Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1198

Having ascended to the main assembly hall with every ounce of strength he could muster, Lee Hyun-soo was left speechless.

Corpses.

All that was visible were corpses.

The vast training ground, large enough to accommodate more than half of the assembly, was filled with corpses.

“Uh…”

Lee Hyun-soo, who prided himself on having seen his fair share of gruesome sights while working his way up from the bottom, was rendered speechless by the scene before him.

‘Where is the Lord?’

The moment he registered the land filled with corpses, the first person who came to his mind was Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho was the one who had undoubtedly created this carnage. Then, where was Kang Jin-ho now?

Only then did he notice the group gathered to one side.

‘Those…’

For a moment, Lee Hyun-soo flinched, thinking they were enemies, but upon seeing their faces, he relaxed his clenched fist.

“Ma Yeom?”

Why were they, who should have been guarding the East Sea, here?

At that moment, someone turned their head and looked in his direction.

‘Lee Myung-hwan?’

“Chief, where is Director Wiggins!”

“N, now…”

“Bring him here right now! Right now! This instant!”

Realizing that something was amiss, Lee Hyun-soo turned his head sharply. Then, Wiggins, who was climbing the slope, grimaced and grabbed Bator.

“Hurry.”

“Kuh!”

Bator hoisted Wiggins onto his back and ran. With each thudding step, he covered unbelievable distances. In an instant, Bator arrived where Lee Myung-hwan was and set Wiggins down.

“Master!”

“Lord!”

The two rushed forward, horrified by Kang Jin-ho’s battered appearance.

“Crazy!”

“No, how…”

Lee Myung-hwan urged Wiggins, who was still out of it.

“What are you doing! Hurry!”

“Ah!”

Wiggins placed his hands on both of Kang Jin-ho’s chests and cast a healing spell.

Wiggins couldn’t help but sigh as he saw Kang Jin-ho’s chest slightly rise and fall. Kang Jin-ho’s condition was so severe that he had momentarily thought of death.

‘How could this happen…’

He had considered the possibility that Kang Jin-ho might be in danger.

The Shinichi-kai [a fictional Japanese organization] were by no means easy opponents.

And there was a fundamental difference.

If Kang Jin-ho had brought Ma Yeom [elite warriors] or the assembly’s elite, he could have dealt with them without much damage. But fighting so many people alone was a completely different matter.

Being one among a thousand and fighting a thousand was incomparable to fighting one against a thousand.

But even so, for Kang Jin-ho to sustain this much damage was something he could understand with his head but not with his heart.

Even when he faced the Elder Knight alone, he hadn’t sustained this much injury.

“Was it a bomb?”

Wiggins’ face hardened at Bator’s low voice.

Only then did the acrid smell of gunpowder reach his nose.

“That’s going too far. Using explosives in a martial artist’s fight.”

“You’re being soft. If you can defeat the enemy, you’ll use any means necessary. Isn’t that the attitude of a true martial artist?”

Wiggins grimaced and turned to look at Bator.

But the moment he saw Bator’s face, Wiggins had no choice but to release the tension in his eyes.

How could he criticize Bator when his face was twisted like a demon, with veins bulging out? Bator was probably half out of his mind right now.

“Are you alright?”

And this guy was the same.

Lee Myung-hwan’s tear-stained face was gleaming with murderous intent. Seeing his face, a mixture of worry, concern, and anger, sent a strange chill down his spine.

What would happen to Lee Myung-hwan if Kang Jin-ho died here?

‘No one would be able to control him.’

There would be no other way but to beat him to death. Lee Myung-hwan was no longer someone who could be easily dealt with. Unless it was someone on the level of Bator or Bang Jin-hoon, no one in the assembly would be able to handle Lee Myung-hwan.

But that was only if Lee Myung-hwan was alone. If all the Ma Yeom, who were silently watching Kang Jin-ho, went berserk, it would be no small matter.

“I’m not sure… I’m not sure yet.”

*Click.*

The sound of teeth grinding could be heard.

Cold sweat ran down Wiggins’ back. The murderous intent emanating from Lee Myung-hwan was making even Wiggins tense.

“Be quiet and calm down.”

At that moment, Bator quietly opened his mouth.

Lee Myung-hwan glared at Bator with provocative eyes. But Bator spoke calmly.

“Everyone feels like they want to rush into Japan and kill them all right now. But the master’s safety is a hundred times more important than that. Don’t emit murderous intent next to a patient who is receiving treatment.”

“Ah…”

Lee Myung-hwan nodded vigorously and lowered his aura.

Wiggins found it even more eerie how Lee Myung-hwan turned into an obedient child at the mention of Kang Jin-ho’s safety.

‘Such terrifying obedience.’

As someone who understood organizational activities as a kind of contractual relationship, Wiggins couldn’t understand Lee Myung-hwan’s reaction. Of course, Wiggins was more emotionally aligned with the assembly than when he was at the Round Table, but Lee Myung-hwan had far surpassed that level.

Conversely, it meant that Kang Jin-ho’s control over the assembly was that strong.

“Ugh…”

Wiggins couldn’t help but groan.

Healing magic consumed a vast amount of mana. It wasn’t omnipotent in the first place. To be frank, going to a hospital was a hundred times better than healing someone with healing magic.

All he could do was to restore Kang Jin-ho’s condition a little before moving him to the hospital, not to heal Kang Jin-ho.

