The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 164

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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 164

Yoon Ga-ram moved swiftly across the Battlefield.
Her purpose was singular: to locate and rally the Korean players.
The raven-shaped shadows she had sent skyward served as her eyes.

“Th-thank you! We were so anxious being alone!”
“Wow, we’re meeting all our countrymen here!”
“Let’s move. We don’t have time.”

The number of Korean players who had joined her grew rapidly.
What had started as seven became thirty, then seventy.
Before long, they had surpassed a hundred.
By that point, the pace of finding new Korean players had begun to slow.

“Some may have already fallen before we could find them. Especially those deployed to unfavorable positions….”
“For now, let’s search as far as we can.”

As she continued traversing the Battlefield, a disturbing sight suddenly caught her attention.
Her eyes narrowed at what she witnessed.

– Kill them all! Don’t leave a single one alive!
– Our Lord stands with us! This Battlefield is ours!

A force comparable in scale to the Korean contingent had gathered together.
They swept across the Battlefield, conquering Special Quests and Special Battlefields, while their enemies fell helplessly before them.
Using her ravens, Yoon Ga-ram confirmed their nationality.

‘Japan.’

A nation counted among the world’s premier player powers.
Yet the prowess they displayed now stemmed from an entirely different source than their reputation suggested.

“Undead? Could it be….”

Overwhelming numbers.
The Japanese players swept across the battlefield, commanding countless undead.
The moment I witnessed that spectacle, an intense sense of déjà vu washed over me.
It was inevitable.

[“The Lord of the Dead.”]

I had seen this exact sight before during the Giant Siege.
The Lord of Shadow, bound by contract to Yoon Ga-ram, clicked his tongue in displeasure.

[“So he chose Japan. That fool wouldn’t have taken interest in that nation otherwise. Which means….”]
“…Is he targeting Han Yu-sung?”
[“It can only be that.”]

The Lord of the Dead had suffered catastrophic losses in the Hero’s War.
But that wasn’t all. Through the reward dungeon of the past, the Giant Siege, and the open Difficult Realm—through countless encounters, enmities had accumulated relentlessly.
When I thought about it, it was almost laughable.
A mere human had dared to accumulate grievances against a Lord.

“Is Han Yu-sung only being targeted by the Lord of the Dead?”
[“I wish that were the case, but I fear it is not.”]

Han Yu-sung had performed far too brilliantly during the Hero’s War.
Multiple Lords harbored fury because of it. Those without epithets, the Lord of the Dead among them, and—
The Lord of Justice as well.

[“Are there any Sworn Servants of Justice among your group?”]
“…There are none. The same applies to the Covenant of the Dead.”
[“The Lord of Justice operates primarily from Korea and Japan as bases. The absence of his Sworn Servants from the Korean faction means….”]
“He chose Japan.”

Yoon Ga-ram’s expression darkened.
Multiple Lords—two of them bearing epithets—were targeting Han Yu-sung.
Each harboring the resolve to kill a single human at all costs.
It was unprecedented.

‘In a situation like this… can that man possibly survive?’

And.

‘Can Korea win this Trial?’

It was a question that arose naturally.
As if to answer that very doubt, a message appeared before everyone.

[‘Japan’ has acquired 【Blessing of Stars: Frozen Wolf】!]
[A powerful buff is granted to that nation’s players!]

Evidence that Japan was leading the way in this Trial.
They were already the nation sweeping across the Battlefield. Now that they’d obtained such a formidable blessing as the ‘Blessing of Stars,’ their momentum would be unstoppable.
Yoon Ga-ram gazed at the pebble Han Yu-sung had entrusted to her.

“Yoon Ga-ram. What do we do now…?”
“We move forward. He’s someone who keeps his word.”

And gripping the pebble tightly, she began to move once more.

“All I can do is believe he’ll show us something again.”

* * *

The Underground Mausoleum, sealed so that no one could enter.
From within it, the roar of battle echoed.
The clash of metal, shouts, and screams.

Crash!

– Roooaaahhh!
– Incredible strength. But…!

The sounds came from the battle between Han Yu-sung and the specters.
Han Yu-sung, who had been restless from all the previous combat, now thrashed about like a fish in water.
A battle where needless thoughts were unnecessary.
A battle where I simply had to smash, slash, and crush whatever appeared before my eyes, following pure instinct.

– ….
“…”

When that battle ended, only two remained.
Han Yu-sung and the Mighty Specter, who must have once commanded tremendous power.
Between the helmet’s visor covering the specter’s face, crimson eyes flashed.
Without hesitation, both figures kicked off the ground.

– Uooooooh!
“Hgh!”

The two forms charged in a straight line and crossed in an instant.
A single cutting sound rang out, then silence fell over the Spirit Mausoleum.
And moments later.

– Splendid.

The Mighty Specter’s body tilted to one side.
And the body, having lost its balance, split apart and crumbled.

– You have proven yourself worthy.

The specter’s body, having spoken those words, scattered into dust.
Han Yu-sung exhaled and looked down at his left arm.
A clear wound from the exchange with the specter remained on his arm.
It was quite a deep gash, and blood flowed without ceasing.

[It’s over.]
“Yeah. They were more to my liking than I expected.”

An opponent who wouldn’t back down, a fight where instinct moved faster than thought.
This was one of the battles I enjoyed.
That’s why I hadn’t used the Onslaught of Struggle.

