The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 114

—————

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

—————

A Mad Swordsman Returns – Chapter 114

Han Yu-sung, transformed into a single streak of violent wind, tore through Death’s Domain.
All that stretched before me was an endless expanse of blackened, lifeless earth.
And countless undead blanketing every direction.

– Guaaaaaaah…!
– This place… no one can enter here…!
– Die, die, die, die!

The undead poured out their blind hatred toward the living.
But among them, grotesque monsters caught my eye.
Creatures that appeared to be forcibly stitched together from countless organisms.

– Grrrraaaagh…

Monsters that resembled what were called ‘chimeras’.
Considering that the lord who created this Battlefield was named the Greedy Researcher, I suspected these were creatures of his own making.
But truthfully, what they were mattered little.

Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!

There was only one thing to do.
The sword energy I unleashed tore through the undead and chimeras without mercy.
I crushed every enemy blocking my path and continued my relentless charge forward.
As I surveyed my surroundings, a sight I’d witnessed in my past life came into view.

[Ah, so this is… a city. Though it’s nothing but ruins now.]
“I think I’ve reached the same place I visited in my previous life.”

A massive city that must have once flourished greatly.
But now, all of it was drained of color, painted in ashen gray.
All that remained were the ruins that symbolized its former prosperity.

“It took roughly seven minutes to reach here?”
[Hmm, that sounds about right. How are you holding up against the curse?]
“I can still manage for now.”

Han Yu-sung examined his own body.
His fingertips and toes were staining black. The curse of death that his “Dragon’s Heart” had failed to completely block was beginning to consume his flesh.
Yet even this was remarkably slow compared to his previous life.

‘In my past life, I turned back here and gave up.’

Nearly half my body had been stained black then.
If only the extremities were being eroded, I still had room to spare.
More than anything.

“This way, then.”

I now possessed a guidepost—an “arrow” pointing the way.
In my previous life, I had no way of knowing which direction to advance, leaving me utterly lost.
But now that I have this guidepost, there’s no reason to wander.
The arrow from ‘Trial’s Blessing’ pointed westward.
I kicked off the ground and cut across the Ruins.

– Join the throng of the dead…!
– Ghhhhk… Kyaaaaaaah?!

A fierce Inferno Storm swept away the enemies blocking my path.
There was one watching me advance toward my objective.

[Damn it, this won’t do… Blast! What exactly is this creature?!]

A lord—the Greedy Researcher.
For him, the situation was utterly bewildering.
When he first saw Han Yu-sung enter Death’s Domain, he was surprised, but that was all. He assumed the man would fall soon enough.
The curse of death was not something humans could endure.
And yet.

Boom!

[The curse of death isn’t working? No, no! It’s taking effect. But then why… is he moving so unscathed?!]

That human, Han Yu-sung, was holding firm.
Not only that—the Greedy Researcher’s eyes widened as Han Yu-sung slaughtered the undead with such overwhelming power that he carved a path forward.

[Who is this? Who on earth could this be? The target of this trial is… Earth? A planet with such a trivial rank. How could something like this possibly…?]

Even a lord would doubt his own eyes at such a sight.
The Greedy Researcher had lured the undead and chimeras within Death’s Domain to block Han Yu-sung’s path, but it was a meaningless gesture.
The lord’s pupils trembled with anxiety.

[If this continues… No, there’s no need to be anxious. Death’s Domain is a boundlessly vast place. There’s no way he could know the path….]
[Yes, if I just leave him be, he’ll wander aimlessly and eventually perish here.]

The Greedy Researcher made this judgment.
It was a hope-tinged thought, unbecoming of a lord.
And that hope.

[This direction, could it be…?!]

Crumbled the moment I saw the direction Han Yu-sung was heading.
As the Greedy Researcher who had constructed the Battlefield of God’s Trial, 【Hero War】, and who understood the structure of this Death’s Domain, I knew well.
That the direction Han Yu-sung was moving toward was the ‘correct’ one.
That something which must be hidden at all costs lay to the west, in the direction he was advancing.

