Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1654

Kang Jin-ho exhaled softly, gazing at the open field before him.

His mind was clear.

The urge he usually felt whenever he stirred his mana had completely vanished. Whether this was a positive or negative change, he couldn’t definitively say at this point.

The issue of losing control to his mana’s impulses was certainly a concern, but Kang Jin-ho couldn’t deny that he had gained some advantages from that madness in battle.

“Is that where we need to go?” Lee Hyun-soo asked from behind him, his expression a bit awkward.

“Um… Guild Leader.”

“Hm?”

“It’s a bit strange to bring this up now, but…”

“What is it?”

Lee Hyun-soo squeezed his eyes shut and said, “Either change your voice or release that mana. One of the two. It’s so awkward, it feels weird.”

Kang Jin-ho withdrew the mana that had been surrounding his body. Lee Hyun-soo then let out a deep sigh.

‘Is this really okay?’

He had brought all the executives into China. And now, he was embarking on something dangerous he had never attempted before.

Naturally, he had expected a heart-pounding battle from start to finish, but…

“It seems like I’m getting a lot of flak.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing, nothing at all.” Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

“More importantly…” His eyes fell upon the city that had come into view beyond the stretch of greenery.

“The Red King is there, I presume?” Wiggins chimed in.

“And the Azure King and his elite forces will be there as well.”

“At that point, it should be considered a den of devils…”

Two individuals with the power to shake the world were inside that city, which looked so peaceful.

Lee Hyun-soo lowered his voice and said, “Guild Leader, let me point out one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“The Azure King has no intention of escalating things.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes gleamed as he looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

Lee Hyun-soo continued his explanation. “If the Azure King was truly intent on capturing and killing the Red King without looking back, he wouldn’t have left that small city alone. Even if problems arose later, he would have searched every nook and cranny to find the Red King.”

That was true.

If Kang Jin-ho were in a situation where he had to find the Red King who had infiltrated a small city in Korea, he would have overturned the entire city, even if it meant evacuating the citizens in consultation with the government.

However, the Azure King, who could wield power greater than Kang Jin-ho, was simply leaving that city alone.

“Why?”

“In my opinion, it seems more burdensome than he anticipated.”

“Hm?”

“Even though he avoided the city, the Azure King and the Red King have been waging war all over China. It takes an enormous amount of political power to smooth that over. He has to mobilize the government officials he has bought off and exert influence over the military.”

Wiggins shook his head as if the thought alone was giving him a headache.

“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“Yes. The burden must be immense. But if he were to touch the city in the midst of all that, he might face a situation where he has to completely turn his back on the government. If the Black King wasn’t around, the government wouldn’t dare to do anything to the Azure King, but there’s a possibility that the government, dissatisfied with the Azure King, might completely turn to the Black King’s side.”

“Complicated.”

“That’s politics for you.”

Kang Jin-ho let out a hollow laugh.

Those who had been waging war all over China had been given a chance to end that war, but they were hesitating at the last moment?

It didn’t make sense to Kang Jin-ho’s common sense.

If they couldn’t finish it, winning wasn’t really winning. If the Red King were to escape like this, wouldn’t the victory they had worked so hard for become meaningless?

“…He wouldn’t be that kind of guy.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho narrowed his brow.

“Among the ways to hunt beasts…”

As Kang Jin-ho began to speak, the executives focused their attention on him.

“There’s a way to trap a wounded beast in a cage.”

“…Cage them? Why?” Bator chuckled.

“If you tie up a wounded wolf, the pack will come to rescue it.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face turned slightly pale.

“Are you saying it’s a trap?”

“I don’t know. I’m just saying it could be.”

“But they wouldn’t have known we were coming. Why would they have gone to the trouble of…”

“It might not be us.”

Wiggins added this time. “Anyone is fine. The Red King’s elite forces might rush in to rescue him, or anyone they can mobilize will come. If they just kill them, it will be much easier to absorb the Red King’s faction. What can a body without a head do?”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Zhangjiakou with a sharp gaze.

If this prediction was correct, then the city itself was a huge trap to lure those who were trying to save the Red King.

“But would they have the audacity to use the Red King as bait? What if the Red King escapes…”

“Don’t forget.”

Kang Jin-ho said in a low voice. “Common sense doesn’t apply to that Azure King. You have to be careful about the things you think are impossible.”

Lee Hyun-soo closed his mouth.

This was something he could completely agree with. In fact, when you think about it, the reason why this was happening now was because that Azure King was literally running wild.

‘A trap?’

Lee Hyun-soo’s spine began to chill.

If that place was a trap created by the Azure King using the Red King as a huge bait, then that trap would surely be vicious. The bigger the bait, the bigger the catch they’re trying to get.

