Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1701

Flames danced, casting an eerie glow.

The dark road was repeatedly illuminated and plunged into shadow.

And on that road, Wang Yan-hong, his face obscured by the darkness, stared at the burning car with a cold, unwavering gaze.

‘Sir.’

Wang Yan-hong slightly turned his head at the voice from behind.

‘Did you get him?’

‘Of course not.’

Wang Yan-hong’s eyes coldly fixed on the driver’s seat. There was no sign of a person amidst the flames engulfing the wreckage.

‘Still, he’s a big shot that the King would give special orders for. He wouldn’t go down that easily.’

‘Isn’t Lee Hyun-soo’s martial prowess insignificant?’

‘Liu Jie.’

‘Yes!’

‘Arrogance always leads to downfall. If your arrogance ruins things, you’ll have to answer to me before you answer to the King.’

The one called Liu Jie broke out in a cold sweat and bowed his head.

‘I was foolish.’

‘Hmm.’

Wang Yan-hong turned his head to one side, his expression stiff.

‘Chase him. He can’t have gone far. This is an island. There’s nowhere to run, no matter where you look. Just herd him slowly, like you’re herding a rabbit.’

‘Yes!’

There was no need for further instructions. As soon as the answer came, the King’s warriors, who had been waiting along the road, moved with lightning speed in the direction Wang Yan-hong pointed.

Wang Yan-hong alternated his gaze between them and the burning car, then lightly clenched and unclenched his fist.

‘There is no room for failure.’

Even if they all died here, they must bring back Lee Hyun-soo’s head.

Wang Yan-hong began to slowly move his feet, his face like ice.

‘Damn it!’

Lee Hyun-soo gritted his teeth and took a step.

‘Ugh…’

An excruciating pain surged from his forcibly moved ankle. Just moments ago, the blade energy that had destroyed the car had grazed his calf.

‘Why the leg of all places?’

It would have been better if one of his arms had been cut off. Then he could have escaped with a lighter body. But now, the area he was injured was his calf, and this damn injury was slowing him down terribly.

‘Get on my back!’

Lee Hyun-joo, who was supporting him, must have realized that they couldn’t continue like this, so she offered her back.

‘Quickly!’

‘……You’re a mess.’

Lee Hyun-soo frowned but obediently got on Lee Hyun-joo’s back. This was no time to worry about a man’s pride. Once you’re dead, pride means nothing.

Lee Hyun-joo, carrying Lee Hyun-soo, began to run at full speed along the mountain path.

‘Where should we go?’

‘……Wait. I’ll check now.’

Lee Hyun-soo turned on his phone while on Lee Hyun-joo’s back.

‘Light!’

‘There’s nothing I can do about it!’

Lee Hyun-soo gritted his teeth.

‘Those damn bastards.’

There was no need to wonder who the enemy was. Of course, it would be the King’s faction. The only one who would infiltrate Korea and try to take his life was the King.

‘I was careless.’

The most important person the Assembly had to protect was, without a doubt, Kang Jin-ho. And the second most important was Choi Yeon, and the third was Kang Jin-ho’s family.

Other than that, there weren’t any targets that particularly needed protection. Those who had been confronting the Assembly had always targeted Kang Jin-ho, as if it was a given.

‘That’s only natural.’

Considering the influence Kang Jin-ho had on the Assembly, there was no reason to look elsewhere.
The moment Kang Jin-ho died, the Assembly would collapse uncontrollably. Kang Jin-ho was the hand that wielded the Assembly and the pillar that supported it.

That’s where the irony arises.

Kang Jin-ho was the Assembly’s biggest weakness, but at the same time, he was the Assembly’s biggest strength. To kill Kang Jin-ho, they would have to mobilize enormous forces, but Korea was the safest country in the world, and Korea, where Kang Jin-ho resided, was completely within the Assembly’s sphere of influence.

Anyone who opposed the Assembly would not be able to take their eyes off him, but he was someone they should never target.

That was Kang Jin-ho.

‘There’s no way the King doesn’t know that.’

It was absolutely impossible to confront Kang Jin-ho with the forces that could be secretly sent to Korea. The Round Table and Japan had made the same mistake and only wasted their forces. He thought there was no way the King would do such a careless thing.

However, the one thing he missed was…

‘I don’t know whether to be happy or sad that my most terrible enemy rates me this highly.’

‘If you know, then be quiet!’

Lee Hyun-joo gritted her teeth.

