Season 3: Chapter 194: The Elephant (2)
Sa-Rang's eyebrows furrowed.
'What was that just now?'
They hadn’t obeyed her command. She had definitely given an order, but the soldiers hesitated.
'What are they doing?'
She hadn’t anticipated this.
'A national team is acting like this?'
She reflected on the earlier rush. Although Joseon's rush failed, Sa-Rang had spotted a critical angle.
The Joseon barbarian soldiers pretended to retreat, allowing the Joseon archers to move in and deal significant damage. However, only Almond moved as intended. The rest hesitated and fumbled, and the moment passed.
Only Almond took advantage of the opportunity before it disappeared.
Sa-Rang then ordered the remaining soldiers to circle around to the gold mine. They executed that order properly.
What was the difference? Was it that Almond was fearless and unquestioning?
She couldn't tell. She had never encountered such a situation in solo rank. Even if she had, it wouldn't have made much difference. The opponents would be in a similar situation anyway.
However, Persia was different. They moved as one. Anyone could see that they were a united team.
'Teamplay...'
Her expression hardened. Of course, even with the commander giving orders, troops wouldn’t always follow.
Their enemy behaved differently. They moved as one.
Why wasn’t Joseon moving as one?
“Do I have to go if you tell me to!? Huh?”
“Hey, Woo-Joo. Calm down. Just calm down…”
“I'm a damage dealer too! Dammit! I deserve some support too! I won't take this anymore!”
“Gulp,” she swallowed dryly as she recalled old memories.
'For now... let’s proceed to the third era.'
The battle in the second era had mostly ended. Joseon needed to prepare for the third era.
***
The Mongolian Prairies in the winter was a chilly and desolate place. The grasslands had almost disappeared, leaving few sheep and not many deer. Gathering food by hunting wasn’t easy on this map.
Meanwhile, Persia couldn't gather the most efficient food, which was wild boars. However, they received a bonus in agriculture in exchange.
[Muslim Blessing]
Instead of eating meat selectively, their blessed land made agriculture more efficient than other civilizations. This applied not only to Persia, but to other Muslim civilizations as well.
As time passed, the agricultural bonus showed its true effect and allowed them to raise elephants even in this barren land.
“Bwooooo—”
Boom!
As the vibration of the elephant's first step spread, cheers from the Persian spectators filled the stadium.
“They have upgraded the elephant's defense. As I keep saying, Persia's upgrades are time-consuming but free!”
“Ah... can Joseon's archers penetrate this with their firepower?”
“We need the Hwacha.”
The Hwacha would be perfect against elephants, but it was a fourth era unit that wasn't available yet in the third era.
“So what's the alternative?”
“It would have to be siege weapons...”
Siege weapons could deal significant damage to elephants because elephants were classified as buildings in terms of defense.
However, Joseon hadn't produced any siege weapons. They hadn't even built a factory to produce them.
“Did they not take into account the elephants?” the caster asked in surprise.
Did Joseon exclude the possibility of dealing with elephants from their strategies?
OrangeKing shook his head. There was no way Joseon would overlook the Persian elephants.
“That can't be it. The commander is reading the situation well.”
— Best Yi Sun-Shin lol
— lol
— Where's Best Einstein?
“Not having siege weapons when elephants are coming out is reading the situation well!?”
“Joseon has to block without siege weapons... that's their chance.”
Siege weapons cost too much. Not as much as elephants, but they were still costly. In particular, quickly upgrading them would deplete the gold mines.
“Joseon is aiming for a comeback. They will increase the number of infantry to block the elephants. That's why! Ah, yes! They’re moving the archers! That’s it!”
Archers began to leave the Joseon base. In a situation where they needed to block the elephants, they sent archers to attack the enemy.
“Isn't it risky to move so many archers away?”
The caster felt bewildered by the archers leaving the base, but OrangeKing only grew excited.
“Joseon! This is why they didn’t produce siege weapons! They increased their infantry instead! This is their strategy! If they drag this out, there’s no answer! They’re secretly sending troops to disrupt the enemy!”
OrangeKing saw this as a bold move.
Joseon had a lot of infantry instead of siege weapons, making this possible.
“They didn’t produce horse archers or crossbows! Just pure infantry! They’re sending some infantry to disrupt the enemy’s elephant production!”
The Joseon commander was preparing the most cost-effective defense. Another noticeable aspect was the composition of the infantry.
“But they produced thirty swordsmen!? Aren’t archers better for defense!?”
This was the highest ratio of swordsmen Joseon had produced.
“They need swordsmen since ranged weapons are almost ineffective against elephants. They’re using manpower instead of siege weapons!”
They would all hunt the elephants.
— They picked cost-effective units well.
— Using manpower again? Is this grad school?
— Ah, using manpower, lol that’s how they’re blocking it
— Joseon-style defense lol
“I think it’s a good decision, especially sending the archers to Persia’s territory! If they infiltrate well and kill the farming workforce, it will hinder the elephant production!”
Various ways to stop the elephants existed. Cutting off their food supply was the most efficient one.
“Joseon might be able to block the five advancing elephants, but they won’t be able to keep defending if more come. It’s a good strategy.”
“Ah, does Joseon even know that there are five elephants?!”
This strategy assumed that only five elephants existed.
“Given how well Elepher manages resources, yes... Joseon won’t expect five.”
Indeed, Joseon couldn’t have anticipated that five elephants would be approaching.
***
Numerous archers had been stationed on the Joseon base's walls.
Almond was one of them. He had been assigned to the defense squad and not the attack squad.
