Kang Oh was eagerly killing bugs when he heardâŠ
A huge roar echoing through the air.
Kang Oh turned his head towards the source of the noise. There, he saw Jacques, sporting the Mayanesâ trademark angel wings. He looked much younger than Krishan or Diabol. If he were human, then heâd be a middle schooler.
Jacques forcefully flapped his wings and approached Kang Ohâs party. Once he was close enough, he beamed.
âWho do we have here? Itâs Gainus!â He looked at Gainus happily. It was as if heâd just seen an old friend.
The insects backed off and gathered around Jacques. Then, they flattened their bodies as if they were bowing in respect. As expected of the Bug Monarch.
âJacques!â Gainus glared at him. How many of his brothers and sisters had Jacques killed!? Though it had been several years since the war, the sight of a Mayanes was enough to make him tremble with rage.
âOoh. The one and only god, Maya. Thank you so much for sending this damn lizard into my den!â Jacques stared at the sky and stretched out his arms.
âYou even sent me such delicious looking prey.â Jacques looked at Kang Ohâs party insidiously. He may look young, but his gaze was certainly not.
âHehe, donât worry. I wonât kill you. Iâll imprison you and drain you of your life force for the rest of your lives. Ah, besides you. Iâll completely destroy you.â Jacques grinned, and looked at Gainus murderously.
âInsane,â Kang Oh muttered.
He definitely acted the part. Sephiro and Eder simultaneously nodded their heads. You could tell that he was mentally ill at a single glance.
âNevertheless, his strength is the real deal. Donât let your guard down,â Gainus said.
Kang Ohâs party assumed battle positions once more.
âKang Oh, do your job,â Gainus said, singling him out. It was clear what this âdutyâ was referring to.
âOvercome Jacquesâ immortality with Demon Sword Ubist!â
âRemember, youâll have me to deal with if you fail or die halfway through. You can count on it,â Gainus said brutally. Of course, that wouldnât make Kang Oh back down.
He was as immodest as always.
âIâll be watching.â
Kang Oh, still assuming his demon from, tightly gripped Ubist.
âYou done talking? You couldâve kept going.â Jacques grinned.
Itâd been a while since he wanted to sock someoneâs smiling face. Thatâs just how unpleasant Jacquesâ smile was.
âShut up and die.â Gainus slammed his staff onto the ground.
Lightning fell from the sky, aimed right at Jacquesâ head. However, Jacques was completely unharmed. A scorched insect fell to the floor instead.
âHehehe, Iâll kill you after Iâm done playing with you! Go, my faithful servants!â Jacques yelled.
Their master had given the order. The once still bug army viciously charged at Kang Ohâs party. Plus, new insects popped out of Jacquesâ home.
A shadow was cast over their heads!
They were giant moths. Whenever they flapped their wings, toxic powder would spread everywhere. Moreover, they shot powerful beams from their eyes.
A new, bizarrely shaped insect made an appearance too. Its tail was as long as a dragon flyâs, but it had a mosquitoâs legs and a spiderâs head. This hideous insect also had two pairs of wings, which were covered in transparent scales.
Its total wingspan was 3 meters long.
It was called a Sjak. Jacques had created it by fusing several different insects together using the God of Creationâs power.
They began spitting sticky liquid from their mouths. A shower of yellowish phlegm descended upon them.
There were several other winged insects that hadnât participated in the battle. Thus, the sky was blanketed by insects once more.
However, that wasnât everything.
Mantis Demons, Armored Scorpions, Cannon Ants, parasites, and poisonous spiders popped out of the ground.
There was even an insect the size of an elephant. Its head was like that of a beetleâs, yet it had four thick, pillar-like legs. The ends of its legs were hooked too. It seemed like it specialized in brute strength.
It seemed extremely heavy too, as the ground would shake with every one of its steps.
Gulp. Sephiro swallowed. Heâd hunted several monsters before, but heâd never fought against such a huge army of powerful insects. Thus, he couldnât help but be anxious.
Eder, Cyndia, and Muhawk sported similar expressions. There was no sane human who could look at this and laugh⊠Oh wait, there was.
Kang Oh grinned, his eyes gleaming.
âMm, come here, my precious experience points. The more the merrier. Weâre leveling up a ton today!â
A black tsunami, or the insect army, came charging at them.
Ice Storm! Burning Land! Thousand Chain Lightning! Lava Eruption! Earthquake!
These spells all brought disaster, yet Gainus cast them repeatedly!
âLetâs play!â Mayanes Jacques unfurled his wings and flew right at him. Then, his right arm transformed into a sharp drill. The tip was coated in a navy blue liquid.
Navy Blue Poison: Pain Worse than Death!
Jacques possessed seven different poisons, which corresponded to the colors of the rainbow. The Navy Blue Poison inflicted incredible pain onto its target. The pain was such that people would voluntarily beg for death.
âNo thanks.â Gainus slammed his staff onto the ground.
A wall of water suddenly rose from the ground.
âHehe.â Jacques flapped his wings even harder and pierced through the Water Wall.
