Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 281

Vroom, vroom.

The low but powerful engine sound filled his ears. Kang Jin-ho smiled, enjoying the sound he hadn’t heard in a while.

‘There’s something oddly satisfying about this.’

Frankly, if he ran at full speed, he could outpace this car. In his past life, he could have gone even faster without much effort.

In terms of speed, Kang Jin-ho had experienced much greater velocities. However, there was a distinct difference between driving a car and running on two legs.

The feeling of controlling a machine that moved like a blade at his will was a pleasure he had never experienced before.

‘I’ve become a modern man.’

He used to find cars cumbersome, but now that he didn’t have one, he felt a sense of longing. Now that he was driving again, an inexplicable joy washed over him.

Vroom, vroom, vroom!

He pressed the accelerator, and the engine roared as it picked up speed.

At the same time, the car shot forward like a plane taking off, accelerating like crazy.

“Ugh! That crazy bastard!”

Drivers on the city expressway were shocked as they watched the red sports car speed past them.

“He’ll probably crash and die before he learns to drive safely!”

“…But what kind of car is that? The back looks really weird.”

“It’s not a car we need to know about.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a car we don’t need to know about. Don’t pay it any mind.”

“Okay.”

The driver sighed softly, watching the car become a distant dot.

‘Lucky bastard.’

Even if he cursed and got angry, he still wanted to drive a car like that. It was impossible not to speed if you had a car like that. If he had that car, he would have driven like that, no matter what anyone said.

“If you’re jealous, make money or be born with a silver spoon. I don’t know who that rich kid is, but he’s got it good.”

Kang Jin-ho, who had never even thought about being born with a silver spoon except when he was a baby, slowly reduced his speed.

‘This is the problem.’

If he took his eyes off the speedometer for even a moment, the speed would shoot up. Since Kang Jin-ho could control speeds much higher than the average person, he would end up speeding if he wasn’t careful.

Kang Jin-ho slowed down and fell into thought.

‘Or maybe it’s because I’ve been holding back too much.’

He had given his final warning, so a conclusion would be reached soon. If Lee Jung-geol had understood his words, he would surrender soon. If not, he would prepare for a fight.

Which would it be?

Kang Jin-ho chuckled softly.

It was the same in the Central Plains [a fictional setting often used in martial arts stories, referring to the heartland of China].

Warriors were not the type to surrender easily. Even in a truly hopeless situation where death was the only option, they would resist until the very end.

‘That’s what makes them warriors, I guess.’

The path Lee Jung-geol would choose was obvious.

He would fight him until the very last moment.

Kang Jin-ho raised his hand and rubbed his face.

‘I gave him a warning.’

He had provided a way out. He had even opened a path for him to escape. If he still chose to confront him instead of running, then all the responsibility would be on them.

Suppressing the strange heat rising in his stomach, Kang Jin-ho slowly began to press the accelerator again.

Like a meteor streaking across the night sky, the red sports car began to race down the road.

* * *

“Surrender?”

Lee Jung-geol’s face had become gaunt in the past few days. Lee Hyun-joo wiped her eyes as she looked at her grandfather’s deeply shadowed face.

Where did it all go wrong?

Just a month ago, the General Assembly was peaceful, and Lee Hyun-joo was full of confidence. But in just one month, their situation had become as bad as it could possibly get.

‘Kang Jin-ho.’

She knew it wasn’t because of Kang Jin-ho. But Lee Hyun-joo couldn’t shake the feeling that all of this had happened because of him.

Reason and emotion were clashing.

Even if it wasn’t Kang Jin-ho, it would have happened eventually, but she couldn’t shake the impression that Kang Jin-ho’s appearance had accelerated things.

Lee Hyun-joo quietly pressed her chest.

‘It’s meaningless.’

Whether Kang Jin-ho was involved or not didn’t matter. What mattered was that they were already pushed to the brink, and it was time to make a choice.

“We tried to chase away a wolf and ended up calling in a tiger.”

Lee Jung-geol laughed hollowly.

His face was filled with regret and anguish.

This was the General Assembly he had protected his entire life. But now, the world was telling him to step down.

‘Is it time to say I’ve done enough?’

Lee Jung-geol laughed.

Who decided that?

Lee Jung-geol clenched his fist.

“Those ignorant fools.”

His face began to show signs of aging. He was the one who had built the General Assembly to this point. He was the one who had gathered the scattered martial artists after the war and led them this far.

But now, those who had grown by taking the fruits of his labor were criticizing him for being old and telling him to step down.

‘How dare they!’

Lee Jung-geol’s eyes blazed.

“I can’t allow it.”

“Grandfather!”

“I can’t allow it!”

Bang!

Lee Jung-geol slammed his fist on the wooden desk, splitting it in half.

“How can I just hand over the General Assembly that I built to them! I can’t do that! I can’t!”

“But Grandfather…”

Lee Hyun-joo looked at her grandfather with a pitiful expression.

“There’s no other way.”

“No other way? Our forces are still superior.”

Lee Hyun-joo shook her head.

“No, Grandfather. We’ve already lost.”

“What nonsense are you spouting! How can we lose when I’m still alive!”

“You need to face reality.”

Lee Hyun-joo said with a sigh.

“Not many of those who support us will actually shed blood and fight. When the time comes, they’ll remain silent.”

