The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 54

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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 54

The Temple Exterior was absolute pandemonium.
And the interior of the Temple was scarcely any better.
Guardians and Destroyers clashed in a chaotic melee, each faction struggling to advance—a battleground of competing ambitions.
The Temple’s monsters added to the carnage.
Screams and anguished cries echoed from every direction.

“No, this can’t be! Enemies ahead, enemies behind…!”
“Damn it! We shouldn’t have come this way! We just… gack!”
“B-brother Hyung-woo! Aaaaaaahhhhh!”

Countless players were falling.
Even Galleon’s party, leading the charge at the vanguard, found themselves in dire straits.

“Galleon! Enemies converging from the right!”
“Hostiles at our rear! The Destroyers are closing in!”
“Damn it, we’re surrounded…!”

Monsters pressed from the front while Destroyers swarmed from behind.
Caught in a pincer attack, Galleon’s party was relentlessly hunted.
And there was one more threat.

Crack! Crunch!

“Ugh, cough…!”
“It’s a trap!”

The Temple was riddled with traps throughout.
Galleon gnashed his teeth watching his subordinates fall to the mechanisms.
In that moment, a troubling thought crossed his mind.

‘Could the guidance be wrong? Have we been deceived?’

Was this Emergency Quest itself a trap? The very notion gnawed at him.
Why hide in a Dungeon of all places—and specifically the Lord’s Temple, which by any measure appeared to be a Hidden Dungeon?

“…Is this the correct location of the target?”
“Yes, we received the target’s location again just moments ago. I’ve verified it carefully, and this appears to be the right place.”
“And most importantly… we can see the corpses of monsters.”

The Corridor of the Temple bore the unmistakable traces of those who had entered before us.
Monster corpses slashed by blades or torn apart by something sharp.
Though not numerous, they were undeniably the marks of combat with players.
Which only deepened the mystery.

‘This place is rife with monsters and traps. Did they really penetrate all the way to the Deep Layer of the Temple without triggering most of them?’

No matter how I considered it, I couldn’t believe it.
So the thought of a trap was inescapable.
Galleon deliberated whether he should abandon his efforts now and escape this Temple.
But it was far too late for that.
Escaping from the interior of the Temple—which had become a hellscape—would be difficult enough, and the Temple Exterior would surely be swarming with players.

“Follow me! I will forge the path!”

There was no choice but to push forward.
Golden divinity erupted from Galleon’s entire being.
It was power bestowed by the ‘Lord of Light’ whom he served.
That divinity infused his allies with strength.

– Kyaaaah!
“Graaaagh!”
“Follow Galleon’s lead! Don’t fall behind!”

Galleon advanced, crushing enemies with his divinity.
His subordinates followed in his wake. As enemy attacks grew fiercer, casualties mounted, yet they could not stop.
They pressed onward relentlessly.

“We can see the end!”

At last, we reached the Deep Layer of the Temple.
A massive door, half-open, suggesting that someone had entered before us.

Kwaaaang!

The massive door swung open with a deafening roar.
Beyond it lay a vast expanse of space.
Scattered throughout were what appeared to be numerous statues, as if this chamber had been designed to honor a lord.
And at its center stood an enormous Altar.

“Finally, you’ve arrived. I’ve been waiting quite some time.”

A man sat before it.
The Altar appeared to have been constructed to honor someone of noble stature.
Upon that sacred platform sat a man in the most irreverent posture imaginable, his gaze fixed upon me with a twisted smirk.
His mask-concealed face betrayed no expression whatsoever.

“Who are you?”
“You’ve chased me all the way here, yet you ask who I am?”
“You are….”

That player who achieved the highest growth rate?
Galleon’s brow furrowed as he was about to voice this question.
His attention had been drawn to the dragon spirit circling around the man, Han Yu-sung.
A dragon spirit incomparably weaker than his own golden dragon.

‘No matter how I examine it, this is not a high-ranked dragon spirit.’

Likely C-rank, or at best B-rank.
Either way, it was utterly insignificant compared to Galleon’s golden dragon.
What was astounding was that he had achieved the highest growth rate with such a dragon spirit.
It would have been impossible, no matter how quickly one obtained a dragon spirit.

‘What kind of special skill could he possibly possess?’

