Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1368

The descending figures scattered. A city devoid of light.

In Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes, the blood gushing from the severed corpses looked like rain in a black and white film. Dozens of people died instantly, without even a scream. The remaining figures moved towards Kang Jin-ho like emotionless machines.

How much brutal training would it take to show no hint of emotion when your comrades are dying in an instant?

A chilling feeling washed over him.

The feeling was that the ones they were facing now were different from the enemies Lee Hyun-soo had seen so far. They were like inanimate objects.

They clearly had hot blood flowing through them, but they didn’t feel like people at all.

In the darkness, people wearing Mao suits [a type of suit popularized by Mao Zedong] fell, swinging knives in their hands. Their expressionless faces, as if covered in steel, and the military knives shining in the moonlight sent shivers down his spine.

*Paaaat!*

Kang Jin-ho’s Red Tear [likely referring to a weapon or technique] was swung again.

The approaching figures were cut in half at the waist and tumbled to the ground. But even with their waists severed, they crawled on the ground with terrifying speed, swinging their knives at Kang Jin-ho’s legs.

Kang Jin-ho kicked away the approaching figure and flew sideways.

*Thud! Thud! Thud!*

The figures that fell to the ground like rain kicked off the ground and chased after Kang Jin-ho.

“Master!”

“I know!”

It was pointless to fight them here. The moment they were caught, the encirclement would become tighter. Even Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t be able to handle the endless waves of enemies.

Especially if they were sending civilians mixed in with the attack.

No matter how steely Kang Jin-ho’s heart was, he couldn’t just kill innocent people.

In the end, he would have to waste his energy trying not to kill them.

‘If they planned this on purpose, whoever it is, is a real bastard.’

He felt like tearing them to pieces.

“The distance!”

“It’s about 20km now!”

“Contact Wiggins in advance!”

“Yes!”

Lee Hyun-soo took out the satellite phone from his pocket. It felt like his shoulder was being torn off, but now was not the time to be acting weak.

‘Will the phone even work while moving at this speed?’

Lee Hyun-soo’s head instinctively turned upwards.

‘The signal…’

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes slowly began to widen.

The moon.

He could see a black dot embedded in the moon in the sky. And that black dot was getting bigger and bigger.

‘That, that thing?’

“Master?”

At Lee Hyun-soo’s voice, Kang Jin-ho also reflexively looked up. And then his face hardened.

*Paaaat!*

Kang Jin-ho’s foot kicked off the ground. When a person’s foot kicked off the ground, a loud explosion erupted and dust scattered everywhere.

And the black dot, which had been getting bigger and bigger, soon took on a clear shape and began to fall over Kang Jin-ho’s head.

*Kwaaaaaaaang!*

The mountain was engulfed in flames.

The scattered dust created a dust cloud, and the trees that were uprooted whole were flung into the air like toys. The aftershock of the explosion covered the surroundings and created a huge crater.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

*Kwaaaaaaaang!*

It exploded, exploded, and exploded again.

As if trying to destroy the entire mountain, shells rained down like a storm.

“Uwaaaaaaaaargh!”

Lee Hyun-soo clutched his head and screamed. He couldn’t come to his senses from the pain that felt like his whole body was being crushed. His eardrums were torn and his nose was bleeding from the pressure.

‘These crazy bastards!’

Jang Pil-jae was already unconscious and wasn’t moving. If they had been hit by this attack without Kang Jin-ho, they would probably have been torn to pieces to the point where they wouldn’t even be able to find their bodies.

‘What the hell are they thinking, these crazy bastards!’

Who would think of mobilizing an artillery unit just to catch three people? It was impossible anywhere in the world except in North Korea.

Time on Target (TOT) [a military tactic where multiple artillery units fire at the same target at the same time] was pouring down. It was clear that at least a battalion, or even more, of artillery was mobilized.

The North Korean howitzers, which were said to be in poor condition and questionable whether they would fire properly, were proving that they were still fully usable by targeting Kang Jin-ho and his group.

“Duck!”

As soon as he heard the voice, Lee Hyun-soo reflexively ducked his head. At the same time, another ear-splitting roar pierced his ears.

“Cough!”

The blood that had risen from his stomach was spat out through his mouth.

The buzzing in his ears and the tightly closed eyes made him lose his sense of direction. He was just swaying and staggering.

When he opened his closed eyes, the scene behind him came into view.

A mountain that had been completely destroyed. The bare trees that were sticking out everywhere were burning, and the places where the shells had fallen had created large puddles.

It was a hellish sight.

“Direction!”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, Lee Hyun-soo quickly picked up the GPS.

‘Damn it!’

But the impact was too severe, and the GPS wasn’t working properly.

Lee Hyun-soo hit the GPS several times in a hurry, but the GPS showed no signs of returning to normal.

‘How… Ah!’

Lee Hyun-soo raised his head.

He saw the stars filling the sky. It would be difficult in Korea, but it was possible here. Lee Hyun-soo, who quickly grasped the constellations and the position of the North Star, shouted as if screaming.

“Just go straight ahead!”

At that moment, something warm splattered on Lee Hyun-soo’s face.