“Isn’t it the same for him! How much influence does Bang Jin-hoon have that people would risk their lives for him!”

“But he’s been building his power with this situation in mind from the start. There will definitely be more people willing to move for him than for us.”

“Hmm…”

Lee Jung-geol groaned.

“And how are you going to stop Kang Jin-ho?”

At the mention of Kang Jin-ho’s name, fear clouded Lee Jung-geol’s face.

Just hearing his name made his heart pound and feel like it was about to stop.

‘Kang Jin-ho…’

His reason told him.

He couldn’t be stopped.

Even if he gathered all the people he could mobilize, he wouldn’t be able to stop Kang Jin-ho. He possessed a level of martial prowess that was on a different dimension.

“Those damn returnees.”

There was an order to the world.

But the returnees, who had suddenly experienced the past, were disrupting the order of this world. Until now, the returnees had been relatively quiet, so there hadn’t been any major problems. But this Kang Jin-ho was different from the other returnees. He was openly stepping forward and shaking the world.

“And even if we manage to stop Kang Jin-ho, we won’t be able to withstand the Yeongnam Assembly’s offensive with the forces we’ve lost in the fight. Then the General Assembly will be absorbed by the Yeongnam Assembly.”

“There’s no other way now, Grandfather.”

Bang Jin-hoon would never give up. Then Lee Jung-geol had to give up. That was the only way to save the General Assembly that he had dedicated his life to.

“There’s no other way?”

Lee Jung-geol’s eyes blazed with age.

“Since when did you become such a weakling?”

“…Grandfather.”

“This is the General Assembly I built. Are you telling me to just hand it over to someone else? I can’t!”

“But…”

“Didn’t I say I can’t!”

Lee Hyun-joo’s expression hardened.

‘He’s different.’

The person in front of her was not the grandfather she had known her whole life. The Lee Jung-geol who always tried to find the wisest path with his cold reason was gone. All that was left was an old man consumed by greed.

‘So that’s why.’

Lee Hyun-joo closed her eyes tightly.

When Bang Jin-hoon had raised his voice, saying that Lee Jung-geol should step down, she had thought that Bang Jin-hoon was consumed by his desire for power. She thought he was falsely accusing her grandfather to become the Assembly Head.

But that wasn’t it. Her grandfather was no longer the man he used to be.

‘I should have realized it sooner.’

If she had, they might not have come this far…

“Grandfather, we have to at least protect the General Assembly.”

“What’s the point of protecting the General Assembly if it’s in the hands of someone else!”

“It’s better than it disappearing completely. Do you want to see the Yeongnam Assembly unify Korea?”

“…Right, that’s it.”

As soon as Lee Jung-geol heard the words ‘Yeongnam Assembly,’ he stared blankly into the air as if he had realized something.

“Come to think of it, the beginning of all this wasn’t Bang Jin-hoon or Kang Jin-ho. It was the Yeongnam Assembly. The Yeongnam Assembly was the beginning of all this.”

“Grandfather…”

What was the point of saying that now?

Lee Jung-geol looked at Lee Hyun-joo and said quietly.

“Do you know how the Yeongnam Assembly grew so rapidly?”

“Huh?”

What was he talking about? Why was that important now?

Lee Hyun-joo was confused, but Lee Jung-geol continued to speak as if he didn’t care about her reaction.

“It’s because they brought in foreign powers.”

“Foreign powers?”

Lee Jung-geol nodded.

“Yes, foreign powers. They received support from the Chinese martial arts world. That’s how they were able to grow so rapidly. If the Korean martial arts world falls into the hands of the Yeongnam Assembly, Korea will be no different from a Chinese colony.”

“So we have to stop that from happening.”

“Yes, we have to stop it.”

Lee Jung-geol’s eyes gleamed.

Lee Hyun-joo felt a sudden unease when she saw that expression.

It was an expression she had never seen before. It was an expression that didn’t suit her kind and gentle grandfather.

With that face, a mixture of greed and madness, Lee Jung-geol began to chuckle.

“I was wrong from the start. It was foolish of me to try to fight them fairly when they were being so cowardly.”

“Grandfather…”

“If they’re using the power of foreign forces, then I can use the same method.”

Lee Hyun-joo’s eyes began to tremble rapidly.

“Grandfather!”

Lee Jung-geol’s expression slowly changed. His gleaming eyes slowly calmed down, and Lee Jung-geol, with his usual face, gave a gentle smile.

“You don’t have to worry anymore. This old man will take care of everything soon.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“I told you, you don’t have to worry.”

“…Get a hold of yourself, Grandfather! What’s wrong with you!”

“Hehehe, you.”

Lee Jung-geol clapped his hands, and the door opened, and men in black suits entered.

“It would be troublesome if this girl started talking, so keep her locked up for a while.”

“Yes.”

Lee Hyun-joo screamed as she felt rough hands grab her shoulders.

“Stop it! Grandfather! Stop it!”

“Don’t worry, just rest for a while.”

“Grandfather!”

Lee Jung-geol quietly opened his mouth as he watched Lee Hyun-joo being dragged out the door.

“I have to turn everything back.”

Even if it meant using unfair methods.

From the General Assembly Head’s office, a movement that would plunge the world into chaos was beginning.