Season 3: Chapter 277. Triple Down (1)

"Did Joseon really build a triple!?"

A triple referred to having three town halls. A double or triple often referred to the number of worker-producing buildings in Civil Empire and other RTS (real-time strategy) games.

In strategy simulation games, players commonly discussed and used this tactic. Having more workers meant resources could be gathered faster. With more resources, more workers could be produced, creating a snowball effect like a virus spreading.

"Isn't building a triple a huge risk!? Can this work!?"

"Risk? It’s just a triple! Three times the risk! But also three times the return! That's how you should think of it!"

However, the biggest issue with this strategy was the need to produce a lot of workers. Aside from landmarks, the town hall was the second most expensive building in

Civil Empire

after fortresses.

Building three worker-producing buildings meant a significant investment in the early and mid-game, requiring many workers to be produced instead of military units.

"There are no defensive structures other than the watchtower on the mountaintop! Even though China is weak in the early game, they’ll come for sure once they find out!"

"China is currently focused on advancing their build! They’re not even doing a double, let alone a triple! They’re moving forward smoothly! Blocking their scouts from getting in is going to be crucial!"

The core of Joseon’s strategy would depend on preventing the enemy from scouting. Two hundred soldiers patrolled the area near the mountaintop for this reason as they searched for Chinese scouts.

"Is it really possible to defend such a large area!?"

OrangeKing nodded in agreement.

"Yes! They can defend it! There's a watchtower and they can reinforce their troops from the mountaintop! Of course, it’s just a bluff! They're not moving right now, but it doesn’t look that way to the enemy!"

He was right. When the observer briefly showed China’s perspective, the Chinese wandered around near the mountaintop before eventually retreating.

"So these buildings are just a bluff?"

"For now, it seems that way! But they could be used offensively at any time! It’s also a great setup for a quick attack when they’re ready!"

"Ah, two birds with one stone!?"

— Wow

— That’s a brilliant move

— So that’s what they’re planning! Insane

— Whoa lol

— How many steps ahead are they thinking?

Cookie hadn’t built those structures on the mountaintop just as a bluff. Once ready, those buildings would immediately begin producing weapons and soldiers. Joseon could send troops down from the mountaintop, applying pressure on the enemy half a step ahead.

"Cookie seems to be in great condition after coming back! A bold move from the start! And so far, it’s working well!"

"Yes! China is busy advancing their civilization, so they’ll try to avoid unnecessary losses! They don’t have time to worry about outside forces!"

"China always has that mindset, right? ‘We’ll win if we reach the late game!’"

"Yes! And that’s not just bluster!"

"That’s true!"

"So even though Joseon’s triple build is working well right now, they can't afford to be complacent! They need to strike hard and end it in the third era!"

"There’s only one real chance?"

"That’s right! If they let China advance into the third era, or let’s just call it the third era for convenience, and allow them to upgrade freely, there’s no way to win after that!"

China’s civilization grew stronger starting in the third era and peaked in the fourth.

"Once China reaches the Ming dynasty, you can’t beat them! Joseon will struggle a lot in the fourth era!"

OrangeKing, in a rare moment, made a definitive statement.

"Is it that bad!?"

"The Ming dynasty has the Unification of the World faction."

"Ah!"

"Once that faction is upgraded, they can use all the factions they’ve switched to like Song, Yuan, and others at the same time! If they reach that point, there’s no way to win!"

— Whoa

— That’s so overpowered

— Is that even real?? lol

— It’s like launching a nuke, except they can’t be stopped

— If that happens, just type GG

"It’s like going to Baskin Robbins and instead of choosing one ice cream flavor, you just say, ‘I’ll take everything!’ So Joseon needs to end it in the third era decisively!"

"Anyway, China hasn’t noticed anything yet for now and Joseon’s workers are starting to come out from their triple bases!"

Cookie’s hand sped up and production rates began to soar.

"Joseon’s resource score is starting to rise now!"

Even though China’s tax officers had created a resource gap, Joseon’s triple build began to close that gap little by little.

"Looks like we’ll finally see a well-funded Joseon for once...!"

Just then, a crisis occurred.

Tiiing!

Tiiing!

In the center of the map, a group of Chinese spearmen suddenly charged forward.

"Whoa!? Did China notice something!?"

Charging toward the mountain’s center was a sign that they were willing to take some losses just to scout the area.

"Ah! As expected of Liu Bei! He’s from Shu, after all! Shu always has good instincts!"

— Shu lol

— Now that you mention it, his name is Liu Bei hahaha

— The big-eared guy always goes for him

— Zhuge Liang the mastermind

— What the heck lol

***

Halfway up the mountain, Joseon’s scouts sounded the alarm.

"They’re comingggg!"

Tiiiing!

[Defense]

Defensive pings appeared everywhere and all the soldiers turned to face the incoming enemy. Even Almond, positioned in the watchtower, saw them.

In the distance, a group of soldiers dressed in red charged forward in formation. They weren’t close enough for arrows to hit them yet. Almond thought about leaving the watchtower and joining the battle, but—

‘Huh?’

[Hold Position]

The rest of the troops received a hold order. It seemed Cookie wanted to attract attention from the other side and create an opening for someone to slip through.

