Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 500

502

“Huhu. Lakami. You’re lucky.”

Lakami glared at Beomseok, her eyes blazing, as he passed by and muttered. She couldn’t possibly be in a good mood after her team’s defeat, and his taunting words only worsened her feelings.

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm. You were so full of momentum, but if you had lost to me, it would have been a disgrace. But since the main camp fell and you lost in the first round, you don’t have any responsibility, right? Isn’t that so?”

“So, you thought I would lose to you, Beomseok?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

Lakami closed her mouth and turned her head away at his brazen expression. It was clear that their defeat was inevitable with just a little more time. The hand holding the shield that had blocked his spear strikes until now was trembling with paralysis.

Seeing this, Beomseok snorted and walked towards the dugout.

“Priscilla! Why did you attack in the first round!”

Beomseok, who entered the dugout, tilted his head at the coldness filling the room. Diana, the current coach, was scolding Priscilla loudly. He couldn’t understand why the dugout, which should be celebrating victory, was in such a commotion.

He approached Diana and poked her in the side.

“Diana. What’s going on? Our team won, but instead of praising them, why are you doing this?”

Diana turned her gaze from Priscilla and looked at Beomseok.

“We did win, but it was quite dangerous. If we had made a mistake, we could have lost. Haa…”

“What are you talking about? Looking at the results, it was a perfect victory, wasn’t it? We only had one casualty?”

“That’s because we were lucky. The opponent was surprised by our sudden action and made a mistake, which was fortunate for us. Priscilla’s strategy didn’t work out correctly.”

Beomseok didn’t have much to say. He was playing as a free role, focusing on Irolita and Lakami, so he didn’t know the situation at the main camp.

“Really? Show me the gameplay video of the first round.”

“Yes. Please wait a moment.”

Diana projected the first round gameplay scene into the air using the computer on the coach’s seat. Then, she quickly skipped the beginning and showed him the problematic part of the video in slow motion.

‘Indeed, there’s a problem.’

Beomseok’s eyes narrowed as he watched the video, agreeing with Diana’s opinion. Even without watching it in slow motion, he could tell how reckless Priscilla’s strategy was.

During the charge, the enemy’s formation faltered towards the side, making it easy to divide them, but before that, the Ancient Warriors’ formation was incredibly solid. In this state, rather than recklessly entering, the correct strategy was to shake the enemy formation with hit-and-run tactics.

Beomseok sighed deeply and looked at Priscilla. There must be another reason why a veteran gladiator like her would make such a mistake.

“Priscilla? What happened?”

“Well, that’s…”

“I won’t scold you, so tell me the truth. I can’t believe you played the game like this. Normally, you should have waited until I defeated Irolita and Lakami. Did you not trust me?”

“N, no, that’s not it. Actually…”

“Actually what?”

After hesitating for a while, Priscilla finally answered. She was an elf who couldn’t lie or remain silent when asked by her master.

“I was being considerate of Lakami. She’s retiring this year, and I thought it would be too pitiful for her to suffer the humiliation of defeat today. She’s already being criticized as a ‘money-grabber’ lately, and if things continue like this, this peak of her gladiator career will be remembered as a disgrace. So…”

Beomseok chuckled. Priscilla’s carefree worries were piquing his interest. Lakami was a gladiator with an owner, which meant she was in a much better situation than other gladiators.

“Huhu. Why are you worrying about that? The really pitiful ones are the ownerless elves stuck in the main camp. Don’t you think?”

“Well, yes, but it doesn’t feel like someone else’s problem at all.”

He looked at Priscilla with strange eyes. She was currently 30 years old and had been the strongest in the past. Perhaps this was why she felt a sense of kinship with Lakami. She had also experienced similar times in the past.

“Hmm. I see. Now that you mention it, Lakami and you have a lot in common. You must have seen your future self in Lakami. But being considerate is definitely an overreach.”

“Yes?”

