Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1810

“The Azure Horse, huh…”

Wiggins stroked his chin.

He had heard the story roughly, but he had no idea how to process it.

“This isn’t some fantasy movie.” At those words, Bator looked at Wiggins with a dumbfounded expression.

“…Is that something a magic user should be saying?”

“If we’re talking about things that don’t make sense, isn’t your body more so?”

Wiggins let out a hollow laugh.

Certainly, from the perspective of ordinary people, they were just as bizarre. From the start, they were beings who couldn’t live in harmony with the outside world because they weren’t ordinary.

However, at least for them, elements like inner energy or mana weren’t in the realm of fantasy. They were strictly real components of this world.

But the story they had just heard was a bit different.

“A connection from the past continuing into the present…”

Of course, considering they already knew about the existence of returnees [people who have returned from another world or time], it might not be that surprising.

If only that returnee wasn’t the Black King, one of the three kings of China, and the other person wasn’t Kang Jin-ho, who had killed one of those three kings.

“I want to offer my condolences.”

“To whom?”

“To the Azure King.”

Wiggins shook his head.

Could the Azure King have imagined this situation? No matter how smart he was, it was impossible to predict the relationship between the Black King and Kang Jin-ho.

Even those who had been associated with Kang Jin-ho for quite some time hadn’t imagined there would be any connection between Kang Jin-ho and the Black King.

It wasn’t the Azure King’s mistake that he didn’t realize this. It was purely unavoidable bad luck.

“He must be kicking himself in hell. If the Black King and Guild Master had no connection, the one who would have fallen in the end would have been the Guild Master.”

“He got what he deserved.”

Bang Jin-hoon chuckled as if it was nothing.

“Hey, Director.”

“Hmm?”

“There are no ‘ifs’ in war. If you look at it that way, who in the world wouldn’t feel wronged? If you keep dwelling on ‘if I had done this,’ ‘if I had done that,’ no one would ever succeed.”

Wiggins looked at Bang Jin-hoon with a curious gaze.

“That’s how the saying ‘luck is also a skill’ came about. Come to think of it, Director Wiggins, haven’t you had good luck to get to where you are now?”

“…Of course, I have.”

Just being dispatched to Korea and confirming Kang Jin-ho’s existence with his own eyes was an enormous stroke of luck.

If that hadn’t happened, Wiggins would have sided with the Master and opposed Kang Jin-ho, only to be killed by him. Right when Kang Jin-ho descended upon the Round Table and slaughtered the Elder Knights.

Thinking about it, that was just a small coincidence, a small piece of luck. But that small piece of luck can completely change a person’s life.

“Do you think the Azure King didn’t have luck to get to his position? Skill is about whether you can overcome bad luck when it pours down on you, and whether you can seize good luck when it falls.”

Bang Jin-hoon shrugged.

“The Azure King couldn’t do that, so he died.”

It was a relatable statement.

People are sensitive to bad luck and underestimate good luck. But most successes are half in the realm of luck.

This statement, unlike what one would expect from Bang Jin-hoon, was a piercing insight.

“Still, it’s a shame.”

“A shame, my ass. If I could, I’d take that bastard’s corpse and have it stuffed.”

“Do you know how many kids got hurt because of that bastard and you’re saying that? I wouldn’t say anything if I got hurt fighting properly. But they were burned to death, poisoned by chemicals, their insides ruined. Ugh, thinking about it makes me angry again.”

Wiggins, thinking he had brought up the wrong topic, quickly changed the subject.

“So, what does the Guild Master think?”

“I’ve decided to observe the situation for now.”

Lee Hyun-soo said indifferently.

“There’s no way we can respond when we don’t know what that Black King or Azure Horse is aiming for.”

“That’s true.”

Wiggins made a bitter face.

‘A formidable enemy.’

Kang Jin-ho’s assessment bothered him.

A brain superior to the Azure King’s and a martial prowess comparable to Kang Jin-ho’s….

“The part about having a brain superior to the Azure King’s is bothering me. I can’t imagine anyone smarter than the Azure King with my brain.”

“It seems they’re a bit different. The Azure King was the type to play with people, but that Azure Horse is said to be the type who only cares about results, completely disregarding sacrifices or methods.”

“He has no aesthetics, then.”

“Yes.”

Wiggins stroked his chin.

‘In other words, the most troublesome type.’

Those who use their brains usually have their own aesthetics. The Azure King was also overly obsessed with losing his moves and countering them.

When it worked, it gave an overwhelming sense of despair, as if he was completely playing with his opponent, but sometimes he would get too caught up in the situation itself and miss out on efficiency.

But according to Kang Jin-ho, the Azure Horse wasn’t that type.

“That’s strange.”

“What is?”

“If that’s the case, the Azure King was someone who pursued results while ignoring minor sacrifices… So, such a person has been lying low just because of the Guild Master’s existence?”

Upon hearing that, Lee Hyun-soo raised his head and stared blankly at Wiggins.

“Wouldn’t Master do the same?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“For example…”

Lee Hyun-soo swallowed once and continued.

“Let’s say we die like this and are reborn in the future.”

“…What kind of assumption is that?”

“Anyway, let’s say we’re planning something and are almost at the execution stage, but then we find out that the Guild Master might already be born in this world.”

