The caster shouted with veins bulging in his neck, "Everyone on the Korean team is pushing into the French main base! A red wave is rising!"
The Joseon soldiers in red clothing seemed to outnumber the French soldiers in blue clothing.
"Now, they're starting to carry torches and not just bamboo spears!"
"It's truly a revolution!"
Some of the soldiers who had been carrying bamboo spears switched to torches.
Whooosh!
They began setting all sorts of buildings on fire.
— The torch of annihilation, let the military song begin!
— Burn it all down!
— So fun lol
— It's burning up~
"That's right! The ranged units don't have torches, but all the melee units do! Every building will burn!"
Whooosh!
They began burning fruit trees harvested for food and houses into black ash.
"Ah... Buildings burn well and instantly go up in flames!"
"However, major buildings will take some time because it's the second era."
Stone buildings like defense towers and major structures did not burn easily, which made ending the game in the second era difficult.
"There's only a battering ram for second era siege weapons! There's no time to create them now!"
It was difficult to make siege weapons in the second era. Without gunpowder weapons in the third era, pushing for buildings took a long time. That was why most matches usually ended beyond the third era.
"In the meantime, the French are preparing a counterattack!"
"It’s a typical second era siege pattern, isn't it?"
While one side charged through buildings, the losing side usually gathered soldiers at the back to push out all at once. This could lead to a sudden turnaround.
"They need to be careful of the last wave, right?"
This push was called the last wave. It was so common that it had its own name and they had to be cautious of it.
[Gathering]
[Defense]
Ping! Ping!
The remaining French forces gathered in front of the town hall.
"Ah, OrangeKing, what do you think are the odds here?"
"Right now, I see it as 80% in favor of Korea!"
"Really? That's less advantageous than I thought!?"
"Second era battles are like this! Don't let your guard down! This battle will be a crucial turning point for the Korean team."
"A turning point? Why?"
"If this second era strategy succeeds, it will significantly impact psychological warfare in future matches!"
Indeed, winning today's match with this strategy would expand Korea’s options. Enemies would have to consider whether Korea would rush defensive towers in the first era, fast archers in the second, directly proceed to the third era, or push with bamboo spears. It would become significantly complicated for commanders who only focused on the first or third eras.
"So they can’t let their guard down now. They have to keep pressuring the enemy’s resources! Korea must tighten their control!"
"Ah! Right! Wait?! What about the knight...?"
[Royal Knight - 97%]
"Looks like another knight is about to come out for France!"
"What, when did they prepare that?! I thought the Korean team was pressuring the gold mines!"
"Aaah! It seems France has chosen the slave miner faction!"
The slave miner was a French faction where, upon upgrade, slaves were stuck in the mines continually mining gold rather than workers. Even if workers did not enter the gold mines, a small amount of gold would automatically be generated.
This faction was meant for France, which was always under heavy gold pressure, and could not be used thoughtlessly.
"Slave miners against Joseon? That's surprising."
This slave miner faction upgrade consumed a lot of food, meaning it would be hard to revive dead soldiers.
Against a civilization with strong archery like Joseon where infantry often died, the slave miners were a rare faction to choose.
"Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems France has chosen it out of desperation under the pressure!?"
"No wonder they have so few troops."
Korea had strongly pressured the enemy’s gold resources, forcing France to choose this option.
A soldier entered the knight school and came out riding a white horse as a royal knight.
Ba-bam──!
[Royal Knight - Complete]
Now, France possessed two royal knights.
"Two French knights. What's the ratio now?"
"Ah... it has to be 70% in favor of Joseon! No matter how few troops France has, this really makes it unpredictable! Royal knights excel in defense!"
OrangeKing's lips dried. He was getting anxious.
"Besides, we don't have any bamboo spears left?!"
Bamboo spears were a single use weapon. Most of the Joseon soldiers had used theirs already. Thanks to that, the front line had surged dramatically.
Now, there were almost no players left who could wield bamboo spears.
"What!? No bamboo spears? What...? Ah! Bamboo spears are single use only!? What kind of trash faction is that?!" the caster exclaimed in astonishment and slapped his forehead.
— lol lol lol
— You just have to swear
— Even the caster admits it...
— This is ridiculous...
