Season 3: Chapter 247. Legends Never Die (3)

"Ahhhhh!"

The commentators sighed in disappointment.

"The second era rush is being thwarted..."

— No...

— Not surprising, it's been blocked again

— Ah

— Too hasty;

— Is it right to use the first string as is?

Joseon was losing the engagement. Almond's once reliable shooting was now diminishing in accuracy.

"Even Almond! Almond's arrows are starting to miss!"

— OMG

— What's going on

— It’s his health issue...

— What the hell!

The sight of his arrows missing their targets even at close range was a shock to many fans.

"But!?"

However, Almond picked up a sword.

"He took down a swordsman!? Almond just cut him down with a sword!?"

— Oh?

— Wow

— ???

It happened so quickly that it was hard to immediately grasp the situation. It became clear with his next move.

Slash!

The next approaching swordsman also fell to his sword.

"Wait! Almond! He's fighting the swordsmen with a sword!?"

It was incredible. The Japanese swordsmen had traits like agility and ruthless blade. They were trained with swords. Almond, on the other hand, was an archer wielding a sword.

"An archer took down two swordsmen with a sword!"

— This is crazy;

— An archer secretly skilled with swords?!

— LMAO

— Even if he's in the second string, it's legendary

"But...!"

Of course, his unexpected performance ended there.

Thunk!

An enemy approached from behind and stabbed him, leading to Almond's death.

"There were too many swordsmen and barbarian soldiers already within range!"

Japan's strategy of using barbarians as bait to approach had been very successful.

"In fact, targeting those with swords became a mistake!"

"They completely countered Joseon's combat style!"

It was true. The fast and precise targeting orders of Joseon’s commander had been exploited. By targeting those with swords quickly, they only killed the barbarian soldiers. This led to the worst-case scenario in the battle.

***

Screams erupted from the audience.

"Nooooo!"

When Almond fell at the end, everyone could only gape in shock. Even the drumming paused momentarily. The Balloon Stars members slumped down, almost hitting their heads on the seats in front of them.

"Oh, what do we do...?"

Miho was the only one still standing, unable to believe what happened.

"If I had been there...!" Bubblegum lamented.

"No, Bubblegum. That’s not it!"

"No, I meant on the Japanese team! The Japanese team!"

He regretted that the outcome would have been different if he had been on the Japanese team. Tako nodded in agreement.

"That’s true. Initially, it worked well. Now, the enemy is handling it better... Their rush is being blocked."

Even a quick strike in the second era was difficult to succeed in now.

"Even though they reached the second era so quickly... The diagonal map layout was too much."

Having won the engagement, Japan sent a small force to explore and settle near the lake.

"Japan is starting to harvest now... It seems like Joseon will try to stop them again!"

"But going in now is like walking into a shark’s mouth!"

It seemed like the arrangement was meant to lure Joseon’s forces rather than harvesting from the lake.

"The archers are going in! But the first string is still dead!?"

"It looks like they'll join as reinforcements later!"

Another battle broke out.

"Ahhh...! Ringo! The magician of formations! He’s showing tactics worthy of his nickname!"

It looked like Joseon was being drawn into Japan's chosen battleground that they had created.

"This is becoming similar to the third game! The formation is very unfavorable!"

"Yes! Their combat formation is strange!"

— Nooo

— Ah

— It’s over

— I think it’s doomed??

— Huh

"If the first rush was blocked, this rush is completely failing!"

"It feels like their focus is significantly dropping! Joseon needs to pull it together!"

It was a complete defeat. Japan barely suffered any damage and cleanly eliminated the Joseon forces, which had been drawn toward the lake. They even took down Joseon’s vice commander.

"Co... Coffee! This means...!"

Thunk!

A sword pierced Coffee’s heart.

"Aah!"

"Is the curve shot no longer effective!? It’s so powerless in this forest terrain!"

"They shouldn’t have gone in if that was the case!"

"The players need to stay strong! They’re exhausted! Exhausted!"

The players looked tired and so was the audience. Maintaining explosive support throughout four games wasn’t easy. The drumming in the Korean audience section gradually faded and Miho slumped into a seat. Meanwhile—

"

Wooooo!

Nippon!"

"Nippon!"

Japan had lost continuously, but now gained the momentum. Their situation was drastically different. Compared to the initial despair, this physical fatigue was nothing.

"Waaaaaaah!"

Their cheers felt like bombardments that further broke down the Korean audience.

"..."

The expressions of countless people in red clothes could be seen on the screen. Disappointment, despair, frustration, anxiety... all their negative emotions were apparent.

— Oh no...

— Ah......

— :(

— This is tough

— I knew this would happen

— After all

— What is this?!

The increasingly aggressive chat showed no hesitation in criticizing the players. While they had some leeway at 2-1, 2-2 would be a different story.

— Just going along with Japan’s script wwww

— Props for making it this far in solo rank

— Almond seems unwell

— Sigh... losing to Japan, just give up

— Fake national team LMAO

These were familiar comments from teams that had lost to Joseon. The very scenes Korea had mocked while winning many games were now happening to them.

— Just a bunch of amateurs, go do some other job

— Everyone’s watching, what are you doing, seriously

— I can’t watch this anymore, I’m out

— Japan was just going easy on you LMAO

— Making a fuss, seriously

Despair thickly draped over everyone cheering for Joseon.

