Nightfall Joint Broadcast (2)
Eh?
What in the world is going on right now???
Every viewer watching this scene was rubbing their own eyes in disbelief.
After all, no one had actually witnessed what was unfolding before them.
Sia remembered the moment Ecclesia aimed her gun at Yujin and the bullets scattering across the ground.
But the sequence of events in between remained completely invisible.
Shooting a flash of light and suddenly the whole situation was over, that was the best description she could come up with.
— No way, did the Somazua really deflect the bullet with a sword???
— Nah, lol lol lol lol Is that even possible?? Humans?? lol lol lol
Of course the viewers knew the truth.
Yujin possessed insane physical stats, capable of killing Tutorial Boss Ariandel with a single sword or even hunting a full-blown Ruler, far larger than any back mountain.
But deflecting a bullet flying straight at him with a sword was something entirely different from hunting monsters.
Regardless of logic, it was simply impossible for a human to react that fast.
— Information: According to the official statement from Nightfall’s production team, the bullet is traveling at roughly twice the speed of sound.
— But a bullet fired point-blank at twice the speed of sound was deflected by a sword? Even a bat couldn’t pull that off lol lol lol
— No way;; I can’t even dodge one mosquito flying right in front of my face
— lol lol lol Mosquitoham is legit lol lol lol
— Mosquitoham can’t even be dodged by Somazua lol lol lol
“…How is this even possible?”
Sia’s voice stuttered as she stared at the impossible scene right in front of her eyes.
To be honest, Sia had always believed that if it was Yujin facing her, he could at least dodge the bullets she fired.
Normally, reacting to a gun in time would be impossible for any human, but since she had already seen his monstrous physical stats multiple times, she had judged that dodging would be more than enough.
But deflecting the bullet itself with a sword? She had never expected that.
And even more unbelievable — she had watched the entire motion right in front of her, yet still couldn’t recognize how fast he swung the sword!
‘…The bullet’s speed must be faster than I thought. This might actually be dangerous.’
Meanwhile, Yujin muttered to himself, completely unaware of Sia’s thoughts.
While the scene of him deflecting the bullet with a sword might look absurd to outsiders, for Yujin it was nothing difficult at all.
That was because he possessed the skill Combat Prediction, which let him foresee the opponent’s next move at a near-future level.
The speed of the bullet didn’t matter. How close Sia was firing from didn’t matter either.
With Combat Prediction, Yujin could predict exactly which direction and from which angle in the next few seconds Sia would shoot at him!
‘Well, it doesn’t mean Combat Prediction has no drawbacks…’
But there was no problem.
Because the simple solution was to beat Sia before her weakness was exposed.
— Is it even possible for Ecclesia to win???
— If she keeps spraying long-range suppression fire and dodging, there’s still a chance for Ekl to win lol lol lol
— This is impossible lol lol lol lol How can you win against a monster that dodges bullets fired right in front of it?? lol lol lol lol
‘This is bad.’
And as Yujin silently watched the viewers’ comments, he finally realized he had made a mistake.
The tournament hadn’t even properly started yet, yet viewers were already treating the impossible sword-deflection as a sign that the match’s outcome had been decided.
This wasn’t a good sign at all.
Viewers wouldn’t stay interested in a fight whose winner was already obvious, and they would simply leave right now.
That would ruin the entire point of pushing for the joint broadcast with Powal Software just to have a proper matchup with Ecclesia.
So there was only one way to turn this around.
Clink.
Yujin slid his Stellar Sword back into its sheath and spoke.
“If it’s all right with Ecclesia-nim, I’d like to switch weapons, even if it’s only for fairness in the duel.”
“…For fairness, you refuse to use the Stellar Sword? Then what weapon will you use?”
At Sia’s question, Yujin pulled a sword from his inventory.
A plain, worn-out straight sword with its center blade bent as if struck by a hammer, looking like it would snap at any moment.
— What the heck, it was just a basic straight sword lol lol lol lol lol
— And the central part is completely smashed like it got hammered by Ariandel’s greatsword, about to break;;
— Basic weapon vs hidden weapon that only appears in the game’s late game lol lol lol lol
— The chest feels so grand ddd d
“Are you mocking me? Or are you underestimating me? With a weapon like that, can you claim you’d defeat me so easily?”
Yujin simply shrugged at Sia’s sharp question.
“Of course not. I only have this one other weapon besides the Stellar Sword anyway.”
After killing Ariandel in the tutorial, he immediately dropped into Paradise and fought the Ruler right away, so there hadn’t been any time to obtain another weapon.
