Descent of the Demon Master

Despite the Elder Knights' clear, naked hostility, Kang Jin-Ho didn't bother to respond.

The ones responding were actually the Elder Knights themselves.

“...I can’t even estimate the depths of his strength.”

“Have we ever fought an enemy of his caliber before? What do you think, Sir Bors?”

“Hmm. Our opponent this time seems stronger than the Titan of the End?”

Elder Knights couldn't take their eyes off Kang Jin-Ho as if the latter's presence alone was enough to make them nervous.

“I thought this crisis was the result of these so-called Knights' frailty, but that seems not to be the case. The enemy is incomparably powerful, indeed!”

“He emits the aura of a devil. Perhaps the Paladins from the Vatican should be summoned here, not us.”

“Hmph! What can those cretins do? Other than flee for their dear lives?”

“...Even if they do, no one will blame them as this enemy is powerful beyond their means. However, where did someone like him even…”

Elder Knights didn't bother to hide their fluster at Kang Jin-Ho's strength.

These noble warriors had defeated countless enemies until now. Whenever the Round Table fell into a state of chaos or hostile factions wishing for its destruction appeared, these Elder Knights acted as the final line of defense to drive away, crush, and slaughter all enemies.

That was all they did. They woke up at moments of great peril, defeated the enemy, and went back to slumber.

However, they could swear none of the enemies they had fought exuded this much crushing pressure as Kang Jin-Ho. They could say several groups in the past did emit a similar level of strength as this man. However, those cases had been groups combining their strength.

In terms of individual strength? There was no doubt in the Elder Knights' minds that none of their previous enemies was as powerful as this mysterious enemy!

“Not only that, but a warrior from the East? The stories of the devil’s existence in the East seem true, then. Quite literally, that’s a red dra… No, should we say that’s a black dragon?”

“It ultimately doesn’t matter either way. What matters is that that warrior is an enemy to the Round Table!”

“You’re stating the obvious.”

The tone of the Elder Knights' banter seemingly hadn't changed, but someone with a sharper sense would have noticed that a subtle hint of nervous tension had crept into their voices. ȓА₦ọΒЕṦ

Even though these Elder Knights had fought many, many enemies until now, the hint of strength Kang Jin-Ho exuded still made them nervous. However, these Knights weren't the only ones getting nervous right now.

Yi Myeong-Hwan shuddered in dread. “Just how…!”

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced at that reaction. “Are they that strong?”

“...I can't tell you for sure, sir. It's difficult for me to accurately estimate their strength. What's for certain is that… I can't even compare to them."

“Okay? When compared to Director Wiggins or Sir Vator?”

“Well, mm…” Yi Myeong-Hwan slowly shook his head. “I also can’t give you a firm answer since the two Directors and those weird Knights are all so much stronger than me.”

Lee Hyeon-Su subtly chewed on his lip. What he heard just now suggested that each of those Knights was strong enough to rival Vator. “Unable to accurately assess” could be interpreted as “similar,” after all!

Besides, the situation wouldn’t get any better even if those Knights were weaker than Vator.

‘This is on the level of a calamity!’

Vator was a peerless warrior. Although his prestige had lost some of its luster lately after confronting transcendental beings like the Crimson King, only a fool would forget that Vator had always been a powerful individual. And cultivating in demonic arts had doubled his strength.

Vator alone should be strong enough to completely destroy the Martial Assembly without its directors present. Even with every single Demon Flame throwing themselves at the big man, Lee Hyeon-Su still didn't feel confident about stopping Vator's rampage.

But now, the Round Table had eleven such Vators?

‘Gimme a freaking break…!’

Lee Hyeon-Su’s honest impression while invading the Round Table had been ‘Why is this easier than I thought?’

Despite what the Round Table’s reputation suggested, their defenses had been far too easy to break through. As if to prove Lee Hyeon-Su’s impression wasn’t misplaced, the Assembly’s side had not lost a single person while forcing their way through to this hall.

