Season 3: Chapter 282. The Advancing Fortress (1)

Joseon would try to settle the game in the second era. Liu Bei and China’s think tank team had concluded this. It wasn’t some great insight. In fact, it would have been strange to reach a different conclusion given what Joseon had shown so far.

This season, Joseon always made their decisive moves in the second era no matter the circumstances even if their opponent was also a strong civilization in the second era. Now, Joseon was up against China, a weak civilization in the early stages but overwhelmingly strong in the late game.

Joseon didn’t have much of a choice. China’s power would gradually ramp up in the third era and become unmanageable in the fourth, so Joseon had to aim for victory in the second era.

However—

‘This is different.’

Liu Bei was facing a different situation.

‘Everything is pointing to a decisive battle in the third era.’

It was clear to Liu Bei that Joseon was aiming for a showdown in the third era from the number of Joseon troops he saw blocking their reconnaissance, the way the units were positioned, and various other factors. Although the reconnaissance had failed, his analysis suggested that Joseon was operating at least a double economy, possibly even a triple.

‘Huh.’

Liu Bei clicked his tongue.

‘What’s this?’

He never considered that Joseon would aim for a head-on clash in the third era before the match began. Why had they made such a decision?

‘Well, it works in our favor.’

Liu Bei quickly calmed his thoughts. If the opponent willingly engaged in a late-game battle, what problems could there be for China? All he had to do was ride the wave and push forward with his strength in resource management.

Liu Bei focused all his attention on defending against the incoming third era push. If he could block that, the fourth era would arrive. China’s moment as the strongest would come.

***

Boom!

[Joseon - Third Era]

Joseon entered the third era.

“The moment of reckoning has arrived!”

On the minimap, countless blue dots gathered at the top of the mountain and converged to receive weapons.

Kaang!

[Composite Bow - 5%]

The number of forges suddenly increased and produced composite bows in batches of three to four at a time. In the blink of an eye, the archer units multiplied.

“China is also responding! They’re aware of the impending third era rush, aren’t they!?”

China wasn’t sitting idly by either. They recognized a third era rush would come from Joseon.

Boom!

[Song → Yuan]

After transitioning to the Yuan dynasty, a flood of red dots began to move. All of them switched to new weapons.

“China chose the Yuan dynasty! This is essentially Mongolia, right!?”

“Yes, the Yuan dynasty was when the Mongols came and conquered China. It’s fair to call it Mongolia.”

“If we compare this to our history, it’s like having the Japanese occupation as a playable civilization, isn’t it?”

— LOL, that’s true!

— Haha, exactly!

— A bit of a mix, though.

— Well, it’s been so long ago...

“Well, this continent is vast and made up of many different ethnic groups. I think the game is just interpreting it that way! It’s just for fun, after all!”

“Yes, that’s true but I’m curious how different is the Yuan faction from the Mongols?”

“They’re quite different. The Yuan wasn’t a nomadic tribe, but a settled monarchy. It’s based on China’s core with some Mongol elements added.”

“Ah, so does that mean they’re good at horseback archery too?”

“Yes, naturally! They have a cavalry archer faction. Given the mountainous terrain, they might not use cavalry archers here!”

“Then what kind of faction will they use?”

“Likely the same as Joseon!”

China’s forges answered the question.

Kaang!

[Composite Bow - 1%]

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

China was also producing composite bows.

“Oh, they’re making composite bows too!”

“Exactly. The Mongols used composite bows as well!”

It made sense considering that the main material for composite bows, water buffalo horns, came from that region.

“This is going to be tough! Joseon has been leading in the third era with their superior composite bows, but if China has them too...”

“But the Yuan dynasty doesn’t have a focus trait for archers, so Joseon’s composite bows still have greater range!”

— Oh, that’s cool.

— So it’s a composite bow mirror match? Wow.

— This is intense!

