Season 2: Chapter 107. A Larger Stake (3)

"Commander Loop versus Commander BornToB. Kimchi Warrior mentioned that Loop is Korean. How do you know?"

"Oh, there’s a separate matchmaking search site that even shows nationalities."

"Is that so? Is there a possibility of stream sniping?"

"Yes,

Civil Empire

has a system to prevent sniping. Of course, there's always a chance of encountering someone by coincidence."

"Right, the system wouldn't consider it sniping if they matched just once."

"Yes, it's not completely preventable. However, it does eliminate the chance of encountering the same person two or three times."

"I see. Kimchi Warrior, you're quite articulate."

— For real.

— Exactly.

— As a commander, LOL.

"Haha... Commanders also have to be eloquent."

"Really? Anyway, Kimchi Warrior and I, along with my manager as an observer, are here for Almond's promotion game!"

— The manager is the observer, LOL.

— Poor guy...

— The biggest promotion game ever, LOL.

— OrangeKing is a ruthless boss.

— Hey! Come out of the orange farm now!

The viewers playfully joked about the manager like they usually did in OrangeKing's stream.

"No matter how much you try to brainwash me, my manager is still my orange. Anyway!"

OrangeKing quickly changed the topic and grew wary of the game progressing rapidly.

"The distance to the opponent's camp is a bit awkward!"

They could see from a third-person perspective that Almond’s camp was quite far from the enemy’s, which wasn’t good news for BornToB and Almond.

"Is the fast archer rush, or Farcher strategy, still possible given this distance?"

— Farcher LOL

— LOL!

— What about fast cavalry then? LOL

"I wouldn't use it."

"Really?"

"But BornToB will. That's all he learned."

— LOL!

— That's too harsh LOL!

— You made him like that! LOL

Kimchi Warrior, the coach, made a somewhat irresponsible statement. However, he added, "If my calculations are correct, commanders in this rank won't be able to handle it."

BornToB only had one strategy, but the opponents couldn’t counter it. If Kimchi Warrior was right, this was essentially the best strategy.

"Wow... that's a lot of confidence. You have come all the way here to this promotion game with an incredible winning streak!"

Kimchi Warrior nodded solemnly.

"Look at the screen now. It's BornToB! He's moving fast toward the Feudal Age, right!?"

BornToB methodically progressed through the fast archer rush build like a machine. Despite discovering that the enemy camp was quite far away after scouting, he continued following the strategy without much concern.

Then, OrangeKing asked, "Oh, by the way, the viewers are curious again. They're asking if the scout unit is a real person."

At the start of the game, a player received ten workers and one mounted scout. It was an NPC like the workers, but first-time viewers could get confused.

"No, it's a unit directly controlled by the commander. Every scout that appears later is also the same. If a player just scouted, who would play this game?"

"Ah, right. It makes sense if you think about it that way!"

"Yes, players are designed to only do the fun parts. Even though they’re both siege weapons, a player controls the powerful springald that shoots giant bolts while the AI controls the siege tower that just carries people to walls."

"Ah, understanding it that way makes it clear. Folks, boring jobs are not for players."

After Kimchi Warrior clearly answered the question, a brief silence followed as the audio faded. Nothing significant happened on-screen. Each side busily continued to construct the necessary buildings.

OrangeKing broke the silence first, "Oh!"

The moment finally arrived.

[04:51]

"The fateful moment has come!"

This time, Almond appeared about two seconds before the usual four minute and fifty-three second mark.

"Almond is coming!"

The trumpet sounded and signaled the appearance of the first archer. BornToB successfully summoned Almond and nothing out of the ordinary had occurred yet.

"But wait!" OrangeKing suddenly shouted.

— Stop overreacting

— You're the only one who would make such a fuss about spawning a unit, OrangeKing!

— So much tension (literally)

"It's not just out of excitement! It's not just for fun either!"

OrangeKing wasn’t simply being overly enthusiastic for entertainment purposes.

"Almond appeared at four minutes and fifty-two seconds! 1 second! He shaved off a whole second!"

Indeed, Almond appeared at four minutes and fifty-two seconds instead of the usual four minutes and fifty-three seconds.

— Wow~ 1 second~ Impressive~

— 1 second is huge LOL, especially for a rush strategy like this LOL

— ??

Some viewers didn’t fully grasp it, but a one second difference could lead to a significant advantage later on in the early stages of the game.

"No, folks. As OrangeKing said, cutting down the time by even one second is encouraging," Kimchi Warrior supported his observation.

OrangeKing looked into the camera with a, ‘See? I told you,’ expression.

— That expression!

— Nominated by Treevy for the most punchable face~

— Ah LOL so annoying LOL

OrangeKing simply laughed off the criticism. He had been looking into the camera and turned back to Kimchi Warrior.

"So what happens now? BornToB summoned Almond. Does he pass the mouse to Almond now!?"

— Is this Yu-Gi-Oh or what? LOL

— LOL!

"Ah... It doesn't work like that. They keep playing."

"It just seems like BornToB does nothing but click on archers!?"

— He really just spams archers LOL

— What a sight LOL

"Yes, this is the... strategy," Kimchi Warrior replied with a serious face.

— Where's your conscience?

— Strategy = Almond

— Almond:..?

