Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 368

370

“So, it’s finally happening.”

As Bumseok predicted, Chaos Hills dispatched Gladiators No. 4, No. 2, and No. 7 as their key players. All of them were highly skilled Guardian Gladiators. They moved to block Bumseok and Liza, gradually widening the gap between them to form an encirclement.

Liza stood behind Bumseok, her long spear held horizontally at her waist.

“What should we do? Should I take on Gladiator No. 2?”

Among the three, Gladiator No. 2 was considered the strongest. After reviewing their data, they estimated her skill to be nearly on par with Liza. If she fought her, Liza might be defeated.

“You can fight anyone except No. 2.”

Liza looked at Gladiator No. 7, who was positioned directly in front of her, and said,

“Then I’ll take on Gladiator No. 7. I should be able to subdue that one quickly and go help you, Master.”

“Heh heh. Faster than me? Is that even possible?”

She slightly narrowed her brows. She couldn’t possibly be unaware that he was underestimating her.

“Of course. Do you think I can’t take down one while you’re fighting two?”

“Really? Then shall we bet on who finishes first?”

“Okay. What kind of bet do you want to make?”

“How about you serve me tonight?”

Liza, imagining a suggestive scene, blushed. But not disliking it, she nodded in agreement.

“Ah, okay. But no changing your mind later.”

“Don’t you change your mind. Let’s start.”

At the same time, Bumseok and Liza turned their backs to each other and rushed towards their assigned gladiators. Whether they won or lost, a pleasant night was anticipated, but winning was preferable.

“Here I go!”

Without any hesitation, Bumseok swung his spear in a wide arc towards Gladiator No. 4. His intention was to prevent him from getting close. Long spears were effective at long range but vulnerable in close combat, so maintaining distance was best.

He stirred his spear, forcefully striking the ground beneath Gladiator No. 4’s feet, and using the recoil, he deeply thrust the spearhead towards the face of Gladiator No. 2, who was approaching.

Whoosh. Spear. Bang!

Gladiator No. 2 barely deflected the sudden attack and moved in. In response, Bumseok grabbed the middle of the spear and twisted his body, drawing a long, semi-circular arc in the air.

“How dare you come close!”

Gladiators No. 2 and No. 4, pushed out of the spear’s range, pressed their bodies together and launched a simultaneous joint attack. However, they couldn’t even think of approaching the spear tip that was being wielded in a figure-eight pattern. The slashing and stabbing attacks they fired while quickly moving backward were quite burdensome.

Soon, numerous scratch marks appeared on the shields they held in front, and their unique radiance faded.

Gladiator No. 2, dodging a long, sweeping crescent blade by ducking her head, shouted loudly to Gladiator No. 4.

“Spears are weak in close combat, so if we just get close, we’ll win! If you find an opening, charge right in!”

Hearing this, Bumseok wore a strange expression. He didn’t particularly deny Gladiator No. 2’s words, but he wasn’t particularly afraid of close combat either. It was a bit difficult, but he was confident he could subdue them even if they got close.

‘Hooh. So you want close combat? Fine. I’ll give you the chance.’

Bumseok stopped rotating the spear tip, allowing them to approach. Thanks to this, Gladiators No. 2 and No. 4 seized the opportunity and simultaneously charged in, unleashing their swords at him.

A spectacle of swords filled his vision. However, they only left afterimages in the air and never touched Bumseok’s body. This was because he was skillfully striking the hands holding the swords with the spear shaft, altering their trajectories.

Bumseok then stepped back, planted the spear tip on the ground, and leaped over their heads as if performing a pole vault.

“Here. Take this!”

Gladiators No. 2 and No. 4 ducked to avoid the spear tip drawing a long arc overhead and quickly turned their bodies backward. They anticipated a spear attack with a long range. However, Bumseok, who had landed on the ground, chose to approach instead of attacking. He intended to show them that his spearmanship was not at all weak in close combat.

He soon plunged between Gladiators No. 2 and No. 4, weaving the spear in a zigzag pattern to pressure them. Then, he forcefully kicked the shield of Gladiator No. 4, who was wearing a troubled expression, and struck Gladiator No. 2 in the face with the short-held spear.

Bang!

