Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1756

My fingertips are going numb.

The encroaching poison is suffocating me.

The rising light pink smoke is being pushed back by Kang Jin-ho’s demonic energy. But no matter how much it’s pushed back, the smoke keeps rising endlessly.

‘Poison…’

If I were to put it in old terms, I’d call it poison.

Within that poison, Kang Jin-ho was feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.

‘It’s like fighting the Sichuan Tang Clan [a martial arts clan known for their poison and hidden weapons].’

If the Sichuan Tang Clan, known for their control of poison and hidden weapons, had maintained their lineage to the modern day, perhaps they would have evolved into this form.

They weren’t pursuing martial arts as martial arts, but rather using them as tools.

If there was a way to use poison more efficiently and easily, they wouldn’t have hesitated.

However, the difference is…

Kang Jin-ho raised his head and looked at the rain of shells pouring down on him.

There was not a trace of humanity in this attack.

Only the cold, chilling intent to kill and eliminate the opponent was present.

It was literally a rain of steel.

There’s no need to make distinctions.

Whether you kill someone by pressing a button or by swinging a sword, the result is the same anyway.

To project humanity onto the act of breathing together and mixing blood is the perspective of a madman whose mind has gone astray.

However…

Even so, the reason my heart is chilled is because the one carrying out this series of attacks is none other than the King of Spears.

The Three Kings [the most powerful martial artists].

The absolute pinnacle of martial arts, who have dominated the Central Plains [the center of the martial world], the center of the martial world, for decades.

The fact that the first card the King of Spears pulled out in this war, where he risked everything, was bombing, made Kang Jin-ho feel all the more chilled.

Kang Jin-ho also knows.

Military arts will eventually perish.

Military arts are ultimately just a means of killing. No matter how much you add fancy words and spout nonsense, its essence does not change. As long as military arts cannot escape the category of killing techniques, they will eventually perish under the name of science.

Because science has provided a way to massacre people faster and more efficiently without the need for the arduous training process of military arts.

But even so, martial artists have a sense of pride in what they have learned. Even Kang Jin-ho, knowing that such a thing would happen someday, hadn’t he repeatedly said ‘not yet’ countless times?

But the King of Spears doesn’t have that kind of pride.

Kang Jin-ho considers himself a pragmatist, but the King of Spears far surpasses that level.

He throws away the martial arts he has achieved over a lifetime without a second thought and chooses a simpler and easier method without hesitation. It’s something Kang Jin-ho could never do.

That’s why they can’t join hands.

That’s why it’s chilling.

Crack.

Kang Jin-ho’s clenched fist emits demonic energy.

The demonic energy, which has now become a part of him, burns as if alive, following its master’s will. The black, black, and red demonic energy blazed like a flame, pushing up the smoke.

Lee Myung-hwan, who was blankly staring at the scene, heard a thunderous voice.

“What are you spacing out for! Move!”

There’s no time to figure out whose voice it is.

The moment his head recognized the voice, his legs started moving first. Even for Kang Jin-ho, blocking such a bombardment wouldn’t be easy.

The faster they get out of here, the more they’ll be helping Kang Jin-ho.

“Run!”

Lee Myung-hwan shouted at the top of his lungs.

The shells that had already fallen before Kang Jin-ho could block them were creating light pink smoke.

The sight of light pink smoke rising in the moonlit mountains was absurdly fantastic. It would be even more ironic if you thought about what that smoke was.

‘Is this a beautiful hell?’

Lee Myung-hwan gritted his teeth.

The scene before his eyes was beautiful, but the condition of those who were making their way through it was far from good.

‘Damn it.’

I feel like I’m losing sensation in my fingertips.

Elsewhere, I still feel the harsh pain as if being pricked by needles, but my fingertips don’t feel any pain at all.

Lee Myung-hwan knew that this was definitely not a good sign.

Since a little while ago, I’ve been smelling a fishy scent at the tip of my nose. Gas is seeping through the gas mask, which is tightened so much that blood isn’t flowing.

I couldn’t decide whether to be grateful for the performance of the gas mask, which had blocked the toxic gas that would have incapacitated an ordinary person in an instant, or to curse its inability to completely block the gas.

“Cough! Cough!”

Lee Myung-hwan, who coughed, reflexively reached out and tightened the straps of the gas mask of the person he was carrying on his back.

I’m out of breath, but I have no intention of putting him down. Absolutely not!

“Hey! Pass him over here!”

“I’m fine!”

“Shut up and pass him over! If you get tired quickly, it won’t be good for us either!”

The Flame Demons [a group of martial artists] running beside him roughly pushed him away and took the injured person on their backs.

“Let’s go!”

Lee Myung-hwan gritted his teeth and ran forward.

With a little bit of leeway, he turned his head back as he ran.

‘Guild Master!’

Kang Jin-ho was still blocking the falling steel balls.

It’s amazing that he can deploy his demonic energy so thickly and widely. As someone who handles demonic energy himself, he could fully realize how formidable Kang Jin-ho’s martial prowess was right now.

However, because of that…

“Run faster, you bastards! Now!” Lee Myung-hwan’s heart was pounding even more.

