Season 3: Chapter 304. Same Enemy, Different Format (3)
When Anto spent countless hours watching game footage, he also rewatched the preliminary match against Joseon over and over. This was the real prelude to Rome and Joseon’s showdown. Of particular note was their first game on the Ancient Fortress Walls map, which drew Anto’s careful attention.
Although this map generally favored Rome, Cookie’s unique tactics allowed Joseon to gain the upper hand. By taking full advantage of the defensive structures, Cookie managed to trap Rome within the walls. It was a sharp unconventional move and a bold stroke.
Anto had seen through it. He concluded that Joseon’s only possible move was to trap them, so he preemptively left a worker outside. With that one move, Rome avoided being caught by Joseon’s cunning strategy and secured an easy win instead. This highlighted the flaw of those who relied on unpredictable plays.
‘They hardly ever consider the possibility of their move being anticipated.’
The nature of unpredictability assumed that the opponent wouldn’t see it coming, which was exactly why such tactics were created. In reality, this was fundamentally flawed. Being unpredictable only worked when one remained unreadable.
Anto excelled in piercing through these contradictions like a sharp needle. His reputation as a classic elite commander stemmed not from preferring classic tactics, but from forcing his opponents into predictable moves. Those who tried to craft unexpected tactics against him often ended up caught in their own traps.
Now—
‘This time, it’s more complicated.’
Seeing the Ancient Fortress Walls map again, Anto found himself deep in thought. If Joseon succeeded in blocking the entrance at the start of the second era, Rome would have no countermeasures. Rome lacked effective siege units before the third era. With the resources inside the fortress, it would be impossible to reach that stage.
He thought about secretly leaving a worker outside again. That would be impossible. Cookie knew about that trick now and would scout all resource areas if he suspected a worker had been sent out. It would inevitably be exposed.
What if Anto started with more soldiers and sent them out along with a worker from the start to double the expansion? That also seemed impractical. Splitting the forces in half would leave them severely underpowered for hunting and scouting. In short, Anto found himself cornered.
This complete trap was checkmate. If Cookie tried to block the entrance, Anto couldn’t do much to counter. He would have to keep several soldiers at the entrance and constantly be on guard to stave off the pressure. Even this would consume valuable manpower.
Soldiers for hunting or exploring the map would be forced to linger near the entrance. The battlefield’s entire flow shifted toward three o’clock in Rome’s territory. To benefit in a fight, it was best to engage near the enemy’s base. Fighting near one’s own base, on the other hand, made it harder to launch a counterattack and also drained resources from repairing the damages.
Rome currently had few options. They were bound to defend near their own base. Was this entire awkward setup... mere coincidence?
“Cookie knows this too.”
Cookie was doing this on purpose. He placed his forces near the entrance and gave Rome the impression that he could strike at any moment even though it was still the first era. This kept Rome on edge while allowing Cookie to spread out across the map. Joseon gained an advantage in every aspect like hunting, scouting, and gathering intelligence. Most importantly, this strategy directly impacted worker production. Since workers required food to produce, a disrupted food supply meant fewer workers.
“If the number of workers drops...”
With fewer workers, resource gathering would slow down.
“It might not make a difference whether he keeps a worker outside or not.”
Anto held back on sending out a worker to conserve manpower, but it would be costly either way if Cookie blocked the entrance. Losses in hunting would further reduce the number of workers. One way or another, he’d end up short on workers.
“Ha.”
The Ancient Fortress Walls map was supposed to give a significant advantage to Rome over Joseon. The situation looked very different now. Cookie’s inventive tactics, combined with the luck of having the same map come up again, created an unusual advantage for Joseon. Rome was like prey caught in a spider’s web. The more they struggled, the tighter the sticky threads would cling to them. The odds would only further tilt against them.
Thud.
[Joseon – 2nd Era]
Joseon also advanced to the second era. Anto’s gaze shifted to the clock.
“I didn’t expect that.”
He knew Cookie’s usual pace well. This speed was unlike Cookie’s normal gameplay. Advancing to the second era so quickly made blocking the entrance an even more realistic threat.
“Could it be?”
Anto slightly smiled and thought to himself.
“Could he really be different this time?”
During their preliminary encounter, Cookie had boldly claimed that he would be different. Anto half-believed and half-doubted it then, but Cookie seemed to be different now.
“Yes... Cookie is indeed intriguing.”
Anto’s eyes began to shine. This situation amused him. To face such relentless pressure from an opponent, especially from Joseon, felt unexpected. Even if fortune favored Joseon in a few instances, creating this level of challenge was remarkable. Anto licked his lips and picked up a white stone.
“All right. Let’s see.”
On the large Go board...
Tap.
‘How about this?’
He placed a heavy stone.
***
“Oh...! Joseon reaches the second era!! They’re in a good flow right now! Are they actually going to block the entrance? And so far, Rome doesn’t seem to have any workers stationed outside!”
Rome was still under pressure from Joseon’s forces and moving cautiously. Even while competing in hunting animals, Joseon secured resources more easily with their greater active forces.
“The food supply gap is starting to widen.”
