Season 3: Chapter 296. The Beginning of the End (3)

“Chaaaaaaaarge!!”

Thud, thud!

Coffee and Bread led the final charge, racing side by side. The Chinese stronghold loomed right in front of them. A path had opened up from the recent cannon blast. The formation of mounted soldiers now became organized under their lead.

Vroom...!

As Bread held her sword forward while riding, a white light shone from its tip and extended like a long path to the entrance of the stronghold, clearly marking the way forward.

Joseon’s infantry pressed forward with their shields, pushing back the enemy to clear a path for them. Those whose weapons had broken after the prolonged battle defended with their bodies instead if necessary.

“Push through!”

“Ughhh!”

“Get out of the way! Move!”

The soldiers clashed and tumbled on the ground, but the path held.

Thud-thud-thud...!

Joseon’s cavalry swiftly rode down the path, leaving the Chinese soldiers shocked and aghast.

“No... this can’t be!”

Their faces showed defeat as if it was already over.

“Let’s go!”

The eyes of Joseon’s troops sparkled with hope and excitement, but then—

“Graahhhh!”

A roar erupted as someone swung a massive weapon.

Boom!

Joseon’s rear cavalry fell off their horses due to the man chasing them from behind.

[Guan Yu]

Guan Yu and his cavalry caught up incredibly quickly, cutting down Joseon’s mounted soldiers from behind.

“Huh... huh?!”

“Stop him! Stop him!”

Now, the roles had reversed. The Joseon infantry, who had been opening a path, tried to close it while the Chinese soldiers pushed to open it.

“Pull!”

“Pull back!”

Those pushing against each other now engaged in a tug-of-war. With the sudden reversal of forces, soldiers toppled over each other and their long spears thrust into the ground.

Splat!

Dark blood soaked into the dirt. The path became equally open to all.

“They’re coming! It’s Guan Yu’s cavalry!”

Guan Yu led the charge and slashed through Joseon’s cavalry from behind. They had fewer numbers, but moved faster than Joseon’s third era horses. They also possessed superior armor and sharper weapons. Most of all, they were highly skilled.

Slash!

“Gah!”

“Dammit!”

Two more soldiers fell to his blade. Joseon would possibly have to wait for reinforcements again before they could advance.

Bread hesitated at the front.

‘Even with the advantage, this could turn against us if we keep stalling.’

Games that dragged on until a comeback occurred were all too familiar. She hadn’t expected Guan Yu to attack from the rear instead of facing them head-on. It was challenging to defend against attacks from behind during a cavalry charge.

In a frontal assault, they could swing their swords while passing through. If the enemy approached from behind, they had to keep fleeing while being struck from the back. By the time they reached the stronghold, their cavalry numbers would be significantly reduced. Liu Bei’s strategies were meticulously clever to the very end.

‘What should I do?’

One by one, her mounted soldiers fell. Now, the huge cannon on the stronghold aimed at her.

Boom!

A cannonball exploded in front of her, forcing her to change direction. The cavalry slowed down and Guan Yu’s forces continued to slice through the rear.

“Graahhh!”

Slash!

Another soldier fell, his horse neighing as he collapsed.

Bread began panicking.

[Advance]

The command remained as simple as ever. She had to decide for herself.

‘There could be traps inside the stronghold too...’

She glanced back at her comrades. Malatang, Moggie, and the best of the sword unit remained right behind her. She quickly assessed the situation. Just then, a new command came.

[Dispatch a few mounted soldiers to the rear]

It wasn’t a direct command but a piece of tactical advice. She nodded, realizing why Cookie hadn’t canceled the advance order.

“Malatang! Moggie! Porter! SeoulKim!”

She suddenly called out four names from the elite riders directly behind her.

“You four! Turn around and counterattack!”

“!”

Whoosh──!

She, Coffee, and the other riders turned around all at once.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Malatang briefly brushed past her and gave a subtle nod. No one knew what awaited them inside the stronghold. Neither Cookie nor Bread on the battlefield could anticipate what would happen.

