<em>Thunk!</em>


    Thest Roman soldier fell after getting hit by an arrow.


    "<em>Haah... Haah...</em> They’re all dead."


    "Almond is amazing."


    Pang gave a thumbs up and tossed away his broken crossbow, which seemed to have been damaged when he was seriously injured earlier.


    "What do we do now? Looks like we''ll have to fight with their weapons."


    Pang picked up a crossbow that one of the enemies had been using.


    "Are you still alive?" Almond looked at him with confusion.


    "Why do you look like you''re hoping I was dead?""You’re better off dead, honestly."


    <em>— LOL.</em>


    <em>— True though, hahaha.</em>


    <em>— Crazy judgment!</em>


    Pang was so badly injured that he would have been better off dead to respawn at the base and strengthen the main force. What could be done? He had survived.


    "Seriously. There’s nothing you won’t say to an adult."


    Pang chuckled and slung the crossbow over his shoulder.


    "No, I thought I was going to die too. But someone already cleared the enemies, so I just shot wildly without realizing it. <em>Haha...</em>"


    Pang looked up at the sky. Apparently, themander was still not paying attention to this side of the battlefield. Perhaps the fight had started at the main force’s location.


    "Before we go, it wouldn’t hurt to take down one more Roman worker, right? Let''s go."


    Pang led the way forward. Now, it was time to neutralize the gold mine.


    <em>''If they had been watching, they might have discharged me.''</em>


    <em>Civil Empire</em> had a feature called discharge. It was an extreme measure like<em></em>suicide and used to nullify a soldier to recruit a new one from the barracks.


    If Cookie needed Pang, that feature would have been used.


    "There it is!"


    After a short walk, they quickly found the gold mine. Rome couldn''t send more reinforcements to this ce with no soldiers left. The Korean archers mercilessly swept through the workers.


    "Now, all that''s left is to burn down this ce."


    Afterward, Pang gathered the remaining soldiers and gave an order.


    <em>[Construct Siege Equipment]</em>


    The Korean soldiers could create siege weapons on-site. This was especially useful for ranged soldiers who couldn''t use torches and other siege equipment. With enough soldiers, their production speed was faster than usual and very advantageous for hit-and-run tactics.


    <em>[Completed]</em>


    <em>Thud!</em>


    Arge siege ram appeared like a cart with a huge ram attached. The difference was that it wasn''t a cart, but rather a hand-ram.


    "Push!"


    <em>Rumble...</em>


    Operating this siege ram required at least three people. Two soldiers needed to push from each side with one pulling and pushing the ram. Of course, that was the minimum number required. Up to five yers could use it and even eight could ride it. Why would anyone ride this slow siege ram?


    <em>''It counts as a building, so it has good ranged defense.''</em>


    Everything had a reason.


    "Here theye. Get on!"


    "Get on!"


    <em>Whizz!</em>


    As they approached the town hall, a tremendous number of arrows flew at them. The arrows did no damage to the soldiers because all the soldiers had quickly boarded the siege ram.


    "Get down!"


    On Pang''smand, the soldiers got down again and pushed the ram.


    "Get down!"


    <em>Rumble...</em>


    Although slow and heavy, it didn''t matter. Everything would be destroyed if they reached the town hall.


    "Get on!"


    "Get down!"


    The soldiers repeatedly got on and off in sync with the timing of the town hall''s arrows. Eventually, the siege ram reached the town hall.


    "Pull it back!"


    A monstrous chunk of metal was pulled back to its limit.


    <em>Creeee...</em>


    "Release!"


    They released it all at once. With great eleration, the ram struck the pirs of the town hall building.


    <em>Boom!</em>


    <em>"Aaaaah!"</em>


    "HELPPPP!"


    As they attacked the town hall, the worker NPCs began to panic. The workers inside the hall burst out and all started evacuating. This was an automatic action without the suprememander''s orders.


    "Pull it back! Release!"


    The siege ram didn''t require many attacks. Although it was very slow, a few hits would demolish the building.


    <em>Crash!</em>


    Two pirs fell and the town hall helplessly copsed.


    <em>Whoosh.</em>


    The falling debris started a fire.


    "This area is ours now!"


    Merely ten people had taken down a base.


    Cheers of jubtion erupted.


    Almond also raised his arms and beamed.


    <em>"Wooooo!"</em>


    ***


    <em>"Wooooo…!"</em>


    After all the fighting ended at the town hall, the crowd''s excitement hadn’t yet cooled. A faint cheer continued.


    A reporter approached with a microphone.


    "Congrattions on your victory today and for being chosen as MVP. How do you feel?"


    The man receiving her microphone smiled broadly and showed his white teeth.


    "Ah. It seems like they appreciated my performance in thest battle with the main force. Honestly, I''d like to give the glory to themander."


    "Oh, is that so? I heard the vote was very close?"


    "It seems that it''s customary to give MVP to the ordinary soldiers. It was essentially themander who won."


    "Ah ha. Your boundless trust in themander is clearly felt. How did you approach today''s matchup?"


    The man answered without hesitation, "We came here thinking we would definitely win."


    "Nice. Your confidence is befitting as Italy firmly secures the top spot in group one!"


    "Thank you."


    The man nodded in gratitude and brushed back his thick ck hair. His angr features contrasted with his warm green eyes.


    His nickname was Pierre. It was also his real name.


    "Pierre, you just yed a game against Korea, who''s been on a remarkable upswing. Were there any moments that stood out to you like why that team is causing a storm… or something?"


    "Um…"


    Pierre pondered for a moment.


    "There was a critical moment at the end when I nearly couldn''t break through."


    "Ah… The footage ising up now! Let’s take a look."


    The Roman main force was headed toward the Korean base. As always, Korea made itsst stand.


