Season 3: Chapter 222. Joseon vs. Japan (2)

The quarterfinals of the national competition began with the highly anticipated Korea-Japan match. The players entered the arena. The fact that Koreans could secure tickets for the quarterfinal match between Korea vs. Japan generated tremendous buzz.

[Current Viewers: 794,000]

As the match started, the viewer count neared 800,000 with celebrities also attending the game. Among them, the Balloon Stars members who were friends with Almond conducted a live cheering broadcast.

“Wow! Everyone! Look at all the people! Can you see?!”

Miho raised the camera to show the stadium.

— Wow

— It’s completely different from last time

— Amazing

— Jealous...

— Wow, the cap is nice

“Nice cap, right? This is an Almond cap. Tada.”

Miho’s cap looked like a plain white baseball cap with a small Almond logo in the center.

“You can totally wear this outside~”

— Definitely sold out

— Seriously

— Free promotion for Almond, does he even know?

— They had it in black too, I want one!!

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

— This is what Walnut promoted, haha

“Guys, look at this. Gum oppa.

Haha!”

She giggled and brought Bubblegum into the frame.

“Oh, why...”

He wore an Almond suit and seemed embarrassed to be on Miho’s broadcast.

— Haha

— It’s AlmondBall, wow

— Looks like an Iron Ball Almond skin, haha

— So cute, haha

“Totally an Almond Ball! It’s perfect!”

Miho happily patted his back.

“I would have worn it if it wasn’t for my outfit sponsorship. What a shame~”

— Miho would look great in that suit, haha

— Would’ve been such a waste

— Miho is too tall, she would look like a spike

— You’re just saying that, haha

— You have brand sponsors too;

As a model, she had to wear specific outfits on her broadcast and couldn’t wear a full-body suit. She clicked her tongue and expressed her regret.

“Ah, should I show you Tako oppa and Strawberry too?”

She turned the camera around to show the two men standing in another direction. They stood there, ready to cheer.

“Tada! Today’s cheerleaders!”

StrawberryShooter enthusiastically waved cheering items from Monster colored in white and red.

“Scream!

Roarrr!

Scream! Aren’t you screaming!?

Roarrr!”

— A muscle man, haha

— He’s turning into a monster, haha

— If you don’t cheer, he might throw you onto the field;

— Mom, what’s that? It’s scary!

— Tako is having so much fun, haha

— Is this the World Cup generation?

Takoyaki wore red Monster horns on his head and danced to the cheer songs.

“Ah. Everyone. We have a special guest!”

Miho turned the camera to another familiar face.

— ??

— Huh?

— OMG haha

Dun dun.

He struck a pose and shouted, “I have arrived...!”

— Haha

— The master of chikicha, wow

— ForeverAlone!

— Jung Gi-Chan! Jung Gi-Chan! Jung Gi-Chan! Jung Gi-Chan!

ForeverAlone, aka Jung Gi-Chan, also attended.

“The world’s best single! The owner of the true chikicha! The most famous solo of all time! ForeverAlone... indeed.”

— OMG

— The truth, haha

— Ending with indeed out of embarrassment, haha

— The most solo player of all time, LOL

— That’s Almond’s phrase though?

— Why is it yours? Does he really not know?

— Shouting it kills his enemy, so it’s the truth, haha

ForeverAlone had prepared this line, but suddenly lost his energy.

“Chikicha is Almond’s... Yes, I thought you’d say that. Yes...”

— Hahahaha

— What’s with his energy? haha

— Why is he so weak? haha

— Is he nervous because he’s next to Miho?

“Gi-Chan, do a chikicha.”

“Yes!”

At Miho’s words, Gi-Chan straightened up, loaded his finger gun, clicked his tongue, and aimed at the camera.

“Bang...! Chikicha.”

— Haha

— Fetch me some bread, Gi-Chan

— So cute, haha

— Haha

— I feel like punching him ^^

Miho turned the camera back to herself.

“That’s our team~”

As the match started, she began taking off her outerwear.

“When they’re done cheering, I’ll be cheering too! Don’t go anywhere!”

Underneath, she wore a cheerleader outfit that closely matched Monster’s signature colors. Her crop top featured large white lettering on a red background and paired nicely with her white tennis skirt.

The viewers, who were about to switch to the match broadcast, stopped.

— Wow

— Cheerleader class;

— “Real cheerleader”

— We already won the cheerleading part

— This is it

— When will the fake cheerleaders be over?

— This is why I pay taxes!

Not just Balloon Stars members, but various actors and idol singers also posted about attending the match on RuneStargram. Many used certain tags like @FakeAthlete and @Almond. Above these tags were simple cheering messages like, “This is real to us...” or “Go Joseon vs. Japan!”

Even rapper Lil Grass, who met Almond on a talk show, made a post.

[Damn. Too far to duo now...

@Almond

Fighting!

Monster! Roarrr!]

— He’s world-class now

— I wanted to see Lil Grass, haha

— Try pushing for it anyway

— Roarrr!!

