Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1335

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze slowly settled.

His eyes took in the dense forest.

A vast forest with no artificial structures in sight.

In the middle of that forest, a small building was located.

‘Just a little outside of Beijing.’

Well, yeah.

Even in Korea, it’s not that hard to find secluded places just outside of Seoul. In China, which is incomparably larger than Korea, securing such a place would be a piece of cake.

‘A safe house, huh…’

Kang Jin-ho enhanced his vision, focusing on the white concrete building visible through the trees.

Militarily speaking, it was a flimsy building, but the word ‘military’ had no meaning here. After all, the building wasn’t meant to defend against the military in the first place.

If the goal was to prevent anyone from approaching certain individuals, this was an ideal location.

Modern spies live off concrete.

Their abilities are unleashed when they have electronic devices, can blend in with people, and have a space with walls to hide in.

But in this forest?

‘They’d be lucky if they weren’t discovered.’

For example, if Jang Pil-jae, whom he met yesterday, tried to infiltrate this place?

He’d probably be caught before taking five steps and dragged to the basement. Then, he’d have to reveal everything, even what he ate for the first time in his life, before finally being allowed to die.

He could see why Lee Jong-wook was so flustered when they talked about setting up a safe house.

In their minds, a safe house was an impregnable fortress that could never be breached.

But what about Kang Jin-ho?

‘It’s hard to explain what I’m feeling.’

He felt a bit strange.

This kind of Chinese forest, devoid of human presence, was a very familiar sight to him.

The Central Plains [a historical region in China, often associated with martial arts and ancient battles].

During his second life, when he was part of the Demonic Cult [a fictional organization often depicted in martial arts novels], most of the battles took place in such places. Perhaps he had even visited this very place at some point back then.

It was a funny thing, but for Kang Jin-ho…

“Is this my home turf?”

A chuckle escaped him.

It was absurd, but it was true. Perhaps Kang Jin-ho understood this place better than they did.

Like now.

‘Five in front, three above.’

Kang Jin-ho spread his senses wide.

To the naked eye, it was just an ordinary forest, but to Kang Jin-ho, the presence of those lying in ambush throughout the forest was as clear as if he could touch them.

If an ordinary person were to wander into this forest without knowing, they wouldn’t last ten seconds before dying without a trace. Or they’d lose consciousness and be moved out of the forest.

‘Is it always like this?’

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his eyes.

The level of security felt excessive for it to be maintained constantly. It seemed certain that information had been leaked. The tension of the guards, conveyed through his senses, reinforced that belief.

In other words, those guarding this forest and the safe house were aware that someone might try to break in.

But…

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Kang Jin-ho leaned against a tree and took out a cigarette.

Click.

Then, he lit it.

As he slowly inhaled, the fresh air, which he couldn’t smell in Beijing, and the cigarette smoke filled his lungs.

‘I couldn’t do this before.’

He was in a place that was no different from the past, but he was completely different from the past.

This was a sensation only those who had returned could feel.

In a forest without lights, a cigarette’s flame was visible from quite a distance.

And in such a forest, the smell of a cigarette could travel an unbelievable distance.

Even in ordinary military operations, smoking at night was forbidden, but smoking in a place where the guards were not ordinary was the same as openly revealing one’s position.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the smoke and spread his senses wide.

Then…

As expected, movement began shortly after.

The presences surrounding the forest slowly began to move. Some stayed in place, while others began to encircle Kang Jin-ho.

‘Systematic.’

It was a sight that showed how rigorously they had been trained. If an ordinary person had been in this place instead of Kang Jin-ho, they wouldn’t have noticed anyone approaching until the moment they were completely surrounded.

Of course, Kang Jin-ho was a bit different.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes sank deeply.

A forced breakthrough wasn’t so bad either. Killing everyone who stood in his way was Kang Jin-ho’s style. Even though this was the modern era and Kang Jin-ho was different from the past, this was one of the things Kang Jin-ho couldn’t compromise on.

However, one thing was different… they weren’t blocking Kang Jin-ho, but rather blocking an intruder.

There was a difference between facing an enemy who recognized Kang Jin-ho and mechanically blocking an opponent.

‘That’s a poor excuse.’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Perhaps Kang Jin-ho was just tired of seeing unnecessary bloodshed.

“Hoo…”

Kang Jin-ho, having slowly exhaled the deeply inhaled smoke, raised his head and looked ahead.

The encirclement was tightening.

Dao Ming raised his hand and adjusted his scope.

‘Hoo…’

He lowered his breathing.

‘What kind of crazy bastard is smoking a cigarette there?’

The confusion in the voice of the commander giving the orders was conveyed to Dao Ming. But he didn’t feel like blaming him for being incompetent. Even if Dao Ming had given the orders, he would have been just as flustered.

‘Is he just crazy, or…’

It was difficult to guess the identity of the intruder.

