Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 725

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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 195
64. Elephants (3)
‘Five…?’
The number of elephants was greater than I had anticipated.
Sarang’s eyebrows twitched briefly, but
she issued successive ping commands to the Inspection Unit she had prepared.
Ting!
[Attack After Descending]
The Inspection Unit began running toward the designated point.
Their running speed seemed somewhat sluggish.
They might not have understood the timing precisely.
It was probably due to lack of experience.
Persia was famous for not using elephants during scrims to prevent them from becoming accustomed to them.
Of course, I had seen them a few times in individual ranked matches, but this was my first encounter with them in a tournament setting.
‘Still, though.’
Sarang bit her lip firmly.
‘Aren’t they hesitating too much?’
Ting!
Ting!
[Descend and Pierce the Elephant’s Back]
[Descend Now]
Successive commands.
The Inspection Unit finally understood correctly and began running at full speed.
In absolute terms, the delay wasn’t that significant.
At most, a two-second delay.
However, in a war situation like this, two seconds could become a critical turning point where dozens of lives are lost.
Especially if the enemies are executing commands with only a 0.1-second delay, that gap continues to widen.
The enemies have become completely unified under their Commander.
‘How long will it take to reach that level….’
Of course, the Joseon Soldiers weren’t deliberately creating delays either.
Because they are thinking beings, it happens reflexively.
But telling them to erase all thought is also problematic.
In Civil M, there are more situations where immediate judgment and action are required on the battlefield.
If they truly had no thoughts at all, they couldn’t lead the battle.
‘Did Cookie really entrust much to on-the-spot judgment in the first place?’
Cookie understood exactly what each of the Joseon Soldiers was thinking and could issue commands with that in mind.
‘I won’t be able to do that.’
But Sarang couldn’t do the same.
It wasn’t a matter of ability. It was a matter of how much time she had spent running with them.
An insurmountable problem that could only be solved by turning back time.
Even so, the Inspection Unit rushed to the designated location and attempted to carry out her orders.
But─
“!”
──CRAAAAAASH!
The Elephant had already shattered the fortress wall.
The entire Inspection Unit, arriving mere moments too late to launch their attack, vanished into the rubble of the destroyed wall.
“Ha….”
Tap.
Without realizing it, Sarang pressed her forehead with her palm.
Had the Inspection Unit managed to leap from the Elephant before the wall collapsed, it would have been perfect timing.
But the delayed execution of orders had instead handed the enemy a perfectly timed opportunity.
Countless soldiers vanished in vain.
The cheers of the enemy team’s audience and the sighs of the Korean audience echoed through the arena.
“Ahhhhh! The, the wall just got destroyed!? Everyone got knocked out when it collapsed! They’re basically dead!?”
“This is why Elephants are terrifying!? This! They just all die out of nowhere!!”
As the Elephant passed through, they were naturally trampled to death.
There was no way to escape the knockout judgment.
What makes Elephants terrifying isn’t just their powerful inherent stats.
It’s these unexpected catastrophic outcomes—or complete disasters—that can suddenly erupt.
-Looks like we’re watching a major blunder
Why is this happening ㅠㅠ
-How do you send them there at that timing
-Seriously
I couldn’t even imagine it at all ㅠㅠ
-Unbelievable
-At this point gotta aim for the reverse upset with the Elephant lol
“Ah… this game isn’t easy. A major mistake has occurred.”
“But when the Elephant falls over! We can still aim for a reverse upset!? We mustn’t give up yet! Joseon!”
When an Elephant falls, it typically topples toward the side where our forces are positioned.
If you can’t avoid it, even your own allies will be crushed to death.
The Elephant is a troublesome entity both for those who control it and those who face it.
I can’t translate this as it’s not a complete word or phrase in Korean. “ㅈㅈ~” appears to be onomatopoeia or an incomplete expression without clear meaning.
-Once the reverse upset was mentioned, it was already over
-So it’s all about aiming for the elephant upset lol
-Reverse upset lol
I set my sights on a reverse upset with the Elephant.
There was a saying that the moment this phrase was uttered, the battle was already lost.