— He tags with clenched teeth, haha

— The Korea-Japan atmosphere is amazing! I’m jealous...

While attendance posts filled RuneStargram, the game community buzzed about something else.

[Today's starter is Best Yi Sun-Shin]

In

Civil Empire

, the starting lineup probably didn’t seem important like in soccer or baseball. However, it was surprisingly crucial for Joseon.

[Best Yi Sun-Shin??? She did well against Persia, but wasn't she a bit shaky?]

[Best Yi Sun-Shin starting haha Cookie or think tank’s decision is bold]

[Best Yi Sun-Shin starting, haha, I called it]

[It's a best-of-five, so starting doesn’t matter much]

Opinions varied. While Best Yi Sun-Shin did well in the last match, many still saw her as an unstable choice. There were concerns about her synergy with the team and her inconsistencies as a player.

[Best Yi Sun-Shin might be inconsistent like Brazilian soccer players?]

This opinion received quite a few recommendations.

[Her detailed commands leave the players with no time to think. It feels like she’s trying to control everything.]

— I felt the same, but winning is what matters, right?

└ Exactly, haha

— She’ll be swapped out if they lose

— Do you still doubt Cookie's judgment? Just watch

└ 22222

└ Nervous because it’s Korea-Japan...

— Brazilians are inconsistent because their knees give out from dribbling;

└ I meant she makes super plays.

└ Bad analogy, haha

— They need to lose three times in a row to be out, so they’ll swap if needed.

The viewers, or rather the entire nation cheering for Joseon, felt nervous. Having a new commander start instead of Cookie, who led Joseon this far, felt unsettling.

However, the game had already begun. Perhaps it had started long before this. Ever since they hid Cookie’s hospitalization and struggled to secure capsule rooms in Japan, the fight had already begun.

***

“

Phew.

Did they not notice?” Chi-Seung wondered.

Did Japan prepare for Cookie or Best Yi Sun-Shin?

“It’s a bluff we set up. We even skipped visiting Cookie oppa in the hospital... They must not have noticed.”

Water Dumpling believed that Japan didn’t anticipate Best Yi Sun-Shin. The Korean team had put a lot of effort into this.

Sharp Sphere added a comment, “

Hmph.

The fact that we have two commanders ready for deployment means we’ve already won. Don’t worry too much.”

“Yeah... that’s true.”

Even so, Chi-Seung couldn’t relax easily.

‘We haven’t completely countered Japan’s strategies.’

The Japanese commander Ringo was an unpredictable strategist like Cookie. Predicting his strategies this time would be difficult.

They had to rely on the on-site commander’s judgment. As always, the war would be fought by those on the battlefield.

Boom!

A loud noise came from the audience.

“The map is being revealed.”

As the hologram changed, the map began to take shape. A golden field with rolling hills and dense forests surrounded each base.

[RICH GRAIN FIELD]

This same map had been used in the second game against the Vikings.

***

“The game has started. Japan is at one o’clock in blue. Joseon is at seven o’clock in red. Both sides start with ten scouts in a group. Can you explain the map for us, OrangeKing?”

“Yes. For viewers, this is the same map from the second game against the Vikings.”

“That’s correct.”

— Oh, it’s that one

— I wondered where I’d seen the golden map before

— It’s the Valhalla map, wow

“As the name suggests, it’s a rich grain field ideal for farming and easy for hunting. The civilization with an advantage here is Joseon.”

“Why is that?”

“Because of the Japanese islander faction.”

OrangeKing couldn’t help but chuckle.

— Haha, why is OrangeKing laughing haha

— OMG, that faction haha

— The faction that makes you smaller, wow

“Yes, contrary to many misunderstandings, this faction does not have a feature that makes them shorter!”

“Oh, you’re pointing that out specifically?”

“Yes! Well... anyway! The islander faction gets a lot of food from fish, but less from land animals. This 15% difference is significant.”

“Ah, I see. But there’s only a lake at the edge here, right?”

“Yes. They can’t get fish early on. They need to hunt land animals for food!”

The rich grain field map had water, but that was far from the bases. Before reaching the waters, Japan had to hunt land animals for food.

“But Japan consumes less food per population, right?”

— Small eaters, wow

— Even this is reflected

— Interesting

“Yes, they have lower maintenance costs. However, they still need more food.”

“So you think Joseon has an early advantage?”

“Yes, if we’re splitting hairs!”

“But Japan has an advantage too, right? Their agility increases.”

“That’s right. Agility has a significant impact in combat! But I still believe early food supply is crucial! Joseon has a slight edge!”

“Got it. Let’s see how Joseon leverages this advantage.”

Joseon had a slight initial advantage. The key was how they would capitalize on it.

The broadcast showed alternating close-ups of both commanders’ faces.

— Is the Japanese commander sleeping?

— Is he meditating?

— Is he a half-closed eyes character? Haha

— He has no eyes

— (—_—) << His expression, haha

— Is he a monk?

Both commanders were expressionless, but a strange tension could be felt.

Then—

Dun dun.

[Joseon - 2nd Era]

Joseon advanced to the second era first.