Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 590
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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 3 Episode 60
21. The Black Plague (3)
It was true that far more people were watching the Civil Empire preliminaries compared to last year.
However, not all of them were genuinely predicting victory.
They hoped for it, but they didn’t expect it.
Even on the day the Civil Empire preliminaries began, public sentiment on the community ‘Embul’ was abysmal regarding win rates.
From the first match, it’s Frank, ugh ㅠㅠ
[Even if we went up against Vietnam, it would be a close match, damn it…]
[I heard they lost all their scrims. Should I even watch this?]
[It’s been a while since I checked in—is France still as strong as before?]
[Just don’t expect anything and watch…]
It’s so cute how the new fans are cheering with the genuine belief that we’ll win this lol
Embul, being a community where many actual Civil Empire players gathered, rated their win probability low.
The more one understood this game, the fewer winning conditions appeared.
Honestly, if you say you lost to Frank, you’re not even human lol
If we lose to Frank lol, isn’t Spain/Rome supposed to win?
[Wouldn’t Rome be more manageable?]
[How is an archer civilization supposed to counter a knight civilization from the start?]
Knights were a civilization notably strong against ranged attacks like archery.
There was an inherent matchup problem with the civilization itself.
However, after the match began.
The situation gradually started to shift.
[The French might be washed up enough to be beatable]
Oh. What is this? lol
“Are you seriously falling for this?? Frank is actually a has-been”
France was showing significant weakness in strategic judgment.
No way, is this actually winning??ㅋㅋㅋ
[If we win this, it’s seriously huge]
“Yeah~ even if we win, the next match is Roma and Spain~ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”
[Ignoring matchups and just looking at raw strength, France is still the most manageable.]
“These bastards are washed up?! Fuck that, Joseon will win!”
Increasingly hopeful posts began appearing.
Despite their crude language, weren’t these the very people who had hoped for Joseon’s victory the longest?
They were the ones who had consistently participated in Embul, a community with barely any activity, throughout all those years.
[Breaking news) Almond and Pangeo entering enemy territory]
Haha, Frank’s getting completely destroyed less than 10 minutes into the game~
[They lost all their scrims!? They lost all their scrims!? They lost all their scrims!?]
Honorable Frenchmen, go to hell like dogs! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
When Pangeo and Almond entered enemy territory, those with high game comprehension were all extremely excited.
They fully understood how devastating it was for two archers to harass the enemy workers early on.
In matches like international competitions where physical monsters fill 200 soldiers to the brim, even a single detail like this becomes fatal.
[Oh shit, can this actually work??]
Korea! T_T
[Please please please]
In this moment, everyone shared a single heart and purpose.
If even one Archer entered and pressured the gold mine, Royal Knight production would be significantly delayed.
If that happened, Joseon would have the resources to advance to the third age first.
But—
Ah, but the defense tower though…
[Ah what about the defense tower]
[A defensive tower that was tricked into being built… is this?]
There was a defense tower in the enemy base.
[Royal Knights suppressed?]
[Frank Judgment Boso lol]
[Who said he was washed up, his judgment is incredibly alive]
France abandoned other resources and invested in the gold mine, immediately beginning Royal Knight production.
From this point, opinions diverged.
[Huh? You’re making them attack the defense tower????]
[What is this, insane]
Suicide Squad lol
[Still, they should just go around it. Even if they get hit by the defense tower while attacking, they’d kill at least five workers]
The side arguing that attacking the defense tower was too reckless an order.
[Didn’t you see what Aamond did? This is possible]
[Fact) Solo ranked defense towers and international match defense towers have different control from the start. The Commander controls everything directly]
[If we don’t do it this way it’s meaningless. We should attempt it even if we die]
The side arguing that despite being reckless, this was ultimately the path to gain an advantage.
Since everyone possessed sufficient strategic knowledge of Civil Empire, all their arguments held merit.
It would be the same in actual warfare.
Some generals would stop this judgment, while others would encourage it.
Ultimately, it’s the Supreme Commander who makes the decision and bears the responsibility.
‘If everything goes as we’ve practiced, everyone will cheer. If not….’
Cookie, whose hands were always busy moving, watched the battlefield with a hardened expression for a moment.
‘I’m taking responsibility for this.’
On the field he was watching, Almond and Pangeo were gradually approaching the defense tower.
They wouldn’t be able to see each other yet.
* * *
The Sync Tank team gathered before their monitors, tension hanging thick in the air as they swallowed hard.
