Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 834

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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 304
98. The Same Enemy, Different Positions (3)
Anto had watched the match footage countless times.
Naturally, he had replayed the preliminary matches where they had faced each other just as many times.
After all, this was the opening skirmish between Rome and Joseon.
Among them, the very first match—Ancient Walls—was a map that even Anto had to pay close attention to.
While it was certainly a disadvantageous map for Joseon in reality, Cookie’s clever strategy had transformed it into one where Joseon could gain the advantage.
By leveraging the advantage that Soldiers could construct buildings, they could execute a play that trapped their opponent entirely within the walls.
It was certainly a sharp, unconventional move—one that struck at a weakness.
But Anto had read through that move.
He had deduced that the only play Joseon could aim for was ultimately to trap him, and he had countered with a preemptive masterstroke.
He had withdrawn Workers beforehand.
With that single move, Rome avoided Joseon’s ingenious scheme and instead claimed victory far more easily.
This was the blind spot of those who employ unconventional plays.
‘They almost never assume their moves will be read.’
Unconventional play itself is predicated on the assumption that one’s moves won’t be read.
Since it was created for that purpose, it’s only natural.
However, in truth, this deviates considerably from the essence of the matter.
An unconventional play can only be unconventional if it isn’t read.
Anto was exceptionally skilled at piercing through such contradictions in unconventional play like an awl through cloth.
The title of “orthodox elite” that he had earned wasn’t because he preferred orthodoxy.
It was because his opponents were forced into orthodoxy.
If anyone tried to create trivial variables before Anto, they would instead be thoroughly punished.
But now—
‘I find myself with much to consider.’
Anto faced Ancient Walls once more and fell into contemplation.
If the enemy rushed from the start of Age 2 and blocked the entrance, and if that strategy succeeded, Rome would have no way to counter it.
Rome had no particularly effective siege weapons before Age 3.
With resources inside the walls, they couldn’t reach Age 3.
Then should he secretly withdraw Workers like last time?
Impossible.
That tactic had only worked because Cookie didn’t know about it.
In a situation where it’s assumed that Workers have been withdrawn, Cookie would search every resource-rich area, and it would inevitably be discovered.
Then what if he mobilized large forces from the start alongside the Workers and went for a double expansion from the beginning?
This too was impossible.
Then his forces would be split in half, and the troops needed for hunting or scouting would be severely reduced.
In other words, Anto was now cornered.
Checkmate.
A complete dead end.
If Cookie attempted to block the entrance, he had few options to counter it.
I had to keep deploying numerous soldiers at the entrance and maintain constant pressure on them.
However, the problem was that this alone already consumed precious human resources.
The soldiers who needed to conduct hunting activities and explore the entire map to gather information had no choice but to linger near the entrance.
The overall momentum of the battle tilted heavily toward the 3 o’clock position—Rome’s camp.
In war, even when fighting, gaining a significant advantage requires battling near the enemy’s position.
Fighting near your own camp makes it difficult to launch counterattacks based on those gains, and more human resources are consumed repairing damaged areas.
However, Rome currently had few options. I had to keep fighting near my own camp.
Was this entire inconvenient structure… mere coincidence?
‘Cookie understands this too.’
Cookie was doing this intentionally.
Knowing that I had no choice but to pay attention to it, Cookie had positioned his forces in a heavily concentrated formation near the entrance.
He was essentially saying: even if it’s the 1st era, I can enter anytime.
As a result, Rome became defensive, while Cookie was utilizing the map far more extensively.
In every aspect—hunting, reconnaissance, intelligence—Joseon gained the advantage.
Most critically and directly damaging was worker production.
Workers were produced entirely from food, so if hunting wasn’t going smoothly, the worker count would decrease.
‘If this continues, eventually the worker gap will widen….’
When the worker count decreased, the resource gathering speed would also fall short.
‘It might make no difference whether I sacrifice a worker or not.’
