Season 3: Chapter 287. 200 vs. 200 (3)

The Mongolian Plains map was extremely simple. Therefore, this map's most critical strategic point was the center. Whoever controlled the center could quickly reach any location. Large gold mines could also be found there. Essentially, controlling this area would lead to victory. For these reasons, Joseon and China spent several minutes maneuvering back and forth around the center.

— Just fight already!

— They’re just circling each other. Are we even going to get a battle this time?

— Looks like the battle will have to wait until next time.

— Ugh, China is relentless.

— Stubborn Joseon!

The viewers' frustrations grew as the game reached the middle of the third era without any major battles. Even now, both teams continued posturing without engaging.

— Fight!

— The Ultimate Non-Battle Tournament is in full swing!

— What are they doing?? I really don’t know.

— OrangeKing’s commentary is more exciting than the game!

However, the viewers were mistaken. In fact, an intense battle was already unfolding in the center. They just couldn’t see it because they didn’t understand the game's intricacies at this level. More experienced players had a different take.

[The battle of formations is intense. Cookie isn’t backing down.]

— Cookie’s skills have always been highly regarded, but now he’s really shining.

— For real, it looks like he’s really sharp today.

— This is exhilarating. Damn.

— How many commanders can go toe-to-toe with China like this? Cookie, you’re incredible!

— Liu Bei is insane too. It’s like hitting a wall.

— The rush earlier was an easy win compared to this... how do you even win this?

They already considered the battle underway while comparing the commanders’ skills. More experienced players understood the countless mind games being played in the empty center, but even what happened next caught them off guard.

[Wait, China’s advancing?]

[Huh? They’re pushing forward.]

[What the hell? What’s going on?]

China suddenly decided to push forward into the center.

***

"Joseon has been saying, ‘Come at me! Come at me!’ all along. Now they got what they wanted, right?"

"Is China annoyed? Are they like, ‘Fine, let’s do this!’ Is that what’s happening?"

The commentators also felt puzzled.

"Do they have a plan? Joseon has been openly baiting them to come out, but China is actually moving in?"

— They just got mad and charged. LOL

— Are we about to see the Ming dynasty emerge??

— What’s going on???

To say that China charged out of frustration didn’t seem right either. Liu Bei looked calm and composed on the screen like a photograph. He didn’t look like someone acting out of anger. He simply saw through Joseon’s strategy and realized the true purpose of their baiting.

‘Their goal isn’t to make us come out.’

Joseon didn’t actually want China to engage. They were stalling, trying to delay China from advancing into the center. China would gain a significant advantage if they took control of the center.

China was a civilization that thrived on defense with excellent formations and unmatched organizational strength. What about Joseon?

‘They can’t afford to come out.’

Joseon wouldn’t gain much by taking the center first.

‘It’s a psychological delay tactic as a diversion.’

Joseon simply tried to prevent China from securing the central gold mines while sending out a separate strike force to target the main base. By now, that strike force was likely already on the move.

Liu Bei planned to seize the center before the strike force could reach his base. Once he spotted Joseon’s forces moving, he would launch a full-scale offensive from this central stronghold.

This would force Joseon’s strike force to retreat without achieving much. After all, resources and strategic positioning made this central area crucial. Joseon acted like they didn’t care, but they actually wanted it too.

Thud, thud, thud...!

All of China’s forces began moving, kicking up dust as they marched forward.

"Joseon has been saying, ‘Come in! Come in!’ Now, China is actually going in?"

"What’s happening!? Is this some sort of bold manly play?"

— LOL, what’s going on?

— The land of noble heroes.

— Hey, it’s me, your bro.

"I’m not sure! But China’s formation looks a bit strange right now!"

Even OrangeKing, who had an overview of the battlefield, couldn’t fully grasp China’s intentions. Was China confident in a center fight or were they unaware of Joseon’s plan?

‘No, that can’t be.’

A commander like Liu Bei surely understood Joseon’s intentions. In fact, Joseon’s plan seemed quite obvious.

‘Wait.’

OrangeKing suddenly had a thought. It was so obvious... too obvious.

‘Why? Why make it so obvious?’

Cookie usually concealed his intentions and struck from behind. This wasn’t like him at all. Why was Joseon laying their cards out so clearly as if daring China to advance? Surely, Liu Bei would see right through it.

‘...’

