Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 678

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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 148
50. Treacherous Mountain Valley (1)
The temperature difference between online and offline was unmistakable.
If this were an online preliminary round, I would have simply lounged at home in comfortable short sleeves and shorts before entering the capsule.
But now I was waiting in the player’s ready room.
Along with two hundred other players.
The noise they made, their breathing, the stale air….
Everything was different.
As the match start time drew closer, the chatter gradually died down one by one.
The ready room was now blanketed in heavy silence.
It was almost time.
“Players! Time to enter!”
A staff member’s voice rang out.
Cookie, standing at the front, rose first.
“Come on.”
He raised both arms and turned to face the players.
Then he shouted powerfully.
“Let’s go! Let’s win!!!”
The players responded in unison.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!!!”
It was a simple chant.
There wasn’t much time here, and space was limited.
So we kept it brief.
Cookie put on his white uniform jacket and walked out.
The Viking players emerged from the opposite ready room.
They exchanged only a nod.
Then walked forward side by side.
It was a narrow, dark corridor. Bright light was visible ahead.
And the roar of the crowd filtered through.
“Woooow….”
Just the reverberation of that roar made my heart pound.
My eyes met Jesse’s as she emerged from the opposite side.
Jesse greeted me with a smile in her eyes, but said nothing as expected.
She was nervous too, it seemed.
The first match of the main rounds.
This was a match Viking couldn’t afford to lose.
Of course, the same was true for Joseon.
I simply nodded and walked alongside Jesse.
The light grew closer and the roar became clearer.
“Now, players! Once you exit, please shake hands with the person next to you on cue! Then proceed to your respective positions─”
The guide’s voice was erased as if it had never existed in this world.
“──Waaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Brilliant sunlight poured down through the open ceiling of the stadium, and the spectators surrounding all sides welcomed them.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
I couldn’t tell if it was the sound of drums or the beating of hearts.
Strange sounds from all manner of cheering instruments, chants, and the players’ names being called mixed together.
Looking around in a circle, I could see countless white crosses filling the stands.
The Viking side had an overwhelming majority.
Perhaps few had anticipated our advancement to the main rounds and couldn’t come to cheer, or perhaps Korea had no genuine fans of Civil M willing to go through the trouble of buying plane tickets offline.
There were many possible reasons.
In any case, the current atmosphere was essentially the Vikings’ home game.
Facing this number in reality, an enormous pressure descended upon me.
The roar was so loud that it felt as though I couldn’t hear anything at all.
I could barely make out what the guide was shouting while waving both arms.
“Handshake!”
I turned to the side on cue. Next to Almond was Jesse.
Without anyone going first, a subtle smile graced both their lips.
Click!
At the end of the handshake line, a photographer’s flash went off.
After that, the players turned their backs to each other and walked in opposite directions.
Ahead of them, 201 capsules waited with their doors open.

* * *
“Greetings! To all the wandering mercenaries across the nation! We’re broadcasting from Osaka, Japan!”
The Caster’s resonant voice launched the broadcast.
-Wooooo~
-Hello hello
-The beginning of legend
-Let’s goooo
-Let’s go!
-Fake national team fighting!
.
.
.
Was it the power of the fake national team? Countless messages flooded in from the start.
“Today! Finally, Joseon’s first main tournament match! The match against the Vikings is here. How do you see this match? King Gul?”
“Ah. Yes. Of course, the Vikings have the advantage in this match.”
“Ah, that’s clear!”
“Right. That’s the current consensus. We have to acknowledge what deserves acknowledgment.”
-Lololol true
-Sigh
-They’ll still do well
-Oh…
-From the main rounds it’s really not easy huh
-Mandarin orange packaging and King Gul can’t package it…
King Gul had flatly evaluated the Vikings as having the advantage from the start.
“Ah. Could it be that you’re evaluating the Vikings as having such an advantage because of civilization matchups?”
“No. As for civilization matchups, we should actually consider the balance to be well-matched, right?”
-Sigh sigh
-“Just not good enough”
-Is the Caster deliberately trying to corner King Gul with that question? Lololol
-Oh…
“The interesting thing about the Vikings is that their Age 1 is incredibly strong, Age 2 is at its peak, and Age 3 is surprisingly just the same as Age 2.”
“What? Is Age 3 also at its peak?”
“No. It’s the Lost Age 3.”
-???
-Japan: ???
-Why suddenly Japan lol
The localization of commentary is crazy.
