The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 242

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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 242

Five days remained until the Golden War would commence.
Han Yu-sung made every moment of those five days count.

“Ugh, huff… j-just a moment… please, rest!”
“Keeping us in the training grounds all day is cruel…!”
“N-new equipment? I’m grateful, but… rest would be better…!”

First, I pushed my subordinate Oath-takers’ combat experience to its limits.
With items Kakasha had purchased using coins and equipment that arrived from the Alliance and Government, I elevated my Oath-takers’ gear to the next level.
Gathering intelligence about the Golden War was naturally essential.

[The Golden War itself is a Lords’ battle without much complexity, I assure you.]
[First, each Lord places their Difficult Realms across a vast battlefield like the cosmos. Second, you send your Oath-takers to conquer the opposing Lord’s Difficult Realms. Third, you fulfill the victory conditions. That is all there is to it.]

Kakasha, being a Lord with enough experience to bear a title, possessed both knowledge and experience regarding the Golden War.
So this time, I decided to hear about the Golden War directly from him.

“Do the victory conditions change each time?”
[Hmm. Seizing all the Difficult Realms, or destroying the ‘core Difficult Realm’, or eliminating the opposing Lord’s avatar… There are many possibilities. We won’t know this Golden War’s victory conditions until we face them.]
“Then I should prepare plans for multiple victory conditions.”
[That would be wise. And, we’ll likely have to wager all the Difficult Realms we possess. Truly, as the saying goes…]
“Win everything or lose everything. One or the other.”

If we lose, I’ll forfeit all the Difficult Realms I’ve accumulated so far.
If I win, I’ll gain rewards proportional to the stakes.
The more I thought about it, the more this Lords’ battle appealed to me.

[Ah, and you mentioned conquering Difficult Realms earlier. The Difficult Realms deployed in the Golden War have their ‘mechanics’ simplified, you see. They won’t be as troublesome to conquer as actual Difficult Realms.]
“So it’s like fighting on a battlefield that uses Difficult Realms as the setting.”
[Precisely that.]

Han Yu-sung and Kakasha possessed six Difficult Realms.
The opponent would deploy an equal number of Difficult Realms across the battlefield.

“We need to defend our Difficult Realm while conquering theirs.”
[Which will you take on? Well, there’s no need to ask.]
“Of course—conquest.”

Sometimes offense is the best defense.
This war cannot be won through defensive tactics alone.
The reason was simple.

“How many War Covenant Members do we have right now?”
[Eight hundred, I’d say. We’ve grown recently with new recruits.]
“New recruits can’t be deployed in active combat.”
[True. Realistically, we can mobilize about six hundred.]

The overwhelming numerical disadvantage was the crux of it.
Han Yu-sung examined the documents spread across the table.
The Baek Min-jun Party and Sung Ha-yan, who had been resting nearby and listening, grew curious and approached to review the papers.

“Meanwhile, the Covenant of the Dead members are….”

The Baek Min-jun Party fell silent after seeing the documents.
They saw the figures written there, but no one dared speak them aloud.
Save for the relatively unaffected Sung Ha-yan.

“…It says roughly eight thousand just in South Korea.”
“Ugh.”
“Isn’t that… way too many?”

Hearing Sung Ha-yan’s assessment, the Baek Min-jun Party clutched their heads.
And that was only counting South Korea’s Oath-takers.
If they included Oath-takers from across the globe, and even from other worlds…

“…It’s beyond calculation.”
“Unlike the Lord of Shadow, who runs a lean, elite force of Oath-takers, the Lord of the Dead contracts anyone deemed acceptable. They’re quite indiscriminate.”
“A lord who embodies human wave tactics….”
[Well, even setting that aside, bearing the epithet of ‘the Dead,’ it’s only natural they’d have numerous Oath-takers. They can command the undead, after all.]

Certain Lords stood out as particularly popular among their peers.
The ‘Summoning’ class of Lords were among them.

