Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1984

Thud, thud.

Kang Jin-ho walked through the front entrance of the General Assembly’s central building. The cracks in the old building seemed particularly noticeable today.

“Greetings, Chairman!”

“Greetings!”

Kang Jin-ho nodded, acknowledging the members who bowed deeply at 90 degrees.

“Chairman, over here!”

A clerk rushed out of the first-floor cafe, offering Kang Jin-ho an iced Americano.

“…How did you know?”

“The central security office contacted us. They said you passed through the main gate.”

Kang Jin-ho blinked.

“So, I prepared it in advance. Just the way you like it, Chairman.”

Kang Jin-ho took the Americano and smiled awkwardly.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The cold sensation on his fingertips was distinct.

“Ahem.”

Kang Jin-ho cleared his throat for no reason and headed upstairs.

Creak.

The old door opened, and those sitting inside stood up at once.

“Long time no see.”

Wiggins, who was sitting on the sofa closest to the door, smiled as he saw Kang Jin-ho enter.

“Is the cleanup finished?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled awkwardly.

“Mostly.”

“You’re not a wandering teenager, it took longer than I thought…”

“Great Demon Lorddddddd!”

Jang Min, who was sitting closest to the head seat, rushed over and prostrated himself right in front of Kang Jin-ho.

“How much you must have suffered! Thinking of how upset the Great Demon Lord must have been, this Jang Min! It felt like my insides were being torn apart! Great Demon Lord! Please give me your orders without hesitation! I will tear that wicked Blue Demon who dared to forget the Great Demon Lord’s grace and acted on his own to pieces with my own hands! Great Demon Lord! Give me your command!”

Please…

Please, just stop it…

It’s good to be consistent, but being consistent in this way is a problem…

“Great Demon Lord…”

“I’m getting dizzy, please, just sit down.”

“Yes!”

He does listen well, at least.

As soon as Kang Jin-ho finished speaking, Jang Min quickly returned to his seat.

“Your face looks quite smooth?”

“That’s because he rested well. I almost died cleaning up after the rest of them.”

“That’s your lack of ability.”

“Are you going to be like this? Huh?”

Bator and Bang Jin-hoon also chuckled at Kang Jin-ho.

Especially Bang Jin-hoon, despite his words, looked happy just to see Kang Jin-ho.

‘I thought I was going to die, for real.’

They knew there was a difference depending on whether Kang Jin-ho was at the General Assembly or not. But they had never felt that fact so deeply as this time.

‘It wasn’t like this before…’

They hadn’t really caused any major incidents. Everyone remembered what Kang Jin-ho had said. But the atmosphere was clearly boiling. Like a powder keg about to explode.

‘It’s a strange thing.’

With Kang Jin-ho away from the General Assembly, the current situation of the General Assembly became clear.

In the past, during Lee Jung-geol’s era.

The General Assembly when he led the anti-Lee Jung-geol faction as a director was completely different from the current General Assembly.

Kang Jin-ho’s presence exerts overwhelming dominance. Therefore, the members also do not dare to go against Kang Jin-ho’s words or think of causing trouble against his will.

‘I was deceived by that.’

Why didn’t I think of it?

Unlike the General Assembly of the past, the current General Assembly has achieved incredible results and accumulated countless experiences of fighting and winning. All those processes gave the members a confidence that was incomparable to the past.

If interpreted positively, having confidence is a good thing.

But conversely, it means that each of those seemingly docile guys is nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Wolves living in packs absolutely obey the leader. But from the moment the leader disappears, they lose control and run wild.

‘I should have known sooner… Kang Jin-ho’s influence was too great.’

As long as Kang Jin-ho is there, the General Assembly will always be able to maintain its current state. But if Kang Jin-ho withdraws from the General Assembly, the General Assembly will never be the same as it is now.

Because the wolves will start breaking down our walls.

Only after observing this series of events could Bang Jin-hoon understand why the Black King had done such a thing.

‘Sooner or later, the guard would have fallen.’

If that were the case… perhaps they would have faced an even worse situation than now.

If an earthquake suddenly destroys a city, people will try to fix the situation somehow, but if a city slowly starts to collapse from one end, everyone will try to run away.

“Haa…”

Kang Jin-ho let out a short sigh and went to sit at the head seat. Lee Hyun-soo, who had followed him in, also took his seat.

“Are you done preparing your mind?”

“I finished preparing my mind a long time ago.”

“…Considering that, it seems like it took quite a while?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled at Wiggins’ words.

“This opponent isn’t someone you can deal with just by rushing in with enthusiasm.”

At those words, everyone fell silent.

Even Bator, who would usually boast, and Jang Min, who would shout that he would take the lead, kept their mouths shut this time.

They also knew.

That the existence of the Blue Demon, no, the Black King, was on a different level from those they had fought so far.

How strong he is is not important.

Of course, he would be incomparably stronger than the likes of the Crimson King or the Red King, but what supports the name of the Black King is not his individual martial prowess.

