Season 3: Chapter 256. Incheon Landing Operation (3)

"We have to go for an elimination match!!!"

In the RTS genre, an elimination match referred to a battle where each side attempted to destroy the other’s buildings to knock them out instead of soldiers fighting each other.

In other words, it became a race against time to see who could demolish the buildings faster. In most RTS games, destroying all of the opponent's buildings automatically resulted in a loss. However,

Civil Empire

was slightly different.

"Joseon! Joseon is charging in! They need to find the enemy’s commander!!"

Killing the enemy commander would end the game. They didn’t need to destroy all the buildings. Finding and killing the enemy commander would result in victory regardless of how many troops, buildings, or resources the opponent had left.

Conversely, even if everything was lost, the game could continue as long as the enemy commander remained.

"But Japan's resistance is formidable!"

Joseon advanced deeply into Japan's main island, heading straight for the castle where the enemy commander resided.

"Did Japan foresee this? Their building defenses are extremely well upgraded!"

The building that was a town hall in the first age was now a castle.

Boom!

Boom!

Cannons in the castle continuously fired at the advancing forces. Massive ballistas aimed at the Joseon troops. Arrows the size of a person felled three or four cavalrymen at a time and a single cannonball wiped out dozens of cavalrymen rushing through the buildings.

"Oh no... their siege weapons are also very well upgraded!"

The cavalrymen repeatedly died en masse in the narrow gaps between buildings.

"How is Joseon faring!?"

The screen split to show the situation on Joseon's side. Having been attacked first, Joseon had weaker buildings than Japan. More than half of their main base was already in flames.

"J-Joseon looks much worse!"

"But they have more troops inside Japan’s base!"

The number of Japanese soldiers who infiltrated Joseon's base had significantly dwindled.

"Joseon’s effective resistance with moving shots earlier had an impact! It’s still uncertain until the end!"

"But!? Many Japanese soldiers have died on Joseon’s main island! This means they can all be resurrected back at Japan’s main base!"

The more Japanese soldiers died on Joseon's main island, the more could be resurrected in their main base.

"Ah! So now their defensive forces are increasing!?"

"They’re gathering troops in that corner! Joseon can’t see this! And the cavalry are just rampaging, but this is bad!!"

The cavalry rampaged through the enemy base using their speed. However, in doing so, they exposed themselves to much of the castle's cannon fire.

Boom...!

The cannons accurately targeted clusters of cavalry, quickly reducing their numbers.

"Ah... 130 went in and now it’s around 80!?"

"Is there no proper command!? It feels like the troops are just being wasted! If Japan regroups and pushes back, they won't even reach the enemy commander!"

"Even the vice commander should penetrate and do something... oh?"

OrangeKing paused mid-sentence in shock.

"Wh-What? C-Coffee! When did Coffee die!?"

With the chaos on both sides, the commentators hadn’t noticed Coffee’s death.

— Huh?

— Oh no

— ??

— WTF

— Gasp

"Is that why the command structure was broken!? Then there should be another vice commander!?"

"It's Almond! It’s Almond!"

— WTF lol

— ??

— Is Almond the... vice commander??

— Wow...

— Is this real?

— Is this just power consolidation??

"A-Almond!?"

Almond, who seemed far from a leader, now became the vice commander. The situation was unusual, but the commentators had no time to dwell on it.

"Ah! The Japanese troops have reached the palace!"

"This is the last line of defense!"

Three defense towers and a few soldiers formed the final defensive line in front of Joseon’s palace. The Japanese clearly had an overwhelming number of troops. Breaking through was just a matter of time.

"Oh no... Joseon! The cavalry needs to push harder!"

At this point, Joseon's fate depended on their assault on Japan's main island. The observer reduced the screen size showing Joseon’s base and focused on Japan’s main base.

— There’s quite a difference...

— Can they make it???

— Oh no

— Losing in an elimination match, damn

— What is this...?

"Even though Japan’s losses seem fewer, the cavalry are leveraging their mobility to attack the workers!"

The mounted archers successfully flanked the workers and dealt severe damage to Japan’s workers.

"Yes! Good! Japan’s resources are cut off!!!"

Japan’s resource lines had been completely severed.

"In contrast, Joseon’s workers are relatively unharmed since the invading Japanese soldiers are all on foot!"

"But their commander is in danger! Isn’t that more critical right now!"

"Exactly! Joseon needs to break through Japan's defensive lines quickly! All the resurrected Japanese soldiers are now armed with muskets and swords. They’re charging forward!!"

A significant number of resurrected Japanese soldiers had returned to defend their base.

"The numbers are almost equal now!"

Although Joseon’s troops consisted of all cavalry, their headcount was about twenty fewer. Moreover, Japan boasted strong defense.

[Charge]

[Urgent]

Orders came from Joseon’s commander. The situation was urgent.

"Joseon! They’re trying to break through!"

The cavalry charged, attempting to break the front line. However, a single cannonball came flying from the castle.

Boom!

The entire area was covered in dust and the horses collapsed.

"Oh no! They need to avoid this and slow down a bit! Joseon's siege weapons are coming!"

