Brutal Blade and Taboo rushed at Kang Oh. However, it was clear that they were no match for him.

"Ugh." Brutal Blade blocked Kang Oh's strike and grimaced.

"Damn it!" Taboo exploded with anger. 'Why the hell are you so strong!?'

At that moment...

Shion, whose face was embedded in the cold floor, began to twitch. A short while later, he stood up completely unscathed!

This was his secret technique, 'Transmigration of Souls'. Shion had used this skill to revive himself.

"Kang Oh!" Shion stared at Kang Oh with bloodshot eyes and pointed his staff at him.

Mother Nature's Fury!

The ground parted beneath Kang Oh's feet, and deep green energy surged from below.

Kang Oh absorbed the spell with Ubist.

The other two used that opportunity to attack Kang Oh. Brutal Blade's katana gleamed, and Taboo's mace ripped through the air, giving off a weighty sound.

Red Butterfly's Dance.

Kang Oh's body sped up, as if he'd hit the fast forward button, and he managed to dodge both of their attacks.

He would turn this crisis into an opportunity!

Kang Oh swung Ubist and Blood one after another!

The twin swords formed an X. That X etched itself onto Taboo's body, bursting with shards of light.

"Ugh." Taboo backed off, absolutely stupefied. However, Kang Oh pursued him.

"You bastard!" Brutal Blade attacked him from behind.

Ghost Slash!

At the same time, the ground parted between him and Taboo, and out came a blockade of trees.

Shion had cast a spell called Tree's Protection.

However, neither Brutal Blade's katana, nor Shion's spell could stop Kang Oh.

Swish.

Brutal Blade's strike connected, causing a fistful of shards of light to burst from his body.

Kang Oh paid no attention to this, and cleaved through the barrier.

Mad Wind's Sword!

Taboo's shocked face appeared beyond the shredded tree barrier.

Kang Oh charged right at him.

"I won't take this lying down!" Taboo yelled desperately, and unleashed a powerful attack.

Rising Dragon's Energy!

Great Pulverize!

Tornado!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

They all came at him, but Kang Oh didn't back down.

Festival of Blood!

He continuously swung his blood sword.

Ultimately, Kang Oh won. He pierced through all of Taboo's attacks.

"Ugh." Taboo's lips shook. He was thinking 'There's no way we can beat him.'

"Huahp!"

Mad Wind's Sword had greatly increased his speed, and Kang Oh used that amplified speed to its fullest to mercilessly rip Taboo to shreds.

No matter how much endurance Taboo had, there was no way he'd be able to withstand this. In an instant, his HP had dropped to dangerous levels.

However, Kang Oh didn't finish him off. Instead, he forcefully whacked Taboo's head with the flat of Ubist's blade.

Whack!

When a player is at critically low HP and they get hit by a strong physical blow, they'll become 'incapacitated'.

Of course, deliberately inducing this required incredible skill, but Kang Oh had that in spades.

"Gargle." Taboo fell backwards, making a sound as if he were gargling spit. He was incapacitated, so he couldn't move anymore.

'Just sit still.'

Taboo was worth a fortune. Thus, he'd chosen not to kill him and incapacitated him instead.

The amount of time a player stayed in this state varied, but in general, a player wouldn't be able to control their character for about 10 to 15 minutes.

"Shion!" Brutal Blade yelled.

"Got it." Shion cast a healing spell on Taboo; or he tried to, at least.

However, Kang Oh had disappeared. He had used Abyss Transfer.

'He'll aim for me.' Shion stopped casting the healing spell, and cast a spell to protect himself instead.

It was as he expected. Kang Oh reappeared right in front of him.

Shion cast all of the spells he'd prepared.

Mother Nature's Fury!

Nature's Barrier!

Green energy quickly flew at Kang Oh in a zigzag pattern, and a barrier formed around Shion's body. However, it wasn't nearly enough to stop Kang Oh.

Blood Bomb!

15 stars had long since appeared on Blood's blade. Since he'd been continuously cutting his enemies apart, he'd maintained max stacks.

Blood red energy exploded from Kang Oh's body.

Boom!

The barrier cracked.

Kang Oh immediately swung his sword, aiming for the crack.

Shatter!

A few strikes caused the barrier to shatter completely.

"Tch." Shion threw himself out of the way.

Transmigration of Souls was still on cooldown, so he couldn't revive himself again. Thus, he had no other choice. The best he could do was get out of the way.

