Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 1112. Intimidating (2)

Chapter 1112. Intimidating (2)

“Hmm...?”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly after taking a small sip of the coffee.

Lee Hyeon-Su blinked his eyes and asked, “Sir? Is the coffee not to your liking?”

“Mm,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded.

That made Lee Hyeon-Su smile wryly. “Well, it’s to be expected, sir. The coffee beans you get here aren’t the same, after all.”

“I figured the British drank good coffee, but this...”

“That is a common misconception, sir. You see, South Korea is currently one of the leading countries in the world when it comes to coffee. Actually, you won’t find as many cafes as in other countries than in Korea.”

“Is that so?”

“Let’s not forget about your abnormally high standards as well, sir. You avoid drinking coffee that wasn’t brewed from the beans specifically brought in from your father's cafe, after all. We could even say it’s a matter of your personal preference.”

Kang Jin-Ho silently nodded, then took another sip of the coffee.

Meanwhile, the Master of the Round Table could only stare and listen at the two men’s conversation in pure stupefaction.

‘Am I losing my mind?’

If not, did he hear this right? Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su were nonchalantly discussing coffee as if nothing had happened?

Maybe the Master was the strange one here for finding this situation bizarre. After all, the topic of the conversation was not something inherently problematic.

But the topic that did trouble the Master was how much Kang Jin-Ho had changed.

‘Is this the same man who used nothing but his glare to make the Knights submit to him not too long ago?’

After recovering his wits somewhat, the Master sighed under his breath.

Something like this shouldn’t be too surprising. People who changed like this weren’t some rare commodity, after all.

For instance, it was common enough to find people who behaved one way at work and some other way at home. Some people's attitudes also changed depending on which gender they were talking to.

Since that was the case, this change in Kang Jin-Ho shouldn't be considered 'bizarre.' Humans naturally possessed various faces, after all.

Anyone could change themselves to suit the situations facing them.

But the problem this time was how extreme the scope of Kang Jin-Ho’s change was.

The ‘Kang Jin-Ho’ from earlier, the one that boasted a fear-inducing devilish aura, and this ‘Kang Jin-Ho’ who looked a bit spaced-out seemed like two completely different people.

“Master?”

The Master woke up from his thoughts when Wiggins called out to him.

“Master, would you like a cup as well?”

“...I’ll have some, then,” said the Master with a brief nod.

Wiggins chuckled softly while pouring black tea into an empty cup.

The Master accepted the cup containing aromatic tea. His mind finally calmed down sufficiently enough after the tea’s scent tickled his nostrils.

“Wiggins, have you been exposed to this... thing every day until now?”

Wiggins casually shrugged. “I can’t say it’s been every day, but yes, it happens often enough.”

“I have to say, I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around it,” said the Master as yet another groan leaked out of his mouth.

“Still, wouldn’t you say things have worked out rather well in the end?”

“...”

Rather well, he said.

How should the Master respond to that? When looking at the outcome only, then yes, they certainly have produced the best possible outcome. The Master acquired everything he wanted, after all. However...

‘The issue is with how we got here.’

Even now, the Master couldn’t look Kang Jin-Ho in the eye. Doing so immediately made him remember Knight Yankova’s face.

The Master was too agitated to realize this back during the meeting. However, leaving the grand hall gave his blood a chance to stop rushing to his head and calm down, which in turn, made him subconsciously recall the shocked face of the dead man.

‘Yankova shouldn’t have died like that.’

After all, wasn’t he a Knight? A top martial artist representing his nation?

Considering the value of his knowledge, all the effort he had put in to reach this position, and countless other things that made him worthy of the Knight title, Yankova shouldn't have died so ignobly.

Definitely not!

“You seem to have a lot on your mind?” Kang Jin-Ho asked while putting the coffee cup down and glancing at the Master.

The Master sighed deeply. “Did you really have to kill that Knight?”

“No. I didn’t have to.”

“Then, why...?”

“Because it was the surest method available.”

“...!”

Kang Jin-Ho mouthed a fresh cigarette, prompting Lee Hyeon-Su to quickly light it up with his lighter.

“Fuu-woo...”

Kang Jin-Ho briefly exhaled the unhealthy smoke while leaning against the couch.

“Sure, there always are multiple alternatives.”

“Does that mean, despite knowing another way to avoid bloodshed, you still...”

“Why?”

“...?”

