Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 784

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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 254
84. The Incheon Landing Operation (1)
3 ships versus 17 ships.
It was a lonely battle.
Countless soldiers existed behind me, moving cannonballs and igniting fires.
Yet in this moment, I felt utterly alone.
After mooring the ship in the narrow coastal waters, I stood alone at the helm on this deserted island, my voice hoarse from shouting.
“FIIIIIRE!!!”
No support from the Commander, no support from the Assistant Commander, no support from the Archer unit that had trusted and followed me.
Scorching flames and acrid smoke, the deafening roar of cannon fire.
BOOM!!!
In the midst of it all, I had to fight alone. The fate of this ship rested entirely in my hands.
‘It’s destroyed…!’
The shot was successful.
One Atakebune shattered into pieces.
However, there were over a dozen more ships waiting behind that I would have to face.
There was only one advantage Joseon possessed right now.
The Atakebune’s cannon range was shorter.
Whoooosh…!
The Atakebune approached to fire its cannons.
‘The strait’s too narrow for more than two ships.’
As expected, all those ships couldn’t possibly force their way through here.
“Turn the ship! Hold on tight!”
Creeeeak!
I wrenched the helm with all my strength, pivoting the ship sharply.
Everyone on deck lurched and lost their footing.
The maneuver was that abrupt.
Normally, the one holding the helm could only determine the ship’s direction.
But for gameplay convenience, the soldier at the helm could control all aspects of the ship’s movement—forward, backward, and more.
[Forward]
I issued the command to move the ship, pulling away from the Atakebune.
The massive Panokseon surged upstream through the winding waterway.
‘Just five minutes.’
If I could hold the Japanese ships’ attention for just five minutes, this mission would succeed.
‘They don’t know how many ships we have.’
Japan still didn’t know that Joseon possessed only two Panokseons.
They would assume more were waiting at the main base’s coast and would try to deal with us first before moving on.
I had to slow down that process as much as possible.
So the Panokseon had to flee while wagging its tail as gently as possible.
‘We’re almost at land now… going any deeper is impossible.’
However, now that the two islands are connected, we’ve reached the point where the waterway becomes blocked.
‘We’ve arrived.’
Kwaacrash…!
With a harsh roar, the Atakebune closes the distance.
The Japanese ship is definitely faster.
But—
‘Perfect!’
Scraaape…!
The Panokseon couldn’t navigate properly as the water grew shallower.
The Japanese ship’s pointed hull began scraping against the sandy bottom and getting stuck.
It shouldn’t have come this far.
Then, Pangeo turns the ship’s bow.
“Turning around! Right cannon battery, prepare!”
“Ready!”
Kwaaaaa…!
The Panokseon rotated with the violent current.
Clang!
The right black cannons, which hadn’t been used until now, suddenly emerged in unison.
“Fire!!”
Following Pangeo’s voice, the Panokseon began spewing crimson flames.
Kwaaaboom!
The Atakebune, with its hull grounded, couldn’t take any action.
It could only be destroyed.
Boom—!
The Atakebune’s front was completely shattered.
“Waaaaaaa!”
Cheers erupted from inside the ship.
“Excellent! Next!”
Pangeo excitedly called for the next target.
But there was nothing to see.
Only one Atakebune had followed them.
‘What, just one?’
And the Atakebune that had just been shattered had an oddly small crew.
Several soldiers jumped off in haste, but the numbers were truly minimal.
‘What’s going on.’
Tap, tap, tap…!
Footsteps, as if treading on water, echoed from somewhere.
“Pangeo! B-below! Below!”
Pangeo instantly released the helm and leaned his head toward the ship’s bottom.
“!?”
The Japanese Empire forces.
They were climbing aboard from the water.
Because they’d ventured into such shallow coastal waters, it was possible for them to reach here from land as well.
‘Did they pre-position Japanese Empire troops on this island?’
From the start, Japan knew they couldn’t defeat the Panokseon with Atakebune in open coastal waters.
They’d driven the Panokseon close to the island’s beach, deciding instead to force a close-quarters battle.
In other words, they’d already landed Japanese Empire forces on this small island and simply used the Atakebune to drive the Panokseon into a trap.
Whether measured by cost or combat power, sacrificing two Atakebune to corner two Panokseon was an enormous gain.
Most importantly….
‘Wait. The forces here aren’t that numerous either?’
The vast majority of troops that had been aboard the seventeen ships were still nowhere to be seen.
Where could they have gone?
‘The main island!’
Japan had made a direct course for Joseon’s main island.
The Panokseon ambush that would have hindered them en route was deliberately cornered like this, while the remaining fourteen ships of the main force sailed straight for the main island.
If those forces landed on Joseon’s main island now, it would be all over.
“Damn it! I need to pull the ship back!”
He urgently grabbed the helm and tried to turn the ship back toward Joseon’s main island, but.
Screeeeeech──!
A sound like a scream erupted from the ship.
“P-Pangeo! We’ve been caught by harpoon soldiers! We can’t break free now!”
“We have to fight!”
Harpoon soldiers.
A faction and specialized unit that exists because Japan’s ships generally must resolve naval warfare through close-quarters combat.
They shoot ships with harpoon cannons to pin them down—whether to shore or their own vessel—preventing them from escaping.
Since they don’t play a major role in actual melee combat, they’re not produced that frequently.
