Season 3: Chapter 206. The Monster Battle (3)
Sa-Rang never thought she could win on this map with just a rush in the second era. Using the ladder and showing off the archers’ shooting skills was truly exceptional. Combat variables also favorably unfolded.
However, the infiltrating Joseon troops could only operate on top of the wall. That wouldn't end the game no matter how much they caused trouble from there.
The same applied in modern warfare. No matter how much the air force devastated an area, ground troops needed to occupy and control that land.
However, the Ancient Walls map made it treacherous for ground troops to push in early. Obstacles that couldn’t be overcome with second era technology filled the steep hills, narrow entrances, and high walls.
Just as Moggie held off nearly five times the enemies on the wall’s stairs, Persia could do the same on the ground.
Of course, one of those obstacles became an advantage with Joseon troops on the wall. However, that wasn’t enough to break through to the enemy’s main base.
Persia’s turtling expertise was not to be underestimated. Moreover, this was the third fast archer rush. The enemy commander Elepher had already warmed up in fending off early rushes.
Forcing ground troops in the second era to end the game had a low probability of success, so Sa-Rang prepared another move. She planned to reach the fourth era.
From the last game, she realized that they didn’t have many winning chances without dealing with Persia’s elephants.
Due to Persia’s unique civilization traits, they had overwhelming efficiency when it came to food and gold resources. It wasn’t just about quickly mining gold like the French or having easy financial management like Rome. They simply didn’t need much money because of less upgrade costs.
The later the game went, the more advantageous it became as they could stay in one area longer. They spent little money without quickly depleting the resources of that area. This was why Persia excelled at turtling.
No matter how many defense towers they invested in one area, it was still profitable because they wouldn’t abandon that area for long. And they had no significant future expenses.
Persia had endured the intense second era pressure and even built a multi. Even if they suffered resource damage, they could endure it because they had spent so little.
The only things Persia spent big money on was—
‘Elephants.’
That was the elephants and Sa-Rang focused on this point.
‘Ultimately, we have to kill the elephants to beat Persia.’
If Persia invested all of its saved resources into elephants, then killing the elephants would bring them down.
‘Trying to kill them before that would only cause losses.’
Persia wouldn’t easily fall before the elephants appeared. Even if they lost money, plenty still remained.
It seemed like Persia fought with the same number of troops, but they actually fought with around half the troops in terms of money.
Even if Joseon won, they would suffer financial losses in that battle. The scale was tilted from the start. The moment they corrected this imbalance, the elephants appeared.
“Booouuu!”
It was ironic. Persia poured everything into the elephants, but this could also drive them to the edge of a cliff.
‘Alright. They’re out now.’
Sa-Rang waited for them to deploy the elephants and tear down the walls.
Boom boom boom...!
Persia couldn’t withstand Joseon archers on the wall and chose to break the wall instead. From a third party’s perspective, this seemed like a sudden and impulsive move.
However, Sa-Rang saw it as a thoroughly calculated move. Holding on to the wall until the end would make Persia tear it down themselves. She made them unable to stand it to the point where they had to destroy it.
And once they broke the wall...
[Cavalry Charge]
Thud!
The numerous cavalry stationed near the center of the map moved forward. All the troops meant for reinforcements had turned into cavalry to occupy Persia in one swift move.
[Invade]
This massive cavalry charge could enter from any direction now that the high, thick Ancient Wall was gone.
Swish!
Bread drew her sword and shouted from the front, “Charge!!!”
***
Joseon had entered the fourth era.
OrangeKing’s eyes widened.
‘How fast are these orders?’
Amid such extreme combat, quickly advancing to the fourth era meant incredible multitasking.
What truly surprised him was something else. The cavalry had gathered near Joseon’s main base and charged as soon as the walls collapsed.
‘So this was the plan.’
He realized exactly why Joseon hadn’t sent any reinforcements and why they didn’t retreat from the wall even if it meant the archers' deaths.
‘They made Persia break the walls.’
Without any siege weapons, Joseon used the enemy’s elephants to break the walls. From the initial rush to the hill tank strategy, everything had been designed to break the wall with minimal costs.
‘Is this really a rookie?’
In real combat, in the round of sixteen of a national championship, in a match where losing meant going home... Could such strategies and plays come from a rookie?
‘Or is this player just a god?’
His eyes twitched.
‘What is this?’
OrangeKing thought he was just overwhelmed by nationalistic pride and grabbed the microphone again.
“This is it! Joseon has gathered its troops for this!!”
“Yes! But why now!?”
“The walls have all collapsed!!!”
“... Wow! That’s true!”
— OMG..
— Wow!
— Crazy!
— Unbelievable.
— Right, it’s insane...
— Woahh..
— LOL
Exclamations filled the chat. They couldn’t help it as they recalled what Joseon had been doing since the second era.
Joseon’s cavalry prepared to attack the moment Persia spent their own money to break down the walls with elephants.
Viewers couldn’t help but shiver to see all of this come together. They couldn’t help but get excited.
“Wow!!!”
“Let’s go!!!”
Almost eighty percent of the audience stood up. Some prayed with their hands and others raised their hands in a wave.
Thud thud thud...!
Kicking up dust, around eighty cavalry soldiers dashed across the map toward nine o’clock.
“Joseon strikes fast and retreats fast while spending little money! This is Best Yi Sun-Shin’s Joseon! Siege weapons are too slow! They become siege toilets when used wrong! I can’t use them!”
“This seems correct, at least against Persia!”
— LMAO.
— A money-saving toilet.
— Who are you talking to?
— Best Yi Sun-Shin has returned.
— Siege weapons, damn~
“The elephants are too slow against cavalry and can’t stop them all!!”