“Besides, you didn’t show any mercy to me earlier, did you? I was quite surprised myself. I never imagined the bullet would be that fast.”
Yet you handled that bullet as if it were nothing when you deflected it with the sword.
“That was just pure reflex because I was shocked. Even for me, pulling off such a trick isn’t easy.”
— ??? : Too excited, I accidentally said English…
— If Somazua is shocked, he reacts even crazier than normal… note…
— Logically, if you’re shocked, you should drop the sword, right??? What is Somazua even lol lol lol lol lol
Although Yujin’s words sounded arrogant, no one in the room felt that way about him.
That was because Yujin had every right to speak that way.
Especially right after demonstrating the absurd scene of deflecting a bullet fired point-blank with a sword.
“Besides, this Stellar Sword also has a hidden effect that dramatically boosts my physical abilities. After considering all these points, I believe it’s fairer for both of us if I switch weapons.”
Yujin’s statement was certainly correct.
But that didn’t mean Sia could nod and accept it.
Her reason approved of the idea, but her pride whispered that even if she lost, there was no meaning in fighting a weakened Yujin.
“…Just use the Stellar Sword. I want to fight Somazua in his full power.”
— No way, Ekl, you know Somazua gets crushed if he uses the Stellar Sword, yet you’re still insisting lol lol lol
— Ekl, pride is useless, winning is the most important thing…
— Just let Somazua use the Stellar Sword and give him a glorious death gg
— ??? : Ugh… If the opponent hadn’t used the Stellar Sword, I wouldn’t have lost so easily…!
— lol lol lol
With the two opinions running parallel, Winter suddenly jumped in to break the deadlock.
“If we keep going like this, we’ll never reach a conclusion. How about we settle it with a majority vote?”
“Majority vote?”
“Everyone’s vote will decide which weapon Oppa uses!”
After saying that, Winter fiddled with something, and a voting window popped up on screen.
[What weapon do you want Somazua to use in this duel?]
[1. Stellar Sword]
[2. Broken Straight Sword (Jiin)]
— Just a normal straight sword? Then what’s Broken Straight Sword (Jiin) lol lol lol
— No lol lol lol Is this vote too cruel for Ekl lol lol lol lol
— Fairness my ass, let’s see Somazua run around in the Open Six Meridians version???
— ??? : With Six Meridians he’d definitely break something…
— Honestly I want to see Ekl win… pride be damned, I just wanna watch Ekl win…
— If Somazua somehow wins even with the Broken Straight Sword, the Ekl fans would be happy lol lol lol lol
While the viewers poured out their opinions, the voting time passed in a flash.
“Voting has now ended!”
At Winter’s announcement, the votes closed and the results appeared on screen.
[Vote Results]
1. Stellar Sword (22%)
2. Broken Straight Sword (Jiin) (78%)
The overwhelming victory of the Broken Straight Sword!
Meanwhile, only 22% of viewers hoped Yujin would use his main weapon, the Stellar Sword, in this duel.
Even the viewers watching right now understood the truth.
If Yujin used the Stellar Sword, the fight would end in an instant.
— We wanted to see a real intense battle, not something that ends in one second
— Ekl noona sorry… If Somazua uses the Stellar Sword, the result is too obvious
— Ekl, you couldn’t even beat Tutorial Ariandel, you’re useless lol lol lol
“If that’s what you viewers desire, I’ll accept the result. But listen, everyone.”
Clink—!
Just like before, Sia aimed her Martial Heavy Cannon at Yujin again and fired without hesitation.
Kaaang—!
With a metallic clang, the bullet she shot at Yujin bounced right back.
At first glance, everything looked exactly the same as before.
But everyone watching instinctively understood.
This time, something decisive had changed from earlier.
— Eh??? This time Somazua swung his sword lol lol lol lol
— Is it because the hidden body-correction effect from the Stellar Sword disappeared???
— It’s still impressive, but it doesn’t feel inhuman like before lol lol lol lol
Looking at Yujin’s slower and more laborious motion of deflecting the bullet, Sia quietly spoke.
“Even if it’s only half my strength, I’m no pushover, am I?”
While watching Sia pour her full determination into the fight, Yujin smirked to himself.
Yeah, that’s the way it should be. That’s why I put myself in this handicap — it actually means something.
‘It’s been about five years since anyone challenged me, right?’
Yujin raised the corner of his mouth with a hidden sense of anticipation.
He hoped Sia would prove to be a worthy opponent to ease his long period of stagnation.