Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1706

“That was a close call.”

Bang Jin-hoon exhaled, his face pale.

‘It wasn’t a joke; we really almost messed up.’

If Kang Jin-ho hadn’t realized the situation and rushed to Jeju Island, Lee Hyun-soo would be a corpse returning to the Assembly right now.

No, maybe they wouldn’t have even found his body.

‘An Assembly without Lee Hyun-soo.’

It had become so natural for Lee Hyun-soo to run the Assembly that it was unimaginable without him.

The Assembly was on the verge of collapsing just from Lee Hyun-soo being gone for a few days. If he had died, who would have handled the aftermath?

“Certainly, Chang Wang is a madman… but…”

Bang Jin-hoon trailed off.

His ability to exploit an opponent’s weaknesses was truly unmatched.

“Fundamentally…”

Bator stroked his chin and said,

“This is our fault.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s eyes widened as he looked at Bator.

“Ours?”

“Yes.”

Bator clicked his tongue.

“The Lord can’t be expected to handle every little thing. This is something our board of directors should have dealt with.”

“No, originally this was Lee Hyun’s…”

Bang Jin-hoon stopped talking.

While Lee Hyun-soo was in charge of arranging the guards, even if he was shameless, he couldn’t surround himself with a cloud of guards.

Besides…

‘He probably didn’t even realize he should.’

Who was the most dismissive of Lee Hyun-soo in the Assembly?

Bang Jin-hoon, or Wiggins?

Not at all.

The person who looked down on Lee Hyun-soo the most was none other than Lee Hyun-soo himself.

‘It’s ridiculous, isn’t it?’

Having been scorned as a half-blood his whole life, he seemed to have come to evaluate himself that way.

“If Lee Hyun-soo can’t reinforce his own security, we, who can give him orders, should have assessed the situation and assigned guards. This is clearly our mistake.”

Bang Jin-hoon clicked his tongue.

“Well, one should take care of their own body…”

“Tsk.”

As soon as he awkwardly added a word, Jang Min clicked his tongue loudly.

“If a man is wrong, he should admit it and reflect on it!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

Bang Jin-hoon’s problem was that his words were always long and full of complaints.

Jang Min clicked his tongue repeatedly, as if he didn’t like Bang Jin-hoon’s attitude.

“That guy is right. It’s our fault for not doing our jobs under the excuse of being busy. If Lee Hyun-soo had died because of this, how heartbroken would the Demon Lord have been!”

“Ugh, right.”

It was horrible to even imagine.

Lee Hyun-soo’s death was terrifying, but thinking about how Kang Jin-ho’s eyes would have turned… he felt like going to Lee Sung-hwi’s grave and banging his head.

“Probably, all the Assembly members wouldn’t have been able to breathe for about half a year.”

“That would be a relief. If it were the Demon Lord, he would have invaded China right away.”

“…It’s better to hold our breath.”

Bang Jin-hoon shook his head.

Anyway, this was truly a stroke of luck.

If the government had been a little slower to notice, or if Kang Jin-ho had delayed even a little, or if Lee Sung-hwi hadn’t bought them time, it wouldn’t have been Lee Sung-hwi buried in that grave, but Lee Hyun-soo.

‘Who knows.’

Kang Jin-ho thought that wouldn’t happen, but if things had gone to the extreme, Kang Jin-ho might have taken a few heads himself to hold them accountable.

Kang Jin-ho’s obsession with his people was beyond imagination.

“Anyway…”

Wiggins summarized the situation.

“We must not let the lessons learned from this incident be in vain. We need to immediately reinforce Lee Hyun-soo’s security and limit his movements to some extent.”

“…How about building him a house inside the Assembly?”

“There’s a dormitory, isn’t there?”

“That’s also not safe.”

It was said that you only realize the value of something after you lose it.

The directors had said that Lee Hyun-soo was an important asset, but they were also martial artists, so they had a subtle condescending view of Lee Hyun-soo, who was extremely weak in martial arts.

However, after this incident, the directors had no choice but to come to their senses. If Lee Hyun-soo disappeared right now, there was no one in the Assembly who could replace his role.

“We must use every means available to protect Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Agreed.”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed deeply.

“What are you complaining about now?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Bang Jin-hoon scratched his head.

“We say Lee Hyun-soo is important, but we didn’t really think about protecting him, and that Chang Wang bastard took advantage of that gap and almost killed him, didn’t he?”

“So?”

“…Saying that we can see better from the outside is just an excuse. I just think my eyes were dog eyes.”

“Ahem.”

The directors’ faces turned slightly red at Bang Jin-hoon’s honest answer.

“…So, where is that Lee Hyun-soo?”

“He’s probably taking care of Lee Sung-hwi’s affairs. He’s probably at the grave?”

“In that dangerous place!”

“The Lord went with him.”

“Ah, then…”

Bang Jin-hoon, who had answered, wore a complex expression.

‘Lee Sung-hwi, Lee Sung-hwi…’

For the people here, it wasn’t a name that would evoke much emotion. Most of them would have only heard the name, and at most, they would have only seen him briefly during the naval battle with Japan in the past.

But Bang Jin-hoon was different.

He had clashed with Lee Sung-hwi several times while opposing Lee Joong-gul.

At that time, Lee Sung-hwi was a person who shone brightly.

Unlike his master, Lee Joong-gul, he was unblemished, and his talent was also brilliant.

