Hello, Coach.

Shizuru greeted with a smiling expression, and the Japanese coach felt his heart racing uncontrollably.

Her beauty is on another level.

She was considered the most beautiful person in the world, and even though he had seen her on broadcasts, seeing her in person made him realize that videos couldnt fully capture her beauty.

Not only the coach but also the staff members couldnt help but gaze at Shizuru with admiration.

Ahem.

When Sword King uncomfortably cleared his throat, the coach finally regained his composure.

Oh, Im sorry. I got lost in thought for a moment.

Its okay. Im used to it.

Shizuru, I told you there was no need to come.

Hehe Why not? Its nice to go on a date with you after so long.

Shizuru leisurely smiled as she accommodated the Sword Kings discomfort.

Unlike his normally overbearing attitude at the Japan BattleNet Center, the Sword King

Ugh, stop staring already!

Couldnt hide his restlessness when Shizuru drew attention.

The Sword King has completely fallen.

Its understandable That level of beauty and charm.

If it were me, I might fall for her even without her trying.

You, stop that. Youre being rude towards the staff.

.Alright.

And with Shizurus gentle words, the Sword Kings momentum quickly deflated.

Those who saw this exchange realized the whip was clearly in Shizurus hands.

Sorry, everyone. He tends to be overprotective of me.

Ah, no, it was our fault for staring.

Hehe He doesnt like me being out for long either.Ill be straightforward. I have a plan to subdue Seong Jihan.

When Shizuru mentioned her plan, the Japanese coachs eyes lit up.

What is this plan you have in mind?

Well, it involves this item.

Shizuru handed the coach a large nail that emitted a bright white light.

A Sacrificial Nail.

Oh, I see A Sacrificial Nail. Its an item that sacrifices oneself to strengthen a teammates abilities, isnt it?

A Sacrificial Nail.

The Sacrificial Nail, graded as C, was an item that, when the player drove it into their own heart, triggered an effect that greatly amplified the abilities of a designated teammate. However, the buff effect was not substantial compared to the penalty of the players death, which made it an item that was rarely used.

Yes, the Sacrificial Nail has been completely removed from the game But this item is different. I personally modified it.

You modified an item? Can you do that with items?

The Japanese coach asked with a surprised expression.

Yes, I edited it a bit.

I made the buff from the Sacrificial Nail stackable.

Supporting Gift Edit, could she really modify items too? The Japanese coach inquired.

In what way did you change the item?

I altered the stacking mechanism of the buffs that the Sacrificial Nail applies.

You mean

Shizuru explained, What I mean isOriginally, whether one or ten people died, the Sacrifice effect could only be applied once. But this nail allows stacking up to ten times.

As she spoke, Shizuru looked at Seong Jihan displayed on the monitors in the strategy room.

Ive been keeping an eye on Seong Jihans data, and it seems that he doesnt fully benefit from buffs even when he receives them.

Yes, thats correct.

Seong Jihan, even when given buffs, couldnt fully utilize fully unleash the power of Martial Soul

The buffs from supporters didnt have much effect on him.

But Ryuhei, Hes different. He can fully use the buffs. With ten players starting by sacrificing themselves with the Sacrificial Nail, His power will be significantly enhanced. With that, hell be much stronger than Seong Jihan.

Thats true. Hes already stronger than Seong Jihan, and stacking buffs on top will certainly give him the advantage. However

The Japanese coach glanced at the Sword King.

He was frowning as he glared at the Sacrificial Nail.

We could defeat Seong Jihan without using this Couldnt we?

Sir, I know you could. But just this once, please follow my advice.

Bu-But still!

Ryuhei, please. Hand Seong Jihan an overwhelming defeat.

Shizuru didnt care about preserving the Sword Kings pride.

Ugh But!

The Sword Kings face flushed red with anger, but

When Shizuru quietly stared at him with tranquil eyes,

.Hah. Alright.

Although Sword King was initially infuriated, Shizurus persistent gaze and plea made him reconsider.

Fine. Ill do it.

