Season 3: Chapter 289. Vanguard (2)
A few days before the battle with China began, Hui-Chul called Sang-Hyeon aside.
'Me?'
Sang-Hyeon found it strange that Hui-Chul would ask to meet without any particular agenda, but he went anyway as was typical of him. He knocked on the door to Hui-Chul’s room and entered.
Hui-Chul greeted him warmly, "Hey. Come in. Just a moment. Let's at least have some tea."
When they first met, there was quite a bit of awkwardness between them. Now, they spoke casually with one another.
Clink.
Hui-Chul poured tea into a small hotel cup and handed it to Sang-Hyeon. The tea’s warmth gently surrounded Sang-Hyeon’s hands.
“I called you because I want to talk about something.”
“I see.”
Sang-Hyeon nodded with curiosity. He didn't think they would discuss strategy, not when they had vice commanders for that. What was so urgent that Hui-Chul wanted to talk right after returning?
“Well... first...”
Unexpectedly, Cookie started the conversation with some light chatter. They talked endlessly since Sang-Hyeon was hearing Hui-Chul’s stories like this for the first time. He didn’t find it boring at all. Time seemed to fly by as they shared various anecdotes. Eventually, the conversation turned to a deeper subject.
“I've always been afraid of sharing my story. Sang-Hyeon, you already did that a long time ago... so...”
Hui-Chul said that if he won, he planned to film a video about his current situation. This reminded Sang-Hyeon of his time during the LIL tournament. The two continued talking freely about things they wouldn’t usually share. Finally, the real reason for the meeting emerged.
"It's late, but let's get to the main point. I think the time has come."
“The main point...?”
Sang-Hyeon felt surprised that they were only now getting to the main topic. Hui-Chul was usually direct when necessary. The fact that he took so long to bring it up meant it wasn’t easy to discuss.
"I think the time has come for you, Sang-Hyeon, to become a true leader."
“...!?”
Sang-Hyeon's eyes widened. In truth, the leader position had almost always gone to Pang, especially when Hui-Chul was the primary commander. With Hui-Chul’s leadership style, the game wouldn't flow smoothly if the leader didn’t fully understand the basics of warfare. It made sense for someone like Pang or even Carrot to take the role.
‘Is my strategic ability already at that level?’
Sang-Hyeon found himself fantasizing about something that seemed unrealistic.
"When you first joined, I had a lot of concerns."
"Concerns that I wouldn't be able to do it?"
Hui-Chul chuckled at the question.
“I never thought you wouldn’t be able to do it. In fact, it was the opposite.”
“?”
“You were doing too well.”
“!”
That was it. In a national team of 200 members moving toward a common goal, suddenly reshaping the organization around a new person would break the existing trust if that new person was too exceptional.
“To be honest, it should have happened from the start.”
When Chi-Seung and Hui-Chul first brought Almond into the team, they had planned to develop him into the next leader. However, the other members noticed and it became impossible to do so. Hui-Chul now revealed this uncomfortable truth. He had carried this burden alone as a leader should. Now, he felt ready to release some of that burden. The time had come just as he anticipated.
“Now, all the players recognize you and even rely on you.”
Although this was already happening, all the players fully trusted Sang-Hyeon after the Japan match. They believed in his skills, his character, and his drive. Hui-Chul had been waiting for this moment. He hadn’t expected it to come so soon, but Sang-Hyeon had exceeded expectations and earned the team's respect for his gameplay. Sang-Hyeon was someone who once aimed to represent the country in a different field.
Whether they admitted it or not, the team members learned a lot from his discipline, training methods, and mindset. He was no longer just a star player with 100% combat power. He had become a cornerstone of the national team just like Hui-Chul had been in the past.
“So—”
Hui-Chul lifted his head, which had been slightly bowed. His gaze was sincere and filled with a deep request.
“I want you to become the true leader. At least for this tournament.”
***
That was how the battle against China began. Now, they were in the middle of the second game.
“What’s happening!? The cavalry archers are back in action!”
The Joseon cavalry archers, trapped in the maze-like formation, started to regain their momentum.
“And not only that, they’ve managed to locate the enemy archer unit and are launching an attack!”
They even found the Chinese archer unit and began dealing heavy damage.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Their arrows rained down mercilessly on the Chinese archers, hitting them in the body, arms, and head with deadly precision.
“They’re hitting their marks even while moving!”
Compared to how long it took China’s archers to land shots on the Joseon cavalry, the Korean archers possessed remarkable accuracy. This was the clear difference between players from a civilization that focused on archery and those from other civilizations that didn’t.
"The real weakness of the Chinese team is that they have fewer players skilled with long-range weapons, right? But even so, that's only by Chinese standards! They're still very accurate!"
"Exactly! But right now, the movement of Joseon’s cavalry archers is on another level!"
