Season 3: Chapter 155: Fake Archer (2)
OrangeKing couldn’t help but wail, “Ahhhh! Dead Vikings are catching the living Joseon soldiers!!”
— For real, LOL
— How did this happen?
— What is going on here?
The Vikings, who were thought to be dead, rose again and decimated the Joseon soldiers guarding the valley. Once they closed the distance, even the exceptional Joseon archers couldn’t stand against them.
“Aaaah! They’re being wiped out!”
“It’s useless no matter how many arrows they shoot at close range!”
The archers couldn't quickly kill the Vikings unless they fully charged their focus and accurately landed a headshot.
— How many hits does it take to kill them? Dammit
— Do you have to hit them dead center?
— Seriously, their health is insane
The viewers felt equally baffled. The sight of Vikings running with arrows sticking out of their bodies and then beheading the archers felt shocking.
— ???
— Damn
— Charging in during the second era means death
— Wow, LOL
— Is this what they’ve been dealing with?
— Almond… the GOAT… realized it too late…
— But where did Almond go?
“There’s been a lot of debate, but it’s calculated that at least a two second charge is needed to kill them. It takes two seconds with the bonus damage that archers have against infantry!”
“And that’s for a headshot, right?”
“Yes, it does more damage the closer you hit the center! But you can’t always shoot that accurately in a real national competition!”
The best they could hope for was to hit a vital spot since the opponent was also a national competition player. They needed more than a two second charge to get a one-shot kill.
“Shooting without fully charging will take all day! They need composite bows!”
“Ah, the Joseon archers are retreating! If they can even retreat... Huh?”
OrangeKing noticed something unusual in this despairing battlefield.
“What is that?!”
— ??
— What?
— Wow, that’s fast, LOL
— What’s going on?
The viewers caught on a bit slowly. Most laughed it off as just someone running fast. Only those very familiar with Civil Empire questioned it.
— How is he doing that?
— It’s a bug, for real
— ??
Even they couldn’t immediately identify the cause. OrangeKing also couldn’t understand it at first. Despite his long commentary career, this was a different game. He couldn’t predict such an unprecedented variable prepared by Cookie.
***
“The key to overcoming them with combat skills lies with Almond,” Cookie explained to the two commanders during their strategy briefing.
Do-Joon, also known as Coffee, interjected, “Almond? Is Almond really the key to this strategy?”
Coffee held Almond in high regard, but making him the centerpiece of a strategy was different. Almond was clearly an ace soldier and not a commander.
‘Besides, he doesn’t like being put at the center.’
From Coffee’s observations, Cookie intentionally refrained from praising Almond excessively. Cookie always credited the entire team for successes and seldom spoke about Almond’s individual contributions. He never explicitly said why, but it was obvious as a fellow commander.
Cookie was wary of Almond’s presence becoming too significant within the team. Introducing a new and powerful figure into an existing organization often led to trouble. As the chief commander, Cookie avoided glorifying Almond too much to prevent such issues.
‘But now he’s making Almond the centerpiece?’
However, Cookie seemed to be breaking this long-held rule for this game.
“Almond won’t be commanding the operation, but the operation will be executed with Almond as the focal point.”
Cookie explained about the curve shots and the valley strategy. The two vice commanders had no choice but to nod.
“Ah...”
This explanation made it seem like the strategy centered on teaching Almond’s skills rather than making Almond the centerpiece. The two vice commanders understood, but it was different in reality.
Cookie added another comment, “I haven’t told the archers, but I believe the valley defense line will eventually be breached.”
Cookie had already anticipated when the valley defense line would be breached. He already planned for what would happen next. At the center of that plan was…
“At that time, someone needs to stall for as long as possible.”
They needed someone specific.
“Someone? Is it Almond? Relying so heavily on one person’s ability…” Barum questioned it this time.
Designing a strategy based on the assumption that Almond could stall for time seemed too risky. A strategy couldn’t rely so heavily on a single individual. That had always been Cookie’s philosophy. Today, it seemed Cookie was overturning his own principles.
“Right. I think so too and I still believe that.”
“Then...?”
“It’s not just relying on Almond’s ability. It’s about setting the stage for him to perform. I didn’t tell the soldiers about this either.”
Cookie reiterated this point. Barum and Do-Joon understood two things from this. First, not knowing would help the strategy. Second, Cookie didn’t want to openly show that he invested heavily in Almond for this operation.
After all, the players would carry out these tasks and Almond was still a newcomer. Some would already feel their sense of pride getting hurt from learning Almond’s curve shot.
Having the commander rely so heavily on Almond for a strategy could harm the organization’s spirit. It would be better if Almond’s results spoke for themselves afterward, making everyone accept it naturally.
Cookie, as always, wanted others to recognize Almond on their own.
‘This could be the turning point.’
Coffee asked, “How are you going to set the stage? One person can only stall for so long.”
Cookie nodded and made a shocking declaration.
“By giving him wings.”
“How...?”
“Almond won’t be an archer.”
The two commanders jumped in surprise.
“What?!”
If not an archer, then what would he be?
***
OrangeKing shouted excitedly, “Almond!!! He’s just a barbarian soldier!! How can this be?!”
“What?! A barbarian soldier?! OrangeKing, what does that mean?!”
“It means Almond didn’t go through the archer training! He’s unemployed!!!”
OrangeKing stood up from his commentary seat and felt too breathless to explain.
— Unemployed people are scary, folks
— What an extreme commentator, LOL
— OMG
— His face is about to explode, LOL
“So! Almond’s class is just a melee soldier! That’s how he’s faster than ranged soldiers!”
“Yes!”
