Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1904

His breath was ragged, escaping his throat in harsh gasps.

‘I was careless.’

The enemies were incomparably strong.

They were beings who once commanded and dominated the world. As such, their pride would be sky-high, and they would have perfect confidence in their martial arts.

Just like Hong King.

That’s why he and even Shin-chang thought that they wouldn’t cooperate. He believed they would maintain their distance and move alone.

But….

‘I was foolish.’

Hadn’t he rebuked Shin-chang for losing the soul of a martial artist?

If they had remained noble martial artists, this would never have happened. But even after confirming that they had lost their martial spirit, not considering this situation was nothing but Hong King’s mistake.

The moment he realized that, it would have been right to give up the fight and retreat.

His childish competitive spirit and stubbornness had led to this situation.

Hong King glanced down at his wound. Even without looking, he could feel its severity, but it was better to be sure now.

After staring at the wound, Hong King raised his head and shifted his gaze to those who had surrounded him on his left and right.

“You should at least have the courage to tell me your names.”

“Hong King, is it…”

The man on the left smiled as he heard Hong King’s words.

“Certainly, you are worthy of being called a king. Such composure in this situation.”

The voice of the man on the right was a bit sharp.

“Anyone can put on a show of bravado.”

“Isn’t it quite something to put on a show of bravado in this situation?”

“Hmm.”

The man with the sharp features frowned as if he didn’t like the comment. But he didn’t add any words of denial, as if the words weren’t wrong.

The man on the left, who had a rather free-spirited air, opened his mouth.

“I am called Nangon. I’m not that famous, so you might not know…”

“The Unrivaled Staff of a Hundred Victories?”

“…This is an honor. For the great Hong King to know my title.”

“How could I not know?”

The Unrivaled Staff of a Hundred Victories.

It was a childish and excessive title, but there was no better way to describe this man.

‘Nangon, is it…’

Hong King’s face hardened.

The superhuman who dominated the world usually came from a large sect. Or at least, a sect with some foundation or a lineage that passed down secret techniques was where the strong were produced.

But not everyone in the world could enter such great sects.

In the past, most of the martial artists in the Jianghu [the martial arts world] were disciples of not-so-great sects, and those who couldn’t even join such sects would follow third-rate masters, carrying a single sword and roaming the world.

They were called vagrants.

Vagrants would either make money by robbing or fill the ranks in places where wars broke out.

Expendables.

That was how vagrants, who were only third-rate martial artists in the Jianghu, were treated.

But Nangon was different.

He was the only one in the history of the Jianghu who rose to the position of the strongest in the world from being a vagrant. He started as an ordinary vagrant, carrying a staff on his waist, but he fought and fought and fought, gradually perfecting his martial arts.

When there was no one in the world who didn’t know his name, he traveled the world, engaging in martial arts competitions. To face those who still ignored and didn’t acknowledge him because he was a vagrant.

A hundred matches against famous masters of the world.

His long journey of matches ended in his victory, and instead of the title of Nangon, he was given the arrogant title of the Unrivaled Staff of a Hundred Victories.

“…It’s a story I quite liked.”
Hong King smiled wryly as he looked at Nangon.

There was something about Nangon’s life that stirred the heart of a martial artist. Background, power, and powerful martial arts passed down from previous generations.

Who wouldn’t be moved by the story of someone who, without any of those advantages, rose to the top of the world solely through his own strength?

Ironically, the protagonist of that story that had once stirred the heart of young Hong King was now standing before him to kill him.

“If you know Nangon, you must know my name as well. I am Pakwon.”

Hong King scoffed as he looked at the one who called himself Pakwon.

“Hwangbo Seung?”

“You know me.”

“…How could I not?”

Hong King’s face was filled with dismay.

“I, too, consider myself a master of fists. How could I not know the name of the greatest fist in history?”

Hwangbo Seung.

Pakwon, or the Fist King.

He started as Pakwon, but ended as the Fist King.

In the past, he was a heretic of the Hwangbo family, a prestigious family in the Jianghu.

He was branded a heretic and expelled from the family for reinterpreting the family’s secret technique, the Heavenly King Fist.

But he didn’t give up and, with the fist he created himself, he defeated his entire family and went on to defeat all the strong in the world, earning recognition as the pinnacle of fist techniques.

“…I don’t know if I’m lucky or unlucky.”

A wry smile escaped Hong King’s lips.

Just as the current martial artists admired Hong King, he too had admired the absolute masters of the past since he was young.

Among them, the ones he respected the most were Nangon, who had risen from the very bottom to the very top with his own strength, and Pakwon, who was said to be unmatched in fist techniques.

“You use an interesting fist technique.”

Hong King nodded at Pakwon’s words.

“…I studied the Heavenly King Fist. It was an object of admiration for me.”

“You’re a fool. Why would you walk a path that has already been proven wrong?”

Hong King stared at Pakwon.

