Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 472

I didn’t believe it. I’ve never believed it.

That tiresome saying that a creature freezes when it encounters its natural enemy at close range.

It was something that couldn’t be believed logically.

If you meet your natural enemy at close range, you should run away immediately, how can you just stop in place?

I thought it was just something made up by gossips who like to talk without knowing properly.

But Bang-sang realized he was wrong.

Because he couldn’t move.

His whole body didn’t even think about moving, as if it had been carefully coated and hardened with plaster and glue.

And there was no need to think about where the cause was.

The one who had solidified his body like a statue put a cigarette back in his mouth. As he slowly inhaled, the end of the cigarette crackled and burned.

Ironically, it felt like the surroundings were lit up by that small cigarette flame alone. Kang Jin-ho’s face, tinged red by the light of the cigarette, was clearly visible in his eyes.

“I guessed that there were guys targeting me. It’s not that hard to feel the presence lurking around. But…”

Crack.

Was it because it was too quiet?

In the midst of the world being filled only with the sound of wind and waves, the sound of the cigarette burning in Kang Jin-ho’s mouth was so clear.

With the cigarette in his mouth, Kang Jin-ho slowly looked around at everyone.

Those who were in the path of Kang Jin-ho’s gaze all unconsciously took a slight step back.

“More than I thought.”

Kang Jin-ho grinned, revealing his teeth.

The moon, which had appeared from between the clouds, was illuminating his face. The man, shining in the moonlight, was pure white, but contrary to that bright color, he gave off an eerie feeling.

“It’s interesting.”

White cigarette smoke slowly flowed from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

“It’s interesting that there are so many people who came all the way here to kill me…”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze turned to Bang-sang.

“They’re fighting among themselves.”

A subtle feeling.

It wasn’t the hatred of wanting to kill the opponent.

What should he think of Kang Jin-ho’s mood right now? It was like a tiger smelling the scent of a beast that had entered its territory, following the trail, and seeing a bunch of puppies fighting.

Kang Jin-ho threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it.

Then, he took out a new cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Click.

The end of the cigarette began to burn.

At that moment, Bang-sang realized one thing.

‘Why did he come out?’

The timing is strange.

Kang Jin-ho shouldn’t be out in this situation. If he was a sensible person, it would have been right to hide and watch. Even if he didn’t lift a finger, the Chevaliers and the Nanahoshi-gumi would clash and reduce their power on their own.

But why would he deliberately show himself and stop the situation?

Is he stupid?

Does he not think?

‘That can’t be.’

Even a three-year-old could think of that. If Kang Jin-ho didn’t have that much intelligence, he wouldn’t have been able to unify the Korean martial arts world, no matter how much power he had to shake the world.

Then, there must be a reason.

And it seemed that Saito and Oizumi had also felt what he had felt.

Oizumi clenched his fist and opened his mouth.

“Are you Kang Jin-ho?”

“Korean… You seem to have prepared quite a bit.”

Cold sweat began to form on Oizumi’s forehead. The pressure that had been pressing down on him with an incomprehensible force from a little while ago began to gradually subside.

Thanks to that, he was able to open his mouth like this now.

As the pressure disappeared, his reason began to return.

There were two things that were most perplexing to him right now.

The first was why they were feeling pressure in the first place.

He knew.

Kang Jin-ho is strong.

Isn’t Kang Jin-ho the one who annihilated all those they sent? There’s no way such a person would be weak.

But strength is a relative concept, isn’t it?

Right now, all of the Nanahoshi-gumi’s forces are gathered here.

Borrowing even the cat’s paws [a Japanese idiom meaning to use every available resource] to gather all available forces is not called the strongest. Rather, when masters above a certain level fight, it can be a hindrance for people who are not at that level to join.

Considering all of that, they had created the best force. It was a different level from the riffraff Kang Jin-ho had faced in the past.

Even if Kang Jin-ho is strong, he cannot argue about strength in front of this much force.

If it was certain that they were only facing Kang Jin-ho, there would have been no need to gather this much force. Oizumi was confident that he and Saito alone could have beheaded Kang Jin-ho.

‘But why do I feel this pressure?’

His instinct as a martial artist was telling him.

That something was wrong.

And another thing that confused him was.

The composure.

The composure that Kang Jin-ho had.

Even with them in front of him, Kang Jin-ho didn’t have an anxious look on his face at all. Rather, he looked like he was watching something interesting.

To have composure in this situation?

That was absolutely impossible.

“…Is it a trap?”

It was a natural conclusion.

No one could be calm in this situation. If that’s the case, then it’s not the person, but the situation that’s different. If Kang Jin-ho wasn’t alone or if he had a way to overcome this situation, he could be composed.

Oizumi unconsciously looked behind him.

‘Nothing.’

He had strained his eyes to the fullest, but he couldn’t see any ships approaching stealthily. He thought that they might have come around the other side of the island, but he quickly shook his head.

Even the sound of the cigarette burning could be heard. It was impossible to hide the sound of a motor in this quiet night sea. It would have been possible if they had already entered the island and were waiting, but there was no way that the Korean martial artists could have escaped his and Saito’s eyes. No matter how much he spread his senses, he couldn’t feel any presence.

