It was a desert; a sea of sand below the blistering heat of the sun!

Rat-a-tat-tat!

Nasty looking men rode on galloping horses, which created a thick dust cloud behind them.

They soon arrived in a quarry, which was filled with nothing more than sand and some yellow grass.

"Let's go."

The men got off their horses and entered a normal-looking cave.

"The Gold Valley!" the leader yelled as soon as they reached the end of the cave. Then, something extraordinary happened.

Rumble!

A giant boulder, which blocked their path, rolled to the side and revealed a road that led someplace else. None of them looked surprised. It seemed like they were used to this phenomenon.

The men went inside. The passageway inside was as tiny as an ant tunnel. However, there was a giant space that lay at the end of the tunnel.

It was no normal room.

"Hurry up and get a move on!"

"Do you want to die!?"

It was a giant workhouse!

The overseers repeatedly yelled and swung their whips, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

The workers beneath them were mining something. It shone with yellow light... It was gold!

That's right. This was a gold mine.

"Hurry up and move! Do you want to die!?"

Swish, bam!

An overseer's whip struck a lanky, elderly man's back.

"Ugh," the man weakly cried out, and then died.

"Wait, you're dead already? Hey, hurry up and get him out of here!"

Although he'd just killed a man, he bore no guilt whatsoever. He truly was the worst that humanity had to offer!

However, this wasn't a rare sight; the same thing, or worse, was happening all over the workhouse.

It was only natural. This was a place where people were bought and sold, and worked to the bone as slaves; it belonged to a criminal organization, and was called the Desert Fox's Nest!

The recording continued.

Now, it began to depict Michael's tragic end.

When he was young, Michael served as one of the Dellas Kingdom's Desert Warriors, but when he got older, he became a nomad; a nomad that roamed across the desert's various oases.

Eventually, he was caught by the Desert Fox Brigade. Him and his entire family included!

The Desert Fox sold his wife and daughter someplace else, and forced him and his son into slave labor.

His son was the first to go, unable to withstand the harsh labor. Michael cradled his son's dead body, even as he was being whipped by an overseer, and swore he'd get revenge someday.

He would kill them all no matter what!

Michael bided his time, and then fought back against the organization.

In his youth, he was a renowned warrior, so he was able to kill an overseer and steal his weapon. Then, he swung his sword in a frenzy in an attempt to kill all of them.

However...

The Desert Fox's leader showed up.

He was too powerful. So much so that Michael wouldn't be able to win against him in his prime!

Ultimately, Michael was overpowered and captured. However, the boss was crueler than the average person.

He retrieved Michael's wife and daughter, who'd already been sold, and killed them before his eyes.

The leader was making an example out of him, so that the slaves wouldn't think to rebel again.

"Uaaaahk! I'll get my revenge no matter what!"

After that, Michael was killed by the Desert Fox's leader, and became a vengeful spirit due to his grudge.

"The Desert Fox Brigade are trash that operate on the borders of the Dellas, Baiyan, and Arabas Kingdoms. Kill them all as painfully as possible! And I want you to liberate those that have been imprisoned as fast as you can!" Michael said furiously.

[Detailed information has been added to the quest, Revenge by Proxy.]

[The quest has a limited timeframe. Remaining Time: 7 Days.]

"Those sons of bitches!" Kang Oh gritted his teeth.

To think they'd kill his family right in front of him! Michael was right; they really were the worst.

Kang Oh stared at Valan. "Did you see it?" He was making sure Valan had seen Michael's story.

"I did." Valan's face was stone cold.

"Where exactly is their cave?" Kang Oh asked.

"I'll take you there."

"Let's go now." Kang Oh suddenly stood up.

Valan nodded his head and followed suit.

"Ah, there's something I have to add."

"What is it?"

"Their leader is a Master Desert Warrior."

"Excuse me?"

'A Master? Like Mahakan and Burkan?'

Kang Oh realized that this quest was a lot harder than it first seemed.

"Why's a Master going around doing stuff like that?"

Kang Oh couldn't understand him.

"Sraka's an Evil God Worshipper, yet he's a Grandmaster. One's character and skill are completely separate."

"Mm."

