Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 638

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

The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 3 Episode 108
38. The Rugged Mountain Range (1)
“Ah. It’s starting.”
King Gul, who was preparing for the broadcast, speaks to Caster Kim Sang-hun.
“The fake national team?”
“Yes!”
Watching a fake national team match while preparing for broadcasts had become their routine by now.
And for good reason—it aired at such a perfect time for those wanting to watch the international tournament.
“Let’s check it out.”
King Gul places his phone in the center and hits play.
The first thing that catches my eye is the viewer count.
“Wow. The viewers. What’s going on?”
“I mean… people are watching the premiere in such numbers? At this rate, we might actually win with just the premiere.”
The number of viewers waiting for the premiere was comparable to those waiting for the Civil M broadcast.
Though there was probably significant overlap.
“The people here are probably also watching over there, right?”
“Yeah. Probably.”
The waiting period ended, and the video began.
[Now premiering!]
Sang-hun makes a subtle request to King Gul.
“You were crying when you watched this last time. Don’t cry, okay?”
“…W-who’s crying? I haven’t cried except when I lost to Jeon-ja-pa!”
“I just hate seeing you cry, so don’t do it.”
“I’m emotionless. Robot Jungler King Gul. That’s my nickname, isn’t it?”
“That nickname came about because your mechanics were so clunky.”
“….”
“Anyway, it’s starting. Let’s watch.”
A moment later….

* * *
King Gul couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Emotionless, you say?”
King Gul was drooling while laughing, yet he tried to maintain composure.
“C-cough. No… I mean… it’s not like that…”
I’d prepared myself for tears, but instead he made me laugh.
King Gul scratched his head.
“Let’s get ready.”
Either way, we’ve watched all the fake national team footage.
Now we just need to prepare for the broadcast.
“We’re going live soon~”
The PD gives the signal from the front.
King Gul and Sang-hun hastily straighten their clothes and sit up straight.
“One, two…”
Bang!

* * *
Just before the match begins.
Cookie gathered everyone and stood on the platform.
“You all already know that Espana’s recent performance hasn’t been good.”
The players stood in formation, watching him intently.
The resolve and passion Cookie instilled at these final moments was a crucial process for the team.
“France wasn’t much better either.”
Cookie looks at each soldier one by one, creating the impression that he’s having a one-on-one conversation with each of them.
The body is armed with armor and swords, but the spirit is armed by the Commander.
“In other words, we’ve only beaten two teams with poor performance.”
Cookie balances confidence and arrogance so they don’t underestimate their opponents.
“We’ve only been mindlessly crushing opponents who weren’t mentally sharp. Espana seemed unfocused even in their match against Rome just before. But!”
A brief silence fell.
“Today, they’re different. Despite Almond’s incredible provocation, Tres hasn’t posted anything on social media.”
Almond suddenly finds himself singled out and tilts his head in confusion.
When did I?
“The other commanders are also responding to public attacks with silence. They’re concentrating all their focus on this match.”
A murmur ripples through the crowd.
They’re probably discussing among themselves whether that’s really true.
From just Cookie’s words so far, there was no way to tell if they were truly focused on the match or not.
“Most importantly, from what I’ve heard from other teams who’ve done scrims, Espana’s performance right now is at its peak.”
Gulp.
Several swallowed hard.
“Why? Espana is on a cliff’s edge right now. If they lose today, they’ll never have another chance.”
That was right.
Even if Joseon lost today, they would have another chance, but Espana would not.
Conversely, Joseon would secure advancement simply by winning.
“The one fleeing is always faster than the one chasing. Even a cat circles around once when hunting a mouse cornered in desperation.”
Cookie’s words, boiled down to their essence, were simple.
“So, do not let your guard down.”
One must not grow complacent simply because the enemy’s condition was poor.
“Even if they circle back once, face them decisively. Then victory will ultimately be ours. We desire it far more than they do. That’s all.”
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
A thunderous roar erupted from the team.
It was not merely from being moved by Cookie’s speech. They were shouting together, sharing courage with one another.
Now, just one step remained until the finals.
Any human would enter the match gripped by tension so intense their heart felt ready to burst.
“…Waaaaaaaaaa!!”
Even here, I released the tension by shouting like this. So I, Almond, joined in as well.
“…Waa… aa….”
I literally just shouted.
In truth, I did not need to stabilize myself through shouting.
I was already a “player” with a unique routine for calming my mind perfectly ingrained.
“Haa.”
I proceeded with a familiar deep breath, clearing away the mental clutter and physical tremors.
Thump. Thump… Thump. Thump….
My heartbeat gradually stabilized.
What was the secret to dispelling tension so quickly?
「It’s fine to be nervous.」
That’s what Coach said.
I am human, after all. Knowing full well that today’s match would determine my path to the finals, I could not simply act as if nothing mattered.
Don’t be nervous.
Repeating it was useless.
Tell someone not to think of an elephant, and an elephant comes to mind.
「Even while nervous, you shoot at the center. You’ve trained that way.」
I had trained to be superior to my opponent even while tense.
‘So it’s fine.’
It doesn’t matter if I think of an elephant.
It doesn’t matter if an elephant appears.
I’ve learned how to hunt elephants.
So it’s fine to be nervous.
‘Win.’
I’ve trained to win even in that state.

