The think tank members of each team could be seen on the bench side of the stadium where coaches and directors usually gathered. The contrast between the two teams was striking. The Vikings sat quietly, alternating their gaze between the match and the monitors.

“Waaaaaaaah!!”

“That was perfect!”

“That’s it!”

The Korean team members punched the air and shouted at the top of their lungs. The camera captured this scene and displayed it on the broadcast screen.

— LOL

— Wow, you can see them here?

— LOL Chi-Seung LOL

— You can tell the match results just by their expressions

The Korean think tank team was generally younger and more expressive. Therefore, the broadcast camera frequently focused on them. The camera zoomed in on SharpSphere shaking his whole body in celebration.

Meanwhile, someone else quietly sat in disinterest with their hat pulled down. A long blanket draped over her lap made it hard to notice that she was in a wheelchair. She silently stared at the monitor with an unreadable expression. It was hard to tell if they were winning or losing from her look.

***

Cookie's eyes widened as he confirmed the situation on the ground.

‘It’s working…!’

Joseon completely won that battle. This meant that Cookie's tactics proved to be effective and the soldiers had perfectly executed the plan.

With a sigh of relief, Cookie dispatched additional soldiers. They didn’t head toward the valley where the Vikings gathered, but hunted animals in other areas. They planned on targeting the scattered buildings.

[Hunting Post]

The Vikings built hunting posts near the hunting grounds to increase their efficiency. These temporary structures allowed them to store hunted animals and periodically obtain gold. This excellent building faction had a downside.

[Pillage]

The accumulated meat could be stolen by the enemy.

‘They’ll definitely return when the pillaging starts.’

Of course, the commander would notice if enemies tried to steal the meat and the Vikings would return from the valley. Therefore, the archers in the valley needed to hold out longer.

‘Five minutes. We can secure victory if they hold out for five more minutes.’

The success of this pillaging operation depended on how long they could engage the Vikings.

‘They need to hesitate.’

They could stop the Vikings by making them hesitate. Even the well-prepared archers would be overwhelmed if the Vikings decided to attack the valley with all their forces. The sheer numbers would be too great for accurate shooting.

However, the Vikings didn’t know this. They thought all of Joseon’s archers had mastered the curve shot and had no choice but to believe so. This caused them to hesitate and even a moment of hesitation meant the Vikings couldn’t secure the valley or protect their hunting posts.

Cookie aimed for this moment of their paralysis. He muttered a prayer as he watched the Vikings approaching as red dots.

‘Stop…’

***

“Stop!” Jessie shouted as she approached the valley with her raised sword.

The soldiers following her all halted. She crouched to observe the situation ahead.

‘What is this?’

The valley with a lush, thick forest was originally a hunting ground where mountain animals came to drink water. Now, the Vikings were being hunted instead.

‘With so much cover…?’

The Vikings specialized in dodging arrows because they had no archery of their own. Almost all their units had shields, making it easy to block arrows. For them to be massacred by arrows in such terrain was a first even for a veteran like Jessie.

‘What happened here?’

Jessie couldn’t believe what she saw. She kept quiet, but the soldiers behind her couldn’t contain their disbelief.

“Did they all shoot curve shots?”

“Is that even possible?”

“No… Are they skilled enough to hit every shot?”

“Joseon’s archers are famous, but…”

Jessie shook her head.

“That’s impossible.”

Hadn’t she watched all of Joseon’s matches? Similar scenes would have appeared long ago if such a thing was possible.

Then, someone suggested, “Maybe they didn’t need to use curve shots until now?”

Joseon hadn’t needed to use this technique before, so they hadn’t used it.

“Damn it! If they shoot like that, getting close is suicide! It’s insane!”

“No wonder they could compete with Rome.”

“How much training would it take for that many archers…?”

The Viking soldiers felt confused and for good reason. If that many archers could freely shoot curve shots, the melee focused Vikings stood no chance. Curve shots would make this rugged valley a perfect map for archers. The archers were now stationed in the valley, but imagine them shooting arrows in any rugged terrain.

‘Wait?’

Why had they positioned themselves in the valley? If they could freely shoot curve shots, better positions existed. Moreover, Korea had the map selection right and plenty of practice opportunities.

‘Something’s up.’

An order came through as something started to stir in Jessie’s mind.

[Attack]

Apparently, the commander wanted to take the valley. The soldiers led by Jessie stopped their charge.

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“Stop!”

Jessie signaled upward and her soldiers halted their assault.

“What’s going on?”

“What are you thinking? We need to attack together to have a chance.”

