Season 3: Chapter 236. Strategic Weapon (1)

'Why is he doing that...?'

Commander Best Yi Sun-Shin couldn't understand why Almond decided to face Honda one-on-one. He had no reason to fight. The forest had obscured her view. While she was briefly distracted, such an absurd situation had occurred.

'What should I do?'

She pondered for a moment. However, it was too late to give a new command. The fight had already begun.

From experience, she knew that giving commands wouldn't work in this situation. The player’s field of view had narrowed significantly and only the opponent would be visible. She had never played as a soldier in

Civil Empire

, but had a rough idea as a former pro in another game.

Sa-Rang shifted her focus back to production. No battle demanded a commander’s concentration more than a naval battle. Regrettably, she had to consider the archers’ landing operation as only half successful and prepared for the next move.

She knew it had been a miracle that they covered as much ground as they did, given that Ringo had seen everything. Then—

"!? "

Bang!

Honda suddenly died after fully closing the distance.

'With his foot...?'

Even she hadn't anticipated such a twist. Shooting with his foot at that angle didn’t just require extraordinary combat prowess, but also creative imagination. Anyway, Almond had survived.

'If that's the case...'

A glint flashed in her eyes. Even with just one soldier, having him there made a huge difference. Being able to scout versus not being able to was like inhabiting entirely different dimensions for a commander. It felt like having an extra option that didn’t exist.

She now had a choice that the Japanese Commander Ringo hadn't considered. This was the power of the irregular. Not tactics, but strategic weaponry. Even though

Civil Empire

was a game played by two hundred players where individual movements seemed insignificant, great changes always started from the smallest waves.

She issued a command to Almond.

[Scout]

They had to find the enemy’s main base. After a moment's hesitation, she added another command.

[Survive]

***

Ping!

[Scout]

A command appeared in Almond's view.

'Scout. But where?'

He didn’t receive any specific location to scout. Only an additional command had been given.

[Survive]

"...?"

Almond tilted his head at the puzzling command. Surviving was a given. Did she think he would die on purpose? He gradually descended the mountain slope and lost track of time.

"Oh."

Through the branches, he could see the outline of buildings. It definitely looked like a Japanese fortress.

'Found it.'

The commander probably saw it too as another command came in.

[Move and Wait]

Swoosh...!

A path appeared toward where the enemy workers would likely be chopping wood. However, the command ordered him to move and wait instead of harassing them. Almond found it strange, but followed the path cautiously and hid about fifty steps away.

Thunk...! Thunk!

He observed the enemy workers chopping wood a bit deeper in the forest. There were fewer workers than usual and Almond had a short bow. The position was good enough for him to kill four or five if he started shooting properly.

The enemy had no idea he had infiltrated. Using the slight edge of a soldier's field of view over a worker's, he could barely see the workers scattered around. Still, the command remained unchanged.

[Wait]

Almond calmed his breath and waited for the right moment. He didn’t know what he was waiting for, but waiting was a soldier’s virtue.

***

"Almond! He’s gone inside! Maybe he’s waiting to scout more carefully instead of moving rashly!"

"It seems Ringo knows someone has infiltrated, but he probably doesn’t realize it’s Almond! The soldiers can't tell him directly, so he’s not searching intensely!"

Ringo had sent a few soldiers to patrol the area, but didn't invest much since he didn't consider a single archer to be a significant threat. He thought the archer would reveal himself to harass the workers.

Focusing on ship production and the upcoming naval battle was more important for now. It seemed Joseon also shared this thought as both sides took some time to prepare.

"The match was so intense earlier, but now it’s in a lull!"

The excited audience also paused their cheering with only tense drum beats echoing.

Thud~ Thud~

"This is the characteristic of island maps. The pace is a bit slower since it’s hard to invade each other! Britain exploited this to almost conquer the world, remember?"

— An island nation isn't a privilege

— Fact: They almost did conquer the world lol

— The reason America is OP = It’s huge but essentially an island lol

— Our country is also an island lol

"That’s right! Island maps tend to have these dynamics~! Joseon was just particularly fierce at the start!"

"Exactly!"

"OrangeKing! Where do you think the next battle will occur?"

"It’s probably the central islands. They have a lot of resources."

On the Dawn of Navigation map, a few small islands sat in the middle of the sea. Each of these islands was rich in gold, wood, and stone.

"Ah, resources!"

"Yes, the main base’s resources are running low! There's plenty of food in the sea, but can you make ships with meat!? You need wood and gold too!"

— Meat boat lol

— LOL

— Making ships with meat haha

— Wow, the ships are increasing.

As both sides continued to gather ships, OrangeKing made an observation.

"It seems they’re about to advance! Both sides are running out of gold!"

Clang!

The gold mine on Japan’s side ran out first.

"Japan’s gold mine is depleted. The workers are moving to gather wood...!"

— The speed of resource consumption is crazy

— So many workers on the Japanese side, wow

— Can they even win this??

— The island nation faction is crazy, really

— Wow...

"It’s frustrating for Japan. They can't melt and use Joseon's resources.

Civil Empire

doesn’t allow colonies!"

— LOL

— There are no colonies here~

— This is the Imjin War era anyway, lol

"Eventually, Japan will search for an island..."

