Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 93

The senior soldiers swarmed around Jeon Hyuk-soo as he was helped back to the barracks.

“Hey, what happened to you? Why are you such a mess?”

“…I just ran around the parade ground a bit.”

“Why? Did you get caught slacking off by the supply officer?”

“No, sir. I was just exercising…”

“What kind of exercise makes you look like this? Did you get dumped?”

“I don’t even have a girlfriend, how could I get dumped?”

“…Sorry.”

Jeon Hyuk-soo was so out of breath he couldn’t even answer, and just collapsed onto his bunk.

“This guy’s out of it. And with seniors around!”

“I’m really dying. You know I don’t usually exaggerate. I need to go to the infirmary.”

“What kind of running makes you need the infirmary, you crazy bastard?”

“I’m really struggling.”

“What about the new guy?”

“Wow… that new guy, wow…”

Jeon Hyuk-soo shuddered.

“That new guy is a real psycho.”

“Why?”

“I ended up like this after running with him.”

“Huh? Really?”

The seniors all stared at Jeon Hyuk-soo in surprise.

They knew that Jeon Hyuk-soo was a former track athlete and how good his stamina was.

But to hear that he collapsed from exhaustion after running with a new recruit was unbelievable.

“Is he some kind of marathon runner?”

“What did he do before joining?”

“I overheard the squad leader’s interview with him, he’s just a normal college student.”

“What kind of normal college student makes someone like this? He’s not some wandering ascetic [a person who practices severe self-discipline and abstention].”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Jeon Hyuk-soo didn’t even have the strength to reply.

Jo Won-gu approached and spoke.

“So, where is he?”

“He’s still running on the parade ground.”

“You left him there?”

“…Yes, sir.”

Jo Won-gu threw the towel he was holding at Jeon Hyuk-soo.

“Corporal, Jeon Hyuk-soo.”

“Hey.”

“Corporal, Jeon Hyuk-soo!”

Jeon Hyuk-soo jumped up from his spot.

“You idiot, are you supposed to leave a new recruit who’s still waiting on the parade ground and come up here by yourself?”

“No, sir.”

“If you took him there, shouldn’t you be responsible for bringing him back? Or at least tell him to follow you on the way up. Did you just leave a new recruit who’s still waiting on the parade ground with another squad?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“You’re not getting your act together, are you? These days, you guys have gotten too comfortable, haven’t you?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“Tae-ho.”

“Private First Class, Sung Tae-ho!”

“Go to the parade ground and bring the new recruit back here, quickly.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

“Run, you bastard.”

“Yes, sir!”

As Sung Tae-ho quickly ran out, Jo Won-gu clicked his tongue at Jeon Hyuk-soo.

“Get it together, you bastard.”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

Jo Won-gu picked up the towel again and went to wash up, while Jeon Hyuk-soo wiped the sweat from his face.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t need to go to the infirmary? Should I bring them here?”

“I think I’m okay now.”

“Tell us if you’re not feeling well.”

“I wasn’t feeling great to begin with, but I feel better after sweating it out. If I feel worse, I’ll go get checked out, so don’t worry about it.”

“Alright, take care of yourself.”

As the others who had gathered around returned to their places, Jeon Hyuk-soo clenched his fist.

‘What a mess I’m in.’

The new recruit hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, but he had been humiliated. His shattered pride was stirring.

‘How can I get back at this guy?’

No matter how much he thought, he couldn’t come up with a good plan.

Just then, the door opened and Sung Tae-ho came in with Kang Jin-ho.

‘He’s not even sweating.’

He had clearly seen Kang Jin-ho running at an incredible speed on the parade ground when he was coming up, but seeing him come in without a single drop of sweat made him wonder if he was even human.

‘I can’t beat him physically.’

He was an athlete himself.

Considering the physical abilities Kang Jin-ho was displaying, he was practically at the level of a professional athlete.

“Are you okay, sir?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

Jeon Hyuk-soo nodded repeatedly as he looked at Kang Jin-ho, who was asking him.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, sir?”

Seeing Kang Jin-ho’s attitude as if he didn’t understand what he was asking, Jeon Hyuk-soo sighed.

“If you don’t understand what a senior is saying, don’t ask ‘yes?’ just say ‘I didn’t hear you properly’.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

Kang Jin-ho answered obediently, and Jeon Hyuk-soo waved his hand.

“It’s almost time for lunch, go rest.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

As Kang Jin-ho went to his spot, Jeon Hyuk-soo quietly watched him before getting up.

He desperately needed a cigarette.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Jeon Hyuk-soo stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho.

“…Sung Tae-ho.”

“Private First Class, Sung Tae-ho.”

“Did you teach him that?”

“I just told him to clean the floor with a rag…”

“Really?”

Then what is that?

Jeon Hyuk-soo’s eyes went blank as he watched Kang Jin-ho ‘riding’ the bunk. Kang Jin-ho’s speed as he flew from one end of the bunk to the other in just three steps while cleaning the floor was truly astonishing.

“Hey, if you do that, the floor…”

Jeon Hyuk-soo, who was about to scold him for not cleaning properly, shut his mouth at the dazzling shine coming from the floor.

“…Even a fly would slip on that, wouldn’t it?”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had finished cleaning the floor, started cleaning the lockers. Usually, people only clean the dusty areas, but Kang Jin-ho was cleaning the entire locker. Watching Kang Jin-ho take out all the gear, clean up to the ceiling, and then neatly put the gear back, made him think that he could make a fortune if he started a cleaning business.

“…Kang Jin-ho.”

“Private, Kang Jin-ho.”

