Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1177

‘This is no joke.’ Lee Hyun-soo surveyed the battlefield, genuinely impressed. It was clear to anyone that the situation favored their side. Logically, their forces far outnumbered the enemy’s.

First and foremost, they had a significant numerical advantage.

Numbers are a tremendous force. It’s common sense that a larger force holds more power against a smaller one; no explanation is needed. And that difference in power multiplies exponentially as the size of the numbers increases.

If a hundred soldiers facing fifty result in twenty casualties to wipe out the enemy, two hundred soldiers facing fifty would likely suffer only ten casualties.

If they could properly deploy and pour all their forces onto the battlefield, the difference in numbers would create an exponential difference in power. And now, the Assembly had surrounded the enemy. They had executed the most textbook and excellent formation, where the majority faces a minority.

This was Bator’s achievement.

The Assembly had taken a risk for the victory of this battle. They ignored the thousand soldiers that had infiltrated Korean soil and unhesitatingly pushed all available forces into the harbor.

If they had divided their forces to check the Japanese advance team that had penetrated inland, this situation would never have occurred. The damage would have increased, and they would not have been able to secure such an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Looking at the situation, it was a one-sided massacre, but Bator had taken two risks to create this situation.

One was abandoning their rear.

If the Japanese advance team was nearby, there was a possibility of being caught from behind. If the Japanese attacked the Assembly’s rear, which was surrounding the landing forces, the situation would reverse in an instant. A siege formation is practically defenseless against attacks from behind. If they were surrounded in reverse, the damage would be immeasurable.

The other was that they didn’t know where the Japanese advance team would strike.

What if they targeted a place the Assembly hadn’t anticipated at all?

‘That would be terrible.’

The Assembly had poured all their forces into this location. Although the Flame Demons were guarding the East Sea, it was difficult to expect them to handle other situations.

Damage was inevitable.

Bator had taken that into account and concentrated all his forces here. Instead of giving the enemy a turn, he was creating a decisive advantage for his side here.

So, they had to win here, and overwhelmingly at that!

Lee Hyun-soo’s expression hardened as he stared at the battlefield.

‘That’s right, but…’

Lee Hyun-soo clicked his tongue.

He had expected to win. But the current situation was beyond his expectations.

The Japanese elite soldiers were helpless against the Assembly.

This was something Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t have dared to imagine.

Were the Japanese weaker than he thought?

That wasn’t it.

He could feel it from their ki [life force/energy]. At least, when looking at each individual, the Japanese martial artists were clearly stronger than the Assembly’s martial artists.

Then why was this happening? Lee Hyun-soo considered three reasons.

One was that they were clearly superior in the power of high-level masters.

Bator was like a human weapon.

In a battlefield where Kang Jin-ho was rampaging, Bator couldn’t escape his supporting role, but where there are no tigers, a fox is king. And Bator was not someone who could be treated as just a fox.

At least, he was like a bear.

The important thing was that the bear was going wild. No matter how much formations and ranks are more important than the abilities of individual masters in a large-scale battlefield, an absolute master never loses their shine even in such a battlefield.

Bator was fulfilling his role 120%.

And Wiggins and Bang Jin-hoon were also doing their part.

So, it was understandable that they were flustered.

The second was…

‘Perhaps it’s not Bator who’s dominating this battlefield, but Master [referring to Kang Jin-ho].’

Diversity.

Since switching to the Kang Jin-ho system, the Assembly had readily accepted external forces. There were some objections, led by Bang Jin-hoon, that they were losing their unique Korean identity, but Kang Jin-ho ignored all those objections and pushed his will forward.

The result was now apparent.

The Chevaliers were at the forefront, supported by the mages, and those who had been taught Bator’s external martial arts were pushing the enemy like tanks.

And behind them, magic was falling like artillery fire.

Even Lee Hyun-soo hadn’t thought this combination would be so powerful. What was certain was that if there were no vanguards like the Chevaliers and Bator’s group, and if there was no Wiggins to attack the rear, they wouldn’t have been able to break away from an ordinary power struggle even if they had surrounded the enemy.

Their existence was creating the uniqueness of the battlefield.

Finally…

‘Those bastards must be flustered too.’

If Lee Hyun-soo had seen them for the first time, could he have dealt with them?

Absolutely impossible.

How could you deal with something if you don’t know what’s going on? There’s no way you can deal with something when you know nothing.

Of course, they wouldn’t have been negligent in understanding the Korean martial arts world. But the information they had about the Assembly was from the time of Lee Joong-geol.

It would have been impossible for them to fully grasp the Assembly, which had changed dramatically in just one year. Even Lee Hyun-soo, who was currently part of the Assembly, was gaping at the current situation, so how much more would those guys be?

Those three factors combined, and now a one-sided massacre was taking place on the battlefield.

‘I don’t know what will happen later, but we’ve got this one!’

Lee Hyun-soo clenched his fist tightly.

It was real.

The Assembly had become stronger.

Lee Hyun-soo’s heart was filled with joy.

It was a fact he knew, but honestly, he hadn’t really felt it. Strength is a relative concept.

