Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 961

“So, you made it out safely?”

Cho Gyu-min, on the phone, hurriedly puffed on his cigarette.

“Of course, I was scared stiff. If I had been caught, I would have been completely screwed.”

[So that’s why you took so much money?]

“Did I take it? The Chairman took it.”

Cho Gyu-min chuckled softly, not loud enough for the person on the other end of the line to hear. Hearing Lee Hyun-soo’s voice, full of annoyance, made him feel energized.

He had paid a hefty price for his teasing, but Cho Gyu-min had also gained something from it.

“What about the plane?”

[They’re unloading cargo now, so there shouldn’t be any issues with that.]

“That’s a relief.”

This time, it wasn’t a joke. Cho Gyu-min was genuinely sighing in relief. If the British had found out that there were stowaways, especially martial artists, on Jae-kyung’s cargo plane, the damage to Jae-kyung would have been immense.

The tangible damage would be hard to estimate, but the intangible damage would surely be astronomical.

‘The Chairman really went easy on you, you know.’

Considering the worst-case scenario, it could have created a negative perception not only in Britain but throughout Europe. If that led to actual sanctions, Jae-kyung’s export routes to Europe would be blocked.

Moreover, the strategy team, unaware of the situation, wouldn’t be able to analyze why Europe was suddenly hostile towards them. It was a terrifying thought.

Hwang Jung-hoo had taken all of that risk and lent the plane to the General Assembly.

‘Considering that, that amount of money is practically free.’

Of course, Lee Hyun-soo probably knew that too. He was sharper than Cho Gyu-min, after all.

That’s why he had transferred the money without complaint.

“Anyway, please be careful.”

[There’s nothing to be careful about.]

“It seems like it’s not as big of a deal as I thought?”

[It’s not that. It’s not a situation where I can survive by being careful. If I’m going to die, I’ll die, and if I’m going to live, I’ll live. It’s out of my hands.]

“…Then why did you go there?”

[Did I want to come here, you idiot!]

Such a temper.

Cho Gyu-min smiled wryly and stubbed out his cigarette.

“Anyway, is there anything else I can do to support you?”

[Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about…]

“Yes.”

[Check on the cargo planes going to Korea and get me a list.]

“…Why is that?”

[If things go south, I need to escape, and I realized I haven’t arranged a flight back.]

“You’re insane.”

Scratch that about Lee Hyun-soo being sharp. This guy was an idiot.

“How can you go without arranging that! Were you planning to swim back?”

[I didn’t know I was coming here! If I were in Korea, I would have arranged it myself. But I was dragged here out of the blue!]

“Then you could have asked someone suitable in Korea to do it.”

[There’s no one suitable!]

He was hopeless.

“Hey, aren’t you using people too easily? I’m a high-level resource too!”

[Then am I a low-level resource, you idiot?]

There was no logic to it.

Cho Gyu-min sighed deeply, and a soothing voice came back.

[Just help me out. I’m dying here. I’ll treat you to a huge meal when I get back to Korea.]

“If we’re just talking about what you promised, you owe me a year’s worth of meals! Do you know how many meals that is?”

[I’m telling you, I’ll treat you big time!]

“…Alright, alright. Just come back safely.”

[Okay.]

Cho Gyu-min hung up the phone and shook his head. But even as he did, a subtle smile lingered on his lips.

‘They’re impossible.’

The people who used to cause trouble in Korea were now causing trouble in England. It was a shame he couldn’t watch what kind of trouble they would get into.

“It won’t be easy to handle.”

Chuckling, Cho Gyu-min turned and went down from the rooftop.

***

“Where are we going?”

“How should I know?”

Lee Myung-hwan peeked through the gaps.

‘It looks like we’re heading out of the city?’

There was no way he could know anything by looking. If this were Korea, he could at least make a guess, but this was England.

Even if he had a map, it would be hard to understand, and he was being transported without one.

All he could see were trees, forests, and the road they were driving on.

“My first overseas trip is like this.”

“So what? You complaining?”

“No. It’s awesome.”

They were currently inside a container on a trailer. The old container had a slightly cracked weld, so they could see a little bit outside, but it was still stuffy.

“At least in Korea, we traveled by bus.”

“They said going by bus would get us caught.”

“…This is what it feels like to be an illegal immigrant.”

Lee Myung-hwan couldn’t help but laugh.

An illegal immigrant… That was exactly right.

“But I didn’t get a proper explanation. Who are we fighting?”

“Would you know if I told you?”

“Probably not.”

Gong Young-gil shrugged.

Unlike the Ma-yeom [a group of elite martial artists] who had experience in the China expedition, this was his first time overseas. He seemed unable to contain his excitement.

“It doesn’t matter. Whoever gets in our way, we’ll just crush them.”

“Calm down. Why are you so hyped up?”

“You’ve already gone wild a few times!”

“Huh?”

“This is our first time.”

Lee Myung-hwan sighed, looking at Gong Young-gil’s face, a mix of tension and excitement.

‘I guess it’s understandable.’

Just as the Ma-yeom had been trained to the point of wanting to die by Kang Jin-ho, Gong Young-gil and the others had been trained to the point of breaking their backs by Bator. So, it was natural for them to be excited to finally go into action.