Particularly striking was the expression on Chiseung Kim’s face—the very man who had personally scouted Almond.
“Please pull it off…!”
The reason he had scouted Almond.
While Almond had demonstrated countless other spectacular plays, more than half of them involved neutralizing defensive towers.
The precision and focus required to snipe archers stationed within those towers.
The audacity to make such split-second decisions in live combat.
Almond was the joker card of the archer unit.
Of course, the feel of defensive towers in national matches and basic matches differed considerably….
“You practiced for this. Please!”
Clap!
Chiseung pressed his hands together.
His Sync Tank teammates beside him.
“Aahhh! Please!”
“Make it happen!”
Mool Mandu and Gob Spear also offered their prayers. The strategy they had devised was already in play. All they could do now was pray.
Closing his eyes, Chiseung recalled their practice sessions.
‘During practice, the success rate was 75%.’
The probability of Almond hitting the enemy tower’s internal archer with a single shot was 75%.
This naturally meant the probability of striking the archer’s head and completely neutralizing them.
The probability of simply landing a hit was above 97%.
Unless circumstances were extreme, every shot would connect.
‘Pangeo has a 98% hit probability.’
Pangeo, the archer unit leader, actually had a higher probability than Almond when aiming for the torso rather than the head.
However, the probability of hitting the head in one shot was extremely low.
‘It was below 20%….’
And if variables emerged, it would drop far further.
Accounting for actual combat conditions, the rate would plummet even more.
‘So instead! The torso!’
But that was fine.
Why not aim for the torso instead?
The archers inside basic defensive towers were essentially workers.
They wore no armor whatsoever, so two arrows to the torso meant death.
There was no need to aim for the head.
The probability of Almond and Pangeo simultaneously landing two shots on the torso exceeded 90%.
Even accounting for actual combat, it should reach 85%.
‘Shoot for the torso!’
That was Chiseung’s assessment.
If both archers targeted the same worker’s torso simultaneously, Cookie’s strategy would have a minimum success rate of 85% or higher.
It was the right call.
But what if their signals got crossed and they both aimed for the head?
What if there was more than one worker inside the defense tower?
What decision would they make?
Would they target different soldiers’ heads and eliminate them quickly? Or would they play it safe and aim for the torso one at a time?
There were far too many variables.
“In the end… in the end, the results will speak for themselves. Only the results will show….”
All this deliberation and training would ultimately manifest as results.
Success would bring cheers, failure would bring criticism.
Even if the process had been absolutely identical.
[Royal Knight – 23%]
The production of Royal Knights had already reached 23% completion.
[Basic Archer – 91%]
France’s basic archers were nearly finished.
* * *
[Attack]
Ping!
After the attack ping registered.
Separate messages were sent to Almond and Pangeo.
[Defense tower assault. Fast as we practiced. No time.]
In actual combat, the commander rarely sent direct messages like this.
It only happened in truly critical operations.
‘This is where it matters.’
Almond steadied his breathing as he ran.
He was establishing a tempo where he could hold his breath and fire at any moment.
“Long-range snipe. You got this!”
Pangeo shouted from beside him, trying to lift the mood.
They’d been running across the field alone for a while now. It had become too quiet.
Too much silence in a moment of tension wasn’t good.
Thoughts consumed other thoughts, spawning yet more thoughts, potentially losing mental control.
If it were Almond, who was an ace even among archers known for their concentration.
But Pangeo, who had only trained his mind through fishing, would struggle to endure it.
Now he had the chance to capture France, which was difficult to catch with that Joseon’s bow.
He was probably barely holding onto his focus.
So Almond, unusually, offered words in this situation.
“I did a long-range shot not long ago.”
He was referring to the hitman.
Though he wasn’t sure if it would actually help.
Since Almond’s weakness, if he had one, was maximum distance shooting.
It was meant to reassure him.
“How should I aim?”
Pangeo’s expression gradually hardened as he asked.
Far ahead, the fog of vision cleared, and the silhouette of the defensive tower began to come into view.
“If there’s only one enemy, aim for the torso. If there are two or more, each target the head.”
“Right, good. I remember exactly.”
Pangeo was originally the leader of the archer unit, so he understood the order’s direction precisely.
Yet he asked once more. Why?
It could have been to confirm Almond’s state, but in truth, speaking like this was an attempt to ease the tension.
For instance, the two of them hadn’t mentioned the importance of this operation to each other.
