Kang Oh couldnât find Valan at the Holiseum. Burkan wasnât there either. But he did manage to hear that they were at the Great Temple of Rakan.
âGood timing,â Valan said to Kang Oh.
âIs this related to the Evil God Worshippers?â
âWho else would cause such a ruckus?â Valan seemed really fed up with them.
âWhat do you need me to do?â
âInsulting people? Ignoring people? Cockiness?â Kang Oh said jokingly.
âWant to die?â Valan scowled, causing Kang Oh to shut his mouth.
Burkan came over. âThe 100 Fighters are all ready and accounted for⊠Oh, Little Brother.â
âBrother. Whatâs going on?â Kang Oh wanted a detailed explanation as to what had happened.
âHoo, soâŠâ Burkan briefly explained the events that had taken place.
They had found the Evil God Worshippersâ hideout in the Daltrak Region, and had sent troops to destroy it. However, Nazaran had betrayed them and stole Nemethâs Skull. After that, the Evil God Worshippers seized control of Franco City.
âUltimately, the Evil God Worshippers reclaimed all of their sacred treasures.â Kang Oh sighed. He had a feeling that this would be a difficult endeavor.
âYeah. Thatâs why they seized control of Franco.â Burkan gritted his teeth. âYou evil bastards!â
âFranco has a total population of 1 million. Thatâs enough people to summon Jaila.â
âYeah. Thatâs why we need to stop them,â Valan said.
âWe have to get in their way as much as possible. You help out too,â he said commandingly.
âNo thankâŠâ Kang Oh instinctively said. After all, he was the type of person that talked back the harder you pressured him.
However, he was also weak to threats. Especially Valanâs threats, as he knew that none of his excuses would work on him.
âThen should I kill you instead?â
Valan, Burkan, Kang Oh, and the 100 Fighters left the Great Temple of Rakan.
Their first order of business was to attack the demon army led by Lubatchi and Garup. The two disciples would go around the nearby cities, killing, kidnapping, destroying, etc. Any villainous act you could think of, they did.
It was time for justice to be served.
âTheyâre heretics!â
The black robed Evil God Worshippers cast their evil spells, and the starving demons rampaged about.
âKill them all, 100 Fighters!â Dion raised his voice.
Kang Oh and Burkan also joined the 100 Fighters.
Meanwhile, Valan kept his only hand in his pocket. There was no need for him to get involved.
Kang Oh loved fighting on a large battlefield. It was the perfect stage to show how powerful he was.
He excitedly swung his jet-black greatsword and purple longsword. Kang Oh split the demonsâ skin, which was tougher than a whaleâs tendons, or their scales, which was tougher than the strongest steel.
Kang Oh cut down a giant mosquito-like demon, and then stabbed a large mouthed, four-armed demon in its eye.
Some of the demons exploded on contact, but he could just throw a Fire Bomb at them and thatâd be the end of that.
Kang Oh was plenty strong enough without using Gluttony or Devil Trigger.
âYou bastard!â Lubatchi rushed at him. Or he wouldâve if Garup hadnât grabbed his arm.
âMr. Lubatchi, we have to retreat. Look over there.â Garup pointed at Valan, who was observing the battle.
âT-That man isâŠ!â Lubatchi clearly remembered him. It was only natural. He was the monster that fought Sraka one-on-one and won!
âI canât beat him.â
Lubatchi instinctively yelled, âR-Retreat!â
The Evil Godâs followers retreated like sand escaping between oneâs fingers. Then, Valan moved to intercept them. He had no intention of letting Lubatchi or Garup go.
He drew his sword and swung horizontally.
A horizontal line suddenly appeared! Any demon or Evil God Worshipper in its path was split in half.
Divide the Seaâs sharp energy came for Lubatchi and Garup too.
Lubatchi ducked and just barely managed to dodge it. However, Garupâs body was split in half.
Fortunately, Garup possessed Super Regeneration. The severed parts of his body quickly began to heal.
In an instant, Valan closed the distance, releasing a bleak killing intent. He didnât really say anything. He just swung his sword.
Lubatchi and Garup were the Evil Godâs Disciples. Even Valan wouldnât be able to kill them in a single hit. At the same time, they had no chance against him. Burkan was by his side too, after all.
âUgh. Iâll definitely pay you back forâŠâ
Ultimately, the Evil Godâs third and fourth disciples, Lubatchi and Garup, lost their lives that day.
Amak had Ilunatiâs Snake.
The Evil God Worshippers possessed all three of Jailaâs sacred treasures: Nemethâs Skull, Jailaâs Bronze Knife, and Ilunatiâs Snake.
Nemethâs Skull was capable of forcefully converting people into Evil God Worshippers. The other two sacred treasures also possessed tremendous abilities.
Jailaâs Bronze Knife was capable of drawing out a living soul and storing it. These stored souls could be used at the wielderâs discretion. Plus, it could be used to plant a âseedâ within someone, and allow the user to control them. Amak had done this to Nazaran.
Ilunatiâs Snake was capable of bringing back the dead. It obviously had certain strings attached.
First, you had to possess something connected to the dead individual. For example, Amak was able to revive Sraka by possessing his greatsword.
Second, you need a certain amount of sacrifices to revive a person. It differed depending on the individual; for some, it would require thousands, but for others, it might take tens of thousands. Human life and souls were what fueled this process.
Lastly, reviving a person that had already been revived before would require so many more sacrifices. Moreover, the revived individual could only live for a year. Every time they were revived, that 1 year lifespan would go down significantly.
Despite that, Ilunatiâs Snake was an overpowered item for sure; it could bring the dead back to life for godâs sake.
The countless souls stored within Jailaâs Bronze Knife were sucked into Ilunatiâs Snake, a scale with a snake coiled around it. Then, the scale began to tip in either direction.
