Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 277

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 1 Spin-off Episode 13
4. The Witch (2)
Before I knew it, time had slipped into the next day.
“…Almond.”
“Huh?”
Rustle.
Hay bales were piled high all around me.
“Where is this?”
Clop clop clop.
The sound of hoofbeats, wooden floorboards creaking oddly beneath them.
“We’re inside a cargo wagon.”
A cargo wagon.
But why were we inside a cargo wagon?
“What….”
“It belongs to the Religious Sect.”
Hmm.
I instinctively covered my mouth.
‘We’ve already infiltrated?’
If I made noise here, my head would roll right off. So why was Ran speaking so casually about it?
“Rest assured. The ones driving this wagon are mercenaries working with us.”
I still wasn’t entirely at ease as I whispered my question.
“…Mercenaries?”
“Yes. The Crimson Mercenary Company.”
The same mercenary group he’d mentioned earlier.
When I acknowledged that I remembered, Ran continued his explanation.
“This wagon belongs to the Religious Sect, and we’ve been hired as escort mercenaries.”
They’d certainly pulled out all the stops.
I thought this to myself while gathering the prepared weapons.
A bow and sword, along with light armor.
Even throwing stars for emergencies. I was better armed than ever before.
Clop clop.
The wagon continued on.
Finally, we reached our destination.
“Halt there~~”
At the signal of the lead wagon driver, all the wagons came to a stop.
Murmuring voices could be heard. It seemed they were inspecting the cargo.
Ran and I remained silent and still, holding our breath.
“…What?!”
“You…there!”
“…Strike!…Now!”
Outside, I could hear the sound of a heated argument.
──Crash!
Someone came flying into the cargo wagon and crashed inside.
“Ugh….”
Upon seeing his figure, Ran’s voice trembled.
“L… Leader?”
A leader? So this person was the mercenary unit’s leader.
The leader, apparently not dead, spoke to us both in an irritated voice.
“What are you doing? Get out there.”
He… no, listening to the voice, she was female.
She drew her bowstring as she spoke.
“We’re all exposed. This is a mess.”

