Chapter 557. Battle to Determine the Strongest (3)

Translator: Boko

Kang Oh didn't like gambling.

Gambling meant that victory and defeat was determined by luck. If his likelihood to win was high, then he wouldn't call that a gamble.

It was an act of desperation; the desperate act of a loser and a weakling.

Thus, he hated taking risks like this.

However, he had no choice. At this rate, he would die and come back, but without Gluttony, he would have no chance against Dukeram.

He couldn't afford to die.

Kang Oh gritted his teeth. He waited for the right moment to parry Dukeram's destructive, indiscriminate attacks, which were like a buffalo's charge.

'Will I be able to use Sword Parry?'

It was almost impossible.

Thrusts were the most difficult type of attack to parry. That's because they were targeted at a single point, not a wide area.

Even more so when referring to Steel Rain, which unleashed consecutive quick and powerful thrusts.

Plus, if he failed, he would die. He didn't have a chance in hell of surviving.

But he didn't have any other choices.

If he used Abyss Transfer, Dukeram would immediately stop him. Moon's Protection was still on cooldown. Abyss Shield would offer as much defense as a piece of paper before Dukeram's assault.

Ultimately, Kang Oh's only choice was to parry Dukeram's attack, land a counter, and break his momentum.

After that, he could use Abyss Transfer to run away, or continue to attack.

Successfully parrying his attack was the answer. However, the chance of success was way too low. That was why it was a gamble.

Kang Oh endured, and waited for his opportunity.

Unfortunately, Dukeram had seen right through him.

His thrusts didn't come at him at the same speed; some were slower and some were faster. It seemed like he knew exactly what he was trying to do.

'Damn!'

Even with his Hyper Intuition, there was no way he could time Sword Parry correctly.

Kang Oh's face darkened behind his beast mask. He only had 5,000 HP left.

If he took two or three more attacks, then he'd be finished.

Swish.

Max Cain cut through his earlobe.

[You have lost HP.]

[Remaining HP: 3,115]

[Warning! You do not have much HP left.]

He was in trouble.

Most people would give up or think about it after they revived.

But Kang Oh was different.

'This isn't going to work!'

They say that if you overcome adversity, then you become that much stronger. Kang Oh, who'd overcome near death situations again and again, didn't give up till the very end.

Was that why?

He didn't think; he just moved. He searched for a way to survive, and his body responded to that desire.

Kang Oh slightly jumped.

Then, Dukeram aimed his sword at Kang Oh's stomach.

A short while later...

The tip of his blade struck Kang Oh's belt. More specifically, it struck the Dragon's Heart!

Something surprising happened.

Bam!

Max Cain bounced right off.

The Dragon's Treasure Belt had an effect called 'Three Person Masterpiece'. This ability increased the stat bonuses of any armor that contained leather, metal, or jewels by 10%.

Plus, it safeguarded all of his leather, metal, or jewels from destruction.

Normally, the Dragon's Heart would've shattered or at least cracked. That's how powerful Dukeram's thrust was.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

However, the Three Person Masterpiece effect protected it, and repelled Dukeram's attack with an equal amount of force.

Dukeram staggered from the unexpected force.

'Now!'

Kang Oh didn't waste this golden opportunity. He thrust Ubist and Blood simultaneously.

Even if he swung Max Cain, he wouldn't be able to block both of them!

He planned to strike Dukeram with one blade, and then use Abyss Transfer to catch his breath.

However...!

Kang Oh saw Dukeram pull out a round glass shield from his inventory using Switch.

There was a giant monster whale engraved on the surface of it.

Mamonas's Glass Shield!

It was an SS-rank item that the Ruler of the Golden Desert dropped.

The shield would reflect any attack back at its owner. It didn't matter if it was a Dragon's Breath, or an Archmage's Meteor Fall.

In exchange, it could only be used once.

It was a glass shield, so it was extremely fragile. Plus, it would take a week to repair itself.

'One attack is plenty.'

Dukeram was absolutely sure that his final card would work.

It would be game over for Kang Oh the moment his demon swords made contact with his shield.

Kang Oh would die, and when he revived, he would be no match for him.

The Empire Guild had exhaustively researched Kang Oh, the greatest obstacle in their path.

Thus, Dukeram knew all about Gluttony and Resurrection.

Resurrection was an incredible ability, but he wouldn't retain his buffs upon revival.

'I win!' Dukeram smiled as if he'd won.

However...!

Right before his blades made contact, Kang Oh let go of both Ubist and Blood.

It was due to his Hyper Intuition.

His body had felt cold all over, so Kang Oh had let go of his swords.

After all, several glass shields had the ability to reflect attacks.

Crack!

Mamonas's Glass Shield shattered into pieces.

At the same time, it unleashed fierce energy that contained the same amount of damage it'd taken at Kang Oh.

Kang Oh threw himself to the side.

Boom!

It was as if dynamite had just exploded.

There was a massive explosion. Sand surged into the air and flew everywhere.

Swish! Swish!

Demon Sword Ubist and Demon Sword Blood, which had soared into the air, fiercely spun and came flying at Dukeram's head.

Weapon Bombardment.

Dukeram commanded the sand to rise and protect him, while he went directly after Kang Oh.

'Damn it.'

It was infuriating how perfect Dukeram's decision was.

Kang Oh almost wanted to sigh, but he quickly switched to Sarahoff instead.

Bam! Bam!

His two other demon swords struck the sand wall. Meanwhile, Dukeram swung his blade at Kang Oh.

Supersonic Strike!

There was no way Kang Oh could dodge this.

He never had any intention of dodging it in the first place though. He knew that Dukeram would use this specific move.

'He's going for the neck or heart!'

Dukeram's swordsmanship valued efficiency above all else. He would take the best route to striking at his opponent's weak points.

