Season 3: Chapter 275. Currents (2)

China was a country where a variety of people, ethnic groups, and cultures blended together. However, the nation’s reaction to the

Civil Empire

national tournament was unified as if everyone was a family bonded by the same blood.

[Our China keeps getting lucky draws]

[At this point, it's getting a bit boring]

[Our undefeated streak is thanks to easy matchups]

[No challenge, no fun]

[The matchup gap is too big]

Everyone in China agreed that they had been incredibly lucky with their matchups. Some even complained that it was too boring. Their matches had been overwhelmingly one-sided. Objectively speaking, it wasn't that their opponents were weak. There had just never been a real contender capable of challenging China.

For instance, none of their opponents ranked higher than Persia or the Ottomans. Their previous opponent was the Mali civilization, an African inspired faction. Although Mali had a better record in the national tournament than Joseon, they still weren't top tier.

Afterward, China found itself facing Joseon in the semifinals.

[It’s not Japan, it’s Joseon... another boring match]

[Joseon, after five games? That’s harsh]

[The finals will finally be interesting]

[China’s undefeated streak continues]

[It wouldn’t be bad if someone finally gave Korea a loss]

Joseon’s underdog story had caused a massive wave of domestic and international excitement, but they seemed like just another easy win to China. The victory predictions reflected this perspective as well.

[China: 93%]

[Joseon: 7%]

This wasn’t just China’s opinion, but a consensus drawn from experts worldwide. Some speculated that China had bribed the analysts, but they had little reason to manipulate predictions even if they had the money. This prediction was just something that had to be accepted. Even if Joseon defeated Japan with a 3-0 score, their odds wouldn’t have changed much. Climbing a high mountain didn’t make the sunlight any hotter.

***

“Hm.”

With a rustling sound, a man folded up his newspaper and stood up. He had close-cropped black hair, sharp eyes, and wore classic rimless glasses. His appearance looked immaculate and left no room for error. This man was China’s commander, Liu Bei.

The name was intentional. His two vice commanders were named Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Originally, his username was something like Liu Bei325, but he bought the right to a simpler name as his fame grew.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei did the same. They spent a lot of money on their usernames, but people often joked that he would’ve been better off buying the name “Cao Cao” instead. His personality and appearance bore a much closer resemblance to Cao Cao than to Liu Bei.

“Not 100%? Those Koreans... bribed them, maybe?” he muttered flatly as he picked up a biscuit from the table in the waiting room.

Carbs before the match were essential.

“No one’s wasting money on that,” Guan Yu replied nonchalantly and tapped away on a small game console.

“They might try to salvage some pride.”

“

Haha.

They’ll lose everything anyway. Pride? What’s that even worth, Liu Bei?”

Zhang Fei entered and opened the nearby fridge stocked full of beer. He suited his name the best among the trio of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. He was massive with a body like a wrestler’s and had the habit of downing alcohol before important matches.

“Put it down.”

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Zhang Fei’s hand lingered over a beer bottle as he hesitated.

“... Against Korea? Seriously?”

“I said put it down.”

“Hah... I can’t believe we’re in Japan and I can’t even drink whiskey or beer.”

“You want to drink before a match?”

“You let me last time...”

“Put it down.”

The grumbling Zhang Fei sighed and sat on the couch, massaging his chin. Liu Bei watched him silently, swallowing the words he wanted to say.

‘How long is he going to rely on alcohol to calm his nerves?’

Zhang Fei tried to act like it wasn’t a problem, but Liu Bei knew better. Zhang Fei used alcohol to suppress his anxiety. Because Liu Bei understood this, he allowed it to some extent in past matches. With their undefeated streak continuing, the pressure on Zhang Fei had doubled since last season. Liu Bei couldn’t allow alcohol to be involved against their opponent this time.

‘When faced with an easy opponent, it’s time to change things.’

Facing an opponent like this was the perfect opportunity to change habits that had to be addressed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t stand a chance against their opponent in the finals.

