Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 94

“Okay, turn this to the side.” Jo Won-gu gathered the privates in front of him and explained to Kang Jin-ho.

“Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You really got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Look, I know it’s hard to understand all at once. It’s normal not to get it when you’re doing something new. If you ask, I’ll explain it again, so be honest.”

“I understand, sir.”

Jo Won-gu frowned slightly, then looked back at Kang Jin-ho.

‘Come to think of it, they said he wasn’t ordinary…’

He’s the guy who beat Jeon Hyuk-soo, who’s probably the best in the 3rd squad in terms of physical strength, so his physical abilities must be outstanding. But using your body and using your head are two different things.

“You said you went to a university, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I see.”

He’s going to one of the top three universities in Korea, so he must be smart too.

Thinking that, Jo Won-gu nodded.

“I’d like to have you disassemble and reassemble it, but it’ll take time, so let’s skip it for now. If you don’t do it right when you come out with me later, you’re going to get it. I’m not the kind of guy who lets that slide.”

“Understood, sir.”

Jo Won-gu dismissed his doubts at Kang Jin-ho’s calm attitude.

If he understood, that’s good, and if he didn’t, he’d just have to be pushed hard enough to make him cry and get rid of his arrogance.

“Okay, look. This is the jack bar. You stick this in here.”

Jo Won-gu connected a long steel pipe to the gun’s pillar.

“You move it left and right to lift the gun. You know car jacks, right?”

“No, sir.”

“…You know, the thing you put under the car when you’re fixing it to lift it up.”

“I’ve never seen it, sir.”

“Anyway, it’s the same principle. The only difference is that a car jack moves the bar up and down, and this one moves it left and right. And another difference is… Haa!”

Jo Won-gu grabbed the bar with both hands and pushed it hard to the left. With a feeling of sudden force, the bar moved to the side and the crank moved.

“A car is only a few hundred kilos, but this is seven tons. The force required is completely different.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Really?”

The gun was already lowered to the ground.

“Then, do you want to try it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jo Won-gu had a sly smile on his face. The privates watching from behind had similar expressions. Only Joo Young-gi and Kang Jin-ho didn’t know what was going on.

“It’s nothing. It’s just something all your seniors have done. Just try it once.”

“Yes, sir.”

Of course, none of those seniors were okay after doing this.

“He’s gonna shit his pants.”

“I don’t know why I enjoy watching the new recruits use the jack so much.”

“Me too.”

They said it quietly, but there was no way Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t hear it.

‘Is it hard?’

It didn’t look particularly difficult, but judging by their reactions, it seemed to be physically demanding.

“Okay, look closely. You grab it like this, and repeat pushing it this way. It’s easier if you use your waist. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You won’t understand until you do it yourself. Just try it.”

“Yes, sir.”

Without another word, Kang Jin-ho stepped forward and grabbed the jack bar.

Swoosh.

As he turned the bar to the left, he felt the gun slightly lift up.

‘Is this how it works?’

Science was always amazing. In the Central Plains, they used pulleys and various other principles on the battlefield, but it was nothing compared to this.

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho grabbed the jack bar and swung it left and right. He pushed the bar from the right end to the left end, pulled it back, and pushed it again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal echoed as the jack bar hit the left end.

Jo Won-gu’s mouth slowly opened as he watched the scene.

‘What the hell is that guy?’

It wasn’t a matter of being strong or not.

Even if a private who hadn’t trained professionally was strong, they would run out of stamina when pushing the jack bar with its enormous weight.

It was common for them to not even be able to push it halfway, and to hang on with their whole body to push it to the end. Some even fainted in the middle.

It was only natural.

The jack was originally meant for two people.

The manual said to insert two bars in the center and have two people jack it together. Even in front-line units, the jack was always used by two people.

They were making him do it alone as training, but if he could do it so easily…

‘What about my pride?’

And how is he so smooth?

It was a job to lift a seven-ton gun.

Even a car jack that lifts only one side of a one-ton car would give you a feeling of resistance. But right now, Kang Jin-ho was pushing the bar without any feeling of resistance.

It was as if he was swinging the bar in the air.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Uh…?”

“I think he should stop?”

“Squad Leader! The support beam is coming off! The support beam!”

Jo Won-gu, who had suddenly come to his senses, shouted.

“Stop! Stop!”

Kang Jin-ho stopped. Then, with a look of lingering regret, he turned to Jo Won-gu.

“Is this enough?”

“Y-yes.”

Jo Won-gu nodded blankly.

‘What the hell is this guy?’

It was an unreal sight.

It wasn’t just ‘Oh, this guy is strong.’ It was that he was lightly turning something that two people had to hang on to, like a kid swinging a baseball bat, and he wasn’t even sweating.

Usually, when a private uses the jack alone, they would be completely drenched in sweat and half-fainted even if they pushed it all the way up.

“…What did you do in society? Did you work out?”

“I was a university student, sir.”

“I know you were a university student… I mean, not a sports university, did you do any weight training?”

Jo Won-gu was saying it, but he was also dumbfounded.

