Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 122

“Does he have to push people this hard from the morning? Is he trying to give us all a hard time?”

Jo Won-gu gritted his teeth.

His bones ached all over. He was already furious that he had to do field training with only a month left before his discharge, but this year’s field training was exceptionally tough.

“Are they all crazy?”

He could feel the instructors gritting their teeth as well.

“Hey, Woong-cheol.”

“Corporal Seok Woong-cheol.”

“Is my stamina really that bad, or are these bastards trying to kill me?”

“Are you comparing it to last year?”

“Yeah. This year is definitely harder than last year, right?”

“Hey, squad leader. Have you forgotten? There was an accident before our training last year.”

“Accident?”

“Back then, a guy fell during rappelling and broke his thigh. Didn’t he die after being taken to the hospital?”

“…Ah, that’s right.”

“That caused a huge mess. The instructors were all scared and didn’t train us properly. The higher-ups came for an inspection and it was chaos.”

Jo Won-gu nodded, a faint memory surfacing.

“So, the field training we had last year wasn’t real field training?”

“It seems like it.”

“…But why do I feel so uneasy?”

“It’s just a feeling.”

“Right?”

Logically, it made sense, but he couldn’t quite accept it.

But there was someone who could make him understand.

“Number 88, Owl.”

“Number 88, Owl!”

“Dismissed!”

“Aren’t you going to repeat the order?”

“Dismiiiiissed!”

Any uneasy feelings were bound to disappear after rolling around on the ground.

“Ugh, I can’t take this anymore!”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing!”

Field training had a very interesting system. While waiting to go through the obstacles, the instructors wouldn’t leave the trainees alone for a second. But there was one thing in common to boost morale: trainees who performed well would receive a reward.

“Number 521, Owl! Dismissed!”

Kang Jin-ho, who had climbed the rock wall as if it were flat ground, stepped aside.

“Take a break. Understand?”

“Yes! Understood!”

The senior soldiers were rolling around on the ground like crazy, while Kang Jin-ho was just sitting next to them, having completed the obstacles. Of course, Kang Jin-ho was just sitting there, but to the other senior soldiers, it looked like he was having a blast while they were suffering.

‘Kang Jin-ho, you bastard!’

‘I’ll get you back at the barracks!’

But no matter how jealous and annoyed they were, they couldn’t show it. This was field training, known as one of the toughest training exercises in the military, along with winter training. The instructors were gritting their teeth to push them even harder, and the moment they showed any weakness, they would be forced to do the full-body twist [a punishing exercise involving twisting the torso while squatting].

“Oneeeeee, twooooooo, threeeeeee, fourrrrrr……”

In Jo Won-gu’s opinion, the person who invented the full-body twist was either an extreme sadist or a psychopath. How could anyone create such a torture method? And to make all the men in South Korea go through this at field training!

This hellish torture should have disappeared along with the Anti-Communist Division [a now-defunct military unit known for its harsh training methods].

“Number 88, Owl!”

“Agh!”

“Are you not doing it properly? Aren’t you ashamed in front of your juniors?”

Jo Won-gu’s face flushed with anger.

“I’ll do it properly! Understood?”

“Aaaagh!”

Now, Jo Won-gu was lifting his legs with all his might, fueled by anger.

‘Kang Jin-ho, you bastard!’

Jo Won-gu vowed to get back at him after today’s training, but by the afternoon, his thoughts had completely changed.

“Oh my god! Jin-hooooo!”

Kang Jin-ho was running like Usain Bolt.

“Jin-ho! This is a mountain! Jin-ho!”

The afternoon training was land navigation.

It was a training exercise to see who could reach the marked point the fastest after receiving a map at a designated location. Originally, this training should take place deep in the mountains, but due to the nature of field training, it was impossible to take so many people deep into the mountains and waste time.

Moreover, there was a risk of getting lost, so in most cases, the land navigation exercise turned into a race to see who could climb the low hills the fastest, which was not really in line with the name.

Jo Won-gu, who had been grinding his teeth at Kang Jin-ho all morning, gave Kang Jin-ho only one order.

Reach the destination faster than anyone else.

And Kang Jin-ho was carrying out that order like a machine.

Kang Jin-ho scanned the map in an instant and started running up the mountain at an incredible speed.

The squad members desperately chased after Kang Jin-ho, but it wasn’t enough for him to run up the mountain like it was flat ground; he was running like a track and field athlete.

“Hey! Chase him! Chase him! Don’t let him get away!”

The squad members were confused as to whether the instructors were training them or Kang Jin-ho was training them.

“Chase him! Chaaaaase him!”

Jo Won-gu was drooling, but he desperately chased after Kang Jin-ho.

The squad that reached the destination first would have their lap time recorded, but that didn’t mean they could just stroll along behind.

They had to show that they were trying to catch up, just in case.

“There goes our leave pass! Guys, keep it up!”

Jo Won-gu desperately ran after Kang Jin-ho, encouraging his squad members who were on the verge of collapsing from running at full speed up the mountain.

“…What, you guys? Why are you already here?”

The instructor, who was waiting at the destination, looked at Kang Jin-ho in disbelief.

“Charlie Squad 3.”