“Persia’s scattered and unorganized troops are now fighting Joseon near the walls!”
Persia had just finished fighting and wasn’t ready to fight properly despite the similar numbers. Moreover, they never imagined Joseon would charge in with cavalry.
Joseon had used a perfect strategy. However—
“Oh, look!”
Sometimes, even perfect strategies needed a bit of luck. Persia encountered the first piece of luck.
[Elephant Movement Speed Research - Completed]
The elephants’ movement speed increased just in time.
“Ah... the elephants sped up!?”
“If so...”
The second piece of luck also arrived.
“Two additional elephants are entering now! They’ll meet the cavalry!”
Ten Persian troops riding two elephants had been sent to the main base without much thought and their path overlapped with Joseon’s cavalry.
“They wouldn’t have met if the elephants didn’t speed up!!”
The elephants’ speed approached that of horses and significantly increased the chances of an encounter.
“Oh...!”
Eventually, both sides spotted each other.
“Ah! They’ve noticed each other! Persia has also realized it!”
[Full speed ahead]
Elepher already adjusted the elephants' movement orders.
Thud thud thud!
The elephants charged with immense force.
“Ah! They’re meeting halfway!”
“J-Joseon should retreat! They must avoid this!”
“Cavalry will be ineffective against these elephants that got a speed boost!! They’ll get knocked down!”
Elephants were fundamentally stronger against other mounts. Their overwhelming size and sturdiness easily neutralized smaller mounts.
“The elephants' positions are too good!”
The two elephants precisely pierced through the charging cavalry.
Bang!
Several cavalry flew off from the tusks and many tumbled from kicks. Even if not all of them died, being out of the fight meant the same.
“Ah! Joseon! How unfair! It’s unfair!!!”
— OMG this is unfair..
— Ah...
— The sorrow is intense.
—That was OrangeKing on the horse?
— Damn luck ruins the game
— Sigh..
Thud!
Dust soared high from the fierce collision.
“Oh. Joseon! The cavalry has been interrupted! But shouldn’t the rest keep running!? Don’t fight the elephants! Penetrate the main base!”
Even if the main body had been cut off, the head had to continue running. It would have turned out better under normal circumstances. However, Joseon’s cavalry turned to face the elephants.
“Huh!? Are they fighting!?”
Yes, Joseon never intended to avoid the elephants even though Persia discovering them had been unlucky.
Swish!
Bread and Coffee drew their swords at the same time.
It was just Joseon’s luck.
“Ah! Joseon seems to have some plan in mind! The cavalry charging over there is...”
“Ah!?”
***
Whew.
Bread recalled something when she saw the huge gray monsters on the sandy plains.
“Cavalry against elephants?”
It was during practice with Cookie for the Persia match. Cookie insisted that cavalry charges could take down elephants and began to practice that. Of course, they could only train against AI instead of Persia’s elephants.
“Yes. If you follow the path... you can deal damage quickly near or between the legs.”
Cookie planned to charge against the elephants and cut their legs. However, charging in the opposite direction of the elephants was almost suicidal for cavalry.
“This is too dangerous.”
Bread had answered then.
“In actual combat...”
Swish!
However, she now drew her sword.
[Slash along the path]
They received the order with no other choice.
“Let’s go!”
“Charge!”
Her squad followed her charge and Coffee’s squad headed to the other side. The elephants in the middle split the two squads in half.
Thud! Thud!
‘We need to draw a path...’
Joseon’s cavalry and the elephants charged at each other. The distance rapidly closed.
The assistant commander had to draw a path to prevent confusion among soldiers and to avoid collisions, but this wasn’t easy. No, it was impossible.
Bread’s hand nervously moved in the air. She couldn’t figure out where to draw or how to draw.
At that moment—
Sss...!
A beam of light drew the path.
‘Between the legs!’
Half of Bread’s squad went between the legs. The rest circled and slashed.
“There!?”
“This is...”
The soldiers assigned between the legs felt startled.
“Just go!”
She drew another sword, looked to the right, and met Coffee’s eyes. He nodded and they proceeded as planned.
Bread refocused on the scene in front.
“Booouuu—”
“!”
The howling wind roared in her ears.
Whoosh!
The thick legs of the elephants felt like giant concrete pillars in a hurricane, but the cavalry squeezed through while slashing.
“Keep runninggggggg!!”
They cut through the storm.
Slash!
Some soldiers charged incorrectly and got sent flying by elephant legs. Others survived and continued.
Slash!
They all wildly swung their swords.
Bread slashed away on both sides and shouted, “Keep running! Don’t stop—”
Slash!
Her sword danced and blood sprayed.
‘Huh?’
Her vision suddenly darkened.
Thud.
“Ugh!?”
Heaven and earth seemed to flip.
Her horse reared up far away.
Crash!
[HP: 15%]
Her health drained away as she rolled on the ground. Thankfully, she didn’t die.
‘I need to get up.’
She quickly raised her upper body. Then—
“Booouuu—”
An elephant’s tusk rose like a white tower and slowly tilted.
“It’s falling...?”
The elephant was collapsing. Its giant shadow closed in on Bread.
‘I killed the elephant, but...’
She killed the elephant, but it seemed she would also die with no time to escape.
In that short moment, Bread could only blame herself. An assistant commander’s life was not just one life.
‘This is a loss.’
Thud!
A heavy roar echoed.
“!?”
The elephant certainly fell, but she survived. How?
“Booouuu—!”
Another elephant’s tusk supported the falling corpse.
‘What...?’
She looked up. The person on that elephant wasn’t Persian. It was a Joseon soldier.
‘Almond?’
It was Almond.