Rank 2, Predator Kang Oh!
Irene thought highly of him. After all, his ranking hadnât changed even after the Empire Guildâs captains became Masters.
The Arth ranking system measured power, influence, skill, etc., and added those all together to determine oneâs rank.
Thus, anyone with high âinfluenceâ would be rated highly. There wasnât anyone in the game that had a higher âinfluenceâ rating than the Empire Guild.
Despite that, the Empire Guildâs captains couldnât pull Kang Oh off his throne, even after they became Masters. He was completely different from Raon or Hernandez, who were shoved out of the Numbers.
Kang Oh lacked any sort of influence, yet his rank remained the same? If thatâs the case, then his âpowerâ must be tremendous.
âHeâs at least as strong as Mr. Dukeram.â
âAt leastâ was the key word here. Perhaps he was even stronger than Dukeram.
Thatâs why Irene had ordered her squad to assume a defensive formation as soon as she saw him.
Itâs also why she reorganized her troops into small groups.
Irene remained wary of Kang Oh, despite her numerical advantage. She had to fight Kang Oh with everything she had if she hoped to win.
âSiam, Stana, Barami, Jjawang, engage the turtle with your troops. Lygon, Pinwheel, Gold Spear, keep the red witch busy!â
âYes, maâam!â the group leaders yelled simultaneously. Then, they approached Teynos and Tasha.
âThe rest of you, weâre using the net strategy against Kang Oh.â
Kang Oh was rushing towards Irene at max speed.
On the other hand, the Glacier Squad would pull back a certain distance, and then gradually close in. They were indeed like a net.
âOut of my way!â Kang Oh cut through anyone in his way.
Kang Ohâs power, speed, and skill gave them chills. They didnât even know when they were cut; it all happened in the blink of an eye.
The other members of the Glacier Squad readied their shields and blocked Kang Oh.
Their shields radiated energy, which spread out like a castle wall. However, the size and toughness of it was far less than when they were all together.
âI can pierce through it.â
Golden energy undulated around his jet-black greatsword.
A giant tiger shot out of his sword. Rather than strike their shields, it struck the ground in front of them.
Dirt surged into the air like a fountain, rocks of all sizes flew everywhere, and a shockwave rippled outwards.
Their formation was destroyed instantly.
Kang Oh didnât let that golden opportunity go.
He swung Sarahoff downwards.
The combination of Sarahoffâs âAbsolute Destructionâ and Master Slash was tremendous.
He cleaved right through a shield.
âWhat!?â The squad member was shocked.
In spite of that, he immediately attacked Kang Oh. It was a well-trained movement.
The other squad members did the same.
Kang Ohâs twin demon swords were much faster.
Kang Oh instantly felled five of them, and bounced forward like a spring. Irene was right in front of him.
âSpear Strike!â Irene yelled. She had been waiting for this moment.
The Glacier Squad, which had completely surrounded him, unleashed their Spear Strikes in unison.
He felt cold all over. It was as if bees were stinging his entire body.
Then, his necklace glowed.
For 3 seconds, this barrier would protect him from any and all harm. The Glacier Squadâs energy blasts struck the barrier, but to no avail.
It was completely useless.
Once 3 seconds were up, the barrier disappeared on its own.
Frozen horns protruded from his beast mask, streaks of white went through his blackened body, and frozen gauntlets and greaves formed over his arms and legs. The Dual Demon had arrived!
Darkness surged through the air, and a cold gust of wind blew. However, these were nothing more than a diversion.
Kang Oh instantly approached Irene.
âProtect the Captain!â
The Glacier Squad was made up of elites that operated like a well-oiled machine. However, there were times that they acted instinctively.
It was when Irene was in danger!
Six members left formation and threw themselves at Kang Oh.
âReady your Spear Strikes!â Irene said calmly.
The rest of her squad pointed their spears at Kang Oh.
He, Irene, and her small group were suddenly surrounded by walls of ice.
The Ice Walls obscured their vision; neither Kang Oh nor Irene could be seen.
Agonized cries could be heard from within.
âDamn it. Shoot your Spear Strikes!â the vice-captain urgently yelled.
The Ice Wall crumbled from the barrage of Spear Strikes.
Broken ice fragments shined like gems and scattered through the air! Downed members of the Glacier Squad could be seen within.
Kang Oh and Irene were clashing head-on!
Surprisingly, Ireneâs sword had pierced Kang Ohâs shoulder, and shards of light were falling from the wound!
There was a flag of light over her head.
Flag of Absolute Victory!
Irene, a Master Commander, had created this secret move!
With this ability, she could grant her troops one of five abilities for 30 seconds. She had chosen the ability to nullify all damage.
After that, Kang Oh continually attacked Irene. She obviously didnât take any damage, and had managed to land a counterattack.
âInfinite Spear Strikes!â Irene yelled harshly.
The effects of Flag of Absolute Victory made her and her subordinatesâ bodies glow.
The Glacier Squad repeatedly bombarded Kang Oh with Spear Strikes. After all, Irene had ordered them not to stop until she said so.
Fierce energy kept shooting at Kang Oh and Ireneâs location.
Irene didnât take any damage due to Flag of Absolute Victory, but Kang Oh had no choice but to rely on his Hyper Intuition and roll onto the floor.
He used Abyss Shield and deflected some of the energy blasts too. However, there were way too many of them.
Kang Oh was struck by one of them, and fell to the floor.
âMaster!â Teynos roared. However, it was way too slow. It was hard enough for it to stop the nearby soldiers.
