Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1949

Bang!

A fist slams into his face.

His mind reels, and his knees buckle.

But the Blood King barely manages to regain his senses and throws a punch.

Bang!

Kang Jin-ho’s head snaps back.

But almost as quickly as it turned, Kang Jin-ho’s head snaps back into place, his eyes blazing with a fierce blue light as he bares his teeth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Kang Jin-ho’s barrage of attacks rains down on the Blood King’s guard.

The Blood King takes a step back without realizing it. But Kang Jin-ho closes the distance even faster than the Blood King retreats, throwing punches relentlessly.

The Blood King reflexively tries to tilt his head,

Crack!

Kang Jin-ho’s outstretched foot slams down on the Blood King’s shin. The shinbone snaps, and the Blood King’s leg bends backward.

“Guh!”

Then, using the momentum, Kang Jin-ho’s knee rises and strikes the Blood King’s jaw directly.

The Blood King reflexively crosses his arms to defend his jaw. But Kang Jin-ho, as if not caring whether it’s his jaw or his arms, slams his knee into the Blood King’s arm covering his jaw.

Kwaaaang!

The Blood King’s body staggers backward like a leaf caught in a typhoon, his mind reeling.

“Kuh…”

The Blood King lowers his trembling arms. An unmistakable look of disbelief flickers in his eyes.

‘What the hell is this…’

When an ordinary martial artist becomes a Jiang Shi [a type of Chinese hopping vampire or zombie], they gain the power to tear apart a master with their bare hands. It’s not about adding to their strength; it’s about amplifying the power they already possessed.

In other words, the strength of a Jiang Shi depends on how strong they were before becoming one.

Even an ordinary martial artist can gain enough power to overwhelm a superhuman, so how much stronger would someone like the Blood King become if he turned into a Jiang Shi?

‘But why!’

The Blood King’s broken shin instantly mends, and the wounds on his arms quickly darken and return to their original state.

However, the dull pain in his arms and broken shin clearly proves that the impact he just received was not an illusion.

“Ptoo!”

Just then, Kang Jin-ho spits out the blood that had pooled in his mouth.

Wiping the blood from his mouth with his sleeve, Kang Jin-ho slowly approaches the Blood King, his twisted smile still in place. As if this was just the beginning.

The Blood King stares at Kang Jin-ho with a look of horror.

‘He’s enduring my attacks as a Jiang Shi with his bare body?’

This is his trump card. No, it’s more than just a trump card; it’s his last resort.

Completely transforming his body into a Jiang Shi.

His body becomes harder than even Bator [likely a reference to a very hard substance or character], and his recovery and regeneration abilities increase beyond comparison. Considering the Blood King’s physical abilities, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that a dark avatar surpassing even superhumans is born.

Yet, the only reason the Blood King has been holding back from transforming his body into a Jiang Shi until now is because of one thing.

Crack.

The Blood King clenches his fist.

‘Damn it.’

A Jiang Shi is, literally, a Jiang Shi. Someone who becomes a Jiang Shi can no longer be called a martial artist.

Why?

The reason is quite simple. A Jiang Shi no longer grows.

The strength of a Jiang Shi is determined by how strong the material was before it became a Jiang Shi. But no matter who the material was, once they become a Jiang Shi, they can no longer grow stronger.

In the end, becoming a Jiang Shi is like setting a limit based on the strength you had up to that point. An unbreakable, solid limit.

The moment you become a Jiang Shi, you gain power that is incomparable to what you had before, but in return, you have to give up your future as a martial artist.

Therefore, if there is even a slight chance of becoming stronger, the transformation into a Jiang Shi should be postponed as much as possible.

But now, the Blood King has made the decision he had been putting off for the sake of survival.

If he continued to grow stronger, he might have had a chance to surpass even the Black King, but now, he no longer has any possibilities left.

Losing the possibility of becoming stronger as a martial artist is no different from giving up everything.

But…

Despite paying such a heavy price for choosing the Jiang Shi transformation, his immense power is not overwhelming that damned monster.

No.

Rather, he was slowly being pushed back.

How is this even possible?

“This can’t be… this can’t be happening!”

Blood light surges from the Blood King’s eyes.

He can feel it.

A power he has never felt before is surging through his entire body. The power pulsating in his muscles feels like it could crush even a mountain with a single blow, and the inner energy rising from his dantian [an energy center in the body according to traditional Chinese medicine] and flowing through his body is surging as if it would burst out.

This is a level he has never reached even in his previous life.

He must crush him.

He must suppress him.

But…

Crack!

The Blood King’s expression twists horribly as he looks at Kang Jin-ho’s face.

“This…”

A condescending gaze.

Even though he has already experienced his power with his own body, even though he has experienced his all-out attacks, Kang Jin-ho has not lost his aura of a strongman.

That condescending gaze fills the Blood King with unbearable humiliation.

“Are you… looking down on me?”

The Blood King’s eyes emit a red glow.

If it were the Blood King before his Jiang Shi transformation, he would have laughed off that gaze. Because he still had possibilities left.

But not now.

Now, he no longer has the possibility of becoming stronger. That means that if he is being ignored now, there is no way for him to escape that disregard in the future.

Intense humiliation.

And unbearable rage.

“Haaah… Uaaaaaaah!” The Blood King lets out a bloodcurdling scream and charges at Kang Jin-ho. It was such a violent sight that it was hard to believe it was the same Blood King who had been overly rational and cold as a snake.

