Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 132

134

“What… What is this! We’ve been tricked! That guy’s a sprinter!”

The number 3 gladiator was bewildered and didn’t know what to do. In the short time it took to turn around to chase after him again, Beomsuk was already sprinting dozens of meters ahead. That kind of speed was like something you’d see from a main force sprinter in the World League. She wore a dumbfounded expression and started running, staring at his back.

‘Oh, ho! He’s practically begging me to catch him.’

The Muroba gladiators fighting against Lapine and the other comrades had no idea that Beomsuk was approaching from behind. They were wearing helmets with narrow fields of vision, and their backs were exposed. Plus, they had enemies to deal with in front of them, so it was very difficult to notice another opponent approaching.

The number 3 gladiator noticed this and hurriedly tried to warn them of the danger via wireless communication. But it was too late. Beomsuk, who could cover 100 meters in 5 seconds, was right behind his comrade, faster than the speed of recognition.

“?!”

Immediately, Beomsuk jumped high and kicked the neck of the opponent that Ilis was facing with all his might. And with that recoil, he jumped even higher and slammed the back of the head of the Blue Wyverns gladiator, who was hammering Mercy’s shield, with his right-hand short sword.

Bang. Clatter. Thump.

“Kyaaaa!”

The Muroba gladiators tumbled to the ground from the impact. One of them, hit by the sword, was already experiencing stiffness and falling into an incapacitated state. And the other one was also struggling, lying down and taking hits from Mercy and Ilis.

Beomsuk glanced at this and turned around, running towards the number 3 gladiator and the rear of the Muroba formation. If they could just hold them off until they caught the fallen opponent gladiator, the numerical difference between the two teams would be equalized. In other words, they could make up for the losses they had suffered to defeat the skilled World League starting gladiator earlier. If that were the case, the difference in strength between Muroba and Avand would be non-existent, and they could definitely win.

“Hey, come this way. Hehe.”

The number 3 gladiator, who had reached Beomsuk’s front, was wavering. She was conflicted about whether to catch him or save her comrade who was lying on the ground and being attacked by two enemies. She was already in a state of partial incapacitation, having had her right arm, an important part of her body, cut. Even if she saved him now, he wouldn’t be of much help to their strength. On the other hand, if they left Beomsuk alone, he would continue to harass them with the same surprise attacks as before.

However, it was also difficult to chase after him. He had such fast feet that they could never catch him, and if all the rearguard chased after him like this, the situation here would deteriorate rapidly. There was no way the remaining two comrades could face the four Avand gladiators, including Mercy.

“Everyone, leave him to me and join the other comrades!”

But Beomsuk wasn’t going to let this happen. He blocked the gladiator who was breaking away from the group and crossed the short swords in his hands.

“Hey, where are you going? You guys win if you just catch me.”

“Get out of the way! ? !”

The sharply shot sword flew towards his face. It was a one-handed sword, so he could easily block it by crossing his twin swords, but he couldn’t handle the shield charge that followed. Soon, Beomsuk was pushed back with a thud.

“Tch.”

Another Muroba rearguard gladiator, aiming at Beomsuk who was swaying, swung his sword as if to lift him up. Seeing his full strength, he momentarily moved his body to the side and escaped the space of the fierce battle.

It was difficult to deal with the powerful sword strikes that came in succession with added skill, let alone if it was Hana. Although it was only two sword strikes, he erased even the slightest sense of contempt that remained deep in his heart. As expected of the gladiators of the upper league, their skills were quite outstanding.

‘Amazing! As expected of the upper league gladiators. I’m being pushed back like this even though there are only two of them. There are tons of guys like that in the Central League. Hehehe.’

For him, who had been sparring with his own God’s Knights teammates, who were relatively less skilled, he felt a surge of longing for a new world. He had to put all his tension into even the smallest movements, and each of the flying sword tips contained an intense energy that gave him goosebumps. It felt like he was standing in the middle of a fierce battlefield where fierce attacks and defenses continued. He had an endless desire to advance to the upper league where they were active as soon as possible.

But these romantic feelings were only temporary. When the number 3 gladiator joined in, they disappeared without a trace from his head.

“Everyone, get rid of him. Then the game is over!”

Beomsuk’s body, which had blocked the number 3 gladiator’s heavy attack, was pushed back. He had done a lot of physical training, but it was still difficult to block the power of an upper league gladiator. Seeing his weakness, the Muroba gladiators rushed in at once and poured out a fierce attack. Soon, their swords collided in the air, scattering sparks everywhere.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

“Beomsuk-nim [Mr. Beomsuk, a sign of respect]. I’ve taken care of the guy who was down! Get out of the way!”

