Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 469

“It’s not difficult. Expose him.”

“Expose?”

“Yes. Just show that Kang Jin-ho isn’t with others. Then they’ll move on their own.”

“I don’t quite understand? Aren’t I exposed now? I don’t remember moving particularly cautiously…”

“No.”

Lee Hyun-soo said firmly.

“Right now, isn’t Kang Jin-ho under the protection of civilization?”

“……”

“With CCTV everywhere and people gathered, this place is a natural bunker. Especially those from other countries, they can’t help but be cautious.”

“Hmm…”

“To draw them out, you have to shed even that. They’ll only be able to act freely in places where civilization doesn’t reach.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly. He could understand that part clearly.

Bang Jin-hoon didn’t seem to understand, but the biggest achievement of Lee Joong-geol, in Kang Jin-ho’s opinion, was creating a perfect connection with the political world. Of course, Kim Seok-il’s contribution was also significant.

Considering how hostile the government and the martial world were in the past, one can understand how difficult that was. Of course, it’s not like the relationship between the government and the martial world of the past.

The fact that the General Assembly and the government step in to cover up and block any incidents is expanding the scope of activities for martial artists living in modern times.

However, those who come from other countries cannot receive such protection. That fact is restricting their activities. They must feel burdened to handle everything perfectly without being noticed.

“And then?”

“And then…”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled.

Kang Jin-ho looked at the large duffel bag placed on the passenger seat and then turned his head. No matter who he was, it wasn’t good to look elsewhere while driving.

Looking at the West Sea in the distance, Kang Jin-ho smiled.

‘The sun is setting.’

The sun was setting slowly.

Very slowly.

“Have you pinpointed the location?”

“Yes. I’m receiving real-time reports.”

“Informant?”

“We attached a GPS to the vehicle.”

“Good job.”

Bangsang clenched his fist tightly.

‘It’s best not to even dream of escaping.’

It’s different from the past.

In the past, countless informants had to be mobilized to track one person’s movements. But now the world has changed. One person’s movements can be tracked with a small GPS.

If this were Europe, there would be no need to attach a GPS. They could just contact the telecommunications company and track the location of his cell phone.

In a world where power and money can do anything. And that power was more useful in hidden places than in exposed ones.

“Current location?”

“Moving towards the sea.”

“He’s choosing a scenic spot.”

Bangsang chuckled.

The sea…

There was no place as scenic for a person to die. Bangsang smiled, thinking he had chosen a good place.

“Is it closing in?”

“The answer is not satisfactory.”

“I’m sorry. It seems we’re moving by bus, and that guy is driving a Lamborghini.”

“…I’d forgive him if he were driving a Bugatti, but I can’t forgive a guy who drives a damn Italian car.”

The words, ‘Why is nationality coming up here?’ almost reached his lips, but Mathieu swallowed them back. There was no need to nitpick about that now.

‘The founder of Bugatti is also Italian.’

Although the current nationality of Bugatti is French.

“Increase the speed. We must not miss him. You know this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, right?”

“Of course.”

Mathieu followed the red dot on the screen with a serious look.

‘You fool.’

Kang Jin-ho’s blank face came to mind.

A slightly cold impression with a friendly smile. That face that gave a strange feeling.

“I’ll make that face twist.”

“Refreshing.”

Kang Jin-ho, having arrived at the coast, parked the car in a corner and slowly headed to the beach. It wasn’t a beach for swimming, so there was no sandy beach, but seeing the horizon with his own eyes was always a pleasant thing.

Not long ago, he had been pushed to the sea by Choi Yeon-ha, but it didn’t feel like this then. There was no time to just look at the sea.

No. Is that really the only reason?

Kang Jin-ho smiled.

No, it wasn’t because of that reason. That’s why the sea looks different.

The sound of waves crashing on the darkening sea sounded desolate. Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the sea and put a cigarette in his mouth.

‘What did he say to do?’

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette and took a deep drag.

‘Okay, how much will it be?’

He was sure someone was targeting him. But the extent of it would soon be revealed.

“Excuse me…”

As he was quietly smoking, a person wearing a deeply pressed hat approached Kang Jin-ho.

“Are you Mr. Kang Jin-ho?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho answered calmly.

“I received a call and have been waiting. Shall we depart now?”

“Sure.”

“Yes. This way, please.”

As the man led the way, Kang Jin-ho followed him without a word. Where the man led him, a small boat was docked.

“Please get on.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho threw the luggage he was holding into the boat and boarded. Then the man went into the cockpit.

‘It’s certain.’

He especially liked that the preliminary work was clean.

‘Just like Cheongma [Blue Horse, a nickname for a trusted subordinate].’

This was Cheongma’s way in the past.

He didn’t have to think about anything in particular. He only had to think about what he wanted to do. Then Cheongma would create a way for him to achieve what he wanted.

