Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1882

“Power increase, huh…”

Chai Ke-chang’s face contorted as he gripped his phone.

“You’re having a good time, aren’t you? You’re not saying that because you don’t know what the situation is, are you?”

[Why? Are you scared?]

“I always say this, but you need to shut that mouth of yours. Before you end up in a situation where you can’t open it even if you want to.”

[Yeah, yeah. Thanks for the useless advice.]

Chai Ke-chang pressed hard on his brow.

Talking to that crazy Lee Hyun-soo was incredibly draining. He had encountered many eccentric individuals in the martial world, but this guy was uniquely maddening.

[So, did you find anything?]

“No.”

[You’re so confident, it’s even more absurd.]

Chai Ke-chang sighed, listening to Lee Hyun-soo’s voice over the phone. This was definitely something he couldn’t make excuses for.

He had searched every nook and cranny, but he couldn’t find an answer. He’d rather chase after ghosts than deal with this.

“It’s more cunning than I thought.”

[You can’t find their traces?]

“No. The problem is there are too many traces. If they were the type to hide without leaving any traces, they wouldn’t be called the Black King Faction.”

[That’s obvious.]

The reason why the Black King Faction could form a three-way power with the Red King Faction and the Azure King Faction was because they proved their strength. It couldn’t be possible with just a few people.

“But there’s no top.”

[Is it a cell organization?]

“It’s not something that can be explained simply as a cell organization. They all know they belong to the Black King Faction, but they’re all in different organizations.”

[So?]

“If you dig in and go up, you’ll face the same result. They don’t know who they’re taking orders from. They just have the perception that a few specific people are being recruited by the Black King. Even the descriptions of the Black King are all different.”

[That’s obvious.]

Lee Hyun-soo’s sigh came over the phone again.

As expected, the Twelve Flying Blades [a group of powerful martial artists] must have each claimed to be the Black King and built their own forces. Even if the internal structure was like that, the forces claiming to be the Black King Faction had appeared all over the country, so no one would have questioned their power and influence.

[So, in the end, it’s impossible to even trace the upper echelons and the main base of the real Black King Faction?]

“For now, yes.”

Chai Ke-chang took a deep breath and continued.

“We’re doing our best here, but honestly, I’m skeptical. I never thought there would be people who could hide from my eyes in China…”

[That’s not something that can be solved physically in the first place.]

No matter how many sparrows there are, it’s hard to spot a hawk flying overhead. It wasn’t that he was ignoring Chai Ke-chang, but it was almost impossible for the informants he could use to find the traces of the Black King and the Twelve Flying Blades.

This was something that couldn’t be helped even if Lee Hyun-soo was handling the same informants instead of Chai Ke-chang.

[So, there’s no particular movement?]

“It’s as quiet as a mouse. If I keep watching, I even start to wonder if I’m mistaken about something.”

Chai Ke-chang lightly massaged his face with his remaining hand.

‘Something’s different.’

He had been at war with the Azure King Faction for a long time. But the Azure King Faction wasn’t the first opponent he had fought. He had fought countless battles to get to where he was now.

Wars with small forces, and sometimes bloody power struggles with those who followed the Red King instead of him. He was able to reach this position only after overcoming all of that.

But…

‘It’s different.’

That Black King Faction was different from anyone he had ever faced. It wasn’t just that they were somewhere he couldn’t predict, but it felt like something was fundamentally different.

And perhaps the reason was…

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

[Why?]

“Do you have any other guesses?” Chai Ke-chang narrowed his eyes slightly. It was true that Lee Hyun-soo was annoying, but he couldn’t deny his brainpower. If he was strong in orthodox tactics, Lee Hyun-soo was the embodiment of unconventionality itself.

He was weak at pushing forward with a direct approach, but no one could match him when it came to devising something that others couldn’t predict.

So, looking at it objectively, there were definitely areas where Lee Hyun-soo was ahead of him when it came to dealing with the Black King Faction.

[To be honest, I don’t know either.]

“Okay.”

An unenthusiastic answer came back, but Chai Ke-chang didn’t say anything to criticize him. It wasn’t right to criticize someone for not being able to do something he couldn’t do himself.

[However…]

“However?”

After a brief silence, a voice filled with something firm came through.

[No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t seem like what they’re aiming for is the general goal we’re thinking of.]

“What does that mean?”

[So far, the goals of the enemies we… no, the General Assembly has faced have been almost the same. In the end, what they wanted was the unification of the martial world.]

“Hmm.”

The Red King Faction was a bit different. What the Red King Faction aimed for was closer to the unification of the Central Plains [a historical region in China] rather than the unification of the martial world. They wouldn’t have cared much about what was happening outside as long as they could conquer the Central Plains.

But even that goal was similar to what Lee Hyun-soo was talking about.

“What’s different?”

[The distribution of power, the fact that they don’t share information with the lower ranks, and above all, the fact that their control is very loose.]