“Weren’t you also told that you were wrong?”

“So, did you give up on that path?” Pakwon’s lips curled up.

“I take back what I said earlier. Bravado is something that only those who are empty inside use. Whether strong or weak, the words of someone with a core cannot be bravado.”

Hong King looked up at the sky.

It was a strange feeling.

They were clearly his enemies, standing before him. To cut off his head. He had fought many fierce battles and been exposed to many dangers, but he had never experienced such an extreme threat as this.

Even his fight with the Demon King wasn’t as hopeless as this.

But the moment he heard Pakwon’s words, a strange emotion bloomed.

The fact that words of recognition came from the mouth of someone who was like an idol made him forget the situation he was in.

Pakwon turned his head and looked at Shin-chang.

“On the other hand…”

His eyes fell on Shin-chang, who was groaning.

“You were so full of yourself, and now look at you.”

Nangon made an awkward expression at his cold voice.

“Hey, that’s a bit harsh. He’s already feeling terrible.”

“He should endure it. If we hadn’t come, his head would have been crushed by now.”

Nangon smiled bitterly.

In fact, it wasn’t exactly wrong.

“Get lost, you fool. I’m ashamed that I’m called one of the Twelve Flying Blades with you. If the Black King hadn’t forbidden the Twelve Flying Blades from fighting each other, I would have crushed your head.”

Shin-chang bit his lip tightly.

It was an incomparable humiliation.

But it was a statement he couldn’t even refute.

Pakwon, who had lost interest in Shin-chang, turned his gaze to Hong King. Pakwon’s eyes narrowed subtly as he saw his pale complexion and the large hole in his abdomen.

“It seems neither of us needs to step forward.”

“…It’s a bit of a shame. I wanted to fight someone as strong as you in a normal situation.”

Nangon pulled out two short staffs from his waist, one in each hand.

“But… we are also in a position to follow orders.”

Hong King looked up at the sky once and then turned his gaze to Nangon.

“Has even someone like you become a dog of the Black King?”

“…Someone like me, you say.”

Nangon chuckled.

“It’s the other way around. It’s because I’m someone like me that I can dare to serve him. This is a privilege given only to those who are recognized as true masters.”

“…Even you, who dominated the world with a single staff?”

“That’s why.”

Nangon shook his head.

“You probably won’t understand. I…”

Pakwon cut off Nangon’s words.

“Have your conversation in hell.”

“…Very well.”

Pakwon lowered his stance lightly.

His build wasn’t large. Rather, it could be said that he was on the smaller side.

His body when he was known as Pakwon would have been different from his current body. But seeing Pakwon’s current stance, Hong King could guess that Pakwon’s body in the past wouldn’t have been that large either.

Unlike Hong King, who unleashed his fist techniques with a powerful body, Pakwon was lowering his stance and making his body light.

‘Is he a practical type?’

His stance made him seem more like an assassin than a fist master.

It was a bit different from what he had imagined, but the eerie feeling emanating from his stance was no less than the name of Pakwon he had heard.

“It’s a shame, but…”

Nangon also took a stance with his short staffs.

Nangon, who had been smiling like a good-natured person from the first time he was seen, had his expression disappear the moment he took his stance.

The aura emanating from the two men spoke volumes.

Hong King was injured, but they had no intention of fighting him half-heartedly from the start.

Just as a lion gives its all when catching a rabbit, they would do their best to cut off his breath.

‘…This isn’t good.’

Two strong opponents, each of whom would be difficult to face alone. And a body groaning from injury.

It was hard to imagine a more difficult situation.

But….

Crack.

Hong King clenched his fist.

“You’re going to resist? Do you think you can face both of us alone?”

“It will be difficult.”

“…And yet?”

Hong King opened his mouth with a hardened face. His booming voice spread through the night sky.

“Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean there’s no reason to try. Just because I can’t overcome it doesn’t mean I should give up. What sustains me isn’t strength. It’s the will not to give up that sustains me!”

Pakwon’s lips curled up roughly.

“…You’ve got a thick face. To say such things so casually…”

But unlike his words, his eyes did not hold hostility towards Hong King.

“Struggle, junior. I will remember your death clearly.”

“The fame of the greatest fist in history ends today, Pakwon!”

“Good!”

Pakwon and Nangon simultaneously became black meteors and flew towards Hong King.

Crack!

At the same time, Hong King’s clenched fist, about to break, emitted a dazzling golden light.

“Ooooooooooooo!”

His two fists crossed once in the air and then spread out to the left and right as if bouncing off. At the same time, a powerful fist aura, filled with immense inner energy, burst out towards Pakwon and Nangon, who were rushing in.

“Not enough!”

Even though it was a fist aura that could shatter mountains, the two easily deflected the incoming fist aura and flew to within striking distance of Hong King.

“Dieeeeee!”

A staff imbued with green energy and a fist imbued with red energy slammed into Hong King’s body.