Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 734: Fleeing (4)

Clunk!

The van's rear doors flung open. Since the van was still moving at a high speed, the cold winds gushing inside were explosive.

"Can't really see them..."

It was difficult to confirm the pursuers through naked eyes as far too many trucks and shipping containers behind eighteen-wheelers blocked the view. Even so, Kang Jin-Ho could sense naked malice and hostility coming from somewhere behind the convoy.

Vator grunted loudly. "Looks like they want to shoot a movie or something."

Kang Jin-Ho smirked. "That's too bad. No one's holding a camera right now."

"I don't think that's strictly the case, master," said Vator while looking up.

Kang Jin-Ho followed suit and spotted something flying up there. Although it was high up in the air, Kang Jin-Ho's eyes could clearly track it. "Mm? What's that? That small object?"

Kang Jin-Ho's first thought was that he was looking at a helicopter flying very high up, but that wasn't it. That object was a small device flying on its own power.

Vator narrowed his eyes. "Looks like a drone, master."

"A... drone?"

When Kang Jin-Ho reacted as if he had never heard of a drone before, Vator was briefly rendered speechless. "...Kuh-hum. Master?"

"What?"

"No, well, uh..." Vator glanced at Chang Min. He was asking for help here.

Chang Min took over. "My liege. That device is called a drone. You can think of it as a remotely controlled miniature helicopter fitted with a camera."

"Really? And it's so small?"

Vator tutted. "It's remotely controlled, master. Think of it as an RC car, okay?"

"RC?"

"...Don't worry about it. There's something like that."

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded. He wasn't sure what these two were talking about but still got the rough gist of it. "The Crimson King's faction... sure has invented an interesting gadget, haven't they?"

"They didn't invent anything!" Vator suddenly yelled impatiently. Didn't Kang Jin-Ho ever stop by at a department store or something?!

Anyone with functioning eyes could replace a mountain heap of toy drones for sale in any decent-sized department store, so how could Kang Jin-Ho not be aware of them?!

Kang Jin-Ho pointed at the drone. "What can that thing do?"

Vator tutted. "Monitor us."

"With its camera?"

"That's right."

That was when Kang Jin-Ho unhesitantly flicked his finger.

Ping!

A sharp piercing noise ensued, then the drone chasing them suddenly veered off into a strange direction before falling headlong toward the ground.

Kang Jin-Ho muttered disinterestedly. "Good thing I had a spare coin lying around."

"..."

After destroying that drone with a coin flick, Kang Jin-Ho turned his head to glance at other passengers. "I guess that's enough of an introduction, don't you think?"

Vator narrowed his eyes and growled. "I'll head out, master."

"I'm not trying to underestimate you, but I don't think now is the right time for you."

Kang Jin-Ho acknowledged Vator's martial prowess. However, this situation wasn't suitable for the big man to show off his strength. After all, he needed to be grounded first to display his incredible power. With everything moving at high speed like this, he would display less than a quarter of his abilities.

"Then?" Vator tilted his head. "Should we get the elders to the rear?"

"No."

Wuuuooong...!

The space in front of Kang Jin-Ho suddenly distorted. Vator's eyes opened slightly wider at this sight.

Wasn't that the special technique Wiggins displayed before? That magic thing? Since when did Kang Jin-Ho master that technique?

Kang Jin-Ho reached inside the distorted space and pulled something out. And that something was a lengthy and slender object.

'Isn't that a sword?'

Two swords, as a matter of fact; namely, the Crimson Destiny and the Azuremourne. Kang Jin-Ho's two favored swords were now tied to his waist.

"Guests have come, so the polite thing is for the host to welcome them. I'll be right back."

Kang Jin-Ho lightly jumped out of the back of the van. He deftly landed on the top of the truck following behind, before his figure rapidly disappeared from the view.

Vator smirked deeply while watching that scene. "Hmph. That welcome will be rather flashy, now won't it?"

***

"...Gimme a break. I can't take this anymore."

Zhu Gang had reached his limit.

He and his peers had been traveling inside this god-forsaken shipping container for the past six hours. Non-martial artists wouldn't have lasted thirty minutes in this harsh environment. However, the demonic cultivators' physiques had been tempered non-stop, which allowed them to withstand this crappy situation.

Bang! Thud!

