Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 473

475

“Yes. Come on!”

With Hamilton’s roar, Beomseok swung his arm wide. The spear shaft blurred as it shot toward Hamilton’s face. He moved into the path of the attack, deflecting it with his forearm.

While not a fatal blow, the barb on the shaft could cause a nasty gash if it grazed him. It was safer to meet the attack head-on, using his body to block it and maintain a stable position.

Beomseok yanked the spear shaft from the ground and swung the crescent blade down at Hamilton.

“Yaat!”

Hamilton parried the spear to the right with his sword, then sidestepped to create distance. He could have counterattacked, but his goal was to prolong the match. Remembering Wang’s fate, he decided it was best to avoid aggressive moves.

He retreated, maintaining the gap as Beomseok pursued.

Spear. Clash. Clang. Spear.

After several jarring impacts, Beomseok retreated, gasping for breath. Pressing the attack in his current state would quickly drain his stamina.

Besides, Hamilton was proving surprisingly adept at blocking, making it unlikely he could land a decisive blow even if he pushed harder. But his respite was short-lived. Sensing an opportunity, Hamilton immediately advanced.

Beomseok frowned, used the spear shaft to block Hamilton’s sword strike, and launched a furious counter-offensive. His best chance lay in attacking. However, as soon as Beomseok attacked, Hamilton switched to a defensive stance, carefully deflecting each thrust.

‘Damn it! This old geezer is deliberately trying to exhaust me. He’s not giving me a moment to recover.’

Hamilton’s strategy was cunning. He appeared focused on defense, but whenever Beomseok tried to slow the pace, he would launch an attack, disrupting Beomseok’s rhythm. At this rate, Beomseok would soon be completely spent.

‘I can’t underestimate his experience. If he can perfectly execute team tactics, he’ll become a formidable enemy.’

The reason Hamilton and Wang hadn’t garnered more attention was their glaring weakness in team play. Beomseok had participated in parties and raids through other games, and Zakid was raised by Remnant to be a gladiator, giving them an early advantage. These two, however, seemed to have missed out on team battles, perhaps because they joined the Ministry of Culture and Sports’ project by chance. Yet, they had risen to W2-class gladiators in just three or four years and secured starting positions on renowned World League teams.

They were truly remarkable, and God Knights would never be able to ignore them as they gained more gladiatorial experience.

‘But the good thing is that they’re old men with rigid minds.’

Their biggest disadvantage was their old-fashioned thinking. While this gave them experience and wisdom, it also made them slow to adapt to new ideas. They likely wouldn’t grasp the intricacies of team battles anytime soon, so there was no need to worry just yet.

He darted forward, aiming the spear tip at Hamilton’s forehead in a surprise attack.

“Hehehe. This guy’s got a lot of energy.”

Hamilton leaned back to narrowly avoid the strike, then shuffled left and right, trying to confuse Beomseok. He aimed to disrupt Beomseok’s aim and evade the attacks rather than directly block them.

Having experienced Beomseok’s spear strikes, he knew they weren’t easy to parry. The force of blocking them was enough to numb his wrists.

But it wasn’t easy for Hamilton either. There was no way to lessen the impact of a horizontally swung spear strike. He could jump to dodge, but that would leave him vulnerable.

“Hyat!”

Hamilton blocked another horizontal spear strike with his sword, grimacing. He tried to find a way to deal with Beomseok, but it wasn’t easy. He couldn’t help but lament his inferior physical abilities.

‘But the bigger problem is his extraordinary spearmanship. He doesn’t seem to be using his full strength, yet I’m being pushed back so easily. I wonder if I can last five minutes.’

Hamilton watched Beomseok with concern. After careful observation, he realized Beomseok’s skills surpassed his own.

He was holding his ground by focusing on defense, but he knew he would lose a real match. What worried him more was that Beomseok wasn’t fighting at full capacity. His spearmanship had two modes: standard techniques like thrusting and stirring, and the skillful, flamboyant Bongseon Spear Technique [a fictional, stamina-intensive fighting style].

So far, Beomseok had only used the former, showing no hint of the latter.

‘Well, it would be difficult to use Bongseon Spear Technique because it consumes a lot of stamina. Still, it’s a shame; I wanted to block his full-strength technique…’

The biggest drawback of Bongseon Spear Technique was its high stamina cost. Beomseok only used it in dire situations during league games. It would be difficult to use it now, with Zakid waiting. But soon, he would have no choice.

If time continued to pass like this, he wouldn’t get the chance to face Zakid.

Hamilton raised his sword and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Hey! Come quickly! There’s not much time left!”

Beomseok froze. He glanced at the scoreboard clock at the words “not much time left.” Seeing about two minutes remaining, he made a determined face. It wasn’t critical yet, but he didn’t have much time to spare. Despite the sparring time being more than halfway over, Beomseok hadn’t managed to land a proper attack on Hamilton.

‘I have no choice. I can’t just let time run out like this.’

Beomseok took a deep breath and lowered the spear shaft horizontally, placing it against his waist. It was a preparatory stance for the Bongseon Spear Technique. It might be early to use it, but he couldn’t face Zakid without defeating Hamilton.

“Okay. I’m going now, so be prepared.”

Hamilton swallowed hard and tilted his sword slightly to the left. The left side of his face was the primary target when the Bongseon Spear Technique was used.

“Okay! Come on!”

Beomseok began rotating from his waist, sending the spear tip straight toward Hamilton’s face. Hamilton anticipated it and blocked it easily, but the problem was what followed. The attack varied greatly depending on the deflected direction and Beomseok’s rotation.

Hamilton saw the spear shaft rising toward his lower body, blocked it with his knee, and stepped back. But Beomseok’s spear tip followed him like a heat-seeking missile, aiming for his neck.

