Season 3: Chapter 329. Stimpack (3)
The militia upgrade was completed. Remarkably, it was a second era faction upgrade carried out in the third era. This rarely used strategy—no, this strategy had never been used this way before. The online community exploded with posts about it.
[A Wild Militia Appears!]
[Third Era Militia? Really?]
The most popular post shot to the top of the forum.
[Big: Live Finals_Militia Upgrade
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It’s real.
(Image)
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— This is what it means to be a superstar LOL!
— Not in the second era but the third era! Amazing.
└ What’s going on? I stepped away to grab a delivery and now this chaos?
— Using it with Pyeonjeon? Really?
— If you use the militia once, don’t they basically stay in a fragile state until they die?
└ Yep, once you use it, they stay as glass cannons.
The buzz wasn’t just because the militia faction was used in the third era, but because it was combined with Pyeonjeon. Even the commentators highlighted this unusual pairing.
"Militia... isn’t this an extremely difficult choice to make?"
"Militia alone can show meaningful results if used in the second era, but how it pairs with Pyeonjeon in the third era remains to be seen."
"Ah, so there’s some dissonance between the two?"
"Yes, Pyeonjeon is a very stationary faction. Even Almond, when using Pyeonjeon, has to stand still to fire. And that’s Almond we’re talking about. For others, it’s even harder. On the other hand, the militia relies on speed."
"I see..."
"Also, if they planned to use militia, wouldn’t upgrading it in the second era have been better? It could have made the earlier battle at Rome’s base easier."
— True.
— Right. If they had been faster earlier, they might not have died.
— Now that you say it, sharp analysis!
OrangeKing’s observation was accurate. Using the militia in the second era could have yielded more advantages. Why, then, was the upgrade saved for the third era?
"It seems they upgraded it specifically to pair with Pyeonjeon."
"Ah, so it’s for the combination with Pyeonjeon?"
The upgrade timing appeared to be tailored with Pyeonjeon.
"Yes. Since Pyeonjeon takes a long time to upgrade, they probably wanted to reach the third era as quickly as possible. The issue is that this combination is hard to predict!"
With this uncertainty in mind, the match between Joseon and Rome continued.
[Militia - Complete]
The militia upgrade finally finished, but Pyeonjeon wasn’t ready yet.
"The militia is complete. They’re regrouping archers now. It seems like they’re preparing for another push."
Inside Joseon’s base, the longbowmen were gathering.
"And Joseon seems to be preparing for an expansion as well. Since Pyeonjeon is expensive and combining it with militia also costs a lot, their resources must be strained."
"Right. Compared to Rome, they’re a bit behind."
"Speaking of which, does Joseon know about Rome’s expansion yet?"
"It’s hard to say. With Falcon Flight on cooldown, they can’t scout efficiently and directly checking on foot is risky. Wait."
Scouting wasn’t easy on a mountainous map, especially in areas with elevated structures and valleys. Horses couldn’t traverse such terrain effectively. However...
"Wait a moment."
Joseon had an alternative to horses.
"The militia... this applies to barbarian soldiers too, doesn’t it?"
— No way.
— What?
— Holy crap.
— Could it be?
— Wow.
Before the commentators even finished speaking, some of Joseon’s barbarian soldiers began to run.
[Militia]
Bang!
Their basic armor shattered as their movement speed drastically increased.
[Mountain Tribe]
Entering the mountainous terrain triggered the Mountain Tribe trait, further increasing their speed. The barbarian soldiers were now nearly as fast as slow-moving horses.
"With this, their scouting will be much faster!"
The barbarian soldiers scattered across the map, scouring every corner. Best Yi Sun-Shin had predicted this scenario.
"Rome hasn’t reached the third era yet. It’s obvious they have an expansion!"
Rome clearly possessed hidden resource nodes.
"Meanwhile, the archers are advancing! They’re trying to secure the central area, aren’t they?"
"Yes. Pyeonjeon isn’t complete yet, but the units will immediately deploy once the upgrade finishes!"
