Season 3: Chapter 322. The Arrow Transcending the Game (4)

Thud.

When Joseon advanced into the third era, Anto’s busy hands paused for a moment.

‘Dammit.’

He realized he had been completely deceived.

‘Was it never there? From the beginning?’

This game had no strategy involving Almond. It never existed.

‘...’

It disappeared like a lie when Anto analyzed it. It was unbelievable, but true. That was the reality.

It was clear from the timing of Joseon’s advancement into the third era. Joseon had saved up for this timing and spent the bare minimum in the second era. In other words, they never had a second era strategy.

‘Was I fighting an imaginary enemy?’

Anto’s assumption that a ship carrying Almond and archer troops would strike during the second era had slowed Rome’s development. Meanwhile, Joseon advanced into the third era and even deployed Panokseons.

Boom! Bang!

The warship cannons roared and sunk Rome’s fishing boats. Resource supplies continued to dwindle. The remaining land animals for food barely kept the supply chain alive. Rome was hanging by a thread.

‘Now, two ships.’

Anto knew Joseon would soon have two Panokseons. Although he couldn’t see them yet, the timing was unmistakable.

[Carrack – 79%]

Rome’s third era carrack was still under construction.

‘At this rate...’

If the Panokseons reached the coastline, the carracks would stand no chance. Carracks were designed as large galleons, but struggled in coastal waters where its maneuverability and combat effectiveness would be hindered. Despite their size and durability surpassing Panokseons, the carracks’ firepower lagged behind.

For Panokseons, carracks were little more than oversized targets, especially in shallow waters where Panokseons held both speed and maneuvering advantages.

‘We must avoid fighting in the shallows.’

Anto concluded that the battle had to take place in open waters.

‘What’s next? A Panokseon or a turtle ship?’

This was the critical question for Anto. The strategy would lose some potency if a Panokseon came next, but a turtle ship could change everything.

‘We need to force a turtle ship.’

Anto made his move and staked everything on one gamble.

[Boarding]

As the carrack neared completion, Anto loaded a few workers onto a transport ship.

***

“Is the Panokseon advancing toward Rome’s coast? If so, Rome cannot allow this to happen!”

“Why not!?”

OrangeKing shouted excitedly, “Panokseons are flat-bottomed ships, so they move at full speed in shallow waters! They can also turn quickly and their cannon rate of fire is excellent!”

“Ah! But wait, Rome’s carrack is entering the scene! It’s a European-style galleon. Magnificent, isn’t it!?”

“Sure, it looks impressive! But Rome only has one carrack, one fire raft, and one transport ship. Just three vessels! Even Yi Sun-Shin needed at least twelve ships to turn the tide. Three ships won’t cut it, will they!?”

— LOL.

— I still have...

— So true.

— That carrack is a sitting duck in this situation.

— Is Rome really losing this badly?

At the perfect timing, Joseon’s two Panokseons pushed toward Rome’s coastline. The situation looked devastating for Rome.

“Does Rome have any countermeasures!?”

“The Panokseons are advancing! There’s no resistance at all!”

While the Panokseons couldn’t strike inland buildings yet, Rome had to enact their plan now if they had one.

“What!?”

Ping.

Something flickered and dimmed on Rome’s side.

“Something’s happening on their side!”

— Oh.

— Incredible vision control.

— What’s their move now?

— At this point?

“Right now, Joseon can strike the shoreline, can’t they!?”

The broadcast screen zoomed in on the Panokseons.

“They’re firing!”

Boom!

White sprays erupted as the Panokseons’ black cannons belched smoke. Buildings near the shore caught fire. Although these were only outer buildings and not critical structures, they served vital roles as food storage, housing for workers, and more.

“This is just a taste. If they keep losing structures, even these minor losses will pile up and become critical!”

“Exactly! If Rome loses too many houses, they won’t be able to produce more workers!”

Worker production was tied to population limits, which required housing. Without houses, worker production would be capped.

“And Rome is already struggling with worker numbers!”

