Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 708

“……Did you say Red Heavenly Demon Lord?”\n\n”I did.”\n\n”Then, the legendary one?”\n\n”That’s what I’m saying.”\n\nThe ceremony ended very quickly.\n\nElder Jang Min looked like he wanted to do more, but the Demon Lord waved his hand, stopping Elder Jang Min’s intentions.\n\n”Enough with the formalities.”\n\nThat one word was enough.\n\nIt was a shocking scene in many ways.\n\nWho is Jang Min?\n\nHe is a person who can be said to be the de facto number one of the Demonic Cult. Among those who bear the name of ‘demon,’ there was no one who did not respect Jang Min. Although they were not in a perfect superior-subordinate relationship.\n\nThat Jang Min quietly stepped back at Kang Jin-ho’s gesture was quite symbolic.\n\nThat one scene engraved on everyone that the power structure of the Demonic Cult had completely changed.\n\nMoreover, the Red Heavenly Demon Lord.\n\n”Is it real?”\n\n”If it wasn’t, Elder’s actions wouldn’t make sense. Demon Lord? Good, great. But frankly, that’s just a legend. What would change if someone just showed up now? But if it’s the Red Heavenly Demon Lord…”\n\nHe swallowed hard.\n\nThere was a story they had heard countless times.\n\nThe history of the Demonic Cult.\n\nThe story of the time when they ruled the Central Plains [a historical region in China].\n\nIt was the story they least wanted to hear.\n\nNo matter how glorious the past was, what did it matter? The reality was like hell.\n\nDiscussing past glories was not proof that they were excellent. It was proof that they were so incompetent that they lost all that glorious past and were thrown into hell.\n\nBut there were those who clung to such memories.\n\nIt was annoying and bothersome, but they couldn’t show their displeasure.\n\nThose who had no hope for a better reality could only recall the past. It was the only place they could escape from the hellish reality.\n\nSo they had heard it countless times.\n\nThe one who always appeared in that story was the Red Heavenly Demon Lord.\n\nThe Red Demon, or the Red Heavenly Demon Lord.\n\nThe leader of the cult during its most prosperous period.\n\nHis martial arts reached the heavens, and no one in the world dared to raise their head before him. Even the emperor feared him, and those great righteous sects had no choice but to prostrate themselves on the ground and tremble before him.\n\nA legend. Yes, a legend.\n\nBut it wasn’t just a legend.\n\n”A lie? There’s no way? Then why do those righteous sects oppress us so relentlessly? If we were as insignificant as those Hao Moon guys, as you say, wouldn’t there be no reason for them to oppress us?”\n\nHe couldn’t refute that.\n\nSometimes he felt it too. When the righteous sects oppressed them, there was fear mixed in their gazes.\n\n’If all of that is true…\n\nAnd if the one called the Demon Lord now is really the Red Heavenly Demon Lord from the legends…’\n\n”Will something really change?”\n\nA subtle air flowed.\n\nIt seemed everyone was thinking the same thing.\n\nThe Demon Lord had gone inside, but the order to disperse had not yet been given.\n\nA wait without an end.\n\nNormally, complaints would have poured out endlessly, but now no one asked when they could go home.\n\nNo one spoke first, but there was a subtle expectation flowing.\n\nIf he really was the Demon Lord…\n\nIf he really was the Red Heavenly Demon Lord…\n\nThis miserable life at the bottom might end. He was literally a legend, the strongest leader the Demonic Cult had ever produced.\n\n’Even if he doesn’t bother to help us…\n\nIt’s ridiculous that someone of that caliber… no, that great person would directly teach us. There’s no situation that fits the saying ‘using a sledgehammer to crack a nut’ better than this.\n\n’If he just throws us a proper demonic art, we wouldn’t ask for anything more.’\n\nBut can they really believe it?\n\nThey had already seen it.\n\nThe terrifying demonic energy flowing within his body.\n\nBut they had suffered too much to be optimistic about the future based solely on that demonic energy.\n\nThat’s why they were all hesitant to have expectations.\n\nIt was then.\n\n”They’re here!”\n\nA noisy commotion began to spread. Those who had gone to support the Demon Lord had finished their cleanup and returned.\n\n”How did it go!”\n\n”Tell us. What happened?”\n\nPeople swarmed in. With so many people gathering in one place, it was a complete mess.\n\n”Everyone, quiet down for a moment.”\n\nEveryone’s attention focused on one person.\n\nJoo Kang.\n\nHe, at the front, cleared his throat as if he had expected this situation and opened his mouth.\n\n”I don’t know where to start explaining…\n\nJoo Kang seemed to hesitate for a moment before continuing.\n\n”I’m not good with words, so I can’t give a great explanation. I’ll just tell you what I saw. It started… yes, the first time I met him was in Sichuan…”\n\nEveryone began to be drawn into Joo Kang’s story.\n\n”Oh, Demon Lord!”\n\nKang Jin-ho slightly stepped back with a somewhat uncomfortable expression.\n\n”You must show your majesty! You must show the majesty of the Demon Lord!”\n\n”…I think I’ve shown it enough.”\n\n”They do not have enough respect for the Demon Lord. You must show them what kind of being you are.”\n\nIt was awkward.\n\nVery awkward.\n\nKang Jin-ho had never met anyone who was so fiercely loyal to him. The demonic flames of the past were so loyal that they would have pretended to die if he told them to, but they weren’t like Jang Min, who expressed his loyalty so openly.\n\nKang Jin-ho, who was used to subordinates who silently followed him, found Jang Min to be a very awkward presence.\n\nMoreover…\n\n’I can’t just say anything carelessly.’