Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 474

476

Clang. Window.

Sword and spear clashed in quick succession, scattering metal fragments in all directions. The battle between the two, each possessing formidable physical abilities, was taking a considerable toll on their weapons.

Beom-seok noticed the scars on the spear shaft and a deep curve formed at the corner of his lips. He was impressed by Jakid’s strength, which was turning his spear, a culmination of Chaplin Sports’ technology, into a wreck. And he was grateful for his own improved physical abilities, which allowed him to face such a man without backing down.

In the past, the power from that monstrous strength would have left his wrists nearly paralyzed by now.

“Damn it! You bastard! You’ve gotten stronger again!”

Though he voiced his complaints roughly, Jakid’s eyes were filled with admiration. Beom-seok’s reaction speed had increased since their last encounter. It seemed difficult to push Beom-seok with brute force now.

“Huhu. Isn’t that the scary thing about a growing sprout? That it’s completely different from yesterday?”

“What an incredibly annoying sprout! Come on!”

“You’re welcome… Huhu.”

Despite Jakid’s provocation, Beom-seok immediately retreated. It wasn’t time to fight in earnest yet. He needed to conserve his stamina, as he was somewhat mentally and physically exhausted from the previous battle with the four. Of course, his stamina was still being consumed as he continued to fight, but it was very low compared to Jakid, who was constantly attacking.

Jakid roared and rushed toward him.

“You bastard! Are you really trying to draw this out!”

Beom-seok, who deflected his fierce blow by tilting the spear shaft, moved to the side and burst into laughter.

“Isn’t it obvious? I don’t need to overdo it. Huhu.”

“Is that so? Let’s see if you can do as you please!”

Jakid, wielding his sword left and right, creating gusts of wind, charged at Beom-seok with a fierce momentum. With each step, powerful strikes rained down from above and below, and he barely managed to block or deflect them by tilting the spear shaft. He was still unable to match Jakid’s physical abilities, and he was a little overwhelmed due to exhaustion from stamina depletion.

‘Seriously. How did I ever face that bear-like guy before? Anyway, his raw power is something else!’

But he didn’t lose his composure. He was superior in technique and experience, and Jakid’s swordplay wasn’t that threatening, perhaps because he was agitated and impatient. Beom-seok wasn’t one to be caught off guard by such a hasty attack that relied solely on power.

“Mr. Jakid. Aren’t you being too hasty? You’ll never beat me fighting like that.”

Jakid knew that too. But the time remaining was too short to vary his attacks, add rhythm to his swordplay, and fight strategically.

He soon swung his sword vigorously and shouted loudly.

“That’s none of your business!”

“Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do. I’m not on Mr. Jakid’s side, so there’s no need to keep giving advice.”

“What! Advice! You bastard!”

Jakid, enraged, unleashed a series of fierce sword strikes with a savage look on his face. Beom-seok, with a tense look, moved backward to block and then let out a long whistle. Even though it was a reckless attack, Jakid’s sword was sharp. He soon deflected the weapon and quickly turned his steps to the side.

Then, he knocked away Jakid’s sword, which was chasing right after him, with the spear shaft and thrust the spearhead with all his might. Although he was focused on defense, it wasn’t good to ignore the attacks too much. It was more efficient to add such feinting motions whenever the opportunity arose.

“Okay. Here I go.”

Beom-seok raised his spear high, swung it down with force, and scurried backward. He pretended to counterattack but evaded. It was a meaningless action, but it was great for provoking Jakid.

“It seems like it’s over.”

“That’s right. In that state, Jakid can’t win even if his grandfather came.”

Hamilton and Wang, who were watching the duel between Beom-seok and Jakid, made short comments. On the surface, it seemed like Jakid was unilaterally pouring out attacks, but in reality, Beom-seok was practically toying with him.

Moreover, this duel was only 5 minutes long, and almost 2 minutes had already passed. If the match continued like this, a draw seemed certain, and Avend would eventually win.

“That guy is really amazing. His technique is great, but he’s incredibly cunning. He’s overcoming the disadvantageous situation of a 5-match series so well with his unique eloquence. In fact, the actual time that guy fought before facing Jakid was only about 10 minutes, wasn’t it?”

