Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1808

Lee Hyun-soo’s gaze was fixed on the beer in Kang Jin-ho’s hand.

“Um… Guild Master, by any chance,”

“Hmm?”

“Do you know the difference between beer and happoshu [a low-malt beer-like alcoholic beverage]?”

“What’s that?”

“…No, it’s nothing.” That cheapskate.

He probably just went to the mart and grabbed the cheapest stuff in bulk.

“No, someone with so much money…”

Usually, when people have a lot of money, they tend to choose items within a reasonable price range, but I don’t know where this guy gets his thrifty spirit from.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, it’s just alcohol.”

Who can I blame?

“Please, sit down. The chicken arrived first.”

Kang Jin-ho put down the beer and sat at the table. Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho with a subtle expression, noticing the red can next to the green beer can.

“Why so much cola…”

“I like it.”

“…I know you like it, Guild Master.”

But people don’t usually drink cola like it’s beer, do they?

Of course, even if Kang Jin-ho drinks liters of cola, it won’t affect his health, but there was something strange about it.

“But you really came faster than I expected.”

“You told me to come, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t think you’d come so quickly. I was just throwing it out there.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“Still, I’m the Guild Master, is it okay for subordinates to just throw words around like that?”

“Creating a horizontal and beautiful workplace relationship is a prerequisite for building a good culture.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry.”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled and sat at the table, opening a beer.

*Tss*

Lee Hyun-soo handed the opened beer to Kang Jin-ho and opened his own, slightly extending it. Kang Jin-ho lightly clinked his beer with Lee Hyun-soo’s and gulped it down in one go.

“Ah, that’s refreshing.”

Lee Hyun-soo put down his beer and stared at Kang Jin-ho.

“So, Guild Master.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s the problem?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a blank expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that? That’s the typical expression you make when you’re worried.”

Is he a ghost?

No, before that…

He can read my mind just by looking at my expression?

Even Chungma, who has been with Kang Jin-ho for almost his entire life, couldn’t do that.

“…You can see it?”

“I’ve noticed it over time. Surprisingly, you have a lot of expressions, Guild Master. It’s just that they’re subtle and not very noticeable.”

Usually, that’s called having no expression.

“So, tell me. I’m an expert in this kind of counseling, aren’t I?”

Kang Jin-ho let out a hollow laugh.

It wasn’t entirely wrong, but people usually don’t say that themselves.

“Haa…”

I came here to talk about it anyway. There’s no need to hesitate.

Kang Jin-ho sighed briefly and slowly began to speak.

It was quite a long story.

After hearing everything, Lee Hyun-soo looked at the half-empty beer can with a serious expression.

“The Black King…”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head as if he couldn’t organize his thoughts.

“So, that guy called the Black King…”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Kang Jin-ho and spoke in disbelief.

“In the past, he was an elder of the Demonic Cult… so, he was the second-in-command of the Demonic Cult, and he was an evil force that tried to conquer the Central Plains with you?”

“The expression ‘evil force’ is a bit…”

“Isn’t it true?”

“…It is.”

Yeah, it’s true.

The Demonic Cult was an evil force. Kang Jin-ho was the leader of that evil force.

It was obvious, but it felt strange to hear it directly.

“And it just so happens that he’s also a returnee, so he was born in this era and is acting as one of the Three Kings?”

“There’s a limit to how absurd things can get.”

Lee Hyun-soo laughed in disbelief. Then, he got up from his seat and went to the refrigerator to get a new beer.

“Here you go.”

Kang Jin-ho took the beer, pushed away the lukewarm can, and opened the new one.

“Black King, Black King…”

Lee Hyun-soo frowned.

‘That was right.’

When the executives were discussing it, they said that the Black King seemed to be interested only in Kang Jin-ho personally, not the General Assembly. It was like hitting a rat with a cow’s hind leg, but in the end, that prediction was accurate.

If what Kang Jin-ho said was true, then the Black King clearly had no interest in the General Assembly.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What are you worried about, Guild Master?”

Lee Hyun-soo hit Kang Jin-ho’s core.

“It was a great story, but it lacks substance. The Black King didn’t threaten you, nor did he declare that he would attack the General Assembly. I don’t know exactly what he’s planning, but he declared that he wouldn’t touch Korea, the General Assembly, or you, right?”

“That’s right.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes sharpened slightly.

“The reason you’re still uneasy is because the Black King, that is, Chungma, won’t keep his promise?”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head.

“The Chungma I know tends to keep his word.”

“…So, that means it’s possible that Chungma could achieve all his goals and still coexist peacefully with you, the General Assembly?”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head.

“And you’re worried about that?”

Kang Jin-ho gave a wry smile.

That reaction didn’t feel particularly bad or annoying. It was such a natural reaction. While explaining, Kang Jin-ho himself felt how strange the discomfort he was feeling was.

“It’s hard to explain…”

“No, it’s okay. I understand.”

“Huh?”

“I understand.”

Lee Hyun-soo said as if it was nothing.