If it was someone targeting the safe house, they wouldn’t smoke a cigarette near the operational zone. It was something a complete idiot would do, but such a person wouldn’t be deployed in this situation.

Then, was it an ordinary person who happened to be passing by and lit a cigarette?

‘But the timing and situation are too coincidental.’

Neither explanation made sense. In such cases, the best thing to do was to approach cautiously and figure out who the other person was.

Squeeze.

His hand holding the knife tightened.

Dao Ming’s lips slightly twisted.

‘No firearms allowed. What kind of era is this?’

The reasons were numerous: it was nighttime, even with a silencer, the sound of gunfire could reach nearby houses, and even with night vision goggles, if a large number of people used firearms against a small number, there was a risk of friendly fire.

But Dao Ming thought all those reasons were just excuses.

Those higher-ups still had a fantasy about martial artists. Even though they knew that firearms were convenient and excellent killing weapons, they still clung to the strange stubbornness that those who had mastered martial arts should defeat their opponents with their own strength, not with firearms.

‘Outdated fools.’

Martial artists needed to change now.

Wasn’t it unimaginable a few decades ago that martial artists like Dao Ming would be affiliated with the Party [referring to the Chinese Communist Party] and receive a salary?

It was also unimaginable that martial artists would receive military training and be deployed in special forces.

In a world where that was actually happening, they were still stuck in the past.

‘That’s why China can’t move forward.’

[Dao Ming!]

“Yes.”

[Focus.]

Dao Ming slightly contorted his face.

‘They’re like ghosts when it comes to this.’

But the order was correct. Dao Ming shook off the dissatisfaction that had risen in his mind and raised the knife in his hand.

In fact, for a martial artist of Dao Ming’s caliber, firearms were just one of the options. They were just a more convenient way to deal with enemies, but in close quarters, a knife was much more powerful than a gun.

It was just annoying.

Rustle.

The sound of stepping on fallen leaves was grating on his ears.

Dao Ming muffled his footsteps even more and advanced slowly, but surely, forward.

‘I see him.’

A red light flickered in the distance.

The cigarette’s flame.

Dao Ming’s brow furrowed.

‘It doesn’t seem like he came here knowing?’

Even if he was a complete idiot, if he had come here targeting this place, he wouldn’t be smoking a cigarette so leisurely. Even if he was an addict whose brain wouldn’t function without nicotine, he would somehow hide and smoke as quickly as possible before starting his operation, not inhale so deeply and visibly.

Then, was he really someone who got lost and wandered here by chance?

‘If so, he’s pitiful.’

The Party didn’t take such circumstances into consideration. Anyone who approached a place they shouldn’t approach would be arrested and subjected to brutal torture, regardless of the reason.

If they were thoroughly investigated and not a single speck of dust was found, they might be released, but if even the slightest abnormality was discovered, they would never see the light of day again.

He felt a slight pang of sympathy… but sympathy was sympathy, and duty was duty. Dao Ming approached the target at a faster pace.

‘Hmm?’

As he approached quite close, the figure of the opponent became clear in his night vision goggles.

A young-looking man.

Ordinary clothes that didn’t seem to be related to trekking or mountain climbing at all.

‘Did he really get lost?’

Except for the fact that his face, which appeared green through the goggles, looked quite handsome, there was nothing particularly unusual about the man.

Dao Ming’s hand holding the knife involuntarily lost its strength.

‘What a useless idiot, making me nervous.’

He’d have to step on him a bit while arresting him to feel better…

That was the moment.

The man’s head moved slightly.

Then, the end of his gaze was fixed directly on Dao Ming.

Dao Ming stopped in his tracks.

‘He can see me?’

No, that couldn’t be.

Dao Ming was hiding his body right now. So how could that guy have found him?

Coincidence. It was just a coincidence. Their eyes just happened to meet.

Then, the man took the cigarette and brought it to his lips.

Then, suddenly, the cigarette the man was holding burst into flames.

The night vision goggles, which had their sensitivity turned up, momentarily received a massive amount of light and flickered white. It was as if a flashbang had gone off, and his eyes felt like they were tearing apart.

“Ugh!”

“Damn it!”

Confused voices erupted from the left and right.

[Turn off your night vision goggles! Now!]

Dao Ming roughly raised his hand and tore off the goggles that were covering his eyes. Even then, he couldn’t open his eyes, so he rubbed them violently several times.

Finally, when he opened his tear-filled eyes…

“He’s gone!”

What they saw was an empty forest and a cigarette lying on the ground.

The cigarette, still burning, was proof that what they had seen was not an illusion.

Dao Ming stared blankly at the cigarette on the ground.

‘How…’

He couldn’t see it with his eyes, but his senses had accurately captured the opponent. But the opponent had disappeared in an instant, as if he had become a ghost.

“Where’s the target?”

“Ah, I can’t see him. We lost him.”

“Damn it! Find him now! Right now! Spread out and search again! Hurry!”

The panicked commander’s voice echoed sharply throughout the forest.