Bumseok’s spear, blocked by the shield without fail, was spun in the air. He quickly brushed past Gladiator No. 2, put the spear tip under her crotch to trip her, and then, with his head pinned between the arms holding the spear shaft, he performed a relaxed drawing sword technique with his remaining hand.

With a thud, Gladiator No. 2, struck in the waist, fell to the ground with an incredulous expression. She never imagined she would be defeated so absurdly in the close combat she had so desperately wanted.

She shook her head one last time towards Gladiator No. 4, who had come to her rescue too late, and stiffened her body. She could fully sense that she was no match for Bumseok alone.

“Hyaat!”

Bumseok frowned at Gladiator No. 4’s flustered sword attack and stepped back. Perhaps because he had overexerted himself in the process of defeating Gladiator No. 2, a strange sensation of water was flowing down his back. It felt completely different from sweat and looked like a stream of blood.

‘Tch. It seems like there’s a problem with the stitched wound.’

If so, he had to end the match quickly. Thanks to the painkillers, he didn’t feel any pain, but if blood dripped onto the floor, the match would be immediately stopped and he would be replaced. Then he would never be able to participate in today’s match again and would have to ask the god of luck about his World League promotion.

‘That can’t happen. I’m ending today’s match!’

Bumseok glanced at Liza’s battle situation. If she missed Gladiator No. 7, his back could be in danger. However, she seemed determined to win and was actively pushing Gladiator No. 7, creating a good atmosphere. If so, he could now focus on Gladiator No. 4. Bumseok kicked off the ground forcefully and continuously stabbed his spear at her.

“You will never defeat me!”

Gladiator No. 4 struggled to endure his fierce offensive. She was well aware that her team would lose the moment she fell. If Bumseok left this place and headed to the main camp, it was all too clear how this round would go.

However, Bumseok felt the same way. If he dragged on any longer, he would be replaced, and the team atmosphere could plummet. He had to quickly lay the foundation for victory.

“Don’t be ridiculous! Do you think you alone can stop me!”

He struck Gladiator No. 4’s shield with the sword in his left hand and simultaneously swung his spear forcefully. However, the successive attacks were blocked by her sword and only left deep scars on the ground. But without giving up, Bumseok immediately gripped the spear in reverse and threw it towards Gladiator No. 4’s face. Then, as she was flusteredly dodging, he swung the katana [a type of Japanese sword] held in both hands fiercely towards her waist.

With a dull shield sound, Gladiator No. 4 staggered and swung her sword at Bumseok, who was rushing at her again. In response, he smiled widely and charged inside.

Because the sword attack was launched from an unstable posture, there were gaps everywhere. Bumseok soon grabbed her right arm holding the sword with both hands and slammed it down to the ground. Then, he slit the throat of Gladiator No. 4, who was collapsing and raising dust, and let out a sigh of relief.

With this, the power ratio between the two teams was 12 to 10. It could be said that he had laid the foundation for victory.

Wow! Wow!

Hearing the cheers of the audience echoing through the stadium, Bumseok rose from his seat. He frowned as he saw Liza approaching with a faint smile. He sensed that she had defeated Gladiator No. 7 before him.

Although Gladiator No. 7 was the weakest of them all, he didn’t expect her to be so easily defeated by Liza while holding a sword and shield.

“Tch. We need a video review of this.”

“It’s pointless to review. I watched Master’s over-the-shoulder throw in a relaxed state.”

Bumseok bit his lip. He couldn’t argue because she said it so confidently. It was better to take comfort in the fact that there was one less opponent now and focus on the match.

“Tsk. Fine. Let’s say you’re right. Now, let’s go to the main camp.”

“Of course. We need to end today’s match quickly.”

As Bumseok dashed towards the main camp, Liza followed behind him with a satisfied expression. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how to make Bumseok work for her tonight.

Meanwhile, the Chaos Hills’ main camp was rapidly losing morale and being pushed back by the Gods Knights gladiators. They could see that all three key players had fallen to Bumseok and Liza. The power ratio between the two teams was now 12 to 9. They could feel that the situation was almost tilted.

However, unable to give up, Gladiator No. 1 shouted to everyone.

“It’s tough, but everyone, cheer up! The World League is right in front of us! Don’t you feel wronged after coming this far!”

