Season 3: Chapter 232. The Sea (3)
‘What is this?’
Ringo's eyes widened. Did Joseon just dodge two ram attacks? Even though the maneuver looked easy, avoiding a ramming ship with such skill without taking any damage seemed unbelievable.
‘Again...!’
The Sekibune cut through the water once more and chased the swift ship. Chasing wasn’t quite the right word. The swift ship no longer seemed intent on fleeing and waited for the Sekibune instead.
‘They’re waiting?!’
Ringo was momentarily taken aback by the shocking deception. Having perfectly anticipated Joseon’s strategy, he expected Joseon to naturally flee in panic. Instead, they waited to be attacked.
It felt infuriating. Although Joseon had dodged twice, Japan still had the greater advantage in this situation. The Sekibune aimed to ram the swift ship once again.
However—
Swoosh!
The enemy dodged again as easily as flipping their hand.
Bang!
To make matters worse, arrows pelted the Sekibune.
“They dodged again?! What is this? Best Yi Sun-Shin is toying with Ringo like a tamed animal! Is this a difference in ship control?!”
This time, Ringo made a different decision. Someone jumped out from the Sekibune.
“What?! They won't fall for it again! And they can throw bombs, right?!”
[Throw]
As the Sekibune brushed past, one of the occupants threw a bomb. Although limited in number and rarely used, Ringo decided this was better than wasting more time. The bomb flew directly toward the swift ship. Seeing its trajectory, Ringo adjusted the Sekibune’s course and felt confident that the explosion would disable the enemy ship. Then, they could properly perform a ram attack.
However—
Boom!
The bomb exploded in midair.
“!?”
A man could be seen through the dispersing smoke. It was Almond. A command had appeared in front of him.
[Intercept]
Not only Ringo, but OrangeKing also felt stunned.
“Almond intercepted the bomb!!”
— OMG
— Wow
— Insane
— No way
— Lol
“If they keep this up, can Joseon really do it?!”
Until now, OrangeKing thought it was fortunate that the swift ship could at least buy some time. Strategically, Joseon was at a severe disadvantage. Ringo had been entirely in control from the start. However, Sa-Rang’s control was not just superior, but on another level.
“Ah! The Sekibune charges again in frustration! It must be frustrating!”
— Haha
— Is he charging himself?
— I would be frustrated too.
Shooosh!
Once again, the Sekibune tried to ram the Joseon swift ship. Naturally, it failed again.
Swoosh!
The swift ship dodged gracefully once more. The swift ship kept moving just enough to dodge whether the Sekibune aimed for the bow, stern, or even the center. The ram would only graze the side, failing to deliver a direct hit. Meanwhile, arrows continued to strike the Sekibune.
Bang!
Although the swift ship theoretically had a severe disadvantage, the Sekibune took all the hits.
“This is the difference between commanders! This is the difference in control! It's chilling to think that despite such incredible control, Best Yi Sun-Shin hasn't used siege weapons!”
“This control difference is like comparing a dog trainer to a Shiba Inu! If I were Ringo, I would quit right now!!”
— LOL
— The Greatest Dog Trainer
— So he's calling him a dog?
— Shiba Inu lol
“Honestly, it might be better to give up! Isn't it better to just go to Joseon's main base?!”
As the caster suggested, the Sekibune could have at least disrupted the fishing boats if it headed to Joseon’s main base earlier. Even if the Joseon archers disembarked from the swift ship, they could have been contained on land and the Sekibune could have dominated the sea.
However, not all wars were logical and rational even in games. This had become a battle of pride.
“Again...! It’s charging again?!”
Shooosh!
The Sekibune turned and charged at the swift ship once more.
“I can’t stand it anymore! I’m a mad dog! I’m going to bite! I’m going to attack!!”
— Lol
— Mad dog Sekibune
— LOL
Once again, Joseon dodged.
“And now Joseon is training it like a tamed animal!”
Bang!
Joseon retaliated with another volley of arrows.
“The mad dog calms down... then attacks again. I will bite! I will attack!”
Shooosh!
Japan attacked again.
“And Joseon dodges again?”
Joseon dodged and retaliated with more arrows. This exchange of attacks and counterattacks continued with arrows hitting their mark every time.
Bang!
Despite the situation, the arrows kept landing.
“Ringo should give up and just retreat at this point!”
“Is he thinking, ‘Can they really sink this ship with arrows? It's a ship!’”
“But it really looks like they can! Am I seeing this correctly?!”
The Sekibune’s health became critically low. The archers' accuracy rivaled their commander's control. Despite the chaotic conditions, they consistently hit their targets.