-Wait, isn’t that Japan? Lololol
-Lmao
-Currently experiencing the Lost 50 Years~
Lost Samurai lol
“Aha, I see. So the Viking civilization is weak in the Age III?”
“That’s right. Really weak. Since it’s a barbaric, raiding, warfare civilization, you see?”
“Ah. Meanwhile, Joseon is quite strong in Age III, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Joseon is competitive with tier-one civilizations in Age III too. The problem is what you put out during the process of getting there.”
“Wow. Just hearing the explanation makes this a really interesting matchup where they counter each other?”
“It’s fairly balanced.”
lol, yellow balance
-Ouroboros showdown
-So civilizations are balanced after all
-But doesn’t Viking get the advantage first and take the first turn, which is kind of a disadvantage?
I can’t translate this as it doesn’t form a recognizable word or phrase in Korean. The characters “-ㅇㅈ~” appear to be incomplete or nonsensical.
“But why did you say it’s a disadvantage?”
“Well…”
“It’s not a civilization matchup disadvantage, it’s a skill gap disadvantage. That’s it, right? We just can’t do it?”
Haha, assassination attempt
-When the nationalist hyungs arrive, King Gul’s getting beaten down now
I’m dying laughing ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
At the Caster’s words, King Gul quickly added on.
“But! Wait! Though!”
Hahahahaha
-King Gul’s packaging major activated
-Let’s package this~!
How am I gonna get through this one? lol
“Everyone. Look at all the countries Joseon has beaten so far? Was there even one favorable matchup?! Our country!! South Korea!!! When have we ever had an advantage?! No resources come out! Everything’s ruins from war!”
Build-up starting lol
-Ah, laying the foundation with patriotic concrete, real sturdy~
Hahahahaha lol
Have you been preparing for this? lol
King Gul shouted as if coughing up blood.
To survive.
“That’s why! Joseon! Will! Ultimately! Succeed! Long live Korean independence!”
Haha, that’s so funny!
Kyah
I can’t translate this as it’s not a valid Korean word or phrase – it appears to be random consonants without vowels, which don’t form meaningful text in Korean.
Hahahahaha I’m going crazy hahahaha
-King Gul’s waist bent like a bow…
-Ripped it
In the middle of Osaka lol
Lol, damn it
-Is it March 1st today?
I tore the wrapping paper ㄷㄷ
-Conclusion: Win with determination
Unlike the chat’s reaction, I wasn’t spouting abstract talk about willpower and determination to overcome this.
King Gul genuinely believed Joseon had quite a bit of hope in this match.
“Ah. The main match is selecting the map right now. Well, it looks like it’s about to start.”
It was the map selection.
“Yes! It’s happening right now?! This could be completely advantageous for Joseon! Just one single opportunity!”
“Ah, is that the map selection right?”
“That’s right! For a country like Joseon with a commander of such high caliber, this is incredibly significant, you know?”
-For real
-Right
-Let’s goooo
-What did they prepare
-Oh
“International opinion suggests that the map selected for competition has fairly balanced matchups, so it might not have much practical advantage?”
“That’s a fair point! But still! Haven’t we seen Cookie demonstrate that brilliant insight to exploit weaknesses? If someone like that could even choose the map!?”
-For real
-Kuboji let’s go
-Right right
“You can’t help but have expectations!”
That brilliant insight Cookie had displayed so far.
It would surely emerge once more in the main match.
King Gul was betting on that.
“Well. Cookie has selected the map.”
“I wonder where it is?”
There were signs that Cookie had selected the map, but it hadn’t been revealed yet.
“Ah. This isn’t being transmitted to the commentators… and it’s not showing on the broadcast screen either, right? We’ll probably find out when the game starts.”
The caster’s words seemed accurate.
There had been plenty of time for it to be revealed already, but the camera only captured the two commanders’ faces.
“Ah. Now we can see both commanders’ expressions. The Viking’s supreme commander. Xmaster. His expression doesn’t look particularly pleased.”
“Yes. The commander whose pronunciation requires careful attention. Xmaster. It wouldn’t be pleasant for him to be in a situation where his opponent chooses the map, would it?”
That’s too much information lol
Suddenly weird pronunciation lol
Hahahahaha
“Ah. That would be the case. And from what I hear, this is the Viking’s Jesse. This player came in 2nd place, so they narrowly missed out…”
“That’s right. She came in 2nd place in the Best Dressed selection. 1st place came from the Joseon team. So now they have the map selection right.”