[Movement as if he knows the path… Does he possess a unique ability related to exploration? If so, he won’t lose his direction.]
[I must take measures… ]

The Greedy Researcher considered multiple possibilities.
If that human fails to find the path and dies, that would be ideal.
But if he finds the path and reaches his destination as he’s doing now.

[… By any means necessary, I must act.]

I must kill that human, no matter what it takes!
And fortunately, Death’s Domain possessed the means to do so.
What the Greedy Researcher had positioned here as a contingency.

[To ensure my plans don’t crumble because of a mere human, I must… ]

Trembling pupils silently watched Han Yu-sung as he raced forward.

* * *

[‘Curse of Death’ is eroding your body.]
[‘Curse of Death’ continues to accumulate!]

Warning messages kept appearing before me.
I dismissed them with annoyance and gazed ahead.
Beyond the countless corpses of monsters scattered in all directions.

“This appears to be my destination.”

A massive castle came into view.
I couldn’t see its exact form clearly.
An enormous pile of bones enveloped the castle.
The arrow from ‘Blessing of Trials’ pointed toward the castle beyond the bone heap.

[Hmm, does it seem like something is inside?]
“Hard to say. I sense something, but it’s rather ambiguous.”
[Ambiguous? That’s vague language.]

I had no choice but to speak that way.
I sensed something from the castle, but it was difficult to discern.
It felt like the presence of a single powerful entity, yet also like the presence of countless beings gathered in one place.
I drew my sword.

– A low, rasping sound.
“Playing dead makes it harder to read their presence… huh?”

An undead that had been lying like a corpse grabbed my ankle.
Without hesitation, I split its body apart.
Then a message appeared before my eyes.

[You have hunted a sufficient number of undead.]
[You have qualified. 【Undead Hunter】 has been promoted!]

The passive skill I possessed: 【Undead Hunter】.
A skill that ranks up when you hunt a certain number of undead.
I had hunted many undead in the Hall of Trials and this trial, and it seemed the required number was finally filled when I defeated that last undead.
Brilliant light erupted from my body.
And.

[Undead Hunter (S)]
· Classification: Passive.
· You are specialized in hunting the undead.
· When attacking undead, you inflict 60% additional damage and ignore 30% of their defense and magic resistance.
· Each time you defeat an undead, you recover a small amount of health and mana.
· You can physically attack undead composed of spiritual forms.
· For a brief duration, you can imbue your weapon with ‘Holy’ properties. In this state, you deal particularly devastating damage to undead.

It was a skill befitting an S-rank ability.
No—it was a skill that possessed effects beyond S-rank.

‘Perhaps because it’s a skill I promoted through advancement.’

Skills promoted by fulfilling conditions often proved more potent than those of the same rank.
Undead Hunter was precisely such a case, and in my current situation, it was a welcome skill indeed.
Han Yu-sung stood before an enormous castle.

[Ugh! These bones block everything from view! Let’s just incinerate them!]
“Wait. I think I see something on the City Walls…”
[The ominous aura permeating this place—I sense it emanating from those City Walls as well. Could someone have placed a barrier to prevent entry?]

A sinister aura clung to the dilapidated City Walls and gates.
It resembled a curse of death, yet far more potent.
Likely, venturing deeper into the castle would pit me against even stronger curses.
Han Yu-sung stroked his chin, lost in contemplation.

‘The curse of death has accumulated considerably. The real question is whether my body can endure until I find the hidden piece and escape this domain.’

It was a situation that warranted concern.
If the hidden piece could dispel the curse of death, I wouldn’t need to worry about this. But I couldn’t rule out the possibility that it wouldn’t.
However.

“I can’t turn back now.”

If that were the case, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.
Han Yu-sung prepared to scatter the pile of bones with Blood Sea Crimson Flame.
At that very moment.

[“Leave this place, human.”]
[“This realm has no connection to the trials. You will gain nothing here. If you do not wish to die, turn back at once.”]

Words materialized before Han Yu-sung as if to block his path.
A message from a lord.
Who in Death’s Domain possessed the power to send such words?

