Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 296

“Sigh~ Why does our team always end up in the same league as the strong teams? It was like that the year before last when I first joined.”

The answer to Gelsomina’s question was obvious: the Chaplin Whisper team and plain bad luck.

Thanks to a wealthy old man named Chaplin, who loved gladiatorial combat and set up shop next door, the overpowered Chaplin Whisper team appeared and blocked their path. And, unfortunately, two teams were relegated from the World League this year, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Well, it’s all fate. But it’ll get better next year. It looks like both teams fighting today will move up to the World League.”

She nodded in response to Beomseok’s answer.

“Indeed, there’s no way the Chaplin Whisper team and the Dark Hyenas team will fail to advance to the World League next year.”

“Of course. Besides, the quota for the promotion tournament to the World League isn’t changing, so there’s no chance of that happening.”

The World League was the pinnacle of the gladiatorial world. Because of this, no teams were relegated from the upper league, so three teams were guaranteed promotion.

Naturally, they wouldn’t experience the quota shortage that Gods Knights had last year, so there was almost no chance that the Chaplin Whisper team and the Dark Hyenas team would fail to be promoted. With Amelie and Zakid joining, they had the power to rank in the mid-to-upper tiers even if they went to the World League right away.

Gelsomina’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Beomseok.

“Then we can aim for the World League in two years. You’re here, senior, and I’ll have grown enough by then.”

He avoided giving a definite answer. The reason why the Highren Central League had become a slaughterhouse for weak teams was because, in addition to the Chaplin Whisper team and the Dark Hyenas team, there were also gladiatorial teams called Snow Girls and Space Aces.

These were also strong teams that could advance to the World League at any time. In order for Gods Knights to advance to the tournament for the World League, they had to defeat at least one of them. Moreover, strong Central League teams from all over the world flocked to the promotion tournament.

In other words, with mediocre power, they couldn’t even dream of promotion.

“Well, if our team has more than 12 World League-level gladiators besides me, it’s worth a try….”

“Hehe. Then it will be possible. Our team’s gladiators are good at growth. I think we’ll have enough of them in two years.”

Currently, there were two World League-level gladiators in Gods Knights: Nikita and Kazella. There were seven gladiators who were close to that level, including Gelsomina, Rafine, Jeremia, Iphis, Herse, Cassie, and Lenka.

Looking at this, Gods Knights would have nine World League-level gladiators by the beginning of next year at the latest. If Beomseok invested funds for the next two years and recruited a few decent gladiators, they might be able to see the Gods Knights team playing in the World League in two years.

“Hmm. Then that would be really good for me.”

While Beomseok and Gelsomina were having a friendly conversation with great hopes for the future, a signal announcing their entrance was broadcast. Perhaps because the first round ended quickly, both teams sent their starters back in this round. They might be able to see a fierce battle between Zakid and Amelie. Beomseok watched the gladiators enter with anticipation.

‘Hehe. It seems Zakid is determined this time.’

Unlike the first round, Zakid was heading to the center of the arena seriously. His eyes were always on Amelie, and he had his hand fixed on the hilt of his sword as if he was ready to draw it at any moment.

“Oh my. Your senior apprentice seems really angry. His fighting spirit is no joke.”

Gelsomina took out binoculars from her bag and carefully examined Zakid’s appearance, then shook her head. She saw him trembling slightly.

“No. He’s going to be scared.”

Beomseok looked dumbfounded at the unexpected answer. No matter how legendary a gladiator Amelie was, he didn’t think Zakid would be scared.

“No. Why would Zakid be scared? Didn’t you see him complaining after the first round that he couldn’t fight Amelie properly?”

“I saw it. But today’s match is being broadcast all over the world, so that’s the problem.”

“Why? Does he have camera shyness that doesn’t suit his size?”

“No. It’s because his master is watching the game. He must have seen the first round and called him during the break to scold him. He was neglecting the team’s defeat by focusing too much on Amelie.”

Beomseok coughed and gave Gelsomina a subtle look.

