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“Oh. It’s out,” OrangeKing spoke to caster Kim Sang-Hoon while preparing the broadcast.

“The Fake National Team?”

“Yes!”

Watching a Fake National Team episode had become part of their routine while preparing for the broadcast. It made sense since it aired at just the right time for viewers waiting to watch the national competition.

“Let’s take a look.”

OrangeKing placed the phone in the middle and started playing it. The first thing that stood out was the number of viewers.

“Wow. Look at the number of viewers. What is this?”

“Wow... that many people are watching the premiere? At this rate, it might beat our live broadcast.”

The number of viewers waiting for the premiere was comparable to those waiting for the Civil Empire broadcast. Many of the viewers overlapped anyway.

“Hmm. Probably.”

The waiting time ended and the video started.

[Premiering now!]

Sang-Hoon discreetly said to OrangeKing, “You cried when you watched this last time. Don’t cry, okay?”

“... Who, who cries? I’ve never cried except when we lost to JeonJaPa.”

“I just don’t want to see you crying, so don’t cry.”

“I’m emotionless. Robot Jungler OrangeKing. That’s my nickname, isn’t it?”

“That’s because your physical skills are so clumsy that they call you a robot.”

“...”

“Anyway, it’s starting. Let’s watch.”

A moment later...

***

OrangeKing couldn’t hold back his laughter and giggled.

“Aren’t you emotionless?”

OrangeKing was even drooling while laughing and tried to maintain his dignity.

“Cough, cough. No... it’s not like that...”

They were preparing for tears, but ended up being funny.

OrangeKing scratched his head.

“Let’s get ready.”

Anyway, they finished watching the Fake National Team video. Now, they needed to prepare for the broadcast.

“We’re going in soon~”

The producer signaled them from the front.

OrangeKing and Sang-Hoon quickly straightened their clothes and stood up straight.

“One, two...”

Bang!

***

Right before the match started, Cookie gathered everyone and stood on the podium.

“There’s no need for me to tell you that Spain’s performance has been poor lately.”

The players lined up and listened to him attentively.

Cookie’s motivational speech before the match was quite an important process for the team.

“France was no different.”

Cookie tried to look at each soldier as much as possible as if he was having a one-on-one conversation with them.

Their physical armaments were armor and swords, but their commander gave them mental armaments.

“In other words, we’ve only won against two teams due to their poor performances.”

Cookie wanted to balance their confidence and arrogance so that they wouldn’t underestimate their opponents.

“We’ve been relentlessly beating those who couldn’t pull themselves together. Spain seemed disoriented until their last match against Italy. But!”

A moment of silence passed.

“Today, they are different. Despite Almond’s tremendous provocation, Tres did not post any comments on social media.”

Almond tilted his head in confusion at the sudden mention of his name.

‘When did I?’

“The other commanders are also responding silently to public attacks. It means they’re focusing all their nerves on this match.”

Murmurs briefly filled the air, discussing whether that was really the case. Based on Cookie’s words alone, it was hard to tell if their opponents were really focusing on this match or not.

“If you listen to other teams that have scrimmed with them, Spain’s performance is at its peak.”

“Gulp.”

Some swallowed their dry saliva.

“Why? Because Spain is at the edge of a cliff. If they lose today, they have no more chances.”

That was true. Korea would still have another chance even if they lost today, but Spain would not. Conversely, Korea would secure their advancement if they won today.

“A person running away is faster than a person chasing. Even a cat will take a step back when hunting a cornered mouse.”

Cookie’s message was simple when summarized into one line.

“So, don’t let your guard down.”

He warned them not to underestimate the opponent just because Spain’s condition wasn’t good.

“Even if you have to take a step back, deal with them thoroughly. Then, victory will be ours because we are much more desperate than they are. That’s all.”

“Waaaaaaah!”

A thunderous roar erupted. Not just because they were impressed by Cookie’s speech, but they shouted to share their courage with each other.

Now, only one step remained in the tournament. Any human being would face this match with a pounding heart that seemed like it would burst.

“... Waaaaaa!!”

Even here, they released their tension by shouting like this.

Almond also followed along and shouted, “... Waaa... aaa...”

He literally shouted even though he didn’t actually need to calm himself by shouting. He was a former athlete who had already perfectly established a unique routine for calming his mind.

“Ha.”

He proceeded with deep breathing, erasing the complexity in his head and the tremor in his body.

Thump. Thump... Thump. Thump...

His heartbeat gradually stabilized. What was the secret to quickly relieving tension?

“It’s okay to be nervous.”

Those were his coach’s words.

Almond was human too. He knew full well that today’s match would determine their advancement to the finals and couldn’t be completely unaffected.

‘Don’t be nervous.’

Repeating that was useless. If someone was told not to think about an elephant, an elephant would come to mind.

“Shoot straight even in a nervous state. You’ve practiced that way.”

He had trained to be superior to his opponents even while nervous.

‘So, it’s okay.’

It didn’t matter if he thought of an elephant. It didn’t matter if the elephant appeared. He had learned how to hunt the elephant, so it was okay to be nervous.

‘Win.’

He had trained to win even in that state.

***

Numerous players appeared on the field.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

Blue lights flashed and the players appeared one by one. A total of four hundred players were divided into two factions.

“Waaaaaa!”

In the stands, golden supporters and red supporters could be seen.

Cheers of unknown origin covered the entire stadium.

“The players are entering!”

— Thump thump

— Player entrance~

— Wow

— Oh, it’s starting now

— Hello hello

— Korea to the finals!

Many viewers flocked in along with the players’ entrance and the start of the match.