In an archery duel, Joseon still had the advantage thanks to their focus trait increasing their range and power. Having a longer range and more power was a major advantage. However, the Yuan dynasty had its own countermeasures.

“But! What is China famous for? They’re the inventors of gunpowder! The Yuan faction has gunpowder arrows!”

“Gunpowder arrows!?”

“Yes! About 20% of their arrows are gunpowder arrows that explode on impact!”

“Ah! That’s terrifying! Can they take out multiple targets at once?”

“Yes! If you’re not careful, you could lose a lot more units!”

Even though Joseon had greater range, the Yuan faction had far more destructive power. Joseon would need to maintain perfect spacing to avoid taking heavy damage. Grouping up would be bad as a single explosive arrow could wipe out multiple soldiers. In short, the Yuan faction could also disrupt the enemy’s unit cohesion.

“So, Joseon needs to make full use of their range advantage... but wait!? Joseon!”

OrangeKing suddenly pointed to a spot on the minimap.

“Something strange is happening over there! Isn’t that...?”

In one area, a group of soldiers gathered to build something.

— Oh no.

— Are they really doing this against China!?

— Wow, I didn’t expect this!

— What’s happening?

Some viewers recognized the situation immediately while others didn’t, but OrangeKing’s explanation quickly clarified things.

“They’re building a mountain fortress, aren’t they!?”

Joseon was constructing their famous defensive faction: the mountain fortress.

[Mountain Fortress - 5%]

It was still in the early stages of construction, but its location would be highly troublesome for their opponent.

“But isn’t the mountain fortress for defense? Shouldn’t Joseon be attacking right now!?”

“Well, my guess is...!”

Thud!

Another wall was being built simultaneously and rose next to the mountain fortress. In fact, it wasn’t just beside it. It was in front and facing toward the enemy.

"!?"

The caster's eyes widened in astonishment.

"Are they really pushing forward with the mountain fortress!?"

Indeed, Joseon was constructing the mountain fortress while advancing from the two o’clock position toward the eight o’clock position. This was not a defensive fortress, but an offensive one.

“When units climb on top of the fortress, their range significantly increases! It’s going to be a real headache if they push forward with the fortress and fire from the top!”

“Oh my, they’re using the full range of their archers to the extreme. Advancing with their fortress to split China’s forces in half! This is exactly the kind of crazy move you’d expect from Cookie!”

“That’s right! And if this strategy works, it has another effect!”

“What’s that!?”

“It’ll be like saying, ‘Your Great Wall is impressive, but look at ours!’”

— Mental warfare, lol

— That’s insane, hahaha

— Wow, a truly clever strategy

— Advancing with a fortress??

— Only a nation known for building could pull this off...

“Yes, but this strategy only works if it succeeds. Do you think China will just sit there while Joseon builds walls?”

“Of course not! China is already constructing their own walls at a rapid pace!”

“They're building at an incredible speed!”

***

While Joseon aggressively constructed its mountain fortress, China also erected its own walls. Although Joseon’s construction speed was impressive, China didn’t fall behind in that regard either.

Liu Bei’s strategy, however, focused on the fundamental goal of defense. The Chinese workers extended the long walls straight along the perimeter of their key base.

Thud.

[Wall - 3%]

[Wall - 6%]

The walls rose quickly as the workers hammered away. With the help of the tax officers providing buffs, they quickly completed a line of walls. At this speed, one would think the walls would collapse as quickly as they were built in real life. However, the game didn’t account for such details.

Whether they were slowly or quickly constructed, the walls would remain the same in the game. However, one faction did make the walls stronger. When the Great Wall faction was activated, the strength and height of all walls were enhanced, making them far superior to any other civilization's walls.

However, activating this faction came with challenging conditions.

[Build a wall from one edge of the map to the other.]

It required building a wall that stretched across the entire map. While most walls simply encircled structures, the Great Wall had to cover a much larger area.