Especially, arranging people in advance like this so that Kang Jin-ho could move without delay was Cheongma’s specialty. Kang Jin-ho, feeling the nostalgia of Cheongma in Lee Hyun-soo’s method, smiled with interest.

It was impossible for Lee Hyun-soo to fill Cheongma’s void. That was certain.

Cheongma was not just his soldier.

He was a companion who had crawled up from the bottom with him. It was impossible to demand such a position from Lee Hyun-soo. Kang Jin-ho himself would not accept it.

But not everyone needs to be like Cheongma.

The boat began to cut through the waves and head out to sea. Kang Jin-ho looked at the twilight sea.

‘If I’m going to do it, I have to do it properly.’

Let’s go properly.

To a place without civilization.

“Where is he?”

“The car is here.”

“The GPS?”

“It’s attached to the car.”

“Damn it! What am I supposed to do!”

Bangsang was furious.

They had followed him all the way to the sea, but Kang Jin-ho had disappeared. If they missed this opportunity, they didn’t know when another one would come.

“Find him!”

“Yes!”

Bangsang’s throat was parched.

‘This feels strange.’

It felt like something was slightly off. It was a different feeling than when he had been chasing a target until now.

When carrying out operations in a foreign country, not your own, you get caught up in unexpected difficulties several times. This wasn’t his first time experiencing this. So there was no need to panic.

But Bangsang was sensing it.

‘Something is different.’

Something was different than before. It wasn’t just a simple mistake. It felt like he had been chasing a wolf, only to miss the pack of wolves that were surrounding him from behind.

‘Should I stop?’

All plans are based on reason.

But in the field where there are limitations to information, intuition sometimes takes precedence over reason.

This is usually called a sense of the game.

Right now, Bangsang’s sense of the game was signaling an anomaly. An unnatural cry. A cry that he shouldn’t rush in any further.

At that moment, Mathieu ran over.

“I found him.”

“Where is he?”

“…He went out to sea.”

“What?”

Bangsang turned to Mathieu with a dumbfounded look.

“The sea?”

He went out to this night sea? Why?

“It seems there are people who go to the islands for early morning fishing. There was one boat that departed, and that boat went to an island.”

“Damn it!”

How could they have known that there was such a culture in Korea?

“Fishing?”

“…Yes.”

“That crazy bastard.”

He doesn’t even know what situation he’s in and he’s calmly going fishing?

There’s a limit to how much leisure one can have.

Heat rose to his head.

“What should we do?”

“Can we secure a boat?”

“Yes. Normally, they don’t depart without a reservation, but since the sea is calm, they said they’d take us to the island for twice the price.”

“There are more than one or two islands here, how do they know which one to take us to?”

“The fishing spots are fixed. And they said they were going to an uninhabited island. There are only a few uninhabited islands where fishing is possible.”

“Uninhabited island?”

Bangsang’s face hardened.

“Uninhabited island, uninhabited island…”

A bad feeling came over him.

Suddenly coming to the sea and then going to an uninhabited island?

‘How coincidental.’

It was too coincidental. It was as if they were being lured to an uninhabited island.

“Didn’t you get a strange feeling?”

He needed to confirm if his feeling was right.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, isn’t it strange that they suddenly departed like this and went to an uninhabited island?”

Mathieu tilted his head.

“It’s strange from our perspective, but isn’t it normal for them?”

“Not strange?”

“Yes. There are people who enjoy night fishing like that, so that’s why there are boats and a commercial district, right?”

“Hmm…”

“It’s a natural culture for them. We also have many people who sail yachts in the Mediterranean, don’t we? The tendencies are different, but it’s similar.”

Listening to that, it seemed like he was right.

‘What is the right thing to do?’

When thinking rationally, there was nothing strange. But his instincts kept sending warnings. It was dangerous to go any further.

“What are you going to do? We can’t keep wasting time. This is a really good opportunity. We can perfectly eliminate Kang Jin-ho and get out.”

“…Okay.”

Bangsang made a decision.

It was certain that Kang Jin-ho had headed to the sea. Then there was only one thing to confirm.

“Check the boats.”

“Yes?”

“Check all the boats that have departed in the last two days. Kang Jin-ho’s companions might be waiting on the island. Check that first, and also, they might attack us from behind using a different boat than the one we secured, so tie up all the boats that can depart. Leave people behind to prevent them from boarding. Even if that’s impossible, at least we can get a signal if someone boards a boat.”

“Understood.”

“That’s enough.”

Even if this was a trap, they just needed to buy a little time. Because it was the sea where there was no escape. It wouldn’t take long to kill Kang Jin-ho and get out.

‘I’ll go with this.’

It was a harmony of reason and instinct.

If he felt uneasy, he just had to eliminate the cause.

Bangsang smiled contentedly.

But he didn’t know.

That the moon was looking down on him.

The eerie moonlight was slowly illuminating him. As if blessing him.