— They’re not bamboo spears, they’re starch toothpicks lol
This meant Korea would have to face two royal knights with almost no spears available.
"No, how will Korea deal with those two royal knights?!"
"I don't know!"
"What? Then, what do we do!?"
"But! Korea is still at a great advantage! They dealt tremendous damage to the enemy works and France is having trouble reviving their troops! Just one more step forward, Korea!!"
Fortunately, Almond and the other archers had joined the main force and swept away the French workers.
"They must! They need to take down those royal knights!"
France could try and resist, but it was uncertain if they could win the game. Korea would win if they could break through this last resistance.
***
Ting──!
A red ping appeared.
[Total Assault]
"Ugh!"
They displayed power that wasn’t merely of the knight class.
[Chivalry - Activated]
The chivalry trait doubled their combat effectiveness when defending their own territory.
[Chivalry: When defending one’s territory, defense and attack increased by 30%]
Whooom...!
Behind the knights, a white aura spreading out indicated the activation of chivalry.
Was this the moment?
Chk!
From behind, a spear with a flag soared high.
"France! Advance!"
France's infantry charged out en masse.
"Form a shield wall!"
Somehow, by pressing shoulder to shoulder, France's infantry inserted their formation within Korea’s battle lines.
Pang's expression hardened.
"No. This is a bit..."
Pang, an experienced veteran, intuitively knew this was not a good situation. This was how reversals typically happened.
Chk!
He raised his hand and shouted, "All archers!"
Ding.
The archers' targets appeared in their sights. Pang, the archery leader, had initially marked the town hall's second floor as their target. However, he switched to the advancing knights.
Chk!
As Pang pointed, the yellow targeting points turned red.
"Fire at once!"
Boom!
They fired numerous arrows and France's infantry fell in heaps.
"Ooogh..."
"Grrr!"
The royal knights did not fall.
Ting! Ting!
All the arrows bounced off of them. They were called medieval tanks for a reason.
"Damn it!"
"Even their horses are armored..."
Their silvery steel armor seemed impervious to weapons. One had to aim for the gaps in their armor, but just a slight twist of the body would cause arrows to hit the armor and bounce off instead.
Almond also found it difficult.
'If they just stood still, I could hit them in the eye.'
However, these royal knights would never stay still. Players worthy of international competition wouldn't do the enemy such a favor.
Ting...! Ting!
Watching arrows endlessly bounce off of them only seemed to lower morale. Without any spearmen, it was as if the knights had wings on their backs.
"Are we really being pushed back?!"
"It was almost over!"
The faces of the Korean soldiers gradually turned ashen. Conversely, life returned to the eyes of the French soldiers.
"We can do this!"
"We've stopped them!"
"Sweep the archers first!"
With their morale soaring, one French knight charged toward the Korean archer formation. Other Korean infantrymen tried to block, but to no avail. The knight quickly closed the distance.
Almond had to make a choice.
'Shoot or dodge.'
He could move out of the way or try to hit the knight right in the eye with one last shot.
Clatter! Clatter!
The deafening horse hooves quickly approached. Almond could even see the horse's nostrils flaring. He made his decision.
"Shoot."
Almond wanted to try something. Did this thought also resonate with the others?
"Still one shot left!"
Pang charged toward the knight. An archer was actually charging in?
'Ah...!'
Almond realized that Pang hadn't used a bamboo spear yet.
'He has a bamboo spear!'
Thrust!
Pang’s bamboo spear pierced into the knight's side.
"... What!"
“Eeeeing...!”
The charging knight's horse felt startled and reared up. The knight became stunned after being halted by a spear during a charge.
"It's a stun! Quickly—"
Pang couldn't finish his sentence.
Click.
Almond already drew his bowstring. He only had one opportunity.
'I can do it as long as the enemy is still.'
Keeng!
The focus trait’s light gathered to its maximum. Almond's breathing gradually slowed and stopped. He inhaled a single breath that nestled in his lungs.
'I see it.'
At that moment, everything turned darkly silent and only the knight and Almond existed in the world. The view zoomed closer. Almond could see it. A gap no bigger than a knot hole and the knight’s blue eyes.
'Now.'
Swoosh.
His right hand smoothly released the arrow.
Boom!