Dukeram wielded Max Cain, a sky blue blade that sparkled like the stars in the night sky, and wore stylish armor!

Kang Oh, however, looked like a demon, and wielded both Demon Sword Ubist and Demon Sword Blood in his hands.

The two fought evenly.

Dukeram proved why he was worthy of rank 1, as well as how he'd defeated the Master Desert Warrior, Stan. Not only that, but he was a Master Swordsman himself.

He was strong, quick, and his swordsmanship was sound. He also timed the use of his skills well.

Dukeram was sharp and experienced, so he didn't overreach and didn't let down his guard either. Not to mention all of his equipment was SS-rank!

'He's definitely the strongest player I've ever fought against.'

Even Bart was nowhere near as strong as Dukeram. Helena's magic or Hernandez's spear wouldn't match up to him either.

Kang Oh couldn't match up to Dukeram with pure swordsmanship either. However, he had his Hyper Intuition.

It would tell him what his opponent's weaknesses were, as well as send him a warning whenever an attack was coming! This psychic ability allowed him to fight Dukeram evenly.

"Mm." Dukeram furrowed his brow for the first time after Kang Oh dodged his attack.

He couldn't understand Kang Oh.

Kang Oh shouldn't be at a level that would allow him to dodge all of his attacks, yet he was somehow managing to do just that.

'How about this!?' Dukeram used another secret move.

Space-Time Slash!

This skill allowed him to transcend time and space!

Dukeram swung Max Cain.

Then, Kang Oh's back felt cold. He instinctively rolled to the side.

Swish!

A thick line appeared where he'd once been.

This was Space-Time Slash!

Space-Time Slash made the user's attack come out three seconds later, or come at an angle that their opponent didn't expect. However, Kang Oh had managed to dodge this too!

"Are you psychic or something?" Dukeram asked.

"..." Kang Oh said nothing. He merely stood up and extended Blood.

Stab!

The snow-white blade sliced through Dukeram's right arm, causing it to burst with shards of light.

At that moment...

Supersonic Strike!

Dukeram activated Max Cain's special ability.

The sky blue blade cleaved through Kang Oh's body with blistering speed.

Bam!

"Ugh." Kang Oh staggered.

After witnessing Kang Oh's ridiculous evasion, Dukeram had come to the conclusion that he'd have to sacrifice his body to land a critical blow.

Immediately after he'd come to that conclusion, he put it into effect.

His tactic of risking injury to deal fatal damage had worked perfectly.

Dukeram attacked the staggering Kang Oh once more.

Steel Slash!

Max Cain flew at Kang Oh, intent on finishing him off.

Whir!

Kang Oh's necklace glowed with light.

Moon's Protection!

A full moon surrounded him.

Bam!

Once Max Cain struck Kang Oh's barrier, Dukeram quickly withdrew his sword and prepared his next move.

Space-Time Slash!

He swung his sword in the air.

As soon as the barrier disappeared, a line was etched on Kang Oh's body.

"Tch!" Kang Oh held Ubist horizontally.

Clang!

Upon contact, a metallic 'clang' rang out.

However, Space-Time Slash was just bait!

Dukeram forcefully swung Max Cain, which glowed with golden light.

Sword that Brings Victory!

Regardless of his Hyper Intuition, Kang Oh couldn't dodge everything.

He couldn't dodge Dukeram's sequence of attacks.

Bam!

The giant, mighty energy devoured Kang Oh whole.

[You have been swept away by a powerful attack.]

[You have fainted.]

[HP -2%]

[HP -1%]

[HP -3%]

...

'Damn it!'

Countless shards of light fell from Kang Oh's body. The impact of Dukeram's attack had caused him to faint, so there was nothing he could do.

At that moment...

Kang Oh's dark red wings forcefully flapped. Having sensed the danger he was in, Tasha had begun controlling his wings.

Like a flying fish jumping out of the water, Kang Oh soared into the air.

Once he escaped the Sword that Brings Victory, the status ailment, fainting, was dispelled.

"Thank you, Tasha!" Kang Oh said.

'You saved me!'

"Don't lose!" Tasha said telepathically.

"Of course!" Kang Oh swung Ubist.

Tempest Tiger!

A roaring tiger-shaped aura shot out of his blade, and dashed towards Dukeram.

If you use a huge attack, then you leave yourself open!