Fishing boats counted toward the population cap as well.

“It looks like Rome is trying to rebuild in the back, doesn’t it?”

At the edge of the darkened screen, workers could faintly be seen swinging hammers to construct new buildings.

“Their response is quick, at least!”

Houses were cheap and quick to build, so recovery wasn’t out of reach. Although it all cost resources, houses only required gold and wood, which Rome had in supply.

“With priests entering production, Rome’s gold and wood collection rates have improved significantly. They might recover their houses soon!”

Thanks to priests buffing the workers, their resource collection for gold and wood would be much faster than other civilizations.

“But this isn’t a typical naval map, and that’s the problem!!”

No matter how close the ships got, they couldn’t target critical structures directly. On a different naval map, it could have been possible. However, this was the Rolling Waves, an island map with rivers and streams flowing from the sea.

Swaaaash...

Realizing Rome’s defenses were lacking, the Panokseons pushed further into the rivers.

“They’re going deeper!”

“If they advance this far, they’ll start hitting key structures! Rome had fire rafts, right? Where are they? And the Carrack?”

If Rome let this continue, the damage would be catastrophic. Their resistance was puzzlingly weak.

“Cookie is hesitating and advancing cautiously. Are they looking for threats?”

“No, they’re waiting for something.”

Thud.

With the sound of drums, a black-shelled warship appeared.

[Turtle Ship – Completed]

— Finally.

— Let’s go.

— Turtle Daddy is here!

— Wow.

— Impressive.

— The ultimate Korean secret weapon.

Cheers erupted from the audience as the turtle ship appeared.

“Wooooaaaaaah!”

Massive turtle ship balloons soared higher and countless fans waved turtle ship figurines.

“It seems the turtle ship is as popular as Almond among Joseon fans!”

“Absolutely! Especially at this timing, it’s perfect! Anto appears to be preparing something, so the turtle ship was added to the mix! It’s a tanky warship that’s particularly resistant to surprise attacks like fire rafts!”

“Exactly! It’s so reassuring!”

Indeed, with the Panokseons and the turtle ship combining forces, they created an almost impenetrable formation capable of countering any unexpected moves.

“The turtle ship is crossing the central sea and joining the formation... Wait!?”

Just as the turtle ship reached the middle of the sea, something unbelievable happened.

Boom!

“!?”

Out of nowhere, cannon fire struck the turtle ship.

— What?

— Where did that come from?

— Oh no.

— What the heck?

“W-What is this!?”

It wasn’t visible. The turtle ship inherently had a very narrow field of vision. While it was strong against ships like the fire raft that attacked up close, it was defenseless against long-range bombardments when moving alone. The enemy seemed to have been waiting for this as their cannons repeatedly struck the turtle ship.

Boom! Bam!

White foam shot up as the turtle ship staggered under the impact.

[HP: 34%]

"The turtle ship is a flat-bottomed vessel! Once it starts getting hit here, it becomes way too slow!"

— Isn't that a carrack?

— What the hell?

— Wow.

— How did a carrack get here?

In the middle of the sea, encounters like this rendered performance advantages irrelevant. This was about matchup dynamics.

"Anto! Did he actually transport workers to that island and build a dock there to produce this ship!?"

At that moment, Rome’s vision lit up. OrangeKing’s guess was correct. Anto had loaded workers onto a transport ship and moved them to a small island near the center of the sea. There, he constructed a dock and began producing carracks. It was essentially a forward base introduced late in the game.

"This is practically a carrack landing operation!"

Boom!

The turtle ship burst into flames and sank to the ocean floor. It had no chance to escape or retaliate against a carrack one-on-one in the middle of the sea.

"He’s secured advantageous territory and is cutting off incoming reinforcements! Anto! Even now, his decisions are outstanding!"

"But this carrack is only targeting the turtle ship! It’s not heading back to its main base?"

Rome’s base was still ablaze, so it seemed logical for the carrack to return and assist. However, it maintained its position and guarded the center.

