The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 296

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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 296

The Blood Cult.
A sect founded long ago by the Blood Demon, a transcendent who had become the Wanderer.
Once, the Blood Cult wielded tremendous power. But as the ages passed, its influence waned, and now it merely maintained its name in form alone.
The greatest cause of this decline was the loss of its martial techniques.

[The teachings left behind by the Blood Demon when he ascended to transcendence were lost during the process of transmission. The martial arts the Blood Cult uses now are merely degraded versions of what was once practiced, or so I’ve heard.]
[I’ve heard they’re not even degraded versions anymore. Through successive generations of modification, they’ve been corrupted into something worthless.]
[The successors they have are all lacking in talent, tsk tsk….]

Players active in the Murim shared this sentiment.
So did the Lords who made it their primary stage.

[The Blood Cult is finished, really. There’s no point in considering it anything else.]

The Blood Cult, stripped of its former glory and crumbling away.
It would fade into history and disappear like everywhere else.
In fact, that’s exactly what happened. According to Han Yu-sung’s memories, the Blood Cult made countless desperate attempts but gained nothing, ultimately collapsing.

“…They said they wanted to follow you?”
[To be more precise, they wish to follow you, not me. Listen to what I’ve learned. I’ve gathered information on the situation.]
“Fine, tell me.”

Kakasha cleared his throat and began his explanation.

[First, you must understand the situation the Blood Cult faces.]

A tale both long and short, depending on perspective.

* * *

The Blood Cult desperately wanted to revive its declining organization.
To do so, centered around Red Blood Ming, the legitimate successor of the sect, they attempted to make contact with the Blood Demon, the sect’s founder, but failed repeatedly.
The Blood Demon showed them no interest whatsoever.
Then Han Yu-sung appeared.

“That is….”

In the Murim, upon a cliff shrouded in blood energy that no one dared approach.
Deep beneath it, hidden within the Blood Cult, countless disciples watched the screen that had materialized before their eyes.
The figure displayed on the screen was Han Yu-sung.
He was unleashing an overwhelmingly dominant blood technique.

“Did you see that? That martial art—good heavens! It’s unbelievable. It’s not merely suppressing the Young Cult Master’s level. And no matter how I look at it….”
“…Blood Demon. It resembles what that person used to wield.”

The martial techniques of the Blood Demon, passed down only through records.
It was strikingly similar. The disciples of the Blood Cult who recognized this fact were thrown into great turmoil. There was no avoiding such a reaction.

“Why is a warrior from another world using the Blood Demon’s techniques?”

Wasn’t the Blood Demon disinterested in humans? That’s why they thought he paid no attention even to the Blood Cult he had created.
But perhaps that wasn’t the case.
Then why does he show us no interest?

“….”
“….”

From that day forward.
The already precarious Blood Cult began to shake violently.
To the Blood Cult, the Blood Demon was a god in all but name. What meaning could an order abandoned by such a god possibly hold?
The disciples began, one by one, to abandon their faith in the Blood Cult.

“…Young Cult Master.”
“The situation is dire. We’re forcibly holding the disciples in line, but at this rate, a great upheaval will erupt soon.”
“We cannot ignore the possibility of rebellion either.”

The one most troubled by this situation was Red Blood Ming.
Young Cult Master of the Blood Cult, the legitimate heir. And in the past, the man who had been utterly defeated by Han Yu-sung at a place called the Blood Dragon Auction.
At that time, Red Blood Ming had felt a wall between himself and Han Yu-sung.

“Heh heh… He’s become a monster utterly beyond reach now.”
“Young Cult Master….”

Red Blood Ming was seized by profound doubt.
Han Yu-sung had soared to heights beyond my reach.
And what of myself? No matter how much time passed, I remained frozen in place.
I had achieved no growth whatsoever.

“The Blood Demon abandoned me—abandoned us. Instead, he chose a martial artist from another world. Now that this truth is known, the Blood Cult will….”

crumble.
Until now, I had endured on nothing but a thread of hope. But now even that fragile thread had been severed completely.
Red Blood Ming dragged his palm across his face.

‘I cannot surrender like this.’

There was a will passed down through generations.
There was the request of my father, once the Cult Master, now deceased.
I had no intention of watching the Blood Cult collapse.

“We shall welcome a new Cult Master.”
“A new Cult Master? What do you mean… Are you saying the Young Master will ascend to the position of Cult Master? You said you wouldn’t do so until you met the Blood Demon….”
“Yes, I said that. I said I would not assume the position of Cult Master until I met the Blood Demon. Perhaps I am the legitimate successor, but I lack the qualifications. Therefore, I left the seat vacant.”

Red Blood Ming lowered the hand that had covered his face.
His eyes, now revealed, burned with unwavering resolve.

“But is there not one among us who fulfills all those conditions?”
“Surely you don’t mean….”

Those gathered around Red Blood Ming widened their eyes.
They had grasped what he was about to say.

“Han Yu-sung—that man… no, that person, we shall serve him. And the Blood Cult shall forge a Covenant with the Lord of War.”
“Y-Young Master!”
“A Covenant?!”

The Blood Cult had never sworn a Covenant with the Star Lords.
Because of the Blood Demon. To already serve a transcendent being akin to a god, yet forge a contract with another Lord—it was unthinkable.
Thus they had waited without binding themselves to anyone.
Waiting for the day the Blood Demon would gather them back into his embrace.

“That accelerated our downfall. What meaning is there in waiting for the Blood Demon’s call? We cannot make contact with the Blood Demon. But he is different. He is one who can bring forth the lost blood techniques.”
“…As you well know, the martial artists who traverse the Battlefield of Stars are extremely reluctant to share the techniques they have mastered with others.”
“Then we must offer our loyalty. The Lord of War has been waging active warfare recently. If we prove our worth there….”

