Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 848

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Genius Archer’s Streaming Season 3 Episode 318
102. The Bigger Picture (5)
The second match was far more dominant than the first.
Moreover, Rome had always been perceived as a strong team.
As a result, the community’s reactions centered around these sentiments.
[Rome: The cheetah is laughing…]
[???: Kyokyokyo!? The first match was just a warm-up, wasn’t it?]
[The first match? That was just my afterimage. Cookie.]
Generally, Rome’s first match was nothing more than a warm-up.
Hahaha meme lol
ㅠㅠ (This is a Korean emoticon representing crying/tears)
-Is this really the ending…
Is this Dragon Ball? lol
-Sigh… is it over here
Of course, there were those who disagreed.
-But honestly, wasn’t Joseon’s pure gameplay better in the first match?
Cookie’s performance in the first match was quite solid to call Anto’s effort merely a warm-up.
He made almost no mistakes in that match, and every timing decision was sharp.
However, quite a few people didn’t agree with this assessment.
What the hell is that guy’s so-called pure playing ability anyway lol
└Wasn’t the first match just lucky? The Ancient Walls appeared again and Anto got caught in a bind
└Real talk, Anto just had terrible map luck
└There are so many honorary Italians here lol
The fact that the Ancient Walls appeared again was favorable to Cookie.
However, this argument was actually contradictory.
What the hell are these guys doing? Ancient city walls were originally more advantageous for Rome lol, so why would it have become disadvantageous in the first place? Think about it.
There’s also a saying that it’s like the walls of Rome, lol.
└Almond speaks the truth
The Ancient Walls map became unfavorable to Rome because of the strategy Cookie created during the preliminaries.
Anto had created the only breakthrough available and escaped, but it wouldn’t work a second time.
└In the first match, it wasn’t just using the same strategy—Cookie exploited Anto’s awareness of it, chipped away at it, and broke through… honestly, Cookie’s finals form is no different from what Anto did in the second match, Cookie’s finals form is insane
└Right
└The third match is naval warfare so let’s hope he wins
Those who understood the game were all in agreement that Cookie’s performance in today’s finals was quite impressive.
It was natural that if you didn’t understand the game, you’d find it difficult to notice this, since the commanders’ decisions and judgments often ended up looking foolish in retrospect.
M-bul had quite a gathering of those who understood the game, yet it was still like this.
Rilpro was a different story entirely.
Rilpro was already notorious for its aggressive tone.
Add ignorance to that mix, and it was perfect.
[Wow, just got completely stomped]
[What exactly did Joseon do???]
[The skill gap is insane]
[I’m not expecting much from the finals…]
[Wait, on a mountain map?? Is this right?]
Even when heaven helps, you kick it away ㅉㅉ
“Ancestor <<< If you made the judgment to abandon the country, that's big lol"
Some of them seemed quite angry.
In truth, winning the finals against Rome was never an easy feat to begin with, so their reaction might be understandable.
It was simply that Joseon had drawn a favorable map, which had generated considerable expectations.
The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
This wasn't merely a problem for the fans alone.

* * *
Thud! Boom!
Chiseung continued slamming his head against the table.
"Ugh…!"
"Oh, brother! Stop it!"
Boom! Thud!
"Ack… Hnngh…."
Chiseung was drowning in regret.
'It was a pointless strategy. If I'd just leveraged the mountain map's advantages… Cookie hyung could've won today.'
Cookie's form today had been exceptional.
The first match was sharp, and the second match was a succession of keen decisions.
However, in the second match, the predetermined set-piece plays had actually shackled Cookie.
Cookie's strength lay in flexible tactical adaptation.
When situations spiraled beyond both players' expectations and descended into chaos, Cookie's win rate was overwhelmingly high.
Anto, by contrast, operated by drawing his opponent into his own design.
His ability was so exceptional that variables rarely emerged, and even when they did, they often fell within his intentions.
To hand Cookie a predetermined script in such a matchup.
'Idiot.'
Chiseung couldn't help but berate himself.
