The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 266

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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 266

A resonant boom echoed across the expanse.

The thunderous sound reverberated everywhere.
The entire Battlefield vanished, and in its place, a vast passage opened before us.
It was the path leading to the Sanctuary of the Dead.
And when we reached the end of that passage.

[You are entering the Sanctuary of the Dead.]
[The Sanctuary is a place where a Lord’s authority takes effect. Be cautious not to be crushed by the opposing Lord’s power.]

The War Covenant Members stepped into the Sanctuary of the Dead.
The first thing we felt was a dense aura of death.
With each breath, it felt as though our entire bodies were rotting away.
An ominous presence began to consume us from head to toe.

Flames erupted in a brilliant surge.

[Focus yourselves. There is no telling what may transpire in this place.]

Enormous flames blazed upward.
The flames incinerated the approaching death aura, transforming into an intense crimson fire before taking the form of a woman with blazing red hair.
Four pairs of wings, armor adorned with countless victories beyond measure, and in her hands burned the flames of war—a Lord.
It was Kakasha.

[How pathetic, Lord of the Dead. Resorting to such petty tricks.]

Kakasha surveyed the Sanctuary.
Death aura blanketed the entire Sanctuary. Beyond it, an overwhelming number of undead became visible.
And behind them, the Covenant of the Dead as well.
Yet nowhere could I see the form of the Lord of the Dead himself.

[Show yourself before me!]

A deafening roar erupted.

Fierce flames consumed the morale of all around them.
The firepower was so overwhelming it seemed it would incinerate every undead in this place in mere moments.
Yet those flames never touched a single undead.

[I never imagined I’d face my true self against someone like you. And certainly not against a failure like you….]
[Hmph, what an unpleasant expression you wear.]

A formidable aura had blocked the flames.
All eyes turned toward the source of that aura.
In the very center of the undead that filled all directions stood an enormous throne of bone.
A throne constructed from the bones of countless beings. Upon it, which had been invisible mere moments before, sat a small undead.
An undead draped in a black robe.

[Lord of the Dead. Cease this unpleasant facade and reveal your true, repugnant form. Even my patience has its limits.]
[….]

The Lord of the Dead did not answer.
Instead, he merely toyed silently with the scepter in his grasp.
From the scepter, woven from countless souls, came the sound of anguished screams.

[It is unbelievable. Lord of War, do you understand? You have etched your name into history. Never before, not once, has a fallen Lord recovered power so swiftly.]
[You do not speak such words as praise. Lord of the Dead, what is it you wish to say?]
[This situation simply strikes me as absurd.]

The Lord of the Dead burst into laughter as if bewildered.
That laughter sounded as though countless spirits were laughing together.

[A Lord who fled before Lord of Justice in utter defeat, like a coward with ten thousand tails, now stands before me once more. And claims he will bring about my ruin.]

The Lord of War had suffered a catastrophic defeat in war against Lord of Justice.
The Lord fled having lost everything, and both his Apostle and Oath-takers were hunted down.
All who received the blessing of ‘War’ vanished from this world.
So I believed we would never meet again.
Yet here we stand, meeting once more in this form.

[And the fact that all of this was made possible by a single human, no less.]

The Lord’s gaze turned toward Han Yu-sung.
That gaze carried emotions unbecoming of a Lord—anger and murderous intent, confusion, and finally, barely concealed envy.
A mere player had raised a fallen Lord back to his feet?
And a player from Earth, a insignificant planet at that?
It was utterly unbelievable.

‘If only I had an Oath-taker like that.’

It was a thought any Lord could not help but entertain.
And now it was a useless, idle musing.

[How fortunate you are, Lord of War. That fortune of yours….]

A deafening roar tore through the air.

The aura of death engulfed the Sanctuary.
A miasma so suffocating that one could not see even an inch ahead.
And when that aura dissipated.

[This ends here.]

All color drained from the surrounding area.
Everything was stained in ash-gray, and the wails of countless spirits echoed through the void.
Soon, a colossal rift tore open in the empty air.
Pouring forth from that chasm was the aura of death.

A thunderous crack split the earth.

Thousands of skeletal hands erupted from the ground.
Those hands writhed toward the heavens as if seeking salvation.
They clasped one another as if welcoming an absolute sovereign.
And across them, a presence walked.

– Aaaaaaa…
– Ooooo….

A body composed solely of bone—the flesh of the ‘Lord’.
Between the bones, only pitch-black darkness was visible. Within that darkness, countless faces of the dead appeared and vanished in agony.
Countless souls flickered across the black mantle that draped the body.
Those souls placed a crown formed of death upon the Lord’s head.
Slowly, the Lord lifted his gaze.

[The Lord of the Dead has manifested in this place.]

From the Lord’s hollow eye sockets, blue flames ignited.
An suffocating pressure bore down upon the surroundings. No one dared speak. In that silence where even heartbeats could not be heard.

Shrieeeeeeek!

The Lord of the Dead extended his hand.
The scepter he held absorbed countless spectral forms. Amid their terrible screams, the scepter reclaimed its true shape.
The form of a colossal scythe wrought from death itself.

[Those who slumber, awaken.]

The Lord took a slow step forward.
Then flowers composed of skulls bloomed countless times across the earth, and numerous undead were born as if bearing fruit.
When the Lord planted his scythe into the ground, black mist rose, and from beneath the earth, the frigid light of spectral souls seeped through.