* * *
The words that spilled from the Leader who suddenly came flying(?) into the cargo wagon.
Is that it? lol
What is this line of dialogue? lol
-It’s a bit different from before?
-Was the Leader originally female???
-That’s strange
Almond was quite shocked as well, but the viewers seemed even more surprised.
-Why is the development different?
-Huh? Was there some condition?
-*#*(@!?
-*@*((##
Seeing spoiler comments being filtered out, it seemed Almond had done something differently at some branching point.
‘The letter?’
Could the letter have been wrong?
Well… but would that change the Leader’s gender?
‘Could the Leader be a witch?’
It was possible the Leader had been switched out.
It’s a common trope in manga-like stories.
“What are you doing! Didn’t you hear me say get out there!”
Her voice rang out sharply.
Certainly, her personality seemed like that of a woman no less temperamental than a witch.
Almond bolted out of the cargo wagon to avoid another lecture.
Outside was chaos.
“Aaahhh!”
“Gaahhh!”
“Die, you bastard!”
“Grraaahhh…!”
Countless soldiers and followers of the religious sect were tangled together in combat.
Boom! Boom!
White mana erupted in every direction, and sparks from clashing steel scattered across the battlefield.
“There!”
Tap.
The Leader emerged from the cargo wagon and grabbed my shoulder, pointing toward something.
“That’s where we need to break through.”
“…Break through?”
I couldn’t help but tilt my head. The place she was pointing to was the entrance to the enemy position. Calling it a “breakthrough point” didn’t quite fit.
Moreover….
“Crooooaaahhh!!!”
A massive bear.
Too human-like to be called a bear, yet too bear-like to be called human.
It was better to just call it a monster.
In any case, this enormous creature was blocking what the Leader had called the “breakthrough point.”
Crunch!
That thing had just pulverized a soldier and a boulder.
This was the moment I understood why the Leader’s first appearance had been so pathetic.
It had been thrown at that thug.
“…Is that really the breakthrough point?”
“That creature is a Contractor.”
The Leader completely ignored my words and continued speaking.
“There’s no sanctuary nearby, so it’s not immortal. Don’t be afraid.”
The Leader seemed quite knowledgeable about Contractors, and with that assertion, she descended from the cargo wagon as well.
“I’ll circle back and attack from behind. You hold this position and keep attacking.”
Whoosh.
The Leader vanished in an instant.
‘What kind of strategy is this anyway.’
She said something, but honestly, I barely understood any of it.
“So basically, just kill it….”
First, I should deal with that massive bear… no, monster.
I’ll focus on that for now.
“Hey! Kid! Target the others instead! Will your arrows even work?! We’ll handle the Contractor! The Leader didn’t tell you to shoot at the Contractor!”
A veteran mercenary offered me unsolicited advice.
‘No? It really seemed like she wanted me to shoot it?’
I lightly ignored him and released my bowstring.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew smoothly with a sound like wind, embedding itself in the monster’s left eye.
“Crooaaahhh…!”
“!?”
The veteran mercenary’s eyes widened in shock.
The monster wasn’t staying still—it was thrashing about wildly.
“Ha, in one shot?”
To hit both eyes simultaneously.
But that wasn’t even the surprising part.
“Crooooaaaagh…!”
As the monster threw its head back in a furious roar, I struck its remaining eye as well.
Using an extreme parabolic trajectory.
Thunk!
The arrow embedded itself as if dropping from above.
“…This can’t be real.”
“Listen. Cover me with your subordinates. I’m a Contractor too.”
Almond said confidently, then walked past the veteran mercenary and drew more arrows.
Four arrows in total, one in each finger.
“Four arrows…?”
“What’s this guy doing?”
“Showing off?”
The mercenaries murmured at the number of arrows I’d drawn. The fact that they had the presence of mind to notice such details in the midst of war certainly marked them as veterans.
As if drawn in, all four arrows struck the monster’s heart in rapid succession.
Splurch!
“Crooooaaaagh…!”
The monster convulsed in agony as its vital points were pierced repeatedly.
“Insane…!”
“Shoots better than the Leader?”
“What was that just now!?”
The mercenaries’ skepticism instantly transformed into admiration.
Even the older veteran who’d been offering commentary earlier changed his stance.
“Th-this is unbelievable. Hey Kevin! John! Cover the Contractor…!!!”
Several mercenaries rushed forward to protect Almond and Ran.
Even amid the chaos, my eyes remained fixed solely on that grotesque creature.
‘What’s this. It’s not falling.’
The monster didn’t seem to have taken significant damage. Though it flailed its arms wildly in pain, it was hard to believe those were truly fatal wounds.
‘I need a different approach….’
That’s when it happened.
The Leader’s voice echoed from far away.
When had she gotten all the way over there?
“Now! Thrust!”
At the ringing command, the mercenaries somehow managed to rush at the grotesquely powerful Contractor and drove their spears in.
“Uuuaaaagh!”
“Die!”
“Damn you!”
Splurt!
Thud!
As four spears and halberds pierced through, blood gushed out profusely. Not only that, my movement became restricted.
‘This is…’
It resembled the tactic the Minions used to capture the Contractor in Reina’s story mode.
‘Then now is my chance.’
Without missing this opportunity, I nocked another arrow onto my bowstring.
This time I planned to shoot another vital point of that monster.
‘Is there some kind of skill I can use?’
Even though I’m a Contractor, I was only firing normal attacks like this.
Ding.
[You sense pure white mana.]
The moment I saw that message, I grasped the sensation.
It would be similar to what I experienced in Reina’s story mode.
I closed my eyes and drew up mana for a moment.
Crackle…!
White mana bloomed. I let it flow directly into the arrow.
Feeling the bow grow noticeably heavier, I clenched my teeth and focused on aiming.
‘Here goes.’
Boom!
My arrow shone white as it passed through the monster’s head.
Yes. It passed through. It simply pierced and burst through.
Splatter…!
Brain matter scattered like rain in all directions.
[Headshot!]
It was a headshot.
The Veteran Mercenary fighting beside me dropped his jaw so wide I could hear it hit his helmet.
“Wh-what!?”
I lowered my bow.
“It seems like it pierced through with the bow.”
Now I needed to run rather than shoot. Sure enough, the Leader’s voice echoed from afar.
“It’s breached! Go!”

