Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 738: Colliding (3)

"Who is that?" Kang Jin-Ho relaxedly asked.

He had been sensing the glare containing a messy cocktail of killing intent and rage from that unknown man locking on to him for a while now. It was as if that man had finally met his irreconcilable mortal enemy!

Vator tutted. "That's Cai Kechang."

"Cai Kechang, is it?"

"You can think of him as the Crimson King's second in command. No, let me revise that. Calling him second in command is not quite right. The chief administrator title might be easier for you to understand, master."

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. "Chief administrator, you say?"

"He does Lee Hyeon-Su's job, more or less."

"Got it," Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered while studying this man named Cai Kechang.

Anyone tasked with housekeeping for a massive organization like the Crimson King's faction could not be a common-or-garden individual. Even then...

"He doesn't seem to be a calm and collected type?" Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head slightly.

Vator smirked wryly. "Kekeke... No one can stay cool-headed after becoming your enemy, master. It was the same story for me. Even though I knew I must stay calm, my emotions got the better of me in the end. Master, you have something about you that agitates and excites other people."

For some reason, everyone opposing Kang Jin-Ho tended to feel the same way. And that feeling was... It was now or never.

Kang Jin-Ho improved his strength at a scarcely-believable level. And that wasn't all either, as the faction surrounding him also matched his improvement rate and grew explosively in power.

It hadn't been all that long since Vator fought Kang Jin-Ho in that fierce duel. But this Kang Jin-Ho far surpassed the Kang Jin-Ho from that day. Indeed, the two couldn't even be compared. Even though the season hadn't even changed fully yet!

However, Kang Jin-Ho somehow improved his strength by at least 100%. Not to forget, the Martial Assembly was also reaching new heights of power and influence at a breakneck pace!

In that short window of time, Vator and Wiggings, the former knight of the Round Table, had joined. And then, Kang Jin-Ho was even nurturing his own personal combat force consisting of younger-generation martial artists. So, what if all these demonic cultivators joined them?

'It won't be an exaggeration to say his forces will double in size.'

In a way, this development should be seen as odd. Vator couldn't estimate how much stronger the demonic cultivators could get under Kang Jin-Ho's guidance and leadership. If he had to guess, the improvement should be minimal. Yet, that minimal improvement was enough to double the Martial Assembly's combat strength.

'Now that I think about it, that's kind of scary.'

Vator hadn't been conscious of this part of the equation. He might have been aware of everyone's improving strength but failed to fully understand how fast this improvement was. Even though he was a part of that improvement process!

When the moment of understanding hit, it was swiftly followed by a tidal wave of shock and awe. Vator was a member of the Assembly as well as Kang Jin-Ho's close associate, yet he still felt this startled. In that case, how much worse would it be for Cai Kechang?

'I'm sure it must feel like there's a raging wildfire burning behind his ass.'

Either that, or he probably felt like a tightly-bound hostage staring anxiously at the timer of a huge explosive relentlessly ticking down. No wonder Cai Kechang was making such a face!

Vator could start guessing what his own expression must've been like while fighting Kang Jin-Ho for the first time after seeing Cai Kechang's reaction. It should have been the face of a man anxiously fidgeting away.

Because... If he failed to win now, if he failed to kill Kang Jin-Ho right here, it'd no longer be possible for the rest of time. That kind of crushing pressure must've been weighing down on Vator back then, and something very similar must be pressing down on Cai Kechang right now, too.

No, that wasn't quite right. The pressure Cai Kechang was under must be incomparably worse than Vator's. Vator didn't need to worry about stuff like the Assembly or anything else and focus only on Kang Jin-Ho, but Cai Kechang had to keep a wary eye out on Kang Jin-Ho's forces, too.

If Vator was in Cai Kechang's shoes, he would've developed a neurosis by now. Cai Kechang's situation was somewhat like powerlessly watching and sensing a sharp blade agonizingly-slowly stabbing into his back, after all!

That was why Vator could fully understand Cai Kechang's visceral reaction.

Kang Jin-Ho suddenly addressed Cai Kechang. "Didn't the Crimson King come with you?"

Cai Kechang snarled out his reply. "You're overestimating yourself! Do you think you're worth the Crimson King personally attending this slaughter?!"