‘The fewer direct confrontations I have to engage in.’

By deploying undead or summoned creatures, I could have them fight in my stead.
That much safer for the summoner.
Those lacking confidence in life-or-death combat sought out such arrangements, contracting with Lords of the summoning lineage.
The Lord of the Dead was among the finest of them.
A Lord destined to be extraordinarily popular.

[The Golden War does not lack personnel restrictions, true. Thus deploying all such forces would prove impossible. Yet thousands, including the undead, would mean….]
“We could reach numbers in the tens of thousands.”

A sharp intake of breath echoed nearby.
Which was precisely why Han Yu-sung had to take the offensive.
Only then would the enemy commit their forces to where Han Yu-sung stood.

“We’ll need to allocate personnel for both offense and defense. How should we….”
“No. I’ll handle the offense alone. You take defense.”
“You’ll do it alone? Are you certain?”

The Baek Min-jun Party stared at Han Yu-sung in shock.
The enemy’s numbers were overwhelming. No matter how formidable Han Yu-sung was, facing a deluge of enemies alone bordered on impossible.
It was tantamount to suicide.
Ignoring the alarm on every face save Kakasha’s,
Han Yu-sung answered with perfect composure.

“Well, you’ll see soon enough.”

* * *

Five days dissolved in an instant, and the day of the Golden War arrived.
Han Yu-sung and the War Covenant Members gathered at the Arca Building.

“….”
“….”

Silence permeated the Arca Building.
Tension and anxiety hung heavy. They had tasted victory against the Lord of the Dead before, but this was different.
They faced an enemy of overwhelming power.
The possibility of defeat weighed upon them all.

[Everyone’s quite tense. Perhaps even excessively so.]
“It’s unavoidable.”
[True, the numerical disparity is far from ordinary….]

I harbored no resentment toward them.
Had I stood in their position, I would have felt the same tension.
The disadvantage was simply too great. Indeed, external observers widely predicted that the Lord of War would struggle to claim victory in this conflict.
Though some also spoke of Han Yu-sung as an unknown variable.

[Hmm, do you not intend to ease the tension among your Oath-takers?]
“Should I deliver a speech?”

I let out a quiet laugh. Kakasha did the same.
We both understood perfectly. With a disadvantage of this magnitude, mere words could never bolster morale. What mattered was not rhetoric.
It was ‘action’.

[Indeed, once you demonstrate your strength, they will all inevitably follow.]
“You understand well.”
[I have already concluded my discussions with them. Now, all that remains….]

is to begin the war.
The moment Han Yu-sung and Kakasha harbored that thought.

[Emergency Event, 【Golden War】 commencing.]
[The first ‘Golden War’ begins. The ‘Lord of War’ and ‘Lord of the Dead’ are invited to the stage of the Golden War….]

Whoooosh!

Brilliant light flooded my vision. That radiance soon faded, and before me unfolded a vast cosmos.
Suddenly, the landscape of the Star Battlefield came to mind. The expansive White Space, its ceiling and walls sealed by glass-like transparent metal.
Beyond it, a universe of unfathomable depth stretched endlessly.

“It feels as though I’ve stepped beyond the Star Battlefield.”

It was truly the sensation of waging war within the cosmos itself.
Then, a system window materialized before my eyes.

[Battlefield: Golden War.]
[A battlefield composed of a ‘Central Difficult Realm’ and two ‘Routes’. Victory in the war is achieved by occupying the opponent Lord’s Central Difficult Realm.]
[Entry Restriction: None.]
[Level Restriction: None.]
[Maximum Personnel: 8,000 Oath-takers and 10,000 soldiers per faction.]

A war that could deploy 18,000 personnel.
Messages explaining the Golden War continued to appear.

[The victory condition for this ‘Golden War’ is to occupy the ‘Central Difficult Realm’. If you occupy the Difficult Realm that the opposing Lord has designated as their Central Difficult Realm, you are considered victorious in the Golden War.]

