Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 690
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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 160
53. Seeing Through (2)
About twenty minutes ago.
The Viking team’s waiting room.
They were all discussing curve shots.
“Are all the Joseon archers shooting curve shots?”
“It looks like at least fifteen of them are doing it.”
“That’s practically all of them. Armed forces in the 2nd era average around fifty, so that’s essentially everyone.”
It couldn’t be helped—curve shots were a technique that could ignore shields entirely and target the Vikings’ vital points.
“If this keeps up, theoretically we can’t win….”
In theory, Joseon held considerable advantages against Vikings.
Yet this was why Joseon’s matchups against Vikings were underestimated.
Or rather, why most civilizations underestimated Joseon in general.
There were two major reasons for this.
1. No resource faction.
This was the biggest one.
There were no economic or production-related factions at all.
Joseon always lacked resources compared to other civilizations.
Even with superior weapons and technology, only a few could possess them.
2. Lack of practical application.
Joseon’s bow damage boasted the highest within the civilization thanks to the top-tier faction called ‘Focus.’
But against cover, it became far too vulnerable.
Shooting an arrow once every three seconds, only to have it blocked by cover?
That was essentially being useless for nearly six seconds.
“But if curve shots exist, the story changes completely.”
Curve shots were the technique that perfectly compensated for Joseon’s weaknesses.
It wasn’t a faction, nor was it a combat method encouraged by the game developers—it was perhaps closer to an exploit, a technique of pure individual skill.
A technique where you put a curve on arrows like a baseball and make them arc around cover to hit targets.
Successfully landing such shots on vital points was nearly miraculous.
No team would formulate strategy assuming such miraculous hand techniques existed, and Vikings were no exception.
Yet that miracle had actually happened in the previous round.
Everyone executed curve shots, completely annihilating the Viking front line.
So they couldn’t ignore it.
“How did this happen? If this continues… dealing with archers becomes way too troublesome?”
Even Northman, the assistant commander who rarely expressed negative opinions, was the first to voice such concerns.
Everyone began spouting their fears about curve shots one by one.
“No.”
Jessi stepped forward in disagreement.
“They haven’t all learned to shoot curve shots.”
“What? Then what was that we just faced? If we hadn’t used our corpse strategy, we would’ve been wiped out. This wasn’t even supposed to be used in the first round.”
“So… I memorized it so it was only possible from that specific location.”
“?”
The other Vikings scoffed at my words.
“Ha. Memorizing a location in Civil M? That doesn’t make sense.”
“I don’t even understand what you’re saying in the first place.”
That was understandable.
Even Jessi wasn’t confident that what she was thinking was actually correct.
“That is….”
At this, Xmaster, the supreme commander, stepped forward.
“Ha. So that’s what it was?”
Everyone turned to look at him with question marks in their eyes.
Xmaster then explained.
“That valley doesn’t change. There are sometimes maps like that. Certain areas don’t change to maintain the map’s color scheme.”
“!?”
All the other leaders are shocked by his words.
It’s a fact that can’t be known unless you see everything from above like the supreme commander.
“There’s something like that?”
“Yeah.”
“Damn it… Make the game properly!”
Northman explodes in anger and stands up from his seat.
“If it’s like this, map selection rights were way too important!?”
The reason no one had much complaint even when map selection rights were given away for something like Best Dresser.
It was because maps in Civil M always had randomness.
Now that fundamental premise has been destroyed.
“….”
Jessi also remains silent, simply staring at the ground.
Should I say I feel guilty? I could have placed first back then.
“Don’t be like that. Regardless, what’s important is that we’ve now confirmed those guys can’t shoot curve shots freely.”
A particularly large man reprimands Northman.
It’s Vinter, another assistant commander.
“Is that certain?”
Vinter turned his head toward Jessi and asked.
“That they can’t shoot curve shots properly unless it’s from that location.”
“Yeah. But. As you know, one person is an exception.”
“Right. We already know that.”
They had all reviewed the data on Almond.
“We can handle one person.”
“Then what I saw was right. They couldn’t shoot curve shots unless it was from that location. Plus, the moment they left that spot, they panicked so much they couldn’t hit the angles they normally shoot well.”
The supreme commander nodded and stood up from his seat.
“Your observation skills are excellent as expected. Jessi. Then for this round, it seems we won’t need to move around worrying about curve shots.”
Upon reaching this conclusion, color returned to the faces of all the Vikings.
