Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1671

The floor shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Lee Hyun-soo sighed softly, feeling the vibrations beneath his feet.

“Figures, those bastards.”

The Changwang’s forces had completely gathered at Zhangjiakou. Lee Hyun-soo had seen it with his own eyes; it was an undeniable fact.

Wasn’t the reason Wiggins had stalled for time, even with a means of escape, to perfectly lure the Changwang’s forces? There was no way there could be a flaw in something he and Wiggins had both confirmed.

The problem was very simple.

“They called us allies, those bastards.”

Lee Hyun-soo gritted his teeth.

He saw the armored division moving north.

The People’s Liberation Army of China takes orders from the Chinese government. And that Chinese government was currently in a temporary alliance with the Assembly.

However, the fact that the army, which takes orders from the government, was now moving towards the border meant only one thing.

“Looks like these bastards have betrayed us.”

“Tsk.”

Wiggins clicked his tongue and scratched his chin.

“Actually, it’s a bit embarrassing to use the grand word ‘betrayal.’ Our alliance with the Chinese government was just for show. It could be broken at any time if necessary, right?”

“For something like that, the timing is really perfect.”

“Hmm.”

Wiggins shook his head.

“I thought things had gone wrong when we encountered the fighter jets in the sky, but…”

This wasn’t just going wrong; they were coming at them to devour them whole.

“Well, if it’s Changwang…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply at those words.

Since coming to China, the phrase ‘if it’s Changwang’ had been used like a deus ex machina [a plot device where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly resolved by an unexpected and improbable intervention].

Even situations that didn’t make sense logically became acceptable when the name Changwang was attached to them.

“That damn bastard.”

He had used every trick in the book to create a situation where he could capture everyone here.

Even Changwang himself probably didn’t think the Assembly could escape from that death trap. Yet, even in a situation where he could be absolutely certain, he mobilized the army to seal the border, just in case of a one-in-ten-million chance.

“…Was his calculation that one or two people might escape in the midst of a fierce battle?”

“Looks like it.”

Wiggins gave a wry smile.

They had managed to escape a little earlier than Changwang had anticipated, and unlike his expectations, they had created a distance of nearly 100km in one go.

What if large-scale teleportation hadn’t been possible?

‘We would have had to break through that armored division with bodies like rags, poisoned by chemical weapons and injured all over.’

No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.

Wiggins was once again realizing how meticulous Changwang was.

“That means he had already finished the negotiations before luring us.”

“Probably. I would have done the same.”

“…What you want to do and what you can do are different things.”

“Well, we predicted it to some extent, didn’t we?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Hyun-soo wore a bitter expression.

If Hongwang had been defeated by Changwang, the leadership of the Chinese martial world would pass to Changwang. Those who had survived by using the balance of the three kings would now have no choice but to listen to Changwang.

So, he didn’t particularly want to blame them, but…

‘Even so, the least they could do is inform us that the alliance is over.’

Lee Hyun-soo looked at the armored division moving with a cloud of dust, his face showing his displeasure.

“So…”

Bang Jin-hoon, who had been listening to their conversation, spoke with a slightly annoyed voice.

“What do we do now? I don’t care about the commentary, let’s figure out a countermeasure first.”

“…Right.”

Wiggins nodded, agreeing with Bang Jin-hoon, and turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“What will you do, Lord?”

“What are the options?”

“We can either force our way through or find a new way.”

Kang Jin-ho asked again with a nonchalant expression.

“Is there really a new way?”

“If you decide, Lord, we’ll have to desperately come up with something. I’m sorry, but I didn’t really anticipate this situation either.”

“But since the conditions have changed, we can find the best solution again. Lord…”

“Enough.”

Kang Jin-ho cut off Wiggins’ words.

“This is a race against time.”

“Yes, it is.”

“We might come up with a better method, but time will still pass. Sometimes, a quick wrong answer is better than a late right answer.”

“…Then?”

“We force our way through.”

As Kang Jin-ho spoke decisively, the eyes of the executives gleamed coldly.

“Then how do we do it secretly?”

“Secretly, my ass.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“The Changwang’s guys are already rushing like crazy. We need to crush them before their formation is complete.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked up at the rising dust cloud.

‘Is this really okay?’

They were the ones who started it.

But that didn’t mean he could calmly accept this situation. Because the ones baring their teeth there were soldiers, not martial artists.

The Assembly had fought many enemies so far, but they had never directly clashed with an army. Kang Jin-ho had fought against the US Army’s armored division in Nevada, but that was something that had happened under mutual agreement.

Fighting an army.

People usually call that war.

Was starting a war with China really a method that someone with common sense would choose?

“This is crazy.”

Lee Hyun-soo laughed.

What was even more terrifying was that there was no other option in this situation.

There were only two choices left.

Fight, or wait and die.