She knew.

Lee Hyun-soo was also talking excessively to relieve tension in a situation where his mouth was dry. But unfortunately, Lee Hyun-joo couldn’t afford to be as relaxed as Lee Hyun-soo.

‘If they catch up, we’re done for.’

She wasn’t stupid enough not to know the opponent’s capabilities. Lee Hyun-joo was stronger than Lee Hyun-soo, but the current Lee Hyun-joo was just an ordinary warrior by the Assembly’s standards.

The Assembly’s warriors were rapidly getting stronger, but Lee Hyun-joo was out of that loop. Having felt her own limits, Lee Hyun-joo had switched to a finance position. The King’s elite warriors were strong enough that she couldn’t even dare to face them.

She wouldn’t be able to get away even if she fought alone. But fight while protecting Lee Hyun-soo?

‘I absolutely can’t hold out.’

So, she had to get away somehow before they caught up.

‘Where are we going?’

‘Forward. Just go straight forward for now!’

‘What?’

‘We have to go to the airport!’

‘Are you crazy? How many civilians are there…’

Lee Hyun-joo stopped talking and closed her mouth.

It was an absolute rule to avoid places with civilians during battles with warriors.

But if they ran away from the civilians now, they would eventually be caught and their heads would be cut off.

‘We have to buy time!’

‘What about the Assembly?’

‘I’ve already sent a message. I sent an emergency text, so they’ll send support as soon as possible. But…’

Lee Hyun-soo didn’t bother to say the rest out loud.

‘It’s too late.’

No matter how quickly they received support, it would take a long time just to get to Jeju Island and find where Lee Hyun-soo was. And that time would be enough for them to kill Lee Hyun-soo and Lee Hyun-joo.

‘Think. Think somehow, Lee Hyun-soo.’

Lee Hyun-soo desperately racked his brain. His strength was his mind, not his body. So, if he used his mind now…

That was when it happened.

Swish!

Along with an ear-splitting sound, he felt something terrifying flying from behind. In an instant, the hair on his whole body stood on end.

‘Hyun-joo!’

‘Eek!’

Lee Hyun-joo kicked off the ground and rolled her body.

Thud!

The flying dagger dug into the ground. If a person had been hit by a blade of that power, it wouldn’t have just pierced their body.

Swish!

But that wasn’t the end of it, as a series of sharp sounds followed. Lee Hyun-joo grabbed Lee Hyun-soo with one hand, kicked off the ground, and threw herself.

Thud! Thud!

The daggers were embedded in the ground up to their handles.

Lee Hyun-joo, who had barely managed to turn her body, looked back with a bewildered face.

‘Those rats are running away well.’

The King’s warriors were slowly closing the distance, just about ten meters away.

‘I ran with all my might…’

Even though she was carrying Lee Hyun-soo, she thought she could hold out for a while since there was a distance between them at the beginning. But the fact that they had caught up so quickly meant that their martial prowess was better than Lee Hyun-joo had expected.

‘Hah…’

Lee Hyun-joo took a deep breath and stood up.

‘It seems like Korean guys don’t have any pride? I can’t imagine running away on a woman’s back.’

‘You all lived on your mom’s back when you were kids, you morons.’

‘So, that woman must be your mom.’

‘She’s scarier than my mom.’

Lee Hyun-soo grabbed his calf, which was deeply cut and showed the bone, and stood up.

‘Ha… life.’

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

He thought that a day like this would come someday as long as he lived in this world. So, there was nothing to be particularly upset about. Considering all the people he had killed so far, Lee Hyun-soo was someone who couldn’t complain even if he died a thousand times.

‘I thought the day I died would come someday, but I didn’t think I’d be taken down by punks like you.’

‘Don’t worry. We’ll consider it an honor. Being able to kill the second-in-command of the Assembly is definitely an honorable thing.’

Lee Hyun-soo stuck out his tongue and licked his lips.

‘If possible…’

‘That’s enough.’

The man at the front held out his hand and stopped Lee Hyun-soo’s words.

‘It won’t change anything even if you buy time, but there’s someone who will get angry if we play around with you here. You should just die.’

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip.

He tried to buy as much time as possible, but as expected of the King’s subordinates, they were not easy to deal with. They wouldn’t let themselves be led by his pace.

Then how…

‘Go.’

‘……What?’

‘I’ll try to hold them off somehow, so go.’

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Lee Hyun-joo with a dumbfounded face.

