The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 250

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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 250

A space saturated with deception.
In the darkness where nothing else dwelled, the Lord of the Dead gazed into the void.

[Lord of the Dead suffers shocking defeat in the Golden War!]
[What did the Lord of the Dead lose in this war? According to an anonymous Lord, he lost numerous Difficult Realms, Sacred Artifacts, and an astronomical amount of Coins!]
[The glorious comeback of the once-fallen Lord of War!]
[Even more astounding than the Lord of War is Han Yu-sung. What techniques did he display against the Lord of the Dead’s descent form?]

Before my eyes lay countless headlines.
News articles posted on the community forum used by the Lords.
Every article spoke of this Golden War.
There was not a single article casting the Lord of the Dead in a positive light.

[What will become of the Lord of the Dead going forward?]
[The damage suffered is undeniable. If he cannot withstand the Lord of War’s subsequent assault, he may face ruin.]

A shadowed hand emerged from the void and crushed the floating text.
The headlines crumpled like newspaper and vanished.
The Lord of the Dead unleashed a roar filled with fury.

[Huff… huff…]

It was a devastating defeat.
A loss so severe that I surrendered numerous Difficult Realms, Sacred Artifacts, and items.
The only consolation was that I did not lose my Oath-takers.
Had it been a Trial, I would have lost many of them.
Then I truly would have been ruined.

[Not yet… I haven’t fallen that far!]

The Lord of the Dead murmured to myself, as if offering reassurance.
True enough—I had lost significant assets, but not to the point of ruin.
The problem was that the gap between myself and the Lord of War had narrowed considerably.
And if I knew myself, if I knew the Lord of War as I did…

[She won’t miss this opportunity.]

Even the Lord of the Dead would have done the same.
It was an opportunity to completely eliminate an eyesore. I would have persisted in conducting lord wars, methodically crushing my opponent into oblivion.
So I had to find a way.
A way to break through this situation.

[But how? What method could possibly…?]

I needed to devise a strategy.
But nothing came to mind.
How could it?
I had lost in the Golden War, my greatest strength. How could I win in future conflicts? Especially now, weakened as I was?
It was at that very moment.

[The Lord of War has activated 【Priority】.]
[During the period in which Priority applies, no Lord except the Lord of War may declare war upon the Lord of the Dead.]

The Lord of the Dead, reading the message, clenched his teeth.
It was something I had foreseen. Had I won this war, I would have done exactly the same. I needed to monopolize my opponent’s assets.
Had the Lord of Justice not done so against the Lord of War?

[Whether I have confidence in victory or not… I must do something.]

My strength alone was insufficient.
Then I had no choice but to seek external aid.
Those who despised the Lord of War and Han Yu-sung, who wished to eliminate them.
Yes, if it were the Lord of Justice…

[A message from someone has arrived.]

Just as I was thinking this, a message appeared before the Lord of the Dead.
The message transformed into a letter, forming words before my eyes.
Upon reading its contents, the Lord of the Dead’s expression darkened.
It could not have been otherwise.

[…The Wanderer, Geomson? Why would a castaway approach me?]

The Lord of the Dead had not anticipated this being.
This unexpected figure had approached to offer assistance.

* * *

The objective had been set.
‘Bringing down the Lord of the Dead’.

“We’ll need to eliminate him before the next Trial opens.”
[The longer time drags on, the worse it will be for us.]

Since the Golden War had taken the place of this Trial, we had considerable time to spare. There was no need to rush.
Rather, the real problem lay elsewhere.

[However, the Golden War has one rule. All Lords who participate are protected until the Golden War concludes.]
“Regardless of whether they win or lose.”
[Hmm. A kind of… consideration, I suppose. Winners and losers alike will bear the scars of war, so this rule gives them time to recover.]
“Which means it’s an obstacle for us right now.”

Han Yu-sung clicked his tongue in frustration.
He’d been planning to strike the Lord of the Dead immediately.
At least the Golden War wasn’t particularly long in duration.
Just enough time to recover from the aftermath of war.

[I’ve already announced the 【Priority】. By now, the Lord of the Dead should have received word. Given his nature, he must be raging mad.]
“No doubt. He was always a Lord who thrived on his own arrogance.”

That aside.
In any case, the Lord of the Dead had been granted some time.

“Unless he’s a complete fool, he’ll realize he’s in danger. He’ll also figure out how we’re likely to move next.”
[Still, he bears a True Name and is a Lord. He won’t be ignorant of such things. His timing in declaring the Golden War was sharp.]

That was true.
Without Kaldrex and the Draken Race, along with the skills I’d learned through the ‘Legacy’, things would have become far more complicated.
The Lord of the Dead’s timing in declaring war was excellent. His judgment to eliminate Kakasha before he fully recovered his power was equally sound.
It was simply that the opponent was unfavorable.

“In that sense, how do you think that sharp Lord of the Dead will move this time? You should have some insight, given how close you are to him.”
[Close?! KYAAAAGH! What nonsense are you spouting?! How is that any different from saying you and Lee Su-ho are close?!]

Kakasha erupted in flames, enraged by the unpleasant words.
Han Yu-sung paid it little mind.

“We know each other well enough, don’t we? Like old acquaintances. So tell me—how do you think the Lord of the Dead will move?”
[Grrrrgh… Hmph! The Lord of the Dead lost considerable wealth, but the Oath-takers remain intact. He can still deploy his beloved human wave tactics.]
“You mean…”

Kakasha nodded with an expression of mild irritation.

[Rather than attack us on the Battlefield of Stars, he’ll likely strike here on Earth instead. Our forces are inferior, and theirs are overwhelming. Kaldrex and the Draken Race haven’t returned, after all.]
“That makes sense. I was thinking the same thing.”

