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Season 3: Chapter 284. The Advancing Fortress (3)

Season 3: Chapter 284. The Advancing Fortress (3)

There was a saying in soccer.

“The ball is round.”

Because the ball was round, it could bounce anywhere. That meant that, no matter how weak a team was perceived, a stronger team could still instantly lose if they let their guard down.

This held true not only in soccer but in all sports. Even a fighter with an iron body could be knocked out by a single lucky punch from an inexperienced opponent. Sports inevitably delved into the realm of instinct.

A one-on-one match was like that. It was a mind game. Was it better to think twice or three times? No one knew the correct answer. Players often improved as they gained experience, but overthinking could cause them to miss crucial moments.

‘... I’ve been had.’

This sentiment could clearly be seen in Liu Bei’s trembling eyes as he looked down at the battlefield. Throughout the match, he had missed something critical despite aiming for a foolproof strategy with a 100% win rate.

In this game, they had to continue even if the chances of winning were 60% or 90%. However, he wanted it to be 100%. That was why he chose to build the Great Wall.

Meanwhile, Cookie bet on a 51% chance. He willingly staked it all on a 1% difference. The one who sought 100% ended up with 0% while the one who aimed for 1% ended up with 100%.

[Surrender]

Liu Bei concluded that there was no way out.

Thud.

He pressed the surrender button with his hand trembling uncontrollably.

‘I didn’t even get a proper fight...’

It was baffling how easily he lost.

***

As soon as China surrendered, a tremendous roar echoed through the stadium.

"Wooooooaaaahhhhh!!!"

— Wow, is this really Korea dominating two-thirds of the crowd?

— The audio is cutting out, LOL

— Audio shutdown, unbelievable!

— Shutdown!

— This is insane!

— Did they really win????

The cheers were so loud that the audio cut out for a moment. Of course, the system quickly recovered and the commentators' shouts filled the air again.

"Geeeeeee Geeeeeeeee!!"

They chanted gg for good game. OrangeKing felt so excited that he gripped the mic and spat into it.

"Everyone! China has surrendered! Chinese players rarely surrender, right!? Usually, they hold out until the opponent’s strength wears out!"

"Yeah, so why did they surrender!?"

"They must have thought they’d be the ones to run out of steam! Their mentality was shaken! That says a lot!"

Indeed, China rarely surrendered. It wasn't just because their civilization was built for late-game dominance. Chinese players were notorious across different games for refusing to surrender.

Their attitude toward gaming was more about, "I’ll keep going. If I lose, so be it." For them, quitting halfway was seen as disgraceful. While admirable, this trait sometimes earned them a negative reputation among more impatient domestic gamers.

Nevertheless, the Chinese players never cared and always played through to the end. Yet, here they were, surrendering. And it wasn’t just any player. It was the head of the Civil Empire Chinese team representing their country. This was no ordinary surrender.

"OrangeKing, it seems like you anticipated the surrender! Am I right?"

The caster felt that OrangeKing had sensed China’s surrender in advance.

"Yes. I figured it out right at the end. No soldiers were gathering in the back. In Civil Empire, commanders usually keep pulling soldiers to the back while giving up the front when planning a last minute comeback. But they weren’t gathering any troops!"

— Wow, did they really get shaken up that badly?

— Cookie read them like a book and they lost it mentally.

— Wow, they really broke down.

"Ah..."

"Even for China, this is a declaration of giving up. More importantly! Objectively, the situation was terrible!"

"Right! They had no siege weapons and Joseon’s walls kept advancing!"

"Exactly. If those walls kept advancing, it would’ve been a disaster with castles popping up in the middle of China’s land!"

"That far?"

"Imagine them building Gwanghwamun and start doing the hype boy dance right in front of you. Your mind would snap!"

"In that case, surrendering was the better option!"

"Exactly!"

— LOL, they almost suffered a humiliating defeat.

— OrangeKing is really pushing it, LOL

— Doing the hype boy dance would definitely break them, LOL

— Then surrendering was probably the better option.

— T-bagging moment, LOL

— Yeah, hype boy would break anyone's mind

— TikTok vibes, LOL

China had two choices when they abandoned the plan to hold back reinforcements: die or suffer humiliation until the end. In reality, anyone would choose the former if death was inevitable.

***

Liu Bei gritted his teeth and trembled in frustration.

"...!"

Someone on the other side was trembling for an entirely different reason. That person was Hui-Chul.

"We won..."

Engrossed in the game, Hui-Chul didn’t even realize they won until later. He only checked and saw the message when his soldiers stopped moving.

[Surrender]

He never imagined that China would surrender and only focused on capturing the town hall. However, the enemy had surrendered.

‘What?’

Hui-Chul found it hard to believe. He knew the Chinese team better than anyone else aside from the Chinese themselves. From his hospital room to this moment, he meticulously analyzed every aspect of their gameplay.

The responsibility of being the commander, the pressure of returning and proving himself, and the hope of being able to play again. He turned all of that into training to defeat China. Like a madman, he singularly focused on that one goal.

"Hah... Hah..."

His heart pounded and his breath came in gasps.

Thud. Thud.

The excitement of having defeated China, who had been on an undefeated streak, surged through him. Or perhaps it was the overwhelming realization that all his preparation paid off.

Thud.

He hit his chest and shook his head.

"Not yet."

