Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 167

“;Erica. Hestia! Support the vanguard as well!”;

Erica and Hestia stepped forward to face the 7th and 4th gladiators of the Peace Griffins.

As the temporarily faltering vanguard stabilized, Erpina exchanged glances with Reimay. Although Reimay showed some weakness in close combat due to her primary weapon being a spear, she demonstrated great power in head-to-head battles between formations. The spear tips she threw in surprise during the chaotic fighting were quite threatening. If she could help Erica and Hestia defeat the 7th and 4th gladiators, they could lead the battle to a favorable situation.

However, the Peace Griffins also had a spear wielder like Reimay, and they couldn’t possibly be unaware that Erica and Hestia were key forces of the Gods Knights. Soon, the 16th gladiator, wielding a spear, joined their fierce battle.

Cha. Chang. Swish. Chang.

Sitting on the dugout bench, Beomseok watched the battle unfolding far away on the steel bridge, fidgeting with an anxious expression. The Gods Knights’ main force, even without him, didn’t seem to be losing to the Peace Griffins, but they also weren’t gaining a significant advantage. If they forced an unreasonable attack to win the round in this state, they could easily fall victim to the opponent’s tricks and struggle. It seemed he would have to secure a win in the 2nd round, in which he would participate.

Beep.

Suddenly, a short notification sound came from the bag next to the bench. Knowing that a message had arrived, Beomseok looked very nervous.

If this was the signal to start the operation, he had to leave immediately, and he would not be able to participate in the 2nd round. Then the Gods Knights would have to win without him, forcing them to play recklessly.

‘Damn it. Why now? Chi.’

Fumbling inside his coat, Beomseok took out his electronic notepad, and his eyes narrowed as he read the message. He couldn’t tell whether he should be relieved or anxious. It wasn’t the operation signal, but it was an urgent message comparable to it.

The sender of this message was the secretary who was assisting Gloria in the hospital.

– Mr. Beomseok. Chairwoman Gloria has started having labor pains.

He bit his lip tightly, recalling the events of the past.

Gloria had been running around trying to raise money until just before her due date. Beomseok knew about her urgent situation but was worried, so he reassured her that there was a source of money that would be satisfactory, and he finally admitted her to the hospital a few days ago. And yesterday evening, when he went to visit her, he earnestly asked the secretary who was taking care of Gloria to contact him when the birth was near, promising to come and stay by her side.

But today, the sudden infiltration operation was messing things up. Far from being able to concentrate on the match, he couldn’t even watch Gloria’s childbirth by her side. If there was one cruel wish he had right now, it was that the birth would be delayed until this was over. That way, Gloria would suffer great pain, but he could at least watch the baby being born.

He let out a long sigh and sent a false message saying that he couldn’t come right away because of urgent loan consultations for the Rainbow Group even after the match was over. He hadn’t told Gloria that he was carrying out a dangerous operation because he didn’t want her to worry, so he couldn’t tell her the truth.

‘Come on, at least make my heart feel at ease. It would be great if you win the 1st round, or at least draw.’

In the meantime, the 1st round was past the halfway point. In both teams, two vanguards each, the 7th gladiator, and Erica had been incapacitated. It was a 9-on-9 situation. If the remaining 10 minutes or so passed like this, the 1st round would end in a draw, and the 2nd round would become a very important turning point in today’s match.

Beomseok gripped his electronic notepad tightly and wished for it to remain still for a while.

– Bwee! End of the match! Both teams draw in the 1st round!

At the referee’s shout through the stadium’s broadcast, the gladiators from both teams picked up their fallen comrades and trudged towards the dugout. It was an unsatisfactory result for both the Peace Griffins, who were worried about the 2nd round, and the Gods Knights, who had to win today’s match.

Accordingly, the staff of each team rushed out to comfort their glum gladiators.

“Good job. Everyone, cheer up. The master will be out in the 2nd round, so we’ll definitely win. This is a satisfactory result.”

At coach Diana’s shout, the team members perked up and sat on the bench. However, Beomseok, watching this, looked very worried. If a message came during the 10-minute break, he would have to leave, and they would be greatly disappointed.

