Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 87

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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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Chapter 87

The moment the surroundings shifted, Seo Jun checked his teammates through the interface.
As expected.
“I knew this would happen.”
Not a single familiar nickname among his teammates.
He’d anticipated it, but unluckily, the worst-case scenario of his predictions had come to pass.

-??
-What is this?
-3 vs 1?????
-Is this game difficulty real? We have to beat 3 Rankers lmaooo
-What’s going on?
-This seems tough

“It’s probably because of the Prestige Points difference.”
Seo Jun explained briefly, then observed his teammates.
What level were they at?
Average?
Or were they distributed among the upper ranks in significant numbers?
They weren’t Rankers.
As usual, they assessed the composition and greeted him.
“Hello.”
“Yes.”
“Nice to meet you. But the enemy’s nickname looks familiar—what is it?”
Judging by how quickly one of them had checked the enemy nicknames, he seemed sharp at reading situations.
“Hello.”
Seo Jun replied, then surveyed his teammates’ characteristics.
Tank.
Dealer.
Dealer.
The Tank had picked Hyubseong Daebeop.
Not the time-limited version Seo Jun had chosen, but the genuine life-steal variant that sustained through draining enemy blood.
One of the Dealers had chosen Jangbeop.
The last one was close-range, having picked the martial art Sura Gwon.
“How should we strategize? Just go light with a 1-3 split?”
“You guys, I think the enemies are 3 Rankers. And you—are you the Cheonma at #1 Contribution Score?”
He’d caught on quick.
“Yeah, that’s right.”
The perceptive user who’d brought the Tank was the one who’d grasped the situation.
Strategy, then.
“Huh. What do we do?”
“I can’t get a read on how they’ll come at us.”
“Just go Standard National Rule….”
Seo Jun fell into thought, watching the chat.

-This match I gotta bring my team along lmao
-Lucky I picked Cheonma Shingong. Looking at them, their Hyubseong Daebeop is hard-countered
-What counters Cheonma Shingong?
-Nothing. It IS the counter. It’s garbage lolololol

Cheonma Shingong wasn’t great, that much was true.
Not in terms of game mechanics, but in actual martial arts.
Anyway.
Seo Jun lifted his head and spoke.
His thinking had resolved itself quickly.
“I’ll head down the center alone. You all go to the sides.”
A streamer couldn’t shy away from a fight like this.

-Isn’t that overreaching?
-Do you not need your team’s help?
-Let’s go!

No.
In fact, they might become a hindrance rather than help.

* * *

The teammates scattered to the outer Control Points on either side following Seo Jun’s orders, while he advanced toward the center with the warrior NPCs.
“How do you think they’ll come at us?”

-Don’t know
-With that composition, I’d guess they’ll bunch up?
-You gotta level up anyway, center’s mandatory
-Wait, could the boss man really be going in alone?

Standard National Rule was 3 in center, 1 on the side—secure one Control Point while focusing the center pressure.
If you picked Standard National Rule and the enemy sent 4 to center, you’d just hold until the side player returned.
Since usually the player with the fastest movement speed goes to the side, they could even claim the opposite point.
The moment you secure 2 points, the rising experience and damage you can deal to the enemy fortress makes 3 in the center worth the sacrifice as long as they don’t fall completely.
Of course, all of this meant nothing to Seo Jun.
“Winning is winning anyway.”

-The boss’s strategy. Win the fight. Claim the points. There we go!
-Tactical genius Cheonma
-Honestly, I wanted to tell him to quit spouting nonsense, but after seeing that absolute madness yesterday… ugh
-Honestly feels like he could win 3v1. Doesn’t make sense

Even if the sword technique was learned through a game, the users’ skill level was quite high.
Or was it because of learning through a game?
As mentioned before, virtual reality was the best environment to experience real combat.
It didn’t hurt, and you didn’t die.
‘These players don’t risk death, so they repeat the same motion hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of times.’
That’s why more of them survive.
Conversely, if you survive real combat, you can skip those tens of thousands of repetitions.
‘Well, those tens of thousands of repetitions aren’t just for surviving real combat, but…’
Either way.
Seo Jun’s eyes met those of the three Rankers directly across from him.
One regular user had apparently gone elsewhere.
Three versus one, then.
“It’s a bit daunting. What’s daunting? The flood of your attention once I win this.”