Mercy, who had finally defeated the opposing team’s gladiator who had fallen to the ground, was shouting at Beomsuk.

In response, he quickly took a step back and got out of the battle space, then immediately turned around and started running. He could have joined forces with his remaining comrades to face the remaining Muroba gladiators, but that was deliberately inviting difficulty. If he ran away, at least two people would follow him, and the other teammates could easily continue the battle. And he could easily eliminate the opposing gladiator by approaching from behind as he had just done.

However, Muroba also knew this fact well from their past match experience.

“Everyone, stop individual combat and form a battle line. Let’s go with a draw strategy as it is.”

At the command of the number 3 gladiator, the remaining 5 Muroba gladiators formed a battle line. The shape was crude because there were so few of them, but it was still a battle line. Moreover, they were all holding sword and shield. It was because they had picked up the equipment of the Avand gladiators who had fallen incapacitated. According to the rules, gladiators in the arena could not bring in more than two pieces of equipment, but they could carry equipment acquired during the match.

‘Tch. Can’t you just fight.’

Beomsuk, who had been running for a while, returned with regret. He had managed to equalize the power difference through the melee, but the opponent chose to stall. This was a very worrying situation with not much time left.

“Okay. There’s no time. Let’s form a formation and attack.”

Beomsuk prepared to form a simple assault formation with his remaining teammates and attempt to enter. In a 5-on-5 situation, there was less than 5 minutes left. There was no time to dawdle, so a quick decision was needed. He put Oscar, Lapine, and Ilis at the front and attempted to charge.

“Everyone, charge!”

Oscar, located at the tip of the pointed arrow shape, slammed the sword in his hand with force. With a terrible sound, the Muroba formation shook greatly and a gap opened slightly. Seeing this, Beomsuk hurriedly tried to enter, but he had no choice but to step back because the shield wall was immediately erected and blocked.

Crack! Bang!

Oscar swung his great sword incessantly, but the Muroba gladiators were working together to hold up their shields and easily block it. The physical impact that was transmitted was great, but they had often experienced gladiators like Oscar while playing in the upper league. If they didn’t have the skills to block even this much with a shield, they wouldn’t have been selected for the Muroba national team, which was a strong candidate for the World Cup finals.

However, there were two types of gladiators in Avand that even these women had never experienced. They were Lapine, who had made a name for himself in the underground martial arts world, and Beomsuk, who had mastered various grappling techniques by mastering numerous games.

“Lapine. Use your martial arts to snatch them one by one.”

Lapine, noticing his master’s intention, stuck the twin swords in his hand into the ground and stuck close behind Beomsuk. She was showing a weak side in swordsmanship, but she possessed the ability that no one could follow in bare-handed fighting.

“Master, I’m ready.”

“Okay, then let’s go in together when we have a chance.”

Soon after Oscar’s great sword struck a Muroba gladiator’s shield, Beomsuk stretched out his sword towards the gladiator wearing number 2 next to him.

Bang!

Beomsuk’s sword bounced off as expected. But there was a faint smile on his lips. Because he was facing the shield towards Beomsuk, the number 2 gladiator did not see Lapine infiltrating from the side below. She soon felt a rough hand grabbing her wrist and screamed.

“What!~”

The body of the number 2 gladiator, caught in Lapine’s over-the-shoulder throw, flew through the air and fell in front of Ilis. Because it happened so suddenly, she was unable to perform a break fall and was in a state of not being able to control her body due to the great impact. Ilis, who had been stepping back, saw an unexpected prey and boldly struck down with the claymore in her hand.

“Good! There are four left! Cheer up!”

The Avand gladiators, seeing that the number 2 gladiator was completely incapacitated, attacked the Muroba formation with excited faces. Now there were only four left. With these, they could not perfectly protect the captain gladiator. Even if they surrounded the captain in a triangular shape, all sides were gaps. Now, the Muroba captain gladiator had no choice but to come out and defend one side.

“Hyah! Take this!”

Oscar, with all his strength in his waist, swung his great sword fiercely using momentum. The Muroba gladiator tried to block it with a shield, but it was not enough to effectively counter it perfectly now that there was only one person. Soon, one side of the formation was greatly opened, and Beomsuk squeezed through this gap and grabbed the back of the neck of the number 3 gladiator who was confronting Oscar on the opposite side.

“Now. It’s over!”

The body of the number 3 gladiator was drawing a long trajectory in the air as if flying through a zero-gravity space. The other Muroba gladiators tried to turn around to save her, but there was no way that Ilis, Mercy, and Lapine would stand still. Soon, they hugged each other and engaged in a melee.

Bang.

Soon, the number 3 gladiator rolled on the ground. Beomsuk immediately climbed on top of her and mercilessly slit her throat with the sword in his hand.

