Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 702
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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 172
57. The Beginning (1)
Paaang…!
The piercing whistle of the arrow cutting through air like a gunshot.
It was from this moment.
Everything appeared to move in slow motion before Almond’s eyes.
The arrow struck the Bandit Leader’s head with perfect precision.
His entire body staggered and began to collapse.
Ting….
The bowstring that had been taut until moments before now fluttered like a dance.
Every soldier of Joseon simultaneously thrust their fists into the air, mouths gaping wide as they erupted in roars. The entire Archer unit surged forward toward Almond. Their expressions were uniformly dynamic—eyes wide, mouths stretched open as if to devour the very air itself.
“Joseooooooon…!”
The commentators bolted upright, their chairs sliding backward slowly.
The audience rose as well. Popcorn scattered in all directions. They hadn’t even finished swallowing before their mouths opened wide, shouting with tremendous force.
Some people didn’t merely stand—they leaped onto their chairs, as if levitating into the air.
The Taegeuk flag unfurled.
The drum skin of the cheering squad’s percussion sank deeply inward.
Kuuung──
And then, the Bandit Leader’s head touched the ground.
Only then did the sound reach Almond’s ears.
“Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Lightning struck the arena.
Not light, but thunder forged from sound itself.
Everything returned to normal speed.
“Joseon plants an arrow through the Bandit Leader’s skull! This is Joseon! This is the civilization of the bow!!”
The commentator screamed, veins bulging from his neck.
[Victory]
The moment the game system declared victory for Joseon.
The two of them swung their fists through the air and roared.
“Joooooooooo! Joooooooo!!!”
A crimson roar engulfed the arena once more.
I’m crying / Sob sob sob
-Wow
-They actually won
-Awesome
-Incredible
* * *
Joseon defeated the Vikings.
This breaking news spread faster online than anywhere else, reaching far beyond the venue.
From the moment they entered the fourth era, the Knights who had been preparing all along poured out in droves from gaming web magazines.
[Vikings completely crushed 2:0, Cookie’s strategy stands out]
[Not entirely pleasant, “Resentful Rebellion” Joseon defeats Vikings 2:0 “Complete Annihilation”]
[National Tournament, “Scholar’s Strategy” Joseon crushes the “Brute Force Vikings”]
First came the articles announcing Joseon’s victory.
All the headlines used different expressions, but they meant the same thing.
Last-place Joseon had completely crushed the Vikings, who ranked high in the power rankings, 2:0.
Comments multiplied instantly.
-I watched today’s match and it was so impressive I think I’ll watch the replay again
Really, damn it ㅠㅠㅠ
└The match where they took Valhalla might be the all-time number one of this national tournament
“└222 It’s romantic from the start, fighting in the 4 o’clock era lol, and even the body search is crazy ㄷㄷㄷ”
The fact that Joseon had completely crushed them 2:0 left a strong impression.
Since these were articles on gaming web magazines, netizens focused on the game content.
After all, the fourth era all-out war that fans of this game loved had appeared.
-Wow, I thought Joseon could win, but I never expected to see a space war with Battle Cruisers versus Carriers
hahahahahahaha
└You’re old…
Medieval space war, for real lol
Me too lol I thought we’d win even if we played like trash lol
No one thought Joseon would win, let alone win in such an all-out frontal war.
Even Cookie hadn’t planned for this, so they had created a reversal result through a process no one had anticipated.
So the reaction had to be explosive.
It wasn’t just the web magazine articles.
Communities began to lag as countless posts exploded onto the platforms.
M-bul was naturally on the verge of crashing, and even Rilpro was reaching dangerous sizes.
[An underdog wins with a romantic victory, this is truly legendary]
[What? Fake national team??? For me, this is the real deal…]
I’m so moved I can’t even express it in words ㅠㅠㅠ
Especially on M-bul, where strategic eyes were sharp, there was much praise for Cookie’s strategy this time.
[Just from the first match’s archer-only strategy, Cookie’s overwhelming victory]
[Cookie is the only one who’s used map selection rights like a madman in this way (informed opinion)]
Chubergi ㅠㅠㅠ Shiba ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Finally seeing the light ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
I’ve been a Cookie fan since her rookie days 5 years ago ㅠㅠㅠ ah ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
M-bul had especially many Cookie fans.
Their fandom wasn’t formed in just a day or two.
Though small in number, they were true fans who had supported Cookie all this time, even though he had never advanced to the main tournament except during his rookie days.
Many of them probably weren’t just leaving crying emoticons in the chat—they were actually shedding real tears.
When the camera captured Taeyong Lee, the former Bandit Leader from five years ago.
And when they saw him wiping away tears of joy at the victory.
Countless others were already swallowing their own tears in his wake.
The Caster, equally moved, shouted into the microphone.
“Ah, right now! We’re showing former Commander Taeyong Lee! That’s right! Joseon! They did it! Since the founding of the National Team Championship! Joseon’s first victory on the main stage! The tournament’s first victory!”
“Yes! The flame kindled by Taeyong Lee! Has now passed into Cookie’s hands, and finally! Finally! They ignite the first fire! Five years! It took five years!”
“With no rewards whatsoever! They ran for five years! And now through the Civil Empire! To the entire world! They’re shouting that Joseon is possible too!”
Roooaaarrr!
The commentators’ voices were briefly drowned out by the audience’s roar.
