Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1710

“Lee Hyun-soo?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back in his chair.

A strange glint flickered in his eyes as he looked at Bang Jin-hoon.

“…It’s not like I’m reporting it. Shouldn’t I report it?”

“Who said anything?”

“Your eyes just looked weird!”

“No, they didn’t.”

Kang Jin-ho subtly averted his gaze. Everyone’s become so quick to notice things. Bang Jin-hoon continued, his eyes full of discontent.

“It’s a report, a report!”

“…Ah, okay, I got it.”

Kang Jin-ho was slightly subdued by Bang Jin-hoon’s energy.

Bang Jin-hoon continued in a serious tone.

“When a person becomes too emotional, they tend to cause accidents. What was great about Lee Hyun-soo was that he maintained a razor-sharp rationality in any situation, but the way Lee Hyun-soo acted this time wasn’t like his usual self.”

“…You know Lee Hyun-soo very well.”

Bang Jin-hoon chuckled and said,

“There was a time when my greatest wish was to catch that bastard and rip his head off. Of course, I know him well.”

Bang Jin-hoon was speaking very scary words with a calm face.

“Anyway, we need to manage him.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

Kang Jin-ho, who took the cigarette out of his mouth and tapped off the ash, opened his mouth with a slightly subtle look on his face.

“It wouldn’t be easy to maintain composure. He’s been through a lot.”

He almost had his head chopped off.

Of course, martial artists basically live half-dead lives, but what Lee Hyun-soo experienced this time was something that would leave a trauma even for most martial artists.

Besides…

“First of all, he can’t stand the fact that he was hit in his weak spot.”

The fact that Changwang’s attack came at a time Lee Hyun-soo didn’t expect was undeniable proof that Lee Hyun-soo was losing the battle of wits to Changwang.

There was no need to think about how much Lee Hyun-soo’s pride was hurt by this.

“But that doesn’t mean he should act recklessly.”

“Act recklessly?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Bang Jin-hoon with a sullen face.

“Well, I don’t think Lee Hyun-soo is the type to do that.”

“…But that’s what’s happening. The guys are waiting outside, and beating people to a pulp is not a normal judgment.”

“But you know…”

“…Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Lee Hyun-soo was always like that.”

Bang Jin-hoon tried to object but closed his mouth.

“You said it yourself, Director Bang. You used to wish you could rip Lee Hyun-soo’s head off. Why? Because Lee Hyun-soo tricked you? Or was he just annoying because he was too good at scheming?”

“No. It wasn’t like that.”

Because he was so cruel.

It was to avenge the disciples of the General Assembly who had died at the hands of Lee Hyun-soo.

“Our dog always looks docile.”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged his shoulders.

“I always say this, but people don’t change that easily. Their actions and tendencies may change, but their core doesn’t go anywhere.”

“Including Lee Hyun-soo?”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“If a dog that bites people suddenly stops biting, it’s either because it’s been trained to suppress it, or because it’s afraid of punishment. The fundamental nature of biting people doesn’t go anywhere. Those kinds of guys will bite people again if they get a little lax.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“It’s the same with Lee Hyun-soo. If Lee Hyun-soo has seemed out of it until now, it’s probably because he didn’t need to be so ruthless. But now he needs to be again.”

“Because of Changwang?”

“Yeah.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Bang Jin-hoon with a strange look.

“Did you say that if the means are twisted, the results will be twisted?”

“…Yes.”

“That’s not wrong. But, you know, whether you want the right result even if you can’t get it, or whether you want to get the result no matter how twisted it is, is a matter of choice for that person.”

Bang Jin-hoon sighed at Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“I don’t want to be righteous. But we need to avoid situations where we win but it’s no different from losing.”

“That’s your choice, Director Bang.”

Kang Jin-ho said, tilting his head slightly.

“I don’t know which side is right either. It’s a personal choice. I fully understand why Director Bang is dissatisfied with that method. But I’m not going to say that Lee Hyun-soo’s method is wrong.”

“However…”

Kang Jin-ho stubbed out the cigarette he had in his mouth in the ashtray.

“Since Lee Hyun-soo might be emotional, I’ll accept that we should check on his condition.”

“No. There’s no need for that.”

At that moment, the door opened and Lee Hyun-soo came in. Lee Hyun-soo, who bowed to Kang Jin-ho and Bang Jin-hoon, shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“Believe it or not, I’m completely sane.”

Bang Jin-hoon frowned, but the words came from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

“I’ve never seen a crazy person say they’re crazy.”

“That’s a valid point.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled and sat down across from Bang Jin-hoon.

“I know what Director Bang is worried about, but I’m really sane. It’s just that…”

“Just?”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Bang Jin-hoon and put on a subtle smile.

“It’s just that I haven’t used this method since I came to the General Assembly. To explain it more simply…”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes curved into a smile.

