The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 28

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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 28

Screams pierced the air.
In the Underground Parking Lot consumed by shadow, the shrieks of the Covenant of the Dead and the sharp sound of slashing never ceased.
The Covenant members tried to resist in every way they could.

“Krraaahhhhh!”
“Where exactly is it?! Show yourself!”
“Even with light, I can’t see anything!”

Their resistance was futile.
How could they fight an enemy they couldn’t see?
The Covenant members illuminated their surroundings desperately, but the ‘shadow’ filling the parking lot didn’t disappear because of it.
A raging crimson wind tore through the Covenant members and the undead alike.

‘Think, Kang Jung-in. I must think….’

Kang Jung-in desperately analyzed the situation while blocking the onslaught of attacks.
Was this shadow a skill? Or an item effect?
Either way, the scale was far too vast. If it were a skill, the mana consumption would be unbearable; if it were an item effect, its duration wouldn’t be that long.
Unless it was a Mythic-grade item!

‘Regardless, if I can just endure, an opportunity will come.’

That was my assessment.
Now was the time to hold out. I gathered the undead around me, raising countless bones to use as shields. It was purely for survival.
The undead were being destroyed one after another, their screams echoing.

‘Just a little longer, just a little longer…!’

When would this shadow finally disappear?
Time felt like an eternity.
Just as my resolve began to crack under the relentless onslaught, I realized something.
The surroundings had gone silent.
And then.

A brilliant flash erupted!

“The shadow has vanished!”
“The enemy! Where the hell is that bastard!”

The shadow lifted.
The Underground Parking Lot, blanketed in corpses, came into view.
Countless undead bodies and the corpses of Covenant members lay strewn across the ground.
Yet nowhere could they find the one who had wrought this carnage.
After searching for some time, the members of the Covenant of the Dead finally understood.

“This goddamned….”
“Follow the trail! Find out where he went!”

The enemy who had ravaged them in the shadows was already gone.
Their belated attempt to pursue was meaningless.
Han Yu-sung was on the verge of leaving Yeoju City.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it… If the Lord finds out about this…!”

The color drained from Kang Jung-in’s face.
He had failed to complete the task commanded by the Lord of the Dead. As a member of the Covenant, Kang Jung-in knew all too well how devastating that penalty would be.
His body trembled violently.

“M-move! Scatter, all of you! Now! Unless you want to die!”

Kang Jung-in’s final choice was a futile, desperate struggle.

* * *

As expected.

“I-I’m sorry, my Lord. We… have failed.”

Kang Jung-in’s desperate struggle had ended in utter failure.
Han Yu-sung had already left Yeoju City. Since he had used the shadows of night both entering and leaving, there was no way to track him.
Even Kang Jung-in’s desperate pursuit had no choice but to end in surrender.

“Please, if you would grant us another chance… I will venture out immediately and discover who that cursed bastard is.”

Kang Jung-in and the Covenant of the Dead knelt with bowed heads, pleading.
But no answer came. Only a terrible silence hung in the air.
Tension crushed down upon Kang Jung-in and the Covenant members.
Sweat streamed down their faces.

[“Do you think you deserve another chance?”]
“…!”

At last, a response came.
Words etched into the void—bitterly, impossibly cold.
Kang Jung-in’s body trembled beyond his control.

[“Even if I grant you a chance, could you seize it?”]
“We… we have gravely disappointed you, but just one more time…!”]
[“No. You are not worthy of another chance.”]
“Hah… Aaahhh! Aaaahhhhh!”]

Kang Jung-in felt something stirring within him.
It was the power the Lord of the Dead had granted him.
That power was moving violently now. Once it had aided him, but now….

“Ugh, cough! Grrrrgh… Gaaaaaahhhhh!”]

It was killing him.
His body decayed in an instant. From his legs to his waist, flesh rotted and crumbled away, and his wildly beating heart ceased its rhythm.
Kang Jung-in reached out his hand as if pleading for his life.
But soon that hand too began to decay.

“Nngh, uuuugh… uuuuuuugh….”

Kang Jung-in transformed into an undead in an instant.
Into what was called a ‘Lich’.
The Covenant of the Dead members watching this horrific spectacle felt as though they might lose consciousness.
Rather, they wished they could.
It was a sight no sane mind could bear to witness.

