Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 209

211

“Kuh-uhk!”

A faint groan escaped Beomseok’s lips. Amelie’s fierce and relentless attacks dominated the arena, creating immense pressure. All he could do was desperately deflect the incoming strikes. He couldn’t dare to launch an attack to seize victory; the situation was simply too overwhelming. He moved swiftly from side to side, doing everything he could to disrupt her offensive.

‘Amazing. How is he blocking my Tornado Impact?’

Admiration flickered across Amelie’s face. Despite her relentless assault, he continued to deflect her strikes with short, concise movements. She had expected him to be a skilled gladiator, but she hadn’t imagined he would be such a seasoned fighter, maintaining such complete swordsmanship. His swordsmanship could be described as among the strongest in the history of the World League.

Before she knew it, a dark shadow was etched within her face shield. The thought of Beomseok facing her with equal physical strength lingered in her mind. Of course, the fact that there was a competitor was very pleasing and exciting for Amelie. Having been an absolute ruler for decades, she knew well the loneliness hidden behind the glory of being at the top.

However, that was before she had a master. Now, she had a master she loved, and he had asked her to elevate the Chaplin Whisper team to the top of the world, so she had to meet his expectations. But Beomseok was trying to block her path, and she couldn’t help but be extremely worried.

‘Right now, he’s being pushed back because of the significant difference in power, but it’s hard to guess what will happen when we face each other on equal physical terms. I’ll definitely have to use my One-Blade Swordsmanship to barely maintain parity.’

In the gladiator world, there was a saying, “Divine Physique Knight,” which emphasized the importance of physical condition. This was the biggest reason why Beomseok, who possessed excellent swordsmanship, was being pushed back by Amelie.

For example, even though Beomseok was reacting perfectly to her whipping strikes, he was struggling immensely. Due to the difference in strength, he couldn’t properly push back the powerful whip strikes, which in turn became the foundation for Amelie’s new offensive. On the other hand, he couldn’t properly recover the sword that was bounced back by the impact, so he had no room to launch an offensive at all. If Beomseok were to face her with the same strength, this phenomenon would be immediately reversed, and the situation would change drastically.

Still, if his growth potential was low, there would be no need to worry. The current situation would continue, so even if he made it to the World League, it wouldn’t matter. But the problem was that there was a very high possibility that he would gain excellent physical abilities someday. The recent rapid development of his physical abilities and Director Vincent’s boastful remarks about his ability to identify promising gladiators supported this.

‘I have to break his spirit today. Otherwise, I’ll have to fight a tough battle in the World League in the future.’

Amelie believed that the Gods Knights would eventually advance to the World League. In addition to Beomseok, who had excellent swordsmanship skills, there were a considerable number of elf gladiators with great growth potential. Although they were not very threatening right now due to their lack of tactical understanding and ability to handle equipment, things would change drastically if they continued to train and gain league experience. This was because their physical abilities were already reaching the Central League or World League level. Moreover, the fact that Beomseok was directly scouting and commanding these affiliated gladiators made her feel quite fearful. It meant that elf gladiators with high growth potential would continue to be added, which would improve the quality of the squad.

She whipped her whip until she was out of breath. If she didn’t bring the Gods Knights down now, they could become a major threat to Chaplin Whisper in the future. And the core of that was Beomseok, so she had to break his spirit.

Swish. Clang. Swoosh.

Beomseok, who had caught the deflected sword, glared at her with blazing eyes. He didn’t think he could win, but he couldn’t give up like this. He had to inflict a proper blow on her, no matter what.

‘If I’m only on the defensive like this, I’ll eventually be defeated. I have to create a foundation to reverse the situation somehow.’

The problem was that there was nothing he could do because of the difference in physical abilities. To subdue Amelie, he had to launch an attack, but he was being pushed back unilaterally in the mind game, so it was difficult to extend his sword forward. The only way was to sacrifice flesh and cut bone, but even this was not easy because the whip had a long range. The time it took to move to a close range to swing the sword was so long that she had plenty of time to prepare.

‘If the flesh-and-bone strategy fails, I’ll lose immediately. I’m barely holding on even in a normal state, so I can’t block Amelie’s technique in a state where one of my limbs is partially incapacitated. So I must never use it until the very last moment.’

Even as Beomseok was contemplating, Amelie’s offensive continued. The whip strikes that tore through the air were terrifying in themselves. He blocked with all his might, but the crisis continued to increase. She was increasing the intensity of her attacks as time went on, while Beomseok’s stamina was rapidly declining. His palms and wrists were now on the verge of paralysis from the powerful whipping.

Clang. Clash.