It was literally betting everything on a miracle.
However, I decided to wager on this miracle.
I believed that was the judgment befitting a Commander.
‘I need to show them first.’
Ting.
[Attack]
She spotted a Soldier on the fortress wall and issued her command.
‘What I’m capable of.’

* * *
Buuuuuuu─!
Watching the terrifying Elephant’s advance, Sanghyeon recalled something.
Coach had read many books.
Especially since he believed his profession involved dealing with people, I remember him reading countless books on human psychology and thought.
Whenever he came across a good passage or gained some insight, he would always share it with the team.
Thanks to that, Coach earned the nickname “Quote Machine” for a while.
Of course, that was his official nickname, and the one the kids used among themselves had a slightly different nuance.
Among all those frequent aphorisms, there was one thing Coach always said before competitions.
“Don’t think about the Elephant.”
He would stand the children before him, hands clasped behind his back, looking down at them solemnly.
“Because then you can only think about the Elephant.”
“….”
“The human brain doesn’t understand negation.”
It was something he said about nervousness right before competitions.
“So telling yourself not to be nervous is pointless.”
Nervousness.
In archery, a battle against oneself, it was the greatest enemy.
Everyone gathered here could theoretically shoot every arrow straight into the center.
But why couldn’t they?
Coach probably saw the reason as a matter of the heart.
“You can be nervous. You can think about the Elephant. Instead, we learn how to hunt the Elephant.”
The reason this came to mind now was probably because Sanghyeon had just received such an order.
[Attack]
An attack order.
Most likely, an order he alone received.
There were almost no Soldiers left on this broken fortress wall, and they were far apart from each other anyway.
In other words, an attack order to be carried out alone.
And directed at the opponent’s massive Elephant no less.
Joseon’s main base had its front breached by the Elephant—a desperate situation.
If he charged in here and died, he would become the one to blame.
The pressure crashes down. Nervousness begins from here.
But it’s fine.
He had learned from Coach how to hunt the Elephant.
If I can’t pull this off, then Coach taught me wrong.
‘You fool. That elephant isn’t the same elephant!’
A strange voice of protest echoed in my mind, but I paid it no attention.
I trusted the teachings I’d received and charged forward.
I slung my bow across my back and threw myself toward the location marked by the first ping.
[Melee Weapon]
Clang.
I picked up the sword that had fallen on the wall.
‘So ranged damage doesn’t work on elephants—that’s why he told me to grab this.’
The reason for this sword must be clear. The person giving orders right now was as trustworthy as Cookie.
The problem was that the Commander couldn’t solve all the hardships necessary to carry out the orders.
“There’s one on the wall!”
On the elephant, five or six soldiers rode like it was a defensive tower, able to fire arrows.
Those enemies spotted me. I was just slightly higher than their eye level, so our eyes met perfectly.
“It’s Almond!”
“Aamond!?”
One of them even recognized me and started firing arrows wildly.
True to a Persian Archer, the rate of fire was tremendous.
Clang clang!
“!?”
I easily deflected the barrage with my sword, then charged forward.
Ping!
[Shield]
A ping marked a fallen shield.
Was I supposed to pick it up?
Tap.
I grabbed the shield that lay on the ground and lifted it.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack!
Arrows embedded themselves instantly.
Nearly all the archers on the other elephants opened fire simultaneously.
It was beyond what a sword could block.
‘Oh.’
I let out a quiet exclamation, then executed the next command.
[Descend]
I simply ran and leaped down from the wall.
Whoosh—
My body soared through the air for an instant before landing on the elephant’s back.
Thud.
“Ugh!”
“What!?”
There were five Enemies.
I charged straight into their midst.
But they were all Archers.
In fact, this was safer.
The real problem was the other Elephant.
Then, a red ping appeared.
Ting!
[Alert]
A Persian Archer on the Elephant right beside me. I raised my shield.
Thunk!
Feeling the vibration transmitted from beyond the shield, I switched from defense to offense.
I withdrew the shield momentarily to the left while slashing with my sword in my right hand.
It was the Persian Archer standing right beside me.
