Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 407

409

‘Whew. His strength is no joke.’

Zakid charged through Beomseok’s swirling spear. Beomseok was taken aback by his reckless offensive, seemingly unafraid of being incapacitated.

His heavy body approaching rapidly was threatening. But he wasn’t afraid at all. His attack was powerful, but somehow lacked depth.

If Beomseok were one to be defeated by such an attack, he wouldn’t have risen to 2nd place in the world gladiator rankings.

‘But why is Zakid acting like this? Is he trying to reassure me and then launch a surprise attack? No, that’s unlikely. As far as swordsmanship goes, he’s a man of straightforward character.’

Beomseok, tilting his head, knocked away the sword tip flying towards his face with the shaft of his spear, then swung it wide. Zakid hurriedly returned his sword to block. The sight was so clumsy that Beomseok’s brow furrowed involuntarily.

It was a fast attack that was difficult to discern, but Zakid was not one to fail to block even this much. A swordsman of his and his own caliber wouldn’t just fight with their eyes.

“Zakid. Are you kidding me right now?”

“What joke am I playing!”

Beomseok, keeping a reasonable distance, tilted his head. It was because he couldn’t understand the current situation. He was getting the feeling that he was fighting a lower-ranked S-class gladiator.

“Then what are you doing right now?”

“Stop talking nonsense. Come on, quickly!”

Beomseok made a bewildered expression and lowered the tip of his spear. It didn’t seem like a lie from his tone. That meant there was another reason for the current absurd situation.

‘What on earth? Why has a swordsman like Zakid fallen to the level of an ordinary gladiator? No, could it be?’

Beomseok let out a hollow breath as if in dismay. When he thought about it, Zakid had another weakness.

He was a figure in the world of swordsmanship and had no chance to fight against spear users. That meant he wasn’t skilled in fighting spear users.

Of course, there were quite a few gladiators who used spears in the gladiator world, but their spear techniques were so crude that they couldn’t be compared to Beomseok’s, and Zakid hadn’t been in the gladiator world for very long.

He shook his head, stuck the tip of his spear into the ground, and drew the katana [a Japanese sword] from his waist. At this rate, it wouldn’t be a fair fight. The victory Beomseok wanted to gain from Zakid today was to bring out his strengths to the fullest and make him kneel. If he were going to continue the showdown like this, he would have lured him into the city and engaged in a water battle.

“Zakid. I will now fight you with a sword.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Somehow, fighting with a spear doesn’t feel right. And my specialty is swordsmanship.”

At those words, Zakid stared intently at Beomseok. In fact, he had been reviewing the video footage and had already expected that he would lose today.

His spear technique was so outstandingly superior in terms of perfection, depth, and change that it couldn’t be compared to ordinary spear users. Even Ramrent, who had watched it with him, couldn’t readily side with his disciple in the outcome of today’s match.

He judged that he, who had never properly experienced spear techniques, could not face Beomseok’s spear techniques. Of course, he had practiced techniques to penetrate the inside while fighting various spear users in the team, but Beomseok was not a trivial gladiator who would crumble to this.

“You. Are you trying to patronize me now?”

“No. What do you mean?”

“Don’t deny it. Well, a swordsman of your caliber would have figured out that I’m weak against spear techniques if you fought roughly.”

Beomseok scratched his head with an awkward smile.

“Ah. Did you know? I feel sorry for no reason.”

“If you knew, pick up your spear quickly.”

“I don’t want to. If I were going to win by fighting with a spear, there’s no need to struggle so hard against Zakid.”

“What does that mean?”

“I want to bring out Zakid’s strengths and defeat you.”

Zakid twitched his brow. It was because Beomseok was treating him like sweet and sour pork at a buffet. He was not such a miscellaneous menu that only picked out the delicious parts.

“You. Do you really want to get hurt by me? You can’t have forgotten the memory of losing last time, can you?”

“I haven’t forgotten. That’s why we’re competing like this today, isn’t it? In fact, if I had wanted to win by any means, Zakid couldn’t have beaten me so easily last time. Even a quick check reveals too many weaknesses. You’re bad at water battles, bad at jungle battles, and weak against spear users. As expected, because you’ve been active in the world of swordsmanship, your practical skills are too weak.