Tasha was in the same predicament.
She continuously unleashed fierce energy blasts at her enemies, but it wasnât easy for her to achieve victory in the face of the Glacier Squadâs perfect teamwork.
Thatâs why the Glacier Squad was, as a group, equal to the Yellow Dragon Squad.
âIâm going to kill Kang Oh.â
Two more Masters had come to kill Kang Oh: the double-bladed axe wielding giant, Tainos, and the heavily armored mace and shield wielder, Moby Dick!
The invincible desert soldiers rampaged across the battlefield.
A portion of the sand soldiers, led by their generals, battled against Bart, his Giants, and the Eagle Corpsâ elites.
Kuskal and the Red King Squad supported them. They would pop out of the sand soldiersâ shadows and use assassination techniques, which made them incredibly dangerous and annoying to deal with.
Bart, his Giants, and the Eagles Corpsâ elites fought an uphill battle.
âAim for the others, not the sand soldiers!â Bart yelled.
However, that was no easy task.
The Red King Squad always hid behind the sand soldiers. Plus, the sand soldiers would continue to rise whenever they were killed.
Fortunately, the Harbinger of Death, Viper, was doing well against the Red King Squad.
But the battle was gradually becoming worse and worse for them.
Wolf Warrior Mulanâs axe had dulled, and Storm Fighter Rohan was injured all over. The Eagle Corpsâ gladiators looked exhausted too.
Bart was busy engaging Kuskal in a long-range battle, so he didnât have time to help them. His Giants were also fighting an unending battle with the sand generals.
However, the situation became even worse.
A white-winged Pegasus came flying towards them!
Bart, who usually didnât lose his smile, looked completely serious for once.
âWeâll be annihilated if Dukeram comes!â
He would have a hard time fighting Dukeram, but he wasnât alone; he had the invincible sand soldiers and the Red King Squad by his side.
âCommander Burkan is the answer.â
The Invincible Gladiator, Burkan!
He would be able to fend Dukeram off.
Bart unleashed a Chaos Sphere.
Its destructive power was beyond oneâs wildest imagination.
âFall back to Commander Burkan and the 100 Fighters. Weâll fight them there!â
Bartâs Giants were the first to run through the path, and the gladiators belatedly followed them.
Viper finished off one of the Red King Squad members and disappeared into the shadows.
However, not all of them could escape safely.
Three arrows pierced Rohanâs heart, and he fell to the ground. Kuskal had sniped him from afar.
The Light Gladiator, Peon, was skewered by the sand soldiersâ spears.
Hundreds of the Eagle Corpsâ elites died.
âFollow them and finish them off,â Dukeram ordered. Because of Bartâs quick thinking, he had come a little late to the party.
The Red King Squad and the sand generals yelled, and chased after Bartâs group.
Bartâs party wasnât that far from Burkan and the 100 Fighters, so it didnât take long for them to join them.
âCommander Burkan,â Bart said.
Burkan, whoâd been fighting against Eric, immediately assessed the situation.
âGet into formation with the 100 Fighters. Weâre making our stand here.â
Every soldier thatâd come from the eastern airships gathered here. Burkan, Dion, Darion, the 100 Fighters, Bart, and his friends!
Eric and the Yellow Dragon Squad backed off and caught their breath. Soon enough, the Red King Squad, Kuskal, Dukeram, and the Invincible Army had joined them.
Burkan and Dukeram yelled simultaneously.
Both sides charged at each other.
Kang Oh wanted to save Gluttony so that heâd have it ready for Dukeram. However, he didnât really have a choice right now.
Irene was already tough enough, but both Tainos and Moby Dick had shown up too.
He was facing three Masters at once!
Whatâs worse, the Glacier Squad had remained largely unscathed. On the other hand, Kang Oh hadnât been able to escape their barrage of Spear Strikes uninjured.
Then you take into account Ireneâs commandsâŚ
âIâll die before I fight Dukeram!â
Kang Oh surrounded himself with an Ice Wall once more. He needed to buy time to use Gluttony.
He could hear the ice cracking. It wouldnât last long.
Kang Oh pulled out a greatsword that emitted ominous energy from his inventory.
It was the weapon of the Devilâs Sword Sraka, a Grandmaster that served the Evil God, Jaila.
The weapon was SS-rank, but the itemâs abilities couldnât be examined by anyone other than a disciple of Jaila. Thus, he didnât know what it did.
But it was wielded by a Grandmaster like Sraka, so it had to be a good sword.
âI think this is my first time using Gluttony on an SS-rank item too.â
SS-rank items were too valuable to use Gluttony on. But today, he would give Ubist a chance to taste what an SS-rank weapon was like.
The Ice Wall shook, and a hole was pierced through one side. Tainos was grinning from beyond the hole. It was as if he were saying, âThanks for coming.â.
Kang Oh snorted and placed the Hell Greatsword on top of Ubist.
Ubistâs darkness began to consume the Hell Greatsword, starting from the tip.
The Hell Greatsword violently shook, and it released a sharp shriek akin to a ghostâs cry.
It seemed like it was an ego sword.
Even so, there was nothing that the Demonic Beast, Ubist, couldnât eat. Soon enough, it had consumed the hilt too.
Kang Ohâs body released jet-black energy. It was so powerful that his own energy was responsible for the destruction of his Ice Wall.
Something materialized behind his back.
It was the four-armed Evil God, Jaila!
The silhouette looked exactly like Jailaâs bronze statue.