"Uwaaahk! F*cking rubbish road! Gimme a break!"

The truck Zhu Gang rode on happened to be old, so its suspensions couldn't do a proper job of ironing out the bumpiness of the road. Every time the vehicle went over something, the shipping container shook around like a cocktail shaker in the hands of an expert bartender.

Each of the loud shaking of the shipping container was enough for the demonic cultivators packed inside like sardines to tumble and clatter into one another.

Zhu Gang wasn't sure if being packed tightly was a blessing or not. At least they couldn't fall, so that was something, wasn't it! The demonic cultivators couldn't do much other than express their displeasure and irritation before returning to their original spots.

"How much further do we need to go?"

"I heard we gotta drive for ten hours or something."

"That means we still have four hours left?!"

"We might arrive sooner since we've been traveling really fast for a while now. I'm more worried about the truck breaking down from how fast we're moving."

"Hey, I'd rather take that instead of enduring this situation. F*cking hell, running there might be better than this!"

"By the way, when do you think we'll reach a rest stop?"

"Who was that? Which dumb motherf*cker said rest stop?!"

What a dogsh*t situation this was. That seemed the most appropriate summary of the chaos inside the shipping container.

"Fuu-woo..." Zhu Gang quietly breathed in and out.

Today seemed to be a day of several epiphanies regarding life for him. For humans to behave like humans, they needed at least a minimal personal space. The closer they were, the more displeased humans would get!

Even though this situation was a bit unique, Zhu Gang was still reminded of that unfortunate truth about human beings. And he got to learn something else in the process, too. And that would be how the constant shoulder rubbing was enough to awaken the compulsion to murder somebody!

'I wanna flip everything on its head!'

Zhu Gang never really saw himself as short-tempered, but his patience was already at the breaking point. If it hadn't been for several valid reasons, he would've already destroyed this shipping container and fled outside.

What was holding him back was Vator's warning from earlier. And another thing suppressing him even more ruthlessly was the demon emperor's existence!

'What if I do something stupid only to get on his bad books?'

Zhu Gang would rather kill himself if that happened. He could endure getting beaten up by Vator, but... But he knew he would never endure the demon emperor staring at him as if he was irredeemable trash.

"Fuu-wooooo!"

That was why Zhu Gang had no choice but to calm his mind by breathing deeply and steadily.

'I only need to be patient for a little while longer.'

This hellish time wouldn't go on forever. At the longest, it'd take only a day. How could he endure the upcoming harsh training if he couldn't even stay patient for a day?

Although this torture was a bit different than being physically tortured, both of them were still tortures, now weren't they!

'The demon emperor must have a reason for doing this.'

Zhu Gang didn't think the demon emperor would shove all these cult believers inside a shipping container without a good reason. Maybe this was a test to determine their patience?

The demon emperor might say those who couldn't even endure this much had no qualifications to receive his training. Zhu Gang would dearly loved to avoid a situation where he stupidly ran his mouth to complain only to get disqualified from the demon emperor's training regime.

"Okay. Get a hold of yourself, and be patient for a..."

That was when...!

BOOOOOOM!

A powerful impact so much worse than anything they had experienced before slammed against the shipping container.

"Uwaaaaaahk?!"

"What the f*ck was that?!"

"Ouch?! Hey, stop pushing me! I said, don't push me! Ouch!"

The demonic cultivators inside the shipping container literally got into a tumble and got jumbled together.

"What the hell?! Who the hell is driving this damn truck!"

"N-no, wait! Look behind you! At the back!"

Zhu Gang opened his eyes wider and looked at the back of the container.

'Is that... light?'

There was light? A lone ray of light was sneaking inside the darkness so deep that even the eyes of martial artists had a hard time picking out things. What did that mean?

'Does that mean the container is bent somewhere?'

Indeed, light coming inside could only mean there was a gap somewhere. But a truck shaking around shouldn't be enough to dent the container that badly. What could that mean?

BOOOOOM!

Before Zhu Gang had time to finish his thoughts, yet another powerful impact slammed against the shipping container. Unlike the first time, though, no one yelled or screamed. Having already analyzed the situation, the demonic cultivators could only glare at the back while biting their lips.

The rear door bent a little more, and the gap opened wide enough for an adult hand to pass through.