The staff in the Japanese strategy room couldnt believe their eyes. Sword King, the top player, had just completely given in to Shizurus suggestion.

Shizurus influence on him is unbelievable.

Was her charm that powerful?

Sword King has become completely submissive to Shizuru.

Even though this plan completely tramples on Sword Kings pride

Shizuru continued with a smile, Thank you, Coach. Ill edit thirty Sacrificial Nails for you. Can you win all three games with them?

Ah Yes! If we eliminate Seong Jihan, Sword King alone can sweep the Korean team!

Great, then please make sure to win this match.

Shizuru smiled warmly.

Sword King, your pride doesnt matter this time. I need an overwhelming victory.

After the Akashic Pages price skyrocketed, cracks had appeared in Shizurus dominant position in Japan.

Her extensive influence couldnt be maintained any longer by just using charm.

Now, she had to demonstrate to the entire world that she was the owner of the Sword King and ensure that even the influential figures whose charm had been weakened couldnt touch her.

This plan is only for domestic use. Seong Jihan will be easily defeated by the Sword Kings overwhelming power.

By showing the Sword Kings overwhelming power, she could maintain her shaken influence as some brainwashing wore off.

Her interest had always been there.

As for Seong Jihan, if only the Sacrifice effect stacked, he would be easily defeated. She had no worries about that at all.

* * *

Seong Jihan and Yoon Seah were in a limousine on their way to the BattleNet Center.

Seong Jihan commented, The BattleNet Center feels like home now.

Yoon Seah replied, Well, the national team matches are almost over. We cant make it to the Champions League.

The national team league would conclude in November, and the top two teams would qualify for the World Champions League. However, South Koreas chances of making it were slim due to previous losses.

Since Korea already had accumulated losses before Seong Jihan joined, even winning out now wouldnt qualify them for the Champions League.

If they had won against China, there wouldve at least been a sliver of hope while exploring possibilities, but

After that loss, possibilities for this season disappeared.

Yoon Seah added, Its a pity that Uncle didnt become a national team member a bit sooner.

Seong Jihan chuckled, Back then, I was just Bronze and Silver. Even the country wouldnt have picked me.

Yoon Seah asked, So, have you prepared a plan to fight against Dad?

He is pretty strong.

Over the past few days, Seong Jihan had intensively analyzed the Sword Kings gameplay and coolly judged

Im a bit inferior at my current level.

Despite reaching Platinum and gaining 20 levels, His actual important Martial Soul hadnt risen.

So with his current strength, he could barely hold his ground against the Sword King, but it would be difficult to overwhelm him.

Well, Dad is still ranked 1st in the world. So what, You can beat him next time!

Dont determine my defeat already. I do have something prepared.

Yoon Seah asked, Oh, so whats the plan, Uncle?

At Yoon Seahs question, Seong Jihan recalled the Space League Promotion Match.

The sword held by the high elf, a World Tree branch.

It had suppressed the Avatar of the Constellation of the Dead Star by cutting it in half, but

It had shriveled up and disappeared after being swept up by Karleins power of death as he unleashed it.

I briefly saw the force composing the sword before it disappeared.

Seong Jihan explained, Well, during that battle, I felt the power of the Branch of the World Tree. One part is the life energy of the World Tree. It was similar to the power inscribed in the seed of the World Tree. If I extract it, I can recreate a similar power and the other was .

Yoon Seah asked, whats the other?

Seong Jihan said, I had a hunch about it but wasnt sure. I need to practice more.

Swish!

Seong Jihan summoned the shadow energy from his left hand.

Shadow Elves, the recoil created by disposing of any beings that didnt conform to the Elf standards set by the World Tree, and the Shadow Elves were born. Their shadow energy became intensely visible just before the Branch of World tree was destroyed.

However, Seong Jihan needed to be cautious because he was dealing with the power of life energy and shadow energy, and a mistake could have disastrous consequences.

Unlike Crimson Thunder where he fused Phoenix Flame and Divine Thunder,

This was an even more difficult task.

