Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1646

A chilling silence descended.

In that freezing, cold atmosphere, the cigarette smoke exhaled by Kang Jin-ho slowly diffused into the air.

“Well, just a moment…”

Lee Hyun-soo started to say something, then stopped and closed his mouth.

The situation had unfolded so rapidly and unbelievably that even the usually composed Lee Hyun-soo was unable to collect his thoughts.

More than anything, what shocked Lee Hyun-soo was not the situation itself, but Chai Ke-chang’s reaction.

‘That guy is asking for help from us?’

He was not the type to call for help, even if he was in a situation where his throat was about to be cut, let alone just a knife being stabbed into his stomach. For such a man to ask for help meant only one thing.

“The Hong King has been defeated?”

Lee Hyun-soo spoke his thoughts aloud without realizing it.

At those words, everyone’s gaze turned to Lee Hyun-soo.

“The Hong King…”

Wiggins started to speak, then stopped and closed his mouth.

Looking back at the situation, it was the only conclusion they could reach. But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words.

It wasn’t that he was reluctant, but that he couldn’t open his mouth.

‘That the Hong King was defeated?’

The memory of the day he faced the Hong King was still vivid in Wiggins’ mind. The man who had blown his arm off with a single strike, a veritable incarnation of ferocity.

The shock of realizing that such a martial artist existed in the world was greater than the shock of having his arm blown off. So what more could be said?

And yet, that Hong King had been defeated?

‘Unbelievable.’

Who didn’t know that the Three Kings were equal martial artists? But the martial artists of the General Assembly had secretly thought that the Hong King was the best of the three.

Considering the power he had shown, and how much stronger he must be now, it was hard to say that this thought was complacent.

And yet, that Hong King had been defeated.

If that was the case, it meant that the very foundation of their plans had been shattered, and they had to start from scratch.

Even Wiggins couldn’t open his mouth at this bewildering fact.

The others were the same.

Bator was in a daze from the shock, Jang Min had his mouth firmly shut, lost in thought. And Bang Jin-hoon was just sighing repeatedly, unable to keep up with the unfolding situation.

“Chief Lee.”

In that heavy silence, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth.

“Yes, Lord.”

“Where did he say he was?”

“…Yes?”

Lee Hyun-soo unconsciously asked back, then immediately realizing his mistake, quickly opened his mouth.

“Well, there was so much static that I couldn’t hear properly. Jang, he said something like Jang…”

“Zhangjiakou.”

Jang Min said coldly.

“In Chinese, it’s Zhangjiakou. It’s a city in the north. Considering the Hong King’s advance route, the place Chai Ke-chang was trying to say was Zhangjiakou.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at the map and nodded.

“That’s highly likely.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly inhaled his cigarette. Then, white smoke was exhaled from his mouth.

Was it because of that?

It was hard to guess what Kang Jin-ho was thinking.

That was why everyone could only wait for Kang Jin-ho to speak, without saying anything.

“Wiggins, Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Speak, Lord.”

“Tell me only what’s certain right now.”

“The Hong King was defeated by the Chang King’s faction. Chai Ke-chang seems to be injured, and it’s highly likely that the Hong King is still alive. Zhangjiakou is a city off the Hong King’s advance route. It’s close to Beijing, so the Chang King can’t move carelessly there.”

Lee Hyun-soo swallowed hard and carefully continued.

“Perhaps Chai Ke-chang is hiding in Zhangjiakou with the Hong King, waiting for help.”

Wiggins looked at the map and continued.

“No. Maybe they’re moving to Beijing. Beijing is the most difficult place for them to move. If it were me, that’s what I would do.”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze moved between Zhangjiakou and Beijing on the map.

After staring at the map for a long time, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth heavily.

“Think about it.”

“What’s the best way for us to move.”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip slightly.

‘Think…’

This was too difficult a problem.

First, they had to consider whether they should even intervene in this situation. The General Assembly was ready to betray either side if their battle escalated, but now the situation was very different.

No one had thought that this war would end so quickly. No one.

Except for one person.

‘The Chang King.’

Lee Hyun-soo’s arm tingled with goosebumps.

Lee Hyun-soo had never felt like he was outsmarted by anyone when it came to using his mind. But if this was something that the Chang King had planned from start to finish, then he too had been played by the Chang King.

‘What kind of guy is this?’

To have the martial prowess of the Three Kings and the mind to manipulate everyone in the martial world at the same time?

This was no joke.

“First.”

Wiggins spoke first, instead of Lee Hyun-soo, who was still reeling from the shock.

“We need to decide whether to intervene or not.”

“Tell me about both scenarios.”

“If we intervene, we must save the Hong King. Having been completely defeated by the Chang King, the Hong King is likely to join hands with us to survive and seek revenge.”

Jang Min said with cold eyes.

“What’s the point of joining hands with the Hong King’s faction, which has been completely scattered?”

“That’s not true.”

Wiggins said firmly.

“It’s possible to capture the Hong King in a day. But it’s impossible to kill all of the Hong King’s faction in a day. There’s no way such a massacre could happen in such a short time.”

