Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1907

It was someone they had never seen before.

Yes, it was definitely the first time they were meeting him.

But it was strange.

Nangon and Pakwon seemed to know who the man approaching them was. No, it wasn’t a prediction or a guess, but a certainty.

Nangon licked his lips without realizing it.

He felt his parched lips tighten. His body, which had been relaxed just a moment ago, was now stiff with tension, like a new recruit facing an army of enemies filling the horizon.

‘Is he human?’

It was different.

This wasn’t just a matter of ‘strong’ or ‘not strong’.

Look.

A dense forest.

A man emerges from the dark forest, as if the grown branches are grasping the darkness. With each step he takes, the surrounding darkness seems to ripple and cheer.

“The Demon Lord…”

A suppressed groan escaped Pakwon’s lips.

Step, step.

The gaze of the one who emerged from the darkness reached Pakwon and Nangon.

Pakwon and Nangon bit their lips involuntarily as they met his gaze.

His appearance was very different from what they had imagined.

It was inevitable.

To them, the Demon Lord was a figure of the past. Since childhood, they had grown up listening to stories about the Demon Lord. In those stories, the Demon Lord was a complete destroyer.

A tyrant who dominated all demons and crushed everything in the world with darkness.

But unlike that monstrous image, the one they saw now was just an ordinary young man. Dark jeans, a bright sweatshirt, and an aviator jacket over it.

A typical young man you could meet anywhere on the street. He wasn’t draped in a flamboyant robe stained with blood, nor was he a long-haired demon clad in black martial attire.

Yes. He was just ordinary.

But neither Pakwon nor Nangon doubted for a moment that the man before them was the Demon Lord.

Look.

His appearance may be ordinary, but his aura was anything but.

The energies around the young man were screaming.

Who said that?

That martial arts is ultimately a process of resembling and assimilating with nature.

That those who have achieved great martial arts become nature themselves.

If they showed the scene unfolding before their eyes to the one who said those words, what would they say?

That’s not assimilation.

It’s literally oppression.

The Demon Lord’s very existence crushes the surrounding energies. The energies scream, crumble, and are sucked in.

‘Is it a different caliber…?’

Their whole bodies were covered in goosebumps.

They were now mostly devoid of human emotions, but they couldn’t help but shudder at the sight.

Demons.

Demons they had rarely seen in their time. They had finally encountered the one at the pinnacle of those demons.

It was a different caliber.

Even those who walk the path of the demonic arts are ultimately on the same path of martial arts. They thought that even if there were differences, how different could they be? But the moment they faced the Demon Lord, they realized how naive their thoughts had been.

He was like a different creature altogether.

They couldn’t understand how he could be a being made of the same flesh and blood as them.

An incomprehensible being.

It was like…

Tap, tap.

The cigarette in Kang Jin-ho’s mouth burned with a bright red flame.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been quietly watching the two, turned his gaze to Hong King.

Kang Jin-ho smiled wryly as he saw Hong King, who seemed to be struggling just to stand.

“You’re a mess.”

Hong King stared blankly at Kang Jin-ho.

Then, he let out a hollow laugh. It seemed that his energy was slowly returning to his body, which had been so battered that he couldn’t even open his mouth properly.

It was funny.

Relief?

To feel relief at the sight of that Demon Lord, he must have gone completely mad.

“…How did you know to come?”

“It wasn’t that difficult.”

Kang Jin-ho said casually.

“It’s a method I’ve seen a lot.”

Hong King shook his head.

He didn’t know how Kang Jin-ho had appeared here, but one thing was certain. The best salvation he could have hoped for in his current situation had arrived.

“I don’t want to ask for your help, but… honestly, I don’t have the strength to put on a show.”

“Step back.”

Kang Jin-ho took another step forward.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Hong King nodded silently and took a step back. At the same time, several footsteps began to be heard from the forest where Kang Jin-ho had come from.

“This…”

Bator, who appeared at the front, curled up the corners of his mouth.

“They look like they’re not easy to deal with.”

Pakwon narrowed his eyes.

He immediately recognized that Bator was the owner of the terrifying power that had flown towards Nangon a moment ago. Pakwon’s face hardened as he confirmed the appearances of Jang Min, Wiggins, and even Bang Jin-hoon who appeared behind him.

“The Assembly…”

Pakwon twisted his lips.

“I heard that there were only insignificant guys who weren’t worth paying attention to, except for the Demon Lord.”

“Was the information wrong?”

They were not easy to deal with.

It’s difficult to accurately gauge an opponent’s strength before actually exchanging blows. But just from the feeling and aura they were emitting, it was clear that they were not easy opponents.

