Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1379. Arriving (4)

“Urgh...!”

Bang Jin-Hun fidgeted nervously.

His hands remained restless; after rising slightly, they fell again. Then, he’d rub his cheek, chin, and even the back of his head.

The restlessness didn’t just affect his hands, either.

Sometimes he’d get up and bounce a little on his toes. Or he’d take a step forward, then falter for a bit before returning to his seat. His feet restlessly quivered as he stood. He lowered himself to the seat, only to get up again.

Cheon Tae-Hun wordlessly observed his master repeating these motions again and again before sighing deeply. “Sir... Please calm down.”

“Damn it, man! How can I calm down in this situation?!”

Bang Jin-Hun loudly yelled. His blood-shot eyes looked scary enough for Cheon Tae-Hun to flinch nastily and hurriedly step back.

Bang Jin-Hun looked like a beast ready to pounce on his prey right now!

“We don’t even know what the hell is happening in North Korea, okay?!”

“But, sir. Us fidgeting around like this won’t change anything.”

“You must be sooo proud of being calm and collected and stuff! I’m so envious, you dumbass!”

Cheon Tae-Hun sneakily looked away just then. Trying to reason with someone too agitated to see reason was at the height of folly, or at least somewhere close to it. For now, calming Bang Jin-Hun down should take priority.

“Sir, they will be fine. I mean, let’s be realistic here, shall we? Do you honestly think those two will die so easily? When you can’t even imagine what it would take to kill them, right?”

Bang Jin-Hun nodded slightly as if this argument made some sense. “Y-yeah, that’s true...”

Cheon Tae-Hun sighed deeply in relief. However...!

“Still, anything can happen in life, you know?”

“...” 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Cheon Tae-Hun stared forlornly at Bang Jin-Hun. Since when did his master become so... pessimistic?

Wasn’t Bang Jin-Hun someone who kept fighting against Lee Jung-Geol even when everything seemed so hopeless?

Then again, it wasn’t as if Cheon Tae-Hun couldn’t sympathize with Bang Jin-Hun here.

The Martial Assembly would lose its identity, its glue, and crumble into nothingness if Kang Jin-Ho died. That could lead to a situation even more horrifying than the era before Kang Jin-Ho’s appearance.

For instance, all those demon cult believers currently residing in Korea would instantly turn into the Assembly’s enemies.

After imagining potential outcomes even he didn’t want to imagine, Cheon Tae-Hun clasped his hands tightly before him without even realizing it. This situation made him want to pray to a higher being. Now he fully understood why Bang Jin-Hun was so anxious right now.

“I’m telling you, those sons of b*tches...!”

Bang Jin-Hun loudly gritted his teeth. Just thinking about the bastards responsible for this situation was enough to supercharge the bubbling rage inside him.

“...! M-master, look!”

“Huh?!”

Bang Jin-Hun’s head snapped toward where the teleportation magic circle was installed. The mysterious engraving on the floor was emitting bright light.

“Ohhh!”

Bang Jin-Hun tightly clenched his fists. Of course, he couldn’t relax just yet. Wiggins might come back by himself, after all.

Bang Jin-Hun opened his eyes wide and glared at the light. Soon, the light started to fade away, and silhouettes of people began materializing in its place.

“...! Assembly Master!”

Bang Jin-Hun cried out and rushed toward the teleportation magic circle when the silhouettes solidified into people. He only paid attention to the blood-covered Kang Jin-Ho and nobody else.

“S-sir?! Are you alright? Are you hurt?! G-goddamn it! Somebody get a doctor! Hurry up!”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” said Kang Jin-Ho while dismissively waving his hand. “It’s just some light bleeding, that’s all.”

Light bleeding? Bang Jin-Hun stared dazedly at Kang Jin-Ho’s figure, which was covered in blood from head to toe. Even Kang Jin-Ho’s hair was caked in blood, too! Yet this was supposed to be... some light bleeding?

“Sir, you need medical treatment!”

“Yeah, I agree,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, then scanned their surroundings. “Where are we?”

“This is a magic research lab built under the Assembly HQ.”

“So, we’re back here.”

Kang Jin-Ho finally put Lee Hyeon-Su and Chang Piljae down, and the latter two weakly fell to the floor.

“Urgh...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned in pain while pushing himself off the floor. He somehow made it back to his feet, only to plop down on his butt again. He leaned against the closest wall and sighed deeply.

“Gee whiz...! I really thought we were gonna die this time, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

Bang Jin-Hun urgently cried out, “Sir?! What about your medical treatment?”

