Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1738

Lights began to illuminate the darkened runway.

The lights, which had been turning on in pairs, gradually increased in speed, soon drawing two distinct lines in the darkness.

“Watch out!”

Harsh curses and shouts echoed across the vast runway. But the shouts were quickly drowned out by the fierce roar of the engines.

‘What a mess.’

Reynolds watched the fighter jets gathered behind the runway, a hint of excitement in his eyes. He was a seasoned veteran, but this was the first time he had witnessed such a sight.

It was chaotic.

Launching fighter jets through this darkness was more complicated than he had imagined. But they had to endure the hassle now.

“Undersecretary, we’re ready!”

“What about the other bases?”

“Reports have come in that the other bases are also ready. We can launch immediately once the order is given!”

“Tell them to stand by!”

“Yes!”

Reynolds looked west with a slightly anxious gaze.

He didn’t necessarily need to be at the scene, but the gravity of the situation wouldn’t allow him to sit still.

The person who should be in command here was also absent.

Reynolds clenched and unclenched his fist without realizing it. His pale palm was damp with sweat.

‘If things go even slightly wrong, it’s over.’

The United States might be fine, but Reynolds would certainly not be. At the very least, he would be dismissed and pensioned off. If the situation worsened, he could be eliminated entirely.

But Reynolds had no intention of backing out.

This was something he had to face sooner or later. And having come this far, there could be no half-measures. He would pour everything he had into ensuring the General Assembly won.

“So, this is what ‘being in the same boat’ means.”

Having already boarded, there was no getting off. They could either sail to their destination or be shipwrecked and sink into the sea together.

Reynolds pulled his phone out of his pocket.

His face hardened as he saw the name on the screen.

“This is Reynolds.”

[What’s the situation?]

“We’ve completed preparations and are waiting for the launch order.”

[As you know, this isn’t a simple matter. If I could, I’d stop you right now.]

“You can’t gain anything without taking risks.”

[I agree with that. But you must also know that you’re not the only one taking the risk.]

“Of course.”

[I wish you luck. The country will support you as much as possible. Of course, that support will only last as long as it’s deemed effective.]

“Thank you.”

The call ended without a reply.

Reynolds wiped the cold sweat from his brow and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

“As long as it’s effective, huh…”

Of course, they would.

That’s how countries are. They try to get the most results with the least amount of cost.

They would support him just enough to cover their own backs, and if the situation turned unfavorable, they would abandon him without a second thought.

All at the expense of Reynolds.

Of course, that was a very rational idea. But they had clearly overlooked one thing.

‘We’re thinking rationally too.’

From the perspective of someone tied to the state, sacrificing oneself for the country was a very natural thing to do, but if that ‘country’ was so blatant about it, Reynolds couldn’t help but think about his own position.

In other words, from Reynolds’ perspective, the more his country got involved in this, the more his chances of survival would increase. So why should he stop at the level they had set?

Reynolds curled up the corners of his mouth.

“This is a war where the crazier one wins.”

“…I never thought I’d agree with you, Lee Hyun-soo.”

At that moment, the radio on his chest began to beep incessantly. There was no need to answer the radio. There was only one channel connected to it.

“Launch them!”

“Yes!”

The people lined up on either side of the runway began to wave their light sticks vigorously. In response, the fighter jets that had been waiting began to move onto the runway.

The same thing was probably happening at several other locations in Korea and in Japan.

Whoooosh!

The fighter jet that had entered the runway roared with its powerful jet engine and soared into the sky. Another fighter jet followed closely behind, speeding down the runway.

It was a reckless takeoff, half-ignoring the operating procedures.

But sometimes, efficiency is more important than rules.

Reynolds’ face hardened as he watched the fighter jets take off.

‘There’s no turning back now.’

All or nothing.

Those were the only two options.

“The launch has begun.”

“Situation board!”

“Yes!”

A map appeared on the screen that filled the entire front, and small dots appeared all at once.

“Those Americans are really something. To be able to see all this in real-time.”

Well, it was a data feed they had half-coerced out of them.

“But they’re really fast.”

Previously, they had to use Russian fighter jets due to concerns about a clash with China, but this time was different. If they lost this war, there would be no future anyway.

If the General Assembly was destroyed, both Korea and Japan would fall into the hands of the Three Kings, and if that happened, Mongolia and even Russia would be dominated by the Three Kings.

In other words, the United States would completely lose its influence over East Asia.

Just as shadows are created by light, if the shadows are taken over, the light cannot exert its power. From the perspective of the United States, which uses East Asia as a strategic stronghold to check China, they had to support the General Assembly, even if it meant taking some risks.

US military personnel stationed in Korea and Japan, as well as other fighter jets that had been moved to Korea in advance, were all taking off and heading to China.

