Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1203

I don’t particularly feel like having a conversation.

I sympathize, but comforting an enemy is a foolish thing to do. If the situation had been slightly different, it might have been Wiggins, not the Lord, who was in despair.

Yet, the reason I couldn’t help but open my mouth might be because the Lord’s appearance was too miserable.

“The mere fact that you are here is wrong.”

“…Here?”

“This is not a battlefield.”

Wiggins shook his head.

“The Lord is someone who faces those who stand on the battlefield. One who does not stand on the battlefield cannot be called a warrior.”

“A warrior must stand on the battlefield?”

“That’s right.”

Wiggins looked at the Lord with slightly cold eyes.

The sympathetic gaze fades away. As I think about why Kang Jin-ho didn’t acknowledge the Lord, my mind feels clearer.

“This war must have been the most important war for you as well. Even if you win, there will be many casualties, and if you lose, you will lose everything. But why are you here? A warrior of your caliber should be of great help, you should be cutting down even one more enemy on the battlefield.”

“Nonsense!”

The Lord shouted reflexively.

“I am a king! If I die, the war ends! What king would risk such danger and stand on the battlefield! A king must observe the war situation from the safest place! That is strategy! That is the principle!”

“Perhaps.”

Wiggins could tell for sure. That answer says it all.

“You are not wrong.”

“Your words are logical and strategic. If you think about it rationally, you made the best choice.”

“Then what the hell is wrong!”

“…Don’t you know?”

Wiggins looked at the Lord with a somewhat pitiful gaze.

“The Lord did not deny your abilities. He denied that you are a warrior. Commanding from the safest place is the role of a king, not the role of a warrior.”

The Lord’s eyes wavered.

“A dilemma.”

Wiggins smiled bitterly.

Perhaps this is a cruel thing to do.

Even when one’s status rises and one is in a position to command everyone, maintaining the wildness of a warrior who wields a sword and drinks blood is almost impossible. Perhaps the Lord went through a natural process and made the most logical choice.

But that choice is not the choice of a warrior.

They have already seen it.

The absolute ruler, who can wield any power and do anything if he wishes, is fighting the enemy and staining himself with blood more than anyone else.

The one at the highest position of the Assembly confronts the enemy more than anyone else.

Moreover, Kang Jin-ho doesn’t think it’s his duty.

It’s not the mindset that he has to bear a greater duty than anyone else because he is a king.

Kang Jin-ho is simply at the forefront because he is strong.

A warrior must fight, and if they fight, the strong lead.

That simple and absurd way of thinking is what drives Kang Jin-ho.

From Kang Jin-ho’s perspective,

The Lord was not a warrior. He was merely a power holder who surrounded himself with the power and strength he had seized, and only reaped benefits from a safe place.

So, he wasn’t interested.

“You were able to reach this position because you are not a warrior. I’m not denying that. However…”

Wiggins wore a bitter smile.

“You had the wrong opponent. Even if you had suffered a worse defeat, if you had faced the Lord as a warrior, the Lord would have smiled and cut off your head. But… with your method, you can never provoke the Lord. You are nothing. Yes, you are just nothing. That’s all.”

The Lord’s head slowly lowered.

The Lord is slumped over, as if his strength has left him.

It seems like his color has faded.

Wiggins sighed. He had seen this kind of appearance often. A look of having lost everything that had sustained their life, and completely losing the will to live.

In this state, even if they live, they are not truly living.

Even if they leave him as he is, the Lord will suffer for a few days and eventually die.

“Master.”

“I know.”

There is only one mercy that can be given to such a person.

The Master took his sword and walked towards the Lord.

Even though the executioner was approaching, the Lord did not raise his head. In his eyes, there was no fear of death, nor any attachment to life.

His eyes were empty, black and dead, and he was just muttering something blankly.

It seemed like he was saying words like ‘warrior’ or ‘life’, but Wiggins didn’t bother to interpret them.

It’s meaningless.

It’s meaningless now.

“My Lorddddddd!”

Shinya, who had regained his senses, screamed and rushed towards the Lord. Those who had been reinforced outside the garden also attacked the knights reflexively. But their hands could not reach the Lord.

Amidst the knights’ ironclad defense, the Master silently raised his sword. In his eyes, the Lord’s nape, which looked slightly thin, was clearly visible.

“Farewell.”

There were many things to say, and many things to ask.

But after much deliberation, the words the Master chose were these.

*Swish.*

With a chilling sound, the Lord’s head rolled to the floor.

*Thud.*

Blood spurted from the Master’s head, who had an indescribable expression. Wiggins looked at the head with a calm gaze, then slowly walked over and picked it up.

‘If it were another field, you would have died a victor.’

If it were not the world of warriors.

The Lord was certainly a capable man.

He knew how to move forces and how to use appropriate tricks. He knew how to mix common sense and unconventionality to find profit, and he would do anything to achieve his goals.