“That’s right. Anyway, as Remnant said, he doesn’t seem like an ordinary guy. As a practical swordsman, he has everything. Well, seeing his skill with the spear, it’s hard to pin him down as just a swordsman…”

Beom-seok was skilled in technique, but what was even more frightening was his accurate judgment and tactics. He identified the characteristics of his opponent and the surrounding situation like a ghost, and then confronted them with the most appropriate strategy. This was absolutely impossible without experiencing many battles.

“But how did that guy gain such practical experience?”

“Who knows? Judging by the way he talks, he must have fought a lot with his friends in school.”

“Come on. No way. If you could gain such skills just by fighting a bit in school, then you would have been more skilled than him, *hyung-nim* [older brother/term of respect], wouldn’t you?”

“What!”

Wang flinched at Hamilton’s high-pitched voice and pretended not to hear. He had known Hamilton since high school, so he knew how nasty his temper was. He had calmed down as he got older, but when he got angry, his old, dog-like personality resurfaced.

“Ah, no. That’s what I mean. No offense. Ahem.”

While they were talking, the battle between Beom-seok and Jakid reached its peak. Because there was not much time left, Jakid was pushing him with an even greater offensive than before.

Amid the continuous metallic sounds that seemed to tear the eardrums, Beom-seok glanced at Jakid’s breathing. Judging from the rough breaths, he seemed quite exhausted.

‘Heh. I should start stepping up now.’

Beom-seok, who had been pushed back by a powerful sword strike, laid his spear horizontally near his waist. The time had come for him to start his offensive. With little time left, he could unleash the Bongseon Spear Technique without rest.

He rotated the spear greatly and slashed through the air as Jakid approached.

“Okay! Here I go! Hahaha.”

The spear, which had been blocked while targeting the face, underwent a strange change and bounced as if it were lying on the floor, heading for Jakid’s abdomen. He judged that it was just another sporadic attack and blocked it with all his might, but soon it was raising its crescent blade sharply towards his shoulder.

Three consecutive attacks. Jakid widened his eyes as he watched Beom-seok’s body rotate endlessly as if it were swaying. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like a one-off.

‘This guy. Is he using the Bongseon Spear Technique at this time? Did this bastard deceive me all this time to exhaust my stamina?’

Jakid sighed, feeling frustrated that he had been deceived. He couldn’t tell whether he should consider himself a fool for being tricked or blame Beom-seok’s cunning. Although it was a short time, he was very tired from the one-sided offensive.

But he couldn’t just be defeated like this. He had to somehow defeat him and avenge his past humiliation.

“Damn it! Come at me as much as you want!”

The muscles throughout his body were screaming, and the sword in his hand was trembling. Blocking Beom-seok’s spear strikes, which had centrifugal force, was very difficult for Jakid. Moreover, the constantly flying spearhead and crescent blade, and the continuous strikes from the back, didn’t even give him a chance to counterattack.

He desperately composed himself and faced Beom-seok’s spear strikes, which were drawing dazzling patterns in the air.

‘This is crazy. This is no joke!’

Jakid felt a chill as he felt something slightly brush against his thigh. If the spear strike that had just brushed him had penetrated a little further inside, he would have been in a state of partial incapacitation. Then he would have been defeated without a chance.

Jakid, who had been intimidated, raised his voice to gather his fighting spirit.

“Hyaat!”

Beom-seok swung his spear without considering stamina at all. His stamina was rapidly depleting due to the fast and flashy Bongseon Spear Technique, but he didn’t care at all. He could afford to overdo it for the remaining time.

“Iyat!”

Beom-seok swung his spear almost unconsciously. The spearhead coming from his body, which had rotational force, collided with Jakid’s sword in a mysterious curve.

Subsequently, Jakid hurriedly twisted his body to avoid the rising feint attack from below. But once again, he had no choice but to jump and roll on the floor due to the crescent blade that was cutting through the air. It was embarrassing, but if he had stayed still, he would have suffered a fatal blow.

As Jakid gathered his sword and stood up while rolling once, Beom-seok’s spearhead was flying towards him like an arrow.

Spear.

Jakid, who saw the spearhead soaring into the sky with the collision, immediately looked to the left as he saw it bending horizontally. Although he was being unilaterally attacked, he had studied the Bongseon Spear Technique in depth, so he knew roughly what kind of attack would follow just by looking at the trajectory.

