Season 3: Chapter 252. Rolling Waves (2)
Swoosh...!
A single Sekibune hurriedly set off with troops on board.
“Since they’re sending just one ship, it’s not a decisive move but rather to apply some pressure.”
“Yes, they’re also scouting at the same time... but it’s not good for Joseon to be scouted right now, is it?”
It wasn’t a very threatening attack from Japan. It seemed like a move to deal some damage to workers if an opportunity presented itself while scouting.
However, this kind of second era probing from Japan was a first in this series. Joseon was not properly prepared. Moreover, being scouted right now was not ideal for Joseon.
“Joseon reached the second era first, but they’ve only just produced one Hwaseon ship!? Ringo will find this suspicious!”
“Ringo won’t miss the lack of resources due to the hidden multi-base! He’ll realize something’s off right away, won’t he!?”
Joseon had secretly built a multi-base. They had nothing to gain from exposing anything to the opponent. Even a slight difference would quickly be noticed by top-tier commanders. Ringo would surely detect the reduced number of fishing boats and warships.
“This is what we call a double in RTS games. Starting with two town halls or main bases from the beginning.”
“Exactly. Joseon’s play right now is essentially a naked double, meaning they’re going straight for a double without any significant military force.”
Starting with two main bases was a powerful move if they could run them properly.
However—
“The biggest vulnerability is if the opponent notices this before the multi-base is even fully operational! The opponent might discover it!”
Joseon’s multi-base wasn’t fully operational yet. It was still incomplete.
[Town Hall — 87%]
The new town hall near the island’s gold mine was almost complete but still unfinished.
“Since a town hall is expensive, Ringo will surely notice the difference by looking at the number of ships... The Sekibune has already crossed half the sea.”
Japan’s ships steadily closed in.
“They’re ignoring the fishing boats they see?”
The Sekibune ignored the fishing boats and sailed straight ahead. It was clearly targeting Joseon’s main island.
“They’re aiming for the workers at the main base instead of the fishing boats while scouting! What’s their true objective!?”
“It seems Ringo has noticed something! From Ringo’s perspective, it would be strange! The ones who always came in the first and second eras aren’t coming!”
— LOL
— True
— That makes sense
— His mind must be racing
At that moment, a ping appeared from Joseon.
Ping.
[Enemy]
Using a fishing boat’s sight, Best Yi Sun-Shin noticed the approaching Japanese ship.
“Alright. Joseon spotted the incoming Sekibune with a fishing boat. They’ll want to keep it out.”
“Yes. They won’t want it entering their coast, but the Hwaseon isn’t ready yet!!”
[Hwaseon — 73%]
The Hwaseon wasn’t ready yet since they built the multi-base first. Ringo would instantly be convinced of the multi-base’s existence if a warship comparable to the Sekibune wasn’t ready yet. However, this fact itself couldn’t be revealed.
“The Sekibune keeps coming! It’ll roughly gauge the number of fishing boats along the way! They’ll think, ‘Huh? Something seems off!’”
Meanwhile, the Sekibune had already covered two-thirds of the distance.
***
The soldier atop the Sekibune’s mast murmured, “There’s fewer than I expected.”
He was gauging the number of fishing boats around. Despite Joseon reaching the second era faster, they didn’t have many fishing boats.
“Then it must be warships.”
He thought there would be more warships, but reconsidered.
“If that were the case, something would’ve already come.”
They were advancing in full view of the fishing boats with no resistance.
“Or they might’ve headed to our base.”
“Oh. Could be.”
The soldiers figured Joseon had gone toward their base. No one argued further. The commander would decide anyway. Then—
“What the...!? Something’s coming!”
Swoosh...!
A ship rapidly approached them.
“What? They built a warship.”
“Prepare for ramming.”
The Sekibune turned its bow to ram the incoming ship.
“What the... It’s a swift ship?”
“Huh? Again?”
They thought it was a Hwaseon because it approached so confidently, but it turned out to be a swift ship.
Swoosh...!
The swift ship, almost like a transport ship, lacked any significant attack capabilities.
[Duck]
Ping.
A command came from Ringo.
“There are archers on board! Duck!”
They recalled the nightmare of the second game. Having been badly beaten by swift ships before, Japan assumed the enemy ship was packed with archers. They couldn’t be fooled like before.
“Hup!”
Everyone huddled at the edge of the ship and ducked.
“...”
“?”
No arrows flew. After all, the swift ship only had one person on board.
“Let’s goooo!”
Pang eagerly steered the ship. He had been given just two commands.
[Ram them]
[Delay them]
He was to ram the Sekibune with the swift ship to delay its approach. The swift ship wasn’t meant for ramming, but...
“Target the side. The side...”
If he hit the side, it would be different. Otherwise, the swift ship would just break apart.
“They’re turning.”