As such, about 5 minutes passed. Beomseok, looking at the list of participants for the 2nd round displayed on the electronic scoreboard, turned his face black. To make matters worse, the Peace Griffins had included a large number of their main forces in this upcoming round.

Well, since they barely drew against the Gods Knights’ main force missing Beomseok, the Peace Griffins’ coach might have been reluctant to give up the 2nd round, but he was absolutely not happy about it.

‘I’m going crazy. We have to win this round.’

Judging that there was nothing he could do, Beomseok put on his helmet. Fortunately, there was still no contact from Dark Shadow. In fact, it was a great stroke of luck that he could participate in the 2nd round at all. He soon picked up his gear and headed towards the entrance tunnel.

“Come on, we must win the 2nd round!”

At Beomseok’s shout, the team members shouted simultaneously.

“Yes!”

“Everyone, check your equipment again and steel your resolve!”

“Yes!”

Beomseok nodded and approached Erpina.

“Erpina, you know how to coordinate the match this round as well, right?”

“Yes. I heard it from Diana unnie [term of endearment for an older sister or female friend], so I know.”

“Okay. Even if I accidentally give an order, ignore it and push forward with your own ideas. Also, be sure to inform all team members of this fact before the match. It would be troublesome if there was confusion in the chain of command.”

Even though it was a command to ignore his own orders, Erpina surprisingly agreed easily. No matter how absolutely obedient elves were to their masters, they had intellectual abilities. They could grasp what their master truly wanted, so even if two conflicting orders were given, they could take the right action.

“Yes. I will do that.”

“Good. Then I’m counting on you for the 2nd round.”

After saying this, Beomseok returned to his seat and looked at the stadium with its wide expanse of grass. A very anxious atmosphere emanated from his face, and it seemed that the complicated and intertwined events of today were disturbing his mind. But he couldn’t go into the match in this state. Beomseok stamped his feet and calmed his frustrated heart.

– Both teams of gladiators enter.

Toward the Gods Knights’ gladiators leaving the stadium with the entrance signal, the fans’ cheers erupted. If they won today, they could advance to the promotion tournament to the Deloy Wide League, so their desire was hotter than ever. Although the admission fee would be more expensive if the team they supported went up to the upper league, there were no fans who wanted to stay in the lower league as it was.

Waaaaa! Waaaaa!

“Gods Knights. Win today and go up to the Wide League!”

“We believe in you! Gods Knights!”

Beomseok would normally wave his hands one by one and respond to the fans’ enthusiasm, but today he approached the center of the city with a calm gait. It was because he was afraid that the mind he had barely calmed down would be disturbed. Now was the time to only think about the victory in the 2nd round.

Erpina approached him and gave tactical instructions.

“Master. Play free roll and aim for the opponent’s rear.”

Erpina telling Beomseok to play free roll meant that she would make some of the opponent’s forces turn to the rear, giving the main camp a numerical advantage. There was no need to do that if they wanted a draw. It could be said that it was an expression of their intention to attack in this 2nd round.

At this, he looked at Erpina with a meaningful look.

“Are you going on the offensive? The other side sent out all their starters again this time.”

“It’s okay. Hestia is coming out in this round as well, and they’re all tired from running in the 1st round, so we’re not inferior in terms of skill. If you take on the Peace Griffins’ 4th and 7th, we can try enough.”

“What if the other guys mark me?”

Erpina smiled slyly.

“Hoo. If I were the opposing team’s coach, I wouldn’t send other guys to mark you, who has grown rapidly in recent years. It’ll be over in an instant, and in the end, you’ll have to send out the 4th and 7th gladiators again to stop it in a severe numerical disadvantage. So don’t worry.”

Indeed, Beomseok had grown physically rapidly in recent years. The reason he recruited Elin, who was the assistant coach of the national team, and made her a professional health trainer was for that reason. She had the characteristic of doubling the efficiency of physical training for one person, so she was able to raise quite a few physical stats even in just half a year.

