Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 398

400

– Peeeeeep!

At the sound of the whistle, Beom-seok, who had been staring at Amelie in the middle of the Chaplin Whisper formation, dashed forward fiercely. As if waiting for this, four tentacles flew in, drawing bizarre trajectories in the air. Already anticipating this, Beom-seok crossed the twin swords in his hands, deflecting only two of the whips, and then stomped his feet to jump with all his might.

He thought Shaila and Nikita could handle the rest, so he was trying to force a breakthrough even if it was a bit much.

“Master! Keep going!”

“Beom-seok! You must break through!”

Beom-seok felt relieved at Nikita and Shaila’s voices still reaching him. He knew they were safe even though he had let two whips through. In fact, if Nikita and Shaila hadn’t stopped them, he would have had to stop there and endure the dazzling whips that followed.

However, despite their efforts, approaching was not easy. Amelie was adding new curves to the whips that had been deflected, continuously sending the tips towards Beom-seok, and as he approached, the Chaplin Whisper gladiators were retreating, widening the distance.

‘Damn it. Amelie’s whips are still too much.’

Beom-seok frowned as he continuously swung his swords. He felt a twinge of fear at the overwhelming power of the whips that seemed to dominate his surroundings. Still, the good news was that the recoil transmitted when blocking the whips was much less than before.

It was all thanks to the rapid increase in physical abilities everyone had achieved. Beom-seok advanced towards the Chaplin Whisper gladiators, albeit with some difficulty.

“Beom-seok is coming! Everyone, stay focused!”

Amelie, shouting roughly to her comrades, bit her lip tightly. The initial rush of the God Knights was tearing through the whip defense she, Ionis, and Landra were deploying. This was the first time since Zakid’s Dark Hyenas that this had happened. Even last year’s strongest team, the Ancient Warriors, couldn’t approach this easily.

‘If the vanguard of the God Knights, including Beom-seok, approach like this, it’s a big problem. We might be defeated.’

Although Chaplin Whisper had superior power compared to the God Knights, gladiatorial combat was a battle of momentum. If their rush succeeded while they were retreating to widen the distance, there was a possibility that their formation would collapse.

Then the God Knights, riding the momentum of the rush, would surge forward, and Chaplin Whisper could be caught up in it and suffer a setback. She thought it would be better to face them head-on and suppress them with force.

In an instant, one side of Amelie’s lip curled up. It was tough, but it was also very fun.

In her days as a legend, the opposing team would fall apart with just one whip, but now it was different. Outstanding gladiators like Beom-seok and Zakid were appearing and pushing her like this.

Although she had returned to active duty for the sake of her master and his family, she would have been greatly disappointed if the same futile matches as in the past had continued.

She soon threw both whips at Beom-seok and drew the transformation swords from the waistbands of Ionis and Landra, who were standing on either side, holding them in both hands.

“Everyone, charge! Destroy the God Knights with all your might!”

In response, Ionis and Landra drew the spare transformation swords from the waists of Yamiya and Hiyas, who were standing behind them, and followed Amelie as she dashed forward.

“Heh heh heh. I’ve been waiting, Amelie!”

“You’ve been waiting? You’ll probably regret meeting me!”

As Beom-seok and Amelie clashed head-on, wielding their twin swords, the gladiators from both teams mixed together and engaged in a fierce battle.

He glanced at Shaila, who was exchanging blows with Yoshia beside him, and then extended his katana towards Amelie with all his might.

“We’ll see about that!”

“Indeed. We’ll find out soon enough!”

Beom-seok smirked and spun around, continuously swinging his twin swords at Amelie. Amelie, who had been waiting, blocked the attacks with her transformation swords in turn and attempted a shoulder charge. He twisted his right ankle sharply to change direction and then slammed down hard on Amelie’s back as she passed by.

With a thud, she staggered and steadied herself by placing her right hand on the ground, then launched a low kick at Beom-seok’s knee. It was to avoid the following critical blow.

‘Tch. She’s not easily defeated.’

Beom-seok clicked his tongue in disappointment as he retreated, having attempted an attack. Amelie’s martial arts skills were also extraordinary.