OrangeKing placed himself in Liu Bei’s shoes. Why did Liu Bei decide to advance? He scanned the map. From Liu Bei’s perspective, Cookie’s entire army wasn’t visible. Only parts of it could be seen. The same was true for Cookie. Then, OrangeKing saw the threat.

‘Gasp.’

It was nothing but a dark, shadowy void. Indeed, the threat couldn’t be seen and wasn’t even tangible. Yet somewhere in that darkness lay Joseon’s strike force. They weren’t visible, but they were there. Being unseen made it even more terrifying.

‘This is it.’

Joseon wouldn’t engage in a full-scale battle. That would be disadvantageous for them. The commentators stated this fundamental assumption as well and Liu Bei likely thought the same.

‘Does he think Joseon is playing mind games?’

That was why Liu Bei second-guessed Cookie’s straightforward approach. The enemy was stalling and trying to tie them down while sending a strike force to flank their main base. If he reacted too late, both the main and strike forces would be at a disadvantage.

Liu Bei chose to advance preemptively. If Joseon indeed sent out a strike force, then Joseon’s main army would be weaker now. Liu Bei saw this as his opportunity.

If he crushed Joseon’s main force now, the strike force would become irrelevant and he would win on both fronts. However, there was no strike force. The nonexistent threat had lured China out into the open.

‘China would’ve been better off holding the center and advancing to the Ming dynasty.’

They could’ve delayed the confrontation and upgraded to the Ming dynasty, holding off Joseon’s advance from a more advantageous position. Instead, they marched all their forces forward without transitioning to the Ming dynasty.

‘Now I see why they came out...’

OrangeKing felt a chill. His eyes automatically shifted toward Cookie’s screen.

Cookie was smiling. This had been his plan all along. He knew exactly how such a straightforward, obvious approach would make his opponent think.

At that moment, an image flashed in OrangeKing’s mind. A massive board with black and white lines crisscrossing. On that board, soldiers moved back and forth as Cookie placed a white stone with deliberate precision.

The move seemed too straightforward and easy to read, yet it shifted the tide. If one man steadfastly held his course against his opponent, that could feel like an overwhelming force.

Swoooosh!

The tide surged forward.

Thrum!

Coffee drew his sword.

[Charge!!]

The horse archer unit surged forward, their hooves tearing up the plains and kicking up dust.

"Woooooooaaaaaahhhhhh!"

The Korean spectators erupted in a roar. Their cheers rose like dust clouds in the wake of the charging cavalry. Following the horse archers, the entirety of Joseon’s army also charged forward. The decisive third era battle had begun.

***

As China advanced toward the center, they hesitated for a moment.

"Stop!! The enemy is coming!"

"Reform the ranks!"

Vice commander Guan Yu rode his horse, urging the soldiers to return to formation.

However, Zhang Fei shouted from behind, "Move faster! If we don’t get there first, we lose!"

Conflicting orders created confusion. One side wanted to get into position at the center before engaging while the other side believed they needed to stop and fight here as the enemy approached. This confusion occurred because Liu Bei hesitated to make a decisive judgment.

'What?'

His eyes widened so much that it could be seen on camera.

'Where’s the strike force?'

He had been so sure that a strike force existed, but it felt like a hammer struck his head when all 200 of Joseon’s troops appeared at once.

'Joseon...'

His hand trembled as he tried to issue a command.

'Joseon is engaging us in a full frontal battle!?'

Anyone could see the fury in his bloodshot eyes. No matter how hard he tried to contain it, the emotions swelled up and spilled over. What mattered now was how he handled the aftermath of this outburst. Liu Bei took a deep breath, calming the boiling sensation inside him. Then, he issued several orders.

'Pushing forward to take the center is too risky, but staying in this awkward position and trying to maintain formation here gives us little chance of winning.'

His eyes swept across the battlefield and his hand rapidly issued commands.

[Move]

[Stop]

[Move]

***

“China is panicking right now!”

“Wait, why are they panicking?”

The caster couldn’t understand it. To his eyes, China had come out to engage Joseon. However, China seemed flustered when Joseon actually charged too. OrangeKing didn’t have time to explain everything. Even just narrating what happened required him to talk as fast as a motor.

“China can’t decide whether to fall back to their original position and defend or hold their ground here against Joseon. It looks like Liu Bei is trying to find a compromise between the two. Meanwhile, Joseon’s cavalry archers are almost within range! Liu Bei! Liu Bei! What’s this?!”

