Chapter 572: Calculated Gambit

Zemei, rest well. Once your injuries improve, the Council still has an awards ceremony waiting for you.

A smile played on his lips.

Inside the top-notch hospital room, waves of high-ranking Japanese officials and faction leaders formed long, courteous queues. Surrounded by them, Yenir felt as though he were nearing death.

After offering a perfunctory reply to the Cabinet Minister’s ‘concern’, Yenir’s eyes locked solely on the rewards they had brought.

Using the pretense of recuperation, he evaded any potential scrutiny.

He’d assumed he’d finally get some peace—grab the rewards and then make a swift exit.

Lying in bed, Yenir felt extremely irritated.

He hadn’t expected these high-ups to ‘bother’ him just to introduce themselves; their overzealous attention felt as warm as a father’s visit.

A deluge of healing items and various precious ‘tonics’ was delivered, nearly piled into a small hill in his room.

If only he hadn’t known that they all valued his future potential and were eager to invest in him.

To be honest, he felt a bit touched.

Of course, he also knew that if his identity were ever exposed, these Japanese high-ranking officials would likely go berserk, intent on killing him.

Noticing how impatiently Yenir eyed the rewards, the Cabinet Minister who had delivered them smiled knowingly and, with a grand gesture, departed with his entourage.

Before leaving, he cryptically suggested that Yenir should pay him a visit when he had time.

Yenir gave no clear response.

Once everyone had cleared out, Yenir—who had been faking exhaustion—suddenly sprang to life and grabbed the rewards.

Inside two metallic boxes marked with a blue grade were the two rewards he had previously chosen.

Even through the barrier of the container, he could feel the continuous surge of high-level energy emanating from within.

“An epic weapon: the Heavenly Cloud Sword! And an S-Class Sword Technique [Amaterasu]!”

Thinking he had achieved his objective, Yenir couldn’t help but feel excited.

Without hesitation, he opened the box, and a crisp chime from the System immediately sounded.

“Ding. Obtained epic weapon [Heavenly Cloud Sword]. This weapon is classified as a Battle Zone special weapon, granting additional effect bonuses when equipped in this Battle Zone.”

“Ding. Obtained S-Class Sword Technique [Amaterasu].”

After receiving two clear notifications and confirming these were exactly what he wanted, Yenir immediately accessed the details with eager anticipation.

To be honest, he had long thought that the Elemental Blade lagged behind his own strength!

Even though both weapons were of the same tier, compared to a national-level special weapon, the Elemental Blade was in a completely different league!

“Heavenly Cloud Sword: Epic (Special Sword Type)”

“Equipment Attributes: Strength +9, Agility +9, Will +9”

“Equipment Trait: Increases attack speed by 100% when equipped in the left hand; grants an extra 30% damage when equipped in the right hand.”

“Equipment Skills: Iaido (A), Sword Drawing Technique (A), Divine Wind (A)”

“Iaido (A-Class): Instantly unleashes a guaranteed-hit physical attack that ignores 50% of the target’s defense. On impact, it inflicts a tearing, bleeding effect with a chance to trigger a [Dismemberment] effect. When dismemberment is triggered, it bypasses the target’s healing, resulting in instant death. Cooldown: 1 hour.”

“Sword Drawing Technique (A-Class): Activating this skill enhances your next attack. The following strike carries an extra sword aura effect, grants immediate action, and increases attack range by 1000%. This attack is guaranteed to be a critical hit, with a chance to bypass enemy defenses and sever limbs. Cooldown: 12 hours.”

“Divine Wind (A-Class): Upon activation, enter an untargetable state for 1.5 seconds, during which you receive a 100% movement speed boost and can bypass obstacles. After the skill ends, your next attack unleashes a storm impact that deals extra damage.”

“Cooldown: 30 seconds.”

“Battle Zone Bonus: In this Battle Zone, inflict an additional 20% damage on mutants and, by sacrificing an Awakener, gain 10% of their attributes. Cooldown: 24 hours.”

…

After finishing the Heavenly Cloud Sword’s description, Yenir broke into a satisfied smile. He gripped the slender blade and examined it meticulously.

The silver-white blade was long, slender, and razor-sharp, its edge exuding a fierce brilliance.

Just looking at it made his eyes sting slightly.

A truly formidable weapon!

Yenir silently praised it, his heart swelling with excitement.

Compared to the Elemental Blade’s mediocre extras, the Heavenly Cloud Sword’s three innate A-Class skills could easily outclass any weapon he’d ever seen!

“Pure explosive power… it’s practically a divine artifact tailor-made for Agility-Type Awakeners.”

“Armor-piercing, instant action, high-speed movement, untargetable! With these four defining traits, my combat potential leaps to another level!”

Almost immediately after checking its stats, Yenir recognized the true might of this weapon.

It discarded flashy extras and boasted no unusually unique abilities.

Instead, it delivered unparalleled speed and devastating single-target damage!

Especially the Divine Wind skill—if mastered, it rivaled even legendary techniques!

A 1.5-second untargetable phase combined with rapid movement was enough to overwhelm any foe! Remarkably, for such a potent skill, the cooldown was only 30 seconds…

This meant that in a chaotic brawl, he could use it multiple times—evading even one focused attack was more than worth it!

“Left-hand equipment boosts attack speed…”

“Although the left-hand bonus is higher, for a lethal, agile strike the right-hand is superior!”

Clutching the cold hilt, Yenir pondered briefly before choosing to wield the weapon in his right hand.

If you’re after explosive power, you might as well go all out!

He had already decided: use the Elemental Blade to clear out hordes of minions, and reserve the Heavenly Cloud Sword for taking down Peak Third-Stage foes!

This way, whether in area attacks or single-target combats, he’d have no weaknesses.

Yet the Battle Zone bonus left Yenir feeling a tinge of regret.

Fighting in the Japanese Battle Zone, that extra 20% damage bonus was nothing to scoff at.

Alas, he would be making his exit soon.

“But…”

“Before leaving, why not capture a couple of Awakeners?”

He noticed that the Battle Zone bonus also included a sacrificial effect.

A 10% attribute boost was almost as valuable as an extra piece of equipment. For Yenir, in critical battles, it might just be a game-changer!

“Truly, a national artifact indeed.”

“No wonder Divine Warriors are predestined for the top spot…”

“If it were me, I’d never part with equipment of this caliber as a reward…”

He was deeply moved.

Yenir chuckled softly, feeling that his luck was pretty good.

He just hoped that the surviving officials in the Japanese Battle Zone wouldn’t realize he had swindled the equipment—their reaction would be catastrophic.

No exaggeration, this weapon was enough to make even Peak Third-Stage fighters drool with envy.

He suppressed his excitement.

After carefully considering several targets for capture, Yenir roughly mapped out his plan and then turned his attention to the skill rewards.

More than the equipment bonuses, the Sword God System was his ultimate cheat!

“Amaterasu…”

“Amaterasu… sounds like it’s linked to Japanese mythology. Could it be another skill that summons phantom bonuses?”