Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 885

When faced with an unbelievable reality, human reactions vary. Some despair, some are horrified, and others are consumed by anger.

However, Nakata Yuji was not one to fall into those categories.

Even when confronted with an unbelievable reality, Nakata Yuji was ultimately someone who had to come up with a solution.

Therefore, he couldn’t afford to panic.

No matter what situation arose, he had to maintain his composure and calmness. Only then could he devise an accurate solution that fit the circumstances.

But…

‘Damn it, there’s no way that’s possible.’

It couldn’t be.

To remain calm while witnessing what was happening before his very eyes was beyond human. You’d have to be heartless, brainless, or made of machine parts.

“What in the world is this….”

A groan escaped from behind him.

They were watching too. The sight of those demon-like figures rampaging. But no matter how much they saw it with their own eyes, they couldn’t believe it.

Who were they?

The elites of the Great Japanese Empire.

They had never doubted for a moment that they could sweep away not only China but also a country like Korea in an instant. But now, it wasn’t Korea that was being swept away, but them.

And by just four people.

“W-when did those Korean bastards get so strong?”

“What should we do?” It was a subtle urging of Nakata Yuji. But even knowing that, Nakata Yuji could only remain speechless.

What should he do?

What?

What in the world was he supposed to do?

What more could he possibly do…

They were a minority. Yes, a minority of just four people.

There were countless tactics in the world for a minority to fight against a majority, but there weren’t any tactics for a majority to use against a minority other than an encirclement.

Why?

Because there was no need.

A majority was a strategy and a tactic in itself. There was no need to create anything extraordinary. The greatest strength of a majority was that they could achieve a clean victory by pushing forward with their numerical advantage.

But at least on this ship, the majority was not a majority, and the minority was not a minority.

Nearly a thousand people were simultaneously fighting against a minority. Yet, they were being pushed back, running away, and crying out in panic.

Nakata Yuji bit his lip tightly. Thick blood flowed from his burst lip.

‘Damn it.’

He overlooked it.

No, rather than overlooking it, he failed to grasp it.

Numbers only have meaning when the levels are matched. When comparing thousands of ants to one elephant, what meaning do the numbers have?

‘Are they really this strong? This strong?’

It was a known fact.

In his mind.

Kang Jin-ho had already fought and survived against Hong Wang. And he had defeated the prominent martial artists of China with his own hands.

Bator, who was rampaging alongside Kang Jin-ho, was also someone Kang Jin-ho had defeated and taken under his wing. Nakata Yuji already knew all of these facts.

But there was a world of difference between knowing something and experiencing it.

How could Nakata Yuji know?

How strong Hong Wang was.

What it meant to be on par with Hong Wang.

He had heard it countless times, but it was beyond his comprehension. How could a human know how strong a dragon was? If a dragon and a unicorn fought, how could anyone know who would win?

To Nakata Yuji, Hong Wang was such an existence.

A powerful and great being, and an incomparably strong martial artist.

With such a vague concept, it was impossible to know how strong Hong Wang was. He couldn’t grasp his immense power and the strength that could topple even a mountain.

Therefore, he couldn’t know how strong Kang Jin-ho was either.

Kang Jin-ho’s strength could only be measured by the yardstick of Hong Wang. But Nakata Yuji, who didn’t know who Hong Wang was, couldn’t possibly use Hong Wang as a yardstick.

That’s why this was happening.

Nakata Yuji’s body trembled.

Swish!

A sword was swung.

A head soared into the air, and a shower of blood erupted.

“Hah…”

A hollow laugh escaped.

What kind of spectacle was this?

Nakata Yuji was a self-made man, even within Japan. Now everyone acknowledged him, but he wasn’t recognized from the start. How much had he gone through to reach this position with his lack of martial prowess?

It was more than just a battlefield.

How many martial artists didn’t live with blood and death as their friends? But Nakata Yuji was someone who prided himself on the fact that his experiences were special among them.

But that pride was now being shattered.

He had never seen such a sight before. It wasn’t that Nakata Yuji didn’t know how overwhelmingly powerful the strong were in the martial world.

But this was definitely not that kind of sight.

Slaughter, or butchery.

It wasn’t a scene of martial artists clashing with each other. It was just a one-sided massacre.

Even if you pitted an adult armed with a machine gun against a toddler who couldn’t even walk, such a one-sided slaughter wouldn’t occur.

And…

“…Demon.”

A groan-like voice was heard.

‘Demon, demon…’

It was a ridiculous word. Anachronistic, childish, and utterly pathetic.

But it couldn’t be denied that the word best described Kang Jin-ho’s current appearance. No matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t find a word that could express Kang Jin-ho better.

A demon was rampaging.

Everywhere he moved, a shower of blood erupted. He was already drenched, as if he had been in a bathtub made of blood, his entire body stained red.

