Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 766

“That damn bastard.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s hands couldn’t find a place to settle. His hands, hovering over his knees, repeatedly rose towards his chest and then fell back down.

The fact that he had been thoroughly outmaneuvered by Chai Ke-chang was crushing his pride.

“It’s a good thing.”

“Of course, it’s a good thing. It’s a good thing, but…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

“I hate myself at times like this. It’s something I should be happy about, but my mind is calculating the gains.”

“What if they had died there?”

Wiggins chuckled lightly as he sipped his tea.

“There’s no need to feel so self-loathing. It’s something you should naturally think about. We are that kind of people, and we are the ones who play that role.”

“But…”

“That’s why we can’t stand at the very top.”

Wiggins said calmly.

“Leading people isn’t just about using your head. Sometimes, you have to ignore the gains. People are complex beings. They are beings that cannot be expressed simply with numbers.”

“I suppose so.”

“It might be a loss. But so what? We got what we wanted, didn’t we?”

Wiggins looked at Lee Hyun-soo with a slightly softer gaze.

‘The limitations of the Round Table are the same.’

The Round Table selects its Master from among the Knights. This means that the person who becomes the Master must have experienced the Round Table for a long time as a Knight.

The Round Table is a battleground of interests.

The Knights, representing the interests of each country, react sensitively to their own country’s interests, even on a single issue. The Knight who receives the best evaluation in the process rises to the position of Master.

The method itself is rational.

However, the Master who has gone through this process becomes sensitive to small gains and cannot help but excessively consider the positions of each country. In the end, bold decisions disappear, and only safe choices remain.

They constantly roll small gains, even if they are not large.

‘There are limits to that approach.’

It’s not that Wiggins is denying the Round Table. Although he left the Round Table because of a difference in values, Wiggins respected the Round Table’s methods. The reason why the Round Table was able to dominate Europe for so long was largely due to a system that prevented power from concentrating on one side.

But its limitations are also clear.

If the General Assembly had operated under a system like the Round Table, the rapid growth it has achieved now would have been absolutely impossible. The current General Assembly exists because the command system is unified under Kang Jin-ho, and everyone moves in accordance with Kang Jin-ho’s direction.

It’s a method with significant side effects and high risks, but it’s the optimal method for achieving rapid growth.

“So, are you disappointed?”

“A little.”

“You’re lying.”

“Yes?”

Wiggins stared at Lee Hyun-soo and said,

“If the Lord had ordered them to be abandoned, wouldn’t you have been the most disappointed?”

Lee Hyun-soo couldn’t deny it.

“That’s why people are contradictory. They think they are right, but sometimes they desire judgments that they themselves don’t have.”

Lee Hyun-soo slowly nodded his head.

Wiggins was right. If Kang Jin-ho had abandoned them or had shown a calculation of the losses the General Assembly would incur by bringing them back, Lee Hyun-soo would have praised the decision, but he would have been disappointed in his heart. That’s not what he expects from Kang Jin-ho.

“The Lord made the obvious choice. Because that’s who the Lord is. The issue was already decided the moment they gave those children a way to contact us. However, what’s amazing is…”

Wiggins rubbed his chin.

“Was it Chai Ke-chang? He’s no ordinary man.”

It’s impossible to know whose decision it was to keep them alive. It could have been Hong Wang’s decision, or it could have been Chai Ke-chang’s decision.

‘In that situation…’

Wiggins clearly saw Hong Wang’s face the moment he teleported with Kang Jin-ho. The fact that he was able to suppress that boiling hatred and keep them alive is truly remarkable.

Even if it was Hong Wang’s will, it’s amazing, and it’s also amazing if Chai Ke-chang suppressed Hong Wang’s anger. Those who have accomplished great things deserve to be rewarded accordingly.

It’s painful that we have to pay that price.

“The timing is really…”

“That’s also something we suffered.”

If they had been able to confirm their survival in advance, the plan would have been slightly different. Chai Ke-chang proceeded with the negotiations while hiding their existence. He negotiated while minimizing what he would give up through push and pull, and then revealed them at the end.

Lee Hyun-soo, who didn’t need to be so fixated on how much he could gain in a situation where he had already won comfortably, now had to think about what he had to give them after seeing the tables turned in one fell swoop.

“The brains of the Hong Wang faction… I thought he wouldn’t be an ordinary person, but I never imagined he would play me like this.”

Wiggins looked very intrigued.

He had lived his life thinking that the fierce mental battles he experienced in the Round Table were commonplace. After joining the General Assembly, he had been regretting that he had no opportunity to use those skills, but he never expected to suffer what could be called the biggest defeat of his life here.

It wasn’t so much that the damage was great, but the fact that he had been played by Chai Ke-chang from beginning to end was what intrigued Wiggins. The fact that Chai Ke-chang had a card that they could not have predicted from their perspective is no excuse.

That card was given by the General Assembly, and it was a card they had created.

If the situation were reversed, would Wiggins have been able to hide them until the last moment?

‘He’s a terrifying man.’

