The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 263

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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 263

Maezato Oju had been a formidable player in his past life.
Quite literally, Japan’s representative player.
His strength transcended Japan itself, ranking among the world’s elite.
The fact that even Lord of Justice Achiros held him in high regard spoke volumes.

In this life, though, he’d died before reaching such heights.

Regardless.
Oju’s ability to grow so formidable stemmed from his unique ability, Sword Saint, whose effects were extraordinary.
Already remarkable, this unique ability grew alongside Oju’s development, eventually reaching monstrous proportions.
Han Yu-sung’s current Sword Saint appeared to be at a comparable level.
Or so I estimated.

[Comparable level? So that madman possessed such an exceptional unique ability? Truly astonishing.]
“Actually, looking closer, it might be slightly superior…”
[Why do you lack conviction in your words?]
“It’s not even my unique ability. How would I know?”

That was fair.
Unless Oju had gone around boasting about what Sword Saint did, I couldn’t be certain they were truly comparable.
What I could confirm were the active effects.

“Sword Eye and Sword Domain. Those I’m certain about. I found them infuriatingly troublesome when I fought that bastard Oju in my past life.”
[You know them because you experienced them firsthand.]
“Exactly.”

Sword Eye—granting perfect prediction of enemy sword strikes within a certain range.
Sword Domain—distorting the flow of time within a set radius.
Effects I’d found absurdly troublesome when battling Oju.
The very effects that had made him Japan’s greatest player.

“These will prove quite useful.”

Those effects had now become perfectly mine.
And there was one more thing.

[All sword-related skills of S-rank or below have been upgraded.]
[Halden-style Swordsmanship has been upgraded to SS-rank!]

[Halden-style Swordsmanship (SS).]
· Classification: Active.
· The destructive swordsmanship wielded by Halden, the Mercenary King. A technique optimized for destroying an opponent’s equipment, now perfected in all its forms.
· Effect: When using this swordsmanship, Defense Penetration +50%, significantly increased probability of destroying enemy equipment.
· Additional Effect: Sword strikes are strengthened when attacking barriers and protective barriers.
· First Form, ‘Shattering’: Unleash robust sword energy to deliver a barrage of fierce consecutive strikes. The longer the barrage continues, the more powerful each strike becomes.
· Second Form, ‘Rupture’: Violently scrape the ground to generate mana fragments, then deflect them with the blade to unleash them like a tempest.
· Third Form, ‘Lunar Severance’: Condense mana, then rotate the body greatly while cutting through the surroundings. The sword energy spreads like a colossal moon and detonates.
· Fourth Form, ‘Annihilation’: In an instant, pour all mana to pierce the enemy’s heart. The higher the opponent’s defense, the greater the power.

Since it could be used immediately and Han Yu-sung had frequently employed it recently despite being S-rank, Halden-style Swordsmanship’s rank had now risen.

‘The fourth form, Annihilation, is new. I like it.’

I appreciated it even more because it was an excellent form for surprise attacks.
So, now only one item remained.

[You have used 【Tears of One Who Transcends the Mundane】.]
[The tears have infused 【Black Sword (Mythic)】… The item has been granted potential. Should the sword absorb the blood of a Transcendent, it can be upgraded to a higher dimension.]

[Black Sword (Mythic)]
· Slot: Weapon (Sword)
· Attack Power: 800.
· Attack Power +70%, Critical Hit Chance +30%, Critical Hit Damage +80%.
· Speed +40%, Sword-type Skill Damage and Activation Speed +60%.
· Can generate sword energy composed of mana. The sword’s attack power increases along with the user’s mana stat.
· The user can employ 【Black Shadow】, which greatly strengthens the Black Sword and its owner. The user receives the ‘Light Speed’ buff alongside Black Shadow’s unique buffs.
· This weapon ‘grows’ together with its user. Should the sword absorb the blood of a Transcendent, it upgrades to a higher dimension.

Han Yu-sung gazed quietly at the transformed Black Sword.
The Black Sword had become a growth-type weapon like the Blood Demon’s blade.
This itself was not surprising. However, there was one thing that bothered me.

“The blood of a Transcendent… Are they referring to the Lords?”
[Would it not be so? If the sword absorbs a Lord’s blood, it would mean the blade strengthens to Eternity-rank, would it not?]
“Hmm, I suppose so.”

Han Yu-sung, who had been examining the black sword, now fixed his gaze intently upon Kakasha.
Kakasha, sensing that stare, let out a startled cry.

[W-why are you looking at me with such eyes! Surely you don’t wish to see my blood? Stain this blade with it!]
“Why take the long way when the fastest path exists?”
[What a terrifying and vicious Apostle you are…!]

Kakasha’s body trembled violently.
Yet it was worth attempting. With lips pursed in discontent, Kakasha voiced every complaint while pricking a finger slightly.
Blood flowed from it and touched the black sword.
But.

[….]
“….”

Nothing changed.
Though Kakasha’s blood had touched the black sword, the blade showed no reaction whatsoever. The blood merely dripped down the steel and fell to the ground with a soft plop.

“No reaction at all.”
[How strange. Something feels wrong… I feel disrespected. Are you denying that I am a transcendent being! This sword!]

Kakasha erupted in anger.
And though several more drops of blood fell, nothing had changed.

[Wasting blood for nothing… I feel dizzy….]
“Are you foolish? This ‘drinking blood’ must be some kind of metaphor. It’s not as simple as dropping blood on it….”
[You mean this sword must kill a Lord, is that it.]
“Exactly. Then the sword would truly drink enough blood.”

Han Yu-sung and Kakasha looked at the sword, then turned to face each other.
Perhaps this could be called fortunate.

