Season 3: Chapter 317. The Bigger Picture (4)
Before Almond fired the arrow, Joseon made another critical move. A group of barbarian soldiers and archers swarmed toward the Roman base. This maneuver resembled a feint operation. Almond and Carrot served as bait while the main force created the illusion of a larger attack.
"Cookie’s feint with the main force is working well. This is confusing, right?"
Even Anto’s focus momentarily wavered, and the Roman forces split their attention. Amid this chaos, Almond’s arrow flew.
"And Almond! He fired!?"
The arrow Almond released held the potential to determine the outcome of the second game.
Whoosh...
Unlike the previous faster shots, this one felt slow and deliberate like a discus in an Olympic event. Its arc traced an extreme parabola and the distance it traveled approached the game’s limits.
"Will it hit?!"
Almond exhaled the breath he’d been holding as the arrow flew precisely toward the priest’s head.
— Damn!!
— This is huge.
— No way.
— It’s happening!
— Wow.
‘It hit.’
Or so Almond thought.
"!"
His eyes widened in shock.
“Ohhh!?”
The casters were shocked as well.
— ??
— Wow...
— ?
— Oh no...
Thunk...!
A massive shield appeared, blocking the arrow. The expressions on everyone’s faces in the broadcast mirrored one another in shock. Even the Roman spectators felt astonished. The only exception was Anto, whose smile subtly crept upward. He appeared utterly satisfied like a seasoned fisherman who finally caught the prize catch he had been waiting for.
"So there was such a simple solution?!"
“What... is this?!”
Anto had known exactly how Joseon would target the priest and chose the simplest and most effective countermeasure.
"Anto was steps ahead of them!"
All it required was placing a soldier with a shield next to the priest to block incoming arrows. Anto didn’t need to prevent Almond from scaling the mountain or worry about Joseon’s hawks revealing his forces. In fact, this had all been within his calculations.
"How far ahead is Anto thinking?!"
He had deliberately allowed Joseon to approach the innermost part of the base, knowing their most capable soldiers would be deployed for such a critical mission. However, that seemingly accessible location was a deathtrap designed to ensnare and eliminate them. Behind Almond and Carrot, Roman soldiers unsheathed their swords.
"Oh no..."
The commentators sighed.
"And while Joseon’s main force is openly pushing into the entrance, there’s no sign of hesitation from Rome!"
The main force, mimicking a feint, was gradually and methodically being stopped.
“This strategy is useless if the opponent knows!”
“Can they get out of this situation!?”
“Of course not! Almond and Carrot are too deep in!”
“Then what can they do!? Joseon!”
“I don’t see a way out of this! It looks like they fell right into Anto’s trap!”
— We’re screwed.
— Wow...
— Damn...
— Was this a trap??
— You fell for my trap card!
***
The Roman soldiers quickly located Almond and Carrot, pinpointing their position from where the arrow had been fired. They surrounded the two in no time.
"Dammit."
Almond glanced back toward the priest. He immediately recognized the person standing by the priest.
[Pierre]
Just as Joseon had assigned their best to this mission, Rome also placed their finest in charge of protecting the priest.
‘Let’s see what we can do.’
Despite recognizing the formidable opponent, Almond refused to give up.
"Carrot, buy me some time."
Carrot understood instantly.
"Got it. What else can we do."
She turned to face the approaching Roman soldiers and fired her arrows. Almond, meanwhile, sprinted over the mountain ridge toward the opposite slope.
"Don’t let him escape! Kill him!"
"Not happening!"
As the Roman soldiers charged, Carrot unleashed a barrage of arrows.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Her rapid-fire attacks momentarily halted the advancing soldiers. The ones caught off guard fell while others raised their shields, slowing their movement. Carrot continued to retreat, firing as she went. She persisted even as her arrows struck shields.
‘Please...’
Her eyes followed Almond as he pulled back his bow again and aimed at the priest.
‘Almond... please land it!’
***
"Carrot is stalling for time while Almond...?"
"She’s retreating while firing! Joseon is showing their mastery of mountain terrain!"
“Joseon is telling them, ‘The mountain is our path!’”
— The mountain warriors are at it again.
— LOL
— Korea, the land of mountains
— Oh yeah!
— Rome is all about the plains. This is Joseon’s home turf!
"Almond is going for a second attempt!"
Whoosh!
Almond released another arrow aimed at the priest.
‘Dammit.’
He knew Pierre would block it. Rome knew who would shoot and exactly from where as well.
‘If it’s him...’
Pierre would block everything.
"But Pierre is perfectly positioned... Wait!?"
Boom!
A brilliant explosion of light erupted, but it wasn’t near the priest.
“...!?”
Instead, it struck one of the Roman workers.
Thud.
"What just happened?!"
Almond had shifted his target to the workers. One worker fell and Almond immediately repositioned, pulling back his bow again. Pierre, visibly unsettled, glanced between the priest and the workers.
[Focus]
After three seconds of focus, Almond released his shot.
Whoosh!
The arrow struck another worker. Meanwhile, the Roman soldiers surrounded Carrot and slashed her, causing her to lose half her health.
[HP: 50%]
Pierre’s frustration grew as more workers fell before him. Once again, Almond adjusted his position and fired toward Carrot’s attackers this time.
Swoosh!
As the soldier trying to finish off Carrot collapsed, Almond and Carrot met eyes.