As OrangeKing predicted, Japan launched its ships first.

Swoosh...!

Ten large Japanese ships, Atakebunes, cut through the waves. They were accompanied by seventeen smaller Sekibunes, making for a total of twenty-seven ships.

"Wow!!!"

"Nippon! Nippon!"

The Japanese supporters roared as Japan set sail.

"There are many ships! The entire fleet is moving! If Japan secures the position first, Joseon will be at a disadvantage!"

Due to its resource faction, Japan had many more ships. If they secured their position first, Joseon would struggle to break through. Joseon's ships weren’t built for breaking through but for positioning. The outcome depended on how well they secured their positions. Fortunately, Joseon moved to the counter.

"Joseon! They're setting out! They’ve been scouting with a fishing boat!"

A Joseon fishing boat had been scouting near Japan’s shipyard. Although it was soon destroyed, it had served its purpose and revealed Japan's movements.

"Wow!!!"

"Daehan Minguk!"

Amid the supporters' cheers, ten Panokseons set sail from Joseon's coast.

Swoosh...!

Five fire ships followed them.

"The scale difference is evident!"

"Yes, there’s no helping it!"

Joseon had fifteen ships while Japan had twenty-seven. Japan's production speed was also faster due to having more shipyards.

"Ah, Japan is sending out three more Atakebunes! They now have thirty ships!"

Japan now had thirty ships in total. Joseon had increased its fire ships to sixteen. More Panokseons were under construction, but they needed more time.

"How can they face such a number difference?! We aren’t General Yi Sun-Shin!"

"Even without General Yi, there’s a way! Our cannons have longer range!"

— The nation of ranged attacks lol

— The nation of hit-and-run lol

— Longer range and faster cannon fire

Joseon relied on their cannons. Japanese ships were fast and skilled in melee combat, but had a shorter cannon range and lacked rapid-fire capabilities. Moreover, Japanese players lacked practice in long-range shooting. This was where Joseon had an edge.

"Also, Joseon's fire ships benefit from the focus trait! The range of the fire arrows shot by composite bows is quite long! So it’ll be a battle of range!"

Not just cannons, but also the range of fire arrows was crucial. However, fire ships were small and low, making them vulnerable to the fast and small Sekibunes.

"If the number difference widens further, it won't matter! Two-to-one odds are really tough!"

"So you mean now is the time for Joseon to make gains!?"

"Exactly! If they don't inflict more damage, Japan will dominate the island map!"

Swoosh...!

The fleets from both sides converged in the middle of the sea.

"Are they heading to the same destination!?"

"Both need gold... but Japan seems to be arriving first! They started earlier and are faster in open waters!"

The Japanese ships reached the gold-rich island first. Their speed reduced as they approached the shore.

"Joseon's naval strategy is to secure positions and fight defensively!"

Now, Joseon had to shoot at the Japanese ships that already secured positions. This was awkward for both sides.

"Joseon is approaching the gold island! A fight is about to start! Both sides are eyeing each other's formations!"

Swoosh...

Japan's ships formed a formation. The Sekibunes moved to the right side of the gold island, hiding behind a tall rock island for a flank attack.

"It’s a hammer-and-anvil tactic! If Joseon goes straight in, they’ll be crushed!"

Joseon appeared to be heading straight in, ignoring the threat. The Sekibunes began to move out stealthily. Then—

"Huh!?"

Joseon suddenly changed the direction of all their ships.

"They're changing direction!? Weren't they going for the gold island!?"

"But even with that change, they’re in a position to be attacked by Sekibunes! Can they escape!?"

Swoosh...!

The Sekibunes accelerated toward them. Originally aiming for the rear, they now targeted the side. It didn't matter. The main force was the Atakebunes. The large ships surged forward, pressing Joseon. Joseon was on the verge of being surrounded.

"Ringo, the master of formations and strategy!"

Japan had the upper hand in formation.

"Wow!!!"

Cheers from the Japanese supporters surged like waves. Then—

[Fire]

All of Joseon's Panokseons fired their cannons at once.

Bang!

They targeted the approaching Sekibunes.

"Huh?!"

The commentators were shocked.

"Can they reach!? It’s too early to fire!"

The shells seemed to fall short, landing before reaching the Sekibunes. The sea roiled.

Splash!

Waves surged where the shells landed.

"!"

OrangeKing’s eyes widened. The Panokseons were fleeing at high speed.

"They’re using Newton’s laws of motion!"

They used the recoil of firing the cannons to gain more speed.

"Even though Lee Wan-Yong is on their side, physics is on our side!!"

— Wow

— Crazy lol

— Dead.

— Traitor recoil lol

"Plus, the cannon fire created waves that slowed the Sekibunes! The Panokseons rode those waves to escape even faster!!"

Swoosh—

Riding the waves, the Panokseons turned and escaped the encirclement.

"They escaped and avoided the worst-case scenario! But what about the gold island!?"

"Right?!"

Sa-Rang never intended to take the gold island.

‘Thirty ships.’

She had only come to check Japan’s numbers.

‘Wood island.’

She steered the ships toward the island with wood resources.

Then, she finally issued a command to Almond, who had been waiting.

[Massacre the workers]

He immediately drew his bow.

Squeak...