Chapter 253

Inside the Chinese glass sphere.

"Hurry! Hurry up!"

The Chinese mage Je Galheon was urging his colleagues.

"Je Galheon, the score difference is 5-fold. Are you sure we need to rush?"

"It seems Seong Jihan's power doesn't count here."

"Seems so judging by the score."

Je Galheon, having drawn the Eight Trigrams Overlap Skill, kept looking down nervously.

"Do you believe he will just accept not scoring and wont do anything?"

"Hm…"

"He will definitely strike back. We either finish this now or widen the score gap further!"

"Alright, I get it."

"Lightning Storm!"

Je Galheon, leveraging the Eight Trigrams Overlap from the sky, intensified his lightning magic and targeted the magic circle.

The already strengthened spell was further amplified through the circle,

With thunderous bolts that would oddly vanish midair before reaching the ground.

"What…"

"Our magic is disappearing mid-flight!"

The lightning that was to strike the ground with such force suddenly dissipated.

The mages looked down through the transparent floor to see a terrifying whirlwind of darkness rapidly approaching.

"That's Seong Jihan's martial arts, isn't it?"

"Why is he heading this way?!"

"Damn, it's unfair to face consequences for not scoring… conform to the game's intent!"

"No point in complaining, he won't go easy on us. Prepare a counterattack or put up a defensive spell!"

Je Galheon shouted at his complacent fellow mages.

Whoosh…!

The massive whirlwind of darkness that was approaching suddenly vanished.

Then,

Tap! Tap!

Knocking sounds came from a gap on the top of the Chinese glass sphere.

"Hello."

Seong Jihan emerged through the gap, waving calmly from above the sphere.

Moments ago, he was far off laying down. Now, he had already infiltrated inside.

"So soon…"

"I was actually going to break this open however…"

Tap! Tap!!

Seong Jihan, tapping lightly on the glass,

"I figured, if the game ends because of that, we might actually lose, right?"

Whoosh…!

Drawing his shadow sword, he made a swift cut.

And with that single strike, the players were cleaved in two.

More than ten mages, taken by surprise, were swept away except for one, Je Galheon.

Protected by a blue shield right before Seong Jihan's strike could reach,

"Quick thinking…"

Crack!

Watching the shield shatter before his eyes, Je Galheon's eyes flickered.

Facing Seong Jihan one-on-one would mean certain defeat.

"…Inferno!"

Je Galheon attempted to cast a potent flame spell not on the magic circle but directly onto the Chinese glass sphere.

"Ah, can't…!"

Before he could finish, his mouth and hands froze.

Restrained completely by Seong Jihan's control, Je Galheon couldn't move an inch.

Seong Jihan, confining him, looked around.

"One survivor should suffice."

With Je Galheon as the sole survivor, all other summoned Chinese mages were slain.

The Chinese magic circle was swiftly occupied by Seong Jihan.

=Oh… Seong Jihan, not scoring himself, decided to invade the opponent!

=He could have shattered the Chinese glass sphere but opted to occupy it until Korea's score went up.

=What is the game rule related to this scenario?

=Usually, it ends one hour after it starts, and the outcome is decided by the purification score. However, there's nothing in the map description about occupying the opponent's sphere.

=Given the enormous distance between spheres, this tactic wouldn't be possible for anyone other than Seong Jihan.

The Wizards' Retribution map, designed for mages to score with their spells.

The participants never thought of attacking someone else's distant sphere.

-The score not rising had me scared, but now the comfort is back.

-Fr, the 5-fold score difference is closing fast. Will Seong Jihan shatter the Chinese sphere once it's overtaken?

-But won't destroying their own sphere to end the game unfair? It's an exaggerated concern. If that worked, anyone leading could self-destruct to finish the game.

-Sounds like he's just testing the waters because it's the last game. Crushing or subduing, it's all the same to Seong Jihan. LOL

-Our mages do seem weak… they are taking a lot of time to close in the gap LOL

-Without Seong Jihan, even breaking the barriers is hard. Seems we have to address this imbalance.

With Seong Jihan occupying the Chinese magic circle, their score ceased to rise, while Korea's increased slowly due to insufficient firepower.

=20 minutes left in the game!

=Our mages need to put in more effort!

=Oh, another barrier is forming…!

=Just break through, and we can overcome the score difference China has…

"It's no use."

Sighing softly, Seong Jihan, who was practicing martial arts inside the Chinese glass sphere, got ready to leave.

After all the help, he thought the Korean mages would finish things, but the initial gap remained.

Wrongly handled, this could end in a loss despite Korea's advantage.

"Let's go."

Seong Jihan, floating Je Galheon in tow, moved out.

From afar,

The Korean sphere, looking like a mere dot, was spitting out fire and lightning.

But these seemed feeble compared to the might of China's orb.

To break through the earth barriers would take an eternity.

'I'll have to break it for them.'

Outside the glass sphere,

Seong Jihan braced his feet.

Tap! Crack…!

Instant rifts appeared across the glass and intense currents swirled around the Phoenix Flag in his right hand.

Whoosh!

The thrown spear vanished into the clouds.

Fundamental Divine Arts, Divine Thunder Decree – Celestial Judgment

Soon after,

Flash!

A giant spear of thunder pierced the earth beside Korea's base.

=Ah! Seong Jihan's sky spear closes the immense distance directly!

