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Season 3: Chapter 165: Fourth Era Battle (1)

Cookie thought, ‘We spent quite a bit of money in the first era. We have to use something we invested in during the first era if we want to defeat the Vikings now.'

They had to turn what they invested in the first era into a benefit, which turned out to be the defense towers.

A brilliant idea flashed in Cookie's mind.

'The synergy when melee and ranged infantry fight together…'

Melee infantry would protect the ranged infantry. Every game genre used this traditional battle strategy.

Tanks, bruisers, damage dealers, and healers were classes often seen in RPGs. The other classes usually protected the healers and ranged attackers. Tanks and other melee players would also perform at their best when they could deal maximum damage and receive healing without any interference.

Players also fought like this in MOBA games. Team fights always prioritized protecting the ranged damage dealers. The game’s outcome hinged on how long ranged damage dealers could survive.

What about RTS games like Civil Empire?

'It's the same.'

“Wow! Joseon won this battle! They did it!”

“It's unbelievable!”

Both sides had a similar number of troops and the Vikings even had higher stats. Despite this, they suffered a huge defeat.

'The efficiency is different.'

One side fought with clear player roles versus the other side that didn’t make this distinction. As a result, the Vikings piled up corpses like a mountain and failed to protect the outposts.

Cookie sighed in relief.

'It went better than expected.'

Joseon won the most crucial battle in this game and they won much faster than anticipated.

Cookie hadn't foreseen one element.

'Did they kill the ones with axes first?'

Almond and Carrot initially started by accurately sniping the Vikings with axes. Cookie hadn’t given them this order. They had made this decision on the spot.

'And the melee soldiers took those axes and wielded them.'

The melee soldiers understood what to do and snatched up the fallen axes to use them.

'This is...'

Their detailed on-the-spot decisions had synergized with the commander's sudden strategic improvisation.

Cookie felt a thrill at moments like this that highlighted the charm of Civil Empire.

The chaotic battle felt like real warfare. One never knew what variable could come up. A good weapon could suddenly become a poison in the wild. It was a literal war of blood and flesh.

"Wow!"

Cheers erupted from the Korean cheering section and they released their pent-up anxiety like a pressure cooker. They had been holding their breath while watching the dire situation. How anxious had they felt?

Now they shouted again and released all that tension.

"Daehanminguk!"

As the drums resounded, Cookie's hand moved again.

Winning this battle didn't mean that they immediately won the game.

'It just bought time.'

They only prolonged a game that the Vikings had almost won.

[Move]

[Destroy]

Cookie gave out very simple commands in succession and focused on production.

Winning the previous battle meant the Joseon army could keep attacking outposts for a while. The enemy outposts would be reduced by almost half. While the enemy recovered, Joseon could catch up in era advancement.

***

Fwoosh.

The next hunting outpost caught fire and the spectators cheered. The commentators did the same.

"Joseon! Joseon! They won the last battle in an impossible situation! They found a way out with bows!"

"That's right! We thought Joseon would lose this match helplessly after being caught in the second era! We thought they were just holding on by a hair! But!"

"But!?"

"They didn't just hold on! They grabbed that hair, slammed it to the ground, and ground it on the asphalt!"

— What the heck? LOL

— Are we in a gangster movie?

— Welcome to the new world, Vikings

— LOL

— LOL

— Just say they're at an advantage now

OrangeKing believed that Joseon not only bought time, but now had the potential to lead the situation advantageously.

Fwoosh!

Several more hunting outposts began to catch fire.

"This gives Joseon enough leeway to reach the third era!"

Boom.

Before his words finished, Joseon entered the second era.

[Joseon - 2nd Era]

"That's right! Cookie isn’t losing focus in the battle! They advance to the second era!"

"The Vikings will be flustered! They thought the game was over!"

"The hunting outposts are falling like dominoes! Joseon is advancing to the second era! The enemy must be completely disoriented!"

"Ah! But! The Vikings equipped with second era gear are coming out now, so the Joseon army shouldn't engage. They can't match them! And it's out of arrow delivery range now!"

Burning half of the outposts had been sufficient.

[Retreat]

The Joseon army received an order.

"Joseon is retreating at the right time! Ah, this is great! If they got annihilated by the second era Viking warriors, things would have turned strange again! They're not giving the Vikings a chance to activate the berserker trait!"

Joseon pulled back their troops at the right moment before the second era Viking warriors arrived.

"Saving the troops is good! Cookie is sharp! Joseon needs to advance to the third era as fast as possible, so wasting resources here could mess up their resource situation again!"

— Awesome

— Add Cookie to the list of kings

— Great judgment

Joseon seized the momentum and continued to make good decisions, but things didn't go entirely their way.

"What's that? What's that over there?"

The Vikings equipped with second era gear had unexpectedly stormed Joseon's base.

"What!?"

They had been circling around for a while, but the commentators were so engrossed that they hadn't noticed the surprise attack.

"The second era Vikings were already circling around there!?"

"This is dangerous!"

They had crossed over instead of suppressing Joseon's raids on the outposts.

"As if they knew Joseon would retreat at some point! They went straight to the base!"

"Ah…! Clever! If Joseon had known, they would have continued the raids!"

Whack!

Several Vikings emerged from the woods.

"The Vikings infiltrated without any bloodshed!"

They started mercilessly cutting down workers at the woodcutting site.

Thwack!

Thud!

They swung and threw their axes, relentlessly killing the fleeing workers.

— Wow

— Scary

— This is the Vikings!?

— "Northern Tribe"

"Ah, pillage! Plundeeer!!"

One of the Viking traits was pillage.

