Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 194

196

“Everyone, commence the operation! The target is the center where Gladiator Number 2 is located!”

Instantly, the gladiators of the God Knights, who had been operating in two groups, front and back, charged into the center of the formation with the force of a tidal wave.

Seeing this, the gladiators of the Black Cats rotated their formation 90 degrees, reinforcing their defenses around their leader, Gladiator Number 2. They knew from the direction of the attack that the God Knights were targeting her.

“That’s futile! Venus, Agelia! Charge and break through!”

Venus and Agelia, shields raised, ran side by side and slammed into Gladiator Number 7, who was positioned on the outer edge of the formation. The impact reverberated through the entire Black Cats formation, sending Gladiator Number 7 staggering backward. Following closely, Beomseok and Gelsomina surged forward, and simultaneously, the main force led by Erpina crashed in from the opposite side.

The Black Cats’ formation, already faltering, was compressed like an hourglass. Beomseok, cutting through Venus and Agelia, swiftly slashed at Gladiator Number 7, who had fallen from the initial impact, and forced his way toward Gladiator Number 2.

“Ugh! Everyone, hold on!”

The Black Cats gladiators tried desperately to halt the God Knights’ advance, but they were outmatched. The difference in power was too significant. Soon, all the God Knights gladiators swarmed Gladiator Number 2, eventually tackling her to the ground.

Beeeep!

The buzzer echoed through the arena. The God Knights cheering squad, anticipating victory, leaped up and roared. However, the scoreboard only displayed the frozen time; the match-end message didn’t appear. Then, the spectators saw the medical staff rushing from the Black Cats’ side, realizing the match wasn’t over. The earlier signal was a warning to halt play due to an injury.

Beomseok, who had been observing quietly, gave a wry smile and turned away. Behind him, Gladiator Number 2 writhed in pain, clutching her ankle.

– Another injury for the Black Cats. They’re really having a disastrous day.

– That’s right. Gladiator Number 2 is the captain and field commander. Her injury will be a major blow. Let’s hope it’s not too serious.

Beomseok, lightly warming up, glanced at the commentary box.

‘Hope it’s nothing serious? Sorry, but that’s not going to happen.’

During the collision, Beomseok had deliberately stepped firmly on Gladiator Number 2’s instep and subtly applied pressure to the side of her knee just before she fell. In that position, anyone’s ankle joint would dislocate, and he had distinctly heard the cracking sound. He’d bet anything it wasn’t a minor injury.

As he predicted, the approaching medical staff shook their heads and carried Gladiator Number 2 away on a stretcher. With this, Beomseok had effectively eliminated the left arm and head of the Black Cats in the first round.

Suddenly, someone who wasn’t a referee, and wasn’t even wearing armor, stormed into the arena, nostrils flaring. With the stands protected by reinforced acrylic barriers, the only person who would do that would be a staff member from one of the teams. Beomseok didn’t recognize him, so he was clearly from the Black Cats.

“This is ridiculous! Two injuries in the first round! Something fishy is going on!”

The man appeared to be in his 30s, with sharp eyes and a lean build. However, judging by his disrespectful tone toward the referees who were checking on the injury, he seemed rather self-centered.

The referee, frowning, approached him and said sternly, “That is for us to judge. Coach Rops, please return to the dugout immediately! This is a strict warning.”

At the mention of Coach Rops, Beomseok turned away. He was someone he didn’t even want to see in a magazine, and had ignored him. There was no point in looking at his face now; it would only sour his mood.

Then, Rops ran up to Beomseok and shouted, “You, Oh Beomseok, tell me honestly! You deliberately injured our gladiator, didn’t you!”

Forced to turn around, Beomseok glared at Rops.

“What are you talking about? Can’t you see it was an accident?”

“Accident? Yes, at first, I thought so too! But you clearly targeted our captain this time!”

Beomseok waved his hand dismissively. “Come on. Doesn’t a coach know the rules? Isn’t it natural to target the captain to win?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! I could understand if our captain was slightly incapacitated! But that’s not the case! You weren’t aiming for incapacitation; you were aiming for injury!”

“Don’t say such ridiculous things. It seems like the coach is trying to get me ejected by exploiting a coincidental injury, but it won’t work. I had no intention of doing that, and I didn’t do it!”

As the argument escalated, the referee stepped between them.

“We’ll review the slow-motion replay, so Coach Rops, get out of here now!”

“It’s obvious he did it! He deliberately injured our captain!”

Meanwhile, a hologram screen displayed the replay of Gladiator Number 2’s injury. However, no matter how closely they examined it, there was no clear evidence of foul play. Gladiator Number 2 was obscured by the twelve God Knights gladiators. Moreover, Beomseok had Venus and Agelia with their dual shields behind him, making it impossible to see his actions.

At that moment, a call came through the referee’s intercom. Assuming it was the referee’s office, he quickly answered and listened to the verdict. After hearing the results, he shouted at Coach Rops, “Our referees have determined that this incident was an accident. Coach Rops, please return to the dugout immediately!”

“What! Are you blind! Can’t you see it at a glance! This was a deliberate injury, masked by creating confusion to avoid detection on camera!”

The referee, angered by the disrespectful remarks, said sharply, “Don’t be stubborn, Coach Rops. The video review showed that Gladiator Number 2 was on the ground when the accident occurred, while all the God Knights gladiators were standing. And everyone had weapons, making joint locks impossible.”

