The Black Lion, Raon, was meeting with his guildâs chief executives.
âHow is the Hegang Alliance doing?â Raon asked.
âWe havenât identified any specific movements on their front. But itâs clear that theyâre planning something,â Brand said.
âOf course they are. Itâs clear that theyâll lose at this rate.â
They may look even, but the Raon Alliance actually held a 6:4 advantage over the Hegang Alliance. However, they couldnât afford to be reckless. A 6:4 lead could always be upturned.
âDo you have any idea what theyâll do?â Snow Flower asked.
Brand shook his head. âThey have so many options. I canât say for sure what theyâll do.â
âIt doesnât matter. Weâll just crush whatever comes our way.â Raon clenched his fist and said firmly. His voice was overflowing with charisma. Of course, his fashionable mane and his lionâs face only added to that.
âSaladin is ready to mobilize at a momentâs notice. Iâm sure his squad will shock them.â Brand grinned. âI canât wait for that moment!â
Snow Flower nodded her head.
The Breaker Guild was secretly training Saladinâs squad. It only had 100 members, but once it appeared, the Breaker Guildâs three squads would become four.
âWe have her too,â Brand said.
âGive her whatever she needs. And try to recruit her to our guild if you can,â Raon said.
âIt wonât be long before the warâs over. Keep up your guard till the very end.â
Raon could feel it. That the end of the war was fast approaching.
Kang Oh stopped by the Tower to see Grano.
âItâs been a while,â Grano said happily. His middle-aged face was absolutely glowing.
âHow have you been?â Kang Oh asked.
âIâve been doing well. Hoo, hoo. Havenât you heard of Heavenâs Blessing?â Grano beamed.
âYouâve finally achieved your dream?â
As a native of the Bariton Desert, it had been Granoâs dream to create a rain-making device that would turn the desert into fertile grasslands once more.
âItâs not perfect, but Iâve made major advancements. In several years, the desert should be filled with grass once more.â
âCongratulations. As expected of you.â Kang Oh gave him a thumbs up.
âItâs nothing. What did you need today?â
âCould you please take a look at this?â Kang Oh pulled out a Sabraâs Contract from his inventory. The contract had a drawing of the Furon Underground Caveâs magic circle.
âThis is the Furon Underground Caveâs magic circle. It seems like the entrance to the hidden dungeon, but I have no idea how to activate it.â
âDid you draw it exactly? If itâs even slightly inaccurate, then I wonât be able to read it.â
âI drew it exactly as is.â
Grano slowly looked over the magic circle. It wasnât long beforeâŠ
âYou need four things to activate this magic circle.â
âYou have to place a fire object here, a water object here, a wind object here, and an earth object here. Thatâll activate the magic circle.â Grano pointed at each of the magic circleâs four circles.
âFire, water, wind, and earth, huhâŠâ
âFor the fire element, a Flame Candle should suffice. You can go downstairs and buy what you need at the Towerâs store.â
âThank you very much.â
âIâll mark the elements on the page, so place them exactly at these points. If you place them incorrectly, it could result in a huge explosion.â Grano marked the elements directly on the page with a pen.
Kang Oh parted ways with Grano, went downstairs, and then bought what he needed from the store. Specifically, he bought a Flame Candle, Holy Water, a Wind Doll, and an Earth Shard.
He, along with Sephiro, Asu, and Waryong, headed for Furon Palace.
Kang Oh killed Haggler and the Hercules Guildâs gatekeepers once more.
Furon Palace had been attacked once before, so they increased security. However, it didnât matter how much small fry they gathered, they wouldnât be able to stand against Kang Oh.
Kang Ohâs party immediately headed for the magic circle. Once there, Kang Oh placed the Flame Candle, Holy Water, Wind Doll, and Earth Shard exactly as Grano had instructed.
The magic circle began to shine.
Kang Oh expected a portal to open, one that led to the hidden dungeon. Instead, a giant, transparent gray bear popped out of it.
[You have heard the Spirit Bear, Xiwoongâs roar.]
[Your high Indomitable stat has allowed you to overcome your fear.]
[Your high Fighting Spirit stat makes you burn with the desire to fight.]
Xiwoong charged at Kang Oh.
All of this happened so quickly. The two flinched. They saw the Spirit Bear charging at Kang Oh and instinctively yelled.
However, Kang Oh wasnât just calm; he was actually sighing.
âSpirits arenât an issue.â
Kang Oh leapt into the air and swung Demon Sword Ubist downwards. It was the mortal enemy of all ghost-type monsters.
However, Xiwoong didnât die in a single hit. It did whatever it could to glue the two parts of its body back together.
Kang Oh didnât just sit there and watch.
Swish, slash, swish, slash!
Kang Oh cut the Spirit Bear into smaller pieces.
Red shards kept exploding out. At some point, Xiwoongâs body disappeared like smoke.
The magic circle shined once more.
Another ghost didnât pop out. Instead, the light engulfed Kang Ohâs party.
[Entering the hidden dungeon, Furonâs Heart.]
The Spirit Bear, Xiwoong, was a guardian created by the Hercules Guild.
It was a ghost, so not only was it immune to physical attacks, but it could also freely pass through the walls and the ceiling. Its strength and ferocity was like a real bearâs. However, Kang Oh was its direct counter!