“Lakami was once the strongest and has consistently achieved good results, leaving a clear mark on this gladiator world. Although she is older and not showing the skills of the past, she is not a pathetic being who deserves pity. That’s why I tried to defeat her with all my strength. And you may not know this, but Lakami considers you a rival.

In this situation, what would happen if Lakami noticed your pity? No matter how I think about it, her pride would be greatly hurt, right? So, don’t do this again. Understood?”

Priscilla nodded, as if she understood. She herself would have felt bad if someone had shown her such consideration.

“Yes, yes. I understand. I’ll be careful next time.”

“Good. Then go back to your seat and rest. You have to play in the third round too, so you need to build up your stamina.”

“Yes.”

As Priscilla returned, Beomseok sat Diana next to him and sat down as well. Now he had to comfort her.

Diana was from the Area League gladiator and had a short period as a coach. Now she was recognized for leading God’s Knights, a leading World League team, but she couldn’t help but feel inferior.

The promising players who joined in the early days didn’t matter, but the gladiators Beomseok recruited after rising to the upper league were elves with world-renowned reputations, so it must have been burdensome for her to lead them in the league. Especially Priscilla.

“Diana. Has it been tough lately?”

“Oh, no. I’m always happy to serve Master and carry out my duties as coach.”

“But it must have been a bit like that recently, right? The kids I bring are all highly recognized gladiators, and this year, unlike last year, there’s even fierce competition for the championship, so you must be nervous, right?”

Diana nodded and readily admitted it.

“Yes. There is a bit of that. When a kid like Priscilla plays a game with a strategy that is the opposite of mine, I can’t help but wonder if there is something wrong with the strategy I set. And this year’s championship competition is very fierce, so it’s also burdensome. We are 5 points ahead of Chaplin Whisper, but this makes me even more anxious. It feels like I’m being chased. If we draw in today’s game and lose in another game, it will be a tie. Then we will fall to second place.”

“Hmm. I guess so. But don’t be too burdened.”

“But I can’t help but feel burdened. As long as I’m the coach, it’s like a destiny. If I can’t win the championship with the current God’s Knights, I’m disqualified as a coach. That’s how strong our God’s Knights are.”

Beomseok licked his lips. Although the squad was a bit lacking, God’s Knights was definitely strong.

“Well, that’s true. But not everything in life goes as you want. As long as there are teams like Chaplin Whisper or Real Heroes, I won’t blame you if we don’t achieve our goal. It’s something that can happen. No, in fact, you’ve been doing so well so far that I’m grateful to you.”

“But Master wants to win the championship, right?”

“Of course, I want to win the championship. As a gladiator and the owner of a team, it’s a great pleasure for my team to be the strongest. But the main point I focus on is the pleasure itself, not the championship. And that pleasure comes from you. So, if you are struggling with the pressure of winning the championship and the inferiority complex towards your gladiators, I don’t need the championship at all. I’d rather be in 2nd or 3rd place and have everyone live happily.”

Diana blinked her eyes and looked at him. It wasn’t just because he was her master, but his appearance, which was completely different from other humans, seemed amazing. Normally, he should have been obsessed with winning the championship and pushing her. Of course, all of this was because Beomseok’s purpose in playing this game was an extension of play, but she had no way of knowing that.

“S, so it’s okay even if we don’t win the championship?”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t need to try to win the championship, but if it’s unavoidable, there’s nothing we can do. So, relax. Then the team atmosphere will improve, and the chances of winning the championship will increase.”

Diana smiled softly and nodded.

“Yes. I’ll do as Master says.”

“Huhu. Good. Then go back and prepare for the second round.”

“Yes.”

Diana hurriedly returned to the coach’s seat and happily drew up the list of participants for the second round. This time, the participants were second-tier gladiators, including reserves and some starters. They could have aimed for two consecutive wins by fielding the main force again, but they avoided it out of concern for the stamina of the core gladiators. Playing consecutive games without rest put a lot of pressure on them.

“Okay. Everyone, do your best, but play happily. Even if you lose, our main force will definitely win and take the lead again. Understood?”

“Yes.”