“This time, it’s not a battlefield of their choosing. Let’s finish this decisively!”
As the Commander-in-Chief bellowed, everyone roared in unison.
“Waaaaaaah!”
* * *
Meanwhile, a similar discussion was unfolding in the Joseon waiting room.
Cookie left the remaining soldiers intoxicated by the euphoria of victory, conducting interviews only with the Archer units who had fought in the valley battle.
He wanted to hear the details of that battle firsthand.
“We were read?”
“Yes. It was definitely that kind of movement.”
Danggeun explained the flow of battle she witnessed on the field to Cookie.
Cookie hadn’t seen that battle directly.
“They moved knowing we were bound to our positions. They came rushing in all bunched up together. According to the Vikings’ manual for dealing with ranged soldiers, this absolutely shouldn’t have happened.”
“Yeah. I felt that too.”
Pangeo nodded, adding his own words.
“At least those coming from the west knew. The east, maybe not.”
Cookie let out a short sigh and leaned back against his chair.
“Hmm… Being read this early isn’t good.”
I hadn’t honed location-based curve shots to this degree just to use them once.
“We should have planted the awareness that we could shoot curve shots.”
“That seems impossible.”
Danggeun gave her blunt opinion.
“Everything was exposed at the end anyway… Yeah. That’s probably right. Then we can’t rely on that psychological advantage.”
Cookie stroked his chin, lost in thought.
‘They were exposed on the field…’
The Commander-in-Chief hadn’t analyzed and discovered it later—he reacted immediately on the field.
That meant someone among the Vikings had instantly grasped their strategy right there.
To do that, they would have needed to observe the Joseon forces’ movements in the valley for quite a long time.
To persistently observe an opponent under such extreme circumstances and ultimately analyze them—that was truly a seasoned warrior.
Cookie moved to approach Almond.
“Almond.”
“?”
“How’s your condition?”
Almond had changed out of his sweat-soaked clothes and put on fresh ones, but his hair still retained its dampness.
“I’m fine for now. But… it’s not like the first round.”
He meant he couldn’t perform at the level of the first round.
I needed to gradually reduce Almond’s frequency of combat participation.
Long-term, this had to be applied unconditionally.
“….”
Cookie nodded in silence, lost in thought.
‘This won’t be easy.’
The second match seemed like it wouldn’t go smoothly.
I had to estimate that Almond could participate in roughly two battles.
No, this was a best-of-three format.
Considering the possibility of reaching a third match, I had to limit him to one battle.
“Players! Please take the stage!!”
Time had already run out.
* * *
Waaaaaaaa!
The roar of the crowd echoed like a chorus throughout the arena.
The massive hologram began reconstructing the terrain once more.
“So, this map is!?”
This time, neither team knew what map would appear.
The players, commentators, viewers, and spectators all couldn’t help but feel the tension.
I can’t translate this as it’s not a meaningful Korean word or phrase. It appears to be random consonants without vowels, which doesn’t form valid Korean text.
-Indeed
-We’ll return after these messages!
[Abundant Granary Region]
Whoooooosh…!
Vast reed fields swaying in the wind, creating golden waves.
A sunset beyond the horizon, expansive plains, and animals darting through green mountains and fields.
“Ah! This time we’ve got a completely different type of map!?”
“That’s right! Except for the abundance of food resources, it’s completely different from before!”
Each faction positioned themselves along the diagonal length of the map.
Caster began explaining the match overview briefly.
“The Vikings are at two o’clock! Northeast! Joseon is at eight o’clock! Southwest! As expected for a one-on-one, they’re positioned diagonally! King Gul! Please give us a brief explanation of the structure on this map!”
“Yes! As you mentioned! This is completely! Completely different from before!”
“Right!”
I can’t translate “-ㄹㅇ” as it appears to be internet slang or an incomplete/corrupted text fragment in Korean. It doesn’t form a recognizable word or phrase.
This isn’t easy ㅠㅠ
-They can use archers freely
-With so much food, they won’t be supply-limited?
-They’ll probably use horses instead
King Gul began explaining while observing the reconnaissance movements of each faction.
“The rugged mountain gorge from before was really a distinctive map, right? But this is a relatively flat one. It’s probably the kind of difficulty ‘low’ map that beginners encounter frequently when they first battle the AI.”
-Beginner difficulty lol
-Almond’s brain difficulty lol
-Looks easy at first glance lol
“I see. So both sides have equal advantages and disadvantages on this map—a 50-50 split?”