Kang Jin-Ho relaxedly asked, obviously unperturbed by the question. “Why should we avoid it?”

“...!”

“Isn’t this what you wanted?”

The Master subtly bit his lip.

Of course he predicted that someone would die today. After all, he was the one who deliberately did not stop the Knights even as he tightened the noose around them. His aim had always been to make one of the Knights spring up as the unofficial leader and crush that individual!

It was just that... He didn’t expect the method of crushing would be like this.

“Or...” Kang Jin-Ho stared unblinkingly at the Master. “Maybe you wanted me to wait a little longer? Until they yanked out their swords and pounced on you? Would that have made you feel a little less guilty about killing them?”

His words morphed into daggers that mercilessly stabbed the Master’s heart.

The Master silently shuddered, unable to say or do anything.

“From what I know...” Kang Jin-Ho muttered casually, but his voice still paralyzed the Master. “There is no such thing as someone only having authority. Because an excessive show of strength will inevitably give birth to opposition. And you can only deal with such opposition in one of two ways.”

Kang Jin-Ho lightly tapped on the coffee table.

“Either you utterly crush them through power or rule over them through terror.”

The Master squeezed his eyes shut.

Even he knew that was the best way to handle this situation. But he couldn’t put his money where his mouth was because he was a coward.

“My apologies,” the Master deeply bowed. “I know this was something I should have done. But I couldn't do it. Instead of blaming my weak strength, I kept delaying the inevitable and failed to steel my resolve. And I ended up blaming you. I hope you can forgive me.”

“No need to apologize,” Kang Jin-Ho smirked. “After all, this was always the plan, anyway.”

Clap!

Lee Hyeon-Su loudly clapped his hands to draw attention to himself, then smiled brightly. “If you don’t mind, we should move on from this heavy subject and talk about the next item on our agenda.”

It was obvious he wanted to stop the situation from spiraling toward an undesirable destination.

The Master cocked an eyebrow. “Next item?”

“Yes. We should start preparing countermeasures.”

“Counter... measures?” The Master couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion.

What did Lee Hyeon-Su mean by that? Why would they prepare countermeasures? Wasn't the opposition put down for good now?

“Master, sir. Do you believe the Knights will start behaving themselves from now on?”

“Hang on a minute, fella. Are you suggesting they’ll still try to oppose us?”

“Of course.”

“How? When they wouldn’t dare go against the Assembly Master’s wishes?”

“On the contrary, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with a firm head shake. “Giving up what is yours is never going to be easy. For now, they will back off, knowing their strength is insufficient to achieve their goals. And fear will play a large role in it, too.

“However, the thing about fear is that it gets diluted over time. Give those Knights a little more time, and their fear will be replaced by the thoughts of how to secure benefits for themselves.”

“Even after suffering through that humiliation? Even after witnessing the beheading of their colleague right before their nose?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t help but sigh quietly. He frowned while scratching his head. “Although I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this...”

The cramped smile on his face sufficiently conveyed how awkward he felt.

“I can’t help but wonder how you’ve been leading the Round Table until now, sir. No, wait. In a way, you could say you are a remarkable individual for lasting this long.”

The Master frowned slightly. “Mm? What are you talking about?”

“Sir, you are too blind to how people operate.”

The Master was left flabbergasted by Lee Hyeon-Su’s firm, unapologetic evaluation.

“Humans can only use themselves as yardsticks to evaluate others and predict their actions. Hence, the saying about how a pig can only see other pigs.

“Master, I'm sure you've never let yourself be swayed by temptation. And you probably believe that other people must be at least half as rational as you. Unfortunately, humans in reality are not as rational, never mind moral or upstanding, as you.”

“...Are you trying to imply that I’m naive?”

“If you want to get technical, then yes. You are.”

The Master’s jaw fell ever so slightly and refused to close again.

‘Naive? Me?’

He heard people call him many things and by many names, but naive? He could swear that today was the first time hearing that about himself. Besides, how could the Master of the Round Table be seen as naive? That simply did not make any sense.

“Master, you have this tendency to greatly underestimate humanity’s capacity for greed. The thing about greed is that it has the power to paralyze a person’s rational mind. Once it’s gripped you, you can’t think straight anymore.”

“Wait. Listen here, Mister Lee...! They are Knights of the Round Table.”

