Descent of the Demon Master

A person, a man, should always stand tall and proud. This was the mantra Lee Hyeon-Su lived his life by.

For someone like him, surviving in the harsh and cruel martial world was never going to be easy. Constantly talking to people capable of killing him on a whim, making them concede, and then having them follow his commands were no different than walking on a knife edge.

One shouldn't forget that a sizable portion of martial artists happened to be certifiable nutjobs!

Of course, plenty of nutjobs could also be found in the general populace. But the ratio of “not sane” folks per head was exponentially higher in the martial world.

Even regular people would often resort to fisticuffs if the agitation got the better of them, didn’t they? If martial artists decided to punch Lee Hyeon-Su… Well, he’d have no choice but to welcome a very painful death!

So, to survive in such a terrifying world, Lee Hyeon-Su chose to… stand tall and bluff his way out. After all, this world was exactly like a jungle!

Displaying even the slightest hint of cowardice would get him devoured by the other side. Even if he knew he couldn't win in a fight, Lee Hyeon-Su learned never to show how scared he was.

If he hadn’t maintained the attitude of, “Wanna kill me? Go ahead. However! Know that when you fail, you will die instead!” Lee Hyeon-Su would have never survived to this point.

Of course, going under Kang Jin-Ho's wings meant Lee Hyeon-Su didn't have to focus so much on his continued survival as before. That still didn't stop him from studiously sticking to his mantra, though!

‘Stand tall and proud? My ass!’

Unfortunately, standing tall had no use in this bloody place!

Standing tall and proud only worked in a conversational setting. Or even when threats were being thrown around. However, once punches and kicks started flying, standing tall would be rendered completely useless!

After all, getting hit while being proud wouldn’t lessen the pain, now did it? And standing tall certainly wouldn’t imbue Lee Hyeon-Su’s punches with more power!

In other words…

‘I’m completely useless here!’

From the get-go, he wasn’t even on the same level as everyone else. Lee Hyeon-Su was the worst martial artist in the Assembly in terms of his strength.

Sure, he had tried to cultivate before. However, that only taught him how untalented he was in martial arts. If he had been a regular person, people would've called him an unathletic failure for the rest of his life!

But this particular location just so happened to be the battleground where the Martial Assembly's elites were bitterly fighting off their counterparts from Britain and maybe the rest of Europe!

This situation was like a neighborhood amateur soccer team's waterboy, which was Lee Hyeon-Su, suddenly finding himself participating in the UEFA Champions League final! ℟ΆNОᛒĘʂ

What could someone like him do in such a situation!

One silver lining in this life-or-death situation was that Lee Hyeon-Su still admirably held on to his rational mind. And that helped him quickly figure out what he should do.

‘Yup. Keep my mouth shut and stay put like this!’

Everyone else might have rushed outside the corridor already, but not Lee Hyeon-Su! Not only did he stay behind, but he even thoughtfully pressed his entire body flat against the nearby wall and held his breath, too!

The best he could do in this situation was minimize his presence as much as possible so that his comrades fighting to their hearts’ content didn’t need to worry about him.

‘Besides all that, though… This is something else, alright.’

Lee Hyeon-Su opened his eyes wide and observed the carnage taking place beyond the corridor. Somehow… They were different.

The Assembly’s warriors busy cutting loose looked like completely different people from the ones Lee Hyeon-Su knew.

‘For instance, that brat over there…’

One of the Demon Flames was currently mounting a downed British knight and unleashing a barrage of fist-pounding. Didn't Lee Hyeon-Su worry about that fool for being too… meek not too long ago?

‘His name is Bak Sang-Tae, right?’

Lee Hyeon-Su often wondered how someone as timid as Bak Sang-Tae passed Kang Jin-Ho's test and became a Demon Flame. But now, that timid dude was staying on top of an already-fallen enemy and viciously pounding away in a maddened glee!

“Die! Diiiiiie!”

That was when Lee Hyeon-Su decided he'd treat Bak Sang-Tae a bit nicer from now on. The quiet guys were supposed to be the scariest when they got triggered. And here was the proof of that!

It was pretty much the same story for everyone else.

The Demon Flames didn't even need to be mentioned here. After all, that group was already recognized as the Martial Assembly's official collective of nutjobs, anyway! So, those lunatics going wild were more or less expected of them. However, they weren't the only folks going berserk right now!

“Wreck’em all! And don’t lose, you idiots!” Gong Yeong-Gil, Yi Myeong-Hwan’s friend, roared loudly while kicking an enemy in front of his nose.

