Season 3: Chapter 163: Overtechnology (2)
They thought the hunting outposts extended in a line because the enemies had reached the middle ground. In reality, only one outpost had been built far ahead like a fisherman casting bait and waiting for it to be bitten.
‘Let’s think this through.’
Cookie closed his eyes and sorted out his thoughts.
‘It was a bluff.’
The Vikings had pulled a double bluff. Their clumsy attempt to appear aggressive was not to hide the hunting outposts. They acted clumsily on purpose not to conceal a lie, but to get caught lying. Such a trick was hard to see through, especially in a high-pressure game with split-second decisions.
‘They had prepared this strategy.’
Cookie quickly realized that the enemy had prepared this strategy. It wouldn’t have unfolded so smoothly otherwise.
Joseon had previously focused on a set strategy based on the map in the last game while the Vikings surprisingly prepared these deceptions and mind games in this game.
Cookie canceled all the defense towers that he had started building.
[Construction Canceled]
Poof.
Eight-tenths of Joseon’s money returned. In other words, they lost two-tenths. That was a huge loss considering the time spent building those towers.
In the early stages, money was quite precious because one gold was worth five to six gold in the later stages. Even so, canceling them was the right choice.
Three defense towers had already been built. When conducting a fast second era archer rush, opponents often used psychological warfare to force the construction of towers and delay the second era. Building three towers already put Joseon in a very disadvantageous situation. They didn’t need any more towers.
Doom!
[Viking - 2nd Era]
The Vikings reached the second era first.
Cheers and murmurs from the audience mixed into a low hum.
No one knew the exact win rate for the Vikings when they reached the second era first, but Joseon undoubtedly found themselves in a grim position.
‘Phew.’
Cookie closed his eyes again.
Thump. Thump.
His heart was beating fast.
‘How do we turn this around?’ he kept asking himself.
Only a small amount of resources had been refunded from the canceled towers. The three already-built towers remained empty without any soldiers.
‘Should I follow them to the second era?’
He had two choices. Either to quickly follow the Vikings despite being late or to do something now.
Choosing the first would avoid immediate defeat, but delay their third era behind the Vikings. He would scramble to the second era after wasting resources on the unused towers. Without exploiting the opponent's most vulnerable moment during the era transition, he would perpetually fall behind in the third and fourth eras.
He could roughly keep up with them, but that would only lead to a slow death. He would have to wait for the enemy to make a mistake during this slow demise.
‘As for the second option—’
To do something now meant that Joseon would have to move immediately after the Vikings reached the second era. Every civilization became vulnerable after transitioning into a new era.
Acting now would be a gamble. The game could end immediately and they wouldn’t be able to recover if they failed. He would get mocked for doing something so foolish. It wasn’t the standard approach, but—
‘The underdog...’
Cookie steeled himself.
‘Can’t win by the book.’
He reaffirmed his resolve for this season and opened his eyes.
‘Find it.’
Cookie's eyes darted around.
What benefits had Joseon gained from not advancing to the second era? What did they have? What had they gained instead of the second era?
The total amount of resources remained absolute, so Joseon also gained something.
‘The defense towers.’
His eyes naturally turned to the defense towers.
‘Those...?’
They had to be utilized, but how? Defense towers couldn’t move and were useless if the enemy didn’t come.
The grain-rich map had vast plains. There was no reason to stick to that path, but Cookie had to use the towers. Money had already been spent there.
‘How…?’
Suddenly, Cookie noticed the inside of the defense towers.
***
“Oh. Now... the Vikings have reached the second era first!”
“Exmaster pulled off an incredible trick! He’s taking revenge on Cookie this round!”
— True
— Not kidding
— Sigh...
— Why are they doing this now?
— This tournament sure is different
The atmosphere among Joseon’s supporters had dampened after the entire map was revealed. This could be seen on the big screen. People stood around holding clapping balloons and those who had been standing sat down in despair while others stood with their hands on their hips, unable to stay still.
Those who understood the game knew that the situation was dire.
“How do you see falling behind in eras against the Vikings, OrangeKing?” the caster asked about the current problem.
“Ah... It’s not good at all. It’s like playing rock-paper-scissors without rock.”
“Ah... so you have to win with only scissors and paper?”
“Yes, that’s the situation. The problem is the opponent knows this too.”
— Oof
— LOL then isn’t that a guaranteed loss?
— OMG
OrangeKing nodded gravely and essentially admitted that Joseon would lose this game. He had to hold back from talking about the next game.
This game hadn’t ended yet. Cookie could still find a way, but the commentators didn’t have much to say.
“For now, that’s all I can say... The Vikings will start producing shields along with their warrior class. They will also gain the berserker trait... Oh?”
The Vikings grew busy at their main base with much to do after the era transition. Upgrades awaited them, new buildings appeared, and new classes and weapons became available. Just reaching a new era cost a lot and upgrading afterward was also very expensive.
Moreover, the commander had to manage all this. This made the period right after an era transition the most vulnerable time.
Maybe that was why? Cookie seemed to think that this was the only opportunity.