'A guaranteed winning strategy? How absurd?'
He'd drawn it out thinking it was a trump card for victory.
There was no such thing in a finals match.
Thud!
"Oh, brother! Why are you doing this! Stop it!!"
Mool Mandu grabbed his hair.
As Chiseung tried to continue, she yanked him back with greater force.
"Nngh… Ack!"
"I'm going to rip all of it out?!"
Chiseung's mind snapped into focus.
It was because the audience member displayed on the screen at that very moment was Takoyaki.
"Ugh, uuuaaahhh! No, this can't be!"
"Are you going to stop?"
"Y-yes, I'll stop! So you, you stop too!"
"…Alright."
Mool Mandu finally released his grip on his hair.
"Phew."
Chiseung shook his head side to side as if to clear it, then began regrouping.
"Okay. Let's go again. Yeah."
"Yeah. Now it's just 1 versus 1. And the next match is a naval battle."
"Yeah."
That was right.
A naval battle.
Chiseung's eyes began to gleam once more.
'It's a reset.'
Everything from the previous match became meaningless.
Naval battles operated under completely different logic.
Whichever team forgot the previous match first and properly prepared for the naval battle would secure the advantageous position.
Above all─
'Right now, Joseon is essentially getting three consecutive opportunities.'
Ancient stone walls, treacherous mountain valleys, and a naval battle.
All were places where Joseon could make their decisive moves.
Especially the final naval battle—that was where they could drive the final nail.
Mountains and seas.
Few civilizations held an advantage over Joseon in these two terrains.
Rome in particular was not especially strong in naval warfare.
'No, wait.'
Chiseung shook his head.
'None of it matters.'
In the finals, all such strategic frameworks were meaningless.
He'd thought the previous match was favorable too, but it wasn't.
The more he thought he had an advantage and crafted a winning strategy, the more it played into Anto's hands, who anticipated everything.
He had to break free from this cycle.
Whoosh.
Chiseung pulled up all the ocean maps used in the tournament on the holographic screen before him.
"Mool Mandu. You take the team and review the previous two matches."
Naval battles operated under completely different logic.
So there was no reason to review the previous two matches.
This was when the Sync Tank Team would split into two groups.
One side must review all four matches, while the rest prepare for naval warfare across three matches.
But what should they prepare for?
"I…."
What could Anto possibly not know how to prepare for?
Good moves are readable, and bad moves don't work.
How could I break through this rigid and contradictory premise?
"…I'll be Rome."
"What?"
"Gopbyeong is Joseon. I'm Rome."
"…!"
Chiseung moved to the opposite side of the table and grabbed the ship model on Rome's side.
'I need to become Anto.'
It was absurd, but.
There was no other way forward.
'If I were Anto… what would I think Joseon would bring? Joseon has the advantage in naval warfare anyway. How would I try to overcome this?'

* * *
Player waiting room.
Sanghyeon draped a cold, damp white towel over his head and took a moment to catch his breath.
His clothes were drenched with sweat.
'Three more matches now….'
Starting from the third match, physical condition begins to deteriorate.
Up to three matches should be fine.
The problem was that since this game was one-on-one, it would absolutely not end at three matches.
"How's your condition?"
Whirrrr.
A woman in a wheelchair asks.
It was Choi Sa-rang.
"You were pushing yourself hard after that failed snipe earlier."
She should have been participating in the Sync Tank Team, but it seemed she thought checking on Almond's condition took priority right now.
A style befitting someone who plays with the player first.
Beside her was Doctor Hana Song.
When Sanghyeon's gaze turned toward them, Sa-rang muttered as if making an excuse.
"Ah… I just thought it might be necessary…."
Hana Song cut in abruptly.
"Ha ha. Hello? Sanghyeon? I won't nag you today. Tell me your condition."
Despite saying that, Hana Song's expression was quite ominous.
"Ah… um…."

* * *
Meanwhile, in Rome's player waiting room.
"Hmm. I didn't expect him to attempt something like that."
