The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 135

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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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A Mad Swordsman Returns – Chapter 135

From ‘Very Difficult’ down to ‘Normal’ difficulty.
The monster waves began to be cleared at an astonishing pace.
It was because Han Yu-sung led the clearing party into action.

– Kyaaaaaaah!
– Kughhhh…!

The clearing party led by Han Yu-sung appeared like the wind, joined forces with the struggling players, and swept through the monsters in an instant.
Then, just as they had appeared, they vanished like the wind.

“What just… passed by us?”
“What did I just see…?”

The speed was so overwhelming that they couldn’t even comprehend what had happened.
The clearing party that had received aid could only stare blankly at Han Yu-sung as he departed.
And at the players desperately chasing after him.

“Huff, gasp!”
“This is insane… absolutely insane!”
“I’m going to die from running before we even kill the monsters…!”

For Han Yu-sung’s clearing party, it was an grueling forced march.
Some players even collapsed midway, unable to endure it.
But Han Yu-sung didn’t care who fell behind and continued moving forward.
It was better to clear as many monster waves as possible, as quickly as possible, rather than waste time looking after those who fell behind.

“U, ugh! Kgh…!”
“Don’t throw up! Are you really okay, mister?”
“Damn it. This is the first time I’ve ever used my unique ability like this…!”

Baek Min-jun barely swallowed the rising nausea.
The speed of Han Yu-sung ahead was truly formidable.
Even using his unique ability, 【Combat Command】’s forced march, he could barely keep pace.
Maintaining Combat Command continuously made him feel like he was about to collapse.
But he couldn’t afford to.

[‘Woman Who Cuts the Moon’ demands that you pursue that man.]
[‘Woman Who Cuts the Moon’ shouts that you must not stop.]
[‘Woman Who Cuts the Moon’ desires a reward.]

‘Damn it, all because of that cursed lord…!’

The lord, driven to the brink of ruin, continued pushing Baek Min-jun forward.
He barely managed to swallow the curses rising to his throat. Wasn’t his participation in the ‘Army of Death’ also because of that damned lord of his?
Baek Min-jun watched Han Yu-sung forge ahead.
In that moment, the image of the battle he’d witnessed moments ago flashed through his mind.

‘I don’t know what lord he’s contracted with, but I envy him.’

Rumors about Han Yu-sung’s lord circulated widely.
That he’d contracted with the Blood Demon, that he’d contracted with a lord bearing a hidden name who didn’t wish to reveal themselves, or perhaps that he’d contracted with a powerless minor lord….
But one thing was certain to Baek Min-jun: Han Yu-sung’s lord seemed to cherish and generously provide for his contractor.
You could tell from the way he used skills and items related to his lord.
So different from the miserly ‘Woman Who Cuts the Moon.’

“Damn it. I want to switch lords.”
“Watch your mouth! The lord might hear you!”
“I think the same thing, but it’ll be troublesome if she hears it!”

Baek Min-jun’s party sighed as they pursued Han Yu-sung.
They too wanted to contract with a proper lord like Han Yu-sung.
With such thoughts in mind.

[Mmm! This exquisite scent of battle! You there, move faster! Show me more enemies to fight! And coins too!]
‘This is driving me insane.’

Naturally, if Han Yu-sung had known, it would have been something to laugh about.
But he’d already experienced it many times, so it was familiar by now.
Han Yu-sung lightly ignored Kakasha’s words and cleared the monster wave.
And the moment he thought it was time to conquer the ‘Easy’ difficulty as well.

[【Goblin March】, 【Kobold Counterattack】 conquered successfully!]

The awaited message appeared.
The monster wave was so easy that I didn’t even need Han Yu-sung’s support—each one took roughly fifteen minutes to clear.
Now only the ‘Difficult’ difficulty monster wave remained.

[【Night of Demons】 cleared! Time elapsed: 19 minutes 08 seconds!]
[【Fury of Spirits】 cleared! Time elapsed: 23 minutes 32 seconds!]

