Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 488

“…Did you say they were annihilated?”

“Yes.”

Nakada Yuji’s face hardened without him even realizing it.

“The Nanahoshi Group?”

“That’s correct.”

“…”

Nakada Yuji shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

The information couldn’t be wrong. Even knowing that fact, he couldn’t accept what had just happened.

The Nanahoshi Group was by no means an easy opponent. But how could he take it at face value that they were completely wiped out without even being able to use their full strength?

“That’s not all. It’s said that the Chevaliers [French Knights] were also at the scene, but they were all subdued and taken to the General Assembly.”

“Chevaliers? Are you talking about the French Knights?”

“Yes, sir.”

“…Did even the Round Table [A council of powerful figures] get involved?”

Nakada Yuji gritted his teeth.

‘That damn Saito.’

If he was going to claim Korea as his own territory, he should have at least done his job properly. If he dies without doing anything, who is supposed to clean up the mess?

“China, Europe… Damn it.” Nakada grabbed his head.

How did the Korean Peninsula become such a place?

It felt like all the world’s major powers were gathering in Korea. And what was that about?

“…Taken into custody?”

“Yes, sir.”

“…What the hell are they thinking, those crazy bastards?”

It would be cleaner to just send a fax to the Round Table asking them to get involved in the Korean Peninsula in earnest.

Either kill them or let them go.

Neither of those options, but taking the entire knight order into custody, it seemed like they were going to go head-to-head with Europe. Did they not know what that meant?

Korea was a land that formed a common ground between China and Japan. If Europeans were to come and go there, it would naturally provoke China and Japan.

‘This is a headache.’

Nakada Yuji was a representative pacifist within Japan. War was a terrible thing. They were doing well enough as it was, so why should they be pointing swords at each other over territory and such?

However, if things continued to unfold like this, even Nakada wouldn’t be able to stop those who were getting excited.

When Saito Genryu was spouting outdated nonsense about the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere [A Japanese imperialist concept] and advocating for the invasion of Korea, it was Nakada who most vehemently opposed him, calling him a madman.

But if those who went into Korea were annihilated, the situation would be completely different.

The biggest reason Japan had left Korea alone until now was that they were not a threat at all. If they were to conquer that barren land, they would inevitably get closer to China. Even though there was a buffer zone called North Korea, the moment they took South Korea, they would provoke China.

The great power of China was a burden to Japan as well. They were confident that they wouldn’t be easily defeated, but even so, China was a place they didn’t want to clash with if they could help it.

That’s why they had left Korea alone until now, but if it was revealed that Korea had a power that could not be ignored, even those who had not paid attention to Korea until now would have to change their minds.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Being a pacifist didn’t just mean being a simple peace-lover. Nakada Yuji was someone who knew better than anyone that in order to avoid war, one had to have sufficient power.

The Korea he knew was not a country that had the power to annihilate the Nanahoshi Group.

But that had happened.

The cause would be one of two things.

Either Nakada Yuji’s information was wrong, or if not…

‘Korea has become terrifyingly strong.’

It was an incomprehensible situation, but it was also quite a familiar one. Any Japanese person would feel a sense of déjà vu in this situation.

How much stress had they received from that small country that had crawled out of the ruins of war and was now proudly calling itself an advanced nation?

But the fact that what happened in the outside world was also happening in the unmanned world made Nakada feel bewildered.

‘This can’t be happening.’

At least in the revealed world, there were reasons why such a thing could happen. The United States supported Korea, and Korea had countries to learn from.

They could analyze the development patterns of other countries and draw up a blueprint.

But the unmanned world was different. No matter how much they tried to find a way to become stronger, if there was no history or direction of martial arts that a society had accumulated, there was no way to become stronger in martial arts.

Korea was a wasteland of martial arts. Was it even possible for such a country to become so drastically stronger in such a short period of time?

The answer lay in only one place.

‘Kang Jin-ho.’

Everything started to go wrong from the moment his name was heard.

Nakada Yuji pressed down on his throbbing head.

“There’s no turning back now.”

Did Kang Jin-ho know?

What it meant for him to be holding the Chevaliers of the Round Table hostage?

If he knew how far the repercussions of that act could spread, he would never have done it.

‘He can do it because he doesn’t know.’

It was one or two novices who shattered the intricately working world. A novice with power and recklessness would instantly shatter the laws of the world that had been taken for granted and create a new order.

Of course, the fate of the novice would be miserable in the process…

Nakada jumped up from his seat.

Nothing would be solved by just sitting here. A rule breaker had appeared in East Asia, which had been operating under a precise set of rules. If that was the case, then a new order had to be re-established.