Anto was reviewing the second match for a moment. Though the third match would be a naval battle, they couldn't help but analyze this one.
That moment when Almond shot the Priest.
"Shooting while being chased and still landing it like that… is that even possible?"
The first arrow went exactly as Anto predicted.
It was an arrow that came at Pierre exactly as expected.
Thunk.
It was lightly blocked by his shield.
Almond didn't know Pierre was there, but Pierre knew about him.
What was unsettling came after that.
Danggeun bought time, and Almond ran deeper into the mountains.
Pierre speaks about the situation at this moment.
"He started killing the Workers."
Almond began killing Workers as if he'd given up on the Priest.
The first one seemed intentional enough, but after killing another Worker, the next shot also appeared to target a Worker.
"It was quite conflicting. Whether he was truly only targeting Workers, or if from that angle the Priest was simply out of reach…."
"Exactly. That's what he was aiming for. From the start, what he shot wasn't the Workers, but the scales in our minds."
Anto's expression was no longer one of interest. He stroked his white beard as if witnessing something deeply uncomfortable.
"You probably hesitated for a moment here, didn't you?"
"Yes."
Pierre nodded.
The final three arrows.
From a distance it's hard to tell, but there's a moment where Pierre falters slightly.
It must have been because he felt he could no longer simply let the Workers fall.
Anto likewise couldn't issue orders for every single detail like this.
This was purely a psychological battle between Pierre and Almond.
With a moment of quick thinking, Almond had drawn down the macroscopic outcome of match victory or defeat into a microscopic duel of psychological warfare between himself and Pierre.
If Pierre had been deceived here, the match would have been lost.
But in the final moment, Pierre chose to protect the Priest's side even at the cost of sacrifice.
──Boom!
Almond's arrow was blocked by the shield.
"I was surprised. Actually… I thought it wouldn't reach."
The reason he had hesitated.
The Workers were fifty-fifty from that angle.
But the Priest was much further back and there was only one.
And Almond was being chased.
Moreover, he deliberately shot as if aiming at the Workers.
Yet his arrow aimed precisely at the Priest's head.
"That's the crux of it. Not just in tactics, but in strategic movements as well…."
In Anto's eyes, Almond transcended the role of a tactical weapon and approached that of a strategic one.
Whether he succeeded or failed would shift the entire game state.
From the beginning, an operation like this could only be conceived because of his existence.
"…But that's precisely why it's easy to predict."
The corner of his mouth, which had been furrowed in displeasure, suddenly curved upward.
"Few commanders would choose to use their fists when they have a blade."
"I…?"
"Almond's capability range is Cookie's operational range. That's why the second match was also definitively shut down."
He had been watching Almond's abilities with great attention since the first match.
Even when losing the first match, he never took his eyes off how Almond fought.
That's why he understood it.
"When he shot the Priest in the first match… it was an angle even I couldn't see. Or rather, precisely because I'm a commander… an angle a commander couldn't see. The increased range from the elevation difference combined with a player capable of utilizing it to its absolute limit."
Just how far Almond could go.
Anto had seen it precisely.
"Cookie would have no reason not to exploit that in the second match. And the moment I saw the map… the intention to kill the Priest from the base itself became… far too obvious."
"Exactly."
Toby, the leader of the Sync Tank Team holding a notebook beside him, nods.
"This time, they won't target the Priest either, but it will be the same. Cookie will bring an operation at the very peak of Almond's operational execution capability range."
Toby had completely grasped Joseon's strategic pattern.
Of course, the strategy itself continued to change on the surface, but its essence remained identical.
"Their strategy is exceptional. That's why so many teams have fallen to it. Such exceptional strategy comes with exceptional execution capability. But…."
Toby shook his head.
"Actually, it's the opposite. The strategy follows the exceptional execution capability. Cookie won't break free from this structure. The third match is a naval battle too, but it will definitely be the same."
Anto nods.
"Now that you mention it, I can foresee several possibilities."
Anto unfolds the naval battle map and begins to branch out the possibilities.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————