Only after clearing Fury of Spirits did Han Yu-sung finally come to a halt.
The raid team desperately pursuing him collapsed to the ground.

“Huff, haaah….”
“Is, is it finally over? This insanity, no more….”
“Uuuuugh!”

The raid team looked like nothing short of defeated soldiers.
Not all monster waves had been cleared. 【Ancient Golem】 remained.
But there was no need to rush there for support.
It was the domain of the raid team led by Lee Su-ho.

[【Ancient Golem】 cleared! Time elapsed: 28 minutes!]

Soon after, welcome news arrived.
Word that the final monster wave had been cleared.
And that meant—

[Congratulations! You have repelled all monster waves!]
[South Korea’s national ranking will be determined by summing the time required to clear all 8 monster waves….]
[South Korea, total time elapsed: 2 hours 15 minutes 19 seconds.]
[Congratulations! You have achieved 1st place in the national rankings!]

The event, 【Monster Wave】, had come to an end.
And South Korea had achieved 1st place.

* * *

The results of 【Monster Wave】 were announced.

[1st place, South Korea. Total time elapsed: 2 hours 15 minutes 19 seconds.]

It was a result that came far too early.
Even the United States and Japan, counted among the world’s strongest player nations, had yet to complete their conquests, and yet a first-place nation had already emerged.
When Japan first saw the results, they were greatly flustered.
Maezato Rinzo, who was in Japan’s control tower, was especially so.

“H-hey. The neighboring country already finished?”
“Impossible! Could there have been an error in the measurements?! Even we in Japan still have time remaining before completion, so how could Korea…!”
“Hey! Investigate what happened right now! This instant!”

The United States was not much different.
Douglas Pierce, the renowned player leading the United States’ control tower, stared at the record that appeared before his eyes as if he could not believe it.

‘It’s much faster than I anticipated. How is this possible?’

Douglas had judged that regardless of which nation took first place, it would be difficult for the total time required to fall below three hours.
It was because of the high-difficulty monster waves.
Especially the monster waves of “Very Difficult” difficulty.

‘The number of participants who can join is limited, and the enemies are too numerous.’

Inevitably, massive casualties occurred, and each time losses mounted, they had no choice but to fight by deploying additional personnel.
And each time, the conquest duration would extend further.
Korea should not be much different.

“Bring me the information! Right now!”
“Yes! We’re confirming it now!”

The United States and Japan urgently sought the cause.
Why had their own conquests taken so long? And how had Korea succeeded in their conquest first?
The answer came quickly.

[1st Place. South Korea, Army of the Dead. 8 minutes 23 seconds.]
[2nd Place. United States, Gate of the Demon Realm. 43 minutes 51 seconds.]
[3rd Place. Japan, Frozen Hell. 50 minutes 35 seconds.]
[4th Place. China, Magic Tower Consumed by Madness. 59 minutes 04 seconds.]

A monster wave of “Very Difficult” difficulty—the Army of the Dead.
While other nations took tens of minutes to clear that zone, Korea conquered it in merely 8 minutes.
This difference had created a decisive advantage in this event.
Which made it all the more unbelievable.

“8 minutes?! 8 minutes?! Does that number even make sense?”
“This can’t be possible. It’s bias! They assigned an easier monster wave only to the Korean bastards! There’s no other explanation!”
“Hard to believe. What information do we have on this ‘Army of the Dead’?”
“We’ll request the data from Korea immediately!”

Had Korea been assigned a monster wave that was easier in practice than what the difficulty rating suggested?
Soon after, Korea willingly shared all information related to the Army of the Dead.
Upon reviewing the details, everyone fell silent.

“These are… undead.”
“Hellknights and Arch Liches are among the highest-tier undead. They’re entities that wouldn’t be out of place appearing as boss monsters in a Difficult Realm or Trial.”
“And the number of undead that appeared was 3,000.”
“Considering the presence of Arch Liches, that number could have been even higher.”

