Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1876

“Blood Demon.”

“Yes.”

“What about them?”

The Blood Demon lowered his head. It was an unbelievably submissive reaction, especially considering how he never failed to sneer even in front of Kang Jin-ho.

“I apologize, Great Demon Lord.”

“You haven’t found them?”

“To report accurately, our abilities make it impossible to even approach their vicinity.”

“Instead of contacting those who seem to be associated with the Black King faction, we are repeatedly being killed in the process of tracking them.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly. Indeed.

This was a difficult task even for the Blood Demon.

Basically, information is gathered through surveillance and contact. To investigate the Red King faction, one must first monitor those associated with them and track their movements.

From there, one would gradually move up the ranks, which is the basic process of reconnaissance.

However, this process is impossible with the Black King faction. This is because there are no low-level operatives in the Black King faction to begin with.

To investigate the Black King faction, one must directly find the Twelve Flying Blades [elite members of the Black King faction], not others. Finding those suspected to be the Twelve Flying Blades is already difficult, but infiltrating their circle to find out who is who would be incredibly challenging.

“Rather, allow me to go directly.”

“No.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head firmly.

“If you are defeated, it’s like losing an eye.”

“But at this rate…”

“Just because it’s impossible to grasp everything in advance doesn’t mean it’s worthless. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

The Blood Demon bit his lip slightly.

‘The Black King faction.’

He was someone who took pride in the Blood Cult. [A secretive organization focused on demonic arts]

Although the emergence of the Demonic Cult meant they could no longer claim to be the masters of the demonic path, he was still certain that the Blood Cult was more mysterious and secretive than any other sect in the world.

But that didn’t work for them.

“It’s impossible to directly monitor the Red King.”

“…That’s correct.”

No matter how secretive they were, the opponent was a superhuman who had transcended the wall. Someone called a king. It was almost impossible to deceive such a person’s eyes.

If the Blood Demon went directly, it might be possible with a small probability, but even that small probability would decrease exponentially as surveillance was repeated.

Eventually, he would lose his life.

He couldn’t take such a risk.

“There are twelve Red Kings. Perhaps it was impossible to extract information directly from the start.”

It would be impossible for anyone, not just the Blood Demon.

Even Kang Jin-ho was confident in defeating them, but he wasn’t confident in learning their goals while avoiding their eyes.

“Just focus on confirming those who are reasonably suspected.”

“…I will obey your command.”

The Blood Demon’s face was filled with humiliation.

However, he knew that Kang Jin-ho was right, so he had no choice but to obey.

“Be careful.”

“…Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho said, chewing on the cigarette in his mouth.

“The Azure Demon doesn’t like it when the opponent’s intelligence is alive. His favorite tactic is to stab the opponent’s core and cut off their head, and his second favorite is to cut off their limbs and blind them.”

“He might target me directly, but if not, your first target will be you.”

Cold sweat broke out on the Blood Demon’s back.

If it had been a while ago, he wouldn’t have been particularly moved by these words. What they feared was the Heavenly Demon Lord, not the Azure Demon, who was merely his aide.

However, after experiencing the power of the Black King faction firsthand, he couldn’t help but think differently. The enemy was incredibly strong, cunning, and cruel.

“Should I call it an honor?”

“Hmm?”

“Doesn’t it mean that such a monster has judged me as a dangerous person?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Others would be terrified, but this courage was something to be acknowledged.

“Great Demon Lord.”

“Speak.”

“I know that the power of the Blood Cult is insignificant in your eyes. But… at least for this war, please allow us to risk our lives as well.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the Blood Demon with interest.

“Wasn’t the reason you submitted to me to preserve the Blood Cult? Then why would you choose an option that could put the cult in danger?”

The Blood Demon raised his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“The need to strive for survival is only when there is an enemy.”

“Once you have finished your final business with your past friends… no, your past connections, there will be no more opposition to the General Assembly. From then on, a long and lasting peace will follow, won’t it?”

“Hmph.”

Peace…

‘I don’t know.’

It was something he longed for, but also something he couldn’t believe would ever be achieved. Every time he thought he had overcome one obstacle, something new always appeared.

‘But…’

Even he thought that this time was different.

There was a possibility that there were more hidden powerful individuals in the world, but there was no longer a chance that powerful forces he didn’t know about were lying in wait.

Even the secretive Black King faction had made its name known to the world, regardless of its true nature.

“When the war ends, rewards will be given based on merit. I am not a fool who would miss the rewards you would give for the sake of momentary safety. The Blood Cult is the same.”

