On the day of thepetition at 4 P.M. when neither school nor work had ended yet, two hours still remained until the start of thepetition.


    People already began to crowd into Embul and LIL Pro.


    <em>[Alright, alright, those chatting about LIL~ thoseworking~ clear the room~]</em>


    <em>[The era of Civil Empire is about to start. No cultural governance, so clear out.]</em>


    <em>[This winter, in 2 hours. My life begins…]</em>


    The atmosphere grew so intense that it became hard to distinguish between LIL Pro and Embul.


    The crowd was noticeablyrger than during the match against France. This was because the news that Korea had defeated France spread far and wide.


    The news even made it into mainstream media articles.


    <em>[Korea''s Unpopr Game Event, The Amateur''s Revolt]</em>It wasn''t featured on the front page, but reaching the general public was good news.


    <em>— Is this a game?</em>


    <em>— It must be fun to thrash those old pirates as Joseon, haha</em>


    <em>— With spears, LOL, this looks fun</em>


    Even those who usually didn’t engage in gaming had learned about<em> Civil Empire</em> and the nationalpetition through the article. The nationalpetition could be enjoyed like a national ser match even by those unfamiliar with gaming.


    The spreading of this news was significant.


    <em>— It''s innovative and looks fun. Why isn’t it popr here? As usual, Koreans just indulge in sensational stuff like LIL, cursing their moms and dads… tsk tsk</em>


    <em>└ Uncle, there''s never been a popr history game in our country…</em>


    <em>└ If it gets popr, they’ll be calling for their moms and dads too LOL</em>


    <em>└ Talking about thrashing pirates isn’t sensational, it’s educational, isn’t it?</em>


    To the general public, this game seemed like a somewhat dignified history game. However, the reality was different. It was a game that even ced bounties on people.


    <em>[Currently a bounty on Almond in Spain LOL]</em>


    <em>[Almond</em>


    <em>DEAD or ALIVE</em>


    <em>Bounty: Currently collecting]</em>


    <em>— DEAD or ALIVE LOL</em>


    <em>— Are these guys serious LOL</em>


    <em>— Scary! The No-Job Fleet!</em>


    <em>— Surely they don''t mean to actually cut off Yu Sang-Hyeon’s head, right? Haha</em>


    <em>└ Do you think Spain is some South American country? LOL</em>


    <em>— Hey Spain, if you''re going to kill him, hire a devil hunter.</em>


    <em>— Dead or alive.</em>


    <em>— A bounty being currently collected is terrifying LOL</em>


    <em>└ Crowdfunded bounty LOL</em>


    <em>└ Really LOL</em>


    <em>└ How much will they raise? LOL</em>n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Not long afterward, news about the bounty spread domestically.


    <em>[Korea vs Spain, National Competition Live Broadcast]</em>


    The live broadcast of the nationalpetition began.


    "Good evening, wandering mercenaries! I am caster Kim Sang-Hoon."


    "And I''m the analyst, OrangeKing."


    "Pleased to meet you!"


    The number of viewers was unusually high despite there still being time before the game.


    <em>— Hi Hi</em>


    <em>— Finally</em>


    <em>— Here ites… my life…</em>


    <em>— Please win today!!!</em>


    Viewers flooded in.


    <em>[Current Viewers: 73,000]</em>


    The rapid climb past 70,000 viewers was so notable that the broadcasters couldn''t help butment on it.


    "Ah, our viewers right now!?"


    "The numbers are impressive! Could <em>Civil Empire</em> really take off? Are we going to Mars!?"


    "We don’t know yet! Why do you think it''s gaining poprity now, OrangeKing!?"


    "It’s because of thest game against France! Not because the LIL Cup failed!"


    "That’s right! It’s because of the game against France!"


    <em>— LOL LOL LOL</em>


    <em>— Exactly right</em>


    <em>— Agreed</em>


    <em>— I agree</em>


    <em>— That game against France was legendary</em>


    "Since we’re on the topic, let’s watch the highlight video from the game against France!"


    As usual, the broadcast showed a series of previous highlights.


    OrangeKing’s excited voice from the recording, the caster''s shouts, and the cheers from fans could all be heard again. The fervor of that moment still felt alive even now.


    "Ah… when the spears were first drawn! Wasn’t that amazing?"


    "Absolutely. The spearsing out in second era rush… Ahhh! It really made you want to call for the bar owner!"