“I think it’s because you’re a little unfamiliar with the way I worked in Yeongnam [a region in southeastern Korea].”

“…Is that a matter of being unfamiliar, you crazy bastard?”

“Please calm down. I’ll die if you swing that fist.”

“…I think he’s sane.”

Bang Jin-hoon covered his head.

He just couldn’t connect with this bastard. If he did that while sane, wouldn’t that be more of a problem?

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

He’s ruthless…

That’s definitely not a good thing. Even if Kang Jin-ho is a piece of human trash with an ambiguous sense of good and evil, how could he not know that?

But he didn’t feel like blaming Lee Hyun-soo for that. In the first place, Kang Jin-ho was not qualified to blame him for that.

“So, did you find anything out?”

Lee Hyun-soo quietly nodded.

“I still need to do some more verification, but I’ve grasped their approximate strength and some information about Changwang. There’s nothing particularly interesting, but it will be helpful.”

“That’s a relief.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

He managed to block it, but it felt like he had been punched in the jaw. If he hadn’t even been able to extract information, he would have been too angry to control himself.

“You didn’t barge into the Lord’s office to report that you found information, did you?”

“I opened the door with my hand. Please don’t keep adding charges one by one.”

“Anyway.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and opened his mouth.

“I think we need to strike first.”

“…Huh?”

“While analyzing the information, I thought that if we let this guy move freely, we won’t be able to handle him.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his cheek.

“I don’t want to admit it, but Changwang is similar to my type.”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Bang Jin-hoon and said with an annoyed face.

“Ah, I haven’t finished talking yet. Don’t look at me like that. I know I can’t compare to Changwang.”

“Who said anything?”

“You’re saying it with your eyes!”

“…You’re like a shaman, you know everything.”

Lee Hyun-soo opened his mouth with a face that said, ‘If only I had the strength, I would have punched him.’

“If that guy is similar to me, then I have to do what I hate the most. Basically, what guys who use their brains hate the most is one thing. That is, something happening that I didn’t expect.”

Lee Hyun-soo took a slight deep breath and continued.

“There are several types of that. Attacking when preparations are not complete, attacking from an unexpected point, and pushing in with a force that exceeds the predicted strength.”

Lee Hyun-soo slightly stroked his chin. As if to express that his mind was working at full speed.

“The third one is something that guy has experienced once. Then we have to use the remaining two. That guy will definitely think we’ll cower.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“Because it’s obvious that fighting in Korea is advantageous.”

Bang Jin-hoon and Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Just look at this incident. If I had encountered those guys in China, I would be buried underground with dirt in my eyes by now. Even though it’s Jeju Island, it’s still Korea, so I’m still alive.”

“That’s right.”

“It’s the same with other things. If we fight in Korea, we can get at least 30% more efficiency. He wouldn’t think we would give up this advantage and attack China again.”

Bang Jin-hoon stared at Lee Hyun-soo with a blank look.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“That, while it sounds good, if you turn it around, it’s no different from saying you’re giving up all the advantages you have just to backstab him, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Are you crazy?”

Bang Jin-hoon looked at Lee Hyun-soo as if he was dumbfounded.

“Hey, I may not be as smart as you, but I know what strategy is. Strategy is about using your advantages to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses. What kind of crazy person would give up their advantages to catch them off guard?”

“We can’t win that way.”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo said with a stern face.

“Changwang is a monster. If we let the game go the way he wants, we can’t win no matter what we do. The only point where we are ahead of Changwang is the Lord’s power. But we’ve already used that once.”

“Maybe that bastard will somehow find a way to deal with the Lord even if he becomes twice as strong next time. Then we’ll just be swept away like fallen leaves.”

Lee Hyun-soo gritted his teeth.

“There’s only one way. To overturn the game itself. To create a game that that bastard can’t even imagine, and sweep him away without giving him a chance to use his brain.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s sharp gaze was fixed on Kang Jin-ho.

“Lord, make a decision.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

“Everyone asks too much of me.”

But unlike his words, Kang Jin-ho’s actions were quick.

“Summon all the directors.”

“…Yes.”

As Bang Jin-hoon got up from his seat, Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with slightly lowered eyes.

“You’re not saying we’re just going to charge in without a plan, are you?”

“Of course not.”

Lee Hyun-soo must have made his own plan. That’s the kind of guy he is.

What remained was whether Kang Jin-ho could trust Lee Hyun-soo’s plan and gamble with the lives of everyone in the General Assembly with a do-or-die mentality.

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

“You’ve brought something really crazy.”

“That’s what I have to do.”

“Don’t be cocky. If the other directors don’t approve, I won’t approve either. It’s your job to persuade them.”

“Lord.”

“Yeah?”

“You’ve started saying obvious things so obviously. You didn’t used to be like that.”

You’re as cocky as ever, whether it’s the past or now.

You damn bastard.