Whoosh! Bam! Whoosh! Bam!

Each and every one of Lacus's attacks were powerful enough to kill Kang Oh in a single hit.

Havoc!

Battle Addict's Axe!

Shatter!

His attacks weren't fast, but they had a large radius and were extremely powerful. Thus, it wasn't easy to deal with them.

However, the combination of Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition, high evasion, and exceptional combat abilities kept him from getting hit.

Kang Oh continuously avoided Lacus's attacks and counterattacked with quick, precise blows.

"You're like a rat. You sure are good at dodging," Lacus said after getting hit a few times. He was clearly provoking him.

"If this is all you got, then I'm disappointed. Show me that you're not just a strong, dumb brute," Kang Oh replied.

"Alright then." Lacus threw his small axe into the air. Then, something interesting happened.

Flying Axe!

Lacus's axe floated in the air, ignoring the laws of gravity!

That wasn't all.

Lacus pulled out two more small axes from his inventory and threw them into the air. Like the first one, these two axes floated in the air.

"Go!" Lacus pointed at Kang Oh with his large axe. Then, the three axes went flying like a horde of wasps.

Bam!

One of the axes struck Kang Oh's head. However, it was just an afterimage. Kang Oh had used Red Butterfly's Dance.

"Mm." Lacus bit his lip. No one had ever dodged this attack as easily as Kang Oh had.

'This is just the beginning!' Lacus opened his empty hand.

The three axes spun over Kang Oh's head, and then shot towards him once more. However, it didn't make much of a difference this time either.

Kang Oh avoided, deflected, or blocked them all.

"Why don't you come over yourself?" Kang Oh dealt with them so easily that he could even talk in-between.

"As you wish." Lacus closed in.

He specialized in using his small axes to distract his opponent, and then split them in two with his main weapon, his large axe.

"Kuha!" Lacus cried out like a wild beast. His axe was aiming for Kang Oh's waist.

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed. He deflected a small axe with Blood while tilting Ubist.

Screech!

Lacus's large axe slid off Kang Oh's jet-black blade.

Sword Parry!

However, Lacus was no weakling.

"Hmph!"

Lacus had lost his balance, but kept himself upright with pure physical strength.

Normally, Sword Parry would expose an opponent's weak point, but Lacus had no such weak point to exploit.

Despite that, Kang Oh attacked.

Festival of Blood!

His snow-white blade was coated in blood red energy.

Lacus's eyes gleamed.

'I'll give you my shoulder.'

Lacus gritted his teeth.

He was fully capable of dodging or blocking Kang Oh's attack. However, he didn't do so. Lacus was willing to take a flesh wound in order to deal a fatal blow!

Lacus swung his axe upwards.

However...!

Kang Oh didn't follow through, and stopped halfway! In fact, he even stepped back!

Whoosh!

Lacus completely missed.

Kang Oh pinpointed a clear cut weak point. There was no reason to hesitate.

Swish!

He swung Ubist.

Lightning Breath!

Crackle!

The mighty electric blast struck Lacus. However, Lacus's body had stiffened like a rock.

Rock Armor!

A player of Lacus's caliber would have several survival skills!

Kang Oh couldn't follow this up with anything. After all, the three small axes stubbornly came after him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Kang Oh deflected the axes and got back into position. Lacus deactivated Rock Armor, and slung his large axe over his shoulder.

"I guess the 1st round ends in a draw. But you know, a Sacred Duel has a time limit. It's already been 5 minutes. You only have 55 minutes left. If you can't beat me by then, then I win." Lacus grinned.

"That ain't going to happen," Kang Oh said decisively.

His body was coated in black and red energy.

Devil Trigger!

The second round began.

* * *

At the same time...

The Raon and Hegang alliances fought for the third time.

"Lacus!" Shion urgently searched for Lacus. He wanted to give Lacus and his squad, 'Zeus's Spear' a mission. It was the Hercules Guild's most powerful squad.

"Mr. Lacus left for a Sacred Duel," one of Zeus's Spear's members said.

"Damn it. Why now of all times? Is it Kang Oh?" Shion gritted his teeth.

'Kang Oh! Just you wait. I won't let this go unpunished!'

However, he had to deal with current matters first.

"Take Zeus's Spear through the middle, and aim for Snow Flower. Do whatever it takes to kill her."

"Understood."

"Go!"

Shion gave the other executives their orders, and then raised his staff into the air.

Tree of Life!

Trees rose throughout the Hegang Alliance's ranks. These trees would heal nearby allies.

"Engineer Squad, put it together!" Arthand raised his voice at a different location.

"Yes, sir!"

The Engineer Squad pulled out parts from their inventory, and began creating something.

Surprisingly, it was a cannon.

Of course, it was slightly different from a real life cannon. It didn't use gunpowder; instead, it used Hola Powder to shoot cannonballs. The engineers stored powerful magic into these cannonballs by using the same method that mages used to create magic scrolls.

Only the Steel Heart Guild was capable of creating such a weapon. After all, it consisted of skilled production workers that were able to create and follow the detailed blueprint!

"Aim!"

Not only were they capable of building the cannon, but they could shoot it without difficulty too. There was a reason they were called the flower of the Steel Heart Guild.

"Our target is the Raon Alliance's Mage Squad and their rear support troops!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Cannon 1, ready to fire!"

"Cannon 2, ready to fire!"

"Cannon 3, ready!"

...

"Fire!" Arthand raised his hammer into the air.

Boom!

Several cannons shot their magic cannonballs simultaneously. Stinking yellow smoke spread through the air.

Whoosh!