The difficulty was no different from what they themselves had faced.
Monster waves of “Very Difficult” difficulty were similarly challenging regardless of nation—there were only very minor variations between them.
Which made this situation even harder to believe.

[1st Place: “South Korea”. Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes 19 seconds.]
[2nd Place: “United States”. Total Time: 3 hours 18 minutes 50 seconds.]
[3rd Place: “Japan”. Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes 26 seconds.]
[4th Place: “China”. Total Time…]

Korea’s overwhelming first-place finish in this current situation.
And.

[The event 【Monster Wave】 has concluded.]
[As a reward for achieving 1st place in the national rankings, “South Korea” receives a “National Buff”! Additionally, you are given an opportunity to reclaim some of the national buffs lost in the National Inter-Country Tournament!]

Rewards pouring down upon Korea in this current moment.
Japan, in particular, felt the sting.
It didn’t matter that Korea received a national buff. But that additional reward being granted was the problem.

“A, a chance to reclaim the national buffs….”
“No way!”

Japan had clashed with South Korea multiple times in the National Inter-Country Tournament.
Their record was flawless, save for the most recent tournament.
In that process, Japan had seized a considerable number of national buffs that South Korea possessed.
But now they could lose them all over again!

“No, wait. There are other nations besides us….”
“Hmm. There’s no rule saying they have to take our national buffs.”
“Right, like the United States or….”

Regardless, there was nothing Japan could do.
All they could do was hope that South Korea wouldn’t choose them.
And not long after, the additional event promised to the nation that achieved first place was granted.

[An 【Additional Event】 begins for ‘South Korea’!]
[In the skies above Seoul, the Fire Phoenix who sets the heavens ablaze and the monsters that follow shall appear. And for this event only, players participating in the monster wave shall receive buffs.]
[Defeat the monsters and claim your rewards!]

It was an event where calling it a “reward” felt questionable.
The sky above Seoul turned crimson.
Massive flames erupted into the clear sky. The fire consumed the air and burned ever more fiercely, soon taking on a definite form.
A colossal bird engulfed entirely in flames—the Fire Phoenix.

Whoooosh!

The Fire Phoenix swept its enormous wings with tremendous force.
The shockwave from that wingbeat crashed down upon the ground, and the glass windows of the towering buildings standing in the urban landscape shattered in unison.
Simultaneously, flames scattered in all directions, transforming into bird-shaped monsters engulfed in fire just like the Fire Phoenix.

“The, the sky….”
“An, an additional event? How is this…!”

People gazed up at the burning sky and held their breath.
Since the ‘monster wave’ was closer to an ordeal than a reward, it wasn’t strange for the additional event to unfold in this manner.
It was simply harsh.
The fact that they had to face a calamity that came without warning.

– Kuruuuuuu….

Fire Phoenix recalled the mission bestowed upon him.
To incinerate everything.
He spread his colossal wings, gazing down at the earth below.
Fierce flames erupted from his massive form.

– Kuaaaaaaa!

With a roar that shook the ground, inferno poured down toward the earth.
Or rather, it would have.

Kuuuuung!

Had it not been for lightning bolts scattering hundreds of branches as they surged forward.
With a tremendous thunderclap that seemed to shake the heavens themselves, divine retribution was unleashed from the ground.
At a speed Fire Phoenix could neither perceive nor react to.

【Radiant Lightning】.

The Thunder God’s Spear pierced through Fire Phoenix’s body.
A tempest of colossal lightning erupted, and hundreds of bolts scattered in all directions, sweeping away Fire Phoenix’s subordinates.
Fire Phoenix’s anguished cry engulfed the sky at the unexpected blow.
Soon after, unable to endure the agony, Fire Phoenix began his descent.

“With a body that large, it’s all the easier to hit.”

A deep smile played across Han Yu-sung’s lips as he witnessed the spectacle.

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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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