“Ahem. Is Remrant a scary person?”

“Not really. But he seems to have high expectations for his senior apprentice, so he would scold him mercilessly even for small mistakes. The positions of ordinary disciples and the successor senior apprentice cannot be the same.”

“Well, that’s true. Still, it’s a bit too much to scold him so much that he’s scared during the match. What if he gets intimidated and ruins the game?”

“That won’t happen. No, now that the senior apprentice has come to his senses, he will show his true skills. Master’s scolding is a special medicine for the senior apprentice’s clumsiness.”

“Hehe. There are all kinds of strange people.”

Gelsomina, who nodded her head, inadvertently looked at the Chaplin Whisper formation and made a puzzled expression. It was because Amelie, wearing number 44, was popping out of the formation with Hiyas and moving to the free-roll position [a flexible role allowing movement across the arena].

“Senior. It seems like Amelie is going to fight Zakid head-on this time.”

Beomseok looked at the scene with strange eyes.

“Huh? That’s right. But I don’t know if Director Vincent is being too considerate of the fans. There’s nothing to gain from Amelie fighting Zakid in free-roll.”

“Why not?”

“Why? It’s because of their positions as a legendary gladiator and a rookie gladiator. Amelie has nothing to gain even if she wins, and she’ll be disgraced if she loses. It’s better to place her in the formation to increase the power of the main camp. She’s a gladiator who exerts the greatest effect in team matches.”

“Well, that’s true, but Director Vincent must have a reason for sending her out, right?”

Beomseok agreed with that. Director Vincent was the type who would never suffer a loss. If he was pushing himself like this, there was a high possibility that there was a reason behind it. However, the problem was that he didn’t know what he was aiming for. No matter how much Beomseok thought about it, he didn’t think there was any reason to put Amelie and Zakid together.

“Well, of course. But I have to see it to know.”

At the same time as he said that, Zakid popped out of the Dark Hyena formation. Helen, wearing number 12, followed him, so it seemed that he wanted a one-on-one battle with Amelie. If he went out to free-roll alone, Zakid would face her and Hiyas at the same time.

‘Still, it’ll be fun. A battle between Zakid and Amelie…….’

While Beomseok stopped talking to Gelsomina and watched the arena, the whistle signaling the start of the second round was heard.

At this, Zakid and Amelie ran towards each other at the same time, as if they had been waiting for it. A whip with a strange curve that adorned the sky erected a tip and stretched towards Zakid’s face.

He frowned and hurriedly swung his sword to strike the tip, then moved to the side as if sliding. Amelie sharply drew her sword up and down, launching a second attack.

Clang. Chang. Clack.

The two’s weapons collided in the air as if they had promised in advance. It was simply a sword exchange for exploration, but the momentum emanating from here was enough to intimidate the surroundings. In a truly fierce battle, the gladiators of both teams glanced at each other to check the results, forgetting that they had to fight too.

‘This elf. She’s not ordinary. As expected of the strongest gladiator.’

Zakid, who had retreated for a while to review the results of the exploration, grabbed the hilt of his sword tightly. This fight would be decided by a small mistake, so it was necessary to maintain a stable posture at all times. Amelie’s skills were quite different from those of ordinary world gladiators.

‘Hehe. But it won’t work for me. I don’t make mistakes.’

It was a thought that his master Remrant would slap him in the back of the head if he heard it, but he was really confident. Amelie’s attack was quite difficult, but it wasn’t very deep.

The reason was the unique battle method of typical gladiators. They always fought in large numbers, so they were specialized in team battles.

They had to divide their attention in all directions because they didn’t know when and where the attack would come from, and naturally, their one-on-one combat ability was weaker than that of traditional swordsmen. If he took advantage of this, he thought he could easily defeat her.

He took a breath and raised the banner of attack once again.

“Hyaat!”

The distance between them narrowed rapidly. Zakid skillfully twisted his wrist and put a spin on the tip of his sword. At this, Amelie took a step back, raised her sword, deflected the attack flying towards her face upwards, and turned the tip to aim for Zakid’s side.

