The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 168

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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 168

Who could have imagined such a scenario?
A mere player achieving victory against a descended Lord in combat.
And not through arduous struggle, but through overwhelming dominance.
No one had foreseen it. Not even the players who witnessed it.

[A Lord… defeated?]

The Lord of the Dead, who had observed the battle through undead eyes, shared that disbelief.
She questioned what her own eyes had witnessed.
She even entertained the absurd notion that perhaps her undead senses had malfunctioned, causing her to hallucinate.
But this was reality.
An undeniable, inescapable reality.

[That sacred flame…]

The Lord of the Dead recalled the battle she had witnessed.
The Army of Strife, wreathed in dread flames, had mercilessly obliterated the Lord’s soldiers, while Han Yu-sung had exchanged fierce attacks with the Walker of Harsh Winter.
Then, at a moment he seemed to have anticipated, Han Yu-sung pushed off the ground with explosive force.

A roaring inferno erupted!

Han Yu-sung and his army blazed with resonant fury.
Simultaneously, tremendous power surged from him, and the startled Lord summoned the bitter cold of harsh winter to block his approach, but—
it proved meaningless.
Hundreds of sword strikes born from dread flames incinerated the cold, and through the gap, a spear shot forward.
The Lord attempted to parry the spear, remembering the attack that had claimed his right arm.

‘That proved to be the fatal mistake that decided the outcome.’

Han Yu-sung closed the distance faster than lightning itself.
With a blade wreathed in dense demonic energy and thunder, he cleaved the Lord asunder.
That was the end. There was nothing more to tell after that.
Only one-sided, relentless assault followed.

[However lacking in fame he may be, a human defeating an incarnate being…]

A sight difficult to believe even with my own eyes.
But was this truly accomplished by Han Yu-sung’s power alone?
If so, it would mean Han Yu-sung possessed enough strength to fight and defeat a Lord’s incarnate form.
Impossible. Utterly inconceivable.

[Just how powerful a Blessing of Stars did he obtain?!]

My thoughts naturally drifted in that direction.
It had to be possible because he obtained such a powerful Blessing of Stars.
That realization filled me with an intense sense of crisis.
Wasn’t it the same during the Hero’s War?
Just when things seemed calm, he would produce something absurd and ruin the Trial entirely.

[No. This time, that won’t happen.]

I have no intention of suffering such humiliating defeat again.
I must accumulate power. Enough to kill Han Yu-sung with absolute certainty!
To do that, I need to build more contribution points and complete my descent preparations.
I must also inform the other Lords of what has transpired.
Now is the time to exercise caution and withdraw.

[But….]

As I prepared to retreat, I recalled what I had just witnessed.
The hellfire Han Yu-sung wielded. The effects emanating from his sacred relic.
All of it felt familiar. Things I had grown weary of seeing in ages past.
Yes, they resembled far too closely the techniques used by a certain Lord with whom I shared a bitter enmity.

[…Could it be the Lord of War?]

That Lord had been annihilated, hadn’t she?
But what if she hadn’t? What if she survived without being destroyed, accumulating power all this time while seeking an opportunity for revenge?
It would explain why Han Yu-sung’s flames overwhelmed my chill.
If those flames were born from War, they would be more than sufficient.

[I’m not certain. Still… I must hurry.]

I abandoned my position with urgency.
Desperately suppressing the creeping sense of dread that rose from within.

* * *

Silence fell over the Altar of Valor.
No one could speak. They could only stare at Han Yu-sung, who had broken the descended form, their eyes wide with shock.

‘A, a Lord….’
‘He fought a descended Lord and won?’

Fear naturally bloomed in their eyes.
A monster capable of defeating a descended Lord in combat. Could they possibly stand against such a creature?
Impossible. They had to flee.
But Han Yu-sung would not even grant them that mercy.

“Eliminate them.”
– Uoooooooh…!
– Kill them! Leave none alive—slay them all!

Han Yu-sung’s forces hunted the players.
There was no reason to spare prey that would contribute to their merit. Besides, it was an excellent opportunity to thin the ranks of a rival nation’s forces.
Moments later, screams erupted from all directions.

– Kraaaaaaah!
“Ugh, uaaaaaaagh!”
“No, no! Don’t…!”

Han Yu-sung watched the spectacle unfold while adjusting his helmet.
Undisguised admiration was evident on his face.

[Kufufu! How is it! My sacred relic!]
“Impressive. It performs better than I anticipated.”
[Of course it does. It is one of my most treasured sacred relics. I only bestowed it upon those Oath-bearers I held most dear!]

Strengthen the specters and prepare a sacred relic that will grant me power.
This was what Han Yu-sung had demanded of Kakasha.
The Legion Commander of Dread Flames had fulfilled that role flawlessly.

[The stacks of ‘Radiant Glory’ have reached maximum capacity.]
[For a brief moment, the 【War God】 effect activates!]
[War God: Attack Power +50%, Additional Damage +40%, Damage Received by Enemies +25%, Damage of Next Deployed Skill Enhanced Twofold,]

The effect called ‘Divine War God’ was simply that powerful.
In exchange, its duration was extremely brief—barely ten seconds at most.
Regardless, thanks to it, I was able to dispose of the Descended One far more easily than anticipated.

“Good, then….”

Now that the Descended One was eliminated, there was something I needed to do.
I blocked the surrounding view with Glacial Veil, then gazed down at the spot where the Descended One had been moments before.

[The Descended One has completely vanished. Wasn’t Essence Absorption a skill that drew qi directly from the body? If that’s the case….]
“No, it might actually be possible.”
[Hmm?]

I focused my concentration.
A formidable qi emanated from where the Descended One had been.
If I could absorb it the same way I had absorbed it from the Descended One’s body.
I slowly activated the skill.

