Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 824

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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 294
96. The Beginning of the End (1)
“Ah, finally! Youbi has managed to prepare himself to some degree! Cookie! This seems like quite a mistake on our part!”
China had bought themselves some time with their final stratagem.
Time enough for a hundred-odd soldiers to prepare the Balmun Geumseoljin.
“Actually, we shouldn’t have gathered 200 and entered! We should have just made a straight charge toward the palace!”
“Ah… you’re right!”
“But! That’s honestly easier said than done, isn’t it? Most people can’t actually do that once they’re in there!”
“Yes! In RTS games! It’s a common mistake that frequently appears when facing a relatively stronger opponent!? You start thinking there must be something more!? And as this battle drags on considerably! Your concentration reaches its limits! That’s what happens!”
“Yes, exactly! For the weaker side, your mind naturally races with possibilities! Because the opponent is no ordinary foe! It’s none other than Youbi of China! Of course you’d think he must have another move up his sleeve! And Youbi exploited that very thinking! He ultimately bought himself time to construct the Balmun Geumseoljin….”
“Waaaaaaaaaah!!”
A roar erupted from among the Chinese audience.
Not because anything had actually happened.
They were simply thrilled just by witnessing the formation itself.
The Chinese analyst must have mentioned something.
“Ah. The Chinese side’s reaction right now is intense.”
“That’s right. There’s still one more move left…! That’s what this is!?”
“But King Gul! The Balmun Geumseoljin! What exactly is that? Why are they so excited about it!? Give us an explanation! King Gul!?”
Gulp.
King Gul swallowed hard.
“….”
He couldn’t say a word.
-??
-What
-He’s totally shocked??
“King Gul?”
“I….”
“?”
“I don’t know either!!”
ㅋㅋㅋ (laughing)
Nope lol
Hahahaha
Lol fuck
Why are you making such a big fuss then lol
“I just know what the Balmun Geumseoljin is! But honestly, I have no idea how it’s even constructed! How you escape from it! Or how to dismantle it!?”
“Wait, isn’t it supposed to be some famous thing from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms!?”
“That’s… even after reading it over five times, I still couldn’t understand what it meant!”
lol
Honestly, nobody knows lol
That’s famous for being famous, Jin lol
-Kim Kardashian formation style is insane!
What the hell is this lolol
That was it.
The Balmun Geumseoljin’s name and appearance were famous enough, but no one had ever actually seen it implemented in real combat.
Only guidelines remained—something like “if enemies come, this happens” or “do this when they arrive.”
Unless one was someone who had thoroughly studied formations, they wouldn’t even think of recreating this.
“But what I can tell you right now is the principle of how this Balmun Geumseoljin locks its gates!”
“Ah, you understand that!?”
“Eight gates—there are eight gates, and no matter which direction enemies approach from, each gate cooperates and responds to neutralize them. That’s the concept.”
Exactly.
The Balmun Geumseoljin’s strength lies in its responsiveness.
Regardless of which direction enemies attack from, troops are immediately deployed in the most efficient numbers to respond.
It was like pressing a large, soft gelatin—the sides bulge out to wrap around your finger, the pressed area sinks in, and the impact is absorbed.
The Balmun Geumseoljin’s strategy is to respond to every impact and repel enemies.
“However! This isn’t the original form of the Balmun Geumseoljin! Simply because the numbers are insufficient! He’s created a formation that resembles it!”
Of course, what Youbi had created wasn’t the Balmun Geumseoljin recorded in ancient texts.
“Is that so!?”
“Yes. In the original Balmun Geumseoljin, soldiers should occupy the center, but what’s there now!?”
What the eight gates were encircling wasn’t soldiers. It was a massive fortress reminiscent of the Forbidden City, with upturned tile eaves.
It was the ‘palace’—the core structure that absolutely must not fall in this game where the Supreme Commander resides.
“Ah… then it might be somewhat different!?”
“Yes! It probably will be… so! Rather than what the Balmun Geumseoljin itself is! How Youbi interpreted that formation becomes the more important perspective!”