    <em>— For real</em>


    <em>— I got chills</em>


    <em>— Ever since then, a few guys in solo rank civilization games started using Joseon with spears LOL</em>


    <em>— The turnaround was epic</em>


    The caster nced at the chat and mentioned it, "Ah. ording to the live chat, spears have been appearing even in solo rank civilization games since then." The intrigued caster asked OrangeKing, "Do you think spears will be used more often now?"


    "Ah… well, it''s hard to say. Right now, Cookie is just on another level, you know? One might focus on the spears… but the real key is the production that allows those spears toe out at that timing."


    <em>— Likely not gonna be used much LOL</em>


    <em>— If you try to copy them, you’ll really fail</em>


    <em>— If you can do it like Cookie, you’re good</em>


    <em>— It’s just entertainment for ordinary people</em>


    <em>— I tried it and lost every game…</em>


    "Right? Some viewers in the chat are saying they all lost trying to copy the strategy."


    "Ah... it''s not easy, is it?"


    "Yes. There''s a difference inmanders and yers are different too. If it hadn''t been Almond who infiltrated to kill the workers in thest game, the defense towers wouldn’t have been neutralized. Other yers might have been unable to do anything."


    "That''s right. That’s why he received the MVP."


    "Yes, the yer is very important."


    "But there''s a lot of talk about this. It seems to be a question from people who are new to<em> Civil Empire</em>."


    "What is it?"


    Many had asked questions, but the most frequent inquiry was about the bnce of civilization factions.


    "Why is Joseon so weak!? Eh? How can you y the game like this?"


    <em>— You shouldin to our ancestors…</em>


    <em>— Compared to history, isn’t the game version actually strong? LOL</em>


    <em>— Really, patch it~~</em>


    <em>— LOL true, Joseon is weak</em>


    <em>— But isn''t this just our point of view?</em>


    "There''s a lot of talk like Ennd has shields in the first era and longbowmen by the second era! Eh? And we have spears?!"


    <em>— Damn, that''s true LOL</em>


    <em>— Longbow vs spear LOL really</em>


    <em>— LOL</em>


    "Ah."


    OrangeKing nodded, acknowledging that such questions were to be expected.


    "Everyone agrees that Joseon is a civilization that needs a buff, but you shouldn''t get too fixated on that. It''s a game, so the bnce can''t be perfect."


    <em>— Really</em>


    <em>— Looks like the over-investors are back LOL</em>


    <em>— In somemunities, there are historical buffs sticking to this and arguing about the actual Joseon and such LOL</em>


    <em>— Agree</em>


    <em>— Obviously, because it''s based on history, many people are annoyed LOL LOL</em>


    OrangeKing provided an example to those who had been thinking too negatively about the Joseon civilization.


    "We also have a focus trait for all archers, which doesn''t cost a penny andes automatically equipped. The trait itself is pretty good. Plus, when fully charged, its range isparable to that of a longbow. And it’s much cheaper to produce."


    <em>— Really</em>


    <em>— That’s good</em>


    <em>— You can''tpare it to Ennd, they lose power going into the third era</em>


    <em>— If you show Joseon''s third era once, everyone will like it LOL</em>


    "Ah. Thank you for the exnation, OrangeKing. Even if there are some bnce issues, we have to find a way to survive. We can''t keep asking the gamepany to patch this and that. Showing good results with what we have is the attitude of a pro."


    "Yes! If the game bes popr in our country, they’ll take care of it! Now! Our yers are entering!"


    "Yes~! Here are our proud nationalpetition yers! Everyone, please wee them with apuse!!!"


    <em>— p p p</em>


    <em>— Wow~~</em>


    <em>— p p p</em>


    <em>— LOL LOL LOL</em>


    <em>— Go go go!</em>


    The yers from both sides began to appear on the field.


    <em>[ALL DIVE SYSTEM INITIATED]</em>


    At this moment, the view outside the field also appeared. Spain was a wave of gold and Korea was a wave of red.


    <em>[Current Viewers: 137,000]</em>


    By then, the viewers had surpassed 137,000.


    ***


    Before the start of the game, Korea continued practicing and syncing up until thest moment.


    <em>"Ta!"</em>


    <em>"Ta!"</em>


    They were even echoing each other, seemingly trying to perfectly align their coordination.


    "Down!"


    "Down!"


    "<em>Ta!</em> Down!"


    "<em>Ta!</em> Down!"


    <em>Click! Click!</em>


    Like soldiers, they even matched the sounds of their steps to execute this operation perfectly. More than being fast or slow, acting in sync seemed to be key for this operation.