"It looks like they’re planning to occupy the center first and then pivot to wherever the barbarian soldiers find the expansion."
"Rome is just now advancing to the third era!"
Boom!
[Rome - Third Era]
Rome also reached the third era.
"They’re starting to produce priests and they’ll now focus on resource ramping! But their expansion..."
One of the Joseon barbarian soldiers discovered the suspected expansion area.
"Joseon found it!"
On the steep incline, footprints could be seen leading up the path. The Joseon barbarian soldier had climbed the hill and the roof of a town hall soon came into view. Best Yi Sun-Shin’s eyes gleamed at the discovery.
"They’ve spotted it!"
[Move]
The longbowmen gathered in the center began to advance.
"The longbowmen are on the move! They’re heading to contest the expansion!"
The distance was still significant, but the question was whether Rome could prepare in time.
"It seems like Rome hasn’t realized they’ve been discovered yet."
"Right. They don’t seem to know they’ve been spotted."
Rome would be vulnerable without any knowledge of the incoming threat.
"If Joseon can successfully contest this, they’ll gain a huge advantage!"
"Do you think that’s likely?"
"Yes, but Rome isn’t defenseless. They’ve started producing third era units, and they’re mass-producing armored infantry!"
"Ah, armored infantry! Those are terrifying!"
With their maces and full plate armor, armored infantry were practically human tanks when their numbers grew.
"Exactly. Add Geneva crossbowmen to the mix..."
The Geneva crossbowmen served as the tanks’ primary artillery.
"When those two units combine, it’s essentially a tank division."
Crossbowmen, unique among ranged units, carried shields. They could shoot from behind shield walls or advance while contributing to the infantry’s defensive line.
"And if you add spear throwers, they counter cavalry as well. This is what people call the Roman golden infantry formation."
— Without third era mounted archers, isn’t Joseon at a disadvantage? Mountain maps in the third era seem tough.
— Roman infantry feels like Protoss—too overpowered.
— That formation is almost complete, isn’t it?
— Here come the mercenary thugs!
"But Joseon hasn’t finished Pyeonjeon yet, have they?"
The downside of Pyeonjeon was its cost and long upgrade time.
"Exactly. Pyeonjeon takes ages to complete. And Joseon is also working on their expansion!"
Joseon had many moving parts to manage. It seemed like Rome’s military numbers would catch up quickly.
— Noooo!
— Why is it taking so long? Are the researchers slacking off? LOL
— Joseon needs to bring back overtime!
— The origins of the Hurry Up culture were with Koreans all along.
Rome had entered its resource boom.
"Rome’s priests are now active, and their dual-resource production is running full throttle!"
Rome’s third era economy often multiplied resources exponentially, and they were proving it here.
"They’re making up for the struggles of the first and second eras with this surge!"
"But if the longbowmen strike first?"
However, the key variable was Joseon’s head start in third era military units. Best Yi Sun-Shin wouldn’t let this early advantage go to waste.
"Yes, it seems like they’re stalling for time!"
"But wait!? Anto might already know!"
Anto noticed the movement of the longbowmen.
"They’re... quickly constructing defensive buildings near the expansion!"
***
Rustle, rustle, rustle...
The longbowmen pushed forward, cutting through thick undergrowth. The foliage was so dense that nothing could be seen.
[Move]
They could only see the distant ping on their map.
"Phew. If we didn’t have this faction upgrade, it would’ve taken ages to get through here."
As usual, Latte led the scouting as he moved forward. Thanks to the Mountain Tribe trait, they could traverse the rough terrain quickly. Normally, such a route would have been unusable due to the drastically reduced movement speed. This was a unique path only Joseon could take.
However...
"Huh? Oh, crap."
Latte’s reaction turned grim.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
The sound of fleeing footsteps echoed from every direction.
"We’ve been spotted."
The unique route available only to Joseon was also painfully predictable to Rome. A stationed Roman barbarian soldier spotted the longbowmen. This meant Anto would now have time to prepare a countermeasure.
