Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1288

Having stepped outside, Kang Jin-ho wordlessly took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. Lee Hyun-soo lit it for him, joking,

“The Prime Minister seems quite desperate.”

“Hmm?”

“If it were me, I’d handle that matter separately from this one. It’s much more advantageous that way.”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

‘If he says so, I guess that’s how it is,’ Lee Hyun-soo thought, though he found it hard to understand.

“In other words, he doesn’t have the luxury to handle things separately. It seems it’s true that he needs to wrap things up by next week.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

“I know.”

It wasn’t like he had any ill feelings towards Kim Myung-chan.

He was just trying his best to cope with the situation he was in.

Even if that meant using and exploiting Kang Jin-ho. If Kang Jin-ho were in Kim Myung-chan’s position, he probably would have done the same.

But understanding his position didn’t mean he had to accept the offer.

Kim Myung-chan was clearly making excessive demands.

Kang Jin-ho slowly inhaled the cigarette.

The smoke, drawn deep into his lungs, slowly escaped through his lips. The cigarette smoke, mixed with his white breath, slowly dissipated into the cold air.

Lee Hyun-soo held his breath, watching Kang Jin-ho’s expression.

The way Kang Jin-ho’s eyes were half-open and his lips were firmly shut seemed to indicate how deeply he was thinking.

After waiting for a while for Kang Jin-ho to sort out his thoughts, Lee Hyun-soo cautiously opened his mouth.

“Um… Chairman.”

“Hmm?”

Kang Jin-ho’s reaction was quicker than he expected.

“I understand you’re not in a good mood, but there’s room to consider the government’s position.”

“Mood?”

“…Yes. Aren’t you upset because of Kim Myung-chan’s proposal?”

“Why?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a puzzled expression. Realizing his guess was wrong, Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head.

“You seemed very upset earlier…”

“Well, that’s…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“I figured if I showed some anger at the right time, Kim Myung-chan would offer better terms.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face slightly contorted.

‘Unbelievable, this guy!’

To be playing politics in this situation! He used to be so pure!

“The world is a place where you use and get used. What’s so special about the Assembly [referring to the National Assembly, the South Korean parliament]?”

Kang Jin-ho just laughed.

In fact, he had received such requests quite often in the past when he was in the Demonic Cult. Not only the imperial palace but also the regional overlords would frequently send envoys to the Demonic Cult, offering a fortune to kill someone.

There was even a time when a righteous sect member requested that he kill their own sect leader.

Those who got angry at such requests were the ones who took pride in learning martial arts. But Kang Jin-ho wasn’t one of them.

Kang Jin-ho only took pride in his own strength. He didn’t deify martial arts itself. In Kang Jin-ho’s view, martial artists were no different from soldiers or engineers.

Some people learned and mastered technology, others learned and mastered military science, while martial artists simply learned martial arts. They were only isolated from ordinary people because of their uniqueness, but there was no reason why martial artists should be different from ordinary people.

Wasn’t it the Taoist fools who thought they were some kind of immortals just because they had learned martial arts that Kang Jin-ho despised the most?

“What’s so strange about asking people who learn the art of killing to kill someone?”

Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t answer right away and just opened and closed his mouth.

He was right.

That might be what everyone thought deep down. It’s just that no one said it out loud like Kang Jin-ho.

“So, are you considering it?”

“Maybe.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Is there anything more we can get?”

“Don’t underestimate the nation. The country can offer endless things.”

“Really?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded indifferently.

“What does Director Lee think?”

“Are you referring to this proposal?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked like he was pondering for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“If we can get a reasonable price, I don’t think it’s a bad deal. It’s basically a win-win situation.”

“Is that so?”

“In my opinion, that guy, Ri Gi-gwang, is dangerous. The fact that we don’t know what he might do is scary. But what’s even more dangerous is… that he’s under China’s influence.”

“W…”

“…”

“Just look at the Tibet situation to see how cruel the Chinese are to their neighboring countries. It’s honestly not welcome that North Korea’s influence from China is getting stronger, and even South Korea is being affected by it.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

“In the worst-case scenario, not only South Korea but also the martial arts world could be affected. No one can guarantee that their provocations will be limited to the outside world.”

“Hmm?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head slightly.

“Is there a martial arts world in North Korea?”

“Yes, it exists.”

“Really?”

Kang Jin-ho asked back with a curious look.

“Can martial artists exist under that regime?”

“It’s natural, if you think about it. After all, North Korea is what was left after the Korean Empire went through Japanese colonial rule and divided the Korean Peninsula in two.”

“That’s right.”

“Back then, there were more martial artists in North Korea than in South Korea. It seems that side was…”

“A bit more conducive to training in martial arts.”

