Season 3: Chapter 333. Fire (4)
"Th-The cavalry!?"
After Joseon’s cavalry ambush failed, the battle became a full-scale frontal clash. Rome specialized in direct confrontations. Joseon had never won in that kind of engagement.
The Joseon soldiers couldn’t help but wonder how they ended up in this situation again and what they could’ve done to avoid it. Rome’s overwhelming coordination and the sheer force of their heavy iron shields came bearing down like a mountain. Ultimately, the Joseon soldiers began hesitating after feeling the skill gap deep in their bones.
But—
"Don’t back doooooown!"
Malatang drew his glaive and charged forward.
KA-BOOM!
He slammed into a shield and thrust his blade into the opening as the enemy staggered.
Thwack!
"Guh!"
One of the many shields in the massive shield wall toppled back. The formation opened like a missing tooth.
"How long are we going to keep avoiding a head-on fight? Just..."
He spun his glaive and slashed sideways.
SHRAAAAK!
"... Break through!"
The Roman soldier next to him flinched. An attack command followed immediately.
[Attack]
The Joseon soldiers surged forward as one.
"Drive it in!!"
"Let’s gooooo!!"
"WAAAAAHHH!!"
Just then, a command arrived for the Roman side as well.
[Spears]
Swish!
Long spears lunged out from between the shields.
"!"
Thwack!
The Joseon swordsman leading the charge was impaled. Malatang was also stabbed in the side and collapsed.
Thud-thud!
The other charging soldiers followed suit. It was a brutal, bloody confrontation.
‘What’s going on...?’
From afar, Vice Commander Coffee watched in confusion.
‘Wasn’t this the most important battlefront?’
The enemy’s main force was pushing right up to their main base.
‘Why aren’t there any commands?’
The command frequency had clearly dropped. And knowing Best Yi Sun-Shin’s style, fewer commands meant the troops’ coordination would fall apart fast.
‘Where is she looking?’
It was obvious that her attention was elsewhere.
***
Tiiing!
[Move]
The five archers sprinted toward Rome’s main base with no enemy troops in sight. However, Rome’s town hall in the center had its own defensive function. It could automatically fire dozens of arrows with just workers inside. Although each arrow didn’t deal much damage, the volume was overwhelming.
"They’re—they’re just running in!?"
The commentators felt even more stunned. Five archers were charging straight at the town hall as militia.
"Rome’s town hall arrows don’t hit hard, but they come in huge numbers! And the problem is—"
"They’re militia! They’ll all die from a single hit!!"
The sheer number of arrows was the worst possible threat for units that would die from just a graze. For the Joseon archers, breaking into the town hall would be as difficult as going up against a warship bristling with cannons.
"They’re within range now!"
"They’re spreading out!?"
[Move]
[Move]
[Move]
Each of them received a move command and began spreading out. Then—
"Latte’s in the lead!"
"W-Wait!?"
Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!
Latte burst forward at full speed. An AI controlled the town hall arrows unless the commander stepped in.
"That’s right! One of them is sacrificing themselves as bait first!"
Paaaaaang!
A barrage of arrows began raining down across a wide area. Escaping outside of the barrage zone was impossible. They had to dodge within it.
Latte gritted his teeth and stared at the oncoming arrows. Then, he launched into a bizarre pose mid-leap.
"Ugh—hhyyaaah!"
Whiff-whiff-whiff!
The arrows all slammed into the ground.
— Lmoa wtf??
— Is this a circus?!
— Omg lol
— No way that actually worked
"This, this actually works!?"
"And while that happens, the other archers are practically charging in a straight line!!"
The arrows kept targeting Latte. Meanwhile, the other four rushed forward within the town hall’s range in near-perfect alignment. Thanks to their militia speed, they moved as fast as light infantry.
"Their speed is nearly on par with Japan’s special ninja unit!"
"We should just call them Joseon ninjas at this point! Their mission is practically the same!"
"If they succeed, Joseon could actually win this!"
And then—
"!"
Fwoooooosh!
Suddenly, the targeting shifted. Arrows flew in every direction. Not just at Latte, but toward the other four as well.
"Uh-oh!?"
Thunk!
"Ah...!"
Spam fell first, and he wasn’t the last.
Fwooooosh!
More arrows came even faster and deadlier.
"Looks like Anto is back on the controls!"
Thud! Thump!
— Yikes!
— Noooo!!
— Omg...
— T_T
— Bruh!
Following Spam, both Pang and Carrot also died. They went down absurdly fast. So fast that the commentators didn’t even have time to say anything.
"Ah..."
Some distance to the town hall still remained.
"It’s even harder to dodge with the targeting more concentrated now!"
"Almond! Latte! Can the two of them dodge it all and make it!?"
Roughly a hundred more meters remained. It wasn’t too far. They could make it if they just survived one more wave of arrows.
***
Paaaang!
Arrows fired from the town hall only targeted the remaining two archers.
[Danger]
[Danger]
Warning pings from Best Yi Sun-Shin appeared with each incoming arrow. If Anto was the one firing, there could be some trickery involved. He could bait them in a certain direction to kill them.
‘Dodge... dodge. Dodge. Dodge!’
