Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 396

398

Gods Knights had climbed to 7th place in the league standings with a record of 6 wins, 5 draws, and 1 loss through the 12th match. Maintaining this ranking would earn Bum-suk a bonus from Chaplin Electronics, their main sponsor, so he was determined to secure that 7th place.

Although the bonus, combined with the 500 million Krang paid for remaining in the World League, totaled 600 million Krang [Krang is the fictional currency in this world], this sum would significantly aid in recruiting talented gladiators, contributing to a higher ranking next season.

However, maintaining 7th place required overcoming several obstacles, and today’s match against the Chaplin Whisper team was one of them.

“Ugh. Feels like I’m back home.”

Bum-suk stretched expansively upon arriving at the Xeon City Colosseum, Chaplin Whisper’s home arena. Xeon City was about 20 minutes south of Lima City. Thanks to the minimal time difference and short travel distance, it felt like being at home.

This meant it was a physically comfortable place. However, the fans filling the stands were not. Most were loyal supporters who depended on the Chaplin Group for their livelihoods, and he knew he had to be prepared for biased cheering today.

‘Well, they can’t be worse than the extreme fans of Lima City.’

Lima City’s sports fans had long been known for their aggressive behavior. It was common for them to start group fights at the stadium, and their cheering was notoriously rough and noisy. This fervor often extended to away games, greatly benefiting Gods Knights.

Especially since Xeon City was so close and the time difference negligible, many Lima City gladiator fans were expected to attend.

Bum-suk, walking towards the staff entrance, suddenly noticed Diana. She looked very worried, maintaining a serious expression in silence. The prospect of earning points against Chaplin Whisper seemed daunting to her.

He approached Diana and said with a bright smile, “Diana, don’t worry. Everything will be alright.”

Diana shook her head. Chaplin Whisper was not a team that Gods Knights could defeat even at their full strength.

“I wish it were, but the difference in power is too great. Not only Amelie, but the rest of their gladiator lineup is also formidable.”

Bum-suk clicked his tongue, feigning concern. Diana’s words were absolutely correct.

Currently, Chaplin Whisper’s lineup included S1-level Amelie, as well as W0-level Yosia, Avis, Zaira, Millia, and Salivia [S1 and W0 are gladiator ranking levels]. In addition, there were W1-level Ionis, Landra, Yamiya, Hiyas, and Emirees, and a significant number of W2-level gladiators including Kaneroa and Meiya. It was fortunate that two of the W0-level gladiators were in the rear; otherwise, they would have faced considerable difficulties if they had been in the vanguard or mid-tier.

“Well, that’s true. But Chaplin Whisper recently reinforced their rear, so they couldn’t recruit many gladiators for the vanguard or mid-tier.”

“That’s why it’s more of a problem. Until now, Chaplin Whisper’s weakness was their weak rear, but they completely compensated for this with the acquisition of Avis, Ignes, and Zaira last season. It means there’s no angle for us to attack anymore.”

Indeed, until last year, the way to defeat Chaplin Whisper was obvious: attack the rear by surprise and capture the leader. However, they had perfectly compensated for this last year and had now transformed into a flawless team.

Currently, Chaplin Whisper was running first in the league with a record of 11 wins, 1 draw, and 0 losses through the 12th match. The fact that they had no losses meant that their leader’s survival rate had greatly increased.

“Hahaha. Isn’t there any way? There’s no such thing as a perfect being in the world.”

“Of course, Chaplin Whisper isn’t perfect either. It’s just that it’s too difficult to win; that’s the problem.”

Bum-suk glanced at Diana. Although she spoke confidently, he couldn’t identify any weaknesses in Chaplin Whisper either. So he couldn’t help but pay attention to her words that there was a difficult but possible path to victory.

“There’s a way to win? What is it?”

“Um. It’s to catch Amelie early on.”

Bum-suk let out a sigh, as if he was dumbfounded. The first thing he had ruled out among the possibilities of winning today was eliminating Amelie.

She hid securely in the base and used her twin whips to disrupt the opponent’s formation, so she rarely came out. To defeat her first, they had to penetrate the opponent’s formation through a charge, but that would lead to complete annihilation.

The difference in power between the two teams was that great.

“Hey. Is that even a realistic thing to say? How can we go in first?”