Coach Rops looked stunned. Given the referee’s description, joint locks would have been impossible.

“Are you sure?”

“This is what the video reviewers have confirmed! There’s no way it’s wrong. I’ll send you the data now if you want.”

At this moment, Beomseok brushed past Coach Rops, giving him a knowing smile, as if to say it was intentional. Since it was the truth, the acting was perfect, and the provocation worked flawlessly.

Rops grabbed Beomseok’s shoulder and shook him violently.

“You bastard! It was deliberate, wasn’t it! Tell me the truth!”

Still smiling, Beomseok said playfully, “Coach Rops, what are you talking about? There’s a limit to what I can tolerate.”

Whether Rops was enraged by the continued teasing, he shoved him slightly. Beomseok threw himself backward and rolled on the ground. The push wasn’t hard enough to cause a fall, so it was clearly a bit of theatrics [a deliberate exaggeration for effect, like in a Hollywood movie], but the effect was significant. The referee immediately approached and held out a red card to Coach Rops. Ejection was inevitable; the staff member had not only stormed the arena but also attacked a gladiator from the opposing team.

“Coach Rops! You’re ejected! Leave this Colosseum immediately!”

“What are you talking about! You saw that guy take a Hollywood action!”

The referee could see that much. However, he had also clearly witnessed Rops push him. Because it was such an important match, he had been holding back despite Rops’s intrusion, but now that he had a reason, he was somewhat pleased. Honestly, he had been annoyed by the coach’s condescending attitude.

“Either way, you pushed him! Get out of here now!”

While the referee and Coach Rops argued, two Elf security guards entered the arena. They grabbed Coach Rops by both arms and forcibly dragged him out. Beomseok, now on his feet, brushed the dust off his suit with a look of satisfaction, realizing he had landed an unexpected victory. With two capable gladiators and the coach gone, the Black Cats’ strength would be significantly diminished.

He soon assumed a combat stance at the referee’s direction, preparing for the continuation of the first-round match.

Wow! Wow!

The first-round match ended anticlimactically with the God Knights’ victory. With the coach and experienced captain gladiator gone in a 12 to 9 situation, the Black Cats’ teamwork couldn’t recover. The formation quickly collapsed under the God Knights’ relentless offensive led by Beomseok, and one by one, they were subjected to combined attacks and forced to submit.

The God Knights fans cheered wildly for their team’s gladiators.

“Haha! Well done! Keep this momentum going and lead us to victory in the 3rd and 4th place match!”

“Those damn Black Cats are unlucky! The god of luck is on our side; we will definitely win today!”

Beomseok’s face glowed as he entered the dugout, hearing the enthusiastic cheers. Perhaps it was because he had dealt Coach Rops, a constant irritant, a significant blow, that his sour mood had lifted.

Seeing this, Diana greeted him with relief.

“Master, you’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, we’ve navigated today’s match smoothly.”

“Huhu. What hard work? Coach Rops just lost it on his own, and that’s how it turned out. It’s all his fault.”

“Still, if you hadn’t exaggerated your fall, Master, the referee might have hesitated. Today is such an important match.”

Beomseok patted her shoulder and led her to the coach’s seat.

“That’s true. Now that the enemy’s strength has changed, we need to re-strategize—a way to properly deal with the weakened enemy.”

“Yes, I already have something in mind.”

He seated Diana in the coach’s chair and asked, “Oh really? What strategy is it?”

“First, we go with the standard approach.”

The standard approach refers to fielding the main players in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th rounds, and the second-string players in the 2nd and 4th rounds. It was a popular strategy, but it seemed wasteful today. The standard approach is most efficient for maintaining stamina and maximizing win rates in a long league match. But after this match, there was a two-month break. In other words, there was no need to conserve stamina.

“Is there a need for the standard approach?”

“Yes. I don’t intend to fully commit to it, but only briefly at the beginning. I intend to field the second-string players in the 2nd round.”

The Black Cats’ main players didn’t expend much energy in the first round. There were breaks due to the injured gladiator, and the match ended before a full-scale battle began. Presumably, even if they sent out the main players in the 2nd round, they would be fresh.

“Are you sure it’s okay to have won just one game? If we lose in the 2nd round, the game will be tied.”

“Yes, that’s right. But right now, the Black Cats have two injured gladiators and their coach has been ejected. Their morale will be low, so their teamwork won’t recover. And it’s impossible to reverse this situation in the 2nd round. We can aim for a draw even with the second-string players.”

“So, we give the main players a rest and then push them hard in the second half?”

“Hmm. There’s that, but the real goal is a draw with the second-string players. If the Black Cats send out their main players and draw with our second-string players, their morale will plummet, and their confusion will worsen. In other words, we can easily dominate them from then on.”

Beomseok nodded. If it failed, it would be like giving the main players a rest; if it succeeded, the Black Cats would fall into despair. Even in the worst case, it would be beneficial, so he thought it was worth trying. Moreover, the God Knights had included six reserves today, maximizing their defensive capabilities.

“Okay. Then do as you please.”

“Yes. Thank you for understanding. I will repay you with a victory today.”

Diana fixed her gaze on the monitor and began devising a strategy. It was still in her head, so she needed to organize it and check for problems. Fortunately, the first-round match ended quickly, so there was plenty of time.

So, Beomseok returned to his bench and took a long break.

============================ Author’s Notes ============================

Merry Christmas.

Have a happy Christmas everyone. I’ll see you again tomorrow.