He was aware of the potential dangers of mishandling the power of life, as it could potentially release seeds into the world that could have catastrophic consequences. So, he approached the task with caution, focusing on in-game practice.

If only I can implement the Branch of world tree. When the Sword King hesitates and stops, I can feed him the leaves of the World Tree.

At the moment, there was a slight gap in their power, so it wasnt the right time to casually feed the leaves.

However, if he could implement the Branch of World Tree Sword, it would temporarily clear his brother-in-laws mind, and feeding him the leaves would completely break the spell.

But there was a problem.

Whats the method?

Its still under preparation.

Ah thats disappointing.

The implementation of the Branch of the world tree was still elusive.

Rather than clinging to this, would raising Crimson Thunder to increase his Martial Soul be better?

With only about five days left until the Korea-Japan match, it was a critical time. This was the time for choices and focus.

Uncle, are you going to play BattleNet after training?

No, this time, Ill only focus on personal training.

Starting from November, they could participate in BattleNet matches again. However, Jihan had decided to temporarily halt his level-up and dedicate himself to personal training until the Korea-Japan match was over.

I still have to be Platinum by December. Using the Korea-Japan match as an excuse to refrain from playing games for now.

With continuous #1 ranks, his leveling speed was absurdly fast, so he needed a break.

Entering the BattleNet Center, Seong Jihan immediately spoke upon seeing Coach Noh.

Coach, can you give me some time off from team training for the upcoming match against the Sword King? I have something to prepare.

Ah is that so? Understood. You can train independently.

If it were any other player, such a proposal would never have been accepted. However, since the one making the request was none other than Jihan, Noh Youngjun accepted it without hesitation.

Anyway, even if they were going to have team training, Jihan was so dominant on his own that he often played separately.

The 1 on 1 match against the Sword King is the most important game.

For both Korea and Japan,

The other warriors were just extras compared to the clash between the two.

He didnt know what preparations Seong Jihan mentioned, but

Hes the type who does things well on his own.

Coach Noh had endless trust in Seong Jihan.

On the other hand

Ah, hyung Ive lost my motivation just thinking about getting beaten by the Sword King again.

Ah, well, its hard to say. Why did the Sword King have to go to Japan to give us such a hard time?

Ito Shizuru is quite attractive, isnt she? I really want to see her in person. If I go to Japan, will she meet me?

Do you want the Sword King to kill you?

Is that so? Haha, too bad. Hey, look at this. A goddess descended upon the Japanese strategy center!

Wow Shes f*cking gorgeous.

The warriors, Kim Dongwoo and Lee Yoongi, were leisurely evaluating Shizurus face on their phones.

Ugh, its truly depressing there are no other raisable players

Hasnt Korean warrior talent focused too much on Seong Jihan and the Sword King?

Coach Noh deeply sighed and clapped his hands.

Alright, lets start team training.

Yes~

And so for 5 days

-Jihan hasnt been playing BattleNet even though its November.

-I heard that hes currently in closed-door training. He doesnt leave his room, and hes only inside the game. He says he has something to prepare.

-Oh preparation, you say. Do you think he has a card to play against the Sword King?

Rumors were rampant in both Korea and Japan. However, there were more positive rumors coming from Japan than from Jihan, who was training alone.

-According to the rumors in Japan, they already consider the game to be over. After Ito Shizuru visited the strategy center, they say theyve prepared tremendous items.

-Yes, I heard the same rumors. After that day, the Sword Kings odds dropped sharply. Japanese investors bet heavily on the Sword King.

-Jihan should stop making meaningless provocations. Well earn some GP in Japan.

More positive rumors circulated in Japan where Shizuru had personally made an appearance.

Perhaps due to this

It seemed like a lot of money had already been poured into the Sword King, and GP from all over the world was now focused on him.

-The odds difference is insane;; Is this even normal

-Well, you can just win next time!

-Right, Seong Jihan is still Gold!

-If he loses but fights well This is the scenario lol

While Korean BattleNet fans were half accepting their defeat before the Korea-Japan match even took place, the day of the match was fast approaching.

*****

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