Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 128

130

“What is it?”

Clark asked in a quiet voice, shuffling through the documents that floated above the hologram screen.

“Who do you think will win this match?”

Bum-suk didn’t even need to think about it. Objectively speaking, it was obvious that Muroba, with a significant number of World League-level gladiators, would beat their Avon representative team.

“Everyone will expect the Muroba team to win.”

“I asked for your opinion.”

“I also think the Muroba team is likely to win overall.”

Clark chuckled and said.

“It sounds like you’re saying we might win if we do well.”

“It’s a 12-on-12 match anyway. It wouldn’t be strange if anyone won. It’s just that the opponent is particularly strong, so it’s burdensome.”

Clark lowered the screen and stared straight at him.

“Huhu. Then if we erase the opponent’s strength, we’ll win.”

“It would be possible if we could.”

“Good. Then I’ll give you a problem. The opponent includes 11 World League-level starting gladiators, and the rest are filled with gladiators of similar skill to our main force. What’s the way for us to win here?”

The coach’s question was asking how to beat Muroba without even needing to think about it. Originally, they had 13 World League-level starters, but unfortunately, two of them were injured in the meantime due to fierce battles and were dropped from the entry, leaving 11.

Bum-suk, with his arms crossed, glanced nonchalantly towards the opponent’s dugout and answered.

“In gladiator matches, momentum is important. No matter how strong a team is, if they are pushed back by momentum, they can lose to a weak team.”

“Huhu. If that were easy, the lower-ranked team coaches wouldn’t have to suffer.”

“Of course. But this match is easy.”

“Why?”

Bum-suk began to answer calmly.

“First, we are the home team. We can’t help but gain momentum thanks to the enthusiastic support of the fans, while Muroba is in the opposite situation. Second, Muroba is currently on a 5-game winning streak, and they have already secured their spot in the final qualifiers as well as first place in the group. There’s no reason for them to necessarily win this match. And finally, third, World League-level gladiators are very expensive. If they get injured in a useless match like this, they’ll get a lot of flak [criticism] from their team. But they’ve already ruined two. It would be very burdensome for the national team coach to add another one here.”

“Huhu. I see. So how should we proceed?”

“We have to push through with rough play. No, beyond that, we must send one of Muroba’s main gladiators to the treatment center in the first round. Then Muroba’s national team coach will likely not try to win this match and will focus on protecting their team’s gladiators. In other words, they will go out with passive gameplay. Then, naturally, our Avon will be buried in momentum, so our chances of winning will increase that much.”

Clark looked at him with a troubled expression. It was a bit much to deliberately injure the opposing team’s gladiator, and even if he decided to put it into practice, it wouldn’t be easy.

The gladiators participating in the match were all perfectly protected by suits, and unless it was a defective product or worn out from long-term use, even if a strong elf wielded a weapon, they couldn’t penetrate it. Then the next method was joint breaking, but the possibility of the technique working properly against a World League-level gladiator with outstanding skills was very low, and if this kind of play was intentionally executed, the gladiator would also be ejected, putting a great burden on the team. Naturally, it was not something that could be easily decided.

“It’s a violent method, but not bad. But you know it well. Overt joint techniques are an immediate ejection.”

“There are other methods besides joint techniques.”

“What method?”

Bum-suk smiled. There was a way to utilize Rapine’s martial arts skills. She had perfectly mastered various techniques to completely defeat opponents while wandering around underground arenas like real battles.

“It’s a concussion using striking techniques. However, in the worst case, the opponent may fall into a slightly dangerous state. Huhu.”

Clark glared at him with sharp eyes.

“Isn’t that too cruel a method?”

Bum-suk shook his head as if he didn’t care at all.

“It’s okay. Looking at the roster, fortunately, there’s a male cyborg among Muroba’s starting gladiators. He’s in charge of the vanguard, so if we send him off when he crosses the downtown area, it’ll be fine.”

Clark frowned as if he couldn’t understand at all. It was natural for Bum-suk, but he couldn’t understand at all that male cyborgs could be injured.

