Season 3: Chapter 305. SCV Good To Go Sir! (1)

The battle was about to begin.

“Whew.”

Almond let out a shallow breath to briefly ease his tension. In front of him, the countless heads of barbarian soldiers obstructed his view. Their sole purpose was to protect the archers, which meant the archers would be crucial in this fight. Almond signaled with a hand gesture and took his position on the hillside where the view opened up. He drew his bow. Following his lead, all the archers drew their bows as well.

Swoosh—

Their arrows aimed at the targets with precision.

‘This one looks right.’

Admittedly, Almond selected his target somewhat intuitively. He claimed it as his own unique science since his archery skills went beyond the realm of simple technique.

Whoosh.

His arrow launched with a ghostly release and took down the target with a rather unpleasant look.

BOOM!

“Waaahhh!”

With cheers, the barbarian soldiers charged forward. Joseon’s barbarian soldiers led the front while the archers took position in the rear. The gap between the two groups widened as the barbarian lines from both sides collided.

Thud!

Clubs swung wildly as the bloody battle continued.

Thwack! Thud!

Meanwhile, the archers found the fight far easier thanks to the barbarians tanking and the hillside’s elevation. The hills near the fortress entrance gave them an advantage. From even a slightly elevated position, the archers could unleash a fish-in-the-barrel party as the front-line melee troops held steady.

“Got a big one!”

“Me too! Right in the head!”

Even a random shot would easily strike a head since the barbarians wore no helmets. Despite Rome’s soldiers fighting well, the barbarian fight was evenly matched. With Joseon’s archers positioned at the rear, the outcome seemed clear. Then—

“Look out! Check behind us!”

Coffee rode around on his horse and shouted at the archers, “Rome’s soldiers have circled around to the rear!”

The rear? The archers felt startled with nothing behind to protect them.

***

Even during battle, Cookie rotated his vice commanders around to keep watch on the surroundings. This habit had become ingrained after nearly losing to a hidden catapult in the fight against China. Above all, Anto was a master at manipulating the battlefield at the very edge of his vision.

In one of their matches, Cookie had been completely outplayed by Anto’s visual tricks. This time, Cookie repeatedly sent soldiers close to the entrance to extend his field of view. Some soldiers died after getting too close, but provided him with partial vision.

Was it thanks to this?

‘This is...’

At the edge of Coffee’s vision, he spotted the movement of soldiers.

‘Are soldiers coming out?’

The vice commander quickly retreated after seeing that scene. Roman soldiers poured out and hugged the outer walls to avoid being seen.

‘They’re avoiding a direct confrontation.’

No matter how skilled Rome’s players were, a direct fight with Joseon’s archers in formation would be unfavorable. Anto would not choose such a battleground. It seemed he had split his troops. Some to block the entrance and some to circle around.

Whether it was an even 5:5 split or an 8:2 ratio was unclear. Getting closer would clarify that, but alert Anto to their reconnaissance. In war, what the enemy didn’t know was more critical than what one knew.

Cookie pondered.

‘There are two possibilities.’

This troop movement suggested two possible aims.

‘To strike from the rear...’

First, they could be targeting the unguarded rear of Joseon’s archers. This would put Joseon’s battle formation at a disadvantage. No matter how strong Joseon’s archers were, they couldn’t shoot down infantry approaching from both sides. To prevent this, barbarian soldiers would have to guard the rear as well and protect the archers from every direction.

Then, Joseon’s front line would weaken. Rome was fighting close to their base, which meant weapon supplies would be quick and dead soldiers could respawn quickly. On the other hand, Joseon was far from their base and resupplies would be slower. If they advanced with a tower, they could finish the game quickly and possibly end it in the second era.

Would Joseon push forward with towers now? No, they hesitated for a reason.

‘If it’s the second case...?’

The second possibility couldn’t be ruled out. It could cut off their supply line entirely, potentially leading to Joseon’s downfall. Cookie’s eyes flickered.