Now, he could show physical abilities close to those of a Central League gladiator just by shouting his ‘Great Will’ trait. No coach in the world would send an incompetent gladiator as a marker against him, who was supported by the strongest swordsmanship and excellent physicals. Of course, Beomseok had to save his traits in preparation for the upcoming infiltration operation at the LHN headquarters building, but the Peace Griffins’ coach had no way of knowing this.

“Hmm. I guess so. Okay, I’ll mark the 4th and 7th gladiators, so you operate the main camp well and break it down for sure.”

“Yes. Then I’ll leave it to you.”

As Erpina returned to her position in the rear, Beomseok slipped slightly to the right. Seeing this, the Peace Griffins immediately separated the 4th and 7th gladiators and had them chase him.

Soon after, a long whistle was heard in the stadium, and the gladiators from both teams ran towards the bridge all at once. Because the bridge is rainbow-shaped, the side that occupies the highest central part first has a slight geographical advantage.

Beomseok, standing and watching this from the stream, smiled slightly. Since the Gods Knights, who were superior in physical aspects, were fast, they were able to occupy the center of the bridge first.

‘Shall I go now?’

Gripping the katana in his hand tightly, he ran to the side. Before Agelia came in, the fastest gladiator in the Avon League was Beomseok.

Since the 4th and 7th gladiators were marking him from across the stream, he was going to quickly sprint to create distance and then attempt to cross the river.

“He?!”

Seizing the opportunity, Beomseok jumped with all his might and safely crossed the stream. However, he had to swing his sword without even taking a breath. The 4th and 7th gladiators, who had hurriedly chased after him, began to attack him.

Swish. Chang. Chachang.

The ceaseless sword strikes were barely missing Beomseok’s body left and right. It was a dangerous sight, so the audience was watching with anxious eyes, but he, the person involved, was overflowing with composure. Others might think of it as a sharp attack, but Beomseok felt it was a weak and dull offensive that didn’t even require him to move his body to avoid it.

‘Indeed, the recent work of greatly increasing physical abilities is paying off.’

Even just a year ago, if a skilled person like the 4th and 7th gladiators had launched a joint attack without activating ‘Great Will’, he would not have been able to easily block it. Because the sword was bounced off by the pushing phenomenon coming from the difference in strength, there was great difficulty in the following action. But now, even if their sword blades collided, he could maintain or twist the sword at the desired angle. In other words, he could connect the sword momentum as he wanted, so he could fully unfold his inherent swordsmanship skills.

However, the 4th and 7th gladiators were outstanding professionals. They had been together for a long time and had matched their minds, so their union was seamless. They were enough to sufficiently block Beomseok’s occasional sword strikes.

Chachang. Chang. Chang.

The metal clanging as their weapons collided strongly was enough to make the eardrums numb. He didn’t greatly underestimate the 4th and 7th gladiators, but Beomseok’s sword strikes were flowing more and more boldly. Occasionally, he took risks and stuck his body close to launch sharp attacks. The main camp led by Erpina was creating a favorable situation in the group battle with the Peace Griffins’ main camp, but his heart was too urgent. He didn’t know what would happen at the LHN building, so he wanted to end the 2nd round as quickly as possible and minimize physical losses.

At this time, a thin, subtle sound passed by the side of Beomseok’s helmet. It was because the 4th gladiator recognized his current situation and launched a desperate blow. Fortunately, it was a blow that didn’t lead to incapacitation, but Beomseok was wide awake. If he was hit here, he could lose the 2nd round.

‘Damn. What am I doing now? If I want to save stamina, there are other ways.’

Beomseok backed away to create distance and straightened his posture. Seeing this, the 7th gladiator dashed forward and launched a strike towards his lower body. However, it flowed to the side as he tilted his sword diagonally and blocked it.

Following this, the 4th gladiator’s sword flew horizontally as if to bisect his waist, so he took a step forward and blocked it with the end of the handle. It was to block the side with as little kinetic energy as possible so as not to strain his wrist. Beomseok was now trying to withstand their attacks with minimal movement. Then, even if he ran for the entire 20 minutes, the physical loss would not be that great, and if the opponent made a mistake, he could immediately counterattack and defeat them, which was effective in game management.