Season 3: Chapter 129: Saving Private Ryan (4)
Cookie felt despair when the cavalry headed north and the view became clear.
'Damn. Of all places...?'
The enemy was heavily concentrated in the north.
Joseon was in a dire situation, but he couldn't give up here.
'We can still break through if a variable occurs. For sure.'
Unpredictable variables always occurred in Civil Empire battles because they were fought by multiple humans. Things didn’t always go as planned. If a gap formed, one could widen it into a path.
'Huh...?'
Something caught Cookie's eye.
A gap. It was definitely a gap, but...
'Is it our gap?'
It didn't seem like an enemy mistake and felt like a friendly mistake. The right end of the cavalry was caught in the enemy camp and fell behind.
No, saying they fell behind wasn’t quite right. It seemed like this person never intended to follow the plan from the start. Was there some on-the-spot judgment?
'Let's observe a bit more.'
Cookie decided to watch the situation a bit longer. His heart beat rapidly and he felt anxious. What would this variable lead to?
'I need to decide quickly.'
A glance at the resource window showed the resources piling up. In RTS games, quick judgment equated to economic power.
'Quickly...'
Cookie’s eyes narrowed, almost glaring at the battlefield. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
Slash!
The enemies started getting cut down.
'What’s this?'
The lone cavalryman was fighting far better than expected.
'In that case...'
Siege weapon locations, formation shapes, class matchups… numerous conditions lined up in Cookie’s mind and branched out with various possibilities. A single trunk quickly bloomed into lush branches. Where would the fruits form on these branches?
Cookie reached out.
'Here.'
Pwing.
He relayed an order to Malatang.
[Cease the breakthrough]
The cavalry that left Almond behind changed direction.
[Turn right and engage]
They planned to widen the gap that Almond created.
***
The commentators practically jumped out of their seats.
“Ahhh! The cavalry suddenly turned around!?”
“What is this?”
The cavalry had broken through and fled, but suddenly turned around and charged back.
“The Roman infantry can’t react to this sudden turn!”
“They’re charging—”
The cavalry crashed into the Roman infantry's flank with great force.
Boom!
Dust and noise filled the air as many soldiers flew aside with their entire bodies while others lost their heads.
“The field is clearing up!”
— Wow LOL
— A build-up? What’s that!? Just Joseon’s bomb soccer!
— LOL
— This feels so refreshing, wow
— Awesome!
“The cavalry! They’re not stopping. They’re cutting through! It’s a clear breakthrough!”
The cavalry swung their polearms left and right while charging, creating a cloud of blood in their wake. Once the cavalry gained momentum, they were hard to stop.
“The Romans are getting cut down instantly!”
“This is the terror of the cavalry!”
Such a disaster was inevitable if the cavalry gained speed and struck the enemy’s flank.
“No matter how strong spearmen are against cavalry, it’s useless if they get hit from the side! They need to stab the cavalry to stop them!”
The Roman infantry became especially vulnerable to the Joseon cavalry attacking from different directions.
The Joseon cavalry had turned right and gained a full view of all the Roman soldiers. The Romans didn’t anticipate it.
“Rome didn’t expect Joseon’s cavalry to suddenly turn and attack them from the side!”
“Anyone could see that Almond was abandoned! Joseon initially just intended to secure the rear!”
Joseon’s cavalry had blatantly obvious intentions. They intended to secure the rear and harass the enemy from both sides, so they fled. However, they suddenly returned almost immediately.
“For Rome, it’s like saying the son ran away from home! Then he opens the front door, shuts it, and says, ‘I’m back!’ How confusing!”
— LOL exactly
— “Move unpredictably”
— Tadaima
— How do you know this?
— Instant home return
— Right
“Right now, Joseon’s movements are unusual!”
“Huh? The main force! The main force is coming out!?”
“They’re following the momentum! More of them are coming!”
Indeed, the blue dots inside Joseon’s walls rapidly moved toward the north.
[Advance]
The archers gathered in the main base also advanced.
Although it had been a mistake to head north, it became clear that Rome would target the north heavily.
“There was some uncertainty! But now it’s clear!”
“Yes!? What’s clear!?”
“Cookie seems to have realized! This is where Rome will make a full assault! So Cookie is betting on this spot!”
The commentators, having seen the siege weapons deployed, already knew. Cookie only made this judgment by seeing a portion of the siege weapons.
“Cookie is declaring that this is where the battle will be decided!”
Cookie decided to make that location the battlefield. Winning there meant the other areas would be manageable. In a situation where all areas needed defending, he reduced it to defending just one spot.
“The archers are pouring out!”
The advancing archers took their positions and drew their bows.
Swish...
The sight of archers lined up along the plain was terrifying for the enemy.
[Fire!]
At the command, they released their arrows simultaneously.
Swoosh!
Countless arrows filled the sky.
In response, the enemy crossbowmen fired back.
“The enemy crossbowmen are good, but not as good as our archers!”
“That’s right! Our archers can aim and fire from such a long distance! Even in a parabolic arc!”
In terms of archery, Joseon possessed superior skills. In fact, Joseon’s national team was better than most archery civilizations.
Thud thud thud—
Countless arrows crossed paths, raining down like a storm.
“They’re dropping like flies!”
Thud thud thud thud!
The Roman infantry noticeably decreased.
The Joseon archers dealt far greater damage compared to the Roman crossbowmen.
OrangeKing grew excited and spat as he shouted, “This is Joseon’s Psionic Storm!!!”