“Yes, that’s right. So, in the early days of the division of North and South Korea, the martial arts world was more prosperous in North Korea. Those people are now under the control of the Party [referring to the Workers’ Party of Korea, the ruling party of North Korea].”

“Martial artists?”

“What can they do when they have guns pointed at them?”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“South Korea is not a place where they can point guns and swords to root out martial artists. There were a few such incidents during the old military regime, but even then, they can’t completely ignore the eyes of the public and other countries. But it’s different there.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s expression hardened slightly.

“North Korea is a place where they can massacre a hundred people to catch one. There’s nowhere to go underground like in South Korea. To survive, martial artists had no choice but to conform to the system.”

“I guess so.”

The reason why the martial arts world of other countries can survive is very simple. First, they can hide their identity as martial artists and live, and second, there is an underworld where they can gain economic benefits based on their power.

Even if a country’s surveillance system is not perfect and they can hide themselves, martial artists cannot live as martial artists if there is no underworld.

The reason why the Soviet Union, which was once a great power, did not have much influence in the martial arts world was that the underworld did not develop due to the Party’s oppression. Things are a little different now, though.

“As far as I know, the North Korean martial arts world is still maintaining its existence in the form of special forces. The number is very small compared to the population, but it is said that their skills are certain.”

“Is that possible?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

Basically, like in sports, the quality of martial artists mostly depends on how many martial artists there are as a base.

The reason why the Central Plains [a historical region in China, often used in martial arts stories] had the best martial arts in the world in the past was simple. It’s just that there were a lot of people and a lot of martial artists. The reason why the Korean martial arts world was in shambles before Kang Jin-ho appeared was also simple.

No matter how much Lee Jung-geol and others messed things up, and even if there was a historical atmosphere of oppressing martial artists, if the population was as large as China’s, the martial arts world would have no choice but to develop.

So, it was hard to understand that the martial artists of North Korea, which had less than half the population of South Korea, were strong.

“It’s North Korea. They can control martial artists as they please. They don’t hesitate to deploy them to the battlefield as mercenaries, and they make them do dangerous training that has a high risk of death. As a result, North Korean martial artists are known to be very cruel with destroyed personalities.”

“Hmm?”

Oh, so… wait?

That’s…

“The Demonic Cult [a fictional martial arts sect often depicted as evil and ruthless].”

Kang Jin-ho laughed with a dumbfounded expression.

That was exactly how the Demonic Cult was described in the Central Plains in the past. A place where people who practiced demonic arts and underwent excessive training without considering the side effects lived, resulting in destroyed personalities.

A place where ruthless, bloodthirsty demons lived.

He never thought he would hear such words in this era.

‘This feels strange.’

The current Demonic Cult is different from the Demonic Cult in Kang Jin-ho’s time. The martial arts might be the same, but the spirit was not.

But unbelievably, there are people who are carrying on the spirit of the Demonic Cult in a place that has nothing to do with it.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Now that I think about it…”

Lee Hyun-soo also looked embarrassed, with an awkward expression.

“Anyway, it seems that martial artists exist. And in an ambiguous form that is not clear whether they are soldiers or martial artists?”

“Yes. Actually, it’s not a unique case for North Korea. There were already rumors that some countries were training martial artists in that way.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Anyway, we’ll just have to wait and see what Kim Myung-chan brings.”

“That’s why, Chairman.”

“Hmm?”

“Prime Minister Kim Myung-chan is likely to pass the proposal to us. It’ll be hard for them to figure out what they need to do, so they’ll probably tell us to make the demands.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So, I was wondering… we should also prepare our demands. Is it okay if I prepare them on my own?”

“Leave it to you.”

“Thank you.”

Lee Hyun-soo bowed his head.

Kang Jin-ho turned and walked towards the car.

“Then, we might have to go on a business trip to China next week.”

“There’s no need for you to go personally, Chairman.”

“It’s better to be sure. There are other things to take care of as well.”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, it looks like next week will be busy, so prepare well.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s expression became strange.

“Why?”

Lee Hyun-soo, who was hesitating, took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

“Um…”

“Speak.”

“I’m on vacation next week.”

Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo looked at each other.

Kang Jin-ho’s slightly dazed face and Lee Hyun-soo’s dismal face couldn’t look each other straight in the eye and instead searched the air with their gazes.

“Ah… right.”

“Yes.”

“Right, vacation. Right…”

Kang Jin-ho slowly nodded.

“You should go on vacation. Yes, you should go since you planned to.”

“Ah, thank…”

“But…”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho said, slightly averting his gaze from Lee Hyun-soo.

“Where are you planning to go on vacation?”

“…Maldives.”

“Maldives… That’s nice, a good place.”