The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 55

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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 55

I gripped my sword, igniting crimson flames around it.
A thick smile naturally spread across my lips.
A smile brimming with competitive fervor, anticipating the battle to come.

‘He’s smiling?’

The moment Galleon laid eyes on me, bewilderment flickered across his face.
My form vanished.
Transformed into a violent gale, I reached Galleon in an instant and unleashed a devastating sword technique.
First, Halden-style swordsmanship, Second Form: Rupture.

Kwaaaaaaa!

My blade, scraping the ground with tremendous force, severed through his barrier.
Fragments infused with mana scattered forth, overwhelming his shield.

Crack-crack-crack!

“…!”

Galleon’s barrier shattered.
Shock bloomed across his face as he witnessed it.
Before he could even process that horror, a relentless barrage of sword strikes descended upon him.
Halden-style swordsmanship, First Form: Crush.

‘Fast. And—’

My blade, brimming with formidable sword energy, crashed against Galleon’s armor.
Galleon possessed a skill that dramatically amplified his defense through divine power.
It manifested as golden divine armor.
And yet.

“Ugh!”

He couldn’t hold his ground.
The moment the blades collided, cracks spiderwebbed across the golden armor.
What began as hairline fractures exploded into fissures with each successive strike, as if the armor might shatter at any moment.
He couldn’t endure this much longer.

Whoooosh!

Galleon gasped in alarm and urgently summoned his divine power.
The sacred energy converged upon his blade.
Once the divine power reached its peak, he reversed his grip and plunged the sword into the earth.
A luminous magic circle etched itself into the ground.

BOOM!

Sacred lightning struck the earth with devastating force.
Like divine retribution from the heavens themselves, the bolts swept mercilessly across the monsters and Han Yu-sung alike, and the creatures vanished before they could even react.
Han Yu-sung barely evaded the descending lightning, but Galleon, unwilling to let him escape, summoned his divine power once more.
Countless blades of sacred energy materialized and shot toward Han Yu-sung.

‘Blocking wastes time. Dodging is impossible with this many. Then—’

Han Yu-sung made his decision in an instant.
Shadows erupted from the ground.
Shadow weapons under his command collided with the sacred blades hurtling toward him.
Simultaneously, Han Yu-sung wove between the pillars of light, closing the distance to Galleon, and unleashed another barrage of sword strikes.

Clang! Crash!

Fierce exchanges erupted between them.
Han Yu-sung pressed forward with relentless, suffocating attacks. Galleon met each one.
Blades crossed with blades, magic clashed with magic, and wounds began to accumulate across Han Yu-sung’s body.
Sacred blades carved into his flesh, and the heat of light seared his skin.
Yet Han Yu-sung remained undeterred.

‘This bastard’s movements are getting faster and faster—!’

I pressed forward relentlessly, driving Galleon back with mounting ferocity.
Yet with each wound carved into my flesh, with every drop of blood spilled, my movements only accelerated further.
To the point where Galleon himself struggled to keep pace.
More ominous still was the smile spreading across my face.
That smile—the one that betrayed how much I savored this battle—left him visibly unsettled.

“Ugh?!”

That moment of hesitation opened a fatal gap.
My blade surged forward with devastating momentum.
The sword, infused with cutting energy, struck precisely at the fracture point spreading across Galleon’s weapon—the very origin of its collapse.
And so the luminous blade began to shatter.

Fwooosh—

Unable to endure any longer, it dissolved into fragments of light.
And then.

Crack!

Through the scattering radiance, my blade shot forward.
The steel carved relentlessly through Galleon’s armor, each strike deepening the fractures spreading across its surface.

‘The holy armor is collapsing. This is my chance…!’

I had to retreat and regroup.
With that assessment, Galleon detonated his holy power outward. The sacred explosion erupting from his center sent me flying backward with tremendous force.
He seized the opportunity to retreat.
But in that very instant.

Whoosh!

“Kuh, gah…?!”

My blade pierced through Galleon’s armor like lightning.
Precisely through the fracture, into that gap where the golden plating was already beginning to crumble.
It was the armor’s breaking point.

Shhhhhhh—!

The armor protecting Galleon shattered, and its light faded away in vain.

Crack!

As if waiting for this moment, something pierced through Galleon’s body.
It was a dagger.

[All stat values decrease by 5%.]

Hatchling had pierced through Galleon in an instant and inflicted the debuff.
Feeling his body grow sluggish, Galleon clenched his teeth.
Beyond him, Han Yu-sung approached, raising a crimson wind.

‘This is dangerous.’

Galleon sensed it instinctively.
A crisis unlike anything he had ever experienced before was upon him.
An opponent he could not defeat by fighting as he normally did.

“Golden Dragon! Unleash your breath!”
– Grrrrrrr…!

Just then, the Golden Dragon’s skill cooldown had ended.
As Galleon commanded the Golden Dragon’s breath, he began drawing out every last ounce of divine power remaining in his body.
The Lord of Light, who cherished his talent, had granted him something.
A skill to be used only when life hung by a thread.
A skill that could be used only once, required a long casting time, but was proportionally powerful!