"...! Out of the way! Get out of my way!" Zhu Gang pushed people aside and moved toward the rear of the container. All sorts of insults would have been hurled in his way if he tried the same thing a minute ago, but not now. No one complained while getting out of his way.

Zhu Gang barely managed to reach the rear, then kicked the door as powerfully as he could in the cramped position.

Bang!

'One more time!'

Bang!

After a couple more vigorous kicks, the locks cracked enough to let the door open a little more. Almost at the same time, Zhu Gang's expression crumpled hideously.

That was because he could see... 'something' closing in fast! The sight beyond the open gap of the door was that of something big charging straight at the shipping container!

Zhu Gang cried out urgently. "Dammit! It's coming! Hold on!"

If only there was something to hold on inside a shipping container!

BOOOOOOOOM!

This time, the impact felt strong enough to crush Zhu Gang's body. As he grimaced, he sensed the truck momentarily becoming airborne.

"Uwaaaaaah?!"

An uncontrollable scream exploded from Zhu Gang's mouth. His body flew back. If it hadn't been for his peers behind him cushioning his body, Zhu Gang would've flown to the front of the container.

Ironically enough, being packed in like sardines had softened the impact. That impact was strong enough to throw the regular people around and break their limbs, but the tempered bodies of the demonic cultivators allowed them to survive it... At least this time!

Clunk! Bang!

The doors, now completely bent out of shape, issued sharp noises while throwing themselves open. Zhu Gang gritted his teeth at the spectacle greeting him from beyond the open doorway. He could see huge trucks behind theirs!

To Zhu Gang's knowledge, his truck was right at the back of the convoy. Which meant...!

"Sons of b*tches!"

Someone was pursuing the demonic cultivators! Those huge trucks were ramming into the shipping container Zhu Gang was in! And anyone with a functioning brain should realize who was giving them the chase like this.

Zhu Gang's complexion paled instantly. The eighteen-wheeler he was on was already driving fast enough to break its engine. Even if Zhu Gang and his peers were martial artists, what could they realistically do inside a moving shipping container?

They might have enjoyed a wider scope of movement if only fewer people were riding in the container. As things stood, they were having a tough time trying to stand straight!

What if the shipping container overturned, then?

'We could all get killed here!'

Any non-martial artists would die instantly. At least Zhu Gang and his peers were demonic cultivators, so their odds of survival were slightly higher!

As if the large truck belonging to the enemy read what was on Zhu Gang's mind, it sped up again to charge straight at the back of the bent shipping container!

VROOOOOM!

The roar of the enemy's truck registered loudly in Zhu Gang's hearing.

"Faster! You useless driver bastard! Go faster!"

"I'm sure he's doing that already!"

"Then why are those bastards faster than us?!"

"They have newer trucks, that's why! You dumb sh*t!"

"N-no! This thing won't hold anymore!"

The container was creaking ominously just from the wind buffeting against it. At this rate, one more impact could pretty much destroy this shipping container!

"Let's jump out of here!"

"What? To the ground?! Are you f*cking insane?! Can't you see all those trucks following us?! You'll get run over!"

"Let's jump on to that truck! I'm sure they don't have bulletproof glass or something!"

"There are too many people here for that!"

Before the clamoring and panicking demonic cultivators could come up with a solution... The enemy truck came mere inches away!

"Uwaaaah! You insane motherf*ckeeeeers!"

Just as a cry of despair and rage exploded from Zhu Gang's mouth...!

Step!

Something suddenly jumped into Zhu Gang's restricted view. His view, which was neatly framed like a cinema screen, suddenly captured a figure of a man appearing from above.

"Ah?!" Zhu Gang gasped out in confusion.

That back of a man wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans... Didn't it look rather familiar?

On either side of this familiar figure were two swords. The blades gently reflecting the moonlight suddenly swung in wide arcs.

PAAAAAAHAAANG!

The air noisily tore apart, and the enemy's truck charging in was split apart right down the middle. It separated into two halves as deafening noise rocked the air.

"M-my liege!"

Kang Jin-Ho put Zhu Gang's loud cry behind him and kicked the floor to charge straight ahead. Demonic qi burst out from behind him, and he now resembled a devil spreading its black wings inside the darkness of the night.

The festival of blood had finally commenced.