Season 3: Chapter 331. Fire (2)
"Oh my god! Latte!!"
It was probably the first time the casters shouted Latte’s name like this.
"Did I... did I really just witness that with my own eyes!?"
That was how perfectly Latte had fulfilled his role just moments ago.
"He played the bait role perfectly! And he didn’t even die! He wasn’t even grazed!?"
"That’s right! If he’d been grazed, he would’ve died instantly!"
— WOW
— The ultimate macho build
— Latte, a man who gets stronger in crisis
— His form today is insane
— Wow, this seriously looks like a championship performance!
— Is this really the same guy who was a master of dying first?!
Thanks to the time Latte had bought, the Joseon archers were able to form a large encirclement beyond the Roman army’s field of view. Then, they surrounded the Romans from all sides and fired their arrows. The powerful Pyeonjeon arrows raining down from invisible positions could break through even plate armor.
***
Countless arrows flew in from every direction at speeds too fast to track with the naked eye. Any ordinary army would’ve already lost the will to fight and been annihilated.
However, Pierre screamed at the top of his lungs, "Shield wall!"
Boom!
Shields quickly gathered and locked together for mutual protection.
Clang-clang-clang!
Sparks flew as arrows crashed into them.
"This is crazy. These really are Pyeonjeon, huh?"
"Pyeonjeon... with militia?" the Roman soldiers murmured in disbelief at this absurd and never-before-seen combination.
"They won’t have many troops then."
Fielding two specializations naturally caused a resource gap, especially since Rome had already secretly built an expansion base. However, money couldn’t solve this situation immediately.
Boom!
"Ugh!"
A Roman crossbowman, whom the shield wall failed to protect, collapsed.
"Damn. He’s dead?"
"One shot was all it took."
The Geneva crossbowmen were among the best-armored ranged units, but that meant nothing against Pyeonjeon. A shot to the head meant instant death.
"Crossbowmen, listen up! We can’t shoot anyway with this range difference!"
Another strength of the Geneva crossbowmen was that they also carried shields.
Clack.
They raised their shields, and Rome shifted fully into a defensive formation.
"We move forward like this."
"Do we even know where they are?"
Boom!
Pop!
Arrows kept raining down, but no enemies could be seen.
Thunk!
Even shields had durability limits.
"They’ve surrounded us on all sides. We’ll run into someone no matter where we go."
"My shield’s down to half. If this breaks, it’s over!"
One Roman soldier anxiously checked his shield’s condition.
Pierre made a decision.
"This way!"
He pointed in a direction and charged forward.
[Movement Speed Increased]
And with that, a cleric’s buff kicked in. Their squad had a cleric since they could afford to deploy clerics in combat in the third era.
Vwoooom!
"Chargeeee!!"
"Waaaahhhhhh!"
The Roman troops let out a battle cry as they maintained formation and charged. Then...
"What!? We’re slower!?"
The Joseon archers had vanished again.
Thunk!
Instead, arrows came flying from another direction.
"That can’t be. Even if they’re militia."
Pierre’s calculations were correct. Even if the enemies were militia, they were still archers and this was flat ground. They couldn’t possibly outrun Roman soldiers buffed by clerics. That level of speed was almost like a slow horse.
"It’s a range gap. They were just too far away to begin with."
Thunk!
Clang!
Arrows continued slamming into their shields. The frequency dropped slightly. Still, the arrows kept coming from all directions. The Romans had to run off in yet another direction.
"They’ve still got us surrounded. This way!"
However, the Joseon archers weren’t there either.
"... No one?"
"Don’t panic if we whiff. Our goal is to buy time."
They were buying time. Even if they ran in circles, the Joseon archers were still firing at them. However, they had no idea that only one person was firing at them now.
***
Even Almond himself didn’t realize that he was holding back the enemies alone.
[Move]
[Attack]
[Move]
[Attack]
He had just been shooting arrows in rhythm with the move and attack commands.
‘What the... those guys...’
To Almond, the Roman soldiers looked like drunken fools charging randomly. He had no idea that he was firing alone.
‘Is Latte over there?’
This was the greatest vulnerability of a shield formation. Their vision was extremely limited, especially in places like forests that also restricted the commander’s view. They were practically blind.
"Joseon! They started off by surrounding and attacking the Romans, but they changed tactics the moment they saw the shield wall!"
Best Yi Sun-Shin believed that brutely forcing through with a shield wall was exactly what the Roman army excelled at. Once infantry squads charged through with cleric movement buffs, ranged troops would never win. That was how the game was designed. Otherwise, archers would always dominate without any counterplay. Therefore, she sent all the other archers away and left only Almond behind.
"What!? Almond!? He’s handling the entire Roman shield formation by himself almost like he’s herding sheep!"
Almond had ditched the Pyeonjeon and was now firing regular arrows with his shortbow. Following the order to shoot as fast as possible, he gave up some accuracy to fire like a madman.
"I don’t think Rome realizes it’s just one person!? Is this even real!?"
"It’s engraved into their heads."
"Engraved!?"
