Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 486

A towering altar loomed. A man sat on a throne atop a staircase draped with a red carpet. His massive physique, seemingly twice the size of others, amplified his imposing presence.

Yet, even his colossal frame appeared frail compared to the man standing below the altar.

With abnormally broad shoulders and an unusually thick build, coupled with a long, grown-out beard, he resembled a reincarnation of Zhang Fei [a famous general from the Three Kingdoms period] from history.

The abnormally developed upper body exuded a savage masculinity that went beyond mere manliness.

The man on the altar and the man below glared at each other.

Watching the confrontation between the two men, Cai Keqiang swallowed hard.

This meeting was something he had hoped to avoid the most. Beyond the pressure, it meant that one of their most valuable cards was about to be used.

“Bator.”

The Red King began to speak in a booming voice.

“You look well.”

“How dare you speak so casually.”

Bator sneered at the Red King. Even when facing the idol of martial artists and the supreme ruler of the martial world of this era, one of the Three Kings of China, the man called Bator showed not a hint of respect.

“You summoned me, Red King?”

“Indeed.”

“Does that mean our contract is over?”

“Of course.”

“Good, good. It has been a long wait.”

Bator glared at the Red King.

The Red King smiled as if pleased by the sight.

“Not yet. You must not show hostility towards me yet.”

“But it will be soon.”

“It won’t be easy, so don’t be so quick to judge.”

Cai Keqiang sighed quietly.

In the past, Bator had challenged the Red King. The Red King accepted his challenge on one condition.

The loser had to obey one command of the victor.

Bator lost that match and had been waiting for the Red King to issue his command ever since.

The moment he perfectly fulfilled the Red King’s order, Bator would be free again and could challenge the Red King once more.

‘Damn it, to have to use such a good card like this.’

Bator was a ruthless warrior.

The very fact that he dared to challenge the Red King proved how stubborn and strong a warrior he was. And the fact that the Red King didn’t just kill him but made him obey his orders as well.

A warrior of this caliber was not easy to find even if you searched all of mainland China. Yet, to have to use such a person for something like this.

“What is the command?”

“What you have to do is simple.”

“Before that…”

Bator interrupted the Red King. It was something Cai Keqiang could never imagine doing.

“Let me confirm one thing first. The moment this is over, I will challenge you again. I have the right to do so, don’t I?”

“Of course, Bator, warrior of the plains. You always have that right.”

“Good. Speak.”

“What you have to do is very simple. Go to Korea. And kill a man.”

Bator’s face filled with doubt.

“That’s what I have to do?”

“Yes.”

“Just in case, did the Sword King go to Korea?”

“Of course not.”

“…Then I’d like an explanation of what that means.”

“Cai Keqiang.”

Cai Keqiang sighed quietly.

‘Sometimes he makes such unreasonable demands.’

To him, Bator was just another martial artist passing by, but from Cai Keqiang’s perspective, he was someone he really didn’t want to deal with. But what could he do?

Cai Keqiang explained about Kang Jin-ho to Bator.

After hearing the whole explanation, Bator turned his head and glared at the Red King.

“So, you’re telling me to go kill that brat?”

“That’s right.”

Bator’s face contorted.

“Hooongwaaaaaaang!”

A massive sound like an exploding bomb echoed through the hall. Cai Keqiang covered his ears and buried his head on the floor. It felt like his brain was turning to mush.

A huge lion’s roar that seemed to burst the eardrums of the listeners erupted, but the Red King didn’t even flinch, merely resting his chin on his hand and looking down at Bator.

“What do you think a warrior of the plains is! To keep me for so long just to assign me to such a trivial task!”

“‘Trivial task’?”

The Red King looked at Bator with a slight sneer.

“Bator, my old friend.”

As the Red King’s voice lowered, Bator also closed his mouth and glared at the Red King.

“Let me give you a piece of advice. If you go to Korea with that mindset, you will not be able to return.”

“Are you saying I’ll die?”

“Highly likely.”

“Of course, I lost to you.”

A massive fighting spirit erupted from Bator’s neck. It was so immense that Cai Keqiang, standing next to him, was drenched in cold sweat.

“But that doesn’t mean you can ignore me. I am Bator! A warrior of the plains!”

“I have never ignored you.”

Though he might look rough on the outside, Bator was by no means stupid.

“Is that Kang Jin-ho guy that strong?”

“Several times more than you expect.”

“To the point where I have to risk my life?”

“With your current mindset, I wouldn’t need to wait for your challenge.”

Bator gritted his teeth.

His jaw was so large that the sound of him grinding his teeth sounded like thunder.

“I’ll see with my own eyes if that guy is as great as you say. I’ll bring you his head. That will be the moment your head falls. Wait for me, Red King.”