* * *
Clang! Caaang…!
The sound of metal striking metal rang out fiercely from all directions.
“Grraaagh!”
“Kugh…!”
Red flames and red blood erupted into the air.
Dozens of figures collapsed, visible to the naked eye.
“Chaaarge!”
Yet the Red Mercenary Company did not halt their advance.
“I’ll help as well…!”
Ran conjured a massive spear of light, as if created by the enemy’s cultists, and hurled it forward.
Despite his young age, he wielded power nearly comparable to the enemy cultists.
However, the most striking performance was undoubtedly Almond’s.
He stood protected in the very center of our formation, precisely eliminating the enemy’s key figures.
Thwip!
“Kugh!”
The cultist who had been commanding tumbled down the 2nd floor stairs.
As I drew the bowstring again, this time a burly soldier guarding the second entrance fell like scattered leaves.
“The basement!”
The Leader pointed toward the basement.
Whatever is related to the Blue Hole must be down there. However….
‘Is this actually going to work?’
With enemies still piling up, descending into the basement seemed like suicide.
‘What exactly is this strategy?’
As a Player, there wasn’t much I could do in this situation. Just kill enemies with arrows relentlessly.
Either way, if we kill them all, surely we won’t die—with that mindset, I kept drawing my bow and firing.
“Go! Go!”
“Set up positions down there!”
“Yes!”
As the mercenaries poured into the basement, Ran and I stood guard at the entrance, sweeping away enemies.
Boom! Boom!
My arrows felled three or four enemies at a time.
“We need to go in now!”
“Won’t we all die if we go into the basement?!”
“No! There’s a rear exit! The Leader already learned about it through spies!”
I see.
I slammed the basement door shut.
“We need to bar this!”
Mercenaries approached the door, carrying a massive stake-like object in place of a lock.
This would seal the basement door for now.
Fortunately, the basement door was made of iron, so it wasn’t breached immediately by the disciples’ attacks.
Creak… Thud!
I succeeded in wedging a stake through it.
“Phew. They won’t be getting through for a while.”
The mercenaries muttered with relief and descended into the basement.

* * *
Upon entering the basement, I found a factory facility on an entirely different scale from what I’d seen at the school before.
Of course, since we’d raided the place so suddenly, there were plenty of workers who hadn’t managed to escape.
“Surrender, or we kill you all.”
The Leader’s cold voice echoed through the space, and the mercenaries’ slaughter began.
Since even the workers were disciples of this sect, none of them surrendered easily.
“No, I’m not one of them! I was forcibly kidnapped—I’m a Researcher! Don’t compare me to these lunatics!”
A Researcher in a white robe approached as if trying to grab the Leader’s pant leg.
But the mercenaries stopped him.
“Don’t you dare get close!”
Snap.
The Leader raised her hand to calm them for a moment.
“…Kidnapped?”
“Y-yes… These bastards kidnapped me! I… I have a daughter outside!”
“Then. The Seven Goddesses are all dogs. Go ahead.”
“…What?”
Snort.
A scoff escaped from behind the Leader’s helmet.
“Don’t ask questions. I won’t repeat myself.”
“…”
The Researcher lowered his head, then suddenly kicked off and drew a short blade.
“Damn you filthy heretics—”
Thunk!
An arrow lodged directly in the center of his forehead.
It had flown and pierced him in an instant.
The Leader’s gaze turned toward Almond.
“…I appreciate the kill, but when did I say you could decide who dies?”
“No point wasting time.”
Almond shrugged.
“You said you had a plan. We should execute it quickly.”
He pointed toward the basement door above.
“Won’t it break through soon?”
“You… you’re the one who came with that kid Ran, right? What was your name again?”
“Almond.”
“?”
The Leader tilted her head in confusion.
“…Really?”
What was this supposed to mean?
“Really.”
“What a coincidence.”
The Leader muttered to herself that it wasn’t exactly a common name, then ordered the soldiers to execute all the researchers here and collect evidence.

* * *
Crash. Bang.
The underground warehouse was turning into complete chaos as they overturned every last piece of junk.
But evidence kept surfacing one after another.
“What? Damn bastards. They were mass-producing potions here.”
“So this is how Contractors were being created….”
“Leader! We found a Blue Hole here! And the potion recipes!”
“They use them as living weapons, and once they’re used up, they sell them off to illegal battlefields for money….”
Every member of the Red Mercenary Company had considerable ties to this Blue Hole, and they were all seething with rage.
“After we sweep up the evidence here, we’ll escape through the back exit. The retreat team goes first and links up with our other colleagues waiting outside.”
“Yes!”
So that’s why we could charge in so recklessly. Just as Ran said, an escape route was indeed secured.
This meant I didn’t have much to do.
But then….
Crash!
A pane of glass shattered somewhere above.
‘Glass?’
It turned out to be a tiny window that served as ventilation for this underground warehouse.
Tap-tap-tap…!
What was surprising was what came through that window.
‘A pigeon?’
It was a pigeon. It flew straight toward me and dropped a letter.
The letter was painted in an ominous red color.
There wasn’t even a sender’s name written on it.
I picked up the letter and unfolded it.
「Survive for 10 minutes!」
What?
I was bewildered.
“…Suddenly?”
We could just escape through the exit… so why was I being told to survive for 10 minutes?
Flip.
I turned the letter over to check the back.
A drawing in the shape of a hand was etched upon it, with the pinky finger raised high.
And the fingernail of that pinky was unusually long.
‘Ah.’
Only then did I realize who had sent this letter.
“Laurent.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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