Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 355

This was blatant mockery. Usually, no matter what one might think, they wouldn’t say such things directly to someone’s face.

So, it was clear they weren’t called here with good intentions. The realization made him close his eyes.

‘This is the end.’

Even if he didn’t die here, there would surely be retaliation.

‘What am I…’

He shouldn’t have tried to climb up relying on the other party’s goodwill. If Lee Joong-gul was a chairman, and Bang Jin-hoon was also a chairman, he should have treated both chairmen equally.

If Lee Joong-gul was more democratic and listened well, he should have been grateful and responded accordingly, but instead, he had rushed in, trying to bite.

And this was the result.

With a miserable heart, Lee Myung-hwan closed his eyes, and then he heard Kang Jin-ho’s voice.

“Why are you saying such things?”

“No, it’s the truth. Wow, I’m so embarrassed.”

“Even if it’s the truth, you shouldn’t say it in front of the people involved.”

“Why can’t I speak when I have a mouth?”

“You could do that before, but now you’re a chairman. You need to realize that your words carry weight. What you say as a joke might not be taken as a joke by others.”

“Tsk!”

Lee Myung-hwan slowly opened his eyes.

‘What is going on?’

Kang Jin-ho was defending them.

In reality, they had attacked Kang Jin-ho more than Bang Jin-hoon. Even if he was upset, Kang Jin-ho should have been more upset than Bang Jin-hoon.

Yet, Kang Jin-ho was now defending them. In a daze, Lee Myung-hwan raised his head to look at Kang Jin-ho.

“And these are people we called to ask for a favor. How can you start by putting them down?”

“I know, I know. Isn’t it because I’m frustrated?”

Bang Jin-hoon started muttering to himself.

Normally, this would have been a situation that would have made him burst out laughing, but Lee Myung-hwan was half out of it, busy trying to figure out the situation.

What on earth was going on?

“I’m sorry,” Kang Jin-ho apologized on behalf of Bang Jin-hoon.

Lee Myung-hwan frantically waved his hands.

“Ah, no! It’s not like that! I’m not upset at all. If anyone should apologize, it’s us. We spoke carelessly, so we should be the ones apologizing.”

“…Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

‘Is he for real?’

He didn’t seem to be acting.

If he could act so naturally with that face, he should just go straight to the entertainment industry, regardless of being a martial artist or not.

But the fact that he was here was the most solid proof that he wasn’t acting.

“We apologize. We’re sorry.”

Lee Myung-hwan stood up abruptly and bowed his head, and Gong Young-gil quickly stood up and bowed with him.

“I was out of my mind for a moment. I’m sorry.”

“No. Why are you doing this…”

Kang Jin-ho, looking perplexed, stood up and gently pushed them back into their seats.

“I don’t think you did anything that requires an apology.”

“We said…”

“It seems like you only said what was right. It’s absurd for me to take the director position.”

Then, Bang Jin-hoon muttered from the side, ‘He’s complaining even when given the position,’ but Kang Jin-ho cleanly ignored Bang Jin-hoon’s words. There was no end to responding to every single word.

“I know that anyone would feel resentment if someone suddenly appeared and became a director. If there are any misunderstandings, please tell them that wasn’t my intention.”

“Ah… yes.”

A chilling sensation was crawling up Lee Myung-hwan’s spine.

‘He’s normal.’

And a very reasonable person at that. And that fact was making Lee Myung-hwan even more terrified.

If they didn’t know what Kang Jin-ho had done before coming here, they might have been impressed by Kang Jin-ho’s magnanimity and reasonable response. But they had heard things.

If those actions were true, this guy was completely insane.

“But the favor…”

“Ah!”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head to look, and Bang Jin-hoon, with a dissatisfied look, stared at them before opening his mouth.

“Do you guys smoke?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if you smoke.”

“…We do.”

“Then let’s have a smoke before we start. I’m feeling stuffy, so I need to have one.”

“Yes. Please do.”

“You know, it’s the most uncomfortable thing in the world to sit with smokers while I’m the only one smoking. Hurry up and light one each.”

While they were wondering whether to do as they were told or to be polite, Kang Jin-ho put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

‘Oh well, whatever,’ Lee Myung-hwan thought, putting a cigarette in his mouth, and Gong Young-gil also quietly put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Soon, the chairman’s office was filled with cigarette smoke.

“Ugh, damn it. It’s a raccoon den.”

Bang Jin-hoon stood up from his seat, opened the window, and then sat back down.

“Anyway…”

“Yes.”

“It hasn’t been announced yet, but it seems like a major event will happen tomorrow.”

“A major event?”

“The Yeongnam Association.”

“Ah!”

Lee Myung-hwan couldn’t help but half-shout. There had been rumors recently that they would have a major showdown with the Yeongnam Association, but he didn’t expect it to be decided so abruptly.

They had been threatening to fight before, but they had never come to a proper conclusion and had always fizzled out, so he thought it would be the same this time…

‘Are they really going to do it?’

If the General Assembly and the Yeongnam Association went to war, it wouldn’t be a small matter. The two forces had been criticizing and checking each other, but they had never fought properly. They both knew that the aftermath of a war would be too great.

Yet, Bang Jin-hoon, who knew this better than anyone, was now talking about war.

