Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 763

Chai Ke-chang’s voice, seemingly calm, was heard again. However, Lee Hyun-soo didn’t miss the subtle tremor in Chai Ke-chang’s voice.

‘That’s right.’

It might just be a simple threat.

But Chai Ke-chang, having seen Kang Jin-ho in person, wouldn’t be able to take those words as a simple threat. Kang Jin-ho was more than capable of doing it.

‘It’s not about strength.’

Even if Hong Wang were several times stronger than Kang Jin-ho, Lee Hyun-soo would rather be at odds with Hong Wang than with Kang Jin-ho. That’s how much he didn’t want to make Kang Jin-ho an enemy.

The more he knew, the more so.

[There’s no good in us getting emotional with each other.]

“Emotional?”

Kang Jin-ho’s reaction brought silence again. After a long silence, Chai Ke-chang spoke again.

[I admit I went too far.]

Kang Jin-ho leaned back on the sofa. It was a sign that he was leaving the negotiations to Lee Hyun-soo again. Lee Hyun-soo understood the meaning and opened his mouth.

“Civilians are not a subject of negotiation.”

[You may have such rules, but we don’t.]

Lee Hyun-soo rubbed his head.

This was quite a headache.

They couldn’t possibly kill all those people. That was certain. But even just detaining them would severely agitate the Mins who had come to Korea.

‘I’d like to ignore it if possible, but…’

Kang Jin-ho’s nature couldn’t be ignored either. Kang Jin-ho valued his family very much. He would never want to see those under him suffer because of their families.

“So, what the Hong Wang faction is doing is taking civilians hostage to force a peace agreement?”

[What if we are?]

Lee Hyun-soo looked up at Wiggins. But Wiggins shook his head as if he didn’t have a solution either.

“Haa…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed lowly and glared at the phone as he spoke.

“You can’t secure all those people.”

[Don’t waste time, Lee Hyun-soo. We both know the situation. We’ve already started securing them. It won’t take long. Right?]

Chai Ke-chang spoke as if he were soothing a child.

[If you agree to the agreement, we’ll send them all to Korea. Everyone who wants to can go to Korea safely. We’ll also take care of the legal issues. It’s like a very comfortable service. Do you understand?]

Lee Hyun-soo didn’t answer. The consequences of not doing so were too obvious.

While Lee Hyun-soo was stuck between a rock and a hard place, Kang Jin-ho opened his mouth.

“If we accept the agreement, you’ll take care of it on your end?”

[That’s right.]

Chai Ke-chang’s tone had changed. He had abandoned his ill feelings and was now treating Kang Jin-ho with respect.

[This is the best offer we can make.]

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

“Then let’s forget about the negotiations.”

[Huh?]

Chai Ke-chang’s voice was slightly dazed.

“Didn’t you hear me? Let’s forget about the negotiations. Do as you please.”

[Mr. Kang Jin-ho, it’s good to bluff, but I’m not someone who will fall for such a bluff. If there’s a problem with the safety of their families here, the Mins you went through so much trouble to bring won’t stand for it.]

“I don’t plan on telling them to stand for it.”

Silence returned. Then, Kang Jin-ho calmly responded to the silence.

“Just tell those who want to go back to go back.”

Kang Jin-ho said calmly.

“You seem to be mistaken, but for me, those guys aren’t people I absolutely had to bring. I brought them because they said they would follow me. If they don’t want to follow, there’s no reason for me to force them. No, there are even a few people here who would cheer if the numbers decreased right now.”

“…I think everyone would cheer.”

Lee Hyun-soo added.

“You might want to recalculate.”

Chai Ke-chang still didn’t speak.

If the families of the Mins were touched, the risk wasn’t just on Kang Jin-ho. Chai Ke-chang couldn’t avoid the risk either. If those who had lost their families and become vengeful spirits were to flood back into China, the chaos would be significant.

Of course, considering the martial prowess of the Mins, the things they could do would be limited, but that couldn’t be ignored either. It was like having a suicide squad coming from behind while dealing with Hong Wang and Chang Wang.

[We…]

“Are you worried about those who will return?” Kang Jin-ho said with a smirk.

“You’d better worry about those who won’t return. Because the day they drive a stake into your neck will eventually come.”

That was true.

It wasn’t those who returned to China to take revenge after losing their families that were scary. It was those who stayed in Korea to take revenge after losing their families that were more frightening. They would be grinding their teeth, waiting for the day they could take Hong Wang’s head.

[Even so, we have no intention of giving in unconditionally. Sometimes pride is more important than life.]

“That’s right.”

Kang Jin-ho snapped his fingers.

“I’ll pay the price for handing them over. But I’ll also get what I deserve. Calculate which side should receive more. That’s your job.”

[Understood.]

“I’ll call you again later.”

Kang Jin-ho reached out and hung up the phone. Then, Lee Hyun-soo and the others looked at Kang Jin-ho with wide eyes.

“You’re good at it!”

“Excellent.”

“Was that just luck?”

Ignoring Bator’s last comment, the negotiation didn’t seem too bad.

