Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 739

‘Is everything ready?’

‘Yes. They’ve moved to the designated location. They’re waiting.’

‘Double-check the location.’

‘Sir, I told you I checked…’

‘I know, so shut up and check again!’

Lee Hyun-joo pressed her lips together.

The man before her was not the Lee Hyun-soo she knew. He was a man on edge, unable to control his own frayed nerves, like a sharp blade.

‘I’ll check right away.’

‘Also, see if anyone is trying to access the communication lines.’

‘Yes.’

Lee Hyun-joo nodded without another word.

‘It’s best not to bother him right now.’

Lee Hyun-joo was not oblivious. Anyone with eyes could see that it was not a good idea to provoke Lee Hyun-soo right now.

Lee Hyun-soo was seething, like a child who had their Christmas present stolen.

‘I guess he has a right to be.’

It was no wonder he was so on edge. What Lee Hyun-soo and Kang Jin-ho were doing was incredibly risky.

When she first heard their plan, Lee Hyun-joo’s reaction was simple.

‘You’ve completely lost it.’

It was insubordination, but she couldn’t deny it. There was no other way to express her disbelief. And Lee Hyun-soo didn’t deny that it was a crazy plan.

He just gave an awkward smile to cover his embarrassment.

Swimming to a ship floating in the open sea?

‘Easy to say.’

It was easy to say you could play soccer on Mars and come back. The important thing was not just making a plan, but making it a reality.

Lee Hyun-soo and Kang Jin-ho’s plan had too many impossible elements to make it a reality.

Moving one or two people that way might be possible. The people who needed to be moved were not ordinary people, but martial artists.

But with ten thousand people, it was not realistic.

‘Ten thousand, seriously.’

That was enough people to fill a soccer stadium. If that many people gathered in one place, they would be noticed, whether they liked it or not.

It might be possible in the Chinese martial arts world. Their power reached even the public security forces. But the demons had neither that kind of power nor influence.

It meant they had to go head-to-head.

‘The only good thing is… even if we clash with the public security forces, the Korean government won’t complain.’

It was hard to find comfort in that fact, considering the precarious situation Lee Hyun-joo was in.

‘Huuuuh…’

As soon as the call connected, Lee Hyun-joo quickly assessed the situation. After the call ended, she hung up and looked up.

‘The location is confirmed. It matches the GPS we have exactly. And no one is approaching yet.’

‘Really?’

Lee Hyun-soo stared at the phone with an anxious expression.

‘They should have contacted me by now.’

If they had jumped into the sea without any problems, they should have contacted him by now. The fact that they hadn’t meant they had encountered an obstacle.

Lee Hyun-soo had absolute faith in Kang Jin-ho. He believed that as long as Kang Jin-ho was there, there would be no problems, no matter what happened.

Even if they faced an impossible situation, Kang Jin-ho, more than anyone else, would be able to get himself out of it.

But…

‘Why am I so anxious?’

It felt like he was standing on a hot iron plate.

He tried to calm down, but he couldn’t. His heart was beating wildly. The pressure that was making his body tense was making Lee Hyun-soo restless.

‘Again…’

‘Calm down, sir.’

Lee Hyun-soo turned to look at Lee Hyun-joo.

‘If you can’t calm down, go out and have a cigarette. It’s not like your worrying will make the people in that foreign land any safer. If you’re so worried, come up with another plan.’

‘Damn it…’

‘Or just relax. That way, you can react immediately when you get a call.’

She was right.

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

‘Yeah, you’re right.’

It wasn’t like Lee Hyun-soo didn’t know that. But having it pointed out so directly made him feel a little better.

‘What about the pier for entry?’

‘It’s taken care of.’

‘Ugh…’

Everything that needed to be done was done. To be blunt, this was out of Lee Hyun-soo’s hands now. All he could do now was hope that everything went smoothly.

Everything else that needed to be done had been taken care of.

‘I should never let him go abroad again.’

This incident made Lee Hyun-soo realize how terrible it was to send the king to a place where he couldn’t help him.

‘Don’t worry so much. Kang Jin-ho is strong, isn’t he?’

‘He is.’

‘Then why are you so worried? It’s not like you’re worried about those demons. So, you must be worried about Kang Jin-ho, but is he someone who needs to be worried about?’

‘No, not in Korea.’

‘….Huh?’

‘China is a place where even Kang Jin-ho can’t be sure of anything. It’s a land where dragons live.’

‘….Dragons?’

‘It’s unlikely, but…’

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

‘Please come back safely.’

Lee Hyun-soo was the one who felt Kang Jin-ho’s absence more than anyone else.

‘Run! Run!’

Joo-gang was running as fast as his legs could carry him.

He was out of breath.

Even though he was a martial artist, his stamina was not unlimited. He could run faster and longer than ordinary people. But that was because he paced himself.

If he ran at full speed, he could go several times faster than an ordinary person, but that full speed could not be maintained for long.

So, he was bound to get tired.

His legs were shaking.