* * *
Numerous players are summoned onto the field.
Whoosh. Whiiiish.
Blue flashes erupt skyward, and within them, people appear one by one.
A total of 400 personnel are divided in half, standing on opposite sides.
“Roooaaarrr!”
The spectator stands are filled with a mix of golden and crimson cheering sections.
Cheers of unknown origin blanket the entire stadium.
“The players are entering!”
-Boom boom boom
-Players entering~
-Yesss
-Oh, now it’s really starting
-Hype hype
-Joseon main tournament, let’s go!
With the players’ entrance and before the match officially begins, countless viewers have also flooded in.
[Current viewers: 370,000]
A staggering 370,000 viewers.
It’s likely such an enormous crowd gathered because today’s match would determine Joseon’s advancement to the main tournament.
“So many people have already found our broadcast!”
“Yes! Today is a day where so much could be decided!? And if Espana loses today, they’re completely eliminated!”
-Wow
-All-pro team getting swept lol
-Yeah, Rome’s definitely advancing anyway lol
“That’s right! Today our players are important, but! We absolutely have to pay attention to the Spanish players standing on the guillotine!?”
“We have no choice! In Spain, this game’s popularity is almost four or five times greater than ours! If they get swept out in the preliminaries today! They’ll truly become an unemployed fleet!”
-That’s brutal lol
-Unemployed fleet lol
-You… saw it?
-Lololololol for real
We have to beat Pang Eo Jwa! ㅠㅠ
-You saw the fake national team lol
It wasn’t a joke.
Because this game’s popularity in Spain is tremendous, falling in preliminaries like this could genuinely mean getting cut from the professional scene.
“If they lose, we’d certainly be happy, but… ugh… putting myself in their shoes, it’s terrifying!”
-If the commentators are saying this, it must be seriously intense lol
-These guys are insanely popular back home
-The Spanish guys were so cocky but suddenly got all serious lol
“That’s why the Spanish players’ overall atmosphere today is incredibly tense. Originally they had this mindset of just enjoying the game, you know?”
Just as King Gul mentioned, the Spanish players’ atmosphere today was noticeably different.
“That’s right. I know it’s all in the past now, but when they played against us, there was definitely this vibe like they were enjoying themselves, you know?! That really got under my skin!”
“Exactly. And now they’ve received such a proper lesson. In English, we’d call it being ‘schooled.’ Look at them now, with manners instilled in them. Quite a sight!”
Hahahahaha
School is funny lol
Spanish shakes look good.
The Spanish team from before had been overflowing with confidence, playing as if they were just having fun.
The fact that they prioritized the bounty on Almond’s head over the game’s outcome said it all.
But today, they looked completely different.
Probably because their situation was so different from Joseon’s.
“Meanwhile, Joseon! Even if they lose today, they still have another chance! If they win today, they advance immediately. The match against Rome will become the finals for 1st and 2nd place.”
“That’s right. I really hope it turns out that way… and speaking of which! The match is starting!”
The waiting period ended, and the match began. Workers from each faction rushed frantically toward resources.
The commentators began with a map explanation.
“It’s a map spread diagonally far apart. At 7 o’clock, we have Espana! The Spanish players are positioned there. At 2 o’clock, we have Joseon! The Korean players are there.”
“Ah, this map is also… somewhat special?”
“Yes. It’s not quite as extreme as the ancient fortress, but it has more variables than the Mongolian plains.”
The variable on this map was ‘mountainous terrain.’
Winding mountain ranges displayed their treacherous nature proudly.
[Rugged Mountain Range and Highland]
