Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 617

“So, can I say something now?”

As Bator spoke, Jang Da-jing translated diligently.

‘He’s having a hard time too.’

It wasn’t like they could tell Bator to learn Korean. If they brought that up, something terrible might happen.

First, one person would become unemployed.

“My Lord.”

As Kang Jin-ho turned his gaze, Bator spoke in a serious tone.

“The Assembly has too many problems. Basically, there are no capable mid-level people we can use.”

“Hmm…”

“Training is needed. We need to quickly improve their skills through systematic training to face the Hongwang Clan. As it is now, it’s impossible.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

Among them, Bator knew the most about the Hongwang Clan’s strength. Since Bator was saying it, it must be true.

“I’m thinking about that. What do you need?”

“Support.”

Bator said firmly.

“A place to train people, equipment, and money.”

“Money?”

“Food costs a lot. You have to eat as much as you work out. It’s going to be enormous.”

“…They won’t eat as much as you, though.”

If everyone training under Bator ate like him, the Assembly would go bankrupt from food costs. Ever since Bator came to the Assembly, the accounting department had been complaining.

“Money is not a problem.”

Lee Hyun-soo said with a smile.

“We’ve secured enough operating funds for twenty years. We’ve seized all of Lee Jung-gul’s assets and those of the related elders. We haven’t started the collection process yet, but once it’s converted to cash, it’ll be a huge amount.”

“I guess so.”

The imposing sight of the mountain owned by Lee Jung-gul was still vivid in his mind. That couldn’t be all of his assets, so it would be a truly enormous sum of money.

Bang Jin-hoon frowned.

“But is it okay to seize it like that? There’s his granddaughter. What about inheritance rights?”

“The assets aren’t in his name anyway, and they’re scattered. There’s no room to object, and no justification either. It’s the same for the other elders.”

“…So, you’re going to illegally take illegal assets?”

“That’s life.”

“You’re ruthless.”

Bang Jin-hoon shook his head.

Anyway, if they could recover those assets, they wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while… no, for a looooong time.

“But why doesn’t the Assembly Head have much wealth? Looking at Lee Jung-gul’s asset list this time was jaw-dropping, but you, as the Assembly Head…”

“Hey, you! I poured all my assets into this! How else could I have gone head-to-head with Lee Jung-gul? I was able to talk big because I kept pouring everything I earned into it.”

“It looked like you would have been crushed even if you had used just ten percent of Lee Jung-gul’s assets.”

“Don’t worry. I would have been crushed even if I hadn’t used it. If Kang Jin-ho hadn’t helped me, I’d be buried in the mountains by now.”

“You should repay the favor.”

“I’m giving up the Assembly Head position! And I’ll go back to being a director and work like a dog! You little punk, it hasn’t even been five minutes since I said I’d give up the Assembly Head position, and you’re already talking back. I might just keep doing this because of you.”

Lee Hyun-soo covered his mouth and laughed.

‘Still, this is better.’

Physically, this place was harder. The workload had increased to an extent that was incomparable to when he was in the Yeongnam Assembly. Kim Seok-il was a suspicious person, so he didn’t give Lee Hyun-soo all the work. He was the type to handle anything he thought was really important himself.

On the other hand, Bang Jin-hoon was the type to assign work and then threaten to grind your bones if you tried anything funny, and Kang Jin-ho just… just seemed to have no thoughts.

“I think so too, Lord.”

Knight Wiggins said with a smile.

“Their level is too low. I can understand the young ones, but I didn’t expect the elders to be at that level.”

“Well, sorry about that.”

Bang Jin-hoon pouted. It wasn’t like he was being insulted, but it felt like he was.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, whatever. I have to admit what I have to admit.”

Bang Jin-hoon snorted.

‘I need to train harder.’

He was someone who had some power in Korea, but he didn’t have the confidence to go up against Bator or Knight Wiggins. He was realizing how much he had been living like a frog in a well in the small land of Korea.

‘Those Chevaliers [French for knights] or whatever seemed like they might be worth fighting, but then this monster appeared out of nowhere.’

He had single-handedly wiped out over twenty elders. Bang Jin-hoon’s limit was three. And that was if he risked his life. But to subdue over twenty elders without a single scratch.

The world he had lived in his whole life was collapsing. Ever since Kang Jin-ho had appeared.

“I was happy in my well. I didn’t want to see a wider world.”

“Huh?”

“Aish!”

As Bang Jin-hoon got angry, Lee Hyun-soo chuckled. When that person was around, the atmosphere brightened. Even if it wasn’t Kang Jin-ho, it would have been fun to serve Bang Jin-hoon. He would have received twice the stress, though.

“We need systematic training. It seems we need to expand the classes we’re currently doing. I’m thinking of increasing the number of students.”

Bator agreed.

“I need to increase mine too. Originally, I was only going to accept those with the right physique, but if we leave it like this, there won’t be anyone who can do their part. Even those who don’t seem likely to improve should be taught for now. So, I know a few people… can I bring them?”

“People you know?”

“There are a few guys in the grasslands who claim to be my subordinates. It’s impossible for me to teach everyone alone, so I need to bring them and use them as instructors.”

