Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1462

‘Is it done?’

A question lingered.

Kang Jin-ho had handled everything. So why was Lee Hyun-soo acting so triumphant instead of Kang Jin-ho?

Reynolds desperately suppressed the twitching in his facial muscles.

‘I…’

He knew he had to say something, but he had no idea what to say.

‘So…’

He could see a desert filled with flames and smoke reflected on his face. The flames were dying down, but the black smoke was darkening the sky as if a volcano had erupted.

The phrase ‘like a battlefield,’ often used, fit this place perfectly. No, perhaps it didn’t fit. This place was literally a battlefield.

Reynolds’ mood wasn’t good as he looked at the devastation.

He was clearly the one who had hoped for this outcome the most, but he couldn’t laugh when he thought that the people who had caused this devastation were the army protecting his country.

And the one who had created this unbearable result was now walking towards them.

Kang Jin-ho approached Reynolds with a calm gait. His steps, as if he were taking a stroll, created an indescribable sense of incongruity.

‘Haa…’

Reynolds let out a short sigh.

The devastation behind Kang Jin-ho was not what he had wanted. What he had wanted was for Kang Jin-ho to ‘break through’ the defense line and seize the Deputy Minister’s neck.

The result was clearly the same.

However, the process he had imagined and the process Kang Jin-ho had taken were as different as heaven and earth. He had thought Kang Jin-ho would evade the mechanized division’s defense line, but Kang Jin-ho had literally broken through it.

If he had known such a result would occur, Reynolds would have reconsidered the bet hidden under the guise of this training.

Thud, thud.

Kang Jin-ho, who had walked leisurely, looked at Reynolds.

‘More?’

‘Ah, no, sir!’

Reynolds was startled and answered.

More, he said.

What more could he possibly do here?

‘Let’s go back.’

‘…I will prepare the helicopter immediately.’

Reynolds swallowed hard.

‘Is this a Four Heavenly King [a term referring to the strongest martial artists in the Murim]?’

He had thought Kang Jin-ho’s power had been sufficiently revealed at H27. But seeing Kang Jin-ho today, that was just an illusion. What was even more frightening was that even the power he had shown today was not Kang Jin-ho’s full strength.

The fact that Kang Jin-ho hadn’t broken a sweat proved it.

‘Lord, may I ask you something?’

Kang Jin-ho turned to Reynolds with a blank face.

‘Speak.’

‘…If you were to use your full power, how many troops could you handle?’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘You’re not a soldier, are you?’

‘Yes? No, I…’

Reynolds couldn’t answer.

It was both true and false. He was definitely someone who could be called a soldier, but he hadn’t followed the path of an ordinary soldier.

‘That’s a meaningless question. It varies depending on the situation.’

‘You guys think firepower is too important. If an unarmed group is operating a huge missile base, is that great firepower? If just one person with a gun invades, everyone will die. So, what’s stronger, the missile or the gun?’

It was an unanswerable question.

‘Before worrying about firepower, it’s better to think about the method.’

‘…I will keep that in mind.’

Kang Jin-ho glanced at the shattered 15th Division.

There was nothing to be proud of.

If they had kept their distance and started with artillery fire and received air support, Kang Jin-ho would have had to be prepared to be buried here today.

Their carelessness and ignorance of the Murim [a term referring to the martial arts world] had led to this situation.

Well, even if they had, he had his own countermeasures.

‘One thing has become clear.’

The Murim cannot defeat the military.

Kang Jin-ho could defeat them, but the Assembly [a term referring to a group of Murim practitioners] could not. The Assembly did not have the overwhelming speed that Kang Jin-ho possessed.

However, that didn’t mean the Assembly was weak.

Even if the opponent was a Three Kings faction [a term referring to a powerful group in the Murim], it was the same. A Murim who had not reached the Hwagyung realm [a high level of martial arts mastery] could not withstand that firepower. There were not many Murim who could break through that heavy armor and destroy a tank.

The reason why the Three Kings factions or the Assembly could gain an advantage over them was because the Four Heavenly Kings existed.

Kang Jin-ho and the other Three Kings.

As long as they existed, the military would not easily try to provoke the Murim. Any army would eventually have someone to give orders, and the Four Heavenly Kings had the ability to take the head of the one who gave the orders.

But what about after the Four Heavenly Kings disappeared?

‘They wouldn’t be able to handle it.’

The existence of the Four Heavenly Kings was an irregularity.

After Kang Jin-ho died, would someone in the Assembly reach Kang Jin-ho’s level again?

After the Red King died, would someone in the Red King faction take the Red King’s place?

It was impossible.

That level could not be reached through effort alone.

It was a level that could barely be reached with overwhelming talent, unbelievable effort, and even a stroke of luck. He couldn’t judge accurately because he hadn’t seen the other two kings directly, but if they had reached the Red King’s level, then this world was an unusually strong world.

Four Murim who would have dominated the world no matter which era they were born in existed at the same time.

Their existence was balancing this world.

And if they were to perish together or die without overcoming their lifespans, the Murim world would no longer be able to handle the developing military.

He had won.

