The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 146

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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 146

The day after conquering the Blood Dragon Throne.
Han Yu-sung, resting at the Safe House, received a call from Jain.
The moment he answered, she spoke in an exasperated tone.

– I can’t believe it. You’re probably the only player who uses me as a contact. I’m only doing this because a Lord requested it, but… sigh.
“Is this a call from the Woman Who Cuts the Moon?”
– You know your stuff. Or did you already know?

Just as she said, I had anticipated this.
The Woman Who Cuts the Moon was currently in dire straits—repeatedly defeated in Lord battles and driving her Oath-takers into desperate situations to gather anything that could become coins.

“Do you have any information about that Lord? Anything you know?”
– What do you think of your leader, anyway? Sigh… Well, I’ll tell you. I believe she’s fought several Lords in ‘Lord Battles.’ She’s settled things with the others, but there’s one she couldn’t resolve, or so I heard.
“Who is that?”
– The Earthquake Devourer. That’s the Lord I remember.

A Lord whose name I already knew.
Fortunately, things seemed to be progressing as they had in my past life.
The Woman Who Cuts the Moon repeatedly defeated in war against the Earthquake Devourer.
And at the end of it all, a collapse where everything was stripped away.

– Anyway, that Lord’s side made contact. They said they wanted to discuss the details when meeting with you. Are you willing to meet?
“Of course.”

I had been waiting for a request for help anyway.
It was the perfect opportunity to test the ‘Void Consumption Technique.’

“Tell them I’m heading there now.”

* * *

The Woman Who Cuts the Moon owned a Hideout where her Oath-takers stayed.
A simple building that looked like a shopping complex at first glance.
Baek Min-jun greeted Han Yu-sung in front of it.

“Han Yu-sung, welcome. I owe you my gratitude from last time….”
“Pleasantries aren’t necessary. Let’s get straight to business.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve prepared a separate space to speak with the Lord.”

Baek Min-jun guided Han Yu-sung into the building.
The interior was little different from the exterior. Shabby, one might say.

[Fitting for a Lord without a Title—lacking in resources, it seems.]
‘We’re hardly better off ourselves.’
[Grrr! Grrrrgh….]

Kakasha’s jaw clenched, struck by the truth of my words.
Literally speaking, aside from the Safe House that was merely residential in scale, we’d lost all our other structures, and the Sanctuary was barely 150 square feet.
We had a Title, yet we were worse off than a Lord without one.

[The fact that I can’t refute it is… so utterly tragic!]
‘Enough.’

I left the dejected Kakasha behind and proceeded inward.
At the far end, a separate space had been prepared.
A faint magical aura emanated from it—they’d installed soundproofing measures, it seemed.

“Please enter. The Lord awaits you.”
“….”

I paused briefly, surveying my surroundings.
While the likelihood was minimal, the possibility that this was a trap couldn’t be entirely dismissed.
In truth, it mattered little.

‘If it’s a trap, I’ll simply smash my way out.’

With that thought, I opened the door.

A deafening roar erupted!

The surrounding landscape shifted.
Not the interior of a dilapidated building, but a lake of unknown origin.
A crescent moon cast its shadow upon the darkness-stained waters.
And floating above it—a pair of eyes.
The eyes of a Lord, the Woman Who Cuts the Moon.

“Quite the theatrical presentation. Are you pleased with how you’ve entertained your guest?”

No answer came.
Only the Lord’s eyes narrowed with evident displeasure.

[“Are you Han Yu-sung?”]
“That’s right. Is there nowhere to sit? I’d rather not conduct this conversation standing.”
[“Remarkably bold for a human.”]
“I hear that often enough.”

A deep sigh echoed from the lake.
Then something resembling a chair surged from the water’s surface and was hurled before Han Yu-sung.
He righted the chair at once and sat as if he had been waiting for this all along.
The sigh grew even deeper.

“Let us dispense with trivialities. Am I to understand that summoning me here means you’re willing to accept my proposal?”
[“….”]

The Woman Who Cuts the Moon fell silent.
She deliberated for a moment, then acquiesced to his words.

[“I spoke of it before. Should you face a situation beyond resolution, I would aid you in exchange for suitable compensation.”]
“You did.”
[“As you say, I accept that proposal. Help me.”]

Han Yu-sung regarded the Lord’s eyes steadily.
A Lord possessed transcendent power beyond measure. Even a Lord without a legendary name held such dominion.
Yet such a being now sought aid from a mere human.
Without question, it must be humiliating.
It also meant the situation was dire enough for her to endure such humiliation.

“I heard you’re in the midst of a Lords’ War.”
[“It’s not a war I chose to fight. The Earthquake Devourer, bloated with greed, unilaterally started this war. And it’s also a war fueled by those idiotic fools who joined him.”]
“I don’t particularly care about such circumstances. Let’s move past it.”

A Lord was hardly a trustworthy entity.
Han Yu-sung knew this well, so he chose to ignore the reasons behind the Lords’ War.
Naturally, the Lord’s eyes trembled with fury.

[“The Earthquake Devourer has requested another Lords’ War. If I lose this one as well, the next will be a Holy War. In a situation where I’ve lost everything, I have no chance of winning in a Holy War.”]
“So, you need my help.”
[“Yes. I need time to recover. At the same time.”]
“You want to inflict significant damage on the Earthquake Devourer as well.”

The Lord’s eyes moved up and down.
Han Yu-sung leaned back in his chair, lost in thought for a moment.

“Can you recover from the damage you’ve sustained by doing this?”
[“It won’t be possible immediately. So for a while, I plan to hide and build my strength. Fortunately, I have the means to do so.”]
“Hmm, I see….”