His vision was turning white. But Joo-gang ran without complaint. He ran and ran.

As he ran, his heart was filled with a strange emotion.

‘That man is not human.’

He had seen it clearly with his own eyes.

The divine might of the Demon Lord.

What he had seen in the past was not everything. The Demon Lord was stronger than he could have ever imagined.

Yes, he was strong.

And cruel, ruthless, and merciless.

Truly a demon.

Joo-gang was also called a demon by others, but after seeing Kang Jin-ho’s rampage, he hesitated to even use the word ‘demon’.

How dare they call themselves demons?

‘Could I ever become like that?’

It was impossible to even dream of. He could die and be reborn a billion times, and he would never be like Kang Jin-ho. That was something he had to accept.

But…

What about one-hundredth of that?

He didn’t even dream of reaching the level where the world recognized him as a Demon King. But could he reach the level where he could confidently call himself a demon in front of Kang Jin-ho?

Joo-gang bit his lip.

‘It’s possible.’

It was definitely possible.

That’s what the Demon Lord had said. He had said that he would make him stronger in exchange for seeing hell.

So, all he had to do was escape this place.

If he jumped into the sea ahead and swam to the agreed location, he could go to Korea. And when he arrived in Korea, the Demon Lord would make him a true demon.

Thinking about that made it bearable.

He could endure the breathlessness and the feeling that his heart was about to burst.

Joo-gang was now realizing that hope was what kept people alive. He had been exhausted by a life with no future. When had he ever felt this kind of vitality?

It was ironic that he was finding hope in the Demon King’s demonic rampage, but at this moment, Joo-gang was seeing a brilliant hope in Kang Jin-ho’s power.

‘Don’t look back!’

‘The Demon Lord is backing you up! Run! Run until you’re out of breath!’

It was questionable whether they could swim that far after wasting so much energy, but the elders were urging them on as if they were being chased by something.

Joo-gang knew the reason, even if no one else did.

‘The situation could change at any moment.’

Right now, the Demon Lord was herding them like a wolf among sheep, but even a cornered rat could bite a cat.

There was no guarantee that they would continue to be so docile.

No matter how strong the Demon Lord was, he couldn’t protect them all if that many people attacked. They would suffer considerable damage, but the demons would be nearly annihilated.

So, they were trying to escape as quickly as possible before that situation occurred.

‘Hurry! Faster!’

Joo-gang gritted his teeth and ran.

They were just as desperate as the elders.

Just get out of here, just…

If they could just get out of here…

Finally, Joo-gang saw the pier.

‘Huuuh! Hah! Huuuh!’

As soon as he saw the pier, he felt strength returning to his body. All he had to do was run along the concrete pier and jump into the sea.

Then a new life…

At that moment, Joo-gang noticed something strange.

‘What is that?’

There was something at the end of the pier.

‘A person?’

A person, it was a person.

A person in red clothes was standing at the end of the pier. No, he was slowly walking towards them.

It felt strange.

An inexplicable sense of unease washed over Joo-gang. Joo-gang couldn’t understand the source of the emotion that was making him tremble.

What should he call this feeling?

He didn’t know what the emotion that was making him boil was, but he thought he knew the reason for this unease.

He was coming closer.

With slow steps.

What was strange about that?

Nearly ten thousand people were running for their lives. What would it feel like to see that from the other side? Imagine a stampede of water buffaloes running madly towards you.

Normally, you would run away.

But this man was walking towards them. And he was walking as slowly as if he was taking a stroll.

‘What the hell?’

The question didn’t last long.

The man slowly reached out his hand towards them.

A slow and relaxed movement. But it was a futile movement, like trying to stop a typhoon with bare hands.

At the same time, he heard it. Very clearly.

‘You little rats…’

A dazzling light emanated from the man’s hand. Joo-gang raised his hands to cover his eyes from the blinding light.

‘Aaaaaaah!’

A scream escaped his lips. He had only faced the light for a moment, but it felt like his eyes were burning. Tears streamed down his face.

KWA-AAAAAAANG!

A deafening roar, as if the world was exploding.

The demons, blinded and deafened, stopped in their tracks and lowered their posture.

How much time had passed?

It felt like eons, but it was clearly not that long before his eyes opened again.

‘What is it!’

His vision was slowly returning. Joo-gang focused all his strength on his eyes and looked at the man.

A red robe, an incredibly deep red.

And black hair that spread out like a lion’s mane.

The man, with his short-cropped beard covering his face, looked like the embodiment of a tyrant.

The moment he faced the man, Joo-gang felt dizzy.

It was different. It was definitely different from the feeling he had felt in the past. But this pressure was not much different from when he had seen the Demon Lord in the past.

His knees buckled.

He tried to resist with all his might, but his body was screaming to obey the person in front of him.

Who was he?

Who was this man?

Then, a groan-like voice came from behind Joo-gang.

‘Hong… King…’

The Three Kings who ruled China.

The embodiment of tyranny.

The moment the Hong King finally descended here.