Season 3: Chapter 295. The Beginning of the End (2)

Joseon had pushed into almost all of China’s territory. They captured land bit by bit instead of breaking through in a straight line. This move was initially a mistake, but now became a decisive advantage.

“They may only be in the third era, but Joseon has more troops! It’s like they’ve already captured 80% of the game since they’re constantly using resources to revive soldiers! They just need to keep pressing!”

“That’s right! They’re getting reinforcements from the base and even set up forward barracks! Now they just need to drive in the final nail, but the resistance is tougher than expected!”

“But if a skilled player decides to hold out in a game like

Civil Empire

, they can last a really long time!”

“True! The defensive strength of buildings is substantial!”

This mirrored real warfare. It was far easier to force a surrender than to wipe out an enemy that fiercely defended their own land. Only the Mongol army at its peak could achieve total annihilation.

“In raid games, you can be on the brink of winning only to get wiped out by a desperate attack! Cookie is almost there. He’s got it if he keeps pressing cautiously!”

“China won’t surrender, especially not here! They never surrender and game two is too crucial. They’ll hold out to the end!”

“Yes! Make sure to completely cut off their breathing! There’s no room for complacency!”

The screen then switched to the mounted units clashing instead of the infantry.

“And as we’re talking, it’s not just the infantry! Mounted archers are out there now! Ah, this is intense!”

“It’s almost like a battle of pride on both sides!”

“They’re not quite as strong as the Mongols, but China’s Yuan dynasty is still known for their cavalry archers! They can’t afford to lose here!”

“They’re charging and firing wildly at each other!”

Boom!

Joseon suffered heavy casualties in the first clash. Many explosive arrows from the Yuan dynasty landed effectively.

“Aaah...!”

“Can they hold on?”

“There’s a bit of a power gap! It’s a third era versus fifth era fight, after all!”

— What’s with those arrows?

— The mines on the arrows are overkill lol

— Whoa...

— They can’t even escape from this

— Seriously?

— Why are their vulture archers using mines?

“The number of Joseon mounted archers is now even with China! They’re getting reinforcements from the base, but they’re matched right now!”

“Yes! They can fight again with reinforcements... Wait, what?”

“But they’re charging again! Joseon is charging first!”

The difference in firepower was apparent as Joseon’s third era fought against the Ming Dynasty. Still, Joseon did not back down. They charged in even harder as if they didn’t need reinforcements.

“Can this really work?”

A mass of mounted archers turned their horses and charged again.

Thud, thud!

Their eyes blazed with determination. It felt like watching a pack of wolves repeatedly charge at a much larger predator.

“Almond is leading them! He looks like he’s possessed by something!”

Creak—

Joseon’s archers drew their bows.

“Is Almond saying, ‘Come at us with your bows?’”

The commentators shouted excitedly.

Thwack!

“Did they forget my personality?!”

Arrows flew, but it wasn’t just Joseon.

“What? What’s happening?”

“Are they winning?”

“Is this even possible?”

China also fired. The timing looked almost simultaneous to viewers, but China’s front line crumbled.

Thud!

Horses fell en masse and shook the ground.

“Whoaaaaaa!”

The audience leaped to their feet and cheered.

“They won! Joseon won this round with a perfect preemptive strike! But the battle isn’t over yet!”

Only in that first exchange did Joseon have the upper hand. After that, it turned into a chaotic skirmish. One side fired and soldiers on the other side fell, vice versa.

Boom! Bang! Pow!

Occasionally, explosive arrows would knock down two or more Joseon mounted archers. Bloodied horses lay sprawled across the battlefield and some raced off riderless.

— Insane...

— Is this war?

— This is intense

“Everything’s scattered! Right now!”

“It’s hard to tell who’s who anymore!”

“It’s total chaos! An all-out brawl!”

“Reinforcements have arrived! Now Joseon’s forces are almost...”

At this point, the troops were so tangled up that it was difficult to tell who was shooting whom. One thing was clear—

“Only the red markers keep shrinking!”

At some point, it became unmistakable. Joseon’s forces far outnumbered China’s. Not because they started with more, but because they lost fewer and China’s forces died faster.

Twang! Thwack!

The soldiers still standing in the furious web of arrows wore blue.

“Joseon! Joseon’s got the numbers! They’re overwhelmingly dominant!”

“Right now, Joseon perfectly anticipated the explosive arrows and flawlessly spread out their formation! That’s their skill in one-on-one skirmishes!!”

“Joseon’s skills! I never thought I’d say this, but they’re overwhelming China!!!”

From aiming on horseback to maintaining an intense focus and a steady breath, the Joseon soldiers were superior in every aspect. The audience could hardly believe what they were seeing.

“They’re this good?”

“What... what’s happening?”

China was one of the world’s top teams. Competing against them was already impressive, but Joseon’s individual players displayed a skill level above even China.

“When it’s one-on-one, it all comes down to individual skill just like in man-to-man basketball! A team with better players has the advantage! Joseon and China trusted in their skills for individual combat!”

“Finally! Finally!”

The last of China’s mounted archers fought fiercely, launching volley after volley. By the end, only blue covered the battlefield.

“China... has been annihilated!”

“Joseon!! Joseon wins the cavalry archer skirmish decisively! They’ve wiped them out! This game is nearly almost in their grasp!”

— Incredible

— Unbelievable

— These guys are on another level

“Whoaaaa!”

The audience erupted and waved their arms wildly. Some were even in tears. These fans had likely supported the team from the very beginning. Some buried their faces in their hands and couldn’t even stand.

— Is this really the same Joseon we once pitied...? My heart is full.

