Season 3: Chapter 237. Strategic Weapon (2)
"No, Best Yi Sun-Shin!? She turned all the ships around to avoid being surrounded, but it looks like she's giving up the gold mine!"
OrangeKing was half out of his seat, shouting excitedly. Although no shots had been fired yet, the tension was high because battleships tended to crumble with just one hit.
"Ah, yes!? Is she giving up the gold mine!?"
"Can she handle the ships that Japan will produce with the gold from that mine!?"
Japan had depleted their gold mine. Joseon had confirmed through scouting that blocking the gold mine would temporarily halt Japan's ship production. Joseon still had some gold left, giving them a chance to catch up in resource gathering.
"Is there some kind of clever strategy!?"
"Is she going to circle around and enter from a different coast!?"
It seemed like there could be some bigger plan like circling the island for a different entry point. However, Joseon's immediate priority seemed to be to avoid a naval battle with Japan. They continued moving in the direction they had been fleeing.
"Joseon's ships... are retreating."
"This makes their exit seem less meaningful... It's a shame since the flat-bottomed ships are more advantageous here. If they retreat now..."
OrangeKing's voice lost its excitement as he slumped back into his chair.
— Can't see the angle
— What to do??
— Noooo
— Why aren't they fighting??
— At least try charging in
The disappointed viewers expressed their frustration in the chat.
"Joseon is heading toward an island dense with trees. There will be a lot of timber there."
Joseon's ships took solace in gathering wood from the island.
"Ah... It's a bit unfortunate to gather wood here..."
Since the opponent was desperate for gold, the best strategy would have been to block that gold. However, Best Yi Sun-Shin thought differently.
'We just need to urgently produce more wood.'
She knew gold was critical, but figured that blocking it would be challenging. Instead, she planned to create urgency for another resource and secure it.
***
[Massacre the workers]
Almond received the new command. He secured his position and drew his bow, aiming to attack as many workers as possible. He released the arrow without taking a breath and it pierced a worker's head without hesitation.
Thunk!
No change could be seen in Almond's expression. He merely readied another arrow, which also found its mark.
Thunk!
There were too many workers. It seemed doubtful that he could kill them all alone, but he didn't think that far ahead. He focused on the worker in front of him swinging an axe at a tree.
Thunk!
It was so quiet that even sensitive birds wouldn’t be startled. The dead worker slumped against the tree without uttering a word. The forest remained silent. Amid that silence, another arrow flew and another worker fell. The next one and the next after that quietly lay on the ground.
Thwack!
After shooting the last arrow, Almond lowered his bow. He watched as the final worker in his sight dropped. Then, he quietly moved to the next area.
***
Commanders in Civil Empire differed significantly from typical RTS gamers. They had to draw a much bigger picture. Not just planning the next step, but the steps beyond that as well. This didn't mean they were inherently superior, but they had a unique approach.
Due to Civil Empire’s nature where soldiers fought autonomously, commanders could take in the broader battlefield. As a result, feint operations were rare in Civil Empire. Distracting a skilled commander was challenging since they could place soldiers where needed, letting them fight independently without much distraction.
However—
"No, Almond!? He’s been in the forest all this time! I forgot about him! But now Japan's wood resource...?!"
Naval battles were different. The biggest difference for commanders on island maps wasn't the abundant seafood or the slower game pace.
"No, Ringo hasn't noticed yet!"
The need to control ships directly, almost like personally fighting the battle, changed the game's nature. This made it more likely for commanders to lose focus.
"Even if workers are killed in one shot without warning, the rate of incoming wood must have changed! Wow...! He's going to kill more!"
Ringo had lost nearly half his wood-gathering workers in an instant and still had no idea.
— Why go to the wood island? This is crazy.
— Wow
— "God still has one Almond left..."
— Ringo still squinting~ (-_-) lol
Almond continued to move and took down workers in another forest. His precision and speed felt almost supernatural as he didn’t make a single sound to warn the enemies.
"How many is he killing!? Stop this Oppenheimer!!!"
— LOL
— Death incarnate
— He's a nuclear bomb, not a nut
— Oppenheimer lol
Ringo was too busy positioning ships around the gold island and deploying workers to mine gold.
"Ringo is totally occupied!"
"This is why! This is why Joseon pretended to go for the gold island!"
Joseon’s full fleet heading toward the gold island made Ringo nervous, requiring his full attention. He had long since stopped considering any danger to his main base.
— Was this the plan??
— Only realizing now, sigh
— Let’s elect Best Yi Sun-Shin to parliament!
"Ringo will realize when he tries to build more ships!"
After mining the new gold and trying to order more ships, he would notice the unexpected shortage of wood.
"Look at his expression. He just noticed!"
Ping! Ping!
Ringo urgently pinged the map.
— Shocked lol
— His squint was just an act lol
— Why does he get weaker when he opens his eyes? lol
Ringo reacted almost instinctively.
"Ah, Ringo doesn't seem to know why the workers died!"