"Oh...! Are they being pushed back this far!?"

"This is really dangerous!"

"The difference in troop numbers is extreme!"

The blue dots on the minimap gradually pushed out the red ones.

"In the end...!"

All the Japanese spectators stood up and cheered.

Boom! Boom!

It wasn’t the sound of drums. It was the vibrations of the audience jumping.

On the other hand, even the standing Korean spectators finally slumped down in defeat. The difference between the chasers and the chased was enormous.

The numbers on the scoreboard changed again.

[Joseon: 2]

[Japan: 2]

***

'No, it can’t be...'

Sa-Rang’s hand waved in the air. Her attempt to issue a command had failed. The next order got tangled up. The more finely controlled her strategy, the more drastically things went wrong when a single mistake occurred.

Her method magnified even the smallest mistake, turning it into a snowball effect, and then a massive avalanche. Joseon’s base was wiped out with nothing left but white.

[Defeat]

Her world went dark with this word. It grew quiet inside the capsule. She could faintly hear the cheers from the other side. Her name was no longer being called.

Ding.

[Would you like to exit?]

A notification sounded as she had been inside the capsule for a long time. She hadn’t answered yet.

Squeeze.

She tightly gripped her thigh.

Her dry, white lips muttered, "Please..."

‘Move again.’

***

Sssshhh!

The capsules opened and the players emerged one by one. The Japanese players came out cheering and hugging each other immediately. The Joseon players, however, showed no signs of life on their faces. They just walked toward the waiting room separately.

The only ones walking together were Chi-Seung and Sa-Rang as he pushed her wheelchair.

‘Was it such a burdensome task...?’

Every step felt like walking on the edge of a knife for Chi-Seung. Not only had Sa-Rang’s condition visibly worsened, but the cheering had noticeably decreased.

Compared to the first and second games and the third game they similarly lost, it was almost silent now. He felt as if the spectators were glaring at him, cursing with their eyes. It felt like the air was pressing down on his entire body.

He just wanted to get out of there quickly.

"I’m sorry. Just ask Japan for their understanding for the next game... and you can go in, Chi-Seung," Sa-Rang said amid the silence.

"What!?"

"You saw... the doctor was right... I don’t think I can do it."

Only then did her appearance reveal that she was in a more pitiful state than after the third game. She looked like she could collapse at any moment.

‘Did she cry...?’

Her eyes looked swollen.

"You said Ringo would agree."

"Ah, but..."

Chi-Seung felt uncertain. More than anything, he had seen a possibility and found a strategy for the fifth game with the think tank. However, if Sa-Rang herself couldn’t see that possibility, it was useless.

‘How do I explain this... how...?’

How could he make her see hope again? What would Cookie do in this situation?

At that moment, a spectator leaned over the railing above the waiting room and shouted something.

"...?"

Chi-Seung noticed he was holding something, but didn’t know what it was. By the time he recognized it, it was already too late.

‘A-A gun?’

The sight of the gun brought back memories of a plastic gun incident.

Bang!

Something was shot.

‘What the...!?’

Sometimes, overly enthusiastic fans resorted to violence against players who didn’t perform well.

Chi-Seung reacted too late, but then—

Thud!

Someone’s arm intercepted the projectile in mid-air.

"Almond! Are you okay!? That’s not a bullet, is it!?"

"It can’t be a real bullet."

It was Sang-Hyeon. He had dashed over and caught it. Seeing him grab it, it really wasn’t a real bullet.

"But what was that? That guy..." Almond muttered and examined the item.

It was a toy arrow.

"A toy?"

"...?"

It was a toy that kids played with that stuck to its target.

"There’s something on it."

Additionally, a note was attached to it.

Sang-Hyeon opened the note and hesitated for a moment.

‘...’

Then, he handed it to Sa-Rang.

"It was meant for you."

Sang-Hyeon offered her the note, but Sa-Rang didn’t react. She just stared in one direction as if rooted on the spot.

The man who had just fired at her.

‘Han Woo-Joo...?’

It was Han Woo-Joo, the ADC pro known as Cosmic. One of the players who left a legendary mark on CK with her. Although their end wasn’t great, many fans remembered him fondly.

Sa-Rang didn’t entirely have bad memories of him either. Whenever she saw Woo-Joo, a particular moment always came to mind.

“Have you heard this year’s World slogan?”

They had failed to make it to Worlds for two consecutive years. That was when he told her. Every Worlds event had a slogan. It was, “Take It,” one year and “Rising Star,” another year.

Having missed out on both those years, she hadn’t paid attention to this year’s slogan.

“No.”

Woo-Joo handed her a piece of paper he had written something on.

“This year, it’s this.”

The slogan he showed her was also written on the note Sang-Hyeon now held.

[Legends Never Die]

Sa-Rang couldn’t move as she stared at those words.

“Doesn’t it seem like it’s meant for you?”

Woo-Joo’s words from back then echoed in her ears again.

And once more.

"This seems like it’s meant for you. Isn’t it?"

Sang-Hyeon shook the note.

As Sa-Rang slowly lifted her head, she saw the scene from back then overlap perfectly with now.

***

[National Team Competition Quarterfinals]

[Current Viewers: 1.083 million]

[Joseon: 2]

[Japan: 2]