BOOM!

Even though that was just a person kicking another person, why did it sound like a sledgehammer slamming into a tire?!

‘Crazy son of a…’

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced deeply at this sight.

Gong Yeong-Gil had always been a well-built guy. Even Yi Myeong-Hwan seemed a head shorter than his friend. But the current Gong Yeong-Gil, he… He had surpassed the category of “Yes, he has a good physique!” by a country mile!

Squeeze…! Rip! Rumble!

Gong Yeong-Gil’s muscles quivered and pumped powerfully enough to tear his clothes apart.

Only God would know what Vator did to these poor young souls, but all of his “students” were now boasting gobsmacking rippling muscles. Even though he hadn’t been tutoring them for long!

If Lee Hyeon-Su were to force himself to describe these folks, then…

‘Yup, a whole bunch of mini Vators…!’

Upscale the physique of those people, and you'd see the image of… Vator! Of course, Gong Yeong-Gil and his friends were half the size of the giant and didn't emit the same level of overwhelming pressure. Even so, they should still be thuggish-looking enough to make most regular people wet their pants!

Besides, it wasn’t only their physiques that had gotten more impressive lately.

Before receiving Vator's guidance, Gong Yeong-Gil and Co. were just your average members of the Assembly's younger generation of martial artists. But now, they were fighting against the elites of Great Britain. On equal… No, they were actually winning!

This spectacle obviously held a significant meaning.

The Assembly's adventures were still in the beginning stages. Even then, the organization and its people were constantly transforming. And now, it felt like Lee Hyeon-Su was witnessing the fruits of all the transformation.

These young martial artists didn’t receive much from Kang Jin-Ho.

Of course, the Martial Assembly itself transformed thanks to Kang Jin-Ho’s presence. And Vator only joined the organization because of Kang Jin-Ho, so saying these younger generation martial artists didn’t receive anything was technically incorrect.

Even then, the fact remained the same. Their current martial arts came from Vator, not Kang Jin-Ho.

This was the evidence of the Assembly's martial arts diversifying massively.

These young warriors were demonstrating to the world that it was possible to equal the elites of other nations without receiving Kang Jin-Ho's demonic cultivation method.

‘In that case… What would happen if the matter Director Bang is pursuing works out well, too?’

If the new standard martial art Bang Jin-Hun had created and passed along to the Assembly's members demonstrated the same level of effectiveness, the Korean Martial Assembly would undoubtedly become incredibly powerful. Not an all-bark-but-no-bite sect that only boasted one or two experts leading from the front, but a genuinely powerful organization that others must reckon with!

Not only that, but…

“Our demon emperor is watching us! Prove to him your undying faith!”

Even Chang Min behaved differently from his usual self.

That old man usually walked around with a dazed face that made Lee Hyeon-Su question if he really was the demon cult's respected elder. But when he set foot on a battlefield? He transformed into someone else.

Each of his words and expressions held this mysterious power to incite the crowd and get their blood boiling. As far as charisma was concerned, that man even surpassed Wiggins and Vator!

‘As expected…’

In the process of investigating the demon cult and its believers, Lee Hyeon-Su learned of how excessively loyal they were to Chang Min and decided to be a lot more vigilant of the old man. It was just that Lee Hyeon-Su chose not to make a problem out of it since Chang Min's loyalty toward Kang Jin-Ho was unquestionable. Actually, one could say that level of loyalty bordered on psychotically excessive, but that's the story for another day!

Still, Lee Hyeon-Su had to be wary of the fact that ten thousand demonic cultivators were loyal not to the cult leader but to someone else. During his vigilant observation, though, he couldn't help but get curious about why they obeyed Chang Min so much.

Seeing the old man's current actions helped Lee Hyeon-Su finally understand their reason, though. Charisma was something a person was half-born with, after all!

The demon cult believers, under Chang Min's command, went wild like enraged wolves and made utter mincemeat out of their enemies. Then again, these people were also top elites hand-picked from ten thousand cult believers. Unsurprisingly, they were strong enough to shatter the misplaced perception that “Chinese demonic cultivators are weaklings” into a million pieces.

Each demonic cultivator might not be as strong as a Demon Flame, but their tenacity and drive easily surpassed everyone here. Anyone with a brain would piss their pants after witnessing a demonic cultivator madly charging at them without any regard for their own life.

Funnily enough, though, the group that ran the wildest and most viciously wasn’t the Demon Flames or the Chinese demonic cultivators. No, it was… the Chevaliers!

