Kang Oh and Nergal exchanged blows several times. However, neither side held an advantage.

Once the battle let up, Nergal asked, "Are you a mercenary?"

"Gold mercenary, Kang Oh. You?"

"Ingrit Champion, Nergal."

"A champion, huh..." Kang Oh grinned.

The Ingrit Troll Champions were well-known as powerful warriors in the west. Fighting them would definitely be worth it.

'Nice!'

Bam!

Kang Oh kicked off the floor, leaping towards Nergal like a spring. He instantly reappeared in front of Nergal, and swung his sword upwards.

Slash!

His snow-white blade, which radiated scarlet light, cleaved a white line through the air.

But Nergal didn't just sit there and take it. He diagonally swung his completely undecorated sword.

Earth Shaking Blow!

Nergal unleashed a shockwave from his sword.

Bam!

The two swords clashed against one another.

Kang Oh and Nergal.

Neither side backed down.

Guided by his Hyper Intuition, Kang Oh thrust his sword at a weak spot.

Whoosh!

The tip of his blade rushed at Nergal like a snake coming for a rat.

"A weak move like that won't work on me!" Nergal turned his body, avoiding Kang Oh's attack, and immediately counterattacked.

Swish!

Kang Oh felt a chill at his neck, as if a cold object had been pressed against it. His Hyper Intuition was warning him of danger.

"Hmph." Kang Oh easily avoided Nergal's attack and horizontally swung his sword.

Meanwhile, Nergal swung his sword downwards.

Clang!

The two swords met, resounding with a metallic 'clang'.

Both Kang Oh and Nergal took one step back.

"Shall we fight for real now?" Nergal asked.

"C'mon!"

Thus far, they'd just been feeling each other out.

Now they would begin in earnest!

* * *

Berserker's Dance!

The longer the user fought, the more powerful they would become. In exchange, it would steadily reduce the user's HP.

Even so, Nergal was willing to use the skill.

"Haahk, haahk, ha!" Nergal's eyes glowed purple, and he began breathing roughly.

'That doesn't look good.' Kang Oh felt anxious, so he immediately used Devil Trigger.

Demon Sword Blood's red energy engulfed his form.

He quickly transformed into the Red Demon; giant red wings and their smaller, supportive wings, protruded from his back.

Then...

"Haahk!" Nergal attacked. He was aiming for Kang Oh's warm, beating heart.

Kang Oh turned his body, avoiding Nergal's attack, and immediately counterattacked with his sword.

Berserker's Dance left Nergal wide open, giving Kang Oh so many weak points to choose from.

Swish.

Demon Sword Blood cleaved through Nergal, and shards of light burst from his body.

Nergal attacked again, lacking any sense of hesitation or anxiety. After all, he was a mad warrior, a Berserker!

Ground Shaking Blow!

Nergal released a mighty shockwave from his sword.

Kang Oh counterattacked with a move of his own.

Fresh Blood Wave!

He unleashed a fan-shaped scarlet aura from his blade.

Boom!

The two attacks collided, resounding with a 'boom'.

Nergal pierced through the dust cloud and attacked once more. But then, a blood spike popped out of Kang Oh's chest.

An unexpected move!

Stab!

The blood spike pierced Nergal's shoulder.

However, Nergal didn't stop and just followed through.

Swish!

"Ugh."

Shards of light burst from Kang Oh's body. Nergal then immediately aimed for Kang Oh's neck.

The purple light in Nergal's eyes intensified, and his sword strikes became even more powerful than before.

Kang Oh bent back as far as he could.

Nergal's sword just barely grazed Kang Oh's Adam's apple.

Kang Oh gritted his teeth and kicked Nergal away. That was the best he could do in his position.

Whack.

His kick had quite a bit of force behind it, but it wasn't enough to stop Nergal's rampage.

Swoosh!

Nergal resolutely swung his sword, as if he could cut through cast iron. He was crazy fast too.

"Danger!" Tasha's voice resounded through his head. At the same time, his red wings flung Nergal away.

"Thank you." Kang Oh quickly swung his sword upwards.

Tempest Tiger!

