Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1811

Horror filled Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes.

It was the Master, whom he and Wiggins had tried so hard to track down, yet couldn’t even find a trace of. They had almost given up on capturing the Master altogether.

And now, that Master was right before their eyes.

In an utterly miserable state.

“What is this…”

Wiggins started to speak, then stopped himself.

A surge of anger rose within him, but he realized he wasn’t in a position to defend or worry about the Master.

“The reaction isn’t as good as I’d hoped. This is troublesome.”

The man wore a subtle expression. However, the corners of his mouth were still turned up.

“This is a gift the Black King took great care in preparing. If you have any manners, shouldn’t you smile, no matter how you feel?”

At those words, the directors’ faces contorted in unison.

‘This bastard…’

That was a statement that could only come from someone who completely looked down on others.

“It seems the Black King, or whatever he is, doesn’t teach his underlings any manners.”

At Bang Jin-hoon’s sarcastic remark, the man’s eyes turned fierce.

“If this were China, the moment you uttered those words, your mouth would be torn apart.”

“This is Korea, you punk. And your mouth is about to get ripped apart right now.”

As Bang Jin-hoon looked like he was about to lunge at the man, Wiggins reached out and firmly pressed down on Bang Jin-hoon’s shoulder.

“Calm down.”

Bang Jin-hoon, knowing he shouldn’t act emotionally, took a deep breath and stopped in his tracks.

“Oh, my. I heard Koreans were polite, but it seems I was mistaken.”

The man reached into the trunk, grabbed the Master by the neck, and pulled him out like he was taking out trash, throwing him onto the ground.

Thud.

The limp Master let out a strained groan.

The directors of the General Assembly, seeing the Master covered in blood, with no part of his body seemingly unscathed, couldn’t help but wince. It wasn’t that they had any good feelings towards the Master, but the Master’s current state was too miserable to bring up those feelings.

“I’ve delivered it. Well then…”

The man closed the trunk and opened his car door, but the directors didn’t try to stop him.

But then.

VROOOOOM!

A loud engine sound came from below, and a red sports car shot up the hill as if it had been launched.

“Guild Master?”

VROOOOOM!

The sports car, cutting across the large training ground, stopped right in front of them. As soon as the car stopped, the door opened, and Kang Jin-ho stepped out.

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze swept over the directors once before turning to the Master lying on the ground. After silently confirming the Master’s condition, Kang Jin-ho’s gaze finally settled on the man’s face.

The man, who had been so sarcastic towards the directors, suddenly bowed deeply the moment his eyes met Kang Jin-ho’s.

“It is an honor to meet you! I am Liu Yang, serving under the Black King!”

Liu Yang, carefully raising his head, pointed respectfully at the Master.

“The Black King has sent a gift.”

Click.

Kang Jin-ho silently lit a cigarette.

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled the smoke, looking at Liu Yang with emotionless eyes. Liu Yang, with an extremely nervous expression, respectfully clasped his hands together.

Seeing this, Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Well-trained, I see.”

“Ah, no, that bastard…”

Bang Jin-hoon’s eyes blazed with anger.

His attitude was completely different from when he was dealing with them earlier. Just a moment ago, he was arrogant, but now he was acting like a dog on a leash.

“Tell him I received the gift well.”

“Yes!”

Liu Yang bowed deeply once again.

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Wait a moment.”

“Yes?”

“Over here.”

As Kang Jin-ho snapped his fingers, Liu Yang approached him with a nervous expression.

“Speak.”

“Coming up here, I noticed the guys at the vehicle control point were knocked out.”

“Was that your doing?”

“…They were only knocked out; there shouldn’t be any major problems.”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up.

“That’s not for you to decide.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out and grabbed Liu Yang’s face. Although the movement was slow, the man didn’t dare to avoid it, simply accepting the slowly approaching hand.

Crack.

Kang Jin-ho’s hand tightened around Liu Yang’s face.

“Ugh…”

As his fingers dug into his face, Liu Yang’s body convulsed. However, his arms, stuck to his sides, didn’t move an inch.

“When you enter someone else’s territory, you should follow their rules. Didn’t they teach you that?”

“I’m, I’m sorry… Ugh…”

Kang Jin-ho, looking at Liu Yang with emotionless eyes, threw him towards the car as if he had lost interest.

Thud.

Liu Yang, who had crashed into the car, quickly got back on his feet.

“Next time, come with manners.”

“…I will keep that in mind.”

“Go.”

“Yes!”

Although the skin where his fingers had touched was torn and bleeding, Liu Yang maintained a perfect posture, as if he couldn’t dare to show any dissatisfaction.

However, Kang Jin-ho knew that Liu Yang’s respect wasn’t out of fear for him, but out of respect for Cheongma [a powerful figure in the Demonic Cult].

