Kang Oh encountered a Tuslam Warrior, who was far stronger than an ordinary Tuslam.

[You have discovered Tuslam's Descendent, Warrior Amun.]

Amun wielded a different sized axe in either hand. The larger axe was double-bladed, while the smaller one was single-bladed.

"Who are you!?"

As soon as he sensed Kang Oh's presence, he threw his axe at him.

Weapon Bombardment!

This was the Tuslam's pride and joy!

The axe arced like a swooping eagle, flying straight at Kang Oh. Kang Oh, with Blood and Sarahoff in his hands, threw himself out of the way.

Boom!

The space he'd occupied had been razed. The explosion created a giant crater in the ground, and pieces of the ruins and dirt flew into the air.

This was the Tuslams' secret move, Weapon Bombardment.

However, Kang Oh had already experienced this move before, so he reacted to it calmly. He kicked off the floor and quickly charged at Amun.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Amun manipulated his thrown axe, causing it to fly at Kang Oh from behind. Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition allowed him to dodge it without issue. Then, he swung Sarahoff.

"Huahp!" Amun swung his larger axe.

"Haahk!"

Amun's double-bladed axe was made out of dark red metal. This metal was called Cardium, and could only be found in a cave that existed deep within the Great Forest's central region.

Clang!

Their weapons clashed, emitting a loud 'clang'. However, Amun's axe released a dark red powder.

Hiss!

Upon contact, Kang Oh's purple blade hissed and emitted smoke as if it were meat being cooked on the grill.

This was Cardium's special ability. If struck by a hard enough force, it released a powder as hot as lava!

Kang Oh avoided the powder and backed off.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere!" Amun immediately rushed at him and forcefully swung his axe.

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed, and he softly swung Blood.

Sword Parry!

Screech!

Amun's double-bladed axe slid off of Blood's snow-white blade.

At that moment...

Transcendent Blade!

Kang Oh aimed for Amun's neck within the slowed world.

Stab!

His purple blade struck Amun's neck.

"Ugh." Amun grimaced in pain. However, Kang Oh found himself doing the same.

Amun's axe had clashed with Blood, releasing dark red powder that burned Kang Oh's body.

"You bastard!" Amun pounced like a tiger and swung his axe.

"Die!" Kang Oh counterattacked with Blood.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Repeated 'clangs' resounded throughout the ruins.

Kang Oh and Amun's battle continued.

* * *

"Hoo." Kang Oh, assuming his Frostblood Demon form, stared at Warrior Amun's corpse and took a deep breath.

'I can't break the warriors' weapons.' Kang Oh stared at Amun's double-bladed axe, which he hadn't let go of till the very end, and made a mental note.

The Tuslam Warriors could use a skill called 'Fighting Spirit Veil'. Amun was no exception.

Once his weapon began to crack, Amun used the skill to protect his weapon from Sarahoff's Absolute Destruction.

By coating it in fighting spirit, the Tuslam Warriors were able to prevent Sarahoff from actually making contact with their weapons. Thus, Kang Oh wasn't able to break Amun's axe.

However, Sarahoff's other ability, 'Frost Demon's Domain' worked without a hitch. It reduced the opponent's core temperature, thereby reducing all of their abilities!

As their fierce battle continued, Frost Demon's Domain slowly weakened Amun. When he was sure of his victory, Kang Oh transformed into the Frostblood Demon and finished him off.

'Huh?' Kang Oh, who deactivated Devil Trigger, saw something shining atop Amun's body.

It was a medal.

[Tuslam's Token]

A token carried by the warriors of the legendary Tuslam Tribe. It is a symbol of strength.

Rank: AA.

There was a fixed chance that it'd drop if you defeated a Tuslam Warrior. But Kang Oh didn't know what it was used for.

'I suppose I'll find a place for it eventually.' Kang Oh pocketed the token and moved on.

* * *

He kept fighting again and again.

Kang Oh wasn't satisfied with a single Tuslam anymore. He'd fight two, three, or even four at once.

The Tuslam Warriors never gathered in groups. They were solitary existences like cranes.

To Kang Oh, however, they were extremely nutritious prey. Defeating a Tuslam Warrior in single combat yielded an extraordinary amount of experience and proficiency.

Of course, he didn't win every single time. Some of the Tuslam Warriors were much stronger than the rest. They were the Veteran Warriors. Their strength was the real deal.

His current record versus them was 4 wins, 6 losses. If he weren't so lucky, then he would've died six times already!

In any case, Kang Oh lived dangerously day by day in order to complete Valan's quest.

Kuhaaahk!

He also tried to figure out what that scream was too. However, Talastrum was such a huge place that he hadn't found out much.

* * *

'I'll have to make a quick trip to Altein.'

His belt was completely empty. He was so focused on hunting that he hadn't realized that he had run out of health potions.

He would also need to go to a blacksmith and repair his weapons too.

Whir!

Kang Oh ripped a return scroll and teleported back to Altein.

He exited Altein's intercity transfer gate and entered a secluded alleyway. However, an unwelcome guest suddenly popped out.

"Kang Oh," the woman said. She wore red robes and a mask engraved with a scorpion.

"Who are you?"

Kang Oh was currently wearing normal clothes so that he wouldn't stand out. However, this person had seen right through him.

