Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 347

‘Hehe. Our Rebecca seems excited.’

Rebecca, having defeated Gladiator No. 12 and returned triumphantly to the main camp, winked at Beomseok, as if to show off her confident victory. He smiled back, thinking it best not to mention his small contribution with the stone. Her happiness was enough.

“Okay. Shall we continue?”

Beomseok circled the Merjan main camp formation again, searching for weaknesses.

They maintained a square formation of nine, resisting Avond’s attacks. Seiya urgently deployed Cassie to the free-roll zone [a flexible role allowing her to support where needed]. Rebecca’s victory over Gladiator No. 12 created a numerical advantage, allowing them to support Oscar and Rafine.

While one person’s presence in the main camp wasn’t crucial due to Beomseok’s support, it significantly aided the free-roll zone battles. With a 2-to-3 power ratio, they could easily defeat the opponent’s marksmen.

“Now, let’s help Master and corner Merjan!”

Seiya’s strategy, adopted by Avond, involved creating collisions in the main camp to crack Merjan’s formation. Beomseok would then exploit these gaps, eliminating gladiators from behind. Removing just three gladiators would likely collapse the entire formation.

This would expose the leader, which would normally be manageable, but with Beomseok’s free-roaming attacks from behind, the leader would be in grave danger.

However, this strategy soon became less effective. Oscar, Rafine, and Cassie defeated the marksmen, Gladiators No. 2 and No. 6, and returned to reinforce Beomseok, cooperating to attack Merjan’s rear.

“Kkyaaaak!”

As Beomseok’s attack knocked out Gladiator No. 4, Oscar, Rafine, and Cassie simultaneously rushed in to eliminate him. The power ratio shifted to 12 to 8. Gladiator No. 1, the leader, looked around desperately, realizing that despite the time remaining, their strength was failing.

“Everyone, move to the left!”

Gladiator No. 1 issued this order as a last-ditch effort to use the city as a defensive line, blocking rear attacks.

This would force them to defend only one side, neutralizing Beomseok’s free-roll attacks. However, it also presented a significant problem: they had to withstand Avond’s relentless offensive. Failure meant being pushed into the city and defeated instantly.

‘But then we can go with the jumping strategy.’

The essential qualities of a leader were operational ability, survival skills, and speed. A gladiator possessing these traits was difficult to defeat.

Such a leader could quickly assess the situation, issue effective orders, maintain a strategic advantage, and survive surprise attacks. Moreover, they could stall for time, making victory difficult for the opponent.

Merjan’s leader possessed these abilities, particularly speed, rivaling Avond’s leader, Agelia. This naturally led to overconfidence.

“Okay, everyone. Form a defensive line!”

The Merjan gladiators, with the city at their backs, raised their swords and shields, bracing for Avond’s attack.

Seeing this, Beomseok joined the formation and paused the attack, recognizing the opponent’s intentions. Having reviewed the data and fought them before, he knew Merjan’s Gladiator No. 1 was fast.

‘They’re planning a defensive line, ready to play free-roll if needed.’

Defensive lines in gladiator matches varied, but at the Lima City Colosseum, they typically involved using either the city or the arena’s outer wall. The outer wall was preferable, eliminating the need to retreat and simplifying formation maintenance. However, deliberately positioning the city behind them suggested a “jumping strategy” [a tactic where gladiators jump over the city walls to flank or escape].

Using the arena’s outer wall would force the leader to risk breaking through the opponent’s encirclement.

‘Tsk. This is troublesome. I need to prepare.’

He subtly retreated to secure support, intending to intercept any flanking attempts. While catching Gladiator No. 1 would be difficult, he aimed to eliminate supporting jumpers. He could also move to the other side of the city to block them, but that would weaken their ability to break through the defensive line.

Beomseok explained Merjan’s strategy and ordered an immediate attack. They had no choice but to engage.

“Okay. Charge!”

The Avond gladiators surged forward, colliding with Merjan’s formation, causing it to waver.

Despite their resistance, they couldn’t halt Avond’s advance. Gladiator No. 1 glanced back nervously, realizing she would soon need to execute the jumping strategy. As they were pushed back to knee-deep water, she shouted:

“Okay. Back two rows, scatter!”

Five gladiators, excluding the front three, abandoned their shields and ran across the city. While a coordinated jump would be ideal, it would expose the front line. Blocking the rear ensured a safer escape.

“I won’t let you!”

Gladiator No. 10, jumping across the city, looked back in horror. Beomseok pursued her in the air, spear raised.

Without a shield and mid-jump, Gladiator No. 10 couldn’t defend herself. She was struck in the back and fell to the ground, rolling.

But it didn’t end there. Beomseok landed where Gladiator No. 5 was about to land and swung his spear.

“Kkyaaaak!”

Having eliminated two gladiators, Beomseok glared at Gladiators No. 7, No. 1, and No. 15, who were fleeing. Although only three remained, chasing them would be difficult.

He worried about a repeat of the previous match’s draw in the 5th round. However, their forces were intact, simplifying encirclement.

He grabbed his spear and chased Gladiator No. 15, the slowest. The heavy spear restricted movement, but its throwing capability was invaluable.

“Now, let’s help Master catch Merjan’s jumpers!”

