Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 762

“That son of a bitch!”

The phone flew through the air. However, instead of hitting the wall, it crashed into the sofa. He was so angry that he threw the phone, but he couldn’t bring himself to break it.

“Damn it!”

He had said he would call, so he had to answer the incoming calls. He couldn’t just smash his phone in case Kang Jin-ho called and he missed it, or in case Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t answer if he called from a different number. Chai Ke-chang’s insides were twisting.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

Unable to vent his anger, Chai Ke-chang began smashing everything in sight.

The monitor on the desk was kicked and slammed into the wall, and the desk was flipped over. Papers flew into the air.

Bang!

The door was violently opened, and the secretary, who had poked his head inside, assessed the situation and quietly closed the door.

He was afraid that Chai Ke-chang’s rage would turn on him.

“You little ‘ppang-z’ bastard!” [A derogatory term, similar to ‘punk’ or ‘jerk’, with a slightly childish connotation.]

It wouldn’t mean anything to Kang Jin-ho, but he had to curse like that to vent his frustration. After taking several deep breaths, Chai Ke-chang slumped into his chair.

‘Damn it, serves me right.’

He had lost.

He had been defeated.

It didn’t matter if they had lost more or less power. What mattered was who had achieved their desired outcome. In the end, Kang Jin-ho had gotten everything he wanted.

“…Damn it.”

Even though the Korean Assembly had taken the minds [referring to the people who defected], those minds were not even considered a force in China. No matter how much the Assembly strengthened its power, it was nothing compared to the Hong King faction. Nevertheless, Chai Ke-chang had to surrender to Kang Jin-ho first.

That fact was crushing Chai Ke-chang’s pride.

If it weren’t for the Chang King and Hok King factions, he would have wiped out those peninsula bastards in three days, but the balance of power was giving them a lifeline.

“Why did it have to be Korea!”

If Kang Jin-ho had been born in Russia, Mongolia, or Kazakhstan, he would be giving other forces a headache right now. Geopolitically, Korea was in the worst position, sandwiched between powerful countries, but now that position was strangling the Hong King faction.

Chai Ke-chang took several deep breaths and pulled out a cigarette.

‘Damn it, I need to calm down.’

The most miserable person right now wasn’t Chai Ke-chang. The person who would be the most furious in this situation was Hong King.

Click.

Chai Ke-chang lit his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke. Even though he was smoking, he didn’t feel any better. In fact, the hand holding the cigarette was visibly trembling, which only made him more annoyed.

‘How am I going to atone for this sin?’

It was all Chai Ke-chang’s fault that Hong King had suffered such humiliation. If he had recognized Kang Jin-ho’s danger a little sooner and eliminated him…

Even if he couldn’t do that, if he had at least tried to recruit Kang Jin-ho before he grew this much, this wouldn’t have happened.

In the end, it was Chai Ke-chang’s underestimation of Kang Jin-ho that led to this. That’s why Hong King was humiliated, and Chai Ke-chang was going through hell.

“Hoo…”

Chai Ke-chang sighed deeply and looked at his phone with anxious eyes.

It wasn’t wrong to fix the barn after the cow was lost. If the cow escaped, then next time, you should at least fix the barn so the cow can’t escape. [A Chinese proverb meaning it’s never too late to learn from mistakes and take preventative measures.]

It was unavoidable that the situation had come this far, but he had to take the best possible course of action now.

To do that…

At that moment, the phone that had fallen on the sofa began to ring. Chai Ke-chang took a deep breath and reached for the phone.

“I won’t give in easily.”

The war wasn’t over yet. Now it was a war of words.

[It seems you had a lot to sort out, considering how long it took you to answer.]

The voice coming from the phone sounded quite relaxed.

However, Lee Hyun-soo chuckled as he listened to the voice.

‘What a bluff.’

He knew because he was in a similar position. Chai Ke-chang’s hair must be falling out by now. For them, who had to use their brains so much, alopecia was an unavoidable curse. Lee Hyun-soo also found hair on his pillow when he woke up in the morning… No, that wasn’t important right now.

“It’s not that I had a lot to sort out, it’s just that things are quite democratic here. It’s not like your side where the boss just decides and it’s over. It takes time.”

[Who is this?]

“I’m Lee Hyun-soo. Let’s have people of our level play together. Actually, it’s not really appropriate for someone of your stature to talk directly to our leader. A tiger can’t talk to a dog.”

[You talk a good game. Do you think I’ll fall for that?]

“Looks like you already have?”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled lightly and pulled out a cigarette.

‘This feels great.’

Lee Hyun-soo felt like years of pent-up frustration were being released. They had been so worried about the Hong King faction all this time.

They always had to be on guard, afraid that the Hong King faction would attack. They had to provide double and triple security in case assassins from the Hong King faction targeted Kang Jin-ho or his family.

This was the first time they had taken the initiative.

Even now, there was a huge difference in power, but power that couldn’t be used was not power. Lee Hyun-soo crossed his legs, enjoying the advantage he had gained for the first time.

“You have a bad temper.”

“It’s terrible, terrible.”

Lee Hyun-soo quietly uncrossed his legs at Bator and Wiggins’s cold assessment.

[Alright. Lee Hyun-soo, was it?]