‘What…’

He could taste a fishy taste from the liquid that touched his lips.

‘Blood?’

Lee Hyun-soo was horrified and desperately turned his head.

Blood was splattering from Kang Jin-ho’s body as he ran at high speed.

“M, Master! Where are you hurt…”

“Shut your mouth and duck!”

Kang Jin-ho’s voice was urgent.

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip.

Even for Kang Jin-ho, this was probably his first experience. Even though they were now outdated, towed howitzers had a range of over 10km.

Humans cannot respond to shelling from that distance. No matter how skilled Kang Jin-ho was, there was no way he could deal with an enemy 10km away.

Moreover, as long as the shells didn’t run out, they could keep firing.

Kang Jin-ho was now experiencing for the first time how terrible the power of weapons created by humans to kill other humans was.

“Here it comes again!”

Lee Hyun-soo reflexively closed his eyes and hugged Jang Pil-jae tightly.

*Kwaaaaaaaang!*

The world went black, and his consciousness flew away for a moment.

When he opened his eyes a little later, he was still in Kang Jin-ho’s hands. But he had no idea how much time had passed.

His head was just dizzy and his whole body ached as if it had been crushed.

Lee Hyun-soo reflexively reached out and touched his face.

Something wet was on his fingertips.

‘This…’

It wasn’t his blood.

This was Kang Jin-ho’s blood.

If it was blood that had been spilled before, the aftershock of the shelling would have blown it away or it would have already dried. The fact that he could feel the blood meant that Kang Jin-ho was still bleeding at this moment.

Something unbearable surged from within.

“You bastards!”

Lee Hyun-soo shouted frantically.

“Direction!”

But Kang Jin-ho spoke in a voice that was neither cold nor hot. Lee Hyun-soo was even startled by his calmness.

“H, how long was I unconscious…”

“I don’t know.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face contorted.

Two things were needed to reach their destination.

One was the exact location of the destination, and the other was the location of where he was now.

By losing consciousness, Lee Hyun-soo had lost his location. At this rate, they wouldn’t be able to find the rendezvous point.

Lee Hyun-soo quickly turned his head and came to a conclusion. Now was not the time for even a moment’s hesitation.

“I’ve lost the destination. As of now, it’s impossible to rendezvous.”

“What’s the alternative?”

“We’ll go south! Instead of going to the destination, we’ll break through the DMZ [Demilitarized Zone] and go to the South!”

“Understood!”

Lee Hyun-soo gave his opinion, and Kang Jin-ho accepted it without any adjustment. The two of them usually bickered, but in times of crisis, they completely trusted each other’s opinions.

The trust that the two had built up over a long time was shining.

“However, it’s the DMZ! The firepower will be concentrated there!”

“It doesn’t matter!”

“Master, then please change direction! They don’t know our exact location right now either. Even if we go around a bit, if we confuse our location, we can avoid the shelling.”

Before Lee Hyun-soo could finish speaking, Kang Jin-ho changed direction. And then he started running at full speed towards the forest that looked the most lush.

“Hoo! Hoo!”

Uncharacteristic rough breaths poured out of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

‘This is the limit.’

Lee Hyun-soo’s face contorted. It was impossible to avoid the shelling.

They were shelling a wide area at once. The blast radius of a typical 155mm howitzer was over 30 meters. At that level, it wouldn’t be difficult to avoid, but if they fired a dozen shells at once in all directions, covering the surroundings, it wouldn’t be easy for even Kang Jin-ho to avoid them.

‘No!’

It would be possible if he was alone.

But it was impossible while protecting Lee Hyun-soo and Jang Pil-jae.

‘Rather…’

Lee Hyun-soo looked back at the unconscious Jang Pil-jae with trembling eyes.

“Don’t think useless thoughts.”

As if he had noticed Lee Hyun-soo’s expression, Kang Jin-ho spoke coldly.

“If you’re going to live, it’s better to do it cleanly.”

“…Can you say that even in this situation?”

“There’s nothing new about it.”

He had experienced crises countless times. This time, it was just a little different.

“How far is it to the DMZ?”

“It’s over 100km.”

“…I can’t get a feel for it.”

He had never run 100km at full speed. He had no idea how long it would take or how hard it would be. But Kang Jin-ho just hardened his expression and ran.

If there was something he could do, he would do it. If there was only one thing he could do, he would do that. It was a hundred times better to move than to give up and fall down.

It was then.

*Kwaaaaaaaang!*

Another loud explosion erupted.

Lee Hyun-soo’s head reflexively turned. It was an explosion, but it was a completely different sound from the ones he had heard so far. And it was not nearby, but a little further away…

“Uwaaaaaaaaargh! Damn it! Nice!”

Lee Hyun-soo shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Master! There! There!”

Kang Jin-ho’s head turned.

And then he saw it clearly.

Just a few kilometers away.

The sky was adorned with flames like a huge fireworks display.

It was not a flame made of gunpowder at a glance.

“Damn it, Master! Why didn’t you set it off sooner!”

A signal flare made with magic.

Wiggins was signaling the rendezvous point.

“Master! We have to rendezvous at top speed! The firepower will be pouring there soon.”