Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1025

“Are you crazy?” Bang Jin-hoon reacted exactly as expected. The words were barely out of his mouth when his eyes widened, and he launched into a tirade of insults.

“Hey, you! How could you do this, no matter what! Does that even make sense?”

Of course, Lee Hyun-soo also thought it didn’t make sense.

“I tried to stop it, but…”

“Is that what you call stopping it? Is it like throwing a fish to a cat and then yelling at it not to eat it? Are you playing games with me, Director Lee?”

“Of course, that’s not what I meant.”

His sense of injustice soared. However, Bang Jin-hoon didn’t seem inclined to listen to Lee Hyun-soo’s excuses. He glared at Lee Hyun-soo with a displeased expression, repeatedly sighing.

“The meeting is going off the rails, way off the rails. Are they going to make the board members go to boot camp next?”

“No, that’s…”

“Hey, Director Lee.”

Bang Jin-hoon glared.

“I know you’re having a hard time, Director Lee. I get it. But isn’t this going too far? The kids are dying from training in the scorching sun, and what’s so hard about your office work that you’re dragging the Lord out for training? Is that really necessary?”

“…It is necessary.”

“It must be necessary. Of course, it must be necessary. But is it something that requires the Lord to go, that’s what I’m saying!”

Lee Hyun-soo shut his mouth.

This was a matter where logic wouldn’t work. It wasn’t that Bang Jin-hoon was being unreasonable, but rather that it was an issue where neither side could be definitively right, making it prone to emotional escalation.

‘I’m going to die, really.’

I told you not to do it!

I told you not to do it, Lord!

“There’s no need to get so angry.”

Wiggins smiled gently, trying to calm Bang Jin-hoon.

“If the Lord heard the report and made the decision himself, what could Director Lee do? How can you stop that stubbornness?”

“Even so, still.”

Bang Jin-hoon huffed.

It might seem like he was being unreasonable, but no one looked at Bang Jin-hoon with displeasure because they knew that his anger wasn’t directed at Lee Hyun-soo, but rather at the fact that Kang Jin-ho was going through such an ordeal.

“Are you saying the Lord accepted that proposal?”

“Ah… Yes, that’s what he said.”

“Hmm.”

Wiggins quietly scratched his chin.

‘Well, the Lord’s schedule is like a rubber band anyway.’

It was undeniable that Kang Jin-ho was busy. However, most of the tasks Kang Jin-ho was handling could be taken over by others to some extent.

Unlike Lee Hyun-soo.

If they adjusted the schedule to make time, they could do it easily. He wouldn’t be completely tied up with the training.

“It’s certainly a strange thing.”

But Kang Jin-ho going to the new employee training at Jae-kyung? The more he thought about it, the more he chuckled.

“Considering the Lord’s age, it might be appropriate.”

“What do you mean by considering his age? He’s an old man.”

“Isn’t it right if you consider his physical age?”

“It’s still weird even if you consider his physical age. He should be studying in the library at that age, not getting a job.”

“Let’s call it an internship.”

Wiggins smiled gently.

“Isn’t Korea a society that values credentials? If he adds an internship at Jae-kyung to his resume before graduation, it wouldn’t be bad for the Lord.”

“Are you trying to get him a job by adding that one line?”

“…That’s not it.”

He tried to sugarcoat it, but it just wouldn’t work. Wiggins sighed, looking at his cute (?) disciple.

“I know that office workers have it hard. There’s no one here who knows it better than I do.”

Since joining the General Assembly, Wiggins had been dividing the tasks that Lee Hyun-soo had been handling. Recently, he had reduced the amount of work he was dividing because he was teaching his disciples.

Therefore, he knew how much murderous work Lee Hyun-soo was handling, and how unsystematic and haphazard the General Assembly’s work was.

Although systematization was being achieved with the appearance of Lee Hyun-joo, in the end, the system still had to be operated by people. They couldn’t move forward without improving the quality of their personnel.

“But the Lord being away is not a small matter for the Assembly. You were hasty this time.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

“I didn’t expect them to make such a proposal. I tried to cut it off at my level, but it would be overstepping my authority to block a proposal that came to the Lord.”

“That’s true.”

Wiggins nodded and continued.

“But in this case…”

“Hey, enough talk.”

Wiggins turned his head to look at the speaker. Bator was looking at Wiggins, clearly displeased.

“Bator-nim?”

“Stop whining. You’re not kids.”

Bator glared at Wiggins and Bang Jin-hoon alternately.

“Can’t you do anything if your master is away?”

“…It’s not that we can’t, but…”

“It’s been wrong from the start. How can a sect leader be so burdened with work? If the Red King saw the master struggling like this, how much would he laugh at the General Assembly?” [The Red King is a figure of power and authority, often used in martial arts or fantasy settings.]

They had mouths, but they had nothing to say. Bator’s words were hitting them right on the mark.