“Another volley hits!”
Bang!
“Another hit!”
Bang!
“Our players are hitting every shot as if it’s the most natural thing! They’re shooting from a rocking ship!”
“Seriously! That’s incredible!”
“They keep doing the impossible! Joseon!!!”
— Overdoing it with the rocking ship analogy
— Wow
— They might really do it
The Sekibune’s health was nearly depleted. The soldiers inside had long been killed by arrows, leaving no one to throw more bombs. And then—
“Is it charging again? It’s barely holding together...”
The last ten arrows struck.
Boom!
“?!”
The Sekibune slowly sank. Everyone watched in disbelief.
“Waaahhhhhhh!!!”
The Korean audience erupted in cheers, bringing a sense of reality back.
— Wow
— Seriously?
— Ringo will have PTSD forever
— Lol
“Ahhhhh!” OrangeKing shouted and jumped.
“Arrows can sink ships!!”
— LOL
— Ours is the best~
— LOL
***
This battle became an immediate sensation. Commanders rarely fought each other directly like this with their control skills. The result was beyond belief. This battle particularly caught the attention of history related communities.
[Real-time Yi Sun-Shin maneuvers]
Such posts received tremendous responses.
— Lol
— Wow
— Incredible
— Where are all the people who criticized the flat-bottomed ships now?
— Is this the popular game called something-something Empires?
└ LOL?
└ It’s called Civil Empires, boomer...
Foreign communities reacted even more intensely.
[That was an unbelievable battle]
[The weakest in the finals]
[The newcomer is incredibly skilled]
Numerous posts flooded in before the second game even ended.
— What was that?
— Wasn’t Japan weird to fall for that?
— Korean RTS is making a comeback!
└ It’s really plausible
└ Agreed
— Fact: Despite Japan’s perfect strategy, the outcome changed drastically due to pure control skills.
— What’s with those archers? Insane accuracy.
└ That’s Nuts
— Almond intercepting the bomb was the craziest part
Even some foreign military enthusiasts recognized Best Yi Sun-Shin’s username.
[Let’s learn about Joseon’s Yi Sun-Shin]
The user excitedly detailed Admiral Yi’s achievements in naval battles, which gained significant attention.
— I’ve heard of Yi Sun-Shin, but he fought against Japan?
— He ranked second in some poll, right?
— What a fitting nickname XD
— Now I understand why the cheer squad is going wild.
Admiral Yi Sun-Shin’s notable achievements were against Japan, which added weight to the game for viewers.
— What’s it like to carry with a name like that?
— Wow, her control lives up to the name
— Japan messed up, but it’s still amazing
One word summed up everyone’s reaction: amazement. However, only one place on earth felt a different emotion: despair.
“... Nani!?”
“Sekibuneee!”
“Uso...”
Japan’s cheering squad, confident in their strategic victory, was in shock. The one who felt the most despair was Ringo.
‘...’
He continued the game in a daze, suppressing the urge to surrender immediately. The continuous unbelievable maneuvers left him questioning his actions. Like all great plays, it included the opponent’s mistakes. Ringo had his share of the blame.
Yes, the opponent possessed dazzling control. It could have happened a few times, but Ringo failed to ensure the Sekibune’s safety. How many chances did he have to prevent it from sinking?
‘Failing to discern opportunity costs... Damn.’
He kept attacking to reclaim the sinking ship’s costs. The more time he wasted, the more he had to make it worthwhile. Like sinking deeper into a swamp, he kept charging in. The result, as everyone saw, was disastrous.
Crunch...
Regret lingered in his mind. The Japanese commentators noticed and mentioned it.
“Ringo needs to forget about it. Everyone makes mistakes, right?”
“Exactly. If he dwells on it, he’ll lose this game too.”
“Strategically, he’s still in a strong position. It’s an ocean map! The island nation faction...”
Ringo bit his lip, trying to regain focus and continue the game. Losing one ship wasn’t a big deal. Japan still had the advantage on this map. If he made no more mistakes, he would naturally regain the advantage.
‘Let’s prepare.’
The swift ship from earlier would arrive soon with the ten archers disembarking.
‘At least I know the route.’
Despite losing a Sekibune, he had identified Joseon’s sneak attack route.
‘Time for a comeback.’
Ringo felt he could still turn things around. At least he had to cleanly repel this ambush.
Boom! Boom!
“Comeback!”
The Japanese cheering squad’s chant for a comeback filled the stadium.
Boom! Boom!
“Comeback!”
Shooosh...
Meanwhile, Joseon’s swift ship finally came into view near Japan’s coast.