If they knew how crucial this was, the pressure would only increase.
“I can see it now. Gradually.”
[Attack]
As the defensive tower’s silhouette became clear, the reality of the attack ping also became distinctly visible.
Both of their speeds gradually decreased.
Thud. Thud.
The sound of footsteps on the field echoed more and more sparsely.
Pangeo, whose eyesight was somewhat better, took a slight lead and peered at the defensive tower.
From the commander-in-chief’s perspective, it was impossible to see how many enemies were inside.
This was a judgment call on the ground.
‘…Let it be just one.’
Pangeo thought to himself.
Please, let there be only one enemy.
Honestly, he wasn’t confident about hitting the head.
He was confident at long range, but not at precision strikes.
One might say they’re the same thing, but excelling at distance and excelling at breath control and concentration are different matters.
Gradually, the enemy’s silhouette became visible.
Pangeo’s pupils dilated.
The enemy reflected in his eyes was….
‘One!’
Click.
He raised a finger toward Almond.
Almond nodded and took position in the same line as Pangeo.
Certainly, there was only one enemy.
“Just one, so it’s the torso.”
Almond slowly regulated his breathing. Slower and slower. Almost like falling asleep.
Soon, he held only the slightest breath of air.
Creak….
The bowstring was already being drawn on its own. A motion accomplished within the same rhythm as breathing.
Whoooosh…!
[Concentration]
Concentration—a faction skill of Joseon’s Bow.
The longer one aims, the greater the bowstring tension becomes.
In other words, range, projectile velocity, and damage all increase.
‘Not here.’
However, Almond’s bow was aimed at the ground, not the tower.
He simply had the bowstring drawn taut, nothing more.
Even maximizing the Concentration faction, a short bow couldn’t fire beyond the defensive tower’s range.
One had to dash close and shoot from within range.
「When assaulting a defensive tower, activate Concentration beforehand. Then dash into range while firing.」
Words I’d heard repeatedly during practice.
Words I’d executed countless times in actual drills.
“When I call three, run.”
Now Almond was leading.
It was always that way when assaulting defensive towers.
Pangeo nodded. He too had his bowstring fully drawn and was maximizing his Concentration faction.
“Twenty paces. Just twenty paces.”
Pangeo estimated the distance roughly as he spoke. Almond nodded.
With his keen sense of distance, he would know well.
“One.”
Almond stared at the defensive tower with piercing intensity.
Should any unexpected variable arise, I had to respond.
So far, everything was identical.
“Two.”
The workers inside the defensive tower began glancing this way.
The Commander had spotted us.
This much didn’t matter.
They were AI after all. Their movement patterns were predetermined.
Still no variables.
‘Go.’
Almond exhaled the breath he’d been holding and shouted.
“Three!”
Whoosh!
The two of us burst forward like arrows.
The urgent thunder of heartbeats, ragged breathing, the piercing screams of the earth splitting beneath us.
From above, it would have looked like two wild beasts tearing across the field.
“Twenty paces!”
Run too far and one could overshoot the target point.
Pangeo called out twenty paces once more.
“Twenty paces.”
Almond refocused his consciousness and confirmed the position twenty paces away.
‘I see it.’
Whoosh!
The enemy’s arrow shot forth immediately.
As expected, the Commander was controlling directly—the response was sharp and decisive.
‘Left.’
Almond sidestepped to the right, evading the attack.
Thunk!
The defensive tower’s arrow embedded itself in the field.
It missed.
Now, while they’re reloading—this is my chance.
Click.
My bow now aimed at the enemy.
Keeeeeeng…!
[Focus]
My Focus skill reached maximum charge.
Beyond the taut bowstring, I could see the enemies’ heads.
But then—
‘Wait? Enemies…?’
Damn it. There are two of them.
When were they deployed?
How does this change my decision?
The head like we practiced? Or the torso like we discussed?
If the torso, which one?
My bow’s aim wavered back and forth.
“Damn it, damn it! The head! I’m taking the right one!”
Pangeo’s voice rang out like a scream.
Almond repeated it once more in his mind.
‘Head. Left.’
In a fraction of a second, my aim locked in, and then my right hand quietly released the bowstring.
Paaaaang…!
The bowstring trembled and vibrated with the maximum tension stored within it.
Shiiiiick──
Now the arrow cut through the air, propelled by that force.
Beside me, Pangeo’s arrow flew as well.
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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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