“It’s true that you should use the master’s abilities since he has them. But it’s also unsightly to make a fuss just because the master is away. Are you here to exploit the master? Or are you here to help him?”

Everyone closed their mouths.

Even if Bator’s words were wrong, they wouldn’t be able to say anything else given Bator’s current momentum. And since his words weren’t wrong, how could they?

“It’s not important what the master does. If you think about it, this situation is also a result of your incompetence. The master is needed to make the martial artists stronger, and the master is needed to train those office workers. Then what can the General Assembly do without the master?”

Wiggins clicked his tongue.

“The reforms were made so quickly that we still rely on the Lord a lot. So, isn’t this kind of thing necessary?”

“Until when?”

Bator frowned.

“Once you start relying on something, it takes several times the effort to break free from that reliance. Will the master be able to be more free after this is over? Then you’ll say that the General Assembly has grown bigger and stronger, so the master has more work to do. Isn’t that right?”

No one could answer.

Everyone knew that was highly likely.

“It’s important for the Assembly to become stronger. But you can never become strong by relying solely on the master. That should be the priority.”

Wiggins nodded.

Then, he glanced at Jang Min. Jang Min, who seemed like he would be the most agitated, was keeping his mouth shut.

“What do you think, Elder?”

“Me?”

“Yes. It seems like your opinion is important as well.”

Jang Min waved his hand dismissively, as if he was annoyed.

“Do as you please.”

“Yes?”

“I have nothing to say, so do as you please. What’s so important about an old man’s opinion? I don’t have enough time to focus on the teachings. I don’t want to be bothered with such useless things if possible.”

Wiggins’ eyes widened.

Kang Jin-ho, whom he revered like the heavens, was going to new employee training, and he called it useless? His reaction was so different from what he had expected that he was surprised.

He had expected these disloyal guys to go berserk, saying they would kill anyone who dared to send the Demon Lord to such a place.

“That’s unexpected.”

Jang Min didn’t answer and just waved his hand.

“I can’t communicate with you.”

Wiggins clicked his tongue.

Although the directors were gathered here, the most different person among them was Jang Min. While the others had gathered around Kang Jin-ho, they had their own interactions and built friendships. But Jang Min was only focused on Kang Jin-ho, and he didn’t pay attention to anyone else.

He was only slightly interested in Bator.

“May I ask why you think that way?”

To build friendships, you need to know each other. And among those things, knowing each other’s thoughts is important.

Jang Min looked at Wiggins, annoyed, and opened his mouth.

“You guys are all thinking about loyalty in your own way. The loyalty you think of is not loyalty.”

“…Yes?”

“It’s something the Demon Lord decided. How dare you try to guess his thoughts? There’s no way the Demon Lord wouldn’t have considered what you thought with your short minds. If he still wanted to do it, then you should just believe and follow.”

Jang Min’s face contorted.

“It’s also arrogant of you to try to judge the Demon Lord’s thoughts, you disloyal fools!”

“Ah…”

Wiggins nodded as if he understood.

‘There’s no hope.’

He was certain that Jang Min’s loyalty to Kang Jin-ho was as solid as steel. Of course, it wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but it was a loyalty that he had to acknowledge.

“Elder’s words are correct. There’s nothing more we can do since the Lord has decided.”

Bator snorted at Wiggins’ words.

“However, this kind of thing shouldn’t happen again. I think Bator-nim’s words are also correct.”

Bator didn’t object any further.

“If the Lord has decided that it’s necessary for the Assembly to develop further, then let’s not argue about it anymore. But there’s no doubt that this happened because of our shortcomings. Everyone, please try a little harder. I’ll work harder myself.”

Everyone nodded.

But the General Assembly was the General Assembly. Not everything ended on a warm note.

“…Now that it’s all over, I’ll say this.”

Bang Jin-hoon opened his mouth.

Everyone’s attention focused on him.

Among them, Bang Jin-hoon looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

“That Chairman Hwang Jung-hoo, what’s his deal?”

“Yes.”

“What kind of guts does he have to try to educate the Lord?”

“…He cares a lot about the Lord. Actually, considering the Lord’s social status, it’s something that shouldn’t happen, but it’s like he’s seeing his grandson…”

“No, no. That’s not what I mean. It’s creepy enough that those old men are calling each other grandfather and grandson, but that’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Yes?”

“What are you thinking, taking that person to the company and trying to educate him? What do you think will happen?”

Bang Jin-hoon shuddered.

“Everyone seems to have gotten used to it and forgotten, but that man is like a walking bomb. What has he ever done that ended quietly?”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

At this moment, everyone could sympathize.

“You’ve brought a bomb into the company.”

“I would never do that. Never.”

“…Arrogant actions always come with a price. The Demon Lord will punish them.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at everyone with a strange expression.

‘Is the Lord really that much of a troublemaker?’

…Now that I hear it, it seems like it’s true.