Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1886

“Lord Hui!”

Bang!

It felt like his voice arrived even before the sound of the door bursting open; he was that fast.

Kang Jin-ho looked up, staring at Lee Hyun-soo, who had kicked the door open.

“What’s going on?”

“L, Lord Hui, something’s happened!”

Just by looking at Lee Hyun-soo’s urgent face, one could roughly guess what had occurred. In the current situation, there was only one thing that could make Lee Hyun-soo this serious.

“Did they move?”

“Yes!”

There was no need to specify the subject.

“Where!”

“H, Hong King Faction! We received word from the Hong King Faction that the branches are being attacked simultaneously.”

“Branches?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘Are they trying to cut off our limbs?’

Typical of Cheongma [a strategist or tactician].

Either finish it in one go, or slowly suffocate them.

Cheongma might have dozens, even hundreds of other strategies, but these two were his favorites.

If they could minimize the damage by ending it quickly, they would throw in all their forces to decide the outcome in one go.

But if that wasn’t possible, they would cut off the opponent’s limbs, making them unable to move, and slowly suffocate them.

If the Hong King Faction had an intelligence organization, they would have targeted it first, but the Hong King Faction gathers information based on its overwhelming number of members rather than operating a separate intelligence unit.

So, attacking the outer branches was no different from destroying the Hong King Faction’s information network.

“What’s the situation?”

“…It seems to be the worst.”

“I thought I told you to warn the branches that they might be in danger?”

“I did.”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip slightly.

“And it seems they weren’t unprepared either. I heard they’ve set up support systems between branches and reinforced their personnel.”

“But that won’t be enough…”

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes slightly.

Come to think of it, there was no way they could have prepared any more than that.

Withdraw the branches out of concern for the enemy’s attack?

That might seem like a sure solution at first glance.

But withdrawing all the branches across the vast expanse of China was no different from giving up their control over the continent.

And if they had withdrawn only half of them, the outer areas of the remaining branches would be under attack right now.

Since the other side had already drawn their swords, they had to accept the damage. It was none other than Cheongma who was wielding the sword right now.

“Are they being attacked right now, or…”

“It’s not clear.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a questioning gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“…We can’t track the enemy’s movements. It seems we can’t predict whether they move to the next branch after annihilating one, or if they are satisfied and retreat.”

“…Can’t they be tracked? They must be small in number.”

“Yes. It seems like one person has been deployed to each branch.”

That means….

“It seems like those Twelve Flying Blades or whatever they’re called have stepped up themselves.”

“Yes. Probably.”

Kang Jin-ho let out a hollow laugh.

‘Should I call it fitting?’

But Lee Hyun-soo’s reaction was different from Kang Jin-ho’s.

“…I don’t understand.”

“Hmm?”

“Of course, a preemptive strike is important. But… this isn’t a preemptive strike to weaken the opponent’s forces. Although they’ve gained the upper hand with a swift attack, the damage is still minimal considering the overall power of the Hong King Faction.”

“That’s right.”

The branches were just branches.

“But to mobilize the strongest forces they can from the start for such minimal damage… isn’t this the same as exposing the main force’s information for a very small gain!”

Lee Hyun-soo’s words were not wrong at first glance.

The main force of the Black King Faction was the small number of absolute beings, the Twelve Flying Blades. That had already been confirmed with Baek Yeon-hong.

But the Black King Faction’s power wasn’t just that. Hadn’t they already confirmed that the forces each of the Twelve Flying Blades had gathered were also a force to be reckoned with?

In other words, there were forces that could move besides the Twelve Flying Blades. They were more than capable of attacking the branches.

But now, the ones at the forefront were the Twelve Flying Blades, the strongest forces of the Black King Faction.

“What benefit is there in this…”

“You said it yourself.”

“Yes?”

“A very small gain.”

“Is that enough reason to use the main force?”

“Hah, but that’s…”

“Understand, Lee Hyun-soo. Cheongma is that kind of guy from the start.”

From the start, Cheongma had never differentiated between Kang Jin-ho and other members of the Demonic Cult. In his eyes, ordinary members of the Demonic Cult and even the commanders right under the cult leader were just the same chess pieces.

There were just more useful chess pieces and less useful chess pieces, but the concept of saving the more useful chess pieces didn’t exist for him.

If Cheongma heard Lee Hyun-soo’s words right now, he would have asked back.

Why should they give up efficiency to hide forces that would be revealed anyway?

Clench.

Kang Jin-ho clenched his fist tightly.

Seeing Lee Hyun-soo’s reaction, it became clear that Cheongma had started to move.

“Are there any other attacks?”

“Not yet. Since they’re moving in small numbers, it’s impossible to track them, and we can’t figure out their routes.”

“So, they’re not even giving us information.”

Lee Hyun-soo closed his mouth.

“First, let’s calm down.”

“…I’m sorry. I got a little excited.”

If one could remain calm when the Black King moved, that would be more strange.

“You usually treat the Hong King Faction like a neighbor you hate, but it seems you’ve grown fond of them. Seeing you this flustered.”

“If an arsonist sets fire to the house next door, it’s obvious they’ll set fire to our house too. I can’t be happy just because the house of someone I hate is burning.”

