The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 186

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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 186

Kakasha, the Lord of War, announced to the world that I had made my comeback.
In a manner far more spectacular than any other Lord.

[Kuhuhuh, kuhuhuhuh….]
“….”

I had earned tremendous rewards through remarkable performances in multiple Trials.
I had won consecutive Lord battles, and even defeated the Lord of the Dead.
The rewards obtained in that process were beyond mention.
It was an undeniably spectacular return that anyone had to acknowledge.

[Kuhuhuhuhuhuh….]
“This is driving me insane. How long do you plan to keep laughing like that?”
[Aw, come on! How could I not laugh in a situation like this! Look for yourself! These articles pouring in! The praise directed at me!]

Kakasha couldn’t stop her sinister laughter as she read through the internet articles.
That wasn’t all. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but according to Kakasha, there was apparently a community that only Lords could access.
She was laughing darkly to herself while reading through that as well.
Listening to it continuously was enough to drive me mad.

[I’m so pleased that the Lord of the Dead was the catalyst for my comeback becoming widely known! I would have preferred it even more if I’d been greedy enough to face Achiros, that damned bastard…!]
“That’s still too difficult for now.”
[Right! So I’ll be satisfied with the Lord of the Dead! Kuhuhuhuh….]

Han Yu-sung let out a sigh.
I felt like I was developing a neurosis from that “kuhuhuh” laughter.
I understood it meant she was that happy, but still.

[Ah, right. I almost forgot. I distributed the Lord battle rewards to the War Covenant Members as you said. They all seemed satisfied.]
“Baek Min-jun contacted me about it anyway. He said the rewards were generous.”
[Of course they were! I’m quite magnanimous!]
“….”

Kakasha puffed out her chest and acted all proud.
Watching someone who had been trembling over a single coin not long ago act so smug left a bitter taste in my mouth.

[Ugh, argh! W-why are you messing with my hair like that…!]

And so I proceeded to ruffle Kakasha’s hair without restraint.
In truth, it was hardly surprising that Kakasha’s coffers had grown so plump. The rewards from this Lords’ War had left our finances in a state of comfortable abundance.
Particularly significant was obtaining two Difficult Realms.

[Difficult Realm: Lion’s Tomb.]
[A Difficult Realm opened by the Lord of the Dead, now seized by the Lord of War. It is a tomb where great heroes and warriors of ages past slumber. Those who possess the will to transcend death may claim rewards befitting their resolve.]
[Within this Difficult Realm, one may resist death a maximum of three times. Furthermore, by paying the appropriate coin, one may abandon the Difficult Realm and depart.]
[This Difficult Realm has received high praise from ‘Gods’ and many others.]
[Entry Restriction: Lv.100~.]
[Entry Fee: 3,000 Coins.]

[Difficult Realm: Night of the Dead.]
[A Difficult Realm opened by the Lord of the Dead, now seized by the Lord of War. Each night, countless specters appear alongside a chilling mist, and rewards are granted each time a certain number are defeated.]
[This Difficult Realm may be freely abandoned whenever desired.]
[Entry Restriction: Lv.1~Lv.100.]
[Entry Fee: 500 Coins.]

One was a gimmick-based Difficult Realm, the other a hunting-focused one.
What surprised me was that neither showed any signs of underhanded manipulation.
Seeing the notation that the Lion’s Tomb had received high praise, it was difficult to believe, yet it appeared the Lord of the Dead had operated it with genuine integrity.

[Thanks to that, there’s no need to touch them. I’ll open them as-is and rake in the coins. The Lord of the Dead will be absolutely livid!]
“You seem delighted, Kakasha.”
[Kufufufu! How could I not be thrilled? It’s an opportunity to both humiliate a lord I despise and earn coins in the process. Observe for yourself.]

Kakasha displayed a message window before Han Yu-sung’s eyes.
Han Yu-sung’s pupils dilated upon reading it.