Thatâs what Gainus had been waiting for. Blue lightning flew at the soaked Jacques.
âAinât gonna to work!â Jacques extended his left hand. Then, a thick-shelled insect, which looked like a shield, popped out, and took the lightning in his stead.
âMy turn!â Jacques threw the scorched insect away, charged at Gainus, and swung his right drill arm.
Gainusâs body glowed. His bodyâs natural speed had been multiplied by a factor of two or three, allowing him to dodge the attack.
He counterattacked immediately.
Befitting a dragon, the greatest of all lifeforms, Gainus was capable of casting powerful spells without an incantation.
A freezing cold wind, one thatâd make your teeth chatter, flew towards Jacques.
âKiki!â Jacques flew upwards, dodging the Cold Wave, and then raised his left hand into the air. A navy blue spear appeared in his hand.
âKyaha!â he screamed, and then threw the spear! The poison spear came right for Gainusâs head.
A blue barrier surrounded Gainus.
Upon impact, the blue spear transformed into toxic powder and lingered in the nearby air. Gainus hadnât expected this. With the poison still out there, Gainus was forced to maintain his barrier. After all, if he dispelled his barrier, then heâd be poisoned.
Dragons were almost immune to poison, but Mayanes Jacquesâ poison was an exception. Several dragons had been poisoned by him in the past.
âI said, letâs play!â Jacques suddenly appeared in front of the barrier, and attacked it with his drill arm.
The barrier began to crack.
If Gainus wanted to attack, then he would have to dispel his barrier. But if he dispelled the barrier, then heâd be poisoned.
âThen I just have to go somewhere else.â
âWhere do you think youâre going!?â
Jacques pierced through both the barrier and Gainus. No, it looked like heâd pierced him. However, his drill arm had hit an afterimage, a result of Gainusâs Teleportation spell.
A lump of ice came flying at Jacques from behind. He quickly turned around and swung his drill arm upwards.
He could see Gainusâs wrinkled face from beyond the perfectly split ice.
Gainus and Jacquesâ battle continued.
A Mantis Demon swung its sharp blade at Kang Oh. However, Kang Oh took a step back and avoided its attack. Then, he stepped forward and cleaved through its side.
[You have defeated a Mantis Demon.]
Kang Oh swung his sword again and again. He didnât stop, even for a moment.
He aimed for the winged insectsâ weakness, their wings, sliced at their relatively weak exoskeletons, or attacked the segments in-between.
Swish, slash, swish, slash!
Red shards of light kept bursting out!
Whenever Tempest Tiger, Lightning Breath, Abyss Claw, etc. were off cooldown, heâd use them, and kill a ton of insects in the process.
On the other hand, the insects spewed poison, or attacked with their poisonous stingers or tentacles. However, their attempts to kill him always failed.
Kang Ohâs evasion was unparalleled, and he also had his Hyper Intuition, which would tell him where they were attacking.
He leapt into the air and swung his sword in midair. Then, the monster moths and Sjacks plummeted to the floor. It looked like he was carelessly swinging his sword, but he had actually aimed for their wings.
Once he landed, he leapt over a nearby parasite. Kang Oh grabbed onto its tail region, and slammed it onto the ground.
Then, he stomped on it! The parasite was completely flattened.
[You have defeated Jacquesâ Parasite.]
âNext.â Kang Oh swung diagonally, killing four insects. After that, he rushed forward. His striking, jet-black tail swished behind him.
While running, he threw Fire Bombs in front of him!
The flames engulfed the insects, burning them to a crisp. Then, a shadow cast over his face.
A beetle with an armored head and four hooked legs attacked him! It swung its four legs simultaneously. If he moved incorrectly and got caught in one of those hooks, then his body would be ripped apart.
However, its attacks were too slow. So much so that he sighed.
He easily dodged the attack, and left a lengthy scar in the middle of its body. However, the shards were black. His attack had been enhanced by Fang-Bearing Blade, allowing him to completely nullify its defenses.
Kang Oh kept up the momentum. He used its tough exoskeleton as a foothold, leapt into the air, and swung his sword downwards.
It was as if a golden hammer had slammed into the giant insectâs head.
It reeled from the immense force.
Kang Oh landed on the floor and leapt into the air once more. Then, he swung downwards at the insectâs head; it still hadnât regained its composure.
Thatâs exactly what he wanted to hear. What a refreshing feeling! Shards of red light burst out en masse.
The beetle fell over backwards like a tree thatâd just been felled by a lumberjack.
White sand flew into the air.
Kang Oh quickly climbed onto its body and stabbed it.
A beast-shaped wave coated his jet-black blade.
His demon sword pierced through its body, and the black wave completely crushed its insides.
[You have defeated a Giant Insect.]
[You have defeated it using Darkness Strike.]
[Stats have been stolen.]
The bugs were clearly no match for Kang Oh. They were nothing more than experience points for him.
Kang Oh instinctively sought an even stronger opponent. He aimed for none other than Mayanes Jacques, who was currently fighting Gainus!
Kang Oh sank into the deep darkness beneath his feet.