Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1343

Wiggins stared anxiously out at the sea.

‘Damn it.’

He couldn’t reach Lee Hyun-soo. This was more dangerous than he’d thought. The abruptly disconnected call meant something had happened to Lee Hyun-soo.

Just an accident?

No way.

Even if he tried to be optimistic, there was no way to ignore the grim reality.

‘What the hell is going on?’

It was the first time he’d felt so frustrated by not being able to make contact.

‘I shouldn’t have sent the Lord to China.’

This was a matter involving nations. As an outsider, Wiggins shouldn’t have gotten involved.

He was part of the Assembly, but he wasn’t Korean.

However, this wasn’t something that came about through negotiations between the Assembly and the government. It was the result of negotiations between the Korean government and the Korean Assembly.

No matter what he said, nothing would change. An outsider’s words held no power.

‘Still, I should have stopped it.’

Now that things had turned out this way, he couldn’t figure out where it had all gone wrong.

‘First of all…’

“Hey, calm down.”

Wiggins turned to look at Bang Jin-hoon. Bang Jin-hoon, with a cigarette in his mouth, was frowning.

“If you’re so agitated, the kids will get anxious. You should know better, shouldn’t you?”

“…Right.”

Wiggins sighed deeply.

To think he’d be getting this kind of advice from Bang Jin-hoon. He’d clearly lost his composure too much.

“Did the Round Table say they detected unusual movements?”

“They did.”

“And Lee Hyun-soo is out of contact?”

“That’s right.”

“…This is a complete mess.”

Bang Jin-hoon chuckled.

“That’s how things are. Sometimes, things that start out really serious turn out to be easy, and things that seem trivial can blow up out of control. That’s life, isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry too much. That guy has been through a lot. What could possibly happen? We just need to make sure he has a good escape route.”

He said that, but Bang Jin-hoon was chain-smoking. Considering that Bang Jin-hoon had quit smoking before meeting Kang Jin-ho, it seemed he’d completely given up on quitting.

“Escape…”

Wiggins’ eyes darkened.

‘We just need to get to the coast.’

They’d already done it once.

If Kang Jin-ho reached the coast, Wiggins could rescue him. Since the attempt to gather magic users for a long-range teleport had failed, this was the only option.

‘I can probably manage to get Lee Hyun-soo out, but…’

He couldn’t rescue the others. Unless they swam to the ship from the coast.

“What exactly are these unusual movements?”

“How would I know? I didn’t get any proper information. I just heard that troops from Beijing were moving.”

He didn’t even know what those troops were.

The Round Table had contacted them as soon as they received the urgent report. More detailed information would be reported later. The problem was that they didn’t have time until then.

“Mr. Wiggins.”

“Let’s talk later. Right now…”

“Make a decision.”

“…What?”

Wiggins turned to look at Bang Jin-hoon. Bang Jin-hoon blew out smoke and opened his mouth.

“If things get too ambiguous, I’m going in.”

“Where? There?”

Into China?

Was he saying they should take the ship into Chinese territory?

Wiggins looked at the surging sea with trembling eyes.

‘Is he out of his mind?’

Bang Jin-hoon wasn’t someone who wouldn’t understand what that meant.

“Do you know how big the problem could become?”

“You’re the one who needs to get a grip, Mr. Wiggins.”

“Me?”

“What’s the worst thing that could happen to the Assembly?”

“Well…”

Wiggins closed his mouth.

“It’s not like there’ll be a war, or that we’ll be dissolved for taking responsibility. It’s that the Lord will die. If the Lord dies, the Assembly will be dissolved anyway. Sooner or later.”

That was true.

The Hongwang Clan would be drooling as they pushed into Korea. There was no way Bator or Wiggins could stop them.

‘No, before that…’

Was there any loyalty to risk their lives for an Assembly without Kang Jin-ho?

Wiggins realized that the directors were loyal to Kang Jin-ho personally, not to the Assembly. If Kang Jin-ho died, the foundation of the Assembly would collapse before any crisis.

Jang Min would immediately lead the Demonic Cult out of the Assembly. Or he might start a war with the Assembly, demanding responsibility for sending the Demon Lord to his death.

Jang Min was someone you could never predict.

Loyal people were easy to predict. You just had to see where their loyalty was directed. But Jang Min’s loyalty was almost in the realm of madness. So, ordinary people couldn’t predict his behavior.

“If it’s to save the Lord, we have to try everything we can. Whether it goes too far or not doesn’t matter. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Wiggins stared at Bang Jin-hoon for a long time before sighing.

‘Bang Jin-hoon used to be the Lord of the Assembly.’

And before that, he had created factions within the Assembly and opposed Lee Jung-geol.

At this moment, Wiggins was acutely aware of the difference between a leader and a supporter.

It was something that Master, Bang Jin-hoon, and Kang Jin-ho had, but he didn’t.