With the three Merjan gladiators in charge of the Avond main camp defeated, Seiya began forming an encirclement around Gladiator No. 7.

Catching Gladiator No. 1 first would be more efficient, but Gladiator No. 7 could surprise Agelia from behind. With ample time remaining, safety was the priority.

‘This plan has completely gone awry.’

Gladiator No. 1, having crossed to the opposite side, frowned. Beomseok’s elimination of Gladiators No. 10 and No. 5 had ruined the strategy. Gladiators No. 15 and No. 7 couldn’t stall as long as needed.

She leaned against the arena’s outer wall, conserving stamina. But not for long.

Soon, Beomseok’s spear struck Gladiator No. 15 in the back, and Gladiator No. 7 was trapped by the remaining Avond gladiators, including Rebecca, and incapacitated.

“Okay. Shall we go catch the leader?”

Beomseok, gritting his teeth, gripped his spear and approached Gladiator No. 1. He hated unnecessary running in gladiator matches. While Agelia’s recruitment addressed this, he was annoyed that the opponent used the same strategy.

He slowly formed an encirclement, pressuring Gladiator No. 1.

– End of the match! Round 1, Avond wins!

Waaaaaa! Waaaaaa!

“I knew you guys would win!”

“Well done, Avond! Today’s game is as good as won!”

The Avond gladiators, having defeated Gladiator No. 1 with three minutes left, returned to the dugout in high spirits. Rebecca was particularly elated, unable to suppress her smile.

She had incapacitated Gladiators No. 12 and No. 7. While Gladiator No. 7 was defeated through a joint attack, she felt relieved after her taunts.

“Oh Beomseok. Come here.”

As Beomseok entered the dugout, Clark called him. He placed his armor and helmet down and approached the coach.

“What’s the matter?”

Clark spoke, looking at the arena.

“Rebecca defeated Gladiator No. 12 alone.”

“Yes. She realized how to draw out her inherent power.”

“Gladiator No. 12 is a key member of Merjan. Even with Rebecca’s improvement, she shouldn’t have won so easily, right?”

“Maybe she got lucky. A stray stone might have hit her.”

Clark stared intently.

“You know that delayed the attack on the main camp, right?”

Beomseok nodded, admitting his distraction during the duel.

“Yes. I know.”

“Make sure that doesn’t happen again. The team’s victory comes first.”

“I know, but today it was necessary to help Rebecca regain her inherent power.”

Clark sighed. Beomseok’s personal tendencies were problematic.

He often disrupted the game strategy for strange reasons. When Gladiator No. 12 fell, Avond should have had Beomseok directly confront her or send in multiple gladiators.

Putting Rebecca in alone was risky.

“Hoo~ Anyway, be careful next time.”

“Yes. I understand.”

Clark looked at the team and then back at Beomseok. He knew Beomseok could recognize and draw out a gladiator’s original power, like with Rebecca, and he needed to leverage that.

The World Cup wasn’t over, and they needed to improve. They were good, but not good enough for the finals.

“Do we have any gladiators on our national team in a similar situation to Rebecca?”

Beomseok thought of one person and nodded. She wasn’t playing today, but there was one: Eirene. She had a trait that only activated when it benefited her.

“Yes. There is one person, but…….”

“Who is it?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why?”

“We Gods Knights also have recruitment strategies.”

Clark thought of one person. Beomseok’s mention of recruitment suggested a gladiator from another team, and he suspected Eirene, a Dragon Knights gladiator whose basic stats had greatly increased for the World Cup.

She was unreliable and benched due to her team’s request, but Clark was surprised by her recent training.

“Is it Eirene?”

“Well. I can’t tell you.”

Clark, now certain, pressed on.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“You’ll find out when the season is over. I’ll be going now…….”

Clark smiled strangely. Recruiting Eirene after the season would solve everything.

Eirene’s team, Dragon Knights, was at the bottom of the league and likely to be relegated. Lacking funds, they would sell gladiators, and Beomseok was clearly targeting this.

It was unfortunate that Dragon Knights, helpful to the Avond national team, might be relegated, but it was better for Gods Knights to absorb Eirene than for her to harass the Avond national team as an enemy.

‘Hehe. Good. The Avond national team’s heyday is coming. We must win when that guy is there.’

Although Dragon Knights might be relegated, Clark was optimistic. Gods Knights was growing, and Bluebird, a new dark horse team, was emerging. He believed a national team composed of these teams could challenge for the World Cup championship.

The victory in the 6th game of the 3rd World Cup qualifier went to Avond. Both teams sent out their main players for three rounds, and thanks to Beomseok’s performance, they won all rounds. The Avond national team could now prepare for the World Cup qualifiers with a more relaxed mindset.

============================ Work Review ============================

Hahaha. Ligeunus is said to be coming back soon. To be honest, I was shocked to learn that Ligeunus was addicted to Diablo. Fortunately, he said that he was too busy to write recently. Hahaha.

Speaking of which, the person who motivated me to start writing was Ligeunus. Until then, I was just a reader who enjoyed genre novels, but I fell in love with the Age of Exploration written by him, and then King Pan World came out, writing in my spare time.

Hahaha. Then now I’m writing Perfect World too. Anyway, he’s a great person. You won’t regret it if you see it once.

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