The enemy knew this too, so they turned their bow and aimed for a head-on collision.
Swoosh...!
The distance between the ships narrowed.
“They’re coming.”
Swish.
Pang turned the wheel sharply to the right.
“There’s a difference in terms of turning speed.”
The swift ship drifted to the right, spraying water.
Swoosh...!
Then, he quickly turned the wheel to the left.
“Waaaaaah!”
With the audience’s cheers, the swift ship narrowly passed by the Sekibune. It was so close that the wooden planks of the ships scraped against each other.
“Huh!?”
“Nani!?”
The expressions of the Japanese soldiers aboard looked priceless. Only then did they realize the swift ship had just one person on board.
“Hahaha!” Pang laughed as he passed Japanese soldiers. “This is how you do it!”
He was referring to going through a small gap. Ringo’s expression also stiffened, but not because of Pang’s taunt.
“What? Just one?”
He had assumed the ship would be full of archers and thought it was an ambush. Why was there just one person? His mind raced.
“And it’s being steered manually. If I’m not mistaken...”
What was even stranger was that a soldier manually controlled the ship.
“Could it be the main base?”
He glanced at his main base, thinking all of Joseon’s forces possibly headed there. However, he spotted nothing near the base. Then—
“!”
Bang!
While Ringo was momentarily distracted, the swift ship rammed the Sekibune’s side.
“Gotcha!”
The swift ship struck hard even though it wasn’t meant for ramming.
‘What?’
Ringo’s eyes widened in disbelief. The enemy didn’t just stop at ramming.
“Screw punch!”
Pang turned the wheel while ramming and twisted the bow. Just like twisting a spear after stabbing to increase pain, he aimed to wreck the Japanese ship. Of course, this would also damage the swift ship, but it had cost less resources.
Water began flooding into the Sekibune. Ultimately, the Sekibune had to stop.
***
“Waaaaa! Pang! He did it!”
“This... I hadn’t thought of this advantage for manual control!? With manual control, there are no distractions! They can focus solely on the battle!”
No one had demonstrated this obvious advantage before. Of course, the disadvantages usually outweighed this.
“Right!? When the commander controls it, they can’t just watch one screen!”
“Exactly! It’s dizzying to follow when you watch a commander’s screen in an RTS game! They’re looking at multiple screens at once. Sometimes four at a time! But Pang is just watching one screen!”
— Ah, right
— True
— Did Ringo get distracted?
— Ringo must be very busy now
— Ringo missed it LOL
— Wow LOL
“What happens to the Sekibune now? Will it sink?”
“No, probably not! It’s just been delayed! Ringo has a worker on board to repair it!”
[Repair]
The Sekibune began repairs. They had a worker aboard for such emergencies. The worker hurriedly patched the breach and their ship turned away from the swift ship.
“The swift ship doesn’t have a worker... It’s been destroyed and is sinking.”
“Ah. The difference in ship class caused this...”
The swift ship couldn't stay intact since it wasn’t meant for ramming. Bubbles rose as the swift ship gradually sank. Pang also sank with it. Then, above the bubbling water, Pang’s thumb rose out. It was a thumbs up.
“Aaah! A thumbs up! Pang gives a thumbs up!”
— LOL
— That’s romantic LOL
— Hahaha
— He loves fishing so much that he’s becoming a fish...
— Terminator LOL
“Yes. A noble sacrifice! And! Joseon’s Hwaseon is out! Now, the Sekibune can’t approach! They’ve already pinpointed its location!!”
Meanwhile, the Hwaseon had been completed.
“Yes. It’s not a gain and more of a loss, but this was the best move for Joseon! With the Hwaseon out, the Sekibune can’t fully approach!”
[Departure]
Swoosh...!
The Hwaseon departed from Joseon’s coast. At the helm was Malatang, aka Lee Wan-Yong.
“This time, Malatang is steering!?”
“It seems Joseon is sticking to this method!”
— Lee Wan-Yong at the helm LOL
— Of all people, Lee Wan-Yong LOL
— Specially appointed diplomat, LOL
— LOL
— He’s not selling out the country, is he?
— LOL
The Hwaseon headed toward the Sekibune. During this time, Joseon finally finished constructing their multi-base.
Thud.
[Town Hall — Complete]
The workers began transporting gold and resources rapidly increased.
“Joseon! The hidden multi-base is successful! The naked double is running!”
“If it runs smoothly, they won’t fall behind Japan in non-food resources!”
“Yes! And another interesting thing...!!”
The multi-base hadn’t just built another town hall.
“They’re building a barracks and a stable!”
Joseon also constructed a barracks and stable at the multi-base. They planned to revive soldiers and create horses there.
“They’re going to use cavalry, right?”
Using cavalry on fragmented island terrain wasn’t very efficient, but Joseon chose to do so anyway.