Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1258

Dock.

Three men appeared at the desolate pier where a chilly wind blew.

“Ah, it’s cold.”

The men, shivering in the wind, grumbled as they walked onto the pier.

“It’s already freezing, why do we have to do this at night?”

“Then should we do it in broad daylight?”

Ko Min-sung retorted, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“And what kind of martial artist is bothered by the cold? You’ve got to have some pride.”

“Pride, my ass. You try getting stabbed, you bastard. The spot where those Jap bastards got me still aches. When the cold wind hits it, it feels like I’m being stabbed again.”

“You got stabbed because you’re weak.”

“You wanna die?”

“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go. We need to finish this today.”

“Tsk.”

Ko Min-sung casually scanned the surroundings.

The pier was empty at this hour. There were guards, but there was no way they could spot Ko Min-sung and his group.

Even though it was something they did every time, they couldn’t help but feel nervous. The meaningless conversation they were having was just a way to relieve the tension.

“It’s over there, I think.”

Jo Young-hwa, checking the documents in his hand, pointed ahead. Ko Min-sung nodded and followed Jo Young-hwa, who was leading the way.

“Do we have to do this so inconveniently every time?”

“Then what?”

“Why can’t they just bring it to us?”

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Why do you even breathe, you crazy bastard? If it’s such a hassle, just hold your breath.”

“Is that the same thing?”

“If you keep flapping your gums with useless crap, I’ll make sure you can’t use that mouth again. If you don’t want all your teeth pulled out, shut your trap now.”

“…Tch, damn it.”

Jo Young-hwa grumbled and walked ahead.

The three men moved quickly and entered an area where containers were stacked. They saw guards patrolling with flashlights, but the three men slipped into the darkness, completely avoiding their eyes.

“It’s always the same.”

Jo Young-hwa narrowed his eyes, examining the neatly stacked containers, then walked to one side.

“That’s it.”

Jo Young-hwa pointed to the container at the very bottom.

“Looks like we don’t have to do any monkey business today. What’s the deal with it being at the bottom?”

“They probably want us to finish quickly and rest.”

Ko Min-sung also let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t reach the containers on top. For them, climbing up the containers, opening the doors, and getting inside was easier than eating a piece of cake.

But taking out the items inside the containers and moving them while avoiding the eyes of others was a completely different matter. They could end up having to carry cargo by hand from a height of five stories.

Fortunately, this time, their target was at the very bottom.

“Open the door.”

“Check if anyone’s around.”

“I already did. Hey, Kyung-ho. Just in case, check if anyone’s coming.”

“Yes.”

Jo Young-hwa glanced back and cautiously approached the container. He then took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the tightly secured padlock.

Click.

Jo Young-hwa removed the lock and carefully opened the container door without making a sound.

Screeeeeak!

The sound of rusty metal grinding pierced their ears.

“Open it quietly.”

“What do you want me to do about the sound?”

“Okay, okay, you bastard. Don’t get worked up.”

“Tsk.”

As Jo Young-hwa opened the door, Ko Min-sung went inside.

At this point, speed was more important than caution. Inside the container, there were wooden boxes sealed shut. Jo Young-hwa immediately tore off the top of a box.

Inside the box were small boxes wrapped in plastic.

Jo Young-hwa frowned at the sight.

“Seriously, these bastards… When they first sent it, they covered the top with other stuff and made a fuss, but now they’re just sending it with simple packaging?”

“They probably think they won’t get caught since they haven’t been caught yet.”

“Don’t they know that if they get caught, they’re all screwed? Crazy bastards.”

“They won’t be affected.”

“Still, it’s annoying.”

Ko Min-sung frowned slightly.

Even if they were caught, the cargo was being shipped overseas, so it wouldn’t really affect them. No matter how they investigated, they wouldn’t be able to find them.

But if they were caught, they couldn’t avoid having the goods confiscated.

‘Crazy bastards, how much money is in this one container?’

Ko Min-sung shook his head.

“Let’s take the stuff out and go. It’ll be a problem if we’re any later.”

“Okay.”

Jo Young-hwa and Park Kyung-ho entered the container and grabbed the boxes. Each box was heavy enough for an adult man to barely lift, but as martial artists, they could easily lift five or six boxes at once.

If they made a couple of trips, they could empty the container.

“Let’s go…”

Ko Min-sung, who was about to say ‘let’s go,’ suddenly closed his mouth. A long shadow was creeping into the container.

The rectangular entrance.

A long human shadow was cast inside. Ko Min-sung raised his head, following the shadow, and saw a man silhouetted against the light.

Ko Min-sung stared at the man, speechless. He couldn’t see the man’s face clearly because of the backlight, but he could tell at a glance that he wasn’t a guard. His attire was different from the guards.

“Aren’t you going…”

Jo Young-hwa also seemed to understand the situation and shut his mouth.

Ko Min-sung’s mind became a mess.

What should he do?

Should he run?

‘No.’

Running away was impossible. If they ran, they would have to leave the goods behind. Even if they forced themselves to run with the boxes they were holding, half of the goods still needed to be moved.

