Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 976

‘What the hell is that?’

Knight Le Beau’s face hardened.

He clearly saw Kang Jin-ho’s entire body enveloped in a black demonic aura that seemed to be burning.

‘Aura?’

The black energy covering Kang Jin-ho’s body certainly looked like an aura. But was it really possible to cover one’s entire body with an aura?

…It wasn’t impossible.

Knight Le Beau could also envelop his entire body with aura if he wanted to. Sometimes, he would use his aura in such a way to defend against attacks coming from all directions.

However, that was just a momentary release of aura. Maintaining an aura naturally around the entire body like that was impossible even for Knight Le Beau. Especially with such explosive energy.

‘Is it a difference between East and West?’ He already knew that wasn’t the case. No matter how different the concepts of Eastern and Western martial arts were, the total amount of energy was not different. The terrifying energy that Kang Jin-ho was emitting now was not something that could be explained by a ‘difference’ in styles.

An overwhelming power that he couldn’t even dare to imitate.

Even Knight Le Beau felt a chill in the face of that power.

‘How is that even possible?’

He knew very well what kind of being Kang Jin-ho was. Perhaps Knight Le Beau was the one who knew Kang Jin-ho the best within this Round Table [a group of elite knights].

He had already plotted to eliminate Kang Jin-ho, and in the process, he had lost the Chevaliers [a rank of knights]. There was no way he wouldn’t know how strong Kang Jin-ho was.

But that was…

Knight Le Beau clenched his fist.

‘What are you getting scared of!’

Knight Le Beau gritted his teeth.

An enemy is stronger than me?

So what?

From the beginning, he wasn’t the strongest within the Round Table. There were several knights, not to mention the Master, who were stronger than him in terms of martial prowess.

It was not surprising that the enemy’s martial power was strong.

The problem was that the level of ‘strong’ was on a different dimension from the enemies he had faced so far.

“…This is no joke.”

Knight Rodriguez said with a stiff face.

“…I thought the Garter Knights [a British order of chivalry] had done a foolish thing by opening the path on their own, but perhaps it was a wise decision. If they had stood against him alone, they would have been annihilated.”

“We’ll need to take that into consideration.”

Knight Le Beau gave a wry smile.

From the beginning, he didn’t think that the Garter Knights or Knight Chadwick could stop them. It wasn’t because he knew their power was strong, but because he thought Wiggins, who knew their power, wouldn’t make a reckless attempt.

At the very least, he thought they would have enough power to kill the British defense and the knights of the Round Table. Even if they couldn’t have perfect power due to time and circumstances, they would have prepared enough power to try.

And with that much power, there was no way the Garter Knights could stop them.

The reason he told Chadwick to stop them was because even if the British forces were worn down while stopping them, Knight Le Beau had nothing to lose.

That was what England meant to him.

No matter how much Knight Chadwick cooperated with him, he couldn’t truly trust him and treat him as an ally.

But ridiculously, the Garter Knights stuck to those guys and preserved their power. And now, they were just watching Wiggins from behind.

‘Damn bastards.’

He felt a surge of anger again.

Knight Rodriguez reminded Knight Le Beau of the situation.

“They are certainly impressive. But… seeing Knight Wiggins… no, Wiggins retreating, it seems he intends to face us alone… I wonder if he’s in his right mind.”

“I agree.”

Knight Rodriguez’s words were certainly reasonable.

There were more than a dozen knights here now. Even if the position of a knight wasn’t chosen solely based on martial prowess, it was a position that no one could dare to reach unless they were recognized for their martial prowess in their respective countries.

There were more than ten martial artists representing their countries, and he was going to face them alone?

That was not a thought that a sane person could have.

“I heard he was equal to the Red King, so it seems his confidence is sky-high.”

“Indeed.”

Knight Le Beau tried to smile.

But the corners of his mouth wouldn’t move.

‘Why?’

Looking at the situation, there was nothing to worry about. There were more than ten knights here.

The Red King?

Even if the Red King himself came, ten knights could tear him to pieces. But Kang Jin-ho, not the Red King, was going to face them?

It was a ridiculous thing.

It was a ridiculous thing, but…

‘Why can’t I laugh?’

It wasn’t just that he couldn’t laugh.

His fingertips were trembling.

Cold sweat was running down his spine.

He tried to force a smile, but just trying to calm his trembling jaw felt like it was draining all his energy.

‘Calm down.’

It was natural.

It was natural to be nervous.

If ten wolves surrounded a lion, they could easily catch the lion.

But it was impossible for the wolves facing the lion not to be nervous.

His nervousness had nothing to do with the outcome.

So this was not an ominous sign.

Absolutely not.

The knights gathered around Knight Le Beau. Then, they all drew their swords.

Knight Hibeiro growled in a low voice.

“He’s like a demon.”

“It feels like we’ve become holy knights catching a demon.”

“I think we should report this to the Vatican.”

They were making light jokes, but their faces were not bright at all.

