By the time Kang Oh's sword flurry was over, Lacus's body was riddled with wounds, and his HP was close to 0.

"I lost." Lacus dropped his axes and admitted defeat.

"Tell Shion that it's his turn next time," Kang Oh said frigidly. 'I'll get you back for what you did to Asu! You can count on it!'

"Don't make me lau..."

Kang Oh swung his sword.

Swish!

Lacus's body turned gray and fell backwards.

[You have defeated the dungeon master's proxy in a Sacred Duel.]

[You are now the master of the soul dungeon, Furon Underground Cave.]

[As punishment for losing the Sacred Duel, Lacus and the Hercules Guild cannot enter the Furon Underground Cave for a week.]

"Wow. I knew you could do it!" Asu rushed over and grabbed his hands.

"How was he? Was he as good as the rumors say?" Sephiro came over and asked.

"Weren't you watching?"

"I was."

"Then it should be clear."

"You fought him personally, so I'm sure you have a different perspective." Sephiro grinned.

"He's strong, but he wasn't hard to fight. I'll be able to beat him again the next time we fight."

He forced Kang Oh to use Gluttony, so he was definitely deserving of his rank 14 spot. But that was all. There was a huge gap between them.

'As expected, large guilds' rankers are just hot air.'

Arth's ranking was holistic. This obviously included a guild's strength. Thus, a player in a small guild would have a lower ranking than a player in a large guild.

"My new master," Uru, the soul dungeon's guardian, said.

"Take care of me."

"If you want to smell the flowers, feel free to come whenever you want. This is an eternal flower garden."

"Sure. Do you mind if I take some of the flowers or plants?" Kang Oh asked. Some of the plants or flowers were extremely precious medical herbs or materials. In other words, they'd be worth a lot of money!

"You can't!" Uru said firmly.

"Why not?"

"If you do, you'll stop being my master."

"Alright, I'll just look at them."

"Good idea."

"Anyhow, could you activate the magic circle? We'll have to get going."

"Ok."

"See you later."

"Take care."

Kang Oh waved his hand, and Uru waved back at him.

"There are only three left," Kang Oh said. In other words, there were three other dungeons that were suspected of being soul dungeons.

"Let's do it!" Asu clasped her hands together.

"Hoo, let's go all the way!" Sephiro clenched his fist. 'Screw it!'

Whir!

The magic circle's light enveloped Kang Oh's party.

* * *

The Ekrast Plains.

"Fire!" Arthand swung his hammer down. Then, dozens of cannons fired simultaneously.

Whoosh!

Boom!

Arthand smiled as he saw the cannonballs land, and unleash their magic spells.

The cannons were extremely powerful. The Raon Alliance's rear troops, the Mage Squad or the Healer Squad, were unable to do their jobs properly. They would either die to the cannonballs or the spells within them, or were too busy dodging them to do much else.

"Good, good. Ready the next wave! Raise your shields. Don't let them reach the Engineer Squad or the cannons!"

"Yes, sir!"

'This'll be a huge win for us. We introduced them a bit early, but it was definitely worth it.'

But at that moment...

Several troops rushed out of the Red Thorn Forest, which lay at the side of the Erkast Plains.

It was the Lava Squad.

They had appeared in an advantageous position. As if that wasn't enough, they were riding on horseback, so they quickly reached the Engineer Squad and the cannons.

"Follow me!" The Lava Squad's captain, Magma, said fiercely. His brown horse galloped towards the cannons, and his squad followed behind him.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

"No! Protect the Engineer Squad! Surround them. Protect them with your lives!" Arthand yelled.

In order to stop the Lava Squad, Steel Heart's guild members turned around. However, they were in such tight formation that they got in each other's way.

"Hey, get out of my way!"

"Ah, excuse me."

"Get a move on!"

On the contrary, the Lava Squad rushed over with blistering speed. Soon enough, they had gotten right in front of them.

"You won't get past me, you bastards!" Arthand and his elite guard blocked them.

"Get past them!" Magma ordered curtly, as if he'd expected this. Then, the Lava Squad parted like the Red Sea, and ran around Arthand and his guards.

"You bastard!" Arthand leapt into the air and swung his hammer. The two he'd struck fell off their horses.

"Stop them!"

"Do whatever it takes to stop them!"

Arthand's elite guard threw themselves at the Lava Squad. However, it was already too late.

"Destroy every last cannon!" Magma's voice rang out. At the same time, flames surged from his body. His hidden class, Sun Warrior, was a melee class that allowed him to wield flames.

Sun Sword!

His weapon turned yellow and spewed red flames.

Firebird's Fluttering Wings!

Magma swung his sword, unleashing mighty flames that consumed the closest cannon and Engineer Squad members.

"Raise your shields! Protect the cannons at all costs!" the Engineer Squad Leader, Yassab, said.

Befitting their title as the Steel Heart's elites, the Engineer Squad pulled the square shields off their backs and protected themselves.

Roar!

Blocked by the wall of shields, the flames could advance no further. However, the shields couldn't protect them from the charging Lava Squad members.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

"Ugh."

"Uhahk!"

Once they pierced through the shield wall, the Lava Squad immediately went for the cannons.

"No! Protect the Engineer Squad and the cannons, you idiots!" Arthand yelled.

"Destroy all the cannons. You'll get a huge bonus!"

"Uoooh!"

The Lava Squad ran amok. Befitting their squad's name, the members of the Lava Squad were extremely passionate and excitable.

They specifically aimed for the cannons with no regard for their safety; it was as though they weren't concerned about dying.

Clang!