He was right. After all, Valan was a good example of this.

"His name is Gajil. He was once a promising Desert Warrior from the Baiyan Kingdom, but he eventually fell from grace due to his lust for money. I hadn't heard news of him for a while, but I didn't think this was what he was doing," Valan said angrily.

With great power comes great responsibility!

Gajil's actions went against Valan's beliefs. Thus, he needed to punish him for his wrongdoings.

"Let's go and take care of him."

Who cares if he's a Master? He had a Grandmaster right next to him!

"Yeah, let's go."

Kang Oh and Valan immediately headed for the desert.

* * *

When Kang Oh had first started playing Warlord, he was carried (a high level player helping out a low level player) by a renowned player.

The more skilled the player and the more efficiently they cared for a low leveled player, the better the results.

That was the only time Kang Oh had ever been carried.

But today...

Kang Oh, who was led to the Desert Fox's Nest, was being carried by the very best. The Guardian of the Continent, Valan!

"Enemies..."

"Tres..."

None of their enemies could block or evade Valan's blade. One by one, they were judged by Valan's sword.

"I'll take care of Gajil. Protect the prisoners," Valan said.

"Yes, sir," Kang Oh immediately said.

Kang Oh wasn't strong enough to take on a Master yet. However, no one else here would be able to pose a threat to him.

"I sense his presence over here. I sense several people over there," Valan said at a forked road. "Let's split up here."

"Please be careful."

"Careful? Me?" Valan grinned. He was as arrogant as always.

"Yeah, yeah." Kang Oh brushed him off and went off to rescue the prisoners.

"Who are you!?"

"Where do you think this is!?"

A ton of trash barred his way. There were dozens of them.

"Hmph." Kang Oh pulled out Blood. It felt like a waste to use two swords against this trash.

Kang Oh quickly swung Blood, and fully charged it in a flash. Fifteen red stars appeared along Blood's blade.

Festival of Blood!

Blood Bomb!

Boom!

Blood red energy exploded from Kang Oh's body, sweeping through all the trash around him. There was no trace of them left.

"H-He's strong!"

"Call the boss!"

The villains cowered before Kang Oh's might.

Kang Oh had no intention of letting even a single one of them live. He mercilessly swung his sword again and again.

Mad Wind's Sword!

Blood Bomb!

Boom!

None of them could stop Kang Oh.

Sometime later...

Kang Oh reappeared at the forked road, but was followed by several people. They were the people he'd saved.

"C-Can we really leave?" a man asked.

He shook at the thought of the Desert Fox's leader. After all, he was quite the frightening individual.

Kang Oh had some idea as to what he was thinking. Thus, he simply smiled and spoke softly to assuage them.

"It'll be alright."

After all, he had come with an even more frightening individual.

In no time at all, they had reached the entrance.

"You're here?"

Valan was waiting for him.

"What about Gajil?" Kang Oh asked, and Valan swiped a finger across his neck. "Already?"

'How did you kill a Master this quickly!?', he wanted to say, but considering how powerful he was, it made sense.

'He really is amazing.'

There were no flaws in Valan's skill.

"He was a Fake Master," Valan said.

"A Fake Master?" Kang Oh tilted his head.

"He's a Master all right. But he hasn't trained a lick after reaching that stage, so he's a Master only in name. These guys are the easiest to kill."

All Masters weren't on the same level. They were divided into ranks as well. Apparently, Gajil fit into the lowest echelon of Masters.

"Let's go."

"Yes. Everyone, please follow me!"

It took a quarter of a day to kill the 'Terror of the Desert', the Desert Fox Brigade, and save the prisoners.

As expected of Valan!

There was no quest he couldn't complete with him at his side.

* * *

All eyes were on Franco. It was only natural. After all, it was where the war that would determine the fate of the continent would take place.

If the Evil God was truly brought into the world, then the world would be filled with chaos.

But even at this time, there was an organization that was only focused on their own gain.

"All forces, charge!"

50,000 of the Arabas Kingdom's troops crossed the Baiyan Kingdom's border. Dukeram was at the helm of this army.

Emperor Dukeram, ranked 1st amongst all players! The greatest and most powerful of them all!

