The eighth day of the war.

In order to turn things around, the Hercules and Steel Heart guilds joined forces. They used the first part of their names ('he' and the Korean word for steel), forming the Hegang Alliance.

Because it had the power and influence of two of the 5 great guilds, players continuously joined their cause.

It was a massive, never before seen gathering of players. It was tough to get an exact count, but it seemed like they had more than 100,000 players.

The Breaker Guild and the Cerberus Alliance had also officially joined forces. The alliance was named after the Black Lion, Raon, due to his incredible charisma.

The Raon Alliance was even larger than the Hegang Alliance. After all, they were already superior before, and now they had joined forces.

Of course, that didn't mean they could completely overwhelm their enemies.

Moreover, Steel Heart, Hercules, Breaker, and Cerberus hadn't yet shown everything up their sleeves.

Ultimately, no one knew who was stronger. You'd have to watch till the very end!

On the Ekrast Plains, where the Red Thorn Forest was located...!

Thousands of flags fluttered in the wind. The Raon Alliance's flags were black, while the Hegang Alliance's flags were silver.

"All forces, charge!" Raon, the Raon Alliance's commander in chief, raised his right fist.

"All-out attack!" Arthand raised his hammer into the air.

The first battle between the Raon Alliance and the Hegang Alliance had begun.

* * *

In the darkness of night, the moon's brilliance was obscured by the clouds in the sky. However, countless spheres of light filled the air, illuminating the Ekrast Plains.

"You tiresome bastards!"

"Just hold on a little longer!"

"Let's survive this!"

Countless people were tangled together, fighting for their lives.

Obviously, magic and arrows flew across the battlefield. Toxic powder, projectile weapons, and beasts either summoned by Summoners or trained by Tamers, roamed the battlefield.

"I'm Dubal from the Breaker Guild! Come at me!"

"Hmph. You're barely a high ranker. I, Barros, will take you on!"

"Lava Squad, we're piercing through!"

"Steel Dragon Squad, raise your shields! We can't let them get through!"

"Crush them all!"

"Don't let them get through!"

Elites and squads on either side clashed head-on. Meanwhile, their leaders focused entirely on commanding their troops, rather than participate directly in battle.

"Galapas, I need you to take Poseidon's Fury and reinforce the right flank!" Hercules' leader, Shion, pointed at the right flank with his staff.

"Yes, sir!" Poseidon's Fury's leader, Galapas, slightly bowed his head, answered curtly, and immediately followed his orders.

"Poseidon's Fury! Follow me!"

"Dukal, I need you and your squad to break their formation." Shion pointed at another player.

"Yes, sir!"

"Bring the injured and the incapacitated to the rear. Battle Smiths, go around the battlefield and repair our troops' equipment! Healers, what are you doing!? Hurry up and cast an AoE healing spell! We won't lose!" Arthand yelled, raising his giant fist into the air.

Raon watched the battle from atop a giant rhinoceros.

Kuheong!

A booming roar rang out.

Lion's Roar!

[You have been granted the courage of a lion.]

[You have overcome your fear.]

[All combat-related abilities have increased slightly.]

"Steel Sword Squad, Jairus Guild, advance forward! Snow Flower, take the Leopard Squad and break through enemy lines. I need Black Sword and White Lion on the right flank!"

"Yes, sir!"

Raon's squads were well-trained, so they moved accordingly.

This was a huge battle with more than 200,000 players!

"Uhaahk!"

"Die!"

"Shit. We need reinforcements!"

"Healing! I need healing over here!"

Several players died amidst the chaos, and fell onto the cold floor.

Clang! Clang! Bam! Bam! Whack!

Clang! Clang! Bam, bam, bam! Bam! Whizz!

The battlefield was filled with the sounds of explosions, people's screams, their rough breathing, curses, and the sound of metal upon metal. There was a strange balance to it all.

"Aah, viewers. Please take a look at this heroic battle! You can't afford to miss it!"

"Let me briefly explain what's happening. The Raon Alliance looks a bit stronger... The Hegang Alliance has just fought back!"