No matter how fast Almond shot, there was a limit to his movement speed. Believing that arrows from one person were coming from all directions made no sense. And yet, for a moment, the Roman army believed it.
"That initial shock is stuck so hard in their minds that any similar effect feels the same. If you’re actually inside that encirclement, it’s incredibly hard to distinguish anything."
"Exactly! It’s pure chaos in there! Shields and helmets are blocking your vision. People are screaming everywhere!"
"Right, which is why plays like Latte’s are so rare. And mistakes like this happen."
"And now, Almond isn’t even using the Pyeonjeon! It’s just rapid fire with the shortbow! No wonder they’re confused!"
Rome still hadn’t regained their bearings.
"Rome is floundering right now!"
Anto didn’t seem to be watching this area.
— lol crazy
— omg!
— literal shepherd boy LOL
— this is absurd
"This means the rest of the Joseon archers are free to move!!"
The remaining archers began infiltrating the forest near the Roman base.
"They’re moving incredibly fast too! There’s no need to sneak around anymore. They’ve already been found out! So now they’re just charging in without even using the Pyeonjeon!"
Led by Latte, the archers began infiltrating the Roman base with barely any defending troops stationed there.
"Joseon is in a winning position here! But!"
Joseon was poised for a major advantage.
"Anto doesn’t seem to be watching this area! That’s part of why things have gone so smoothly!"
Anto was still focused elsewhere.
"It looks like Best Yi Sun-Shin expected Anto to target the expansion, but Anto is actually sending his main force straight to Joseon’s base!!"
Rome was also currently heading to Joseon’s base.
"Yes! Rome is mobilizing its entire army! That means Joseon really has to capitalize on this!!"
"What’s going to happen with this base trade!?"
Indeed, ten Roman soldiers had arrived to defend, but they were only a fraction of the total force. Their purpose was to buy time.
Meanwhile, the rest of Rome’s army had reached Joseon’s main base. Despite reaching the third era later, Rome had brought a considerable force. While Joseon invested in the militia and upgraded to the Pyeonjeon, Rome went all-in on military units.
"Rome is now showing the explosive numbers that come with the third era!"
Having secured an expansion early, the resource advantage was now evident. Rome’s production capabilities began to shine after mass-producing clerics.
"Yes, exactly. With cleric buffs, weapon production speeds up significantly. Recovery is faster all around. Honestly, this is all connected to Anto’s hidden expansion. Ah... looks like it’s all linked together."
Even though they reached the third era late, Rome’s main force wasn’t much smaller than Joseon’s defenders. With continuous production, they’d eventually even out.
"Anto never lets the game spiral out of control even after being pressured in the second era! Using that time to build an expansion was a huge deal!"
This snowball started rolling the moment Anto secured the expansion.
"Joseon still has a decent defensive force. Honestly... this could go either way despite Rome’s strong infantry squads! Especially since Joseon’s archers have fully infiltrated!"
"From Rome’s perspective, they’ll have to accept base worker losses! They even brought siege weapons, so they’re aiming for a final strike! No matter how good the Joseon archers are, they can’t destroy buildings! On top of that, Joseon just finished their expansion!"
Joseon had only just completed their expansion, making them vulnerable.
"Anto’s timing... is sharp!"
"Exactly! The Joseon archers who went in were meant to buy time for that expansion to kick in, but Anto didn’t play into that rhythm!!"
Anto, as if he knew, went straight for the enemy base. He brought all his barbarian troops, clerics, and even some workers.
"Even the workers are building barracks and blacksmiths there! He’s setting up a supply line for continuous reinforcements!"
"Is this an all-in rush!?"
Joseon caught on and began regrouping its defensive forces. The archers who infiltrated also began firing.
"But now! Joseon begins their attack!"
"It’s a massacre! Rome’s workers are fleeing, but it’s too late!"
Bang bang bang!
Boom!
The Roman workers all began getting wiped out.
— What a massacre!
— This is crazy...
— That’s too much...
"The workers are getting slaughtered at Rome’s main base!"
"This might mean Rome’s basically out of the game!"
The wood-gathering workers in the Roman base began disappearing. Panicked workers rushed into buildings for safety. Some fled toward the expansion in lines.
"Meanwhile—"
Back at the Joseon main base...
"Rome is pushing in!"
The Roman infantry began climbing the hill.
"Joseon is attacking from behind and picking off workers while Rome is bulldozing through from the front!"
"Yes! These two civilizations are showing their full colors! There’s no right answer in terms of playstyle, but only one side ends up right in war!"
On the fortress hill, the Joseon archers finally revealed themselves. A storm of arrows rained down on the Roman troops climbing the slope.
"Yes! Someone has to lose. That’s war."
The Roman army raised their shields and charged forward.
Thunk! Clang!
A barrage of Joseon arrows struck their shields like bursts of flame.
"They’re pushing through!?"
"Waaaaaaaah!"
BOOOOM!
Rome’s siege unit slammed into Joseon’s gates. Numerous infantrymen set fire to the gate as the relentless arrows struck some of them down.
Fwoooosh!
The gate began to catch fire.