Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1458

“What in the world are you doing, Commander!”Phil yelled, his face pale. No, it was more like the scream of a terrified child than a yell.Chiiiiik, chiiiiik—The monitor inside the bunker began to show static. The scene on the flickering screen was a far cry from what he had expected before the battle.”What the hell are you doing! This is a mechanized division! The full force of the US military! How can they be struggling like this against a single person?!”He wasn’t blaming.He was trembling.Phil Button couldn’t comprehend the current situation at all.An unmanned unit?Of course, they’re strong.But for an unmanned unit to withstand the firepower of a mechanized division with its own body was like a dream. The reason unmanned units are highly regarded is because their main battleground is the city, not the open field.When excluding firepower designed to kill humans and only dealing with individual firearms, an unmanned unit might be more powerful than a soldier. But in a desert like this, where there are no obstacles or civilians to protect them, an unmanned unit is no different from an ordinary soldier who would be torn apart by firepower.That was Phil Button’s thinking.But now, Kang Jin-ho was completely crushing Phil Button’s assumptions with his own body.”What are you doing, Lieutenant General! Take command right now instead of that incompetent division commander! Right now!”Even with Phil Button’s outburst, Frank didn’t even blink.”Reggie Mercer is not incompetent. Right now, Reggie is showing the best response possible.””Damn it! How can you say that after seeing this mess!””I understand you’re upset, but please refrain from saying things that could tarnish the honor of a field commander. This isn’t the division commander’s fault.”Frank’s words weren’t just to defend Reggie. Frank truly believed that this wasn’t Reggie’s fault.‘The problem is on the other side.’That monster.That monster is the problem.Even if Frank took command now, he wasn’t sure he could show anything better than Reggie. Considering that the person who knows the field division best is the division commander himself, he would probably show an even more terrible sight, not a better one.Reggie’s response was unconventional, yet textbook.The problem was that the monster was nullifying all those responses in an instant.”Why is this happening! Why can’t they catch a single person!””…Undersecretary.”Frank bit his lip.”A lion can easily kill a hyena.””What obvious nonsense are you spouting?””But a lion can’t catch a hornet. It can only run away.”Phil Button’s lips trembled.”We can’t keep up with his speed. An attack is only an attack if it lands, and it only has meaning if it touches the opponent’s body. But with the means of attack we have now, we can’t control his speed.”That was Frank’s conclusion.‘This was a battle with a foregone conclusion.’If that man had not aimed his sword at the division but had run straight towards this bunker, could they have stopped him?Absolutely impossible.It’s impossible for a heavy tank to turn its gun barrel to match his speed. And even if they succeeded in aiming the gun barrel at Kang Jin-ho, who had already arrived at the bunker, firing would be impossible.Because the entire bunker would be blown away.”Calling a mechanized division against him was a mistake.””Are you saying it’s my fault?””That’s not what I mean…”Frank raised his hand and rubbed his face.He was just as anxious. Even at this moment, his precious troops were being destroyed.It was at that moment.”Damn it! No!”The multiple rocket launcher ignited, and missiles scattered in all directions. Frank couldn’t help but curse at the horrific sight.The missiles drew strange arcs and fell on the tanks and self-propelled artillery.KWA-AA-AA-ANG!KWA-AA-AA-AA-ANG!At the same time, a huge tremor engulfed the bunker. It seemed that one of the missiles had fallen on the bunker.Frank, unable to withstand the shaking, collapsed on the spot.”Aaaah!”Phil Button, who had fallen to the floor, let out an unsightly scream. Frank glared at Phil Button with a terrifying look.‘Because of that idiot!’If he had known that the enemy was such a person, Frank would never have participated in this madness. It was his mistake to listen to someone who didn’t even know the opponent’s capabilities properly.‘No, I can’t blame others.’He was also at fault for not knowing the opponent’s information properly. Blood trickled from Frank’s tightly clenched lips.”I surrender.””What? What did you just say?””It’s meaningless to continue. It will only increase the damage.””Lieutenant General, are you crazy? We are the US military! How can two US divisions surrender to a single person! Are you out of your mind?””You’re the one who’s out of your mind!”Frank gritted his teeth.”Look if you have eyes, you crazy bastard! This isn’t a game. Even at this moment, a huge amount of troops and money are turning to dust! Damn it, how many people do you think have died right now!”Frank aggressively rushed at Phil Button and grabbed him by the collar. Then, he dragged Phil Button in front of the monitor.”Do you see?”The scene of the outside, which had been turned into a wasteland, entered Phil Button’s eyes.”If you’re just going to hide in the bunker, give nonsensical orders, and yell, then why are