Soon enough, Magma rejoined his squad and melted a cannon with his flames. That was only the start; the rest of the cannons went down like dominos.

"Stop!"

Arthand rampaged about like a mad buffalo from behind them. Whenever he swung his hammer, he'd crush the Lava Squad members' armor or weapons.

"I'll take care of Arthand. The rest of you, take care of the cannons," Magma quickly said, and rushed at Arthand.

"Go for the cannons!"

"Protect the cannons!"

The Lava Squad and the Engineer Squad mingled together and screamed.

Clang!

Magma's flaming sword and Arthand's hammer emitted sparks as they clashed.

"Magma, you bastard!" Arthand's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"How was it? Did you like the heat?" Magma sported an impish expression.

"Get out of my way!" Arthand swung his hammer downwards. In response, Magma swung his flaming sword upwards.

Clang!

While they fought, the Lava Squad did their duty, and began dying one or two at a time.

"I got a cannon!"

"Cannon, cannon, cannon!"

"Go away already!"

How much time had passed?

"We're leaving now!" Magma took a quick look around and yelled.

"Run!"

"Retreat!"

"Let's get out of here!"

The Lava Squad members used their trump cards, and did whatever it took to survive.

"I'll be going now," Magma looked at Arthand and said.

"That's not going to happen!" Arthand and his elite guard surrounded Magma. They'd already taken huge losses, so they at least had to kill Magma.

However, Magma's body suddenly transformed into a huge fire.

Incarnation of Hellfire!

Magma, who'd transformed into a fiercely burning flame, unleashed fire in every direction, and broke through their perimeter.

"No! Stop him!"

Arthand's elite guards used chains, hooks, arrows, and spells. Arthand himself threw his hammer with all his might.

However, Magma pierced through it all. By drawing all of their attention, he allowed the surviving Lava Squad members to escape.

Grr. Arthand gritted his teeth, and clenched his hands so hard that it seemed like they'd burst.

If he'd been with the Steel Heart's executives, then this wouldn't have happened. However, his executives were at the forefront, performing their missions to the best of their ability.

"Give me a report on our losses. How many cannons are left?"

"That's..." The Engineer Squad Leader, Yassab, hesitated.

"I asked you a question."

"We lost twenty-two of them."

"Then we only have eight left?"

"Three of them are so heavily damaged that they'll have to be repaired by a blacksmith."

"Ugh. Then we only have five left?"

"Those bastards focused entirely on the cannons, so... At least we managed to kill a ton of them."

"You think that'll make me feel any better!? Do you really think they're worth the same!? We didn't even manage to kill Magma!" Arthand yelled angrily.

"Please calm down. We still have the Steel Corps."

"Hoo." Arthand took a deep breath.

The Steel Corps was, like the cannons, another one of their trump cards.

"Fix the cannons by tomorrow!"

"Yes, sir."

Sometime later...

Whistle!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The whistle of a pipe and the beating of a drum resounded throughout the battlefield. Both sides were backing off.

"Retreat!"

"Everyone back off!"

"The battle's over. Take the injured and leave!"

Arthand kicked a pebble on the floor.

The Hegang Alliance got a lot out of the cannons. After all, the Breaker Guild's Mage Squad had taken heavy losses. However, they had also lost the majority of their cannons to the Lava Squad.

"Damn it. We lost out." His face would remain creased for some time.

* * *

Kang Oh aimed for the Hercules Guild's other soul dungeons. He didn't stop at Furon Underground Cave.

King Vitan's Tomb!

Vice Valley's Historic Site!

Tallane Charnel House!

Kang Oh had suspected that these were soul dungeons. Of these, two of them were soul dungeons; King Vitan's Tomb and Tallane Charnel House.

With his Hyper Intuition and his experience finding countless hidden dungeons, Kang Oh was able to find the entrances to these hidden dungeons. They were hard to find, but easy to open once you found them!

His Hyper Intuition did activate in Vice Valley's Historic Site, but he gave up on it, as he couldn't figure out the puzzle.

Anyhow, Kang Oh's party easily took down the two dungeons' guardians too.

If you invested a ton of repel points into them, guardians could grow to become extremely powerful. However, the Hercules Guild hadn't raised their guardians' abilities at all.

Then again, who would be crazy enough to mess with one of the Hercules Guild's dungeons? There really was no reason to strengthen their guardians! Instead, they used those repel points to expand the dungeon.

"Tell Shion that I'm coming for him soon!"

"Y-You bastard!"

Kang Oh mercilessly stomped on the high ranker and paladin, Light Rock, within King Vitan's Tomb.

"We'll see..."

Tallane Charnel House's proxy had been the high ranker, Duvalnetta. He was an archer that was proficient in close combat, as he strapped two crossbows on his arms.

Of course, he wasn't able to beat Kang Oh either.

"Shion isn't showing up." Kang Oh disappointedly smacked his lips. Although he'd attacked the Hercules Guild's soul dungeons, its guildmaster, Shion, had never appeared. Instead, Kang Oh had fought against his proxies.

Whatever the case, Lacus, Light Rock, and Duvalnetta were the Hercules Guilds' pillars! Kang Oh had beaten every last one of them. He had also recorded every one of his fights, which depicted their loss and their humiliation.

However, Kang Oh still wasn't satisfied. No, there was no way he would be. After all, he'd started this sequence of events with the end goal of destroying the Hercules Guild!

"What are you going to do now? Are you going to go after more soul dungeons? No, the better question is do they even have any left?" Sephiro asked.

"No, this is good enough. Now we have to get ready to bring the fight to them." Kang Oh grinned.