“Well… when the map is balanced, the matchup ultimately comes down to civilizational compatibility, doesn’t it? In that case, we should naturally consider it 50-50. As I mentioned in the previous match, Viking and Joseon have that perfect golden balance where they counter each other.”
“Ah, yes. That’s what you said.”
King Gul emphasized that this time the map likely wouldn’t be the deciding factor.
“When it comes down to this, what becomes crucial is the typical time war that emerges in Joseon versus Viking matchups. How much can the Vikings accomplish before Joseon reaches the 3rd Age? That’s the question…”
“Ah yes! Joseon’s promised 3rd Age! And the Vikings have their own version of the promised 3rd Age!”
Hahahahaha
It has a different meaning lol
-It’s a time war
-Time is on our side!
“The Vikings can essentially monopolize nearly all of the enormous food resources on this map from the start. Unlike the mountainous terrain we saw earlier, the Joseon soldiers can’t rely on their movement speed for hit-and-run tactics.”
“Ah…! I see!?”
In the first match, Joseon had exploited the ‘Mountain Folk’ faction to its absolute limits.
“In the analysis metrics from earlier, the Mountain Folk faction exceeded expectations in faction utilization, didn’t it!?”
“Exactly. A faction that demonstrated such a strong advantage is now rendered useless…”
-Wow
-So how do they even check food production now??
-But this is the original matchup
I can’t translate “-ㅅㄱ” as it’s not a complete word or standard Korean text. It appears to be just consonants without vowels, which doesn’t form a meaningful Korean word or phrase.
-So the first match was just about faction advantage after all…
That first game was a fashion cup lol
As King Gul’s explanation continued, the viewers began to believe Joseon couldn’t win.
It was likely because they’d seen considerable success in the first match based on rapid movement speed.
“So basically, everything that worked in the first match is gone now!?”
“That’s right. But when has Joseon won matches using the Mountain Folk faction!? That map earlier wasn’t particularly favorable to the bow civilization either!? Yet they still won!”
“Ah, that’s true! Joseon! Always the underdog! But they pulled it off!”
“From Joseon’s perspective, they must somehow prevent the Vikings from monopolizing food indiscriminately! Whether it’s raiding hunting camps when the Vikings are distracted! They need to devise some strategy!”
-It all comes down to the food war
-We have to keep raiding the hunting camps
-It’s hard to raid from the early game though
“Ah, right! Hunting camps are another matter—if you expand recklessly, it’s difficult to defend each one individually!? Since these buildings need to be spaced a certain distance apart to generate gold, once you exceed a certain number, they spread incredibly wide across the map!?”
“Yes! The previous game went that way too, and management fell apart, didn’t it! So the question is—how will this Viking manage their hunting camps!? And will Joseon be able to suppress the hunting camps while defending their main base until the 3rd Age!? That’s the kind of battle we’re looking at!”
“Ah, as I’m explaining! The Vikings are already making some massive moves!?”
Red dots on the northern minimap.
Multiple Vikings began gradually moving downward.
It was a movement suggesting expansion.
“Vikings expanding already? This isn’t ordinary!? Do they have confidence in this map!? How bold!”
Numerous hunting camps began being constructed simultaneously around the Viking base.
“This is completely greedy!?”
King Gul’s upper body jolted backward in surprise.
“Why are they building hunting outposts so recklessly!?”
“Exactly! There’s no need to construct them this quickly, is there? We only need to exceed ten by the second age.”
King Gul had witnessed this movement and build order before.
“Ah…?”
The Viking expanding hunting outposts like this in the first age.
“Wait, are they planning to rush with human wave tactics the moment they hit the second age!?”
The Viking wasn’t targeting the early third age where they usually decided matches, but rather the early second age.
“They’re laying the groundwork now to maximize food production and have it peak in the early second age! This! If Joseon doesn’t catch this, they’re finished!? This is incredibly sharp! Xmaster!? Losing here is essentially elimination! This is a critical play!?”
“Xmaster! They’ve been sharpening their blade since losing the first match! Is that it!? No, sharpening their axe!”
“Exactly! We’re not going into the lost third age! We’re just going to freeze time in the bubble age!?”
-Wait, are they Japan or something lol
-Vikings use Nalbit too
-Wow what do we do about this
-The original Nalbit civilization
-Japan in a world where they never attacked Pearl Harbor
-Can’t stop this???
-Dude if they lose this one game it’s over and they’re going Nalbit
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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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