“Their skills?”

“Of course, they’re reliable.”

“I permit it. Bring them as soon as possible.”

Kang Jin-ho turned to Knight Wiggins.

“Well, I have the Chevaliers, so I’m fine for now. If they return to France, I might have to bring some acquaintances from England, but that’s for later.”

“No. Don’t postpone it.”

Kang Jin-ho said firmly.

“If you try to handle things when the time comes, there will be a gap. If you’re thinking of bringing them, bring them now.”

“Hmm, that makes sense. Then I’ll make a separate plan for this and report it.”

“Good.”

Kang Jin-ho pointed at Lee Hyun-soo.

“Get the necessary support through him.”

Knight Wiggins and Bator’s intense gazes landed on Lee Hyun-soo.

“Is that it?”

“For now.”

“I’m done.”

When no one else had anything to say, Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“It’s time to make changes. It’ll be busy and complicated for a while. But it’s something we must do, so don’t let your guard down and do your best.”

“Okay.”

Everyone felt it.

They had only taken one step. Removing Lee Jung-gul meant the start of change, not the completion of change. Now, they had to eliminate internal strife and change the very constitution of the Assembly.

“May I say one thing?”

Lee Hyun-soo quietly raised his hand.

“Ah, there’s always someone who does that when we’re about to finish. Always!”

Bang Jin-hoon openly grumbled, but Lee Hyun-soo remained steadfast.

“Speak.”

“I think everyone needs to know that this isn’t the end of the matter.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s voice was more serious than before.

“If Lee Jung-gul was preparing a rebellion, his forces wouldn’t be this weak. He was capable of calculations, and he would have known that this force was insufficient.”

“Hmm.”

Knight Wiggins scratched his cheek.

“I did think they were too weak.”

“…No. It’s just that the elders are weak.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed and said.

“Lee Jung-gul was a precise calculator. But no matter how I look at it, I don’t know what he prepared to face Kang Jin-ho. Director Jo also said he doesn’t know this part for sure. However…”

“However?”

“There’s a rumor that Kim Seok-il is involved in this.”

Kang Jin-ho looked intrigued.

“Kim Seok-il, huh…”

“Some elders said they saw Kim Seok-il.”

“Where are those elders now?”

“That’s…”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Bator.

“They’ve turned to dust.”

“…”

As Kang Jin-ho stared with a blank face, Bator cleared his throat.

“I didn’t think they were worth keeping alive. Those people are not warriors.”

“That mindset that if you’re not a warrior, you should die is a bit…”

“You’re not a warrior either, are you?”

At Bator’s words, Lee Hyun-soo immediately shut his mouth. He shouldn’t mess with that guy.

“If they’re gone, there’s nothing we can do. Investigate this part again.”

“Yes. Given Kim Seok-il’s nature, there’s a high chance he’ll target Kang Jin-ho’s family. I’ll strengthen security for now.”

Kang Jin-ho’s face slightly distorted at the mention of family.

“Make sure of it.”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s get up.”

As Kang Jin-ho stood up, everyone else stood up as well. Now, a system centered around Kang Jin-ho was being fully established.

Kang Jin-ho left the conference room and headed downstairs.

‘Nothing is easy.’

As soon as one task was finished, another followed. There weren’t any particularly difficult tasks, but each one was annoyingly picky.

Still, he felt like he had overcome a major hurdle. And he actually had.

Kang Jin-ho, who had gotten into the car parked on one side, didn’t start right away and put a cigarette in his mouth. He lit it and slowly inhaled the smoke.

‘I need to rest a bit.’

Recently, Kang Jin-ho had been realizing the importance of rest. In the past, when he was in the Central Plains, he trained to the point of exhausting his body. But now, it was impossible for him to improve his skills by exhausting his body. He had already surpassed that level long ago.

“I should rest today.”

Without doing anything.

Just locking himself in his room and meditating would be enough rest. There was a saying that you should go back when you’re in a hurry. Even if he couldn’t go back, he had to learn to walk slowly.

Kang Jin-ho, who had taken a long drag of his cigarette and burned it all, threw the butt into the ashtray and started the engine.

His Lamborghini began to glide smoothly along the mountain road.

‘Now, then…’

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes shone coldly.

He had overcome the biggest hurdle in internal reorganization. Now, it was time to turn his attention outward, not inward. To do that, it was important to expand his network of informants.

He had kept his mouth shut because he didn’t think it was necessary to mention this when there were so many other things to do, but in Kang Jin-ho’s mind, this was the top priority.

Since Jang Da-jing was an informant, he thought he should meet him separately and hear his story. Just as he was thinking that, the phone suddenly started ringing.

Kang Jin-ho, who had taken out his phone, looked surprised.

‘At this hour?’

Choi Yeon-ha.

It was her call.

It was strange. Choi Yeon-ha usually called him in the evening. She didn’t call much during the day because she had filming.

Kang Jin-ho answered the phone, puzzled.

“Hello?”

No sooner had he finished speaking than a voice that seemed like it would tear his ears apart burst from the phone.

[Yaaaaaa! Are you coming to China or not!]

“I, I’m going!”

Kang Jin-ho had ended up answering without thinking.