‘It feels like I’m wearing clothes that don’t fit.’

It wasn’t awkward to find common ground through conversation. It was awkward to have a conversation with an ‘enemy.’ Until now, at least when dealing with an enemy, his conversations were just a means to corner the opponent.

And an agreement, at that.

Kang Jin-ho leaned back on the sofa.

‘An agreement, huh…’

Looking at it positively, it could be seen as a slight improvement from the simple logic of ‘kill the enemy, protect the ally’ in the past, but to be cold about it, it was just a sign of weakness.

If Kang Jin-ho had enough power, he wouldn’t have accepted such an agreement. He would have invaded China and taken Hong Wang’s head.

– It will break. The things you’ve done will tighten around your neck. And that will kill you.

The words of the Demonic Heavenly Sovereign echoed in Kang Jin-ho’s head.

‘Is it because I’m weak after all?’

Nothing had changed.

Even though he was living a new life, the fundamental problem hadn’t changed. No matter how much the world changed, and no matter how different human thinking was from the past, the world was still a jungle of the survival of the fittest.

Those who didn’t have power were bound to be exposed to the tyranny of the stronger ones someday.

Kang Jin-ho was temporarily free from Hong Wang’s tyranny, but how long would this situation last?

What he had gained wasn’t freedom. It was just a temporary respite given in exchange for walking a tightrope between powerful forces.

‘The conclusion is obvious after all.’

He had to become stronger.

By any means.

Kang Jin-ho got up from his seat.

“I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“You’ve done a great job.”

Lee Hyun-soo and everyone else didn’t object to Kang Jin-ho leaving. Kang Jin-ho’s job was to set the direction. They could take care of the details.

As he watched Kang Jin-ho walk out, Lee Hyun-soo muttered to himself without realizing it.

“He could have at least left his phone.”

It was fortunate that he had memorized the number.

Once the direction was decided, the next steps weren’t difficult. The problem was which direction to go in, but once it was decided how to solve the problem, all that was left was to get as much as possible and save as much as possible.

Lee Hyun-soo and Chai Ke-chang, having agreed on the overall direction, decided to postpone the detailed adjustments until tomorrow and concluded the first round of negotiations.

Only after the grueling first round of negotiations was over could Lee Hyun-soo finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m finally relaxing a bit.”

“It’s a needlessly tiring task.”

Wiggins handed Lee Hyun-soo a coffee. Lee Hyun-soo gratefully accepted the coffee Wiggins offered.

After taking a sip of coffee, Lee Hyun-soo got up from his seat and brought sugar to dump into his coffee.

“Isn’t that too sweet?”

“I’m low on sugar.”

“That may be so, but coffee is best enjoyed black.”

“I don’t want to be lectured on my eating habits by a Brit.”

“…That’s the most devastating blow I’ve heard from you. I can’t argue with that.”

Wiggins looked dejected, and Lee Hyun-soo smiled as he sipped his coffee.

“But something’s a bit strange.”

“What part?”

Lee Hyun-soo put down his coffee cup and took out a cigarette. After gesturing to Wiggins and Bator for permission, Lee Hyun-soo put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

“I did think that the only option for them was negotiation, but I didn’t expect them to come to the negotiation so quickly and decisively.”

“Why?”

“Their pride would be hurt.”

Bator nodded in agreement.

“Chai Ke-chang is one thing, but Hong Wang’s pride is like a mountain. I didn’t think they would contact us so easily either.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Wiggins and said,

“Did you expect it, Master?”

“You’ve read too many books.”

“…Huh?”

Wiggins chuckled.

“To completely predict the opponent’s reaction and manipulate them in the palm of your hand is just a dream. Not even Napoleon or Hannibal could do that. The stories of fantastic strategists in old tales are just made up. Or they were just cases of coincidences that were conveniently packaged and passed off.”

“…”

“The opponent’s tastes, personality, and situation all play a part in their choices, so how can you possibly gauge the timing of those choices? You can gauge the result, but not the timing.”

“That’s true.”

“But now that the result is out, interpretation is possible. If a choice that should have been delayed was made quickly, there must be a reason.”

“What reason?”

Wiggins answered calmly.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That they would have contacted us later because of their pride.”

“Yes. That’s what I thought.”

“Then that means their pride was broken. It’s not a big deal, is it?”

Wiggins chuckled and said,

“It’s one of two things. Either something urgent is happening that they had to rush the negotiations, even at the cost of their pride, or they evaluated us so highly that they thought it was pointless to show us their pride.”

Wiggins grinned and said,

“Which one do you think it is?”

“The former, right?”

“I think so too.”

His hand stroking his beard became a little more cheerful.

“If the opponent is in a hurry, we don’t have to be. Shall we leisurely sprinkle some salt on their weaknesses?”

“You have a bad personality.”

“I’m called a gentleman, you know.”

“No way.”

Lee Hyun-soo laughed lightly and sipped his coffee.

He didn’t know exactly what situation they were in, but it was clear that it wasn’t a good one.

If the opponent showed a weakness, wasn’t it polite to poke at that weakness?