We would receive rewards befitting our contributions.
Is the Lord of War not renowned for rewarding those who distinguish themselves in service?

“This is my intention. What are your thoughts?”
“….”
“….”

No one answered readily.
The change was far too significant.
Yet simultaneously, they sensed that there was no other path forward now.

“If you are all uncertain, I shall hear the opinions of the other disciples. We will decide afterward. Those who do not wish to follow are free to depart.”
“…Yes, Sect Leader.”

Thus the Blood Cult underwent a profound transformation under Red Blood Ming’s command.

[The Blood Cult of the Murim makes a public declaration.]
[“Our sect wishes to follow the Lord of War.”]

After internal consensus was reached,
they made a bombshell announcement that neither Han Yu-sung nor Kakasha had anticipated.

* * *

Kakasha cleared his throat after finishing his explanation.

[…Given this situation, what will you do?]
“….”

Han Yu-sung’s expression became peculiar after hearing Kakasha’s account.
For a moment, he could scarcely comprehend it.
He smoothed his throbbing brow with his fingertips, organizing the words the Lord had spoken.

“So the Blood Cult wants to come under my command. And the reason is to obtain even a fragment of the Blood Demon techniques I’ve mastered?”
[Precisely so. Since you can make contact with the Blood Demon, you should be able to acquire useful techniques from him, should you not?]
“…Are they insane?”
[I share that assessment.]

Kakasha sighed in agreement with Han Yu-sung’s words.

[Well, one must conclude that the Blood Cult has been driven into quite the corner. The Blood Demon abandoned them and showed them no regard whatsoever. As for why, I confess ignorance. To be frank, the Murim lies beyond my sphere of interest….]
“It feels like creations abandoned by their creator. And now those creations are reaching out to us. An ironic situation indeed.”

The Blood Cult, diminished as it is, needs a lost legacy. That legacy is none other than the martial techniques the Blood Demon once wielded.
They must have felt hope upon witnessing my Blood Heaven Demon Path.

“Surely they’re not asking me to teach it to them.”
[They lack neither sense nor reason to that degree. They understand how players conduct themselves. Rather, they likely wish to receive lower-tier techniques as ‘compensation’.]
“The problem is that I’m the one bringing the compensation.”

I haven’t mastered many blood techniques.
Each one is formidable, but they’re not skills meant to be shared with others.
Blood techniques of a lower tier than those.
To obtain blood techniques worth sharing with others, I have no choice but to make contact with the Blood Demon and extract them from him.

“Hmm… This warrants consideration.”

There were multiple reasons for deliberation.
The Blood Cult. From what I hear, though their power has waned, they still command considerable numbers. If I could recruit those members as War Covenant Users and deploy them as fighting strength in the Lords’ War, it would prove invaluable.

[Moreover, if the Blood Demon shares blood techniques with you, and you distribute them to the Blood Cult as compensation….]
“Then I gain even more formidable strength.”
[Especially considering the wars that lie ahead.]

I closed my eyes and fell into contemplation.
The conclusion came swiftly.

“It’s worth meeting them.”
[If that is your will, I shall arrange a venue.]
“Do so. And give them fair warning beforehand—if the Blood Demon refuses to share his techniques, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
[Understood. If they agree despite this, we proceed with the contract. If they find it unacceptable, then there is no contract to be made.]

Han Yu-sung and Kakasha’s intentions aligned perfectly.
There was nothing Han Yu-sung could do about players from another world, the Murim. All he could do was wait until Kakasha created an opportunity to meet them.
He waited for that moment while distributing the items he had obtained from the Battlefield of Stars among the War Covenant Members.

“Is this the place?”

Soon enough, the moment arrived.
Kakasha had constructed a building at a point slightly removed from the Realm of War, and there invited the people of the Blood Cult.
Among them, a familiar face appeared.

“Where have I seen that face before? I’m certain the name was…”
[Red Blood Ming. Don’t you remember? In the past, you utterly defeated him in the Difficult Realm called the Blood Dragon Auction.]
“Ah, yes. Now I remember. He was the one who wielded the Thousand Blood Ten Thousand Swords technique.”
“Indeed. I unfolded a degraded version incomparable to the Thousand Blood Ten Thousand Swords that you wield, and suffered a humiliating defeat.”

It was Red Blood Ming who answered Han Yu-sung’s words.
At some point, Red Blood Ming and seven players who followed him stood opposite Han Yu-sung.

‘Their strength is considerable. Are they individuals of special standing within the Blood Cult?’
[They call themselves the Seven Evils. I’m not certain how high their rank is.]

They appeared to hold quite special positions.
There was no need to say more—they had come with Red Blood Ming.
Han Yu-sung, still seated in his chair, observed Red Blood Ming and the Seven Evils.
And just as Han Yu-sung was about to speak.

A resonant hum echoed through the air.

“…”

Red Blood Ming and the Seven Evils knelt as though they had been waiting for this very moment.
No—it was more than kneeling. They bowed their heads in reverence. It was such an abrupt gesture that even Han Yu-sung, who rarely showed surprise, was taken aback.
And the words that followed were even more astonishing.

“Please become our Master!”

They were asking him to become the Master of the Blood Cult.
Upon hearing Red Blood Ming and the Seven Evils cry out in unison, Han Yu-sung first furrowed his brow, then massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

“Ha, I had a feeling it would come to this….”

I couldn’t help but let out a weary sigh.

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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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