Rattle...

The white stones on the Go board trembled back and forth. Anto’s move—what could it mean? He had placed only one stone, yet it seemed to be present everywhere.

‘... Existing simultaneously?’

Suddenly, Cookie’s eyes widened.

‘Simultaneously.’

It wasn’t just Anto who could play such a move. Couldn’t he do it too? Anto had placed two stones in one turn. Since this wasn’t Go, that was certainly possible here. A master could make two moves at once. If so, Cookie could also cover both moves in a single turn. Cookie’s dark eyes focused on a single point. His vision blurred as the black stones split into several.

“!”

Thud.

It was just instinct. He couldn’t explain why this move would work, but he felt certain. He had no other choice.

***

At the same time, Coffee’s shout spread among the archers, “Behind us!”

The rear? Enemies were attacking from behind? Even Almond quickly realized that such a formation was disastrous.

‘From behind?’

In an instant, he halted his forward shot and spun around. But—

“?”

No one was there. Despite the clearer view from the hill, no one could be seen.

‘What’s going on?’

The other archers shared the same confusion.

“Huh?”

Even Coffee felt taken aback. He was merely passing on an order from Cookie.

[Hold Position]

A quick new order arrived.

‘What’s going on?’

Had the situation changed? He turned his horse back to the front lines and shouted to the troops, “Return! Return to the front. Charge!”

Almond, known for following the commanders’ instructions, just tilted his head in confusion before turning back to his position. A bit of time had been wasted, but it wasn’t a big deal.

***

“Ahhhh?! Wait! They weren’t circling around to strike from behind?!” OrangeKing gasped as he watched the movement of Rome’s soldiers.

“Rome’s soldiers! They’re headed straight for Joseon’s base!”

They pretended to flank from behind and pivoted directly toward Joseon’s main base.

“Oh, that’s a sharp move! Anto!”

“Joseon briefly mistook it as Rome circling to the rear, which messed up their formation! It’s almost as if Anto showed just enough to mislead them on purpose!”

This was the scenario Cookie had feared—Anto’s second option: the Roman forces headed for Joseon’s main base.

“Still, Joseon immediately turned back to the front! Did Cookie realize it right away?”

“So, will Joseon press further? What happens if both sides go head-to-head?”

“Well... actually, melee units have the upper hand here!”

Archers couldn’t set buildings on fire. This drawback was balanced by their superior range. Additionally, their slower movement made them less suited for aggressive close-range engagements. Melee units, however, had the advantage. They could set buildings ablaze, moved quickly, and carried shields that blocked arrows from the town hall.

“This puts Rome at an advantage, doesn’t it? So, what will Joseon do?”

“Right! The legionnaires have enormous shields! They can block every lifeless arrow fired from the town hall. This... makes the game quite strange! Joseon only intended to block Rome’s entrance, but Rome is coming in fully intending to burn down buildings!”

“Even the stockpiled game animals... those could just be stolen!”

Unlike crops, neutral entities like game animals could be taken by enemies in an invasion.

“And especially with domesticated animals like sheep, they’ll follow like they’ve found their true master if the enemy’s vice commander simply passes by!”

“Ahh, Rome is sharp!”

This created an opportunity for Rome to take the food they so badly needed. It was a surprisingly bold attack, unlike Rome’s usual style.

“This type of tradeoff is common with the Mongols, right? The Mongols receive gold when they invade and burn buildings!”

— The invaders’ civ!

— Where’s the gold even coming from? LOL

— Raiding at its finest!

— Aggressive civilization at its best!

— Did Rome learn from the Mongols?

“Rome’s style has certainly turned more aggressive after their match against the Mongols! Meanwhile, they’re building defense towers to hold their base!”

Rome, previously reluctant to build defense towers, was now erecting them. This meant their base was relatively undefended.

“Cookie needs to notice that something is strange!”

This was Cookie’s chance to figure out where Anto was actually focusing on.