Fortunately, the heavens hadn't forsaken him yet.

Battle Maniac!

This skill drained the user's HP in exchange for a substantial increase in their combat ability. Brutal Blade rushed at Kang Oh, buying Shion time to make his escape!

"Go!"

Because of him, Shion was just barely able to back off in time.

Clang! Clang!

Kang Oh and Brutal Blade clashed blades several times. However, even with Battle Maniac active, Brutal Blade was no match for Kang Oh.

"Ugh."

Kang Oh's fierce assault kept pushing Brutal Blade back more and more until he fell on his backside.

'Now!' Kang Oh swung the flat side of Ubist, and smacked Brutal Blade's head.

Smack!

Brutal Blade's body fell over sideways. Now, he was incapacitated too.

All that was left was Setinel's Sage!

Kang Oh rushed at Shion, who was busy healing himself.

"Grr, stop him!" Shion yelled.

The few remaining members of the Tiger King Squad, the Madman Squad, and the Black Scorpion Squad threw themselves at Kang Oh. However, it was like throwing yourself into a typhoon. They were cut down instantly.

Bam!

Kang Oh stood before Shion.

"I'll get my revenge someday!" Shion widened his eyes and yelled.

"Sure, see you later." Kang Oh calmly stabbed his chest with Ubist.

Stab!

His face turned ashen, and he died.

There was a good reason he'd chosen to kill Shion but not the others.

Shion was essentially a walking treasure house. Everything he wore was a masterpiece.

Thus, killing him and picking up whatever he dropped was more profitable than cashing in on his bounty.

Plus, he hasn't been associated with Red Moon for very long, so unlike Taboo or Brutal Blade, his bounty wouldn't be all that high.

"Oho." Kang Oh's eyes gleamed. Shion had left behind a shimmering belt.

'Helmaris's Silk Belt!'

This was the SS-rank belt that the Hercules Guild had gotten from killing their first raid boss, Helmaris!

Kang Oh quickly stashed the belt and took a look around. There was still a small handful of criminals left. However, they looked like they had no will to fight.

"R-Run away!"

"Damn it. Run!"

They ran in every which way. However, there was one individual that was quickly approaching him.

Poison Scorpion, Scapi!

She had fully absorbed the Snake King's venom.

* * *

"Shit!" Yaksha cursed. He, along with the Killing Ghost Squad, had come to kill Sephiro.

His reaction was understandable. Just look at what's in front of him.

Kuhaaahk!

The Killing Ghost Squad were taking on Giant Krugers.

Sephiro and Waryong were nowhere to be found.

'This damn place!'

The Great Forest's central region was truly a horrific place. Once he and his squad came rushing at Sephiro, Sephiro ran away as if saying 'Catch me if you can.'.

They focused entirely on chasing after Sephiro, but along the way, they were attacked by Giant Krugers.

'Don't explore the Great Forest's central region in a large group'. This had all happened because they hadn't adhered to that.

To make matters worse, an arrow came flying at them from an unknown location.

Whizz!

The Killing Ghost Squad couldn't dodge the arrows and the Giant Krugers.

Thwock!

Upon impact, the squad member lost his balance. The Giant Kruger then swung its fist and sent him flying.

It was a vicious cycle.

If they focused on the arrows, then the Krugers would kill them, but if they focused on the Krugers, then the arrows would inevitably leave them open to the Krugers anyway.

Yaksha bit his lip. They had to retreat.

They could handle the Krugers, but they had no idea where Sephiro was. Plus, there was no guarantee that they wouldn't encounter any more monsters along the way.

"Retreat! Run away!"

Ultimately, Yaksha was forced to order their retreat.

As if waiting for that order to be given, the Killing Ghost Squad immediately scattered.

However, they couldn't get away that easily. It was hard to get away from the Krugers, and Sephiro's arrows were like homing missiles; they'd never miss or go astray.

Gyaa!

Out of the blue, a red wyvern appeared and spewed red fire, which was a pain in the ass to deal with.

Regardless, retreating was the correct answer.

"Don't stop. Retreat!"

Yaksha and the remaining members of the Killing Ghost Squad rushed back to the area where the rest of Red Moon were fighting Kang Oh.

Of course, Sephiro and Waryong chased them all the way back and kept attacking them. The Giant Krugers did the same.

"Tch." Yaksha deflected one of Sephiro's arrows and kept running. The Killing Ghost Squad struggled to survive.

However, he was shocked by what he saw.

"Holy shit!"