Hwacha and cannons slowly made their way forward from the siege workshop built on Japan’s main island, but they were too slow. Before they could arrive, Joseon's main base was on the verge of being breached.

During this—

"Oh!? Someone is...!"

Ahead of the siege weapons, someone rode at incredible speed and joined the fight.

"Isn’t that a spy!?"

"When did they have one!?"

Amid the chaos, the commentators just noticed the spy.

[Almond]

It was Almond.

"Almond! It’s Almond!?"

"He’s charging toward Japan's main base as a spy! Can a vice commander be a spy?!"

"Yes, when the command is transferred to a new vice commander, they retain their class!?"

"Understood!"

— OMG

— Can he do it?

— Is this possible

— A last-ditch effort...

— There’s nothing to steal right now;

— He received all the buffs!!

One of the most fearsome skills of a spy was currently useless. The skill allowed them to steal enemy abilities and deliver them to Joseon’s main base, but there was no time for that.

All Almond could use were the increased range, damage proportional to the distance, and his ability to utilize all weapons and mounts. Maybe some disguises as well. He had to make something happen with just these.

"Almond! Like a spy, he’s arrived at an incredible speed! He’s fighting immediately without any preparation! He drew his bow!?"

He drew his bow while riding swiftly through the buildings.

"...!"

OrangeKing gulped.

‘His accuracy dropped in the last game.’

In the previous game, Almond’s accuracy had plummeted in the latter half due to physical strain. Did taking a break before and during this game fix that?

Swoosh.

Almond released the arrow.

Whoosh!

The arrow flew.

‘Too high...!’

It was unbelievable. The arrow seemed too high. Like a soccer ball kicked too high, it appeared to miss entirely.

However—

“!?”

Thud!

The arrow struck the head of a soldier manning the cannon inside the defense tower.

"To the cannon!!"

"Hittttttt!!"

Slam!

Both commentators jumped up.

The audience also stood up and roared,

"Whoaaaaaaa!"

That shot was just the beginning.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Almond seemed to be making up for the missed shots from the previous game. He ran along the line of defense towers and neutralized the soldiers behind the cannons. The cannons on the defense towers gradually stopped firing.

"Another hit! Four already!!"

"But! One cannon is changing its aim!?"

Boom!

A cannon aimed and fired at Almond. He pulled the reins and changed the horse’s path.

Boom...!

The cannonball landed to his right and kicked up a cloud of dust, but Almond instantly emerged through it.

"Whoaaaaaaa!"

"Almond! Almond! Almond!"

Almond aimed at the cannon again while galloping through the enemy base filled with foes. This was the final battle. The worst possible time and place, yet he found a narrow path and seized the perfect moment.

‘Now.’

He poured countless years of practice into the needle’s eye.

Thud!

The head of the soldier behind the cannon snapped back. That was the last cannon.

"Whoaaaaaaa!"

Both commentators and the audience cheered. Continuing the commentary seemed meaningless.

"At the moment when a miracle was needed! A miracle! A miracle appears!!!"

Joseon’s cavalry began to visibly push the front line. Almond put away his bow. He grabbed the reins with both hands and charged at full speed.

"Chargeeeee!!"

"Everyone, go!"

"Joseon’s main base is now at its limit! What’s happening!?"

The situation in Joseon’s main base appeared again.

"Oh noooooo!" OrangeKing almost screamed in tears.

"They’re almost there!!"

It was inevitable. The Japanese soldiers had entered Joseon’s palace.

"Oh no..."

— Gasp

— Oh

— Damn...

— Wow

— No...

Commentators were supposed to maintain hope for viewers to continue watching.

‘Oh.’

However, they had nothing left to say now.

Thud.

Japanese soldiers stepped into Joseon’s palace and rushed inside. It would be all over if Joseon’s commander died. The cheers from the audience turned into weak groans.

"Oh no."

"..."

It quickly became silent. The screen now focused on Joseon’s base, not Japan’s. As always, the camera zoomed in for a close-up when the game was about to end.

Japanese soldiers lined up and squeezed into the palace with no resistance left. If there had been, they wouldn’t be here.

The commentators knew. It was time to prepare to say, “Gg.” They composed themselves, ready to speak.

Tat tat tat.

A Japanese soldier ran down the palace hallway. There were doors on both sides, but the commander’s location was automatically revealed once the enemy entered the palace to reduce unnecessary delays. Even the game developers acknowledged it. Once inside, further resistance would just unnecessarily stall the game.

The Japanese soldiers found the door marked in red and reached out.

“!”

Bang!

The door opened. He raised his katana and the audience fell silent.

Slash!

Blood splattered and a head flew off.

"...?!"

Thud.

The Japanese soldier’s head pathetically rolled on the palace floor.

‘An ambush!?’

They thought it was a Joseon soldier lying in ambush until the end. Their gazes all turned to the opponent’s sword.

Swish.

The freshly bloodstained sword gleamed ominously in the candlelight. Their eyes followed the blade up to the person holding it.

It was a woman with long black hair. Her red lips spoke no words and not even shallow breaths could be heard. She didn’t say who she was, but everyone knew. She was Joseon’s commander.