Gwanjongcheonma’s Game Broadcast - Chapter 158

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 158
“Anyone watching would think we’d won the championship.”
“Ahem. Mm.”
Joint clears his throat at Da-hong’s remark.
“I think I know how he feels. When my mother wouldn’t buy me a game console, I cried like that too.”
“No, that’s not it…….”
At Hyeon-bin’s well-meaning words, Joint’s face flushes.
“The second game felt just like my driving skills.”
“You bastards…… I told you to stop teasing!”
At last, Hae-rang’s words made Joint explode.
He pushes his mini sunglasses up and raises his voice.
But the three of them only laughed harder.
“Puhahaha!”
Hidden beneath the sunglasses,
dried tear streaks lay bare for all to see.
“Why, why! What are you doing!”
The three approached Joint, bewildered, and patted his back.
“You’ve done well.”
“Leave the rest to us!”
“Now you can watch at ease.”
“…… You guys.”
Joint had wept tears of joy after winning the first round.
But in the second match, he suffered a crushing defeat.
There were several reasons for it.
Hae-rang had only copied Jo Sang-jin in the first game,
and a tailored strategy was impossible.
There was also the aftereffect of pouring all his concentration into the first game.
But Joint had already fulfilled his role.
An ordinary Streamer winning a match victory against Singularity.
For this fact alone, he deserved applause.
“Thank you. It was all because of you three.”
Joint offered a formal bow to the three of them.
Not only Hae-rang, but Da-hong and Hyeon-bin had also given their best to a sparring session from which they gained little.
Without them, today’s victory would have been impossible.
“Second round is my turn!”
Hyeon-bin snorted and rushed into the Capsule.
The current score was one win and one loss each.
Considering that Joint was the weakest of them, the real game could be said to be starting now.
Especially since this match was a confrontation between the former and current Singularity.
The consensus was that a fierce, close battle would unfold.
Just one person.
Hae-rang alone disagreed.
“In this match, there will be no need for you to take the field.”
“Pardon?”
Da-hong stared at Hae-rang with wide eyes.
No need for her to take the field.
Did that mean if Hyeon-bin lost, Hae-rang would finish things for certain?
But soon, she realized her thinking was wrong.
“Kwuwoooang!”
Crash!
<K.O.>
<‘JustHyeonbin’ WIN>
<‘JustHyeonbin’ records a match victory!>
<Current record: Team Heavenly Demon Sect (4 wins, 1 loss) vs Singularity 7 (1 win, 4 losses)>
<Team Heavenly Demon Sect victory!>
<Team Heavenly Demon Sect advances to the semifinals!>
“Yes!”
An Upper identical to the one ‘Fubau’ had thrown—a victory pose.
Hyeon-bin had won three consecutive matches against the Singularity 7 team.
Score 4 to 1.
Thanks to Ma Hyeon-bin’s three consecutive wins, Hae-rang and Da-hong no longer needed to take the stage themselves.
“Wow…….”
Watching Ma Hyeon-bin emerge from the Capsule, Da-hong’s jaw hung open.
She’d always known that Hyeon-bin was a prodigy.
But lately, his growth had been visible day after day.
He’d barely scraped by in yesterday’s solo match, but if they faced off today, it would be a different story. His trajectory was unmistakable.
Despite being on the same team, tension coiled tight in her chest.
“A genius is a genius. Even within Singularity, the child was called a prodigy, but after meeting you, it’s like he’s shed another layer.”
“You needn’t speak of it as if it were someone else’s matter.”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve made a leap forward yourself, Da-hong.”
Hae-rang’s cryptic words were proven in the semifinal that followed immediately after.
“Take that!”

