Dungeon Predator (WN)

Kang Oh stood tall. Around him lay leftover Hellfire Zombie arms, the Radioactive Ghouls' green teeth, the Skeleton Warriors' yellowish rib bones, the Death Knights' dark swords, the Rag Golems' flesh, etc.

[You have defeated a Rag Golem.]

[Stats have been stolen.]

[Magic +1]

[You have defeated a Skeleton Hellfire Warrior.]

[Stats have been stolen.]

[Physical +1]

[The Bringer of Weak Magic (Skeleton Mage) has been defeated.]

[Magic +1]

...

[You have defeated a Hellfire Zombie.]

[You cannot steal anymore stats.]

[Stolen Stats: 500/500]

[You have defeated 132 undead monsters at once.]

[Fame has increased slightly.]

[You have leveled up.]

"It went well."

Aggroing a huge mob of undead monsters had born fruit. He had maxed out his stolen stats in a single go, after all.

Rattle!

Clatter!

However, some of the undead had survived. To be more specific, they had been outside the range of Dragon's Fury or Abyss Predator!

They mostly consisted of long range attackers like Skeleton Mages or Skeleton Archers. The survivors immediately shot their magic and arrows at him.

Of course, they didn't pose a threat to Kang Oh.

He immediately deflected the arrows and quickly closed the distance, killing them all in no time flat.

* * *

The Saul Graveyard's most powerful monster was the Chaos Knight. It was basically a Death Knight and a Ruin Knight combined. A Death Knight commanded a battalion of undead troops, while a Ruin Knight possessed incredibly high combat abilities.

It was around level 550 - 600.

The Chaos Knight rode upon a skeleton horse, or Tehorus, known for devouring one's good memories and leaving only nightmares behind.

[You have discovered the Chaos Knight, Gardner.]

[It is using its charisma to intimidate you. However, it has no effect on you.]

Kang Oh had already defeated several Chaos Knights before. They weren't difficult for him to defeat.

This time was no different.

Gardner was more like a test subject.

Neigh!

The Tehorus, wreathed in blue flames, fiercely rushed at him. Gardner gripped a sharp blade in one hand.

Charge of Death!

They were akin to a brakeless, speeding train; they would break through anything in their path!

'Not a chance.'

Kang Oh's Avenger set glowed.

Summon the Incarnation of Vengeance, Shumir!

This was the Avenger set's final ability.

Whir!

Kang Oh's shadow stretched out, and a three-dimensional shape appeared. It was a sleek black panther. Its tail was as thin and as long as a rope; no, to call its tail long wouldn't really cut it.

Technically speaking, it would be called a long-tailed black panther or tail whip black panther.

Its eyes were a deep purple, and ancient purple markings were engraved on its black fur like a pattern of sorts.

[You have summoned the Incarnation of Vengeance, Shumir.]

[Shumir will persist for 1 minute.]

[Shumir imbues you with the power of vengeance. This power disappears along with Shumir.]

[Power of Vengeance: Inflicts pain proportional to your hostility towards them. Against enemies that cannot feel pain or whose pain is reduced, you deal additional damage to them instead.]

'Pain, huh...'

There were times that pain could be a superior status ailment than even poison, burn, frostbite, paralysis, and unconsciousness.

What if the pain was too much? They wouldn't be able to do anything. The target would just writhe on the floor and scream in pain.

Taking down such a target would be a piece of cake.

But against the undead, who were immune to pain, or players, whose pain was reduced to a certain threshold, he would deal additional damage instead.

Like right now.

His Hyper Intuition sent him an icy warning. In no time at all, the Chaos Knight's mount had appeared before him.

Red Butterfly's Dance!

Kang Oh leapt out of the way.

Bam!

He was so fast that the Charge of Death merely grazed him.

Swish!

Shumir swung its long tail. The lengthy tail elongated even further. It was basically a whip at this point.

However, the speed at which it moved was extraordinary. It was difficult to track with the naked eye.

Bam!

Shumir's tail struck the Tehorus's side.

Neigh!

The Tehorus screamed in pain and fell to the floor.

It was only natural. The Incarnation of Vengeance, Shumir, inflicted horrendous pain to its victims. Its ability wasn't limited to hostility.

The Tehorus wasn't able to stand upright when faced with such overwhelming pain.

In any case, the Chaos Knight leapt into the air.

Swish!

Shumir, as if waiting for this moment, fiercely swung its tail.

Bam!

But the Chaos Knight was not to be underestimated. It deflected Shumir's tail with its sword. In midair at that!

However, Shumir's tail was relentless. It immediately attacked him once more.

Whack!

A clear 'whack' resounded throughout the graveyard.

The Chaos Knight was undead, so it didn't feel any pain. In exchange, a huge amount of shards burst from its body.

When Shumir was unable to inflict pain onto its opponent, it dealt additional damage instead. It was similar to the power it bestowed onto Kang Oh, the 'Power of Vengeance'.

After that, Shumir one-sidedly beat down on the Chaos Knight like a sandbag. It mercilessly bashed on Gardner with its tail.

The Chaos Knight tried its best to close in. However, a good offense was the best defense. True to that saying, Shumir continued to launch sharp attack after attack, preventing it from closing the distance.

Ultimately, the Chaos Knight gave up on approaching it. It radiated a large amount of dreary energy from afar and launched an aura attack.

Swish!

Like a true panther, Shumir moved with incredible speed and grace. It easily dodged the Death Aura and continued to swing its tail.

Shards of light continuously fell from the Chaos Knight's body.

'It's strong, as I expected.'