-Hahahahahaha you crazy bastard lmaooo
-There he goes flashing those teeth again hahahahahaha
-They probably heard him? lmao their faces got bitter

It was a bit sad that he kept collecting so many laughs.
He’d been serious.
“Let’s talk about it after you win.”
Maybe they’d started understanding how he spoke by now?
The enemy didn’t flinch—they immediately drew weapons and charged.
Or perhaps they’d acknowledged his skill and were showing respect.
For a 3-on-1, their shoulders were set with serious intent.
“This is going to be tough.”
The first to charge was Han Pun Man of the Gaebanmun.
As a Tank, the intention seemed to be to grab him early, though they didn’t commit too deeply.
They were cautious about his deadly Sword Qi.
In Territory Control Battles, most martial techniques require leveling, but one feature of Cheonma Shingong was that it applied passively, same as Greenwood Arts.
The two who followed began moving to encircle him.
That Cheonma Shingong’s effect was always active meant the debuff was too.
They’d decided that slow him—surrounded and under attack—he’d neither evade nor demonstrate clean technique.
Namgung Sega Jeom Soi.
The Ranker he’d fought yesterday.
The martial technique she’d chosen was Jewang Geom Hyung.
A characteristic that multiplied in power the faster you leveled up early.
Its signature was a debuff when the technique unfolded—pressure.
In other words, they’d make him slower.
All three had no techniques available right now, but that didn’t change the fact that two swords and a club were coming at him.
Lest he attempted a parry, they never mixed in Strong Attacks.
It was effective too.
A sword slipped just over his bowed head.
At the same time, another sword from the side was drawing a line downward toward him.
He twisted his body.
Then the club approached from the opposite side.
Their coordination was seamless—they’d clearly trained together more than once or twice.
Scrape.
He didn’t lose his center or waver, evading with composure.
Still, his slow speed forced him to allow some attacks through.
Cheon Sal Seong slashed Seo Jun’s arm shallowly with his sword and shouted.
“Nice!”
Seo Jun glanced at Cheon Sal Seong with a look of disbelief while evading the relentless incoming attacks.

-Look how happy he is
-Couldn’t land a single hit yesterday, now he’s gotta do his part
-As someone from the Orthodox Faction, I apologize for the gank…
-The final boss has to be ganked anyway lol that’s just standard, no need to apologize

Seo Jun’s eyes moved rapidly, sweeping his surroundings.
He continued retreating, deflecting blades and evading, so he wasn’t encircled yet—but soon.
“I’ll block, you go in!”
Having parried the sword targeting his throat from the left, Han Pun Man swung the club in a wide arc.
A move accepting damage to land his attack.
Seo Jun’s sword shone.
As he poured Sword Qi into it, the enemy’s eyes trembled, but their movement held no hesitation.
They were infusing their Club with Internal Energy as well.
Their intention was obvious.
“Alright, I’ll bite.”
Seo Jun’s Sword Qi-infused blade and Han Pun Man’s Club collided.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
It was merely Sword Qi meeting Sword Qi, but thanks to Cheonma Shingong’s effect, Han Pun Man’s health had dropped by about one-fifth.
The follow-up attack from the side never came.
‘As I thought. Instead of attacking, they’ve secured my back properly.’

-He’s been encircled after all
-Honestly, 3v1 isn’t that unfavorable, so I thought he’d win, but it looks rough
-Why isn’t it unfavorable?