“The fact that they’re building defense towers implies trouble in their defenses! It’s not the time for that yet! Right, Cookie?”

“Exactly! Something’s off with the troop numbers inside. Even without seeing the other side, he can tell!”

“But is it too late to realize this?”

“That might be why they’re doing it now!”

Anto knew this too, so he strategically delayed the towers’ construction. Keeping it hidden from the opponent was more important than minimizing losses.

“Ahhh! Anto is ruthless! Absolutely ruthless!”

This followed the same logic of Cookie’s decision to not send Coffee on further reconnaissance. What the opponent didn’t know mattered more than what they themselves knew. Joseon could now see the enemy towers rising.

“But they’re not sending out a hawk?”

Logically, seeing a defense tower’s outline would have prompted Cookie to send a hawk into Rome’s base for a clear look. However, no hawk appeared even though a tower could be seen.

“How... what...!?”

Amazingly, this had to do with Cookie’s decision to halt Coffee’s scouting. Cookie already knew where Rome’s detached troops were headed and didn’t want them to know he knew.

‘Wow.’

OrangeKing felt genuinely impressed. Watching Cookie’s growth was nothing short of thrilling.

“Joseon has blocked their own entrance!”

Joseon had completely sealed their base entrance.

— ???

— Huh?

— How are they getting out now?

— Whoa...

— Smells like some serious Terran vibes...

— What is this?

Joseon’s base, surrounded by the ancient walls, only had one opening. Every entry and exit depended on this one point that was now entirely blocked. Various buildings filled every inch of space with archers stationed behind them atop the walls. Five archers were positioned there after resurrecting from the main battle.

“It’s just five archers, but even a hundred Roman soldiers couldn’t break through!”

Rome wouldn’t even be able to reach the archers. They would have to burn down the buildings to get through.

“Even if they set the buildings on fire, workers waiting behind could keep repairing. They wouldn’t get through!”

Workers stood on standby behind the buildings.

“Yes! And Korea’s all about construction, right? The land of SCVs?! What are they gonna do if you just repair it right back?!”

— You tricked me! This is totally Terran

— LOL

— Building bots!

Whoosh!

Workers rushed to repair the buildings as Roman soldiers raised their torches. Archers fired arrows from behind the buildings and atop the wall. The buildings would remain intact even if the Roman soldiers blocked with shields and kept lighting fires. Joseon’s fast construction speed also meant faster repairs.

The Roman soldiers grew frustrated as time slipped by. Their shields couldn’t protect everyone. Out of the hundred soldiers, only ten were legionnaires with shields. The rest took the arrows directly.

Thud!

Thwack!

Roman soldiers fell one by one as OrangeKing shouted in excitement, “They’re not even making a scratch! This is Joseon’s construction power! Burj Khalifa! Marina Bay Sands! And the infamous Samsung Apartments!”

— LOL

— He’s insane

— Samsung Apartments, really?

— Legendary!

— Those buildings in the back are modern art installations, not architecture. Please don’t mix them up.

— Did Korea really build all of that?!

Rome kept attempting to break through.

“They’re trying, but it’s useless! Won’t they eventually break through if they keep attacking?”

“Nope! Even if they keep attacking, it’s pointless!”

The caster, taken aback, asked again in disbelief, “What? Why not?”

“Joseon’s buildings actually like getting hit!”

“... A faction like that exists?”

“The more they get hit, the more valuable they become!”

“Ahhhh!”

Of course, no such faction existed.

“Don’t you hear the workers saying it? ‘Bring it down! Destroy it! Put me in danger! Hit me more! Rebuild me!!’”

OrangeKing was in a frenzy as Joseon led the game against Rome, the strongest team.

— Rebuilding!

— This is insane!!

— Let’s go, density limit!

— Somebody drug test OrangeKing!

— Profiting off hits, really

— Theoretically unbeatable

In reality, the buildings didn’t gain value from getting hit. However, it still seemed impossible for Rome to breach Joseon’s base.