However, even with Gladiator No. 1’s efforts, the team atmosphere did not improve. In fact, some were even slightly tearful and almost gave up on the match. They were simply too wronged.

In fact, Chaos Hills, who had reached the semi-finals, had estimated their chances of advancing to the World League at over 70%. They thought they could compete with the Snow Girls, who they faced in the semi-finals, and even if they lost, they believed they could pass the 3rd and 4th place match. However, these rosy prospects were all shattered by an unexpected incident.

Ironically, Bumseok’s injury was the cause.

The team they had predicted to face today was the Faeon Rangers. They specialized in bows, so they were no match for their team, which specialized in shields. However, in the semi-finals, the Faeon Rangers won against the Gods Knights, who were missing Bumseok due to an accident, and advanced to the finals.

Thanks to this, they were facing the Gods Knights, known as the strongest in this tournament, in today’s 3rd and 4th place match, and were in this situation today. If there was a god of fate, they felt like raising their voices and questioning him.

“Now is the time! Let’s wrap up the match here!”

Seiya, noticing Chaos Hills’ weakness, ordered everyone to charge. They were shocked by the annihilation of the key players and were losing focus and disrupting their formation. Now, it seemed possible to break through the formation and induce a melee.

Soon, the Gods Knights gladiators pushed the Chaos Hills gladiators all the way to the outside of the iron bridge.

“Please, everyone, maintain density!”

“The vanguard, charge inside!”

Seiya and Gladiator No. 1’s shouts were intersecting. Bumseok, who had arrived at the battlefield between the main camps, forcefully struck his spear down towards the center of the Chaos Hills formation without any hesitation.

Thanks to this, Gladiator No. 12, who blocked with her shield from the front, was knocked backward, and the side of the formation was dented. Liza, who was charging through the gap, body-checked Gladiator No. 6’s shield forcefully and swung her sword at Gladiator No. 9 with fierce momentum.

Following this, Sheila and the Gods Knights vanguard, who were charging from the front, knocked some of the Chaos Hills gladiators out.

“That’s it! Now is the time! Mid-tiers! Take out the separated Chaos Hills gladiators!”

Bumseok swung his spear greatly as he watched the mid-tiers rush towards the Chaos Hills gladiators who had been separated from the main camp. It was to block the opponent’s rescue.

“Now it’s over! It’s our victory!”

Bumseok unabashedly uttered words guaranteeing victory. The mid-tiers were steadily reducing the number of Chaos Hills gladiators, and thanks to himself and the vanguard, the opponent’s main camp was crumbling like sand.

Excited, he powerfully extended his spear and attacked Gladiator No. 1. If he blocked her orders, Chaos Hills would never recover their organization.

“Hyaat!”

Sheila’s greatsword flew directly towards Gladiator No. 1’s face. She barely dodged it, so it didn’t end in vain, but it wasn’t without effect. The dirt scattered by the heavy sword digging into the ground splattered on Gladiator No. 1’s face shield, and Jeremia used this gap to slash her waist.

– Bleeep! Match over!

At the referee’s shout that spread through the stadium via the in-house broadcast, the audience, who had been holding their breath, jumped up from their seats. This was because the Gods Knights had won today’s match by taking the 4th round. This meant that the cheering team would advance to the World League, and the fans were in a frenzy, turning the stands into a festival.

“Well done, Gods Knights! Now it’s the World League!”

“A World League team is coming out of our Rima City! It’s the best day of my life! Thank you!”

Excited by the celebrations erupting from all directions, Sheila took off her suit jacket and roamed the stadium. It was a scandalous scene that could make people frown, but the audience didn’t care and sent enthusiastic cheers, applauding her unexpected behavior.

Bumseok was just as happy. He decided to deviate from his routine for today only and threw off his top. Then all the cameras in the stadium turned to Bumseok. This was because the back of his running shirt was soaked in blood. The World League advancement earned through a fighting spirit despite injury. It was a scene that would be enough to decorate the front page of today’s sports media.

Bumseok waved his hand at the camera flashes erupting from all directions and ran around the stadium with his teammates.

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

I finally finished it. Ah. I don’t know why I’m so busy every weekend. I should postpone preparing for the new work and build up a stockpile first.

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