— I can’t believe how good they’ve become. This is so moving!

— They’ve become amazing

***

Countless cheers filled the battlefield. Joseon's victorious mounted archers felt like raising their hands in the air and roaring triumphantly, but the war was far from over. Only the battle among the mounted archers had ended.

The Eight Gates Formation remained intact and Guan Yu's ironclad cavalry continued to sweep through Joseon's infantry whenever they found an opening.

“It’s a big catch!” Pang, the morale booster, shouted victoriously like everyone wanted.

However, a dark shadow loomed over him from above.

“Huh?”

Pang looked up curiously.

“Oh.”

He realized what it was the moment he saw it, but it was too late.

Boom!

Pang vanished into smoke. In his place, only a massive dented cannonball remained.

“!”

All the mounted archers turned their gaze to that spot.

“What? The trebuchet targeted us?”

They thought the hidden trebuchets had fired at them, but that wasn’t it.

“It’s from the castle! It’s a cannon shot from the castle!”

Carrot pointed up. The Chinese stronghold’s defensive artillery upgrade had been completed.

“...”

Almond became speechless. It wasn’t because of the upgrade.

‘When did we get this close?’

He felt surprised that they somehow came within range of the enemy stronghold.

“They’re going to shoot again, aren’t they?”

Only Pang got hit thanks to their scattered formation. Things would be different though if the enemy fired repeatedly.

“We should regroup with the main force...”

“No.”

Almond shook his head. The mounted archer unit still had a role to play in this battle. He recalled when he was under Best Yi Sun-Shin’s command. She would never leave a unit targeted by an enemy tower and constantly kept them on the move.

This tied down the tower with just one unit, allowing the rest to fight freely. Dozens of casualties would occur if that fortress tower fired at groups of clustered infantry.

“Let’s keep it shooting at us. The towers will fire automatically unless the commander intervenes directly.”

“!”

Everyone's faces turned pale.

“The cannonballs need to keep coming our way.”

His wish was granted almost immediately. The tower pointed its dark barrel in their direction again since the mounted archers were closest.

Boom!

The barrel fired and Almond shouted, “Run!!”

He darted forward, ordering everyone else to scatter. They spread out in all directions, trying to distance themselves as much as possible. No one could tell who the cannonball was targeting.

“!”

Once everyone knew who it was aimed at—

“Whew.”

They sighed in relief.

Amid this, Carrot muttered, “He said the loser of rock-paper-scissors would get it.”

The cannonballs consistently trailed after Almond.

Boom!

Bang!

“Keep a safe distance!”

“Okay!”

The mounted archers regrouped at a distance while the cannonballs chased after Almond and he dodged back and forth.

***

The broadcast shifted back to the infantry battle. This was the main battle with the most concentration of troops. The Chinese soldiers clad in Ming dynasty armor within the Eight Gates Formation clashed with Joseon’s larger third era army riding the momentum of victory.

“Ah, yes, it’s the Eight Gates Formation! It’s not breaking easily!”

“And that defensive artillery upgrade on the buildings is huge! Even if Joseon keeps sending troops in, they can’t just throw everything at it!”

“No matter how much artillery support China has, making such a formation with so few soldiers is impressive! And even more amazing is that it’s working!”

The Eight Gates Formation was originally a large-scale war tactic designed for thousands. China, however, deployed it with just around 100 troops. Of course, it wasn’t the same formation and could be considered a new formation unique to Commander Liu Bei. They had saved this tactic for the very end.

“It’s blocked again! And Joseon’s numbers are...”

“The Eight Gates Formation is effective no matter where it’s attacked! It was manageable when Cookie was taunting it with the cavalry! But now it feels like a real wall!”

“And China’s elite spearmen! How many enemies have they taken down on their own?!”

China was dominant in the infantry battles. The formation itself forced the enemy to engage in controlled numbers, making Joseon’s numerical advantage merely a drain on their stamina.

— Wow, those spearmen are insane

— It’s like they’re all possessed by Zhang Fei

— We’re almost there, though!

“Joseon should take it slow! Rushing in seems risky! Reinforcements are coming from the rear along with the siege weapons!”

“But the cavalry too!”

“Oh! Guan Yu is back at the front. This could mess up the rear lines!”

“Wait!? If Guan Yu’s cavalry cuts off the reinforcements...!”

Guan Yu’s cavalry tried to cut off Joseon’s reinforcements from the rear. At that moment, OrangeKing’s eyes widened.

“What!? But that mounted archer! What’s going on?!”

Suddenly, a lone mounted archer burst through the entrance of the Eight Gates Formation and casually passed through the middle of the battlefield where the Joseon and Chinese troops clashed.

[Retreat]

In response, the Joseon troops swiftly pulled back. As Joseon withdrew, the Chinese troops rushed forward to pursue them.

“!”

Boom!

A cannonball landed right in that spot.

— OMG LOL

— Strategic minefield!

— This is how Joseon’s vulture archers do it~

— Almond is insane LOL

— Wow LOL

“Your cannonballs are amazing!!” OrangeKing shouted excitedly.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

‘Damn.’

On the screen, Liu Bei’s face twisted more than ever.

‘We’ve been breached...!’

Meanwhile, a rare smile broke across Cookie’s face. He smiled for the first time since the game started and picked up the final white stone.

[Advance]

He relayed the command to Coffee and Bread and set the entry target as the Chinese stronghold.

Shing!

Bread led the charge and drew her sword. Behind her, a dozen mounted assault troops assembled. Their horses turned in unison, forming a single arrow-shaped formation.

Thud, thud!

Joseon’s cavalry raced with all their might toward the target for the final strike.