Whatever emotion he was feeling, he had to push it down. This was only one game out of possibly five. China had probably been overconfident while Joseon had been razor sharp.

Their best chance to win was always in the first game and they had done just that. Joy, sorrow, and despair were all the same. Hui-Chul couldn’t allow his emotions to sway like the shaken Liu Bei.

He grabbed his head and took a moment to calm himself. A short while later, the capsule door opened and he stood up.

Shhhh.

"Wooooaaahhh!!"

The cheers from the crowd struck his ears. The roar was enough to make anyone stagger, but Hui-Chul simply walked toward the waiting room with a straight posture.

He only moved his eyes to glance at China’s side. Liu Bei didn’t show much sign of being shaken either. However, Hui-Chul could sense it. Even though he could only see Liu Bei’s back, Hui-Chul knew as a fellow commander.

He had seen Liu Bei leave the battlefield many times before. Just like how one could recognize an old friend from their silhouette on the street.

Liu Bei was like that for him. Something had subtly changed about Liu Bei’s posture. It wasn’t the Liu Bei he was used to because Hui-Chul had only ever seen Liu Bei after victories. This time was different. When their eyes met briefly, Hui-Chul could clearly sense it.

‘He’s shaken.’

Liu Bei was shaken. Hui-Chul’s eyes trembled slightly.

Click—

A memory of an old man placing a Go stone flashed in his mind.

"Sometimes, going with the flow is going against the current for your opponent."

That realization hit the mark inside and outside the game. Just then, Pang approached and patted Hui-Chul on the shoulder, giving him a thumbs-up.

Malatang also came over and gave him a friendly slap on the back. The message was clear even though none of them said anything due to the ongoing match.

‘You did well.’

‘Welcome back.’

The three of them walked toward the waiting room without looking at each other, yet anyone could see that they were walking together. Just like when they first started playing this game.

***

The match hadn’t ended yet, but articles already appeared in communities and news outlets. Even though Korea hadn’t entirely defeated China yet, the fact that China’s undefeated streak had been broken was newsworthy enough.

["Cookie Returns with a Glorious Victory"]

["A Shutdown for Undefeated China — Are They Rated Under 18 in Korea?"]

["Korea’s Shutdown Law Returns, Only Applies to Chinese Players"]

The wording carried a lot of humor perhaps because these articles mostly came from game outlets on the internet.

— LOL this is hilarious

— Only applies to Chinese players, hahaha

— Looks like they were really holding back, lol

— China’s gaming skill is rated under 18? What a burn, LOL

Naturally, the comments on domestic articles were positive.

[Journalists unleashed, LOL (link)]

[??? “Did they forget about my temper, LOL”]

[Game journalists are finally free, haha]

Users reposted these articles in gaming communities without even adding their own jokes. They didn’t need to. The journalists’ approach seemed almost polite compared to the usual sarcastic tone of community users.

There was a reason for this.

[Journalists finally exploding after China’s constant provocations]

[Chinese game media kept picking fights]

[Even the news feels like a Korea-China match]

[Is this some kind of information war or something?]

[The loud speakers are back and they’re killing it]

Chinese media had already published a slew of articles criticizing Joseon. Although they weren’t overtly hostile, the articles mainly analyzed Joseon’s lack of gaming skills and market presence.

Facts tended to hurt more when they were true. The Korean Civil Empire pro scene had been struggling, leading some Korean journalists to harbor grudges. Despite the negativity from China, many reacted positively toward Joseon.

[Cookie is back and his form is insane]

[The two commander system looks like a real contender]

[The players’ skills have all leveled up, they’re crazy good now]

[Were they always this good?]

[This is the cleanest match they’ve ever shown]

[In this first game, the difference in commanding was insane]

Cookie had not only outplayed the enemy, but the Joseon players had improved overall. Even casual viewers noticed. Perhaps, as Cookie had said, the trials they faced really had made them stronger.

[It’s not always good to come through undefeated in big tournaments like this]

One user posted a detailed analysis supporting Cookie’s point.

[This happened in the LIL World Cup before. The top teams went straight to the finals while the weaker teams started from the qualifiers. With each season’s patch, new metas emerged and countless strategies were discovered as players faced off worldwide.

It’s a competition, but it’s also a showcase of new methods. Would our country have developed firearms if we hadn’t been shot by them first? It’s the same in games. If a new meta is painful enough, you adopt it.

Teams that win all the way through undefeated often don’t learn these new metas because they stick to what they know. Then, they lose in a flash when they reach the semifinals or finals and face real competition.]

— That’s so true

— There are so many examples of that. 3-0 defeats in finals

└ Yeah, there really are

— Wow, that makes a lot of sense

— But hasn't a team starting from qualifiers only won once?

└ That’s because they were a bad team...

└ Joseon was too...

└ Oof...

└ LOL

— Let’s just believe it for now, haha

└ Haha

— But it's true. If the skill levels are close, it makes sense.

— Even experts say the same thing.

All the trials made Joseon stronger while an undefeated streak made China weaker. Of course, opinions were still divided as game two began.

"Now, it’s Joseon versus China! China versus Joseon! The second game is starting!"

This time, it was a plain map.

[The Steppes of Mongolia]

[Translator Notes]

The “Shutdown” and “Under 18” jokes from the articles refer to a labor law in Korea where workers under 18 are forbidden to work past midnight to fight against underage overworking.