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Season 3: Chapter 279. Triple Down (3)

Season 3: Chapter 279. Triple Down (3)

China had failed to break through Joseon’s scouting and defensive lines. The commentators grew extremely excited.

"They blocked it!? They really blocked it!?"

"This is huge! There's no way China can be certain Joseon has a triple now!"

The outcome of the game hinged on whether or not China could figure out Joseon’s strategy.

"If China doesn't know it's a triple, they’ll have no idea what's coming!"

"Exactly! Even though China has made it this far with an undefeated record, they truly might not know!"

Both the commentators and the audience felt thrilled.

"Woooooo!"

"Daehan Minguk!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The massive drums pounded and the clapping balloons synchronized with the rhythm. The cheers grew louder, filling the stadium with the same tension and anticipation as when a soccer team entered the opponent’s penalty box for the first time.

— Oh, but this still feels nerve-wracking...

— Are they really going to break China's winning streak?

— I feel like an early-game strategy would’ve been safer.

— Let’s go!

— This is anyone's game.

While the viewers had mixed opinions, there was an undeniable sense of hope.

— It's not easy to beat China...

— Facing China in the third era... ah...

— I’m happy enough with that nail-biter win against Japan.

— Even if we lose, let’s at least show what we’ve got, Cookie!

People clearly hoped for a miracle. They believed Joseon could take down China, even if only once. They clung to that small chance. However, no one wanted to openly admit how hopeful they were.

— This is wishful thinking...

— Let's just win one game at least, seriously.

— Even if China doesn’t catch on to the triple, I’m not sure... the commentators are just hyping it up for entertainment, lol

The overwhelming pessimism in the chat almost felt confusing considering the game just started, but their attitude was understandable. After all, China ranked third in the world.

Moreover, China had an undefeated streak in this tournament. Some whispered that this was the strongest Chinese national team at the peak of their form.

Confidently facing such a powerhouse would be difficult for Joseon. Even for the audience, hoping for anything against China seemed like a stretch. At this point, it wasn’t about logic or emotional appeals. It was about belief and trust in the team. Did the players believe in each other? Did the fans believe in them?

"Daeeeeehan! Minguk!"

It was time for an answer.

"Oh no! But it looks like a feint! The main force is attacking from another direction!"

"Trying this hard to break through the scouting line... Does Liu Bei know something?"

"It seems likely! They might be suspecting a double build! But if it’s a triple, it’s going to be a disaster!"

Dum-dum.

At that moment, China’s civilization changed.

[Song → Jin]

"What?! Now they’ve switched to the Jin dynasty! The Jin dynasty has been unlocked!"

"This is...!"

"The Jin dynasty is very aggressive. It’s quite different from the Song dynasty! It's a much more combat-oriented civilization!"

The Song dynasty, representing the Han Chinese, focused on a resource efficient system with strong early-game units like the repeating crossbowmen. The Jin dynasty, a Jurchen civilization, had factions that excelled in direct combat. By switching to the Jin dynasty, China was signaling their intent to focus heavily on battles.

"They’re saying, 'We’re going to break through this attack completely!' Aren’t they!?"

***

[Move]

Ding!

Almond finally received a command. He quickly climbed down the ladder and sprinted in the ordered direction.

‘A feint?’

There had been a battle just moments ago, so the sudden move order suggested something was happening elsewhere.

"Wooo...!"

Although he could hear the faint roar of soldiers in the distance, the forest obscured his view.

As he got closer, he saw that a larger group of spearmen had joined the battle and almost broke through the defensive line.

Thud!

Thud!

The Chinese spearmen skillfully impaled the barbarian soldiers like skewers. Almond immediately understood the situation.

‘Those are their first string players.’

The earlier force had been China’s second string players. That meant the main attack was happening here.

"Chargeeeeee!"

The Chinese spearmen maintained their tight formation as they repeatedly charged, pulled back, and charged again. A faint aura began to rise from their bodies.

[Charge Formation]

[Movement Speed +15%, Penetration +50% during charge]

This was a faction trait of the Jin dynasty, which granted special effects based on formation. Their spears easily pierced through the barbarian soldiers’ flimsy cloth armor, stabbing through them and into the bodies behind.

Thud thud thud!

The barbarian soldiers fell in heaps almost instantly. Although Almond wanted to help, he had his own orders.

[Locate the repeating crossbowmen]

Almond’s mission was to search for the repeating crossbowmen nearby. He had to leave the spearmen to the others and quietly move through the forest to search for the enemy’s location. The repeating crossbowmen would likely target Joseon’s archers.

‘There they are.’

Almond spotted a glimpse of their clothing. They were definitely repeating crossbowmen. One of them saw Almond too and quickly hid—

Snap!

Only to emerge from behind another tree with a rapid volley of arrows.

Thud thud thud thud thud!

Ten arrows flew toward Almond in an instant. His eyes widened in surprise.

‘Huh?’

The arrows formed a tight barrage like a spiderweb closing in on him, but Almond drew his bow calmly and released an arrow.

Fwoosh!

The arrow flew and Almond quickly ducked, weaving through a gap in the web of arrows. All of this happened in a split second.

Thud thud thud thud thud!

Arrows slammed into the trees behind him, shaking the branches and leaving deep scars. Meanwhile, Almond’s single arrow curved around a tree and struck the crossbowman’s head.

Thwack!

"!?"

The crossbowman froze in shock. He hadn’t died yet.

‘Huh?’

The hit hadn’t been strong enough to take him out completely.

[HP: 15%]

But—

Shunk!

Almond pulled out one of the arrows lodged in the tree next to him, nocked it, and fired.