    The reporter continued as if it was still vivid in her eyes, "Right there! The game almost turned around! I remember that!"


    If the game had dragged on just a bit longer, it would have been an actual turnaround. Unlike other RTS games, <em>Civil Empire</em> had a wide map. The flow ofbat was rtively slow, making such urrences not umon.


    "Yes. An archer was holding out until the end. It was really difficult to advance. That yer, I think… has been ranked in the rookie rankings by 7chans webzine this time..."


    "Ah! Almond! He’s a very handsome yer!"


    From the stands, which surely only had Roman fans left, a cheer of<em> “Oooooooh…!”</em> could be heard.


    Pierre nodded with a smile.


    "Oh, yes. I think that yer was the most impressive."


    "Being mentioned by Pierre, who is in the top ten yer rankings, means he must have been quite remarkable, huh? Alright then…"


    <em>Ping.</em>


    The monitor turned ck, faintly showing Ju-Hyeok''s face.


    <em>"Phew,"</em> he sighed and stood up.


    "Is that guy alright?"


    He looked worryingly into the room where Sang-Hyeon hadn’te out yet.


    Sang-Hyeon hadn''te out of the capsule yet. He rarely came out right after a win, so it wasn''t a concern.


    <em>''He has a tremendous desire to win.''</em>


    ording to the public, Korea was already creating a miracle. By this point, they likely had a high chance of advancing to the mainpetition. Maybe they could even aim higher.


    Most yers would have been satisfied.


    <em>''Except for that guy.''</em>


    Ju-Hyeok recalled an interview he had seen of Sang-Hyeon during the Fake National Team. Among all the members, except for Hui-Chul, only Sang-Hyeon had mentioned winning.


    Ju-Hyeok, adept at crunching numbers, felt that desire was dangerous. Realistically, Korea''s chances of winning were zero.


    Someday, Sang-Hyeon would truly have to ept that. Although he always said that he knew, Ju-Hyeok could tell by looking into his eyes.


    Sang-Hyeon really hoped for this team to win.


    Ament he had heard from Producer Jang came to mind.


    <em>“Ah, that title? Surprisingly, it was Sang-Hyeon''s idea.”</em>


    Although the word fake came first, it was definitely followed by national team. The person who came up with this title was none other than Yu Sang-Hyeon. He suggested the idea, saying it sounded impressive after Chi-Seung boarded the bus.


    The reaction was good and people thought it was funny, but Ju-Hyeok knew that the title wasn’t meant to be funny. It felt like a faint pain continuously poking at some part of the body.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    <em>''People don’t know.''</em>


    They didn’t know the dreams still inside the seemingly disinterested and cool-looking Sang-Hyeon.


    <em>''They don’t know what it means to be a national yer to him.''</em>


    And how devastatingly that dream had been trampled. How much he had grieved over it.


    Ju-Hyeok hadn''t seen Sang-Hyeon then, but he saw something simr when Sang-Hyeon shot an arrow for the first time in virtual reality and didn’te out of the capsule.


    <em>“Hey. Do you not know how toe out…?”</em>


    When Ju-Hyeok approached then, he would never forget the sight of Sang-Hyeon through the ss.


    Sang-Hyeon was sobbing. He was alone in the capsule where no one else could hear him, weeping bitterly.


    "…"


    Ju-Hyeok nced at the capsule for a moment. There was still no sign of Sang-Hyeoning out. It would probably take even longer with feedback and meetings.


    Ju-Hyeok opened the door to the yard and, out of habit, lit a cigarette.


    <em>Chick.</em>


    "Anyway…"


    The cigarette smoke mixed with his breath and rose into the sky.


    He stared up nkly and wondered aloud, "Could I ever cry like that?"


    ***


    The next day, the game between Korea and Italy became a significant topic at the tournament. It was covered not just by domestic forums, but also by domestic and foreign gaming media.


    <em>[The Elite Rome quells the uprising of the underdog]</em>


    <em>[A storm has passed, but embers remain.]</em>


    <em>[Ultimately, a victory for the ssics.]</em>


    This game caught so much attention due to the battle between two teams that seemed to be pr opposites. Italy, which had scarcely descended from the upper echelons of <em>Civil Empire</em> international matches, and Korea, which had never reached the upper ranks.


    With a robust and standard buildup, Italy conquered the map like a well-paved Roman road. Korea chose a rugged path, like off-roading, but quickly troubled the opponent.


    This contrasting battle scenario drew people''s attention. Above all, Korea was causing the biggest upset among this tournament''s underdogs.


    As the media described it, it was truly an underdog storm.


    <em>[I''m Japanese but I''m rooting for Korea. They’re really fun to watch.]</em>


    <em>[Korean games are really fun. Go Korea!]</em>


    <em>[As expected, the game is K.]</em>


    <em>[They almost won against Rome. What a miracle.]</em>


    Thanks to this, Korea gained fans abroad and rted posts asionally appeared on international forums.


    Most encouragingly, an article about Almond appeared independently apart from the articles regarding Korea and Italy.


    <em>[Almond, amid defeat, The God’s Show Korea''s storm is not over yet]</em>


    The original article appeared in an overseas webzine, but it was also tranted and published by Korean esports media.


    <em>— Demonstration of Strength LOL!</em>


    <em>— What kind of trantion is this? HAHA.</em>


    <em>— I love the aggressive ystyle. True to his words about ball possession, he shoots crisply without dragging it out.</em>


    <em>└ LOL.</em>


    <em>└ Ball possession LOL.</em>


    <em>— I agree with the God’s Show, LOL.</em>


    <em>— Whoever scouted Almond for streaming deserves a prize. Who knew a streamer could y this well?</em>


    <em>└ For real LOL.</em>


    <em>— Korea! It''s not over yet! Fight on!</em>


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!