Anto’s reason for holding back on sacrificing a worker was to preserve them.
But if it came to that, I’d have to worry about the risks of blocking the entrance.
As a result, hunting would suffer losses, and again the worker count would fall short.
Either way, the worker count would inevitably become insufficient.
‘Sigh.’
The Ancient Fortress.
On this map, Rome should have been far more advantaged than Joseon. Yet the current structure was nothing like that.
Cookie’s innovative breakthrough strategy, combined with the fortunate reappearance of this same map, had created a unique situation.
Right now, Rome was like prey caught in a spider’s web.
The more I moved, the more the sticky threads wrapped around me. The more disadvantaged I became.
And then one more thing—
Boom.
[Joseon – Era 2]
Joseon advances to Era 2.
Anto’s eyes turn toward the clock.
‘I didn’t expect this.’
I was familiar with Cookie’s usual pace. This speed wasn’t like him at all.
If Era 2 came this quickly, the likelihood of the entrance being sealed was far higher.
‘Is this real?’
At this, Anto laughed.
‘Is he really different from back then?’
During the preliminaries, Cookie had boasted that he would be different from me.
I half believed it and half didn’t.
But looking at how things are unfolding, it seems he was right.
‘Yeah… Cookie is definitely entertaining.’
Anto’s eyes began to gleam.
He found this situation entertaining.
The fact that an opponent was pressing him this hard from the first match—and that opponent was Joseon, not some other team.
Though some luck had played a role, to create this level of change was impressive.
Anto licked his lips and picked up a white stone.
‘Now, let’s see…’
On the massive game board.
—Thunk.
‘How about this move.’
A weighty stone was placed.

* * *
“Ah…! 2 o’clock era! Joseon!! The momentum is really good right now!? They’re completely blocking the entrance!? As far as Rome shows, they haven’t lost a single worker!?”
Rome was still under pressure from Joseon’s forces, moving defensively.
Even when competing for prey, Joseon with their larger active forces had taken it far more easily.
“The food supply gap is starting to widen, isn’t it?”
“Joseon has taken almost all the sheep herds, and the rest is just wild animals like deer and boar! If this continues, Joseon will take those too!? Isn’t this getting difficult even for Rome!? But!”
Boom.
Caster slammed the table and shouted.
Rome had also entered the 2 o’clock era.
Thump.
[Rome – 2 o’clock Era]
“Rome is in the 2 o’clock era! This is the speed they show when in top condition!”
“Both teams are sharpening their blades!”
“Rome is going straight into weapon production.”
“This match looks like it’ll be a proper clash in the 2 o’clock era, doesn’t it? Ah, as expected!”
Rome began mass-producing weapons.
Even more aggressively than Joseon.
Though they were falling slightly behind on food, other resource acquisition hadn’t been affected yet.
Depending on their investment, they could produce even more 2 o’clock era weapons.
“They’re producing more than Joseon!? You said there’s a high probability the match will be decided in the 2 o’clock era! Why is Joseon producing so hesitantly!?”
This was due to weapon level design.
“Rome aside, it’s a shame Joseon isn’t producing much in the 2 o’clock era, you know? The difference between 2 o’clock era weapons and 3 o’clock era weapons is huge!”
Since Joseon’s 3 o’clock era weapon, the Gakgung, was an end-game item in every way, minimizing other expenditures was the basic strategy.
Rome, on the other hand, didn’t have such a large gap, so if they wanted, they could produce more in the 2 o’clock era and use them for longer.
‘Even so, isn’t this a bit passive? Are they just giving up on blocking the entrance?’
King Gul internally thought Bontovi was far more passive than he’d initially believed, though he still didn’t understand why.
Shortly after, Joseon produced roughly fifteen Crossbowmen.
Joseon stopped at fifteen, but Rome continued producing units.
What they were making were shields, spears, and swords.
Rome was attempting to create Legion Soldiers, Rome’s pride and joy.