Although difficult, the reward was worth the risk. Normally, the longer a wall stretched, the harder it was to defend and the easier it was to break. However, the Great Wall faction eliminated that weakness. It allowed for vast areas of land to be defended.

Moreover, the faction would apply to any future walls once activated, making it essential for China's stable progression to the fourth era.

‘Almost there.’

In the early-mid third era, China’s walls were about to connect. Liu Bei felt confident that they would win this game.

[Wall - Completed]

[Wall - 98%]

[Wall - 96%]

China’s walls, from east to west, were only a few segments away from completion. Once these walls connected, the Great Wall would be finished and the map would be split in half.

‘Just five more.’

China only needed five more sections to complete the Great Wall. When constructing an arch, the final stone placed in the center was called the keystone. It held the structure's weight and finalized its strength.

These five wall sections were the keystones of the Chinese civilization’s defense. Once completed, Joseon’s third era attack would be halted and China would have a clear path to the fourth era. Chinese workers rushed out with hammers, ready to finish the keystone sections.

However—

“?”

Thunk!

A worker fell with an arrow embedded in his head.

‘Hmm.’

Another worker fell, followed by another. Each one had an arrow in their head. Joseon’s archers were attacking. Ahead of them, Joseon’s moonblade infantry charged forward.

‘They’re here.’

Liu Bei didn’t flinch. He expected interference at this point, but it didn’t matter.

‘They won’t stop the real construction.’

Construction wouldn’t be halted even if the Joseon soldiers interfered. The building could continue even if enemy soldiers occupied the area due to a quality-of-life patch implemented in the game years ago.

To truly stop construction, a building had to physically block the site. In other words, the keystone’s construction couldn’t be halted. All Liu Bei needed to do was send in some spearmen or shields to protect the workers.

To properly interfere, Joseon would need siege units. Joseon had no way of bringing siege units here at this moment.

However—

“What?” Liu Bei muttered aloud as he finally grasped the situation.

It finally dawned on him.

[Wall - Completed]

The wall indeed finished and perfectly filled the keystone’s place, but it wasn’t China’s wall. The workers who charged in earlier had built it. Liu Bei looked around and saw Joseon’s wall extending from the mountain peak, reaching where China’s keystone was supposed to be. And the wall continued to rise, advancing forward.

“What is this...?”

Joseon’s wall was passing over China’s, slowly closing in. The wall was advancing. For the first time, Liu Bei’s eyes wavered.

‘If this continues...’

Joseon’s wall had blocked China’s. The Great Wall couldn’t be completed. Joseon’s archers now climbed their wall and arrows rained down. The Chinese workers building the wall began dying.

Liu Bei hurriedly sent his archers onto his wall, but it was useless. China’s archers fell in droves. Even though both sides wielded composite bows, it wasn’t a fair fight.

‘The height...!’

Joseon had a much more advantageous angle. Without the Great Wall activated, China’s walls were much lower than Joseon’s walls, which had the benefits of the mountain fortress faction.

This height difference gave Joseon’s archers the upper hand even though they used the same weapon.

China only had one solution left. They had to activate the Great Wall faction at all costs!

‘We’ll have to go around.’

Liu Bei ordered his workers to build the remaining wall sections even if it meant going around the blockage. The walls had to connect even if it required adding twenty new keystones instead of just five.

Once again, arrows rained down.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Chinese workers fell and Joseon’s wall continued to rise higher and higher. Another barrage of arrows from Joseon’s archers stopped China’s attempt to continue construction.

Joseon’s soldiers continued building walls. Obstructing their efforts was far more difficult than simply killing workers. Liu Bei’s mind raced. His eyes darted around for a solution, but—

“Wooooaaaaaahhh!”

From afar, the enemy’s cheers erupted.

Rumble! Rumble!

Dust billowed up from deep in the mountains as countless Joseon infantry appeared atop the hills. Joseon had begun a full-scale assault with the advancing mountain fortress.