Bweeek!

A long whistle spread throughout the arena. It was a signal to announce the end of the game, and since Beomsuk was fine, it meant that the Avand team had won this final 5th round.

Round score 2 wins, 1 loss, 2 draws. As a result, the Avand national team was able to advance to the final qualifying round held after the spring season. This was the first time in history for Avand, which was on the periphery of the gladiator world, and it was clear that this would be a game that would remain deeply in the minds of the gladiator fans who visited the Colosseum today.

However, the surroundings were so quiet that there was even silence. The audience, who should have been jumping for joy, only cheered briefly when the number 3 gladiator fell, and then just stared at the Avand national team gladiators without taking any action. No, some fans came to the front of the stands, put their fingers to their mouths, and urged restraint. Beomsuk, who couldn’t understand at all, grumbled and stuck the sword he was holding into its scabbard.

“What is it? It feels unpleasant. If you win, you should be happy.”

Then Mercy, with a bright face, came up and spoke.

“Ah. I guess Beomsuk-nim doesn’t know?”

“What. Don’t know?”

“It’s a tradition of Avand regional sports fans. It’s a way of showing respect to the players who have played a big role in the national team’s game.”

Beomsuk drew a question mark above his head and looked at her.

“Respect?”

“Yes. It means that they can never enjoy themselves first until the gladiators have fully enjoyed today’s victory. I heard that the Avand national team reached the 3rd qualifying round of the World Cup for the first time before, and the audience took this performance.”

“Really? Then what should I do?”

“When all the fellow gladiators gather, you can cheer lightly.”

Before he knew it, the Avand gladiators, who had been incapacitated and got up, were gathering around Beomsuk one after another. And when all 12 of them gathered, Beomsuk glanced around and slowly began to raise his clenched fist. It was a bit embarrassing because of the situation, but it was a natural duty as a professional to respond to the audience’s wishes.

Soon, when the arms of all the Avand national team gladiators, including Beomsuk, were stretched out towards the sky, a loud shout that had never been heard before erupted from the stands.

Waaaaa! Waaaaa!

“Well done. Avand! It’s the final qualifying round!”

“I knew you would definitely win!”

The fans came down to the bottom of the stands and shook the transparent acrylic barrier. It was a facility designed to prevent the gladiator’s sword from going over and injuring the audience, so it was made very strong, but because so many people were shaking it, some of it was tilting forward without being able to withstand it. The security guards who had been waiting in advance rushed out and urged restraint, but it was useless. The audience was in a panic at the joy of reaching the final qualifying round for the first time, and they could not hear their dissuasion.

Running through this, the gladiators of the Avand national team hugged each other and waved their hands, enjoying the feeling of the moment. There was no way that the joy of the women who participated directly in the game and won the victory could be less than that of the fans. They roamed the arena for a long time, enjoying the victory celebration.

Before he knew it, the time of joy had passed, and Beomsuk moved towards the dugout. It was time to go back now. For him, a more important mission than the joy of victory was waiting at his team. It was to hug Agelia to his heart’s content, whom he had not been able to take her virginity due to his national team life.

“Hehe. You really ran away well earlier. How about becoming the captain this time? You seem to have a knack for it.”

Clark said a word to him as he opened the dugout door and entered. Beomsuk smiled and said.

“No thanks. Why would I be a captain who is protected by the rearguard and can’t even swing a sword properly?”

“Why. Didn’t you run wild as much as you wanted today?”

“It was inevitable because of the situation. If I were the captain of our team, I wouldn’t have to swing a sword in a few years.”

Clark nodded as if he agreed. Certainly, God’s Knights, to which he belonged, was such a strong team that as long as they were in the Area League, the captain gladiator’s job would be extremely limited.

“That may be true. Then bring a reliable captain material to the national team within 4 years.”

Beomsuk immediately shook his head. Agelia was the only captain gladiator among his subordinates who could grow enough to play for the national team, but she was a novice who had never even held a sword properly. It was almost impossible to play for the national team within 4 years.

“It’s difficult within 4 years.”

“It’s possible. I don’t want anything else. Just be faster than you and know how to take care of your own body.”

Then it seemed possible. Although she was holding a double-handed shield, an easy-to-handle weapon, Venus was also doing her part in the team. If Agelia also held a double-handed shield, she could reach the level of protecting her own body.

But he didn’t want to tell Clark this fact. Beomsuk, with a meaningless smile on his lips, looked at him once and left the dugout.

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

I’m a little late. I was watching baseball. Hahaha. It’s the playoff game, so I can’t help but be interested. Anyway, with Lotte’s victory today, we’re going to the 5th game, so I’ll be able to have another enjoyable day.

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