Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 512

514

*Whoosh!* Spear.

As expected, the spear tip met resistance. Bumseok swiftly retracted the spear shaft and countered the incoming transforming sword aimed at his face. He then retreated rapidly, not to widen the distance from Amelie, but to escape the chaotic heart of the battle. In this melee, even for him, avoiding being swarmed by other Chaplin Whisper members was impossible.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Amelie pursued him, her sword extended aggressively. Bumseok immediately parried the blow and retaliated with a fierce thrust of his spear tip. Spear and sword collided in mid-air, tracing long arcs as they spun before clashing again and rebounding. Bumseok leaned sharply, swinging his spear with considerable force.

“Hyah!”

Amelie quickly deflected the spear shaft and retreated hastily as Bumseok relentlessly pressed forward, stabbing with the spear tip. After creating some distance, Amelie glared at him, crossing her twin swords before her chest.

“As expected, it’s Bumseok-nim [term of respect]. Hah, hah.”

Amelie gasped for breath, visibly exhausted. Competing in five consecutive rounds was taxing for anyone. Moreover, all matches except the first had ended in draws, compounding the fatigue. A draw meant continuously fighting for 20 minutes.

Bumseok took a deep breath and stared back at her intently.

“You seem quite tired too. Well, after fighting for so long, it’s only natural to be exhausted. Hah, hah.”

“But isn’t it the same for you, Bumseok-nim? Hah, hah.”

“Of course. But the situation is different for me.”

The reason for Bumseok’s confidence was Kazella’s trait, ‘Dominator of Stamina.’ This trait could be activated three times a day, each time increasing all stats by +10 for 20 minutes.

On the surface, it seemed less impressive than other Elves’ traits, but considering the additional options, it was far from it. This trait included an option to recover 10% of total stamina each time it was activated.

He quickly copied Kazella’s trait nearby and shouted inwardly,

‘Dominator of Stamina. Dominator of Stamina. Dominator of Stamina.’

Soon, the message of a 3390 stamina increase rang in Bumseok’s ears. A faint smile touched his lips as his stamina nearly fully recovered.

Now he could overwhelm Amelie with a significant advantage. Although the ‘Rake’s God’ buff he had been using disappeared, causing an overall stat decrease of about 5, it was insignificant compared to the stat loss from stamina depletion.

A decrease of 3400 stamina meant about a 17% decrease in overall stats. In other words, he gained an advantage of about 15 in all stats.

However, Amelie, unaware of this, confidently gripped her swords. She believed she had more stamina since she had fought less than Bumseok.

“As always, your unfounded arrogance remains.”

“Heh heh. You’ll see soon enough.”

“Indeed. Well, show me then. How great you are.”

“Of course. Here I come!”

Grasping the spear tightly, as if the shaft would break, Bumseok charged towards her. Surprised by his overwhelming power and rapid approach, Amelie hastily blocked the incoming crescent strike, but inevitably her guard faltered.

Immediately, the spear tip, imbued with fierce momentum, extended towards her chest. Amelie panicked and crossed her twin swords to block it.

*Clang~*

With a clear metallic sound, Amelie stumbled back several steps, her eyes wide. She realized that his unfounded arrogance was indeed justified. Bumseok’s strength now far surpassed her own.

“I-Impossible!”

“Heh heh. Nothing is impossible! Prepare yourself!”

The transforming swords, colliding with the continuous barrage of spear strikes, rang loudly, putting Amelie on edge. At this rate, defeat was inevitable.

‘No! If I lose, there will be no one to stop Bumseok-nim! Then Chaplin Whisper’s victory will be out of the question!’

In desperation, Amelie shouted to everyone. Support was urgently needed.

“Someone come help me! I can’t face Bumseok-nim alone!”

“Isn’t that a bit early to ask for support? You should fight a little longer before deciding. Heh heh heh.”

