Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 995

Gulp.

Dry saliva involuntarily went down.

‘I wouldn’t believe it even if it were a movie.’

Hollywoood now has the technology to perfectly realize even manga into video, but Lee Hyun-soo didn’t think that the scene unfolding before his eyes could be made into a movie.

No, maybe they could create the video.

But the heavy tension pressing down on Lee Hyun-soo and the pressure that made his skin tingle could never be reproduced by such video media.

It felt like he was opening his eyes to a new world.

‘I’m glad I came along.’

If he hadn’t seen this battle, Lee Hyun-soo would have lived his whole life as a frog in a well [a person with a limited perspective].

He would have been stuck merely grasping the concept of power in his head and how it moves. But at this moment, Lee Hyun-soo could vaguely understand what the battles of absolute beings were like.

Just one absolute master.

How much impact that absolute master had.

‘They stopped the war.’

The moment Kang Jin-ho and the Elder Knights began to clash, the war here stopped. Those who were fighting for their lives had even dropped their guard against each other, watching the battle in the center with blank expressions.

Perhaps it was a rational thing to do.

No matter what kind of outcome they had, it wouldn’t affect the overall situation. The outcome of the battle in the center would determine the victory or defeat of this war. So, there was no need to risk their lives fighting.

But this was just the result seen from the outside.

Those who had been fighting and killing each other wouldn’t stop just because the meaning of the battle had disappeared.

War originally starts with gains and purposes, but eventually, it continues with grudges.

The reason they stopped fighting wasn’t that.

They wanted to see it.

The highest level of battle that they might never see again in their lifetime.

What those who have reached the top in their fields look like is something everyone is curious about. And in the martial world, that curiosity is several times greater than in other fields.

The world chooses the Three Kings of China as the best martial artists in the world. But, to be honest, how many people have actually seen the Three Kings fight directly?

MArtial artists inevitably become more influential as they become stronger. And the more influential they become, the less they engage in direct combat.

This is because there are countless people who will handle things for them, and also because they avoid combat to prevent their power from being exposed.

But more than anything, the biggest reason is that the impact of a master’s defeat is enormous.

Take the Assembly for example.

If Kang Jin-ho had been defeated by the Hong King and failed to return from China, the Assembly would have been shattered.

All of the Assembly’s organizations are centered around Kang Jin-ho. When Kang Jin-ho exists, it can operate organically, but if Kang Jin-ho, who holds the center, disappears, it will turn into sand.

In other words, Kang Jin-ho is irreplaceable.

What would happen if Kang Jin-ho disappeared?

Bator? Wiggins?

As foreigners, they are unsuitable to take on the role of the Assembly’s head.

Then, Bang Jin-hoon?

Bang Jin-hoon doesn’t have the same charisma as Kang Jin-ho. Of course, Bang Jin-hoon can be said to be the best martial artist among the pure-blooded Koreans, but he couldn’t compare to Kang Jin-ho’s.

Moreover, the Assembly has already accepted many things. The Demonic Cult is in an uneasy coexistence with the Assembly, and the Chevaliers also form a pillar. In the midst of this, demonic arts are being taught within the Assembly, and new martial arts are also beginning to emerge.

In this situation, if Kang Jin-ho dies? The Assembly would be shattered.

First of all, Lee Myung-hwan, who is watching the battle with a blank face behind Lee Hyun-soo, would clearly go out of control. Lee Myung-hwan, that guy has a hidden ambition. If Ma Yeom, who has become the Assembly’s best power, were to lead Ma Yeom and act independently, there would be no way to stop him.

The Demonic Cult and the Chevaliers are the same. And the long-standing conflict between the Yeongnam Association and the Assembly, which was thought to be almost resolved, was also likely to explode again.

‘No, it would be fortunate if it only went that far.’

There’s no need to think that deeply. If Kang Jin-ho hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have been able to stop Japan when they invaded Korea, and the Korean martial world would have been annihilated.

Is Korea strange?

Not at all.

If the Hong King had been defeated in that battle, the Hong King’s faction would have met the same end. The Assembly had no power to intervene in China right away, so they could only exert influence in a small territory, but the vast territory of the Hong King would have been torn to shreds by the Chang King and the Black King.

Perhaps Chai Ke-chang’s screams would have echoed throughout the continent.

Thus, the defeat of an absolute being brings enormous danger to all those who follow them. That’s why they don’t easily step forward, and even if they have a chance to compete, they tend to avoid the eyes of others.

Whether the people here can be called ordinary martial artists is debatable, but anyway, the chance for ordinary people who have not reached the absolute realm to see the battles of absolute beings is rare, maybe once in a lifetime.

But how could they miss this opportunity?

Just by watching, the standards and common sense they knew were collapsing, and it felt like the martial principles were being redefined.

