Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 740

The terrain had changed.

That one phrase was enough to describe it.

It was absurd and ridiculous, but the terrain had literally changed. The massive light that the Hong King had emitted had completely destroyed the path to the pier.

Joo-gang swallowed hard, looking at the ground that had been gouged out deep enough for a large man to fit inside.

‘Can a human really do something like this!’

Even a powerful bomb wouldn’t be able to create such a mark.

It was unbelievable, but there was no way to deny it.

How could he deny what he was seeing with his own eyes?

This unbelievable sight was proof.

Hong King.

It was the Hong King.

The domineering man before him was definitely the Hong King. If it wasn’t him, who else could do something like this?

“••••••Hong King.”

Bator was frozen, as if he had seen a ghost.

It was the Hong King.

The one blocking their path was definitely the Hong King.

He blinked several times and bit his tongue, but the man before him was definitely the Hong King.

‘Why is the Hong King here?’

A king is not someone who moves carelessly.

Especially the Hong King, who never leaves his seat. Yet, the Hong King had appeared here. Right here.

“Th-this••••••”

His jaw trembled.

His whole body was instantly soaked with sweat. His clothes were drenched as if he had been splashed with water. The sweat on his forehead stung his eyes.

His mind went blank.

He couldn’t think of anything.

It was only natural.

All their plans were based on the premise that the Hong King was not here.

Because they were certain that the Hong King wouldn’t come here?

No.

Because if the Hong King was here, any plan would be meaningless. The Hong King’s existence was not something that could be overcome with schemes or strategies.

He was a living disaster.

Bator, more than anyone else among the demons here, knew that fact.

The mere fact that the Hong King was standing before him as an enemy filled Bator with a terror that threatened to make him lose his mind.

‘Why.’

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

In the past, he had even exchanged blows directly with the Hong King.

He had been utterly defeated, so much so that the word ‘utterly’ was an understatement, but he had never lost his fighting spirit.

But now, just seeing the Hong King made Bator unable to control his fear.

‘Is this what it means to be an enemy of the Hong King?’

The Hong King’s burning gaze swept over everyone.

“You rat-like bastards.”

The Hong King’s face twisted slightly.

A voice filled with anger.

Just hearing that voice made the demons shrink back. Like children facing their angry parents.

The Hong King, who had been slowly scanning the demons, fixed his gaze on Bator.

“Bator.”

“I trusted you… hmm?”

The Hong King, who had been saying something, narrowed his brow.

“Soul Possession? Indeed.”

The Hong King nodded, having grasped Bator’s condition at a glance.

“Even if you were defeated by your opponent… Bator, you are a warrior of the plains. You wouldn’t have lowered your pride and begged for your life. But Soul Possession… to commit such a despicable act. Truly, a Demon King.”

Bator couldn’t open his mouth.

The Hong King’s weight was crushing him.

“Hmm.”

The Hong King slowly looked around at everyone and then raised his head to look at one spot.

“H-how is that person here?”

Chaikercang’s eyes widened as if they would burst.

Hong King.

It was definitely the Hong King.

Chaikercang prostrated himself on the spot.

“O, Hong King! This sinner greets the Hong King!”

It was too far away to be heard.

No matter how loudly he shouted, there was no way his words could be heard from this distance. But Chaikercang didn’t doubt it for a moment.

The Hong King was a being who heard the sounds of all things and received the worship of all people. There was no way he wouldn’t have heard his words.

And as expected.

The Hong King’s gaze turned towards Chaikercang.

He was so far away that he looked like a dot, but the Hong King’s gaze was definitely on him.

And then, a voice that sounded like a whisper was heard right in his ear.

“Chai Kercang.”

“Yes! Hong King!”

“You disappoint me.”

“I am sorry! Hong King! My foolishness has brought this disaster!”

Thump! Thump!

Chaikercang repeatedly banged his head on the ground.

“Foolish one. I told you to be so wary.”

Cold sweat broke out on Chaikercang’s hands.

‘How far ahead does that person see?’

The Hong King must have predicted that the situation would turn out like this from the moment he first entrusted the task to Chaikercang. Otherwise, there would be no need for him to come here in person.

He had foreseen even the things that Chaikercang wouldn’t understand even if they were explained. And then, he had suddenly appeared here, hiding his movements from everyone.

There was no way the other Three Kings could have guessed the Hong King’s movements, which even Chaikercang didn’t know. He suppressed the enemy’s movements as much as possible and achieved what he wanted.

It was a strategy only possible for the Hong King, and a move only possible for the Hong King.

“Withdraw.”

“H-Hong King.”

“I said withdraw.”

“Yes!”

Chaikercang’s voice, full of loyalty, echoed. As soon as he finished his reply, Chaikercang jumped to his feet.

Turning his gaze, he could see the situation of the battlefield at a glance.

The movement had stopped.

The battlefield had lost its vitality, like a movie with the film paused. The Hong King’s appearance had overwhelmed everything. The warriors, knowing that their master had arrived, had cast aside their fear and were worshipping their master, while the rampaging demons had fallen silent.

“Withdraw!”

As Chaikercang shouted loudly, the warriors, who had been half-entangled with the demons, slowly began to create distance and line up.

The chaotic land regained its composure.

And then came the silence.

“……Is that the Hong King?”