“Quiet.”

Jessie signaled again.

‘Will they understand?’

Communication with the commander was one-way. Hand signals were the best they could do. The commander had to understand this complex situation.

‘We have to handle this ourselves even if the commander doesn’t get it.’

Regardless, Jessie’s unit had to deal with it. She focused on the current battle situation. Other Viking units had already received attack orders and charged ahead. Observing how Joseon responded would provide the answers.

‘What?’

As Jessie observed them, something clicked into place.

***

At the valley battle site, the archers drew their bows like mad behind cover.

“Second wave coming! Fire!!”

“Good! Keep it up!”

Pang’s familiar encouragement accompanied their enthusiastic shooting as they killed the Vikings.

“Keep shooting!”

“One-two! One-two! One-two-three!”

“Here, you idiot!”

They felt excited because the second wave of Vikings also struggled.

Very few of the Vikings carried shields. Even if they predicted the curve shots and held their shields sideways, arrows would come from another direction.

Thwack!

The arrows struck their marks just as practiced.

“The enemy won’t be able to counter if you memorize the left and right angles for each cover.”

In other words, the Joseon archers could target all visible cover from their positions.

The Vikings tried to hide behind cover and approach safely.

‘We know exactly what they’ll do.’

Joseon could predict their movements.

The Vikings spread out and used cover to approach as they had trained.

“The Vikings have standard strategies for facing archers. This has elevated their overall level.”

However, these excellent strategies made their actions predictable.

“These strategies can elevate a unit’s level, but they can’t handle unexpected variables.”

The unexpected variable was Korea winning the map selection right, countering the Vikings’ strategy with another strategy of their own in the valley.

The arrows found and struck the hidden Vikings.

Thud! Thud!

“We’ve nearly got them all!”

“Just a bit more!”

The second wave of Vikings also fell quickly.

“It’s like they’re falling before the arrows even hit!

Haha!”

Joseon’s troops already celebrated their victory.

“There are too many here! They’re swarming!”

A scream came from the west. The other archers, except Pang, turned to look.

“What…?”

The Vikings charged in a line without using any cover. Rather, they used minimal cover and focused on speed while zigzagging through the trees. This was different from their usual tactics.

A woman with red hair wielding a sword led them. It was Jessie's unit.

Pang muttered nervously, “That looks dangerous!”

Arrows flew, but only three archers covered the west. The enemies didn’t actively take cover and didn’t provide any angles for a curve shot. The few straight shots couldn’t deal with all of them. Other archers needed to go support, but Pang realized…

‘Wait…’

A sudden realization made him freeze.

‘We can’t leave our positions.’

They also fought according to a certain strategy. Leaving their positions meant they could no longer utilize curve shots.

“They can only move as trained in extreme situations.”

This applied to Joseon too. Their strategy became useless if irregular elements appeared. The valley could become their grave if they abandoned their strategy that relied on their advantageous positions.

Pang had to make a decision. Almond was the leader, but Pang gave the orders. The soldiers still trusted Pang more, but he couldn’t speak.

“……”

***

Jessie smirked as she led the western Vikings.

‘I suspected it, but it’s true.’

She noticed that the Joseon archers couldn’t leave their positions.

‘Did they only practice in those spots?’

The archers’ curve shots only worked from their designated spots. Jessie’s hypothesis proved to be correct.

‘These are some interesting and crazy people.’

Joseon always used strange strategies to overcome their weaknesses, but experiencing it firsthand still felt astonishing.

Jessie looked back and shouted, “Focus on speed! Throw your axes when in range!”

“Yes!”

Joseon’s archers tried shooting, but it was useless. Passing close to cover rendered the curve shots ineffective and the leading Viking aces blocked the straight shots. The archers lost confidence as their accuracy dropped.

Jessie laughed as she sensed their victory.

“What’s the use of memorizing certain spots?! Even slight changes make them miss!”

Joseon’s archers couldn’t leave their positions.

“Chargeee!”

All the Vikings stopped dodging and rushed into their axe-throwing range.

Thwip! Thwip!

The archers desperately shot straight arrows that shields easily blocked.

Thud… Thud!

Then—

“!”

A familiar figure left their position.

‘What?’

That player wasn’t constrained by any position or perhaps they had never been assigned one.

‘Were they prepared for this?’

Jessie realized that the player was meant for this situation.

Almond drew his bow in the front and now appeared on the west side with three arrows nocked.

“Dodge!” Jessie shouted and dived aside, but it was too late.

Thwip!

Three arrows flew and curved like snakes toward their targets.