"Anto’s impressive, as expected."
Pang shrugged it off, seemingly unbothered.
"If you let Anto’s predictions stress you out, you won’t be able to play this game. Just keep going."
Even Carrot gave up partway and pushed Latte forward.
"H-Hey... why are you pushing me? Are you trying to get me killed first again?"
"Just move."
"Ah, dammit..."
Latte’s worry stemmed from one simple fact. Someone would inevitably die if they were discovered. It was usually Latte who acted as the vanguard scout, but Almond didn't share his concerns as the leader.
"Run, Latte."
"Why is it always me, Almond? You always tell me to run."
Despite complaining, Latte dashed ahead.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The foliage parted quickly as they closed in on their target. Latte slowed his pace.
"See anything?" Carrot asked.
"Hey Carrot, weren’t we supposed to attack the expansion?"
"Yeah, that’s right."
Latte tilted his head in confusion.
"This doesn’t... look like it."
"What?"
Carrot viewed their mission as a diversion meant to buy time.
"We’re supposed to use the militia at the expansion and kill all the workers."
The soldiers weren’t privy to what upgrades were underway or what strategies were being devised above. Usually, vice commanders or leaders received briefings, but Best Yi Sun-Shin didn’t provide anything.
Instead, she focused on issuing precise combat orders. Her philosophy was that soldiers didn’t need to think. Thus, the soldiers could only look around dumbfoundedly when they reached the marked ping.
"Where are we?"
"No idea. Somewhere..."
Carrot scanned her surroundings.
"The expansion is over there, and the main base is... uh, the other way?"
Even the sharp-witted Carrot couldn’t orient herself properly after cutting through the dense underbrush.
"No, no. That way is the main base, and the expansion is that way," Pang clarified.
Almond stepped in and asked, "So, we’re between the main base and the expansion?"
"Yeah, that’s right. Trust me. Can’t you tell?"
"The really steep hill is the main base, and this slightly lower area is the expansion...?"
"Exactly. That main base hill is so steep... climbing it would be like filming an episode of Sa-Rang’s Mountain Club."
Almond seemed to have an idea and asked another question, "About the militia..."
"Yeah?"
"The commander can activate it, right?"
"..."
For a moment, Pang was at a loss for words. Typically, activating the militia was left to the soldiers. It was usually a last-ditch effort in critical moments.
"Normally, no. Activating it makes them fragile..."
The thought carried an ominous undertone.
"Ah."
Bang!
[Militia]
The militia ability activated for all the longbowmen.
[Attack]
A new ping appeared toward the enemy’s main base.
"What the hell...?"
[Run]
Another order arrived.
"Run! Run!"
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
The archers sprinted madly toward the steep hill leading to the enemy’s main base.
Latte screamed from the front, "Aaaahhh! This is insane! We’re dead if we get hit once!"
"Once? Even a graze will kill you! Half a hit and you’re done for!"
The archers, suddenly fully alert, pushed forward with heightened focus. Carrot’s final remark sharpened Latte’s resolve.
"If you die in the finals again with one shot, your DMs will explode."
"!"
***
"Wait! What is this!?"
Boom!
OrangeKing leaped from his seat, overwhelmed with excitement.
"They’re just using militia and running straight up!? No way! It’s Rome’s main base!?"
"Again! The main base!?"
— This is crazy, LOL!
— Alpha male gameplay
— Unbelievable!
— Wow...
— Main base only strategy.
"But Rome, after spotting them, is still focused on defending their expansion. They would never expect this! They have no way of accounting for the militia’s speed!"
"On this map, attacking the main base takes a lot of time, but now they’re closing the gap using militia!"
The logic sounded good. They could climb faster on steep terrain due to the militia's terrain advantages and the enemy had less time to react due to the surprise. But the downside was equally obvious.
"Theoretically, one spear throw could wipe out the entire archer squad if they’re clustered together!"
Militia longbowmen were fragile like flies that could die from a mere brush.