“This kind of attack will never work……! Huh!”

Zakid, who easily blocked the whip by swinging his sword, was surprised by her sword strike flying towards his right shoulder and quickly retreated. It was because the tip of the sword was bending in like a snake’s head. It was aiming for his shoulder, but suddenly it changed direction in a fixed state and was grazing his neck.

“What kind of trick is this! Why is the sword bending like this!”

It was not a trick, but a physical attack caused by the deformation of the sword. This was what Beomseok was trying to say when he went to the dugout earlier. Amelie is a master of transformation swordsmanship, where the direction of attack cannot be predicted.

She tilted her head to the side and said with a sneer.

“Hehe. It seems you didn’t come after researching our team. I’m disappointed.”

“Wh, what are you talking about!”

At that time, Helen, who was struggling to fight Hiyas, shouted. She was struggling with the transformation sword, so she knew the meaning of it very well.

“Zakid! I’m talking about transformation swordsmanship! Some swordsmen of Chaplin Whisper use bending transformation swords! When blocking, never put the sword surface together. You have to block the blade or strike the tip!”

Zakid frowned. If that was true, it wouldn’t be easy. It was not easy to consistently perform such high-level blocking while facing the tricky Amelie. If she didn’t miss this opportunity, he would be finished immediately.

But he didn’t hesitate and took a step forward. He was annoyed, but he still thought that Amelie was his subordinate. He had no doubt that he would be able to subdue her if it took time.

“Amelie. You use quite a few tricks, but it won’t work for me.”

“Tricks? Yes. That’s right. It’s a trick.”

Amelie, who threw out a meaningful word, swung her whip and carved a deep wound on the floor under his feet. It was to check Zakid’s mental state, not to attack. If he reacted to this simple trajectory of the whip, it was a sign that he was afraid of her transformation swordsmanship.

But Zakid didn’t budge and moved his feet.

‘It seems he’s not afraid of my transformation sword. Well. It doesn’t matter. Because there is no one in the world who can beat me.’

Amelie, full of confidence, created a feast of whips in the air to block Zakid’s approach. She was planning to attack immediately if he forced his way through this barrier.

However, Zakid didn’t do anything unreasonable. He shook his head a few times to check the trajectory, then immediately struck the whip with his sword to twist the direction. And he dug into the space that was created for a moment and stabbed the tip of his sword towards Amelie’s abdomen.

Chang.

The clear metallic sound that echoed through the arena and their fierce battle continued. Zakid’s sword, flying with the momentum of cutting everything in half, was blocked by her sword, which caused strange changes, and bounced left and right, and Amelie’s subsequent counterattacks often only drew the air due to his movement.

A tense situation was being created that made the viewers feel nervous, but in reality, they were not. He and Amelie were now focusing on defense and figuring out each other’s fighting styles.

The two didn’t know each other very well due to the lack of information.

“Okay. Here I go!”

The transformation sword flew straight towards Zakid’s head, who was bouncing off the tip and digging inside. He swung his sword in a hurry, but the tip of the sword was grazing his shoulder. Fortunately, he didn’t fall into a state of partial inaction, but it was a chilling moment.

Zakid frowned at the bizarre change in the sword.

‘What kind of sword is that! This is driving me crazy.’

Amelie’s change sword was extremely subtle. Although the bending direction was limited to the left and right of the sword surface, it was not easy to have to choose one of the two in this urgent situation. However, if he looked at the direction of the tip and struck it, it would be like giving Amelie part of the battle space.

This was because he had to step back one step to hit the tip of the sword, not the sword surface. Then, in order to cut her, he would have to take an unnecessary action of stepping forward one more step, and there was no way that attack would work properly. The opponent was Amelie, the strongest gladiator in the history of the gladiatorial world.

============================ Author’s words ============================

Oh, right. I was a little late today, so I used the reservation system, but when I came, there were only 4K uploaded. I was embarrassed. Anyway, I’m really sorry. This happened unexpectedly.

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