[You shall serve me, even in death.]

Through the light, countless undead revealed themselves.
Yet their forms differed from ordinary undead.
Their bodies were not so much rotted as half-collapsed, like shattered porcelain.
From those cracks flowed the flames of souls.
Beings of tremendous power opened their eyes.

[The Army of Heroes has descended under the Lord’s guidance.]

The Army of Heroes.
True to their name, they were undead possessed of formidable power without exception.
Yet among them, familiar faces appeared.
The faces of the Apostles that Han Yu-sung had once vanquished in the Dead’s Paradise.
Kakasha clicked his tongue in displeasure.

[Tsk, how cruel. You enslave the very heroes who once served you, whom you yourself slew.]
[To contract with me means surrendering that soul to me. What’s the problem with me wielding the souls given to me as I see fit?]
[Hmph….]

Kakasha scoffed and drove his blade into the ground.
Brilliant flames erupted in response.

[Unique Facilities 【Immortal Forge】, 【Spirit Mausoleum】, 【Spring of Evolution】, 【Temple of Struggle】 have been installed in the 【Sanctuary of the Dead】.]
[Warning: Destroyed Unique Facilities will be resummoned, and Oath-takers will be unable to benefit from their effects.]

Those flames transformed into Unique Facilities and materialized within the Sanctuary.
Simultaneously, countless War soldiers emerged from the inferno.
Soldiers blessed by evolution, those who had served Divine Saint Astreos, and even the temple’s elite disciples led by Ugleyn.
A vast army of soldiers now faced the Undead Lord’s undead forces.

[There’s no point in continuing this meaningless conversation.]

We are beings who can never understand one another.
Kakasha gripped his sword while the Undead Lord seized his massive scythe.
And then.

[Today shall be your final day!]
[If you can manage it, bring me to ruin…!]

Four pairs of wings unfurled in unison.
The battle between two Lords—two transcendent beings of immense power—erupted.
A clash so violent that space itself, the entire Sanctuary, trembled with each collision.

Boom!

“Ugh, grrgh…!”
“Stay sharp! One moment of carelessness and you’ll be caught in the blast!”

The tremendous shockwave sent the Oath-takers reeling.
Space warped, the ground trembled precariously. Any lapse in focus would send them crashing down.
Baek Min-jun, watching the Lords’ battle unfold, swallowed hard.

“…Captain. Do you think our Lord can win?”
“No. If it’s just the Lords fighting, we’ll lose. Our Lord hasn’t accumulated enough strength to face the Lord of the Dead yet.”
“Then, isn’t that dangerous?”

Han Yu-sung spoke with certainty.
There was no helping it.
Time was absolutely scarce.
The fact that I’d accumulated enough strength to cross blades with the Lord of the Dead was nothing short of a miracle.
If we fought one-on-one, Kakasha would lose.

“If it’s just the Lords fighting, that is.”
“Surely you’re not saying you’ll join that battle, Captain?”
“Apostle. No matter how strong you are, this is….”

Far too dangerous.
The Baek Min-jun Party swallowed the words that nearly escaped their lips.
They were right.
Unless it was a Lord’s ‘Descent Form’, fighting the ‘True Body’ was nearly impossible for me in my current state.
Even with Kakasha’s aid, it wouldn’t change much.
I might only end up dragging her down.

‘But if I have Reverse Heaven and Shatter Heaven….’

That changes everything.
These two skills carried a special effect.
When ‘defying the heavens’ and when ‘shattering the heavens’—the skills grew stronger with such intent.
There was no question what that ‘heaven’ referred to.

‘These skills were created to face the Lords.’

If I used them, I could create a significant variable.
The risk was substantial, but entirely manageable.
In any battle against a Lord, one must accept risk to seize victory.
I watched Kakasha as she clashed fiercely.
Then a voice echoed in my mind.

[I shall buy time against this creature. You eliminate the enemies blocking the way. And when I create an opening….]
“I understand. We won’t need to drag this out long.”
[I wait with faith.]

Han Yu-sung gazed upon the enemies beyond.
An overwhelming tide of undead forces. And Covenant of the Dead members. The ‘Army of Heroes’ summoned by the Lord was moving to encircle our forces.
The facilities within this Sanctuary were empowering them.

‘These Unique Facilities are troublesome. Destroying them would certainly strip away their effects. And this wouldn’t apply only to us, would it? Then….’

We could turn them to our advantage as well.
I wasn’t the only one who’d arrived at this conclusion.
Just then, Kaldrex met my gaze, and we both nodded in understanding.

“Kaldrex. I’d like to entrust the facility destruction to you.”
“The words I’ve been waiting to hear. With my kin at my side, we can destroy them with considerable speed. Though I confess, the front line troubles me somewhat….”
“Are you worried about me?”

At my words, Kaldrex let out a soft chuckle.

“An unnecessary concern. Leave it to us.”
“Good.”

I stepped forward, sword gripped firmly in hand.
Behind me, fierce crimson flames erupted skyward.
The space tore open, and through the rift, colossal beasts emerged.
The Nameless One, Fire Phoenix, and the flame giant Surtr.
The roars of Kakasha’s servants echoed throughout the Sanctuary.

“Let’s begin.”

Without hesitation, I kicked off the ground.
Toward the countless enemies that awaited me.

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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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