The notorious criminal organization, Red Moon! Red Moon's Heavenly Kings and their elites were sprawled on the floor.

There were only two people standing: Kang Oh and Scapi!

'Kang Oh beat all of them by himself? Only Scapi is left?'

Yaksha rubbed his eyes and looked again. He couldn't believe it. However, he wasn't seeing things.

Kang Oh had completely annihilated Red Moon's elites!

Does this make any sense? No, it doesn't!

Fortunately, Scapi was fighting Kang Oh evenly, no, she was slightly ahead!

'Please win, Scapi!' Yaksha desperately cheered for her.

* * *

After becoming a Poison Human, Scapi's bronze skin gained a rainbow hue.

Fatal Breath!

Purple poison mist escaped from her lips like a long snake.

'Fast!' Kang Oh was shocked.

Normally, her poisons were extremely fatal and had a long range. In exchange, however, they were extremely slow.

He wasn't sure what she'd eaten, but Scapi's attacks were extremely fast now.

"Tch!" Kang Oh quickly threw his body out of the way. However, he wasn't able to dodge it completely. The poison had slightly grazed his skin.

[You have been slightly exposed to Croik's poison.]

[It is impossible to resist Croik's poison.]

[Your HP will be reduced by 30% in 30 seconds.]

[You have seven symptoms of being poisoned!]

[Thirst, slow, dizziness, limited eyesight, chills, burning pain, and numbness.]

[Warning! It is an incredibly dangerous poison.]

Croik's poison was one of the world's most dangerous poisons! The scariest part was that it couldn't be resisted, no matter how high one's poison resistance was.

It was different if you had an ability like Poison Human, which allowed you to absorb poisons.

'Did she absorb the Croik's poison?'

Fatal poisons were like a tonic for Poison Humans. If she had truly absorbed Croik's poison, then it would be as if she'd drank the highest quality tonic.

Kang Oh came to a decision.

This wasn't the time to be happy about killing Shion, and capturing Brutal Blade and Taboo alive.

'I'm in a huge pickle here.'

Switch Akanhoff.

He stored Blood and swapped to Akanhoff.

Kang Oh still had 6 minutes left on Gluttony. In the remaining time, he had to beat Scapi.

The Dual Demon devolved into the Jet-Black Demon. He lost his horns, his wings, and his red armor.

Scapi opened her hands.

Poison Sphere!

The mottled spheres shot at him like bullets.

Rather than deflect the spheres, Kang Oh rolled on the floor.

If his blades made contact, then they'd explode. There was no point in dealing with them straight up.

Scapi raised her right hand into the air.

Whir!

Her hand glowed with brilliant rainbow light.

Poison Whip!

She swung her arm, and a whip made of fatal poison came flying at Kang Oh.

Kang Oh instinctively followed his Hyper Intuition's warning, and rolled to the side. He dodged the whip and then sank into the darkness.

Abyss Transfer!

Kang Oh instantly appeared behind her and forcefully swung Akanhoff downwards.

Swish!

Akanhoff sliced through her back. Take a look at the shards of light that exploded from her body. They were so clear, red, and large!

Scapi turned herself around. Her chest bulged and her cheeks swelled like a chipmunk. Then, she deflated and unleashed powerful poison energy at him.

Huueup!

Hoo!

Poison Tsunami!

Croik's rainbow poison came straight for him.

There was no way he could dodge this. Even Kang Oh wouldn't be able to survive if he were hit by this directly.

Ultimately, there was only one option available to him.

Moon's Protection!

A barrier shaped like the full moon surrounded him. For 3 seconds, any and all attacks would be nullified!

However, Scapi had planned for this, as she continued to spew poison even after the 3 seconds had passed.

'If I want to survive, then I have to take it head-on!'

When the barrier slowly disappeared, Kang Oh swung his sword.

Abyss Claw!

Tempest Tiger!

Lightning Breath!

Everlasting Darkness!

He alternated between his most powerful attacks.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Kang Oh's attacks crashed into the Poison Tsunami.

Boom!

It was like a volcano had erupted.

Kang Oh's attacks and the Poison Tsunami intertwined, surged into the air, and then exploded.

The situation wasn't looking good for him.

Croik's poison was falling like rain. He got several system messages warning him of impending danger.

'Go for broke.'

He'd already been affected by Croik's poison, so there was no point in backing off. He'd either kill her, or he'd die. There were no other options.

"Die!" Kang Oh rushed at Scapi.