The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 72

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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 72

Han Yu-sung began his ascent of the Tower.
The scene was broadcast to the Lords of the Stars, and shared with Players who had received their permission, quickly spreading across the entire world.
The Tower climb of a Player who demonstrated unparalleled prowess in the recently held God’s Trial!
Both Lords and Players showed tremendous interest.

‘Just how strong is this Player?’
‘They say he practically cleared Dragon’s Tomb alone—is it true?’
‘The rumors must be exaggerated. Even so….’

The Players remained skeptical.
Interviews from Guardians who witnessed Han Yu-sung’s rampage through Dragon’s Tomb followed one after another, and all manner of testimonies circulated across the internet.
Yet it remained difficult to believe. The reason was simple.
It was far too unrealistic.

“…Either way, we’ll know once we see him clear the Tower.”

Whether the rumors were exaggerated or true.
Players watched the broadcast with skeptical eyes.
And Han Yu-sung.

BOOM!

[Player ‘Han Yu-sung’ has cleared the 1st Floor of the Tower.]

Shattered the flood of doubts with pure force.
From the very first floor, crushing his opponent with absolute dominance.
The swordmaster who unleashed waves of sword energy had his entire body torn and burned, pierced through by countless blades as he fell.
The time it took was remarkably brief.

“What in the….”
“Wait, how many minutes? How long did it take to clear one floor?”
“3, 3 minutes. Approximately 3 minutes, sir!”
“Insane! That’s impossible!”

Clearing an entire floor in just three minutes?
True, there was only one enemy on that floor. But the opponent I faced moments ago was far from a pushover.
Even accounting for it being the first floor, three minutes was an impossibly short time to overcome such a foe.

“…Could it simply be that the first floor was too easy?”
“Perhaps the Tower itself is easier than expected. Since it emerged as a sort of reward concept, maybe it’s designed at a difficulty anyone can clear….”
“Idiot! You say that after witnessing that?”

When Han Yu-sung cleared the first floor so effortlessly, all manner of speculation erupted.
But such doubts couldn’t persist for long.

[Player ‘Han Yu-sung’ has conquered the second floor of the Tower.]
[Player ‘Han Yu-sung’ has conquered the third floor of the Tower.]
[Player ‘Han Yu-sung’ has conquered the fourth floor of the Tower.]
[Player ‘Han Yu-sung’ has conquered the fifth floor of the Tower.]

Han Yu-sung pressed onward without pause, ascending the Tower relentlessly.
Each floor presented a formidable new adversary awaiting him.
On some floors, two powerful foes coordinated their assault; on others, countless undead surged forth in overwhelming waves.
By any Player’s assessment, the difficulty was consistently formidable.

“Undead… or should we call them jiangshi? Each one appears to have undergone special modifications.”
“Before we even discuss modifications or traits, the sheer numbers make them seem impossible to face.”
“The duo on the third floor wasn’t easy either. Their movements were incredibly organic—they must have synchronized their breathing for ages. Yet he faced them alone….”

Any Player with sufficient experience could perceive it.
With each ascending floor, the enemies’ strength rose at an accelerating pace.
The difficulty was escalating—and steeply at that.
Yet Han Yu-sung’s ascent showed no signs of slowing.

“Heh, already the seventh floor? The pace is simply unbelievable.”

Jain, the Alliance Leader observing this spectacle, let out a low whistle of astonishment.

“How much time has elapsed?”
“Exactly one hour and thirty-four minutes since Han Yu-sung entered the Tower.”
“Considering the caliber of enemies he faced, it’s nothing short of miraculous. Any other Player would have required two or three times as long to achieve such progress.”

No, far from two or three times stronger—countless Players would fail to clear it and drop out midway.
From Jain’s perspective, the enemies appearing in the Tower of Blood Demon were formidable foes without exception.
Considering Han Yu-sung’s level, it was all the more so.

“Even accounting for adjustments, he seems to have no fear whatsoever when facing strong opponents.”
“I sensed something similar, Lord.”
“Hmm. And whether it’s just my imagination or not…”

I could see Han Yu-sung engaged in combat on the seventh floor.
Blood streamed from multiple wounds across his body. No matter how exceptional one was, consecutive battles against formidable foes inevitably left their mark.
Yet his movements showed no signs of slowing.
If anything.

