Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 818

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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 288
94. The Vanguard (1)
King Gul couldn’t help but marvel.
‘Is this speed even possible?’
Cookie’s deception had clearly worked on China.
Youbi had been visibly shaken, that much was certain.
“But what is this formation!?”
“Is this the land of Sun Tzu’s Art of War!?”
-Insane
-For real
-China’s crazy lol
-Is this really Youbi?
Yet in an instant, they reorganized their ranks and instead created a formation perfectly optimized for the terrain and situation.
Even with extensive planning, I’m not sure I could construct a better formation than this for such circumstances.
And they pulled it off with nothing but instantaneous adaptation.
Groups of eight to ten spearmen each formed their own unique defensive positions, thrusting their spears through the gaps to impale the approaching cavalry.
Thwack!
Splurt!
“The mounted archers who charged in to break the formation are now being slaughtered! They’re trapped in a labyrinth with no way out!?”
And each combination of spearmen moves as a wall unto itself.
“And the labyrinth keeps shifting!? What do we do!?”
Once the mounted archers entered that formation, they had no choice but to keep charging forward.
Arrows couldn’t penetrate the spearmen surrounded by shields who had become walls, and the positions of the archer units that could be hit were nowhere to be seen.
Arrows rained down endlessly from somewhere, sending them into panic until they crashed into dead ends and fell.
Kyiiieeeee…!
Another mounted archer collapses.
The commentators cry out almost in tears.
“Still! There must be a way out! How can there not be!?”
“Ah…!”
“This is ultimately a labyrinth with fixed numbers, right!? So if one side is blocked, the other must be open! Like those sliding puzzles we played as children!”
King Gul flinched in surprise.
The Caster’s insight was sharper than expected.
“Y-You’re right!? That’s exactly it!”
-First time hearing this? lol
-Who’s the real analyst here~ lol
-Wow, prestigious university education shows lol
-What’s with the Caster’s insight
In truth, King Gul was also witnessing such an absurd formation for the first time, so he too was bewildered. He had thought there was no escape.
But thinking about it, this labyrinth had a limited number of blocks. If one section was blocked excessively, then necessarily another section had to be open.
However, with the naked eye, it was nearly impossible to determine exactly which passages were open, which were blocked, and which path was correct.
That’s because it keeps changing.
In other words, Youbi is currently controlling the shape of every single path individually.
“But it’s hard to tell! It’s hard to tell because it keeps changing!”
It’s difficult to discern from above, so could the Mounted Archers even perceive this from their vantage point?
“Ah…!”
The Commentators and the Audience fell into despair for a moment.
If all those numerous Mounted Archers were to perish, Joseon’s winning chances in the 3rd Era battle would inevitably weaken.
Joseon had wagered everything on this era, whereas China had not.
When China becomes the Ming Dynasty, they gain the power to make a comeback in the game once more. However, even if Joseon advances to the 4th Era, they lack the strength to mount such a dramatic reversal compared to China.
Joseon must decide the outcome here.
“The best thing right now is! The Cavalry Archer Unit must! Somehow! Somehow manage to escape!!”
Ultimately, those trapped inside must find their own way out.
This is the first option.
“Or if the plan! Or the tactics get a bit twisted! We need to dispatch more support squads right now! And force our way in!!”
Reinforcements enter and fight together to completely dismantle the formation.
This is the second option.
“So then, should Cookie really! Be sent in!?”
The camera naturally shifts toward Joseon’s Main Force.
They still maintained their formation well, but showed no signs of movement.
Cookie’s face displayed on screen was equally motionless.