“But we can’t adopt a phalanx [a close-ranked and file formation] or circular formation anyway. That means we can’t go into a defensive stance.”

The most difficult thing about facing Chaplin Whisper was that if they formed a phalanx for defense, they would be defeated without fail. This was because the shields were almost useless against the four whips wielded by Amelie, Ionis, and Landra.

It was difficult to block the powerful whipping with accelerated rotational force with a shield, and decisively, the legs or necks of the defending team’s gladiators were invariably tied and dragged out by the tips of the whips that penetrated the gaps. In addition, phalanxes and circular formations were slow in movement speed and direction changes, so it was difficult to run away. Therefore, most teams generally formed a crane wing formation and were busy avoiding attacks.

“That’s true. But you know that the only draw Chaplin Whisper has recorded this year was in a match where Amelie was absent, right? In fact, it’s not like our team is the only one who has thought like you. A significant number of teams went in to catch Amelie, thinking they had nothing to lose, and were miserably defeated. This is also the case with Dark Hyenas, which has Zakiid. You know that Dark Hyenas is slightly superior to our Gods Knights in terms of power, and their breakthrough ability is the best in the world because of Zakiid, right?”

That was right. As soon as the opponent attempted a breakthrough, Amelie would put down her whips and draw the modified swords from the waists of Ionis and Landra, who were standing on either side, transforming into a dual swordsman. Then, she would show close combat befitting her reputation as the strongest, and there was no countermeasure for this.

“That’s why I said it would be difficult at first. But it’s not like there’s no possibility at all. If the master defeats her early on, we can lead to a victory or a draw if we do well. And I’ve been thinking about it on the way here, and it seems like there’s no point in trying other strategies. We’ll probably be swayed by Chaplin Whisper throughout the match and end up losing in the end. Our team members are fast, but they’re not effective either.”

Bum-suk readily admitted to her words. No matter how fast Gods Knights was known to be, that was before the World League.

The teams they were facing now all had elves with perfect bodies working as gladiators. Moreover, it was an undeniable fact that the fleeing side was more disadvantaged than the chasing side.

When turning a corner, the chaser could choose a shorter straight path, allowing for a faster pursuit.

“Sigh~ That’s true.”

“Yes. But the best result we can get when running away is a draw. And to achieve a draw today, we have to tie all five rounds. Of course, it may seem possible at first glance, but in fact, this is almost impossible. Even if we estimate the probability of a draw per round at 50%, the probability of getting 1 point today is only 3%. And you know what our team’s second string is like, right?”

That was also a problem. Their second string boasted power equivalent to the lower ranks of the World League. This was because the majority were still growing prospects. They would improve in the second half of the season or next year, but no matter how he looked at it, it was difficult to expect them to get good results against Chaplin Whisper’s second string right now.

“That’s the problem. No matter how well the main force does, the game is over if the second string messes up.”

“Yes. That’s right. But if we organize our vanguard well, it’s at the world’s strongest level. We can break through and eliminate Amelie.”

Bum-suk couldn’t quite understand that point. Gods Knights’ vanguard was Shaila, Oscar, Rapine, Matilda, Violet, Nikita, etc. Considering their power, it was difficult to call them the strongest vanguard. Matilda and Violet fluctuated between C0 and W1, and Oscar and Rapine were posting results between W2 and W1.

“What do you mean? It’s the first time I’ve heard that Gods Knights’ vanguard is at the strongest level?”

“If you include everyone, that’s true, but if you pick just three, it’s a different story. Master, Shaila, and Nikita. These three are a vanguard line that won’t be outdone anywhere.”

Bum-suk pondered over these three and nodded without hesitation. Nikita was a given, but Shaila had also become so strong recently that she was being evaluated as a W0-level gladiator.

This was because she had received swordsmanship training from Bum-suk and had greatly improved physically due to Diana’s overall stat increase and her unique trait. She was an excellent gladiator who was ranked in the early 40s in the world gladiator rankings before falling into a slump due to the clutches of the Black Society.

“Well, Shaila, who has recovered from her slump, is doing well recently.”

Diana, who opened the door to the gladiator waiting room, looked at Bum-suk and said, “So I think it’s better to go for a win early on with a charge. It’s better to fight 멋지게 [meotjige – Korean for ‘coolly’ or ‘impressively’] and lose than to lose anyway, because it can give fans a good image.”