He had no idea what had killed his workers and couldn’t imagine it was the single archer who slipped through earlier. Ringo had long forgotten about that archer and solely focused on the next big battle.
"Joseon poisoned the well!!"
— LOL
— The well again
— The frog in the well is scary...
— The well lord strikes again
— Another one goes down!
"Ah... It was a deadly poison?"
"Looks like Ringo has realized! He's sending swordsmen to search the forest!"
Japanese swordsmen began to search the forest urgently. Almond didn't see them, but their hurried footsteps sounded noticeably different from the workers.
This slight shift in Almond’s movements did not escape Sa-Rang's notice.
‘The enemy knows?’
She directed all her ships back toward the gold island.
Swoosh...!
As Ringo focused on his base, the flat-bottomed ships could now move almost as fast as the Japanese ships due to the nearby shoreline.
"Whoa!? Joseon is approaching again!?"
"Is she taking advantage of Ringo's distraction with the main base!?"
The Japanese ships remained stationary while Joseon's ships moved. The soldiers on the Japanese ships likely saw Joseon’s fleet on the horizon, but they had no way to inform their commander.
"They’re almost within range!!"
"Japan is trying to move hastily!"
As Ringo’s eyes darted, the Japanese ships began to move belatedly.
[Move]
Swoosh!
The fast Sekibunes surged ahead.
"Japan is moving with the Sekibunes first...!"
"Ah, they’re fast!"
Japan would have no chance if Joseon reached their cannon firing range first. They had to rush before the Joseon cannons deployed.
"Moving hastily, the Sekibunes and Atakebunes can't move together!"
Japan had no choice. The Sekibunes had to create confusion while the Atakebunes closed in to secure their cannon range.
"The Sekibunes are drawing the aggro! Meanwhile, the Atakebunes approach to fire their frontal cannons!"
The Atakebunes, equipped with frontal cannons, were advantageous for close-quarter combat.
"Ah! Right!? The Atakebunes have frontal cannons, so they can charge and fire while chasing Joseon!"
Joseon had to turn to fire their cannons while the Atakebunes could fire as they approached. However, Joseon's formation seemed to disregard side cannons.
"What!? Joseon is forming a triangular formation and advancing!? Are they going to break through!?"
Joseon advanced in a triangular formation toward the Japanese ships.
"Breaking through with Panokseons!? Can they—"
Suddenly, the leading Panokseon made a sharp turn, almost braking to a halt.
"As I speak, the leading Panokseon turns its bow!"
The side, not the front, became exposed and revealed the cannons.
"It turned so sharply that it almost tipped over! Fortunately, it didn't! Can it fire...?"
"Japan's Sekibunes are approaching in single file! They're willing to sacrifice one!"
The Sekibunes formed a single file, reducing the number of targets to one for the Joseon cannons. To the Panokseons, it looked like a single Sekibune.
"Shooting now would be inefficient..."
Clang!
Nevertheless, Joseon prepared to fire and revealed their ominous black cannons.
"This will be the first real cannon fire of the game!!"
For the first time since the game began, Joseon aimed to destroy the enemy with their cannons.
Boom──!
The cannons fired with a thunderous roar, blasting the leading Sekibune to pieces.
"First shot hit!!!"
But—
Swoosh!
The Sekibunes behind remained unharmed and continued to cut through the water toward the Panokseons.
"But the cannons with splash damage can't penetrate with them in a single line! The formation master, Ringo, sacrifices just one ship!"
Sekibunes weren't expensive. Losing one to a Panokseon cannon was a good trade.
"With the Sekibunes approaching, they'll ram into the Panokseons! The leading Panokseon is in danger!"
"Right. In... wait, what!?"
OrangeKing stopped mid-sentence and shouted. Did the Sekibunes approach too quickly? No.
"The lead ship changed!?"
The leading Panokseon was no longer at the front. The flanking Panokseons had taken the lead.
"The initial lead Panokseon stopped, fired, and moved back while the flanking ones moved forward!"
Swoosh—
Like the first Panokseon, the flanking ones braked and turned to expose their sides, revealing the cannons.
"Now they have the angle!"
Unlike the first Panokseon, these two had the angle to fire at the trailing Sekibunes.
Boom!
The cannons fired, pushing the ships back. Three Sekibunes were destroyed at once, not just the front one.
— OMG
— Beautiful!
— Wow...!?
— Wait?
— Perfect
— This is insane
The Panokseons that fired moved back and the ones beside them took the lead to fire again.
Boom!
Bang!
Repeating this process, the initial Panokseon in the lead was now at the rear and the Sekibunes were being sucked into the rear. The triangle formation had become an inverted triangle.
Ringo's hands trembled.
'This is...!'
His slight trembling was due to his elevated view. The crews on the ships faced the looming Panokseons with horror.
"...!?"
The ramming Sekibunes found themselves at a distance with giant ships forming a wall on either side. From the cliffs, cannons emerged and fired.
Boom──!
The recoil created massive waves, engulfing the world in white.
Ringo clearly saw it. Amid the fierce waves, cranes flapped their wings.