Kang Jin-ho approached Jeon Hyuk-soo with a rag in his hand.

“Where did you learn to ride the bunk like that?”

“I’ve never done that before.”

“…Then where did you learn to do this?”

“I’m just cleaning the dirty spots I see. Is there something wrong?”

Yes, there is.

There’s a lot wrong.

If you ride the bunk like that, what will happen to the person who has to ride the bunk when you’re on duty or on leave?

“Don’t overdo it, just do it moderately.”

“You told me to clean it thoroughly earlier.”

“…My bad.”

“I didn’t hear you properly?”

“Just do it moderately!”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head slightly, then started cleaning the barracks again.

‘I wonder how he would have organized the beds if he was in the new barracks.’

For the first time, Jeon Hyuk-soo was disappointed that the barracks were old.

After cleaning and roll call, everyone laid out their bedding and went to bed.

“Jin-ho.”

“Private, Kang Jin-ho.”

“We have training tomorrow…”

“Yes, sir, that’s right.”

“We’re artillery, so it’s dangerous during training. That’s why the seniors are all sensitive.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You need to move quickly tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.”

Sung Tae-ho said worriedly, but Kang Jin-ho wasn’t worried at all.

In the first place, the military was too small of a society to make him worry.

‘They’re weak.’

Kang Jin-ho could clearly see what would happen to these people if they went into real combat.

Back in the Central Plains, the Demonic Cult trained people by pushing them to their limits to draw out their potential.

They would not let them sleep, and sometimes they would restrict their meals.

Kang Jin-ho had banned the ant-hill style training where they would throw people into a pit and pick out the survivors, but he did not stop the basic training that ignored the concept of human rights.

Having experienced, witnessed, and taught such training, the military in South Korea was nothing more than a slightly rigid gathering of men to Kang Jin-ho.

‘I want to see more…’

He wanted to do training, not just daily life.

In that sense, the fact that tomorrow’s schedule was training was making Kang Jin-ho happy.

“Is this a cannon?”

“It’s a 155mm towed howitzer [a type of artillery piece]. This is what you’ll be living with for the next two years.”

“This?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the barrel of the 155mm towed howitzer towering above his head.

‘It’s big?’

It was a much bigger cannon than he had expected.

He had the concept of a self-propelled gun in his head. He was familiar with cannons that moved around like tanks from seeing them on TV, but this was the first time he had ever seen a towed howitzer.

“How much does it weigh?”

“7 tons.”

Since a typical mid-sized car weighs about 1 ton, this cannon weighed about the same as seven mid-sized cars stacked on top of each other.

“So, if you get crushed, you’ll die. Be careful. Even a light hit can easily break a bone.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

In the past, there was also the concept of artillery in the Central Plains.

The military used artillery, and places like the Thunder Clan openly used cannons and bombs.

He had seen large cannons many times back then, but this one was really huge.

“How far does it shoot?”

“With a propellant, it goes about 30 kilometers, and with a normal shell, it goes about 15 kilometers.”

15km.

“What’s the kill radius?”

“This guy is something else? What kind of new recruit asks so many questions about a cannon right away? It’s a 25-meter radius.”

Kang Jin-ho stared at the cannon with a serious expression.

Could he avoid a shell with a 25-meter kill radius flying from 15 kilometers away?

Even if he could avoid it, how could he approach and destroy a cannon 15 kilometers away?

‘There’s a reason why the Murim [a martial arts world] disappeared.’

He had been too focused on personal weapons.

In reality, artillery like this would be much more effective against Murim warriors. The difference in range was too great.

Even here, there were six cannons. If those cannons fired at the same place at the same time and covered the area with shells, even the most powerful and skilled warriors would have no choice but to be slaughtered.

‘So this is how far they’ve come.’

He hadn’t really grasped the concept of things like bombing and missiles, but seeing a cannon designed to kill people in front of him made it very real.

There was practically no chance that Murim warriors could win against the military.

‘Then what are they aiming for?’

What are the Murim warriors of this era trying to do?

“We’re not taking out the cannons today, so everyone can go to their specialty training grounds, and the new recruit will stay here. You’ll train here with the other jack operators.”

‘Jack?’

Kang Jin-ho was confused, and Jo Won-gu chuckled.

“Why? Are you scared?”

“It’s not that… I’m just curious what a jack is.”

“Do you see that pillar down there?”

“Yes, sir?”

Kang Jin-ho looked down at the base of the cannon and saw a large pillar supporting it.

“What does ‘towed’ mean? It means this cannon can be moved, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“But it can’t be moved in this state, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“So, to move the cannon on wheels, you have to raise that pillar and then lower it again at the new location.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And you do that with human strength.”

Jo Won-gu smiled subtly as Kang Jin-ho looked at the pillar with curiosity.

“Are you amazed?”

“I’m amazed, but it also seems a bit cumbersome. It could be done with a machine, so I don’t understand why it has to be done by hand.”

“Self-propelled guns are done with machines. Self-propelled guns and towed guns have different uses.”

“Aren’t self-propelled guns much better?”

“But self-propelled guns can’t enter certain environments. This can be lifted by helicopter and is much more useful for capturing positions.”

“Hmm…”

Jo Won-gu laughed as Kang Jin-ho still looked at the cannon as if he didn’t understand.

“Kang Jin-ho.”

“Private, Kang Jin-ho.”

“What’s important right now isn’t that. Do you know what’s important?”

“No, sir.”

“Usually, the guys who get this training for the first time are foaming at the mouth. You’ll find out today why artillerymen are artillerymen.”

Jo Won-gu also didn’t know what kind of person Kang Jin-ho was yet.