‘Oh right.’
She snapped out of it and shot at another Roman soldier.
Swoosh!
Another Roman soldier fell.
“Almond with a super save as well!?”
“Carrot can live for a little longer! Can they do it?! Can the two perform a miracle!?”
“For Pierre... two workers dying is no big deal!”
“So far, right?”
“Yes! But still, leaving them be is difficult. We’ll have to see what’s going to happen!”
“Hopefully they can last a little longer...”
However, it was difficult to buy more time.
Thwack!
Too many soldiers surrounded Carrot and slashed her once more.
“Sigh.”
Almond readied his bow toward Rome’s main base again.
‘I need to do it somehow.’
He had to make a small opening.
‘Move. Just move a little.’
He started to study Pierre, who had slightly changed positions.
Swoosh!
Almond’s arrow flew again.
“Another worker!?”
“Red light...?!”
Boom!
The arrow struck another worker.
“Sorry, red light?”
“Yes! Red light, green light. Almond is playing a game and hoping for Pierre to react!”
“Ah! I see! But Pierre isn’t budging!”
Pierre remained in a similar position.
‘A little more.’
Almond had no time left. Carrot had died and the Roman soldiers were creeping up on him. Even though he was at a higher elevation, they’d inevitably catch up to him. Almond gritted his teeth and pulled his bow one more time.
‘Last one.’
Swoosh!
“Red light...”
Almond’s last arrow flew.
“Green? It looks like green light!”
Bang!
However, Pierre’s shield blocked it. Almond had aimed for the priest.
“Ahhhh! Pierre with a perfect block!”
Thwack!
Countless soldiers pierced Almond. Instead of choosing to flee, he chose to stay and fired another shot at the priest.
“Pierre is something.”
“Yes, his decision-making is impeccable. Three workers... is nothing for a priest.”
“He stood unwavering. And meanwhile, Joseon lost two archers. They even lost some scouts earlier as well!”
“It’s a big deal that Anto knows everything...”
“Joseon also looked at the big picture and played it slowly, but Anto looked at an even bigger picture and overwhelmed them!”
As if it was revenge for the previous game, Rome steadily increased their advantage on the map and Anto pulled his team to victory without much effort.
“Ah...! In the end!”
“Geee~ geee~!”
After around twenty minutes, the scoreboard updated.
==== ==== Joseon: 1 Rome: 1 ==== ====
“Wooooooooow!!”
The Roman spectators erupted in thunderous cheers.
Hissssss.
Both sides stood up and exited the stage. They glanced briefly at each other before heading to their respective waiting rooms.
— That strategy was insane.
— Damn...
— Anto is ruthless.
— Ah, so close...
— Hah... getting all their strategies read was too much.
Joseon’s supporters tried to offer encouragement by saying it was fine, but quite a few murmured among the crowd. Most of them talked about Rome’s performance.
Despite Joseon having won the first game, the unease hadn’t subsided. Rome embodied the very essence of a strong team. Even if they suffered one loss or even two, they played each game as though it was their first. They came out swinging fiercely, making their opponents fear them as if facing them for the first time.
Such was the current atmosphere around Joseon. The audience felt intimidated by Rome.
— They’re crazy good. For real.
— If we lose again, this might just be the end.
— Ah, winning the championship... is it too much to hope for?
— So nerve-wracking.
— Was the first game just a miracle?
“Ah, like the first game, the second game was absolutely brutal and full of surprises. OrangeKing, what do you think caused this loss?”
“Well, the biggest factor was definitely the failed attempt to assassinate the priest.”
“Ah, I see. That was crucial?”
“Yes. While not a lot of resources were invested into the priest assassination attempt, the loss of the scouting units beforehand and the subsequent risks that backfired had a significant impact. On the other hand, the game would’ve ended right there if they had succeeded. I bet even Rome was trembling at the thought!”
“Right. If that arrow had hit! If it had landed just right, it would’ve been a game-changing shot that altered the game’s entire trajectory!”
As they spoke, the broadcast camera focused on Almond leaving the stage. His expression looked darker than it had been after the first game. It wasn’t surprising, but seeing him massaging one arm added to the viewers' concerns.
— Is Almond okay physically?
— Ah...
— That was a perfect shot, but the goalkeeper was just too good. Hang in there!
— Almond was the only one who could take that shot...
— This is bad. Almond’s condition usually dips after the third game.
Although it hadn’t been widely known earlier in the tournament, this was now the finals. Most who followed closely knew that Almond could only perform at his best for up to three games.
“Anyway, it’s not like Joseon didn’t have chances to recover after the failed assassination attempt.”
“Yes, exactly. It wasn’t a fatal blow. But! Anto, in peak form, reached the third era first with his ghostly precision and outmaneuvered Joseon. Even when Joseon reached the third era, he held firm and eventually crushed them in the fourth era with an absurd resource advantage.”
“Right. Anto’s solid management shines through! It’s now 1-1 and the finals are heating up even more!”
Then, the commentators analyzed the highlights before wrapping up the second game’s broadcast.
“Well then, we’ll leave you with some remaining highlight footage and see you again for the third game!”
***
Thud!
In the meeting room, someone slammed their head on the think tank’s table.
“Argh...”
It was Chi-Seung. He clenched his teeth and struggled to suppress something.