‘With that, I will overturn this situation.’

Brilliant light erupted from Galleon as its center.
The monsters all turned their gaze toward him.
They could feel an ominous power gathering—a force threatening enough to end their lives.
They tried to charge at Galleon, but found themselves unable to do so.

– Screeeech!
– Roooaaarrr…!
– Guuuaahhh…!

It was because of the breath exhaled by the Golden Dragon.
The Dragon Soul released a fierce breath, as if declaring that neither monsters nor Han Yu-sung nor anyone else would be allowed to approach.
And that was.

“Hatchling.”

The moment Han Yu-sung had been waiting for most.
He unfurled the Radiant Wind Cloak and charged through the gaps in the Golden Dragon’s breath.
And just before touching the breath.

“Dragon’s Roar.”
– Kyuruuk… Kaaaaaa!

Kwaaaaa!

As the Dragon’s Roar unleashed by the Hatchling filled the space with sound, the Golden Dragon faltered, and the breath gathered in its maw scattered.
Galleon’s brow furrowed at the unexpected turn of events.
Two things entered his field of vision.

[Dragon’s Roar reduces your stats and speed.]

One was the debuff bestowed by the Dragon’s Roar.
And the other was.

“This… bastard…!”

Han Yu-sung charging through the scattering breath.
The distance closed.
Galleon’s holy blades, unfurled in shock, tried to block his path.
But it was a meaningless struggle.
Han Yu-sung accelerated further, sweeping the blades aside with the Crimson Wind.

Kuuung!

Han Yu-sung’s leg stamped the ground with tremendous force, reaching right before Galleon.

Kwaaang!

“Kuk, kahak!”

The blood dragon’s fangs pierced through Galleon’s chest.
The shockwave was so violent it didn’t merely crumple what remained of his armor—it shattered his heart beneath.
Galleon coughed blood and lifted his head.
What met his gaze were the teeth of another dragon, forged from blood itself.

Crack!

“Gah, grrk…!”

The blood dragon tore into Galleon’s throat.
It was a killing blow.

Boom!

Galleon collapsed to his knees.
The devastating damage to his heart left him unable to control his body.
His bloodshot eyes fixed upon Han Yu-sung standing before him.

“You… I… not like this…!”

Slash!

But Han Yu-sung had no intention of hearing his curse through to the end.
The Moonlight Blade severed Galleon’s throat as he spewed his final words, and his masterless body crumpled pathetically to the ground.
Han Yu-sung turned away without a second glance.

“A satisfying battle.”

* * *

Galleon was dead!
The Guardians who witnessed this unbelievable fact stood frozen in shock.

“W-what…?”
“G-Galleon…!”

Who was Galleon?
A man who had transcended mere prospect status to become one of the United States’ representative players.
Such a player had fallen to an unknown one.

“U-uuuaaaagh!”
“Wait, where are you—we have to avenge Galleon!”
“How are we supposed to defeat someone who beat Galleon? Run!”
“No! If we break formation now—!”

Galleon’s subordinates, their will to fight shattered, began fleeing one by one.
Some screamed for vengeance, but their cries fell on deaf ears.
There was no one listening in this chaos.
And fleeing now was hardly a wise choice either.

—Grrrraaaaahhh!
“Kugh—!”

The area was still teeming with monsters on all sides.
Those who broke formation and fled didn’t make it far before being torn to shreds. The survivors had no choice but to abandon any thought of escape and fight.
Meanwhile, Han Yu-sung, the object of their terror, was—

[You have successfully defeated a formidable opponent.]
[You have satisfied the activation condition for your unique ability, ‘Divine Descent’.]
[Additional rewards have been granted.]
[You have acquired the skill ‘God’s Judgment (S, Lv.1)’.]

—reviewing the rewards I had just obtained.
In my past life, the God’s Trial at Dragon’s Tomb had been won by the Destroyers.
The defeated Guardians suffered massive casualties, but Galleon survived to the very end and went on to achieve great feats afterward.
This meant he was a player who would leave a distinct mark on the future.

[God’s Judgment (S, Lv.1)]
· Classification: Active.
· Delivers strict judgment upon those who defy the divine.
· Strikes enemies within a certain range with divine lightning composed of sacred energy. Consumes vast amounts of mana and has a long cooldown.
· This skill is enhanced based on your relationship with your contracted Lord.

Receiving such a substantial reward was only natural.
An S-rank skill—God’s Judgment.
The very skill Galleon had wielded.
But there was one peculiar option attached to it.

[A relationship with a Lord, hm? An intriguing option indeed. Kufufu, we are bound by fate, are we not? This skill shall be greatly enhanced!]

Kakasha laughed as if amused.
We’ll know once we test it. As I listened to Kakasha’s laughter, I gazed at the dragon soul hovering near Galleon’s corpse.
Watching it, something suddenly came to mind.

“Didn’t you say that individuals destined to become Lords emerge from golden or crimson dragons?”
[Indeed. However, only one among them. But that Golden Dragon was not born with such a destiny. Still, being golden means it was inherently powerful from birth.]
“True, it was S-rank after all.”

