Chapter 244: Countering

Viek hastily escaped, but the rotating drill left a mark.

-What, this can't be...!

However, Toolbo didn't give Viek any chance to panic. Although it was a minor damage, the impact that pierced the shell inflicted damage on Viek, creating a definite gap.

Sung-Woon knew well that Hegemonia used what were called templates among the players of The Lost World, which were pre-made forms of creations.

In fact, templates were always excellent. The players of The Lost World spoke of the presence of the best destructors, annihilators, and parasites in most of the templates, and Sung-Woon acknowledged the fact as well.

Even at this moment, Sung-Woon was confident that Hegemonia's creations were superior to those of the average creation, even surpassing the Pantheon’s. After all, templates were not just part of the system. They were the most popular among the creations crafted by numerous players through the Creature Creation Helper asset, and especially those known for their exceptional versatility over long-term use.

For victory, the less efficient creations were discarded by the players, and only the outstanding ones were chosen. Of course, the rankings changed somewhat with the game's meta, but Hegemonia had always selected the best template for each situation. Her gameplay was flawless.

'That’s probably why. There’s no mistake.’

Sung-Woon thought that Hegemonia would have been furious if she had heard this. For some reason, Sung-Woon felt as though he could hear Hegemonia's voice.

'She would surely say it's all nonsense.'

But it wasn't really the case. There were many players who, although not as skilled as Sung-Woon, played similarly to him: counter play. When the opponent always made the best choice, it was only natural to be able to respond to it.

Even the best creations had their counters. Despite being strong, damage on the creation’s exterior could not be reversed, and although swift, it wasn’t free to change direction at will, and the many tentacles meant that each one's strength was insufficient. Living beings always had physical limits, and in the physical world, perfection didn’t exist.

Sung-Woon could instantly think of what kind of template creation Hegemonia would use. Like Hegemonia, he could’ve created a counter-creation, but there was a better way—for among the apostles of the Pantheon, there was one with the ability to create, just like a player.

As soon as Sung-Woon spoke of the enemy that would appear, Madman Toolbo immediately came up with an idea. Sung-Woon was more than satisfied. Toolbo’s invention was not only functional, but also looked cool.

“Urgh!”

Toolbo energetically pulled two levers in the cockpit. Then the walking armor's gigantic right hand clutched Viek's tentacles. Although the cluster of tentacles were slippery, they couldn’t escape the grip of the rubber-coated palms of the walking armor made of Doodooba rubber.

Viek sensed its end was near.

-This, this can't be...!

"...It can! Take the fist of Big Thing No. 1!"

Once again, the drill on the left arm rotated vigorously, drilling into Viek's shell. Blood foam and shattered shell entwined in the whirlwind created by the drill.

'Is it over?'

Sung-Woon affirmed Hegemonia's tactic. Hegemonia played relatively proper. For a higher win rate, she always chose a guaranteed method. If judged by probability alone, Hegemonia's win rate should have been higher.

However, the meta of the game—the trend of tactics or builds, that was—changed daily. While someone was choosing a strategy with the highest probability already known, another would be searching for a way to counter that strategy. Of course, Sung-Woon agreed that counter-play was just a theoretical concept.

In reality, there were as many people who created opposing strategies, unforeseen strategies, and absurd strategies as those who followed the meta, and except for one counter-play, all were devoured by the meta.

'Not following the meta is foolish.'

Hegemonia seemed to have the ability to reproduce the meta most perfectly among such players. She had quick situational assessment and decision-making, was skilled in multitasking, and was unbeaten in small-scale tactics. If everyone used the same strategy, Hegemonia could trump all with her skills.

Honestly, even Sung-Woon thought Hegemonia would have the advantage if he fought in exactly the same way as Hegemonia. Yet precisely because of that, Sung-Woon thought it was meaningful to seek out independent counter-plays.

Numerous players created their unique plays that ignored the meta, but it was these unconventional strategies that eventually changed the meta and won against the top players who followed it.

Sung-Woon willingly took on what some would call foolish challenges, and therefore shaved down his potentially higher win rate, just like other players who created unique plays. However, unlike other players, Sung-Woon had the ability to turn incomplete strategies into complete ones, and even with the blow his win rates suffered, he remained in first place.

Screws spewed out from the back of the walking armor that Toolbo was in, propelling it above the water's surface. Then Toolbo leaped onto the wooden deck of the transport ship that had briefly been protected by Viek.

Thud!

With the disappearance of their guardian and the sudden appearance of a giant walking armor, the marines of the Union Kingdom on the deck fell silent for a moment.

"...It's the enemy! Fire!"

Bullets started to pour like rain.

Toolbo's walking armor, Big Thing No. 1, swept the deck with its rotating drill, but as the raining bullets intensified, Toolbo shielded the cockpit and hesitated.

The soldiers of the Union Kingdom, who had been waiting inside the transport ship, had rushed up.

"Well, a drill has its limits..."

Just then, light flashed between the clouds above.

Toolbo's eyes sparkled as he caught sight of it.

“It’s done!”