‘Interesting.’

Of course, even in the past, Cheongma was a figure of fear in the Demonic Cult.

Among the cult members, there were more who feared Cheongma than Kang Jin-ho, the cult leader. But looking at Liu Yang’s attitude towards Kang Jin-ho now, it seemed that Cheongma didn’t simply rule through fear as in the past.

That was an attitude that couldn’t come about without respect and reverence for Cheongma.

It meant that not only had his disposition changed, but also the way he managed the organization. Just like he had changed himself.

Liu Yang got into the car and carefully drove down. As the car drove away, everyone’s gaze turned to the Master lying on the ground.

“What should we do?”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his cheek as if he was troubled.

“Clean him up and bring him upstairs.”

“Yes.”

Wiggins approached the Master as if he would take care of it himself.

“A gift, huh…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“It’s not such a pleasant gift.”

After dealing with the situation, the directors sat in the Guild Master’s office, their expressions subtly stiff.

“How is the Master?”

“He hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

At Wiggins’ words, Lee Hyun-soo frowned and said,

“If the Master is here, isn’t there a possibility of him escaping?”

“Impossible.”

Wiggins shook his head.

“The visible wounds are nothing. His insides are completely wrecked. He won’t be able to use teleportation, let alone simple recovery magic.”

“That much…”

“And his body is filled with a damp, dark energy. Even if his body wasn’t damaged, it would be impossible for him to use magic in that state. No matter how skilled the Master is.”

“A damp, dark energy that penetrates the body…”

Bator wore a wry smile.

“That’s a story I’ve heard quite often.”

“You’re right.”

As everyone’s gaze turned to him, Kang Jin-ho cleared his throat softly.

“The base will be the same.”

“It feels like they’ve stolen one of our weapons.”

“I know, right…”

Silly jokes were exchanged, but the atmosphere didn’t seem to lighten. Eventually, Lee Hyun-soo started to bring up what he really needed to say.

“…A gift, huh.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face slightly wrinkled.

“It’s a gift with so many meanings.”

Wiggins nodded in agreement.

“The fact that they went out of their way to capture and send the Master…”

Wiggins turned his head to look at Kang Jin-ho.

“Did the Lord have any separate words about it?”

“He’s not the type to do that.”

Kang Jin-ho answered indifferently.

“And unlike what you guys think, there’s no particular intention behind capturing and sending the Master. They probably just thought of something they could do, and the Master happened to be it.”

“The Master might be significant to us, but to them, he’s a being of no particular value.”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip slightly.

‘A being of no value…’

The General Assembly couldn’t capture that valueless being. But the Black King’s faction effortlessly captured the Master and brought him here. And they did it so perfectly that he couldn’t even attempt to escape.

Considering how difficult it is to capture the Master, this could be seen as a show of force towards the General Assembly.

A show that the Black King’s faction could easily do what they couldn’t.

‘The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.’

There was a subtle ploy hidden in something that could only be interpreted as goodwill. A ploy that subtly scratched at people’s nerves.

“The information gathering ability to find the Master’s whereabouts, and the power to capture the Master so securely…”

Wiggins shook his head.

“It would be reckless to judge based on this alone… but it seems the Black King’s faction is more capable than we thought.”

“I think so too.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and leaned back on the sofa.

“So, are you scared?”

“Your jokes are too much.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled at those words.

From the beginning, had they ever fought a war against an easy opponent? The General Assembly’s enemies were always stronger than them. So, there was nothing new about it.

“So, when will the Master regain consciousness?”

“If we try to wake him up now, we can. However, to make him able to speak, we need to remove the dark energy inside his body and use recovery magic. If the Lord permits, I will do so.”

“Jang Min.”

“Yes, Great Demon Lord!”

“Go and remove the demonic energy.”

“As you command!”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned to Wiggins.

“Wake him up and bring him here. I need to hear what happened.”

“Yes.”

As Wiggins and Jang Min got up and left, Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette.

“You’ve gotten better at joking.”

Even sending gifts.

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette and deeply inhaled the smoke.

He knew.

This wasn’t a provocation towards him.

If Cheongma really intended to provoke him, he wouldn’t have chosen such a subtle, scratching method. Cheongma was the type who preferred immediate reactions rather than building something up over a long period.

But…

Even if Cheongma didn’t intend it, the fact that Kang Jin-ho’s nerves were being scratched was undeniable.

How long had it been since he calmed his rising temper?

The tightly closed door opened again, and Wiggins and Jang Min entered.

And following them, a familiar face appeared.

The Master.

The Master, with unfocused eyes, followed them into the Guild Master’s office. The Master, who had entered with difficulty,

stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho.

“Sit.”

The Master walked as if he was possessed and sat across from Kang Jin-ho.

“Let’s hear it.”

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth indifferently.