She was overcoming the crisis by immediately launching a kick even in a state of imbalance. It was impossible to cut down such an opponent easily. Perhaps, in order to defeat her, he would have to spend a long time stealing her timing rather than going for a one-shot victory.

He immediately faced Amelie, who was quickly getting up, and clashed swords with her.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Loud metallic sounds erupted from all directions. The fight, which had started with the clash of the vanguards, turned into a free-for-all, creating a situation where it was difficult to predict the outcome.

The head-on confrontation of the World League gladiators, all yearning for victory. The fans watching from afar stood up without exception, gripping their hands tightly and focusing on the match. They knew that the winner of this fight would take this round.

“What the heck is going on? Were the God Knights that strong?”

“No way. Our team is in a close fight? This rarely happens.”

“Is it because Oh Beom-seok is included?”

The audience’s question about this close fight was attributed to Beom-seok. He had not only broken through Chaplin Whisper’s whip attacks but was also pushing Amelie, who was ranked number one in the world, hard, leading the fight in a favorable direction. And this was spreading to the other gladiators following the two, creating a strange atmosphere.

The Chaplin Whisper gladiators were gripped by anxiety as their mental pillar, Amelie, was struggling. No matter how superior Chaplin Whisper’s power was, if she fell early, the outcome of the match could not be guaranteed.

If Amelie fell, there would be no one to stop him.

Contrary to the fans’ concerns, Beom-seok, who was in the lead, was not at ease. It was because Amelie was not giving her all.

She had drawn her ultimate weapon, the twin swords, but had not yet unleashed her ultimate move. It was the ‘Dual Tornado Impact Blade’ that she had shown Zakid just before.

It was a technique that unleashed extreme rotational force on both transformation swords, and it was so unpredictable and bizarre that it was not easy to deal with. And decisively, Beom-seok had never directly witnessed it.

“Amelie. Why aren’t you using your ultimate move? Do you think I’m that easy? Or are you testing whether I’m an opponent worth using your full power against?”

Amelie, who was deflecting his sword strikes and retreating, gave a faint smile. She had been caught gauging Beom-seok’s skills.

The ‘Dual Tornado Impact Blade’ was powerful, but it consumed so much stamina that it affected the next match. Moreover, gladiatorial combat required up to five rounds in one match, so she often ended up bedridden for several days afterward.

Naturally, she didn’t want to use it unless Beom-seok was really a gladiator of the same level as Zakid. So far, Chaplin Whisper had only recorded one draw, and that was in the match immediately after the battle with Dark Hyenas, which Zakid belonged to.

At that time, Amelie was lying in bed due to the aftereffects of using the ‘Dual Tornado Impact Blade’.

“Well, I wonder?”

Beom-seok, who lightly struck the transformation sword she extended to change its trajectory, glared at her with intense energy in his eyes.

“I don’t know why, but if you don’t use it, you’ll be defeated by me.”

Amelie nodded obediently. She felt the same way as Beom-seok. He wasn’t the type to unleash strong sword strikes like Zakid, but his technical perfection was so high that it made one wonder if he was even human. At this rate, she thought she would be defeated sooner or later.

“I guess so. But you’ll have to be prepared.”

“That’s not your concern.”

“Then fine. I have no choice.”

Amelie smirked and began to unleash the ‘Dual Tornado Impact Blade’, rotating her body nimbly. Soon, dust rose around her due to the dazzling steps and sword wind, and soon it became a hazy smoke, wrapping around her swordplay and body.

Seeing this, Beom-seok focused his mind and watched Amelie’s movements. The rotation of the sword had bizarre changes added to it, and he couldn’t figure out how to deal with it.

‘Tch. No wonder Zakid struggled. It’s no joke.’

The storm of bizarre transformation swords swept towards Beom-seok, who had taken a defensive stance. Beom-seok retreated continuously, deflecting the approaching sword strikes and assessing the situation.

It was a more unpredictable attack than any swordsmanship he had experienced so far, so he couldn’t easily find a timing to counterattack. For now, it was better to endure and adapt to Amelie’s technique.