* * *
Cookie had issued clear orders to all the Soldiers.
[Wait]
They could have emotionally charged forward at any moment.
Everyone knew that if the Cavalry Archer Unit were completely annihilated, Joseon’s battle would become considerably harder.
Including Cookie.
‘Stay calm.’
I repeated this to myself.
My eyes watched the Mounted Archers fiercely yet quietly.
Confused by the sudden formation change, they fell in disarray here and there.
Among them were first-line Players.
But I didn’t move.
Right now, the momentum belongs to China.
Taking a few jabs and then emotionally rushing in would only result in getting countered and knocked out.
This is the same. If the Mounted Archers don’t return alive, all tactical plans must change regardless.
Even if I commit support forces now to save them, another trial awaits afterward. That will be a trial prepared and led by China.
The battle gets dragged along that way.
I had to acknowledge the truth. Joseon doesn’t have the military strength to break through when China leads the fight.
However, when Joseon takes the initiative in battle, it’s different.
Then we can win.
We make our move, and China follows. This is the only scenario where we can defeat China in an all-out battle.
That’s why Cookie doesn’t chase.
He simply waits.
Observing how this battle unfolds, how China responds to each move, what Youbi’s current emotional state is. He heightened every subtle sense and concentrated entirely on observing the battle.
‘We can do this.’
Above all, he believed in them.
The Cavalry Archer Unit he’d sent to the front line now was composed of the elite soldiers he’d personally selected. They were prepared. They would waver, but they would not fall.
Then─
The movements of all the Mounted Archers changed.
──Thud!
The sound of hoofbeats aligned with perfect precision, like synchronized dancers performing in unison.
Thud! Boom!
“!”
Cookie’s eyes gleamed.
A single player raising his hand at the front.
He was changing the flow.
Almond was.
‘We can do this!’