— Wow
— LOL
— Bartender! Another Storm here!
— As expected of the nation of “Hunter 1:1 masters”
— Right~
— Alien civilization Joseon
— Nice
“Ah! For Joseon, how long has it been since they landed a proper hit!?”
“This needs a calculator to assess, but the flow! The flow is changing!”
Although the accumulated damage made it hard to judge if this was a complete gain, Joseon finally landed a hit after being on the defensive the entire game.
“Cookie’s unique flexible strategy is shining through!”
“Yes! This means Cookie is still sharp! This is good news! Mentally, the game could have broken him long ago! But he held on! And now he’s landed a blow!”
The battlefield’s atmosphere was lifting. The Joseon soldiers knew. Their commander hadn’t lost hope.
“This boosts the soldiers' morale! Ah! It means the commander still believes! If we do well, we can win!”
“Yes! But wait? Almond! He’s still alive!?”
— Really
— Persistent guy
— Wow
— Really?
— “Survival challenge master”
***
Slash!
Almond swung his polearm and took another step forward.
The Joseon’s archer provided him with cover fire, making it easier to fight. The Romans would get swept away by the arrow rain if they let their guard down.
However—
‘Something’s off.’
The Roman front line had shifted back and forth in the same spot for a while. Joseon had no signs of a decisive breakthrough yet.
This peculiar atmosphere grew stronger after a particular player appeared.
Boom!
“Front line! Move back!”
The Roman soldier had a red plume on his helmet.
‘That guy...’
Almond recognized his nickname.
[Pierre]
He led the infantry unit as Rome’s ace.
If Almond simply stirred up the battlefield, Pierre was tailoring it back into a neat suit. Ironically, Pierre was faster at tailoring than Almond was at messing things up.
“Shields up and forward!!”
“Up and forward!”
Clang!
The entire Roman army listened to his voice and reacted instantly. Raising their shields drastically reduced their casualties since the Joseon’s archers shot from above.
“Ah...!? Joseon’s arrow rain! It’s getting blocked!?”
“Can’t they shoot straight!?”
“They’re out of range!”
The arrows couldn’t reach without a parabolic arc. Joseon’s archers were too far away.
Thanks to this, the Romans fought more calmly.
Joseon became desperate.
“Ah... the momentum from before is gone! Joseon’s swordsmen have nowhere to go!”
“Did they get too excited? There’s a resource gap too!”
“If the Roman infantry just hold their ground like turtles, Joseon will get shot down by crossbows! They barely have any horses left!”
Just as Joseon’s archers rained down arrows, Rome’s crossbowmen kept firing. Although slower, they still killed Joseon soldiers one by one. Without horses and shields, Joseon’s swordsmen were at a significant disadvantage.
Meanwhile, the Roman soldiers moved slowly and calmly. They seemed to know that time was on their side.
“Rome! Despite being pushed back, they judge things calmly as if they’re winning!”
For Joseon, it felt frustrating to the point of madness.
“Step back! Stab!”
When Joseon approached, the Romans stepped back and stabbed.
“Forward! Push!”
Thud!
After clearing the Joseon soldiers, the Romans pushed forward with shields. This was why the front line had been at a standstill.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Crossbow bolts kept firing from the left.
Joseon’s swordsmen, stopped by the Roman infantry, fell with arrows in their heads.
“Ugh!”
“Damn...!”
Almond survived by sheer luck.
‘I’m next.’
He would’ve been shot if he had been a bit more to the left. Parrying arrows with a polearm had its limits.
‘What to do?’
He thought about charging through, but could he even get past those Roman soldiers?
“If they recklessly charge, they’ll die!”
“But staying still means death! The crossbows keep shooting!”
“Oh no! Before we know it, Rome has us in their grasp again! What to do!?”
Almond looked at Malatang. No new orders had arrived and Malatang didn’t have any brilliant solutions.
Click!
The crossbowmen reloaded.
Joseon’s arrow rain was now just a drizzle. The Roman shield wall was that tight.
Pierre raised his sword high.
“Forward!”
Thud!
The Romans advanced with their formation intact.
“Keep advancing!”
Thud! Thud!
The Romans advanced in succession.
Almond couldn’t stop their advance. The crossbowmen were now targeting him. He had to focus on avoiding them over the infantry’s advance.
Click...!
‘I need to block one.’
Almond glanced at the crossbowmen’s triggers.
Creek…
In his state of hyperfocus, the trigger pull sounded like an echo. He gripped his polearm tightly and inhaled.
Swoosh.
He had to block and then deal with the infantry.
Fwoosh!
He heard the arrow.
‘Huh?’
The arrow never flew.
Thud!
Instead, the crossbowman aiming at Almond suddenly fell. Another crossbowman next to that one also fell.
‘Arrows?’
Joseon’s arrows had struck them, but the Joseon archers were too far away.
Almond turned to his right.
“Fireeeee!”
Joseon’s archers, who had been shooting from afar, now ran toward the battlefield while firing.
“We tricked them. Crossbow bastards! Only you can’t shoot while running! Hahaha!”
It was Pang’s voice.
Other familiar faces like Spam, Carrot, and Latte appeared too. Joseon’s archers had joined the battle.
Almond felt more at ease. He could focus more on the battlefield.
‘In that case...’
With the crossbowmen dead, Almond became unmarked. His eyes fixed on Pierre and he instinctively knew that killing Pierre would win the battle.
Thud!
He kicked off the ground and charged.