“Aah! The Ancient Fortress Walls!” “This map! If I remember correctly, this was the map where Joseon and Rome met for the first time, wasn’t it?!” — Damn, tough from the first round “This map actually blocks out most early-game variables. It’s that kind of map, right?!” “That’s right. Even here, Cookie managed to pull off some impressive tricks! But then Anto predicted and stopped them! It was an extraordinary match.” Spectators who had watched the preliminaries knew all about Anto’s overwhelming skill in predicting moves on this map. The crowd began to murmur with anticipation. Even the Balloon Stars members, dressed in various costumes for the finals, felt uneasy. “Oh, come on... Why’d it have to be here?!” Bubblegum, wearing a flounder costume, grumbled in protest. Next to him, StrawberryShooter in an Almond suit added, “Anto-oppa, this won’t work~ Guess he’ll have to go on a date with me.” Takoyaki started to say something, but held his tongue. He had painted his bald head with something unique to stand out. A kid sitting behind him tugged at his mother’s hand and pointed at Takoyaki. “Mister! How much is that Almond hat? How does it fit so well?!” Takoyaki pointed at his own head. “This isn’t for sale!” He tugged on what the kid thought was a hat, and it stretched like skin. The child burst into tears, “Waaahhhh!!” Indeed, Takoyaki had drawn almond patterns on his bald head. Miho, standing nearby, apologized and held the child to comfort him. She wore a cheerleader outfit with a kaiju mascot on it. Of course, she didn’t forget to tie a small almond-shaped pouch around her waist. “I’m so sorry. He’s not crazy... just a bit too cheerful.” The child stopped crying and smiled as Miho held him. “Is this kid... already a lady’s man?” Takoyaki glared at him in disapproval, but it was no use. The child grinned and paid him no mind. — Miho looks so beautiful — How many lives has that kid lived? — That smirk is so annoying, lol It wasn’t just fans watching Balloon Stars’ broadcast. “Everyone, I finally got my ticket for the finals!” “It’s starting now. Whoa... this is amazing.” “Don’t backseat the players. If you insult them, you’ll be banned immediately.” Other creators also broadcasted with their own cameras, including quite a few prominent streamers. The national tournament finals had captivated countless people’s attention. The live viewer count on the official channel alone reached nearly 1.3 million. It was truly a national event. On the field, Almond clenched his fist and thought. Rome was undeniably a formidable opponent. China and Rome were just one step apart in the power rankings, yet that gap was enormous. He had experienced it firsthand in the preliminaries. There was a saying: “China is the strongest among humans, but the ones beyond human are Rome and Mongolia.” Rome had defeated Mongolia to reach this point, cementing their status as the strongest team at the moment. Winning would be difficult. With 1.3 million viewers watching and every media outlet mentioning the national tournament, it would be a victory for the nation itself if they won here. They would represent their country in victory as the national team. Everyone knew that playing against Rome would be tough. After the game began, the commentators started off by explaining the challenge. “The game has officially started. It’s a straight line map. Rome is in blue at 3 o’clock and Joseon is in red at 9 o’clock.” “Since Rome has faced Joseon once before, let’s briefly cover it. In terms of raw combat power, Joseon has a slight edge in the first era and a slight edge in the third era while Rome has the advantage in the second and fourth eras.” — Everything is just slight edges lol — The data really does say that, lol — So they’re evenly matched?? — Seems that way based on the civilizations “Oh. So it alternates between eras?” “That’s right. Each civilization has its moments to shine, but that’s just the general stats.” “These commanders and players who made it to the finals usually render these statistics meaningless.” “That’s right! It’s just a general guideline! It doesn’t necessarily apply in the world of pros! This is not where general stats matter!” — “This is not where general stats matter,” lol — Couldn’t agree more; “Right. The flow can shift if Rome doesn’t go for their usual special unit, the legion, in the second era! If Joseon doesn’t use archers, it shifts again! But as I said, all this—!” OrangeKing suddenly tore up a sheet of data paper. — What kind of performance is this? lol — He’s gone off the rails, lol “None of it matters! It’s just paper! Shreds of data! When you make it to the finals, both sides are equals! Civilizations and matchups? They mean nothing!” — Rome in the fourth era is at least more manageable than China, lol — I’m so tired of people blaming the civilization’s strengths every time they lose, lol — Fyi: OrangeKing is notorious for strongly criticizing in-game balance after getting smashed by JeonJaPa’s EMF abilities. “Right! I agree! Anything could happen here in the finals in Osaka Stadium, especially on the Ancient Fortress Walls map!” Despite the commentators’ emphatic claims that anything could happen, the map looked surprisingly peaceful so far. — Nothing’s happening? Given that their prelim match on this map had turned into a first era rush, this peace felt unusual. As with anything, one could only see as much as one knew. “You see, it isn’t actually calm right now, right?” “There’s an intense psychological battle going on!” — LOL, the mind games — You can only see it if you have a good heart? — Haha, OrangeKing, the master of subtle insults Nothing seemed to be happening, but OrangeKing claimed that an intense battle of wits was taking place. “Right now, Joseon has the advantage.” It wasn’t just any advantage, but a considerable one. — OrangeKing, waving the national pride flag, lol “Wait, Joseon has the advantage!? Nothing’s happening!” “This isn’t just for show. It’s real. Let