“Contact each group. Tell them a General Assembly is needed.”

“Yes, sir!”

Nakada Yuji quietly looked towards the west.

‘It’s impossible with the power of the Korean unmanned world.’

If that was the case, then they had to assume that Kang Jin-ho’s individual power, which they had not properly grasped, exceeded expectations.

If he had the power to annihilate an entire group by himself…

‘He’s not someone to be ignored.’

Perhaps a huge enemy that they had to eliminate with all their might had appeared.

The longer they dragged their feet, the stronger the enemy would become, and eventually, it would become a tumor that could not be removed.

Nakada Yuji had no intention of letting that happen. In order to avoid war, they had to find and eliminate the cause. And this time, that was Kang Jin-ho.

“All for the sake of the world.”

Nakada Yuji muttered quietly.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho quietly put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

Looking at the buildings with their lights flickering on and off, he felt a little strange.

‘Education, huh…’

It was something he had started to teach the children. In fact, he hadn’t done much, and most of the work was done by Jo Gyu-min, but the fact that he had contributed to this place did not disappear.

‘It’s ironic.’

He felt a sense of irony.

He had beheaded dozens of people not long ago. No matter how much they had come to target Kang Jin-ho’s life first, the fact that he had killed people was not excused.

Kang Jin-ho could have subdued them without killing them.

Nevertheless, the fact that he had killed them all meant that Kang Jin-ho was a bona fide murderer.

Wasn’t it funny?

He, who hid in the darkness and committed murder casually, was taking care of the children at the orphanage in the outside world and trying to teach them. There could be no greater irony than this.

The world defined this in one word.

Hypocrisy.

But Kang Jin-ho’s actions could not be simply called hypocrisy. He wasn’t trying to gain anything through the children, nor was he profiting from these actions.

Then how should Kang Jin-ho be defined?

“It started quite spectacularly, didn’t it?”

At the words from behind, Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded. As expected, Jo Gyu-min, with a cigarette in his mouth, approached and smiled.

“It was a bit of an overreach, but it’s progressing as expected.”

“A bit?”

“It was a lot of an overreach.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Jo Gyu-min.

Then Jo Gyu-min smiled awkwardly.

“It’s embarrassing when you look at me like that.”

“Director.”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly exhaled cigarette smoke.

“I feel like people are overestimating me too much these days.”

“What do you mean?”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled lightly.

“I used to have to listen to explanations one by one. Everyone thought I wouldn’t know these things and told me every hidden meaning, but these days, everyone seems to think I’ll understand on my own.”

Jo Gyu-min nodded.

There was definitely such a tendency. Even Jo Gyu-min himself was thinking that way.

“Isn’t it because the people around you have a higher opinion of you, Mr. Kang Jin-ho?”

“It’s something I should take positively, but sometimes it’s uncomfortable. Especially at times like this.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at Jo Gyu-min.

“I think there’s obviously a hidden intention behind doing things on such a large scale, but if you don’t explain that intention, it’s hard for me to understand. I think I’ve adapted a lot to this side, but I’m still not as quick-witted as ordinary people.”

Jo Gyu-min thought this aspect of Kang Jin-ho was amazing. People tend to hide their weaknesses. And when they reveal their weaknesses, it’s mostly to give the impression that they are cool or to show off that they are honest enough to talk about their weaknesses easily.

But Kang Jin-ho didn’t talk about his weaknesses in that sense.

It was just because it was the truth.

That bold attitude was what made the people watching reflect.

“I didn’t mean to make fun of someone who wasn’t quick-witted.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t.”

“I just wanted to let you know.”

“…Yes?”

Jo Gyu-min turned his head and looked at the building.

“Is it difficult to buy this and create an academy and provide it to the children?”

“Hmm…”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t answer easily.

He hadn’t properly grasped Jo Gyu-min’s intention. And before that, he didn’t have a sense of how big of a deal this was and how much of a burden it was.

“It’s difficult for ordinary people. But it’s not that difficult for Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly nodded.

“You need to know that difference. Right now, Mr. Kang Jin-ho, you are constantly exerting influence on the world. With your current position alone, it’s easy to sweep up the world’s money. And with that money and power, you can shake the world. You can easily do things that others would call crazy.”

“…I understand what you mean.”

“No. You don’t.”

Jo Gyu-min said with a stern face.

“Power that is not used is the same as not having it. Right now, Mr. Kang Jin-ho, you have power that others can only dream of, but you’re just sticking your hand in and letting it flow by.”

Jo Gyu-min took a small breath and said.

“I wanted to ask you, Mr. Kang Jin-ho.”

“…”

“What the hell do you want to do?” A cold wind blew slightly.