What the Woman Who Cuts the Moon needed right now was essentially two things.
Creating an opening in the enemy’s defenses. And buying sufficient time.
If these two conditions were met, she could recover, it seemed.
In her past life, this would have been impossible, and she had fallen as a result.

[“That’s why I need your help. I saw you fight in the Blood Demon’s Difficult Realm. With that power, you would be of great use in the Lords’ War.”]
“Since I’m the one who suggested it, helping you is only right. However, there is a condition.”
[“…Are you demanding compensation?”]
“You know well. I can’t help without a price.”

The Woman Who Cuts the Moon’s eyes twisted with anguish.
It was something she had anticipated.
Who would help another Lord without any compensation? Surely they would demand a price.
If there was a problem….

[“I have nothing left to give as compensation.”]
“Well, it seems like there’s still something left. Isn’t there?”
[“What exactly do you want from me?”]

Han Yu-sung turned his head at the Lord’s question.
Toward the space beyond the door, where Baek Min-jun and his companions waited.

“The Oath-bound. And all the rewards I’ll obtain from this Lord’s War.”
[“You’ve lost your mind. Do you truly believe I would accept such terms?”]
“If you refuse, do you have another way out?”

The words sent by the Woman Who Cuts the Moon trembled with fury.
Such arrogance. Such insolence.
How dare a mere human speak to a Lord with such brazen disrespect!
What infuriated her most was that his words were not wrong.

“Think carefully, Lord. If you lose this war, you’ll lose everything. But if you win, you might just gain a chance to survive. Wasn’t your plan to hide away and rebuild your strength anyway?”
[“….”]

The Woman Who Cuts the Moon was currently cornered.
There were ways to break free from this situation, but they all came with a prerequisite—she had to inflict damage upon the Earthquake Devourer.
The problem was that she currently lacked the means to do so.
Without external aid, it was impossible.

[“The latter is possible. I’ll give you all the rewards from this Lord’s War. As for the former—which of my Oath-bound do you want?”]
“Baek Min-jun, Ahn Jung-hyuk, Lee Ye-eun, Song Ji-a, Yang Han-byul. These five.”
[“You bastard….”]

All five were players of exceptional skill and potential.
Though they were bound by contract to the Woman Who Cuts the Moon, they were capable enough that contracting with a Lord bearing a Stigma would not be strange. They were, in short, the cream of the crop.

“Beyond these, if any other Oath-bound wish to leave your service, I’d like to receive them as well. My Lord doesn’t have many Oath-bound, you see.”
[What are you saying? The Draken Tribe exists!]

Tactless creature.
I decided to dismiss Kakasha’s remark lightly.
The Woman Who Cuts the Moon fell into deep contemplation upon hearing my demands.
Among what she currently possessed, her Oath-bound were the only things of real value. To lose them as well would leave her with virtually nothing.
But.

‘Time is infinite anyway. If I’m given the opportunity….’

Strength can be rebuilt.
After all, the Woman Who Cuts the Moon excavated and cultivated those five, did she not?
With my discerning eye, I could unearth another talented player and develop them.
For now, as long as I survive by any means necessary, opportunity will come.
The Lord deliberated.

[“Very well. I shall accede to your proposal.”]
“Excellent. We’ll put the details in writing later as a contract.”
[“Thorough, aren’t you, human.”]

As I mentioned before, the Lords are not creatures one can trust.
In such cases, I had to bind them as tightly as possible with contracts and the like.

[“However, there is one problem.”]
“Is it whether the opposing Lord will permit my intervention?”
[“Precisely. He has no reason to allow your intrusion.”]

Of course, the opposing Lord was no fool either.
The situation was already in his favor. He would not throw away victory because of an unforeseen variable like Han Yu-sung.
So I had to dangle bait before him.

“Propose this to the Earthquake Devourer: in exchange for my participation, should I lose, I will likewise place myself under his command.”

First, the bait of Han Yu-sung.
The Lords always covet exceptional players. Han Yu-sung, who had overcome countless trials and Difficult Realms, was bait they could not help but desire.
Especially now, when victory seemed assured.
But even this might not be enough.

“And one more thing. Add the condition that descent is permitted exclusively for the Earthquake Devourer. Surely that will tempt him?”
[“You’re insane… utterly, completely insane.”]

So I dangled the second bait.
Bait to make the Earthquake Devourer certain of victory.
Bait to make him confident he could win even with Han Yu-sung’s participation.
Witnessing this, the Woman Who Cuts the Moon clicked her tongue inwardly.

‘Is it arrogance, or unwavering confidence in his own strength? If he harbored even the slightest doubt of defeat, such a proposal would be impossible.’

Ironically, it was precisely because of such an absurd proposal that the Earthquake Devourer’s likelihood of acceptance increased.
Even the Woman Who Cuts the Moon had deemed it unreasonable.
The Earthquake Devourer, confident in victory, had no reason to refuse.

‘No—he would view it as an additional reward instead.’

An opportunity to gain both the Woman Who Cuts the Moon’s sworn servant and Han Yu-sung as a bonus.
No sane Lord would reject such terms.
And a greedy Lord like the Earthquake Devourer would be even less inclined to refuse.

“Then, let’s propose it to the opposing Lord in these terms.”

Han Yu-sung extended his hand into empty space.
A mystical light emanated from the 【Quill of Covenant】 that materialized in his grasp.

“First, let’s solidify the contractual relationship.”
[“What a despicable human…”]

The Woman Who Cuts the Moon sighed.
It was a lament directed at this situation, and at herself for being unable to refuse it.

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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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