Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

I_K 1.3 Run: History's Mightiest Kingdom

Chapter 3

Run: History's Mightiest Kingdom

"It's the quiet before the storm, folks, as our participant plots out her course and strategies for the final level of the campaign."

The announcer had been doing his best to emulate the big budget arena style of commentary all night. To his credit, his impression was good if not out of place in the cramped room which currently held roughly a hundred spectators and fifteen speedrunners.

"With the Mongols, Midnight Kali has blazed almost effortlessly through the dream match campaign. Her choice of the wrestler princess Khutulun was an odd one, seeing as how she lost some time early on, but she's really made up the time in the later levels with some impressive horseback sequence breaks. Unless she hits a major snag, she's poised to place somewhere in the top five, but can she beat Emperor@_@Sou's time?"

"No, I don't think so, Dave. Emperor holds the second best time in the world and he's been chasing number one for a while now. Midnight Kali is impressive, but I can't see her cracking top three with Khutulun. The Mongols are fast and effective against most, but when up against the Roman Legionnaires their speed and ranged attacks will be nullified."

"You have a point, Shawn. The Roman Legionnaires defenses are like those of a wall. There's a reason why so many runs end against this matchup. The Gladius, the shields, the Pilum, the armor, the discipline, and the tactical formations are all factors that make the Legionnaires arguably the most dominant faction in the game."

Fools. Listening to these two and their superficial understanding of a true run of this game was mildly distracting. I did my best to drown them out as I positioned my units and generals on the three-dimensional map. The most important part of this particular run was the terrain and the placement of the soldiers. After equipping them and giving them their orders, it was time to begin the battle.

The final battle of this game's Dream Campaign took place in medieval Brannockburn and, as heard earlier, was against the Roman Legion. Sure, it didn't make sense historically, but the point of this campaign was in pitting some of the most revered armies in the world against one another at some of the world's most prominent battlefields.

The VR headset gave a splendid panoramic view of the Scottish Highlands with its vast sea of green grass and impressive hills. Today's battle took place under a picturesque blue sky. The Mightiest Kingdoms games always played up the beauty of these fights by sanitizing the brutal nature of warfare with flashy effects, limited blood, and B-movie melodrama. History's Mightiest Kingdom XV only upped the graphical scale on all that, creating something as pleasing to the eye as a sugary sweet was to the tongue.

My generals and units were far ahead of me, all grouped together. The enemy could be seen hundreds of yards beyond that, safe behind their makeshift fortifications.

"Midnight Kali has chosen a very peculiar formation and position for her units."

"Well, it's a wedge. Those are always good for breaking through an opposing army's ranks."

"Yes, but Dave, those are all her units. I don't see anyone guarding her fortifications. If she loses those then the enemy is strengthened and that defense and vitality boost will only slow her down."

"I never said it was a good idea. I'm just pointing out the usefulness of the wedge."

And that's why they were watching instead of playing. It would have been thoughtful of the organizers to include a mute button for the announcers, but for now I'll have to deal with it.