It could be felt.

Even though the battle hadn’t started yet, it felt like a thick scent of blood was wafting around. A chill that seemed to freeze the heart and a damp stickiness were approaching in a very unpleasant way.

And although they didn’t want to admit it… that appearance stimulated the fundamental fear of humans.

Whether it was because of his appearance or the strange feeling that Kang Jin-ho was emitting, his heart had been tightening since a while ago.

“Even if he is really a demon, he can’t face all of us alone.”

“That’s obvious.”

Knight Le Beau was feeling a strange sensation.

‘Were they always this talkative?’

Knights had to handle an excessive amount of work. As a result, they had a habit of processing everything quickly. The same was true for battles.

The Round Table’s way was to handle things as quickly and concisely as possible. It was unprecedented to have a conversation like this in front of an enemy.

Why was this happening?

Could it be that everyone here was scared?

By one person?

‘That can’t be.’

It didn’t make sense.

They could be nervous and cautious. But it was impossible for everyone to be so scared that they couldn’t step forward.

They were knights.

They were the pride of Europe. Such…

At that moment, the corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth, surrounded by black demonic energy, flickered.

A rough, grating sound, like scraping metal, pierced their ears in a chilling way.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

Everyone’s gaze focused on Kang Jin-ho.

“Those who want to retreat, retreat. Staying there will be taken as a sign that you want to fight.”

Retreat?

Retreat, he said?

This time, even Knight Le Beau couldn’t help but laugh. The laughter that hadn’t been properly formed until now finally came out.

Retreat?

And that hollow laugh quickly turned into anger.

It was too much to ignore a person.

A guy who was facing ten people alone was telling his opponents to retreat?

How arrogant did he have to be to say such a thing?

“You arrogant bastard…”

Knight Le Beau gritted his teeth.

As anger filled his mind, the fear that had been constricting his heart seemed to subside a little.

Knight Le Beau drew his sword and pointed it at Kang Jin-ho. A pure white aura emanated from his sword.

“You acted like a king in a small Eastern country, but you don’t know your place. I will teach you clearly today what the price of antagonizing the Round Table is.”

The demonic energy covering Kang Jin-ho’s mouth flickered.

It was difficult to guess his expression just from the movement of the demonic energy, but Knight Le Beau could tell. That was definitely a smile. And it was clearly close to a sneer.

“I’ll count to three.”

The demonic energy began to burn more fiercely.

Like the rising heat of the atmosphere.

“Three…”

The sound of someone swallowing hard hit their ears.

It seemed someone couldn’t overcome their tension.

Why were they nervous?

The opponent was just one person.

“Two…”

At that moment, Knight Le Beau felt it. Someone was leaving the formation.

‘Retreating?’

They were facing one person with ten people, and someone was running away because they were afraid?

Who was it?

Who was doing such a shameless thing? Knights were supposed to have honor and pride. Who was throwing away their honor like that?

But there was no way to confirm it.

He couldn’t turn his head now. He had to focus all his attention on Kang Jin-ho.

“One…”

‘He’s coming!’

At that moment, Kang Jin-ho swung down his sword, which was burning with demonic energy.

Fwoooosh!

Along with the sound of tearing through the air, a black, burning demonic sword aura flew towards Knight Le Beau.

“Uwaaaah!”

Knight Le Beau struck the incoming sword aura with his sword, which was filled with aura.

He would never underestimate him. The opponent was clearly stronger than him. So he would block this attack with all his might and aim for a counterattack!

His sword, which was filled with all his power, collided with the black demonic energy.

And at the same time…

Kwaaaaaang!

A huge explosion of energy occurred, and Knight Le Beau’s body was sent flying like a toy.

If he had been left alone, he would have been thrown against the wall, but Knight Rodriguez, who was waiting behind him, caught Knight Le Beau’s body with his own.

Grrrrrrr!

Knight Rodriguez’s feet dragged on the floor, creating a long groove. After being pushed back for a long time, Knight Rodriguez finally stopped and looked at Kang Jin-ho with horrified eyes.

Thud.

Knight Le Beau, who had collapsed on the floor, vomited a waterfall of bright red blood from his mouth.

“…Kuh, kuuuuh!”

It felt like all his internal organs had been torn apart.

His vision blurred, and the world turned black.

One strike, it was just one strike.

With just that one strike, the burning fighting spirit was transformed into a chilling fear.

“Cough!”

Knight Le Beau, who had spat out blood, struggled to lift his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho with disbelieving eyes.

What the…

What the hell had just happened?

His mind couldn’t comprehend the situation.

“Hoo…”

Then, Kang Jin-ho exhaled lowly.

“There’s no need to look at me like that.”

Step by step.

Kang Jin-ho slowly approached them. The blood-red light visible through the black demonic energy flickered coldly, and the surging demonic energy bloomed from his back like wings.

“This is just the beginning.”

The knights’ eyes were filled with fear.