“What does being a man or a cyborg have to do with getting injured!”

“Then you don’t have to do it. I don’t really want to do it either. But today’s win rate will drop significantly.”

Clark turned his head with a groan and looked at the stadium with his legs crossed. The heat and cheering of the fans filling the lower part of the stands passed through the reinforced acrylic partition of the dugout and tickled his ears, weakening his heart, and he looked back again.

“Can they die if we do it wrong?”

“You don’t die from just a concussion. Most of them wake up after a while, and even if an unexpected problem occurs in the worst case, they’ll be thoroughly examined in the hospital because they’re so expensive, so they’ll find it early and treat it urgently.”

Indeed, with modern medical technology, there were hardly any deaths unless it was instant.

“So you mean there’s no need to even think about the possibility of dying. What’s the method?”

“Just give Rapine a chance to accurately strike his jaw a few times.”

Then, after tackling him down, two gladiators could hold the targeted opponent in place so they couldn’t move.

“It’s simpler than I thought. Is it really possible?”

Bum-suk nodded lightly and called Rapine over with a gesture. And he said quietly so that no one could hear.

“Rapine. You said before that you could cause a concussion to the opponent, right?”

“Well. It’s such a delicate technique that it’s not easy. But if you give me a situation where I can properly strike the opponent’s jaw with a three-hit combo, I can execute it with a high probability.”

At the word possible, Clark quickly stood up and said.

“Is it fully applicable in real combat?”

Rapine gave a positive answer with a smile. Her martial arts skills were all based on real combat.

“Yes. I’ve used it often in real combat. It’s worked quite a bit.”

“Good. Then Rapine. You go out in the first round and use that technique on a gladiator running in the lead.”

“Rapine. It’s a cyborg male gladiator. Absolutely no other child.”

Clark glared slightly as Bum-suk intervened in the conversation, then said again.

“How about it, Rapine? Are you confident?”

“Yes. If you give me time to strike properly.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll give you a sure chance.”

“Yes. I understand. I’ll try.”

“Okay. Go back to your seat and rest comfortably.”

As Rapine returned to her bench, Clark continued to look at the entire view of the Lima City Colosseum with a serious look.

Originally, he was going to be satisfied with advancing to the third round of this World Cup. His World League career and past national team performances made his position as coach not precarious, but the decisive reason was that he was aiming to advance to the finals with a solid force in the next World Cup. However, while performing the third round of group stage matches this time, greed sprouted like a fountain. Honestly, even if they went to the final qualifiers, there was almost no chance of advancing to the finals with the current strength, but the national team gladiators were able to experience the final qualifying round where 64 strong teams from all over the world faced off. If they used this as a foundation to prepare for the next World Cup, the hope of advancing to the finals would be even greater.

But to do that, they had to win this match. Of course, if the Ionic team lost to the Landnick representative team, they would automatically advance to the final qualifiers, but it was difficult to expect because they were such a weak team. It was like watching the Avon team from the last World Cup. Moreover, since they had already confirmed their elimination from the qualifiers with 5 losses, he thought their enthusiasm would not be very high. As of now, the path Clark could choose was to decisively break the opponent’s momentum with the strategy presented by Bum-suk, then go out with a draw strategy and win a round to take the game.

After finishing his thoughts, Clark clapped so loudly that the dugout echoed and shouted to everyone.

“There’s a change of plans! All the main players who will participate in the first round, gather here!”

Then the starters who were sitting in various places on the bench got up and came over. He displayed the stadium scenery on the hologram screen with his electronic notebook and explained the strategy he had just devised step by step.

The representative team gladiators who heard this were at a loss, buzzing. The tactic was so bizarre that they couldn’t understand the coach’s intentions at all. Mercy, who had been a gladiator for a long time, had never performed such a strategy. However, the operation itself was so simple that it seemed that they could easily follow the coach’s intentions. They soon nodded and returned to their seats, deeply recalling this operation and reviewing it several times.

And some time after the splendid pre-match event was over. The announcer’s broadcast commentary was heard.

