Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 536

‘Why does he keep causing trouble like this?’Lee Hyun-soo leaned back, slightly dazed.A Knight.Damn it, why is that name coming up here?And why is that Knight transferring to the General Assembly!Well, technically, he’s not transferring to the General Assembly, but coming under Kang Jin-ho’s command… but what’s the difference? Kang Jin-ho is the General Assembly, and the General Assembly is Kang Jin-ho.Okay, fine, that’s it.Transferring is fine.I mean, affiliation isn’t like putting a dog leash on someone’s neck; if they want to move, they move.But why move here without consulting their former affiliation?Does that man have no awareness of his position?He’s a Knight.A Knight, I tell you.A Knight doesn’t just mean someone in a high position. It means someone who directly participates in the Round Table’s decision-making.[The Round Table is a powerful organization of Awakened individuals, often acting as a global governing body.]What that means is, a Knight is like a log who knows all the Round Table’s operations, past actions, and hidden wrongdoings.From the General Assembly’s perspective, it was no different than Bang Jin-hoon or Lee Hyun-soo suddenly transferring to Japan or China.And without any agreement on how to keep their past actions quiet.’It’s going to be a mess, of course, it’s going to be a mess.’The already uneasy relationship between the Round Table and the General Assembly will go straight to hell.This is completely against Lee Hyun-soo’s plan.’Distant friendship and close attack.’It’s a time-honored and obvious strategy. For Korea, which has crossed an irreversible river with China and Japan, it was necessary to maintain a good relationship with the Round Table.Even though things had gone wrong when the Chevaliers invaded, there was still room for maneuver. Lee Hyun-soo was willing to negotiate with the Chevaliers, taking what he could from them and using them as leverage, even if Kang Jin-ho didn’t want to.[Chevaliers are a group of powerful Awakened individuals, often associated with the Round Table.]But this is a completely different problem.’A Knight, a damn Knight!’Even in ordinary companies, it’s common for them to become enemies when they steal an executive.But this isn’t an ordinary company, and if something like this happens in the more sensitive world of the Awakened, what kind of consequences will there be?Panic washed over Lee Hyun-soo’s mind. This was something he couldn’t handle.”Ah, no, wait a minute. This… this, this, this doesn’t seem like a normal thing…”Lee Hyun-soo, who had never stuttered in his life, was stuttering.In terms of the urgency of the situation, it might not be as bad as the Bator invasion, but if you combine the aftermath and the secondary shock that will follow… this was beyond the Bator incident.[Bator is a powerful warrior from the plains, known for his strength.]At least for Lee Hyun-soo, who had to take care of all the aftermath!”Is it really that serious?” Kang Jin-ho tilted his head, and Lee Hyun-soo covered his face.’Pleeease! Just talk and do something!’Is that such a difficult request?Did he ask for permission, or for approval?He’s just asking for a heads-up, but why does he keep causing trouble and then dumping the work on him?Lee Hyun-soo was now experiencing the misery of a salaryman like crazy.’Damn boss!’The most terrible ‘thoughtless boss’ in the world was sitting in front of him with a clueless look on his face.”Putting aside everything else, if this goes through, our relationship with the Round Table will become irreparable.””Do we have a relationship with the Round Table?””W-we don’t now, but I’m saying that the relationship we could build will drop to the worst possible level.””Wouldn’t that be okay?””It doesn’t seem like they’d do anything for us just because we have a good relationship with them. They don’t seem like they’d lend us troops when we need them, and while there might be financial support, we don’t really need money.””Of course, that’s true. Of course, it is, but!”Lee Hyun-soo said, sweating profusely.”It’s important that we have that potential military and financial support, even if it’s uncertain. We don’t even need practical help. Just the possibility of it has a deterrent effect on those around us. If they try to attack us, they can’t completely rule out that ‘what if’ scenario. Ultimately, they have to build up their forces considering the possibility of that scenario becoming a reality. The more forces they build up, the greater the deterrent power.””That makes sense.”Lee Hyun-soo breathed a sigh of relief as Kang Jin-ho finally seemed to understand.But Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t listen so easily.”But wouldn’t it be better to aim for an increase in power through Knight Wiggins rather than relying on that ‘subtle level of military force that might come from outside’? If we rely on a power we don’t actually have to exert a deterrent effect, and then they gain the power to suppress even that, we’ll be wiped out in one go, wouldn’t we?””…It’s politics and management that prevent it from going that far.””That’s what I think. I don’t think we need to ignore the immediate benefits in fear of a threat that may or may not exist. I’ve heard that doing what we can one by one is the way to solve problems.”Lee Hyun-soo jumped up and shouted.”Who the hell is the idiot who told Kang Jin-ho such nonsense!””It was my father…”The atmosphere turned cold.Bang Jin-hoon looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a surprised face, as if saying, ‘How could you say that to Kang Jin-ho’s father?’, and Kang Jin-ho’s face was also subtle.”