon soldiers appeared from the dark area.
[Mounted Archers]
They were indeed mounted archers.
Thwang!
At that moment, an arrow being fired echoed out and the view went dark again.
"The scout is dead? They killed him as soon as they saw him!?"
"Wow... the archer was in the forest. Joseon's archery skills are terrifying from the enemy's perspective!"
"Even we can't see from Spain's perspective! How many are there!?"
— Wow
— Oh, mounted archers are ready
— That was probably Almond just now
The mounted archers were so sharp that the scout died as soon as he got close. If even the scouts were in such a state, any approaching missionaries would be turned into pincushions.
"Mounted archers are definitely units that are almost immune to conversion, but the problem is the siege! Archers alone can't lay siege, can they!?"
"That's right! Mounted archers are supposed to infiltrate the castle walls, killing workers and causing chaos. Charging in straightforwardly like this doesn't make sense..."
The defensive strength of the highland's walls and castle couldn't be penetrated by arrows. It was physically impossible.
"What are they thinking?"
Despite this, the mounted archers charged forward.
Clip-clop! Clip-clop!
The horses kicked up dust clouds menacingly.
"Spain could just retreat into the castle!? Then these troops can't do anything!"
Despite their threatening momentum, the mounted archers couldn't actually do much.
As OrangeKing said, the Spanish soldiers just needed to get on the castle walls and shoot down. Spain’s defense would not be easily breached, yet the mounted archers kept charging at full speed.
***
Meanwhile, inside Spain’s highland outpost…
"Winning like this is boring," Tres arrogantly muttered.
"Keep the fun to yourself. Losing this time would have been truly boring."
Sure enough, Uno sharply rebuked him. However, he also agreed with Tres's opinion.
'To think the game would be turned around with just the missionaries.’
This game felt too easy. They hadn’t underestimated Nacho or Cookie. They just didn’t expect to catch the Joseon soldiers off guard so effectively.
Nacho probably hadn’t planned to win with just this one move.
“Why did they mass-produce siege vehicles? Because of the timing? Joseon has good catapults.”
“Probably. And honored catapults are better against soldiers instead of sieges.”
“But bringing siege vehicles only to have them all taken… seriously…”
Tres shook his head in disbelief.
“Why are you regretting it? Do you still have the luxury to act arrogant?”
“No. Look, I might not know much about strategy and tactics, but I have a gut feeling. Something feels off. Something.”
“What?”
“It was too easy. I mean, saying it was too easy might be an understatement. It feels like they skillfully let us catch on just at the last moment.”
“…?”
Uno flinched for a moment.
‘This guy has an animalistic intuition.’
Uno respected Tres’s ability, which made him frown.
‘They got caught on purpose?’
Tres spoke offhandedly, but his words were hard to swallow.
Did Joseon intentionally let something that could decide the entire game happen? Unless they wanted a rematch, that didn’t make sense. That definitely wasn’t the case.
Then—
“Aaaagh!”
Suddenly, a scream rang out.
Squelch…!
A red stream of blood shot up beyond the siege vehicles.
“What’s happening?”
What could possibly cause blood to be shed over there?
“Enemy attack!”
Bang!
Gunfire echoed out and the place turned chaotic.
‘What’s this!?’
Uno’s eyes widened. What he saw stunned him.
Joseon soldiers were standing there. How did they get there?
This was beyond the castle walls in the front yard at the heart of Spain’s defense. How were the enemies walking around here?
“Damn it! Didn’t I say something felt off!”
Clang!
The secret was revealed as Tres opened the siege vehicle's door.
“Waaaah!”
Joseon soldiers poured out of the siege vehicles. With eight siege vehicles, their numbers were staggering.
Spain, already low on armed soldiers, was quickly overwhelmed.
Even the cannons from the castle couldn't function properly. If they fired, they’d kill their own men too.
It was a clever tactic for Joseon to only use melee weapons.
A Spanish soldier fainted.
“Weren’t those guys supposed to have all disembarked!?”
All the Joseon soldiers had fled the siege vehicles. Everyone on the scene had seen that. How were some still inside?
“No! They should have been converted even if they remained inside!”
“R-right!”
Indeed, those inside would have been converted. So how...?
After a moment’s thought, Uno figured it out.
‘A population limit of two hundred!’
The population limit of two hundred prevented Spain from converting more soldiers.
Cookie had given up some soldiers and let the siege vehicles be taken on purpose. He had perfectly calculated.
Not only that…
‘Even the soldiers who left the siege vehicles were part of the plan. We thought that was all of them.’
Seeing the Joseon soldiers scramble out, it was hard to imagine that more remained inside. It seemed like a lot of them left.
‘A transport expansion upgrade?’
With the expansion upgrade, these siege vehicles could carry more soldiers. Even if five or six exited, five or six more could still remain inside.
Who would go for transport upgrades these days…? It was a flawless design.
“A subtle and ingenious trap.”
Tres's words were accurate.
Korea had skillfully let themselves get caught. Now, it was Spain’s turn to get caught.
“Kill them all!” the Joseon army's shout echoed throughout the Spanish camp.