Meanwhile, Almond charged toward the enemy camp with a few more newly spawned archers following behind him.

"Ah. Almond is charging in right now. A few archers, maybe three or four, are following him."

"It should take about thirty seconds to get there," Kimchi Warrior quickly calculated how long it would take them to cover that distance.

"But..." OrangeKing pointed toward the enemy camp and asked, "Can they break through that defense!?"

— :fearful_face:

— That's what I'm saying...

— It's like a cosmic defense

Until now, they had been too busy explaining BornToB's fast-paced strategy to summon Almond. They didn’t notice the enemy had been building defensive towers from the start, and not just a few.

In addition, the enemy also built walls all around and blocked every opening, making it impossible to enter his camp.

Kimchi Warrior frowned and fell silent for a moment.

"... Hmm."

"How will this turn out?"

"People usually don't build so many defensive structures. Building even half of that would render most early rushes useless. It's not really worth it to build so many even if you stop an attack."

"That's right. All those buildings cost money! And defensive structures are useless if the enemy doesn't attack!"

"Exactly, that's why players typically try to fend off attacks using the inherent defensive capabilities of their units or the town center. It's a waste of money otherwise."

"Why is the enemy commander doing this?!"

Kimchi Warrior didn't want to mention the possibility of stream sniping. It would only hurt the atmosphere of the stream. Giving players the impression that snipers were targeting them didn’t help at all.

With that in mind, he responded like this.

"Well, I can’t predict anything in a B rank promotion match..."

— LOL

— This is hell...

— It's like two trolls meeting and creating chaos LOL

— Who can fathom the logic of the abyss? OrangeKing laughs.

"Ah, I know that feeling well. That's why I'm currently in DiAlmond, you know."

— ???

— That's irrelevant

— By the way, Kimchi is a ranked player LOL

— And he puts it this way? LOL

OrangeKing explained why he was still in DiAlmond rank as a former pro, but only question marks filled the chat.

"Now, Almond is almost there! Can the archers penetrate that? It's a wooden wall, right?"

"Yes, wooden walls can be penetrated. However, it takes about ten minutes."

"We hear you loud and clear!"

— 10 minutes LOL

— By yesterday's standards, that's the time to win two games LOL

— LOL

Kimchi Warrior further explained, "Archers have a handicap in that they can't carry torches. Other soldiers can break down wooden buildings with torches, but it's not possible for archers."

"Ah, they've spotted Almond! They must be panicking, right? This isn't a normal situation!"

As OrangeKing mentioned, the current situation was definitely not ordinary.

"What should Almond do now?"

"Umm...”

Almond stood there and blankly stared. He probably wondered what was going on. The archers who followed him also arrived and stood there equally clueless.

"Wait, can they really do anything!?"

— OMG LOL

— What is this?

— This has to be a stream sniper. How else can the situation be so perfect?

— Really? Is it over?

Kimchi Warrior spoke, "It's not over."

"What?"

"A skilled commander would only pull back a little, progress to the third era, bring siege weapons, and win the game due to the resource difference. The enemy has spent too much money on defense."

"That's right! The enemy is also suffering!"

"Yes. One worker constantly not working and building walls is a major downside."

"Ah~! That's a big cost, isn't it!?"

"Yes, but it definitely blocks the fast archer rush."

Kimchi Warrior's words almost sounded like a declaration of defeat.

"Whaaaat!?" OrangeKing flinched and exclaimed in surprise.

— Overreaction

— Can someone legislate an Overreaction Prohibition Act?

— Like a Japanese variety show

— Howwwww!?

"Has the fast archer rush been stopped? Isn't this a huge crisis!?"

It was the first time the fast archer rush had been blocked. BornToB and Almond, who had been on a winning streak, were facing their greatest crisis yet.

"Yes, it's a crisis for BornToB. Objectively, it's an advantage. Normally, you'd just play the game. BornToB has to think this time."

"Ah... Can he do that!?"

BornToB had to overcome this test. He couldn’t just fully commit to an early rush, but also had to know what to do if they got blocked. He had to come up with his own solutions now.

However, BornToB listened too well to Kimchi Warrior and never thought on his own.

[Recruiting Archers]

[Recruiting Archers]

He kept sending in more archers like a madman.

Kimchi Warrior closed his eyes.

"

Ha...

He's not thinking."

"Kimchi, I heard that you told BornToB not to think about anything.'"

"..."

— Really?

— Insane, LOL. So cruel

— Asking a commander not to think hahaha.

While Kimchi Warrior remained silent, Almond still hadn't managed to enter the enemy camp.

Wooden walls blocked every path.

"What do we do about this? We finally got here and now we just have to stare at walls!?"

At this point, OrangeKing thought of a solution.

"Can't we use those wooden walls as a photo ID? They might be made of Raina wood!"

— ?!

— Insane Raina wood LOL

— Raina wood LOL

— Stupid joke LOL

— Is it because you're an orange that you're looking for wood? LOL

The viewers made such nonsensical comments as archers pied up outside the walls. No progress had been made.

"Ah, the enemy is now mass-producing workers! They've confirmed that the fast archer rush has stopped and are just blatantly producing workers!"

Meanwhile, the enemy freely gathered resources, increased their workers, and looked forward to a stable mid-to-late game.

The resource difference started to grow significantly noticeable.