[The 【Hall of Trials】 has received high evaluation! As a reward for operating an excellent Difficult Realm, 800,000 Coins have been awarded!]
[The 【Stone Quarry】 has received high evaluation! As a reward for operating an excellent Difficult Realm, 100,000 Coins have been awarded!]
[Entry fees from the 【Stone Quarry】 total 105,000 Coins.]

These were the coins flowing in from the Difficult Realms.
‘Evaluation rewards’ were compensation distributed at regular intervals. The better a Difficult Realm’s evaluation, the greater the coin amount became.

“Just breathing nets me a million coins. Not bad.”
[Tsk! Just breathing, you say! If you knew how much effort I pour into managing the Difficult Realm, you wouldn’t speak so carelessly…!]
“And who was it that brought the Difficult Realm in the first place?”
[You have a point. Your words are true.]

The Hall of Trials had earned a stellar reputation since the Thunder God’s era, but the Stone Quarry was different.
When the Earthquake Devourer ran it, it was nothing more than a typical Difficult Realm designed to fleece players.
But after Kakasha personally stepped in to reform it, it transformed into a Difficult Realm worthy of receiving evaluation rewards.

‘Perhaps this is what you’d expect from a Lord with a title. He does have talent.’

Most of the time he seemed simple-minded and foolish, so I often overlooked it.
Regardless, the coin income from the Difficult Realms was now on a stable trajectory.
Once I factored in the Difficult Realm I’d seized from the Lord of the Dead, it would be even more secure.

[Now we can nurture the War Covenant Members without financial strain!]
“Right. Well done.”

Just as Kakasha said, I now had the capital to cultivate the War Covenant Members.

[So then, my lord. How are the applicant documents coming along?]
“Still reviewing them.”

I was currently at the Arca Building.
A five-story structure in Yeouido. The Hideout of the War Covenant Members.
On its top floor sat a room reserved solely for me.

“My eyes are going to fall out if I keep staring at paperwork like this.”

Before me lay countless documents—personal information of everyone who wished to become a War Covenant Member.
Kakasha, watching me work, tilted his head thoughtfully.

[Would it not be better to establish criteria? Those who fail to meet the standard would be automatically rejected without requiring your personal review.]
“I’d like to do that, but….”
[Hmm, you’re worried there might be hidden talent among them, aren’t you?]

He was right.
There were cases where players who showed no particular promise suddenly awakened a unique ability and grew at an explosive rate.
Just as I had.

“Well, it’s not like there’s no gain from this either.”

I possess a weapon called ‘memories of my past life’.
I remember the names of players who were active in my previous life.
Especially those who rose from obscurity to fame.
Among those who applied this time, there were quite a few like that.

“Good. I can meet these people in person later.”
[Hmm, isn’t there something you forgot? The documents that the Alliance Leader sent.]
“Forgot? I’m actually scheduled to meet today anyway.”

I had asked Jain to recommend any talented individuals she had been keeping an eye on, and after much deliberation, she accepted my request.
In truth, it was a situation where she had no choice but to deliberate.

‘Considering Jain’s position, it couldn’t be helped.’

Jain is the ‘Alliance Leader’. And the Alliance is an organization that prioritizes maintaining balance among the Lords above all else.
It was an organization that sought to remain neutral without leaning toward any particular Lord.
Especially in a situation like now, when conflict was erupting.

‘If she sided with a specific Lord, she would incur the wrath of hostile Lords.’

In Kakasha’s case, supporting him would mean incurring the anger of the Lord of the Dead, Achiros, and several other minor Lords—a risk the Alliance didn’t want to bear.
Besides, there were buildings belonging to several Lords scattered throughout Seoul.

[I have little interest in the Alliance as an organization. After all, it’s merely a human organization. But if those fools were to support the Lord of the Dead or Achiros… wouldn’t that spark my interest?]

Kakasha was right.
Considering that, Jain had shown me considerable consideration.
And that consideration was worth far more than I had anticipated.

