Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 910

“Again.”

The Master raised his head.

The workload assigned to him was by no means light. A normal person couldn’t handle all the given tasks with a typical work method. Therefore, the Master received reports while simultaneously approving documents.

If he couldn’t handle two tasks at once, he would be overwhelmed by the workload and wouldn’t even be able to secure the minimum time for training. But at this moment, his mind and hands, which had been working so smoothly, stopped simultaneously.

“Report again.”

“Yes.”

The person giving the report bowed deeply.

“The Japanese expeditionary force that invaded Korea has been annihilated.”

“…Annihilated, you say?”

“Yes.”

“Continue.”

The Master’s hand, which was about to move again, twitched a couple of times before finally putting down the pen.

This was something he couldn’t handle simultaneously with other tasks. It was something he needed to listen to and interpret with all his focus.

“While not precisely confirmed, it is estimated that the expeditionary force that invaded Korea from Japan numbered over a thousand. This is the number that our informants in Japan have identified. Of course, considering areas where our informants’ eyes cannot reach, the number could be much higher.”

“Over a thousand, you say….”

One thousand.

One thousand Japanese warriors.

‘That’s an absurd amount of power.’

There are only four organizations in the world that could mobilize that much force externally.

China, the United States, Japan, and the Round Table. [A council of powerful individuals from various nations.]

Considering that the Round Table is a council of multiple nations, there are only three individual countries that could mobilize that much power.

“And they were stopped?”

“Not just stopped, they were annihilated.”

“Korea….”

The Master felt a throbbing pain in his head.

Three things were bothering him right now.

First, he hadn’t noticed that Japan had organized such a large expeditionary force and launched an attack until this very moment.

This was a complete contradiction to the Round Table’s ideal of coordinating the world. Of course, East Asia is the region where the Round Table has the least influence, so it wasn’t entirely impossible….

And another thing was that Korea had completely blocked that absurd force. Regardless of the method, that fact meant only one thing.

That Korea’s level had now risen to be on par with Japan.

Finally….

‘Then how will the power dynamics in East Asia change now?’

The thought alone made his head ache.

East Asia is like a powder keg in the martial world. [A world of martial arts practitioners with their own unique power structures.]

Four pillars support the martial world.

Two of them are concentrated in East Asia.

If Korea hadn’t acted as a buffer zone, war would have broken out several times already. There are two reasons why East Asia has been safe until now.

One is that the civil war in China has not ended.

And the other is that Korea, a neutral zone, or rather, a void, existed between China and Japan.

If one were to add another, it would be that North Korea, a country that is incomprehensible to both the outside world and the martial world, is blocking the middle.

But now, Japan has invaded that buffer zone. And that buffer zone has crushed Japan.

So, what will happen to East Asia now?

The Master raised his hand and touched his forehead. Even with his intellect, he couldn’t predict what would happen next.

The situation in East Asia had too many variables to easily predict.

“What is the extent of Korea’s damage?”

“That is….”

The report didn’t come back immediately.

The Master felt uneasy. He knew that people couldn’t give perfect reports every time, but the way the words were trailing off meant something else.

“Speak clearly.”

“It’s not that we haven’t obtained information. But no matter how we look at it, it doesn’t make sense, so we’ve ordered a re-investigation.”

“Re-investigation?”

“Yes.”

The Master’s brow furrowed.

“Start with the information you have.”

“One….”

“I don’t have much time. Start with the information you have.”

“Yes. Well… according to the initial investigation, the damage to Korea is virtually nonexistent.”

“Nonexistent?”

“…Yes. I also don’t understand this situation, so I ordered a re-investigation.”

“Is that a report you’re holding?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Let me see it.”

The Master took the report and began to read it. After quickly flipping through the report, the Master let out a hollow laugh.

“According to the report, the battle took place at sea….”

“Yes.”

“The number of personnel that Korea mobilized for the battle was not large to begin with. And most of them returned safely?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“…Did they use torpedoes or something to blow up the ships?”

“There were no signs of military conflict.”

“Of course not. If they had, there would have been an uproar. The United States wouldn’t have stood idly by.”

Even though the martial world lived a life disconnected from the outside world, they couldn’t completely ignore the external military relations. If firearms were used in a conflict in the martial world, the United States, which monitored them, wouldn’t have remained silent.

Besides….

‘If they weren’t thinking of escalating the conflict, they definitely wouldn’t have used that method. Then what? Is it really possible that Korea unilaterally crushed over a thousand Japanese expeditionary forces without any damage?’

The situation didn’t add up.

A discrepancy began to form between the power of Korea and the power of Japan as he knew them. Of course, it was possible that Korea had developed and caught up with Japan. But the period was too short for that.

The fact that something didn’t make sense meant that a variable he hadn’t considered had emerged.

Variable.

The name Kang Jin-ho flashed in the Master’s mind.

‘It’s Kang Jin-ho.’

There was no one who fit the word ‘variable’ better than him. The one who had turned the situation in East Asia, which had been stagnant for decades, into a powder keg in an instant.