The four soldiers would move in to scout and assess the situation. Then, the rest would regroup after dealing with Guan Yu’s cavalry and proceed toward the stronghold.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

‘If we can manage that...’

Clearing out Guan Yu’s cavalry was the priority. If they failed, they would have to wait for reinforcements. Those four could possibly perish inside the stronghold, but it was their best choice.

Swish!

Bread drew her curved sword and shouted to her troops, “Let’s kill these leeches on our tails!”

“Yaaahhhh!”

The soldiers, who had been on the run, now charged head-on toward Guan Yu’s cavalry and let out a fierce war cry.

Boom!

Naturally, Guan Yu’s forces had the upper hand in the initial clash. Their horses, running in one direction, possessed more speed and power than those that suddenly turned. In the first impact, Joseon’s soldiers mostly went down and tumbled to the ground.

The Chinese crowd roared.

“Wooaaaaah!”

“Go, go!”

However, the true battle began after that.

Slash──

Bread returned to the front and slashed the neck of a Chinese rider.

“Get up and fight!!”

Those who had fallen from their horses quickly rose, brandishing their swords. While horses were immune to ranged attacks, they could still be brought down in close combat.

Whinnying sounds erupted as Joseon’s soldiers on foot neutralized the Chinese cavalry’s horses. The front line of the Chinese cavalry crumbled under the sudden counterattack.

“Wooaaaah!”

“Daehan Minguk!”

The Korean audience erupted in cheers.

Meanwhile, only Guan Yu’s horse gracefully avoided the infantry as he beheaded one soldier after another.

Slash!

Guan Yu wielded his crescent blade, which boasted a long reach, and swung it around with deadly precision.

“Urgh...!”

“Gah!”

“What the?!”

This move was only possible in the game and could only be executed precisely due to the game’s mechanics. In reality, such a wide swing would lack force. Here, it was a narrow slash that cut through his foes.

Slash, slash!

As a result, Guan Yu practically wielded the longest weapon on the battlefield.

Whoosh—

The circular space created by his crescent blade became a no-entry zone where none dared to step in, but someone entered it.

Clang!

“!”

It was Bread’s curved sword. She had found an opening and blocked his strike.

Clang, clang, clang...!

The balance of power between the crescent blade and her sword wavered fiercely, sending sparks flying. The distance between them narrowed.

Bread pulled out a second weapon from her waist. It was the vice commander’s sword.

Thrust!

“!”

Guan Yu staggered back, wounded in the shoulder by her unexpected dual-blade attack. Without hesitation, Bread closed in for another strike. Guan Yu, with his long weapon, would be at a disadvantage if she closed the distance. A massive roar erupted from the Korean audience.

“Wooooaaaaaahhh!!”

Just then, Guan Yu leaned back and twisted his upper body in a wide arc. He swung his guandao for a powerful strike.

Clang!

“!”

It was a heavy blow. This time, he didn’t grip the weapon as long as before.

‘It’s different?’

His grip had shifted to a shorter hold. Bread, who had been on the offensive, now had to defend against Guan Yu’s attacks.

Clang!

Clang!

Her horse gradually backed up. Eventually, some distance separated them. After that, Guan Yu shifted his stance and moved in for a thrust.

“!”

Bread couldn’t respond in time against the sudden lunge. Then—

“Hyaaaah!”

Someone stepped in front of her and sparks flew from the clash of weapons.

Clang!

“This is a temporary alliance.”

“...”

It was Coffee.

‘This guy?’

While they were technically allies, they rarely fought together. Like siblings related by blood seldom acting together, the two rarely collaborated despite being close by.

Bread muttered as if dismissing him, “We’re allies, you idiot.”

“Oh... is that so.”

The two split up to flank Guan Yu, attacking from both sides. Two curved swords and two vice commander blades began to push Guan Yu back.

Clang!

Clang!

Guan Yu noticeably shifted to a defensive stance against the two vice commanders working together. His horse retreated as he focused on defending against their attacks. They gradually pushed him back, but he didn’t collapse.

