Season 3: Chapter 323. The Arrow Transcending the Game (5)

It had been this way since the preliminary rounds. In truth, Cookie had never strategically overwhelmed Anto. He only managed to put up a fight by combining the soldiers’ exceptional plays with lucky coincidences.

The shadow of Anto, the number one ranked commander, loomed large. Facing him head-on was no easy feat. The constant fear of the unknown lurked in the fog of war.

Because of this, most commanders operated under the premise of not challenging Anto strategically. Rather than attempting something new, they tried exploiting gaps in Rome’s combat strength or early vulnerabilities. This was because Anto’s operations and counter-strategies became insurmountable as the game continued.

Setting foot in the dark, deep shadow felt like being swallowed whole. Every commander harbored a distinct sense of unease as the leader of two hundred players. Any defeat from a strategic counter would place the responsibility squarely on their shoulders.

Hui-Chul felt that fear too, but he took a step where others dared not tread. The first step was his attempt in the preliminary round on the Ancient Walls map where he was utterly outmaneuvered and suffered a crushing defeat.

Still, Hui-Chul persisted. The groundwork he laid won them the first game of the finals. His next step was the priest assassination strategy in the second game. This, too, was completely seen through and failed.

However, in the third game—

"Anto is still chasing the ghost of Almond!"

"It wasn’t clear at first, but the losses began piling up as time passed! On the other hand, Joseon advanced straight to the third era!!"

The arrow Almond shot in the second game had missed its target but hit its mark in the third game. Even though Almond was gone, he was still alive for Anto. Not being visible anywhere meant Almond was potentially everywhere. This was a completely intentional strategy.

‘It would be wise to change Almond’s class this time.’

When Hui-Chul heard Choi Sa-Rang’s suggestion, he felt both unease and an opportunity.

‘Let’s face Anto head-on with strategy.’

It was a chance to strip everything away and confront Anto directly. The map happened to be a naval battlefield, which allowed for a pure commander vs. commander match.

Hui-Chul was afraid.

‘No, I’m not.’

But he lied to himself and claimed he wasn’t afraid. He had to. Two hundred players stood behind him. He couldn’t show fear in front of them. Even if it was a lie, he had to act unafraid.

To the Joseon team, Hui-Chul was the commander who knew everything and prepared for everything. He had pretended as much all along and would become that person. He lied to himself too because he couldn’t take that step without those lies. A step into Anto’s vast and pitch-black shadow.

[Release Hawk]

Swoosh!

Joseon’s hawk soared into the air. The dark shadow scattered as light poured in, revealing the enemy’s ambush.

"Cookie!!!"

"His instincts are razor-sharp today!"

Boom!

The cannons of the Panokseon glowed red-hot. The boat exploded like a brilliant fireworks display reflecting in Hui-Chul’s eyes.

‘It’s done.’

The game decisively tipped after that moment. The Panokseons surged into Rome’s main base and wreaked havoc by setting key structures on the island ablaze.

[Surrender]

Thud.

Hui-Chul finally closed his eyes and leaned back.

"Hah,” he exhaled deeply, "Haaah..."

[Game Over]

Hui-Chul looked up at the capsule’s ceiling. His hands were trembling.

"I... I did it."

He finally did it. For the first time, he felt that he had defeated Anto. It was a perfect victory in a one-on-one commander vs. commander match.

***

"Surrender! They’ve surrendered!"

"It’s a win for Joseon! Two to one! They’re ahead again!!"

The commentators jumped from their seats and shouted.

"Joseon has taken the lead again in this series. It’s two to one over Rome! This is unbelievable!!" OrangeKing added excitedly and piled on his commentary.

"This series has consistently seen Joseon take the lead with Rome trailing behind. What a turn of events!?"

"Exactly! Who could have predicted this? Anto and the Roman team are terrifying, but Joseon is showing hope with a two to one lead!!"

"I won’t make any predictions yet, but... this is unbelievable! And this match carries even deeper significance!!"

— Wow...

— Incredible!!

— Please keep going!

— 2-1! Amazing.

— Cookie nailed it this time.

"And the deeper significance is...!"

For OrangeKing, the significance of this game wasn’t just Joseon taking the lead or fighting an underdog rebellion. It was something far more pivotal within the game.

"Almond didn’t appear! Not even once in the broadcast!"

Almond had been absent for the entire third game, yet few consciously realized it.

"Whaaat!?" the caster reacted with shock as if just realizing it.

— Whoa.

— Insane.

— Almond went missing.

— Really? It’s true.

— LOL, what?

— He was mentioned constantly but never appeared.

Joseon had won even without Almond. Not only Almond, but the other first-string archers also never appeared. This was a critical takeaway for Joseon.

"Not just Almond, none of the other archers appeared too! Joseon’s famous first-string players had zero impact on this game!"

"That’s true! Watching the replay, it’s just ships everywhere! There are no people at all!"

— You’re right LOL

— Self-driving ships!

— Suddenly, it’s a battleship game.

— Rome didn’t show up either LOL

In

Civil Empire

, there was no better representation of a direct battle between commanders than naval combat.

"This was, quite literally, a one-on-one duel between Cookie and Anto! It was like saying, ‘Hey, you! Let’s have a real fight!’ Then, they slugged it out!"

"Ah! Normally, the commander is supposed to stay in the back and look composed, but this was pure wild combat. They came straight to the front!"

"Exactly! And Cookie won in that head-to-head fight! Do you realize who Anto is? The number one ranked commander. The GOAT of commanders!"

"That’s right."