Their current numbers stood at around ten, but Rome showed momentum to increase beyond twenty.
However, right now Joseon had the advantage in troop numbers after advancing to Age 2 so quickly.
Joseon didn’t miss this opportunity.
“Here we go…! The pressure is on!”
Joseon’s numerous Barbarian Soldiers formed a battle line.
They were pushing forward through the entrance.
“Now they’re really defending!? Joseon is applying serious pressure!?”
Behind the Barbarian Soldiers, the Crossbowmen took their positions.
“The Barbarian Soldiers tank while protecting the frontline archers, pushing forward!? This is simple but powerful tactics!”
“Yes! Especially since Age 2 came out so fast! If the timing rush works out well, it’s really hard to stop!?”
“Exactly! This is that famous Fast Age 2 Crossbowman Rush! The Crossbow Rush!?”
-Another crossbow rush lol
-Real talk, it’s like a cheese rush
-Been a while since a crossbow rush lol
-Let’s gooooo
-What is Bontovi even doing…
Kugugugugu…!
The Soldiers moved as one, kicking up clouds of dust.
With Joseon’s mix of ranged and melee units, they appeared to have a high probability of victory against Rome’s relatively simplistic Legion Soldiers.
“But if Anto anticipates this, wouldn’t he build a defensive tower at the entrance!?”
“Even if he does, it’s actually better! If he builds too many, he can just pull back! If he builds ambiguously, Joseon just invests and pushes through anyway!?”
Rome would have a higher chance of defending if he built a defensive tower.
But doing so would leave no future.
Rome was already severely disadvantaged in early-game resources, and this map imposed heavy resource constraints if you couldn’t expand.
“And Rome’s Age 2 defensive tower right now! It’s really not good! The performance is terrible!”
Most importantly, Rome’s defensive tower performance was lackluster.
Rome only gets a proper ranged attack position with the Genoese Crossbowman in Age 3.
Rome could use bows in Age 2, but the performance was far from impressive.
So naturally, the defensive tower performance was poor as well.
“So right now Rome is gathering Soldiers at the entrance and forming a defensive line. A defensive tower!? Who cares about that! Sacrifice troops!”
-Lmaooo
-People come first lol
-Why would you even need a defensive tower?! Seriously
-As expected, they’re similar to peninsula people
Rome’s strategy was to defend with manpower.
But then─
“Wh-wh-what!? Those soldiers are coming out!?”
“What’s happening!?”
Before Joseon could even apply pressure at the entrance.
The Roman Soldiers poured out en masse.
Abandoning the entrance, the Roman Soldiers streamed outward.
-Huh?
-What
-Mass escape lolol
-Abandoning the main base?
-Black company escape lolol
King Gul’s eyes widened in shock.
“Wh-wh-what!? This, this is getting structurally strange!?”
Before Joseon could push forward, the Roman Soldiers rushed out in a torrent.
They should have been blocking the main base entrance, but instead they abandoned it.
While this made breakthrough easier, King Gul said the tactical structure had become unfavorable.
For Joseon.
“Those soldiers are armed combatants right now!? They’ve all left! I’m not sure if Joseon will even notice!?”
All the Legion Soldiers had exited.
They circled widely around the space where Joseon would advance, like a shark prowling its hunting grounds.
“Right now Joseon actually has a favorable head-on engagement structure!? Barbarian Soldiers blocking from the front! Archers shooting from behind!?”
“Ah, that’s right! Classic head-on engagement is good! For Joseon!?”
“But! Like this! What we call a pincer maneuver!? When they’re attacked from both front and rear, the battle becomes incredibly exhausting!?”
Rome had shifted the tactical structure to a two-pronged assault.
“Did Joseon see this!? It doesn’t look like they’re aware!?”
The question was whether Joseon had noticed.
“The Archers are spread out in the rear! If the Legion Soldiers turn around and strike from behind! The Archers get completely wiped out!!”

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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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