In actual combat, you have to beat your opponent somehow in various situations, but Zakid only manages to show his skills in flat terrain. Those guys are just right to be killed by a stray sword on the battlefield.”

Zakid’s face turned red. It was because the insulting words he had said in the last confrontation were flying back at him. At the time, he had checked Beomseok’s weaknesses and spared no mocking words.

“You. Are you taking revenge now for making fun of me last time!”

“No. That’s not it. It’s just that Zakid can’t beat me in any other way, so let’s do it this way. I want to defeat Zakid in perfect condition.”

“Damn it, don’t be ridiculous! There’s no way you’ve experienced war! If a guy like you talks about war and acts arrogant, do you think I’ll just let it go!”

Beomseok smiled subtly and began to ramble. It was true that he had experienced countless wars in other virtual reality games, but honestly, it was something he couldn’t talk about.

“Hehe. Well, that’s what I mean. I haven’t experienced war, but I’ve practiced swordsmanship and sparred in various terrains. I’ve even hunted wild animals such as wild boars and deer with a sword. In other words, Zakid and I learned swordsmanship in different environments.”

“Okay. You’re so great! But that’s my problem. So hurry up and pick up your spear!”

Beomseok set his sword in the middle stance and approached Zakid. He couldn’t pick up his spear like this.

“I don’t want to.”

“You! Are you really going to do this!”

“Don’t say anything unnecessary and just come. But if you really want to see my spear technique, you can win this round. Then I’ll bring a spear in the 3rd round.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Zakid gritted his teeth and gripped his sword tightly. Beomseok’s arrogance was infuriating, but it was something that could be resolved if he won this round.

“Okay. Don’t regret it after losing!”

“Regret? I can retaliate right away if I use spear techniques. Hurry up and come.”

Zakid, hearing those words, made an angry face and swung his sword with all his might. If he couldn’t fix his arrogance, he couldn’t wash away his current anger.

“You bastard! I’ll smash you!”

“It won’t be easy!”

Beomseok, knowing that it contained strong power, tapped the sword surface to change its trajectory, and then cut his waist as it was. A clear metallic sound that cuts through the spear. Then, the swords of each other collided in succession, scattering burning metal fragments in all directions.

Zakid, who pushed him hard, struck his sword up and down as if to split him. In response, Beomseok quickly raised his sword to block it, then struck his shoulder with a body blow. It was intended to disrupt his posture. But grappling was Zakid’s specialty. He put strength in his legs and stood firm, then struck Beomseok’s face with his wrist.

‘Damn it. As expected!’

Beomseok frowned, barely twisting his upper body to avoid the wrist attack. As expected, he was not easy to deal with in a sword-to-sword battle. He was regretting a little that he had given up his spear.

“Chaat!”

With a short shout, Beomseok quickly stabbed the tip of his sword towards Zakid’s neck. However, it was blocked by his long sword, which was lowered as if sliding, and fell to his feet.

Beomseok, who had briefly held his sword to the lower end, trembled and said.

“This is no joke? You really are Zakid at this moment.”

“If you’re so scared, pick up your spear again!”

Zakid shouted with all his might, knocked down the sword he was holding, and then drew it horizontally. In response, Beomseok, who staggered for a moment, blocked it by twisting both arms in reverse. Then, a series of fast attacks flew in. Beomseok responded by properly holding his sword.

‘This guy is completely different from before.’

Zakid’s expression was gradually stiffening. When he fought before, there were technically difficult aspects, but he could push with all his might. But now, he was responding directly without any hesitation. He still had an advantage in strength, but it was not enough to overwhelm him.

“You bastard. You’ve grown a lot.”

“Keukeuke. Originally, my age is when I grow a lot.”

“Okay, that’s good!”

Zakid, who swung his sword like a whirlwind, kicked his knee towards his abdomen. He was trying to disrupt Beomseok’s posture somehow, but it didn’t shine properly. He lightly raised his left foot to block it. In terms of martial arts, there was no one in the world who surpassed Beomseok.

“Hehe. Such tricks don’t work.”