He had complete control over the Arabas Kingdom's military.

"Hehe, finally."

"What a time to be alive. It's time for us to let loose!"

"Indeed!"

Dukeram's executives couldn't withhold their excitement.

Empire. This was their dream, after all; to unite the continent under one banner, one empire.

* * *

Empire, Breaker, Storm, and Steel Heart were the four most powerful guilds. That's why they were called the 4 great guilds.

Of course, these four guilds had a power structure too. The Empire Guild was the most powerful. This had always been the case.

Second place was either Storm or Breaker. You could go either way. These two guilds had profited significantly from the Ecle War.

In last place was Steel Heart.

Unlike Breaker or Storm, Steel Heart had lost the war. As a result, they had incurred significant losses.

Although they'd somewhat recouped their losses, they had been forced to halt all their activities outside following the war and heal their wounds.

However, Steel Heart was profiting immensely by providing the Protectors of the Continent with war supplies.

On the contrary, Breaker and Storm weren't so quick to join the war. The reason was simple.

They wanted to prevent the Empire Guild from accomplishing their goals.

The Empire Guild had consumed the Arabas Kingdom whole. Soon, they would devour the Baiyan and Dellas Kingdoms too.

That was made clear when the Arabas Kingdom had refused the Protectors of the Continents' request for aid.

Normally, Storm and Breaker wouldn't be worried about the Empire Guild taking over the Arabas Kingdom. After all, the free cities existed. These free cities elected their own officials, and couldn't be controlled by the large guilds.

But they hadn't expected the Empire Guild to try and control all three of the desert kingdoms, which still had a monarchy in place!

This wasn't something that could happen overnight. They had definitely planned this from the very beginning.

Whatever the case, the Empire Guild had taken control of the Arabas Kingdom, giving them power that no other guild could normally obtain.

But what if they were to take control of the other kingdoms as well? They would become unassailable.

Breaker and Storm were afraid of this. Thus, when the Empire Guild made their move, the two guilds stood against them and slowed down their progress.

Like right now.

Storm and Breaker's leaders, Hernandez and Raon, had heard news of the Empire Guild's advance.

However...

The Protectors of the Continent had sent them a request for aid. The reward was almost too enticing to give up.

Hernandez and Raon had two choices ahead of them. They could either participate in the war against the Evil God Worshippers, or halt the Empire Guild's advance!

Logic dictated that they head to the desert. The problem was that it wouldn't yield very much in return.

Sure, the Dellas and Baiyan Kingdoms would reward them, but it wouldn't amount to much. They hadn't asked them to come, and they were coming over to fight on their own accord.

"What do we do?" Hernandez asked Han Seol.

Han Seol was an intelligent woman who served as Storm's vice-captain.

"Isn't it obvious? We have to stop the Empire Guild."

"But... Won't Baiyan be alright on its own? Do we really need to step in? As you know, if we go to the desert, then we can't fight the Evil God Worshippers. You know what we'll be missing out on, right?"

They would lose out on a ton of gold, the ability to pick items out of a large city's treasure house, and a huge amount of contribution points from the Tower.

Not only that, but it was also a good opportunity to increase their closeness with the forces that comprised the Protectors of the Continent. There were plenty of other opportunities that would yield them a huge profit.

Especially the churches! If they got close to a church as powerful as the Rakan Church, then they wouldn't need to fear the Empire Guild.

"Joining the Protectors of the Continent may be more profitable in the short run, but if we don't stop the Empire Guild now, then they'll become unstoppable later on. If that happens, we'll lose everything," Han Seol said decisively.

"Still..."

"We're going to the desert!"

The decision had already been made.

"Fine." Hernandez nodded his head.

The Storm Guild's elites headed to the Baiyan Kingdom. At around the same time, the Breaker Guild mobilized their own troops. They were headed for...

"We're headed for the desert!"

The Black Lion, Raon, had strongly pushed for this outcome. Eight out of ten of their executives had insisted that they join the Protectors of the Continent. They argued that the profits would be far greater in the short run.

However, Raon stood firm, and they ultimately followed their guildmaster's decision.

What would be the result of their decisions? They'd just have to wait and see.