“The moment you say that! Joseon! Moves!”
Rumble rumble rumble…!
Dust rose from the Joseon encampment, and movement was detected.
Cookie, who had been staring at the formation for a while, had made a decision.
“The Cavalry charges forward!”
“Cookie seems to have made a firm decision!?”

* * *
“Waaaaaaah…!”
The Joseon Cavalry surged forward with tremendous force.
‘Hmm.’
But what Cookie was truly focused on were the siege weapons.
I had the trebuchets—capable of long-range bombardment—repositioned behind the formation first.
Clang…!
‘I need to be careful about charging directly into the Balmun Geumseoljin.’
My plan was to disrupt the formation somewhat with the trebuchets before committing troops.
Creak, creak, creak…!
The trebuchet’s tension was pulled back to its limit, aimed directly at the enemy soldiers.
[Fire]
Whoooosh──
The moment the stones flew, the cavalry immediately wheeled their horses around.
The spearmen, thinking the cavalry was coming, began shifting their formation nervously in all directions.
Of course, their shields came down in the process.
In Civil M, shields are defensive equipment that greatly reduces siege weapon damage, but now they were unprotected.
──Craaaaaash!
A massive stone crashed down directly into that gap.
Three or four soldiers were instantly pulverized and vanished.
“Waaaaaaaaaah!!”
The audience’s roar echoed as loudly as the stone that had just fallen.
“Gah!”
“D-dammit, it was a feint!”
“Listen to orders and move! Don’t move ahead of time!”
A smile formed at the corner of my mouth.
‘They’re moving too hastily, as expected.’
It couldn’t be helped.
The strength of the Balmun Geumseoljin is that it can respond to any attack, but conversely, its weakness is that it must respond to every attack.
Otherwise, the formation loses its meaning.
The soldiers must take the initiative and move on their own.
If Youbi wasn’t issuing orders one by one based on a VNS stat as enormous as Choi Sun-sin’s, then a feint like this was bound to work.
‘Now, next is─’
──Hehehehehing!
I grinned and sent the troops out again.
No matter how coldly one judges from above, every split-second decision is made by the soldiers standing on the ground.
From their perspective, they couldn’t possibly tell whether the cavalry charging at them with killing intent was real or not.
“Again, they’re coming again!”
“What do we do!?”
“…W-wait! Hold your positions!”
Clop! Clop!
The cavalry charge unit rushed forward as if to slam into them once more.
This time, faster than before, closing the distance even further.
The trebuchet’s rope was drawn taut.
The enemy spearmen were more cautious than last time.
Without lowering their shields, they waited until the very end. But─
“U, move it now!”
The Balmun Geumseoljin only had meaning if they responded.
They gauged the cavalry charge’s speed and ultimately moved their formation once more.
The shields lowered, and the spearmen were exposed.
Then─
“Fire!”
The cavalry charge split to both sides, and a different unit revealed itself in the gap.
[Focus]
Kiiiiing!
White flames erupted from the tips of the mounted archers’ arrows.
Pababaabang!
Soon they traced countless arcs through the air, striking cleanly into the exposed enemies’ heads.
“Waaaaaaaaah!”
Pubububuk!
A considerable number of soldiers collapsed in droves.
And if the trebuchet’s stones came crashing down on top of this, it would be the perfect finishing touch.
“…?”
But the trebuchet’s stones never came crashing down.
‘What?’
I turned to look at the trebuchet and was startled.
They were all destroyed.
From the traces, they had been bombarded.
‘Did they fire from the castle?’
The Ming Dynasty palace of China, once fully upgraded, could unleash long-range cannon fire.
But if so, it would definitely show on the exterior.
Cookie couldn’t have missed that.
In siege warfare, range calculation was the most critical factor.
The next moment, Cookie understood the situation immediately.
Because cannon fire struck right in the middle of where the Joseon forces were gathered.
Kwaaaang!
Dozens vanished in an instant.
It was fire from a mobile cannon—the stone-throwing cannon.