He knew that this wasn’t something that could be done just by doing some muscle training. In fact, there was a guy in the unit who had been a personal trainer before.

When he asked a guy who could bench press 100kg why he was panting when he used the jack, he had heard the answer that exercise and labor were different.

“Can I try it one more time?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t think I’m proficient enough.”

“Ah, no. I don’t think you need to do it anymore.”

“I can do it perfectly if I try it one more time.”

“No, it’s okay!”

Jo Won-gu had the strange experience of stopping a new recruit who wanted to train, 1 year and 6 months after enlisting.

“What the hell is that guy?”

“…He’s no joke, sir.”

“Did you ask the new recruit who came with him?”

“They said he was flying around in training camp.”

“Wow, that’s crazy. Seriously.”

The 3rd squad held an emergency meeting.

“…It’s a good thing that an A-class guy came, but…”

Still, he felt like his authority as a senior was being constantly undermined.

Jo Won-gu said with a troubled face.

“Honestly, we’re not the kind of bad seniors who bully new recruits, right?”

“…I didn’t hear you correctly, sir.”

“Ha, you little…!”

Kim Young-il, who had suffered the most as Jo Won-gu’s junior, replied with a sulky face, and Jo Won-gu raised his hand as if to hit him.

“Are you going to keep bringing that up from our immature days? That’s why I treat you to meals, right?”

“I was just correcting a false statement, sir.”

“I’m going to kill you, seriously.”

Jo Won-gu neatly subdued Kim Young-il and then opened his mouth again.

“Still, he’s a new recruit, and if we keep saying he’s good, he’ll eat us all up later. I’m just going to get discharged, but what are you guys going to do?”

“That’s true, sir.”

“Isn’t there anything to pick on? Is he doing well in his daily life?”

“…He’s perfect, sir.”

“Huh?”

“From cleanliness to standby posture… there’s nothing to complain about. Looking at his locker makes me have a panic attack. The kid has no humanity.”

“R-really?”

“His combat boots are so polished that even flies would slip on them. Even after training earlier, they were still shining.”

“His uniform is perfect, of course.”

“This morning, he was already awake and waiting 10 minutes before wake-up time.”

“Seriously, shouldn’t we get him to apply for non-commissioned officer? If a guy like that is acting like a private, it’s going to be hard on the other soldiers.”

“He says he doesn’t want to, what can I do?”

The more they discussed countermeasures, the more they felt like they were falling into a maze.

“He used the jack today, right? How was it?”

“What was his nickname in training camp again?”

“They said it was Terminator.”

“…I can see why he got that nickname.”

Seeing Jo Won-gu sigh with a subtle expression, everyone silently looked at the ceiling.

“I should be happy when a good junior comes in…”

This is too good of a junior.

“…Let’s just watch him a little more for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

“If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just have to find something to pick on and turn him upside down.”

“Is that okay? This isn’t the army of the 80s, sir.”

“I know I shouldn’t, but he still needs to have some discipline.”

“…His discipline is already too much of a problem, sir.”

Jeon Hyuk-soo shuddered as he thought of Kang Jin-ho always sitting cross-legged on his bed in standby posture.

“I thought he was some kind of living Buddha.”

“I thought he was a still image, sir.”

“Doesn’t he get cramps?”

“…Let’s just wait and see. Once the standby period is over, we can start giving him real work, and then something might change.”

Jo Won-gu sighed deeply.

How much time was left in his military service, and he had to get into this mess because of one bad new recruit?

But there was one thing that was comforting to Jo Won-gu. It was the fact that Kang Jin-ho was not the only one suffering in the unit.

“Make me a cup of coffee.”

Captain Ha Jin-nam, the Charlie Company commander who had returned from the battalion, whistled as he entered the company commander’s office.

“Feeling good.”

The weather was good, and the evaluation was good.

He felt like he was finally on track since he was appointed as company commander.

“If I do well, I might even be able to aim for first promotion?”

At that moment, the phone rang.

“Huh?”

Ha Jin-nam answered the phone.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

—Company Commander, the battalion commander is on the phone.

“Yeah, connect me.”

Ha Jin-nam immediately cleared his throat.

“Communication security. This is Charlie Company Commander.”

—Yeah, Company Commander.

“Sir!”

Ha Jin-nam stood at attention and saluted. It was a courtesy that he didn’t need to do to someone he couldn’t even see, but his body was moving on its own.

—Yeah, so, what it is…

Ha Jin-nam tilted his head in confusion as he listened to the phone. The battalion commander he knew was not the kind of person who stuttered like this. He always preferred a simple and clear command system. The fact that he was stuttering like this meant that something big was going on.

“Yes, sir, I’m listening.”

—It’s about the new recruit who was transferred to your company this time.

“Yes, sir, we have one.”

—There’s a guy named Kang Jin-ho.

“Kang Jin-ho, sir?”

—Yeah, Kang Jin-ho. Bring all the documents related to him and come back here quickly.

“Yes, sir?”

The Charlie Company Commander asked back with a blank face.

—Come back here quickly. The division commander is coming to visit!

Ha Jin-nam’s hand holding the phone trembled.