Bumseok’s mocking laughter echoed around. It might sound cruel to the Chaplin Whisper gladiators, but he wanted to win and had no intention of being considerate. Victory is a cold game. Soon, he delivered a spear strike filled with centrifugal force directly at Amelie.

Watching their duel, Bormia hastily retreated. She had almost cornered Tiela and seemed close to victory, but she couldn’t let Amelie be defeated because of this. If Amelie fell, Bumseok would rampage across the arena, defeating them one by one.

“Sister! I’ll go!”

As Bormia tried to provide support, Tiela quickly followed and swung her sword. One clash. But soon she retreated and approached Seyia’s side. Bumseok had signaled that it was okay, and Seyia was currently the captain, so she couldn’t leave her alone to face the enemy.

“Alright. 2 against 1 is good! Come on!”

Bumseok drew a large circle with his spear, cutting through the air. The bizarre sound made Amelie’s eyes twitch with tension. She had experienced his power many times before, but she didn’t expect it to manifest at this moment.

‘That monster!’

Amelie gritted her teeth and thrust her sword at Bumseok. It was a risky move, but she trusted her teammate, Bormia. She thought that with Bormia’s flank support, they could handle Bumseok.

*Clang. Clang clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.*

Amidst countless strikes, Bumseok engaged in a fierce close battle against Amelie and Bormia. This was a great boost for the other God’s Knights gladiators. Because he was blocking Amelie and other S-class gladiators, they could outnumber Chaplin Whisper.

“Come on! Let’s fight for our master! Just defeat one more! Then we can win this match and take the championship!”

As Prisika’s shout echoed, the God’s Knights gladiators’ eyes lit up. Defeating one more wouldn’t guarantee victory, but it certainly increased the chances.

They knew that in such a chaotic battle, having one more or one less person could greatly affect the outcome. This could be seen in Madel’s situation, as she was being pushed back by Seyia and Tiela’s combined attacks, despite being an S-class gladiator. If they could defeat one more Chaplin Whisper gladiator here, the momentum would shift drastically towards God’s Knights.

“We can’t back down! We have to win! You all know what happens if we win today!”

Yamiya’s shout also raised the morale of the Chaplin Whisper gladiators. They had to win today’s match to gain a master. They couldn’t retreat here just because it was difficult.

At that moment, Kaneroa, who was fighting Jermia, glanced to the side. Bumseok, who was engaged in a battle with Amelie and Bormia, was passing nearby. If she could take him down, victory would be certain. She couldn’t help but hesitate.

‘If I tackle him here, Amelie-unni [term of endearment for older sister] will definitely be able to defeat Bumseok-nim. Then we’ll win.’

The problem was Jermia, who she was currently fighting. She wouldn’t stand still while Kaneroa tackled Bumseok. She would definitely be incapacitated as well. But the weight of her and Bumseok was different. The impact on the team was different. She was afraid of making a mistake, but the trade itself was welcome.

‘Either way, our team is losing right now. If we continue like this, we’ll lose, so it’s better to take a risk now. It’ll be too late later!’

Deciding, Kaneroa pushed back the sword against Jermia with all her might and kicked her in the stomach. Then, she quickly changed her posture and lunged towards Bumseok’s side.

“Yaah!”

Kaneroa’s tackle caused a stir throughout the arena. If successful, victory would belong to Chaplin Whisper. Naturally, the fans’ attention was focused on it.

However, Amelie’s expression was pale, almost white. She had caught Bumseok smirking and glancing to the side. And as if he had expected it, his katana was slightly protruding from its sheath. He seemed to have anticipated Kaneroa’s actions.

“No! Kaneroa!”

Amelie’s voice echoed around, but it was already too late. Bumseok threw his spear at her as she charged, and at the same time, he drew his katana with the skill of a master swordsman, slicing Kaneroa’s neck.

Kaneroa, rolling on the floor and stiffening, looked at Bumseok with a desperate gaze. Only now did she realize that she had been tricked.

The reason Bumseok had passed by was to lure her in.