He was like a human being created for the sole purpose of achieving victory.

His only mistake.

Was that he became a warrior.

The world where warriors live is different from the ordinary world. Here, sometimes the heart takes precedence over the head, and sometimes being foolish is better than being smart.

The one who minimized damage with his brilliant mind and climbed up by trampling on others became the Lord, and the one who foolishly did not avoid battles that could have been avoided and always lived on the front lines became Kang Jin-ho.

That’s where the two diverged.

“We should clean up.”

“Indeed.”

A subtle sense of sorrow passed between the Master and Wiggins.

The absolute warrior who had reigned like a king in Japan died so miserably.

*Whoosh.*

Lee Hyun-soo turned his head sharply at the sudden appearance of a light cluster.

It was the sound of those who had gone to Japan to execute the Lord returning.

But it hasn’t even been five minutes since they left, and they’re already back?

*Whoosh.*

The light cluster subsided, and Kang Jin-ho’s figure appeared.

Lee Hyun-soo hurriedly ran to Kang Jin-ho.

“Master, you’re back?”

“Where is Director Wiggins?”

“He will come after finishing the cleanup.”

“What about the Lord…?”

“Well.”

“…Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth. Then, he quietly lit it. After taking a deep drag, Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke.

His face had a slight look of emptiness.

“He was not worth dealing with. I left him to be dealt with and came back.”

“Ah…”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but the fact that Kang Jin-ho had just returned meant that those who remained there were enough to cut off the Lord’s head.

Otherwise, Kang Jin-ho would never have returned alone.

“It seems things went well.”

Kang Jin-ho gave a subtle smile. If it went well, it went well, but…

He didn’t particularly want to express it that way. Thinking that so many people died because of such a guy, his heart wasn’t very comfortable.

‘I’ve changed a lot too.’

In the past, he wouldn’t have felt any pity for the dead.

Kang Jin-ho’s world was divided into three parts.

Me, my friends, and finally, the enemy.

There is no reason or circumstance for the enemy. They are just the enemy. There is no reason to consider the circumstances of those who rush to kill you. That’s just a foolish thing to do.

But now, Kang Jin-ho was feeling a little pity for those who had died here. It would have been better if they could have risked their lives for something more meaningful…

“Wiggins will be back soon.”

“…May I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

“When did you start thinking about sending the Round Table [a group of powerful individuals] to Japan? I expected it, but it was too sudden. It doesn’t seem like you requested it after the war started…”

There was a reason for asking this question.

Considering that it was a request to the Round Table, the number of troops mobilized by the Round Table was too small.

Thanks to them emptying almost all of Japan and invading Korea, that force alone was enough, but if the prediction had been slightly off, they wouldn’t have been able to use any power.

Kang Jin-ho was not a person who relied on luck.

If he really intended to land the Round Table in Japan, he would have mobilized all of the Round Table’s forces. No matter what the side effects were.

In other words…

Lee Hyun-soo guessed that Kang Jin-ho was not using them as a military force.

It was clear that there was another purpose.

“Didn’t I tell you once before?”

“…Yes?”

“That I would go myself.”

“That gate or whatever is quite convenient. I was going to cross over at the right time, but they just happened to invade first.”

Lee Hyun-soo was speechless and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

‘He still remembers that?’

When the former Shin-Nichikai [a Japanese organization] tried to send troops to Korea on a cruise ship, Kang Jin-ho not only buried them all at sea but also tried to go directly to Japan to cut off the Lord’s head.

But he had stopped because everyone had dissuaded him…

“No, how petty can a person be…”

“Hmm?”

“Ah, no. A hero never forgets a grudge.”

Kang Jin-ho looks at Lee Hyun-soo with a subtle gaze.

Lee Hyun-soo, who almost said he was petty without realizing it, breaks out in a cold sweat.

‘I must never hold a grudge against him.’

It’s frightening that he didn’t forget that grudge and was planning to go to Japan somehow, but it’s also amazing that he went all the way to Japan in this condition.

Feeling Kang Jin-ho’s gaze, Lee Hyun-soo quickly changed the subject.

“So, what are you planning to do now?”

Kang Jin-ho, who had been looking at Lee Hyun-soo with a subtle gaze, slowly took a drag on his cigarette.

“I have to go.”

“To the hospital?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“Now I have to go end the war. Prepare. We’ll move right away.”

“Yes!”

Kang Jin-ho nodded and slowly walked towards the Assembly building.

Kang Jin-ho’s back as he walks through the corpses that have not yet been cleared, stepping on the blood they shed. Behind him, white cigarette smoke is puffed out.

‘It’s a relief that he’s not an enemy.’

Lee Hyun-soo, who was once Kang Jin-ho’s enemy but is now Kang Jin-ho’s subordinate, felt a sense of relief.

But…

Conversely, there were still those who unfortunately remained Kang Jin-ho’s enemies.

Now they will also know.

What it means to become Kang Jin-ho’s enemy.