“Oh, okay. Squad 3, you said?”

The instructor stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho before looking at his watch.

‘It’s only been five minutes since the previous squad arrived.’

The training usually involved sending five squads to different destinations at 10-minute intervals to measure their times. In other words, Kang Jin-ho had reached the destination in half the time of the previous squad.

“Good job. Take a rest.”

“Yes!”

Kang Jin-ho took a water bottle prepared at the destination, drank some water, and sat down next to it.

He could see his squad members running up, panting in the distance.

‘Smooth.’

Day three.

“Jin-ho.”

“Private First Class Kang Jin-ho.”

“Can you… maybe not throw them so hard?”

“I didn’t hear you correctly?”

“Even if they’re not the enemy, they’re still fellow soldiers. If you throw them like that, it might hurt, so can you throw them a little softer?”

“I will keep that in mind.”

“Okay.”

Jo Won-gu couldn’t help but ponder what life was all about.

This was his second time doing field training, so he had already experienced trench combat.

Generally, trench combat was a competition where people pushed each other out of a deep pit. It was called combat, but since they couldn’t punch each other, it ended up being a group wrestling match.

Two or three people would rush at one person and try to push them out, and sometimes there would be one-on-one matches, but basically, it was a group wrestling match where people rolled around, fell over, and pushed each other in chaos.

Moreover, before the trench combat started, the instructor had said that the most points were allocated to the best squad, so this trench was destined to become a battlefield where the blood and sweat of many soldiers would be spilled.

It should have been.

“But what is this…”

Jo Won-gu stared at the scene of carnage.

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“Hey! My arm! Ah, my arm! My arm!”

“Can’t I just get out? I’ll climb out myself.”

Kang Jin-ho was a Terminator in everyday life, but here, he was Fedor Emelianenko [a famous Russian mixed martial artist].

Strategy?

Tactics?

They were useless. He would just grab whoever he could get his hands on and lightly throw them over the trench.

Those who knew what it meant for a person to throw another person could only gape in shock, and those who had experienced being thrown into the air for the first time since elementary school lost their minds.

It was only after Jo Won-gu showed some flexibility that the situation calmed down to the point where people were being gently lowered over the trench.

“Grab him! Grab him!”

Three or four people clung to Kang Jin-ho’s waist as he lifted one person, but Kang Jin-ho advanced like a bulldozer, placed the person he had lifted outside the trench, and then pushed the people clinging to his waist out one by one.

“…What kind of trench combat is this?” It would be more accurate to call it an escort service.

The squad members, except for Kang Jin-ho, were just standing behind, watching, unsure of what to do.

“Isn’t he a bit too much?”

“Too much is an understatement.”

Jeon Hyeok-soo shook his head.

“I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that he’s in our squad… I’m confused.”

“At least we’re not the ones getting that treatment, right?”

Jo Won-gu turned his head away, unable to watch the horrific scene any longer, as he saw a soldier being lifted above his head with tears in his eyes.

Even if the infantry guys were like that, the artillerymen were a branch that prided themselves on their strength.

They were artillerymen who had accepted the dramatic change in their physique with tears, with their arms and legs getting thicker and their bellies protruding due to the repetitive labor training that excluded cardio, while finding solace only in their increasing bench press and grip strength.

For them to be lifted up like toys by someone was the ultimate humiliation.

“…Jin-ho, take it easy.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“No, I don’t mean grab them gently… ”

That heartless bastard.

“Squad leader.”

“Yeah?”

“When you think about it, it’s a good thing we met him in the military, right?”

“Why?”

“If I had met him in society, I don’t think I could even make eye contact with him.”

“That’s true.”

Kang Jin-ho was dealing damage to both allies and enemies.

“…We’ll be the best squad, right?”

“It’s almost certain.”

They hadn’t really done anything, but they had already won the land navigation and trench combat. Now, all they had to do was not fall behind during the march and complete the remaining training properly, and victory was guaranteed.

“Jin-ho is carrying us hard, so let’s not jinx it… let’s just do our best, just do our best.”

“Yes.”

Jo Won-gu smiled contentedly as he watched Kang Jin-ho devour the chocolate pie he had bought as a reward.

“Eat a lot.”

“Yes.”

He sometimes turned people’s stomachs, but he was still a grateful guy who would bring them a leave pass. Thinking that the rotten feeling he had from taking care of Kang Jin-ho would be compensated with a leave pass, he felt much better.

“But squad leader.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s a talent show tomorrow night, isn’t that also for a leave pass? Shouldn’t we try to win that too?”

“…Hyeok-soo.”

“Yes.”

“Honestly, our guys are strong and diligent, but our entertainment skills are extremely lacking.”

“…That’s right.”

“Let’s only aim for what’s possible. Let’s not become a laughingstock by rushing in recklessly.”

“You’re absolutely right.”

Then, Seong Tae-ho, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth.

“Squad leader.”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been thinking, and there’s a talent show we can win without being funny.”

Seong Tae-ho turned his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho, who was eating a chocolate pie.

“We can do psychokinesis.”

Everyone’s gaze turned towards Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho faced his squad members, who were looking at him, without knowing what was going on.