With every step he took and every swing of his sword, drops of blood flew in all directions from his clothes. But the blood gushing from the corpses was so much more that it was hard to see the blood from his clothes.

What was clearly visible was the floor.

Blood pooled in the places where Kang Jin-ho had passed. The deck, where there was nowhere for the water to drain, had long since become a large pool of blood.

His jaw trembled.

Even though he knew he had to maintain a composed appearance, and even though he knew he should be giving orders and devising countermeasures, Nakata Yuji couldn’t do anything.

Perhaps this was what they called being overwhelmed.

Those who were overwhelmed by their opponent could not think normally. Nor could they move normally. They could only flounder as if their entire body was stuck in a thick swamp.

“Are you all done being surprised?”

It was a low voice that pulled Nakata Yuji back to reality. Nakata Yuji’s head turned to the side. Lee Sung-hwi was standing there.

“Lee Sung-hwi.”

“You’ve been surprised enough, so why don’t you start coming up with some countermeasures? If we let any more time pass like this, it’ll be impossible to turn things around.”

There was a sneer in Lee Sung-hwi’s voice.

Usually, it was the opposite.

Nakata Yuji was the one who sneered. When dealing with Lee Sung-hwi, he always had the upper hand. Lee Sung-hwi was the one who was always in a hurry, not him. But at this moment, their positions had been reversed.

“H-how…”

“You’ve lost it.”

Lee Sung-hwi grabbed Nakata Yuji by the collar.

Even though Nakata Yuji wasn’t known for his martial prowess, it was only in comparison to those of his level. He wasn’t a half-wit martial artist like Lee Hyun-soo.

Yet, he was so out of it that he couldn’t even stop this rudeness.

Lee Sung-hwi yanked Nakata Yuji.

“Look.”

He pointed forward.

“Do you see it?”

Nakata Yuji blankly nodded.

Kang Jin-ho and Bator were rampaging, and those who were facing them were running away in terror. The fear that had spread in an instant was causing everyone to panic.

Humans were like that.

If someone saw others running away, they would join the stampede without questioning the reason. It was because they defined their own situation through the actions of others.

If people in front were running away, those behind them had no choice but to join the stampede. Unless they were absolutely certain that they were stronger than those in front of them, the situation they would face would be no different.

But what if they weren’t just running away?

What if they were crying their eyes out, and scrambling on all fours to escape? What if they were cutting down their comrades to escape if there was no other way?

Who could remain calm in that situation?

Those standing at the edge of the deck were throwing themselves into the sea without hesitation.

Rather than facing Kang Jin-ho and Bator directly, they chose to swim back to Japan. It might be wise. The method was reckless, but at least there was a chance of success.

Drawing a sword against those madmen wasn’t a trial or a challenge. It was recklessness and madness.

“That’s Kang Jin-ho.”

Lee Sung-hwi growled.

He forcefully turned Nakata Yuji’s head to make him look at Kang Jin-ho.

Nakata Yuji’s body flinched.

Black demonic energy was swirling from Kang Jin-ho’s body, which was engulfed in a shower of blood.

On the dark deck.

In a world where darkness had completely descended.

In a world where the sky and the sea had all turned black, Kang Jin-ho was becoming one with it. It looked like a scene where a grim reaper was briefly revealing his form to the world. It was so surreal that it was almost dreamlike.

But it was definitely not an illusion.

If it were an illusion, there wouldn’t be people screaming as their waists were being severed at this very moment.

“I told you, don’t underestimate Kang Jin-ho.”

“Humans only believe what they see with their own eyes and experience with their own bodies. Did you think that if you could just create a force, it would be easy to take Kang Jin-ho’s head? Even while calculating that Korea’s military power might overwhelm Japan’s in a few years, you probably thought that such a thing wouldn’t actually happen. Isn’t that right?”

Nakata Yuji couldn’t answer.

Lee Sung-hwi’s words were accurately pointing out his inner thoughts.

Even while thinking that Kang Jin-ho would be a threat to them, Nakata Yuji had underestimated Kang Jin-ho’s danger.

There was no way they would leave him alone.

It was true that Kang Jin-ho was a threat to them. But that was only if Japan left Kang Jin-ho to do as he pleased for several years.

Japan would never leave Kang Jin-ho alone. So, Kang Jin-ho would die before that happened.

That was Nakata Yuji’s thought.

And hadn’t things been going according to that thought?

But Nakata Yuji realized it at this very moment.

‘A few years?’

That was ridiculous.

If they left him alone for a few years, it wouldn’t just be Japan’s problem. Kang Jin-ho was already holding a knife to their throats at this very moment.

The hunt was over.

Now it was a matter of kill or be killed.

Nakata Yuji’s eyes were bloodshot.