“Then what do we do?”

“What do we do?”

Kang Jin-ho nonchalantly took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette with a lighter and exhaled a long stream of smoke.

“If we’re not going to go in just because it’s a trap, then there’s no reason we came all this way. Can you still contact Chai Ke-chang?”

“Still no contact.”

“I figured.”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Then let’s go see. What that damn Azure King has prepared for us.”

Chai Ke-chang clutched his side.

‘Damn it.’

The long gash wasn’t healing properly. No, even if it did heal, it was a problem. No matter how skilled he was as a martial artist, he couldn’t be completely free from infection.

The environment, far from being clean, was slowly sapping his strength.

But right now, his concerns weren’t about his body.

He turned his gaze to the Red King, who was sitting in front of him.

“Red King…”

Chai Ke-chang bit his lip.

On the surface, the Red King didn’t have any major injuries. No, even those injuries would have killed an ordinary person ten times over.

The large hole in his stomach, as well as the long cuts that crisscrossed his body, would have caused shock just from the blood loss alone.

But considering that the person who had suffered these injuries was the Red King, these injuries were rather insignificant. The problem was the deep internal injuries the Red King had suffered.

For a martial artist, having their energy disrupted was more dangerous than physical injuries. The internal energy they had built up could suddenly attack their own body.

That was why, even after so much time had passed, the Red King had not even recovered from the superficial wounds.

“Just a little… please hold on a little longer.”

Chai Ke-chang bowed his head.

Seeing that, the Red King slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes, which had always been full of brilliance, seemed a little clouded.

“Chai Ke-chang.”

“Yes, Red King.”

“It’s not too late even now. Get yourself out of here.”

“That is not an option.” Chai Ke-chang replied firmly.

“…My body is deteriorating even now. I don’t know what the Azure King did, but I can’t gather my energy at all. It’s like poison has seeped into my body, and I’m getting weaker little by little.”

“If this continues, even if I escape this place, I’m not sure if I can regain my past self. If that’s the case, then you should escape. If you and I die at the same time, the Red King’s faction will fall apart.”

“That’s not true.”

“…I’m wrong?”

“Yes.”

Chai Ke-chang said firmly. “I am a person who can only exert my abilities because the Red King is here. Without the Red King, I’m just a desk-bound scholar with nothing but a mouth. Without the Red King, I am nothing.”

The Red King closed his mouth.

“Even if I were to escape from this place, it would be impossible to rally them and fight against the Azure King. Please face reality.”

The Red King closed his eyes.

He knew that Chai Ke-chang’s words were not wrong. But that didn’t mean they could just die together.

The Red King’s gaze shifted slightly upwards.

He could see the blocked-off pit.

From the beginning, hiding inside a building to avoid the Azure King’s attention was impossible. That’s why he had dug down deep, far below the ground. He had filled the dug-out floor again, completely isolating himself from the outside.

If he had any strength left, he could have dug a tunnel and escaped Zhangjiakou, but now that he had failed to conserve his energy, that was impossible.

He could only die here.

Chai Ke-chang secretly took out his cell phone.

The cell phone with a dead battery was meaningless here. Of course, even if the battery was charged, there was no way a call would go through in this place, which was more than 100 meters underground.

“So, my dream of fixing the world will end here.”

“You mustn’t weaken.”

Chai Ke-chang gritted his teeth.

“The opportunity hasn’t ended yet. The General Assembly will come. If we borrow the power of the Demon King, we can try to change the world again.”

“Will he come to save me?”

“He will definitely come.”

Chai Ke-chang nodded.

“Because that’s the kind of person he is.”

The Red King let out a hollow laugh.

Neither dying like this nor being saved by the Demon King was something he welcomed. But right now, he had no other options.

“It’s the first time I’ve felt so pathetic. To be in a position where I’m asking for salvation, yet I can’t even go out to meet him. If this continues, even if he comes, he won’t be able to find us, will he?”

“No. It’s not that they will find us. We will find them.”

“What are you talking about? Here…”

That was the moment.

Rumble!

The cave they had dug into suddenly began to shake.

‘An earthquake?’

In an instant, the Red King’s face, which had shown bewilderment, hardened.

At the same time, a bitter smile began to form on Chai Ke-chang’s lips.

“It seems they’ve arrived.”

The Red King looked back and forth between Chai Ke-chang and the shaking ceiling, then let out a hollow laugh.

“Did they really come all this way? To save me, of all people?”

“It’s a bit funny to say this from the position of being saved, but…”

The Red King shook his head.

“The Demon King is really out of his mind. He’s the craziest bastard I’ve ever seen.”

“I agree with that.”

Contrary to their words, the light returned to their eyes.

“Let’s go.”

“Let’s do it.”