Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 446

“Heh heh. Good. Now the tables have turned. Prepare yourself, Eurine.”

Beomseok smiled as he looked at Eurine. She was standing back-to-back with Celia, the leader, forming a two-person line.

In this situation, even Eurine wouldn’t last long. He could use the surrounding space to his advantage, employing hit-and-run tactics, but she couldn’t recklessly move away from Celia’s back, confined to a limited space.

If Eurine were to move to avoid his attacks, the Real Heroes’ leader would be immediately incapacitated.

She gritted her teeth and raised her shield. Now Beomseok could fully demonstrate his skills, but she had to fight with a significant penalty. She couldn’t move to protect Celia, and there was Tiela’s sniping.

“Come at me!”

As Beomseok slowly advanced, he heard the screams of Real Heroes gladiators echoing from all directions. It was no exaggeration to say that this first round had already ended in God’s Knights’ victory.

He wore a joyful expression and rushed towards Eurine.

Clang. Crash.

With a long, clear striking sound, an arrow flew towards Eurine’s left. No matter how secure her back was, if Beomseok moved slightly to the side and attacked, her flank would be exposed to Tiela.

She blocked Beomseok’s sword and simultaneously raised her shield to the side to block the arrow. But that was all she could do. Because of that, her shield, slowed by a beat, couldn’t respond to Beomseok’s continuous sword strikes.

Immediately, Eurine suffered a strong blow to her left shoulder and dropped her shield.

“Heh heh. See? You can’t win in this situation…”

Beomseok, who was uttering mocking words, stopped mid-sentence and stared towards the forest. Another arrow attack had struck Eurine’s head and bounced off.

‘Tiela, seriously, you shouldn’t touch my prey.’

Beomseok sighed and shook his head as he looked at Eurine, who was collapsing. This aspect was the charm of gladiatorial combat, but seeing her fall so easily was disheartening.

‘Well, there’s nothing I can do. Even Eurine can’t overcome such unfavorable conditions.’

He looked around at the gradually clearing area and soon lowered his sword. Some Real Heroes gladiators, including Celia, were resisting, but it was a meaningless act.

They couldn’t withstand God’s Knights’ relentless offensive while exposed to sniping. Since he needed to give his gladiators, who didn’t have much experience, confidence and opportunities, he stopped fighting and waited in place. And as the match ended, he crossed the iron bridge and returned to God’s Knights’ dugout.

– This is amazing! God’s Knights! They are continuing their undefeated home record against Real Heroes, a World League championship contender.

– That’s right. It’s really incredible. Anyway, the Real Heroes coach, after watching this first round, must be very worried right now. If they lose so absurdly, the team’s morale will drop, which will greatly affect their league matches.

– Yes. That’s right. Gladiatorial combat is a battle of momentum. Suffering such a defeat will greatly intimidate the gladiators, which will have a big impact on the next match. It seems that the Real Heroes coach needs to rethink how to approach today’s match.

As the announcer spoke, the commentator continued, watching the God’s Knights gladiators entering the dugout.

– In any case, God’s Knights seem to have come here determined today. They recently had reserve gladiators participate in league matches to conserve the stamina of the main players, and they finally achieved today’s result.

– Hahaha. Yes. They are currently fourth in the league, but since winning the championship is impossible, they have no choice but to focus on the League Cup. In fact, lifting the League Cup is also a great honor. Don’t you think?

– Yes. That’s right. There are many professional gladiator teams in the world, but only a very small number have lifted the World League Cup. It’s very exciting to see a new team that was founded eight seasons ago lift the League Cup. Of course, Chaplin Whisper lifted it in just seven seasons last year, so the light has faded a bit, but it’s still a great achievement.

– Yes. Of course. Moreover, unlike Chaplin Whisper, God’s Knights achieved this record with their own hands, right? It’s definitely encouraging.

The announcer scanned the forest that bisected the Lima City Coliseum and said with excitement.

– Anyway, God’s Knights have a completely different atmosphere this spring season compared to last fall season. It’s like watching a completely different team.