It’s not enough to just become stronger than before.

The Assembly had become several times stronger than in Lee Joong-geol’s time. But if that increased strength was comparable to the growth rate of neighboring countries, the gap would not narrow.

They had to succeed in surpassing that gap, or at least narrowing it, to be able to confidently say they had become stronger.

And now, the Assembly’s martial artists were proving how much stronger they had become.

Even more encouraging was…

‘The fact that the Guild Leader [referring to Kang Jin-ho] isn’t here.’

He could roughly guess why Kang Jin-ho hadn’t taken the lead this time.

The Assembly was extremely dependent on Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho was always present in every battle.

As far as Lee Hyun-soo remembered, there had been only three battles that could be considered to have changed the history of the Assembly.

One was the battle between the Yeongnam Association and the Assembly.

This battle was practically a fight between Kang Jin-ho alone and the Yeongnam Association. Kang Jin-ho completely subjugated the Yeongnam Association with his overwhelming power, making the Assembly’s martial artists who were watching unable to dare to challenge Kang Jin-ho’s authority.

The battle with Hong Wang in China was the same.

The fact that he had survived a fight with Hong Wang instilled pride in the Assembly members, and in return, they were able to successfully establish the Demonic Cult in Korea.

And finally, the battle at the Round Table.

Kang Jin-ho was the main player there as well.

Others also played a role, but wasn’t the outcome of the actual battle decided by the fight between Kang Jin-ho and the Elder Knight?

In other words, Kang Jin-ho was always present in the battles that determined the fate of the Assembly. If it weren’t for Kang Jin-ho’s performance, the Assembly would never have come this far.

But that also meant that the Assembly had not achieved anything on its own without Kang Jin-ho. For the Assembly to develop and move forward, it needed to reduce its dependence on Kang Jin-ho.

They had to win in places where Kang Jin-ho was not present, and they had to be able to move on their own without Kang Jin-ho.

It was difficult to accurately guess Kang Jin-ho’s intentions, but the reason he didn’t step forward himself was probably not that different from Lee Hyun-soo’s thoughts.

And now, Kang Jin-ho’s intentions were proving to be accurate.

If they could win without Kang Jin-ho, the Assembly would be able to shed another layer. Those who participated in this battle would gain confidence and properly realize the duties and responsibilities they had to bear.

‘Not bad.’

Wiggins, who was directing the casting, spoke quietly.

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at him.

He looked slightly tired from casting large-scale magic, but his eyes were sharply focused on the battlefield.

‘It does leave a bit of a bitter taste, though.’

‘It does.’

In fact, this battlefield was half-intentional.

It was like they were using Shinichikai and Chaikechang as bait to get rid of the troublesome Kanto region.

‘But those guys probably didn’t expect this situation either.’

‘That’s why I told you. It’s impossible for a human to predict the future. If that were possible, the side with the perfect strategist would always win. But is that how the world works?’

‘That’s right.’

‘There are always variables on the battlefield. There’s no such thing as a battle where winning is a given.’

‘Even if the Guild Leader is there?’

Wiggins closed his mouth.

He knew it in his head.

Just because Kang Jin-ho was there didn’t mean they were guaranteed to win. It was true that Kang Jin-ho was strong enough to transcend human limits, but there were at least three people in the world who were as strong as Kang Jin-ho.

Hong Wang, Cheong Wang, and Heuk Wang. [The three kings of China]

The three kings of China were definitely strong enough to be compared to Kang Jin-ho. And who could guess how many more unknown strong people there were in the vast world?

But…

‘It’s strange. Somehow, I feel like we wouldn’t lose if the Guild Leader was there. People should be rational, but when he gets involved, the calculations don’t add up.’

‘I agree.’

‘There’s no time for idle talk. It’s good to be relaxed, but we can’t be careless. It’s time to finish this.’

Wiggins’ gaze turned to one side.

He saw Bang Jin-hoon blocking Kazuhito’s path.

‘That guy is the main character. He’s amazing. He knows exactly what he needs to do.’

Wiggins chuckled.

The main character of the current battlefield was Bator, no matter what anyone said.

But the one who should be the real main character of this battlefield was Bang Jin-hoon. He was the only one who could prove that the Assembly had become stronger, and he was the one who could give hope to the Assembly’s ordinary martial artists.

No matter how much outsiders like Wiggins and Bator rampaged, it wouldn’t prove that the Assembly had become stronger. Bang Jin-hoon, who was originally a member of the Assembly, was the one who could declare and lead everyone here to believe that the Assembly had become incredibly strong.

‘His expression looks subtle?’

‘Shut up and direct.’

‘Yes, sir.’

As Lee Hyun-soo began casting, Wiggins looked at Bang Jin-hoon with a calm gaze.

‘But if he loses there, everything will be in vain. If you want to gain something, you have to risk something, Bang Director.’

Wiggins curled up the corners of his mouth as he watched Bang Jin-hoon clash with Kazuhito.

He didn’t know exactly how strong Bang Jin-hoon had become. Only after the outcome of this battle would he be able to accurately assess him.