"Just going toe-to-toe with Anto is incredible on its own, but Cookie actually won! This is where Rome starts to struggle immensely!"

Indeed, it felt as though Joseon received a new weapon while Rome faced a difficult challenge. Could Anto truly always dominate Cookie?

"Rome, which boasts formidable ground infantry, never got to show their strength in this game! We saw how terrifying they were in game two, but they couldn’t even make an appearance this time!"

Game two had ended with Rome’s heavily armored infantry overwhelming everything. They became an unstoppable bulldozer force once they reached a certain critical mass. However, Rome’s fearsome infantry never materialized in game three. Of course, this was entirely by Cookie’s design.

"If Cookie had used archers in these transport-based skirmishes, Rome might have had room to deploy their infantry. But Cookie deliberately shifted the fight to naval combat alone. From the start, he controlled the board and set the pace! And then..."

It was true. Cookie’s strategy was intentional. Rome’s third era ships became particularly vulnerable in coastal waters, and Cookie exploited this.

"Joseon didn’t just win against the top commander because of a naval faction advantage. Cookie dominated strategically, predicting everything and outmaneuvering Anto! It’s almost unbelievable!!"

— Goosebumps.

— Absolutely insane.

— Cookie must have ascended to another level.

— God-tier (baked) Cookie.

Hiss...

At that moment, the players began emerging from their capsules. The Korean audience rose to their feet, cheering.

"Waaahhhhhh!"

"Cookie! Cookie! Cookie!"

"Gook Hui-Chul! Gook Hui-Chul! Gook Hui-Chul!"

This time, Cookie received the most attention instead of Almond. Cookie confidently raised one hand into the air as soon as he emerged.

"Waaahhhhhh!"

The cheers grew even louder at that sight.

"Cookie! Cookie! Cookie!"

A resolute determination could be seen in Cookie’s eyes as he scanned the crowd.

"Ah, Cookie isn’t usually one to respond like this. He must understand the significance of this game!"

"That’s what it seems like! This side of Cookie is a rare sight!"

— Incredible.

— He must feel amazing.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

— Cookie finally reaching the peak?!

— Wow.

***

While cheers erupted around Joseon’s team, the Roman team quietly entered their waiting room.

Thud.

When the door opened, Toby, the head of their think tank, wore a tense expression.

‘This game must have hit hard.’

Even the usually unflappable Anto could be affected. The score was now two to one. Joseon was just one step away from victory while Rome needed to win two more games. So far, Rome had been constantly blocking Joseon in both the game and in reality.

‘His expression doesn’t look too different.’

Toby scrutinized Anto as he approached. Mental strength and composure often mattered more than strategic preparation in a major final like this.

"Hooo,"

Anto exhaled lightly and sat on the sofa. He immediately began reviewing the previous game like he always did.

"Now I see."

"... Excuse me?"

Toby was taken aback. He hadn’t expected Anto to say something like that. Cookie had just completely outplayed them in the last game. Surely, that shook Anto’s pride slightly.

"Cookie is indeed a remarkable commander. Now I understand his patterns. Fascinating."

His tone didn’t carry a hint of discouragement. If anything, he seemed pleased to have grasped Cookie’s abilities better.

Toby looked into Anto’s eyes. They shone brightly, much like they had when he first started playing this game.

Anto always said,

"The real fun of a game comes from challenges, not victories."

Games were enjoyable when they presented obstacles. Toby doubted any true gamer would disagree, but that was when the game was just a game. This was a professional match with livelihoods at stake, yet Anto still approached it as just a game. This mindset was why he remained the top commander for so long.

"We’ll need to adjust the next steps in our strategy."

"All of them?"

"Yes. We don’t know which map will come up."

Anto gestured for the strategy cards.

"Understood."

Toby brought over all the cards depicting potential maps for the finals. Of course, the think tank had devised strategies tailored to each map.

Anto stared at them intently.

"This one likely won’t work against the present Cookie..."

He began crossing out some strategies entirely, modified others, and sent some back as they were.

‘The present Cookie?’

Toby sensed the weight of Anto’s words.

‘Does that mean Cookie has truly improved this much since the preliminaries? No... if that were the case, Anto would have said so after the first game. Could it be...?’

Cookie had improved even further since the second game. At least, Anto seemed to believe that.

"Why do you look so surprised, Toby?" Anto asked without lifting his gaze from the strategy and map cards.

"Even if Cookie has leveled up, there’s always a way to counter him. At a certain point, the idea of levels becomes irrelevant."

There was a common saying in ranked games among players. What worked in the top ranks didn’t work in the lower ranks.

Certain strategies or mind games only succeeded if the opponent had some understanding of the mechanics. If they didn’t, those strategies became useless. Of course, victory was still a given because higher ranked players possessed superior fundamental skills. Most importantly—

"I’ve been through those stages myself."

Even top players were once lower ranked. They understood what it was like.

‘Not yet... not quite.’

Toby felt relieved. Anto was still far above the competition and needed to merely adapt his approach.

***

"What!?"

Joseon’s think tank jumped to their feet. Hui-Chul had just said something shocking.

"What do you mean by that!? You’re at your peak right now!!"

Unable to understand, Chi-Seung nearly lunged forward as if to grab Hui-Chul by the collar.

"Why would you make that decision...? More importantly..." His voice quivered, almost on the verge of tears.

‘We’ve worked so hard for this. For this final moment!’

But Hui-Chul sat silently at the edge of the table. It wasn’t the commander’s seat.

"The next game will be led by Choi Sa-Rang. I’ve already spoken with her. Start preparing immediately. There’s no time to waste."