Bam!

Since he'd just used a secret move, Dukeram was unable to block or dodge the Tempest Tiger, and fell to the floor.

This was a first.

Dukeram's butt had hit the hot sand.

"Emperor Dukeram has fallen!"

"Kang Oh's counterattack worked!"

The networks' correspondents became heated.

"Mr. Dukeram!"

"How dare you!?"

"That bastard!"

The Empire Guild members yelled.

Whoosh!

Tempest Tiger's auxiliary ability, the raging whirlwind, caused sand to go flying everywhere.

Swish!

However, the whirlwind was split in half and disappeared.

Tramp.

Dukeram walked out, his entire body covered in sand.

Wings of light protruded from his back. He had activated his necklace's special ability.

Valhalla's Wings!

This effect doubled his abilities for 10 minutes.

But that wasn't all.

Silver energy rose from Max Cain like a haze.

Kang Oh had seen this ability before. Dukeram used it against Stan.

'Enlightened One!'

Sword that Brings Victory, Space-Time Slash, and Enlightened One. Those were the three secret moves that Dukeram possessed!

Not only did it strengthen his abilities, but it would increase the power of all his Swordsman-related skills and draw out his sword's maximum potential.

In other words... Rank 1, the Master Swordsman and strongest player, Dukeram, had become even stronger!

'I need to use something good!' Kang Oh hung Blood on his waist, and pulled out a sapphire ring from his inventory.

Lycas's Ring!

It was an S-rank item that he got from Ridgeley after he beat him a second time. It was an incredible ring, so he could sell it for a ton of money!

Even so, he had to be willing to sacrifice at least this much to fight against Dukeram.

Gluttony!

Demon Sword Ubist's darkness coiled around Kang Oh's arm, and then devoured the ring.

[Demon Sword Ubist has consumed Lycan's Ring.]

[It is an S-rank item.]

[Entering Gluttony mode.]

[For 20 minutes, the demon sword and your character's abilities are tripled.]

[You may use the abilities: Lightning Bolt and Lightning Veil.]

[Lightning Bolt: There is a fixed chance of lightning striking the enemies around you. The user's magic stat affects the lightning's power.]

[Lightning Veil: Imbues the power of lightning into one's weapon. Deals lightning damage to the user's enemy and occasionally paralyzes them. There is also a fixed chance of casting Chain Lightning whenever you swing your sword.]

Kang Oh stretched out his dark red wings, and darkness exploded from his demonized body.

Dukeram swung his sword at him. Kang Oh was in the air, so there was no way his attack would hit.

So long as he didn't use Time-Space Slash, that is.

Swish!

Dukeram targeted Kang Oh's wing. Tasha quickly reacted, and dodged his Space-Time Slash.

He swung his sword once more.

Crescent Moon Slash!

A crescent moon shaped blast flew right at him.

"Tasha! Let's go get him," Kang Oh said.

"Got it."

The Dual Demon stretched out his wings, dodged the aura, and flew right at Dukeram.

Kang Oh swung Blood while flying horizontally. He was so used to swinging his sword midair now, so he had no problems with it.

Slash!

A white line followed Demon Sword blood.

Dukeram responded with a skill of his own.

Steel Slash!

Max Cain was swung downwards, clashing with Blood.

Clang!

The collision resulted in a huge 'clang'. It was a sign that the power behind both their blades was tremendous.

Kang Oh landed on the floor. Then, Dukeram extended Max Cain.

Vital Thrust!

Max Cain radiated intense light. It was the effect of Enlightened One. As a reminder, this skill increased the power of any sword-related skills!

Noticing how powerful his attack seemed, Kang Oh swung both his demon swords simultaneously.

Abyss Claw!

Fresh Blood Wave!

The jet-black and blood red waves shot forward.

Boom!

Upon contact, both Kang Oh and Dukeram were pushed back.

Dukeram was the first to get back into position and attack.

Kang Oh responded belatedly.

He swung both Ubist and Blood, but Dukeram deflected them and pierced the middle of Kang Oh's chest.

Red shards of light burst from his body.

Dukeram didn't stop there.

Attack! Attack! Attack!

'This bastard!' Kang Oh gritted his teeth.

Dukeram's skill with the blade was tremendous.

Even though he was using both Devil Trigger and Gluttony, Kang Oh was getting overpowered.