* * *
“Here, here, here, here!”
Simultaneous with his cry, a ping shot to his unit members.
[Regroup]
The regroup command is issued.
But the Mounted Archers are currently scattered in all directions.
Could they gather?
Thud!
Belying such doubts, the unit members scattered across diverging paths simultaneously turned their horses’ heads.
A movement like synchronized dancers who had practiced countless times.
They all ground their teeth and headed toward the rally point.
Fierce determination and terrifying focus toward their destination.
This was in fact the result of considerable training.
「Alright, here, no, here. This time here. Huh? Missed?」
Almond had once held a target in his own hands and moved it back and forth, having them practice shooting with immediate responses.
「….」
Archery is difficult enough to hit a single person properly, but when that person holds a small target and moves it around like a flag dance, of course the arrows would miss?
「Hey, you moved that on purpose! You dodged it intentionally!」
He even deliberately dodged the incoming arrows.
Perhaps because of this, strangely, none of Pangeo’s arrows hit.
“Go out and stand by for running drills.”
But the verdict was always the same.
Run until you drop.
“No……”
“Stand by.”
“…”
“Ugh…”
Pangeo, now galloping his horse to keep pace with Almond.
He shook his head vigorously, recalling those memories.
“Run! Horsey, run!”
If you can’t run, then I’ll have to run instead.
Pangeo had shouted thus, driving his horse frantically toward the rally point Almond had designated.
Spears thrust and stabbed at him from all sides.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!”
He dodged them purely through sheer willpower and battle cry.
Whinnnnnneeeee…!
“?”
Even the Spearmen thrusting at him were bewildered.
‘He wasn’t even hit, so why is he screaming…’
Bellowing like a madman, his eyes blazing with intensity as if possessed by a spirit.
Yet he weaved through the spear blades extending toward him like a bandit, slipping past them effortlessly.
Clop-clop! Clop-clop!
This too was the fruit of his training.
‘Ah, I see!’
He finally understood.
His consciousness had entered a training state.
A single ping from Almond had driven his mind into that mode.
Like a dog that barks fiercely at strangers but tucks its tail when it sees its master.
‘It feels unpleasant…’
Something about it was disagreeable, yet the training results were undeniable.
“Hyaaaaa! Pangeo has arrived!”
Clop-clop! Clop-clop!
In the end, he succeeded in galloping madly to rejoin Almond’s formation.
But that wasn’t all.
“Yes, I’m here! No running drills for me!”
“Me too! Ham! I’m here too!”
Ratte, Spam, and the other scattered members somehow managed to catch up and rejoin the group. They were now running along at the tail end of the formation.
They shouted their own names to ensure they wouldn’t accidentally end up on the running drill list—something that had happened to them a few times before.
“Pekorino has joined the formation!”
And so the Soldiers joined in, one by one.
At least I’ve succeeded in gathering the Mounted Archers.
From what I can see, our troop losses are roughly around 30-40%.
“!”
Almond turned to look at them, his eyes widening with astonishment.
‘My strategy… actually worked?’
He realized that the rally point he’d chosen had provided such an excellent route for all the Mounted Archers that this many of them had survived.
‘Good.’
Confidence surged through him.
He turned his head forward again.
He kicked his horse’s rear one more time and shouted.
“Follow me!”
Now he would escape this hellish maze by following the path his instincts led him toward.
Or perhaps, he would destroy it entirely.
“Hyah!”
“Goooooo!!!”
Despite the beating they’d already taken, the army’s morale was at its peak.
“The objective is escape, right?!”
Danggeun called out from behind as she followed.
Swish.
Almond waved his finger backward.
“Nope.”
“!”
At this gesture, Danggeun’s expression turned serious.
That was the gesture Almond only made when he had tremendous confidence in his strategy.
She couldn’t understand why that confidence kept resurrecting itself no matter how many times it should have been crushed.
‘Again.’
It had come back to life again.
“The objective is the Archer Battalion, just like from the start!”
“….”
Danggeun was left speechless by such an enormous ambition.
But no reaction mattered to Almond, who had become a monster of self-confidence.
When Danggeun fell silent, it appeared she was struck speechless by admiration for his strategy.
When Danggeun spoke up, it appeared she was excited and talkative about his strategy.
Everything looked that way to him now.
Moreover, behind him were not loyal retainers offering sincere counsel, but rather cunning schemers desperate to escape this running hell.
“We’re going, sir!”
“Let’s go! Let’s goooooo!”
Even Pangeo, the former Leader, had already approved of the plan.
Because of this, in terms of momentum alone, they were nearly the finest commando unit in all the land.
‘This should… work out fine.’
Danggeun acknowledged that this approach had its own merits.
“Stay on me!”
Tap-tap!
Almond’s horse hooves kicked up as he weaved sharply through the formations, carving out a serpentine path.
Whoosh!
Roar!
Spears thrust toward him as the formations shifted and the pathways changed, yet—
Almond and the wild-eyed Cavalry Archer Unit following behind him ghosted through every attack, driving their mounts forward with supernatural precision.
“!?”
The Chinese Spearmen stared at their impossible control with expressions as if they’d just witnessed the Mongol cavalry itself.
Whoosh!
Shhhhhhh!
Like a single organism, like a serpent parting brush, the Cavalry Archer Unit carved through the labyrinth in a single file line.
The head of that serpent had finally found what it sought.
‘There.’
The position of the Archer Battalion that had been harassing them all along.
“Aim!”
Grrrrk.
Without hesitation, I drew the bowstring of my Gakgung taut.

* * *
“Oh no!? Almond! What is this player doing!!!”
“The route he’s choosing right now! Is Cookie feeding him the path!? He’s drilling straight through the gaps with perfect precision!”
“But it doesn’t look like he’s heading toward the exit!?”
The Commentators erupted in excitement at the sudden momentum the Mounted Archers had created.
The Audience’s cheers were gradually coming alive.
“Almooooond!!”
“Great! Min! Country!”
The drums grew increasingly fierce.
Boom-boom! Boom! Boom!
And—
“It looks like he’s heading straight for the Archer Battalion!?”
“H-he found it! He actually found it!”
Almond’s bowstring pulled taut.
The Soldiers behind him drew their bowstrings in unison.
“Fiiiiiire!”
──Whoooooosh!
The target the Mounted Archers had charged toward—the Enemy Archer Battalion, the core defensive force.
A white torrent of arrows descended upon them.

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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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