Seukara!

A Lizardman's most dangerous weapon, its tail, came flying at him.

Although he could have dodged it, Kang Oh chose not to.

Bam!

Kang Oh's body burst with shards of light. He then immediately swung Blood as quickly as lightning.

Slash!

Using Slash with Blood hadn't changed the skill's effect.

A white line followed the path of his blade!

Slash left behind a diagonal wound on its body, and the resulting shards were sucked into his sword.

'Hmm. I didn't get much HP back even when I used Slash.'

Kang Oh had gotten hit on purpose. He wanted to test how much Life Steal would heal him for.

However, Life Steal healed him for much less than he'd expected.

'Oh well.'

If he leveled up the sword enough, then it would eventually heal him for much more.

Euka!

Two Lizardmen attacked Kang Oh from both sides, their blades glinting sharply.

Kang Oh swung Blood, deflecting the left Lizardman's blade, and dodged the other.

Then, he used Switch!

Blood was no longer in his hand; it had been swapped for Ubist. It had taken 3 seconds to make the switch.

Whoosh!

The jet-black greatsword ripped through the air with a heavy 'whoosh'.

Bam!

The Lizardman fell right then and there. After all, Kang Oh had put quite a bit of power into that blow.

Ubist's raw power was something that, as of right now, Blood could not hope to replicate!

When wielding Ubist, Kang Oh was much too strong.

In the blink of an eye, Kang Oh made the two Lizardmen into mincemeat.

Switch.

Kang Oh, now wielding Blood once more, headed for the Lizardman that Eder was fighting against.

Swish.

Darkness Strike!

The Demonic Swordsman skill, Darkness Strike, used the darkness within the demon sword to unleash a destructive wave. Kang Oh had, however, unleashed this attack with Blood, not Ubist.

Splurt!

The blade unleashed a red wave, which was shaped like a bat in flight.

Boom!

The wave was so powerful that the Lizardman fell and rolled on the floor.

Ten stars had appeared on Blood's blade.

'Hoh. Darkness Strike immediately gives me 10 stacks.'

Kang Oh immediately charged at another Lizardman so that he wouldn't lose his 10 stacks.

For two whole days, Kang Oh's party continuously hunted the Lizardmen. As a result, Kang Oh rose to level 192, and Blood reached level 3 as well.

* * *

It was a bright morning.

There were several people gathered at the entrance of the Nuwak Village.

Warriors and shamans that would soon set off for the Winged Snake Nest Expedition, as well as villagers that wanted to see them off, were gathered there.

Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro were within the crowd as well, and were accompanied by the Nuwak Chieftain, Shula.

A man, who was garbed in unique Nuwak clothing, approached Shula.

"Chieftain, we've finished inspecting the troops and our equipment."

"These are friends that will help us with the expedition. Introduce yourselves."

Shula pointed at Kang Oh's party.

"My name is Krohn."

"He's our greatest warrior, and will lead the rest of our warriors throughout the expedition," Shula said proudly.

"My name is Kang Oh."

"I am Eder."

"I'm an archer. Sephiro is my name."

Kang Oh introduced himself first, followed by Eder and Sephiro.

"We should start heading out now," Krohn said to Shula.

"Lead our warriors well."

"I'll do my best."

"Make sure you return safely."

"Yes."

"Let us go," Krohn said to Kang Oh's party.

A short while later...

"Everyone please get on your Yumas!" Krohn yelled boomingly.

More than 100 warriors and shamans, as well as Kang Oh's party, got onto their Yumas.

"Depart!"

More than 100 Yumas simultaneously ran through the forest, with Krohn's Yuma at the head of the pack.

* * *

By midday, several tribes' warriors and shamans had gathered in the vicinity of the Winged Snake Nest.

The Modrak, which was the most prosperous tribe in the Great Forest, brought their warriors, while the Ucle brought their shamans, whose faces were painted in black, red, or yellow.

The Nedav Tribe, which was considered the Great Forest's most powerful tribe, had come with the most warriors.

Though he hadn't met them before, there were several other tribes' warriors present as well. They were garbed in their tribes' clothing and equipment.

Those that led their tribes' warriors and acted as their representative gathered in one area.

The representative that had the most say here was the Nedav Chieftain, Aman. He was someone Kang Oh had even fought in the past.

Of the representatives here, he was the only chieftain of his tribe. He was also put in charge of this expedition as well.

"I'm Aman," Aman glanced around and said.

As soon as he spoke, it became rowdy.

"It's been a while, Chieftain Aman."

"If not for such a serious matter, it'd be hard to see you all."

"It's already been 10 years since our last expedition to kill the Snake Queen."

"I think you and I are the only ones here that participated in that expedition. Time sure does fly."

"Hoo, I hope we don't have that many casualties this time around."

"Winged Snake Skin sells for quite a lot; you don't have a problem with us taking some, do you?"

Each of the representatives said what they had to say.

"Enough."

It was only after hearing Aman's resounding voice did they stop talking.

"Keep that stuff to yourself until after the expedition is over. Right now, you should be listening to my battle plan."

The representatives nodded their heads.

"First, we'll divide our warriors and shamans into four squads. Then, we'll attack the nest from the north, south, east, and west simultaneously," Aman said.

The Winged Snake Nest was a barren mountain; one where not even a single blade of grass grew, much like a royal tomb. The snakes there had also burrowed beneath the ground, creating several complicatedly intertwined tunnels.

These tunnels were quite big, and there were more than twenty tunnels that led into the nest.

Aman planned on stationing their troops in the cardinal directions, and then completely killing every last one of the snakes.

"Any objections?"

"..."