‘The stronger his opponents, the stronger he becomes… or am I imagining things?’

Jain watched Han Yu-sung quietly as he raged on, scattering blood in his wake.
She noticed the screen distorting during his battles.
The Lords observing the ascent also detected the screen distortion.

[The screen distorts every time he uses a special power.]
[Did he request it from the Tower? They’re usually accommodating about such things. He seems intent on concealing his power.]
[Hmm…]

The Lords already understood well what that distortion signified.
They wondered what lay beyond the obscured screen.

[Come to think of it, that man—I think I know which Lord he contracted with. At that level, he must have made a pact with a renowned Lord.]
[I cannot say. In such circumstances, a Lord would typically emerge boasting of their sworn servant, yet none have appeared.]
[Is he hiding the contract?]

But why?
What reason would he have to conceal his Lord, and what reason to hide his patron? When he should be boasting about it without restraint.

[Could it be a contract with a Lord of no renown? He fears it might be taken from him.]
[Hmm, well… it’s not impossible.]
[While uncertain, there are circulating theories that he contracted with a Lord related to flames. We should investigate further.]

It’s not uncommon for weaker Lords to lose their Contractors to more powerful ones.
Lords bearing Epithets step forward to pressure them, offering all manner of sweet promises to the Contractors themselves, ultimately stealing the contracts outright.
Because of this, Lords without Epithets often hide their Contractors away.
Especially if the Contractor possesses exceptional talent.

[Still, of all things… the Tower of the Wanderer, no less.]
[With so many Lords in existence, why must a Tower conceived by some wandering nobody be the one selected? It’s infuriating beyond measure.]

The Lords clicked their tongues in displeasure.
The Wanderers.
Transcendents like the Lords of the Stars themselves, yet unaffiliated with any faction—operating independently.

[And of all of them, it had to be the Blood Demon.]
[The most eccentric among the Wanderers, is he not? I’ve heard he commits all manner of outrageous acts—some even call him a madman…]
[A true oddity, by all accounts.]

The Wanderers, as a rule, exhibited movements difficult to predict.
And among them, the Blood Demon stood out as particularly eccentric.
The Lords exhaled in unison.

[That such benefits should accrue to such a creature for conceiving a Tower.]
[Crude as it may sound, it turns my stomach.]
[Indeed, it does.]

The emergence of a Tower functioned as a kind of “competition” for Transcendents.
When the Lords of the Stars and other Transcendents conceived of Towers, they were recorded in a repository, and the Gods selected suitable ones from among them to manifest.
Should no suitable Tower exist, the Gods would create one themselves.
In any case, the Lord who conceived the selected Tower received substantial benefits—and this time, those benefits had fallen to a Wanderer.

[Tch, this displeases me in every way.]
[The Blood Demon… this could lead to unforeseen complications.]

Regardless, all would become clear if he managed to climb the Tower to its end.
Whether such a feat was even possible remained uncertain.

* * *

Exactly two hours and thirty minutes later.
I had reached the 8th floor of the Tower of Blood Demon.
I had ascended through a total of seven formidable floors to get here. But this floor was different from all the ones I had climbed before.

[Welcome to Floor 8, the ‘Incident’ Floor.]
[Random incidents occur on this floor. The floor’s content changes depending on the incident, and you receive rewards upon resolution.]
[Additionally, you can increase the difficulty to enhance your rewards.]

[Though we cannot know what incident will occur, being able to choose the difficulty is fortunate. What will you do?]
“You already know.”

The incident floor allowed me to select from three difficulty levels: Easy, Normal, and Hard.
What would I choose here?
There was nothing to deliberate about.

[You have selected ‘Hard’ difficulty.]
[A formidable incident approaches you…!]
[The incident will begin in 3 minutes. Prepare yourself thoroughly!]

Regardless of personal preference, considering the boss that would await at the tower’s apex, choosing Hard was the right call.
If the tower’s name held true, the ‘Blood Demon’ would be waiting.
Since I couldn’t know what kind of enemy awaited, I had to accumulate as much power as possible.