*Wow! Wow!*

The visiting fans jumped up from their seats and shouted.

“Yes! We won! Oh, Bumseok! You’re the best!”

“Now wipe them all out without mercy!”

Soon, Bormia swung her sword at Bumseok with a tearful face. She realized that defeat was inevitable. The freed Jermia was helping Seyia and Tiela against Madel. In this state, Chaplin Whisper would soon collapse.

“Kyaak!”

Madel knelt on the floor with a short scream. It seemed that even she couldn’t handle three opponents at once while greatly exhausted. Seeing this, Amelie, unable to bear it any longer, shouted at Bormia.

“Bormia! Go help the others!”

“But what about you, unni!”

“There’s no choice right now!”

Bormia retreated, gritting her teeth. As she said, there was no choice now. If she didn’t help the other gladiator, they would definitely lose. She soon turned around and ran towards Tiela.

*Thud!*

Bormia’s eyes widened as she slowly knelt down. The katana that Bumseok had thrown had struck her back. He had just thrown his spear, so she never imagined that he would give up his last weapon.

Amelie spoke to Bumseok in an extremely trembling voice.

“Bumseok-nim! How much more are you going to interfere with us!”

“Interfere? Why are you saying that in a serious match for victory?”

“But… if we win here, the entire team will get a master!”

Bumseok sighed deeply.

“So, you’re telling us to give up on winning? Don’t say ridiculous things and hurry up and attack. All the others will be defeated while you’re standing here. You should quickly defeat me, who is unarmed, and go support them.”

Amelie couldn’t argue with that, so she charged forward with all her might. If she could just catch him, she could dream of a glimmer of hope. Soon, she reached Bumseok’s vicinity and swung her twin swords left and right, driving him back.

‘Heh heh. Come on. I’ll give you a wonderful trap.’

Bumseok, retreating step by step, stopped in one spot and evaded Amelie’s swords with just his upper body movements. It was a very dangerous move in front of the transforming swords, but a trap needed such bait.

“Come on. You’ll be able to catch me soon, right? Amelie, do your best. Heh heh heh.”

Angered by those words, Amelie swung her powerful twin swords at him continuously. Bumseok, who had prepared in advance, immediately leaped forward and grabbed her wrists roughly. Then, with a faint smile, he whispered mockingly to Amelie.

“Heh heh. This is the end, Amelie.”

Soon, Bumseok grabbed the sword that had fallen near the fallen Kaneroa with both feet, jumped up, and slashed Amelie’s abdomen. Then, he laid her down on the floor, slowly stiffening and speechless, and picked up the sword and threw it towards Emirese’s back.

Seeing two more people fall to the floor at the same time, the visiting fans cheered, while the home fans sat down in despair. Bumseok, watching them slowly, picked up the spear that had fallen nearby with a relaxed movement.

With five people lost in an instant due to Kaneroa’s mistake, Chaplin Whisper had no chance of winning, even if he didn’t step in.

*Wow! Wow!*

Soon, as all the Chaplin Whisper gladiators fell, the arena became noisy with the visiting fans’ commotion. God’s Knights’ World League victory after 8 years since its founding. It was natural for the fans to be deeply moved.

They cheered every time Bumseok and the God’s Knights gladiators ran around the arena. A victory ceremony that was quiet was not a good one.

“God’s Knights! We finally won! You did so well!”

“Amazing! God’s Knights! Winning the World League is like a dream!”

While they were sharing the joy of victory, Director Vincent scratched his head and came into the arena, picking up the gladiators who were lying on the floor. They were all disappointed and couldn’t even think of returning to the dugout, so they were lying on the floor crying.

It was not right to spoil someone else’s party. It was polite to comfort them and take them out.

Afterwards, Bumseok and his gladiators received the championship trophy and medals from Chairman Ibrahim and returned to the training camp triumphantly.

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

It’s almost over. It seems like it will be finished in about 2 more chapters. And I will upload a new work around the day after tomorrow.

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