The golden aura surged.

Nergal fought back with his own aura.

Madness!

A mighty aura erupted from his blade.

Two different types of aura!

The two equally matched auras crashed against each other, which quickly resulted in an explosion.

Boom!

Kang Oh and Nergal were both caught in the explosion, and simultaneously fell to the ground.

"Haa, haa."

"Haahk, ha, haahk."

They stood up simultaneously and breathed roughly. Then, they looked each other in the eye.

At that moment, they clashed once more!

The battle wasn't over yet.

* * *

The battle with the Ingrit Trolls and the Anti-Ingrit Alliance was the very definition of 'intense'.

Turkavan, the tattoo-faced Troll Champion, fought against the Elvish Warrior, Kuyol. The giant-bodied Ursac was surrounded by hundreds of orcs under Mumugul's command.

Other Troll Champions like Baltu, Angol, and Raikavan were battling Balduk and his gold rank mercenaries.

"This is revenge for our village!"

"Uaahk!"

"Damn elves and orcs!"

"Go to hell!"

"Shamans! We need healing over here!"

The battle between the Troll Warriors and the alliance's ordinary warriors was 'gruesome'.

Screams, the sound of metal upon metal, and cries of agony continuously resounded throughout the battlefield. Countless lives were lost, their corpses sprawled across the cold floor.

And...

The most important battle here was just beginning.

The Troll Great Chieftain, Razul versus the Elf Supreme Commander, Doran.

Doran had stepped forward to take vengeance for his burnt village, while Razul wanted to turn the battle around by killing one of the alliance heads.

"I'll kill you and make you a part of my collection." Razul pointed at his necklace. Orc and elf skulls hung upon it, one after another.

"Grr, none of you will come out of this alive." Doran gritted his teeth. His eyes were filled with rage.

"That's my line. I'll kill you all and turn you into necklaces; there will be no mercy for the young or the old!" Razul provoked.

"You can repent in hell!" Doran declared.

His blade, the Spirit's Sword, began emanating powerful energy.

Mother Nature's Aura!

Razul moved. His scimitar began surging with white fire.

White Flame Tiger!

The blazing tiger-shaped aura dashed towards Doran.

Boom!

The start of their battle was both brutal and showy.

Doran followed up with another attack.

"Amic!" Doran swung his sword, which was imbued with the Water Spirit's power, unleashing a wave-like blue energy at Razul.

Razul chose to take the attack head-on.

Forebears' Power!

Razul's muscles bulged. This skill temporarily doubled his physical strength.

Swoosh!

Razul swung his scimitar, cleaving the blue wave in two.

"Tarmic!" Doran yelled

Tarmic was the Fire Spirit.

Flames surged beneath Razul's feet.

Roar!

Surprised, Razul quickly retreated.

"Die!"

Doran didn't stop there.

White lightning came out of his sword. This time, the Lightning Spirit, Ramic, had lent him its power.

Razul swung his scimitar once more.

White Flame Slash!

The white flames swept through everything in front of him like a dragon's breath.

Lightning and flames clashed!

The flames turned out to be stronger. The white flames devoured the lightning, flaring even more intensely than before, and flew towards Doran.

"Momic!" Doran called for the Earth Spirit this time, and planted his sword into the ground. Then, the earth rose, forming a wall.

The white flames couldn't penetrate the earth wall.

Then...

Doran leapt into the air and landed onto the wall. Then, using the wall as a foothold, he leapt even higher than before.

When he was at his highest, he swung the Spirit's Sword as hard as he could.

"Huaahp!"

Mother Nature's Aura!

He unleashed green energy from his blade; it was like a giant avalanche was coming straight for Razul!

"Hmph!" Razul snorted and swung his scimitar.

That Which Crushes the Mountains, Forebears' Blow!

This was a secret technique, one that had been passed down from one Troll Chieftain to the next for generations.

Its power was undeniable.

A giant, troll-shaped energy came out of his scimitar, and ripped Mother Nature's Aura to shreds.

Doran landed and furrowed his brow.

He'd put everything into that attack, yet his opponent dealt with it so easily.

Then...