‘I currently possess four Blood Relics.’

I reviewed the Blood Relics I had acquired.
Ascending through seven formidable floors had yielded four relics.

[Blood-Starved Blade (Unique): Attack Power 190, Attack Speed +10%.]
[Surging Blood (Rare): Blood-type Skill Damage +30%.]
[Double-Edged Sword (Unique): Attack Power +30%, Defense –15%.]
[Blood Lineage (Unique): All Stats +10%, Healing Power +20%.]

All four were relics that grew stronger as I ascended the floors.
The unfortunate part was that not every floor granted a relic as a reward.
Instead, those floors offered different rewards.

[You have obtained 10,000 Red Coins.]
[Consumable Items: Corrupted Blood x2, Blood-Stained Talisman x2, Potion of Regeneration x2, Potion of Frenzy obtained.]
[You have satisfied the activation condition for the unique ability, ‘Godly Descent’.]
[As an additional reward, Strength and Vitality increase by +4, and Willpower increases by +8!]

Red Coins were a currency usable only within the Tower of Blood Demon.
I could use them at the ‘Trading’ floor. The consumable items were the same.
Corrupted Blood and Blood-Stained Talismans could be used to attack enemies, while the Potion of Regeneration could be used to treat wounds.
The Potion of Frenzy was a buff potion with side effects.

‘I think there was a Trading floor somewhere in the middle.’

I would gather them carefully and use them there when the time came.
Han Yu-sung sat in place and waited for three minutes to pass.
There was no need to wait that long.

[Reading the events recorded in the Tower….]
[Selecting one random event….]
[Event, ‘Sect Annihilation’ begins! The layer’s environment transforms!]

The moment the message appeared, the surrounding landscape shifted.
The layer saturated with blood and flesh vanished, the sealed sky opened wide, and a dark sky without a single star appeared with only the moon hanging overhead.
And the surroundings transformed into an unfamiliar building.
A building engulfed in raging flames.

“Ugh, uaaaaaaah!”
“Help me… anyone…!”
“E-enemies! From all sides, enemies are pouring in!”

An Eastern-style structure.
I knew what this was.
A sect building from the world of Murim. And a rather prosperous one at that.
That sect was burning.

Whoosh! Crack!

“Ugh, cough…!”

They attacked under the cover of night.
Countless enemies poured over the sect’s walls.
At a glance, there were hundreds—and beyond the walls, far more.
An enormous force was launching a surprise assault on the sect.

“Kill every last one. Show no mercy.”
“They are material for creating Blood Demons. Do not hesitate in your hands.”

The commanders of the enemy forces declared this.
Their identity became immediately clear.

[The Blood Cult is attempting to annihilate the White Sword Sect.]
[You must stand with the White Sword Sect and stop the Blood Cult. Your forces are overwhelmingly outnumbered, both in quantity and quality.]
[You must overcome this crisis by any means necessary.]
[Good luck.]

Devotees of the Blood Demon.
Looking closer, the techniques they wielded seemed oddly familiar.
They were degraded versions of the techniques used by the formidable enemies I had faced in the Tower.
The Blood Cult’s warriors and followers were attacking this place.

“Kill them all!”
“Aaaahhhhh…!”
“You… you vile creatures… ugh, cough!”

Merciless slaughter unfolded on all sides.
My forces were overwhelmingly outnumbered, and their already sparse numbers were rapidly dwindling under the enemy’s relentless assault.
This truly lived up to the description of a hard-difficulty scenario.
So then, how would I overcome this crisis?

“Through force.”

Han Yu-sung extended his hand.
The void split open, and fierce flames erupted through the fissure.
The flames transformed into the shape of a blazing banner.

Boom!

The banner, brought down with tremendous force, was planted into the ground.

[‘War’s Banner’ has declared ‘War’ across the region.]
[The faction that satisfies the sacred relic receives a buff.]
[Wage a war you cannot turn away from!]

Whoooosh!

Flames spread outward from the banner’s center, transforming the terrain itself.
Han Yu-sung clenched his fists.

“That’s not difficult at all.”

Within the roaring inferno, Han Yu-sung grinned savagely.

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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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