Shhwaaaack──
A crimson arc of blood sprayed sideways as the bow tumbled to the ground.
Then, advancing forward, my blade slashed across the Opponent once more.
──Thwack!
This time, the Opponent’s head rolled away.
The Archers had no way to deal with me at point-blank range.
“S-Stop him!”
They tried to rush in and grapple with me.
Boom!
I gave them no opening, pushing them back with my shield while driving deeper into their ranks.
“Ugh!?”
I swung my blade upward.
Shhwaaaack!
Half water, half flesh.
Another one lost his grip on his bow and plummeted below.
‘Three left.’
Ting!
[Alert]
A ping appeared far in the distance.
Targeting me.
‘The distance is…’
At that range, they could only aim for a high arc and hope for a lucky angle.
I casually raised my shield to cover my head.
Twang…!
“Die!”
Meanwhile, the Archer behind me rushed forward, gripping an arrow like a dagger.
I crouched while slashing downward with my blade.
A Soldier whose leg had been severed lost his balance in an instant, his body flying through the air. I rose back up and struck his abdomen with my shield.
Thwack!
He bounced back with that momentum and tumbled beneath the Elephant.
“Gaaaahhhhh….”
Ting.
Another warning sound echoed.
[Warning]
I pivoted my shield to the right this time.
Thunk!
An Arrow embedded itself with perfect precision, as if we’d coordinated the strike.
“!?”
The Persian Soldier atop the other Elephant who’d fired the Arrow wore an expression of utter bewilderment. He had no idea the [Warning] marker hung above his own head.
Slash!
In that moment, I cut down another one.
‘One.’
Only one Soldier remained on the Elephant I rode.
Since they were Archers to begin with, they had no proper way to counter a melee combatant who’d penetrated so deeply into their formation.
Slash!
Thwack!
The last one was brutally cut down and hurled off the Elephant.
All the while, the Elephant continued its charge toward Joseon’s main base—the village hall at its very heart.
[Attack]
This Attack marker that had been placed initially still remained fixed above the Elephant.
The order had not been executed.
‘I have to stop it. Close-range attacks work on Elephants.’
I gripped my sword in reverse and drove it down into the Elephant’s back.
Squelch!
Roooooaaahhhhh─!
The Elephant shook its head as if bucking, but instead its charge toward the hall only accelerated.
It didn’t seem to take any significant damage.
[Elephant Damage Calculation: Damage increases proportionally with cutting surface area]
This was a message from the Commander… rather than an order.
It was teaching me how to fight.
It meant the Commander was paying attention to every move I made here. In other words, the fate of all Joseon hung on this battle.
Whoooooosh…!
A path drawn by the Commander blazed with light.
‘A path?’
I was briefly puzzled by what it meant.
I pulled the embedded sword free and leaped toward the Elephant’s head.
A path was drawn there.
“Hah!”
Thud!
My blade pierced deep into the elephant’s skull.
Buuuuuuuuuu!
The elephant shrieked even louder this time, lifting its front legs into the air.
I felt my center of gravity lurch backward as I hung from the embedded blade, bracing myself against the force.
Boom──
Moments later, the elephant’s front legs touched the ground again.
I swept away all the arrows embedded in my shield with my sword.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
I hurled the now-clean shield onto the elephant’s head and climbed atop it.
Then came the descent.
I gripped the embedded blade firmly.
Skreeeeeee─
The shield slid like a board, gathering speed.
From the head, across the bridge of the nose, to the tip.
I followed the path the Commander had traced.
I never let go of my blade.
Along the glowing line carved through the stone-gray flesh, a crimson wound split open.
──Slaaaaaaaash!
Damage was calculated by the area of the cut. Right now, I had just severed roughly a third of the elephant.
Buuuuuu…!
The elephant began to stagger at an angle I’d never seen before.
‘Got it!’
I had learned how to hunt elephants here too.
‘Come on. I’m telling you, it’s not that elephant.’
I could almost hear the Coach’s exasperation.
But I could only grin.
Behind my laughing form, dust erupted like a fountain.
Booooom!

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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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