No, it'd be more correct to say that she'd been looking for him.

'How did she...?'

Swish.

The unwelcome guest took off her mask, revealing a familiar face.

Poison Scorpion, Scapi!

She was both a Poison Mage, and one of Red Moon's top executives!

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed.

'Just my luck!' There was a huge bounty on her head. 'You're mine!'

Swish, slash!

Kang Oh instantly used Switch and cleaved through her with his demon swords. However, something bizarre happened. Sword marks appeared on her body, and then promptly disappeared. It felt like he was cutting water.

"It won't work. This is just a copy created out of poison," Scapi's poison copy said.

"Hmm."

A copy couldn't operate far from the original. If that's the case, then Scapi should be somewhere close!

Kang Oh immediately looked around. However, he didn't see her anywhere.

'Is she hiding somewhere?'

"What do you want?" Kang Oh asked.

"I have an offer for you."

"An offer?" Kang Oh replied, ready to strike her down at a moment's notice.

"...hire you."

"What?" Kang Oh's eyes widened. 'Did I mishear you?'

"I'd like to... hire you!" Scapi repeated.

"Hoh!"

That had come out of nowhere.

* * *

Murderer Red had given Scapi one single task: do whatever it took to bring Kang Oh before him!

She was locked in thought. How the hell was she supposed to bring Kang Oh to him!? After all, all four of the Heavenly Kings were no match for Kang Oh.

Realistically speaking, there was no way she could bring Kang Oh to the Shadow World.

'Should I lure him in?'

However, luring him in wouldn't be easy. Considering how great Kang Oh's combat abilities were, it'd have to be perfect. Otherwise, she'd be captured. If that happened...

She'd rot in jail like the other Heavenly Kings.

At the same time, she couldn't afford to disregard Red's command. If she didn't do as she was told, then Red would exile her from the Shadow World.

If she was exiled from Red Moon, her only safe haven, then there'd be no place for her but jail.

Scapi was in between a rock and a hard place. She thought about how she'd go about her task, but Red eventually gave her an ultimatum.

"You have a week. Bring him here by then. Otherwise... you know what'll happen, right?"

"You don't care what I do to bring him here?"

"Nope."

"Even if I have to betray you?"

"There's no loyalty between us. Just bring him here. Do whatever it takes!"

"...Understood."

'How do I bring him here?'

"So?" Kang Oh asked. He and her poison copy were staring at each other within the secluded alleyway.

"As I've explained, I have to bring you to Red. No matter what! But I'm not strong enough to bring you there by force, so I'll hire you instead." Scapi then pulled out two dried out pieces of paper.

One of them was definitely a gold scroll, which contained a certain sum of money.

"It's 100,000 gold. I made it by doing all sorts of nasty stuff." Scapi waved the gold scroll.

100,000 gold. In terms of Korean currency, it was the equivalent of 300 million won ($300,000 USD). Kang Oh's eyes followed the gold scroll as it shook.

"And this is everything I know about Red!" Scapi waved the other scroll too.

"Mm."

"If you put Red in jail, then I'll give you 100,000 gold. Ah, and do you happen to know how much Red is worth?"

"100,000 gold," Kang Oh replied immediately. The Worst Criminal and Murderer, Red, was definitely worth 100,000 gold.

"Exactly. So you'd be making 200,000 gold," Scapi said.

"200,000 gold, huh..."

Kang Oh was enticed by her offer. After all, it was like she said; he would be making '200,000 gold'!

"If you accept my offer, then I'll make it so that you can fight Red one-on-one. You won't be interrupted by anyone. Of course, if you want me to sign a Sabra's Contract, then I can do that too. You can add a clause that states that I can't betray you too," Scapi said.

"What do you gain from all this?" Kang Oh asked.

"If you put Red in jail, then Red Moon will become mine. All of my competitors have been either exiled or put in jail, so I'm number 2. If you lose, then I'll have completed Red's task and I won't lose my entire fortune."

"So either way works for you. After all, if you become leader of Red Moon, then you'll make far more than 100,000 gold."

Red Moon made a ton of money via their assassination contracts. If Scapi became the leader of Red Moon, then that money would fall into her hands.

"So I'd appreciate it if you accepted my request."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll have no choice but to take revenge."

"Revenge? Then do it."

Kang Oh wasn't afraid of her in the least.

"Do you know how I was able to find you?" Scapi asked.

"I don't think you were following me..."

"I have an item that lets me know exactly where you are. There are rumors that the Empire Guild is just waiting to kill you. Should I tell them where you are?"

"..."

That'd be pretty annoying. Especially if Dukeram came looking for him. He wasn't confident that he could beat him yet.

"If you accept my offer, then I'll add a clause in the Sabra's Contract stating that I won't use my tracking item on you again."

"Hmm. Red, huh..."

Kang Oh was confident that he'd be able to beat Red in a one-on-one fight. Moreover, he was enticed by the potential 200,000 gold.

'It's 200,000 gold for god's sake!'

In other words, there was 600 million won ($600,000 USD) at stake!

"How about it?"

"I'll... accept your offer."

"A wise decision."

The copy melted into a puddle of poison, and from there, Scapi's true body came out.

"Let's write the contract, shall we?" Scapi waved a Sabra's Contract.