Kakasha had declared “priority” to the Lord of the Dead.
A declaration of war—that he would attack once the protection period of the Golden War ended.
To delay that attack by any means, I needed to sow confusion among our enemies.
If the Lord of the Dead deployed undead on Earth to attack, it would reduce the number of War Covenant Users while creating chaos and buying us time.
In the meantime, he would likely prepare for the coming war.

“There’s no way he doesn’t realize we’ve seen through this.”
[Hmm. The Lord of the Dead surely knows. Unless he’s a fool, he’s definitely prepared something, but…]

We both understood each other’s intentions.
To break through this stalemate, I needed to act beyond expectations.
The Lord of the Dead would do the same, so I had to as well.
I closed my eyes and organized my thoughts.
One idea suddenly came to mind.

“What if we attack first instead? Before they make their move. I think we could twist the situation that way.”
[You mean to strike the Covenant of the Dead? Hmm, knowing you as I do, you wouldn’t prefer to attack with overwhelming numbers.]
“Of course not. We move with a small, elite force. Three at most?”
[I thought as much…]

Kakasha shook his head, no longer even surprised.
The Covenant of the Dead. Among them, there were certain ones I particularly wanted to eliminate.

“The Apostles of the Dead. They’ve been irritating me since last time. There are far too many of them. I’d like to thin their numbers if possible.”
[It’s the Lord of the Dead’s preference. He loves having large numbers no matter what, so he’s unnecessarily inflated the Apostles’ ranks as well. Not a wise choice. Their power becomes too dispersed.]

A Lord need not have only a single Apostle.
Some Lords maintain multiple Apostles. In such cases, resources become divided among them, resulting in an overall weakening of their collective strength.
The Lord of Justice and Kakasha, for instance, kept only a small number of Apostles and concentrated their resources intensively on them.

“If we eliminate those bastards beforehand, wouldn’t the war become easier? I think we could use the fact that the Lord of the Dead is targeting our Oath-takers to our advantage.”
[“It is not without merit. It is an action that defies his expectations. The problem, however, is determining where the Apostles of the Dead are located…]

The Covenant of the Dead prefer to dwell in abandoned, ruined cities rather than in cities where people live.
More precisely, it is what the Lord of the Dead desires.
One might say he enjoys creating his own kingdom and adorning it with all manner of undead.

“It’s not like he’s decorating a diary or something.”
[“A thoroughly vile creature. Have you not already witnessed it yourself?”]
“Old memories are surfacing. Was it Yeoju City?”
[“Yes, we went there to conquer a reward Dungeon.”]

We must conquer such a city.
A place that plays an important role among the cities owned by the Lord of the Dead, where multiple Apostles of the Dead are currently residing.
Fortunately, one location came to mind.
A most peculiar one—his most treasured ‘hidden’ city.

[“Then, should we not simply go there directly?”]
“Since these are memories from before my return, I believe cross-verification will be necessary.”
[“Hmm, cross-verification. How do you intend to proceed?”]

I despise wasting time unnecessarily.
To proceed efficiently and with certainty, I need information.
And fortunately, I had a means to obtain it.

“I should summon Chu Gyu-il.”

* * *

“Information.”
“What? You summon someone and suddenly demand… Are you insane?”

Chu Gyu-il, the ‘Great Blade’ of the previous life.
The man who had come to the Sanctuary at my summons, now an Oath-taker of the Covenant of War, asked in bewilderment.
It was only natural—I had called him here only to immediately demand information.

“I’ve heard you’ve been wandering around here and there because of your unique ability. It seems like you’d know quite a lot. Information that others don’t know, even.”
“Well, I can’t exactly deny that….”

Chu Gyu-il nodded with a reluctant expression.

“What information do you need?”
“Information about where the Apostles of the Dead stay.”
“Damn it, how would I know something like that? I didn’t work under the Lord of the Dead or anything. That’s something I don’t….”
“But you should know where the Covenant of the Dead stay.”
“That is, well.”

Chu Gyu-il didn’t deny it.
It was Chu Gyu-il who had traveled all over the world searching for treasures discovered through his unique ability.
He had especially visited many treacherous places. The Difficult Realms containing treasures were abandoned in desolate areas where people rarely ventured.
Among those places were several cities where the Covenant of the Dead had established themselves.

“…I do know about them.”
“Mark them on the map. And also mark any suspicious places.”
“Ugh, seriously. You suddenly summon me and this is what….”

Chu Gyu-il began marking the map while grumbling.
Surprisingly, he had an excellent memory, so he marked the locations without hesitation, and Han Yu-sung watched quietly.
And at some point, Chu Gyu-il’s hand stopped.

“You stopped. Can’t you remember?”
“No, it’s just… hmm, it’s a bit unclear… but since you told me to mark suspicious places too, I’m marking it.”

The place where Chu Gyu-il’s hand had stopped was Japan.
Han Yu-sung’s eyes gleamed at the sight.

“It’s a place I’ve been to before. On the surface, it looks ordinary. Well, monsters appear there and the currents are rough, so it’s not exactly ordinary. Anyway, despite what it looks like, there’s something that bothers me about it.”
“So it looks ordinary but feels suspicious?”
“Yeah. Like something is being hidden….”

A smile played across Han Yu-sung’s lips at that answer.
It was precisely the same location he remembered.

“Found it. Prepare yourself, Chu Gyu-il.”
“What? Prepare myself? For what?”

I had heard the answer I needed.
Han Yu-sung rose from his seat without hesitation.

“Prepare to depart for Japan.”

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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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