Even Lee Myung-hwan had lost his reason due to excitement when he had stormed into Lee Joong-gul’s villa. Of course, the effects of the demonic energy were strong, but even if he hadn’t mastered the demonic energy at that time, he would have lost his reason anyway.

It was just a matter of degree.

“Don’t get too excited.”

“Dude, I’m…”

“Just listen.”

Gong Young-gil shut his mouth.

Even if they were friends, Lee Myung-hwan was clearly Gong Young-gil’s superior.

“There’s no retry in real combat. One mistake and it’s over.”

“I’m not saying to hold back. Even if you die, use everything you’ve learned. If you get excited and go wild, and die without showing your skills, you’ll be too resentful to close your eyes.”

“Got it.”

Gong Young-gil nodded heavily.

The excitement on his face subsided a little, and tension began to fill its place.

‘He seems to have come to his senses.’

Lee Myung-hwan chuckled.

When had he become the one giving advice about real combat to others?

Just a year ago, he was nothing more than a novice.

Perhaps what was making him grow the most wasn’t the demonic energy that Kang Jin-ho had taught him, but this constantly changing situation. The tension of knowing that they could go into action at any moment was keeping him from letting his guard down.

Just like now.

“Hoo…”

Lee Myung-hwan took a deep breath.

“This enemy is different from the ones you’ve faced so far.”

‘I know.’

He recalled Wiggins’s warning in his mind. But it was okay. They had prepared enough. The Ma-yeom had already sparred with the Chevaliers [elite knights] several times under Kang Jin-ho’s instructions.

They were somewhat familiar with the Western martial arts, which had completely different styles and characteristics. So, there were no variables.

And if there were no variables, he was confident that demonic energy was stronger than any other martial art. This was something Lee Myung-hwan had experienced and was certain of.

There might be disagreements in terms of stability, but as far as destructive power was concerned, no martial art could surpass demonic energy.

‘I am strong.’

The Ma-yeom were no longer novice demons. They were the true descendants of demonic energy, whom even the demons of the Demonic Cult, the origin of demonic energy, looked up to and tried to learn from.

‘Europe…’

Lee Myung-hwan curled his lips.

Until recently, they couldn’t even imagine coming to Europe and fighting European martial artists. But at some point, it had become so natural.

They could face anyone in the world.

And they could defeat anyone in the world.

“Myung-hwan.”

“Yeah?”

“Judging by the slowing speed, it looks like we’re arriving soon.”

“Really?”

Lee Myung-hwan looked through the gap in the trailer.

Indeed.

‘It looks like a deep forest.’

It was hard to tell for sure because it was completely dark, but it seemed like they were in the middle of a deep forest.

“It’s a forest.”

“Why would they come into a forest?”

“Isn’t the General Assembly in the mountains? It’s probably the same here.”

“Ah, I guess so.”

Lee Myung-hwan took his eyes away and stood up.

“But…”

“Yeah?”

One of the Ma-yeom opened his mouth with a slightly uneasy tone.

“It’s supposed to be an expedition, and this is England, but aren’t we too few? If we cause a ruckus, they’ll come at us like a swarm of bees.”

Lee Myung-hwan frowned.

“The higher-ups aren’t thoughtless, they must have considered everything.”

“That’s true, but…”

“And the Lord is here.”

At the mention of the Lord, everyone nodded in understanding.

“As long as we’re moving with the Lord, all we have to do is clean up. It’s a good thing if we don’t get in the way.”

“That’s right.”

The name of Kang Jin-ho brought them stability.

Kang Jin-ho, when he was on the battlefield, was someone they could trust more than anyone else in the world, and a shield safer than anything else in the world.

However…

‘Don’t be complacent, you idiots.’

They shouldn’t settle for that.

Lee Myung-hwan knew. The Ma-yeom had not yet become Kang Jin-ho’s sword in the true sense of the word.

A sword duller than a hand blade was meaningless.

For the Ma-yeom to become Kang Jin-ho’s true personal guard, they couldn’t just be a help to his power. The Ma-yeom had to be the wings that allowed Kang Jin-ho to soar.

‘We’re still a long way off!’

But he wasn’t despairing.

Because they would become stronger.

They were getting stronger now, but they would get stronger even faster. Until the day they became Kang Jin-ho’s sword, Lee Myung-hwan and the Ma-yeom would become stronger and stronger.

“…The Lord must be so annoyed.”

“Huh?”

“It would be easier for him to do it alone, but he can’t do everything by himself, so isn’t he just leveling up while taking around noobs?”

Lee Myung-hwan frowned slightly.

Even if it was a metaphor…

“Isn’t it?”

“Young-gil.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

At that moment, the car came to a complete stop. Lee Myung-hwan licked his lips.

‘Is this the start?’

The moment his heart stirred, demonic energy began to surge. The demonic energy that had been quietly dormant within his dantian [an energy center in the body] began to race through his entire body.

“Hey, calm down. You’re scary.”

“My apologies.”

Lee Myung-hwan, rubbing his red eyes, turned his head.

The door of the container opened.

Lee Hyun-soo stood there, a cigarette in his mouth, silhouetted against the moonlight.

“Are you ready?”

“…Perfectly.”

“Good. Let’s go. The Lord is waiting.”

“Yes!”

The people in the container began to get out. Lee Myung-hwan licked his lips and followed behind them.

“Lee Myung-hwan.”

“Yes?”