One of the Difficult Realms you possess can be designated as the Central Difficult Realm.
It was the most important—a Difficult Realm that absolutely had to be defended.
And from the great circle, two lines extended outward.
They were pristine white lines, as if carved from the Milky Way itself.

[These lines are the ‘Routes’ of the Golden War.]
[A Lord can only advance through the Routes, and may place defensive Difficult Realms on the Routes to prevent the opponent’s advance.]
[You may place a maximum of two Difficult Realms on each Route, and may place one Difficult Realm as a ‘Final Defense Line’ before the Central Difficult Realm.]

In gaming terms, it was a kind of ‘lane’.
A Difficult Realm was, if you had to describe it, like a defensive tower.
The structure required occupying the Difficult Realms that the Lord had placed to block the enemy’s advance, then occupying the ‘Central Difficult Realm’ at the end of the Route.

“So we need six Difficult Realms in total.”
[That works out well. The Difficult Realm to use as the Central Difficult Realm is….]
“There’s no need to discuss it.”

Kakasha, meeting Han Yu-sung’s gaze, nodded.
Just as he said, there was no need to discuss it.

[Placing the ‘Tower of Records’ as the ‘Central Difficult Realm’.]

The Difficult Realms deployed in the Golden War have their mechanics simplified.
However, the Tower of Records was already a large-scale Difficult Realm to begin with. Even with simplified mechanics, it would take considerable time to conquer.
It was a suitable choice for the Central Difficult Realm.

[Placing the ‘Record Dedication Hall’ as the ‘Final Defense Line’.]

And before the Tower of Records, I placed the Record Dedication Hall.
The Record Dedication Hall houses a spirit. It should prove quite useful for defense.

[Placing the Stone Quarry and Hall of Trials on Route A.]
[Placing Lion’s Tomb and Night of the Dead on Route B.]

“Kakasha, you really are something…”
[Kufufufufu…]

Han Yu-sung let out a hollow laugh upon seeing Route B.
He couldn’t help it. The Lion’s Tomb and Night of the Dead placed on Route B were originally Difficult Realms that belonged to the Lord of the Dead.
They were Difficult Realms I had seized after winning the previous Lords’ War.

[That wretch will surely have his pride wounded when he sees this!]

His pride would certainly be wounded.
I could almost hear the Lord of the Dead’s fury erupting.
In truth, there was no helping it.

[What else can I do when these are all the Difficult Realms I possess? Hmph!]
“Well, that’s true enough.”

Thus, six Difficult Realms were positioned across the vast cosmos.
And shortly after.

[The ‘Lord of the Dead’ has finished positioning the Difficult Realms.]

Six Difficult Realms were likewise positioned in the opposing camp.
I couldn’t know what they were. Given the epithet ‘Lord of the Dead,’ I could only speculate they were Difficult Realms related to the undead.
In any case, both Lords had completed their positioning.
Now only the declaration announcing the start of war remained.

[Warning: The value of the Difficult Realms positioned by the ‘Lord of the Dead’ is significantly lower than those positioned by the ‘Lord of War’.]
[Should the ‘Lord of the Dead’ suffer defeat in this ‘Golden War’, they must offer additional wealth sufficient to compensate for the value disparity!]

A message that would wound the Lord of the Dead’s pride.
The reason for this message was obvious.

“It must be because of the Tower of Records.”
[Well, the Lord of the Dead himself must have suspected as much.]

The Tower of Records was no ordinary Difficult Realm.
Among the countless Lords, only a handful possessed such a rare Difficult Realm. Naturally, its value far exceeded anything the Lord of the Dead had ever wagered.

[Yet he declared war anyway. Because he had no intention of losing.]
“That would be it. So then.”

I watched as the Difficult Realms deployed across the Battlefield radiated brilliant light.
A dark smile spread across my lips.

“I’ll teach him what defeat truly means.”

The Golden War was beginning.

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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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