“Joseon has claimed nearly all the sheep so far. The rest are wild animals like deer and boars! At this rate, Joseon will claim those too! No matter how strong Rome is, this seems tough to manage! But wait!”
Thud.
The caster struck the table and shouted. Rome had advanced to the second era as well.
Boom!
[Rome - 2nd Era]
“Rome’s in the second era too! That’s the speed they achieve when they’re in good condition!”
“Both teams are razor-sharp right now!”
“Rome is immediately starting weapon production.”
“It looks like this battle will be decided in the second era. Ah, as expected!”
Rome began mass-producing weapons. They were even more aggressive than Joseon. Although their food supply was slightly behind, other resources hadn’t been affected yet. Depending on their investments, Rome could produce more second era units than Joseon.
“They’re out-producing Joseon!? You mentioned the battle would likely be decided in the second era! So why is Joseon only producing in small numbers?”
This was due to weapon tier differences.
“Joseon doesn’t gain much by producing lots of second era units like Rome. The difference between second and third era weapons is huge for them!”
Joseon’s third era weapon, the gakgung (a powerful Korean bow), was an endgame weapon in many ways. Minimizing other expenditures was key. For Rome, the weapon gap between the second and third eras wasn’t as drastic. This made investing heavily in second era units a viable strategy for them.
‘Still, isn’t Joseon being a bit too cautious? Are they giving up on blocking the entrance?’
OrangeKing felt that Joseon was moving more reserved than expected, but he didn’t know why. A moment later, Joseon created around fifteen shortbowmen. While Joseon stopped at fifteen, Rome continued producing troops.
Rome continued producing shields, spears, and swords. They aimed to create their renowned legionaries. Although they currently had around ten, Rome seemed set to expand to over twenty. At this point, Joseon still possessed more forces since they reached the second era first.
Joseon finally seized the opportunity.
“All right...! Move in and pressure them!”
Joseon’s many barbarian warriors formed a frontline and advanced toward Rome’s entrance.
“Are they really going to block it?! Joseon’s putting on serious pressure here!”
Behind the barbarian warriors, the shortbowmen took their positions.
“They’re advancing forward with barbarians tanking up front and protecting the archers! It’s a straightforward but powerful tactic!”
“Yes! Especially when you advance to the second era this quickly! A well-timed rush is really tough to counter!”
“Right! This is that famous second era archer rush! Isn’t this the Pekung Rush?!”
— LOL, another archer rush
— It’s cheese level rush timing
— Ah, the classic Pekung rush, it’s been a while
— Let’s gooo
— BornToB, he’s something else...
Thump, thump...!
Dust rose from the ground as the infantry moved in unison. With a mix of long-range and melee units, Joseon’s chances against Rome’s legionaries seemed promising given Rome’s relatively straightforward fighting style.
“But wait! If Anto anticipates this, wouldn’t he build a defensive tower at the entrance?”
“It would still work! If he builds too many, they can pull back. If he builds too few, Joseon can keep pushing forward and invest more!”
A defensive tower would increase Rome’s chances of defending, but building one would hurt their future prospects. Rome was already at a resource disadvantage in the early game. Without expanding, this map limited their resources even further.
“And Rome’s second era defensive towers are really weak!”
Above all, Rome’s towers lacked strength. Rome needed to reach the third era to create Genoese crossbowmen, their true ranged unit. Although some units could technically shoot arrows in the second era, their effectiveness was limited as was the defensive tower.
“So right now, Rome is gathering troops at the entrance to form a defense line. A tower? Who needs one!? Just use people!”
— LOL
— People come first, wow
— Who needs a tower? They really don’t know
— True peninsula mindset, kinda similar
Rome opted for a human defense, but then—
“Ohh!? Their troops are moving out?!”
“What?!”
Before Joseon could even apply pressure at the entrance, Rome’s soldiers suddenly spilled out. They rushed out in droves as if they abandoning the entrance.
— Huh?
— What’s going on?
— A mass exodus, LOL
— Are they abandoning their base?
— Escaping the black company, LOL
OrangeKing’s eyes widened in shock.
“Ohh!? This is... changing the setup a bit, isn’t it?”
Before Joseon could press forward, Rome’s troops withdrew en masse from the entrance and seemingly almost vacated the base. This would make it easier for Joseon to breach, yet OrangeKing noted that this shift actually altered the dynamics to Joseon’s disadvantage.
“Those soldiers out there? They’re all fully armed! Joseon might not realize it yet!”
All the legionaries had stormed out and moved in a wide arc. They left the entrance to Joseon and circled around like sharks eyeing their prey.
“Actually, a head-on battle is better for Joseon, isn’t it?! Barbarians blocking in front and archers shooting from behind!”
“Yes! The standard frontal battle suits Joseon!”
“But now, like this! Rome is setting up a pincer attack, right? Attacks from both sides become exhausting in a fight!”
Rome had shifted their strategy to a pincer maneuver, attacking from both flanks.
“Did Joseon notice this?! It looks like they haven’t noticed!”
The key question was whether Joseon had caught on yet.
“They’ve lined up archers in the rear! If those legionaries loop around and attack from behind, the archers will be wiped out!”