[“Do not disappoint me again, children.”]
“We… we apologize, my Lord. We have… nothing to say.”]
[“Forget about the human who cleared the Reward Dungeon. You won’t find him now. He’s far too cunning for that. Which is precisely why I’m curious….”]

The text floating in the void flickered with intrigue.

[“What Lord could they have contracted with? With concealment of this caliber and the ability to manipulate shadows… Could it be the Lord of Shadows?”]
“But the Lord of Shadows…”
[“…is a Lord who doesn’t take Covenant members. Only the finest of the elite, if I recall correctly.”]

The Lord of Shadows only accepted the truly exceptional as Covenant members.
A Lord so exacting, so impossibly stringent in their standards, that only players meeting their criteria could become Covenant members.
Recently, no one had been accepted into their Covenant.
Could it truly be that the Lord of Shadows had moved?

[“If it really is the Lord of Shadows…”]

The text shone with an icy luminescence.
Cold as death itself, as if severing the very soul from flesh.

[“You will have to pay the price. Prepare yourselves. When that time comes, you too will have duties that take you far from this place.”]
“Yes, yes! We will not disappoint you this time!”

The Covenant of the Dead’s members pressed themselves flat against the ground.
The Lord’s overwhelming presence that had filled the space vanished.
Only then did the Covenant members cautiously raise their heads, their eyes turning toward Kang Jung-in, now a Lich.

“Ugh…”
“L-let’s go. Kang Jung… the Lich will be handled by the Lord.”
“Y-yeah.”

The Covenant members fled the scene in panic.
All that remained was Kang Jung-in, staring blankly into the void.
Silence descended upon the Underground Parking Lot, now a tomb of corpses.

* * *

Han Yu-sung left Yeoju City immediately.
Thanks to the shadows of night, escape proved effortless. He left barely a trace, so there was no need to worry about pursuers.

“This should be safe enough.”

A quiet forest, far removed from Yeoju City.
I had planned to camp in this area for a while.
Before returning to my lodgings, there were matters I needed to attend to in a place devoid of people.
Han Yu-sung clicked his tongue as he set up camp.

“It’s a shame I couldn’t catch them all.”
[You were planning to eliminate all of them?]

There was indeed regret.
I hadn’t managed to eliminate all the Covenant of the Dead members in the Underground Parking Lot.
Unfortunately, time had been far too limited.
Still, I must have dealt with nearly half of them.

‘At least I gathered a decent haul of items.’

While eliminating the Covenant of the Dead, I collected valuable items they possessed—wands, staffs, and the like.
Of course, there was some risk in listing them directly on the dimensional auction house, but selling them as stolen goods seemed like it would fetch a respectable sum.

“Hmm, I suppose I should rest for a few days and monitor the situation.”
[Don’t you feel like you’ve been making quite a spectacle of yourself?]
“I can’t help but feel that way.”

Han Yu-sung checked his smartphone.
On the screen was a community used by players.
All manner of articles and rumors were circulating there.

[Korean Player Alliance Posts Bounty on ‘Unknown Player’.]
[If you have any information about the player who achieved the highest contribution in the ‘Night of the Hunt’, please report anything to the Alliance….]
[Library of Knowledge Closed! Lord of Knowledge Also Goes into Hiding, Claiming to Rest. Even his Covenant members are bewildered and cannot understand the reason.]
[Revolution Guild Begins Conquest of Reward Dungeon!]

The most talked-about topic was the Night of the Hunt.
This was the first time Korea had cleared God’s Trial with such a record. It was, quite literally, a performance that overwhelmed other nations.
The problem was: who had achieved that record?
The Player Alliance continued searching for Han Yu-sung. But judging that they had exhausted their options, they even placed a bounty on him.
It was a measure of their desperation.

[How long do you plan to hide your identity? Operating under restrictions is one thing, but you don’t intend to do this forever, do you?]
“Once I’ve accumulated sufficient power, I’ll reveal myself.”

My level is still only in the thirties.
In terms of raw stats, it’s higher than that, but still far from sufficient. Incomparable to the top-tier players.
If I reveal my identity now, it will invite countless troublesome complications.

“First, let me handle the class advancement before anything else.”

My current level is 31.
I’ve surpassed the advancement threshold, and a message has appeared as a result.