Whether the information was wrong, or whether everyone had grown so much in such a short time, it was hard to tell…

‘This isn’t good.’

What was certain was that the ones who had appeared now were also powerful figures who could not be easily dealt with.

‘What should I do?’

Nangon bit his lip tightly.

From the beginning, Black King was someone who left most things to their discretion. The only order they had received this time was to wait around Hangzhou and kill any big shots that appeared.

‘I didn’t hear anything about encountering the Demon Lord.’

So it was inevitable that they would be confused.

They hadn’t heard anything about the Assembly’s participation. Even though the Black King’s faction was a disorganized mess, there was no way they wouldn’t have told them this important information.

That meant that the Demon Lord’s appearance here was an unexpected situation that even the Black King hadn’t anticipated.

Nangon’s gaze turned to Kang Jin-ho.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Demon Lord.”

“I have always heard of your glorious name.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“It’s not a glorious name, but an infamous one.”

“…Whatever it is. What’s important is that the entire martial world has admired your achievements and power for so long.”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze fixed on Nangon.

“So, what do you want to say?”

Nangon swallowed hard.

Every time their voices crossed, every time their eyes met, he felt the hairs on his body stand on end.

“I cannot presume to know his intentions, but… I believe the Black King does not wish to antagonize the Demon Lord.”

Nangon continued, looking at Kang Jin-ho.

“But if the Demon Lord… no, if the Assembly is blocking the Black King’s faction and protecting Hong King, does that mean that the Assembly is now turning into an enemy of the Black King’s faction?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Just as Nangon was about to frown, not understanding the meaning of the smile, Kang Jin-ho’s indifferent voice pierced his ears.

“So?”

Nangon’s breathing became a little faster.

“Are you saying you’re going to turn the Black King into an enemy? Surely someone of your caliber knows what kind of situation that choice will lead to?”

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

He had a faint smile, but then he burst into a big laugh. But that laugh only tightened Nangon’s heart.

“What kind of situation?”

“Try it.”

“I’m curious too. I wonder what will happen.”

“Tsk…”

Just as Nangon was about to say something more, Pakwon raised his hand to stop him. Then, he opened his mouth with a cold voice.

“Don’t waste your breath on meaningless words. The moment we showed up here, it was all over.”

Nangon was well aware of that fact.

The reason he tried to confirm it was because he knew that the Black King reacted differently to the Demon Lord than to anyone else.

The fear of the Black King came from his indifference.

He was someone who could crush even those he had been with for a hundred years like insects if necessary.

That’s why none of the Twelve Flying Blades were surprised when they heard that Baek Yeon-hong had his arm cut off by the Black King.

But Kang Jin-ho was different.

If others had dared to show murderous intent and hostility towards the Black King, the Black King would have either killed them in excruciating pain on the spot or crushed them so thoroughly that they would never be able to show hostility in front of the Black King again.

Just like they had been in the past.

But not Kang Jin-ho. The Black King did not apply his principles to Kang Jin-ho. That’s why antagonizing Kang Jin-ho was a burden even for the Twelve Flying Blades.

Crazy guys like Baek Yeon-hong didn’t care about that, but those who were in their right minds couldn’t help but feel burdened by Kang Jin-ho’s existence.

Nangon looked back and forth between Hong King and Kang Jin-ho.

They needed two of them to catch Hong King alone. Then, to catch Kang Jin-ho and those four?

‘There’s no need to calculate.’

It was impossible with their current strength.

To be honest, there was no guarantee that they could handle even Kang Jin-ho alone. They couldn’t gauge the extent of Kang Jin-ho’s power just by looking at him. They would have to exchange blows to know how strong he was.

But…

‘Such a gamble is impossible.’

They were no longer wolves.

They were hunting dogs. Like hunting dogs thoroughly trained to achieve their goals. They were not allowed to make choices that exceeded their authority, nor were they allowed to take risks.

Within perfect autonomy, there was a more perfect limit that was firmly established.

“…We’re retreating.”

Pakwon’s fierce gaze was fixed on Nangon.

“We don’t have the authority.”

Pakwon bit his lip as if chewing it.

He also understood the meaning of Nangon’s words. It wasn’t a situation to be stubborn about.

“…I understand.”

Nangon said in a low voice, looking at Kang Jin-ho.

“If the Demon Lord is blocking us, we have no other choice. We will retreat. But the next time we meet, we won’t retreat as easily as we are now.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled faintly at those words.

“You’re mistaken.”

“…Yes?”