‘But... if we only use barbarian soldiers to hold them off...’

Despite his concerns, Almond’s eyes remained fixed on the spearmen. Joseon only had a lot of barbarian soldiers. Fighting spearmen would significantly reduce their numbers.

Only a few bows had been produced. If their forces weakened here, it would be hard to stop future scouting attempts. Even Almond could see the risky situation.

However—

[Hold Position]

As if reading his thoughts, the hold command told them to wait.

"Chargeeee!"

The Chinese soldiers charged into the defensive line. Joseon’s barbarian soldiers stepped forward, absorbing the blows.

Thud!

Thud!

Unsurprisingly, the club-wielding soldiers quickly fell. However, their bodies slowed the spearmen’s advance.

‘Is this really okay?’

Almond felt uneasy. It was strange to watch such an early skirmish without participating directly. And seeing their own forces getting pushed back made him anxious. Even so, he couldn’t act.

Almond recalled a match against Spain. Back then, he had charged toward the enemy’s fortress on horseback. Not only that, but countless mounted archers rushed toward the enemy’s closed gates.

If they had continued, they would have crashed into the walls and died. However, none of the soldiers altered their course. The orders had been clear: charge toward the enemy gates.

Just when he thought they would collide, the gates suddenly opened and the mounted archers passed through with only a 0.1-second margin. If they had hesitated or slowed down, the plan would have completely failed.

Squeak...

Almond’s foot pressed down on the watchtower’s wooden floor.

‘I won’t go.’

He forced himself to stay in place.

"Push! Push harder!"

The soldiers in red continued to press. More barbarian soldiers went to reinforce the line.

Thud!

"Dieee!"

One Joseon soldier dodged the spearmen’s thrusts and swung his club, landing a blow.

Thud!

Thump!

It was a good move and knocked out one of the spearmen. The spearmen, perhaps not expecting to lose anyone, suddenly became confused and retreated. The barbarian soldiers gained the upper hand and pursued them.

‘Huh?’

Almond’s eyes widened. He could see it from his vantage point. Another soldier stood behind the trees. It wasn’t a spearman.

[Repeating Crossbowman]

This unique unit from the Song dynasty wielded a repeating crossbow, a weapon capable of firing multiple bolts in quick succession. It essentially functioned like a machine gun that fired arrows.

The repeating crossbow could shoot more than ten bolts in a row. This was a special weapon of the Song dynasty, often called the Zhuge Crossbow after the famous strategist Zhuge Liang, who developed it.

Reloading it on horseback was cumbersome and time-consuming. It also wasn’t effective against heavy armor as each bolt’s penetration could individually change. Firing multiple bolts in rapid succession wasn’t ideal for taking down heavily armored units.

However, the repeating crossbow was most effective in certain conditions.

‘Like now...’

Almond had memorized information about the enemy’s archery as soon as he heard it. He knew exactly when it was most effective, which was right now. The repeating crossbow was most lethal against light armor or troops without armor like the barbarian soldiers currently swarming the battlefield.

In situations like this, where only lightly armored units were present, the repeating crossbow was practically unbeatable. It could mow them down like a machine gun.

Even in the mountainous forest terrain, the sheer volume of bolts the repeating crossbow could unleash made all the difference.

Click.

The repeating crossbowmen loaded their bolts and aimed. The Joseon barbarian soldiers, unaware of the repeating crossbowmen’s presence, pressed forward to attack the retreating spearmen.

‘No, this can’t happen!’

Almond felt helpless.

Swish!

Arrows could be heard cutting through the air, but then—

"!?"

Bang!

One of the repeating crossbowmen’s heads exploded. Almond’s eyes widened as he turned toward the direction the arrow had come from.

‘Where?’

He couldn’t tell where it had come from. It wasn’t until the second arrow flew that he realized what was happening.

Swoosh!

The arc of the arrow was unmistakable.

‘A curve shot.’

Boom!

The second arrow struck another repeating crossbowman, blowing his head off. The crossbowmen, without having fired a single bolt at the barbarian soldiers, helplessly fell. From their perspective, they had no way of knowing where the arrows were coming from. Even Almond had trouble tracking the location from up in the watchtower.

How could the Chinese soldiers react when they didn’t even know they were under attack?

‘Who is it? Could it be... Pang?’

Pang could now use the curve shot. It had to be him. Almond scanned the area carefully and finally spotted the archer responsible.

[Carrot]

It was Carrot who had fired the arrows.

"!?"

And she wasn’t alone.

[Latte]

Carrot and Latte had both shot arrows. The two of them systematically took down the repeating crossbowmen one by one.

Boom!

Bang!

As the crossbowmen fell, a barrage of arrows from every direction soon pinned down the remaining Chinese spearmen.

‘That’s right.’

Almond realized something. He had momentarily forgotten even though he had trained those archers himself. After all, real combat differed from practice. He hadn’t expected them to perform so well right off the bat.

Here they were, handling the situation just like they had in practice matches against AI, relentlessly landing headshots on their Chinese opponents.

Boom!

Bang!

They landed headshots with precision almost as if letting loose a rampage.