"I have no idea who'll win! So please keep watching till the very end!"

The gaming channels' correspondents were showing the entire world what was happening via live stream.

Even the public TV networks were showing it. They postponed their regular programs in order to show this instead. The foreign networks did the exact same thing.

The world's attention was completely fixed on this battle.

* * *

While everyone else was focused on the battle in the Ekrast Plains...

Kang Oh, Sephiro, and Asu had come to Faussman's Laboratory.

This was owned by the Hwarang Guild, a guild affiliated with the Hercules Guild.

Unlike the Oracle Guild, the Hwarang Guild was quite a powerful intermediate guild. They were powerful enough to seize this dungeon and then protect it with their own troops.

Of the various guilds that supported the Hercules Guild, the Hwarang Guild was the strongest.

Their gatekeepers were in another league compared to the ones they'd seen in Alkartan's Nest. There were more than ten of them too. One of them was a ranker in the 8,000s, Kimchi Dumpling.

However, the result was much the same.

Blood was too fast and powerful.

Sephiro, who'd fought alongside Kang Oh for some time, had skills befitting a high ranker. Though his level, feats, and fame weren't nearly enough to enter the high rankers.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Asu's sword was fierce, as she carried a grudge against the Hercules Guild.

"Ugh, invaders..."

"Reinforcements!"

"This is impossible. How could I be defeated so easily..." Kimchi Dumpling saved face by lasting longer than anyone else.

Kang Oh's party immediately entered the dungeon.

[You have entered the dungeon, Faussman's Laboratory.]

Kyahahk!

Faussman's creations came rushing at them. But after getting beat up, they ran with their tails between their legs.

Kang Oh examined the dungeon as he advanced forward.

He had come here for the same reason he'd come to Alkartan's Nest.

Kang Oh wanted to steal a soul dungeon from a guild that was affiliated with the Hercules Guild!

Sometime later...

Kang Oh's eyes shined. 'This is it.'

It was a portrait of the lunatic, Faussman. Once he saw the portrait, he felt like something was off about it.

'Hmm.' Kang Oh thoroughly examined the portrait and even touched it.

"O-Oppa," Asu suddenly said, her voice shaking.

"What is it?"

"T-That portrait's eyes just... moved." She pointed at the portrait's eyes.

"Huh?" Kang Oh stared at its eyes. However, it didn't move at all.

"It's not moving."

"I didn't notice anything," Sephiro said.

Gyaa!

Waryong didn't care either way. It was busy stomping on cockroaches and playing around.

"That's weird... They definitely moved." Asu's eyes shook.

"So they really did move, huh."

"Yes... but I may have seen wrong." Asu's voice steadily lost confidence.

"Ok." Kang Oh's eyes gleamed. "The handsome, greatest scholar in history, Mr. Faussman?"

Kang Oh said something strange all of a sudden. What he said definitely didn't fit a person like Faussman, who was a lunatic that captured countless people and forced them to undergo horrific experiments!

However, the portrait's lips slightly curled upwards.

"O-Oppa!" Asu shook. 'It definitely moved! I'm sure of it this time!'

"The handsome, manly, popular, and rich Mr. Faussman?"

"Hahaha."

Ultimately, the portrait began laughing.

Then, Kang Oh's attitude slightly changed. He suddenly shoved Ubist in front of the portrait!

"Get that sword away from me this instant!" Faussman's portrait yelled in shock.

'As expected, it's a Ghost-Possessed Portrait.'

A Ghost-Possessed Portrait was just another monster. They would normally disguise themselves as portraits, but they were actually just monsters! It was only natural that it'd feel so scared of Demon Sword Ubist, as it was the mortal enemy of ghost-type monsters.

"If you don't want me to rip you to shreds with this sword, then open the hidden passageway," Kang Oh said murderously.

"Don't make me laugh! Do you have any idea who I..." Faussman's portrait strongly declined, but Kang Oh cut him off by cutting him with Ubist.

"Kuhaahk!" the portrait screamed as red shards of light burst out.

'Physical attacks shouldn't work on me, so why did that attack affect me?' Faussman couldn't understand what had just happened.