Bator turned and walked out. The Red King watched the scene and chuckled quietly.

“He’s really like a bear.”

“Indeed.”

“Even the fact that he’s quite smart despite his appearance is like a bear.”

Cai Keqiang nodded silently.

Those full of pride and confidence tend to ignore others. But Bator abandoned his pride as soon as he heard the Red King’s words.

If Bator, who had abandoned his arrogance, went all out, even Kang Jin-ho would not be able to avoid death. Bator was a warrior who deserved such an evaluation.

“Now that Bator has gone, Kang Jin-ho’s end is near.”

“It should be.”

The Red King rubbed his eyes.

“It would be fortunate if that were the case, if that were the case.”

“Yes?”

“Bator is strong. Even a demon wouldn’t be able to handle him.”

“Yes. That is certainly true.”

“But what if he does handle him?”

The Red King said in a low voice.

“Then that Kang Jin-ho guy is someone who surpasses even my assessment, which has been adjusted several times. It means he’s getting stronger several times faster than I expected. That means…”

The Red King didn’t say any more.

It wasn’t just because it wasn’t something to say in front of Cai Keqiang. If such a thing were to happen, how to accept and resolve this situation was something that didn’t exist in his calculations.

‘That shouldn’t happen.’

If such a thing really happened, it would be like a new king being born in that small peninsula.

A young and small king, for now.

“Tell Bator.”

“Yes.”

“If he doesn’t sharpen the blade of his dulled axe, he might not be able to use it again.”

“Yes, my Red King.”

While bowing his head, Cai Keqiang bit his lip slightly.

‘This is unlike the Red King.’

The Red King had already said similar words to Bator. Yet, to tell him to say it again meant… that the Red King was feeling a hint of unease about Bator facing Kang Jin-ho.

‘Is Kang Jin-ho really that powerful?’

He couldn’t doubt the Red King’s eyes.

But Cai Keqiang couldn’t shake off his doubts. Bator was a strongman recognized by everyone. In Cai Keqiang’s common sense, it was only a matter of how quickly and miserably Kang Jin-ho would be killed, and it was unimaginable that Bator would lose to Kang Jin-ho.

Whether the Red King was overestimating Kang Jin-ho or if Kang Jin-ho was really that fearsome, Bator would prove it. For the first time in his life, Cai Keqiang found himself cheering for Bator.

* * *

“You’re setting up a teaching staff?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Jo Gyu-min with a slightly bewildered expression at his words.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, it’s just different from what I expected. I thought you would teach directly, or something like that.”

“That’s amateurish.”

Jo Gyu-min lit a cigarette with a relaxed air.

“How should I put it, there’s that. Even if I were to teach the children directly now, I have the confidence that I wouldn’t be that far behind a top-tier instructor, you know?”

Park Yu-min drew a red line through the ‘annoying’ item she had added to her mental list, as if to emphasize it.

‘Was he always like this?’

“I’ve never been second to anyone in my studies. I have my own know-how, so it’s not like I can’t teach. But you should leave the work to the experts. Besides, there are so many subjects. If I were to teach them all, I wouldn’t be able to do what I need to do.”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

He didn’t know much, but if Jo Gyu-min said so, it must be so.

“Then how many instructors?”

“Most of them are set. Focusing on the core subjects.”

“Already?”

“I told you, there’s nothing that money can’t do. And there are good baits to throw in this field.”

Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min frowned slightly at Jo Gyu-min’s explanation.

“I have a slight disagreement on that part.”

“Yes?”

“Can we not promote the fact that the children were taught by those people? It’s also a matter of the children’s self-esteem, and the name of the orphanage will be mentioned in the promotion process… It’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Jo Gyu-min nodded heavily.

“But I never said I would promote that, did I?”

“What? You said so just now…”

“That’s just what I’m telling them. I didn’t put that part in the contract, so there’s no need to keep it, right?”

“That’s how contracts usually are. Among them, only the clear parts are meaningful before they are documented. You should be careful about these parts later. Hehehe.”

Kang Jin-ho and Park Yu-min stared at Jo Gyu-min with dumbfounded expressions.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no.”

Watching Jo Gyu-min smile as if he was in a good mood, Park Yu-min added ‘con artist’ to her evaluation list.

Jo Gyu-min’s competence rating was increasing day by day, while his human rating was decreasing.

“But doesn’t it cost a lot of money?”

“It cost a lot. Recruiting successful instructors costs a lot more money than you think.”

“How about that money?”

“What are you worried about?”

Jo Gyu-min smiled and put his hand on Kang Jin-ho’s shoulder.

“There’s someone here whose bank account is overflowing with money that he can’t use in his lifetime. We should use it for good.”

Perhaps a freeloader item might be added as well.