Unlike the fierce land battles occurring in Age of Empires II, the navies in Uncharted Waters IV were far more cautious. These warships had been bought with a significant amount of gold saved up through hard work; a reckless charge that resulted in the fleet being wiped out would make it nearly impossible to recover their strength in a short time.
Even though the naval commanders on both sides were ready for battle, seeing the endless stream of reinforcements from the opposition made them decide to delay the final showdown. Building a high-tier warship in Uncharted Waters was not as easy as producing a squad of soldiers in Age of Empires. This wasn't a war of attrition; it was a life-and-death struggle where everything was staked on a single engagement.
Consequently, both sides established a boundary line in the waters between Sofala and Cape Town. One side continued trading in East Africa and the Indian Ocean, while the other accumulated funds in West Africa and the New World.
Naturally, even though the Art of War by Sun Tzu did not exist in this world, the principle of "knowing oneself and one's enemy" remained universal. Although they had temporarily pressed the pause button on active combat, it didn't mean they weren't engaging in "little tricks."
The Northshire group spent some gold in the game to hire two solo players to scout the Second Legion's movements in the Indian Ocean. Since the vast majority of players in the net cafe were playing Uncharted Waters IV, the fleets of players who had already left—like Old Chen, Li Li, and Arator—continued to operate in their assigned waters according to pre-set commands. Thus, the passing solo fleets did not arouse the suspicion of the Second Legion.
However, the Second Legion did something even more ingenious.
The temporary commander, Geran Vimes, studied the in-game world map for a long time before eventually consulting the NPC crew members. From their descriptions, he concluded that this world, like Azeroth, was situated on a planet.
He then ordered a teammate to take a ship entirely refitted with cargo warehouses and set sail from Dernate, the easternmost port of Southeast Asia. They crossed the Pacific Ocean directly, passed through the southernmost tip of South America—later known as the Strait of Magellan—and then headed north to the port of Pernambuco on the east coast of South America and the west side of the Atlantic.
This "Ten-Thousand-Mile Solo Voyage" directly bypassed all the blockades set up by the Northshire Navy in West Africa. The ship resupplied and continued north. When it finally sauntered into the North Sea, none of the Northshire naval players suspected a thing; everyone assumed it was just a newbie who had just entered the game with a starting ship.
While the naval battle had not yet begun, the combined schemes of over eight hundred "scheming hearts" were already deeply entangled.
Meanwhile, Age of Empires II was already a scene of smoke and blood. Since the game maps contained vast amounts of trees, wood could be used to establish farms for food. Even if the gold mines were depleted, gold could still be acquired through trade carts moving between allies. Theoretically, except for stone—which would be consumed relatively quickly—other resources could be produced indefinitely.
The battle had fallen into a stalemate. As the game progressed and technologies were unlocked, the armor of cavalry against ranged units increased. Relying solely on a combination of bows, muskets, and fortifications to stop Alos's cavalry tide was becoming increasingly futile.
McBride utilized every trick in the book. He deployed ballistae and catapults for area-of-effect damage, petards that charged in for suicide bombings, and powerful cannon towers. He used everything at his disposal.
Alos, however, adhered to a singular philosophy. Regardless of how the opponent changed, he only produced those three types of cavalry. He sent wave after wave of war elephants for frontal assaults. Even if they couldn't make effective progress, they pinned down a massive portion of the enemy's active forces on the main battlefield.
At the same time, large groups of Tarkhan cavalry—specialists in demolition—used their speed advantage to appear and disappear like ghosts. They frequently materialized to tear down clusters of McBride's fortifications, allowing the Mangudai to drive straight in.
This didn't mean McBride was losing. By relying on massive numbers of fortifications and defensive structures to support his ranged units, he was essentially trading huge amounts of wood and stone to preserve his gold and food. The result was that he accumulated a significant force of heavy cavalry—the strongest single unit in the game: "Paladins."
These knights bypassed half the map under the vision provided by the numerous outposts built earlier. They launched an attack on Alos's extreme rear: the trade stations and trade carts.
Any war is a contest of consumption, and games are no exception. As long as resources flow from the rear, equipment and manpower can be produced continuously—especially in a game where one doesn't have to worry about birth rates.
While Age of Empires II lacked a supply line concept, as the game reached its late stage, gold reserves and mineable gold were running dry. With both sides holding an equal number of relics in their monasteries, trade stations and carts became the primary source of gold.
If McBride's Paladins wiped them out in one wave, the economy would break. Even the most valiant cavalry at the front would see their offensive wither without reinforcements, eventually leading to a counter-push.
Alos had no choice but to order two of his factions to return and defend the base. As a result, the pressure on the front line plummeted. McBride, who had been defending for ages, immediately ordered a full-scale counter-attack. He ignored the Tarkhan cavalry still harassing his home and ordered all forces to march toward Alos's main camp.
