Kang Oh fought hard against Blood.
âItâs stronger than last time.â
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.
âIt must be because she absorbed Vladi.â
After absorbing Talastrumâs Demon, Blood had gotten incomparably more powerful.
Of course, Tasha had only used a limited amount of her power thus far, so it wasnât seen very often.
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 heâd 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.
Ubistâs 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 Ohâs power?
The demon unleashed red energy from its body.
Its wavy body was covered by blood armor.
Then, a giant mass of energy came out of its hands.
Kang Oh was familiar with this technique.
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.
A jet-black blast flew at the Emperorâs 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 Bloodâs power wouldnât be enhanced for long.
Whereas Gluttony had only just begun.
They clashed a few times, but ultimately, Kang Oh completely overpowered the demon.
It knew that itâd lost, so it gathered all the power it had left.
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 wouldnât let that happen.
âWhere do you think youâre going!?â
His jet-black blade flew through the air and pierced Bloodâs chest. Then, Kang Oh bound Blood using Darkness Chain.
Kang Oh approached Blood.
It no longer had the power to resist him.
âReturn to your sword form.â
At last, Tasha returned to her original form.
âHaa.â 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 wasnât there when that happened?
âI have to be a little bit more careful with her.â
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.
âIâll go and rescue the others. Please wait here. Iâve defeated all the bandits, so you donât have to worry.â
Kang Oh took a look around.
He didnât see his guide anywhere. He mustâve been killed by Tasha or ran away during the battle.
âDo any of you know the layout of this place?â Kang Oh asked, and the people all directed their attention to one person.
The person in question looked reluctant.
âHe should know. Heâs originally a part of the Black Bandana Brigade,â someone said.
âThen why was he imprisoned?â Kang Oh asked.
âThatâs⊠I fell out of favor with my boss.â
Kang Oh wanted a detailed explanation.
âI took a portion of the money⊠that we stole from the people. I was wrong! Please donât kill me!â The bandit knelt onto the floor.
âHmm.â Kang Oh coldly looked him over and said, âLead the way. If you do, Iâll let you go. Take me to the closest prison first.â
Kang Oh rescued some more people. There were about 150 of them. 100 of them were part of the Forney Tribe.
âLetâs head to the next prison.â
There were five prisons in the Black Bandana Brigadeâs main base. Kang Oh rescued every single person that was imprisoned here.
Now it was time to reap the fruits of his labor.
âTake me to the place where you keep your treasure.â
âTake me there. Youâve stolen money before, so you must know where itâs stored!â Kang Oh glared at him.
The Black Bandana Brigadeâs 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.
âHow much is this all worth? You gathered a ton of stuff from all your misdeeds.â
The Empire Guild, which had absorbed the three eastern kingdoms, hadnât 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?
âEveryone, please help me move all of this outside. Weâll split it fairly once weâve moved it all.â
The freed prisoners beamed at his promise of âsplitting it fairlyâ.
Although they were glad that they were freed, their future wouldnât be stable if their stolen goods werenât returned to them.
The prisoners carried as much treasure/gold as they were able.
âYou stay put. If you donât want to die, that is,â Kang Oh said coldly, seeing the bandit inch his way towards the treasure.
The bandit immediately stiffened on the spot.
The treasure house was completely empty. All that was left was dust and trash.
Kang Oh and the prisoners, whoâd gathered as much treasure as they could, left the Black Bandana Brigadeâs 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.
âIâll protect you until you get to a nearby city. After all, fearsome monsters appear on the Phamas Mountains.â
âThank you,â the freed prisoners yelled simultaneously.
Kang Oh headed for the mining city, Grangpel, with more than 800 people in tow.
âWhich one of you is the chieftain?â Kang Oh asked.
âI am,â a short old man with beautiful, gazelle-like horns replied.
âDo you have a place to stay?â
âHoo, thatâsâŠâ the old man struggled to reply, and then lamely shook his head.
âIâll help you settle in a new land.â
âThatâs what your creator wants.â
âIf I donât, then something bad will happen.â
âAah, thank you so much. Thank you.â
âHmm. Do you know where you want to live? Do you want to live in the plains, the mountains, a forest, or snowy fields?â
âAre grasslands ok?â a young Forney asked.
âChieftain. Letâs live in the grasslands. Weâll construct fences there and raise animals.â
The Forney Tribe was skilled in raising livestock. It was their natural talent, like how dwarves were skilled in creating objects.
âLetâs hear what the rest of our tribe have to say first.â
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.
âWeâd like to go to the grasslands.â
The Forney Tribe had made their choice.
âThe west is filled with vast grasslands. You can settle there.â
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 wouldnât 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 wouldnât be a problem.
âItâs been quiet ever since the trolls were defeated.â
The western region was the perfect place for them to settle in.
âWeâll follow you, Savior.â
They arrived in the mining city, Grangpel, without any issue.
Several people gathered around Kang Oh like a group of clouds.
âHow can I possibly repay you!?â
âPlease tell me your name!â
âI donât have anything to give you, but please come and visit our house sometime. Our house isâŠâ
âYouâre one of us, one of the Blue Night Dwarves!â
âPlease be careful. And look out for bandits too.â Kang Oh smiled and said his goodbyes.
[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.]
âShall we get going?â
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 didnât matter. They could just use intercity transfer gates.
The intercity transfer gates, which were set up and managed by the Mageâs 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.
âAll you need to do is enter the gate and yell Kuwang. Do you understand?â
Unfortunately, there werenât 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.
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 wasnât hard to get their assistance on the matter.
The Kasten Mercenary Associationâs 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 wouldnât have welcomed the Forney Tribe, but the Mercenary Association put in a good word for them, so there werenât any problems.
However, all of this help came at a price.
âTake care of the Kushara conflict for us,â Balduk said. He was a gold-horned bull, and the president of the Mercenary Association.
Kang Oh couldnât afford to refuse.
Balduk had signed a contract with him regarding the Beastâs Tower, so Kang Oh had agreed to periodically do a job for him. Plus, he had helped him with the Forney Tribe.
âBut who are the Kushara?â
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 didnât know who or what the Kushara were.
âTheyâre a new species that appeared via the Great Earthquake.â
The west referred to the Great Change as the Great Earthquake.
âHaa, I have to take care of another new species.â
âI see. Then please tell me what I need to do.â
Kang Oh listened to Baldukâs explanation, and then left the Mercenary Association.
After that, Kang Oh visited the Forney Tribeâs village and checked up on them.
[Guardian of the Continent Quest: Aid the Forney has been completed.]
[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.
âI have to hurry and deal with the Kushara conflict, and then return to the dungeons.â
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.
The world wouldnât let Kang Oh do as he pleased.
âYou need to do something for me.â
All of a sudden, he heard a whisper in his ear.
He was given another Guardian of the Continent Quest. This was seriously driving him crazy.