"Hmm. So, he didn't come," Kang Jin-Ho replied disinterestedly. He didn't seem to care whether Cai Kechang was trying to provoke him or not. He just stood there while rubbing his chin, his eyes leisurely scanning the surroundings. "Even so, you sure brought a lot of people, huh."

He could sense sharp killing intent. Such was its sharpness that Kang Jin-Ho felt his skin tingle. People capable of emitting such hostile energy couldn't be ordinary martial artists.

'Now I get why Vator willingly admitted he's not one of the stronger people.'

That might have sounded like Vator self-deprecating himself, but there was some truth to his assertion. A faction that could mobilize so many high-level experts should, logically speaking, possess even stronger experts than Vator. And quite a lot of them, too.

Kang Jin-Ho got a renewed appreciation, so to speak, of the power of the Crimson King's faction.

'To have this many experts in the current era...'

Unlike in the past, it was almost impossible to openly nurture martial arts experts in this era. With the system of government much more robust these days compared to the past, the powers-that-be would never remain silent with a powerful faction like this in the backyard.

Governments around the world might tacitly acknowledge the existence of the martial world. However, the existence of martial artists being exposed to regular civilians was a different matter altogether. To be able to retain this much combat strength in such an unfavorable environment was something to be commended about. And there were two other factions of similar scale in China, now weren't there?

This scale seemed incomparable to the situation back in ancient Zhongyuan. Even so...

'It's meaningless to hedge your bets on the numbers game, though.'

Obviously, Kang Jin-Ho had no accurate idea of how strong these people were. As far as a faction's influence and scale were concerned, nothing in the past should compare... But what really mattered was the level of martial prowess.

If this era's martial prowess was only around what Kang Jin-Ho had seen, the demon cult didn't really need to step up. However, what if that wasn't everything?

He now had a chance to confirm it.

"The Crimson King hasn't shown up, is it…" Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a deep smirk. "Unfortunately for you, arrogance has a way of biting you back in the rear. So? What do you think? Do you still think your choice was correct?"

Cai Kechang couldn't reply, his gaze powerfully wavering. The way Kang Jin-Ho snarkily asked that question indicated he had astutely seen through Cai Kechang's internal struggles.

'This... might have been a mistake!'

It was better to be absolutely certain with one's tasks. According to Cai Kechang's calculations, the odds of Kang Jin-Ho walking out of here alive were less than one percent. However, that possibility jumped up by ten times after Cai Kechang came face to face with Kang Jin-Ho.

Now, it was over ten percent. The odds of Kang Jin-Ho fleeing with his life intact even after Cai Kechang did everything to kill him... were over ten bloody percent!

In any other times, Cai Kechang would have no problem taking on that risk. But not now. He could not afford any odds going against him. Even though he knew percentages were just that, percentages. What was the point of worrying about percentages of success after the proverbial horses had already bolted from the stables?

'I... I should've brought my liege, the Crimson King, even at the risk of earning his ire!'

If Cai Kechang had done that, the odds would have gone down to zero. Besides, didn't the Crimson King express his wish to personally meet Kang Jin-Ho? But it was Cai Kechang who dissuaded his liege from doing so.

In other words, his damn pride had led to this situation.

"Oh, I see now," Kang Jin-Ho smirked derisively. His eyes were too keen not to notice the momentary shift in Cai Kechang's expression. "So, It wasn't the Crimson King who was arrogant. It was you, right?"

"...!"

"I guess I was right, then. There's no way someone with strength but no ability to discern reality can reach such a high position in society, after all. Which means the fatal weakness of the Crimson King's faction... was you."

"You...! You keep your mouth shut! You bastard!" Cai Kechang cried out, his eyes now bloodshot. However, his yell noticeably lacked spirit. That was because Kang Jin-Ho had accurately stabbed Cai Kechang's sore point once more.

'My liege was right!'

They should have killed Kang Jin-Ho no matter what it cost them. Before Kang Jin-Ho had a chance to grow stronger, too!

The Crimson King had made the correct call. Didn't he try to eliminate Kang Jin-Ho by any means possible right after discovering the latter's existence? At times, he was even more wary and on guard against Kang Jin-Ho than the other two Kings!

Whenever that happened, it was Cai Kechang who talked about the reality of the situation to dissuade the Crimson King. And this moment painfully taught him that his assessment had been dead wrong.