“…I understand perfectly.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and looked at Lee Hyun-soo.

“So, what should we do now?”

“…For now, there’s nothing we can do. We haven’t even received a request for support from the Hong King Faction yet, so it’s not logical for us to rush in first. It would be best to go into emergency standby and receive real-time information from the Hong King Faction.”

“Then it’s decided.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Call the directors.”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had marked the Hong King Faction’s branches on the map, began to mark X’s on the outer branches. The faces of the directors, who were checking the locations of the destroyed branches, grew increasingly grim.

“How many do you estimate?”

“…You can tell just by looking.”

“Six, no… seven?”

Wiggins laughed in disbelief.

The Hong King Faction’s branches, scattered across the country, were being destroyed around seven points. What was interesting was that it was clear that these points were trying to maintain the maximum distance from each other.

“They don’t get along.”

“They seem to hate each other a lot.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded at the directors’ comments.

“They couldn’t have gotten along in the first place.”

They were all martial artists who had established their own families. Naturally, they would have great pride in their martial arts and abilities. If such martial artists had clashed seriously, they wouldn’t have been safe, so it could be assumed that Cheongma was intentionally preventing them from fighting each other.

Naturally, they would be unable to control their competitive spirit and desire to win against each other.

“Is there a gap we can exploit?”

Jang Min stroked his chin at Lee Hyun-soo’s words.

“There might be a gap, but it’s so wide that I don’t know if it would be meaningful. In the first place, a gap is only meaningful if you force it open and widen it…”

“That’s right.”

Bator nodded in agreement.

“In the first place, each of them is like a one-man army, so it doesn’t matter if they don’t get along. If we can track their movements and concentrate our forces, we might be able to take down one easily, but…”

Kang Jin-ho calmly took over the words.

“Cheongma would try to use that gap to gain an even greater advantage.”

“Certainly…”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded.

Wiggins looked at the map and opened his mouth.

“How long did it take for this to happen?”

“Less than thirty minutes.”

“What are the forces of each branch?”

“They are irregularly arranged with forces ranging from fifty to two hundred, which is below the average of the Hong King Faction.”

Wiggins, who had calculated the forces of the branches and the distance between them, let out a hollow laugh.

“I thought there would be some exaggeration when they said there were twelve guys as strong as Baek Yeon-hong, but…”

They probably hadn’t used all their strength to take down the branches. Considering that, it was safe to say that there were really guys like Baek Yeon-hong rampaging all over the Central Plains right now.

“Terrifying.”

There are things in the world that you can guess even without seeing them.

Lee Hyun-soo checked his phone and began to mark X’s again on the branches marked on the map.

“Already?”

“…The information has come through.”

“Huh.”

Wiggins’s lips twitched slightly.

After staring at the map for a long time, he looked up at Kang Jin-ho.

“Lord.”

“Speak.”

“We need to ask the Hong King Faction how they plan to prepare. If this situation continues, it might become uncontrollable.”

Lee Hyun-soo spoke as if to object.

“It’s certainly not good that the branches are being destroyed, but the damage isn’t that great.”

“That’s the problem.”

Wiggins opened his mouth with a stiff face.

“Easterners sometimes forget that a group is made up of individuals. People aren’t just numbers! Damage shouldn’t be assessed just by the numbers on a ledger. What do you think the people who have to hear the news that their branches have been annihilated are feeling right now?”

“To the ordinary martial artists of the Hong King Faction, it must feel like monsters are appearing all over the country and breathing fire. If this situation continues, they’ll collapse psychologically before the war even starts.”

Lee Hyun-soo closed his mouth as if he couldn’t argue with that.

The Hong King Faction was a sect maintained by loyalty to the Hong King. The Hong King’s overwhelming presence and power forced a sense of loyalty from his followers.

But….

If they knew that there were more than ten martial artists of the same level as the Hong King on the other side, would that control be maintained?

If the Hong King’s presence disappeared, the Hong King Faction, a massive sect that might never exist again in Chinese history, might be torn to shreds.

“Let’s wait and see.”

“But Lord.”

“They’re not that stupid either.”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head calmly.

“There’s no way they don’t know what we know. They’re not at a stage where they can’t think rationally yet.”

“…I understand.”

“And…”

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again without a word.

“…What were you going to say?”

“I had a bad feeling.”

“May I ask?”

Kang Jin-ho stared at the map for a moment before opening his mouth.

“I don’t know if a counterattack would be meaningful.”

“Yes?”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes, which were looking at the map, sank a little deeper.

“Cheongma would pull back and retreat at the right time. Being able to maintain his composure even at the point of maximum efficiency is his strength.”

“By the time we set up a plan and rush over, we’ll only see the remains of the destroyed branches.”

The air sank low.

It was as if they had finally realized who they had to face.

But….

Clench.

Kang Jin-ho’s fist, which had been lowered under the table, was lightly clenched.

‘It’s been too long, Cheongma.’

Seeing this swift movement, it felt like the smell of blood was wafting to the tip of his nose.

Like the old days….

The smell of the time when he roamed the battlefield with Cheongma.

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up without him realizing it.