War or whatever, was there any way to choose the latter?

“Think later.”

The executives nodded at Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“Just be careful. When fighting soldiers, movement is key. The moment you stop, the firepower will concentrate. Don’t give them a chance to aim.”

Bator frowned.

“That seems disadvantageous for me.”

“You won’t die even if you get hit a lot, so it’s fine.”

“…I don’t know if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

Bator grinned.

Kang Jin-ho had already faced an armored division in the US, so that tip would definitely be helpful.

“Then let’s go…”

Just as Kang Jin-ho was about to move, Bator reached out and grabbed Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

Kang Jin-ho silently turned to Bator with a questioning look.

“The injured should fall back.”

Wiggins nodded at those words.

“Of course, I know that you’ll be dying inside if you can’t be at the forefront, Lord, but now is not the time for you to step forward. Conserve your strength and recover. We don’t know what variables might occur, so wasting your strength here is not a good choice.”

Jang Min also had a face of strong agreement.

“Demon Lord, your wounds are deep. Even if we escape this place, if you suffer from aftereffects due to those wounds, we will ultimately lose. Please preserve your body and plan for the future.”

“…Well, if you say so.”

“Hey, listen to what people are saying. You should at least pretend to listen when someone is talking. Why do we even have meetings if you’re just going to do what you want after everyone has talked their heads off?”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Bang Jin-hoon.

But this time, the executives were also supporting Bang Jin-hoon with faces that showed they felt relieved.

“Then…”

Thud.

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo smiled and pulled Kang Jin-ho by the shoulder.

“Come here, over here.”

“Hey, you’re telling me not to fight, but why are you so eager to fight? We’re about to get bombarded with artillery, and what am I supposed to do if you fight in front of the Lord? Just stick by my side and protect me.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes twitched.

What was even more absurd was that Cha Ikerchang, after clearing his throat, was also subtly moving next to Lee Hyun-soo and Kang Jin-ho.

“That’s right. If you have nothing to do, just protect that guy. After all, it was you, Lord, who decided to bring that useless guy along. Just make sure he doesn’t die a dog’s death.”

“…Why protect something useless?”

“Isn’t he useful when he goes home?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head at Bang Jin-hoon’s scathing words.

“Then I will…”

Kang Jin-ho tried to open his mouth to do something, but the executives had already excluded him from their sight and started planning their strategy among themselves.

“Wouldn’t it be enough to just smash them?”

“No, this is a race against time. I understand Bator’s feelings, but there’s no benefit to dragging out the time.”

“No, no. I understand what the executive is saying, but we need to consider one more thing. If we just carelessly smash through in a straight line, the remaining forces will fire artillery at our heads as we move forward. We won’t be able to avoid that.”

“Hmm, that’s definitely true. Then we need to eliminate all the long-range weapons?”

“Is there no way to deal with them in a wide area?”

“Normally, it would be possible, but we’re too battered right now…”

Wiggins scratched his head, uncharacteristically.

Then, Jang Min, who had been quietly listening to everyone’s conversation, sighed as if he was pathetic.

“You guys are so stupid.”

“…Why are you picking a fight again, old man?”

“Fire artillery from the back? That’s only if they have the presence of mind to do that.”

Jang Min put on a grim smile.

“Follow me. I’ll clear a path.”

As Jang Min stood up, the executives followed him without a word.

In any situation, except for Kang Jin-ho, there was no one who could beat Jang Min in terms of power. So, everyone instinctively understood that it was best to move with Jang Min at the center in this situation.

However…

“Is that it?”

“Is there a problem?”

Kang Jin-ho, who was watching the situation from behind, looked at Lee Hyun-soo as if he was dumbfounded.

“There was nothing that came out of the meeting. It’s just ‘we’ll take care of it’?”

“Isn’t that how our meetings usually are?”

“…Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo said nonchalantly, as if asking what was so new about it.

“Isn’t that how the Assembly’s meetings always are? We throw out all sorts of opinions, argue, and coordinate, and then the Lord says, ‘Ah, I’m going to do it this way,’ and overturns everything and just charges forward.”

“It’s just that the subject has changed a bit. It’s a very Assembly-like meeting, isn’t it?”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at the executives moving ahead.

‘Was it always this reckless?’

Why did the meetings he was involved in feel a little different?

“Well, it’s always a bit uncomfortable and absurd when you look at your own behavior objectively.”

“Reflect on yourself, reflect.”

Kang Jin-ho turned with a crooked look. Then, Lee Hyun-soo flinched and urged Kang Jin-ho.

“We, we need to catch up quickly, Lord.”

“…Okay.”

He wanted to grab him by the neck and shake him, but even Kang Jin-ho couldn’t joke around in this situation.

It was this guy who was calmly doing it who was crazy.

Kang Jin-ho followed the executives who were running ahead.