Moreover, he felt such extreme pain; it felt like his body was ripped in half!

"Will you open it or not?" Kang Oh scowled and waved around Demon Sword Ubist. 'I can kill you anytime!'

"I-I'll open it. So please just let me live." Faussman's portrait waved the white flag.

"You should've started with that."

Sephiro just shook his head. 'I thought he'd gotten a bit nicer lately, but a person's true nature doesn't change.'

Kang Oh threatening someone really fit his character!

Rumble!

The portrait was pushed to the side, revealing a dark passageway in-between.

[You have discovered the hidden dungeon, Adelia's Resting Place.]

However...!

All of a sudden, players came out of the tunnel and attacked Kang Oh's party.

"Kill the intruders!"

"Keep attacking!"

It was the Hwarang Guild.

They were reserve troops that hadn't joined the war. When they heard that there were intruders, they immediately teleported to the hidden dungeon via transfer magic circle, and waited for Kang Oh's party from within the hidden passageway.

Moreover, there were 100 of them.

However, they had ambushed the wrong man.

Kang Oh had gone through all sorts of hardships, which included fighting in the air. Not only that, but he had his trusty Hyper Intuition too! What use would an ambush be against someone like that!

With Blood in his left hand, and Ubist in his right, Kang Oh bounced forward like a spring.

Festival of Blood!

Tempest Tiger!

Lightning Breath!

A blue blast of lightning shot out of Blood, which had transformed into a blood cross. At the same time, his jet-black blade released a golden aura that dashed forward!

Bam!

Boom!

"Uhaahk!"

"Holy shit!"

The 12 Hwarang guild members in front were caught in his attacks, and flew everywhere.

"He's strong! Keep your guard up!" One Hwarang member encouraged his fellow teammates. However, there was one member that did the exact opposite.

"This skill... I've seen it before. It's Kang Oh's technique! And that's Kang Oh's jet-black blade! It's Kang Oh! Predator Kang Oh has shown up!" he yelled like a crazy person.

"What?"

"Of all people, it had to be Kang Oh?"

"Damn it, it's one of the Numbers!"

"Why is he going for us?"

Their morale had hit rock bottom. That's how intimidating Numbers rank 4, Predator Kang Oh, was.

"Ah, screw it. We can't just stand around and let him kill us! Attack!" the guild member that'd encouraged them yelled.

"Damn it, do or die!"

"Let's do our best. He bleeds just like you and me."

However, Kang Oh had gotten right in the middle of them. Asu and Sephiro were starting to move too.

Mad Wind's Sword!

His blades danced in the air.

At first, it was just a gentle breeze, but it gradually became a gale. However, this was only the beginning. The beginning of what would eventually become a typhoon!

Asu's blade and Sephiro's arrows were added into the mix too.

"Attack!"

"Shit!"

"Die!"

Hwarang's guild members screamed and counterattacked. They cast spells, shot arrows, and threw nets and hooks at them. They even used poison.

Red Butterfly's Dance!

Kang Oh's movements were the very definition of flashy. Whenever he moved, he left behind an afterimage, which his enemies would then attack.

At the same time, he swung his swords with power, speed, and precision. Kang Oh mercilessly struck at their weak points as indicated by his Hyper Intuition.

Countless shards of light spilled from the bodies. They were mostly red; occasionally, black shards would burst out too.

"Why is he so stro..."

Stab!

The guild member was unable to finish, as Kang Oh's red blade had pierced his throat. His face turned ashen right after.

"We can't beat him by ourselves. We need our elites that are in the Red Thorn Forest!"

"R-Retreat!"

The gap between them was too large.

Ultimately, the surviving Hwarang guild members had no choice but to run away.

However, Kang Oh had no intention of leaving a single one of them alive. After all, they were helping the Hercules Guild, and the Hercules Guild had killed Asu!

A massive pillar of darkness shot out from Demon Sword Ubist.

Everlasting Darkness!

Kang Oh swung his sword horizontally.

Swish!

"Kuheok!"

"S-Save me..."

The deep darkness consumed every last one of them.

None of them survived.