The second-tier gladiators of God’s Knights, who heard Diana’s order, left the dugout. But their expressions showed that they didn’t know if a happy play was possible as she said. Perhaps because they lost the first round and felt burdened, the Ancient Warriors fielded their main force again. Although they were somewhat tired, they were much stronger than God’s Knights’ second-tier.

“Uwaaaa! Uwaaaa!”

Along with the cheers of the fans echoing throughout the stadium, the second-tier gladiators of God’s Knights, who had entered the second round, returned to the dugout with drooping shoulders. They wore armor and shields and were thoroughly defensive, but they suffered a complete defeat in less than 10 minutes.

The central breakthrough by Irolita and Levia was so powerful that they couldn’t stop it.

However, Diana’s face, who welcomed them, was full of smiles. Defeat was inevitable, but they had achieved a decent result. Thanks to their efforts, the main force of the Ancient Warriors must have been very tired, so the third round would be advantageous for God’s Knights.

“Good. Everyone did a great job. Our main force will definitely win the third round, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes…”

The second-tier gladiators, still with drooping voices, quietly took their seats. Despite Diana’s consolation, they couldn’t help but feel disappointed about the defeat.

‘Well, what are the Ancient Warriors going to do in the third round?’

Beomseok watched the electronic display board with deep interest. He was curious about who the Ancient Warriors would send out in the third round.

After winning the second round, God’s Knights’ main force was waiting. Whether they would send out their tired main force to have a glimmer of hope, or send out the second-tier to rest the main force, would have a big impact on how God’s Knights would strategize in the future.

If it was the former, it would be better for God’s Knights to win the third round and immediately field the main force again in the fourth round to end the game. If it was the latter, they could comfortably take the third round and then send out the second-tier again in the fourth round to see the results, and it would be decided whether the game would go to the fifth round or not.

And after a while, Beomseok smiled faintly when he saw the list that appeared. It was because the Ancient Warriors had chosen the latter. The list of second-tier gladiators was now on the electronic display board.

‘Are they going to go to the fifth round? Not bad. We don’t have to fight consecutive battles at all.’

If it went to the fifth round, God’s Knights would consume more stamina, but that was not the case for the core members. Since they were facing the second-tier, they could comfortably take the third round, and based on this victory, God’s Knights could send out the second-tier in the fourth round, so the core gladiators could perform a very comfortable game.

They didn’t have to fight consecutive battles, and they only had to fight the main force of the Ancient Warriors one more time.

“Okay. Shall we go then? Huhu.”

Beomseok stood up and went out of the dugout. He didn’t feel any pressure because he had to face the second-tier. No matter how solid the Ancient Warriors’ squad was, it couldn’t be more difficult to deal with the second-tier than the main force with Irolita and Levia.

– Peeep!

Beomseok, who ran out like a wolf attacking a flock of sheep at the start of the game, swung his spear with all his might towards the phalanx [a close-ranked and file formation] formed by the Ancient Warriors’ gladiators. Although he failed to divide them because they were tightly formed, the opposing team’s gladiators staggered and retreated, disrupting their formation.

They were frightened by the vanguard group pouring in after his powerful strike. Currently, the formation adopted by God’s Knights was the 봉시진 (Bongsi formation) [a type of wedge formation used in ancient warfare], and the main feature was the powerful breakthrough caused by the six vanguards.

“What are you doing? Block them! Don’t allow a breakthrough!”

Despite Terly’s desperate cries, the second-tier gladiators of the Ancient Warriors couldn’t resist properly and gave up the center as it was. In response, Beomseok retreated, hitting the forehead of Gladiator No. 44, who was staggering, with his spear, and then jumped high into the air, scraping the shields of Gladiator No. 32 and Gladiator No. 28 on the right wing. After landing on the other side, he ran to the left formation and clashed his weapon strongly with Terly.

She was the leader, so if he defeated her, the third round would be over immediately.

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

It rained all day. The late autumn rain is a sign of the cold, so I’m a little worried.

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