me explain this exploration phase and the psychological warfare. I’ll have to refer back to their previous match.” “The previous match? Oh, the Joseon-Rome prelims! They lost that one on this map, didn’t they?” “Yes, they did. But this time, they have the upper hand.” “To briefly explain the map, the Ancient Fortress Walls come with fortifications surrounding the base from the start. This holds back Joseon’s strength in creating early first and second era variables.” “But... they have the advantage?” This terrain allowed for easier early defenses using walls. Normally, building fortifications of this size would require reaching the third era. However, this map provided such defenses from the beginning. This made it favorable for late-game civilizations like China and Persia. “Oh, so Joseon’s usual archer attacks to harass the workers are hard to pull off here?” “That’s right. Honestly, for Joseon in the prelims, it was a lot of ‘Almond, do your thing!’” “Exactly! Just send him and he gets the job done with something impressive!” — ‘Almond, do your thing,’ LOL — Yeah, he just goes and wins the battle — 2nd era fast Almond rush “But here, ‘Almond, do your thing,’ doesn’t work! Almond can’t break through the walls with arrows! So what did Joseon do last time?” OrangeKing recapped their previous strategy. “They completely isolated Rome and built a defensive tower right at Rome’s entrance! This turned the fortress walls into a prison! It was a brilliantly clever strategy! But!” Joseon had attempted to turn the walls into a prison for Rome. Rome, however, anticipated this and snuck a worker outside, making the strategy ineffective. “Anto saw it coming and placed a worker outside, rendering it useless! Joseon even got caught off guard!” “Ohhh! Right, that surprised us. The prison tactic was a genius move, but Anto predicted it. It was shocking!” — He’s a genius, honestly — Still legendary to think he preemptively moved a worker; — Rome, sneaking out a worker, impressive foresight “That’s Anto for you! This man is a master of countering unpredictable tactics! You can’t mess around in front of him! And!” “What happened before is playing into the current situation! Look now!” “Joseon is scouting, but look at their formation!” On the minimap, Joseon’s red markers didn’t spread out as widely as expected. “They should spread out more for optimal hunting, but they haven’t?” “Huh!? You’re right!” “Cookie is keeping an eye out to block the entrance again at any time!” Cookie was reusing the same strategy from the prelims, but with some adjustments. “I think he believes it’s a solid strategy! The fact that Anto predicted it just proves it was a good tactic, right?! I agree.” Blocking the entrance was an excellent choice. This map offered little in terms of resources, so expansion was essential. Even reaching the third era would be difficult if Rome got trapped inside. “Then, will Anto sneak a worker outside again?” “No, this is where things differ from the last match. He hasn’t moved one out yet. Cookie would already anticipate this!” Exactly. This time, Anto couldn’t simply counter by sneaking a worker outside. Cookie would already be ready for it. — “Cookie would already anticipate this!” <<< why? lol — Then how’s he going to counter this time? “Rome already lacks an extra worker early on because of a buff-giving cleric, right?! If he pulls another worker out and gets caught? That’ll be a disaster! It would be a no-risk, high-reward situation for the opponent!” If Rome moved a worker out and got caught doing so, the worst-case scenario would be losing both the worker and having the entrance blocked. “Then why isn’t Cookie blocking the entrance now!?” “I told you, didn’t I!? Joseon has the advantage.” “Cookie is applying pressure.” “Yes. He’s implying, ‘We can block the entrance anytime, so send a worker out or build something at the entrance!’ It’s psychological warfare right now!” “Look at the Roman soldiers! They aren’t going far! They can’t! They need to keep a certain number at the entrance! Cookie is stopping them without even building a single defensive tower!” Indeed. The shadow of the previous strategy cast itself over this match. Anto’s response could be countered if anticipated, but Cookie’s strategy would catch someone even if they saw it coming. Fortunately, Cookie gained the advantage with this map coming up again. — Being a commander isn’t for everyone — I figured I was more the Best Yi Sun-Shin type during the Liu Bei match, lol — Ah, I miss the days of just saying, “Almond, do your thing...” “This approach is much more stable and efficient than directly rushing the entrance like last time! It doesn’t achieve an extreme result, but it’s no-risk with a steady return!” The game would quickly end if Joseon tried to rush and failed to block the entrance. Now, it was different. They could limit Rome’s movement while minimizing risky moves. “Joseon’s strategy is evolving! Anto, on the other hand, as relentless as he is, might want to send a worker out just in case. But he’s holding back!” Anto also minimized his losses in this psychological game. He was willing to forego some hunting and positioned soldiers at the entrance instead. He didn’t risk sending out a worker. In the early game, each worker was a precious resource for Rome. However, this tactic was slowly costing Rome as they couldn’t fully utilize the map under Joseon’s psychological pressure. “Civil Empire really is a land grab game like we said! Remember the second game against China? China fought fiercely and resisted, but Joseon kept winning thanks to the larger territory they controlled! Like it or not, Rome can’t extend far right now while Joseon freely uses the map! And!!” Joseon quickly advanced to the second era. “It’s the second era! That was fast! This could allow Joseon to block Rome’s entrance and starve them out!” — Is Cookie channeling Best Yi Sun-Shin or something? — Cookie is on fire, whoa — What’s happening? lol