The claim that it wasn’t that unfavorable was fair.
For example, if someone with a combat power of 3 fought three people each with a combat power of 1, what would be the result?
The sum of their combat powers would be the same, and with numbers on their side, you might think the 1s would win.
‘But actually, the 3 isn’t at that much of a disadvantage.’
Three people with combat power 1 don’t automatically add up to 3—their combined power doesn’t work that way.
With good coordination maybe it could reach 5, but…
“Unfortunately, the Cooperation for Mutual Victory doesn’t offer that.”
In truth, only Seo Jun thought that way; realistically, 3-on-1 absolutely favored the 3.
The only thing was, the expectations people had built up after watching Seo Jun’s performance yesterday were very high.
So he’d have to deliver.
“Unfortunately? What are you talking about?”
“Don’t get drawn in. He’s talking to the viewers.”
Fully encircled, attacks poured in from all directions at Seo Jun.
Unlike before when they attacked sequentially from front and both sides, now that he was surrounded, the enemies had more room to work with, meaning attacks came simultaneously at times.
Seo Jun spoke, looking at Cheon Sal Seong on his right.
“You don’t think I got surrounded on purpose?”
Displaying all manner of techniques to evade, Seo Jun’s health was gradually declining.
His speed made some attacks unavoidable.
“And still talking tough with all those hits.”
Scrape.
A blade thrust from behind grazed his ribs.
Right.
These weren’t casuals—they were seasoned players who’d been through multi-enemy fights, their coordination quite solid.

-ㅠㅠ What do we do
-Looks like he’ll lose after a couple more hits
-Even if multi-enemy fights aren’t that unfavorable, good coordination makes it unavoidable
-Is the boss finally getting his comeuppance? Hahahahahahahaha
-You’re really into this, aren’t you, you bastard lmao

But there were gaps.
“You all took hits too, didn’t you?”
Seo Jun flicked his sword, pointing out their health bars.
While his was a thread, the three enemies still had about half or a third remaining.
Namgung Sega Jeom Soi bit her lip, her expression turning weary as she regarded Seo Jun.
His counterattacks were incomprehensibly skilled for someone under siege.
“You’re impressive. If your speed had been a bit faster, or if you’d decided to just evade from the start, you wouldn’t have taken a single hit.”
“Maybe.”
“Next time, don’t force attacks! Or change your characteristics!”
Clang!
Seo Jun’s sword met Jeom Soi’s blade on his right, and then Han Pun Man rushed in.
‘Cheon Sal Seong in the back….’
His coordination was slow!
Seo Jun’s eyes brightened. He pushed away Namgung Sega Jeom Soi’s sword while simultaneously kicking Han Pun Man coming from the left.
Then, spinning 180 degrees on his right foot, he swept his arm in an arc following the rotation.
His head turned first, letting him check behind, and seeing Cheon Sal Seong, Seo Jun grinned.
Cheon Sal Seong was preparing an attack—definitely a Strong Attack.
“Got you.”
His head arrived first, then his upper body, then his left foot rotated into place.
Finally.
His arm extended slowly after them.
Crash!
The two blades collided vertically, and the weakness of the Strong Attack was exposed.
Cheon Sal Seong’s mouth fell open in shock.
‘That’s probably why he kept avoiding it, but as attacks from behind succeeded more, he got bolder.’
An opening had formed.
As Seo Jun raised his foot, someone from behind shouted.
“Dodge!”
Cheonma Gunrim Bo.
‘Or what they call merely a passive effect.’
The Rankers would have had almost no experience facing that effect, but they clearly sensed the danger.
As the Stiffness wore off, Cheon Sal Seong tried to lean away from Seo Jun, creating distance.
‘Too late.’
Boom!
Seo Jun’s foot struck, the ground cracked, and a deep blue wave of energy spread outward in all directions.
‘The effect’s pretty nice.’
Since not much Internal Energy had accumulated, Cheon Sal Seong’s health didn’t drop drastically from the attack.
But the Stiffness that resulted was incomparable to what he’d suffered from a parry.

-Crazy lmaooo
-A reverse counter from here?
-How’d he even notice the Strong Attack from behind lol
-He’s definitely hacking!
-So he was softening them up for this? Damn lolololol

Without a moment’s hesitation, Seo Jun’s raised sword formed Sword Qi.
“Now. One versus two.”

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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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