Perhaps Chai Ke-chang had already considered the current situation from the moment he first contacted them. The reason for contacting them early was not because he didn’t care about his pride, but to reduce the possibility of information leaking out.

He took into account Kang Jin-ho’s tendencies, the General Assembly’s position, and their own situation. After that, he led the negotiations as he wanted, and then he turned the tables by playing his last card.

Now, all that’s left for them is to be dragged around by the hair as Chai Ke-chang wants. From the General Assembly’s perspective, it’s not something worth calculating the gains and losses, but from Wiggins’ and Lee Hyun-soo’s perspectives, it’s something that can’t help but hurt their pride.

“Let’s reflect.”

“Yes.”

“We were intoxicated by a shallow victory. It was the Lord who won, not us, but we acted as if we had won. We acted as if we had a mysterious opponent we had never beaten in our hands. This is not the Lord’s failure. It’s our failure.”

“I’m realizing that.”

“We’ll have to give in this time. But we won’t give in next time. That’ll be enough.”

“Yes.”

Wiggins quietly turned his head and looked out the window.

‘I’ve become complacent.’

He joined the General Assembly for a new life and new goals. The fact that he had saved Kang Jin-ho from danger had made him feel like he had accomplished something, and he had relaxed.

‘The world is a battlefield.’

Those who relax on the battlefield become targets for bullets. The fact that this is not the Round Table is not a reason for him not to be vigilant. Wiggins tightened his loose mind.

“You know what we have to do from now on, right?”

“Of course.”

“To repay them, we need to reorganize the General Assembly. There’s a limit to maintaining an equal relationship by chance.”

“Yes.”

“It’s our job to make the most of the opportunity the Lord has given us. Stand up. There’s no time to rest.”

Lee Hyun-soo stood up abruptly without answering. Then, he ran out as if he were sprinting. Wiggins smiled at the sight.

‘He’ll grow more.’

Now that he knows there’s a sky above the sky.

“Then, let’s do that.”

Click.

Chai Ke-chang hung up the phone and leaned back on the sofa. A satisfied smile appeared on his lips as he reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette.

“Damn it, I finally landed a blow.”

It was a clean victory. It was also the first victory he had achieved since getting involved with the General Assembly. But Chai Ke-chang’s heart couldn’t be at ease.

Hong Wang had shown him immense mercy.

However, a subordinate who abandons his duties just because his superior makes him feel comfortable cannot be called a true subordinate. He had to accept the mercy given from above with gratitude, and he had to obtain any possible gains, even if it meant cutting away his own flesh.

Of course, if he reported this fact to Hong Wang, he would be scolded for doing something unnecessary, but there would be no room for disagreement that this was the right direction.

Anyway, it was a victory he had barely achieved. However…

‘Can I even call this a victory?’

Who would be satisfied with just kicking someone’s leg after being beaten all over their body?

Obtaining financial gains from the General Assembly was not what he wanted. What he wanted was the complete destruction of the General Assembly.

The General Assembly, or rather, Kang Jin-ho, had obtained everything he wanted. In return, he had spat out a little unnecessary money. Anyone could see that Kang Jin-ho had made a profitable deal.

The guys under him might feel a little bitter, but Chai Ke-chang didn’t consider Lee Hyun-soo his opponent in the first place. A dog is just a dog, no matter how much it barks. What he was aiming for was not the dog, but the tiger.

“Hoo…”

Anyway, it’s back to square one.

For a while, the General Assembly and the Hong Wang faction cannot interfere with each other. The moment the agreement was made, they could not openly antagonize each other, at least not overtly. Now, they had to fight with hidden knives, not with exposed ones.

It was a battle to see who could resolve the exposed problems and reorganize their organizations to create the power to eliminate each other in a short period of time. Right now, the Hong Wang faction has an overwhelming advantage, but…

‘It won’t take long.’

If it’s Kang Jin-ho.

The General Assembly is growing at a terrifying speed, even in his eyes. It’s impossible for the Hong Wang faction, which is already on track, to grow at the same pace and maintain the gap.

In the end, the outcome depends on how much of a gap is maintained until the day this agreement is broken.

There are two ways.

To grow the Hong Wang faction, or to hinder the growth of the General Assembly.

Which is the right path?

“Hoo…”

Chai Ke-chang, who had exhaled the deeply inhaled cigarette smoke, smiled and got up from his seat.

‘There’s no need to choose.’

He could just do both.

Two things are needed for a perfect victory.

Knowing the enemy, and knowing yourself.

Chai Ke-chang knew the Hong Wang faction inside and out, but he had failed to learn about the General Assembly and Kang Jin-ho.

But not anymore.

The biggest gain he had obtained from this war was not money. The important thing was that the General Assembly and Kang Jin-ho had exposed all their forces. If you know the opponent’s strength, you can devise a strategy accordingly.

It’s difficult to target an enemy in the dark, but it’s not difficult to deal with an exposed enemy.

“I acknowledge that you are strong when you have a sword in your hand. But you need to know that war is not just about guns and swords.”

Chai Ke-chang clenched his fist and walked.

The humiliation that filled his chest ignited his fighting spirit.

As if to cover the world.