Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1704

‘D-Demon King!’

Wang Yan-hong’s entire body stiffened like a herbivore encountering a predator.

‘H-how?’

Even if they had realized their presence as quickly as possible, it was impossible for the Demon King to arrive here in such a short time. Wang Yan-hong wasn’t one to miscalculate something like that.

If there had been even the slightest possibility, Wang Yan-hong would have killed Lee Sung-hwi in an instant and taken Lee Hyun-soo’s head, even if it meant getting injured.

But his thoughts didn’t go any further.

From the moment he sensed the Demon King’s presence, his mind went completely blank.

‘Escape?’

That was absurd.

The opponent was a powerhouse who could engage in a life-or-death battle with the Sword King. No, to be blunt, he was an absolute powerhouse that even the Sword King would have to concede a step to.

And he was supposed to run away from someone like that?

The moment he put strength into his toes, his head would be severed. Then, at least he could see his own headless body before he died.

Resistance, escape.

Neither was possible.

An absolute powerhouse was someone who took away the choices of others.

“I asked you something, didn’t I?”

Kang Jin-ho’s voice pierced Wang Yan-hong’s ears like a devil’s whisper.

“How do you want to die?”

Kang Jin-ho slowly began to walk towards Wang Yan-hong. Kang Jin-ho’s feet, emerging from the darkness, stepped onto the moonlit ground. As if a spotlight was shining on him, Wang Yan-hong held his breath as Kang Jin-ho’s figure slowly revealed itself from below.

A blank face.

But that was why he could tell how furious Kang Jin-ho was right now.

What could a rabbit do when faced with an enraged lion, with no way to escape?

“Guh… Hh…”

Suppressed groans leaked from Wang Yan-hong’s subordinates.

It was ironic.

Wang Yan-hong, who was incomparably stronger than them, couldn’t even breathe because of Kang Jin-ho’s presence, yet they were at least able to let out such groans.

“H-Haa…”

Wang Yan-hong’s subordinates, terrified by the sight of Kang Jin-ho, trembled and began to back away.

Kang Jin-ho’s cold gaze turned towards them.

Barely three meters.

For a master like Wang Yan-hong, such a distance was practically non-existent. The moment he decided to swing his sword, his opponent would have to offer their neck.

But Kang Jin-ho entered his range without any defense, looking away from him and towards his subordinates.

Even so, Wang Yan-hong couldn’t move.

It was as if his entire body was glued in place; he couldn’t even twitch a finger. He knew that the moment he willed his body to move, his head would be severed and roll on the ground.

No, that would be fortunate.

That demon probably had no intention of giving him an easy death.

“R-run…”

Swish!

A chilling sound echoed.

At the same time, the heads of the Sword King’s warriors soared into the air.

Wang Yan-hong’s body convulsed uncontrollably.

‘What the hell is that…?’

His eyes widened.

Killing them all with one strike?

That wasn’t particularly impressive. Wang Yan-hong could also do it if he pushed himself a little, and the Sword King could do it without much difficulty.

But this was different.

Some of his subordinates had frozen in place, some had turned to run, and some, half-crazed, had even tried to charge at Kang Jin-ho.

The necks of those in various stances were all severed at the same moment.

How could he attack so many people’s identical spots at the same time? It was beyond Wang Yan-hong’s comprehension.

Thud, thud, thud.

The severed heads fell to the ground like toys…

Thump, thump.

The bodies, now headless, collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

In a single moment, over a dozen lives were extinguished, but no one here found it strange.

It was too obvious.

“Tell me.”

Kang Jin-ho strode towards Wang Yan-hong.

“How should I kill you?”

The color completely drained from Wang Yan-hong’s face.

That was when it happened.

“You mustn’t kill him, Lord.”

A voice from behind Kang Jin-ho stopped him.

“That guy is in a relatively high position in the Sword King’s faction. I understand your feelings, but rather than killing him, we should keep him alive and extract information.”

Kang Jin-ho turned to look at Wiggins, slightly displeased. Wiggins flinched at the cold gaze, but he didn’t take back his words.

“And killing him in one go wouldn’t be enough to vent your anger.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head back to Wang Yan-hong.

Wang Yan-hong gritted his teeth, feeling his soul grow cold.

“Information…”

Kang Jin-ho grinned, revealing his teeth.

“What do you think?”

“Do you think you know enough information to save yourself?”

Wang Yan-hong’s eyes shook.

‘No, no.’

If this continued, he would be captured by them, tortured like hell, and eventually disposed of. That was a fate worse than death.

Wang Yan-hong, having made up his mind, gritted his teeth.

At the same time, his face began to turn black.

“Y-you… you won’t get… anything from me…”

“Hmm?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Wang Yan-hong with an intrigued expression.

“Poison?”

“T-the Sword King… specially… m-my…”

Black blood flowed back up Wang Yan-hong’s throat. But his expression, as he coughed up blood, looked rather peaceful.

It was a hundred times more comfortable to escape through death than to face this demon.

But…

“How old-fashioned.”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up.

What kind of era was it to use a method that was only used in the old Central Plains [ancient China]? Of course, it wouldn’t be a low-grade poison like in the past, but the idea itself was disappointing.

“And…”

Thump.

Kang Jin-ho reached out and grabbed Wang Yan-hong’s neck.