There were none.

"Let's divide the troops like this. The eastern tribes will go through the east entrance, the western tribes will go through the west, etc. Except...!"

Aman stared at a middle-aged man with braided hair. His name was Silla, and he was a part of the northern Yupir Tribe.

"The healers of the Yupir Tribe will be split amongst the four squads. I'll send you some Nedav warriors to even it out."

"Understood."

Silla of the Yupir Tribe nodded his head.

"I'm in charge of our eastern forces. Krohn of the Nuwak Tribe will lead our southern forces, Nerum of the Tamdala Tribe will lead our western forces, and Bardona of the Modrak Tribe will lead our northern forces. The remaining representatives should act as vice-captains for their respective leaders."

Aman was a man with overwhelming charisma.

"Yes sir!" the representatives simultaneously replied.

"Each squad will be on the lookout for the Snake Queen while they kill the Winged Snakes. If you find the Snake Queen, then let the other squads know. We'll pick out our most elite warriors from the four squads and form a hunting party to take her down."

The Snake Queen was a raid boss. Obviously, it specialized in huge AoE attacks.

Trying to overcome it with sheer numbers was a foolish idea. It ran the risk of their entire forces dying to her AoE attacks.

Assembling a party of 30 elite members was their best chance at taking her down.

"Does anyone have anything to add?"

Aman glanced at each representative's face.

Then, the Modrak Tribe's representative, Bardona asked, "What about the adventurers who've come from the central continent to help us?"

'Adventurers from the central continent' meant players, plain and simple.

"Are there a lot of them?"

"The Modrak Tribe has less than 50. The adventurers are all trustworthy and skilled."

Players that had operated around the Modrak Village and had gained the tribe's trust were able to join the expedition.

It wasn't just the Modrak Tribe; players that had become friendly with the other tribes were given the same opportunity as well.

"The representatives who brought them here can do with them as they wish," Aman said.

"Understood."

"Anything else?"

"..."

None.

"Vice-captains, work with your captains to form your squads. We're advancing on the nest after lunch."

The representative meeting was now over.

* * *

"...This is how it will go."

Krohn, the representative of the Nuwak Tribe and also the leader of the expedition's southern forces, was a meticulous and considerate man.

He didn't forget to explain what was going on to Kang Oh's party.

"Then, do we just stick with you, Mr. Krohn?"

"Yes. Ah, did you want to act independently?" Krohn asked.

Kang Oh glanced at Sephiro.

"What do you think is better?"

In the past, Sephiro had participated in an expedition on the Orc Road. That's why Kang Oh wanted his input.

"The monsters will respond to the largest quantity of troops. Therefore, it's best that we stay with the main force," Sephiro said.

"So he says. We'll stick with you, Mr. Krohn."

"Understood."

"By the way, you said that the Snake Queen would be taken down by a small number of elite troops, right?" Kang Oh asked.

"Yes."

"May I be a part of that force?"

The Snake Queen! He really wanted to defeat it!

"It'll be hard."

Krohn shook his head.

'As expected... But there's always a way.'

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

"I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"When you see Commander Aman, please tell him that I want to be a part of the elite task force."

"Are you acquainted with Chieftain Aman?"

"Of course. We're very close!"

Kang Oh grinned.

'I'm the one who kicked his ass! Hmph!'

"Understood. I'll make sure to tell him about you."

"Thank you very much."

"Excuse me."

Once Krohn left, Sephiro silently came over.

"Mr. Kang Oh."

"What is it?"

"If he lets you into the team, then please put in a good word for me."

His face seemed to say, 'I want to take down the Snake Queen too!'.

"If I get the chance," Kang Oh replied absentmindedly.

"What about me?"

Even Eder was asking to be a part of it.

"You focus on the Winged Snakes."

"Tch."

Then...

A woman, who was wearing priestess robes, approached them. She was clearly a player.

"Mr. Sephiro!"

"Huh? Ms. Hye Rim?"

It seemed like they were acquainted with each other.

"It's been a long time."

"It has. How did you get here?"

"What do you mean? I'm a part of the expedition force too."

"What? Then are you..."

"Yes. I came here to film the Winged Snake Nest Expedition."

'Film the expedition? What does she do for a living?' Kang Oh thought from beside Sephiro.

"I see."

"Who are they? Please introduce us," Hye Rim said.

"Ah, sure. These are my companions."

Sephiro pointed at Kang Oh and Eder.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm a TGN producer. My name is Shin Hye Rim."

TGN.

Top Game Net.

The number 1 game channel.

'So she's a producer for TGN, huh...'

"My name is Eder."

Eder introduced himself first.

"My name is Kang Oh."

"You're Kang Oh?"

"Yes."

"Not Oga?"

Her eyes glinted sharply.

"...How did you know?" Kang Oh asked as if to interrogate her.

"I saw you fight a raid boss with Mr. Sephiro. The tiger-striped armor you wore was quite striking. I knew it was you, Mr. Oga, since you're wearing the same armor that you wore back then."

She's quite sharp. This woman, Shin Hye Rim, was quite perceptive.

"Oga must be your alias. You went as far as to cover up your face on TV, so there's no way that that's your real name. Is Kang Oh your real ID name?"

"Yes. Please don't spread it around. I hate it when things get bothersome."

"Alright. I promise not to," Hye Rim replied energetically.

"Ms. Hye Rim, which way are you going?" Sephiro asked.

"I'm coming in from the east. I came with the Sundra Tribe. What about you, Mr. Sephiro?"

"We're coming from the south."

"Hoh, is that so?"

She looked as though things had gone in her favor and continued, "Do you like money?"