Taker was a Spear Knight, and his signature weapon was a trident.

God of Thunder's Spear!

Crackle!

His spear gathered blue lightning energy, and sparks went flying everywhere.

"Haahp!" Taker thrust his spear at Kang Oh.

Bam!

The mighty lightning blast shot straight at Kang Oh like a laser beam.

Kang Oh made no attempt to dodge or block it. He simply took the attack head-on.

[The Draka leather armor set's special ability has activated.]

[Lightning damage has been reduced by 90%.]

[HP -3%]

With the Draka set equipped, lightning was like a cute kitten to him.

'Now.' Kang Oh swung Demon Sword Akanhoff diagonally.

Once he was struck by God of Thunder's Spear, the nearby Moby Dick members came rushing in like moths to a flame.

Slash!

A white line followed Demon Sword Akanhoff. It was as if it were slicing through space itself!

Swish!

"Keheok!"

Kang Oh's strike left behind a diagonal wound on a Moby Dick member, and huge shards of light burst from the wound.

He turned around and then followed up with Demon Sword Ubist.

Whoosh!

His jet-black blade sliced through the squad member's neck.

Bam!

The squad member fell, but didn't get back up.

"Damn it! He got Eric."

"Get into formation and attack."

"We have to give our captain a chance to get a hit in!"

"The Iron Horse is joining us too!"

"Don't move recklessly!"

The Moby Dick and Iron Horse squads surrounded Kang Oh, creating an inescapable perimeter around him.

Moby Dick's mace and Taker's spear came from the left and the right.

Kang Oh bent backwards, avoiding the rapidly approaching spear, and then swung Akanhoff to ward off the mace.

Right after, the Moby Dick and Iron Horse members shot projectile weapons, arrows, and magic at him.

Due to their interference, Kang Oh was unable to counterattack, and moved from his location.

"Net!"

"Throw poison tacks where he's going."

"Use status ailment magic like Slow, rather than offensive magic."

As expected of the Empire Guild's elites! They knew how to best deal with someone like Kang Oh.

The squads moved as one, gradually wearing him down! They didn't try to end the battle as soon as possible.

'I have to break their formation first.'

Kang Oh was being pressured on all sides. He had to break through their ranks before things got even worse.

Demon Sword Ubist surged with thick jet-black energy.

Abyss Claw!

"I'll take care of it, so keep attacking him!" Moby Dick yelled, and pushed his shield forward.

Protector's Shield!

His shield, minutes away from shattering completely, transformed into a giant shield.

Bam!

Abyss Claw raked at the shield. That was all. It didn't have the force necessary to break through Protector's Shield.

The two squads threw nets, daggers, and arrows at Kang Oh, and even laid down a smokescreen.

Taker, who'd been waiting for his opportunity, attacked too!

Excise Heart!

His spear glowed red, and came straight for Kang Oh's heart.

Rather than dodge or back off, Kang Oh turned his body and rushed straight at Taker.

Bam!

Taker's spear grazed Kang Oh's chest. Shimmering shards of light flew through the air.

A dagger had lodged itself in his side, and an arrow was in his back too.

But this was all manageable.

Kang Oh swung Akanhoff upwards.

"Tch!" Taker quickly withdrew his spear and protected himself.

However...!

Kang Oh didn't follow through. Instead, he changed course and pushed deep into their perimeter.

"Heot."

"Stop him!"

The surprised squad members quickly yelled.

However, Kang Oh was already right in front of them.

Mad Wind's Sword!

Kang Oh advanced, all the while fiercely swinging Ubist and Akanhoff like a raging storm.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

None could block his two rampaging blades.

Moreover...!

Darkness Strike!

Two waves, resembling a beast and a bird, shot out, sweeping through everything in his path.

"Uhaahk!"

"Keok!"

His attack managed to poke a hole through their perimeter. Kang Oh attempted to escape right through the opening.

Moby Dick and Taker wouldn't let this happen. Their spear and mace simultaneously came for Kang Oh's back.

Hell Thrust!

Judgment!