These Frenchmen, kitted out in their armors, were truly rampaging around as if they had lost their bloody minds. However, Lee Hyeon-Su fully sympathized with them, at least on this occasion.

These Chevaliers were thrown away by the Round Table. They traveled to the distant land called South Korea to kill Kang Jin-Ho, but after getting captured, their organization didn't even bother to lift a finger to rescue them, never mind negotiating their release! Indeed, they had been abandoned by the people they trusted.

The betrayal from those you swore loyalty to would usually nurture the desire for revenge far stronger and more toxic than loyalty itself. Just how much would they have dreamed of this moment while cooperating with the Assembly and biding their time?

“Sweep all of them aside! Do not spare a single one!” Vincent roared loudly.

Something about his shout sounded so… motivated. It was powerful, yes, but also undoubtedly desperate. And when the Chevaliers heard his command, they broke out of their ranks and began rampaging wildly.

When this battlefield was analyzed as a whole, well…

‘It’s mere minutes away from descending into a pure sh*tshow, huh…’

No such things as ranks and formation, or even a chain of command for that matter, existed in this place. Everyone was seemingly going wild to their hearts' content.

Vator should be the one managing the troops from the front, yet he was too busy massacring the enemy, his rational mind seemingly gone. As for Wiggins, who could be trusted to maintain his cool head at all times, he was also rapidly firing his attack spells with reckless abandon.

If a person with some inkling of how the chain of command works witnessed this spectacle, they would no doubt have tutted away, unimpressed, at the disorganized nature of this battle.

Even then, Lee Hyeon-Su still held himself back from jumping out of the corridor to take charge.

Yes, this situation might be messy, disorganized, and chaotic. Most importantly, though… The Assembly's people were powerful.

The British martial artists had formed an impeccable defensive line within this underground space, yet they were still being swept aside in the proverbial blink of an eye.

Even Lee Hyeon-Su was having a hard time believing what he could see!

Of course, some of the credit should go to Kang Jin-Ho, who had broken the enemy's fighting spirit earlier. However, even after considering that, the evaluation of the Assembly's warriors remained the same. They were powerful. Overwhelmingly so!

‘So, this is why…’

Lee Hyeon-Su made sure not to miss anything. He engraved everything he witnessed to his heart.

Watching the battle from close by imparted a completely different feeling than commanding the troops from afar. Had Lee Hyeon-Su stayed back and received reports like he usually did… Would he have vividly felt the improved strength of the troops like this?

‘Is that why they dragged me here?’

When it was all said and done, Lee Hyeon-Su was the commander of the Martial Assembly. No, that wasn't quite right.

If other directors were field commanders tasked with commanding troops on the battlefield, Lee Hyeon-Su would be the supreme commander who stayed in the HQ to analyze the entire war situation and deploy those field commanders accordingly.

That was why he needed to be absolutely certain of the true strength of the troops under his command and know the best way to utilize their abilities.

Lee Hyeon-Su would’ve continued issuing ambiguous, ill-thought-out commands had he not come here to witness this spectacle with his own two eyes. But now, he got all the confirmation he needed.

He now knew the properties of each group of Assembly's warriors. And he figured out how they should be utilized from now on!

“That’s enough.”

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly raised his voice. By then, he had already withdrawn his demonic qi to revert back to his usual appearance. Of course, that didn’t mean the majestic air of a ruler had disappeared, too.

All those warriors running wild powerfully shivered as if lightning bolts had struck them when Kang Jin-Ho’s voice registered in their hearing. They sobered up instantly and backed off like the receding tide. Then, they smartly lined up according to their rank behind Kang Jin-Ho.

Lee Hyeon-Su tightly clenched his fists at this turn of events. That… was a perfect balance of rational minds and primal savagery!

Here was an army of men who seemed to have lost their collective minds, but in the blink of an eye, they had regained their sanity. Maybe this was the ideal army Lee Hyeon-Su had been dreaming of.

Also, this sight must be…

‘...I’m sure it’s also deeply terrifying.’

What would the other side feel after witnessing an army of crazed demons perfectly obeying one man's command? Wouldn't that be so much more terrifying than when these same people were acting like bloodthirsty monsters?

It seemed Lee Hyeon-Su's guess was correct. The remaining British warriors trembled in sheer terror as they stared at Kang Jin-Ho. As a matter of fact, their gazes could only lock on to Kang Jin-Ho as if they had all been hypnotized by something!

That was when Kang Jin-Ho calmly addressed them.

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