‘They’ve made their decision.’
Whenever they intend to commit to close-quarters battle, they always include this unit.
After the second match, Japan seemed to have completely resolved not to defeat Joseon through cannon fire.
It was truly the right judgment.
Pangeo bit his lip and drew the Gakgung slung across his back.
Click.
“Shoot down every bastard climbing up!”
“Yes!”
Grrrrrgh…!
Pangeo drew his bowstring taut, and the soldiers drew their Waldo and curved swords.
That’s right. Most of those here were from the Inspection Unit.
Manager Kim, who had a home in Seoul and dreamed of being Manager Kim; the pro who moved goods at the logistics center; the gym owner Park….
Truly, unrelated individuals gathered together, drawing their swords and standing on the deck.
The heads of Japanese Empire troops climbing aboard the ship appeared one by one.
Twang!
Pangeo released the bowstring.
Boom!
One head flew clean off.
But one wasn’t nearly enough.
“Oh, here they come!”
Whoosh.
The Japanese Empire soldiers came rushing in with nimble movements.
[Samurai]
They were Samurai equipped with 3rd era faction gear.
Clang!
Their long Japanese swords clashed against Joseon’s Waldo, sending sparks flying.
“Hraaaaaa!”
“Hold the line! Push back! Damn it!”
Whoosh!
Swish!
Pangeo drew the bowstring repeatedly, shouting at the top of his lungs.
His arrows were landing with decent accuracy, and the Inspection Unit’s Waldo strikes carried enough weight to be effective against the Samurai.
However—
“!?”
The battle situation reversed in an instant.
Roll, roll, roll…
Something rolled onto the deck.
“S-smoke screen—”
It was a Ninja smoke bomb.
Click.
In that moment, all the Japanese Empire soldiers raised cloth to their mouths and noses.
—Hisssssssssss!!
The smoke erupted, and acrid gray smoke instantly engulfed the deck.
[Status Abnormality: Vision Impaired]
[Status Abnormality: Coughing]
Cough! Cough!
Coughing echoed from all directions. These were definitely my allies.
Yet I couldn’t even tell where my allies were in this haze.
“Damn… Cough!”
“Ugh!”
Screeeech!
The one-sided slaughter by the Samurai and Ninja had begun.
I was fortunate to be positioned at the rear of the formation, so I escaped that carnage.
“Cough! Cough cough!”
I couldn’t escape the influence of the smoke screen.
‘Where is it? Where was it?’
Pangeo turned around and ran desperately, searching for something.
The one weapon that could turn this situation around.
Even in this chaos where I could barely see an inch ahead, I was certain I could find that weapon.
Given the structure of this ship, it had to exist somewhere, so I crawled frantically along the deck, feeling my way toward it.
“Hagh… huff…!”
Thud!
My hand finally found the cold barrel.
“Got it, you bastards.”
Grrrrrrk!
I pulled the barrel back with all my strength, then turned my head.
I loaded the cannonball and immediately lit the fuse.
The cannon’s muzzle pointed toward where the gray smoke was gradually clearing, and the shadows of Samurai began to appear.
The Joseon Swordsmen were mostly already fallen or wounded by the [Severance] faction.
‘Where should I shoot?’
Time was running out, but it was difficult to gauge where would be most effective.
The gray smoke hadn’t fully cleared yet, so I couldn’t tell where the Japanese Empire forces were most concentrated.
That’s when it happened.
[Attack]
Ting!
A ping marked the location.
“!”
Without hesitation, Pangeo adjusted the cannon’s muzzle toward that spot, and the fuse burned down completely.
“Die!”
Kaboooom──!
The cannon roared with fire, and the cannonball flew.
The cannonball was aimed at the deck itself.
I destroyed the very floor they stood upon.
Both Japanese Empire and Joseon forces collapsed downward together.
Only the rear deck where Pangeo stood remained intact, while everything else was shattered and impassable.
Absolute chaos.
“Ahhhhh!?”
“This… this is insane!”
“Aaaahhh!”
Casualties from falls and explosions occurred in waves.
When Pangeo glanced below to check, he could tell by rough estimation.
Most of the casualties were Japanese Empire forces.
‘That was precise.’
The Commander’s order was indeed excellent.
‘But the fact that they were watching this place…’
Something had definitely gone wrong on the main island.
[Escape]
The escape order had been given.
Pangeo descended the side of the ship along the marked path that Ping had indicated.
As I climbed down, I heard Maratang’s voice.
“Oh, you escaped! Captain!”
“Call me Franks.”
“Not Pangeo? You were firing buggy rounds?”
He had come to retrieve me, leading a small fire ship.
It seemed the Panokseon he had originally been commanding was completely burned down by the Japanese forces.
“Anyway, this is all that survived.”
The troops he pointed to behind him numbered only eight.
“…Still, it’s better than nothing. Let’s go.”
“Okay~”
Maratang took the helm, and the fire ship advanced once more toward the Joseon mainland.

* * *
At that same moment.
On a remote coastline at the edge of the Japanese mainland.
Whoooosh…
Several small ships were quietly dropping anchor there.
White sails folded, and landing platforms were laid out.
Thud.
On that deserted shore, a single hoofprint was left behind.
“Phew. Fortunately, we’re almost there.”
The man on horseback wore a crimson robe, and a bow was slung across his back—a young man.
[Aamond]
Behind him, countless others in the same attire set foot on this land.
The scale of those landing slowly numbered at least one hundred.
Game time: 25 minutes 17 seconds.
The Joseon forces had successfully landed on the Japanese mainland.

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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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