"The Vikings mean business! Workers turn into money for them! When the Vikings catch workers, they get money in exchange!"

The Vikings earned money whenever they destroyed another civilization's production buildings or killed their workers.

— Viking-style exchange LOL

— Plunderers vs Delivery Nation

— Noxian exchange is intense

— Their strength and combat power are insane

— They're raiding again like this

Ding!

Joseon’s side received another order.

[Evacuate]

All the workers evacuated into the town center and defense towers. The workers began shooting countless arrows at the Vikings, forcing them to retreat.

Although they drove them away, the workers had suffered significant damage.

"Ah. Joseon and the Vikings exchanged blows. Many Joseon workers died."

"Yes. Fortunately, the gold mine connected to their upgrades wasn't touched. The Vikings didn't want to lose their second era warriors in the raid, so they retreated quickly."

"Yes. If they die, they drop all their weapons and armor! They wouldn't be able to handle that!"

Afterward, the Vikings reclaimed the hunting outposts and Joseon recruited new workers. Both sides spent time recovering.

"Ah. This match is flowing very interestingly! It's completely unpredictable who will win now!"

"Yes! That's right! It seemed like the Vikings were winning and then Joseon seemed to be winning! Now it's uncertain! They're very evenly matched!"

The commentator asked, "But won’t Joseon have the advantage if they can just get through the early game?"

— True

— The promised third era

— Aren't they considering that in the balance?

— It’s coming

Joseon grew stronger in the third era while the Vikings experienced the opposite. The commentator pointed this out.

Drums sounded as if responding to his words.

Boom.

[Vikings - 3rd Era]

The Vikings advanced to the third era.

"Ah! The Vikings entered the third era!"

— Vikings got there first LOL

— Can't be helped, they were already ahead

— How did the Vikings get there so fast?

"What an interesting decision! I thought the Vikings would maximize their advantage in the second era and follow up in the third era..."

This time, the Vikings advanced to the third era first. However—

Boom.

[Joseon - 3rd Era]

Joseon quickly followed them, which was noticeably different from before.

"Ah! Joseon has entered the third era too! This changes things significantly! Joseon in the third era is the miracle of the Han River! It's very different from the lost third era!"

— Miracle of the Han River LOL

— Cool

"That's right. It means the Gakgung is coming out!"

The observer alternated scenes, showing the situations of both factions. One could guess their strategies based on the buildings and workers' movements after reaching the third era.

"But didn't I say the Vikings were a bit odd?"

"Yes. It's understandable for them to advance to the second era first, but there's no need to rush to the third era!"

"That's right, but…" OrangeKing examined the Viking base briefly and continued, "Maybe the Vikings are preparing for the fourth era?"

"What!?"

— Wow

— Valhalla!?

— Whoa

— Cool

— Are we gonna see a 4th era battle?

"As you know, the Vikings don't have any decisive traits in the third era. The berserker trait is decent, but it doesn't fit well in the third era."

The lower their health, the higher their movement speed and attack power increased due to the berserker trait. The Vikings recovered more from damage too. In other words, they could quickly recover their health by continuously attacking opponents at low health.

"Ah. That's right. In the third era, the top weapons of each civilization appear. Many siege weapons are also formidable."

The berserker trait wouldn’t be used much in the third era.

"That's right. It's kind of useless. It doesn't match the third era combat style."

— True

— It's less useful than expected

— Kind of a romantic concept LOL

— That’s why the Vikings suck in the 3rd era

The third era was a period of transitioning to technological battles. Joseon could deploy the Gakgung, Spain fought with guns, and nearly all civilizations had cavalry. Persia even fought on elephants.

The Vikings still had to fight barehanded in front of such overwhelming forces, rendering the berserker trait almost powerless.

"When their health drops, they'll almost be at death's door! The berserker trait barely activates for a few seconds before they die!"

"That's right, but what if these berserkers can also use the Valhalla trait?"

The Vikings' last hope was the fourth era trait, Valhalla. This trait could revive Viking warriors once on the battlefield.

"Ah!?"

The berserker trait was useless alone, but these berserkers would get another chance with the Valhalla trait. Moreover, the berserker trait’s cooldown would reset once they revived, allowing them to rush at enemies again and ensuring that they took at least one enemy down with them.

— Wow

— Then they’re aiming for the 4th era?

"The Vikings are focusing on building structures needed for the fourth era in stark contrast to Joseon's situation!"

Joseon temporarily halted civilization upgrades to prepare for proper third era combat. They were producing Gakgung and training Gakgung soldiers.

"Alright. Gakgung is coming out. Since the Vikings can't ride horses... what about horse archers?"

"That's not a bad choice, but..."

OrangeKing hesitated slightly. Thinking that horse archers would be advantageous because the Vikings couldn't ride horses was too simplistic.

"Horse archers are best for worker harassment, but the Vikings don't care much about workers. Joseon needs to destroy more hunting outposts."

"Ah!"

Horse archers were useless against buildings and had to be deployed purely on the battlefield.

"When the Vikings charge with the berserker trait, the horses will fall and only make the situation trickier."

Directly facing third era or higher warriors was challenging.

"Ah. Although the Vikings can't ride horses, they’re well-prepared in their own way."

"Yes. Horse archers aren't as good as one might think! But still! Going for horse archers isn't a bad move... or so I thought!"

Joseon prepared a new weapon that they hadn't upgraded before.

[Pyeonjeon - 1%]

"Ah! This is the first appearance of this weapon in the tournament!"

— Wow

— Cool

— Insane

— They're doing this??

— This means no horse archers

— Joseon Vulture discarded, Joseon Ghost appears

— Both sides are going for the romantic strategy LOL