Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 931

A smile played on Kang Jin-ho’s lips.

Lee Hyun-soo subtly observed Kang Jin-ho. Kang Jin-ho smiles in various situations. Most notably, when he’s interested, and when he feels intense murderous intent towards someone.

‘Which is it?’

So, which one is it this time?

Lee Hyun-soo, carefully studying Kang Jin-ho’s expression, felt a bit relieved.

It might be a subtle difference that others couldn’t discern, but Lee Hyun-soo now knew how to read Kang Jin-ho’s expressions. Right now, Kang Jin-ho was showing interest.

‘That’s a relief.’

If Kang Jin-ho were angry here, the consequences would be all too obvious. Lee Hyun-soo found solace in the fact that Kang Jin-ho wasn’t angry, at least.

Kang Jin-ho leaned forward slightly.

“So.”

Kang Jin-ho looked directly at the Master.

“What are your thoughts after seeing me in person? Do you think I should be killed?”

The Master didn’t back down either.

“I’m still considering it.”

“And you could kill me if you decided to?”

“That too is something I’m still considering.”

Kang Jin-ho’s smile deepened.

“Interesting.”

Leaning back in his chair, Kang Jin-ho stubbed out his cigarette and put a new one in his mouth.

“To make a judgment, there needs to be a basis. So, let’s go back to the beginning. What is it you wanted to say?”

The Master coughed involuntarily.

He had provoked Kang Jin-ho to push him back. But his provocation didn’t faze Kang Jin-ho in the slightest.

‘He’s different from what I thought.’

Kang Jin-ho is a tyrant.

Typically, someone like that wouldn’t tolerate being provoked. But Kang Jin-ho was smoothly deflecting the Master’s provocation.

If there’s a reason, it’s one of two things.

Either Kang Jin-ho is a completely different type from the dictators the Master has known, or…

‘He thinks it’s pathetic.’

A tiger doesn’t get angry when a rabbit provokes it. It might get annoyed, but it wouldn’t genuinely rage. If Kang Jin-ho sees the Master as a rabbit hopping around in front of him, there’s no reason to get angry.

And the Master was now convinced that Kang Jin-ho was closer to the latter.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Who is he?

The Master of the Round Table.

Even without emphasizing his position, he could confidently say that there were no more than three people in Europe who surpassed him.

And yet, he was being treated as if he were nothing.

Arrogant.

Utterly arrogant.

If anyone else had reacted like this, the Master wouldn’t have tolerated it. He would have made them pay the price for daring to disregard the Round Table and him.

But right now, the Master wasn’t particularly resisting.

Was it because he lacked power?

No.

‘It’s strangely not offensive.’

It was too natural.

Could you say it’s wrong for a hungry lion to attack its prey?

You couldn’t.

It’s a natural order of things.

In the same way, this man’s arrogance was too natural. That’s why he didn’t feel particularly insulted or humiliated.

“What I wanted to say.”

The Master also adjusted his posture to be a bit more relaxed.

He realized that this meeting wasn’t what he had expected. This wasn’t a meeting between nations. Nor was it a meeting between leaders.

This was a confrontation between the human being Kang Jin-ho and the Master.

“I was thinking of taking a roundabout approach, but since you’re coming at me like this, I’ll be direct as well.”

“Good.”

Kang Jin-ho grinned.

Seeing that smile, the Master slightly revised his assessment of Kang Jin-ho.

He wasn’t just a forceful person.

He didn’t demand respect from others just because he wasn’t being respectful himself.

It meant he wasn’t authoritarian.

‘He’s a very peculiar type.’

With the pressure and presence he possessed, it wouldn’t be strange for him to demand unilateral respect, yet he didn’t demand it from others. Looking back at the conversation, he was a remarkably straightforward type.

‘Indeed.’

It began to make sense why Wiggins had no intention of stopping the conversation, even though it was becoming heated. This man wasn’t picking a fight.

This was just how he communicated.

A type who cut out all the unnecessary parts and got straight to the point.

People accustomed to ordinary conversations might feel repulsed by this kind of dialogue. But the Master was actually feeling refreshed.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this.’

A meeting is a battlefield without swords.

Each side tries to guess the other’s intentions, using all sorts of tricks and schemes to gain the maximum advantage.

The meetings he had been in were always like that.

No, it wasn’t just meetings.

The Round Table was the same.

Even though the Round Table was a representative decision-making body, it was undeniable that the interests of each nation and the martial world were intertwined within it.

That’s why they fiercely clashed, trying to maintain appearances while also trying to reach a conclusion that would bring the greatest benefit to their own nation.

It wasn’t that the Round Table was wrong. After all, meetings and conferences were like that.

But this meeting was different.

Kang Jin-ho’s approach made the Master want to try a different method.

“Before I ask, I’d like to confirm a few things.”

“Go ahead.”

“You’re aware that East Asia is in turmoil because of the Assembly and the Chairman, aren’t you?”

Kang Jin-ho didn’t answer, leaning back in his chair.

