Last updated: September 12, 2026 · Verified against the licensed manhwa
The Jeju Island arc is the peak of Solo Leveling. Korea and Japan send their strongest hunters to clear an S-Rank gate overrun by mutant ants. The raid collapses, the Ant King kills eight S-Rank hunters including Japan’s strongest, and Jinwoo arrives to end it.
It runs chapters 95–110 of the manhwa and episodes 10–13 of the anime’s second season. It is also where Beru joins the shadow army.
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Manhwa chapters | 95–110 |
| Anime episodes | Season 2, episodes 10–13 |
| Final boss | The Ant King, later named Beru |
| Major deaths | Goto Ryuji, Min Byung-gyu, eight Japanese S-Ranks |
| Jinwoo’s level after | 100 |
Table of Contents
Spoilers for Season 2
This page covers the full arc, including its ending. It does not go beyond what the anime has aired.
What Happens in the Jeju Island Arc
Jeju Island has been lost to giant mutant ants for years. Three previous raids failed. The ants are evolving, and once they develop flight, the mainland is next — which is what finally forces Korea and Japan into a joint operation.
The Korean team includes Cha Hae-In , Baek Yoonho, Choi Jong-In, and Ma Dong-wook. Japan sends Goto Ryuji, its strongest hunter, with a full S-Rank squad. On paper it is the most powerful group ever assembled for a single gate.
The Ant Queen is killed — Cha Hae-In lands the fatal blow. Then the Ant King emerges, and the operation stops being a raid.
The Betrayal Most Summaries Skip
Japan’s offer of help was not an act of solidarity.
Goto Ryuji and the chairman of the Japanese Hunters Association joined the raid with a specific objective: let the ants thin out Korea’s S-Rank hunters, then claim the island. Korea’s strongest were meant to die on Jeju.
Our read
The betrayal is what makes the arc land. Without it, Jeju is a monster fight. With it, the arc is about hunters being more dangerous to each other than the ants are — and it sets up the international politics that drives the rest of the series. Most recaps leave this out entirely.
The plan collapses in the most direct way possible: the Ant King kills Goto first.
How Jinwoo Knew to Come
Jinwoo was not on the raid roster. He arrives because of something he set up in advance.
Before the operation, he quietly attached one of his shadows to Goto Ryuji. The moment that shadow is destroyed, Jinwoo knows Goto is dead — and if the strongest hunter on the island has fallen, everyone else is already finished.
He uses Shadow Exchange to teleport directly into the Ant Queen’s chamber. It is one of the cleanest demonstrations in the series of how Jinwoo actually operates: not reacting, but having prepared for the outcome he expected.
The Ant King and What He Wanted
The Ant King is the Ant Queen’s strongest offspring, born to command the colony and clear the way for humanity’s destruction. But his own motivation is narrower than that.
He is a warrior looking for a worthy fight. He kills S-Rank hunters not out of malice but because none of them survive a single exchange — and each failure disappoints him further. By the time Jinwoo arrives, he has concluded nothing can challenge him.
That characterisation is why he works as a villain and why he works even better as a shadow afterwards. Beru’s loyalty is not a personality transplant; a warrior who finally met someone stronger behaves exactly this way.
Jinwoo ends the fight with Ruler’s Authority as the Ant King attempts to flee.
The Min Byung-gyu Scene
The emotional centre of the arc is not the boss fight.
Cha Hae-In is dying. The only healer capable of saving her, Min Byung-gyu, is already dead. Jinwoo extracts his shadow, has him heal her — and then terminates the extraction rather than keeping him.
It is the first time in the series Jinwoo gives up a shadow he could have kept. He does it because Byung-gyu was a person, not a resource. That single choice does more character work than any fight in the arc.
The Detail Everyone Missed
When Jinwoo extracts the Ant King, something unusual happens: the extraction is surrounded by a mysterious darkness that had not appeared before.
The arc never explains it. It is a deliberate piece of foreshadowing about the true nature of the System — the thread the series picks up much later, when the question of who built the System and why becomes the central plot.
If you are watching the anime and wondered whether that moment meant something: it does.
Where to Find the Arc
Readers often single out chapters 95–100 as containing the most widely shared panels in the manhwa — the destruction is choreographed clearly and the power gap is visible on the page rather than explained.
After Jeju, the story moves into the Ahjin Guild arc from chapter 111 . That is where anime-only viewers should pick up if they want to continue.
Why the Arc Works
Up to this point, Jinwoo wins almost everything comfortably. Jeju is where the series proves the world is still lethal — just not to him.
Named hunters die. A national-level hunter is killed on-page. The strongest team ever assembled fails. And the arc closes by introducing the Monarchs , which reframes everything that came before as a prologue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What chapters is the Jeju Island arc?
Chapters 95 to 110 of the manhwa. In the anime it covers episodes 10 to 13 of Season 2.
Who dies in the Jeju Island arc?
Goto Ryuji, Japan’s strongest hunter, is killed by the Ant King, along with eight Japanese S-Rank hunters. Korean healer Min Byung-gyu also dies during the raid.
Why did Japan join the Jeju Island raid?
Not to help. Goto Ryuji and the chairman of the Japanese Hunters Association intended to let the ants eliminate Korea’s S-Rank hunters and then claim the island. The plan failed when the Ant King killed Goto first.
How did Jinwoo know to go to Jeju Island?
He had attached one of his shadows to Goto Ryuji before the raid. When that shadow was destroyed, he knew Goto was dead and that the raid had collapsed.
Who is Beru in Solo Leveling?
Beru is the Ant King after Jinwoo extracts his shadow. He becomes one of the strongest and most loyal soldiers in the shadow army.
What level is Jinwoo after Jeju Island?
100. He reaches it clearing the remaining ants on the island after the Ant King fight.
What arc comes after Jeju Island?
The Ahjin Guild arc, beginning at chapter 111. The anime has not adapted it yet.
Sources
- Solo Leveling, licensed English manhwa release (Chapters 95–110)
- Solo Leveling Season 2: Arise from the Shadow, episodes 10–13
- MyAnimeList — episode and adaptation data
Sources verified against official A-1 Pictures / Aniplex announcements and MyAnimeList. See our editorial standards.
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