"They were clearly floundering earlier, but everything suddenly changed!"
***
When the Joseon cavalry archers first got caught in the formation, most viewers assumed they couldn’t fight properly. The discussion revolved around whether Cookie would assist them, not whether they would complete their mission. Even Liu Bei thought the same. His attention wasn’t on the cavalry archers, but on Joseon’s main army.
To Liu Bei, the cavalry archers were already as good as dead. Some cavalry archers were so confused by the formation shift that they stumbled over themselves. Those who didn’t were cornered into dead ends, surrounded by spearmen, and slaughtered. One of them even impaled themselves on the spiked barricades by accident.
Given the situation, the survival of the cavalry archers seemed less significant than Cookie's next move, which was much more crucial to the overall battle. It was a reasonable conclusion, but then—
'What...?'
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Suddenly, the number of Chinese archers dropped sharply. Liu Bei could see the exact numbers on his commander’s screen, where the headcount of each unit was displayed.
[Archers 43 → 31]
Twelve archers had fallen in an instant. The archer unit had been carefully organized, so losing even a few was devastating. What just happened? The archer unit was supposed to be the formation's core, protected within the labyrinth-like defense structure while slowly advancing and breaking up the enemy charge. Their key archers had been hit. Liu Bei couldn’t help but turn his attention to the Joseon cavalry archers.
"!?"
His eyes widened in shock.
'Is this the same unit from earlier?'
It was undoubtedly the same group, but they felt like a completely different unit. They had been scattered and disorganized just moments ago, but now they looked like an elite force. Liu Bei quickly searched for the cause. His eyes landed on one person.
'The vanguard...'
The one leading the charge at the front, moving the fastest and most accurately.
[Almond]
It was Almond. His blue cloak billowed as he led the unit from the front.
'The moment he took the lead, the entire dynamic changed.'
In real wars, such scenarios were not unheard of. Even if two squads with the same skills carried out the same mission, their performance could drastically differ depending on who led them and whose orders they followed. For this reason, Chinese military history emphasized strategists and commanders who led on the front lines. War was constantly full of fear and uncertainty. It was a life-or-death struggle.
In such moments, having a reliable commander to follow could dramatically boost morale. These leaders could completely turn the tide of war by simply being in front.
'Could it be... him?'
Liu Bei hadn't considered Almond to be that kind of leader. He had been watching him, but not for this particular ability. It was hard to believe, yet it was happening right before his eyes.
Click!
At Almond's signal, the cavalry archers turned their horses and sped through the maze. Their eyes were fixed only on the vanguard’s back.
Thud! Thud!
They charged at full speed with unwavering belief in their leader through a battlefield full of traps and obstacles. Without such conviction, they would have hesitated. And in that hesitation, the enemy spearmen would have closed in and crushed them.
That brief moment of hesitation was a key factor in this formation’s psychological warfare, but these soldiers had no doubts. As long as Almond led the way, there would be a path forward. They believed in him completely without a trace of doubt. That nearly unshakable faith created a path where none existed. Even where no path could be seen, their combined effort forged one.
Click!
Almond drew his bow once more. Only then did the cavalry archers shift their gaze from his back and turn toward their targets. They executed this maneuver as flawlessly and fast as machines. They drew their bows with perfect balance, aimed, and fired while maintaining their pace on horseback.
Swish—
Their arrows sailed as smoothly as ghosts passing by.
Thwack!
It would be foolish to expect those arrows to miss.
“Woooooooaaaah!!”
Thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd. Even Liu Bei felt a tingle down his spine. The soldiers below surely felt it even more.
[Archers 31 → 12]
The Chinese archer unit essentially lost its power. With so few soldiers left, they wouldn’t be able to contribute meaningfully in a battle of 200 versus 200. The cavalry archers had completed their mission. Liu Bei briefly lowered his head.
'In that case...'
He had expected it to be his turn to attack. Like a game of Go, once a player initiated an attack, the opponent would be forced to react and unable to make their own moves. They would be too preoccupied with responding. With the current formation, Liu Bei expected to take the lead in the assault while waiting for Cookie’s next move.
'...'
However, Cookie remained still. The entire Joseon army held their ground. Had Cookie given up on the cavalry archers from the start?
'No.'
Liu Bei instinctively understood. This wasn’t a case of Cookie abandoning them to make a safe choice. He remembered the feeling when their eyes met after the first game.
Whoosh...!
That overwhelming sensation felt as if he was being pulled in.
'He believed in them.'
Cookie believed that the cavalry archers would not only survive but exceed expectations.
Liu Bei closed his eyes tightly. In the end, he needed to come up with the next move. With a heavy heart, he placed his next piece.
Clack.
A black stone landed on the board.
[Guan Yu]