A cannonball flew to the heart of the Raon Alliance.

"Uhahk!"

"Something's coming!"

"Above us!"

"It's a cannonball!"

"Keok!"

Some of the players died upon impact. However, this was just the beginning! The spells stored within the cannonballs were activating!

Great Eruption!

Lightning Web!

Earth Spear!

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The cannons were capable of unleashing a magical bombardment far superior to any normal mage. Moreover, the cannonballs could pierce through barriers too, which were meant to block magic.

"So they prepared those toys, huh. Those crazy factory workers." Raon, who'd been assessing the battle, furrowed his brow. Perhaps that wasn't all that they'd prepared. There was a chance they had something even more dangerous up their sleeve.

"It's more dangerous than we expected," Brand said from beside him.

"How do we deal with them?"

"We set up a magic circle in the Red Thorn Forest. We can send troops through, and attack the rear. They probably can't make those things quickly." Brand immediately gave him a countermeasure. He, like Paton, was intelligent enough to serve as his alliance's advisor.

"Can we afford to pull troops away?"

The battle wasn't just intense, it was brutal. The cannons, which came out of nowhere, only made things worse.

"The Leopard Squad has the mobility and the ability to execute the mission, so they'd be the best choice, but we can't pull them out. They're fighting against Zeus's Spear. The Steel Sword Squad is dealing with the Cast Iron Hammer Squad. Thus, we'll have to use the Lava Squad."

The Leopard Squad, the Steel Sword Squad, and the Lava Squad. These were the Breaker Guild's three squads.

"Call the Lava Squad."

"Yes, sir." Brand immediately sent the Lava Squad's captain, Magma, a message. The Lava Squad had been named as such due to Magma's name.

"Did you call me?" Magma was a higher ranker, who was called the Fire Dragon.

"Explain it to him." Raon left the explanation to Brand. To summarize, deal with the cannons!

"It'll be easy. I'll be back soon. Let's go, boys." Magma and his squad left the frontlines. However, the battle was so chaotic that the Hegang Alliance hadn't noticed their departure.

"Saladin is also on standby. He's there just in case we need to deal with another one of their tricks," Brand said.

"Good work," Raon replied curtly, and then watched the battle.

* * *

Kang Oh, who'd transformed into the Dual Demon, ferociously attacked Lacus.

Whenever he swung his jet-black blade, his snow-white blade wouldn't be far behind. If he launched a blood red wave, then a black beast's claw would come right after.

Lacus's three floating axes were completely ineffective, as they were nullified by Abyss Shield or Blood Spears.

'This can't go on!' Lacus couldn't let himself get pushed around anymore.

"Uheong!" Lacus roared.

Kalbatu's Roar!

There was a temple at the top of Steel Rock Mountain that worshipped the legendary warrior, Kalbatu. By overcoming five of their trials, a player could learn a skill!

First, Lacus's body became tough, as if he was covered in steel. Then, his muscles bulged as much as they could. His eyes brightened, allowing him to see objects from afar with fine detail like a hawk, and his other senses were sharpened too.

"Uhaaahp!" He withdrew one of his floating axes, and then swung his weapons, alternating between the smaller and larger axe.

His large and small axes glowed with red and blue energy respectively.

Battle Addict's Axe!

Kalbatu's Roar significantly increased the power of his attacks.

Kang Oh responded in kind.

Festival of Blood!

Mad Wind's Sword!

Kang Oh used Sword Duke Sven's secret technique using both his demon swords.

Although Battle Addict's Axe's proficiency was higher than it, Mad Wind's Sword was a legendary swordsman's secret technique!

Battle Addict's Axe gradually increased the force of Lacus's blows, while Mad Wind's Sword increased Kang Oh's speed to impossible levels.

It was a battle between strength and speed!

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

The dual swords and axes repeatedly clashed against each other, resounding with a shrill, metallic 'clang'. In musical terms, it was like heavy metal!

At some point, Kang Oh began to overcome Lacus. When Lacus swung once, Kang Oh would swing his sword two or three times.

Swish, slash, swish!

"Ugh."

Ultimately, Lacus was forced back.

Kang Oh stopped Mad Wind's Sword too.

'Tch.'

Although Mad Wind's Sword was crazy powerful, it consumed a ton of Stamina and MP.

He wasn't using Gluttony, so his Stamina and MP went down much faster than he'd expected.

Whatever the case, he was able to overcome his opponent's trump card. Kang Oh rushed at Lacus before he was ready.

Then...

Lacus's eyes glowed.

Desperate Resistance!

This was his final trick. This skill could only be used when his HP was low, but it would increase his combat abilities significantly!

Havoc!

Lacus slammed his large axe into the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The ground around him cracked, and a mighty shockwave surged like a fountain.

Kang Oh got out of range by rolling onto the floor. Then, he pulled out a mass-produced sword.

Gluttony!

Black energy shot out of his body. All of his abilities were doubled!

"Huahp!" Kang Oh mustered up all of his power via a battle cry, and then rushed at Lacus.

"You bastard!" Lacus swung his axes in an X.

Shatter!

It seemed like the two axes' energy blasts would go right through Kang Oh.

But then...

Flap!

With a mighty flap of his dark red wings, Kang Oh quickly rose into the air.

Boom!

The blasts swept through the area and left behind a long scar as if a bomb had gone off.

Kang Oh vertically descended from above Lacus's head.

Swish.

Tasha moved his wings in such a way that he spun in the air like a top! His swords automatically danced through the air.

"Tch!" Lacus quickly used Rock Armor. His body began to transform into stone, but a whirlwind of black and red devoured him.