Especially considering the mobility of the martial artists.

“Perhaps the warriors of the Hong King’s faction have scattered. If the Chang King had completely captured the Hong King, he would have chased them down to finish them off, but if he’s alive, he would have mobilized all his forces to capture the Hong King, so the Hong King’s faction itself still has power.”

“However, that’s not good news.”

Lee Hyun-soo, having regained his senses, chimed in with Wiggins.

“In other words, it means that all of the Chang King’s forces are mobilized around the Hong King right now. If we try to rescue the Hong King, we have to break through those forces.”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.

‘Break through…’

It felt like his mind was clouded. The situation was still not clear.

Wiggins, glancing at Kang Jin-ho, continued.

“So, if we can intervene and rescue the Hong King, we can join forces with the Hong King’s faction to fight against the Chang King’s faction and the Black King’s faction. And if we don’t intervene…”

Lee Hyun-soo took over with an extremely stiff tone.

“The Hong King will die. And the Hong King’s faction will eventually be absorbed into the Chang King’s forces. This is also why I’m confident that the Hong King’s forces will be preserved to some extent. Considering the Chang King’s nature, he’ll try to make the demoralized forces his own rather than kill them.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Then a war will break out between the Black King and the Chang King.”

“…Lord.”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lower lip and said.

“I’m sorry to say this, but we have to consider the possibility that we’ve completely misread the situation.”

“…What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t make sense no matter how I think about it that the Hong King was unilaterally defeated by the Chang King.”

Everyone nodded.

The Hong King was the Hong King. He could be defeated. But it was hard to accept that he was defeated so easily.

“But if we assume that the Chang King and the Black King have formed an alliance, it makes sense immediately. No matter how strong the Hong King is, one hand can’t beat two.”

“The Chang King and the Black King?”

“It’s just a possibility for now. But with the Chang King’s abilities, it doesn’t seem impossible.”

Lee Hyun-soo clenched his fist tightly.

‘It’s my mistake.’

He should have considered all possible situations. But he had missed something he shouldn’t have, based on the information that the Black King hadn’t appeared for decades and that the Black King had only been reclusive in the past.

“An alliance… then what happens?”

“…If it’s certain that an alliance has been formed, they’ll come here as soon as they absorb the Hong King’s forces. After eliminating all the threats, they’ll try to compete when only the two of them are left.”

“After eliminating us…”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“That’s an interesting thing to say.”

Bang Jin-hoon glanced at Kang Jin-ho and asked Lee Hyun-soo.

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“It’s a matter of choice. If we don’t cross over to China and rescue the Hong King, there’s a risk that we’ll have to defend against their attack in Korea, but if we’re lucky, we can leisurely watch them fight each other.”

“So it’s a gamble.”

“Yes. And if we rescue the Hong King, we can fight in alliance with the Hong King’s faction. This is the best case scenario, but…”

Lee Hyun-soo groaned and said.

“Conversely, if we charge into enemy territory and fail to rescue the Hong King, or if we can’t handle the enemy, we’ll literally fall into hell.”

“Damn it, why is it so complicated?” Bang Jin-hoon scratched his head.

Lee Hyun-soo fully understood Bang Jin-hoon’s feelings.

This was not a problem where one could clearly decide which direction was better. It was literally a matter of choice.

And…

There was only one person who could make such a choice here.

Lee Hyun-soo unconsciously turned to look at Kang Jin-ho.

‘Lord.’

It wasn’t because of his high position.

The reason why Kang Jin-ho was Kang Jin-ho was because he could give the most decisive answer at the most decisive moment. Normally, it would be better for Lee Hyun-soo or Wiggins to make the decision, but in this case, they had to trust Kang Jin-ho’s intuition.

That was the trust that Lee Hyun-soo had in Kang Jin-ho.

Tick.

The sound of the cigarette burning down could be heard in the silent conference room, and only white cigarette smoke floated like a ghost.

And then…

Sizzle.

Kang Jin-ho, having stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, turned to look at everyone.

Everyone waited to hear what Kang Jin-ho would say. The decision that Kang Jin-ho made now would determine the fate of the General Assembly.

Lee Hyun-soo unconsciously swallowed hard.

“A choice…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“There’s nothing to think about. Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes!”

“Get cooperation from the government and the US side.”

“Then…”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly nodded his head.

“We’re going to save the Hong King. I don’t want to see him die like that.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded his head greatly.

Right or wrong?

Such things were meaningless.

Once the situation had reached this point, it was a hundred times better to blindly charge towards the wrong answer than to hesitate towards the right one.

“I’ll check right away.”

“Hurry.”

“Yes!”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled, looking at the executives who were deep in thought.

“There’s no need to be so serious.”

“…Yes?”

“Let’s see, what kind of expression will that Hong King make when he’s rescued by us.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, everyone had a subtle smile on their faces.

“Indeed.”

Wiggins said with a smile.

“It will be a rare sight that we’ll never see again.”

“That’s right.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes turned to the map.

The vast expanse of China came into his view.

‘The direction is a bit different, but…’

Anyway, it was starting now.

The war to take that vast land.