That was why Lee Joong-gul had tried to make him his successor and pass on the Assembly to him.

“…Fool.”

If he had made a better choice, he might have been in this position now.

Bang Jin-hoon sighed deeply.

Neither Bang Jin-hoon nor Lee Joong-gul, who died at the hands of Kang Jin-ho, would have wanted this outcome.

Suppressing the unavoidable bitterness, Bang Jin-hoon opened his mouth.

“We won’t live for a thousand or ten thousand years, and someday the young ones will lead the Assembly.”

“Hmm.”

“The Lord doesn’t seem to have much attachment to that position, and if Lee Hyun-soo has no one to play with, he’ll probably just raise kids. If we defeat Chang Wang and even the Black King, eventually those two will step down from the front lines.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Jang Min frowned.

“Originally, the leader and the emperor do not stand on the front lines. The subordinates do the work. You should be ashamed of the situation where that person has to step forward.”

“Damn it, you’re talking about the Yuan Dynasty [a historical Chinese dynasty].”

“…Shouldn’t you be happy about that?”

“…Huh?”

Bator tilted his head, wondering, ‘Is that so?’

Bang Jin-hoon, who had heard their conversation, shook his head and continued.

“Anyway, please pay attention to nurturing the disciples in the future. If you only pursue strength, you’ll end up like Lee Sung-hwi.”

“Even if it’s not the right way, please make sure they don’t make extreme choices. I’m asking you.”

At Bang Jin-hoon’s words, everyone nodded.

Strictly speaking, it was a slightly different story, but in fact, the disciples that the directors were raising were originally supposed to learn martial arts under Bang Jin-hoon.

So, Bang Jin-hoon had the right to say these words.

“That’s a good point, but it’s too far off. First, we need to figure out what to do with that Chang Wang.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And perhaps…”

Wiggins stroked his chin and said,

“It seems the Lord has made up his mind. Something will probably start again soon.”

“Ahem.”

“Hmm.”

Everyone groaned.

Of course, this was natural. If they had no intention of bowing their heads to Chang Wang, they couldn’t just pretend nothing happened after being beaten like this.

To avoid being underestimated, they had to strike back at the opponent.

But the problem was that they didn’t have a good way to hit Chang Wang right now. The side that needed to be reorganized was rather the Assembly, or more precisely, the Hong King faction.

“What’s the plan?”

“…That’s not for us to decide. The Lord is probably thinking about it.”

“With Lee Hyun-soo too?”

“Probably.”

Bator chuckled.

“How the Lord will retaliate depends on how angry he is. Chang Wang pretends to be smart, but he’s not that smart. If it were me, I wouldn’t touch the Lord.”

“Isn’t it an irreversible relationship already?”

“That doesn’t mean you have to die quickly, does it?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Bang Jin-hoon turned his head, his eyes slightly sunken.

It was raining outside the window.

“Hey, how pathetic.”

Bang Jin-hoon said mockingly and then let out a deep sigh.

* * *

Three people dressed in black were looking at a fully prepared grave.

Kang Jin-ho, Lee Hyun-soo, and Lee Hyun-joo.

“My, how heartless.”

Lee Hyun-soo said bitterly.

“It wouldn’t be that hard to stop by for a moment. It’s not like we didn’t contact them.”

Lee Joong-gul’s faction had been completely wiped out. But those who were purged at that time were the elders, and the young martial artists who were close to Lee Sung-hwi as part of Lee Joong-gul’s faction were still living in the Assembly.

Nevertheless, no one could be found here.

The number of people who visited the mortuary over the past few days could be counted on one hand.

At most, Bang Jin-hoon had visited with his disciples. Other than that, the few who came didn’t stay long and left the mortuary.

“Should I not have come?”

“No.”

Lee Hyun-joo said firmly at Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“If the Lord hadn’t come, those people wouldn’t have come either. It’s only because the Lord is here that they feel less pressured to visit.”

“…Is that so?”

“It’s just karma. The karma that fool committed.”

Although she said that, Lee Hyun-joo’s eyes were still bitterly sunken.

Click.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had lit a cigarette, inhaled the smoke and looked at Lee Sung-hwi’s grave.

“He’s buried next to his master… he shouldn’t have any regrets.”

“That’s right. They were very close when they were alive.”

He didn’t have anyone he could call parents, and he didn’t have anyone he could call family. For Lee Sung-hwi, Lee Joong-gul and Lee Hyun-joo were his relatives and family.

“This is enough.”

“He always used to say that it was important for a martial artist to find a good place to die. So, he won’t have any regrets. There wouldn’t have been a more suitable place for him.”

Lee Hyun-joo quietly looked at Lee Sung-hwi’s grave before turning her head first.

“I’m leaving.”

Then, without waiting for an answer, she walked away.

It seemed like she couldn’t bear to look any longer.

Knowing her feelings, the two didn’t blame Lee Hyun-joo.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

As Kang Jin-ho also turned his body, Lee Hyun-soo took a step.

Then, as if something was still bothering him, Lee Hyun-soo turned his head again and approached the grave at a slow pace.

Click.

Lee Hyun-soo, who had lit a new cigarette, placed the cigarette pack in front of the grave and put the lit cigarette on top of it.

Lee Hyun-soo, who was using his umbrella to shield the cigarette from the rain, looked at the grave while getting rained on.