Something massive—a hunk of metal, it seemed—dropped onto the wooden transport ship.

Thud!

It was so heavy that the fall itself rocked the behemoth ship, causing the soldiers of the Union Kingdom who stood on the railing to tumble outward.

Seizing the moment of ceasefire, Toolbo, with his walking armor, picked up the fallen mass of metal and lifted it high. It was a sword. A giant sword almost ten meters long, nearly as tall as the walking armor itself.

"I’ll show you why this guy is called Big Thing!"

With that, Toolbo brought down the massive sword with the right arm of Big One onto the deck.

***

Fortunately, on the coast of Rasdasil, the capital of the Union Kingdom was sacrificed, and the most threatening line of defense, the coastal fortress, had been destroyed. However, the Union Kingdom's landing forces were far from safe.

The naval bombardment between the countries continued, and from afar, the artillery fire from the Empire's trenches hadn’t stopped, either. Fortunately, due to the distance, the barrage was light, but it was not so insignificant that one could just stand by and wait. Moreover, the southern coast, where the Sky Castle had fallen, was filled with swirling whirlwinds that never seemed to stop.

'That's where Ankarde should be.'

Goblin Bounda, the sixth Apostle of the Angry One, squinted at the Sky Castle, when suddenly, they saw the transport ships on the horizon, which had been deemed safe, starting to sink unexpectedly.

'What a mess.'

To concentrate, Bounda shook their head and then pushed forward the soldiers, who came only up to their chest, encouraging them.

"What are you doing? Run! You'll die if you stay here!"

Then, as if in response, or perhaps as if one of the gods of the Pantheon had indeed aimed for Bounda, a cannon shell plummeted down.

"Get down!"

Bounda's eyes widened as they swung their six-sided club powerfully in a direction where there was nothing.

Clang!

The cannon shell, struck by Bounda's club, had its internal mechanism displaced by the impact and exploded mid-air before it could travel more than ten meters. Seeing that, Bounda laughed loudly.

"If you're not dead, run!"

The landing forces’ goal was to reach beneath the western hills, which could provide some cover from the howitzers. Without time to regroup and just enough time to catch their breath, the following troops, tanks, and walking armor advanced, causing them to head straight for the Empire's trenches.

‘But if we still have this much force intact…’

Bounda had considered the thought and then concluded it as pointless. The one engaging in war was the Angry One. To Bounda, it was enough to simply embody that rage of the Angry One.

In The Lost World, the Goblin species was regarded as a type of Troll, much like the Rakshasas. These species, being lumped together with others, shared common traits in that they were large in stature, strong, and their faces appeared somewhat brutish.

However, just as the Trolls had their rough aspects, and the Rakshasas their cruelty, the Goblins had their own characteristic traits. Goblins were less prone to fear and anxiety. This made them appear as though they had trouble controlling their emotions, and they were often seen laughing. Hegemonia liked Goblins because of these aspects.

That resulted in Goblins being among the species that remained with their units until the end of the war, not because they were particularly violent or cruel, but because they were less sensitive to those emotions.

And among Goblins, Bounda was particularly unusual. Rather than being less prone to fear and anxiety, they found a kind of pleasure in such situations and did not hesitate to throw themself into scenarios others would find repulsive. Of course, there were other individuals like Bounda, so this was not surprising. However, Bounda was exceptional in that they could throw themself into such situations and still come out unharmed.

If Sung-Woon used Toolbo to break or overturn the board, then Bounda was the variable creator for Hegemonia.

It was then that Bounda heard an explosion.

Boom…!

From the western hill where the Union Kingdom's landing forces had run to, an explosion occurred, sending up black smoke. Debris of black earth and stones, along with what used to be part of the landing forces, fell on Bounda's body.

"...What the!"

As all the forces of the Union Kingdom hesitated, Bounda did a triple jump through the air. Having soared tens of meters, Bounda landed and crouched down at the explosion site, spotting a soldier fleeing from the source of the explosion.

Then Bounda grabbed the soldier by their collar and asked, "What happened?"

"I…it's an ambush!"

"Hm!"

Leaving the soldier behind, Bounda plunged into the area still spewing smoke. After crossing a small hill, Bounda saw a group of the Empire’s soldiers hidden behind a pile of rocks. They all seemed surprised by the sudden appearance of the Angry One’s apostle.

"You're a special forces unit!"

Their attire made them immediately recognizable.

Like the Union Kingdom, the Empire maintained special forces for rear infiltration and particular battles, different from regular soldiers.

After seeing Bounda, the Empire's trained soldiers scattered.

“That’s useless!”

Bounda swung their club with the intent to smash their heads one by one. But with the sudden bullets flying towards their eyes, Bounda had to close their eyes and shield themself from the shots with one hand.

Then Bounda heard a voice in the brief moment.

"I'll take care of this one! Proceed with the operation quickly!"

Bounds then opened their eyes and recognized the silhouette.

"Hm, you’re the old fox, aren’t you?”

The sixth apostle, Special Forces Obin Mabru, aimed their rifle and said, "It's been a while, big guy."