Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1523

“Hey, what’s with all the fuss after just a few laps? Why aren’t you running faster?” Bang Jin-hoon’s voice wasn’t particularly loud, but to those who heard it, it sounded like thunder. “Look at those guys falling behind! Those bastards are slacking off!” “Kkyooo…” Someone running behind Chun Tae-hoon, panting heavily, spoke in a voice that was about to give out. “W-why is that man suddenly like that?” “…Shut up and just run.” “Kkeueung.” Chun Tae-hoon raised his hand and wiped the sweat streaming down his face. ‘How would I know!?’ Anyone who has worked in an organization knows this. No, most people who have been to the military know it. There’s no specific reason why a superior’s mood suddenly plummets. Those at the top are incredibly unpredictable, and they can suddenly change their mood for no reason, even while staring out the window, and start tormenting people. It was their misfortune that Bang Jin-hoon had gone crazy at this very moment. “Those bastards are slacking off! You’re supposed to be martial artists, and you’re panting like that from a little running? How badly have you been slacking off in your training to be in this state? You’re all so lazy!” ‘Director.’ ‘If we keep running at this pace, people will die.’ ‘We’re only enduring this because we’ve been training hard. Otherwise…’ “Kkeureureureuk.” The person running in front of Chun Tae-hoon foamed at the mouth and fell backward. Thud! ‘That’s what happens.’ Chun Tae-hoon jumped over the fallen person and kept running. If he tried to help him, Bang Jin-hoon’s wrath would come crashing down. “Oh? You’re falling down?” Bang Jin-hoon rolled his eyes slightly and approached the fallen person. He grabbed the person by the collar and dragged him to the corner. Whack! As he threw the fallen person into the corner, those waiting there checked his condition and wrote down his name. “Write down the names of those who dropped out properly.” “Yes!” “Anyway, those bastards are slacking off.” Bang Jin-hoon glared. Of course, those who were being cursed felt wronged. They were running as fast as 100-meter sprinters and as far as marathon runners. If they were ordinary people, they would have already had a heart attack. “You bastards, do you think you can ignore your physical strength just because you use internal energy [qi or life force]? In the end, it’s not internal energy that helps you, but physical strength. You’re even using internal energy when you walk these days? I should rip your bellies open so you’ll come to your senses!” “Try dropping out. If those guys lying over there look comfortable, you should try lying down too. I’ll personally take good care of you!” Who would want to drop out after hearing those words? Chun Tae-hoon gritted his teeth and ran. ‘Why are all the higher-ups in this place like this!’ Is it so hard for people to take a break… That’s when it happened. “What are they doing?” Everyone’s heads snapped around. “Guild Leader!” “Ahhh! Guild Leader!” “You’ve arrived!” Kang Jin-ho came into everyone’s view. Hope filled the eyes of those watching Kang Jin-ho slowly approach the training ground. The Guild Leader, the welfare angel of the Assembly, looked around the training ground with a displeased expression. Seeing this, Bang Jin-hoon ran towards Kang Jin-ho. “Have you arrived?” Kang Jin-ho looked at Bang Jin-hoon with slightly lowered eyes. “Training?” “Yes. It seems like the kids’ stamina has been lacking lately.” “Hmm…” Kang Jin-ho glanced to the side. Those filling the training ground were sending him desperate glances, unable to stop. “Stop.” As soon as Kang Jin-ho said one word, everyone stopped in their tracks and collapsed. “Haa! Haa! Haa! Haa!” “Ugh… I’m going to die. Seriously…” Gasping breaths erupted. Kang Jin-ho, who had stopped them, turned to Bang Jin-hoon with a dissatisfied look. “Is this kind of training helpful?” Bang Jin-hoon scratched the back of his head. “Well, um… I don’t think it’s a very helpful training for martial artists, but if they lack basic stamina, they won’t be able to use what they’ve learned properly. If you don’t like it, Guild Leader, I’ll stop.” Everyone’s faces lit up as they looked at Kang Jin-ho. ‘As expected of the Guild Leader!’ ‘He’s not a geezer! That man is not a geezer!’ ‘Please save us!’ They had no complaints about the training itself. Getting stronger was the wish of everyone in the Assembly. However, they didn’t think this kind of training was very helpful for getting stronger. They honestly wanted to sweat through efficient and helpful training, not this inefficient one. In that sense, Kang Jin-ho was the only one who could stop Bang Jin-hoon. There were several directors in the Assembly who were older and stronger than Bang Jin-hoon, but they couldn’t object to Bang Jin-hoon’s training methods either. First of all, there was a sense of respecting each other’s methods, but there was also an agreement that Bang Jin-hoon was in charge of the basic trainees of the Assembly. The only one who was outside of that agreement had now appeared before them. Receiving enthusiastic gazes. However… The situation unfolded a little differently than they had expected. “That’s not what I meant…” “…Yes?” Bang Jin-hoon tilted his head, and Kang Jin-ho narrowed his brow. “Why would you run on flat ground like this?” Kang Jin-ho frowned as if he didn’t like it at all. “Time is limited, and there’s a lot of training to do. If that’s the case, we should train efficiently, even if it’s the same training. This is just physical training, nothing more.” “That’s true, but…” “We should do mobility training too.” Kang Jin-ho stretched out his finger and pointed to the side. At first, Bang Jin-hoon didn’t understand what Kang Jin-ho was pointing at. The place his fingertip was pointing at was… “M-mountains?” “Eueu…” Kang Jin-ho nodded. “Battles happen in places like that. If we’re going to