Season 3: Chapter 246. Legends Never Die (2)
As the fourth game began, the audience's excitement peaked. Japan was aiming for a comeback and Korea fervently cheered after losing the previous game.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Koreaaa! Koreaaa!”
The desperation was palpable after losing the momentum of winning three consecutive games. The Balloon Stars members continued to cheer, almost in a trance.
“Joseon! Joseon!”
As the game officially started and the first fight commenced, Miho stepped forward to lead the cheers again. Numerous spectators followed her gestures and chants. The Japanese cheering squad on the opposite side was equally intense.
“Japan! Japan!”
“Comeback!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The soundwaves and massive drumbeats from the other side seemed to push into their territory. Bubblegum, Tako, and StrawberryShooter held hands, gritted their teeth, and screamed with all their might.
“Aaaaaah! Koreaaa! Koreaaa!”
— LOL
— Insane
— My ears are hurting
— Is this a cheering broadcast or Jurassic Park?
— LMAO
Viewers watching their cheering broadcast had to lower the speaker volume.
“Don’t lose in cheering either! Let’s gooo!”
Bubblegum stood up and shook his body vigorously.
— Did he stand up?
— Why is there no difference between his sitting height and standing height...
— The mystery of the human body, Bubblegum
Of course, the effect was minimal. Meanwhile—
[Joseon - Second Era]
As Joseon entered the second era, a thunderous cheer erupted from the Korean audience.
“Waaaaaaaahhh!!”
— Oh
— Recreating the first game?
— Let’s go, let’s go
— Back in form
— Best Yi Sun-Shin’s form is back
“Waaaaahhh! Waaaaahhh!”
Bubblegum also grabbed Tako and Strawberry and jumped up and down. Almond received the first bow. Then, the ten first string archers from Joseon rushed forward.
“They’re going with the first string!? Oh! Nice!”
“Push with the elite! Just go for it!”
***
“Another archer rush is coming!?”
This game began as smoothly as the first. They advanced to the second era with a fast archer rush.
“It smells like the first game!?”
However, there was one difference. The enemy knew about it.
“But! Japan! They’re responding!?”
“They’ve scouted the map and know about the fast archer rush route!”
“They’re forming their positions. Many barbarian soldiers are being mobilized!”
Japan aimed to ambush where there were more trees and rocks.
“This is a déjà vu of the first game!? But Japan lost that time! They wouldn’t want to do the same thing again!”
It was slightly different this time. A subtle difference, but significant to those on the field. Japan sent out a few barbarian soldiers as bait.
“They’re sending out bait! Japan!”
“If they can sneak in even one swordsman, they’ll win!”
***
Tatata...!
Almond ran at the front as usual. The target was the enemy’s base. However, things didn’t go as planned.
[Warning]
Ping! Ping!
Pings appeared all around, causing the unit to halt.
‘Huh?’
Almond couldn’t see anything. Even if the commander looked from above, they needed the soldiers’ line of sight to see.
“Falcon scouting,” Carrot explained from behind and looked around.
Looking up again, she saw a falcon circling high above.
“Ah.”
“It’s likely an ambush, so they used falcon scouting.”
Indeed, it seemed reasonable as one or two figures appeared.
‘Should we take our position?’
Almond quickly scanned the surroundings.
‘There are many obstacles again.’
An ambush would likely happen.
“What should we do?” Carrot asked from behind.
“No orders?”
“Well...”
Why weren’t there any? Were they supposed to fight here or break through? They needed an order, but it seemed the commander was still deciding.
“If no orders come, we have to decide,” Carrot firmly advised Almond, “The leader has to decide.”
Almond knew that too. However, while he could decide how to handle the battle, he couldn’t decide whether to start the battle or not. He lacked the perspective to make such a big decision and wasn’t chosen as the leader to make such decisions.
‘What’s going on?’
Almond felt confused, but decided to focus on the next step instead. His eyes scanned everywhere and he spotted a few approaching enemies. They were barely visible behind trees and rocks, but were definitely coming. There didn’t seem to be many.
‘Should we break through?’
They had successfully broken through before. However, the situation was different now. Previously, it was beneficial if even one person infiltrated as a scout. The goal of this second era rush was different.
The commander didn’t want just a slight disruption. They wanted to end the game.
‘They wouldn’t want a long game.’
Almond understood the commander’s situation and clearly sensed their intention. If they intended to finish the game, he didn’t have many options.
He raised his fist and spoke, “Take your positions! We’re clearing them here!”
“Yes!”
Tatata.
The archers took their positions and covered various directions.
“Hoo—” Almond also exhaled lightly.
All the archers crouched as the enemies rushed forward.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
He could feel the vibrations on the ground. He knew there were more behind them.
‘The number difference is natural. The archers will overcome it quickly once they start shooting.’
As the attackers, they naturally had less in numbers. However, archers could attack from long-range attacks while the enemies mostly only had clubs.
“Wooooooahhh!!”
With a roar, several Japanese soldiers appeared from behind cover. They charged and kicked off the ground.
Shing...!
A few Japanese soldiers gleamed in the light.
Despite the terrifying sight, Almond’s calm voice once settled the archers’ racing hearts.
“Draw your bows.”
Saying this, his gaze naturally turned to his right arm.