Ma Hyeon-bin, who’d gone out as the vanguard and secured victory.
Yet Team Singularity 2 had depths of their own.
O Gyeong-tae’s Edith struck a decisive blow against Ma Hyeon-bin’s Fubao.
Ye Da-hong, confirming the loss, shrugged off her jacket and stood.
“O Gyeong-tae looks sharp today. This could be a wild card.”
When he was off, he’d burrow underground and hide; when his condition was good, he looked like he could beat anyone. That was the kind of player O Gyeong-tae was.
O Gyeong-tae was exactly that type.
Even the Edith he played seemed to take after him.
Once he found his rhythm, the character became unstoppable.
Da-hong remembered times when she’d struggled against him in that state.
But Hae-rang merely watched from the sidelines like a disinterested spectator.
“You’ll be fine. Go out and play well.”
Da-hong asked in disbelief.
“Joint and Hyeon-bin get tips before every match, but I get nothing?”
“You don’t need any.”
“Seriously.”
Da-hong boarded the Capsule with a bewildered expression.
And then came the third confrontation.
‘What’s going on?’
It was strange.
As confirmed earlier, O Gyeong-tae’s rhythm looked exceptionally sharp.
And yet, somehow——
Edith, piloted by O Gyeong-tae, moved far more predictably than before.
Bang! Pop!
The Low Attack that would have swept her away in the past came down at just the right moment, and she slipped into a crouch to avoid it,
and his throw attempt was met with sharp reflexes that broke free in an instant.
“Huh?”
Even O Gyeong-tae, facing her, looked surprised.
Against his Edith, whose large-framed movements had been shut down,
Da-hong’s Kiroi unleashed a merciless barrage of combos.
Crack! Boom!
Da-hong strung the combos together with surgical precision.
At the same time, she found herself recalling her conversation with Hae-rang moments before.
That her match against O Gyeong-tae would be fine.
And it was proving to be exactly as he’d said.
‘I’d thought it was just good conditioning from his solo performance…….’
But looking at it now, that wasn’t it at all.
Her opponent’s movements were clearer than ever before,
and attacks she would normally have failed to stop, she somehow defended against without thinking.
‘Easy.’
It was surreal enough to draw an incredulous laugh from her.
O Gyeong-tae’s Edith felt almost effortless.
The very same opponent she’d traded wins and losses with in internal evaluations.
If O Gyeong-tae’s skill hadn’t diminished,
there was only one conclusion.
Da-hong’s skill had risen dramatically.
Why hadn’t Da-hong become aware of her own growth?
[Next time, try varying your Mix-up after the Upper—it’s too predictable.]
[You throw Grabs to the right every single time. Is that a habit?]
[Spamming Mid Kicks without thought is just asking for a Counter.]
‘Getting pounded by Hae-rang constantly—when was there time to feel the difference…!’
The sparring sessions with Hae-rang replayed in her mind.
Not a single match had come easily.
And after sparring ended, Haechori always followed—just like always.
Every attempt was a struggle; victories came like rain in a drought.
So there had been no moment to realize her skill had improved.
‘But now I see it.’
Sparks flashed in Da-hong’s eyes as she seized momentum.
Crack!
Red thunder descended from the sky!
Da-hong’s Kiroi, activating Blood Burst, moved like lightning.
“Hgh…!”
Cornered, O Gyeong-tae drew out her main skill.
The Thomas technique—spinning both legs like a windmill from a seated position.
The old Da-hong would have calmly blocked and countered,
but she, having shed a layer of caution, chose differently.
Whip!
The Flying Heel—spinning her body once in midair before driving her right leg down.
Being an airborne attack meant it could bypass the opponent’s Low Attacks,
but the timing was all the harder to land.
Catching a rolling hula hoop by hand versus jumping in place to evade.
That was the difference.
But Da-hong chose the jump without hesitation.
Because the hula hoop was so clearly visible to her.
Boom!
Not blocking and counterattacking,
but evading and striking.
In this case, a Counter hit was guaranteed with absolute certainty.
As Da-hong landed the Flying Heel, the opponent’s body drove into the ground, then bounced back up like a spring.
“Hah!”
With a fierce battle cry, Kiroi’s Air Combo erupted in flames.
As if venting everything she’d endured(?) from Hae-rang,
Kiroi’s movements were fiercer and sharper than usual.

‘Hae-rang was right.’
Watching O Gyeong-tae crumple to the ground, Da-hong clenched her fist.
The sense of achievement in that tight fist surpassed even when she’d made the solo National Team.
Every moment—beaten so badly that dust rose even on rainy days—
none of it had been wasted.
“Hah!”
Having confirmed her growth with her whole body, she swept across the Battlefield like a fish in water.
As a result,

Ye Da-hong had claimed three consecutive games.
The progression mirrored Ma Hyeon-bin’s three-win streak in the Quarterfinals,
but considering the opponent had been Singularity 2, the achievement carried even greater significance.
“You were amazing!”
“Absolutely incredible! Da-hong!”
Da-hong raised both hands and high-fived Ma Hyeon-bin and Joint.
She approached Hae-rang and asked him a question.
“Now I understand why you said that. Training in Hell difficulty every time has made these past two matches feel like exhausted hand warmers.”
“Indeed.”
“All those beatings paid off. When I was losing, I just felt frustrated, but now…”
“A fine blade, after all…”
Hae-rang’s gaze swept across the three of them.
“is forged only through striking good steel countless times.”
“……!”
It would have been different at other times.
They might have jeered, ‘Is he trapped by his concept again?’
But the three of them simply smiled without saying a word.
Because, somehow, it felt like they were truly serving the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
* * *
[We will now begin the Iron Fist Nine team finals.]
[All competitors advancing to the finals, please move to your respective positions.]
Along with the announcement, the names of both teams appeared on the large screen.

Singularity’s elite forces gathered into a single team for the Iron Fist category.
Each member of the team’s composition was formidable.
All four were opponents Da-hong and Ma Hyeon-bin had beaten and lost to.
And so, tension was indeed mounting.
Above all, the pressure from a stage called the “Finals” was immense.
“Yikes!”
Even Singularity was tense enough to swallow hard,
so what of Joint, who had reached the National Team Selection Tournament finals for the first time in ages?
He tried to walk calmly, but his foot caught on itself and he stumbled.
“Are you all right?”
“Damn it. I’m making a pathetic impression before the match even starts.”
Joint accepted the support and stood, laughing bitterly.
Regardless of nerves, Joint had to be considered out of commission now.
An upset could only happen when the skill gap was small enough.
The gap between Jo Sang-jin and the current ‘Singularity 1’ was quite significant.
It was essentially a 3-on-4 fight.
Hae-rang’s gaze turned toward the ‘Singularity 1’ members.
Then he turned his head toward Da-hong.
“There is something I would like to ask you, Da-hong.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“If the Italian team were to face Singularity 1, what would the match history look like?”
“!”
At the mention of the Italian team, Da-hong’s eyes turned savage.
The team that included Alberto, who had harassed her.
The team that had also reached the finals in the last Capsule Cup.
“I hate to admit it, but… no matter who went up against them, they would have swept everyone. That’s the current gap between Korea and the world.”
“I see.”
Hae-rang nodded slowly.
His expression was calm, but blue flames flickered in his eyes.
“I will go first in this encounter.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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