“Iik!”

Hamilton barely managed to deflect it by swinging his sword, gritting his teeth as he watched the wriggling, twisting spear tip. He expected it to target his abdomen, but Beomseok’s body rotated and changed direction, aiming for his instep. He didn’t even have time to admire the technique before pulling his foot back and leaning sideways, rotating away.

But the attack didn’t end there. The spear tip bounced off the ground, kicking up dust as it headed for his face again.

“This is crazy!”

Hamilton leaned back sharply to dodge, twisting his waist in horror. The spear tip soared upward, nearly brushing his eyes. The spear shaft attack was now aimed at his lower body.

He barely managed to block it with his sword, but his eyes widened in shock. The force transmitted to his hand was very weak.

If Beomseok hadn’t made a mistake, this attack was clearly executed with one hand, leaving the other hand free. He saw the reason when he turned his head slightly. Beomseok was drawing the katana [a Japanese sword] from his waist with his other hand.

Hamilton was struck in the face and rolled across the floor, staring up at Beomseok. He never imagined Beomseok was such a skilled swordsman. He had been distracted by the spear, and the finishing blow was a hidden draw-sword technique from an unexpected angle.

‘Hehehe. Remnant said he was the strongest practical swordsman, and he wasn’t wrong at all. I was defeated by a perfect move that I couldn’t even feel ashamed of.’

Hamilton, lying on the ground, looked up at the clear sky with a bright smile. He never dreamed that a monster greater than Remnant, a great elder in the sword world, would exist in the insignificant gladiator world. The thought of competing against such a person in league matches filled him with anticipation.

But Beomseok’s expression as he passed him wasn’t good. He was worried about his physical exhaustion and saddened that he had used one of his ultimate moves before facing Zakid. Now that he had revealed it, it would never work against him.

“Wow! Oh Beomseok is the best! There’s only one left! You must win!”

“Yes! You’ve beaten Zakid before! You can definitely defeat him if you don’t let your guard down!”

Beomseok sat down with a troubled expression at the fans’ cheers. It was easy to say, but Zakid was not an easy opponent.

Fortunately, Asura, the vanguard, and Wang, the mid-tier, had made a mess, so he had used less stamina than expected. But he was still worried about Zakid, who had been resting comfortably. Moreover, Zakid would have been honing his skills after his previous defeat, preparing thoroughly for him.

After a short break, the referee called Beomseok and Zakid.

“Gladiator Oh Beomseok. Gladiator Zakid. Please come out.”

Beomseok looked up at Zakid in the center of the arena and smiled broadly.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Zakid.”

“Hehe. Yes. I’ve been praying for a chance to fight you, and I’ve been holding back a lot with my impatient personality. Today, I will defeat you and reclaim the title of the strongest.”

“Well? Can you really say you’ve achieved true victory by defeating me now? I’m a little tired.”

“That’s your fault, not mine. The fact that you wasted your stamina fighting those punks means you’re that weak. If it were me, I would have used it as an opportunity to loosen up my stiff body and face you in a more advantageous situation.”

Beomseok clicked his tongue and looked at Hamilton and Wang, who had returned to their seats after being defeated.

“Hamilton! Wang! Mr. Zakid is calling you punks! What should we do!”

Zakid frowned and looked back. The two elders were glaring at him with murderous intent.

“Zakid. You! We’ll see you later.”

“What are you going to do! Anyway, you better do it right today! If you lose, you’ll be severely punished when you get back, so keep that in mind!”

Zakid bit his lip and glared at Beomseok.

“Hey! Are you really going to do this! How can you tattle like that!”

“Hey, why are you being like that? You can just get scolded when you get back.”

“No, you! Anyway, you better be prepared today. I’m not going to go easy on you!”

Beomseok smirked.

“Well. I don’t think there’s any need to be particularly prepared.”

“What? Does that mean I’m easy?”

“No, that’s not it. It just means the situation is a bit like that.”

“What situation?”

“There are four left behind me now, but Mr. Zakid is alone, isn’t he?”

Zakid chuckled and looked at Tiela and the other Avon representatives sitting far away. They were excellent gladiators, but none could beat him.

“Hehe. Do you think they can beat me?”

“That’s not it. But what I want to say is that if Mr. Zakid and I draw, our team will win this tournament. Because there are no gladiators left on the Irat side.”

“You. Don’t tell me you’re deliberately aiming for a draw?”

“Why? If we draw here, we’ll win the World Cup. I can do anything for the fans’ wishes.”

Zakid glared.

“Good. Let’s see if that’s what you want. I’m not so easy that I can draw just because you want to.”

“Well. We’ll see about that. So. Shall we start?”

Beomseok gripped the spear shaft firmly. He knew the match would start soon when he saw the referee’s hand rising. As the final match began, he immediately stepped back, creating distance from Zakid. He was trying to buy time.

“You! Be prepared!”

The sword strike, fueled by Zakid’s massive frame, hurtled toward Beomseok with a chilling sound. Beomseok, acknowledging Zakid’s status as the strongest active gladiator, blocked the spear shaft and dodged to the side. He could have met the attack head-on, but there was no need to put himself at a disadvantage.

“Hahaha. I’ll never fall for such a trick.”

Amidst the relentless, powerful attacks, Beomseok taunted Zakid, dodging here and there. To defeat Zakid, he needed to exploit his impatience.

In truth, Beomseok had no intention of drawing. He didn’t want to tarnish a memorable match that would be remembered forever. Four wins and one draw were not the same as five wins.

============================ Author’s Afterword ============================

Ah. My nephews’ carpet bombing is over. As expected, my wallet is devastated. Sigh~ Then everyone, have a happy holiday. I’ll see you all again tomorrow.