– The last 6th match to go to the World Final Qualifiers. We will broadcast today’s match between the Avon and Muroba representative teams. Passionate Avon? Or Muroba with the appearance of a strongman? With today’s victory or defeat expected to be exciting, the fateful showdown between the two teams will begin soon. Commentator, how do you see today’s game?

– Well. From an objective point of view, you might think that Muroba, which includes a significant number of World Leaguers, will win, but Avon, with the advantage of the home team and a greater desire for victory, is also not easy to deal with. Perhaps the victory or defeat will only be known when the lid is opened.

– Oh. Then you can expect an exciting game.

– Well. I think we’ll have to keep an eye on the Ionic and Landnick games being held at the same time at the Bellona City Colosseum. If the Landnick team beats the Ionic team by a large margin in the beginning, the Avon team will try to draw rather than fight recklessly, and Muroba, who wants to conserve their strength, will respond to this and play a loose game. But if the opposite happens and Ionic accumulates round wins against the Landnick team, the Avon team can’t just sit still. At that time, a fierce battle between the two teams is expected, and a very interesting game will unfold.

– Ah. Then Ionic has to win for the sake of the game.

At that moment, the sharp eyes of the fans in the stands poured endlessly into the announcer’s seat. Of course, they paid money to come and watch the game, but rather than having a very interesting game and the Avon representative team being eliminated, they desperately wanted their local team to advance to the final qualifying round, even if they played a little loosely. Naturally, the announcer’s remarks a little while ago could not help but be heard.

In response, the commentator hurriedly grabbed the microphone and began to repair it.

– Ah. But when I checked, the Landnick representative team said that they were burning with enthusiasm, saying that they could not step on their homeland with all losses. No matter how strong Ionic is, victory will not be easy.

– Cough cough. I see. Anyway…….

The announcer cut off what he was about to say and turned his head towards the entrance tunnels of both teams. The gladiators from both teams were already out and waiting for the game to start. So he read down the list on the electronic display board and briefly explained the gladiators who would participate in the first round.

And after a while. Along with the long whistle, the main forces of the Avon and Muroba representative teams slowly began to enter.

– Both teams of gladiators enter!

The gladiators from both teams, who slowly walked to the center of the stadium, were glaring at each other with sharp eyes, facing the downtown area. In this moment of tension. The fans who came to cheer were watching with bated breath, desperately praying for the victory of the Avon representative team.

Bum-suk, who was looking at this scenery from afar in the dugout, looked at Clark.

“But coach, when are you going to let me play?”

Clark, with his arms crossed and legs crossed, delayed his answer for a while. He had decided to win today’s game, so he couldn’t predict when to put him in. Moreover, given Bum-suk’s personality, he didn’t know when he would do something out of the blue and confuse the flow of the game. What should I say, is it like a rugby ball that doesn’t know where it will bounce? His skills were truly commendable, but as a coach, he was a very troublesome existence.

However, if he didn’t send him out, he would have to endure the burden of playing the game with a total of 18 people. He had to send him out once or twice to let other gladiators rest.

“Well. It depends on the situation?”

“How about sending me out in a dramatic situation and giving me all the glory of victory?”

“Well. I’m thinking that a defeat treatment would be appropriate.”

Bum-suk pouted and said.

“Predicting defeat before the game is not something a coach should do.”

“Overestimating yourself is not a virtue that a representative team gladiator should have. Especially with an opponent like today.”

“Huhu. But you can’t beat an opponent who is intimidated.”

Clark looked at him and smiled so much that he showed his white teeth. Certainly, the Muroba representative team was not easy to deal with with a sloppy mindset.

He immediately turned his head towards the stadium. The first round was about to begin, so there was no time to joke with Bum-suk.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

Ha. 9th inning, no outs, runners on 1st and 3rd. One outfield fly would reverse the score and end the game. The powerful Lotte can’t do this. And in the end, they collapse with a home run in the 10th second. After all, baseball is attractive because you don’t know until the end.

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