Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 324

“The team we dispatched to Korea has arrived safely.”

“Hmm.”

The man nodded slowly.

A pure white hemp cloth moved gently along the blade of a Japanese sword, which emitted a blue glow.

“First, we will establish a base. After that, we will begin punishing Lee Jung-gul and the General Assembly for betraying our trust.”

“Punishing Lee Jung-gul…” The man slightly narrowed his brow.

“Lee Jung-gul shouldn’t be our primary target, should he?”

“No.”

The subordinate bowed deeply.

“According to our intelligence, there are currently three individuals with the most influence in Korea.”

“Tell me.”

“Yes! One is the Yeongnam Association. Kim Seok-il, the head of the Yeongnam Association, currently wields the most influence in Korea, at least on the surface.”

“The fact that you added ‘on the surface’ means… the reality is different, right?”

“That’s correct. Based on the power map, that’s how it appears, but in terms of actual influence, Kim Seok-il has the least of the three. Currently, the one with more influence is Kang Jin-ho.”

At the mention of Kang Jin-ho, the man’s eyebrows twitched.

“Is that the one who harmed our children?”

“Yes, it is.”

“He surpasses Kim Seok-il in influence?”

“Kang Jin-ho hasn’t shown any particular movements, but it seems he has almost completely taken over the General Assembly. The General Assembly is currently divided into Lee Jung-gul’s and Bang Jin-hoon’s factions, engaged in a power struggle, but it appears that both Lee Jung-gul and Bang Jin-hoon have yielded to Kang Jin-ho.”

“Yielded, you say…”

“Although it hasn’t been publicly announced yet, it’s as if he has taken control of both Bang Jin-hoon’s and Lee Jung-gul’s factions, which make up nine-tenths of the General Assembly.”

The man slowly placed the hemp cloth he was using to polish his sword on the floor.

‘In such a short time.’

Even if they were returnees [people who have returned from another world or time], modern martial artists were not necessarily inferior to them.

If all returnees possessed such martial prowess, the world would have already been dominated by them.

In the man’s view, humans were beings that evolved. Compared to humans of the past, modern humans demonstrated superior abilities in almost every field.

Therefore, martial arts were no different.

He didn’t know how well the returnees had learned martial arts in the past, but he didn’t think those martial arts were superior to modern ones. The returnees he had met so far all had clear limitations.

Kang Jin-ho didn’t take over the General Assembly easily because he was a returnee. He took it over easily because he was Kang Jin-ho.

‘If time passes like this, Kang Jin-ho might unify Korea.’

That was the worst-case scenario for the man. He felt that he absolutely could not stand idly by.

“Lastly, there is one more person, but it is difficult to measure his influence.”

“Who is it?”

“He is the leader of the Korean returnees.”

“…Is it Geom Baek [Sword White]?”

“Yes, it is.”

The man nodded with a slightly displeased expression.

‘Geom Baek, huh…’

Although the Korean returnees were divided into several groups, rumors were rife that Geom Baek, who did not belong to any group, wielded influence over all the returnees in Korea.

It was even said that if he had wanted to unify the returnees, it would have already happened.

“However, it is not even clear whether the person called Geom Baek actually exists.”

“Hmm…”

As the man showed signs of boredom, the subordinate spoke faster.

“Therefore, these three are the individuals we must deal with first. However, that is not the best course of action.”

“Why?”

“They all have their own forces. And if we provoke one of them, the others will strongly resist. They will think we are invading Korea in some way.”

“But in the case of Lee Jung-gul and the General Assembly, we can claim that we are punishing those who have betrayed our trust, is that what you mean?”

“That’s right. If it becomes a fight between the Nanahoshi-gumi [a Japanese organized crime group] and the General Assembly, not between Japan and Korea, we can minimize interference from other forces.”

The man spoke as if he was very displeased.

“I did tell you to be cautious, but I don’t like this at all. Are you saying we have to go that far to take over Korea?”

“It is a major undertaking, is it not?”

“What’s so great about taking over weak Korea? If it weren’t for China’s interference, Korea would have already been a colony of the Great Japanese Empire.”

“Of course, but this process is not just to suppress other forces in Korea. The enemy is often within. If we try to take over Korea, others won’t stand idly by.”

“Hmm…”

That made sense.

They were at the forefront now, but if the invasion of Korea became full-fledged, other groups would also flock to Korea.

The more territory, the better.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”

“Yes!”

“But remember, Kuroda. If this operation fails, you will never see the rising sun again.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Good.”

As the man finished speaking, Kuroda carefully got up and left. The man placed the cold teapot back on the burner and stared blankly into the air.

‘Kang Jin-ho, huh…’

Why did he keep getting this ominous feeling?

The man tried hard to shake off the dark thoughts that kept coming to him.

“Kim Seok-il came to see you?”

Bang Jin-hoon jumped up from his seat in shock.

“Yes.”

“That crazy bastard! No, why did that crazy guy come to see you?”

