Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 479

The martial artists that Bang Jin-hoon brought had thoroughly cleaned up the island. They disposed of the bodies and erased all traces. Only after every step was perfectly completed did they load the Chevaliers onto the ships that arrived later and take them to the mainland.

“Are we taking all of these guys?”

“Of course.”

Bangsang was speechless, looking around at his surroundings.

‘Damn it.’

There was no chance of escape. What they saw when they barely reached the mainland were martial artists filling the coast. From the start, escape was impossible with Kang Jin-ho present, but even their last hope had vanished cleanly.

“You brought too many.”

“You need at least this many to solve problems when they arise. That Hyun-soo guy tends to move with too few people. Back in the day, that bastard Kim Seok-il was extremely wary of mobilizing people, almost like a dictator trembling in fear of a coup.”

“He did seem to have some kind of obsession.”

“Anyway, because of that, Lee Hyun-soo also got used to moving with a small group, trying to do things with a few people that could be done with many.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

If a small group does the work of a large group, efficiency would increase dramatically, but when unexpected things happen, the ability to respond would decrease.

If there is power to spare, there is no reason not to use it.

“But can we just take these guys like this? Will they come willingly?”

“They will.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at the Chevaliers lined up in front of him and chuckled.

“Or… it would be fun if they tried to run away.”

The Chevaliers, seeing Kang Jin-ho’s gaze, all lowered their heads.

‘Run away, my ass.’

The moment they tried to run, they would have to face Kang Jin-ho with bloodshot eyes. Who would dare do that?

“Then, I’ll take these guys and keep them at the General Assembly for now.”

“Yes.”

As Bang Jin-hoon gestured, those who were guarding the Chevaliers began to drag them away. Kang Jin-ho and Bang Jin-hoon watched the scene, each lighting a cigarette.

“What are you going to do with those guys?”

“I don’t know.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled awkwardly.

“I’ve captured them for now, but I’m still thinking about how to use them.”

“You have no plan.”

“Should I kill them?”

Bang Jin-hoon’s lips trembled slightly as he looked at Kang Jin-ho, who asked the question so casually.

‘If someone else said that, it would be a joke…

This guy is asking for real.’

Sometimes, he felt the urge to check just what Kang Jin-ho’s perception of humans was.

“No. Let’s keep them alive.”

The moment Bang Jin-hoon said, ‘Yes, let’s kill them!’, Kang Jin-ho would not hesitate to cut off all their heads. Of course, Bang Jin-hoon did not have the courage to do that.

‘So, this is why dictators go crazy in their later years.’

Being able to take the lives of dozens of people with a single word was more of a burden than he had imagined. Just recognizing that fact made his tongue feel heavy and his lips feel numb.

“There will be a use for them. They know some interesting techniques. Lee Hyun-soo will take care of the details.”

It was then.

“Let go of me! I’m not one of them!”

A sharp voice erupted from behind. Turning his head, he saw Elena resisting the martial artists who were trying to drag her away.

“No! I’m telling you, I’m not one of them! I’m different from those guys! Kang Jin-ho!”

Kang Jin-ho sighed as he looked at Elena calling out to him.

‘She is different.’

Those guys came to kill Kang Jin-ho, but Elena came to stop them from being killed by Kang Jin-ho.

He wanted to treat them all the same since they were similar… but he couldn’t treat them the same.

“Let her go.”

At Kang Jin-ho’s words, those who were trying to restrain Elena released her and stepped back.

Then, Elena scurried over to Kang Jin-ho.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

That was the end of it.

Elena couldn’t help but feel frustrated at Kang Jin-ho, who didn’t continue the conversation.

All the Chevaliers she had even a slight acquaintance with were dragged away, and now only the murderous Korean martial artists remained around her.

With no mention of what she should do or how she should act in this situation, she felt like she was surrounded by enemy soldiers with sharp weapons.

She even wished that the Chevaliers, whom she usually thought were annoying, were around her. That says it all, doesn’t it?

‘What consideration.’

She had a mountain of complaints, but she couldn’t voice them to Kang Jin-ho.

First of all, he was scary.

“What should I do now?”

Elena chose to confront him directly.

If you don’t know, ask. There are so many people who mess things up because they can’t do this. She put on a layer of shamelessness and asked confidently.

“I don’t know. What should you do?”

However, Kang Jin-ho didn’t seem to have any particular thoughts about her future.

The look on his face clearly showed, ‘What should I do with this useless woman?’

“Go and tell them what happened.”

“Huh?”

“You need to tell them what happened here so they can respond.”

“…Tell them?”

“Yes.”

Elena was momentarily stunned by Kang Jin-ho’s calm answer.

‘What is this guy saying?’

Normally, people would be desperate to hide their information. Information is power in this world. In such a world, there is nothing more dangerous than revealing yourself.

But now, Kang Jin-ho was telling Elena to report everything she had seen and the situation here to the Round Table [a powerful organization].

And he was saying it so calmly.