Bum-suk soon decided to accept her opinion. It seemed reckless, but her strategy was not wrong.

“Hmm. Alright. Let’s go for an early rush.”

“Yes. Thank you for understanding.”

After Bum-suk went inside, he sat down comfortably and rested. Diana, who had received permission from him regarding the change in strategy, instructed all the team members on detailed strategies and reorganized their positions. Until then, they had been using the crane wing formation, which was good for movement, but since they had bet all their fate on the charge, the wedge formation was suitable.

Uwaaa! Waaaa!

Even before entering the dugout, the cheers of the fans were deafening. The majority were cheering for the home team, Chaplin Whisper, but there were also voices cheering for Gods Knights.

Bum-suk opened the door to the dugout, put down the equipment he had brought, and sat on the bench. Then, he cast a meaningful gaze towards the opposing team’s dugout, which was visible far in front. The opponent he had to defeat to become the strongest was right there.

‘An early charge…? It’s a bit of a reckless strategy, but it’ll be fun. Hehehe.’

Although he initially opposed it, Bum-suk liked Diana’s strategy. He judged that it was better to decide the outcome through a bold attack, even if they lost, than to run away from a competitor. Getting points was good, but he didn’t like playing it safe.

He soon took out his katana from his equipment bag and began to groom it. Since he could only carry one long spear, it was disadvantageous to block Amelie’s two whips. So today, he prepared two of his favorite katana. To break through the barrier of whips she created, he needed to hold one weapon in each hand.

Ring. Ring.

Bum-suk frowned and looked towards the ringing phone. Now was the time to groom his weapons and concentrate. He couldn’t hate that piercing sound more.

Feeling his gaze, Rebecca, who was taking out her electronic notebook, asked for his understanding.

“I’m sorry. My father suddenly called.”

“Father? What’s the matter?”

“Actually, the final decision on the acquisition of the Black Society company is being made today. So, family and relatives have gathered together since morning and have been meeting until now.”

Bum-suk quickly got up and approached her. If it was such an important matter, he couldn’t help but be interested.

If the Chaplin Group started to acquire the Black Society in earnest, the long and arduous battle with them would come to an end. The Chaplin family’s financial power, which had accumulated wealth over generations, was beyond imagination.

Of course, most of it was invested in bonds and real estate, so the cash flow wasn’t very good, but if they liquidated everything, they could buy all of the Black Society’s companies and still have money left over.

He waited anxiously by her side, eavesdropping on the conversation. And after a while, Rebecca smiled brightly and looked at Bum-suk.

“Bum-suk! It’s done!”

“Done? What’s done?”

“My father just came out of the meeting. They’ve decided to acquire a total of five Black Society companies through hostile M&A [Mergers and Acquisitions].”

Instantly, Bum-suk clenched his fist. He could evaluate that as the best possible result. But it wasn’t time to be sure yet. If they were small companies of insignificant lower-level members, it would be useless.

“Which ones?”

“Maring Pharmaceuticals, Midray Semiconductor, Chaos Distribution, Zeta Investment Securities, and Roland Motors.”

At those words, a broad smile spread across Bum-suk’s face. This was because all the companies she mentioned were core companies that the Black Society boasted about.

In particular, Zeta Investment Securities was a mid-sized securities investment firm that currently served as the Black Society’s cash cow. In fact, the reason why the attack on the Black Society was sluggish was because of this company.

Since the funds raised from the market were used to defend the company, the business community was also struggling greatly.

Bum-suk quickly erased the smile from his face and tilted his head. Zeta Investment Securities was the Black Society’s source of funds, so it was thoroughly defended. Otherwise, it would have been the first company the business community attacked.

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

Oh my, oh my. I heard that the Bank of Korea lowered interest rates while I was briefly distracted by the economy recently. Sigh~ Is the economy that bad? Interest rate cuts are fatal when prices are rising like this. In fact, interest rate cuts are not something that the Bank of Korea lowers to commercial banks with a “get ready, set, go.” If that were the case, commercial banks wouldn’t even bat an eye. An interest rate cut means that the government has spread virtual funds created through bonds to commercial banks.

Of course, as the amount of money in the market increases, prices will rise according to basic economic principles. Just how bad is the economy right now that they’re doing something they know they’ll be criticized for…? Tsk tsk.

Then everyone, have a pleasant day. I’ll see you all again tomorrow.