do physical training, it’s better to do it properly, right?” As soon as those words were spoken, the members’ faces turned black. Even Bang Jin-hoon was taken aback. “Um… I understand what you mean. But there are no paths in the mountains, so it’s not like this many people can run there…” “Do you fight on paths?” Kang Jin-ho lightly shook his head. “And if there are no paths, we can make them. I’ve done it before, and if you just go around for about three days, a path will be made.” …I guess so. If this many people ran all day, the grass would die, the ground would be compacted, and the trees would be uprooted. Of course, a path would be made, of course. “I’m just saying.” Kang Jin-ho patted Bang Jin-hoon’s shoulder. “Good luck.” “Yes.” “And…” “…Yes?” Kang Jin-ho gestured with his chin towards the place where the members were gathered. “The third one from the left in the twenty-second row.” “He was using internal energy.” “Director Bang’s eyesight has gotten a little worse. If it were the old days, you would have known right away. You should also pay attention to your own training.” “…I will be careful.” “Okay.” Kang Jin-ho walked towards the main building with a good-natured smile. Bang Jin-hoon, who had been bowing his head, turned his head with a fierce look as soon as Kang Jin-ho entered the main building. The members flinched at the murderous intent dripping from his face. “The bastard who was just pointed out.” He didn’t say anything more, but one person in the twenty-second row slowly got up. “Fall out.” “…Yes.” As the person with a dying face stepped out of line, Bang Jin-hoon clicked his tongue. “You guys were happy that the Guild Leader came, weren’t you?” “I can’t understand you idiots at all. You’re the type of people who believe that when the division commander comes, he’ll solve the crazy things that the company commander or battalion commander is doing.” Bang Jin-hoon looked at the members with a pathetic expression. “Why do you think they’re division commanders? If they were the kind of people who cared about the soldiers like you think, would they have risen to the rank of division commander? Conversely, it means that those guys were even crazier when they were front-line commanders.” Bang Jin-hoon gestured with his chin towards the main building. “Do you think the people sitting there are sitting there because they’re nice? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m an angel compared to those guys. If the Guild Leader had personally trained you, you wouldn’t have lasted half the time and would have all run away.” “Well, anyway.” Bang Jin-hoon looked at the mountain with a slightly disgusted expression. “Did you hear that?” “I wasn’t planning on going this far, but what can I do? If I’m told to do it, I have to do it. It’s not like a division commander, the chief of staff came… no, the president came and said that, what can I do? Get up.” “Get up.” The members who had been sitting down got up like zombies. “Chun Tae-hoon.” “…Yes.” “Roughly map out a course and climb the mountain. Make it about ten minutes for one lap. Let’s see, let’s start with about twenty laps.” “…Director, twenty laps at ten minutes each is two hundred minutes, and two hundred minutes is over three hours?” “Yeah. I know.” ‘Why do you know?’ ‘You shouldn’t know. You should say that the calculation is wrong! If you know that, what are we supposed to do?’ “Hey, the Guild Leader ordered it, and if we come down after one or two laps, the Guild Leader will think I’m rebelling. I was planning to finish after one or two more laps here. But what can I do?” “That’s why you guys are idiots. When you saw the Guild Leader, you should have run with all your might. You should have shown that you were working really hard to the point of death. Did you think that if you slowed down and looked back with sparkling eyes, that man would say, ‘Oh, our kids are having a hard time’?” “Go.” “…Yes.” Chun Tae-hoon sighed deeply and stepped forward. “Let’s go.” Everyone looked at Chun Tae-hoon with blank faces. But Chun Tae-hoon, feeling their gazes on his back, began to run with all his might. “Ughhhhh! Damn it!” “I’d rather die! I’m going crazy!” Those who followed behind cursed, but they diligently began to run after Chun Tae-hoon. Bang Jin-hoon shouted loudly as he watched the scene. “Send back anyone who drops out.” “Yes!” Bang Jin-hoon chuckled as he watched the members rush up the mountain. ‘Why did you look back there? You shouldn’t have even made eye contact.’ Kang Jin-ho has been focusing so much on welfare lately that his image seems to be mixed up, but originally, Kang Jin-ho is a ruthless person when it comes to training. “Those slackers.” Bang Jin-hoon turned around with a smirk. He wasn’t just doing this for no reason. Since the Japanese invasion, the Assembly hasn’t experienced a real battle. As a result, those who were once on edge have slowly begun to slack off. If they aren’t tightened up properly at times like this, it will hinder their training and development. ‘I can play the villain, but the Guild Leader is really something.’ Kang Jin-ho must have known about Bang Jin-hoon’s thoughts and intervened. “Then I should do my part too.” Bang Jin-hoon walked to one side. And those who were huddled together where he arrived looked at Bang Jin-hoon with pale faces. “Oh my, did you fall out?” “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m not that rigid of a person. Actually, physical strength is half-innate. There are bound to be some people who are weaker. Don’t worry. I’m not that bad of a person, am I?” “Y-yes…” “However.” Bang Jin-hoon smiled. “But you can’t stay weak forever, right? Now, let’s work on your physical strength together.” “Hey, I told you not to worry. You can improve. You can improve. If you don’t want to die, you’ll improve.” Bang Jin-hoon said with a devilish smile. “Get up.” The Assembly began to be filled with miserable screams.