Whatever it was, it was worth seizing.
Galleon gripped his blade forged of divine radiance, his eyes fixed upon Han Yu-sung.

“You’ve walked into a place with no escape route of your own accord. Your scheming has brought you this far, but no further. You would do well to abandon any hope of leaving this place alive.”

The radiant blade surged forward toward Han Yu-sung.
In that same moment, Galleon whispered softly to his subordinates.

“Stay alert. We don’t know what lurks in this place. The moment that bastard makes any move, be ready to strike immediately.”
“Yes, Galleon.”

Apart from Han Yu-sung, I saw no other enemies.
Yet I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.
This was undoubtedly a Hidden Dungeon.
Something was definitely concealed here.
Galleon’s judgment proved impeccably sound.

“How delightful that my fellow sufferers in this ordeal continue to grow in number.”
“…!”

Without hesitation, I drew my blade across my own palm.
Galleon cried out urgently upon witnessing this.

“Attack!”

His subordinates, already primed for action, unleashed their assault in unison.
A torrent of ranged skills descended upon Han Yu-sung.
Yet none of them found their mark.

Whoooosh! Crack!

The blood tempest and ice wall I had conjured stood in their way.
Galleon, having stamped the ground before all else, closed the distance between us.
But it was too late.

Drip, drip.

Blood from my palm fell upon the Altar.
The Altar, now stained with my blood, began to emit an eerie luminescence.

Rumble!

The entire Lord’s Temple trembled as though seized by an earthquake.

[The Lord’s Temple has recognized a seeker of trials.]
[Seeker, to harness the power remaining within this Temple, you must endure a merciless ordeal and prove your worth.]

A majestic voice resonated in everyone’s ears.
Han Yu-sung extended his staff toward Galleon, who was closing the distance between them.
Then 【Abyss Boundary】 unfolded, and shadows poured forth.
My form melted into the shadows and vanished.

“Tch!”

Galleon’s blade, having lost its target, slashed through empty air.
In that very instant.

[Ordeal commences. Monsters are being summoned….]
[The remaining monsters in the Temple are converging on this location!]

Light erupted from all directions, and hundreds upon hundreds of monsters flooded the surrounding area.
But that wasn’t all.
Every remaining monster within the Lord’s Temple began surging toward this place.
With the singular purpose of slaying the subject of the ordeal.
However.

“Coward! Show yourself!”

Han Yu-sung, the very subject in question, had vanished without a trace.
A concealment skill. Given how swiftly and cleanly he had disappeared, it was undoubtedly a high-tier concealment skill.

‘Is he planning to flee, or simply observe us?’

Han Yu-sung’s objective was surely to force Galleon and the other pursuers into combat with the monsters here, then assess the situation from the shadows.
If circumstances turned unfavorable, he would flee. Otherwise, he would strike.
I had no intention of allowing that.

– ROOOAAARRR!
“The monsters are attacking!”
“You idiots! Find that disappeared wretch and kill him!”

The problem was that the monsters were proving to be an obstacle.
Moreover, even more monsters were converging on this location.
Galleon and the other guardians began engaging the monsters in fierce combat.

“You fight well.”
[Hmm, so you’re a Covenant Bearer contracted with the Lord of Light.]

I watched from the shadows, observing their movements.
I could see the sacred lightning that Galleon summoned crashing down upon the monsters.
And the golden dragon beside him stirring into action.
Golden radiance gathered at the corners of the golden dragon’s mouth….

Roooaaaaarrr!

A fierce breath erupted from its maw.
Weaker than a living dragon’s breath, perhaps, but potent enough to obliterate a considerable number of monsters in a single sweep.

[So, what now? Will you simply watch? If we wait, they’ll exhaust themselves fighting the monsters.]
“That would certainly be the easiest approach.”

The easiest method was to remain hidden as I was.
Concealed in shadow, I could simply wait for the monsters to eliminate the players.
Either way, their numbers would be drastically reduced.
All that remained was to appear at the end and dispatch whatever enemies lingered.
But.

“That wouldn’t be any fun.”
[I suspected as much from you.]

Such a passive approach was not my preference.
Why had I orchestrated this situation in the first place?
Was it not to create a battlefield worthy of true combat?
That purpose had been achieved in this very moment.
All that remained was to fight upon this chaotic Battlefield.