It was probably the day that the largest number of military aircraft had covered the skies of East Asia since the Korean War.

“The transport planes have also departed.”

“Good.”

Lee Hyun-soo frowned slightly.

Behind the small dots on the screen, a large red dot began to join them.

“Now, the battle is how to escort this slowpoke to China.”

Normally, it wouldn’t be too difficult, but China wouldn’t just sit back and watch.

“I’ve already confirmed two things. The first is that those bastards are so mindless that they’ll attack anything, whether it’s a Russian or American aircraft, if they think we’re the enemy.”

So, they would definitely attack this time as well.

“And the second is that they’re shameless enough to keep their mouths shut as if nothing happened after doing such things.”

When dealing with Chang Wang, they had mobilized both the Russian and American air forces. And both of them were attacked by China. But the US, China, and Russia all kept quiet as if nothing had happened.

In other words, this air battle would also be treated as if it never happened.

Not just by the countries directly involved in the battle, but also by Korea, Japan, and Russia, who were watching the situation closely.

“Isn’t it interesting?”

“What do you mean?”

“That perhaps the biggest air battle since the Korean War is happening here, and no one knows about it.”

“I think you’ve gone too far if you find that interesting?”

Lee Hyun-soo grinned.

But his eyes were coldly fixed on the situation board.

“Come on, react, Chang Wang. You must have expected this much, right?”

* * *

“Multiple air squadrons are approaching our airspace!”

“Where did they take off from?”

“There are too many! It seems like they’re mostly from Korea.”

“…That’s surprising. Korea, of all places? Not Atlantis or Mars.”

Gao Xun gritted his teeth.

Of course, he knew that asking to find out the takeoff location of the planes was an excessive demand. Normally, Gao Xun wouldn’t have reacted like this.

But right now, he couldn’t shake off his anxiety. He had been feeling like he was being drawn into something since earlier.

‘What are they going to do with fighter jets?’

If this were a war in the outside world, it would make sense. If they could secure air superiority and deploy bombers, half the war would be over.

But unless they were crazy, there was no way they could deploy bombers in this war.

Even if they were only targeting the Awakened [individuals with supernatural abilities], bombing another country’s territory was a declaration of war in itself. It was an act that no sane person would commit.

Then the result was obvious.

“Check if there are transport planes following behind the fighter squadrons!”

“Huh? Then inside them?”

“Probably.”

“But that’s impossible. The General Assembly has over 20,000 people!”

“It would be impossible for Korea, but the US military can easily deploy about 20,000 people.”

“Besides, if you just give them a parachute, they don’t need any special training. You can just drop them like bombs!”

“But then they’ll be scattered.”

“…That’s even more troublesome.”

In a war, it would be like 20,000 guerrilla units pouring into various parts of the territory. They wouldn’t be a significant force on their own, but it would take an enormous amount of time and manpower to deal with them.

And…

“Don’t forget! Their main force isn’t the General Assembly! If chaos breaks out, the Hong King faction will try to take advantage!”

“Ah!”

“Find out their destination as quickly as possible!”

“Yes!”

Gao Xun nervously tapped his fingers.

‘Stay calm, stay calm.’

He just had to respond within the bounds of common sense. It was Chang Wang, not him, who would crush their schemes. Right now, Chang Wang was being flooded with information that the Chang Wang faction’s intelligence units had risked their lives to obtain.

It was a vast amount of information that ordinary people wouldn’t dare to even try to comprehend, but Chang Wang would be able to figure out their purpose from that information.

So just a little bit!

“Gao Xun!”

At that moment, a scream pierced Gao Xun’s ears.

“They’re not coming to China! They’re moving towards the South China Sea and Russia!”

“What?”

“They’re not entering our airspace! They’re moving above and below our airspace, keeping their distance!”

“…They’re not coming?”

“Yes!”

“Wh-what about the Daewoong squadron?”

“They’ve departed! But we don’t know where to intercept them…”

Gao Xun’s eyes shook.

‘They’re not coming?’

“Open a line to the air force right now! Right now!”

“Yes!”

Gao Xun’s eyes scanned the map.

‘Russia and the South China Sea?’

The intention was clear. They were going to surround China with fighter jets. Right now, they were above and below, but soon they would completely encircle China.

But why?

What was the point of surrounding the sky, not the land?

“What the hell are you trying to do, you bastards!”

Gao Xun, unable to contain his anger, kicked the desk. The metal desk crumpled like paper and slammed into the wall.

“Hoo! Hoo!”

Gao Xun’s bloodshot eyes, panting heavily, reflexively turned to the east.

The loud laughter of someone he had never met seemed to echo in his ears.