Dukeram's clear brown eyes gleamed. He was smiling from underneath his helmet.

"Kang Oh!" He immediately recognized the man that stood before him, and greeted him amicably as if he were meeting a good friend.

"Dukeram!" Kang Oh yelled.

On the contrary, Kang Oh's cry was anything but friendly. In fact, the voice behind his beast mask was incredibly hostile.

'Damn you!'

When you saw someone better than you, you'd naturally feel jealous.

Dukeram was a Master Swordsman!

Moreover, he was the guildmaster of the Empire Guild. He definitely made more money than Kang Oh, and what's worse, he was handsome and he was higher ranked than him.

There were so many other reasons he hated Dukeram.

"Aah, Predator Kang Oh has shown up!"

"Breaking news! Kang Oh has challenged Dukeram to a fight!"

"A fight between the Numbers! Emperor Dukeram versus Predator Kang Oh!"

The special correspondents, who were in-between the members of the Empire Guild and had previously televised Dukeram's fight with Stan, raised their voices.

Their live broadcast was being shown to the entire country, no, the entire world.

Kang Oh versus Dukeram!

On one side, you had the leader of the Empire Guild and indisputably the most powerful player in Arth.

On the other, you had someone who came into the scene out of nowhere, beating countless experts to cement his spot as one of the upper rank Numbers!

If Dukeram was the Hero, then Kang Oh was the Demon King.

"Did you know?" Dukeram began.

"Know what?"

"I was your fan, back when you played Warlord."

The most popular game prior to Arth was Warlord. Back then, Kang Oh was called the Human Dragon and had reigned supreme as the number 1 player.

"You played Warlord? I don't remember an ID called Dukeram..."

"My ID was Isaac back then."

"Monster Isaac!" Kang Oh was shocked.

Kang Oh had been Warlord's most powerful player, but Isaac had been renowned for his talent and his speed of growth; he had managed to reach the max level in the shortest known time.

Monster Isaac!

After he'd disappeared due to his automobile accident, Isaac inherited Kang Oh's title as strongest.

'He also beat Kaigon, someone even I couldn't beat.'

Kaigon was a five-headed dragon, and was Warlord's most powerful boss.

Of course, there was a chance that Kang Oh would eventually be able to beat it too, had the automobile accident not happened.

But it was nothing more than a hunch. Isaac, the legendary player that killed Kaigon, went by Dukeram now.

'The rumors were true.'

'As expected, Dukeram was Isaac.'

The correspondents' eyes gleamed.

There's no way someone like Dukeram came out of nowhere. Thus, some people suspected that Dukeram was actually Isaac.

Of course, Dukeram neither confirmed nor denied the rumors, so it didn't become a huge issue.

But now...!

Dukeram's past was revealed.

"Aah, Dukeram's past has been revealed. He used to be Isaac, Warlord's final rank 1 player!"

"Isaac and Dukeram are one in the same. He used to be rank 1 in Warlord, and now he's rank 1 in Arth! He is a true champion!"

Kang Oh didn't care about their chatter. After all, his gaze was entirely focused on Dukeram.

"So what? Do you want an autograph or something?" Kang Oh said provocatively.

"I was a fan of your past self."

"Past? Then what about now?" Kang Oh asked.

"Someone I want to fight against!" Dukeram's eyes gleamed, radiating his incredible power. At the same time, his expression seemed to say...

'Let's fight!'

'Fine by me!'

Kang Oh grinned. That was exactly what he wanted.

There was a thick tension between the two.

The two engaged in an invisible battle, one in which their breathing, their small movements, the shuffle of their feet, their eyesight, the shaking of their feet, etc. couldn't be seen.

It was an imaginary battle, or a capturing race.

Kang Oh was the first one to break the stalemate.

Whoosh!

Kang Oh rushed forward, and swung Demon Sword Ubist downwards with blistering speed.

Dukeram responded immediately.

His weapon, Max Cain, drew a beautiful arc in the air.

Whir!

Before Ubist was sealed inside, the demon sword was originally Max Gemina, one of the four greatest blades produced by the master artisan, Max.

In other words, it was like a brother sword to Max Cain.

The two 'brotherly' swords forcefully clashed.

Clang!

The force of impact was so great that both blades were pushed back in opposite directions.

Dukeram quickly got back into position, and swung his sword diagonally.

Steel Slash!

Max Cain, coated in a thin layer of dim light, flew through the air with great speed and power.

Kang Oh immediately swung Demon Sword Ubist horizontally.

Slash!

Clang!

Sparks flew once more, and a metallic 'clang' rang out.

Kang Oh and Dukeram continually crossed blades.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Kang Oh was akin to a forest fire. He repeatedly attacked Dukeram with both his blood sword and jet-black blade.

Whereas Dukeram was like a lake. With his calm and simple movements, he was able to repel Kang Oh's fierce assault without much issue.

Thus, it appeared like Kang Oh was completely pushing him around. However, looks could be deceiving.

If Kang Oh hadn't been wearing his beast mask, then people would see how creased his forehead was.

Kang Oh was like fire, while Dukeram was like water. The flame was slowly diminishing.

'He has no weak points.'

Normally, when Kang Oh attacked his opponent like this, they would expose some weak points. After all, Kang Oh's attack power was ridiculous.

However, Dukeram blocked every one of Kang Oh's attacks while not revealing a single weak point.

Which meant...!

'I don't want to admit it, but he's a level above me.' Kang Oh gritted his teeth.

At that moment...

Flash!

Dukeram's sword flew over, as if he'd used Transcendent Blade.

It was as though someone else had swung his sword. After all, his attack was completely different from before.