Then what the hell was he relying on?

“Is it that bag?”

What caught Oizumi’s eye was the large duffel bag that was strapped to Kang Jin-ho’s back.

If there was a secret, it would be inside that bag. If not, there would be no reason to carry that….

“This?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and held the bag in the air, then untied the top.

Thud, thud.

Then the contents of the bag fell to the ground.

Oizumi couldn’t help but look dumbfounded at the contents.

“Did he really come fishing…”

That’s all he could think. The things that spilled out of the bag were literally daily necessities.

Instant rice, ramen, and water.

Things like that.

Oizumi’s expectations, that there might be bombs or weapons, were completely wrong.

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth nonchalantly.

“They say you still have to eat. It’s annoying, but I decided to do as I was told for now.”

Oizumi couldn’t understand what Kang Jin-ho was saying at all.

That only made Oizumi even more furious.

“What the hell…”

At that moment, Saito opened his mouth.

“Oizumi.”

“Yes!”

Hearing Saito’s voice, he felt like he had come to his senses.

“Calm down.”

“…”

Being led by the nose and losing the initiative was the most important thing to be wary of. Oizumi, who had just realized that fact, distorted his face.

‘I was stupid.’

Is it important to find out what Kang Jin-ho has planned?

No, it’s not important.

The important thing is to kill Kang Jin-ho here. He and the Nanahoshi-gumi had already prepared for that. They had prepared the power to kill Kang Jin-ho, no matter what obstacles there were.

But why was he making such a fuss?

“Hoo…”

Oizumi took a deep breath and looked up at Kang Jin-ho.

Looking at his face, which he couldn’t tell what he was thinking, Oizumi opened his mouth.

“You’re going to die anyway. You’re going to die here anyway. Before that, there’s one thing I want to ask…”

Kang Jin-ho just stared at Oizumi without answering.

“It’s hard to say that you’ve given up on surviving and become detached, given your confident attitude. What did you prepare? If you have anything, it would be good to take it out now.”

“Prepare?”

“That’s right.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled brightly.

Like a child.

“Prepare, prepare… Well, I do have something prepared.”

Kang Jin-ho threw the cigarette he was holding in his mouth to the ground, then turned his body towards the forest and walked away.

“…”

Oizumi didn’t bother to stop Kang Jin-ho.

Even if he tried to run away, he wouldn’t be able to. If that guy wasn’t as stupid as a moron, he wouldn’t try to run away in this situation.

Kang Jin-ho walked towards the forest and took something out from behind a tree.

Two long…

“Swords?”

Kang Jin-ho held the swords in both hands and smiled slyly.

“They say that if you bring something like this on a ship, the captain gets scared. So I told them to bring it beforehand. It took a while to find them, though.”

Oizumi’s face hardened.

This confirmed that Kang Jin-ho had set a trap and was waiting for them. But was the identity of that trap just this?

Confronting them with those two insignificant swords?

“Crazy bastard.”

It was a path that could only be chosen by a psychopath.

‘That can’t be.’

There must be another trick. For example, there might be bombs buried on this ground. If they had prepared with enough time….

“You’re mistaken.”

Oizumi, Bang-sang, and even Saito….

They had to realize one thing.

The chill and fear they had felt a little while ago were not a mistake. And it wasn’t something that happened naturally.

Kang Jin-ho.

The aura that the man in front of them was emitting was what was constricting their bodies.

How do they know?

Because the same thing was happening right now.

Swoosh.

The aura emanating from Kang Jin-ho, who was slowly walking towards them while drawing his swords at the same time, was pressing down on them.

“The only reason I brought you here is because there’s nowhere to run.”

It was neither a bluff nor a boast.

The moment Oizumi, who had thought that something was wrong, was about to open his mouth, it happened.

Swoosh.

Kang Jin-ho’s sword cut through the air.

A smooth movement.

A single sword that gracefully cut through the air as if dancing.

‘What is he doing?’

At first, he thought it was just a threat.

But the sword was too slow to be a threat. The curve that the sword drew was even beautiful.

It was more like a sword dance. A dance with a sword….

Poof!

What brought Oizumi, who had been mesmerized by the enchanting curve of the sword, back to reality was a low noise from behind him.

And at the same time….

Thud, thud.

Something was falling on his head.

Hot… and fishy.

‘Blood?’

Oizumi turned around with a dazed look.

One person was standing there.

The head of one of the members who had been guarding his back was gone.

Thud.

But there was no need to look for where that head had gone. The missing head fell at his feet.

The hot blood that gushed out from the neck was soaking his pants.

“Ah….”

He thought he had to react somehow.

But his body refused his will. It wouldn’t move. His body wouldn’t move.

All he could do was watch Kang Jin-ho, who was slowly approaching while shaking his sword.

The moon slowly hid behind the clouds.

As if it couldn’t bear to see what was about to happen here.

As complete darkness fell with the disappearance of the moon, Kang Jin-ho ran forward with a chilling smile on his face.

The beginning of blood and slaughter.