A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 79

Usually, when a stream was ongoing, related posts wouldn’t often appear in the community.

This was because everyone seemed to be focused on the stream, aside from a few wanting to share comments. However, this time it was different.

With a live stream viewed by over 100,000 people, even if just 1% diverted their attention to the community, it amounted to about 1,000 individuals.

Consequently, No Justice was flooded with numerous posts related to Sojun, and many of these posts received recommendations.

The content concerning their co-stream dominated No Justice. It was obvious that once the stream ended, several times more posts would emerge.

『Rankers are surprisingly weak, lolololol』
『One of the rankers who got wrecked yesterday posted a hilarious thread, lol』
『Is that guy really that good? Or is it because we’re stagnant and haven’t progressed?』
『Only the Demonic Cult seems happy』

Strangely, there were fewer professionals who enjoyed For Justice.

While some might sneak in using alternate accounts, similar behavior was exhibited in other games, and normally the number of visible professionals gave a rough estimate of how many athletes truly enjoyed the game.

As per appearances, there were only two professionals who enjoyed For Justice.

The reason only a small number of professionals were playing the game was likely due to its high entry barrier.

To truly enjoy it, one had to know numerous Martial Techniques and stances, making it difficult for busy professionals to casually game.

However,

『Entry barrier? Gaming for veterans? What a joke, lol』

==

“No matter how I see it, we seem to be morons who only analyzed Martial Techniques created by the game developers, not knowing real swordsmanship. Without realizing this, we assumed we were performing well in the proverbial well, only to be humiliated by a real expert using slow sword attacks that demonstrated skill without relying on Martial Techniques.”

“The ocean is vast!”

==

– Are the provocateurs of The League here?
└ Looks like players from other games are trying to use this chance to belittle us.

– I was confident in my swordship, but after today, I’m unsure. Were those being defeated truly the experts I knew? Makes my heart swell…
└ Don’t get too majestic over it, lol

– We were just frogs in a well!

『Martial techniques are crap』

==

“Those getting beaten by a slow sword can’t even hope to do much in other games. Gaming level, lol.”

==

– Agreed, lol
– Their skills were an illusion.
– No, a master from another game is also in the top 100 rankings here. Those who are good will always be good.
└ No, lol, the rankings here revolved around Martial Techniques. If it was pure physical prowess without Martial Techniques, that master would rank much higher.
└ What’s the standard for physical prowess?
└ Let’s settle this in the sparring ground. It was hilarious watching them boast about Martial Techniques created by the game developers.

What was causing such reactions? In fact, users of other games were mingling here.

『Lol, rankers from For Justice barely hold up as Diamonds in other games, seems like a good laugh, lol』

==

“First, starting with me.”

==

– This idiot’s avatar shows they’re a The League player; why are they causing trouble here?
└ Science indeed, lol.

– By any chance, are you a Diamond in The League?
└ Their posted threads suggest it, lol, totally a Diamond, lol.

– This settles it. Let’s just agree that the streamer is exceptionally skilled.
└ That way, our perception of For Justice won’t fall, lol.

Although there were a few exposed players from other games, most posts indeed came from people who genuinely enjoyed and loved For Justice. They displayed self-mocking attitudes because they didn’t want to acknowledge the continuous breakthroughs accomplished by Sojun.

『Someone should seriously beat that guy』

==

“Does it make sense for a temporary streamer who’ll leave after the Battlefield to humiliate us?”

Adding insult to injury, it was done with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

==

– Maybe the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is just OP?
– Why can’t the Demonic Cult folks win when they’ve got such good skills?
└ Because they don’t use the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, lol.
└ Let me share a secret. Unless it’s the Heavenly Demon, using that trait is considered blasphemy, so they kept such a good secret. It’s legit.
└ It’s actually not that great, seriously, lol.

The fact that they easily lost to a slow sword also played a part.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

For those coming to play this game because of its Martial Techniques concept, it was a trait that made them endure even with a name they could never resist.

If that Heavenly Demon Divine Art had been even slightly effective, everyone admitted that the Demonic Cult would have immediately become the top faction in user numbers, dominating all battlefields.

Yet, a newly arrived streamer for “For Justice”, wielding a trait that led to the Demonic Cult being overlooked, had defeated their prideful rankers.

It was infuriating, making it difficult to recognize the streamer’s skills.

However, after continuously being helpless, they began to wonder, “Were we actually frogs in a well?!”

Just then, a donation notification rang on Ark’s stream.

『Just donated to Ark.』
『Sounds like the pathetic excuse of a loser, lol.』
『From the opponent’s perspective, does the sword speed change?』
『So pathetic, you fussy oldie, lol. Let’s just admit our skills are lacking instead of blaming them.』

Initially, they ridiculed ‘This Isn’t the Martial World’.

But when they started observing from the perspective of users facing Ark, public opinion flipped 180 degrees.

『Insane, gave me goosebumps, lol.』
『From the opponent’s perspective, the sword speed… it’s different.』
『No wonder they lost.』
『How do you even escape from that?』

He was simply good.

Acknowledging the skill became inevitable. Yet, questions lingered.

『From the opponent’s perspective, the sword speed… it’s different?』

How was this possible? Even if the perception varies, the difference was too stark, lol.

Finding no strategy to counter it upon firsthand experience made a powerless defeat understandable.