“……Yes.”

Jang Min also looked at the Hong King, not knowing what to do.

‘How can such a being exist in this world?’

He could feel it.

Human. What he saw before him was just a human.

But within that human was a power so immense that it was impossible to believe it was human.

It was distorting.

Jang Min could see it. The energies flowing through the world distorted as if they were lying when they touched the Hong King’s surroundings. They couldn’t handle the immense inner energy contained within his body.

The Hong King seemed to be facing the world with his body alone.

Overbearing (霸道) [A term describing a domineering and forceful presence].

If he had to define it in one word, that was the only word.

‘Am I supposed to fight against such a being?’

Jang Min was seeing the Hong King for the first time. He should have encountered him at least once during his long life, but whether by coincidence or fate, Jang Min had never directly faced any of the Three Kings.

At this moment, Jang Min felt that fact was fortunate.

He would have been broken.

If he had seen the Hong King before, Jang Min might have given up on being the Vice Leader of the Demonic Cult. To overcome such a monster and make the Demonic Cult the ruler of the world again was too absurd an ambition.

Now that the Demon Lord was here, he could continue to dream such dreams, but if it had been Jang Min before the Demon Lord’s descent, he wouldn’t have dared to continue his dream.

But….

Is that really true?

That he could continue to dream such dreams because the Demon Lord was here?

Then, could the Demon Lord face that monster?

That being who had descended into the world like a celestial being?

Immense.

Too immense, it was blinding. Jang Min clenched his fist, feeling himself being overwhelmed by the Hong King.

What a disgrace.

He, an elder of the Demonic Cult, was feeling overwhelmed and awe-struck by a member of the orthodox faction!

“I have no interest in the small fry.”

The Hong King’s majestic voice spread out.

“Where is the Demon King!”

It was too obvious who he was looking for.

“Kang Jin-ho!”

The Hong King’s voice rang out once more.

“Where is Kang Jin-ho!”

Everyone held their breath.

There was no one who would want to stick their neck out in front of that absolute giant. If they were in their right mind, they would shrink back and pray that the Hong King’s anger wouldn’t turn towards them.

But there was one person here who wasn’t in their right mind!

He was moving.

One part of the densely packed demons, like a giant snake, was stirring.

A ripple. It was like a ripple.

The demons turned around.

And then, half willingly, half unwillingly, they parted to the left and right. The center of the ten thousand demons split in half. Following the path that was created, a man slowly walked out.

Receiving the gazes of the demons.

Receiving gazes of respect, trust, and desperate longing, a man walked out slowly, very slowly.

The man’s appearance was enough to make one’s hair stand on end.

Each step left a bloody footprint.

He had been covered in so much blood that even at this moment, blood was dripping down his body.

A gruesome sight.

But it was a sight that made one think it suited him perfectly.

Clack, clack, clack.

The sword he was dragging scraped the ground.

The man who was dragging the sword he held in both hands on the ground.

The one now called the Demon King.

Kang Jin-ho slowly walked along the open path. The eyes that flashed between his lowered hair were fixed on the Hong King.

“Kang Jin-ho…”

A groan escaped from the Hong King’s lips.

It was a groan that didn’t suit him at all.

‘He looks like a demon.’

It was alien. Too alien.

This place was a land full of chaos. It was a land of chaos where the righteous, the evil, and the demonic had all lost their way and were mixed together. Even on such a land, Kang Jin-ho was too alien a presence.

His eerie appearance even made the Hong King flinch.

How much blood would a human have to see to become like that?

How much evil would have to fill his heart for him to kill people until he looked like that!

The Hong King had also experienced countless years.

He had experienced the horrors of war with his own body, and he had even witnessed brutal massacres with his own eyes. But Kang Jin-ho’s appearance was so gruesome that it made even the Hong King grit his teeth.

Evil (惡) [A term referring to wickedness or malevolence].

Yes. That was a moving evil.

Finally, Kang Jin-ho, who had passed through the open path and stood before the Hong King, raised his head and looked at the Hong King.

The embodiment of the overbearing way, representing the righteous.

The Demon Lord of the Crimson Sky, representing the demonic.

Having finally met across the ages, the two did not take their eyes off each other.

There were over ten thousand people here, but as if only the two of them existed, the two men only looked at each other.

The first to speak was the Hong King.

“……Are you Kang Jin-ho?”

A question that didn’t need to be asked. The Hong King already knew.

This was Kang Jin-ho. If it wasn’t him, no one else would dare to be called the Demon Lord here.

“Hong King.”

Kang Jin-ho slowly opened his mouth. In a voice that was rough beyond compare.

“Are you the Hong King?”

A blatant question in response to a blatant question. The Hong King slowly nodded.

“I asked a foolish question.”

“Knowing is enough.”

A smile spread across the Hong King’s lips.

“Kang Jin-ho. Yes, Kang Jin-ho. We have finally met, Kang Jin-ho. I have truly, truly wanted to meet you.”

The energies that had been surrounding the Hong King began to surge.

“Today, in this place, I will kill you and eradicate the seed of evil! Demon King!”

Opening the Heavens (開天) [A term referring to a powerful technique that can tear open the heavens].

The energies flowing from the Hong King’s body soared into the sky with an overbearing force.

As if they would tear open the heavens.