    <em>[Entering the game]</em>


    <em>Swoosh.</em>


    A white ze instantly covered the field and everyone appeared on the field. Almond and his archers were no exception.


    "<em>Phew…</em> I wonder if it will go well in the real game," Latte muttered nervously to himself.


    "Don''t talk nonsense, Latte. Haven’t you seen this bro nailing it in the real game? Eh? This is our team, man. We’re the real deal. Not golf yers, but pro golf yers," Pangforted him from the side even though half of it was boasting about his own achievements.


    "Yes, I understand—"


    They exchanged casual chatter and walked across the field.


    <em>Boom!</em>


    <em>"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"</em>


    A light suddenly turned on and the stands appeared.


    "!"


    At that moment, all the yers couldn''t help but widen their eyes.


    "There are more now."


    "Wow..."


    This was because the red wave was noticeablyrger than during the match against France. It was enough to fill an entire side. When looking north, only Korean supporters could be seen. They filled more than a quarter of the stadium. It felt quite different from when fans were sparsely scattered around the stadium.


    In Almond''s stream chat, viewers talked about the stands too.


    <em>— It’s exploding like crazy LOL</em>


    <em>— Should we start selling cheering gear?</em>


    <em>— It''ll be chaos if we lose today LOL</em>


    <em>— Let''s just win today </em>


    <em>— But Spain is really tough</em>


    Along with mentions of Korea’s growing poprity, many worried about losing today''s game and reasonably so. Simply losing and losing in front of so many spectators were two different things.


    France, the toothless tiger, and Spain, dubbed the golden generation, were currently iparable in strength. Of course, the civilization matchup had been overwhelmingly in favor of France. However, the Korean team had shown that matchups weren’t everything in this game.


    Like in real warfare, the yers also mattered. In that context, viewing Spain as a championship contending team was reasonable.


    <em>''Cookie really needs to perform well today.''</em>


    Today, more than ever, it was likely toe down to the skill of themanders because the opponents consisted of exceptionally good yers.


    "Alright! It''s about to start!" Pang pumped up the archers.


    <em>[10 seconds until the game starts]</em>


    The countdown proceeded.


    "To the Spanish pirates! Let''s show them what it''s like to live next to China!"


    <em>"Waaaaaaaaaaah!!!!"</em>


    <em>p──!</em>


    In sync with that, the Taegukgi g fluttered above the town hall.


    <em>— LOL LOL LOL</em>


    <em>— What kind of slogan is that? LOL</em>


    <em>— Wow!</em>


    <em>— Really LOL</em>


    <em>— Back then, China was almost like America LOL</em>


    <em>— True LOL</em>


    <em>— Genghis Khan died and they survived by luck LOL</em>


    <em>— Acknowledging living next to China LOL LOL</em>


    The Korean team had tremendous morale after winning their previous match, but the Spanish team was not to be underestimated either.


    "Korea is a team of losers that didn’t even pass the preliminary roundsst year and the year before!" Assistant Commander Tres shouted with a flushed face, "And it will be the same this year! Because they met us!"


    <em>"Waaaaaaaaaaah!"</em> the Spanish team roared with the Spanish g fluttering above their town hall.


    Soon afterward, the game began.


    <em>Beep──!</em>


    <em>[Game Start]</em>


    ***


    "Now, the game has started. At six o''clock, we have the Korean team! At twelve o''clock, Spain''s Espa?a! Mr. OrangeKing, what do you think?"


    Typically, they didn’t have much tomentate about in the early game. Discussions often revolved around the teams'' rtive strengths.


    "Ah. As I''ve mentioned continuously, Spain is a team made up entirely of professionals. There will likely be a significant difference inbat effectiveness between soldiers. Therefore, themander''s strategy and the soldiers'' teamwork seem even more crucial today."


    "Ah, so you''re saying a one-on-one fight would be difficult?"


    "Yes. If we think about it coolly, that''s what it seems like… Huh? What''s this right from the start!?"


    OrangeKing, who had been leisurely exining about the teams'' setups, had to stop speaking. The in-game situation was not following the usual patterns.


    "Ah. What''s happening?"


    "Spain’s strategy is...? Quite extreme!?"


    OrangeKing had anticipated that Korea would use an extreme strategy.


    <em>‘Spain is starting like this?!’</em>


    This game was off to a start that broke all of OrangeKing’s expectations.