“Alright then. What’s left is….”
[To confirm the hidden piece in this Spirit Mausoleum, is it not! I can hardly contain my excitement. I have been waiting for this very moment!]

Kakasha bounced around inside my mind.
The arrow pointed toward the tomb from which the Mighty Specter had emerged.
Han Yu-sung approached the innermost tomb without hesitation.

Whoooooosh!

A brilliant fragment burst forth from the Tomb, radiating luminous light.
In an instant, the fragment crossed the void and halted before Han Yu-sung.
And then.

– You have proven yourself worthy of the hero’s mantle.
“…!”

Han Yu-sung clenched his fists and turned his head at the sudden voice.
But only for a moment—the instant he saw who it was, a hollow laugh escaped him.

“I thought you’d vanished. Yet here you remain, diminished.”

The voice belonged to a specter.
The Mighty Specter I had vanquished mere moments before.
Bodiless now, only a helmeted head drifted suspended in the empty air.

– My comrades have faded away. Yet a purpose remains for me. When I fulfill that duty, perhaps at last I shall find peace.
“And what purpose is that?”
– To guide you.

Han Yu-sung regarded the specter speaking with such solemnity, watching carefully to discern its intentions.
I resolved to observe what this phantom meant to accomplish.

– Do you know what the “Blessing of Stars” is?
“A sudden question. I confess I don’t know the details.”
– It is a fragment of power left behind by the Star Gods. It became a tool for the trials unfolding in this place, taking the form known as the “Blessing of Stars.”

The specter gestured toward the fragment before Han Yu-sung.

– The fragment before you is no different. It contains the power of one who became a Star God while dwelling in human form. When the other Star Gods abandoned us, this one alone remained at our side.
“They abandoned this world?”
– They did! Wretched traitors! They submitted to those called Lords to preserve their own wretched lives—beings I refuse to call gods!

Hearing this account, curiosity stirred within me.
Han Yu-sung asked the specter what had transpired.
The answer came thus:

– This world was once governed by those called Star Gods. Though conflict existed, it was a land of relative peace. That peace shattered when the Trials appeared.
– With the Trials came beings called Lords, who began their invasion of this world. The Star Gods were powerless and lacked even the will to resist. They chose instead to secure their own safety by surrendering this world.

It was nothing particularly remarkable.
Those who remained in this world had sought to overcome God’s Trial, yet ultimately failed, and that ruined world became merely a stage for the Trial itself.
It was a backdrop one could ordinarily see in God’s Trial.

[A Sacred Deity, it seems. An indigenous god of this world.]

Not the ‘gods’ who dwelt in places higher than the Lords.
The deities that the inhabitants of this world had originally revered—beings whose power and rank fell far short of the Lords.

– That one was the only Sacred Deity among them who became a god through a human body. Yet the other Sacred Deities did not regard that one as their equal.
“So that’s why you’ve hidden them in such a difficult place to find?”
– Precisely! No one wished to find that one. They did not desire to inherit the power of one who was brave, unlike themselves!

The specter blazed with fury.
In life, this one must have served the Sacred Deity contained within this fragment.
Given how different they appeared from the other specters, they likely held a position of considerable rank.

“So what is it you ask of me?”
– Prove it.
“Prove what?”

Eyes brimming with rage and resentment fixed upon Han Yu-sung.

– That they were the greatest Sacred Deity. That they were a deity who truly cared for this world! Prove it through your victory. Should you do so, we—and this Spirit Mausoleum—shall reward you handsomely.
“In other words, you’re asking me to win.”

Upon hearing this, Han Yu-sung offered a faint smile.
I had intended to do so regardless of any hidden piece.
Naturally, there was no reason to refuse.

“That shouldn’t prove difficult.”
– Good. Then this fragment shall….

The fragment hovering before Han Yu-sung began to move.
It soon settled into Han Yu-sung’s body.

– It is yours.

A brilliant surge of power erupted!

It erupted skyward, radiating brilliant light.
Then it shattered into countless fragments, scattering across the Battlefield.
Directly toward where Korea’s players stood.

[Korea has acquired 【Blessing of Stars: The Final Hero】.]
[A powerful buff has been granted to that nation’s players!]

The moment Korea obtained the Blessing of Stars.
Han Yu-sung watched the spectacle in silence.
And moments later, a system window appeared before my eyes, explaining the Blessing of Stars.
I smiled as I gazed at the system window, but only for a moment.

[Blessing of Stars: The Final Hero.]
[A blessing imbued with the remnants of power from one who ascended to godhood.]
[This blessing grows each time an ‘achievement’ is accomplished.]
[Effect: All stats +10%, Attack and Defense +10%.]
[Additional effect, 【Unyielding】: Even as death draws near, one does not yield.]

My expression became strange as I examined the effects.
It couldn’t be helped.

[I say, there is one thing that puzzles me.]
“…What is it.”
[Did you not say that the Blessings of Stars are all supposed to be powerful buffs? Have my eyes deceived me? No matter how I look at this…]

Kakasha spoke hesitantly, uncharacteristically so.

[…It is rather underwhelming, is it not?]
“What a coincidence.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

“I was thinking the exact same thing.”

I had obtained the Blessing of Stars, certainly.
But something felt off—a blessing that fell short of expectations in an inexplicable way.

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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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