‘Is this the time to worry about others?’
It was slightly trembling. In addition to the commander’s situation, Almond himself couldn’t play for long.
‘I’m still okay.’
This level of tremor didn’t significantly affect his accuracy yet.
He focused on the front again.
Woooong...!
[Focus]
Beyond the gathering white light, the Japanese soldiers charged forward. They had entered within range, but many obstacles stood in the way.
Almond had to consider whether the other archers could easily hit their heads, so he waited a bit more.
He drew an imaginary line in his mind.
‘There.’
That area had few obstacles. If anyone stepped on that line, he would shoot.
“They’re getting close!”
He still waited.
The first focus shot after three seconds would decide the game.
‘Soon...’
Ping!
Then, the order came.
[Swordsmen]
[Swordsmen]
[Swordsmen]
“!”
The pings marked the swordsmen.
Thud—
At that moment, someone stepped on the line Almond had mentally drawn. He didn’t miss it.
“Fire!”
Whoosh!
Ten arrows simultaneously scattered in every direction.
Bang!
Bang!
The white light struck the Japanese soldiers' heads. The ones wielding swords fell helplessly.
“Most of the swordsmen are down!”
“Whoa!?”
Some arrows struck the trees, but most met their targets. At least six swordsmen had fallen. Japan didn’t have many swordsmen at this stage. Most of them probably died.
“Waaaaaaah!”
Cheers erupted from the audience.
At the same time, the entire Japanese army waiting in ambush burst out and charged.
[Begin the battle]
An order came from the commander.
Almond stood up and drew his bow repeatedly.
Bang!
Bang!
His arrows pierced through the soldiers' heads one by one. The other archers also stood and focused on rapid firing.
Then—
“Huh...?!”
Slash!
The swordsmen they thought mostly died suddenly broke through the archers’ formation from two directions.
‘What?’
Were there ten swordsmen? Joseon had entered the second era first. There couldn’t be that many.
While turning and drawing his bow, Almond glanced at the body of the swordsman he had shot earlier.
“!”
His eyes trembled.
Someone agilely ran up and picked up the sword from the swordsman’s body. He did it so smoothly while running that it initially looked like a barbarian soldier picking up the sword.
‘No.’
If Almond hadn’t seen it properly, he wouldn’t have noticed.
‘The first one that was killed wasn’t a swordsman.’
The first one who died was a barbarian soldier. The one picking up the sword now was a swordsman. Now that he saw the swordsman up close, he could distinguish the slight difference in attire.
The dead one had been a barbarian soldier. They took the swordsmen’s swords while the actual swordsmen held clubs and pretended to be barbarian soldiers.
‘We’ve been fooled.’
Joseon had been tricked. As proof, those Japanese soldiers skillfully used the skills only swordsmen had.
[Ruthless Blade]
“!”
Clang!
A sword almost struck Almond’s face when he briefly looked away. He blocked it with his bow and quickly released an arrow.
Thunk!
The arrow struck the enemy’s forehead, who staggered back. This allowed Almond to shoot two more arrows into his chest.
Thud...!
‘It doesn’t matter. The order just changed.’
Almond decided not to worry about whether the first one he killed was a swordsman or a barbarian soldier. It couldn’t be helped even if he wasted the three second focus shot on a barbarian soldier.
Clang!
He turned and blocked another swordsman’s attack with his bow. Again, he shot an arrow point-blank and pierced the swordsman’s face.
Having taken care of the nearby enemies, he turned to shoot another enemy.
“!”
Thump...
His right arm suddenly shook violently.
Ping~
The arrow veered off at a ridiculous angle. He tried to draw another arrow quickly, but...
‘It’s slowed down.’
His arm moved frustratingly slow. The distance from the quiver to the bow felt excessively long.
“Almond! We’re getting overwhelmed!”
Their formation was collapsing not just from two directions but from three directions. Spam fell, followed by Carrot and Pang being brutally slaughtered.
“...”
Gritting his teeth, Almond fired another arrow.
A swordsman lifted his sword toward the fallen Spam, but an arrow struck his head.
Thunk!
“Phew.”
Following that, Spam grabbed the arrow and thrust it into the swordsman’s knee.
“Arghhhh!”
Thud!
The swordsman, losing his health, slumped and fell.
Then—
A barbarian soldier charged in and swung his club full force at Spam’s head.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
Spam, with little health remaining, collapsed instantly.
Almond’s arrow missed the barbarian soldier.
Ping~
“There! Kill him!”
Recognizing Almond, several soldiers charged at him.
Almond tried to draw his bow, but let go.
‘I don’t think I’ll hit.’
Shing!
[Sword]
A ping marked a sword from the enemy Almond had previously defeated.
‘A sword...?’
He had no time to think. He grabbed the sword and swung it.
Slash—
Blood splattered from the swordsman’s legs, causing him to stagger. Almond stood up and slashed upward.
Slice! Slash!
The swordsman’s arm flew off, followed by his head.
“Huff... huff...”
Almond held the trembling sword with his left hand.
Another enemy quickly approached.
Almond took a fighting stance. Although his hand trembled, this didn’t affect him as much as with a bow.
‘I can use a sword.’
He came to that conclusion for this game. The swordsmanship he had learned would now determine the game’s fate.