“Are you really going to do it?”

“Yeah.”

“…It won’t be a joke, you know.”

“I know.”

Bang Jin-hoon said indifferently, leaning back on the sofa.

“Who wants to do it? What’s so good about war that I would do it? But it’s a situation where we can’t avoid it. I’ll explain later, but right now, a lot of Japanese bastards have come to Korea. These bastards are trying to swallow both sides, taking advantage of our division.”

‘So it was true.’

Hearing the words ‘Japanese bastards’ sent shivers down his spine.

What the cleanup crew had said was true. Those Japanese bastards had targeted Kang Jin-ho and Bang Jin-hoon, and Kang Jin-ho had clearly beaten them to a pulp and killed them.

He had thought it was probably true, but after having it verified, his fear of Kang Jin-ho grew even more.

“Then, shouldn’t we cooperate?”

“If that were possible, why would we have been like this until now?”

“…That’s true.”

“So, it’s better to just have a big fight and unify.”

Lee Myung-hwan looked at Bang Jin-hoon with a dumbfounded expression.

If it were that easy, why would they have been like this until now, as Bang Jin-hoon said?

In terms of power, the Yeongnam Association was a step above the General Assembly. So, even if they were annoyed and angry, they had been avoiding it because it was too much trouble.

But now, he was talking about unification.

“It won’t be easy.”

“It’s not difficult. It’s just a matter of time.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s not something I need to explain to you in detail, but anyway, if we fight, we’ll win. The problem is that we need to win with as little damage as possible.”

Lee Myung-hwan nodded, not knowing anything.

He didn’t understand or comprehend anything, but the person in front of him was the chairman. He couldn’t ask what kind of nonsense it was when he was speaking with such conviction.

He had already gone to the underworld and come back once, hadn’t he?

No, he couldn’t even be sure that he had come back yet. Realizing his situation once again, Lee Myung-hwan cautiously asked.

“So… what do we have to do?”

“Ah, right. I don’t know how the conversation got this far. What you have to do isn’t much. To put it simply, what should I call it… a navigation system?”

“…Huh?”

Lee Myung-hwan looked at Bang Jin-hoon with a dumbfounded expression.

“Rather than a navigation system, you need to act as a signpost. You know, like a police line or something.”

“Access restriction?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Where are we supposed to block?”

Bang Jin-hoon gestured with his chin towards Kang Jin-ho.

“Here.”

Lee Myung-hwan’s gaze reached Kang Jin-ho.

“I… I’m sorry, but I’m not very smart, so it’s hard for me to understand if you speak so indirectly.”

“I’m not speaking indirectly. I’m saying, literally, block the guys who approach this man.”

What on earth was he talking about?

Seeing Lee Myung-hwan struggling to understand, Bang Jin-hoon chuckled.

“It seems like you have some recognition, and the guys know you, and you roughly know their faces.”

“That’s right.”

“Frankly speaking, these days, it’s not like the old days when countries fought each other, and we won’t be running around in uniforms. The outfits are either tracksuits or suits, so how can you tell the difference between allies and enemies?”

“…Ah!”

Lee Myung-hwan had never thought of it that way.

He was also a person living in the martial arts world, but he had never fought with more than twenty people.

“That’s definitely true.”

“So, instead of getting tangled up because you can’t distinguish between allies and enemies, we need a signpost to clearly show who is on our side. If some random guy thinks he’s an enemy and rushes at Kang Jin-ho, the situation will get complicated. Do you understand what I mean?”

“Ah, yes. That much…”

“And Kang Jin-ho also needs to move with some people, so I want you to pick some quick-witted guys. And just follow Kang Jin-ho well. Got it?”

“Yes.”

Lee Myung-hwan was dumbfounded.

‘Is it really necessary to go this far?’

Of course, it was true that it was hard to distinguish between allies and enemies, but what kind of idea was it to set up guards around him to help distinguish allies?

Was Kang Jin-ho some kind of dangerous person…

At that moment, a jolt of electricity ran down Lee Myung-hwan’s spine.

‘He is a dangerous person.’

To both allies and enemies.

He was worried that if an ally misidentified him and rushed at him, Kang Jin-ho would beat them to a pulp and kill them.

That was why he was trying to prevent such a situation by doing this ridiculous thing.

Once he thought that far, he understood why Bang Jin-hoon was doing this.

And…

‘So, he’s telling me to be a bomb disposal squad.’

To be precise, it would be more accurate to call it a bomb transport squad.

Lee Myung-hwan’s face twisted horribly.

This wasn’t forgiveness.

Bang Jin-hoon was punishing them in his own way. Bang Jin-hoon’s face, which was smiling brightly with a smile, was proof of that.

‘This will probably be the most dangerous place during the war. In many ways.’

He had to refuse this.

Even if refusing this would make them fall out of favor with Bang Jin-hoon, this was something he had to refuse. If he wanted to live a long and peaceful life, he should never get involved.

Just as Lee Myung-hwan was about to make up his mind, Gong Young-gil stood up abruptly from his seat.

“If you give us the order, we will work hard!”

“Ah…”

Lee Myung-hwan, realizing that his justification had vanished in an instant, covered his face with both hands.

‘I’m screwed.’