-Jesse’s the best
The presentation was good too, lol~
I really thought my map selection was getting stripped away lol
-King God Emperor Chungmugong didn’t appear at the end, so it was a letdown
-But who exactly is that person in Korea?
As for the Dinner Party, while it was through overseas channels, they did broadcast it live through an official account.
It seemed quite a few viewers knew about the Best Dressed selection situation.
“Alright! The moment I announce it! The game begins! Now we know what map it is! We can explain it! Let’s go!”
As the screen transitioned, the factions and the map’s appearance were revealed.
“Joseon probably won’t choose a map with short early rush distances. And they’ll go for something they can easily dominate in the mid-game… Ah. There it is. Huh?”
King Gul tilts his head as if something feels off.
[Rugged Mountain Valley]
“Well. First of all… they did choose a map where early rushing is really impossible?”
“Ah, yes! The ‘Rugged Mountain Valley’ map, right? I thought I picked it well. But it seems a bit off!?”
“It’s good in that early rushing is very, very difficult. But….”
“But?”
“Joseon’s strength in the 3rd Age isn’t just because of Archers, you know?”
What King Gul is worried about is that Joseon’s strength could be buried on this map.
“Joseon’s Mounted Archers are also quite powerful. They’re expensive, but the players handle them really well, and they’re actually great. Cavalry units aren’t bad in the first place. The thing about these Vikings is they can’t ride horses, right?”
“Ah…!?”
Joseon wasn’t exactly a cavalry-specialized civilization, but fighting is always relative.
Since Vikings were a civilization that couldn’t ride horses at all, they would naturally have a hard time dealing with Joseon’s cavalry tactics.
“This map is all mountains, so you can’t ride horses? I actually thought they’d pick a map like Ancient Walls with more plains, but only the main base blocked off.”
“Ah. I see? Now that you mention it, that would be better… No wait, Kuboji. Our Kuboji must have thought this through! Now I understand! King Gul!”
-Hahahaha
-Now I understand! Gul-dude!
-Hahahaha
-For real, don’t doubt him
-But I’m a bit worried
While the Caster was giving King Gul a piece of his mind, the scout forces of both factions were already expanding their numbers and beginning to illuminate their vision.
“Alright. Joseon at 7 o’clock. Vikings at 11 o’clock. Diagonal positions from each other. True to the Rugged Mountain Valley, scouting speed is a bit slow, right?”
“Yes. Especially the Vikings seem slower. Since Joseon has the Mountain Folk faction. On this map, Joseon can just move one step ahead continuously!”
“Ah! That’s good!”
Mountain Folk.
One of Joseon’s basic factions.
A very simple and straightforward faction that increases movement speed on mountainous terrain.
The efficiency varies greatly depending on the map, but when the situation is right, it shows extreme usage rates.
Of course, Joseon wasn’t the only one with factions.
“However. Vikings. You know them? Barbarian Warriors? These guys can pick up axes from the 1st Age. They’ve already started production, right?”
“Aaah! It’s like the England Shield feeling? This is really scary?”
“These axes! They use them all the way to the 4th Age! They use them as throwing axes and in regular combat too! They just keep using them!”
-Wow haha
-Insane
-Is that real???
-They fight with axes until the 4th era lolol
-Wow, that’s an extremely primitive civilization lolol
As King Gul explained, the Vikings began producing and supplying axes one by one.
Joseon moved quickly and gradually revealed about half the map.
“Joseon will likely play it safe based on the terrain information they’ve gathered quickly. Until the 3rd era.”
“But there’s no way the Vikings would just let that slide!? No matter how treacherous these mountain valleys are!”
“Exactly! That’s where Cookie’s strategy comes in. Usually when Joseon defends, they block with defensive towers and walls led by archers, but….”
“Right?”
“The other problem with this map is there are way too many trees! I mentioned before how arrows are surprisingly disadvantaged in dense forests, didn’t I!?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right!”
“It definitely applies here too! There’s so much cover and concealment!? The probability of arrows getting blocked by trees is way too high! And melee soldiers have plenty of cover to use when closing in!”
“Ah… horses can’t move, arrows can’t fly… there are all sorts of problems, aren’t there? What’s Cookie’s plan? Did he pick the wrong map!?”
Hearing all this, it really does seem like the map was chosen poorly.
But this time, King Gul shook his head.
“Still! This is our Kuboji, isn’t it!? There’s no way Cookie would pick this place without a plan! He must have something figured out!”
-For real lol
-He’s gotta have something
-King Gul finally getting it;
-Yeah he’s gotta have something
-Agreed

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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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