“The Lord of the Dead.”
[A fine test subject has presented itself. If we bring that one to ruin and allow the sword to drink deeply of its blood….]
“We can elevate the sword.”

Han Yu-sung swung the blade lightly.
Another reason to eliminate the Lord of the Dead had just emerged.

[Ah, right. I nearly forgot about that. Do you remember? We absorbed the fragments from Trial Island and even Geomson’s blade this time.]
“That’s true. Have you finished digesting it all?”
[Nearly complete, I assure you. Thanks to that, my power has grown tremendously. Of course, compared to my prime, I still fall far short.]
“Just how much more do you need to consume to return to your former glory?”
[Hmph! That is precisely how magnificent a Lord I once was!]

Though I had fallen at the hands of the Lord of Justice.
Han Yu-sung swallowed the rest of his words. He had anticipated her reaction.
In any case, Kakasha had obtained tremendous power this time. Combined with the strength gained from absorbing the surplus coins that had become available.

[You may select multiple blessings.]
[The ‘Blessing of War’ grows significantly!]

The appropriate reward had arrived.
Han Yu-sung gazed at the countless options that materialized before him.
There were so many that his head began to ache.

[Come now, choose! Quickly! Such an opportunity to select so many of a Lord’s blessings does not come often!]

With Kakasha fidgeting beside him, it only made matters worse.
Han Yu-sung sighed and examined the blessings alongside Kakasha.
The result.

* Blessings possessed by the Lord of War.
· All Oath-taker stats +75 (Lv.15).
· Fire attribute damage increase +90% (Lv.15).
· Experience gained by Oath-taker +50% (Lv.15).
· Oath-taker life regeneration during combat +30% (Lv.15).
· Oath-taker attack power +70% (Lv.15).
· Speed +15% upon defeating an enemy (Lv.5).
· Defense +30% when Oath-taker’s life decreases (Lv.5).
· Mana consumption during combat –15% (Lv.5).
· ‘Lord’s Protection (Lv.5)’ unlocked.

[Blessing of War (Mythic)]
· All stats +50.
· Attack power +50%, skill damage +40%.
· Flame attribute enhancement +50%, flame resistance +35%.
· Vitality enhancement +40%, recovery and wound regeneration speed +50%.
· When fighting multiple enemies on the Battlefield, strength increases by +50%.
· The hotter the Battlefield becomes, the stronger the blessing’s effects. When heat reaches maximum, I enter the 【Incarnation of War: For 1 minute, all damage dealt +20%, damage taken -20%.】 state.

The Blessing of War had reached the Mythic grade.
Kakasha was puffing out his chest, delighted that the blessing had grown.
However, as Han Yu-sung, I found it strange that it wasn’t ‘Eternity’ grade.

[You insatiable creature! Eternity-grade blessings are not easy to obtain! It was a grade I achieved before my fall!]
“That high, really?”
[Hmm. Think of it as there being several invisible grades within each grade. For Mythic grade, there’s Mythic C, Mythic B, Mythic A, and so on. When that grade reaches its peak…]
“The blessing advances to a higher grade.”
[Exactly! I was among the highest tier of Eternity grade!]

A glorious past.
Of course, all that glory was stolen by Achiros, and now I couldn’t even touch Eternity grade, but there was no despair in that.
There was still hope.

[If I could only topple the Lord of the Dead and absorb the power he possesses in great quantities… I could grow the blessing significantly.]
“It won’t be long before the blessing reaches Eternity grade?”
[Hmm. At the current rate of growth, it’s still distant. But if I absorb a Lord bearing a Title, I could greatly accelerate that timeline.]

Han Yu-sung nodded in understanding.

“At this level, I should be able to recruit many new Oath-takers.”
[Indeed. Well, lower-level Oath-takers have the limitation that they cannot fully enjoy the effects of grace and blessings…]

The Lord’s grace and blessings have one restriction.
If the Oath-taker’s level is low, the effects weaken. The reduction is quite significant, so it cannot be ignored.
Han Yu-sung never felt this restriction because he grew alongside Kakasha.
Thinking about it, it was a natural restriction. Without such a limitation, the Oath-takers of Lords bearing Titles would have been smashing through the Difficult Realm from the start.

“And this one… was it always there?”
[Ugh!]

A peculiar blessing caught my attention.
The moment I examined it, Kakasha flinched.

[Protection of Fearfire]
· A blessing that only the Apostle of War can utilize.
· When the intensity of a Trial, Difficult Realm, or the Star Battlefield reaches its peak, the Lord of War can directly aid the Apostle for a brief moment.
· Each activation of this blessing consumes Coins, with greater support requiring proportionally greater expenditure.

Protection of Fearfire.
Now that I thought about it, there was a time during this Difficult Realm when Kakasha unfurled four pairs of wings to block Geomson’s attack.
This blessing had made that possible.

“You should have mentioned this earlier.”
[I-I forgot about it….]
“And you’re bragging about that?”

Protection of Fearfire had manifested before we conquered the Sword Tomb.
It likely emerged when I absorbed the fragments left by the Lord of the Dead. He’d intended to mention it afterward, but the Difficult Realm erupted and slipped his mind.
That was understandable enough.

Kuuuuuung!

“Hm?”

Then, a tremendous roar shook the world itself.
And a message appeared before every player’s eyes.

[The Golden War has concluded.]
[The Golden War shall open once more, someday….]

A message announcing the end of the Golden War.
A lengthy message followed after, but there was no need to read it.
That wasn’t what mattered.

“The protective barrier shielding the Lord of the Dead has vanished. Kakasha, you said you’d already informed the Draken Race?”
[Yes. They are all preparing for battle as we speak.]
“Excellent. Then….”

I nodded as I gazed at the message.

“It’s time to bring down the Lord of the Dead.”

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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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