“Who is this guy!?”

“Right?”

By this point, the expressions of Joseon’s two vice commanders had grown darker. The battle was dragging out longer than expected. Coffee, in particular, kept thinking.

‘With Bread here, this should have ended with a 2-to-1 advantage.’

Although Coffee wasn’t at her level, Bread was skilled enough to be considered a swordmaster among Joseon’s soldiers. It was clear that between Malatang and Bread, she was Joseon’s strongest considering that she trained Almond in swordsmanship.

Despite this, Guan Yu held his ground. In fact, he was even—

“Urgh!”

Whoosh!

Guan Yu continued delivering potentially fatal strikes. He hadn’t been this strong in the beginning.

‘This guy... he’s heating up.’

The longer they fought, the more his energy surged. His face grew flushed, his breathing quickened, and his sword swings accelerated. His focus was intensifying over time. Given the current back-and-forth, things would only get tougher from here on out.

‘No wonder he’s ranked third.’

Coffee conceded. Their opponent was stronger. Joseon’s advantage lay in sheer resources. He scanned the surroundings, assessing the location of reinforcements.

‘How much longer?’

Typically, he would fall back if they had no other options. Bread was different.

“Hyaaaaaah!”

Clang!

Seemingly more fired up than ever, Bread charged at Guan Yu with fierce determination as if she’d pull him out of the capsule and beat him.

Clang!

‘She’s still going!?’

Clang!

Coffee adjusted his approach, subtly disrupting Guan Yu’s blade path to assist Bread. This made a small difference.

‘He’s being...? He’s getting pushed back!’

Guan Yu retreated and Bread’s sword struck him squarely in the chest.

Thud!

[HP: 36%]

His health dropped.

‘One more clean hit.’

One more solid strike would finish him, but Guan Yu changed his grip again.

‘Even shorter?’

He grasped his guandao by the middle, using it as both a pole and a blade.

Whoosh! Swoosh!

He swung the pole at Coffee and the blade at Bread.

‘What’s this?’

Although the range was shorter, his skilled horsemanship and fluid double-sided attacks made the attack patterns more complex. Instead of just side-to-side slashes, attacks now came from all directions, making it hard to tell which end was which.

“Ugh!”

Bread was forced back and Coffee couldn’t even get close either.

‘I... don’t know... huh?’

Then, Coffee saw someone approaching from the edge of his vision.

“Phew...”

He took a deep breath as if steeling himself and planted his feet in the stirrups.

“I’m going in!”

“Don’t do anything dumb. You─”

Bread curiously glanced sideways at him as she spoke.

“!?”

She was shocked.

Whoosh—

He leaped. Coffee jumped from his horse and threw himself toward Guan Yu’s horse.

Bread groaned.

“You fool!”

Guan Yu wasn’t the type to fall for something like that. His guandao swung down, ready to cleave Coffee in two. Coffee raised his sword to block it, but he had no footing in mid-air and no strength to counter such force.

Boom!

Although Coffee blocked the blow, it knocked him out of the fight entirely and sent him flying far back.

Guan Yu wasn’t finished. He chased after Coffee and swung his blade down once more. Bread tried to intervene, but everything happened too quickly.

Splat...!

Coffee had died.

‘What...?’

Joseon had lost a vice commander.

‘At this point?’

To Bread, everything seemed to slow down. They were so close.

‘Now? At this point?’

Then, she saw it. Between Coffee’s body being sent flying and the pursuing Guan Yu, others were riding toward them from a distance.

Clatter...!

At the forefront of the mounted unit was someone drawing their bow and aiming directly toward them. Behind the glimmering arrow, an even brighter face came into view.

‘Almond!’

Almond and his mounted archers had come from behind to target Guan Yu. The bowstring snapped as Almond released the shot.

Whoosh──!

The arrow flew from his hand. It hurtled straight toward Guan Yu’s eye.

***

One week later, the tenth video in Almond’s

Fake National Team

series was uploaded to his channel.

[Fake National Team Ep. 10: The Beginning of the End]