Kang Oh fought hard against Blood.

'It's stronger than last time.'

Whenever he undertook the Trial of the Demon Sword, he fought against Blood. However, Blood was much stronger than it ever had been.

He had an inkling as to why.

'It must be because she absorbed Vladi.'

After absorbing Talastrum's Demon, Blood had gotten incomparably more powerful.

Of course, Tasha had only used a limited amount of her power thus far, so it wasn't seen very often.

Tempest Tiger!

Kang Oh unleashed a mighty attack, then quickly backed off and pulled out a mass-produced greatsword from his inventory.

This was a new product he'd bought off of Man Bok, who was the original supplier of the mass-produced BB-rank swords.

It was about 1.5 times more expensive than the BB-rank swords, but it was A-rank. Thus, the mass-produced greatswords would increase the duration of Gluttony by 5 minutes.

Gluttony!

Ubist's darkness devoured the mass-produced greatsword.

All of his abilities were increased threefold!

Jet-black energy rose from his body.

Had it sensed the change in Kang Oh's power?

The demon unleashed red energy from its body.

Blood Emperor!

Its wavy body was covered by blood armor.

Whoosh!

Then, a giant mass of energy came out of its hands.

Kang Oh was familiar with this technique.

Emperor's Strike.

It was as if red mist was creeping towards him. Perhaps it was more accurate to describe it as a swarm of ants or flies that came rushing at their prey.

Kang Oh swung Ubist upwards.

Abyss Predator!

A jet-black blast flew at the Emperor's Strike. Then, the two swirled together into a vortex of energy.

However, there was no explosion.

The blood red energy drained the darkness of its power, while the abyss attempted to devour the former.

Neither side held the advantage.

However, Kang Oh was able to gain the upper hand.

Blood Emperor had a limited duration, so Blood's power wouldn't be enhanced for long.

Whereas Gluttony had only just begun.

They clashed a few times, but ultimately, Kang Oh completely overpowered the demon.

Kyaha!

It knew that it'd lost, so it gathered all the power it had left.

Blood Storm!

Red energy exploded outwards.

Kang Oh crossed his twin swords, but was pushed back by the force of the explosion.

Blood used that opportunity to retreat.

However, Kang Oh wouldn't let that happen.

"Where do you think you're going!?"

Weapon Bombardment!

His jet-black blade flew through the air and pierced Blood's chest. Then, Kang Oh bound Blood using Darkness Chain.

Subjugation complete.

Kang Oh approached Blood.

It no longer had the power to resist him.

"Return to your sword form."

At last, Tasha returned to her original form.

"Haa." Kang Oh sighed as he observed the beautiful, yet ominous snow-white sword.

Tasha was like a ticking time bomb, one that could blow up and revert to her demonic instincts at any time.

He had no way of knowing when/where he would lose control over her. Plus, what if Kang Oh wasn't there when that happened?

'I have to be a little bit more careful with her.'

He vowed to never let Tasha or Sara get out of his sight.

* * *

The Black Bandana Brigade was dissolved. It would probably be formed again, but it was definitely gone for the time being.

"I'll go and rescue the others. Please wait here. I've defeated all the bandits, so you don't have to worry."

"Thank you."

Kang Oh took a look around.

He didn't see his guide anywhere. He must've been killed by Tasha or ran away during the battle.

"Do any of you know the layout of this place?" Kang Oh asked, and the people all directed their attention to one person.

The person in question looked reluctant.

"He should know. He's originally a part of the Black Bandana Brigade," someone said.

"Then why was he imprisoned?" Kang Oh asked.

"That's... I fell out of favor with my boss."

"How so?"

Kang Oh wanted a detailed explanation.

"I took a portion of the money... that we stole from the people. I was wrong! Please don't kill me!" The bandit knelt onto the floor.

"Hmm." Kang Oh coldly looked him over and said, "Lead the way. If you do, I'll let you go. Take me to the closest prison first."

"U-Understood."

Sometime later...

Kang Oh rescued some more people. There were about 150 of them. 100 of them were part of the Forney Tribe.

"Let's head to the next prison."

"Yes."

There were five prisons in the Black Bandana Brigade's main base. Kang Oh rescued every single person that was imprisoned here.

Now it was time to reap the fruits of his labor.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"Take me to the place where you keep your treasure."

"T-That's..."

"Take me there. You've stolen money before, so you must know where it's stored!" Kang Oh glared at him.

"Yes."

The Black Bandana Brigade's treasure house could be accessed via a secret passageway.

There were piles of gold and treasure there. He also saw some rare materials here and there, and there was also some pretty good equipment here too.

"How much is this all worth? You gathered a ton of stuff from all your misdeeds."

The Empire Guild, which had absorbed the three eastern kingdoms, hadn't led expeditions against the Black Bandana Brigade.

Thus, the Black Bandana Brigade had been able to gather this much treasure.

Kang Oh thought about taking it all for himself. However, they all had owners.

Where else would the bandits have gotten this from? They obviously took it from the prisoners.

If he took it all for himself, then how was he different from the bandits?

"Everyone, please help me move all of this outside. We'll split it fairly once we've moved it all."

"Understood."

The freed prisoners beamed at his promise of 'splitting it fairly'.

Although they were glad that they were freed, their future wouldn't be stable if their stolen goods weren't returned to them.

The prisoners carried as much treasure/gold as they were able.

"You stay put. If you don't want to die, that is," Kang Oh said coldly, seeing the bandit inch his way towards the treasure.

The bandit immediately stiffened on the spot.

A short while later...

The treasure house was completely empty. All that was left was dust and trash.

Kang Oh and the prisoners, who'd gathered as much treasure as they could, left the Black Bandana Brigade's base.

Then, he split the treasure as evenly as he could.