Originally, offering advice requires seeing a way out. If nothing is visible, it means their level is higher, so giving advice becomes impossible.

Even so, questions could be raised. To address those doubts, ‘This Isn’t the Martial World’ stepped forward again.

『About the Dull Sword initially mentioned by Heavenly Demon14.』

There are various types of swordsmanship: Swift Sword, Illusory Sword, Soft Sword, Dominating Sword, Heavy Sword, and flying sword.

You might have heard of these at least once before. However, the Dull Sword might be unfamiliar to some.

To explain, the Dull Sword is a blunt sword. It doesn’t have any particular advantages and shouldn’t be favored. Yet, this Dull Sword is the most attractive of all because it reaches the ultimate level of martial artistry that only absolute masters can achieve.

Have you ever pondered how to defeat an opponent with a slow sword? Simply knowing the opponent’s movements isn’t enough for a successful attack, due to the slowness.

Thus, to win, one must be able to control the opponent’s movements at will. It sounds exceedingly difficult, doesn’t it?

But there is indeed a way.

Severing flesh to gain bone.

A strategy where one sacrifices flesh to claim bone. This method is widely used by martial artists who wield heavy swords and possess robust bodies like mine. And the Dull Sword goes beyond this approach.

The Dull Sword, quite literally, controls the opponent. It neutralizes the sword.

It makes intuition send false warnings.

Causes feet to stumble.

Fixates the gaze.

Disrupts the rhythm.

Makes one lose balance.

It encourages and toys with opponents, leading them to move as intended, a slow sword that they know yet cannot block. That is the Dull Sword, and it’s the stage that Sojun has reached.

Now, let me show you the analysis of how his strategy worked on me.

==

Sojun opened the community page and read the post along with 17,000 viewers.

He was currently pausing after achieving seven consecutive victories, after his fight against Heaven-Slayer Star.

There was nothing he could do since no new matches were available due to his high skill level.

After reading Ark’s message, he took a moment to review the replay from his opponent’s perspective and looked through the community.

Even after spending some time doing this, no matches were found. Perhaps today would end here.

“What do you all think?”

– A sword you know but can’t stop! Heavenly Demon high! Bartender! Hahaha
– Is that really true???
– Veteran Warrior-nim, Why do you include rhythm and words in your post?
– Bring out the pickles for pickled vegetables!
– Bartender! Roll up a burger for me!

Sojun burst out laughing.

‘Why do they keep doing this, I wonder?’ he thought to himself.

– Let’s just assume Streamer-nim is the World’s Greatest.
– Feels like a legendary state. DDD.
– But based on the analysis, it seems accurate?
– They said they would analyze other games later. Hahaha.
– So, is it true? The person involved should explain.

Dull Swords that control the opponent to land a slow attack successfully. To conclude, there was nothing wrong with the content of the post.

It was likely because the author wrote from personal experience.

“I’ll leave it to your imagination to decide what is true!”

Sojun commented, thinking they wouldn’t believe it even if he explained it.

Then a donation message popped up.

『’SayItNow’-nim donated 1,000,000 won!』

It was a message that appeared too urgent to even include content.

“Wow. Thank you for the million-won donation. About the content of that post….”

He had to explain it now. Some people were generous enough to donate a million won at once, probably because of the large number of viewers.

– Hahaha, can’t ignore a million won, whether it’s the extreme of Dull Sword or anything else.
– Insane switch speed.

“Yes, that’s correct. To win, you must control the opponent and make them unable to evade. Otherwise, how do you win?”

Sojun agreed without hesitation. There was no other way to explain it.

“It’s like the principle of releasing the flesh to take the bone. It’s just more complicated and difficult. But the fundamental part is the same. It’s about guiding the opponent’s movements as you desire.”

– When you say it like it’s nothing, it somehow makes sense.
– So, you played him around? DDD.
– Just gaslighted him, huh? Hahaha.
– Gaslighting swordsmanship, Dull Sword. Hahahahahaha.
– It makes sense when you think of an ankle breaker.

Ankle Breaker: a term used in basketball when a defender loses balance due to fancy dribbling.

“Yes, it’s similar to an ankle breaker!”

Sojun continued. It was just more difficult. Sojun didn’t add much more to the explanation. Everyone knew what he did was harder than merely breaking balance.

“For details, check the analyzed content. I’ll point out the wrong parts for you.”

Even if explained, they wouldn’t understand. It was naturally unbelievable.

What Sojun declared indicated he toyed with rankers freely, so it was only natural that people found it hard to believe. Most of the new posts in the community had a similar vibe.

So Sojun added with a chuckle, “If you think it’s a scam, feel free to challenge me.”

Eight straight wins. He was eager for it.

– Selling something, huh? Hahaha.
– Do you think they’ll let you win again? Hahaha.
– Even without eight consecutive wins, you seem to have secured the first place already.

Every two wins doubled the gained Reputation Points. If 50 were gained at two wins, 200 were available at four wins. At six wins, it was 800, and at eight wins, 3,200 could be claimed. As a result, very few rankers had achieved eight consecutive wins to date.

No matter how overwhelming one’s skills were, if one encountered issues with matchmaking like Sojun did, achieving eight consecutive victories became impossible.

The lucky users who managed such a feat without exception topped the Battlefield rankings of the time.