Black energy, resembling an aurora, shot out of Taker's trident, while Moby Dick's mace radiated intense light like the sun's rays.

At that moment...

'Now!'

Kang Oh immediately turned around.

Transcendent Blade!

The world began to slow.

Kang Oh simultaneously swung Akanhoff and Ubist.

Swish!

Bam!

Clear red shards of light fell from Taker and Moby Dick's bodies. They had been too focused on keeping Kang Oh here that they left themselves way too open.

Aiming for these weak points was a piece of cake for Kang Oh.

"Keuk!"

"Ugh."

They'd sustained such a huge amount of damage in such a short time that they lost all their strength and fell to one knee.

'Just one more.'

Kang Oh, in his Jet-Black Demon form, swung both of his blades simultaneously. His black tail softly swished behind him.

Lightning Breath!

Everlasting Darkness!

Akanhoff's Lightning Breath came for Moby Dick, while Everlasting Darkness came for Taker.

However, Moby Dick and Taker were high rankers, and symbols of the Empire Guild's power. They couldn't just die like this. The two gritted their teeth and responded to Kang Oh's attack.

Red Demon's Thorn!

Red thorns sprouted from Taker's body, and his trident became a red thorn as well.

Whoosh!

He swung his red spear downwards, cleaving Everlasting Darkness in two.

Absolute Defense!

Moby Dick's shield created a barrier that covered his entire body.

Crackle!

Lightning Breath struck the barrier, but it didn't crack, let alone shake.

Kang Oh prepared his next attack. However, Taker attacked him before he could.

"You bastard!" Taker raised his red thorn into the air, and swung it at Kang Oh.

"Fix the perimeter."

"Long-range attacks!"

"Heal the captain!"

The two squads busily moved around.

Kang Oh softly swung Akanhoff.

Sword Parry!

Taker attacked like lightning, yet his spear rolled off of Kang Oh's purple blade.

"Shit!" Taker was shocked.

'To think he'd use Sword Parry here!'

It was pretty much a gamble. After all, if it failed, then Taker's spear would've pierced Kang Oh's heart!

However, his risk paid off, and Taker had lost his balance.

Stab!

Demon Sword Akanhoff pierced through Taker's heart.

"Keheok!"

Red shards of light burst from his body.

Kang Oh pulled Akanhoff out and switched to Blood!

Akanhoff's special ability, Dangerous Gamble, had taken a lot of his HP.

Gluttony was still active, so he couldn't switch out Ubist yet. Thus, he had no choice but to switch Akanhoff with Blood, and use it to restore his lost HP.

Whoosh!

Once he gripped Blood, red energy began to spread across his body.

Horns sprouted from his beast mask, a breastplate as red as blood covered his torso, and wings protruded from his back.

The Dual Demon was here!

'Time to finish you off!'

Kang Oh crossed Ubist and Blood, and swung both of them at the defenseless Taker.

However, his attack ended in failure. After all, Moby Dick had rushed in and blocked his attack with his shield!

Clang! Clang!

His two demon swords struck Moby Dick's shield.

Then, shards of light spilled from Kang Oh's body.

'Damage Reflect!'

It was similar to Sword Parry. Damage Reflect was a shield skill that could only be activated at the precise time!

As expected of Moby Dick! He had successfully used Damage Reflect against Kang Oh.

Kang Oh really didn't have much HP left. He didn't have access to the Cassio Ring's Resurrection ability either.

'Can't be helped.'

Kang Oh backed off without finishing Taker off, and drank an HP potion from his belt.

"Don't let up! Keep attacking him!"

"Throw everything you have at him!"

"Fix the perimeter!"

The two squads attempted to patch the hole that Kang Oh had made in their perimeter.

'Sorry, can't let you do that.'

"Tasha!" Kang Oh yelled. It was clear what he wanted.

"Got it!"

Kang Oh unfurled his red wings, and flew through the hole.

Normally, if the perimeter was at full strength, then they'd have thrown nets, hooks, chains, magic, etc. at him, keeping him from escaping.

However, they couldn't stop him, as they hadn't fixed the perimeter just yet.

"No!"