[Current Viewers: 370,000]

A whopping 370,000 viewers poured in probably because today’s match would be critical for Korea’s advancement into the finals.

“A lot of viewers have tuned into our broadcast.”

“Yes! Today could decide many things! If Spain loses today, they are completely out!”

— Thump thump

— All-pro team dropping out lolol

— Right, Rome automatically advances lolol

“That’s right! Not only our players, but the Spanish players are also on the chopping block today. They’re attracting more attention because of that, aren’t they?”

“They are! In Spain, this game is getting more than four to five times the attention! If Spain drops out of the preliminaries today, it will be devastating!”

— Harsh lolol

— Jobless fleet lolol

— Did you... watch it?

— LOL

— Pang must win!

— You watched the Fake National Team? lolol

It wasn’t a joke. This game’s popularity in Spain was enormous. If Spain was eliminated in such a preliminary, they could really be kicked out of the pro scene.

“If they lose, it’s good for us, but... it’s terrifying from their perspective!”

— If the commentators are saying this, it must be tough lol

— Their local popularity is crazy

— The Spanish were cocky but suddenly got serious, hilarious lol

“Perhaps that’s why the atmosphere among the Spanish players today is very intense. They used to play with a very casual attitude, right?”

As OrangeKing mentioned, the atmosphere among the Spanish players felt quite different today.

“That’s right. It’s all in the past now, but they were very casual when we first played them, which was quite infuriating.”

“Indeed, but now they’re getting a proper education. It’s called being schooled in English. Proper etiquette is being instilled in them. It’s nice to see!”

— LOL

— Schooled lol

— Serves the Spanish right

Previously, the Spanish players had been overly confident and played as if they were having fun. They even prioritized the bounty on Almond’s head over winning the game.

Today, they looked completely different because their situation was drastically different from Korea’s.

“On the other hand, Korea will still have another chance even if they lose today! If they win though, they’ll advance right away. Italy’s match will decide first and second place.”

“That’s right. It would be great if that happened... While we were talking, the match has started!”

The waiting time ended and the match began. Workers from each faction busily ran toward resources.

The commentators started explaining the map.

“It’s a map where they are diagonally far apart. Spain is at seven o’clock! The Spanish players are there. Korea is at two o’clock! The Korean players are there.”

“Oh, this map is... a bit special?”

“Yes. It’s not as ancient as the old fortress, but it has more variables than the Mongolian steppe.”

The variable on this map was the mountainous terrain. The rolling mountain ranges seemed to show off their rough power.

[Rugged Mountains and Highlands]

This map was inspired by treacherous mountain paths that were almost all hills or valleys. There were few plains except for the highlands, making it nearly impossible to create farmland. This made hunting essential.

“Hunting is more important on this map because it’s almost impossible to cultivate farmland.”

“Yes, it also seems difficult to advance. Is that correct?”

“That’s right. Most of the terrain is mountainous, so infantry will move slowly and cavalry can’t be used.”

“They can’t ride horses?”

“They can, but it’s useless on such densely wooded paths. Eventually, you’ll have to clear the mountain paths.”

— Wow, it’s tough in many ways

— The game might take a long time

— Korea has the advantage without horses, don’t they?

“Clearing the mountain paths isn’t difficult after siege equipment appears in the third era, but it’s tough before that. Soldiers have to chop down trees one by one.”

“I see. With such dense trees, shooting arrows won’t be easy either.”

“That’s right. The most advantageous unit is unexpectedly the swordsman. They are faster than spearmen and can ambush the opponent in close combat.”

Spearmen were also at a disadvantage in such dense forest terrain. Their long weapons often got in the way.

Swords of moderate length with large blades were more advantageous. Swordsmen could hide behind trees and suddenly come out to slash the enemies’ throats.

“Then, isn’t Joseon at a disadvantage? Spain has no archers, but they have strong melee units!”

If archers couldn’t be used, Joseon would be significantly weakened.

“Thinking only about units, yes. However, Korea surprisingly has a faction related to mountainous terrain.”

“Really!?”

“Yes. Joseon has the mountain fortress and the mountain tribe faction.”

“The mountain tribe?”

“I’m only mentioning it now since it’s the first time we’re seeing mountainous terrain. It’s a free faction that gains more speed on mountains.”

— All sorts of things lol

— Oh, because of our mountain fortress culture, amazing

— Wow

— Mountain tribe lol

— The whole world is a mountain climbing club lol

— Accurate history lol

“But Joseon’s pride is archery!?”

“They can shoot in less dense areas. There are other narrow and limited paths, right? Besides, Joseon isn’t just an archery civilization! They can use melee units effectively!”

— Right

— There are some good ones in the third era

— OrangeKing advocating for Joseon lol

“In ranked games, Joseon often uses melee units. The national competition members are so good with archery that they’ve been using archers only.”

“Oh... I see?”

Joseon also had decent melee units that were cheaper and beginners often preferred them because archery required a high level of skill.

“So! Considering Joseon’s other factions, the emergence of mountainous terrain today is still favorable! If they strategize well, they can advance to the finals!” OrangeKing spoke as if he was telling himself that they could advance to the finals.

Of course, no one knew how the match would unfold.

“Meanwhile, the Spanish players! If they lose today, they’ll become ingredients for the tomato festival! They need to focus!”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

— Tomato festival lolol

— They’ll become ketchup

— Lol this connection

— Turned into ketchup lol

— If Spain gets eliminated, they’ll really go to the tomato festival

— Oh, the tomato festival is Spanish lol I was wondering what that meant lol

— Let’s gooooo! Finals!