If Lee Hyun-soo, who doesn’t have much talent in martial arts, feels this kind of shock, there’s no need to even ask what kind of shock others are receiving. Even Master and Wiggins, who are right in front of him, have dazed expressions.

“W-ooh…”

Master groaned.

Wiggins cleared his throat as if he had come to his senses at the groan.

“What should I say…”

Master scratched his head.

“Heh heh, really.”

Each exclamation was filled with bewilderment and absurdity. Even Master, who had already exchanged blows with Kang Jin-ho and admitted that he wasn’t serious when he fought him, was shocked by the scene unfolding before his eyes.

“…What have I been living for?”

“There’s no need to feel self-loathing, Master. You are also great enough. It’s just… it’s just that those people are excessively inhuman.”

“That’s not comforting at all.”

“It’s not a matter of comfort. If you feel that way, Master, what should I do?”

“Ooh…”

Master and Wiggins were both people who had achieved something in their own right. Even they couldn’t grasp how to approach that level.

‘I need to start from the basics again.’

Wiggins bit his lip. It was impossible with the current method.

No matter how strong he became with this method, he would never reach even the tip of Kang Jin-ho’s toes. He wasn’t even confident in reaching the level of those Elder Knights.

A world beyond the heavens.

That phrase fit perfectly.

To him, the Elder Knights were like beings from the sky. If Master was an object of admiration, the Elder Knights were so high that he didn’t even dare to compare them, they were closer to myths.

And those Elder Knights were now being unilaterally massacred.

Then, what about Kang Jin-ho?

And how strong is the Hong King, who fought evenly with Kang Jin-ho, and actually even defeated him?

He had devoted his whole life to martial arts, but it was a moment of realizing that there was always a higher level. And he realized how much of a frog in a well he had been.

Wiggins licked his lips.

The battle wasn’t over yet. So, it was too early to make any rash judgments, but if he could survive here… he had a feeling that seeing this battle would greatly change his life.

And perhaps that was…

‘That person must be the same.’

Wiggins’ gaze turned to Bator.

“That…”

Gong Young-gil closed his mouth again.

He tried to say something because Bator’s condition was strange, but the strange pressure Bator was emitting was shutting Gong Young-gil’s mouth.

‘Let’s keep quiet.’

If he opened his mouth for no reason, it felt like Bator’s huge fist would be slammed into his mouth.

A huge bomb about to explode.

That was exactly how Gong Young-gil felt looking at Bator now.

Gong Young-gil’s gaze shifted slightly downward.

Bator’s fists were trembling slightly. The sight of fists bigger than most people’s heads clenched tightly and trembling would make even the most courageous person feel chills.

‘Why is he so angry?’

Gong Young-gil couldn’t understand Bator’s reaction.

His gaze turned forward.

‘Isn’t this a good thing?’

He didn’t have the ability to look closely into the battle because it was such a high-level exchange, but on the surface, it looked like Kang Jin-ho was unilaterally massacring those strange knights.

From the Assembly’s point of view, nothing could be better. But Bator was acting as if he was angry at the sight.

Moreover…

‘It’s not just Bator who’s like that…’

There were a few others who were showing similar reactions. Even the European knights, who were keeping a distance and having an uneasy coexistence with them, were exuding an unspeakable tension.

Gong Young-gil scratched his head.

Perhaps it was because he was often told that he lacked awareness and was evaluated as lacking sense in martial arts, but he had a hard time empathizing with the reactions of others.

“•♦••••ya.”

One of the biggest advantages Gong Young-gil had was that he knew how to correctly accept the guidance of others and was not ashamed to learn.

If he didn’t know, he would ask. It was only natural.

Gong Young-gil whispered softly.

“Why is Bator like that?”

Bator couldn’t have not heard him, but since it was in Korean, he wouldn’t understand it exactly.

And… he might not hear it. It seemed like Bator couldn’t hear anything right now.

“Young-gil.”

“Huh?”

“Please shut your mouth.”

Gong Young-gil listened well to others.

Gong Young-gil, who had his mouth shut, looked around. Everyone except him was staring at Kang Jin-ho with faces as if they had seen a ghost.

‘What’s so surprising?’

From the beginning, Kang Jin-ho wasn’t human.

Gong Young-gil, who had clashed with him without knowing anything when Kang Jin-ho joined the Assembly, knew very well. How terrifying Kang Jin-ho was. Gong Young-gil wouldn’t be surprised even if Kang Jin-ho flew in the sky right now.

From his point of view, he didn’t understand why others were now surprised by Kang Jin-ho’s divine power.

His gaze turned to Bator.

‘Bator seems a little different…’

He didn’t know what Bator was thinking right now, but Gong Young-gil could tell how shocked he was just by watching him.

And he realized anew.

From his point of view, both Bator and Kang Jin-ho were powerful beings he couldn’t approach, but there was clearly a gap between their powers. A gap that even Bator was shocked by.

Crack.

The sound of bones echoed from Bator’s fist.