Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1451

“Such a pointless endeavor.”

Phil couldn’t hide his displeasure as he turned to look out the car window. The familiar road to his residence seemed irritating, perhaps because of his mood.

“Is it alright to accept their intentions? They seemed awfully confident.”

“It’s all for show.”

Phil frowned.

‘To think they’re talking about martial arts in this day and age, it’s absurd.’

It was like something out of the Middle Ages, with Merlin using magic. Bringing something that should only exist in dramas into reality was insane.

Even the wizards, knights, and dragons from those dramas would be shredded by machine guns in the modern era. And yet, they were strategically training such individuals to use as a military force?

‘I’d like to see the face of the person who came up with this plan.’

It had been decades since this started, and because it was a top secret project at the time, the origins of the plan were unknown.

But the important thing wasn’t how the plan started, but that it was still ongoing. And at a huge cost.

‘That money could maintain at least five more divisions.’

And those would be mechanized divisions.

Phil couldn’t help but be annoyed that they were wasting money on such nonsense, especially with the recent outcry over excessive defense spending.

“They’re far too confident in themselves.”

“It seems so, Deputy Secretary.”

“Everyone is equal before a gun. No matter how much a human trains, they can’t turn their body into steel. And even steel armor is pierced by modern firearms. It’s ridiculous to go against the times now.”

There’s such a thing as common sense.

Even in the flood of superhero movies, there aren’t scenes of heroes fighting against the US military.

Is it because the audience wouldn’t like it?

Absolutely not.

It’s because it’s unrealistic.

Those who know the power of modern weapons and the strength of the US military can’t imagine the US military losing, even in a movie.

Unless, of course, aliens invade.

Even ordinary people think that way, yet these so-called military experts are doing such ridiculous things.

“Maybe next year’s budget should be allocated based on astrology. We’ll need a good omen.”

“I recommend tarot cards.”

“That’s not a bad idea either.”

Phil leaned back in his seat and lit a cigarette.

‘They need to stop this nonsense.’

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. The US was a country that would try any experiment if it was possible.

Decades ago, they wasted a huge budget trying to train a psychic unit, turning perfectly normal people into wrecks. They also blew up perfectly good ships trying to conduct teleportation experiments.

This was just another remnant of that era.

An era when humans didn’t fully trust science.

An era when they believed that science alone couldn’t explain the world.

The remnants of that irrationality were what infuriated Phil.

“It’s probably for the best. We can get rid of them all with this opportunity. I’ve been thinking there are too many useless people in the military anyway.”

“They’re not helpful.”

“Exactly.”

Phil looked out the window with a strange expression.

“If the President were a bit more rational, we wouldn’t have to go this far…”

Phil’s face hardened slightly.

He understood.

People sometimes want to believe in things that don’t make sense.

“His Excellency probably doesn’t trust them either.”

“Then why?”

“Even so, he can’t just overturn something that previous administrations have been consistently pursuing. It’s not a matter of right or wrong. It will definitely become a political issue.”

“Even if it’s not overt?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm.”

Phil nodded slowly.

“I didn’t think that far. You have a point.”

“That’s why this is even more important. If we handle this well, we can give His Excellency the justification to officially stop this nonsense.”

“And we can save a huge amount of money.”

“It’s a national benefit.”

Phil nodded.

At that moment, his aide’s phone rang. The aide, with a stiff expression, answered the phone and discussed something for a while before covering the receiver with his hand and asking the minister.

“They’re asking if two days from now is okay.”

“Tell them to do as they please.”

“Understood. Then we’ll proceed in the sea area in two days.”

“Hmm.”

Phil smiled faintly as he watched his aide continue the call.

‘Fools.’

That’s not how you make a bet.

A bet where you risk everything is bound to fail. If the situation doesn’t push you to that point, you wouldn’t bet everything on a gamble. The fact that this bet has started proves that they’ve already crossed the point of no return.

“They’ll send the details via messenger. Briefly, it seems like we’ll set up a defensive line here, and they’ll try to break through it, as we discussed before.”

“You handle it.”

“Yes, Deputy Secretary.”

Phil smiled.

“A few people are going to break through the US military’s defense line?”

Of course, it’s possible.

If they’re aliens.

Phil chuckled softly and blew cigarette smoke out the window.

“It’s like this.”

Reynolds spread a situation map on the desk. There were things lined up to the left and right of a point in the center.

“…What is this?”

“This is the expected deployment. It’s based on the assumption that four divisions will be mobilized, so please keep that in mind.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned slightly.