Lee Hyeon-Su pouted deeply. “Wha...? I’m also injured, you know?”

“You can die for all I care.”

“Sorry?!”

Bang Jin-Hun tutted. “Actually, nope. Just go ahead and die already.”

“Heol...? Are you still hung-up about the bad blood from the past, sir?”

“Just shut up already, will you?”

“Yes, sir.”

Bang Jin-Hun paid no attention to the pouting Lee Hyeon-Su and closely scrutinized Kang Jin-Ho’s condition. For sure, he couldn’t sense any internal injuries on Kang Jin-Ho’s body. What a relief it was that all the injuries looked superficial.

“Get out of the way, will you?” Kang Jin-Ho lightly pushed Bang Jin-Hun aside, then pulled out a packet of cigarettes.

Bang Jin-Hun faltered visibly. “But, sir? What about your injuries...?”

“Nothing new to see here.”

Kang Jin-Ho lit up his cigarette, then sat down next to Lee Hyeon-Su. While reclining against the wall, he filled his lungs with the unhealthy smoke.

“Sir, can you give me one, too?”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly handed over a new cigarette. Lee Hyeon-Su lit it up, mouthed it, then lazily reclined against the wall again. Soon, his eyes stared dreamily into the distance.

“Sir, we... came really close to dying this time.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded in agreement.

Bang Jin-Hun frowned deeply. “Why are you two acting as if you came through a war zone or something?”

“It was a war zone,” Kang Jin-Ho sighed.

“Yup, definitely a war-freaking-zone, sir!” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned while holding his head.

“Eh?”

Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head after failing to understand what was what. He turned around and stared at Wiggins, hoping to get some explanation.

Wiggins chuckled wryly. “My apologies, but I also can’t think of a better description than a war zone. You would also have agreed had you been there with us, witnessing all the bombardments.”

“...?! Eh? Bombardments? Were North Korean martial artists that strong?”

“No, Mister Bang. I meant the actual, real bombardments. With howitzer munitions.”

“Ehhh?!”

Bang Jin-Hun’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

Wiggins sighed deeply. “If I had arrived late, the artillery bombardment could have been upgraded to strategic air strikes instead.”

“...Say what? Are those f*ckers totally insane?!”

Bang Jin-Hun couldn’t say anything else other than swear.

He did think that Kang Jin-Ho might have a bit of a hard time while traversing North Korea, but to think the army would show up to fire bloody howitzers at him!

Bang Jin-Hun pointed at Kang Jin-Ho. “T-then, all those injuries are from...?”

Wiggins nodded. “Yes. From the explosions.”

“Well, uh... I guess that makes sense? Since North Korea isn’t like China and all. I thought it was strange for North Korea to possess martial artists strong enough to injure the Assembly Master to this degree,” Bang Jin-Hun muttered in dismay. “Still, are they genuinely insane or what? How could they even come up with the idea of firing cannons at human beings?”

Of course, that was why the long-range artillery was invented in the first place, but Wiggins decided not to say anything.

Bang Jin-Hun roughly scratched his head in total confusion. “Then, uh... Mm... Like cannons mounted on vehicles and howitzers... What you’re saying is that the Assembly Master got all scratched up after getting hit by those cannons? While carrying the human luggage, too?”

Wiggins coolly nodded. “That’s right.”

“...”

Bang Jin-Hun’s jaw fell as he stared at Kang Jin-Ho.

The Assembly Master’s capacity to stun never ceased to amaze Bang Jin-Hun. What was even more amazing was that this capacity seemed to get even greater with time!

“I genuinely don’t know what to say...”

While listening to Bang Jin-Hun muttering in amazement, Kang Jin-Ho rested his weary torso against the wall. Every part of his body felt as heavy as a soaked sponge.

The physical damage he received was largely negligible. While qi-based attacks tried to destroy the enemy’s inside, the shelling from the artillery focused on causing external wounds. Thanks to this difference, Kang Jin-Ho managed to survive the ordeal with no internal injuries.

But his problem this time was mental stress. None of his previous battles had been as taxing on his mind as this one.

This is a different type of enemy, then.

Until now, all the enemies Kang Jin-Ho had fought possessed a tangible form.

Strong or not, enemies were always right before his nose. If he couldn’t bring them down in one hit, he could just chop and slash multiple times until they got injured.

But the battle this time played out completely differently.

Shells came flying in from a location he couldn’t even see. Kang Jin-Ho could dodge and defend against the incoming attacks, but counter attacking the enemy was impossible. If he was being brutally honest with his evaluation, then...