Each large box contained a hundred small boxes, each containing ten ampules. In other words, one box contained a thousand ampules.

‘In terms of money, one box is worth over a billion won [approximately $750,000 USD].’

Leaving fifteen boxes behind would be like throwing away 15 billion won [approximately $11.25 million USD].

The decision was quick.

Ko Min-sung slowly placed the box on the floor. Then, he clenched his fist and moved his foot. He didn’t know who the guy blocking their way was, but his life wasn’t worth more than 15 billion won.

“Don’t blame me…”

“Why? Are you going to kill me?”

Ko Min-sung’s foot stopped.

Of course, it wasn’t Ko Min-sung’s will. The moment he heard the low voice, his foot betrayed his will and stopped on its own.

‘What is this?’

Ko Min-sung’s face hardened at the inexplicable phenomenon.

“Don’t bother. You’ll die if you do that.”

The man, speaking coldly, slowly walked forward and approached the container. As the backlight faded, the man’s face was revealed.

“I’m the one who’s going to die, not you. Instead of punching me, let’s talk, let’s talk.”

Ko Min-sung’s face turned pale.

What the man said was undoubtedly true.

If a fight broke out here, Ko Min-sung was confident that he could rip the man’s throat out in less than 10 seconds. No, it wouldn’t even take 10 seconds.

Subjectively and objectively, the man was no match for Ko Min-sung.

Yet, the reason Ko Min-sung was terrified was that the man in front of him was not someone who lived by physical strength in the first place.

Click.

The man calmly lit a cigarette.

Then, with an icy coldness in his eyes, he glared at Ko Min-sung and his group.

“Humans are so funny.”

Lee Hyun-soo slowly exhaled cigarette smoke. Those inside the container couldn’t even dare to look at Lee Hyun-soo.

They were weak.

By their standards, Lee Hyun-soo was just an ordinary person who couldn’t even twist a chicken’s neck. But they couldn’t even raise their voices against such a weak person.

“It’s an obvious situation to anyone. But even when people get to this point, they can’t let go of their lingering attachments. ‘It can’t be, it can’t be. There must be some misunderstanding.’ Seeing myself thinking like that, I guess I’ve been living too comfortably. Right?”

His voice was soft.

But Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes were not soft at all.

It was the look he had when he was called the devil of the Yeongnam Assembly, when everyone feared him. [Yeongnam is a region in southeastern Korea.]

A look he had forgotten because he no longer needed to hate anyone or push anyone into hell. That look was now coming back to life.

Ko Min-sung gritted his teeth.

As a former member of the Yeongnam Assembly, Ko Min-sung knew how terrifying Lee Hyun-soo was. At one time, Lee Hyun-soo was even shunned within the Yeongnam Assembly. Even though he was a superior and everyone knew how much benefit he brought to the Assembly, he was someone they couldn’t get close to.

He might be living like a loose screw now compared to before, but if he had to pick the most chilling person he had ever met, Ko Min-sung would not hesitate to choose Lee Hyun-soo, even at this moment.

And that Lee Hyun-soo was now glaring at him with a voice devoid of emotion.

‘I have to kill him.’

The thought of running away disappeared from his mind.

Turning Lee Hyun-soo into an enemy and running away was no different from living in fear for the rest of his life. He had to kill him. He had to kill Lee Hyun-soo here…

That’s when it happened.

Step, step, step.

Just as he heard soft footsteps, martial artists in black suits appeared around Lee Hyun-soo.

The container entrance in his view was filled with martial artists.

“Ah, don’t misunderstand.”

Lee Hyun-soo said softly.

“I’m not that stupid. Don’t think that you can solve anything by going out of the container, whether you break through the back or the top.”

Ko Min-sung glanced up.

He could feel killing intent beyond the thin, or thick, ceiling of the container. What he saw wasn’t everything. This place was completely sealed off.

Well, yeah.

There was no way it would be sloppy when Lee Hyun-soo himself had moved.

Ko Min-sung, who knew Lee Hyun-soo well, chuckled at the thought that he had momentarily entertained a foolish dream.

“Grab them.”

“Yes!”

“Recover all the goods, and take those bastards alive. If they resist, you can crush them a bit. But…”

Lee Hyun-soo said as if spitting out the words.

“Make sure they stay alive. I’ll kill them with my own hands.”

“Yes!”

The martial artists pushed into the container.

As if resigned, Ko Min-sung and his group were easily captured by the martial artists. There was no way they could resist when dozens of martial artists, each no less skilled than them, had arrived.

As he was being dragged away, Ko Min-sung looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a hollow gaze. Lee Hyun-soo met Ko Min-sung’s gaze with emotionless eyes.

“Move, you bastard!”

Ko Min-sung was dragged away. Lee Hyun-soo watched them being dragged away, then turned and entered the container. He saw the boxes that filled half of the container.

After staring silently for a while, Lee Hyun-soo gritted his teeth and kicked one of the boxes.

Bang!

The box broke and crashed into the container wall.

“…Shit.”

Lee Hyun-soo, cursing, took a deep drag of his cigarette, then threw the butt on the container floor and roughly stomped on it.