There was no way to split it in a way where everyone was happy, but the Forney Tribe was satisfied. They had been freed, and had gotten a portion of their treasure back.

"I'll protect you until you get to a nearby city. After all, fearsome monsters appear on the Phamas Mountains."

"Thank you," the freed prisoners yelled simultaneously.

Kang Oh headed for the mining city, Grangpel, with more than 800 people in tow.

"Which one of you is the chieftain?" Kang Oh asked.

"I am," a short old man with beautiful, gazelle-like horns replied.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Hoo, that's..." the old man struggled to reply, and then lamely shook his head.

"I'll help you settle in a new land."

"Really?"

"That's what your creator wants."

'If I don't, then something bad will happen.'

"Aah, thank you so much. Thank you."

"Hmm. Do you know where you want to live? Do you want to live in the plains, the mountains, a forest, or snowy fields?"

"Are grasslands ok?" a young Forney asked.

"Of course."

"Chieftain. Let's live in the grasslands. We'll construct fences there and raise animals."

The Forney Tribe was skilled in raising livestock. It was their natural talent, like how dwarves were skilled in creating objects.

"Let's hear what the rest of our tribe have to say first."

The chieftain moved around busily, listening to the opinions of his tribe.

Meanwhile, Kang Oh prepared for any monster ambushes that might come their way.

A short while later...

"We'd like to go to the grasslands."

The Forney Tribe had made their choice.

"The west is filled with vast grasslands. You can settle there."

Of course, a portion of the central and eastern regions contained grassland areas.

However, the east had long since been conquered by the Arabas Kingdom.

The central region was dominated by humans, so it wouldn't be easy for them to settle there either.

Whereas the western region was filled with a variety of non-humans, and also contained the largest grassland area in all of Arth.

Although the western grasslands were filled with constant strife, the Forney Tribe was unlikely to get involved, so it wouldn't be a problem.

'It's been quiet ever since the trolls were defeated.'

The western region was the perfect place for them to settle in.

"We'll follow you, Savior."

They arrived in the mining city, Grangpel, without any issue.

Several people gathered around Kang Oh like a group of clouds.

"How can I possibly repay you!?"

"Please tell me your name!"

"I don't have anything to give you, but please come and visit our house sometime. Our house is..."

"You're one of us, one of the Blue Night Dwarves!"

"Please be careful. And look out for bandits too." Kang Oh smiled and said his goodbyes.

[Fame has increased.]

[Your name has been spread far and wide across the Phamas Mountains.]

[The dwarves and other species in the Phamas Mountains wish to make contact with you.]

"Shall we get going?"

Kang Oh led the Forney Tribe to the western region. There were about 500 of them.

The Phamas Mountains were in the eastern region, and their destination was the western region. It was way too far away.

But it didn't matter. They could just use intercity transfer gates.

The intercity transfer gates, which were set up and managed by the Mage's Tower, enabled several people to travel across large distances.

Of course, he had to pay the fee to use it, but the Forney Tribe had been given a portion of their treasure back, so they could pay the toll.

"All you need to do is enter the gate and yell Kuwang. Do you understand?"

Unfortunately, there weren't any intercity transfer gates in the west. Thus, they had no choice but to teleport to the military city, Kuwang, which lay at the border between the central region and the western region.

"Yes!"

Thus, the Forney Tribe was transferred to the entrance of the western region.

* * *

The Kasten Mercenary Association aided Kang Oh in his efforts to resettle the Forney Tribe.

He was popular enough to be called the Hero of Kasten, and was also a gold rank mercenary, which was the highest mercenary rank, so it wasn't hard to get their assistance on the matter.

The Kasten Mercenary Association's power and influence in the west was tremendous.

Things went a lot smoother with their help.

They found a good settlement site, and provided the Forney Tribe with goods and manpower in order to construct a village.

Plus, the Mercenary Association introduced the Forney to the nearby tribes.

Because of that, the Forney Tribe was able to speak with their neighbors and establish friendly ties.

Normally, they wouldn't have welcomed the Forney Tribe, but the Mercenary Association put in a good word for them, so there weren't any problems.

However, all of this help came at a price.

"Take care of the Kushara conflict for us," Balduk said. He was a gold-horned bull, and the president of the Mercenary Association.

"Understood."

Kang Oh couldn't afford to refuse.

Balduk had signed a contract with him regarding the Beast's Tower, so Kang Oh had agreed to periodically do a job for him. Plus, he had helped him with the Forney Tribe.

"But who are the Kushara?"

Normally, when X name was placed in front of a conflict, then that X would either be the name of the place where the battle took place, or would refer to a certain tribe.

To his knowledge, however, Kang Oh didn't know who or what the Kushara were.

"They're a new species that appeared via the Great Earthquake."

The west referred to the Great Change as the Great Earthquake.

'Haa, I have to take care of another new species.'

"I see. Then please tell me what I need to do."

"Understood."

Kang Oh listened to Balduk's explanation, and then left the Mercenary Association.

After that, Kang Oh visited the Forney Tribe's village and checked up on them.

[Guardian of the Continent Quest: Aid the Forney has been completed.]

[There is no reward.]

[The Forney regard you as their savior sent by the God of Creation himself. From now on, you can receive gifts of high quality meat and fur from them.]

He had finally finished the Guardian of the Continent Quest.

'I have to hurry and deal with the Kushara conflict, and then return to the dungeons.'

The community sites had a ton of information on the new dungeons. Some of them had extremely high difficulty.

His body itched with excitement at the prospect of exploring those dungeons.

However...!

The world wouldn't let Kang Oh do as he pleased.

"You need to do something for me."

All of a sudden, he heard a whisper in his ear.

"Oh, c'mon!"

He was given another Guardian of the Continent Quest. This was seriously driving him crazy.