But even that was too much right now.

He had consumed so much mana running here, and Kang Jin-ho’s condition was too critical…

At that moment, Wiggins turned his head in horror.

Instantly, cold sweat poured down his face like rain. In his blurred vision, obscured by the sweat stinging his eyes, he caught sight of a person.

In that instant, the terrifying murderous intent that had seemed to crush his entire body vanished.

“Hoo!”

Wiggins couldn’t help but exhale deeply. Jang Min, standing with a stiff face, came into his view.

“…Oh, Great Demon Lord.”

Jang Min quietly closed his eyes.

He was probably calming his murderous intent.

Jang Min, who had let out a low sigh, slowly approached Kang Jin-ho.

“Oh, Great Demon Lord, this subordinate was foolish and failed to protect you.”

Jang Min pushed Wiggins aside.

Wiggins didn’t understand what Jang Min was trying to do, but he didn’t dare to object.

You shouldn’t touch a wounded beast.

And right now, Jang Min was a hundred times more dangerous than any wounded beast. Even Bator didn’t think of stopping Jang Min.

Jang Min walked silently to right in front of Kang Jin-ho, knelt down, and looked at Kang Jin-ho for a moment.

Kang Jin-ho, whose entire body was covered in wounds.

Jang Min’s fist clenched so tightly that red blood flowed down his fist.

“Hoo…”

Jang Min took a long, deep breath and reached out, placing both hands on Kang Jin-ho’s dantian [an area below the navel considered the center of vital energy].

*Whoooom.*

At the same time, dark demonic energy surged from Jang Min’s body.

*Whoooom.*

The demonic energy, which had been rising like a black flame, was sucked into Kang Jin-ho’s dantian with a strange sound.

Those who were watching the scene all gaped.

They didn’t know what was happening, but they could clearly see that something amazing was taking place.

Kang Jin-ho’s body, absorbing the demonic energy, slightly floated off the ground. Jang Min poured demonic energy into Kang Jin-ho’s body with an utterly reverent expression, as if it were his lifelong wish.

It was at that moment.

*Grasp.*

Kang Jin-ho’s hand, which had been lying dormant like a corpse, moved and grabbed Jang Min’s wrist.

“M, Great Demon Lord…”

Kang Jin-ho slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were coldly calm.

Understanding the meaning of that gaze, Jang Min slowly withdrew his demonic energy. Kang Jin-ho’s floating body slowly descended and landed on the ground.

“Lord!”

“Master!”

“Boss!”

In that moment, Lee Myung-hwan had the absurd thought that he needed to unify these titles somehow.

“Cough!”

Kang Jin-ho coughed loudly, frowned, and raised his upper body. Seeing that the movement seemed quite difficult, Wiggins grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s back and supported him.

“…Don’t do useless things, Jang Min.”

“Oh, Great Demon Lord!”

“It’s nothing serious.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

‘I can’t even rest.’

Of course, his injuries were severe, but it wasn’t something to make such a fuss about. It wasn’t like someone was dying, so he wondered how Jang Min could even think of pouring all his inner energy into him.

Well, that was just Jang Min being Jang Min.

“What’s the situation?”

“Yes? Ah… Ah! Yes!”

Wiggins turned his head sharply. But he couldn’t get his thoughts in order. What was he supposed to report?

At that moment, Lee Myung-hwan opened his mouth.

“All of the Shinichi-kai’s elite forces that infiltrated the assembly have been killed. No one escaped.”

Jang Min continued.

“The elders are checking if there are any ambushes or additional reinforcements. You will be contacted immediately if any additional situations arise. Please rest assured, Oh, Great Demon Lord.”

Wiggins was speechless.

Every time something like this happened, he felt like his value was being chipped away.

He had strengths in establishing overall plans, devising strategies, and managing troops, but he was poor at improvising in rapidly changing situations. He had only recently become aware of that fact.

He wondered why Jang Min was late, but it seemed he had deployed the elders to prepare for any possible additional threats. It was something Wiggins hadn’t even imagined.

He was once again impressed by Jang Min.

“Oh, Great Demon Lord, you must go to the hospital! Your condition is very critical!”

“I’m fine.”

“But, Oh, Great Demon Lord.”

“Jang Min.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s low call, Jang Min straightened his back and stood at attention.

Seeing that, Kang Jin-ho sighed lowly.

“I appreciate your concern. But this is not the time for that.”

Maintaining the body in its best condition was one of the most important tasks for a martial artist. But there was a time for everything. Now was not the time for treatment.

“And…”

Kang Jin-ho slowly raised his body.

The scabs dried and the skin, distorted by burns, cracked and fell off in pieces. And new flesh was growing inside. It was as if he was shedding his skin.

“My condition is better than I thought…”

Kang Jin-ho glanced down and frowned.

It was good that the hardened skin was falling off, but his clothes were also turning to dust along with it. At this rate…

After looking around for a moment, Kang Jin-ho’s gaze landed on Lee Myung-hwan.

“Lee Myung-hwan.”

Lee Myung-hwan, who was covered in tears, knelt down on the spot and shouted.

“Yes, Lord! Give me your orders! I will do my best…”

“Take it off.”

“Yes?”

Lee Myung-hwan’s eyes widened.

“Your pants.”

“Right now.”