Since Paladins had almost no weaknesses in single-unit combat besides their cost, and because everyone was using cavalry with similar speeds, the Tarkhans returning to save the base lost the advantage they had against infantry. Alos was forced to order a full retreat to save his base.
The tide had turned, and morale was damaged. Alos's five subordinates were forced to fight a final battle at their own camp without any defensive fortifications, relying solely on castles for support.
As the match reached its conclusion, Wayne couldn't look away. He even handed control of his own fleet to Li Huamei so he could watch the impending climax without blinking.
Purely in terms of combat results between the units, Alos didn't actually fall behind. However, they were slowly being cannibalized. The core reason was that McBride didn't just send his army; he also brought nearly a hundred villagers. While the armies fought fiercely in the center, these villagers were frantically swinging hammers on the nearby open ground, building arrow towers, cannon towers, and fences.
Whenever the front line was pushed back, McBride's ranged units would maneuver behind the fences. The enemy cavalry, while chasing them, was drawn into a three-dimensional web of fire formed by the clusters of towers. McBride's own cavalry was used specifically to counter the siege engines Alos was forced to produce.
"If you build it, I will charge in and destroy it at any cost."
Finally, as buildings were demolished in large batches, a grim-faced Alos had no choice but to reluctantly accept defeat in a match that had lasted nearly five hours.
The ten officers on both sides—whether celebrating or feeling dejected—shared the same feeling: a sense of liberation from the cruelty of war.
Without taking off his glasses, Alos began to encourage his subordinates in the game: "I take responsibility for the outcome. Your performance was outstanding, and your execution was perfect. Our defeat was decided by a single thought."
He had to admit, this was the difference in tactical thinking between the Army and the Navy. No Navy would ever think of bringing a group of construction workers into the vast ocean to build houses on the water—that was absurd. But in the Army, advancing tier by tier and consolidating positions through trenches and bunkers was a common sight.
Alos: "This experience was excellent and taught me a lesson. If this battle were in reality, it would have lasted at least half a year. But in this... whatever Age of Empires is, it was finished in an afternoon."
After saying this, he nodded six or seven times, clearly expressing that this trip to Goldshire was well worth it.
Soon, one of his subordinates reminded him: "Commander, should we see how the naval battle is going?"
Alos, still immersed in the previous match, widened his eyes as he realized: "Right! We absolutely cannot lose the naval battle too!"
As he stepped out of the five-man booth, McBride happened to walk out from the neighboring one. The victorious Marshal was naturally a bit smug. Seeing Alos's furrowed brow and hearing his exclamation about "not losing again," McBride immediately taunted: "Just you wait. We're about to beat you in the naval battle too."
Alos snapped back: "Dream on, old man."
If Alos had applied the three elements of tonnage, firepower, and speed on land, it went without saying he would do so at sea. However, after the scouting report from the small ship that crossed the Pacific, the temporary commander Geran Vimes reported a piece of bad news:
The Northshire Navy had concentrated resources in the port of Lübeck under their control, pushing its development and armament levels to the limit. As a result, they had researched a terrifying type of warship—the Ship of the Line.
This warship featured three tall masts and was among the best in the game for armor and hull capacity. It was arguably the strongest overall warship in the default data, bar none. Furthermore, through concentrated development of a single port, they had also developed the strongest cannon in the game—the Rapid-fire Cannon.
In terms of both range and power, this cannon was the farthest and most ferocious in the game's default data.
Geran Vimes reported this to Alos for one purpose: he needed the commander to decide the next strategic move. In Southeast Asia, even if a port was developed to its highest level, it was impossible to research a warship as powerful as the Ship of the Line. And even if they researched Rapid-fire Cannons, they would only reach parity with Northshire, failing to bridge the gap in warship quality.
In the Navy, "Great Guns and Big Ships" had been the sacred truth for a long time. Geran Vimes suggested pivoting to East Asia, focusing funds on a place called Japan to boost port armament and using Ironclads to go head-to-head with the Ships of the Line.
Hearing this, Alos also felt it was a difficult situation. He ordered his naval subordinates to keep trading to earn money while he entered the game himself. Through the introductions from his subordinates and NPC crew members, he began to learn the differences in performance and price between various ship types.
Time ticked by, and it was soon evening. The ten officers who had just played Age of Empires were also called into Uncharted Waters.
With the score already at one to zero, the outcome of this naval battle was crucial for both sides. Finally, Alos issued a bold command to all his subordinates and mobilized them to execute it immediately, convincing them that it would bring a glorious victory.
What Alos didn't expect was that the high-intensity, five-hour session of Age of Empires had already left him feeling mentally exhausted—and now, this oceanic confrontation had escalated into a test of physical endurance.