Anyhow, once the gatekeeper was killed, the door to the hidden dungeon had opened.
The intense light dissipated, and Kang Ohâs party opened their eyes. They were greeted by the sight of a flower garden.
The area was completely filled with beautiful flowers! They were so colorful and they smelled wonderful.
âWow.â Asu looked around in awe.
The ground cracked open, and a giant flower bud popped out.
âW-Whatâs that?â Sephiro widened his eyes.
Waryong bowed its head and snarled.
The flower bud opened on its own, and a green alien-like entity popped out. It had a giant head, huge eyes, a large belly, and arms and legs. Overall, it really did look like an alien.
âAre you the soul dungeonâs guardian?â Kang Oh asked.
âCan you give me the soul stone?â
âIf you want it, then you need to give me a plant seed. It has to be one that doesnât exist here,â Uru said. âWhat if I donât have one?â Kang Oh slightly raised his sword.
âI canât fight. In exchange, Iâm immune to any and all attacks, so you should just go and get a seed.â
âImmune to any and all attacks, huh⊠Letâs test that, shall we?â Kang Ohâs eyes shined.
However, Asu suddenly grabbed his shoulder.
âUh, ok.â Kang Oh stepped back.
âUru, will this work?â Asu pulled out a white seed, which looked like cotton, from her inventory.
It was a Grand seed, a mysterious cloud-like plant that only grew in the flying city, Grand Lotus. She had gotten it to commemorate her date with Kang Oh.
âYeah.â Uru beamed. It seemed like it really liked the Grand seed.
âCan you give me the soul stone?â
âSure.â Uru pulled the soul stone out of its body and passed it to Asu. Asu then passed it the Grand seed.
âHere!â Asu passed Kang Oh the soul stone.
âHoo, hoo. I wonder whoâll come out.â Kang Oh examined the soul stone and laughed.
âI hope Shion comes out.â
He was confident that he wouldnât lose in a one-on-one duel with him.
Kang Oh tightly gripped the soul stone.
The soul stone emitted intense light.
[You have grabbed an owned soul stone.]
[A Sacred Duel will now begin to determine the dungeonâs master.]
[Summoning Furon Underground Caveâs proxy.]
The soul stoneâs light transformed into a pillar of light. A single man walked out of the light.
He was a huge man, one more than 2 meters tall. His skin was brown, and his body was extremely muscular.
His weapon was an axe. Twin axes at that. However, the two axes differed in size. His right hand held a giant axe, while his left hand held a smaller one.
Kang Oh immediately recognized him. He was a prominent figure after all.
He was the physical embodiment of Herculesâ power. In the guildâs hay day, both he and Shion were part of the Numbers.
The Hercules Guild was the only guild thatâd ever had two Numbers. Of course, that was a long, long time ago.
A ring of light appeared on the ground. Sephiro and Asu were pushed out of the ring.
âKang Oh,â Lacus said with a deep voice.
âLacus,â Kang Oh said.
Lacus smirked. âHaha, I always wanted to fight you. Thanks for giving me the opportunity.â
Although his opponent was Kang Oh, he didnât seem daunted in the slightest.
Kang Oh thought carelessly. Lacus was completely relaxed, like someone who was truly strong.
He outstretched his arms, holding a demon sword in either hand. His gesture was basically saying, âCâmon!â or âAttack me!â.
âSure, why not.â Lacus threw his left handed axe.
His axe spun in the air like a top, and rapidly flew towards the crown of Kang Ohâs head.
Kang Oh moved to the side, dodging the axe.
Once the axe struck the ground, the dirt surged into the air like a landmine had just gone off.
The axe flew back to Lacusâs hand.
Of course, Kang Oh didnât just sit there. Kang Oh followed the axe right back to its owner.
âHuahp!â He swung Ubist upwards.
A jet-black wave surged like a salmon jumping upstream.
Lacus immediately swung his larger axe.
However, Kang Oh was the one pushed back.
It was a well-known fact that Lacus put most of his stat points into Physical. Apparently, his logic was that a man was all about strength or something.
âIâm going.â Lacus threw his small axe once more.
Kang Oh threw himself to the side, simultaneously swinging Blood.
A golden tiger pounced on Lacus.
âHmph, you stupid cat!â Lacus slammed his axe into the ground.
The earth shook. A mighty shockwave rose from the ground and devoured the Tempest Tiger.
Kang Oh pierced through the shockwave, and like a deft snake, aimed for Lacus with Blood.
However, his back suddenly felt cold. Hyper Intuition was warning him of danger.
Lacus was capable of retrieving his axe. Which meant that this feeling indicated that the axe was returning.
Kang Oh halted midway, and rolled onto the floor.
The smaller axe swept through where heâd once been, and softly landed in Lacusâs hand.
âDo you have eyes on the back of your head? To think youâd be able to dodge this too. As expected.â Lacusâs lips curled upwards. âHow fun!â
âIâm just getting warmed up!â Kang Oh stood up and spun both of his blades.
âLetâs have some fun!â Lacus widened his eyes. His pose was the common âAll of you come at me at once!â.
âHmph.â Kang Oh snorted. âYouâre no match for me!â
The two clashed once more.