“That’s why the Vikings couldn’t catch him even with their faction ability!”
— Wow
— Insane, LOL
— But
— How?
— But if he’s still a first era class, he doesn’t get any benefits, right?
Being a barbarian soldier gave Almond the speed of a melee unit. Everyone immediately thought back to him shooting arrows.
“But he was shooting arrows all this time. How is he a barbarian…? Oh! They just gave him a bow, right?”
“That’s correct! When the bow first came out, they gave it to him without changing his class!”
In Civil Empire, class changes and weapon production were separate. Depending on the civilization, the same weapon could belong to different classes. Almond used a bow, but wasn’t classified as an archer.
“Then, his arrows aren’t unlimited...”
In that case, he couldn’t use unlimited arrows.
“That’s why he was taking arrows from other soldiers’ quivers! Other soldiers have unlimited arrows!”
The handicaps didn’t end there.
“And he doesn’t get the bonus damage against infantry!”
He didn’t possess all the common archer characteristics in Civil Empire.
“So! He has to shoot well! And fully charge his focus for three seconds!”
“Oh! Does the focus trait still work?”
“Yes! The focus trait is a Joseon faction ability! It applies to the bow itself! That’s why even tower workers can shoot with focus! It’s a powerful faction ability! But I’ve never seen it used this way before!!!”
Almond roamed the battlefield with fewer arrows that did slightly less damage.
— Wow
— Did he fight like that all this time?
— Insane
— Just for speed... wow
— ??? With curve shots and speed... anyone can be killed
“Almond can handle everything as long as he doesn’t get caught! They must have such faith in him! And now the Vikings following Almond are all deaaad?!”
The observer hastily panned to the mountain where Almond had fled, showing all the dead Vikings.
“No way, did he kill them all with three second focus shots?! Wow... I can’t believe it!”
The Vikings lay dead with one arrow each in their heads. No more than one arrow had been used.
— For real, he killed them one by one
— Wow
— LOL
— Barbarian Almond is on fire~
“Almond! He doesn’t stop here! All the soldiers who followed him are dead! Then!?”
OrangeKing roamed the commentary box while shouting.
“He’s going to hunt them now! It’s his turn to hunt!”
— Insane, he’s reversing the situation???
— Breaking news: OrangeKing overdosed on some potion and is channeling his inner Almond, LOL
— OMG, LOL
— Really, he’s heading back to the valley???
— Being a non-archer is hilarious, LOL
“Does the Viking commander realize the problem with the Vikings who followed Almond?!”
Whoosh!
As if responding to his words, the Viking commander pinged the forest.
[Search and Kill]
Around five Vikings had been dispatched again. They sensed that something had gone wrong.
“Yes! They’ve realized it! But they don’t know if it was Almond or another hidden force!?”
“Yes! Meanwhile, Almond has already moved! He’s targeting the Vikings hunting near the valley!”
The Vikings entered the forest to search. Almond closed in on them from the opposite direction. They seemed destined to cross paths, but their paths diverged. This was a significant loss for the Vikings.
“Their paths diverged! Almond is heading back to the valley unnoticed!”
“Meanwhile! Joseon continues to plunder the Viking hunting posts! They’re just drying them out!”
“Is this the corrupt official faction!? Why are they plundering so much?! Joseon!!!”
— LOL
— Corrupt official faction, LOL
— I thought it was real for a moment
— Sounds convincing
— Governor faction, LOL
“The Vikings are taking huge losses! They’ve started withdrawing troops from the valley to defend the hunting posts...!”
Some Vikings began returning from the valley to their original hunting grounds to protect the posts. They thought the valley had been cleared of Joseon soldiers, but one still remained.
“Almond! He’s back in the valley! The Vikings have no idea!”
“They can’t imagine an archer moving so quickly!”
“They didn’t even think Almond would return from that direction! No archer from Joseon would come from there!”
Back in the valley, Almond crouched in the bushes and quietly drew his bow.
Creak.
“If this shot hits and kills, the Vikings’ morale will collapse! For real!”
As if his shout became the wind…
Whoosh!
The arrow, charged with three seconds of focus, flew straight into a Viking hunter’s forehead.
Thunk!
The Viking commander’s face suddenly hardened on the commander's camera.
“Ah... it’s you again! That’s the look on his face!!”
— LOL
— Breaking news: X-Master seeks transfer to Bow Master
— (WTF is this?) LOL
— His expression, LOL
— Looks like he bit into shit, LOL
— Wow, he must be losing his mind
— Suddenly back again? LOL, must be that feeling
— “The Return of A”
“The Vikings are chasing Almond! They think they can catch him!”
“If he were an archer, yes! But Almond says, ‘I’m not an archer! I shoot a bow, but I’m not an archer!’”
— LOL
— I’m not an archer, LOL
— He was an archer but isn’t anymore
— LOL
The Vikings chased him, but the speed difference prevented them from closing the gap. Naturally, Almond wasn’t an archer but a barbarian soldier classified as melee infantry.
Then—
“And now! He turns back again!? Actually, he’s an archer!?”
Whoosh!
Another arrow pierced a Viking’s temple. The bewildered Vikings continued chasing him. Almond turned back and fled once more.
“I’m not an archer~ Not really! Just kidding! I’m an archer! Actually, I’m not! Surprise. I’m not an archer! No, really! I’m an archer! Actually, no I’m not!”
— I’m going crazy
— Like an archer, not an archer, like an archer
— LOL
— LOL
— Are they flirting?
— So dizzying
— This push and pull is so thrilling it might make my heart explode! (It really did)
— The Archer-Not-Archer continues in Casual-But-Not-Casual fashion, LOL