=He can use it from that range? This player has no limits!

=The team's magic starts again through the broken barrier. Our score is rising!

=Oh, finally turning around…!

Seong Jihan, watching the score reversal, glanced at Je Galheon.

"Je Galheon, see you in the next Space League game."

Je Galheon was a foe in national matches but an ally in the Space League.

After a simple wave and a firm grip,

Boom!

Je Galheon's body exploded as he logged out and got defeated.

Seong Jihan checked the game progress.

'The game doesn't end without survivors.'

In future maps of this kind, just eliminate everyone from the start.

Looking down at his feet towards the former Chinese base,

Seong Jihan contemplated what would happen if he destroyed it.

'Time to test.'

Crack-Zizzle!

Focusing force into his feet, the glass shattered, red currents engulfing the dissolving glass sphere.

As the Chinese base dissipated,

[The opposing team's magic circle has collapsed, the purgation ceremony cannot continue.]

[The 'China' team's score is finalized as is.]

A system message appeared for all survivors and commentators viewing the game.

Despite the destruction of an opponent's base, Wizards' Retribution continues unless one side succumbs.

"Next time, I'll break it right away."

Seong Jihan watched glass fragments fall from the sky, his face the very picture of ease.

Looked at in passing, his expression seemed almost bored by the ease of victory.

And then.

[The game concludes.]

[Korea has won.]

The fifth game thus ended with a complete wipeout of the opponent.

* * *

=Seong Jihan truly carries the ease of a formidable player.

=The fifth game concludes just like that…

=Seong Jihan truly shows why he's invariably banned in every game.

Watching the game footage, where Seong Jihan thoroughly dominated, drained the Chinese commentators of energy.

=It's a pity about Game 4. If they had banned Seong Jihan then, the game might have turned out differently.

=In the next game, he must be banned without fail. While Korea boasts many exceptional players like Yoon Sejin and Yoon Seah, none can match Seong Jihan.

=From the coach's perspective, it's a complete pursuit of victory that ended up backfiring.

=Still… It's fortunate that he's on our side for the next game.

=He should never be banned then. Seong Jihan!

Though the Chinese commentary aimed against Seong Jihan, it wasn't overly hostile.

When he's an adversary for the country, but on the human team, he's the most dependable ally.

-That crazy guy… won a game that was already won!

-The coach should have banned Seong Jihan continuously. We relaxed in Game 4, and this is what we get, an upset loss…

-The coach should be fired, and a new person appointed!

-If he had been banned even once in Games 4 and 5, we would have won…

-Have we ever won against Seong Jihan?

-Except for the early days of BattleNet when the game wasn't properly established, no.

-That bored expression is making me even angrier.

While the commentators remained composed, Chinese viewers went into a frenzy after losing the top spot. Seong Jihan's arrogant expression made it to the front page of China's portal. Overseas media also featured his expression on their front pages, announcing the results of the recent match.

"Jihan. Finally seeing your face!"

Meanwhile, inside the penthouse, Seong Jihan was having tea with Sophia and Yoon Seah.

"Uncle. Your face was captured perfectly? You look incredibly arrogant."

"Seah. What are you talking about? This is the composure of a strong player!"

He chuckled as he looked at his face on Seah's phone.

"The fifth game felt so smooth, my real sentiments showed. The fourth game was actually a tense one."

"Ah, game four? Jihan… that game had me on edge. Who could have imagined you had support abilities?"

"Now, does uncle have any weaknesses?"

"Well, banning is the weakness."

While it was true that if the Golem Duel map were chosen again, he couldn't use Heavenly Tree Descending Spirit without losing life force, Seong Jihan chose not to mention it in the presence of Sophia.

"Well… If Uncle were banned in Game 4, we would have lost. In China, people were going crazy, asking why he wasn't banned in Game 4, saying the coach should be fired."

"But Jihan must have hidden his supporting ability. At that time, didn't all the Chinese coaches make a reasonable choice?"

"Yeah. It's all hindsight now."

"Ah. But doesn't this make the need for support power disappear? That's a shame…"

"We still need support power. I could still be banned."

"Oh! So how about me? I'm getting better with Korean. I can communicate effectively with the Korean supporters!"

As soon as Seong Jihan acknowledged the need for support, Sophia advanced her case, and he could only offer a wry smile.

Even after the outcome of the Golem Duel, she showed no signs of giving up.

"Aren't you getting love calls from America?"

"I've heard talks of joining their national team. But I want to win the Champions League here, with Jihan~"

"Uncle… just accept her. Even Diego Masied has been asking about naturalization recently. Let's create a dream team!"

"…Sophia is fine, but why are you acting like this?"

"Why? We aim for the Champions League victory! We can scout just like any other country; nothing's stopping us!"

Recent membership in the representative team seemed to fuel a burning desire for Champions League glory.

Yoon Seah, previously disinterested in the topic of Sophia, now pushed for Seong Jihan's consent.

Indeed, if Sophia had been there for game four,

And Diego Masied for game five, they wouldn't have been pushed around by China.

"That's enough."

As Seong Jihan tried to fend off the two, an urgent message popped up.

[The Constellation 'Brahma' contacts you urgently.]

[He appeals to you to explain the use of the Crimson Thunder again.]

The message arrived from Brahma who had cut contact after giving his throne to Seong Jihan.