But he felt a little sad as he seemed to have seen the future of the Murim world that had been confirmed here.

‘It will change. No, it must change.’

However, Kang Jin-ho wasn’t particularly pessimistic.

After all, the Murim of the world he had lived in and the Murim of today were different. When the world changed, humans adapted to it. The Murim would also adapt to the changed world and live in a different form.

Kang Jin-ho wasn’t so nosy as to worry about what would happen after he died. What was important was his life now.

Kang Jin-ho glanced at Reynolds.

Looking at Reynolds, who hadn’t recovered from the shock, it seemed that everything had gone according to plan.

‘…I didn’t think the Murim would be this strong.’

‘Ah, that’s…’

As Lee Hyun-soo was about to speak, Kang Jin-ho subtly gave him a look.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had guessed Kang Jin-ho’s intention with just that look, smiled faintly.

He was certainly quick-witted.

‘You don’t have to be impressed by just our Lord. Even now, there are people in the Assembly who are training hard to become our Lord’s successors.’

That would never happen.

Kang Jin-ho knew it, and so did Lee Hyun-soo. If you grabbed any random Assembly member and said that, they would clutch their stomachs and roll around for three days and nights.

But sometimes, people had to be able to tell lies skillfully. Especially when there was a profit involved.

‘And even if it’s not our Lord, people like Wiggins or Elder Jang Min would have been able to achieve similar results.’

Wiggins’ eyes widened.

‘Me?’

It would be similar, sure.

Except the one hitting and the one getting hit would be reversed.

Wiggins didn’t have the confidence to withstand that firepower. His barrier wouldn’t be able to withstand five shots from a tank. He would squeeze out all his mana to block it, and then his body would be riddled with holes.

‘You saw it, didn’t you? How it was shaken by the earthquake.’

No, that was only if all the conditions were met.

Reynolds turned to Wiggins with a slightly stiff face.

‘Ahem, ahem.’

Wiggins brought his fist to his mouth and coughed loudly. His face was that of an actor, but his acting wasn’t, so it was better to just shut his mouth at times like this.

‘The results of this battle will be reported to the higher-ups as they are. Then the higher-ups will make a decision quickly.’

Reynolds had come to a perfect conclusion.

This was a win-win situation.

Even if they gave them everything they wanted, if they could establish a relationship and strengthen SOB [Special Operations Bureau], they could pay that price. If the SOBs had even half of Kang Jin-ho’s power, no one would be able to ignore the SOBs.

‘As soon as we get back…’

‘Now, now, don’t be in such a hurry.’

Lee Hyun-soo slyly grabbed Reynolds. Reynolds turned to Lee Hyun-soo with suspicious eyes.

‘Why?’

‘You have to calculate properly.’

‘Yes?’

Lee Hyun-soo started playing a shell game [a metaphor for a deceptive negotiation].

‘The previous condition was a contract that didn’t include our Lord’s labor costs, right?’

‘A contract where you just sign it and a contract where you do a live demonstration and reveal everything cannot be the same.’

‘Th, then?’

‘I’d like to add a few things.’

Lee Hyun-soo winked with one eye.

‘Let’s have a talk.’

Reynolds’ mouth started to taste like metal.

In the East, they called Kang Jin-ho a demon, but in Reynolds’ eyes, the real demon was someone else.

Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he watched Reynolds being dragged into the middle of the desert and forced to negotiate.

‘He’s having a hard time.’

‘He was bitten by a goblin, so he has to pay the price.’

Kang Jin-ho looked at the 15th Division, which was busy with restoration.

‘How was it?’

‘…It felt like I saw the end of the world with my own eyes.’

‘I think I know how you feel.’

Wiggins smiled bitterly.

Since he was young, he had clearly watched the Murim world gradually being pushed to the outskirts of the world. That was why he understood how Kang Jin-ho felt now.

‘Jang Min must have had a hard time.’

‘He probably did. He’s the one who has seen more than anyone else.’

Kang Jin-ho felt like he should treat Jang Min a little better. He always thought about it but never kept his word.

‘So, is it over?’

‘There’s nothing more to do. All that’s left is to sign the contract. However…’

Wiggins glanced at Lee Hyun-soo.

‘It seems that the contract isn’t finished yet.’

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

He could see the helicopter that would take them away approaching in the distance.

‘It was a meaningful trip in its own way.’

‘It’s ambiguous whether it was a trip or a business trip, but how about it? Would you like to enjoy America a little more?’

‘No.’

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

‘This is enough. I don’t think I’m suited for America or Europe.

I should go back to Korea.’

‘Then we can test the new gate.’

‘Is it finished?’

‘We just need to test the operation. It’s a gate that pierces a very long distance, so there are many things to prepare, and it will take a little more time.’

‘Hmm…’

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

He didn’t particularly dislike airplanes, but he preferred a means of transportation that could move quickly. It was also quite uncomfortable to be forced to quit smoking.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes sank deeply as he looked at the desert where darkness had fallen.

‘Let’s go back, to Korea.’

Kang Jin-ho’s low voice was drowned out by the loud helicopter noise.