Season 3: Chapter 261. The Big Catch (2)
Community reactions were largely negative even during the fifth game and the final stages of the elimination match.
[Ringo, as expected... “It's going according to plan,” isn't it?]
[Joseon is finished for real.]
[Knew this would happen, tsk tsk.]
[Nation of overreactors, lol.]
Japan had more momentum until the middle and late stages. Objectively, this was true. However—
[????? Was that the commander just now?]
[Huh? They're being wiped out?]
[Wow, reverse assasination]
The atmosphere began to change when the Joseon commander drew her sword.
[No way. You can do that in Civil Empire??]
[Even the big-time players are shocked, lol.]
[Never seen anything like that in my five years of playing Civil Empire.]
Not only did this scene become a hot topic among casual players, but even experts felt amazed.
[What just happened?]
[Can that even be done?]
[Surprised the Japanese players]
[How many samurai did she just cut down? lol]
[Best Yi Sun-Shin is amazing.]
[Once again, Japan faces the nightmare of Yi Sun-Shin.]
Some of the experienced players even had doubts.
[Since when did Almond get the samurai faction??]
— No way, he'd have to come back for that, lol.
└ Just can't believe it, so I said it, lol.
└ But the commander has no handicap with weapons just like the vice commander.
└ lol, but there are no unit buffs.
└ Seriously...
— It's just crazy physical ability, that's it.
└ Need to watch it in slow motion.
Joseon's victory was announced with various discussions ongoing. The speed of posts skyrocketed at that moment.
[What? Did they really win??]
[Wow, this is insane, lol.]
[Quarterfinals legend, for real.]
[Almond's landing operation succeeded, lol.]
[Where are all those who said Joseon would lose?]
[Get lost, losers, lol.]
All Civil Empire related communities, including LIL Pro, almost lost connection to their server due to the surge in posts. Meanwhile, numerous highlights of Joseon appeared on the Big board.
[Big: Joseon’s Top Sword Hides Its Power]
The scene showed Best Yi Sun-Shin drawing her sword and displaying her skills.
— lol
— Turns out she was the strongest
— Seriously
— Wow
— Samurai: "Sister, I’m dying." (true story)
└ lol, imagining the samurai saying that is hilarious
└ Is this what they call "female power" in Japan?
— Watching it in slow motion is even crazier
└ Not a single wasted move
└ Just a ghost
[Big: Buggy Cannon]
Users also uploaded the moment when Pang fired a cannon at his own ship.
— Wow
— Pang is awesome
— Buggy Cannon lol
— The enemies didn’t remain in one piece...
└ lol, they turned into many pieces
└ Took me a while to get it, lol
└ One Piece was a lie
— This was amazing
[Big: Almond vs Honda]
They also uploaded the duel between Almond and Honda.
— Wow
— Insane
— Both are monsters
— Almond can use a sword now?
└ More than just a little, lol
└ The enemy commander is Japan's ace in swordsmanship, lol
└ Fun fact: Honda had never lost a 1v1 in national matches...
└ Elon Musk is making money too, lol
└└ lol
[Big: Almond’s Last Shot]
The final shot when Almond sniped the enemy commander hadn’t been highlighted as much during the live broadcast. However, they made it a highlight and uploaded it to the Big board.
— His hands were shaking so much??
└ Was he nervous?
└ No, it’s a stamina issue...
— Oh...
— I feel the pain
— Did he hit the target in that state??
— Determination!
— I didn’t realize it was this bad
Viewers finally understood Almond’s condition from that last moment. His shaking arm as he shot the enemy commander left a strong impression on many. Subsequent highlights of Almond continued to be posted.
[Big: Almond After Winning]
They even uploaded the scene where Almond roared in victory.
— No...
— Wow... what a man
— Feels like a movie
└ That’s because of his face
└└ lol
└└ Are you a simp?
— My heart is pounding
— It’s hard to describe this feeling
└ Seriously...
— How would it feel to win with a trembling hand after fighting hard for five games? I can’t even imagine.
— It feels sad somehow
The warm ending between the two teams also appeared on the Big board.
[Big: Ringo Crying Hard and Honda Looking Fine]
This video included many scenes of players shaking hands and greeting each other. Ringo and Honda’s reactions, in particular, became a hot topic.
— Honda looks like he cried in the capsule
— Ringo leaning on the capsule, crying, so cute lol
└ Ah, lol
└ lol
└ Kinda my type, haha
— Almond holding back from saying, “Are you crying?” lol
└ lol
└ Thought he’d say, “You’re really short,” too. Too bad.
└ If he did, ninjas would come for him
— Even squinting eyes while crying
└ Seriously...