The Blood King, who had charged in an instant, brought down both fists on Kang Jin-ho.

“Dieeeeeee!”

The Blood King, spitting out blood-tinged saliva, and Kang Jin-ho, with an unknown, subtle smile, locked eyes.

Kwaaaang!

The ground where Kang Jin-ho had been standing explodes, and the soil and rocks that made up the earth shoot up like a fountain, scattering in all directions.

A terrifying destructive power.

A sight that was unimaginable to be created by a human body.

But the face of the Blood King, who had created that sight, was not bright. Just before his fist reached Kang Jin-ho’s head, Kang Jin-ho disappeared as if he had vanished from that spot.

‘Where?’

At that moment, a low whisper was heard from right behind him.

“Not so fast.”

Kang Jin-ho’s hand grabs the back of the Blood King’s neck as he instinctively tries to turn around.

Crack!

At the same time, Kang Jin-ho’s fist slams into the Blood King’s back with all his might.

Kwaaaang!

The Blood King’s body bends backward like a shrimp.

Kwaaang! Kwaaang! Kwaang!

“Guh…”

A gurgling sound escapes from the Blood King’s mouth.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

He flails his hands reflexively, but Kang Jin-ho’s body has already disappeared from that spot.

“Foolish.”

The Blood King’s head snaps upward. But what he can see is not Kang Jin-ho’s figure, but Kang Jin-ho’s fist, which is already almost touching his face.

Thud!

The Blood King’s body crashes through the floor.

Kang Jin-ho, who landed lightly, looks at the black hole created by the Blood King with a faint sneer.

At that moment.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

The floor explodes as the Blood King shoots up.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

A beast-like roar echoes from his throat.

“This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening! Uaaaaaaah!”

The Blood King’s face was almost beyond human recognition. His already grotesque face was covered in hatred and rage, creating an indescribably horrific form.

“This can’t be happening! I! I can’t be defeated by the likes of you! I! Iiiiiiiiiiiii!”

The Blood King’s body begins to be covered in a blood-red mist.

The blood flowing from the cracks all over his body vaporizes, swirling around his body.

“Ooooooooooooooo!”

Even a demon from hell would not look as horrific as this.

But Kang Jin-ho’s eyes, looking at that sight, still only hold a sneer.

“Gong-ryeong!”

The moment the Blood King lets out a tearing scream, hundreds of wires shoot up from the floor and wrap around Kang Jin-ho’s hands.

“Hmm?”

Kang Jin-ho frowns.

If they were wires with the intention to cut, it wouldn’t be difficult to deflect them. But the power contained in these wires is pulling force. As if coated with adhesive, the wires stick to his hands.

“Youuuuuu!”

At the same time, the Blood King shouts and charges at Kang Jin-ho.

If both hands are tied, he has no choice but to take the Blood King’s absurd power with his body. Even for Kang Jin-ho, that is not something he can withstand.

The Blood King pushes all his power into his right hand. The inner energy surges into his arm, which is harder than steel. The cracks around his fist widen, and red inner energy bursts out like light.

If he were to take that blow, even Kang Jin-ho would not be unscathed.

But at that moment, Kang Jin-ho, instead of dodging, charges towards the Blood King.

“This!”

The Blood King, thinking that even that action was a way of ignoring him, pushes all the remaining inner energy into his arm. If he could kill Kang Jin-ho with this one blow, he didn’t care about the consequences.

“Dieeeeeee!”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth twist grotesquely.

Crack! Crack!

The wires binding his hands are pulled taut, as if they are about to break. The wires pierce through Kang Jin-ho’s protective aura and dig into his flesh.

Gong-ryeong [likely a name or title] must also be pouring all his inner energy into the wires right now. To not miss this one chance.

But that was only helping Kang Jin-ho.

Screech! Screech!

Kang Jin-ho, who had been pulling the wires as if to break them, suddenly releases his strength.

Kwaaaaaaa!

The wires, which had been pulled with all their might, pull Kang Jin-ho backward at an incredible speed. As if a master archer, who had pulled back his bow to the breaking point, shoots an arrow with terrifying force, Kang Jin-ho’s body is flung backward at an unimaginable speed.

‘What?’

The Blood King’s all-in attack cuts through the air in vain.

But the real show started then.

Kang Jin-ho, who had been flung backward, briefly swings his arm. At the same time, the wires that had been stretched to their limit ripple along his hand and wrap around the Blood King’s body.

Whirr!

The wires, filled with pulling force, stick to the Blood King’s body as if coated with adhesive. The wires, which wrap around the Blood King’s body a few times, are pulled taut, restricting his body.

“Handing over your weapon to your opponent isn’t a good choice.”

A twisted smile blooms on Kang Jin-ho’s lips as he grabs the wires wrapped around his hand.

“Because from that moment on, it becomes my weapon too.”

Whoosh!

The demonic energy that surged up, swirling around Kang Jin-ho’s body, flows along the wires in his hand. Like fire spreading on oil, black flames instantly ignite the wires and move towards the Blood King.

And then…

“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The demonic energy that reached the wires wrapped around the Blood King’s body engulfs his body in black flames, burning fiercely.

The Blood King, emitting blood-red smoke from within the black demonic flames, burns fiercely. His screams of pain echo through the sky.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho, with a cigarette in his mouth, brings the demonic flames to light it. Then, with an utterly indifferent gaze, he looks at the burning Blood King.

“Make-up is too good for you.”

So…

You should be grateful.

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth form a twisted smile.