“You underestimate me too much.”

Crack.

With a sound that didn’t seem natural for the human body, as if something was being severed, Kang Jin-ho’s fingers pierced through Wang Yan-hong’s neck.

At the same time, Wang Yan-hong felt a strange energy surge into his body.

And at the same time…

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

An unprecedented, absurd pain began to shake him. It felt as if his entire body was being torn apart, and an unquenchable fire was burning inside him.

“Huu! Haa, hu… Ugh!”

His entire body convulsed, and his eyes, under excessive pressure, spurted blood. But the hand gripping his neck showed no sign of loosening.

Kang Jin-ho stared at the struggling Wang Yan-hong with a blank face and pulled out the fingers he had stabbed into his neck.

Swoosh!

Black blood gushed out like a fountain.

As the fiercely gushing black blood began to turn crimson, Kang Jin-ho stabbed his fingers into Wang Yan-hong’s neck again.

“You thought you could….”

Kang Jin-ho grinned, revealing his teeth.

“Escape from me with something like this?”

“H-Haa… Ugh…”

Wang Yan-hong’s eyes were filled with despair.

He could feel it.

The energy of the poison he had swallowed was now completely leaving his body.

‘Not even the person himself, but the poison inside someone else’s body….’

‘He can extract it so quickly?’

Nothing made sense.

Just as Wang Yan-hong was losing his mind to despair, fear, and those uncontrollable, intense emotions…

“Look at me.”

“Look at me.”

Wang Yan-hong’s bloodshot eyes stared at Kang Jin-ho.

He saw a fantastical sight in his eyes.

A deep darkness that seemed to cover the entire world.

In the darkness, so black that it didn’t even feel black, a thick, blood-like red light flickered.

“Look at me.”

A sharp, rough voice, like scraping metal, pierced Wang Yan-hong’s ears.

‘I, I am…’

Something was distorting.

Wang Yan-hong himself couldn’t tell exactly what it was. But at that moment, Wang Yan-hong clearly felt that something inside him was definitely twisting.

The terrible pain felt in his body distorted his mind, and something burrowed into that distorted mind.

And then…

Thump.

Wang Yan-hong, with a questioning look, lifted his head, trembling.

He was alive.

He wasn’t dead.

Even his mind was clear.

Then what the hell had happened?

Kang Jin-ho, who had been silently staring at Wang Yan-hong with cold eyes, gave a sly smile.

“I’ll talk to you separately. I think we’ll have a lot to talk about.”

Then, Kang Jin-ho turned his head away from Wang Yan-hong and began to walk towards where Lee Hyun-soo and the others were.

‘What…?’

Wang Yan-hong, even more bewildered, turned to look at Kang Jin-ho.

He was just leaving him like this?

Just in case, he tried to gather the energy within his body, but his inner power hadn’t disappeared.

‘He’s leaving me?’

Was he telling him to run away? Because he could catch him anytime?

‘Foolish.’

Wang Yan-hong had tried to die by his own hand. Even if he was beheaded while running away, it would just be achieving the result he wanted.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wang Yan-hong tried to leap away.

But.

Thump.

Wang Yan-hong’s eyes widened as he looked at his legs.

‘They won’t move?’

No, that couldn’t be.

In fact, even at this moment, his legs were moving as he willed them to.

Wang Yan-hong, having put strength into his legs several times to confirm, gritted his teeth and tried to leap away again.

But.

Thump.

At that moment, his legs wouldn’t move again.

“What…”

It wasn’t just his legs.

He tried to crawl away, but the moment he thought of moving away from Kang Jin-ho, his arms wouldn’t move. He tried to bite the ground, but this time his mouth wouldn’t open.

‘N-no way.’

His body wouldn’t allow any action to move away from Kang Jin-ho. He couldn’t understand how such a thing was possible, even as he was experiencing it.

And at the same time, an indescribable fear washed over him.

He couldn’t escape.

He couldn’t escape from that demon.

He couldn’t end his own life, he couldn’t run away, and he couldn’t resist.

Wang Yan-hong, who couldn’t not know what that meant, slammed his head on the ground and screamed.

“H-Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Shut up.”

“Ugh…”

The moment Kang Jin-ho muttered lowly, not even a voice could escape anymore.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you scream until your throat is raw. If not now, then later.”

Those were the last words Wang Yan-hong heard before losing consciousness.

Thump.

Kang Jin-ho, having taken his eyes off Wang Yan-hong, walked towards Lee Hyun-soo and the others with a hardened face.

His eyes caught sight of Lee Sung-hwi, who was being held in Lee Hyun-joo’s arms, with both arms and one leg severed.

“…Lee Sung-hwi.”

“…K-Kang… Kang Jin… Kang Jin-ho…”

Lee Sung-hwi, struggling to speak while spitting up phlegm, gestured towards Kang Jin-ho. His trembling hand waved in the air as if telling him to come closer.

Kang Jin-ho silently approached him and lowered his posture.

And at that moment.

Thwack.

Lee Sung-hwi’s arm, without a wrist, swung and struck Kang Jin-ho’s face. It was an attack that didn’t feel like it had any strength, but the arm definitely reached Kang Jin-ho’s face.

“Got… got one in…”

“…Yeah.”

Lee Sung-hwi’s blood-soaked lips formed a faint smile.