Because the capsules were opening one by one.
But the commentators didn’t mind.
Instead, they strained their voices even louder, urging the crowd to cheer more, to shout louder.
“Yes! More! More! Cheer for us! Now the players are coming out! The proud! Players of! South Korea!”
Both teams’ capsules opened fully, and the players stepped onto the field one by one.
* * *
The moment the capsule lid opened and the audience’s actual roar pierced my ears.
“Roooaaarrr!!!”
Only then did I truly realize it.
‘We won.’
We actually won.
Joseon advanced to the Round of 16. And we beat the Vikings 2-0 at that.
Our first main stage victory in history.
“Roooaaarrr!!!”
Amidst the roaring cheers.
“Almond! Almond! Almond!”
My name was being chanted.
Without thinking, I clenched my fist against my chest. Something hot was surging from somewhere deep inside.
“Almond! Almond…!”
My name echoed endlessly.
The Korean fans only occupied a quarter of the stadium.
But looking at the stadium through the circular opening in the sky, going around in a full circle.
It felt as though the cheers were coming from the entire stadium, from all directions.
I’d experienced something like this during the Nantes match too.
‘It’s different.’
That was in virtual reality, not an actual stadium.
Reality truly is different.
I can feel it in my skin.
The fans’ roar burrows into my skin, vibrates through my bones, and pierces straight into my heart.
Boom, crash, boom, crash…
The vibrations and waves they created rippled through every corner of my body, traveling along my veins.
The massive energy and currents of all these people converged toward me, Sang-hyun Yu, and suffused my entire being.
It felt almost a shame to compress this entire electrifying process into the single word “exhilarating.”
I would have preferred a different expression.
* * *
A short while later.
In a hastily arranged interview zone next to the players’ waiting room.
Before the MVP selection, they called me and several other players for a quick interview.
“You’ve achieved your first victory in the main tournament. Could you briefly share your feelings about winning?”
At this question, I shared what I’d been thinking moments before.
“Now… I don’t want to turn back time.”
“Ah… What?”
The Fake National Team Writer conducting the interview paused in surprise, looking at me again.
“That’s how I felt. Now I don’t want to turn back time.”
“…”
The answer that came was completely unexpected by the Production Team.
Though certainly unexpected, its meaning was clear without explanation.
“What… could that mean?”
The voice trembled as if already understanding, but as an interviewer, they asked once more.
“If you could… explain a bit more for our viewers… that would be… great.”
I nodded and paused to think before speaking slowly.
“Even for just a moment, it was the first time I’d ever thought like this.”
My voice was trembling too.
Not from nervousness.
I don’t let nervousness shake my voice.
Reflecting on it later, this was fear.
I was afraid of myself for feeling this emotion.
Yet I felt I had to capture it on camera.
For those who cared about me, I wanted to show that I had changed like this.
I wanted to tell them.
Yes.
Throughout this international tournament, I underwent many changes.
Perhaps not as much as when I first quit my job and became a streamer, or perhaps even greater changes were coming.
Perhaps this emotion was merely a momentary surge. It could be just a fleeting impulse. Yet even that held meaning.
Because I had never thought this way, even for a moment. Because I had never gone a single instant without yearning for the past.
And now, amidst the roaring cheers of the crowd, I found myself thinking that I didn’t need to return to those days.
I barely managed to open my trembling lips and continue speaking.
“Because my arm became like this…”
“Ah, Almond!”
One of the staff members rushed in and called out to him urgently.
I understood what was happening from their gesture.
Almond cut off his conversation and stood up from his seat.
“I’ll tell you about this next time.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
The writer nodded repeatedly and guided me toward the exit.
When I stepped outside, my face was displayed on a massive screen.
* * *
The MVP had been announced.
One MVP per game.
[set1: Aamond]
[set2: Coffee]
They were Almond and Coffee, respectively.
“Wow!? Coffee!? Coffee has just earned MVP for the first time!”
“Ahhh! That’s right! This is very encouraging!? Of course! Set 2! He absolutely deserved it! He opened the path for Chataemeen! And it was a series of perfectly appropriate decisions!”
-Wow
-Coffee is insane
-Amazing amazing amazing
-Incredible
I’m so moved, I’m crying.
“Now, regarding Almond. He also had an incredible performance. Since he’s the MVP for set 1, shall we explain first?”
The commentators began explaining the reasons for the selection while reviewing various statistics.
“Yes! Aamond in set 1! Koreans are truly amazing, right!? So…”
King Gul, who had just spoken, fell silent for a moment.
“Is that it? Is he MVP just because he’s Korean?”
“No. I was just pulling up the screen…”
-Check the timing lol
-Is that all? lol
-lololol
-“Even if frozen to death, it’s Almond”
-What lol
King Gul found the data and began explaining why Almond had earned MVP.
“First, look at this damage graph. He just completely broke through. Everyone, this isn’t Rilpro. This is the Civil Empire. But the damage graph looks like this!”
-Insane
-He’s crazy lol
-Wow
-Amazing
-Wow
-That’s seriously insane lol
King Gul wasn’t just emphasizing damage output as the metric.
“Look at this too.”
The moment Caster saw the next statistic, her eyes went wide.
That wasn’t all.
-?
-Wow
Huh? Lol
-Crazy
lol
-Lol
The chat flooded with nothing but exclamations of amazement.
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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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