“Players! Time to enter!”

A staff member outside called the players to the arena.

“Let’s go.”

The three of them put on their team uniforms and walked out together. At the same time, Joseon’s players emerged from the other entrance.

‘... Huh?’

Liu Bei’s well-groomed eyebrows twitched.

‘What’s this?’

He hadn’t expected the player at the front.

‘Cookie?’

He had expected Joseon to stick with their usual player, Best Yi Sun-Shin. However, Cookie was leading the team again.

***

“Woooooaaaahhh!!”

Both teams took their places and the game began.

“The game has started! The map is... a rugged mountain valley! Joseon is at two o’clock in blue and China is at eight o’clock in red.”

The rugged mountain valley was a map with over 70% mountainous terrain. At first glance, this map seemed to give Joseon an advantage with its mountain tribe faction. However, the archers would find it difficult to shoot in heavily forested areas. Additionally, the rugged terrain made it hard to use Joseon’s late-game faction, the mounted archer.

“Oh, this map!”

OrangeKing’s face lit up with excitement.

“This is the map they chose for their match against the Vikings, right?!”

It was the same map they had selected during their first knockout round in the round of thirty-two against the Vikings. In other words, this map brought back good memories for Joseon.

“Oh!?”

The caster, who had momentarily forgotten, suddenly remembered.

— Is it really that map??

— So they can gather in the center for a curved shot again???

— Nice!

— What luck!

— A good start!

“So this is the same map Joseon chose! Then they might be able to pull off those curved shots in the middle again, right?!”

“That’s right. Like I said last time, this map's defining feature is the central mountain ridge valley, which remains unchanged without much randomness.”

“Exactly. You explained that every map has slight variations, but the center of this one stays the same, right?”

“Even if other parts change, that part doesn’t! But...”

OrangeKing pointed out the most important part.

“We’ll have to see if they can actually use that strategy again!”

"Ah...!"

The Vikings had been caught off guard because they were unaware of the strategy, but China already knew about it.

"China wouldn’t be unaware of this, would they?"

"Ah... that’s true. The strategy must have been leaked by now, but isn’t this still favorable for Joseon with the mountainous terrain?"

"That’s right. However, it’s difficult for archers to operate here and the early game isn't easy on this map."

"Exactly. Isn't that actually good news for Joseon?"

Joseon was a civilization that peaked in the third era. They thrived in the third era with a strong lineup of units like mounted archers and weapons like the composite bow, Pyeonjeon (short arrows), and crescent blades.

The sheer firepower Joseon could unleash in the third era rivaled any other civilization. Victory or defeat often hinged on how well they protected their resources leading up to that point.

"Yes... that would normally be the case. This season, Joseon has managed to cover their early weaknesses with aggressive plays."

Instead of purely defending, Joseon flipped their usual strategies and used sharp early strikes to get ahead.

From Best Yi Sun-Sin's relentless second era rushes to Cookie’s unorthodox early aggression, Joseon acted more like a second era or even a first era civilization rather than the typical third era powerhouse. This raised questions about how they would handle a map like this.

"Ah, I see. So if Joseon can’t capitalize on their early strikes, it might actually put them at a disadvantage now?"

"Exactly. Joseon has always gained an early lead by striking first and riding that momentum through the game."

"But wouldn’t it be better if they could just weather the early game without attacking?"

"Yes, that’s the standard approach... but even with that, there’s still a problem!"

Sure, safely getting through the early game would be a huge advantage for a third era civilization like Joseon if the opponent wasn’t China.

"Joseon may be a third era civilization... but China is a fourth era civilization!"

— Woah

— The late game is insane

— Seriously

— Huh? LOL

— Ah...

"There’s even a meme that says China’s fourth era is basically the fifth era! Once you see how China progresses through eras... it’s not as simple as one, two, three."

"Oh, right! They progress through Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming, right?"