“He proposed a truce.”

“Wow, he’s really gone nuts. Did he get dementia?”

Bang Jin-hoon scratched his head, unable to understand Kim Seok-il at all.

A truce.

A truce was only possible when both sides had resolved their grudges to some extent or were facing mutual destruction.

But right now, the General Assembly and the Yeongnam Association had not resolved any of their old grudges and were growling at each other, ready to bite each other’s throats at any moment.

Bang Jin-hoon himself had almost lost his life in a recent attack by the Yeongnam Association.

And now, a truce.

“So, what did you do? Did you kill him?”

“You don’t even consider the possibility that I accepted the truce.”

“Because there’s no way you would. You didn’t, right?”

“No.”

“See?”

Bang Jin-hoon clicked his tongue.

How could Kang Jin-ho, of all people, accept a truce?

Kim Seok-il was seriously mistaken.

‘He needs to make sense.’

Kang Jin-ho was not the type to stop until he had repaid everything he had suffered. It was better to surrender and raise the white flag to increase the chances of saving one’s life.

‘Though, it’s not like he’d spare you even then.’

Bang Jin-hoon swallowed hard and asked.

“So, what did you do? Did you cut off his head?”

“I let him go.”

“…You let him go? You’re saying you just let him go?”

“Yes.”

“If we catch him, we can shed less blood…”

Bang Jin-hoon said with a regretful tone.

However, Kang Jin-ho didn’t bother to explain why he had let Kim Seok-il go. Whether Bang Jin-hoon understood or not, nothing would change.

“Well, it is what it is, nothing can be done about it.”

Bang Jin-hoon kept smacking his lips as if he had regrets, but he didn’t complain about why he had let him go.

“Anyway, why did that guy suddenly bring up a truce?”

“That’s…”

After hearing Kang Jin-ho’s explanation, Bang Jin-hoon rubbed his hands together with a serious expression.

“Japan, huh…”

It seemed that he was feeling a lot of pressure because the General Assembly was the one that clashed with Japan. To be precise, it was Kang Jin-ho who clashed with Japan, but Kang Jin-ho and he were already in the same boat.

“The situation could become more serious than we thought.”

“It’s something we have to go through eventually.”

“Yes. I think so too. However, the timing is not good at all. It’s understandable why that old fox would bring up a truce.”

If it weren’t for this situation, there would be no reason for Kim Seok-il to seek out Kang Jin-ho. Japan was a burden so great that he had to stop everything he was doing and propose an alliance.

‘Those damn Japs.’

Bang Jin-hoon was also Korean, so he couldn’t help but feel uneasy about Japan. Moreover, the unease felt by the martial world towards Japan was greater than what was felt by the outside world.

Korea had grown into a nation that Japan could no longer ignore, but the Korean martial world had not yet developed as much as the outside world.

“Honestly, I’m a bit worried.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t want to admit it, but that guy is right. If we clash with each other now, Japan could benefit from it.”

The reason why Korea had been relatively free from Japan’s influence was because Japan had been reluctant to clash with China by extending its reach into Korea, and because the internal turmoil in Japan had only recently subsided.

If Japan decided to attack Korea, it would be difficult to withstand it based on objective military strength. And if they were to engage in infighting and weaken their forces in the midst of that?

‘There’s no hope.’

Just like he had told Kang Jin-ho, it wasn’t out of patriotism or for the sake of a greater cause that he had proposed a truce. In Bang Jin-hoon’s view, Kim Seok-il was not that kind of person.

It was clear that he had calculated that if his forces were weakened by fighting the General Assembly, he would lose everything to Japan. Even if it wasn’t Japan but someone else who would benefit, Kim Seok-il would have proposed a truce.

Kim Seok-il hated losing the power he held in his hands more than death.

“So, what are you planning to do?”

“I haven’t thought about it.”

“…Excuse me, Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

“There’s no need to think about it.” Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly.

“You just need to remember to return what you received. Kim Seok-il targeted my family, and I will make him pay the price.”

“But isn’t Japan waiting to strike from behind?”

“If Japan moves rashly, it will be Japan’s turn next.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s body trembled.

‘This guy is serious.’

It wasn’t a bluff.

At least, Kang Jin-ho genuinely believed that. Those who were defined as enemies would pay the price. And if new enemies appeared, he would crush them again.

It was a really simple mechanism.

But it couldn’t be called just simple.

Those without power had to strategize and think about self-preservation, but the strong didn’t need to do that. If they had to fight, they would fight, and if they had to crush, they would crush.

There was no need to worry about complicated situations.

And Kang Jin-ho was definitely strong.

“If anyone tries to oppose me, I have to deal with them.”

Bang Jin-hoon trembled as he looked at Kang Jin-ho, who was smiling lightly.

‘It’s a good thing I didn’t become this guy’s enemy.’

Bang Jin-hoon sent his deepest condolences to Kim Seok-il, who would soon be facing Kang Jin-ho.