“You cunning bastard.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled softly.

The Blood Demon was right.

Kang Jin-ho wasn’t the type to enjoy discriminating against people based on their contributions, but he couldn’t put those who risked their lives and those who didn’t on the same level.

That would be reverse discrimination against those who risked their lives.

“Understood.”

“Thank you.”

The Blood Demon straightened his back. He had gotten what he wanted, so there was no need to bow any further.

“Great Demon Lord.”

“Speak.”

“The Black King is not someone to be taken lightly.”

“That’s obvious.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

The Blood Demon shook his head.

“I was once part of the military. More broadly, I was connected to the government.”

“For the sake of preserving the Blood Cult, I have extensively collected information from the political and military circles. Perhaps the one who knows the most about their corruption and backers is not the chairman, but me.”

“Hmm.”

“But even with all that information, I was completely unaware of the Black King faction.”

“Does that mean they are that secretive?”

“I think a little differently. If they had extended their reach into the political or military circles, they wouldn’t have been able to hide so perfectly.”

“They didn’t reach out in the first place?”

“That’s what I think.”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back in his chair.

“That’s not certain. Perhaps they did it so long ago that it’s impossible to grasp it now.”

“…That’s certainly a possibility.”

The Azure Demon had an immense amount of time different from them. There was no guarantee that he, who knew the future, hadn’t intervened since the founding of the nation.

He could do anything.

No, he might have already done something.

That was the biggest burden those who had to face the Azure Demon had to bear.

“But at least in my opinion, he doesn’t seem to have reached out to the political or military circles. It’s clear just by looking at how the Red King faction is steadily absorbing what the Crimson King left behind.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the Blood Demon as if he didn’t understand.

“I understand what you mean…”

“Yes.”

“But I don’t see how that makes the Azure Demon dangerous.”

The Blood Demon looked at Kang Jin-ho with clear eyes.

“When attempting something grand, the military and political circles must be involved.”

“It’s not a matter of power. It’s a matter of handling the aftermath. If the Crimson King’s bombings and arson hadn’t been supported by the government and military, could they have been handled?”

“Impossible.”

Even Kang Jin-ho was surprised by that.

The Crimson King’s attack literally changed the terrain. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that an entire region was annihilated.

But that fact didn’t spread at all.

Even though it was in China, not Korea, that much land might not be a big deal, but the fierce attack itself had disappeared as if it had never happened.

The reason that was possible was the power of the two countries, China and the United States. And the power of the two governments.

‘Indeed…’

Kang Jin-ho also couldn’t move recklessly in Korea without the calculation that the Korean government would help with information control and civilian control. Even if an enemy invaded, he would try to retreat and avoid attention rather than defend.

“I understand what you mean.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

The Blood Demon grinned.

“But the fact that he doesn’t reach out in that direction is something to consider. Perhaps the Black King is someone who doesn’t care about such things at all.”

“If not…”

The Blood Demon paused for a moment. As if he was organizing his thoughts.

“Perhaps… what the Black King is aiming for is something completely different from what we think.”

“He is already a king. A king with no enemies to face. If he had wanted to, the Black King or the Crimson King would already be buried in the ground, eating ashes. In other words, the Black King already had everything.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

What he said was correct.

“Then… what would someone who has everything want more of?”

The Blood Demon’s gaze turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“I cannot answer this question. The only person who can guess that would be another king. Someone who doesn’t submit to anyone and doesn’t lack anything.”

“Then, I’ll be going.”

The Blood Demon bowed exaggeratedly and disappeared into the darkness.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been quietly watching him, chewed on his cigarette filter.

‘They’re all troublesome bastards.’

Every single one of them was just causing him headaches.

“Hoo.”

Kang Jin-ho exhaled a long puff of smoke and quietly looked at the ceiling.

‘What someone who already has everything wants…’

That was a strange thing to say.

If you had everything, there was no need to want more, and if you wanted something, it meant that you didn’t have everything.

But this statement was fitting for the Black King.

“What do you want to do?”

In this world.

This was no longer the era when they shook the world. As martial artists, their souls were left in that era.

All that was left was just a shell.

“Red Demon.”

In the past.

With more respect than anyone else, with unparalleled friendship.

The face of the Azure Demon, who called him, vividly came to mind.

“You’ve changed too much. Both you and I.”

It felt as if they were different people.

Kang Jin-ho quietly closed his eyes at the unfamiliarity.

It was as if he could hear the rough breathing of a twisted fate beckoning him.