“Let’s begin.”

I gripped my sword tightly.

* * *

Fierce combat.
Galleon and his Guardian forces alongside summoned monsters.
Mixed in with the Destroyers who arrived late and the hordes of monsters they brought, a battle unfolded where friend and foe became indistinguishable.

“Clear the path! Slay every monster blocking our advance!”
“We must pursue the target before it escapes!”
“Damn it, how are we supposed to break through this…!”

The interior of the Temple was chaos incarnate.
Even Galleon, who had been pursuing Han Yu-sung, could not advance further and was forced to contend with the monsters—the situation had become a complete disaster.
Galleon gritted his teeth as he cut down another monster.

‘At this rate… I’ll have no choice but to dance to his tune.’

The circumstances were far too unfavorable to locate Han Yu-sung, his intended target.
There was no help for it. I would have to preserve my strength as much as possible.
If I conserved my forces, Han Yu-sung wouldn’t dare attack and would instead attempt to flee.
That wouldn’t be so bad either.

‘After all, this is a Hidden Dungeon. The rewards here alone would be sufficient.’

Han Yu-sung would have to leave eventually, and I could resume pursuit outside.
With that assessment, Galleon buffed himself and pressed forward.
To minimize losses among my forces, I had no choice but to take action myself.
But there was one thing he had miscalculated.

Han Yu-sung had no intention of leaving this place.
Nor did he intend to merely watch Galleon and his forces fight.

BOOM!

“What, the… ground!”
“ARGH!”

As the destructive blade struck the earth, a violent explosion erupted with searing heat, sweeping across the enemies.
Anguished screams filled the Cavern, indiscriminate of Guardian or monster.
Then, the shadows beneath their feet surged upward.

“This is…!”

Rising shadows instantly bound the enemies’ bodies.
Wide-area Shadow Bind.
The enemies’ movements froze, if only for a moment, and through their paralyzed forms, a single gust of wind carved its path.
It was Han Yu-sung.
My mask erupted in an ominous laugh.
Then came a biting, merciless cold.

Screeeech!

– Groooaahhh…!

Frost Nova.
The vicious chill radiating from my center dulled the enemies’ senses, while crystalline shards fired alongside it pierced through their bodies.
And the random effect embedded in the Mask of Chaos amplified the spell’s range even further.
I was about to unleash a blade wave without pause, but—

Crash!

“I never expected you to show yourself willingly.”

A golden barrier intercepted my blade wave.
The clashing waves dissipated against each other. The barrier remained intact.
Galleon blocked my path, his face frozen in cold determination.
Golden sanctity radiated from Galleon’s form.

“How convenient.”

Galleon’s class was Paladin.
Yet unlike typical paladins who focused on protection and defense, Galleon’s skills were oriented toward aggression.
He preferred strengthening himself over protecting his allies.
He favored stepping forward and slaying enemies himself.

“You hold back the monsters. As for this one….”

Boom!

Galleon planted his foot forward.

“I will kill him.”

A confidence born from absolute certainty that I would not lose.
Crimson energy rippled from Han Yu-sung’s body like heat shimmer.

[At your current level, this is a formidable opponent.]
[The effect of Godly Descent activates the buff ‘Giant Killer’.]
[All stats +20, sword and unarmed damage +30%, speed +15%.]

The buff from Godly Descent had activated.
From the magnitude of this buff, I could gauge just how powerful Galleon truly was.
At this stage, Galleon was likely hovering around level 100.
Exactly double my own level.

‘Under normal circumstances, even with this buff, he would be an opponent I couldn’t defeat.’

For a level 50 player, my stats were exceptionally high, and while the Godly Descent buff was formidable, the level gap remained insurmountable.
Moreover, a player like Galleon would have accumulated additional stats from overcoming numerous Difficult Realms and trials, and he likely enjoyed patronage from a Lord.
But this was God’s Trial, the Dragon’s Tomb.

‘If I utilize the dragon soul, there is more than enough possibility.’

Han Yu-sung gripped his sword, igniting crimson flames.
A thick smile naturally spread across my lips.
A smile brimming with competitive spirit, anticipating the battle to come.

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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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