“Yes. And they are also humans,” Lee Hyeon-Su replied unwaveringly. “If you don’t believe me, just sit back and watch them, sir. The Knights will never back down from this.”

“Are you saying they’ll target Assembly Master?”

“...No, sir. If they have any modicum of common sense, they won't do something that brainless. They must've surely sensed Assembly Master's terrifying strength by now. A little child who cried fearfully at the sight of a tiger in a zoo will talk proudly about seeing the predator after a short while. That doesn't mean the child would think about fighting a tiger, though.”

Lee Hyeon-Su was stating something obvious, but what he said also sounded strange.

If the Knights wanted to rebel, they would have no choice but to deal with Kang Jin-Ho. This whole event was only possible thanks to his involvement, after all!

The Master curiously asked, “Let’s say they’ll try something, then. But what can they do?”

“Actually, there are plenty of ways. In fact, I'd say they are spoiled for choice. Since Knights can utilize the power of their respective nations, they might pressure us diplomatically from the surface world. They can even disobey your orders by going home in self-imposed exile. But the most realistic method will be...”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned brightly.

“Withdrawing from the Round Table altogether, sir.”

The Master shook his head. “That’s impossible. They are Knights, Mister Lee. And the position of a Knight is bestowed upon them by this organization.”

“Sir, not everyone prioritizes the Round Table like you. Please do not forget that these Knights have firm control over their respective nations. They only care about their position because the benefits of being a Knight of the Round Table are quite considerable. However, when their benefits dry up, they will see no reason to keep obsessing over their position of a Knight.”

“...!”

The Master slowly licked his dried lips. Strange feelings kept washing over him.

Talking to Lee Hyeon-Su made him feel like an idiot for some reason.

Although the Master had no thoughts of boasting about it, people had evaluated him as a wise and crafty man. And he never once thought that his wisdom wasn’t as good as some people’s.

However, Lee Hyeon-Su was...

‘There’s darkness in him.’

Lee Hyeon-Su seemed shockingly cynical in the Master's view.

He knew about human nature better than anyone. The impression he gave off was that of a man who had witnessed the deepest, darkest depths of human depravity the likes of which the Master had yet to see despite being someone considerably older.

“That much can be considered gentlemanly, though,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while casually shrugging. “If they keep their opposition to such levels, then I'll personally thank them later, but... I'm pretty sure things will escalate way beyond that.”

“What will you do, then?”

“We've already cast our fishing line with a juicy bait dangling from its tip. So, we now wait, sir. We wait until they take the bait.”

“Huh...!”

The Master thought the rebellion had ended with that meeting. But it had only just begun? While making a stiff and unhappy face, he turned his attention to Wiggins next.

Wiggins chuckled wryly. “Don’t look at me like that, Master.”

“Didn’t you say Mister Lee is your disciple?”

“Yes, I did. Back then, he had this charming naive side to him, but now? What can I do when he's progressively turning into this jaded cynic?”

Wiggins sighed deeply.

Back when they first met, Lee Hyeon-Su undoubtedly was a greenhorn lacking in experience. That didn't mean he was a useless dummy, however.

It was just that he lacked experience in mobilizing a powerful united faction, like the Martial Assembly, to oppose another faction from a foreign nation. That was all.

After hoovering up every morsel of knowledge Wiggins had to offer, Lee Hyeon-Su now knew how to modify and expertly employ tactics he used in South Korea on the other side of the world.

‘In things like this, Mister Lee can be one hell of a monster.’

And those things were driving his victims to a corner and beating them to a pulp without allowing them a moment’s respite or ability to resist.

In fact, he’d deliberately leave a small gap open so that his victims could attempt to escape. And then, he’d plunge them even deeper into pits of despair afterward!

No one could surpass Lee Hyeon-Su in such things.

The Master frowned. “Do we have to go that far...?”

“Rest assured, Master,” Lee Hyeon-Su smirked while mouthing a cigarette himself. “I won’t take long before presenting you with the Round Table completely under your control. Please be patient for a little bit longer, sir.”

He grinned confidently before pulling out his lighter. However, he had to stop when the Master grandly sighed.

“Mister Lee, this is a no-smoking area.”

“...?” Lee Hyeon-Su sneakily glanced to his side. Even though Kang Jin-Ho was smoking away without care?

“Put it down, please,” said the Master.

“...Of course, sir.”

This was the Master's way of revenge, however trivial it might seem.