He was arduously blocking Dukeram's attacks, but he couldn't block them all, and he didn't often get a chance to retaliate.

'I can't keep this up!'

To think he'd be pushed back after using Gluttony! Kang Oh decided to use his last resort.

A short while later...

The effect of Lycan's Ring activated.

A bolt of lightning fell from overhead. However, Dukeram didn't dodge it. He instead swung his sword at it.

Crescent Moon Slash!

It was quite a shocking turn of events.

Dukeram split the lightning bolt in two, as if he were felling a tree, and the lightning dissipated on its own!

As expected of Dukeram!

However, that gave Kang Oh the time he needed to use Switch.

Demon Sword Blood was switched with Demon Sword Akanhoff.

Although Akanhoff possessed abilities second to none, it drained its user's HP!

This sword may enable him to win against Dukeram.

Anyhow, once Blood disappeared, Kang Oh's appearance changed.

The horns on his mask, the dark red wings, and the red blood armor disappeared. He had become the Jet-Black Demon.

Lightning Veil!

Crackle!

Sparks danced across Demon Sword Akanhoff's purple blade. Kang Oh also added a secret move to that.

Mad Wind's Sword!

Ubist and Akanhoff! Both of his demon swords began to dance through the air.

Unwilling to be outdone, Dukeram began to swing his sword as fast and as powerfully as he could.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Their blades continually met, resounding in repeated 'clangs'. Plus, shards of light began to spill from Kang Oh's body.

Dukeram was really crazy.

He deflected both of Kang Oh's demon swords while he was using Mad Sword's Wind and even managed to find the time to counterattack like it was nothing!

However, Kang Oh didn't just sit there and take it. Kang Oh focused on Max Cain more so than Dukeram himself.

Even a blade of Max Cain's caliber wouldn't be able to withstand Akanhoff's Absolute Destruction ability, especially when they made contact so many times.

Once Max Cain's blade dulled ever so slightly, Dukeram furrowed his brow.

'It's dulling Max Cain's blade!? That sword's dangerous.'

Dukeram realized how overpowered Demon Sword Akanhoff was. Thus, he decided to finish off Kang Oh before his sword could be destroyed.

His attacks became even fiercer.

However, Kang Oh was using Mad Wind's Sword! The more he swung, the quicker his attacks would become. Thus, he was able to match Dukeram's speed.

Moreover...!

The increase in attacks caused Darkness Strike to activate.

Black beast and purple bird shaped waves completely overwhelmed Dukeram.

This was the first time Kang Oh had gotten the upper hand in his fight against Dukeram.

Of course, Kang Oh's condition wasn't good. He'd taken tremendous damage from Dukeram, Akanhoff was steadily draining his HP, and Mad Wind's Sword was quickly depleting his MP and Stamina!

'I can't keep this up for long. I have to finish him off while I still have the chance!'

Kang Oh rushed forward and barraged him with attacks.

Crackle!

Lightning Veil's secondary effect activated, causing Chain Lightning to shoot out of Akanhoff.

Swish!

Dukeram cleaved it in two using Steel Slash.

Then, Kang Oh let out a battle cry and bombarded him with powerful skills.

"Uhaaaa!"

Slash!

Lightning Breath!

Tempest Tiger!

Abyss Claw!

Everlasting Darkness!

Dukeram's handsome face contorted significantly. He also yelled fiercely.

"Haaahp!"

Dukeram knew that this would determine the winner and loser of the fight, so he used every single one of his item effects and skills.

Steel Slash!

Time-Space Slash!

Vital Thrust!

Supersonic Strike!

Crescent Moon Slash!

Sword that Brings Victory!

Kang Oh and Dukeram. One was a huge wave and the other a huge storm; a wave and storm that devoured everything in their path!

Clashing with their full strength caused shockwaves to spread everywhere, affecting the guild members, the special correspondents, and the 4th Corps.

"Damn it!"

"Uheok!"

Aside from just a few of either sides' strongest, everyone else was blown back in a 50 meter radius of Kang Oh and Dukeram, and fell to the floor.

So much sand had flown into the air that it was difficult to see what was going on.

Sometime later...

People began to get a hold of themselves one or two at a time.

"Haa, haa!"

"What the hell is this!?"

"So who won?"

"Who won?"

The sand began to clear.

And...!

Kang Oh and Dukeram were revealed.