The power of the Ming Dynasty’s stone-throwing cannon was beyond what Era 3 soldiers’ defenses could withstand.
“…An ambush!?”
It was an ambush.
I uttered the words aloud without thinking.
‘Nearly all of their forces appear to be gathered here.’
My troop count was accurate.
At least 95% of the Ming forces were assembled in this location.
‘Then the siege weapons moved separately?’
Siege weapons were expensive and vulnerable to defense, moving slowly—they typically advanced alongside soldiers.
But they’d set up an ambush with them separately.
They were likely hidden in the forest to the east.
This was an entirely unexpected strategy.
The Ming Dynasty was essentially continuing their all-or-nothing gamble.
Kwaabooom!
Fire erupted from the trebuchet.
I could sense their determination—to kill as many as possible before we found them.
Cookie’s eyes wavered.
‘If the infantry enters the forest to search now, it’ll be too late. But all the cavalry is deployed forward… Could it be…?!’
I was astonished.
Youbi had predicted that Cookie would mock the Balmun Geumseoljin with cavalry.
That’s why he’d confidently positioned the trebuchet separately.
It would take forever to search with infantry alone.
‘In that case…’
Ultimately, I’d have to abandon the Balmun Geumseoljin containment and recall the cavalry to locate the trebuchet.
Then—
“──Charrrrrgeeeee!!”
Suddenly, the frontmost gate of the Balmun Geumseoljin burst open, and the Ming cavalry charged forth.
Thud-thud! Thud-thud!
A figure bearing an enormous crescent blade on his back led the charge onto the battlefield.
[Guan Yu]
It was Guan Yu, whom we’d missed in the previous battle.
The Joseon cavalry attempting to turn sharply and Guan Yu’s cavalry, which had been accelerating in a straight line from the start, showed a stark difference in speed.
Moreover, they were equipped with Ming Dynasty gear equivalent to the 4th era—no, the 5th era.
Apart from their smaller numbers, they were inferior to Joseon in neither speed, power, nor defense.
Caaang…!
Guan Yu’s and Maratang’s crescent blades crossed each other.
The cavalry had been caught.
At this, Cookie attempted to pull back the Cavalry Archer Unit.
“!”
Fwoooom!
Suddenly, explosive arrows rained down from behind Guan Yu’s cavalry.
The rear of the Cavalry Archer Unit was severed.
‘The Yuan Dynasty’s Mounted Archers….’
About half of them were Mounted Archers.
Even cornered at the cliff’s edge, they maintained such balanced formations.
The Mounted Archers had no choice but to join the battle.
If they fled, the difference in horse speed would mean arrows constantly piercing their backs as they retreated—certain death.
[Dispersal]
Above all, charging in a single column would result in total annihilation from the Yuan Dynasty’s explosive arrows.
[Individual Combat]
What Cookie could do was scatter the Cavalry into individual combat.
And─
“Haa….”
Breathing heavily as if exhausted, I finally made the decisive call.
[Full Army Charge]
The entire army charges into the Balmun Geumseoljin formation.
We must intermingle with the Chinese forces as much as possible.
Only then would the siege weapons’ attacks become restricted.
After all, siege weapon bombardment hits our own forces too.
The strategy of slowly strangling the Balmun Geumseoljin formation was no longer viable—we were forced into direct engagement.
‘From this point on….’
Cookie thought.
From this point on, it had slipped from my hands.
‘From this moment…!’
Youbi anticipated.
The final battle was beginning now.

* * *
“A full-scale battle! A full-scale battle is erupting!”
“Joseon and China! China and Joseon! The final battle unfolds at last!”
“The trebuchets are hidden in the forest right now! Such audacity! They separated exactly three trebuchets! Cookie never saw this coming, did he!? And right now!!”
Boom!
With the trebuchets’ strike, both armies collided head-on.
Soldiers against soldiers, cavalry against cavalry.
Every unit intertwines in chaos.
“Raaaaaaaaaah!”
“Great! Min! Guk!”
“Cha-yo! Cha-yo!”