you even here! People are dying right now to protect your worthless pride! Are you crazy? You’re the one who’s crazy! Still can’t accept it?”Phil looked back at Frank with trembling eyes.”Surrender! Right now! End this madness!”But there was something that even Phil didn’t know.Kang Jin-ho is not the kind of person who spares his opponent just because they surrender. To him, surrender is meaningless.Once he has targeted this bunker, Kang Jin-ho will never stop. Not until he blows up this bunker and grabs Phil Button by the neck.From the beginning, doing this was a mistake.KWA-AA-AA-AA-ANG!Massive explosions erupted one after another.Concrete fragments broke off from the bunker and fell to the floor like rain.”Change the view! Now! To the front view!””Yes!”The screen switched, and the surroundings of the bunker began to appear.Frank, who had been staring intently, saw a tank flying towards the screen and instinctively threw himself to the floor in terror.KOO-OO-OONG!An indescribable shock swept through his entire body.”Ugh…”The screen was black. It seemed that the camera had been broken by the flying tank.”The screen! Change the screen, you bastards!””Yes!”With desperate hand movements, the screen switched again.And then Frank could see it.Burning.Against the backdrop of the desert, where the sunset was slowly setting, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and armored vehicles were spewing fire and smoke.Hell.No, it wasn’t hell.This was the battlefield.The most terrible sight that humans could create, the tragedy of war, was being replayed here.And at the same time….In the incongruous scene without sound, the figure of a man could be seen. With the burning tanks and self-propelled artillery behind him, a man was walking slowly towards the front.The man, with his hands in his pockets, took out a cigarette and lit it with the flames coming from a tank. Then, he slowly put the cigarette in his mouth and began to inhale slowly.Frank swallowed hard.It was incongruous.Too incongruous.The tragedy visible in the back was so terrible that it left him speechless, but the man was walking through that hell as if he were taking a stroll.‘Is this not even a real battle?’ Frank’s body trembled.He didn’t know the man’s identity exactly.Kang Jin-ho.The leader of the General Assembly.The Demon King of the East.And the unmanned unit they had to face. Damn it, that kind of information didn’t even begin to explain him.No one who hasn’t seen him with their own eyes and experienced him firsthand can dare to say they know him.”What, what are you doing! What, what are you doing!”Phil Button had a fit.He snatched the radio and began to shout.”Shoot! Shoot him! Blow that bastard away! What are you doing! Commander! Start firing right now!”KWA-AA-AA-AA-ANG!Before the transmission could end, the screen was covered in dust.Certainly, Reggie Mercer was an excellent commander. He had finished his assessment before the people in the bunker could even give orders, and he was deploying firepower with precision.But that was all.There are things that are possible and things that are impossible in this world.What can be achieved with perfect reason and effort only exists in the realm of ‘possible.’ For them to capture Kang Jin-ho with their power was in the realm of ‘impossible’ from the start.Frank realized that just by looking at the screen, but Phil Button still didn’t understand the situation.And Reggie Mercer….‘There’s no other way.’Just because it’s obvious that they will lose doesn’t mean they can’t fight. That’s what soldiers are. They follow and complete orders until the last person falls. That’s the way of a soldier, and that’s their value.KA-GANG!At that moment, the audio connected, and a chilling sound was heard inside the bunker.‘What?’Frank’s eyes widened.KWA-AA-AA-AA-ANG!The armor-piercing shell fell not where Kang Jin-ho was, but far away from him.‘Friendly fire?’That couldn’t be.No matter how bad the ground was, friendly fire couldn’t happen at this distance. That meant….“He deflected it?”No, he brushed it off?Either way, it was the same.To deflect an armor-piercing shell flying faster than the speed of sound with that thin sword?It would be more realistic to hit a home run with chopsticks.But there was someone there who was making that unrealistic thing a reality.KA-AA-ANG!KA-AA-ANG!The shells fired in succession failed to hit Kang Jin-ho and bounced off to the left and right.Kang Jin-ho, as if he had become used to it, was smoking a cigarette with one hand while deflecting the incoming shells with the other.”Lord…”Frank’s eyes trembled.He couldn’t believe the sight he was seeing.An unmanned unit.That ghost of the old era had now appeared before him as a monster.‘Are all those called the Three Kings of the East like that?’If so, how much had they misjudged them until now?”…What is his purpose?””What?””What is his goal! Damn it! Think before I shove a bayonet in your ear!””H-his purpose is…”Phil Button’s face turned pale.”To, to kill or subdue me.””Ha…”Frank laughed.”Damn it, I’m going to die too.”At that voice, which seemed to have given up on everything, Phil Button’s body began to tremble like an aspen.His eyes turned to the screen.And at the same time, he saw it.Kang Jin-ho, with a sword in one hand, dragging the sword on the ground as he slowly walked forward.