“Oooooooo!”

Bator kicked off the ground and charged forward, swinging his arms.

Thud!

The trees caught in his arms flew in all directions, breaking and uprooting other trees.

Bator’s eyes turned red.

“You dog-like bastards!”

He could see the steel balls pouring down in front of him. No matter how much Kang Jin-ho was blocking, it was impossible to cover the very front and back of this long line.

Bator ran forward and kicked the steel balls that had fallen on the ground, sending them flying.

As far as possible, and as many as possible!

The steel balls shot out like cannonballs, leaving behind light pink tails.

Crack.

His whole body was tingling.

No matter how much he was blessed with a divine body, he couldn’t completely block the toxins that were penetrating his nerves.

“Bator-nim!”

“I know!”

Bator yelled back.

Kang Jin-ho was probably perfectly covering the middle of the line.

And the Red King would be doing whatever he could to block this bombing.

But the most important place to prevent everyone from being poisoned was right here. If they couldn’t deal with the steel balls that had fallen in front, no matter how much they blocked above, the line would have to pass through the path where the gas was being emitted.

But Bator wasn’t the right person to do such delicate work. He could blow away the entire area, but if he kept doing that, even he would quickly get tired.

“This damn it!”

Bator was about to throw another punch.

“Just go!”

Bator’s head snapped back.

The martial artists of the General Assembly [a martial arts organization] following behind him nodded. Their faces were not clearly visible because they were covered by gas masks, but even without seeing them, he could tell what kind of expressions they were making.

“Just clear the path! We’ll take care of those things!”

“It’s dangerous to even touch them, you idiots!”

“We know!”

The answer came back immediately.

“We know, so go! If Bator-nim’s speed drops, we’ll all die anyway!”

“These…”

There was no time to think long.

“You morons!”

Bator gritted his teeth and ran forward.

As he charged forward, ignoring the steel balls, those following behind him rushed forward, picked up the steel balls that had fallen on the ground, and began throwing them far away.

They didn’t feel anything right now, but there was no way they would be safe after touching nerve poison with their hands. This poison was definitely seeping into their skin as well.

But none of those leading the way hesitated.

“Throw them further!”

“Even if you throw them outside the path, the gas will spread and reach here! Throw them with all your might so that you can completely protect the rear!”

“Got it!”

Someone’s gaze turned to the sky.

Bombers were still flying in the dark sky. It was beyond fear, to the point of being despairing.

“…It’s endless, these crazy bastards.”

“Don’t look and run!”

They gritted their teeth and kicked off the ground.

In this desperate situation where their leg strength was giving out, what was holding their will together was the presence of Bator, who was charging ahead, and Kang Jin-ho, who was protecting them from above.

And conversely…

Kwaaaaaang!

Bator uprooted a tree.

It might be a meaningless act. But depending on how cleanly he clears this path, the speed of those following behind him will change.

‘I don’t have to do everything myself!’

What he missed, those following behind him would do. He didn’t need to be Kang Jin-ho, nor did he need to be the Red King.

He was just Bator.

That was enough.

Even if Kang Jin-ho or the Red King were at the front, they wouldn’t be able to clear the path as quickly as he could!

His head turned slightly back.

As those who had rushed forward cleared away the steel balls, those following behind them would overtake them and rush out again to clear away the steel balls.

Once they cleared them away, they could have stepped back and saved themselves, but these guys were pushing each other, desperately trying to get to the front.

“Huu…”

Bator, seeing that scene, let out a low groan without realizing it.

‘Those morons.’

They don’t even know the value of their own lives!

Bator clenched his fist and ran forward.

“Quickly…”

Bator stopped talking.

Something could be felt from the other side of the dark forest.

‘An enemy? Or…’

That was when it happened.

Kwaaaaaaaaaa!

It seemed like dozens of red flames bloomed in the forest, and then something flew towards Bator in an instant.

Kwaaaang! Kwaaaang! Kwaaaang!

Loud explosions erupted, and Bator’s body was instantly engulfed in black flames.

“Bator-nim!”

“This damn it! Anti-tank rockets?” Those following behind him screamed in horror.

But…

Kwaaaaaang!

A blast several times larger than the one that had just exploded erupted, shaking the entire forest.

“You think you can stop me with this?”

Bator, who had blown away the trees in front of him, emerged from the flames.

“Run! Don’t stop running! I’ll block all the attacks pouring down in front, so trust me and run!”

“Yes!”

Bator’s eyes turned red. Even as he saw the anti-tank rockets flying towards him again, Bator didn’t back down at all, but instead ran forward.

“I am!”

Bator roared like a lion.

“Bator!”

Kwaaaaaang!

Bator, who blocked the incoming shells with his body and even knocked away the shells that grazed past him, charged like a beast.

Closing the distance in an instant, Bator slapped away a warrior of the King of Spears, his eyes wide open.

‘I’m not a warrior of the plains.’

Bator twisted his lips and laughed.

“That’s right. I am Bator of the General Assembly! Come on, you dogs of the King of Spears!”

Bator’s loud roar spread and echoed through the dark sky.