"He's getting away!"

"Stop him!"

The two squads chased after him. However, they had to stop just a short while later.

A portion of the two squads were engaged in a fierce battle with the 3rd prince's mercenaries.

"Kill the mercenaries first!" Moby Dick yelled.

"Yes, sir."

Those fighting Kang Oh dashed towards the mercenaries instead.

Meanwhile, Kang Oh disappeared into the distance.

"We'll get you next time." Moby Dick gritted his teeth.

Numbers Kang Oh!

'Next time we meet, you won't get away!' he pledged.

* * *

Kang Oh landed in the middle of the desert. He could hear the sound of battle from afar.

"Thanks, Tasha."

"Be more careful."

"Yeah."

Kang Oh deactivated Devil Trigger, stabbed both demon swords into the sand, and caught his breath.

"Hoo."

After he received that ridiculous quest from Valan, Kang Oh wondered how he could possibly reach the level of Master in just 100 days.

His only option was to keep fighting.

Small fry wouldn't do; he'd have to fight against the strongest opponents!

The Arabas Kingdom's civil war satisfied both of these requirements.

Battle was ever-present in the Arabas Kingdom, and it gave him the opportunity to fight against both the Empire Guild and the desert's strongest warriors, so it was the best place to train for Valan's quest.

'Moby Dick and Taker. They weren't bad. But they're not good enough!'

Kang Oh wanted to fight someone even stronger than them.

'Yeah. If I get the chance, I'll try fighting Dukeram.'

Emperor Dukeram!

Numbers rank 1!

He was the leader of the Empire Guild, and was commonly acknowledged as the strongest player around! Kang Oh wanted to have a match with him.

"Hoo, hoo." Kang Oh breathed properly again. Was it because of the Earth's Blessing? His HP, MP, and Stamina were restored rather quickly.

Once his HP went over 50%, he blew his whistle and called his black horse.

"Let's go!" Kang Oh rode his horse, drew the reins, and kicked the horse's sides.

Neigh!

He was obviously headed for a battlefield where the 2nd and 3rd prince's armies were doing battle.

The battle wasn't over yet.

* * *

"Umbarahabahaya!" A bizarre, dreary chant rang out.

"Sob, sob!"

"Please let me live!"

"You'll receive divine punishment for this!"

Horrific screams and curses were mixed in with the chants.

At the top of a giant altar...

A woman, a middle-aged man, and an elderly man were bound atop the altar. Their cries were mixed in with the chant.

Tramp.

An emaciated man wearing black robes came over. The bags under his eyes were so deep that it looked like he was wearing makeup.

This was the Evil God's First Disciple and the Evil God's High Priest, Divine Punishment Amak!

That was the man's true identity.

"Umbaraha! Umbahaya!" Amak began reciting the chant once more. Anyone hearing the ominous chant would feel goosebumps run across their body.

He was holding Jaila's Knife in his right hand, and Ilumati's Snake in his left hand.

Jaila's Knife was a wavy, ceremonial knife, and Ilunati's Snake was a scale made of a giant, T-shaped, coiled up snake.

"Let me live!"

"The gods won't forgive you for this!"

The middle-aged man and elderly man yelled.

However, Amak slowly raised Jaila's Knife as if he couldn't hear them.

"Umbahara!" Amak finished his chant and then stabbed the three.

Stab! Stab! Stab!

All three of them became silent.

Pale souls came out of their bodies, and were sucked into Ilunati's Snake.

"I need more sacrifices," Amak said.

Countless Evil God Worshippers bowed their heads behind him.

Then...

The Evil God's Third Disciple, Slaughter Lubatchi appeared from the far side of the passageway.

"High Priest, I figured out where the last sacred treasure is," he said respectfully. His entire body was covered in tattoos of people screaming out in pain.

"Where?"

"The Great Temple of Rakan."

"Finally, it's time to reclaim all of Lord Jaila's sacred treasures!" Amak's body shook as if deeply moved.

"Ooh, Lord Jaila!"

"Lord Jaila!"

The Evil God Worshippers bent over and spoke as one.