Beomseok immediately pretended to raise his sword high, jumped and struck Zakid’s chin with his forearm. And using the gap where his head was tilted back, he grabbed his right arm and overturned it.

Zakid, surprised by this, quickly rotated his body, then put his foot on the ground as it was, and took a step back to take a stance. Beomseok, who had straightened his upper body, tried to run, but stopped as it was. It was because Zakid had already regained his balance and was in a defensive posture.

‘Tsk. A swallow turn that doesn’t suit that size… He’s really quick.’

Beomseok, revealing his regret, glanced at the steel bridge. He was trying to take advantage of the break to check the situation of the main camp. No matter how much he was having a one-on-one match with Zakid, the gladiator match was a team match. He had to check at all times in case an additional opponent gladiator joined in.

‘Hmm. The situation in the main camp is not bad.’

Right now, the Gods Knights gladiators were facing off against the Dark Hyenas in the center of the iron bridge, fighting an equal battle. Rafine was in danger of being defeated, but Shaila quickly regained stability by defeating the king. At this rate, he could focus all his attention on Zakid with peace of mind.

He immediately stretched out his sword with all his might and began to attack Zakid. No matter how well his teammates were doing, they were not overwhelming the Dark Hyenas gladiators. If this continued, there was a high possibility of a draw, so he had to quickly end the match with Zakid and go help.

Cha. Chachang. Kkang. Chang.

Beomseok, who blocked the ferocious sword, kicked his knee towards Zakid’s abdomen as it was. But having a previous record of being hit once, Zakid avoided it without difficulty and repaid with a sharp sword strike. He thought that it would be difficult to win unless he made a mistake in this way, so he stepped back and straightened his posture.

‘What should I do? Should I go for a draw like this? Or should I take a risk?’

But Beomseok’s choice was simple. If he took a risk, he could decide the match quickly, but the possibility of him being hit was very high. Besides, the one he was facing now was none other than Zakid. He was not an opponent who would easily fall for his tricks.

Beomseok looked at the time on the hologram display and shook his head. Now there were only 5 minutes left. Even if he won right away, there was no time to lead this round to victory. Then it wouldn’t be bad to invest all the remaining time in the match with Zakid.

Anyway, today’s match could be evaluated as a good result even if it was a draw.

‘I can’t help it. I have no choice but to be prepared for a draw… I can’t afford to lose in a hurry.’

Beomseok slowly moved forward and approached Zakid. He was thinking of continuing the fierce battle again. But it was Zakid who swung his sword first. Perhaps he was in a hurry, he came running and attacking before he could even approach. Beomseok lightly blocked the sword that was stretching out and then set up a sparkling sword as it was and dug inside.

“You’re too hasty!”

Beomseok’s sword, cutting through the space, passed by Zakid’s waist. It wasn’t enough to inflict damage, but he was bewildered by the successful attack. It was because he had only stretched out his sword for the sake of checking. Even ordinary World League gladiators were not hit by this kind of sword strike.

Beomseok, who knocked out Zakid’s sword, which was being swung up and down, immediately swung his sword in succession.

‘What’s going on? Why is he in such a hurry.’

Zakid blocked his attack with an anxious expression as if he was being chased by time. Even in this situation where he was being pushed, he looked so desperate that he was even trying to counterattack while twitching his body.

Of course, Zakid might think that he needs to defeat him for the team’s victory, but Beomseok was thoroughly excluding that possibility. He was a guy who was only interested in becoming the strongest gladiator, regardless of the team’s victory or defeat.

It was impossible for him to take risks in this match for the team.

“Beomseok, you bastard! I’ll definitely knock you down and break your arrogant nose!”

Beomseok, hearing Zakid’s strong shout, could roughly understand the reason for his urgency. Just as he wanted to win against Zakid, who had brought out his strengths to become the strongest, he also wanted to beat him with a spear. To do that, he had to win this round, so he had no choice but to be in a hurry.

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

We drew in the soccer match against Mexico. I wasn’t expecting much, but it’s a bit disappointing. Well, we can win next time.

Then everyone have a nice day. I’ll see you again tomorrow.