[The list seems to be quite to your liking.]
“Yeah. It’s the result of Jain struggling to survive.”
[Struggling to survive…?]
“It’s a story from my past life.”

In my past life, Jain had fallen into a grave political crisis during this period.
It was due to successive failures and the attacks by Lee Su-ho and Achiros that exploited them.
She had attempted various strategies to escape the crisis.
Unfortunately, the results of those attempts were not particularly favorable.
Still, not all of her attempts had ended in complete failure.

‘There was a time when the Alliance sought to cultivate talented individuals intensively.’

Jain had her eye on certain talented individuals.
To develop them into reliable forces she could trust, she had pledged to pour unprecedented levels of Alliance support into their growth.
Among them, several had distinguished themselves greatly during this process.

‘Ryu Su-geun, Yoon Woo-ram, Yu Gyeo-ul, and… Sung Ha-yan.’

These four in total.
Among them, Sung Ha-yan had grown the most and demonstrated the most brilliant achievements.
There was just one problem.

“The problem was that she ended up serving under Achiros.”
[Didn’t you say she was a talented individual the Alliance Leader had her eye on? Then why did she go under Achiros, who stands in opposition to the Alliance Leader?]
“Because Jain fell from power before Sung Ha-yan could fully distinguish herself.”

In my past life, Lee Su-ho had gained tremendous renown.
Based on that reputation, he launched a relentless assault against the Alliance and Jain, and public opinion blindly supported him.
There was nothing Jain could do to change the situation.
Eventually, she fell from power not long after.

[So Achiros absorbed those talented individuals who were left adrift. Isn’t that right?]
“Exactly.”

And those talented individuals…

“We need to take them now.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door to the room where Han Yu-sung was.
Baek Min-jun carefully opened the door and entered.

“Commander. The players you mentioned have arrived.”
“Finally.”

Today was the day I had arranged to meet the newcomers Jain had recommended.
Of course, Sung Ha-yan was among them.
Han Yu-sung set down the documents and rose from his seat.

“Alright then, shall we go recruit more War Covenant Members?”

* * *

Several players had arrived at the Arca Building.
They were the players Jain had carefully observed and recommended to Han Yu-sung.
Among them were Ryu Su-geun, Yoon Woo-ram, and Yu Gyeo-ul.
After meeting with them separately, Han Yu-sung made his proposal directly.

“Would you consider becoming a War Covenant User?”

The players who heard this were taken aback by his bluntness.
Wasting time with unnecessary pleasantries was not Han Yu-sung’s nature.
He presented the proposal to the players and explained what support he and Kakasha could provide to the War Covenant Members.
And that they had the resources to do so.

[Hmm, things are progressing more smoothly than I anticipated.]

The players’ responses fell into two broad categories.
They either accepted the proposal immediately or asked for time to consider.
None of them refused.

[If they had intended to refuse, they wouldn’t have come here in the first place.]
“I see.”

The very fact that they had come to Han Yu-sung meant they were interested in becoming War Covenant Users.
If they were going to refuse, there would be no reason to come to the Arca Building.

“So then, what remains is….”
[Just that person called Sung Ha-yan, isn’t it?]

Sung Ha-yan was quite an unusual individual.
If my driving force in life was “combat and vengeance against Achiros,”
then Sung Ha-yan’s driving force could be described as “greed.”
Not greed for trivial things like wealth.

‘A hunger for power.’

In her past life, Sung Ha-yan had chosen Achiros for precisely this reason.

‘Because he was a Lord capable of satisfying her ambitions.’

For this reason, Sung Ha-yan had always admired those stronger than herself.
She believed that by following them, she could fulfill her desires.
Personally, Han Yu-sung found this attitude quite appealing.
After all, he too was someone who pursued strength above all else.

“Captain, the last player has arrived.”
“Let them in.”

The door to Han Yu-sung’s room opened.
Upon seeing the woman who entered, a smile played across his lips.
It was inevitable.

‘How delightful.’

The player who had served brilliantly under Achiros in his past life was now positioned beneath him in this one.

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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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