Swish!

Max Cain sliced through Kang Oh's neck, causing shards of light to burst out.

Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal hit. Before it hit him, Kang Oh leaned back, causing the blade to merely graze his neck.

'Hoh!' Dukeram's eyes gleamed.

Whenever Max Cain was swung, it charged up. When it was fully charged, it could be swung at its maximum speed.

This was called Supersonic Strike.

Kang Oh was the only person who'd ever dodged it on his first try. His supposed rival, the Black Lion, Raon, had managed to dodge it after their 2nd encounter.

It was due to Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition.

When his Hyper Intuition activated, his body would instinctively move before his mind could even catch up.

That happened this time too. Thus, he just barely managed to dodge Dukeram's Supersonic Strike.

"Chaaht!" Kang Oh counterattacked.

Abyss Claw!

Fresh Blood Wave!

The two waves tossed and turned, and flew straight at Dukeram.

Dukeram quickly swung his sword.

Steel Slash!

Max Cain, surrounded by dim light, cleaved through both the jet-black and red waves with a single swing!

Dukeram dashed through the split waves, and thrust his sword.

Vital Thrust!

Kang Oh quickly turned his body, and tilted Blood.

Sword Parry!

Clang!

Max Cain slid across Blood, and Dukeram lost his balance.

'An opening!'

This was the first time he'd seen a weak point. He immediately aimed for the opening with Ubist. 'This will definitely work!' Kang Oh was certain of that.

However...!

He wasn't sure when he withdrew his sword, but Dukeram blocked Ubist with Max Cain. No, he parried it.

Screech!

Bam!

Ubist slid off Max Cain's sky blue blade and was stuck in the ground.

He had used Sword Parry himself, as if saying, 'Did you think you were the only one who could use it!?'.

Whoosh!

Max Cain glowed with golden light.

Sword that Brings Victory!

A golden pillar of light surged from his sword.

It felt like a yellow dragon was trying to gobble him whole.

Then, the world slowed.

Transcendent Blade!

Kang Oh quickly pulled Ubist out of the ground, and swung upwards.

At the same time...

Everlasting Darkness!

Ubist unleashed a drill of darkness.

Fortunately, he hadn't been too late. Kang Oh had reacted before it hit him.

Bam!

The two auras, golden and black, intertwined, as if two snakes were coiling around each other.

There was no explosion.

The two auras transformed into golden powder, rose into the air, and then fell to the ground.

Kang Oh and Dukeram clashed once more amidst that beautiful sight.

* * *

Their fight obviously drew a ton of attention.

However, there were plenty of people that didn't have time to watch their fight.

The 2nd prince's 1st and 3rd Corps, the nobles and affluent families, and the Insect Mages!

The 3rd prince's 2nd and 4th Corps, the intermediate families, and the Sand Mages!

Stan's death at the hands of Dukeram had caused the 4th Corps to quickly crumble under the might of the Empire Guild's elites.

The remaining 2nd Corps, the nobles, and the Sand Mages fought fiercely against the 2nd prince's forces.

"You traitors!"

"Hmph. You're the traitors. You immoral bastards!"

Countless camel footprints were imprinted on the sand. The warriors' weapons shined with the intense sunlight, and the battlefield was filled with their screams and cries.

"Uhaaahk!"

"Let's go!"

The soldiers screamed and rushed at each other with their swords or spears.

Sand and Insect.

Although they were the desert's two schools of magic, the two organizations had extremely bad relations.

The fact that Asand, the leader of the Sand Mages, immediately joined the 3rd prince when Inhart, the leader of the Insect Mages, joined the 2nd prince proved this.

As a result, the Insect Mages and the Sand Mages fought to their heart's content.

This day was no different.

The Insect Mages' leader, Inhart, raised his staff. Countless Insect Mages were by his side.

He was getting a continual supply of mana from his subordinates via Mana Link.

"Come out, the true terror of the desert!"

A huge, huge worm popped out of the sand.

Summon Monster Worm!

It opened its wrinkled mouth, revealing the serrated teeth within.

Chomp!

"S-Save me!"

"Guhaaahk!"

The monster worm devoured dozens of regular soldiers.

"Hmph, it's just a mere bug!" The Sand Mage's leader, Asand, drew a circle with his staff. He too was using Mana Link.

Sand Giant!

He summoned a sand monster the size of a small hill.

Whoosh!

Like a tsunami made of sand, the Sand Giant pushed forward, sweeping through the 2nd prince's troops and flying at the monster worm.

Whoosh!

A fist popped out of the sand, and struck the monster worm head-on.

Bam! Bam!

Kyaa!

The monster worm writhed in pain, and then spat out yellow acid. It had spewed so much that it flew everywhere like a fountain.

Hiss!

Upon contact, the Sand Giant's body was scorched black, and let out an unpleasant smell.

From there, the Sand Giant and the monster worm continuously fought, both trying to kill the other.

Meanwhile, Inhart and Asand cast other spells.

Large-Scale Summon Insect!

Inhart summoned a swarm of blood-sucking flies, monster dragonflies, Assassin Mantises, Bombardment Bugs, Steel Armor Bugs, etc. At first glance, they were clearly horrific beings.

Gold Pyramid!

All of a sudden, a shimmering pyramid rose from the sand.

"Kill them all!" Inhart yelled. Then, the insects flew straight for the pyramid.

"Annihilate the insects!" Asand yelled.

Whir!

The surface of the pyramid glowed with light, burning the insects to a crisp.

"Kill them all!"

"If you don't want to die, then kill them first!"

The 2nd and 3rd princes' decisive battle was getting more and more intense.