\n\nIn terms of lineage, he was not even a grandson, but a distant descendant, but Jang Min was older than him. Even if you combined all three of his lives, it wouldn’t come close to Jang Min’s age.\n\nFrankly, Kang Jin-ho was born when Jang Min was already considered an old man. In terms of age, he was like a great-grandson.\n\nSo how could it not be awkward?\n\nIf Jang Min were to use his age, he would have rebelled, but who could withstand a 180-year-old man bowing like that?\n\n”Jang Min.”\n\n”Yes, Demon Lord.”\n\n”Do I really need to assert myself and raise my voice to be respected?”\n\nJang Min’s eyes wavered.\n\n”My thoughts were short-sighted, Demon Lord. You are the rightful master of these people. If they do not know the Demon Lord, it is all due to their ignorance.”\n\n”Authority is not something that is created by force. Authority created by force is just oppression. What is achieved by oppression will eventually collapse. Always.”\n\nJang Min nodded deeply.\n\nHadn’t he seen countless times the collapse of forces that seemed like they would never fall?\n\n”Please punish my foolishness for not being able to fathom the Demon Lord’s wisdom.”\n\n”No, that…”\n\nKang Jin-ho covered his face.\n\n’I’m going to die, really.’\n\nHe knew. When Kang Jin-ho was in the Central Plains, everyone used this kind of language. Kang Jin-ho also used such language and mingled with them. Thanks to that, even now, when he draws on his demonic energy, he subtly reverts to his old way of speaking.\n\nHe felt that he had adapted a lot to modern times. Seeing that he couldn’t handle that way of speaking at all.\n\nBut he couldn’t ask him to speak normally. Jang Min was 180 years old. Who would a 180-year-old man adjust to? The young ones should adjust to him.\n\n”Ahem.”\n\nKang Jin-ho cleared his throat and continued.\n\n”I didn’t come here to talk about such useless things.”\n\n”That’s right. Demon Lord, now is the time to create days of glory.”\n\n”…Enough.”\n\nStress was building up.\n\nLooking back, his subordinates in the Central Plains weren’t this boisterous. They feared and respected him, but that was it.\n\nHe fully understood the whirlwind of emotions Jang Min was feeling.\n\nIt was a wait of over a hundred years.\n\nAfter waiting for such a long time, he had finally met Kang Jin-ho, so how could he possibly describe his feelings?\n\nHe understood that. He understood, but…\n\n’How long is this going to go on?’\n\nEverything has a beginning and an end, doesn’t it? But Jang Min didn’t seem to have any intention of ending this emotional moment.\n\nKang Jin-ho had no choice but to inform Jang Min that everything has an end.\n\n”Jang Min.”\n\n”Yes, Demon Lord.”\n\n”Enough with the praise. More than that, I want to know about the current situation.”\n\n”What exactly do you mean by the situation? My dull mind cannot comprehend it, Demon Lord.”\n\n”Hmm, it’s hard to define in one word. I’m talking about the number of Demonic Cult members, and other general matters.”\n\n”Ah, is that what you mean? Do not worry, Demon Lord. I have prepared it.”\n\nJang Min suddenly turned his body.\n\n’What is he doing?’\n\nThen he went to a desk in the corner of the room and started manipulating something.\n\nZzzzzzz.\n\nThen, a screen began to descend from one side of the wall.\n\n”Wh-what is that?”\n\nKang Jin-ho flinched.\n\nThis was an underground common area.\n\nThey were demons among themselves, but from an outsider’s perspective, this place was… well… like a villain’s lair.\n\nFrom a past perspective, it was a place where they plotted in a damp and musty cave? Something like that.\n\nBut what was that screen?\n\n”I installed it for meetings.”\n\n”…I see.”\n\nKang Jin-ho forced a smile.\n\nHadn’t he already experienced humiliation during the smartphone incident? He had already figured out that Jang Min was proficient with modern devices. There was no need to be flustered.\n\n”First, this.”\n\nKang Jin-ho tilted his head at the large pad Jang Min handed him.\n\n”What is this?”\n\n”It’s a smart pad. I will display the screen on the wall, but I have prepared a separate document, so please refer to that.”\n\n”A smart pad… But isn’t this American-made? Don’t you use Chinese smart pads?”\n\nJang Min looked at Kang Jin-ho as if he was dumbfounded.\n\n”Why should we use domestic products when the Chinese have done nothing for us? It’s all because of those guys that we’re in this mess.”\n\nAh, that’s right.\n\nKang Jin-ho awkwardly nodded.\n\n”Besides, Chinese products still can’t keep up with American ones. We should prioritize performance first. If we blindly use domestic products, they’ll be slow with updates and use hardware that isn’t very good.”\n\n”Yeah, okay.”\n\nHe didn’t understand what he was saying at all, but Kang Jin-ho nodded vigorously.\n\n”Then, I will begin the report.”\n\n”Before that…”\n\nKang Jin-ho looked at Jang Min with a firm expression.\n\nSeeing that firm face, Jang Min straightened his body.\n\n”How do I turn this on?”\n\nKang Jin-ho seriously asked, pointing to the black screen of the smart pad.\n\nA slightly chilly silence passed, and then Jang Min sighed with a subtle expression and said.\n\n”Are you still not used to modern technology?”\n\n”No… it’s not that, it’s just that I’m using it for the first time…”\n\nJang Min silently approached, pressed the home button to turn on the screen, and then returned to his place.\n\n”Then, I will begin the report again.”\n\nIt seemed like the respect that had been visible in Jang Min’s expression a moment ago had slightly disappeared, but it was probably just his imagination…\n\nKang Jin-ho kept Jang Min’s rudeness in his heart and looked at the screen.