"That implies Rome has something to withstand two Panokseons at their base, doesn’t it!?"

OrangeKing scanned Rome’s main base for hidden ships. Only a single carrack hid in the far corner and another boat lurked outside the base. OrangeKing understood Anto’s plan with only these two ships.

"When the Panokseons are close together, the boat can deal damage to both at once."

Having already built a dock on another island to produce a carrack, Anto lacked the resources to do much at his main base. Anto aimed to make the most of his remaining ships. And this judgment was razor-sharp.

"The Panokseons shouldn’t push further into the river!"

The rivers narrowed as they approached land. The deeper the Panokseons ventured to inflict damage, the narrower the path became.

"It’s already quite deep looking at it now!"

By the time they realized it, the Panokseons had passed the river’s mouth. While this increased the number of burning structures in Rome’s base, it also left the two Panokseons closer together.

"Rome’s boat is on the move!?"

Swaaaash...

The boat closed in from behind the Panokseons. Meanwhile, the carrack descended the river from upstream with a powerful surge of water.

Swaaaaash!

The carrack appeared and cut through the waves with dramatic force.

— Is this Pirates of the Caribbean?

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

— LOL.

— This is insane.

— All the aggro is on them.

The Panokseons’ attention shifted entirely to the massive carrack.

"The Panokseons are turning their cannons!"

The Panokseons aimed their cannons at the Carrack, which also rotated to bring its cannons to bear.

Boom!

Black smoke erupted from both sides as their cannons fired. The carrack, struck by both Panokseons, lost nearly half its health instantly. Moreover, the flat-bottomed Panokseons could quickly turn around and fire again.

“Turn!”

Anto was counting on this. If the Panokseons turned, the boat could close in during the reload phase. At that point, the Panokseons’ cannons would be useless and they would take the hit without being able to retaliate.

"If they turn, it’s game over!"

— LOL.

— Of course, they’d lose if they turned.

— Haha!

— What a move!

OrangeKing, noticing Anto’s intention, shouted at the top of his lungs. However—

“... Huh?”

Did they hear him?

"W-Wait, they’re not turning?"

— LOL.

— Is this cheating?

— What’s happening?

— Why aren’t they turning? I’m confused.

— What is going on?

The Panokseons held their position and reloaded their cannons without turning. And then—

“If that’s the case!!”

Swoosh!

[Release Hawk]

A hawk soared into the sky, revealing the boat that had been creeping in from the fog of war.

"!"

Everyone’s eyes widened, except for one person.

"So this is where it was."

On the screen, Cookie’s expression remained calm.

[Move]

One Panokseon pulled back and appeared to approach the boat. From the boat’s perspective, it looked like a fortress was moving toward them.

Swaaaash...

The water rippled as the Panokseon’s unused cannons fired.

Boom!

"Wooooaaaaah!"

Amid the audience’s cheers, the boat exploded into pieces.

"Cookie!!!"

The commentators jumped from their seats and slammed the table in excitement.

"His instincts are razor-sharp today!"

"He found it like a ghost! What is this!?"

— Wow.

— Incredible.

— I’ve got chills.

— Unbelievable.

— Did he know?

— You saw it, didn’t you?

— Insane.

— Was this bait?

Rome’s meticulously planned strategy, built entirely around the boat’s ambush, had turned to dust.

"Yes!!! Take them all down!!!"

Under OrangeKing’s enthusiastic shout, even the carrack was bombarded and destroyed.

— LOL. Bias much?

— Aren’t you supposed to be neutral?

— Are you firing the shots yourself?

— Haha!

The outcome was obvious in the narrow river where the flat-bottomed Panokseons had the advantage. Even though Rome managed to place a carrack in the central sea, they had no way to deal with the two Panokseons ravaging the main base. Only one option remained.

[Surrender]

Rome admitted defeat.

"Wooooaaaaah!"

As cheers filled the stadium, the scoreboard updated.

==== ==== Joseon: 2 Rome: 1 ==== ====

Joseon took the lead once again.