“I thought you would be like that, Guild Master. Rather, I don’t understand other parts.”

“…What?”

“According to you, that bastard just talked nonsense in front of you, right?”

“Huh?”

“Then why didn’t you crush his mouth right there?”

“…Huh?”

“You should have ripped his jaw off! How dare that bastard be so arrogant!”

No, why are you getting angry?

Kang Jin-ho felt utterly dumbfounded, seeing Lee Hyun-soo as if his head was about to explode.

“Black King or whatever! You should have just finished him off right there!”

“Finished him off…”

Suddenly, Lee Hyun-soo’s expression turned serious.

“No, no, I’m not joking…”

“Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo whispered in a very serious tone.

“That bastard might still be in Korea, should we go and kill him right now?”

“No, you crazy bastard!”

“Crazy or not, this kind of opportunity doesn’t come easily! If that bastard goes back to China and hides among the Black King’s faction, do you know how troublesome things will become? That guy came to Korea asking to be killed, we can’t miss this chance!”

Kang Jin-ho pressed his temples.

I already knew this guy was crazy, but now I see he’s even crazier than I thought.

“It’s not something to worry about! Since when have you been so fair and square! Cowardice and treachery were your mottos, weren’t they?”

“They weren’t, you bastard!”

Kang Jin-ho yelled.

What kind of slander is this?

Cooling down, Kang Jin-ho sighed deeply.

“To be honest…”

“Yes!”

“…I think it’s not a bad idea.”

Kang Jin-ho gritted his teeth, seeing Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes that seemed to say, ‘See? You’re treacherous.’

“Listen to the whole thing.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his head, wanting to crush Lee Hyun-soo’s mouth instead of Chungma’s.

“That guy wouldn’t fall for such a trick.”

“He probably has a hundred ways to escape. Although the direction is different, he’s even more difficult than the Tyrant King.”

To put it simply, the Tyrant King is a style that pursues perfection. He likes to put his opponent in the palm of his hand, manipulate them, and trample them.

From the opponent’s perspective, they get twisted and rotten inside.

But Chungma is different.

Chungma is someone who pursues extreme efficiency.

He endures to the limit when he needs to, and when the moment to achieve his goal comes, he achieves it in the shortest time possible, completely ignoring any sacrifices.

In the past, didn’t the righteous sects of the Central Plains get caught up in Chungma’s speed tactics and die without even knowing what was going on?

“Ugh, I guess so.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded as if he understood.

It was a suggestion made in a fit of anger, and he didn’t think this plan would actually work.

“A brain even better than the Tyrant King’s, and martial arts even better than yours, Guild Master.”

“…He’s not stronger than me.”

“From what you’re saying, he’s completely stronger, isn’t he? Weren’t you too scared to kill him?”

“…Do you want me to prove whether I was scared or not?”

Seeing the murderous intent in Kang Jin-ho’s eyes, Lee Hyun-soo quickly raised his beer.

“Alright, alright! Let’s have a drink.”

“…Crazy bastard.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

This is why people need someone to talk to and consult with. Even though the story wasn’t that different from what he thought alone, with Lee Hyun-soo, the conversation became much… no, a bit too light.

Lee Hyun-soo took a swig of his beer and said after a moment of thought.

“First, we need to confirm things.”

“Confirm?”

“Yes. We don’t know what that guy is trying to do at all. Without knowing that, the conversation will just be superficial.”

“Let’s send informants to China again. And if we pass it on to the Red King’s faction, they will also do their best to figure out the Black King’s plan. I don’t know if that idiot, Chai Ke-chang, can do it well…”

Where does this twisted personality come from?

Kang Jin-ho was also a twisted person to some extent, but if he was a snake, Lee Hyun-soo was like a tangled earphone cord.

“And Guild Master.”

“Hmm?”

“Whatever their plan is, you have to decide on one thing.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked directly into Kang Jin-ho’s eyes and said.

“Can you endure it?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo, not fully understanding the intention of the question.

Then, Lee Hyun-soo said again firmly.

“Can you endure someone in this world being stronger than you, and living as a martial artist stronger than you?”

Kang Jin-ho closed his mouth.

“The General Assembly, family, friends… take away all the useless things. This is like a childish power struggle. Originally, martial artists are people who haven’t grown up while holding onto a child’s temper. It’s common sense that the one who says it’s inevitable and that they have to endure it is the one who loses first.”

“Answer me, Guild Master.”

Lee Hyun-soo asked, meeting Kang Jin-ho’s eyes.

“Can you endure it?”

Kang Jin-ho, who was receiving that gaze, let out a low sigh.

‘Was this it?’

I think I know what the emotion that was bothering me was. It’s an expression I want to avoid, but the words ‘childish temper’ fit perfectly.

Then…

Has Kang Jin-ho become an adult now?

“I…”

Kang Jin-ho’s mouth, which had been closed once, slowly opened again.

Kang Jin-ho smiled lowly, revealing his white teeth.

“I’m not someone who can do that.”