The map was designed with a motif of harsh mountain paths.
Here, almost every path was either uphill or downhill, and with so little flat terrain except for the highlands, it was nearly impossible to establish farmland, forcing players to focus on hunting.
“Hunting is crucial on this map. It’s almost impossible to develop farmland.”
“Yes. And it seems expansion would be quite difficult, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s correct. Since most of it is mountains rather than flat terrain, soldiers move slowly, and cavalry cannot be used effectively.”
“Can’t they ride horses?”
“Well, technically they can, but on paths this densely forested, riding is pointless. You’d have to carve out mountain roads anyway.”
-Wow, this is rough in many ways
-The game’s gonna take a while
-Without cavalry, doesn’t Joseon have a huge advantage???
“Carving mountain roads isn’t difficult once siege weapons appear in the 3rd era, but before that, it’s quite challenging. Soldiers have to axe their way through one by one.”
“I see. But with trees this dense, shooting arrows wouldn’t be easy either, would it?”
“Correct. The most advantageous unit is surprisingly swordsmen. They’re more agile than spearmen, and can ambush effectively in close combat.”
That was true.
Spearmen were also disadvantaged in such densely forested terrain.
Their long weapons often got in the way and hindered movement.
Weapons like swords with appropriate length and broad blades were more advantageous instead.
Hiding behind trees and suddenly emerging to strike at the neck, that sort of thing.
“Wait! Doesn’t that put Joseon at a significant disadvantage? Espana has no archers at all, but their melee units are strong!”
If archers were difficult to use, Joseon would lose a major advantage.
“If you only consider unit types in isolation, yes. But surprisingly, Joseon has a faction related to mountainous terrain.”
“Huh!?”
“It’s Joseon’s ‘Mountain Fortress’ construction and the ‘Mountain Tribe’ faction.”
“Mountain Tribe?”
“Since mountainous terrain is appearing for the first time, I’m explaining it now. It’s just a free faction. You move faster on mountains.”
-There’s literally everything in this game lol
Ah, I see, it’s because our country has an acidic culture lol
-Ohhh
-Mountain Tribe lolol
The whole world is a mountain climbing club lol
-Check the historical accuracy lololol
“But Joseon can’t use bows, which are our pride!?”
“You can shoot in areas that aren’t densely packed. There are paths here too, right? They’re just narrow and limited. Plus! Joseon isn’t a civilization that only shoots bows! Close-range units are absolutely usable!”
-That’s right
-There are some good ones in the 3rd era
-Joseon’s defense attorney King Gul lol
“Actually, in ranked games, Joseon’s close-range units are used quite a bit. The national team members are just so skilled with bows that we’ve only been utilizing those.”
“Ah… I see?”
Joseon did have decent close-range weapons.
In fact, because the prices were cheap, many beginners preferred them far more.
Bows required so much proficiency, after all.
“So! Today’s Joseon! If you just think about the faction! The rough mountain terrain that appeared is actually very favorable! With the right strategy, we can make it to the main tournament!”
King Gul spoke the words about making it to the main tournament forcefully, as if he were saying them to himself.
Of course, the match could still go in any direction at this point.
“The Spanish players, on the other hand! If they lose today, they’ll become tomato festival material!? They need to get their heads in the game!”
-Tomato festival lolol
-They’d become ketchup
-lololol this is funny
-Ketchuped story lol
-If Spain gets eliminated, they’ll literally be tomato material
-Oh, the tomato festival is Spain’s thing lol I was wondering what you meant lol
-Let’s go! Main tournament!

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