Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 747

‘A wound, huh…’

The Hong King slowly brought his hand to his shoulder. Thanks to his fondness for red robes, it wasn’t very noticeable, but if he were wearing white, his upper body would be stained a vivid red.

‘How long has it been since I was wounded?’

Come to think of it, it wasn’t that long ago. Just a moment ago, Kang Jin-ho had grazed his cheek.

But he couldn’t remember the last time he had suffered a real wound, one that tore his flesh, not just a scratch that wasn’t even worth calling a wound.

The Hong King gently touched his shoulder.

Blood was seeping from the torn flesh. If he hadn’t constricted his muscles and blocked it with his inner energy [a form of internal power cultivated through martial arts], blood would be gushing out like a fountain by now.

The Hong King looked at Kang Jin-ho with awe.

‘This one always exceeds my expectations.’

Who else had acknowledged Kang Jin-ho as much as the Hong King?

When everyone else was ignoring the demon from the borderlands, the Hong King was the only one who was wary of Kang Jin-ho.

When Kang Jin-ho took over Korea and defeated Bator, everyone was shocked, but the Hong King considered it natural. Perhaps the Hong King was the one who understood Kang Jin-ho the most in the world.

Even the Hong King couldn’t help but be astonished now.

According to his calculations, Kang Jin-ho should never have been able to block the attack from just now. It was obvious. There was no need to calculate thoroughly or consider variables. It was a matter of who would win if a tiger fought a rabbit. But now, the rabbit had torn the tiger’s chest with its sharp teeth.

It wasn’t a fatal wound.

But….

The Hong King pressed down on the wound.

The sharp pain from the wound narrowed his brow.

‘Right. Humans are beings that get wounded and bleed.’

The voice that flowed from the Hong King’s lips was filled with composure.

‘I’ve forgotten for a long time that I, too, am human. That I bleed when cut, and break when hit… Yes, I am human too.’

The Hong King’s eyes turned directly to Kang Jin-ho.

‘Then what about you?’

‘Are you a human, or a Demon Lord?’

The Hong King quietly stared at Kang Jin-ho.

The one who had wounded his body.

The demon he despised the most.

Yet, he couldn’t just despise him, he had to look at him with an awe that had never been in his eyes before.

His appearance didn’t look comfortable.

Sizzle.

Kang Jin-ho’s hand fell away from the Red Dew [likely a weapon or object]. Dried blood fell with a sticky, wet sound.

Blood.

Blood was flowing.

For the first time since coming to this world, Kang Jin-ho was soaking his entire body in his own blood.

It wasn’t just blood flowing.

His current situation was truly miserable.

His bones were crushed, and his flesh was torn. His skin, unable to withstand the pressure, had turned black and died, and his joints were dislocated and shaking uncontrollably.

Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn’t continue properly because of the blood that was gushing up his throat.

‘Not good.’

Injuries to flesh and blood were nothing. He had suffered far more severe injuries than this many times. But the real problem was that his insides were completely turned upside down.

The Hong King was strong.

He could feel it firsthand. The Hong King was a true powerhouse. The inner energy he possessed was unprecedented, something Kang Jin-ho had never encountered before, and his ability to control that energy was also extraordinary.

‘He even surpasses Shaolin.’

Even if Hyein of Shaolin [a famous Buddhist monastery known for martial arts], who was famous throughout the world for his domineering and heavy style, came, he would not be able to face the Hong King. Martial arts had certainly developed. Even if it wasn’t passed down to everyone, it was certainly passed down to a select few. The result was right before his eyes.

The Hong King, with his whole body bristling while wearing his red robe, looked like a celestial being descended from the heavens.

Which meant….

He was strong.

Yes, the Hong King was strong.

Stronger than Kang Jin-ho.

‘How long has it been?’

Kang Jin-ho blinked, looking at the Hong King through the blood that was flowing into his eyes.

How long had it been since he had seen someone stronger than himself?

It was a strange feeling.

Was the Hong King stronger than Kang Jin-ho?

Yes.

Then was the Hong King stronger than Kang Jin-ho?

No.

The Hong King was strong. He was so strong that even Kang Jin-ho was repeatedly amazed. His inner energy was like the sea, and his spirit reached the heavens.

But the realm where the Hong King stood now was a place that the past Kang Jin-ho had already passed through.

If it were the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign [a title of immense power and authority], not Kang Jin-ho, the Hong King’s neck would have been severed and floating on the sea by now.

But Kang Jin-ho couldn’t do that.

In the past, Kang Jin-ho was the one who trampled the world alone with infinite demonic energy and supreme power. But now, he was being threatened by someone who couldn’t even match his past self.

This discrepancy was shaking Kang Jin-ho.

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes.

He had thought that this day would come someday. The day when the martial arts in his head and the martial arts in his body would create a gap.

When he had to cut down an enemy he could have crushed with a single finger, when he was wounded and groaned at an attack from an enemy he could have killed with a glance, he thought he needed to get stronger faster.

Yet, the place he had arrived at was here.

The final destination guided by the lack of time was only here.

‘Am I human?’

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

‘Maybe not.’

He wanted to be human, but he wasn’t sure if he was. Ordinary people didn’t live three lives.

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the Hong King.

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes, looking at the Hong King, were filled with confusion.