[You have used ‘Essence Absorption’.]
[Congratulations! Your Demonic Qi has increased by 200,000!]

The formidable qi flowed directly into my body.
I exhaled slowly.
The increase in Demonic Qi was less than when I had used Essence Absorption on the Earthquake Devourer.
It could be because the Walker of Harsh Winter was relatively weaker, or because the Descended One had completely vanished and I couldn’t absorb it properly.
I would understand better as I absorbed more Descended Ones.

[You have defeated a ‘Descended Lord’.]
[You have achieved an impossible Feat!]

I had achieved the most difficult Feat among all Feats.
Now the Blessing of Stars would grow once more as its reward.
But this time, something felt slightly different.

[You have achieved an impossible Feat!]
[Blessing of Stars: The Final Hero grows significantly!]
[Effect: All stats +50%, Attack and Defense +40%, Magic Resistance +30%, Defense Penetration +20%, Regeneration +20%.]
[Additional Effect, 【Indomitable】: You do not yield even when death draws near.]
[Additional Effect, 【Adversity】: When facing an obstacle that seems insurmountable, you are granted the strength to resist it.]

As the message indicated, the Blessing of Stars grew substantially in a single leap.
It appeared that even identical feats yielded different rewards depending on their difficulty.
Vanquishing a descended Lord would surely be the highest tier of difficulty.

[You have successfully broken a Lord’s descended form.]
[You have satisfied the activation condition for the unique ability, ‘Divine Descent’.]
[Your Annihilation stat has increased by +20!]
[You have achieved victory twice against a descended form. You have accomplished a feat that humans cannot easily attain!]
[As an additional reward, you have obtained two ‘Catalysts of Awakening’!]

[Catalyst of Awakening (Mythic).]
· A catalyst that awakens the latent potential within an item. In the process, the item’s stats are adjusted to match the user’s level.
· However, certain items cannot be used with this catalyst.

On top of that came the reward from Divine Descent.
Han Yu-sung snatched the items that materialized in the air. Within a small glass vial swirled a liquid that emanated an ethereal luminescence.
The moment I saw it, I instinctively knew which item needed this catalyst.
So when I was about to use the ‘Catalyst of Awakening’ immediately—

[By achieving victory against a descended form, you have proven yourself more valiant than any other. The Trial of Valor concludes early.]
[Your Contribution has increased by 30,000.]
[The Blessing of Stars is granted as a reward… However, your nation already possesses the Blessing of Stars.]
[Instead of the Blessing of Stars disappearing, a special reward is granted!]

A tremendous radiance erupted from the Altar.
The light circled through the air before settling upon Han Yu-sung.

[You have acquired the limited skill, ‘Aura of Valor’.]

[Aura of Valor]
· Classification: Passive.
· Generates an aura that strengthens yourself and all allies within a certain range.
· All stats +30, Attack and Defense +30%, Movement Speed +20%, Damage received by allies when charging toward enemies –30%.
· You and your allies can activate ‘Unbreakable Will’, which grants immunity to damage once. This effect can be used twice.

Compared to the Blessing of Stars, it fell considerably short, but it was quite a useful skill nonetheless.
The active effect in particular was noteworthy.

‘So I can ignore an enemy’s attack once.’

It will prove useful in the battles to come.
This was a skill with a usage limit.
It wouldn’t make sense if I could use an effect like this indefinitely.
I lifted my head.

[The enemies are fleeing.]
“There’s no need to pursue them further.”

I had already claimed the Altar’s rewards.
The players, having completely lost their will to fight, fled desperately.
I could pursue them if I wished, but there was no reason to go that far.
I withdrew the Army of Strife.

‘This skill is far more satisfying than I anticipated.’

Watching the returned Army of Strife, such thoughts crossed my mind.
I possessed numerous sacred relics and skills that strengthened my allies.
Those effects applied equally to the summoned Army of Strife.
And there was something more.

[The Army of Strife, having endured sufficient combat, grows stronger.]
[Additionally, the number of souls you can summon has increased by 20!]

It grew stronger with each battle fought.
The more I used it, the more I appreciated it.

“Has the Lord of the Dead withdrawn?”
[I don’t see any undead or anything of the sort…]
“I hope things are proceeding according to plan.”

What had been my reason for taking such a risk and targeting the avatar?
To instill caution in the Lord of the Dead and Japan’s other enemies, and to buy time for the Blessing of Stars to grow sufficiently.

[Hmm… If the Lord of the Dead views you as a threat, it would have withdrawn. If it still dismisses you, wouldn’t it refrain from attacking?]
“Which do you think it is? You two seemed rather close.”
[Close…! You, you there! There are things one should and shouldn’t say! How could this one possibly be close with such a gloomy wretch!]

Kakasha erupted in fierce indignation.
The Lord of the Dead clearly displeased him greatly.

[Ahem! To answer your question, it seems more likely to be the former. I’m not so foolish a Lord as to forget the matters of the Hero’s War.]
“I see. This time, let me trust our Lord’s words.”
[So, you haven’t trusted me until now?]

I didn’t answer. I simply walked forward in silence.
I had obtained everything I could from this Altar. Now, all that remained was to grow the Blessing of Stars as quickly as possible before the Japanese Camp could launch their attack.
I needed to move with urgency.

‘Once the Trial ends, things will become chaotic one way or another.’

I had eliminated the Incarnate before the eyes of many.
This wasn’t my first time defeating an Incarnate.
But few knew of this fact.
No one had witnessed my battle with the Greedy Researcher, and the Earthquake Devourer, ashamed of his own defeat, had silenced those who saw it.

“Well, I can worry about that later. For now, I need to move.”
[Why won’t you answer…. Answer this one’s question!]

Ignoring the question once more, I kicked off the ground.

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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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