As expected, he blocked the spear shaft that was approaching quickly by twisting his right forearm. Since the attack from the spear shaft had almost no damage, it was better to save his sword strikes.

Soon, the spear strike that had tapped his forearm rotated as if wriggling, and then flew towards his instep.

“No. I won’t let you do as you please!”

Jakid struck down with his sword and slammed the spear to the ground. But this was a calculated move. He had anticipated that this kind of situation would occur, since he had been saving his sword strikes.

Beom-seok was already kicking Jakid in the side with a follow-up motion. With a thud, Jakid staggered and aimed his knee at his abdomen. However, it was just a feint, so Beom-seok could easily dodge back and retrieve the spear.

“Hoo. Mr. Jakid. This is no joke.”

Before he could answer, Jakid stretched out his sword with all his might. Now that he had stopped rotating, it was a good opportunity to switch to offense. Soon, the pressure of rough sword strikes was tightening around Beom-seok’s sides.

He blocked Jakid’s attack with the spear shaft and checked the time. There was less than a minute left.

‘Hmm. It’s almost time. Then I should try it.’

In an instant, Beom-seok swung the spear vertically and horizontally, drawing difficult trajectories in the air. The ones that continued up, down, left, and right soon stretched out towards Jakid’s face.

Jakid frowned as he was once again pushed into a defensive position. Since there was no time, he couldn’t focus on defense. Soon, he frantically stirred the sword in his hand and made every effort to create a foothold for his offensive.

“Okay. Here I go!”

The sword tip, which flew in with a gruesome noise, grazed Beom-seok’s face. Fortunately, he had blocked it with the spear shaft, otherwise he might have been hit. It was a dizzying moment, but his face was full of smiles. There was no way he didn’t know that Jakid was overdoing it. If so, the attack he was planning now had a very high chance of succeeding.

‘Now!’

Soon, Beom-seok’s fierce attack began, but Jakid faced it without backing down at all. The spear strikes pouring in from all directions were threateningly ferocious, but there was nothing he could do now. If they drew like this, the Irat team would lose.

At that time, the spear that was stuck in the ground bounced greatly as if it were bent, and a shower of dirt was poured on Jakid’s face. He twisted his upper body to avoid it and struck down the spearhead that was flying with it with his sword. Beom-seok’s dirty tricks were well known throughout the fencing world, so he had expected it.

“You dirty bastard. Your attacks are still dirty!”

“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter what I do, as long as I win.”

Soon, Beom-seok’s spear bent greatly and flew towards Jakid’s left shoulder. But unlike before, the power and speed were greatly reduced. Jakid, who had seen the match between Hamilton and him earlier, saw that his hand holding the spear shaft was one and shouted with fierce eyes.

“Does this bastard think I’m a fool!”

Soon, the katana was drawn. Jakid grabbed the spear shaft that was flying weakly with his right hand and lowered his sword to block Beom-seok’s *balgeom* [quick draw sword technique]. Unless he was a fool, he wouldn’t fall for the trick that Hamilton had suffered.

However, the intensity of the spear strike or *balgeom* was too weak. That was because it was an attack that continued without the support of both legs, so it couldn’t be helped.

At the same time as the *balgeom*, Beom-seok released the spear, jumped, and was wrapping his head and waist diagonally with both legs. And with his body rotating mysteriously, he was throwing him down to the floor.

Jakid, looking at the rotating sky with a dazed gaze. At the same time as he fell to the floor, a cold sword blade brushed against his neck.

Wow! Waa!

As the home fans stood up and shouted in unison, Beom-seok got up from his seat and looked at Jakid, who was looking at him with an absurd expression.

“Oh. It actually works.”

Jakid, who was lying down and glancing at him, said.

“What?”

“I didn’t think a leg-assisted throw would succeed. Huhu. As expected, the modified body is good. I can use these kinds of techniques too. Hahaha.”

Jakid, who had been released from his stiffness, swept his face with his hand. He was dumbfounded that he had been hit by a technique that even the person who tried it couldn’t guarantee.

“Yeah. You’re great.”

Jakid, who shook off the dust and got up from his seat, approached his colleagues powerlessly. He really had no choice but to stick out his tongue at Beom-seok’s free-spirited fighting style. This time, he had no choice but to admit defeat.

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

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