– Heh heh. It seems that adding the forest during the winter vacation season has greatly helped improve their performance. And recruiting Tiela has also played a big role. In fact, when you think about it, wasn’t Tiela the key to today’s victory?

– Yes. That’s right. Oh Beomseok gladiator, Tiela, and a unique home coliseum. It seems that God’s Knights now have all the qualities of a strong team.

As the commentators continued their lengthy explanations, Beomseok entered the dugout. He waved to Diana, who was greeting him with a bright expression, and smiled calmly.

“How was it? Not bad, right?”

“It was the best. Real Heroes made appropriate responses in the middle, so I was worried, but you sent Liza to the forest battle area and reversed the situation. It was a really great decision.”

Diana was genuinely impressed. It wasn’t just because he was her master, but he was really amazing. She also thought about sending Liza, but she couldn’t make such a quick decision.

Beomseok patted her on the back and said quietly.

“It’s nothing. I just followed the obvious steps… But what’s the plan for the next round?”

“Well, the first round went so well that I think we should go with Plan 2-3.”

Plan 2-3 meant a blitz attack. It was a strategy to catch the opponent off guard with a quick attack, and if successful, they could easily taste victory. However, the problem was that there were only a few in the main camp because they were operating three free roles [flexible players]. If the Real Heroes gladiators aimed for a surprise melee at the forest entrance, they could suffer great damage.

“Are you sure? It’s a bit of a risky tactic, isn’t it?”

“Yes. This is also a natural step, so I think it will go well as planned.”

“Why?”

“Currently, Real Heroes are greatly shocked by their defeat in the first round. And the reason for that defeat was largely due to us taking their rear early on. They will probably move quickly to the rear as soon as the match starts to defend their position.”

“Really? What if they ambush us at the forest entrance and start a melee?”

“Then our main camp, which is outnumbered, is likely to suffer greatly, but the possibility is extremely low. Since today’s match requires us to play all five rounds, Real Heroes, who are concerned about their stamina, will have no choice but to send out their second team in the second round. They can’t stop our main force with these guys. They are very likely to stick to a defensive play. And it’s hard to imagine them ambushing us at the forest entrance. They believe that we have a great advantage in forest combat. And even if they use this point in reverse to aim for our carelessness, there is almost no chance that we will be caught. If we carry out this operation, the free roles, including you, will move to the opponent’s camp before the main camp, so we can find out the opponent’s intentions in advance. In other words, if there are no Real Heroes gladiators in sight when you enter first, you can order the operation to be stopped, and everything will be resolved.”

Beomseok nodded slowly. He agreed.

The main point of Plan 2-3 was for the three free roles to quickly move to the opponent’s area and launch an attack. Naturally, they would go ahead of the main camp, so they could quickly find out the opponent’s intentions.

If he didn’t see the enemy when he left the forest, it was likely an ambush, and he could just order the operation to be stopped.

“Hmm. I guess so.”

“But the problem is when Real Heroes maintains the same strategy as in the first round. Then the initial attack will be in vain.”

“Heh heh. There’s not much chance that they’ll adopt the same strategy after losing so easily in the first round. Even if they do, we can just use the same strategy as in the first round.”

“But since we have three free roles, the number of our main camp to occupy the enemy’s rear is greatly insufficient, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter. Liza and I can quickly join them. And if Real Heroes sends their second team, we’ll have some leeway.”

“Hmm. I guess we can do that.”

Beomseok patted her on the shoulder and headed to his bench. He needed to rest to prepare for the second round.

The score that God’s Knights wanted to achieve in this match was 5 wins. Even if the first round ended quickly, it was necessary to take a sufficient rest to conserve stamina. One of the key points of today’s match was how much more the main players could be used.

About 20 minutes later, Beomseok got up again. The list of participating gladiators was on the electronic display board. This was a signal that the match would begin soon.

‘Heh heh. Miyami and Jesira… I have a very good feeling about this.’

The gladiators Beomseok was mentioning were Real Heroes’ reserve gladiators. Their specialty was archery. It seemed they were deployed to prepare for Tiela’s sniping.