└ The water pressure must be strong
└└ lol
— Honda seems like a nice guy.
— Actually, Honda realized that the emotion he felt while locking eyes with Almond during their sword fight was not fighting spirit... more
└ Sounds like a light novel, recommend me one
└ Light "bell" lol
└└ lol
Dozens of Big posts appeared in a row. Given the speed at which posts filled the Big board, the general board became overwhelmed. This flood of posts finally calmed down a bit.
[Joseon’s Three Archers, wow]
[What?? No commander?]
[Where’s Best Yi Sun-Shin]
[No Yi Sun-Shin?!]
[Voters don’t know the game]
[Is it because she’s a commander?]
[We would have lost without Pang...]
The MVPs had been selected.
***
“Three, three of them?!”
The reporter’s eyes widened in shock. Her eyes began trembling, but the producer responded indifferently.
“You have to win three times to win, so it’s up to three people unless they overlap. Hmm... All three are archers.”
She hoped, even a little, that Almond wouldn't be among the three. However, she found herself strangely devoid of such hope.
“Oh my God, I can’t even hope anymore!”
She looked at the waiting room’s ceiling and lamented inwardly. How could she have any hope when all three of them were archers? Her lack of hope was a testament to human adaptability.
“Spam, Almond, and Pang. Those are the three. You know the drill, right? We’ve roughly prepared the script...”
Of course, Almond was included again. Any hope she had would turn into despair in a second.
“Are all three archers like Almond?”
She worried about how the other two would turn out. There was a saying that people acted alike in the same positions.
The reporter preemptively asked the producer, “Who’s the next opponent...?”
“Oh, yeah.”
She always needed to know where the next accident would occur.
“Um... They won 3-0, so the result came out a while ago.”
***
Quite some time had passed since the game ended, but nearly a million viewers remained on the channel before the interview started. The reason was simple. It was because of the man standing in the middle of the three.
— Almond is here again, lol.
— Main game on, lol.
— Mic demon, wow.
— Finally.
— My elixir is here...
It was Almond. His gameplay was impressive as always, but his performance with the mic was just as notable.
“Yes! Joseon’s hard-fought victory after five games was truly amazing!”
The reporter began with an overly cheerful voice.
“The three players who shined! Can we call you Joseon’s Three Archers!? Spam! Almond! Pang! Welcome! Wow!”
Clap clap clap.
She led the audience in applause while glancing at her script.
“So, how do you feel about winning MVP together as a team? Let’s start with the eldest, Pang?”
Pang raised both hands and suddenly shouted, “I feel greattttt!!!”
“Eek?!”
The reporter instinctively pulled out her earpiece.
— No, lol
— Speaker boom, lol
— Sonic attack, what’s that? lol
— lol
— Starting with a villain
— Is this line 1?
“Ahaha...”
The reporter realized this wasn’t going to be easy.
“Could you tell us more about why you feel so good?”
“My mother... she was very worried.”
“Oh, in what way...?”
“Quitting a decent job to play games at my age. Who would like that? But now we’re in the semifinals... They say there are a lot of viewers. I feel like I can finally be a son to be proud of. Even though I’m still just a gamer.”
— Oh...
— Silence...
— Even those people online were someone’s sons...
— Mommm!
— So sad...
— Mom! There’s a person here!
— Oh, dear...
— Old man...
— ??? Mom, Joseon beat Japan here!!!
The reporter, moved by Pang’s tears, offered some comfort.
“Yes, they must be proud now! Elders love it when we beat Japan, right? Avenging Joseon’s name in a close match against Japan! It must be very satisfying!”
“Ah, yes... Well...”
Pang scratched his head awkwardly.
“My mother is Japanese.”
— ??
— What?
— So that’s why she was worried, lol
— lol
— Hidden landmine, lol
— ??? It’s a big catch~!
“And I blasted the Japanese with a turtle ship... What?”
The reporter was about to continue talking excitedly about beating Japan, but it looked like her soul left her body.
— Reporter, lol
— Shit, lol
— Japanese, lol
— No, lol
— How many landmines has Almond dodged?
— lol
— Indeed, there are many Korean-Japanese couples;
— Big, true story...
Although the reporter’s expression was a sight to see, Almond’s face next to Pang was even more noteworthy. His normally stoic expression changed so much that those familiar with him burst into laughter. It seemed even he had never heard about Pang’s mother.
— Almond is startled, lol
— That face has only been seen once during the Zombie School restroom incident lol
— Past transgressions coming back to mind...
— lol
— This guy reeled both of them in, a true fisherman
— lol