‘……What are you going to do? It’s obvious that…’

‘I know, I know I’m no match for them. But if we’re both here, we’ll both die!’

‘Go! Don’t waste time!’

Lee Hyun-joo bit her lip tightly.

‘No, usually at times like this…’

‘Stop talking nonsense and go quickly! Even a three-year-old would know who should live!’

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes wavered.

‘And don’t look down on people. I’m Lee Joong-gul’s granddaughter. I won’t die to punks like them.’

Lee Hyun-joo took a step forward and took a stance.

‘Go.’

‘Hyun-joo!’

‘Go, you idiot!’

Lee Hyun-joo yelled.

‘There’s someone who can replace me.’

It wouldn’t be easy, but her role could be replaced by someone else. But not Lee Hyun-soo. There was no one in the Assembly who could replace him.

For the sake of the Assembly, and for everyone, Lee Hyun-soo had to live.

‘Well, well.’

The King’s warrior at the front had a sneer on his face.

‘Putting aside how pathetic it looks, it seems like you’re looking down on us too much. You think you can stop us?’

As if there was no more time to waste, the King’s warrior pointed his chin at the two of them.

‘Kill them before the aide arrives.’

‘Yes!’

At that word, the King’s warriors spread out to the left and right and began to surround the two of them.

‘What are you doing? I told you to go!’

‘……No, Hyun-joo. Realistically, how are you going to stop those ten people?’

‘I’ll do it somehow…’

‘That’s not what I mean. Even if you grab the pants of five of them, the other five will still come after me. Then you’ll die the moment you turn your back.’

Lee Hyun-soo smiled bitterly.

If he hadn’t injured his leg, he might have hoped for some luck, but what couldn’t be done, couldn’t be done.

‘It’s better to fight and buy time.’

Lee Hyun-joo turned her head and looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

The moment she saw his cold, calm eyes, Lee Hyun-joo sighed.

‘He’s really a hopeless person.’

But his eyes were not dead.

It wasn’t that he was giving up, but that this was the most certain method.

Even if the possibility was at a hopeless level.

‘……It’s not because you don’t want to run away, is it?’

‘Let’s just say that.’

‘……What am I doing with this guy.’

Lee Hyun-joo shook her head and clenched her fists.

‘I have to hold out somehow.’

Whether she grabbed their pants or bit them with her teeth if her hands were cut off, she had to save Lee Hyun-soo. She didn’t expect to win. If she held out and held out, Kang Jin-ho would surely come.

If only that happened…

At that moment, the King’s warriors who had surrounded them rushed in all at once without a single shout.

‘Haaap!’

Lee Hyun-joo gritted her teeth and met the rushing warriors.

The blades that flew collided with her fists.

And at that moment, the energy surrounding her hands shattered like glass, unable to withstand the flying blades.

‘Ah!’

Lee Hyun-joo’s eyes widened.

Swoosh!

The blade pierced halfway through her fist and got stuck.

A terrible pain that made the pores of her whole body stand on end was felt, but Lee Hyun-joo gritted her teeth and kicked away the person who was flying at her.

Bang!

The man was thrown back faster than he had rushed in.

But that was only one person she pushed away!

The remaining nine blades flew towards Lee Hyun-joo’s whole body at once.

‘Hyun-joo!’

At the very moment Lee Hyun-soo’s desperate scream burst out.

Kwaaaang!

Along with a huge explosion, the nine blades that seemed like they would pierce Lee Hyun-joo’s body were all thrown back at the same time.

‘Aaaah!’

Lee Hyun-joo, unable to withstand the impact of that enormous force, rolled on the ground.

Lee Hyun-joo, who had been thrown to the ground almost as if she had been slammed, barely managed to stop her body. Then, without even thinking of getting up, she lifted her head to check the situation.

‘Who?’

A large back came into her view.

‘Chairman… Ah, no.’

The man who was blocking Lee Hyun-joo didn’t even turn his head and opened his mouth.

‘If Master had seen this, he would have lamented.’

‘You…?’

Lee Hyun-joo’s eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe it.

A very familiar voice, but now a very unfamiliar voice.

‘Lee, Lee Sung-hwi?’

Lee Joong-gul’s disciple, and her senior brother.

Lee Sung-hwi, who had left the Assembly to oppose Kang Jin-ho, had appeared at this place and was helping her.

‘And I even warned you to be careful of the King, where did you sell your former intelligence?’