“So… you’re saying that the Chevaliers tried to attack you, Kang Jin-ho, but were captured and are now being held at the General Assembly, and I should report this to the Round Table and get their reaction?”

“Yes.”

Uh… so…

Elena smiled comfortably.

‘Let’s not think about it.’

There’s no point in racking her brain. It was something she had recently come to accept, but this man was smarter than her. And by quite a bit.

There was a hidden meaning in everything he did, even if it seemed like he was acting without thinking.

This incident was a good example. If Kang Jin-ho hadn’t moved at the right time and lured both the Nanahoshi Group and the Chevaliers to the uninhabited island, it would have taken Kang Jin-ho a considerable amount of time to deal with them.

Whether it was entirely Kang Jin-ho’s doing or if there was someone else acting as his brain, she hadn’t figured it out yet, but it didn’t matter either way.

Even if it was because the person advising Kang Jin-ho was smart, as long as Kang Jin-ho listened to him and didn’t break off their relationship, it was no different from Kang Jin-ho being smart.

So, she just had to do what Kang Jin-ho told her to do. For now, that was the best option for her.

“I need to go to my lodgings to contact them… can I stop by for a moment?”

“Yes.”

“Can you keep the guards to a minimum? If there are too many, other informants might contact them first, and then things could get complicated.”

“Guards?”

Kang Jin-ho asked as if he didn’t understand what she was talking about. And at that moment, Elena understood what Kang Jin-ho meant.

“H-am I going alone?”

“Yes. Who should I send with you?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that…

He’s letting me go? Just like that? Without any conditions?

Of course, there was nothing to gain by Kang Jin-ho taking Elena with him, but she was a means of contacting the Round Table, and she had been a spy who had been watching Kang Jin-ho from behind.

But he was just letting her go.

It was something she couldn’t understand with her common sense.

Elena took a deep breath.

‘I told myself not to think about it.’

She shouldn’t try to judge Kang Jin-ho with common sense. That would lead to ruin. What she had to do was not judge him, but understand him as he was.

“Is there anything else I should tell the Round Table?”

Kang Jin-ho smiled lightly at Elena’s words.

“Tell them I’m looking forward to it.”

“Looking forward to it?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled his cigarette smoke and finished his sentence.

“Tell them I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of interesting conditions they’ll bring as ransom for these guys.”

Elena couldn’t help but open her mouth at Kang Jin-ho’s smiling face.

“Is it okay to let her go like that?”

Bang Jin-hoon frowned as he watched Elena leave on her bike parked at the pier.

He understood that the woman hadn’t done anything particularly wrong, but even so, it was unsettling to let someone who knew everything about the situation here go so easily.

“There’s no real use for her anyway.”

“That’s true, but…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled as he saw Bang Jin-hoon’s still anxious expression.

It wasn’t like he let her go without thinking. The reason he let her go was because she was a person with clear limitations.

She didn’t have the power to resolve this situation anyway. The response to this situation would come from her superiors, not her. So, it was better to just let her go and let her contact her superiors. That way, the response would come a little faster.

Besides, given that woman’s personality, letting her go would be beneficial to Kang Jin-ho.

“I don’t know how this is all working out. Suddenly, it’s the French guys. Why would these bastards try to attack you, Kang Jin-ho?”

“They were probably annoyed.”

“Is that why they sent so many guys to try and kill someone?”

“Sometimes, I really wonder if Bang Jin-hoon is a martial artist.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho said calmly.

“There’s no reason for people to kill people.”

Bang Jin-hoon felt a chill run down his spine.

If someone else had said these words, he could have just ignored them, but when Kang Jin-ho said them, they carried a different weight.

“However, there is a responsibility that comes with it.”

“Responsibility?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho took out a new cigarette and smiled as he put it in his mouth.

‘They will have to take responsibility for targeting me.’

The clear fact was that they had targeted Kang Jin-ho first, who had no particular animosity towards them. Kang Jin-ho would never forget that fact.

The world was incredibly complex, but sometimes it came down to very simple principles.

Everything has a price.

And they would now pay the price for targeting Kang Jin-ho’s life.

If Elena understood Kang Jin-ho’s thoughts, she would bring a price that could replace their lives, and if she didn’t?

‘There’s nothing to think about.’

Then they would just have to pay the price they were supposed to pay.

Kang Jin-ho thought he had become quite lenient. In the past, he wouldn’t have even considered the idea of replacing the price that had to be paid with one’s life with something else.

Even though it was a decision that considered various advantages, would Kang Jin-ho, right after returning to this era, have made such a decision?

‘Has he become wiser, or has he become more lenient…?’

Whichever it was, the fact was that Kang Jin-ho had changed.

“Where are you going? Should we go to the General Assembly first?”

Kang Jin-ho shook his head at Bang Jin-hoon’s question.

“I’ll leave first. Please keep a close watch and explain the situation to Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Understood.”

Kang Jin-ho bowed his head to Bang Jin-hoon and headed to his car.

The thought that he was changing made him want to go somewhere.

Kang Jin-ho got into his car and slowly stepped on the accelerator.