The scale gave an unpleasant âcreakâ, and shards of light formed in the air. Then, those shards gathered around the yellow teeth on the floor.
At some point, the scale became perfectly balanced, and Jailaâs Bronze Knife stopped feeding it with souls.
The shards of light coalesced into the shape of a human and soon became recognizable.
Slaughter Lubatchi had come back to life.
As soon he came back, Lubatchi opened his eyes and raised his upper body. Then, he began to pat his body.
âLubatchi,â Amak called.
âH-High Priest!â Lubatchi still looked as confused as ever. Most people who were revived using this process had a similar reaction.
âHeok, thank you.â Lubatchi bowed his head. He understood what was going on now.
âWho killed you?â Amak asked.
As the Evil Godâs High Priest, he knew right away when one of the Evil Godâs Disciples were killed. But he didnât know how they were killed or for what reason.
âI-It was him,â Lubatchi recalled Valan and said.
âThe one who could fight Lord Sraka.â
Amak knew who he was. In fact, there was no way he wouldnât know who he was.
He had sacrificed the lives of his fellow Evil God Worshippers to resurrect the Devilâs Sword, Sraka. He was their greatest weapon, so it was worth the price.
Throughout history, there were few that managed to reach that level of skill. However, Sraka was one of the few that had.
But he hadnât expected there to be an individual that could not only match him, but defeat him as well.
When he sensed Srakaâs death, he couldnât believe it. But it was the irrefutable truth.
If not for Jailaâs Bronze Knife, as well as the countless souls trapped within, then he wouldnât have been able to revive Sraka again.
Anyhow, he asked Sraka whoâd killed him, and was able to learn about Valan.
âValan has shown up, huhâŠâ Amakâs emaciated face creased with frustration. The Guardian of the Continent, Valan, was their biggest hurdle.
âHe killed me.â Lubatchi gritted his teeth. But he also felt fear as well. Valan was someone he couldnât contend with, after all.
âAs you know, you only have 1 year left to live.â
âBut donât worry. When the Supreme One comes to this world, heâll take care of you.â
âSo do your best so that he can step foot into this world.â
âOf course.â Lubatchi hit his chest as if saying, âYou can count on me.â.
âWill you revive Garup too?â
Amak possessed items that were linked to each of the disciples. For example, he had used Lubatchiâs teeth to revive him.
He obviously possessed the item necessary to revive Garup too. However, he didnât feel the need to revive him at the moment.
âI want you to accompany Lord Sraka.â
âAnd tell Lord Sraka to deal with Valan.â
âUnderstood.â Lubatchi stood up and left.
Amak was lost in thought. âValan, Valan⊠Is there any guaranteed way of killing him?â
He couldnât think of anything, so his face only further creased with frustration.
The Black Hammer Dwarvesâ Master Blacksmith, Hoffman, had never taken a day off. This day was no different from the rest.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
His hammer didnât stop.
But there was one thing that had changed as of late. There was someone else who made use of his personal workspace.
Dink Workshop was renowned for its luxury craft goods, and Dink was its main designer!
He would show up at the Black Hammer Dwarvesâ Hideout every two or three days, and work together with Hoffman.
Of course, the two were currently working on Kang Ohâs dragon leather armor.
The door to Hoffmanâs personal workspace opened, and in came a middle-aged, honest looking man. It was Dink.
He didnât bother Hoffman. Instead, he went over to the workbench and concentrated on his own work.
Hoffman liked that aspect of him; Dink would always put everything into his work, and not allow anything to bother him. They were alike, so they worked well together. After all, they were both true craftsmen.
Hoffman kept swinging his hammer.
Dink, whoâd finished his work for today, came over. âHoffman, would you like to have a drink together?â
The two had acknowledged each otherâs skill, and after working together, they began to speak to each other comfortably.
Plus, both of them were âmiddle-agedâ, regardless of the difference in species.
âI like the taste of Phamas Beer now too.â Dink smiled honestly.
âPhamas Beer is the best.â Hoffman showed a rare smile.
In the workspace, there were four items hanging atop a wooden mannequin. A hat, gloves, boots, and pants. All they needed for a complete set was the upper body piece, or the leather jacket.
Kang Oh, Burkan, Valan, and the 100 Fighters stared at the ruined city of Franco and were lost in thought.
The city was covered in thick mist. They all knew that that mist was responsible for forcibly transforming innocent citizens into Evil God Worshippers.
Burkan hungered for battle, twirling his gladius around.
âTheyâre not coming out.â
After they killed Lubatchi and Garup, the Evil Godâs followers stopped their excursions from Franco.
âTheyâre probably wary of us.â
âBurkan, Dion, Kang Oh,â Valan said.
âYes!â Dion immediately replied, as if he were a private in the army.
Whereas Burkan and Kang Oh just stared at him. âWhat do you need?â
âYou three and I are going into the city.â
âJust the four of us?â Kang Oh glanced back at the 100 Fighters behind them. âThen what about them?â
âThat place is nothing but a den of Evil God Worshippers now. We canât take everyone; theyâll just get in the way.â
Apparently, Valan didnât think the 100 Fighters were strong enough to join them.
âOnly those who are strong enough will come with me. And our goal isâŠâ He looked over Kang Oh, Burkan, and Dionâs faces. âTo prevent the ceremony!â
âPlus, you want us to kill the disciples with the sacred treasures and take them back, right?â Kang Oh stared at him and asked.
Valan, Burkan, Kang Oh, and Dion secretly entered Franco. It was such a large city that it wasnât that hard to enter undetected.
But like Valan had said, Franco had become a den of Evil God Worshippers, so they had no choice but to come across some of the disciples along the way.
They came across one that Kang Oh had never seen before.