In this battle, Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t even do anything and got pummeled one-sidedly.

“Wiggins.”

“Yes, my lord?”

“Do you think martial artists can win against an army?”

Wiggins frowned. “Well, as you’ve experienced...”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Kang Jin-Ho thought about this many times since his return to the modern era. However, his conclusion always had been the same: ordinary martial artists couldn’t survive against an army, but true experts had nothing to fear.

However, this experience utterly shattered that belief.

Even someone as powerful as Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t retaliate properly against enemies firing cannons at him from over ten kilometers away. Worse still, there wasn’t much he could do against the shells raining down on him, too.

Of course, he’d be able to defend against the attacks. And if he ran with all his might, he could have reached a handful of artillery installations and made utter mincemeat of the soldiers stationed there.

However, that was the best Kang Jin-Ho could do. Since that was the case, it was easy enough to guess what would happen to ordinary martial artists. In the Martial Assembly, only Vator and Chang Min were capable of withstanding the same type of bombardment Kang Jin-Ho had gone through today.

There were over fifteen thousand people here, yet only two were good enough to survive the onslaught. Only two!

Kang Jin-Ho deeply inhaled the cigarette smoke while sinking even deeper into his thoughts.

Wiggins smiled bitterly. “My lord, what you’re thinking of... It’s a question that the Round Table of the past and the Chinese martial artists all tried their best to resolve.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Wiggins. “I’m sure they did.”

“That’s why the Round Table and the Chinese martial society worked diligently to seize political power. And yes, they have more or less succeeded in doing so. Hence, my insistence on the Martial Assembly also seizing political power in South Korea, my lord.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

“Martial artists are merely hiding from the army in the forest of ordinary people. In a way, you could say we’re parasites of society. Parasites inside a person’s gut that can’t be removed even with invasive surgery. That’s what we are, my lord.”

“That’s a fitting metaphor, alright.”

“There aren’t many people wishing to antagonize martial artists, my lord. The reason for that is simple. Martial artists might not win against a country’s military, but ordinary people can’t win against martial artists. No matter how powerful the nation’s military is, it will always follow the orders of its commanders. And those commanders have no reliable methods of surviving the wrath of martial artists. That’s how the balance of our worlds remained unbroken until now.”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly exhaled the cigarette smoke and muttered, “Yes. I knew that.”

It was just that he had not fully understood its meaning until today.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly got up and stared at Wiggins. “However, when the commander no longer cares about his life, anything can and will happen. And we shouldn’t be too flabbergasted by it.”

“Indeed, my lord. As you’ve experienced already.”

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips curled up. Now he learned his lesson. And it was a rather painful lesson, too. His body bore the scars to prove it.

Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes grew icy. “Wiggins.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Find out where Kim Myeong-Chan is.”

“Will you make your move right away?”

“That’s right.”

“I must advise you that we don’t have any proof of the Prime Minister’s involvement.”

“That’s fine. Because we’ll get our evidence soon enough.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Find out where he is. It should be one of the two. Either it’s the business as usual for him, or you can’t locate him.”

“Ah, I see...!”

“If he’s intending to hide from us, well, isn’t that proof enough?”

Wiggins slowly nodded. “Understood. We’ll try to find out right away.”

“Mm!” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, then glanced at the unconscious figure of Chang Piljae on the floor. “That man needs medical attention, too.”

Bang Jin-Hun stepped forward. “Yes, sir! But you also need to get looked at!”

“I’ll be...”

“You also! Need! Medical attention, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho sighed deeply and nodded after noticing all the hot steam gushing out of Bang Jin-Hun’s nostrils. “Fine. Us three will all get looked at. Are you happy now?”

“Yes, sir! I’ll get the doctor right away!”

Bang Jin-Hun didn’t even bother to order his subordinates and rushed outside himself.

That was when Wiggins leaned closer and whispered into Kang Jin-Ho’s ear. “My lord?”

“Yeah?”

“Even if Kim Myeong-Chan is guilty, he’s still this country’s Prime Minister. We cannot carelessly harm him, my lord. If this situation escalates, we might end up fighting the entire Korean government, not just the Prime Minister’s office.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“But, my lord...!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression grew colder as he quietly chewed out his words. “This event taught me something I won’t forget.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“It’s impossible for us to co-exist.”

“...!”

Wiggins’ brows rose higher in surprise. “T-that means...!”

“I don’t care even if it’s the current administration or not. Anyone daring to provoke us will get crushed. Let’s find out how amazing this thing called political power really is, see if it’s really worth everyone losing their mind over for!”

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a ferocious smirk.