All the frontline archers, including Almond’s peers, stood nearby. This meant that the commander considered defense more critical.
The attacking Joseon soldiers aimed to disrupt the elephant production, not to deliver a fatal blow. The critical point would be here at the Joseon base.
“If we can just hold here, we’ll win,” Carrot murmured while looking beyond the fortress walls.
Rumble…!
The ground shook in response. Gray clouds rose over the vast horizon of the Mongolian Prairies.
“They’re coming.”
“Bwooooo—”
Like a giant ship setting sail, the enormous forms of the elephants appeared over the hill. Even from this distance, their size looked overwhelming. These almost surreal creatures, as if the game creator had made a mistake, also carried humans on their backs.
The humans on their backs aimed their arrows at the Joseon archers while the elephants' massive tusks aimed at the Joseon walls.
Boom! Boom!
Each step from the elephants on the grasslands made one’s heart tremble.
“Waaaaaah!!”
Cheers erupted.
Whether it came from the enemy or the Persian spectators was unclear.
“They’re coming!”
Pang raised his hand.
“Gulp,” Almond swallowed dryly almost subconsciously.
“Prepare to fire!!!”
Creak.
Even the intimidating creak of the bows sounded feeble today.
“Bwooooo—”
The elephants roared and their tusks rose like towers. They started accelerating and their steps getting faster.
Boom! Boom!
The elephants seemed to grow larger in the Joseon soldiers' eyes.
“Hoo...”
The tension made everyone’s breath quicken and the white light at the end of their arrows blazed brightly.
The clash would be imminent.
Boom!
Pang’s eyes gleamed.
“Fireeeee!!”
Thwack!
The Joseon’s soldiers released their arrows in unison.
White arrows flew in a torrent as the elephant riders raised their shields.
Thud! Thud!
Some who couldn’t cover themselves or were unlucky enough to get hit between shields fell off the elephants. Their comrades pushed off the dead bodies.
Despite this, the elephants kept charging.
Now, the Persian archers would soon reach within range.
“Shields up!”
Thud!
On the vice commander Bread's order, shield-bearing soldiers ran forward and raised their shields in front of the archers.
Almost simultaneously, Persian arrows rained down.
Thud…!
One shield even broke due to the enemy’s rapid-fire.
“There are so many of them. It’s crazy,” Pang muttered behind the shield.
Then, he raised his hand again.
“Draw again!!”
They had to charge their focus once more.
“Target the ones on the elephants!”
“Yes!”
The elephants would soon reach the walls.
“Fire!”
Whoosh.
Pang emerged from behind the shield and fired again.
Almond aimed at the riders on the elephants and looked for an opening.
Thud!
More riders fell off the elephants and their attack seemed more effective than before, but the joy was short-lived.
“They’re ramming the wall!”
The lead elephant's tusks struck the wall.
Boom!
The entire world seemed to shake. Joseon's soldiers stumbled and collapsed like invertebrates. It felt like they stood on a wave rather than a wall.
“Get up!”
“They’re right below! Fire!”
The elephants' heads could be seen up close.
Surprisingly, the elephants' backs were slightly lower than the wall. That was how massive they were.
The Persian archers on the elephants agilely climbed onto the walls with the elephants acting almost like siege towers.
“Fire!”
“They’ve climbed up!”
“Push!”
Both sides drew their bows at each other.
Thwack!
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
“Ah!”
“They’re up here too!”
Several Joseon soldiers instantly fell.
According to their orders, now wasn’t the time to fight.
'Not here.'
Many Persian soldiers had already breached the western gate’s walls. Joseon had to retreat and then shoot.
Almond picked up a fallen soldier's shield and ran.
Thwack!
Thud!
Arrows struck his shield, but this didn’t hinder his movement.
Boom!
He slammed the shield into the ground and drew his bow.
Creak.
He didn’t take long to aim and quietly released the arrow. After about a second of focus, the arrow flew straight and pierced a Persian soldier's head.
Thud!
“There! There’s also—”
Almond had already released another arrow.
Thwack!
The witness fell and became a stepping stone for numerous infantrymen. Countless soldiers ran over the fallen bodies while heading out.
“Kill them!”
“Argh! Reinforcements!”
“Swordsmen!”
Joseon swordsmen from other parts of the walls had rushed over as reinforcements. They had reclaimed the walls.
However—
“What...?!”
Crash!
The wall collapsed and the soldiers on top instantly vanished from Almond's sight. They disappeared as if they had never been there.
Instead, a dense gray dust filled the gap and a gleaming white tusk emerged.
“Bwooooo—”
The western gate’s wall had fallen after being pierced by the tusk.
Boom!
As the dust settled, the gray giant cast a shadow and took a giant step into Joseon’s base.
Boom!
The ruined western gate was crushed under its weight.
'It collapsed...'
Even Almond felt mesmerized by the sight with his mouth agape. He had experienced losing the base in numerous scrims before, but it had never felt this definitive and overwhelming. This felt like fighting a giant mountain instead of people.
'This is...'
Almond resolutely drew his bow.
'We have to do something.'
They would surely lose if they didn’t do something here and now. Not just this game, but the next as well.
Ting.
At that moment, he received a command.
[Use melee weapons]
A ping appeared on the many fallen swords on the wall.
[Attack]
Then, they received an attack command.
Pew!
The command clearly pointed at the elephants’ backs. Was it to kill the riders? No, bows would suffice if that was the case.
[Hunt the elephants]
It was to kill the elephants themselves.