Rat-a-tat-tat!

The Nigel Knight Order, which had been riding across the battlefield, came riding over.

"Captain, no, Supreme Commander. Let's attack him from both sides," Echo said. He was the current captain of the Nigel Knight Order.

He'd fought Razul once before, so he knew just how powerful he was.

Doran nodded his head.

After fighting him in person, Doran had realized that Razul was stronger than him. Thus, they had to overcome him with sheer numbers.

"Let's go!"

Doran and the Nigel Knight Order dashed towards Razul. However, the Troll Champions moved in turn.

"Protect the Great Chieftain!"

"Kill those long-eared bastards!"

The brutal battle continued.

* * *

"Haa, haa." Kang Oh attacked Nergal, breathing haggardly.

"..." Nergal attacked him in kind. However, the light in his eyes began to dim. Ultimately, he fell to the floor.

Thud. Nergal's face landed onto the cold floor.

"I won!" Kang Oh raised Blood into the air and yelled.

The Troll Champion, Nergal!

He truly was strong.

Though he'd assumed his red demon form, the rampaging Nergal continuously overpowered him.

Thus, he was forced to swap to Demon Sword Ubist, activate Gluttony, and become the Jet-Black Demon.

Only then were they equal in strength. They relentlessly attacked each other, intent on ending the other's life.

As you can clearly see, Kang Oh was the victor. At full power, Kang Oh was strong enough to defeat a Troll Champion.

"This can't be. Lord Nergal was killed!"

"Let's take revenge!"

"You bastard!"

The Troll Warriors put aside their previous opponents and dashed towards Kang Oh.

Switch.

Kang Oh swapped Ubist with Blood, and instantly slaughtered any that came for him.

These trolls were nothing compared to Nergal.

Of course, that didn't mean he could just go looking for another Troll Champion. On the contrary, he had to hope that he didn't have to face another one.

He'd already used Baramut's Roar and Gluttony, so he couldn't use them for the time being.

'I need to be careful and take out the small fry for now.'

Kang Oh went all over the battlefield.

"He's the one who killed Lord Nergal!"

"Ugh, he's strong!"

"Run away!"

"We need a champion to fight him!"

The trolls yelled and struggled desperately. Unfortunately, their struggle was largely pointless.

'Mm, my precious experience points, proficiency, and loot!'

Kang Oh hunted to his heart's content, like a fox that'd gotten into a chicken coop.

How much time had passed?

The amount of prey slowly decreased. It was because the Anti-Ingrit Alliance had won.

"Great Chieftain!"

The face-tattooed Turkavan and his men had pierced through the Nigel Knight Order's perimeter around Razul.

Razul took a look around.

"The tides of battle have turned. We have to escape their perimeter. My men and I will take on that duty," Turkavan yelled.

Razul had a discerning eye, so he knew when a battle was won or lost.

So long as a giant tsunami didn't come and sweep away the Anti-Ingrit Alliance, the trolls had no chance of victory.

Ultimately, Razul came to a decision.

"All trolls! We have to retreat to Ankaro Fortress ASAP! Cut through anyone in your way and return home!" Razul yelled.

"Follow me! I'll pierce through the perimeter!" Turkavan yelled.

"You want to go home, you say? We don't have a place to go home to, you bastards!"

"Kill them all!"

"Don't let them escape!"

Doran, Echo, and the Nigel Knight Order eyes lit up with rage. They began attacking even more ferociously than before.

"Mercenary Squad, Anti-Ingrit Alliance! Reinforce the perimeter! Don't let a single one of them escape!" Balduk yelled. He too had no plans of letting the trolls escape.

"Orc Commanders, work with the mercenary squad and reinforce the perimeter!" The Orc Supreme Commander, Mumugul, had the same idea as Balduk.

"Give your lives for your brothers in arms! Pierce through the perimeter!" Turkavan yelled.

But the more time passed, the darker his face became.

'Mm. This is bad!'

He couldn't break through the perimeter. Plus, his troops were slowly dwindling! The Ingrit Trolls were slowly being driven into a corner.

At that moment, however...

They received unexpected help.