With a dull sound, the katana in Beomseok’s left hand soared into the air. This was because the strength of his grip had been greatly reduced due to the accumulated damage. He gripped the only remaining sword tightly with both hands and continued his last struggle.

‘Good. Now I can weaken the offensive. Phew~ That’s a relief.’

Amelie, who let out a sigh of relief, reduced her offensive. Tornado Impact consumed a lot of stamina because it was deployed using the whole body. Therefore, she couldn’t maintain this technique for the entire 20-minute round, and she had to conserve her stamina through occasional breaks. Well, she could keep pushing and finish him off, but if Beomseok endured this fierce battle to the end, she might be defeated instead. Fortunately, he had lost one sword, so it was necessary to reduce the momentum for a while to preserve stamina.

She soon pressured Beomseok by unleashing Tornado Snake techniques and ordinary whip strikes.

“Hah, hah. What is it? Looks like you’ve consumed a lot of stamina? This attack has become so weak that it’s ticklish?”

Amelia, barely maintaining a relaxed expression, replied to Beomseok’s words as he breathed heavily.

“It would be disappointing for the fans if the match was decided too easily. Anyway, it’s a one-on-one match that’s being held with some difficulty, so we have to provide that much service.”

Beomseok, who struggled to deflect the whip strike that flew quickly towards his face, smiled with satisfaction. There was no way he, with his extensive combat experience, would not have noticed Amelie’s weakness. Well, she had been continuously deploying such high-level techniques for over ten minutes, so she was bound to be exhausted. But that was it. He also had suffered extreme stamina loss, so he didn’t have the momentum left to take advantage of this opportunity. However, he had the strength to move his lips, so he could continue the conversation.

“Hah, hah. You’re good at talking. You don’t want to show weakness until the end, do you?”

“Hohoho. I think you’re mistaken about something, so let’s finish this now.”

Amelie dragged her tired body and began to unleash Tornado Impact again. If she hesitated here, the weakness of this technique would be revealed, so she needed to take a risk. Since the Gods Knights’ strength couldn’t beat Chaplin Whisper anyway, there would be no problem even if she exhausted all her stamina in this round.

Beomseok, trapped in the whirlwind of the whip again, cursed his frivolous actions and frantically swung his sword. If he had just stayed still, he would have recovered his stamina by facing ordinary techniques, but he had foolishly run his mouth and was now being subjected to a fierce offensive again.

‘To endure my Tornado Impact’s offensive to this point, that guy is a truly terrifying gladiator. If I become complacent now, there will definitely come a day when I suffer a humiliating defeat. I must never stay like this.’

Amelie was feeling a deep sense of fear from Beomseok. Tornado Impact was one of her hidden ultimate moves that even the top-tier World Leaguers would question whether they could endure. But he was blocking it well until almost the end of the round, even though it was his first time facing it. If such a person was reborn with a strong physique and appeared before her again in the future, she couldn’t guarantee victory. She had to further develop her skills now and cultivate the power to defeat Beomseok’s challenge.

In the end, Amelie made a big decision: to leave Chaplin Whisper for a while and advance to the World League. Her master’s request was to make the family’s gladiator team the strongest in the world. To achieve this, she needed to hone her skills in the higher-level World League.

Fortunately, there were many World League teams that wanted her. In particular, her former team, Devil Spritz, had actively expressed their intention to loan her. Although the team was in the upper ranks of the league, they had not won the league for over a decade, so they were very thirsty for the championship trophy.

And Director Vincent was not completely uninterested either. Although he didn’t show it outwardly, he seemed to want to recruit a gladiator named Nencia from Devil Spritz through her loan. She was a promising player with lower-level World League skills, and her main position was Fumi [a defensive position]. As revealed in the first round, Chaplin Whisper was very weak on the Fumi side, so they desperately needed an outstanding gladiator to compensate for this, and Nencia was the best card to fulfill this.

No matter how reluctant Devil Spritz was to sell her, there was a high possibility that they would engage in negotiations if they provided some funds to cover her loan.

‘Okay. Then let’s end it here.’

Amelie, who looked at the scoreboard clock, further increased the intensity of her attacks. There were only two minutes left. She was going to pour out her remaining stamina to decide this match.

Swish. Swish. Clang. Pick.

“Eek!”

The scratches on Beomseok’s suit increased exponentially in the dazzling whip performance. He was barely deflecting them, but the whip tips were constantly brushing against his body, perhaps because he wasn’t perfect. But time was running out. If he endured for a little longer, he could make today’s match a draw.

‘What a load of crap! If the game ends like this, it’s my defeat! I haven’t even launched an attack against Amelie, so there’s no way it can be a draw!’