It wasn’t a denial.

It was obvious, so he didn’t feel the need to answer.

“There’s one thing I want to ask. What do you want?”

Click.

Kang Jin-ho lit the cigarette in his mouth. Slowly exhaling the smoke, Kang Jin-ho looked at the Master with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

“That’s your question?”

“Yes. Is it a bit difficult?”

“No. It’s so easy it’s absurd.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled and said,

“What I want is very simple.”

He paused for a moment.

As the atmosphere heightened slightly and everyone’s attention turned to him, Kang Jin-ho slowly opened his mouth, not in a hurry.

“Peace.”

The Master was momentarily speechless.

Peace.

It was a good word.

But it was a word that seemed so out of place coming from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.

‘Is it a mockery?’

No.

Although he had a smile on his face, it wasn’t a sneer. Right now, Kang Jin-ho was genuinely giving the answer of peace.

“Did you say peace?”

“It’s not like the translation isn’t working properly, and it’s not like the concept of peace is difficult.”

Kang Jin-ho quietly looked at the Master and said,

“Why are you asking again after hearing it?”

“…It’s because I don’t understand.”

The Master subtly glanced at Wiggins and Lee Hyun-soo. But their expressions didn’t change.

‘It means it’s not strange that the word peace came from Kang Jin-ho’s mouth.’

If so, it meant that the answer didn’t contradict the things Kang Jin-ho had done so far…

Wasn’t it too strange?

Kang Jin-ho’s very existence was disrupting peace.

Anyone who had been watching the situation in East Asia couldn’t deny that the series of actions Kang Jin-ho had taken were turning East Asia into a global powder keg.

At least until Kang Jin-ho’s appearance, East Asia had been in perfect balance. For the one who had broken that balance and put East Asia in a state of tension to talk about peace.

“Isn’t what the Chairman has done so far far from peace?”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

The Master looked at Kang Jin-ho with a calm gaze and said,

“The Chairman usurped the Assembly. And you clashed with China. You also clashed with Japan. As a result, the three countries of East Asia are baring their teeth at each other. And you’re saying that the purpose of all those actions is peace?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“Isn’t it peaceful now?”

“••••••Excuse me?”

“Isn’t East Asia peaceful right now?”

The Master’s face behind the mask slightly contorted.

‘What is he talking about?’

Kang Jin-ho wasn’t stupid. There was no way. Then why was he spouting such nonsense?

“I think the Korean Peninsula is several times more peaceful now than it was before?”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded, agreeing with Kang Jin-ho’s words.

“You mean in this state?” The Master scoffed.

“I wonder why I even have to explain this, but in my view, Korea doesn’t look peaceful at all. Didn’t you just defend against a Japanese invasion recently? Japan and China are constantly eyeing Korea. And even North Korea is right above you, isn’t it?”

The Master’s words were valid.

But Kang Jin-ho didn’t seem to think so at all.

“What’s different?”

“Excuse me?”

“Is that something that happened because of my appearance?”

Kang Jin-ho shrugged.

“Korea has been in that situation for decades. It’s just that it hasn’t been made public until now, thanks to that delicate balance you’re talking about. But you know…”

Kang Jin-ho curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Whose peace is that for?”

The Master couldn’t answer.

“Can you say that a rabbit that has fallen between the territories of a tiger and a lion is at peace? Are you telling me to close my eyes and believe that the peace that was obtained by being in a buffer zone created to keep the great powers in check and not provoke each other is peace?”

“It’s ridiculous.”

He growled.

Kang Jin-ho’s voice gradually became rough.

“You seem to call that kind of thing peace. But I don’t. I don’t call that peace. True peace isn’t determined by whether there is war or not. True peace can only be achieved when you have the power to win a war.”

Kang Jin-ho stared intently at the Master.

Those eyes.

Looking at those sunken, smoldering eyes, he felt like all the strength was draining from his body.

‘I can’t make heads or tails of him.’

It hadn’t even been five minutes since Kang Jin-ho had sat down here. But in that short time, the Master’s assessment of Kang Jin-ho had changed several times.

This man was arrogant. But he was also easygoing. And…

‘He’s cold-blooded.’

He had to admit it.

He wasn’t just an oppressor who relied on force. He might not be a typical strategist, but he had an eye for the core of things, and he didn’t let go of that core.

Moreover, his ability to execute had already been proven.

All of those facts pointed to one thing.

‘He’s dangerous.’

This man was too dangerous.

A dictator wasn’t as dangerous as one might think. There were plenty of extreme ideologues in the world.

True danger was created when an unwavering ideal and the power to enforce that ideal were combined.

Kang Jin-ho had both.

An unwavering ideal that never wavered. And the power to enforce that ideal.

The Master knew. A clumsy dictator or a madman created small accidents. But someone with both power and an ideal was the kind of person who turned the world into hell.

Hasn’t the world already experienced what happens when a plausible ideal, power, and military force are combined?

‘This man is too dangerous.’

The Master looked at Kang Jin-ho with a resolute gaze.