“Cookie...? Is he not planning to reach the second era!?”
Joseon’s soldiers began to move forward en masse.
— ??
— What is this?
— Wow
— What is he trying to do with barbarian soldiers?
— Is this a charge out of desperation?
“Wait a minute! They’re just barbarian soldiers!”
Joseon was only in the first era with barbarian soldiers while the Vikings had reached the second era.
“Isn’t this...?” OrangeKing questioned such a decision before coming to a realization. “No!?”
“What? What is it!?”
“The Vikings are in the second era, but they’re not in the second era!”
— They’re there but not there?
— What is this, bluffing too?
— What do you mean?
— In-the-crowd 2nd era
— LOL
OrangeKing shouted in frustration, “Their base reached the second era!! But nothing from the second era is out yet! Not a single second era axe! Not even an axe handle!”
“Ahh!!”
“The prices have gone up! But our wages are still the same!”
— LOL
— Joseon-style hell week
— Transition period LOL
The Vikings had reached the second era, but that didn’t mean they immediately upgraded all their weapons. They had to steadily upgrade, build, and have soldiers return to the base to get new equipment.
In that sense, Cookie’s move had meaning to it.
“I won’t just sit there and take it! I won’t die slowly! That’s what it means!”
“Ah, it’s a last-ditch move!”
“Yes! It could be the best choice! At least, hit the goalpost and try! That’s it!”
The Joseon soldiers charged forward toward the hunting outposts.
“Waaah!”
Cheers from Joseon’s audience section grew louder.
The caster raised his voice, “Oh! Joseon! Yes! They’re pushing forward! You’re in the second era!? Then you’re at your weakest! Take this!”
“Isn’t this reckless? Won’t they miss the third era!?”
“I don’t know! Just take a hit! Joseon says this is how we can secure the future!”
— LOL
— Just hit first
— Let’s hit first
— Joseon is more like a gang
— Hit first without thinking
“Joseon is pushing toward the hunting outposts!”
They found the real outposts filled with food and not the decoys.
“The Vikings are defending!”
The Vikings tried to defend, but over a hundred attacking soldiers overwhelmed them.
“It’s like the local militia versus revolutionaries! The numbers difference is obvious!”
— Saying militia makes them look weak LOL
— That’s the difference LOL
— They’re unprepared
— Wow
— Cookie, you did it?
The Vikings excelled in melee combat, but sheer numbers also made a difference even though Joseon only had basic first era equipment.
Thump!
Thud!
The Vikings fell under their clubs.
“Wow! Good! Burn the outposts!”
Fwoosh!
The outposts quickly caught fire as dozens of Joseon soldiers torched them.
“The Vikings are gathering to defend! Will Joseon stop!?”
“No! They’re not stopping! They want a big fight while everyone is gathered! They’re telling the Vikings to bring all their troops!”
“Ah, the Vikings want to fight with second era equipment...!”
“Bring it all out!!!”
Joseon moved to the next outpost.
“Let’s go! Kill the nobles monopolizing the food!”
Fwoosh!
The next outpost quickly burned down.
— ??
— Dubbing soldiers LOL
— The Vikings are suddenly nobles
— If they’re in the 2nd era alone, they are nobles LOL
— Vikings: If there’s no rice, eat meat
— With those torches, it looks like a revolution LOL
The next outpost quickly burned down too. The problem was the next outpost.
“This is good, but the Vikings are gathering! They’re defending the next one to avoid a big loss!”
“The Vikings have huge numbers!”
“Yes! Some are armed with axes! Now the second era equipped Vikings are appearing! Joseon must finish before they arrive!”
Joseon now faced a time attack situation.
“They must burn as many outposts as possible before the Vikings arrive! It’s a desperate situation for Joseon! Meanwhile, the nobles are relaxed!”
“The Vikings are almost one hundred strong! The fight at the outpost begins now!”
The two sides clashed chaotically at the third outpost.
“Oh? Joseon’s formation looks strange!”
Joseon’s formation started to twist into a circle, causing confusion.
“What’s this formation—?”
An arrow shot out from the center of the circular formation.
Thunk!
It pierced a Viking in the forehead and the Viking suddenly collapsed. The enemy hadn’t expected such an arrow in a melee fight.
“Oh? There’s an archer!?”
“In this barbarian age!? What is this overtechnology!?”
One of the Joseon soldiers held a bow while the other Joseon soldiers clearly protected the archer.
“Ah, Almond!? Almond is shooting arrows! The infantry in the middle of the battlefield is protecting him!”
Almond stood in the center, protected by the other Joseon soldiers, and continued shooting arrows at the surrounding Vikings.
Twang!
Twang!
“Is this a close-range defense with long-range shooting?!”
“It’s not just Almond! There’s another archer! Carrot is there too!”
— ??
— What is this overtechnology?!
— How is this possible in the 1st era..?
— The barracks are producing tanks
— Did they get it from the defense towers?
— Like raising marines LOL
— How did they get arrows?
— Wow
— Great move