“I have no intention of engaging in a pointless power struggle. Of course, you know who I am, right? If you know and you’re still acting like this, it’s childish, and if you don’t know, you’re incompetent. Which one are you going to choose?”

[…Kang Jin-ho chose his negotiator well. I want to run to Korea right now and twist his neck.]

“You’re welcome to try.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled and looked around. It was a signal that they were about to start a proper conversation.

[Alright, I guess…]

“Enough. So, what are you going to offer?”

Lee Hyun-soo could hear Chai Ke-chang grinding his teeth from the phone on the table.

Kang Jin-ho was watching the whole process and was involuntarily impressed.

‘I really want to punch him?’

How could someone get under someone’s skin like that?

If Kang Jin-ho were in that situation, he would have thrown his phone and jumped into the West Sea to rush to Korea by now.

[Offer? From us? You must be out of your mind. You better not forget who we are.]

“I think you’re the one who’s out of your mind. It seems like the Hong King faction doesn’t have any talent if they’re sending someone who doesn’t even know their own situation as a negotiator?”

Kang Jin-ho raised his head and glanced at Wiggins.

It was a question of ‘Is this okay?’ He thought that since they were making peace, the negotiations would be carried out with a smile while hiding a knife in their stomach, but this was like stabbing with a long sword and shooting with a gun.

However, Wiggins smiled and nodded, allaying Kang Jin-ho’s concerns.

“Leave it to him. He’s doing well.”

«o ”

…•

He had no idea what part he was doing well, but if Wiggins said so…

“Hey, Chai Ke-chang.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s leg was subtly crossed again. He must have been so focused on the phone that he didn’t have time to be aware of his surroundings.

“We’re both busy, so let’s not waste time. There’s no point in testing each other. Let’s get straight to the point.”

[You son of a bitch!]

It was a declaration of surrender.

[Alright, let’s get straight to the point. But you better be aware of the reality. If we wanted to, we could wipe you out at any time. The hand we’re extending now is not a declaration of surrender, but a gesture of goodwill.]

“You can’t let go of the bluff until the end.”

He wouldn’t be able to throw away all of his pride as someone who moved the Hong King faction. Lee Hyun-soo decided to let this part go.

“So, what are you going to offer?”

[We want a truce. Non-interference with each other. At least for one year from now.]

Lee Hyun-soo frowned.

“I don’t know if my Chinese is bad or if you’re stupid, but I’m asking what you’re going to offer…”

This time, Chai Ke-chang cut off Lee Hyun-soo.

[We’ll spare the people here in exchange for that.]

“Spare?”

Lee Hyun-soo frowned.

‘Are there any left?’

There were those who had fallen behind during the crossing. To be exact, it was more like they had gone missing.

Those who had died or been injured in the clashes with the Hong King faction, those who had run out of energy while crossing the sea.

Jang Min and the elders had risked their lives to rescue as many as possible, but they couldn’t save everyone. It wouldn’t be strange if some of them were being held by the Hong King faction.

“There’s no reason for us to give in because of a few prisoners. Sorry, but I’m not that humane. From my point of view, you and those guys are all Chinese. There’s no reason for me to take a loss to save them?”

[A few?]

A low chuckle could be heard.

Lee Hyun-soo instinctively felt that something was wrong. That laugh wasn’t a bluff.

[I think there are at least tens of thousands, can you call them a few?]

“Tens of thousands?”

The moment the unit changed, Lee Hyun-soo’s face contorted.

“You son of a bitch, those people are civilians.”

[A saint has appeared in the East. If the times were different, you would have been recorded in history with Confucius. Are you saying we shouldn’t touch civilians? Why should we?]

“You…”

[I’ll return your words. From my point of view, those guys and the ones who crossed over are all enemies. There’s no reason for me to treat them humanely at a loss?]

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip.

Most of the minds had succeeded in escaping. But their families were still in China. Chai Ke-chang was using that to his advantage.

He was bringing the families of the minds into the negotiations and demanding a price for them.

“How many people do you think there are? Do you think you can do it?”

[You don’t know.]

Chai Ke-chang’s voice was filled with a sinister aura.

[Even if it’s not tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands, it’s the same. We have the power and wealth to throw them all into the sea and clean it up. And we have enough violence to do it. Do you want me to show you if you don’t believe me?]

“You…”

Lee Hyun-soo trembled and raised his head.

Wiggins and Bator also had troubled expressions.

They hadn’t imagined that they would go to such extremes. Numbers were power in themselves. Even a dictator who had complete control over a country wouldn’t dare to do this, but they were taking them hostage.

[I’ll kill each and every one of the remaining ones painfully. I’ll make rivers of their blood and dye the sea red. I’ll make them regret leaving China for Korea. Do you think I can’t do it?]

While Lee Hyun-soo’s mind was racing, Kang Jin-ho quietly opened his mouth.

“Chai Ke-chang.”

[The big shot has arrived.]

“Do as you wish.”

[…What?]

Kang Jin-ho replied in a low voice.

“Do as you wish. But you should know this. I will definitely get the price for it.”

[…]

“You will die as many times as the number of people you kill. More painfully than each individual death. I will kill you exactly that many times. So, do it if you can. Just like you said.”

Everyone, including Chai Ke-chang, was speechless at the sound of his voice, which sounded like blood was dripping from it.

The phone was silent for a long time before Chai Ke-chang’s voice began to be heard again.