Genius Archer’s Streaming - Chapter 854
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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 324
104. What Comes Next (1)
“Ahem.”
Creak.
Someone pushed open the conference room door and entered with a rather artificial cough.
It was Choi Sa-rang.
Embarrassed, she muttered something under her breath as she made her way to the commander’s seat.
“The villain has arrived~”
The entire conference room fell silent in bewilderment.
She was being treated like a villain, plain and simple.
It hadn’t been long since Hee-cheol had notified everyone.
“….”
In the silence that followed, Chiseung collected himself and asked a question.
Probably everyone had been curious since her entrance.
“But why does your hair look like that?”
Her hair was completely disheveled.
She looked like someone who’d been hit by a bomb.
Sarang scratched her head and answered.
“I went through some strange massage machine.”
“Ah.”
Everyone nodded in understanding.
‘So they even put people in wheelchairs through it?’
‘How vicious… to that extent….’
‘Damn it. Our commander… subjected to that terrifying machine.’
Choi Sa-rang had probably entered that machine for the same reason as Almond.
To prevent a decline in condition.
She likely went in right after deciding with Hee-cheol to become commander.
Chiseung lowered his head.
‘To volunteer as commander while enduring such an ordeal….’
He felt guilty about how strongly he’d opposed it.
The other think tank members wore similar expressions.
They had come to understand Sa-rang’s resolve.
“Don’t worry about my hair.”
Sarang clapped her hands once to redirect everyone’s attention.
“Let’s talk about the match. Someone will come to take care of my hair.”
It was an odd thing to say.
A hair specialist.
‘There’s someone dedicated to hair care?’
‘Dedicated…?’
‘What. Even without being a gang leader, there’s a dedicated person.’
* * *
Murmur, murmur.
Outside the conference room, in the players’ waiting area.
The space that had been quiet until the previous match was now becoming somewhat chaotic.
“Don’t you think something’s changing right now?”
“S-surely… in the middle of the match?”
“It’s the finals. Something like this could happen.”
The players were also picking up on the scent of a commander change.
Danggeun, standing beside me, muttered with some anxiety.
“Cookie’s in peak form… even if we’re leading by one match, is this decision really the right call?”
“….”
I stuffed almonds into my mouth without answering.
Crunch, crunch.
Crunch.
With my mouth completely full of almonds, I looked like a greedy squirrel struggling to fit more in.
The difference was that a squirrel would stash them in a corner somewhere, but I was eating them all right here.
“…are you even listening?”
I nodded at Danggeun’s words.
“Yeah.”
“You’re barely moving your mouth to talk.”
“Mm-hm, I’m listening.”
Gulp.
I swallowed all the almonds in an instant and then offered my opinion.
“But what’s different if the commander changes?”
“….”
Danggeun’s jaw dropped to the floor.
“!”
All the other players flinched at those words, but none of them dared to show it openly.
“R-right. Even if it changes! What would be different!? Hahahaha!”
Some even began agreeing with that opinion.
“These traitors….”
Danggeun gnashed her teeth and glared at them, but there was nothing she could do. This place had already become that way.
‘Do they really feel like nothing’s different?’
Danggeun turned her gaze toward me, who was now stuffing almonds into my mouth again with abandon.
My expression looked completely carefree.
Was it because I’d essentially sat out the previous match and become complacent?
Or did the two commanders really make no difference to me?
Danggeun hoped it was the latter.
If that were true, it would somehow feel more reassuring.
‘He really has nothing on his mind. Is being handsome all that matters?’
While observing Sanghyeon closely.
She finally understood.
‘Ah….’
It seemed like that was all… no, that wasn’t it.
It was Sanghyeon’s gaze!
Not those captivating eyes of his that seemed to pull you in… but rather, his gaze kept drifting toward the conference room.
Behind that vacant expression, he was conscious of something.
Only then did she catch on.
‘This idiot.’
This idiot was deliberately acting foolish.
Sanghyeon was trying not to give the team unnecessary tension.
Once the decision came down from the conference room, it would be carried out regardless, and the soldiers would have to execute it.
If they talked about this and that during the process and trembled with anxiety, it would only be a minus.
Despite appearances, the Joseon players were heavily influenced by Almond’s words.
That’s why he was pretending not to care like this. Like an idiot.
But Danggeun didn’t understand.
‘He doesn’t even need to act—he’s already an idiot anyway!’
The fact that he was bothering to perform was beyond her.
* * *
Crunch.
While brushing off Almond, Sanghyeon was actually concerned.
‘Their styles are completely different.’
Choi Sa-rang and Guk Hee-cheol had play styles that were almost complete opposites, as if they’d made a promise.
Especially from a soldier’s perspective, the difference was quite noticeable.
He understood why the players were anxious. The entire system was suddenly changing in the finals.
But there was definitely a reason why Hee-cheol made such a decision.
Sanghyeon remembered.
「I don’t think this will end this year. It needs to continue next year and the year after. Only then will it have meaning.」
Something he’d heard when meeting with Hee-cheol alone.
「Rather than us winning the championship, what’s more important is whether we can receive people’s attention again next year and achieve results like this.」
He’d said his own goals were less ambitious than Sanghyeon’s.
But that wasn’t actually true.
From Sanghyeon’s perspective as someone who’d played professional matches, Hee-cheol’s goal was the ultimate greatest objective.
To establish this game’s pro league perfectly.