The cheers from both nations intensified beyond anything before.
The camera suddenly pans across the audience stands.
Countless people clasp their hands together or spread their arms wide, shouting with fervent passion.
Whether their enthusiasm reached the battlefield or not, the fighting grew fiercer than ever.
The camera struggled to know where to focus as combat erupted in every direction.
Sweeping across that vast battlefield, the camera returned to capture the cavalry clash.
The place where this great battle had begun.
There, Joseon’s mounted archers and China’s mounted archers were about to collide.
Clatter! Clatter!
Both sides galloped at maximum speed while releasing arrows.
“Right now! The mounted archer duel is absolutely intense!?”
“It’s practically a battle of pride for both sides!?”
“It won’t match Mongolia’s level! But since China has the Yuan Dynasty civilization! They can’t afford to lose here!!”
“They gallop like madmen while shooting like madmen!”

* * *
‘They’re coming.’
Twang—
I focused more intently than ever, gritted my teeth, and drew back the bowstring.
Through my dilated pupils, the enemies closing in flashed into view in an instant.
Since we were both approaching at maximum speed, the distance closed in a heartbeat.
‘Now.’
──Whoosh!
My arrow shoots through the midst of soldiers galloping fiercely on horseback.
Thud!
One of the enemy’s mounted archers’ head snaps backward, and he tumbles from his horse.
Boom-boom-boom!
All the other mounted archers unleash their arrows.
Numerous mounted archers fall from their horses.
Shrieking…!
Mostly from the Joseon side.
“Waaaaaaaaaaa!!”
The roar of the Chinese audience erupts.
Clench.
I grit my teeth.
“Again!”
I signal the surviving mounted archers.
“Engage again!”
“…!”
Though it seemed the Joseon mounted archers were clearly at a disadvantage in several performance aspects, I turn my horse’s head around, saying we’d engage again.
‘The enemy is stronger. But….’
Certainly, the enemy was faster, stronger, and more resilient.
Yet I believed.
‘I had time to recover my focus just now.’
Thanks to Cookie’s consideration, I was able to step back from combat briefly. Because of that, my focus is now at its peak again.
Even at the most critical moment, Cookie looked after my stamina. Cookie believed in me. That with the tip of my arrow, I could overcome everything.
So I believed too. No, I had to believe. That I could definitely accomplish something.
So I shouted even louder.
“Again! Engage again!!”
My soldiers, who seemed panicked at first by the overwhelming firepower, also shouted with renewed determination in their eyes.
“Turn around!!”
“Okay!”
“Yeah, damn it, let’s try again!”
All the Joseon mounted archers turn their horses’ heads around and charge toward the enemy again.
Clatter-clatter! Clatter-clatter!
“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The roar of the vast audience erupted once more.
Piercing through that sound, Danggeun cried out from behind.
“Their horses may be faster, but our range is longer! Stay focused!”
Almond nodded in acknowledgment.
Grriiick─
I drew the bowstring a beat earlier than before.
Following my lead, all the mounted archers nocked their arrows.
‘Shooting and retreating won’t work.’
Having greater range didn’t mean the shoot-and-retreat tactic would succeed.
Their horses were simply faster.
However─
‘There’s exactly one moment.’
Among countless breaths, just once.
That singular instant when they first entered our effective range.
In that moment alone, Joseon held the advantage.
Ha.
I exhaled the breath building in my chest and shouted.
“Now!!!”
──Fwooooosh!!!
In that instant, I released the bowstring.
It was different from before.
The Chinese mounted archer unit hadn’t released their arrows yet.
An ordinary eye wouldn’t perceive such a fleeting moment.
But the mounted archers trained with me were different.
“!”
Pffbrbrbrbrbk!
They saw it.
The Chinese mounted archers falling to Joseon’s preemptive strike.
Eeeiiiiing…!
With a deafening cacophony of screams, the first line of the Chinese mounted archer unit was annihilated.
Now Pangeo, our morale officer, thrust his neck forward and bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“Waaaaaaah! Let’s goooooo!”

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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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