It was the will to achieve their goal, even at the cost of any damage, in a situation where no one would take responsibility for them.

Wiggins absolutely lacked that.

“From this moment on, I’m handing over all command to you.”

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s not a sign of dissatisfaction or that I’m telling you to do whatever you want.”

Wiggins frowned.

“It’s just that I’ve decided this is the best way. I’m weak at making decisions. I’m only valuable when I’m a little removed, giving advice or criticism. So, I’m just going back to my place.”

Bang Jin-hoon nodded.

Normally, he would have declined with humility, but this wasn’t the time. The fate of the Assembly could change with even a moment’s delay in judgment.

“Keep in constant contact with the Round Table.”

“I will.”

“We need to deploy a messenger to keep in constant contact with Lee Hyun-soo and the Lord. We’re lacking information right now.”

“I’m already doing that.”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed.

“If the worst happens, we’ll go ashore. Figure out the landing point. Swimming from international waters will take too long. We’ll push the ship to a suitable point.”

“…That’s too dangerous.”

“I’ll take the risk.”

Wiggins nodded.

“I understand. I’ll follow your orders.”

His thoughts were clear.

What was happening, who was targeting Kang Jin-ho, and whether Kang Jin-ho could handle them.

Those were problems for later.

What they had to do now was find the best way to help Kang Jin-ho. Bang Jin-hoon had found a rough but sure way.

“And…”

“Speak.”

“Please cooperate with Bator. If we wait until we have to go in, it’ll be too late. Tell him to cross the border right now.”

“…Now?”

“If there’s no problem, he can just pull back, right?”

What a temper.

Wiggins felt that there were people who should never be given authority as he picked up the phone.

But then.

“Mr. Wiggins!”

Someone rushed onto the deck.

“What is it?”

“Unidentified ships are approaching!”

“What?”

Wiggins’ eyes filled with urgency.

“‘Ships’?”

“Yes. At least a dozen!”

“Th-this…”

This was international waters. International waters were lawless. In other words, patrol boats didn’t need to monitor this area. But a dozen ships approaching at the same time?

“What’s the chance they’re fishing boats? If it’s a large-scale operation, about ten would be together.”

“We haven’t identified them yet. And they’re approaching with their lights off.”

“…Damn it.”

Fishing boats wouldn’t move with their lights off. Wiggins, considering various possibilities, clenched his fist.

‘Could it be from the Chinese side?’

What if they had information that they were here?

Wiggins would try to deal with them first. Cutting off the escape route was the most basic thing in a hunt.

‘Resistance?’

Impossible.

If they were on land, it wouldn’t be a problem. Even if soldiers were targeting them, they had only brought people who could get away. But on the sea, it was different.

It was unlikely, but if a torpedo hit, the ship would sink cleanly into the sea, and they would have to endure gunfire while floating in the open ocean.

‘It’s a massacre.’

Some might survive, but could that be called survival?

If they weren’t careful, the most one-sided slaughter since the Battle of Myeongnyang [a famous naval battle in Korean history] might occur in the West Sea.

“…Stand by.”

“Director Bang!”

“I said stand by, you bastard!”

Bang Jin-hoon yelled, and the person who had come to report lowered his head.

“Those crazy bastards wouldn’t just sink a ship with people on it. They’re worried about diplomatic issues, just like we are.”

“But… they’re China. If they wanted to…”

“I said stand by.”

“Director Bang! If we’re going to run, we need to go now…”

Bang Jin-hoon grabbed the reporter by the collar and pulled him close. Then, he growled as if he was about to bite his neck.

“Listen carefully, you bastard. If the Lord doesn’t come, we’re not going anywhere. It’s the same whether we die here or in Korea. Got it?”

“…Yes, sir.”

If he resisted any more, he would be killed by Bang Jin-hoon right away.

Bang Jin-hoon let go of the collar and anxiously reached for a cigarette.

“Damn it, how the hell is this going?”

It kept getting vague.

This had never happened before. Unexpected things kept happening. It was like…

‘Being caught in a trap.’

Wiggins raised one hand and chanted something.

‘What is he doing?’

Wiggins, who had been concentrating his magic for a while, dropped his hand weakly.

“Let’s go back.”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“As you said, if those are Chinese ships, they won’t attack without a plan. It could escalate into a diplomatic issue. The Korean government could make a case out of a civilian ship being attacked.”

“I didn’t think that far.”

“But what if those ships aren’t Chinese?”

“Not Chinese? If it’s not China, who would attack us? That’s…”

Bang Jin-hoon closed his mouth.

“There’s one, isn’t there? A strong navy that’s close by and our sworn enemy.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s eyes twitched.

“Could it be?”

Wiggins chuckled dryly.

“It seems we’ve fallen into a deep trap. We’ve been hit in a vital spot that even the Hongwang Clan couldn’t touch. We were careless.”

Wiggins gritted his teeth as he watched the ships approach within visible distance.