Kang Oh watched the fight without interfering. According to literature, Shumir's power was equivalent to a Great Spirit.

It was said that it was over level 500, but it was clear that it was around level 600. After all, it was completely overpowering a Chaos Knight.

However, it could only be summoned for 1 minute. Once that minute had passed, it would disappear like a mirage.

Obviously, the power it granted its summoner would disappear as well.

"Hmm. If only the duration time was a little longer..."

It would probably be too overpowered. That's just how powerful Shumir was.

'The cooldown time is 1 hour, yet its duration time is only 1 minute. You really have to use it at the right time.'

The more powerful an ability, the more difficult it was to use. If mistimed, Shumir wouldn't be able to show its true worth.

Neigh!

Now that Shumir was gone, the Tehorus could stand up again. It righted itself and rushed at Kang Oh.

The same went for the Chaos Knight, who'd been fighting Shumir directly.

Mad Wind's Sword!

Kang Oh swung Blood and Ubist simultaneously, engaging the Tehorus and the Chaos Knight at once.

It didn't take long before they became experience points; after all, Shumir had already softened them up for him.

* * *

Once the war with the Evil God Worshippers ended, everyone's attention turned to the desert.

The war between the Arabas and Baiyan kingdoms.

Most people believed that the Arabas Kingdom would come out victorious, but reality greatly differed from their expectations.

The Arabas Kingdom hadn't won a single battle.

The Empire Guild's pride and joy, their eight squads, retreated without doing much. Despite that, Raon and Han Seol couldn't shake off the uneasiness they felt.

"What are they thinking?" Han Seol asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps they're weaker than we expected, and the Baiyan Kingdom is stronger than we first thought," Raon said.

The Arabas Kingdom and, by extension, the Empire Guild, had lost every single battle thus far. It actually made Raon start to doubt himself.

On the other hand, Han Seol still believed that the Empire Guild was letting them win.

"No! They're definitely up to something."

"However... The tides have already turned. If you take into account their losses, it's clear that they'll retreat soon."

"Are you sure about that?"

"They will."

Sometime later...

Information was leaked to the Baiyan Kingdom's higher ups. The Arabas Kingdom's invasion force was divided into two separate factions.

One of them was the Empire Guild. The other was the nobles, as their power had been seized by the former. The nobles were secretly passing off military secrets to the Baiyan Kingdom.

Han Seol came looking for Baiyan's 2nd Corps Commander, Balkmas.

"Is the rumor true?" Han Seol asked. She was somewhat friendly with the corps commander.

"It's true."

"What do the Arabas nobles want?"

There's no way they'd leak military secrets for free.

"When the Arabas Kingdom loses the war, they want to blame their loss on the Empire Guild and drive them out. They want us to help them with that."

"Mm."

"It can't hurt us. If the Empire Guild disappears, then the balance of power will be restored."

"Can we trust the Arabas nobles? If they betray us at a critical moment, then..."

Han Seol still had her doubts. However, Balkmas shook his head.

"Their information has never been wrong. That's why we've been able to win every single time. The tides have already turned in our favor. We have more troops now too. All that's left is for this war to end," Balkmas said firmly.

"Understood."

That answered all of Han Seol's questions.

'The Empire Guild made a mistake. They should've strengthened their hold over the kingdom before declaring war. They were trying to blame an outside force for their own failings. They struck at this particular moment, when the free cities couldn't help the Baiyan Kingdom.'

The Empire Guild's upper management were all human too. They could make mistakes.

"We're ending this in two days, in the Grendal Desert. We've already made an agreement with the nobles to end the hostilities there."

"Congratulations." Han Seol smiled.

"Hoo, the fruits of victory are sweet. But it's the aftermath that concerns me. I can feel a headache coming along with all the paperwork I'll be left with." Balkmas clutched his forehead.

"Shall I help?"

"I'd appreciate it."

The two stared at each other and smiled.

* * *

The Grendal Desert lay on the border between the Arabas and Baiyan kingdoms.

There was a huge oasis there called the Grendal Oasis, so the two kingdoms fought for this piece of land several times in the past. After all, water was the most precious resource in the desert.

At the moment, the Baiyan Kingdom was the owner of the Grendal Oasis. Thus, the Baiyan Kingdom was able to set up camp nearby, while the Arabas Kingdom was forced to pitch tents in the blistering heat.

The oasis versus the desert.

These differing locations were symbolic of the state of the two opposing forces.

"Let's put an end to this war!" Baiyan's Supreme Commander, Kabula, yelled.

"Uooooh!"

"Uwaaaah!"

"Baiyan! Baiyan! Baiyan!"

The Baiyan force's morale couldn't be any higher. Their cries resounded throughout the desert.

"All forces, charge!" Kabula thrust his sword forward.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Baiyan Kingdom's forces advanced, leaving behind countless footprints in the sand.

On the other hand, the invading force's morale had hit rock bottom. The Supreme Commander, Dukeram, was nowhere to be seen.

"Crush them!"

"Kill them all!"

"Let's go!"

The Baiyan army, the mercenaries, and members of Breaker and Storm enthusiastically rushed forward.

The victor had already been determined. Now it was just a matter of who contributed the most, and who collected the most loot.

"T-They're coming!"

"Uheok!"

As said, the Arabas army's morale had hit rock bottom.

They were like fallen leaves in the autumn wind. The Arabas army was trampled on, unable to put up a proper fight.

However...!

A hero shows up at the end!

"Brave sons of Arabas!"

A man riding a winged, snow-white horse, or Pegasus, descended from the sky.

It was Emperor Dukeram!