However, his intention was not easily achieved. The more he deflected her sword, the more speed it gained, pouring down on Beom-seok’s entire body.

‘Ugh. Truly living up to its reputation. No wonder Mr. Zakid struggles whenever he meets Amelie. So this is it.’

Beom-seok, realizing that he couldn’t go on like this, stopped defending and switched to offense. It was a rather dangerous attempt, but he had no choice.

He realized that if he was intimidated by Amelie’s dazzling attacks and became timid, he would be pushed back endlessly. Since she was pouring out stronger attacks using the recoil from blocking, defense was not the answer.

Well, since he came to this place as a challenger anyway, he thought it would be better to face it with constant fighting spirit, even if he was defeated.

Clang. Clang clang. Clang. Clang clang.

Explosions erupted one after another. Every time a collision occurred, red metal fragments flew in all directions, hitting the face shield.

Beom-seok deflected the transformation sword that was being swung down in a bizarre shape, creating a sonic boom, and then leaned his upper body greatly to the side to avoid the subsequent facial attack. Then, he threw his body into the storm that Amelie had created with all his might and swung his sword with nimble movements.

Several collisions followed. Amelie’s eyes trembled as she received Beom-seok’s offensive head-on. She had never seen anyone rush in so recklessly while facing her ultimate move for the first time. Zakid had only managed to launch sword strikes at her after several battles.

‘Is it because of the twin swords? No. If it’s because of the twin swords, then the twin swordsman should be the strongest gladiator. There’s something I can’t understand about Beom-seok.’

As she thought, Beom-seok was gradually getting used to the ‘Dual Tornado Impact Blade’. At first, he created some dangerous situations, but soon he adapted and pushed harder, unleashing skillful attacks. If time continued to pass like this, her ultimate move would soon be broken without a doubt.

But she couldn’t lose to him yet. No, she shouldn’t lose to him in the future either. Only then could she display the glory of the Chaplin family, in which her master was involved, in this Colosseum. She stiffened her trembling muscles and began to unleash the ‘Dual Tornado Impact Blade’ even faster.

“Come on! I will definitely defeat you and defend my position as the strongest!”

Beom-seok, who had avoided the transformation sword with extreme rotation, twisted his waist sharply and landed a sword strike on her face. However, Amelie avoided the trajectory with quick movements, and then forcefully extended the sword in her other hand, aiming for his abdomen. Because they were so close, Beom-seok, who had no choice but to block with the sword’s surface, ended up stepping back due to the fierce linear attack of the following transformation sword.

Retreating was the only way to avoid her sword.

Beom-seok glared at Amelie, ready to rush in again.

“Funny you should say that! I’m the one who will become the strongest gladiator!”

The moment he shouted bravely and ran out, a scream was heard from behind Beom-seok. Jermia, a mid-level gladiator, had been defeated while facing Millia. So now the power ratio on both sides was 12 to 11. It was a very worrying situation.

Moreover, it was obvious that Millia, who had no one to face, would rush at him. If she defeated him, this round would be as good as over.

“Amelie, I’ll support you!”

Amelie welcomed Millia, although she didn’t like fighting her rival Beom-seok in a 2-on-1 situation. It was more important to put the team in the position of World League champion for the sake of her master than to defeat him fairly. Besides, she didn’t have to use the ‘Dual Tornado Impact Blade’, which was putting a lot of strain on her body.

“You’ve come at the right time! Quickly strike Beom-seok from behind!”

Beom-seok frowned, thinking that his prediction was correct. Fighting Amelie and one other person was a big burden for him. Beom-seok quickly moved to the side and gave Millia a look of warning. If he turned his back to her, even he would be defeated without a good solution. There were no eyes on his back.

“Come on! Come!”

Amelie and Millia rushed at him at the same time. Beom-seok deflected the continuously pouring sword strikes in succession and slightly revealed a weakness to Millia. He intended to lure her in and defeat her in one fell swoop.

At this time, Amelie blocked Millia, who was rushing in, and shouted.

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

The Mokdong Ghost topped the Naver search rankings, so I watched it, and it’s no joke. I was a little surprised. It seems like a manipulation, but I’m curious how they made it. Hahaha.

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