Kang Oh didnât like gambling.
Gambling meant that victory and defeat was determined by luck. If his likelihood to win was high, then he wouldnât call that a gamble.
It was an act of desperation; the desperate act of a loser and a weakling.
Thus, he hated taking risks like this.
However, he had no choice. At this rate, he would die and come back, but without Gluttony, he would have no chance against Dukeram.
He couldnât afford to die.
Kang Oh gritted his teeth. He waited for the right moment to parry Dukeramâs destructive, indiscriminate attacks, which were like a buffaloâs charge.
âWill I be able to use Sword Parry?â
It was almost impossible.
Thrusts were the most difficult type of attack to parry. Thatâs because they were targeted at a single point, not a wide area.
Even more so when referring to Steel Rain, which unleashed consecutive quick and powerful thrusts.
Plus, if he failed, he would die. He didnât have a chance in hell of surviving.
But he didnât have any other choices.
If he used Abyss Transfer, Dukeram would immediately stop him. Moonâs Protection was still on cooldown. Abyss Shield would offer as much defense as a piece of paper before Dukeramâs assault.
Ultimately, Kang Ohâs only choice was to parry Dukeramâs attack, land a counter, and break his momentum.
After that, he could use Abyss Transfer to run away, or continue to attack.
Successfully parrying his attack was the answer. However, the chance of success was way too low. That was why it was a gamble.
Kang Oh endured, and waited for his opportunity.
Unfortunately, Dukeram had seen right through him.
His thrusts didnât come at him at the same speed; some were slower and some were faster. It seemed like he knew exactly what he was trying to do.
Even with his Hyper Intuition, there was no way he could time Sword Parry correctly.
Kang Ohâs face darkened behind his beast mask. He only had 5,000 HP left.
If he took two or three more attacks, then heâd be finished.
Max Cain cut through his earlobe.
[Warning! You do not have much HP left.]
Most people would give up or think about it after they revived.
But Kang Oh was different.
âThis isnât going to work!â
They say that if you overcome adversity, then you become that much stronger. Kang Oh, whoâd overcome near death situations again and again, didnât give up till the very end.
He didnât think; he just moved. He searched for a way to survive, and his body responded to that desire.
Then, Dukeram aimed his sword at Kang Ohâs stomach.
The tip of his blade struck Kang Ohâs belt. More specifically, it struck the Dragonâs Heart!
Something surprising happened.
Max Cain bounced right off.
The Dragonâs Treasure Belt had an effect called âThree Person Masterpieceâ. This ability increased the stat bonuses of any armor that contained leather, metal, or jewels by 10%.
Plus, it safeguarded all of his leather, metal, or jewels from destruction.
Normally, the Dragonâs Heart wouldâve shattered or at least cracked. Thatâs how powerful Dukeramâs thrust was.
However, the Three Person Masterpiece effect protected it, and repelled Dukeramâs attack with an equal amount of force.
Dukeram staggered from the unexpected force.
Kang Oh didnât waste this golden opportunity. He thrust Ubist and Blood simultaneously.
Even if he swung Max Cain, he wouldnât be able to block both of them!
He planned to strike Dukeram with one blade, and then use Abyss Transfer to catch his breath.
Kang Oh saw Dukeram pull out a round glass shield from his inventory using Switch.
There was a giant monster whale engraved on the surface of it.
Mamonasâs Glass Shield!
It was an SS-rank item that the Ruler of the Golden Desert dropped.
The shield would reflect any attack back at its owner. It didnât matter if it was a Dragonâs Breath, or an Archmageâs Meteor Fall.
In exchange, it could only be used once.
It was a glass shield, so it was extremely fragile. Plus, it would take a week to repair itself.
âOne attack is plenty.â
Dukeram was absolutely sure that his final card would work.
It would be game over for Kang Oh the moment his demon swords made contact with his shield.
Kang Oh would die, and when he revived, he would be no match for him.
The Empire Guild had exhaustively researched Kang Oh, the greatest obstacle in their path.
Thus, Dukeram knew all about Gluttony and Resurrection.
Resurrection was an incredible ability, but he wouldnât retain his buffs upon revival.
âI win!â Dukeram smiled as if heâd won.
Right before his blades made contact, Kang Oh let go of both Ubist and Blood.
It was due to his Hyper Intuition.
His body had felt cold all over, so Kang Oh had let go of his swords.
After all, several glass shields had the ability to reflect attacks.
Mamonasâs Glass Shield shattered into pieces.
At the same time, it unleashed fierce energy that contained the same amount of damage itâd taken at Kang Oh.
Kang Oh threw himself to the side.
It was as if dynamite had just exploded.
There was a massive explosion. Sand surged into the air and flew everywhere.
Demon Sword Ubist and Demon Sword Blood, which had soared into the air, fiercely spun and came flying at Dukeramâs head.
Dukeram commanded the sand to rise and protect him, while he went directly after Kang Oh.
It was infuriating how perfect Dukeramâs decision was.
Kang Oh almost wanted to sigh, but he quickly switched to Sarahoff instead.
His two other demon swords struck the sand wall. Meanwhile, Dukeram swung his blade at Kang Oh.
There was no way Kang Oh could dodge this.
He never had any intention of dodging it in the first place though. He knew that Dukeram would use this specific move.
âHeâs going for the neck or heart!â
Dukeramâs swordsmanship valued efficiency above all else. He would take the best route to striking at his opponentâs weak points.