He was trembling with humiliation. He thought that a draw obtained in a state where he couldn’t even resist properly was a defeat. The one-on-one match taking place now was to determine the superiority of Amelie’s and his strength, not to accumulate round wins.

Beomseok glared at her with flashing eyes. Now he was going to make his first and last bet.

‘The opportunity will definitely come. No, I’ll create it. So I’ll definitely cut down Amelie.’

At that moment, one of the whip tips flew towards him, drawing a gentle outward curve. In response, Beomseok quickly threw himself and struck the body of the whip. If so, based on his experience so far, she would try to bind Amelie, and then the next moment would be her point of weakness.

Soon, Beomseok smiled slightly at the movement of the whip wrapping around his body.

“Now it’s over!”

Amelie, with an excited expression, put momentum into the whip and lifted his bound body into the air. And at the moment she was about to strike down with all her might to inflict falling damage, Beomseok, as if he had been waiting, put a rapid rotational force into his body and wrapped the whip around it. At the moment she thought she had been caught, she hurriedly released the whip handle, but it was already too late. He was rolling on the floor with a landing technique, and the sword tip protruding beyond his forearm was mercilessly stabbing at her.

Clang! Bweebeebeek!

Along with the clear metallic sound, the whistle signaling the end of the match spread throughout the arena. Even though the third round was over, the fans who came to the arena today were quietly getting up. They couldn’t say that this round was over without confirming the truth of the great reversal that had taken place at the end.

And the moment the flying camera informed them of the direction of Beomseok’s sword tip through the close-up angle on the electronic display, all the spectators shouted loudly.

Waaaaaah!

“They were both great! Today’s admission fee is definitely not a waste!”

“Although it’s a draw, they both did well!”

Despite the fans’ cheers, Beomseok was not making a good expression at all. This was because his trump card had been blocked by Amelia’s half-drawn modified sword. With this, today’s match could be said to be his defeat. Right now, he was in a state where he was tied up in a whip and only sticking out the tip of his sword. If the game had continued from here, he would have been defeated without a doubt.

Beomseok, who let out a long sigh, released the whip that was wrapping around him and said.

“Today, I’ll have to be satisfied with the fact that I made you draw your sword. It’s a pity, but let’s end it here.”

Amelie, who had put away her modified sword again, looked at him with trembling eyes. He had made her draw the sword that she thought she would never use. As expected, Beomseok was a terrifying gladiator. If she hadn’t worn the sword just in case, she would have suffered a complete defeat.

“I guess so. Today’s match is a league match between Gods Knights and Chaplin Whisper. We can’t just play the game ourselves. In fact, you can say that today’s one-on-one match was possible because Director Vincent gave us consideration.”

Beomseok nodded. No matter how much the fans wanted it and it was implemented in a devious way, strictly speaking, the one-on-one match was a violation of the rules. If they had a one-on-one match in the next round, the Gladiator Association would also express concern, and a severe warning would be issued. An event is just an event. Although he suffered the humiliation of defeat, it was right to end it here.

“I guess so. Then will we meet when it’s our away game?”

Amelia slowly shook her head. She didn’t know exactly how long it would be, but she wouldn’t be able to meet him for a long time due to the decision she had made a little while ago.

“No. It will be difficult to meet until the Gods Knights rise to the World League.”

“Why not?”

“I’m thinking of requesting the director to go on loan to a World League team this year.”

It was a sudden remark, but Beomseok nodded as if he understood. It was ridiculous in itself that Amelie, who had such skills, was active in the Delroy Wide League. Moreover, Chaplin Whisper was capable of not only winning this year but also participating in the Central League next year, even without her.

Of course, the same was true for Beomseok, but he had a duty to lead the Gods Knights. If Beomseok was not there, the team’s potential would be greatly reduced.

“I see. In fact, it’s a nuisance for you to stay in the Wide League. Do well in the World League.”

“Of course. Then, looking forward to the day we meet again in the arena, I’ll say goodbye here with regret. Goodbye.”

Amelia, who finished the conversation, immediately turned around and walked to the dugout where her teammates were standing. Beomseok, who had been watching this for a long time, picked up his katana that was lying on the floor and turned his steps.

After that, the fourth round was held without Beomseok and Amelie. This was because both of them were so exhausted from the battle in the third round that they had no more energy to play.

In the end, Chaplin Whisper won the fourth round, and the Gods Knights had to record a defeat in the league opening match.

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

Ah. Oh dear, I’m late today. I dozed off at my desk and just woke up now. Ah. At times like this, I really crave an item that uploads the post at exactly 12 o’clock. The item I have now uploads in the 7-minute range every 10 minutes, so I’m reluctant to use it. That 7-minute difference is huge. Hahaha.

Then have a great day today. I’ll see you again tomorrow.