Thud!

The crossbowman died by his own arrow lodged in his head.

[HP: 0%]

It all happened so quickly with no time to react. The crossbowman fell back with wide eyes in disbelief.

***

Meanwhile, someone else also widened their eyes in disbelief. It was Liu Bei, China’s commander.

‘What the...?’

The crossbowman who had just fallen probably didn’t feel as frustrated. He probably thought, “Oh, Almond was here,” and accepted his fate. For Liu Bei, it was different.

‘I’m sure I saw him over there too.’

As the commander, Liu Bei didn’t watch much of the battle since he was busy managing production. However, he made sure to observe the archers’ fights as much as possible because Joseon’s archery unit often influenced the game’s outcome in almost every match. Most importantly, Almond was the new ace who had been ranked as the top rookie to watch this year.

Liu Bei had carefully analyzed his patterns. Almond always participated in the first major skirmish. As the game progressed, his accuracy declined slightly. Up until the third game, his accuracy and damage output were far beyond the normal archer.

Liu Bei had come up with a simple solution to deal with him.

‘Just don’t engage him.’

He planned to avoid fighting in the same area as Almond. Only someone as cold and emotionless as Liu Bei could make such a decision. A powerhouse like China would usually find it difficult to acknowledge the prowess of an ace from a lower-ranked team like Joseon.

Most strong teams would recognize such an ace, but wouldn’t give them the respect they deserved. They could say they acknowledged Almond, but hardly consider him in the game.

Liu Bei saw this as a mistake, so he made Almond the focus of his strategy. After identifying Almond’s position, Liu Bei quickly moved his forces to where Almond wasn’t present. Switching to the Jin dynasty also fit perfectly with this timing.

However—

‘Then why...?’

Almond somehow also appeared in this area and now freely moved around, picking off crossbowmen one by one.

Boom!

Boom!

The crossbowmen were supposed to counter the archers, but those very archers were picking off their heads even in the forest where China had the advantage.

No matter how cold-hearted Liu Be was, watching this unfold caused a slight burning frustration.

‘How is he even here?’

Liu Bei was sure of one thing. This was Almond. He had double-checked. But if Almond was here, then what happened earlier? Almond couldn’t be in two places at once, so only one conclusion existed.

‘Another archer?’

For Liu Bei, this was a frightening realization. It meant Joseon had other archers capable of landing curve shots as skillfully as Almond in this tricky terrain.

‘But there weren’t any before.’

Liu Bei had watched all of Joseon’s previous games and knew their patterns well. According to his data, none of the other archers could pull off curve shots like Almond. But now, they were doing it. The only conclusion he could draw was—

‘They’ve improved?’

Joseon’s archers, in a civilization that centered on archery, had improved. If that was the case, their overall combat effectiveness had significantly increased. Liu Bei clenched his teeth for a moment.

He quickly regained his composure and his icy demeanor returned. To an observer, it would have been impossible to tell that his emotions wavered at all. He calmly looked over the battlefield again and repositioned his crossbowmen.

If Almond had arrived, they just had to set up defenses accordingly. The repeating crossbowmen began spreading out and widened the distance between themselves. While this made them more vulnerable to being picked off individually, it would take Almond longer to eliminate them all.

Even as Almond slowly took them out, the crossbowmen kept firing in Almond’s direction and revealed their presence one by one. Almond had no choice but to follow the path they laid out.

‘He’s been ordered to kill the repeating crossbowmen.’

Liu Bei had already deduced Almond’s mission. Now that he knew, he shifted his attention to the spearmen under his command.

[Break through]

The spearmen received a simple message. Until now, their orders had been to kill as many barbarian soldiers as possible while maintaining their formation. Since they would eventually break through, they had to inflict maximum damage on the enemy before moving forward.

The spearmen relentlessly pushed forward, skewering the barbarian soldiers before retreating. It was an efficient and terrifying tactic with no time to waste now.

"Break throughhhh!"

Thud!

The spearmen, still in their charging formation, clashed head-on with the frontline. This time, they did not retreat.

[Disperse Formation]

They instantly scattered and slipped through the gaps in the enemy lines.

[Duration: 5 seconds]

[Recover 10% of damage as health]

[Attack Speed +20%]

Upon dispersing, they gained a temporary buff, which was perfect for holding their ground and fighting individually.

Thud!

Their spears pierced through the Joseon soldiers. A red aura flowed into them as they absorbed health from the damage they inflicted. The spearmen, now fighting in a dispersed formation, rapidly cut down the remaining barbarian soldiers. They had completely breached Joseon’s defensive line and left gaping holes.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the spearmen burst through and crossed the halfway point of the map. Liu Bei quickly checked the status of the repeating crossbowmen.

‘Already...?’

The four repeating crossbowmen he had deployed all disappeared. It happened much faster than he expected. No matter how fast Almond could shoot, the physical distance between them would surely slow him down. Even in the mountainous terrain, an archer couldn’t move faster than spearmen.

‘There’s supposed to be more travel time...’

Liu Bei’s eyes widened slightly.

‘?’

Tap tap tap tap!

What he saw in his peripheral vision didn’t look like the speed of a normal archer. Almond sprinted at an unbelievable pace while holding a bundle of arrows in one hand as he charged after the spearmen.

‘That’s it.’

Liu Bei had seen this tactic in a previous match. That guy... he wasn’t just an archer. A smirk spread across Liu Bei’s face. It felt like encountering a familiar question on an important exam.

‘So it’s the same strategy.’

This tactic was only deadly when he didn’t know about it. Now that he understood Almond’s role, countering would be simple.