The most necessary condition for shooting a bow was a stable posture. In particular, since Tiela was concealing her body with trees, they needed to make detailed adjustments to make accurate shots, which inevitably placed considerable restrictions on the movement of the Real Heroes formation. However, the problem with deploying archers was that the defense of the formation was greatly reduced.

This was because archers inevitably had to give up their shields. In that case, it would be difficult to properly block God’s Knights’ relentless offensive, so the most preferred strategy would be to use the walls around the arena as a last stand.

‘But to do that, a quick retreat is essential at the beginning.’

Real Heroes’ quick retreat at the beginning. Diana’s Plan 2-3 was a preparation for this. In other words, their deployment of archers was intended to check Tiela, but conversely, it could serve as a pretext for God’s Knights to succeed in their strategy.

Thanks to this, Beomseok, who was excited, left the dugout and threw a compliment to Diana.

“Heh heh. Diana. It seems you won in rock-paper-scissors.”

“Yes. Then please take care of it.”

Beomseok nodded and went outside, lined up, and entered the arena at the same time as the entrance signal. And he moved to the forest area right in front of the city and waited with a relaxed face for the second round to begin.

– Peeep! Match start!

“Liza! Tiela! Let’s go!”

At the same time as the whistle signaling the start of the match, Beomseok, Liza, and Tiela boldly jumped over the city. It was to strike the retreating enemy gladiators from behind.

He looked at the Real Heroes gladiator running with his back to him in his line of sight and smiled faintly. They were retreating so quickly that they didn’t even know he was right behind them.

Beomseok, who had a strong feeling of success, immediately pulled out a dagger from his waist and jumped with all his might as soon as he left the forest.

“Got it! It’s a success!”

Beomseok’s gaze, taking a throwing posture in the air, was fixed on Etel’s back, who was at the very end. She was so busy retreating that she didn’t even know she was about to be attacked. Soon, two daggers thrown and an arrow flying through the air accurately struck the vital points of the Real Heroes gladiators in the rear.

Wow! Wow!

“God’s Knights! Awesome!”

“Well done! God’s Knights!”

The home fans were excited and jumped up from their seats as the three Real Heroes gladiators fell to the ground, kicking up dust. Unfortunately, they missed Celia, the leader, but the pursuit ambush was successful, and all the trailers were annihilated, and the numerical ratio of the two teams quickly changed to 12 to 9.

Even if most of them were fine, it was questionable whether they could win, but three of them were hit. Now it wasn’t too wrong to say that God’s Knights had won.

Beomseok also thought the same, smiling brightly and ordering Tiela.

“Tiela! Wait in the forest and aim for sniping!”

“Yes!”

As Tiela hid in the forest, Beomseok took Liza and ran to the main camp coming out of the forest entrance. Seeing this, Jesse tried to take out his bow and aim at him, but an arrow shot by Tiela accurately hit his waist and he fell to the ground helplessly.

Thanks to this, Real Heroes, who were out of their minds, fell into even more confusion and were at a loss. They succeeded in setting up a last stand, but the sacrifice of four people in the meantime was very painful.

Celia, with a pale face, shouted to everyone.

“The match is not over yet! Everyone, cheer up and face God’s Knights!”

But once the morale had fallen, it did not recover much. The Real Heroes gladiators were just looking at the God’s Knights gladiators rushing in with eyes that had lost their will to fight.

“Okay. Let’s go!”

The subsequent second round match flowed unilaterally. Real Heroes, who were outnumbered and lost their will to fight, could not block God’s Knights’ offensive.

If Eurine had been there, she would have endured to some extent, but unfortunately, she was sitting on the bench to conserve her stamina. Soon, they were shattered in front of Beomseok’s sword and Tiela’s sniping at the forefront and fell one by one.

As a result, Real Heroes suffered a defeat in the second round as well and completely gave up the match. They realized the strength of God’s Knights based on the forest and knew that the road ahead was difficult to lose any more stamina and will to fight.

In the end, God’s Knights defeated Real Heroes with a round score of 4 wins and 1 draw that day and left only one round win to lift the League Cup.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

I inadvertently opened this September calendar, and Chuseok [Korean Thanksgiving] is Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. ㅠㅠ. I don’t know why the holidays have been like this since last year. ㅠㅠ.

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