“Greedy Researcher. For someone like that, you seem rather desperate, don’t you?”
[“A lowly race dares to speak the lord’s name….”]

Only the lord who had created this battlefield—the Greedy Researcher—could send such a message.
The words trembled as if the lord had grown angry at my words.
The lord barely swallowed the fury rising within.

[“I offer you one more chance. Leave this place, human.”]
[“Can you not see the curse of death accumulating upon your body? You have managed to endure thus far, but you will soon reach your limit.”]
[“If you do not escape this realm, you will meet a miserable death.”]

The words carried a sharp warning.
Yet Han Yu-sung and Kakasha both let out derisive laughs without hesitation.

[Hah! This nameless wretch is hiding something in this castle, it seems.]
“You should be more subtle about it. Did you really think I’d turn back?”

It was absurd.
When had lords ever concerned themselves with human deaths or offered chances to retreat?
If anything, they would mock and depart.
The fact that such an attitude was being displayed meant there was truly something in this castle.
Something the lord desperately wished to keep hidden.

“I’m afraid I must insist. I want to know what lies here.”
[“So be it. If you will not heed my words….”]

Whoooosh!

My palm struck through empty air. From my fingertips erupted a shockwave of blood and flame, sweeping across the piles of bone.

[“Then I shall have no choice but to stop you by force.”]

Bones scattered in chaotic disarray.
Han Yu-sung unleashed Blood Sea Crimson Flame to carve a path toward the castle gates.
Yet the shockwave advanced only a short distance before it was abruptly halted.
The reason was devastatingly simple.

“Tch… what is this…?”

Beneath the towering mound of bones that encircled the castle, something coiled in wait.
A presence so immense that even Han Yu-sung found himself momentarily speechless.

– Kuu, uuuuuuu…

The ground trembled as though seized by an earthquake.
As the hidden entity stirred, the bones blanketing its form scattered in all directions.
At last, the colossal being revealed itself.
It was.

[Guardian of ‘Death’s Domain’.]
[The abominable hybrid, Tarmuk, has awakened.]

Indeed, it was an abominable hybrid.
At first glance, it resembled a serpent of overwhelming proportions.
Yet its face bore closer kinship to a dragon, and its body was encased in a grotesque carapace of what appeared to be some exotic metal.
There was something disturbingly familiar about that carapace’s form.
If I had to describe it, it resembled the carapace the ‘slaves’ possessed.

[Ugh, how repulsively crafted. Observe this closely, you.]

What rendered the hybrid even more grotesque was its chest.
Protruding from its thorax were the upper halves of alien races I seemed to recognize, each weeping tears of blood.
As if crying out their own suffering.

[“A byproduct born from the research process.”]
[“Do you truly believe you can surpass a being blessed with my protection?”]

The words twisted mockingly at Han Yu-sung.
A hybrid. And research.
It seemed likely that this monstrosity was born from experiments or synthesis involving multiple races.
Such things were hardly uncommon.

‘Lords tend to be mad, as a rule.’

Among them were those who experimented on their own sworn servants.
It was hardly surprising that a lord bearing the title ‘Researcher’ would do such things.
The troublesome part was that I had to fight and defeat the hybrid he’d created.

“No, this isn’t bad at all.”

Han Yu-sung prepared for battle.
A hybrid. Tarmuk.
A formidable opponent. But considering the participation level of this Battlefield, it shouldn’t be overwhelmingly strong.
It was an enemy I could fight and defeat.

“I rather like this.”
– Grrrrrrr….

A smile brimming with competitive spirit spread across Han Yu-sung’s face.
Tarmuk, sensing his presence, bared its grotesque fangs.
And just as they were about to begin combat without hesitation—

– Grrrrgh…. Kuuuuu….

Suddenly the hybrid lowered its head.
With its body bent low, it adopted a posture of remarkable deference.
Caught off guard, Han Yu-sung’s body went rigid.

[“What in the world is this…?!”]

The astonished lord’s message flooded his vision.

—————

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

—————