Latte’s eyes gleamed as he leaped into another bizarre pose.
"Hyahh!"
Fwoosh!
Arrows flew in between Latte’s limbs. Like sand slipping through his fingers, he narrowly slipped through once more.
‘What about Almond?!’
Latte looked for Almond. And then—
"WAAAAAAAHHH!!"
With the crowd roaring behind him, Almond emerged from the barrage.
"!"
Their eyes met. They both realized that only they had survived.
"Go in!"
"Y-Yes!"
Latte sprinted up the steps to the town hall first.
‘I have to go first.’
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Arrows from the town hall fired at him with almost feral aggression. The distance was close and the shots grew more focused, but Latte threw everything on the line and hurled himself forward. It was a purely instinctive move. He didn’t have time to stop—not here. He had to keep running. Dodging wasn’t an option.
‘As long as Almond gets in!’
Even if he got hit, the aggro would shift and give the other a clear shot inside.
"HYAAAH!!"
BANG!
The door flung open as Latte tumbled into the corridor, nearly rolling across the floor.
"Huff... huff..."
He caught his breath and sprang to his feet.
"Wow. I survived."
He was still alive. The guy who always died first was still standing in the most important moment. And yet, he wasn’t sure if that was good or bad. If he died now, that would make him the biggest villain of all.
BANG!
Almond came crashing in right after him.
"Oh! Almond!"
"Phew..."
Latte couldn’t help but glance at Almond’s right arm. It was trembling slightly.
‘... We don’t have much time. In more ways than one.’
Latte didn’t mention it. Instead, he turned and took the lead.
"Anto. Let’s see your face!"
Although he shouted boldly, he advanced cautiously and slowly. There was no telling who could be waiting for them. He drew his bow and crept forward, step by step.
Then—
"H-Hey! Almond!? If you die first, it’s all over!"
Tap, tap.
Almond just casually walked ahead.
"Wha—what the...?"
Strangely, Almond didn’t hesitate at all. Was this just his DNA at work? How could someone walk so calmly in a place like this? He walked straight toward the commander’s office.
Rattle.
And simply opened the door.
"!"
***
"Joseon!! Latte and Almond are in!?"
"WAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"
A roar of applause erupted through the crowd. It made sense. At this point, the game was practically over.
"In soccer terms, they just passed the penalty box and dribbled past the goalkeeper!"
— For real!
— What if this turns into a long shot from midfield tho?!
— Damn...
— Wait... are they actually winning? Is this the championship???
— Holy crap, they got in!
"Joseon!!!"
OrangeKing nearly lost his mind. His face had turned all red, and understandably so.
"If they win this... It’s the championship! Joseon!!!"
They had already passed the keeper. This was the golden goal. A goal that would decide everything.
"Now they’re showing Joseon’s main base too!"
The screen split into two. One side showed Almond and Latte entering the enemy commander’s room. The other showed Joseon’s main base fending off Rome’s army.
"But they’re getting pushed back hard!?"
Joseon was supposed to have the advantage on defense, but Rome was surprisingly overpowering them. And not by just a bit.
"No way. Rome’s forces haven’t thinned out at all! How is this possible!?"
Rome had barely lost any of their initial forces. Even more troops continued pouring out of the barracks and smitheries they built.
"Clerics! Shields! Such coordination! Rome is like Protoss! They’re aliens!!"
— Omg!
— Alien-tier strat.
— Can Joseon even win this one?
— Maybe they should’ve just played it differently...
"Rome’s workers are extinct in the main base! But their expansion was up and running for ages!! And now...!?"
"Meanwhile, Joseon just finished building their expansion! This timing... It’s unreal!"
Rome’s army had pushed right up to the front yard of Joseon’s palace. Joseon hastily placed archers on top of recently built defense towers and fought back. They managed to push the enemy front line slightly back using Pyeonjeon, but Pyeonjeon couldn’t kill fully armed soldiers in one hit.
The Roman front line quickly recovered as long as clerics kept healing from the back. Joseon’s other tactic, the militia, was completely useless on defense.
"Pyeonjeon! Militia! They’re both losing value in this fight!"
"Exactly. The archers are trying to kite using militia and firing backward, but— AHHH!"
Thud!
The archers using militia fell in seconds to a few thrown spears.
"This isn’t something just anyone can pull off!"
"This faction was never built for defense! It’s way too risky in this kind of fight!"
Neither faction and upgrades had any real use in this kind of defensive war.
"Ah... This match! The unit composition, timing, and resource strategies— Anto’s mastery is on full display! Honestly, Anto should be winning this game! If Civil Empire has a god, then that god would be rooting for Anto’s win! This was a textbook macro play!!!"
But the god of Civil Empire wasn’t fair just like the gods in real life.
"Best Yi Sun-Shin says it herself! I’m the god now! God-Sun-Shin!!!"
On the left screen, Almond calmly walked up to the final door and opened it.
"This game is about killing the commander!!"
Rattle!
"!"
In that moment, the entire audience froze. Everyone wore the same expression regardless of the team they rooted for.
OrangeKing had been screaming so hard that his face turned red. He muttered in shock as a bit of drool slipped down his lip, "... No one’s there?"