The one who had turned the barren land of Korea into an unknown land that the whole world was paying attention to.

His influence extended beyond East Asia and even reached the Round Table. Thanks to Kang Jin-ho, the Master’s plans had been completely distorted.

“Whether they suffered damage or not, the fact remains that Korea achieved a complete victory over Japan. Isn’t that right?”

“That is certain.”

“Yes, it is.”

The Master sighed softly.

‘Wiggins.’

With the situation as it was, he couldn’t help but think of Wiggins.

The one who had thrown away the noble and sacred position of a Knight of the Round Table like a worn-out shoe and had thrown himself into a small country in East Asia.

The very person who had done something completely incomprehensible.

Thinking of Wiggins, the Master couldn’t maintain his composure. He was someone he had consciously tried not to think about. But as long as the word Korea kept coming up, he couldn’t exclude him.

‘Did Wiggins foresee all of this?’

Did he predict that Kang Jin-ho and Korea would eventually surpass Japan, confront China, and take control of East Asia?

Is that why he abandoned his position as a Knight of the Round Table, and even the Master’s position, and threw himself into Korea?

“Has the Knight of England been decided?”

“The selection will be completed soon.”

“…I see.”

Once a new Knight was appointed, the name Wiggins would completely disappear from the Round Table. And once the Round Table was complete?

Wiggins would never be able to avoid punishment.

The reason Wiggins had been able to avoid the Round Table’s pursuit until now was paradoxically because he had abandoned his position as a Knight. Something that had never happened in history had caused a breakdown in the rules.

To punish a Knight, a meeting of the Round Table was required. And for a matter of this magnitude, all the Knights had to attend the Round Table meeting.

But there was no Knight of England.

Since there had never been a case in history where a Knight betrayed the Round Table while maintaining their position, the Round Table had been unable to respond to Wiggins’ actions. An absurd situation had arisen where Wiggins was needed to uphold the rule that all Knights must attend.

But that was now over.

Once a new Knight was selected, the Round Table would be able to continue its meetings. And then, Wiggins’ fate would be decided.

And….

‘It won’t end well.’

Wiggins’ act of throwing away his position as a Knight like trash had left a deep sense of humiliation among the other Knights. If he had abandoned his position as a Knight and gone to a high position in Japan or China, they might have tried to understand.

But Korea?

Was the sacred position of a Knight less than a small position in a small country?

Humans are emotional beings.

No matter how hard they tried to be cold-hearted, the Knights would never forgive Wiggins for having hurt their pride.

If that were the case….

“Is Wiggins still in Korea?”

“Yes. He is said to have accompanied them in this battle.”

“I see.”

The Master slowly leaned back in his chair. Then, he raised his hand to his face.

Tap.

The mask that touched his hand was hard.

Recently, the Master had begun to feel that the mask covering his face was suffocating. Something that had never happened in his life….

“When is the next meeting scheduled?”

“Early next month.”

‘About two weeks left.’

The Master, having calculated the schedule, nodded.

“I understand. You may leave.”

“Yes. I will report as soon as additional information comes in.”

“Do so.”

As the reporter retreated, the Master gripped his mask. Then, he slowly removed the mask from his face.

“Hoo.”

The face of an old man, marked with the passage of time, was there.

“Wiggins.”

Once, that name had meant hope to the Master.

He had believed that Wiggins was a talent who could truly take the Round Table to the next level. He believed that if he could succeed him as Master, it would be the best outcome, and even if he couldn’t, he would lead the development of the Round Table as a Knight.

But now, that name no longer meant hope.

Having abandoned the glorious name of a Knight and thrown himself into the Assembly, [A term used to refer to the Korean faction.] he had become the enemy that the Round Table had to eliminate first.

Even if it wasn’t yet, the moment the next meeting ended, it would become an unavoidable outcome.

Therefore….

‘I need to meet him.’

The Master’s eyes gleamed.

Why did Wiggins make such a choice?

And he needed to see with his own eyes and confirm with his own ears what he was doing in Korea.

Before the day came when everything was decided and he had to kill Wiggins with his own hands.

“I need to confirm.”

Why did that intelligent talent make such a foolish decision, and what exactly was he seeing?

And….

‘Kang Jin-ho.’

What he truly needed to confirm was not Wiggins.

It was Kang Jin-ho.

If Wiggins had abandoned the Round Table and chosen the Assembly, the reason could only be Kang Jin-ho. He needed to see with his own eyes what kind of person he was that Wiggins could so easily abandon the Round Table, to which he had dedicated his entire life.

The Master pressed the intercom and quietly opened his mouth.

“A flight to Korea.”

“Now?”

“Three days from now.”

“Understood.”

The Master, having taken his hand off the intercom, leaned back in his chair.

‘Kang Jin-ho, and Wiggins.’

He would see, and he would confirm.

What kind of world they were envisioning.

Depending on the result….

‘I might have to erase them.’

From the world.