Plus, Dukeram wanted to end this as soon as possible. If thatâs the case, then he would aim for the heart or the neck. There was nowhere else.
It didnât matter even if he was wrong.
If he didnât aim for those body parts, then he wouldnât die from a single attack.
Before Dukeram even swung his sword, Kang Oh protected both his heart and neck.
It was the correct decision.
The force behind his attack was tremendous, but fortunately, he didnât lose any HP from it.
Where one sees danger, another sees opportunity.
Blood and Ubist, which had broken through Dukeramâs sand walls, came flying at him.
Dukeram rolled onto the floor.
Kang Oh used Abyss Transfer. However, he was concerned that Dukeram kept staring at him, even as he was rolling on the floor.
It was as if Dukeram wanted him to use Abyss Transfer. Thus, he canceled its activation and assumed a defensive posture instead.
âTch.â Dukeram clicked his tongue and stood up.
The shattered pieces of his glass shield came flying at Kang Oh.
This was Mamonasâs Glass Shieldâs second ability, âGlass Trapâ.
Kang Oh protected his backside with Abyss Shield, and deflected the rest of the pieces with Sarahoff.
Ubist and Blood returned to him, and landed in the sand next to his feet.
Then, Dukeram forcefully swung Max Cain.
His Hyper Intuition warned him, so he knew where Dukeram was aiming. Kang Oh twisted his body and dodged the attack.
Then, sand spikes surged from the ground.
Kang Oh picked up Ubist and cleaved through the spikes.
Then, Dukeram rushed over and attacked him.
Kang Oh responded in kind.
It was the ability of the Hellfire Greatsword!
Annihilation energy, which destroyed everything in its path, swirled around his body, and then shot straight at Dukeram.
The Annihilation Spear was more powerful than Dukeramâs Steel Rain.
However, Dukeram did something that even surprised Kang Oh.
He parried an energy blast, not a weapon attack with the flat of his blade!
This wasnât something anyone could do.
Not even Kang Oh could do it.
It was only natural. It was a special skill that only Dukeram possessed.
Max Cain came flying at Kang Oh with blistering speed. However, Dukeramâs body twisted midway.
Then, the area Dukeramâs right foot was stepping on turned into ice.
Kang Oh readied his next move as soon as Dukeram parried his Annihilation Spear. He had created an icy road using Sarahoffâs power.
It was a simple move, but sometimes simplicity was good enough.
His jet-black blade released a tiger wrapped in golden light. It roared, and then pounced on Dukeram.
Sand surged from the floor and formed into faultless armor.
The nearby sand surged into the air.
Kang Oh pulled a health potion from his belt and drank it down. âMan, that sure tastes good.â
However, he wasnât safe just yet. He still didnât have much HP left.
A golden pillar of light shot out of the giant sand cloud, and came flying at Kang Oh.
It was the Sword that Brings Victory.
Kang Oh threw himself out of the way.
Dukeram kept swinging his sword.
It felt like something had left a long cut on his body as he was rolling on the floor.
It was a Space-Time Slash.
Kang Oh rolled on the floor like a log. He was coming straight for Dukeram. It wasnât his intention; Dukeram had made it happen.
Once they were close enough, Dukeram used Steel Rain again.
Kang Oh bounced back up like a spring, and was about to use Mad Windâs Sword, but hesitated.
If he fought Dukeram in a war of attrition, then their HP would slowly go down. Eventually, he, who possessed Hyper Intuition, would have the upper hand.
However⊠he didnât think he could get there. He didnât have much HP left!
âIâm finishing this.â
Kang Oh didnât rush himself, and waited for an opportunity to strike.
The problem was that Dukeram didnât show any openings. He didnât have any choice but to force him to expose himself.
Kang Oh stepped back and summoned the Spirit of Vengeance, Shumir.
It was a panther with a long, whip-shaped tail!
As soon as it appeared, it swung its tail with blistering speed and deflected the Steel Rain.
However, not 5 seconds later, its tail had been ripped to shreds.
Kang Oh had expected this, so he threw Ubist at Dukeram. He didnât use Weapon Bombardment.
The sword expelled darkness, which formed into the King of Demonic Beasts, an entity that even Kang Oh couldnât tame!
Dukeram remained calm and advanced forward, continuously using Steel Rain.
It was as if it were actually raining steel. Ubistâs body was filled with holes.
However, Ubist was no ordinary beast.
Kang Oh reappeared amidst Ubistâs dark, shadowy body. He had assumed an iaido stance with Sarahoff at his side.
He only had one thing on his mind.
There was only one technique that could kill Dukeram in a single hit.
He didnât worry about âCan Iâs?â. He didnât have a choice. He had to do it.
âHow?â didnât enter his mind either. There was only one thing in his mind.
A strong will to cut Dukeram using Divide the Sea!
Kang Oh repeated the scene of Dukeram being split in half dozens of times in his head.
He didnât think about anything else. All he cared about was cutting Dukeram.
His hair bristled, and his back tingled. Warm, lava-like energy filled his body from head to toe, which he poured into Sarahoff.
Kang Oh swung Sarahoff horizontally.
A single line that divided the world in two!
Thatâs what Valan wouldâve said if he saw it.
âBut still⊠you did good!â, he wouldâve added.
The Grandmasterâs absolute killing technique, Divide the Sea, was revealed to the world through Kang Oh.