Chai Ke-chang narrowed his eyes slightly. Lee Hyun-soo’s words clearly showed the characteristics of the Black King Faction that he had grasped.

[Don’t you see anything strange?]

He thought he knew.

Points that didn’t seem particularly strange when he thought about them in his head became clear when he talked to Lee Hyun-soo.

[It’s not that other places couldn’t operate in this way, it’s that they can’t even imagine it. Because basically, all sects focus on taking and controlling the opponent’s territory. So, the war between the Azure King Faction and the Red King Faction was also based on land.]

“That’s right.”

Although it was called a power struggle, the actual war was in the form of a territorial war. Doesn’t the fact that the Azure King Faction and the Red King Faction drew battle lines and fought a push-and-pull war prove that?

Even Japan was the same. Their way of targeting Korea was to send a large expeditionary force to dismantle the General Assembly and swallow the land of Korea itself.

[There’s one crucial thing missing from their movements. Do you know what it is?]

“Control.”

[Exactly.]

Chai Ke-chang’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m starting to get a sense of it.”

To superhumans like the Red King or Kang Jin-ho, power wasn’t that necessary. They were beings who transcended power alone. But the reason why they built power around them was, to put it bluntly, only one thing.

Control.

No matter how strong you are, you can’t be in multiple places at the same time.

In other words, beings like the Red King or Kang Jin-ho were like missiles fired from a distance. The US military could completely destroy an enemy country just with the existence of missiles, without the need for infantry.

But in order to occupy and control that place, the existence of infantry is necessary.

“They’re not thinking about occupation?”

[If they were, they would have had to build up their power somehow. Because the end of the war doesn’t mean the end of the occupation. There are countless cases where they won the war but ended up losing.]

[I don’t know about others, but I don’t think that Black King wouldn’t know this. If that’s the case, there’s only one possibility.]

Lee Hyun-soo’s voice sounded eerie.

[This guy isn’t thinking about the aftermath.]

That sounded strangely eerie.

[It’s the first time I’ve felt this way watching someone’s movements. They keep hiding their position and identity, infiltrating places that others don’t expect, and plotting something. They’re more like suicide bombers than an occupying force.]

“Suicide bombing…”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Even though he knew it was an absurd analogy, he thought it was somewhat valid.

‘It’s ridiculous.’

In the first place, terrorism is something that the weak do.

The strong who can push through with force don’t commit terrorism. Why would they risk danger and damage when they can just crush them with a direct approach?

But clearly, the Black King Faction’s movements had aspects that were reminiscent of terrorism.

“Then it must be one of two things. Either these crazy bastards are a group of fanatics who are obsessed with attacking something to the point of being perverted, or…”

[They’re people who are preparing to fight something stronger than themselves.]

“…Damn it, the more I think about it, the less I understand.”

[Chai Ke-chang.]

[Give up on useless things and gather all the scattered guys and switch to defense.]

“What?”

[I have a bad feeling. Their movements are slower than I expected. If they had shown even a little bit of what they were starting, we would have had more time, but the fact that they’re so quiet means we don’t have any more time.]

“There’s no movement, but we don’t have time?”

[When the sea becomes calm, a storm is coming.]

“…Is it the calm before the storm?”

Chai Ke-chang bit his lip slightly.

He was definitely feeling an unease that he couldn’t do anything about. There was no way they would be so quiet. Nevertheless, the reason why he hadn’t recalled all his forces, as Lee Hyun-soo had said, was a matter of pride.

It was too hard for him to accept that he couldn’t even find the traces of the Black King Faction even after mobilizing all the power of the Red King Faction.

[Don’t be needlessly prideful. You’re not going to say that your pride is more important than the lives of your subordinates, are you? I believe you’re not that much of a piece of trash.]

“Shut up, you turtle bastard.”

Chai Ke-chang cursed.

[Take care of yourself. We’re also moving quickly here, so I’ll share as much information as I can. As you know, neither you nor I can do anything alone this time.]

“I know.”

[Contact me if there’s anything.]

The call ended, and Chai Ke-chang stared blankly at his phone before chuckling.

‘He’s asking me to contact him?’

It was the first time Lee Hyun-soo had said something like that. He was acting calm, but it meant that Lee Hyun-soo was also extremely nervous right now.

“Is it a powerful enemy that we’ve never faced before in our lives?”

Certainly, Chai Ke-chang might need to brace himself more than he was now.

‘First, I need to get everyone back.’

Before that, I need to report to the Red King…

It was at that moment.

Bang!

The door burst open as if it had been smashed. At the same time, he saw the face of his subordinate rushing in, his face pale.

The moment he saw that face, Chai Ke-chang bit his lip, sensing something.

“S-Something terrible has happened!”

‘Lee Hyun-soo.’

You damn bastard, you should have told me sooner.

Damn it.