Plus, Dukeram wanted to end this as soon as possible. If that's the case, then he would aim for the heart or the neck. There was nowhere else.

It didn't matter even if he was wrong.

If he didn't aim for those body parts, then he wouldn't die from a single attack.

Before Dukeram even swung his sword, Kang Oh protected both his heart and neck.

It was the correct decision.

Clang!

The force behind his attack was tremendous, but fortunately, he didn't lose any HP from it.

Where one sees danger, another sees opportunity.

Blood and Ubist, which had broken through Dukeram's sand walls, came flying at him.

Bam! Bam!

Dukeram rolled onto the floor.

Kang Oh used Abyss Transfer. However, he was concerned that Dukeram kept staring at him, even as he was rolling on the floor.

It was as if Dukeram wanted him to use Abyss Transfer. Thus, he canceled its activation and assumed a defensive posture instead.

"Tch." Dukeram clicked his tongue and stood up.

Then...

The shattered pieces of his glass shield came flying at Kang Oh.

This was Mamonas's Glass Shield's second ability, 'Glass Trap'.

As expected!

Kang Oh protected his backside with Abyss Shield, and deflected the rest of the pieces with Sarahoff.

Swish!

Ubist and Blood returned to him, and landed in the sand next to his feet.

Then, Dukeram forcefully swung Max Cain.

Space-Time Slash!

His Hyper Intuition warned him, so he knew where Dukeram was aiming. Kang Oh twisted his body and dodged the attack.

Then, sand spikes surged from the ground.

Kang Oh picked up Ubist and cleaved through the spikes.

Then, Dukeram rushed over and attacked him.

Steel Rain!

Kang Oh responded in kind.

Annihilation Spear!

It was the ability of the Hellfire Greatsword!

Annihilation energy, which destroyed everything in its path, swirled around his body, and then shot straight at Dukeram.

The Annihilation Spear was more powerful than Dukeram's Steel Rain.

However, Dukeram did something that even surprised Kang Oh.

Sword Parry!

He parried an energy blast, not a weapon attack with the flat of his blade!

This wasn't something anyone could do.

Not even Kang Oh could do it.

It was only natural. It was a special skill that only Dukeram possessed.

Vital Thrust!

Max Cain came flying at Kang Oh with blistering speed. However, Dukeram's body twisted midway.

Then, the area Dukeram's right foot was stepping on turned into ice.

Kang Oh readied his next move as soon as Dukeram parried his Annihilation Spear. He had created an icy road using Sarahoff's power.

It was a simple move, but sometimes simplicity was good enough.

Tempest Tiger!

His jet-black blade released a tiger wrapped in golden light. It roared, and then pounced on Dukeram.

Invincible Guardian!

Sand surged from the floor and formed into faultless armor.

Boom!

The nearby sand surged into the air.

Kang Oh pulled a health potion from his belt and drank it down. 'Man, that sure tastes good.'

However, he wasn't safe just yet. He still didn't have much HP left.

Bam!

A golden pillar of light shot out of the giant sand cloud, and came flying at Kang Oh.

It was the Sword that Brings Victory.

Kang Oh threw himself out of the way.

Dukeram kept swinging his sword.

It felt like something had left a long cut on his body as he was rolling on the floor.

It was a Space-Time Slash.

Kang Oh rolled on the floor like a log. He was coming straight for Dukeram. It wasn't his intention; Dukeram had made it happen.

Once they were close enough, Dukeram used Steel Rain again.

Kang Oh bounced back up like a spring, and was about to use Mad Wind's Sword, but hesitated.

If he fought Dukeram in a war of attrition, then their HP would slowly go down. Eventually, he, who possessed Hyper Intuition, would have the upper hand.

However... he didn't think he could get there. He didn't have much HP left!

'I'm finishing this.'

Kang Oh didn't rush himself, and waited for an opportunity to strike.

The problem was that Dukeram didn't show any openings. He didn't have any choice but to force him to expose himself.

Kang Oh stepped back and summoned the Spirit of Vengeance, Shumir.

It was a panther with a long, whip-shaped tail!

As soon as it appeared, it swung its tail with blistering speed and deflected the Steel Rain.

However, not 5 seconds later, its tail had been ripped to shreds.

Kang Oh had expected this, so he threw Ubist at Dukeram. He didn't use Weapon Bombardment.

Demon's Descent!

The sword expelled darkness, which formed into the King of Demonic Beasts, an entity that even Kang Oh couldn't tame!

Here it was!

Dukeram remained calm and advanced forward, continuously using Steel Rain.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

It was as if it were actually raining steel. Ubist's body was filled with holes.

However, Ubist was no ordinary beast.

It bit Dukeram's neck.

At that moment...

Kang Oh reappeared amidst Ubist's dark, shadowy body. He had assumed an iaido stance with Sarahoff at his side.

He only had one thing on his mind.

Divide the Sea!

There was only one technique that could kill Dukeram in a single hit.

He didn't worry about 'Can I's?'. He didn't have a choice. He had to do it.

'How?' didn't enter his mind either. There was only one thing in his mind.

A strong will to cut Dukeram using Divide the Sea!

Kang Oh repeated the scene of Dukeram being split in half dozens of times in his head.

He didn't think about anything else. All he cared about was cutting Dukeram.

His hair bristled, and his back tingled. Warm, lava-like energy filled his body from head to toe, which he poured into Sarahoff.

'This is it!'

Kang Oh swung Sarahoff horizontally.

A single line that divided the world in two!

'Sloppy.'

That's what Valan would've said if he saw it.

'But still... you did good!', he would've added.

The Grandmaster's absolute killing technique, Divide the Sea, was revealed to the world through Kang Oh.