He was weaker than Kang Jin-ho. But he was stronger than Kang Jin-ho. The only reason this absurd contradiction existed was that Kang Jin-ho was one and two, and two and one.

What was the proper emotion he should be showing now?

Should he admire the Hong King’s achievements as a strong person, or should he marvel at the Hong King’s power as a weak person?

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

‘How pathetic.’

He thought he wasn’t the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign. He vowed to live differently from the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign. The past was just the past, he let it flow away like running water.

What remained was Kang Jin-ho, not Cheon [likely a shortened version of the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign’s name]. He abandoned Cheon even though he could have become stronger more easily and quickly. After that, he stood tall as Kang Jin-ho.

It was utterly despicable.

While boasting that he wasn’t the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign, he couldn’t let go of the prestige that came from his strength. Even though he was weak, he acted like a strong person, and even though he was a deer about to be torn apart by a jackal, he believed that he was a tiger, so jackals wouldn’t dare to oppose him.

How could he not be pathetic?

As Kang Jin-ho let out a languid laugh, the Hong King’s eyebrows twitched.

‘Maybe not… So, that means you could be human? If you’re human, we can talk.’

Kang Jin-ho raised his hand and wiped the blood that had flowed down his face.

‘Now, after all this?’

‘Even generals facing each other on the battlefield talk to each other, so why can’t we talk just because we exchanged a few punches?’

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer.

There was no need to say more. The Hong King and he were looking at different places.

‘I’m not one to offer twice. But I’ll break my rule just once.’

‘That…’

Before he could even answer, the Hong King cut off Kang Jin-ho’s words.

‘Come to me, Demon Lord.’

There was power in the Hong King’s voice.

‘I…’

‘Listen!’

The Hong King raised his voice.

He was a king.

A king was one who reigned.

The power in the Hong King’s voice made even the mighty Kang Jin-ho hesitate.

‘Why do you fight?’

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer. There was no need to answer. But the Hong King didn’t give up.

‘All fights have a reason. You fight like a demon. But the reason you fight is different from that of a demon. You don’t have to fight me. If you want to save your life, you can just throw yourself into the sea. You can’t beat me. But it’s not hard for you to run away from me. Yet, the reason you fight me is to protect something, isn’t it!’

The Hong King spread his arms wide.

As if embracing the earth.

‘I will protect it for you. If you come to me, I will guarantee everything for you. What you want to protect. Whether it’s your power, wealth, family, friends, or even your honor! I will grant you anything. You will protect, and I will gain. So, isn’t it a fair trade!’

The booming voice pierced Kang Jin-ho’s ears.

‘Come to me, Kang Jin-ho. Otherwise, you will die here. You know it too. I am stronger than you. Your endless martial arts and bloodlust cannot reach me. Don’t die a dog’s death here. Just bow your head once, just once, and you can grasp the world. Don’t die here!’

What was the qualification of a king?

Personal martial prowess?

Vast power?

Or the people who followed him?

Kang Jin-ho didn’t know. But at this moment, he was sure of one thing.

He didn’t know the qualifications of a king, but he understood what the qualities of a king were. The qualification of a king was eloquence. It wasn’t about persuading an enemy with fancy words. It was about putting sincerity into every word, breaking down the solid walls of the opponent’s heart.

There wasn’t even a hint of doubt.

Whether it was his true intention or not.

No one would doubt that the Hong King was speaking from the heart right now. No matter who looked at him, the Hong King was pouring out his sincerity. Without any deception or trickery.

That was why Kang Jin-ho couldn’t help but laugh.

‘You said I could have everything?’

‘That’s right.’

‘In exchange for bowing my head once?’

‘That’s enough.’

‘A good deal, then.’

The Hong King nodded.

‘No matter how stiff your neck is, even if that neck is worth a thousand gold, it’s still a good deal. You know that, don’t you?’

‘Of course.’

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

A good deal….

‘Let me tell you one thing.’

The Hong King’s eyebrows twitched.

‘There’s no such thing as a good deal in this world.’

Even if it seems like a profit right now, everything always comes with a price.

Kang Jin-ho raised his hand and wiped his face. As the blood that was blocking his nose cleared and the blood that was covering his eyes was wiped away, he felt a little better.

Kang Jin-ho, who had wiped his face, grinned, revealing his teeth.

The Hong King felt an unknown eeriness in that sight.

‘Why are you laughing?’

‘Because it’s funny.’

‘Am I?’

‘No.’

Kang Jin-ho shook his head firmly.

‘To be precise, I should say this situation is funny. To be more precise, I was just thinking about how much someone would laugh if they heard what you’re saying.’

The Hong King couldn’t understand Kang Jin-ho’s words.

What was this guy talking about?

‘You said not to die a dog’s death?’

Kang Jin-ho laughed.

He burst out laughing.

How much would Cheongma [likely a close friend or rival] have laughed if he had heard this?

He didn’t know.

That guy didn’t know. No one knew. Because everyone who knew was dead.

Even those who yearned for the name of the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign, who staked everything on his myth and opened the era of demons, didn’t know.

The Kang Jin-ho they knew was the Kang Jin-ho after he had achieved everything.

The Kang Jin-ho before that always fought.

And during those hellish days of battle, did he ever have an opponent who was weaker than him?