This meant creating a market that didn’t exist.
It was a goal far exceeding this year’s championship.
「Even if I don’t win the championship, as long as the team does, that’s enough. Only then will it last.」
This year was Hee-cheol’s last.
That’s why he prepares for what comes next.
‘So that’s what it is.’
And then, probably….
Bang.
The conference room door opened.
“I’ll head out first. I’m a bit slow.”
Whirrrrr.
The wheelchair moves past the player waiting room and stops in front of the door leading to the arena.
At the very front.
‘As expected.’
She was the team’s next move.
Hee-cheol’s desired next step.
* * *
[Cookie OUT]
[Daisunsin Choi IN]
Ding.
The roster change appeared on the scoreboard.
The audience stirred, and even the broadcast booth was taken aback.
“Huh? W-wait, am I reading this wrong?”
“It’s not an error… I don’t think so. Yes. The players are entering now! At the very front! There’s a woman in a wheelchair! It’s Choi Sun-sin, right?”
-Wow
-Huh?
-Brilliant move lol
-What??
-Wait?? We were winning but they’re switching?
-This is insane
-What a fantastic trick show lol
The only time a substitution happened mid-match was unavoidable during the Persia match.
“Ah. That happened during the Persia match too. And back then, they switched after winning, right?”
“That’s right. But! That was the Round of 16! This is the finals!? And Cookie’s condition was particularly excellent today!”
The dominant victory displayed against Anto in direct confrontation.
Today’s finals was where Cookie shattered every peak performance he’d shown throughout his career.
“In the finals! Skill is important, of course! But honestly, that day’s condition! How sharp you are! This has an enormous impact! So… this is a really unexpected decision!?”
And yet, Daisunsin Choi suddenly took the stage.
It was a decision that no one could help but be bewildered by.
“Moreover. Right now, if Daisunsin Choi wins just one more game, they take the championship? Cookie… is someone who gave everything to this game. That player not playing in the final match! I honestly still can’t believe it right now?”
-Wow, that’s true
Ugh, Kuvarge ㅠㅠ
-Yeah…
-Is he not going for the finishing blow??
-Gasp
“Ah… I just received word. Apparently, Cookie made this decision with tremendous force.”
The think tank unusually conveyed the decision-making process.
This too was Cookie’s decision.
He’d already predicted that such remarks would inevitably arise.
“I see? Well, for my part! If we set aside such out-of-game considerations! Actually, it seems like a really good decision?”
“Yes!?”
-Sudden shift in stance lol
-lol what is this
-Out of nowhere?
“We’re this flustered! Can you imagine how bewildered Anto must be right now!?”
“Ah! Exactly! Not a single person suspected Cookie would appear! Of course they’d have prepared their entire strategy around Cookie!”
“Yes! But then suddenly it’s like, ‘Wait, was I actually the second commander? Did I forget? Oh~ if I forgot, then that’s right!’ And that’s shocking! Even for someone as inhuman as Anto!”
That was true.
In fact, Anto had reached peak bewilderment since this match began.
He’d been alternating his gaze between the scoreboard and Choi Sa-rang in disbelief.
-Anto lololol
-Wow, first time seeing that guy genuinely flustered
-lol
-Even our own side is a ridiculous trick show lol so of course the enemy is more confused
-Taste some Joseon deception!
“Well, regardless, the game begins! Rome probably won’t have much time to recover from this shock!”
“Yes! First, Joseon is winning decisively in the psychological warfare! However! What concerns me is! The suddenly changed commander in the finals?!”
“Ah… yes. There were some trial-and-error moments in the Persia match too?”
“Correct. And what worries me… or rather, what I’d like you to consider as the key viewing point of this match. Will Choi Sun-sin attempt the second-era rush again this time? That’s the question?”
-lol
-Surely not again? lol
-He only does that
-Anto will desperately block that one thing
-lol I forgot about that lol
Daisunsin Choi had never appeared without attempting the second-era rush.
No matter what obstacles arose, he’d always execute it.
Of course, it sometimes ended in failure, but he seemed to have concluded that doing it was always advantageous.
“Ah. Right. Even in the previous match, Rome might have concluded that Cookie no longer does early rushes. But then! Another second-era rush maniac appears! So this time, will he really not rush?! I’m worried!!”
“This must give Anto such a headache!? He’ll definitely rush! Ah, what do I do!?”
-This is insane lol
-Haha lol
-This is a trick show wow
-Ugh my head hurts too
-Lmaooooo
-This guy’s totally gonna get stabbed lol
Just as I was finishing up my analysis of Cookie, Daisunsin Choi suddenly appeared.
She had shown remarkably consistent gameplay up until now.
One might think Anto could simply adapt accordingly, but that wasn’t the case.
Rather, he could turn that very prejudice against her.
The last round had been lost precisely because of that.
“It seems Anto won’t play by jumping to conclusions, but will instead play cautiously while observing as much as possible.”
“Yes. Right now, after all that waiting and waiting─”
The field trembled with a thunderous boom.
──Kuguguguguung!
“Joseon versus Rome! Rome versus Joseon! National Tournament Finals! Game 4!!”
The hologram materialized the terrain, revealing the map.
Jagged earth jutting out wildly, with a third of it sheared away at the top.
There were numerous ups and downs, but the upper section was entirely flat.
[Rugged Mountain Range and Highland]
“On the Rugged Mountain Range and Highland! The game is now begiiiiinning!”
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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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