Regardless, what mattered now was something else.
Guardians could seize or absorb the dragon souls of other Guardians.
The condition was defeating them.
Now, that condition was met.

[Absorbing the noble Golden Dragon’s (S) dragon soul.]
[Red Hatchling has acquired vast experience points!]

The Golden Dragon’s body scattered, settling into the Hatchling.
Absorbing a dragon soul yielded two major rewards.
First, experience points. The higher the rank and level of the opponent’s dragon soul, the greater the amount of experience gained.
And then there was the other.

[You have stolen the skill ‘Dragon’s Breath (S)’ that the target possessed.]
[Dragon’s Breath (S): The dragon soul unleashes a powerful breath. The power and range of this breath are enhanced according to the dragon soul’s level and stats.]

With extremely low probability, I could steal a skill the opponent’s dragon soul possessed.
Because the probability was so low, it was generally a difficult reward to obtain.
But if the opponent’s dragon soul was of high rank, the probability increased accordingly.
For an S-rank dragon soul, there was no question.

[Red Hatchling has reached the maximum level of its current rank.]
[The nature of evolution takes effect….]
[Red Hatchling (B) has evolved into an A-rank dragon soul!]
[Stats have been enhanced and new skills have been added.]

Thanks to the vast amount of experience, it even evolved.
The Hatchling that broke through the barrier had fully matured.
Now it resembled a dragon far more than a Hatchling.

– Kyuuuuruk.
[…Its cry remains unchanged despite its appearance.]

Just as Kakasha said, the Hatchling’s cry hadn’t changed.
But the grown Hatchling now gazed at me with eyes far more intelligent than before.
I let out a soft chuckle and turned my head away.

“Good then.”

The numbers had dwindled significantly, yet countless monsters still remained.
Along with the Guardians and Destroyers—the players as well.
The monsters that recognized me began rushing forward in unison.
I snapped my fingers.

Roooaaarrr!

The Hatchling unleashed its breath as if it had been waiting for this moment.
A dragon’s breath swept across the front lines. The monsters caught in the destructive inferno shrieked in agony as flames consumed them, until nothing remained but scattered ash.
What came next was simple enough.

‘I just need to dispose of the remaining monsters.’

I absorbed blood to mend my wounds, then observed the Guardians engaged in combat with the monsters.
Particularly, Galleon’s subordinates.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

Save those worth saving, kill those worth killing.
I gripped my blade and kicked off the ground.

* * *

Several more battles followed after that.
I navigated through the combat by utilizing the Guardians excluding Galleon’s subordinates, and finally managed to fell the last monster.
Then a message appeared before my eyes.

[Your ordeal has ended.]
[You have proven yourself worthy of using the Temple.]
[The Altar holds the power to grant the dragon soul the “Lord’s Blessing.” This blessing’s effects vary depending on which Lord you have contracted with. Furthermore, you may also receive aid from other Lords.]

It was a message that I had overcome the ordeal.
The Altar infused with Han Yu-sung’s blood emanated a mystical radiance.
I brushed the blood from my fists and walked toward the Altar.

“….”
“….”

The players around me watched in silence.
Both the Guardians and the Destroyers did the same.
Not a single soul dared to interfere with Han Yu-sung’s approach to the Altar for his reward, nor did they even consider it.

‘A monster.’
‘Who is he? I’ve never seen that face before. But….’
‘From Galleon to that recent battle—how could anyone even touch him.’

His combat prowess was beyond what the eyes could believe.
Unlike the exhausted players around him, he showed no signs of fatigue.
In such circumstances, no one could even entertain the thought of interference.

“Hatchling.”
– Chirrup.

Hatchling approached the Altar.
As if responding to this, the light gathered at the Altar stirred and began moving toward Hatchling.

[If you wish, you may use the remaining power in the Temple to pray to the Star Lords with whom you have not yet made a contract. Should they answer, the ‘Lord’s Blessing’ granted to the dragon soul will be greatly strengthened.]
[However, in this case, the Lord must expend ‘Coins’.]

“Prayer, you say….”

In other words, it was asking whether I wanted to request other Star Lords to strengthen the Lord’s Blessing bestowed upon the dragon soul.
It was an extraordinarily meaningless proposition.

[Hmph, which Lord would answer the prayer of a contractor they haven’t made a pact with?]
“Well, that’s generally true.”
[And they’d have to spend Coins on top of that. Never mind, never mind. Leave it to me. I shall use the power contained in this Altar to…!]
“But there’s no harm in trying, is there?”
[What! W, well… I, I suppose that’s not wrong, but….]

His words rang true.
It cost nothing, and there was no reason to refuse.
Han Yu-sung closed his eyes, summoning the Lords he would petition.

‘Lord of Training, Lord of Pleasure. And… Lord of Shadow.’

Light erupted from the Altar of the Lords.
It flooded the chamber entirely, so brilliant I could not open my eyes.
And I felt it then.
The gaze of transcendent beings fixed upon me.

[The Lords respond to your prayer.]

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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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