— LOL!

— This is insane!

— That’s faster than the sound of the hooves. Is this normal?

— OrangeKing’s commentary is faster than the action!

OrangeKing felt extremely excited.

“Liu Bei is reconfiguring his formation masterfully! He’s resetting the entire setup!”

Thud, thud!

Joseon’s cavalry archers charged forward. They planned to harass the enemy with arrows and break up the formation, but—

“Liu Bei just opened up a path for them!?”

Liu Bei had deliberately left openings in his formation for the cavalry archers to move through. Meanwhile, his entire force reformed into smaller compact formations.

Clang!

They all raised their shields and extended their spears in a defensive stance.

“!”

Almond hesitated at the front. Their objective had been to strike the rear archers in China’s formation. Currently, China was using the Liao dynasty’s ironclad cavalry, but the backline archers would become a serious threat if they transitioned to the Yuan dynasty.

‘But... where are they?’

The rear archers had vanished. The formation itself had completely changed. The large trapezoidal formation dissolved into multiple small circles. It was impossible to locate the archers or the regular infantry. All this happened in an instant.

“What’s Joseon going to do? They won’t be able to make a decision fast enough in this situation!”

Dozens of circular formations now spread out, each one bristling like a hedgehog with spears.

— That formation switch is insane!

— Whoa!

— Is this what they call panicking?!

— Crazy!

— This is madness.

“They can’t tell where to attack!”

“And look! The archers!!”

China’s archers revealed themselves at that moment, positioned in the middle of those circular formations.

Thwap-thwap-thwap!

They began raining down arrows on Joseon’s cavalry archers, forcing Joseon to charge straight into the defensive formations to escape the barrage.

“They’re getting sucked in!”

“What happens if they go in!?”

A large number of Joseon’s cavalry archers were funneled into the gaps between the hedgehog formations. They aimed at the Chinese archers, but China’s infantry moved in to close the gaps.

Thrust!

Thrust!

The Joseon cavalry archers reached a dead end as spears skewered them. The spears closing in from all sides was a living maze of death.

Joseon tried to outwit China, but now they were caught off guard. Liu Bei had appeared shaken just moments ago, but quickly regained his composure and executed a brilliant counter-strategy.

OrangeKing was in awe.

‘He’s back.’

It seemed like Liu Bei was about to fall apart, but he quickly recovered.

‘This is top-tier gameplay.’

***

Almond’s pupils widened as he frantically scanned the surroundings. His allies were falling left and right.

‘We’re screwed.’

Even Almond could clearly feel it. They had no way out of this formation.

‘What do I do? What is this?’

Guilt crept in. Had they all been caught because he led the charge?

“Haa... haa...”

He exhaled heavily and scanned the area. Shields were raised high, spears pointed at them, and no escape route could be seen. Meanwhile, China’s archers rained down arrows on them.

Whizz!

Whizz!

The arrows flew past, grazing the air around them. One wrong move and they would die.

“What should we do...?”

“Almond!!”

A shrill scream came from behind him. It was Carrot.

“Give the order!”

“...?”

“You’re the leader! Find a way and give us the command!”

Even as she shouted, soldiers continued to fall.

Thrust!

Thrust!

Spears pierced through them, horses were struck down, and arrows found their marks.

“Neeeeigh!”

The wounded horses screamed as they collapsed to the ground, kicking up blood-stained dust. Best Yi Sun-Shin would have marked every possible escape route for them, but Cookie didn’t do that. It was up to the leader to make such decisions. Almond had to save his teammates. He had to win this battle.

‘Find a way and give the order...’

Almond’s eyes darted around.

‘What?’

It felt like he had entered a deadly game of

Minesweeper

with hedgehog formations closing in on all sides.

Swish!

A spear lunged at him. Almond managed to dodge by carefully guiding his horse forward, but the other soldiers couldn’t maneuver as deftly. He had to find a way. China had set up this formation hastily. There had to be a weak point somewhere.

He focused harder than ever while searching the battlefield. He stopped looking at the soldiers and looked for an opening. Not where the way was blocked, but where there was a gap.

Then—

‘There!’

A spot suddenly became clear as if his eyes zoomed in on it. He used his ability as a leader to mark the location.

“Over there! Regroup there!!”

[Group Up]

He ordered his unit.

Thud.

All at once, the cavalry archers followed Almond’s lead like how they trained and moved in unison toward that spot.