Just thinking of that name in their heads made them feel like their bodies would be crushed and burst.

Wiggins trembled slightly.

‘Is he someone who changes the world and the era…’

It was daunting.

They had been overwhelmed by the strength of their opponents countless times, but this was the first time they had been thrilled by the size of their vessel.

‘Is this how those who have faced the Lords felt?’

No, it’s not.

In terms of the size of the vessel alone, even Kang Jin-ho does not match that Black King.

Now they had to fight such a person.

“What’s the situation?”

Wiggins nodded and began the briefing.

“The Black King’s faction has occupied the nuclear weapons launch facility, and martial artists from China and various countries are gathering to build a defense line.”

“…A defense line? Is that his order?”

“It seems to be a voluntary action.”

Before Kang Jin-ho could speak, Bator opened his mouth in disbelief.

“Are you saying that those guys went all the way there on their own to act as shields?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“They have nothing better to do. Stupid bastards.”

“…There seem to be quite a few martial artists from Mongolia as well.”

“What?”

Bator’s eyes shook.

“Those morons… why are they there!”

Wiggins sighed and shook his head.

Bator also had considerable influence in Mongolia, but this was not something that could be handled with the influence of governing a region.

“They all know, right? Even if they don’t understand it with their heads, they know it instinctively.”

Wiggins swallowed hard and continued.

“That this is… perhaps the last chance to change the world.”

Saying this, Wiggins felt it deeply.

They are not justice.

No, even if they are not evil, they cannot define the person they are facing as evil. They are also people who have risked everything for their own justice.

No, the historical cause may be on their side.

Perhaps their way is the most correct for martial artists. If so, then they are just old remnants blocking the transformation of this era.

“…The problem is that they are all martial artists. Martial artists are threatening beings with their martial power, but each one is also like a high-performance radar.”

“I guess so.”

“And based on the information provided by the Red King’s faction, there are only two entrances to access the interior. Both sides are currently blocked by the gathered martial artists, and the other side seems to have been completely destroyed and closed off.”

“In conclusion…”

Wiggins swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

“Infiltration is impossible.”

“And it is also impossible to deploy a large number of personnel. The interior of the facility is not large enough for many people to move at the same time. The interior is large, but the passages are narrow.”

“What’s the distance to enter?”

“At least 3 kilometers or more.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled at those words.

“At that distance, they wouldn’t just be pressing the launch switch. They would have sent a simple message in Morse code.”

“Yeah.”

Wiggins sighed lowly. The more he spoke, the more frustrated he became.

That was literally an impregnable fortress. No, the word impregnable fortress was not enough.

No matter how much they are martial artists, and even among martial artists, no matter how much they transcend common sense, they cannot transcend the laws of physics.

And considering that those waiting for them are at least equal to them… no, even more powerful martial artists, there is no way to stop the launch of the nuclear missile.

“What if we abandon our preconceptions? We don’t necessarily have to enter through the entrance. We!”

“It’s impossible.”

Wiggins shook his head at Lee Hyun-soo’s words.

“It’s a nuclear missile launch facility. It also serves as a bunker. It’s not as deep as the bunker we entered last time, but it’s deep. Even if we dig into the ground, it will take half a day.”

“If we dig ourselves?”

“That half a day takes that into account.”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip.

“Is teleportation impossible?”

“It’s impossible. It’s not like I can teleport to an underground place I’ve never seen before. At the very least, I need to be able to detect the mana of someone I know inside or see the terrain with my own eyes to calculate the coordinates.”

“Damn it.”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head roughly.

The worst enemy was holed up in the worst fortress. Even time was on their side.

If they couldn’t find a way to solve this ridiculous situation within the time limit, they would automatically lose.

‘If that happens, there’s no way to do anything anymore.’

Then the result is one of three things.

Either that Black King gains equal status with the countries of the world and the martial arts autonomous region is officially recognized, or they are suppressed by the military force that attempts to suppress them by force.

If neither of those… then the nuke will be launched.

Either way, it was the worst, and the worst, for them.

“Haa…”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had let out a short sigh, raised his head.

Honestly, he was at a loss. There was no way for him to do it.

If there was anyone who had a solution, it was only one person.

“Chairman.”

“Hmm?”

“…What do you think?”

At Lee Hyun-soo’s words, everyone looked at Kang Jin-ho.

They didn’t think that Kang Jin-ho would have a way to solve this desperate situation. But at least the direction…

“I understand one thing.”

“…Yes?”

“All of you are too much of a martial artist.”

“…Wh, what does that mean?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Do you know how to open a closed door?”

“You have to break through it with force.”

“…You knock. Ask them to open it. That’s the normal way of thinking.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho with an indescribable expression.

‘I never thought the day would come when I would hear these words from this person…’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled at Lee Hyun-soo’s expression.

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Connect me to the government side, the US side, and the Chinese side. I have a proposal to make.”

“…Wh, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to knock.”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“So that he can fall into his own trap.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s shaking eyes stared at Kang Jin-ho’s smiling face.