Kang Jin-Ho was undoubtedly dangerous. In a certain sense, far more dangerous than the Three Kings! Cai Kechang should have killed Kang Jin-Ho, no matter what, before the latter had a chance to become such a dangerous variable.

'Why did I do something so stupid!'

The Crimson King was exceptional in every facet. Even in things like the eye to discern the flow of the current events, Cai Kechang fell far behind the Crimson King. He willingly acknowledged this, so why! Why did he oppose the Crimson King's opinion every single time!

Was it because he believed his thoughts were right? Or... Maybe because he was arrogant, just like Kang Jin-Ho said?

"It's useless to think about it," said Kang Jin-Ho, his voice digging sharply into Cai Kechang's hearing. "The end result will still be the same, anyway."

A deep smirk slowly crossed Cai Kechang's face.

Indeed, Kang Jin-Ho was right. Regardless of what, the result would be the same. It didn't matter what kind of mistakes Cai Kechang had made, or how much of a mess this situation had devolved into... None of them mattered right now. As long as he could kill Kang Jin-Ho tonight, everything would be fine!

"You're right, Kang Jin-Ho. We didn't come here to shoot breezes, after all!"

"So you finally understand," Kang Jin-Ho chuckled derisively.

Cai Kechang sucked in a deep breath and studied the frontline. In the brief time he had been 'chatting' with Kang Jin-Ho, a wall of human shields had formed around the black van Kang Jin-Ho stood on. That wall consisted of countless-many demonic cultivators.

Obviously, Cai Kechang permitted that to happen. Even if he did, though... This unpleasant aftertaste didn't want to leave him alone when knowing he had fallen into the enemy's pace. Kang Jin-Ho only needed to say a few biting remarks at Cai Kechang to buy enough time to re-organize his defensive line.

'Is he doing that consciously or out of instinct?'

Either way, Kang Jin-Ho was familiar with commanding an army. The more Cai Kechang assessed the situation, the more dangerous Kang Jin-Ho seemed!

'In that case, what I need to do is...!'

...Only one thing!

Cai Kechang grimly frowned while tightly clenching his fists. He must...

That was when Vator, who had been silently listening to this exchange, suddenly broke into a full-blooded sprint toward the front. The demonic cultivators also broke into a dash right behind him.

It was like watching a black river! Black waves made of humans, with Vator in the lead, instantly charged forward.

Cai Kechang was startled by this sight. Vator's destination was the burning wreckage of trucks near the barricade.

'But, why?!'

Confusion instantly dyed Cai Kechang's expression. Shouldn't they attack the...

'...Wait. Could it be?'

Cai Kechang's eyes instantly grew wider after finally guessing Vator's... No, Kang Jin-Ho's intention!

"S-stop them!"

Unfortunately, his realization had come a bit too late. By then, Vator was like a fired cannon shell. He arrived at the wreckage, then his feet powerfully stomped on the ground.

RUMBLE!

Vator's feet sunk into the ground up to his ankles. A huge crater formed on the asphalt as the entire world rumbled ominously. Not even the heavy wreckage of mangled trucks could win against the quaking and shook precariously.

Right after that...!

"U-aaaaaaaah!"

As an eardrum-rupturing roar exploded out of Vator's mouth, he fired a punch containing all the power stored in his massive physique. His arm jerked back far enough to almost snap his spine before shooting forward with a superhuman level of strength!

KA-BOOOOOOM!

An explosion! That could only be called an actual explosion.

When Vator's punch landed on the wreckage spewing choking smoke and devil's tongue-like licks of flames, the twisted chassis of various trucks flew apart in all directions like projectiles from an explosion.

"D-duck!"

"F*cking hell!"

The martial artists standing next to the wreckage hurriedly scattered in all directions. And that was when Cai Kechang saw everything with startling clarity.

As the wreckage flew apart, a massive pathway opened up in the middle. The destruction of the barricades and trucks created an opening with nothing to hinder the escapees! And then... The demonic cultivators began charging inside. Without even bothering to look back once!

Cai Kechang cried out in shock. "S-son of a b*tch?!"

"Ku-wahahahahaha!" Vator's loud roar-like laughter announced the start of the battle. Martial artists in the surroundings finally sobered up and began charging at the guffawing Vator.

"Come, you small fries!"

Vator roared like an avatar of the God of Might!