“What could we do?”

“…Nothing.”

Wiggins nodded as if he understood.

Anyone who knew Kang Jin-ho would have no choice but to make the same decision. From the start, Kang Jin-ho had succeeded in everything that was considered impossible.

No matter how overwhelming their power and skill, they wouldn’t be able to shake off that anxiety.

“Hey, now that I hear it, it’s weird.”

Bang Jin-hoon scoffed after hearing those words.

“Why are you making such a comparison? As if we would betray the Guild Master.”

“That’s just how it is.”

“We’re different from that bastard.”

Bang Jin-hoon huffed, and Wiggins smiled wryly.

‘They’re definitely similar.’

Those who served Kang Jin-ho in the past, and those who serve Kang Jin-ho now.

‘This…’

Wiggins’ gaze subtly turned to Lee Hyun-soo.

‘It’s similar.’

What if Lee Hyun-soo died with a grudge against Kang Jin-ho?

And then, in the next life, he was reborn with a body capable of learning martial arts and encountered Kang Jin-ho again?

Wouldn’t it be similar to the current situation?

‘Thinking about it that way, this is no ordinary matter.’

Everyone has at least one flaw. The biggest flaw Lee Hyun-soo had as a martial artist was his lack of talent for martial arts. If Lee Hyun-soo had even half of Kang Jin-ho’s talent, the Korean martial arts world would have fallen into Lee Hyun-soo’s hands from the start.

Kim Seok-il? Lee Jung-geol?

There was no way those small fries could have been a match for Lee Hyun-soo.

‘Lee Hyun-soo with martial power…’

A terrifying enemy that was hard to imagine. Moreover, according to Kang Jin-ho’s assessment, the Azure Horse seemed to be even more capable than Lee Hyun-soo.

“To give such a person over a hundred years…”

“Yes?”

“Just how strong is the Black King’s faction?”

A heavy silence fell.

While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Bator noticed Jang Min sitting silently on one side of the sofa.

“Hey, old man.”

Jang Min simply turned his head slightly towards Bator without answering.

“Is it complicated?”

“…What nonsense are you spouting now?”

Bator grinned.

“I heard that the Black King is the second-in-command of the old Demonic Cult, so he’s kind of like your ancestor. It must be awkward to take sides when a family feud breaks out, right?”

“I sometimes wonder.”

“Hmm? What?”

Jang Min sighed and said.

“How small the brain inside that head of yours, which looks about three times bigger than other people’s, must be to spout such nonsense.”

“You old geezer!”

Bator’s eyes flared, but Jang Min just waved his hand dismissively.

“The supreme leader of the cult is only the Demonic Lord. No matter how great the achievements of the Azure Horse… no, that filthy traitor, he cannot dare to oppose the Demonic Lord in the name of the cult.”

“If the Demonic Lord gives the order, I will personally capture that arrogant traitor and tear him apart.”

Seeing Jang Min exuding killing intent, Bator flinched slightly and changed the subject.

“What, why are you so serious? It was just a joke.”

“It’s not a joke.”

Jang Min licked his lips.

“I’m also human. I believed in the prophecy and waited endlessly for the Demonic Lord… but that was just placing my last hope on the Demonic Lord.”

“Huh?”

“If you’re human, you can’t forget the grace the Demonic Lord bestowed upon us. The Demonic Lord saved us, who were barely surviving, and gave us light. How can we forget that grace?”

“Even if the previous cult leaders, not just the second-in-command, were to be resurrected, it would be the same. If the Demonic Lord orders it, I will gladly cut off their heads and drink their blood.”

“…Okay, okay.”

Geez, so brutal.

Just as Bator was about to change the subject,

“Huh?”

Bator’s eyes narrowed as he looked out the window.

“Over there.”

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a car I haven’t seen before coming in?”

“What?”

At those words, the directors all stood up from their seats.

The underground parking lot wasn’t visible from here. That meant the car was coming all the way up to the main training ground.

The only person who could park a car in the training ground at this general meeting was Kang Jin-ho. In other words, a car they hadn’t seen before meant there was an intruder.

The directors’ expressions hardened as they saw the car heading towards the building through the window.

“Let’s go down.”

“Okay.”

The directors who came down looked at the black sedan parked at the building’s entrance.

Before they could even exchange words, the driver’s seat of the car clicked open, and a man in a black suit stepped out and bowed to them.

“I apologize for the rudeness. There was no other way.”

“This bastard…”

Just as Bang Jin-hoon was about to explode, Wiggins grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

“Who are you? What brings you here?”

At Wiggins’ question, the man smiled.

“I’ve come to deliver a gift.”

“…A gift?”

“Yes. It’s a gift from the Black King to your Guild Master.”

Everyone’s faces hardened at the mention of the Black King.

However, the moment the man opened the trunk of the car without a word, their expressions had no choice but to change in a completely different way.

“This…”

Master.

The Master, who had fled during the war with the Azure King, was tied up in the trunk, looking utterly miserable.

“…Ma, Mas…”

Wiggins was shocked and couldn’t speak,

when the man smiled and opened his mouth.

“I hope you like it. Please deliver it well.”

In an instant, cold sweat ran down the directors’ backs.