"And in between those, they can even pick from Liao or Jin, too!"

China possessed a vast territory and a long history with many ruling dynasties.

The game developers decided to integrate all the civilizations that ever existed on Chinese soil. This meant China’s eras weren’t numbered and they could even shift sideways between different periods. They could adopt a competing civilization from the same era if they wanted.

"Each era unlocks progressively, so calling it an era upgrade isn’t entirely accurate. Once all eras are unlocked, it’s effectively like having a sixth era!"

— Whoa

— LOL

— The human wave tactic becomes the era wave tactic

— Why is this so intense?

— Wait, isn’t the Yuan dynasty Mongolian? LOL

— This mishmash really suits Chinese cuisine, huh

"Does that mean they can jump straight to the Ming dynasty?"

"Mechanically, no, but they can freely choose from their available options once they unlock everything!"

"Ahhh!"

China’s eras followed a somewhat fixed progression. They always started with the Tang dynasty. From there, they could choose between the Song, Liao, Jin, or Yuan dynasties.

"They can unlock one of those four civilizations and later unlock the others, but that’s also where players start going crazy! There’s so much to manage if you're playing as China and it’s a nightmare if you're up against them!"

— What are they, the UN? Why is the Mongol Yuan considered part of Chinese civilization?

— LOL

— But yeah, Chinese civ is the hardest to play, I’ll admit that

China had four civilizations to choose from: the Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. Choosing one didn’t lock them out of the others. As long as they built the related structures, they could access the unique features of all four civilizations. The only exception was the Ming dynasty, which could only be unlocked after gaining access to one of the four.

"This makes China really difficult to deal with. It’s hard to say that China does this or that because their strategies keep changing! When they’re in the Song dynasty, they’re somewhat like the Tang. Then, they suddenly have heavily armored cavalry once they unlock more features and start doing hit-and-run tactics like the Mongols. Their infantry can also get a power boost like the Vikings! It’s chaos!"

Of the four options, the Song dynasty was the only one representing the majority of Han people in China. The Yuan dynasty was Mongolian, the Jin dynasty was Jurchen, and the Liao dynasty was Khitan.

They all possessed unique features. It wasn’t too concerning when only one or two were unlocked, but imagine when all the features of these civilizations were unlocked and China entered the Ming dynasty.

China would essentially have the power of a sixth era. In theory, no civilization could match China in a prolonged game. Even civilizations known for their late-game strength like Persia would need early-game strategies to handle China.

"No matter how Joseon uses this rugged mountain map, keep in mind that time is on China’s side!"

— That’s true

— But Joseon might still end it in the 3rd era

— This is looking tough though

— Can’t they do something about this?

Time was on China’s side. The mountainous terrain would naturally slow down the game, but the map’s core features still favored Joseon’s basic factions. However, archery would be difficult to utilize here. Opportunities and challenges were intertwined.

"But!!"

From OrangeKing’s perspective, Joseon’s biggest advantage today wasn’t any of that. It was something else entirely.

"Who is Joseon’s commander today?!"

"Cookie! It’s Cookie!"

It was the commander leading Joseon in this match.

"Yes! Cookie was the one who picked this map!"

"Aaaah!"

Cookie had chosen and played on this very map before. This was a stroke of fortune for Joseon.

"And imagine how much they must’ve studied to make that choice! Cookie probably understands this map better than anyone!"

At this point, Cookie’s understanding of the map was likely superior to any other commander.

"How many commanders would spend so much time studying a single map? Only someone like Cookie in Joseon’s unique situation would do that!"

The special condition of selecting a map, the long preparation period between the qualifiers and the main tournament’s first match, and now the return of the commander who had designed the entire strategy from the ground up. From the opponent’s perspective, it felt like too much good fortune fell into place for Joseon.

"Ah, look! Joseon is already on the move!"

Although they hadn’t even reached the second era yet, the blue dots representing Joseon’s forces on the mini-map already started moving suspiciously.