“So, these are tanks, these are self-propelled guns, and these are machine gun positions, infantry… hmm, where are the observers located?”

Reynolds looked up at Kang Jin-ho. There was surprise in his eyes.

“You understand this?”

“Is there a reason I wouldn’t?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head. Then, Lee Hyun-soo muttered quietly to Reynolds.

“He served in the military for two years.”

“Oh? Wow, you did.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned at Reynolds’s exaggerated reaction.

‘Is that so surprising?’

Kang Jin-ho had overlooked the fact that Reynolds was American.

In Korea, it’s natural for any able-bodied young man to serve in the military, but here in the US, the military is just one of many career options.

“All Korean men have military experience as a basic requirement.”

“That’s right. I forgot that for a moment. So, what was your specialty?”

“…Artillery.”

It seemed like a faint memory of his past military service flashed before Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

“Ah, that’s why you know about observation. The observers are…”

As Reynolds was about to explain something, Lee Hyun-soo poked Reynolds in the side again.

“Yes?”

“…He served as a private, so he doesn’t know anything. He’s just saying words he knows, so just treat him like a regular person and move on.”

‘Should I hit him?’

Kang Jin-ho felt a surge of anger, but he couldn’t deny that what Lee Hyun-soo said was true, so he remained silent. Besides, if he pretended to know more here, he would be stuck listening to Reynolds’s strategy for hours.

That was something he absolutely wanted to avoid.

“Ahem.”

Reynolds cleared his throat softly.

“Anyway, this is how the deployment will be. If you, Master, can break through this with your companions, that would be great.”

Lee Hyun-soo stared at the deployment map for a moment before chuckling.

“This?”

“Yes.”

“This?”

“…Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo cracked his neck from side to side.

“If you have a grudge, just say it. Don’t try to use a scheme like this to kill me indirectly.”

“No! Is it even possible for a human to break through this! If we could do this, why would we be living like this? We’d be flying to the moon! You need to have a conscience. What? Four divisions? Have you ever been hit by four divisions!”

“…Please calm down.”

“Do I look like I can calm down?” Kang Jin-ho firmly pressed down on Lee Hyun-soo’s shoulder.

Lee Hyun-soo sat back down, his face still boiling with anger.

But even then, he didn’t forget to glare at Reynolds.

“Seriously, do these guys have no conscience? Even mobilizing one division would be considered excessive, but what? Four divisions? Four US military divisions are enough to conquer a country, and they’re mobilizing all of that?”

“It’s just an assumption for now.”

Of course, it’s an assumption.

In reality, there’s a chance that up to five divisions could be mobilized. But Reynolds didn’t think there was any need to say that now.

Otherwise, Lee Hyun-soo might jump at him and bite his neck.

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the deployment map for a moment before taking out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho, with a cigarette in his mouth, slowly exhaled smoke and stared at the center.

“Is that Deputy Secretary there?”

“Yes, that’s right. We haven’t confirmed if they’ll build a bunker.”

“So, if I break through here and kill that Deputy Secretary, that’s it?”

“…You shouldn’t actually kill him.”

“Injure him?”

“That much is…”

Reynolds swallowed hard.

“I’m sorry to ask, but with these conditions, is it possible for you?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Is it possible?”

“It’s probably difficult…”

“It won’t even take three seconds.”

“…Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho pointed to the outer part of the diagram with a nonchalant expression. Then, he slowly drew a line towards the center point.

“The distance is about 5km?”

“That’s right.”

“I could snipe from that distance.”

“It wouldn’t be hard to blow up the bunker either. There’s no need to break through.”

“Wow, you’re right.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded blankly.

Considering Kang Jin-ho’s abilities, it was nothing for him to unleash his magic and blow up a building from a distance. He hadn’t thought of it because he had always been fighting defensively, not offensively.

Attacking these people with their positions was incomparably easier than facing hordes of unmanned units with just two swords and no support.

At least he could choose a method.

“But that method wouldn’t be meaningful.”

Reynolds nodded vigorously.

The point of this was to show them what kind of existence the unmanned units were. If it just went ‘bang!’ from a distance, they would say they might as well use missiles.

“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on using that method either. The strategy is simple.”

“Yes. I’m listening.”

Kang Jin-ho drew the same line he had drawn earlier.

Reynolds frowned slightly.

“Master, that method is…”

“I’ll go along this line…”

“…Yes?”

“Alone.”

Reynolds’s eyes shook violently.

There?

Through that densely populated area?

“A, a central breakthrough?”