[You have reached level 30.]
[You may now obtain a class. Seek out the trials of advancement prepared by the Lords and advance to your desired class.]
[The recommended class for you is ‘Martial Artist’.]

A message recommending class advancement.
Martial Artist.
The class I had chosen in my past life. Naturally, I had no intention of selecting it again in this life.
I withdrew the Spirit Pearl from my pocket.

Shhhhhhh—

The Spirit Pearl, emanating a pale luminescence.
I infused my mana into the pearl.
Then.

[The Spirit Pearl has reclaimed its true power.]
[A trial for advancement opens before you. Should you overcome this trial, you may advance to ‘Warrior Spirit’, one of the hidden classes.]

A small rift materialized directly before me.

[Trial: Proof of Qualification.]
[A trial prepared by the one who created the Spirit Pearl. Those who step into this place must prove their qualification. Success in proving your qualification grants advancement to Warrior Spirit.]
[Entry Restriction: Only those who possess the Spirit Pearl may enter.]

I knew nothing about this trial.
In my past life, I had been at odds with Weslor, who was a Warrior Spirit.
And since he wasn’t the type to conduct interviews or explanations, my knowledge was even more limited.
The only thing I could discern was.

‘I know the trial was extraordinarily difficult.’

Weslor had let slip certain remarks in passing.
He’d mentioned enduring tremendous hardship to obtain this class.
Considering that, it was clear the difficulty would be substantial.

[Spiritless Warrior. Quite an impressive name. Given how presumptuous the title is, I suspect this trial of yours won’t be particularly easy, will it?]
“You sound delighted. Or is that just my imagination?”
[Kufufu….]

Han Yu-sung clicked his tongue.
A Lord obsessed with warfare. Of course he’d be pleased at the scent of battle.
But he wasn’t wrong. Special classes typically imposed demanding trials. I’d need to prepare myself for high difficulty.

‘Now is as good a time as any.’

I’d been moving about far too conspicuously lately.
Resolving the trial to advance to Spiritless Warrior would let me spend time quietly.
Han Yu-sung had rested and recovered his condition, and when he felt ready to move again, he placed his hand on the rift.
The moment his hand made contact.

Whoooooosh!

The scenery transformed in an instant.
From a sparsely populated forest to high above the sky. Incredible as it seemed, Han Yu-sung now stood in a Temple built atop countless clouds.
Han Yu-sung surveyed his surroundings.

“It’s far more ornate than I expected.”
[Would you like to try falling? The clouds look quite soft.]
“Are you trying to kill your Covenant member?”

Han Yu-sung shook his head and walked forward. The Temple was astonishingly magnificent, yet utterly devoid of any living presence.
At the center of the Temple stood something resembling a massive Altar.
And upon that Altar, a circular groove was visible.

[Your spirit orb would fit perfectly there.]
“Hmm….”

The spirit orb that had lost its light.
A groove precisely sized to match it.
Han Yu-sung held the orb in his hand and contemplated what would unfold next.

‘A monster appearing? Or perhaps some formidable force emerging… a grueling trial could unfold. I cannot afford to let my guard down, no matter what.’

This was a trial that would grant me a special class.
I could not afford carelessness.
Han Yu-sung steeled himself to handle whatever might come, then inserted the Spirit Orb into the groove of the Altar.
With a sharp crack, Han Yu-sung clenched his fist.
A crimson wind began to swirl violently around him.

‘If an enemy appears, I’ll fight and win. That’s all there is to it.’

I had already experienced countless battles.
No matter what combat awaited me, I had no intention of losing.
The moment Han Yu-sung finished his mental preparation, the Spirit Orb began to crack apart.
Soon the Spirit Orb crumbled completely into dust and vanished.

Whoooosh!

A blinding light erupted from the groove.
Han Yu-sung took his stance, remaining vigilant for an enemy that could appear at any moment.
Then, a voice echoed from somewhere.

[Player Han Yu-sung.]
[You are one who has already proven your qualifications.]
[Therefore, I grant you the right to advance to the class of ‘Soulless Warrior’.]

The voice delivered words I had never anticipated.

“What is this now?”

This was a development I hadn’t foreseen at all.
Han Yu-sung furrowed his brow and relaxed his fist.

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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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