…Ah, no, I mean… well…”Even the great Lee Hyun-soo was speechless at this moment.Seeing Kang Jin-ho looking dejected, he was overwhelmed with the realization that he had done something terribly wrong.”O-oh, I misunderstood. This is, uh…””Hmm, I understand.”At that moment, Knight Wiggins opened his mouth. Next to him was Elena, who was providing real-time interpretation of the meeting in Korean. Knight Wiggins, who had heard everything from Elena, smiled gently and opened his mouth.”So, this place has a very democratic and rational process…”What the hell did that guy hear?Just as Lee Hyun-soo was about to frown, Knight Wiggins continued.”…It’s a dictatorship.”Ah…He heard it right.He heard it very well.Lee Hyun-soo’s favorability towards Knight Wiggins suddenly skyrocketed.Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.Jang Da-jing was staring at the monitor with tired eyes.Just watching the regularly moving signal was all he could do.On a huge special bed made by joining two beds together, a man was lying down.Bator.The warrior of the plains was lying here.His huge muscles were not damaged at all, but the various medical devices attached to those muscles made him look more pathetic than before.”Lord Bator…”Even if this was Korea, there was no way that a hospital under the Hongwang Clan’s control wouldn’t exist. Jang Da-jing transported Bator to the most reliable hospital.[The Hongwang Clan is a powerful faction in China, known for its influence and resources.]Kang Jin-ho said that treatment wasn’t really necessary, but from Jang Da-jing’s perspective, who served Bator, he couldn’t just take that at face value.The test results didn’t reveal any major problems. Rather, his superhuman recovery ability, which amazed the medical staff, rapidly healed even the minor wounds he had.Now, it could be said that there were no external injuries, but Bator still couldn’t open his eyes.Jang Da-jing rubbed his eyelids.Bator’s body was truly amazing.That strength, and the recovery power that transcended humans.Every time he realized that fact, Jang Da-jing couldn’t escape another thought.’Kang Jin-ho.’He was a terrifying man.Just thinking about Kang Jin-ho turning the strong Bator into a bloody mess made cold sweat break out on his back even now.He was incredibly strong and incredibly cruel.’What should we do with him?’From the Hongwang Clan’s perspective, Kang Jin-ho was a very troublesome existence. He was like a dagger slowly approaching their throat. They wanted to reach out and stop it, but the dagger was approaching too slowly.Normally, they would reach out, but the Hongwang Clan’s two hands were currently busy blocking the weapons thrown by the other kings.So, they could only watch.They knew that the dagger, which had reached their chin, would eventually pierce their chin and penetrate their head, but for now, they could only desperately ignore it.They had done everything they could without using their hands.And now, another doubt was rising in Jang Da-jing’s mind.If they used their hands…Could they really stop Kang Jin-ho by turning the hands they had extended to block the Changwang and Heukwang?[Changwang and Heukwang are likely other powerful factions or individuals within China.]It was something they had never thought about before.The Hongwang Clan was great.Each of the factions that divided China surpassed the military power of other countries. There was no way that Korea, a small country, could dare to handle them when they attacked with all their might.That’s what they thought.Until now.But after witnessing Bator’s defeat, disbelief began to take root in Jang Da-jing’s mind.He was strong.Kang Jin-ho was too strong.Could they really deal with that strong Kang Jin-ho?One thing was certain.They couldn’t be sure whether they could eliminate Kang Jin-ho now or not, but if more time passed, there would come a time when they wouldn’t be able to handle Kang Jin-ho even if they mobilized everything the Hongwang Clan had.It was not a voice of reason, but of instinct.And it seemed that there was another person who heard that voice.”Ugh…”A groan escaped from Bator’s mouth.”Lord Bator!”Jang Da-jing snapped out of his thoughts and moved closer to Bator. Bator’s calm face contorted. His face seemed to tremble slightly, and then his tightly closed eyes slowly pushed up his eyelids.”…Was I alive?”A rough, hoarse voice escaped from Bator’s throat.”Yes, Lord Bator! You are alive.””…Merciful.”His voice sounded slightly hollow.And at that moment, Bator raised his hand and pressed down on his head.”My condition is terrible. How did I get here?””Lord Bator, you lost consciousness and collapsed. So, I moved you here.””Did you save me?””Yes. That wicked Kang Jin-ho…”It was at that moment.Bator’s eyes turned red.”Guh…”Bator grabbed his head.”Lord Bator?”Jang Da-jing reached out to Bator at the strange change.Thud!At that moment, Bator slammed his hand down on the bed.The bed was shattered in one blow.Bator’s body rolled to the floor.”B-Bator…””Wicked?”A chilling voice silenced Jang Da-jing.”How dare you use such words for that person. Do you want to die?”Jang Da-jing’s face turned pale.Something…Something was wrong.Something.