Of course, there was a good-enough reason for this. The Round Table obviously had not expected the Martial Assembly's invasion, so their defenses reflected that mindset. Besides, Wiggins stated that the Round Table couldn't deploy forces from other nations until the new Master was selected. That left only the British forces to fight back against the Assembly's invasion.

Obviously, the situation would’ve worked out vastly differently had those forces also gotten involved in the defenses.

Even then, those excuses didn't absolve the Round Table's defenders. Even if the improvement in the Martial Assembly's strength was beyond Lee Hyeon-Su's expectations, this disgraceful showing made him question whether the Round Table's renown was justified or not.

That was why Lee Hyeon-Su had developed a slight hint of contempt in his view of the Round Table… Only for such sentiments to get cleanly wiped out of his mind after clapping his bulging eyes on the group of Elder Knights!

‘Eleven Vator-like warriors?’

What an inconceivably powerful combat force that was! Merely thinking about it sent dreadful chills down Lee Hyeon-Su’s spine. Worse still…!

“...Seriously? Magic-induced sleep?”

What kind of a fantasy-like concept was that?!

‘No, no. Hang on a sec…!’

Lee Hyeon-Su quickly remembered that he shouldn’t be dismayed by such concepts. After all, people who leaped across time to reach the modern era could be found walking around freely within the martial world, anyway. For instance, wasn’t Kang Jin-Ho a returner from the past?

When objectively viewed, Kang Jin-Ho’s existence should be even more absurd than that of ancient Knights.

Imagine a tale about the leader of the ancient demon cult responsible for ruling over Zhongyuan transmigrating to the modern era to revive the Korean Martial Assembly and the fallen demon cult! A report of a dragon appearing in reality to rampage around would be easier to swallow than this absurd tale for folks from other countries.

Lee Hyeon-Su muttered quietly. “To think that… I’d get to understand what Japan and China must’ve felt.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan tilted his head. “I’m sorry?”

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly wanted to apologize to the Chinese and Japanese after realizing that his current flabbergast must be similar to what those people must've felt.

Even after convincing himself, though… This weird feeling still didn't want to let Lee Hyeon-Su go.

‘Just how is this absurd magic supposed to work?’

Similar to how the Westerners had trouble understanding Eastern martial arts, Lee Hyeon-Su also could not make heads nor tails of this magic. He might have no problem accepting that magic could produce a ball of flames or shoot bolts of lightning. The East's martial artists were just as guilty of producing a physically improbable phenomenon as the Western martial artists, after all!

But putting people to slumber for who knows how long?

Didn't that utterly trample on reality's rules? To think magic could be used to put powerful experts from the ancient past to sleep while halting their aging process so that they could be woken up whenever a crisis was afoot! Even if it was magic, wasn't this a bit too…

Yi Myeong-Hwan muttered grimly. “They are quite literally the Guardians of the Round Table, no?”

“Mm…!” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded in agreement. That observation was right on the money. The guardians meant to protect the Round Table for all eternity!

“Even so, uh…”

“Mm?” Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at Yi Myeong-Hwan.

“I still can’t picture our Assembly Master losing to them.”

“...Oh. You too?”

Yi Myeong-Hwan nodded, his expression filled to the brim with confidence. It was unknown where he got all that confidence from, though! “Chief Lee, no matter how powerful those Knights are, they will never win against our Assembly Master.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded, then decided not to elaborate.

The other side must be thinking the same thing as Yi Myeong-Hwan right about now. They probably acknowledged Kang Jin-Ho’s strength but believed that it’d still be impossible for him to overcome the combined might of the Elder Knights.

Yi Myeong-Hwan rubbed his chin. “Besides all that. I have to say…”

“Mm?” Lee Hyeon-Su cocked an eyebrow.

“Aren’t those punks acting a little too conceited and tough while surrounding one dude?”

“…”

For the first time in their interaction, Lee Hyeon-Su found himself in extreme agreement with Yi Myeong-Hwan’s assertion.

Since this conversation was in Korean, the Elder Knights would've obviously not understood a single word. Even then, it seemed they were also conscious of ganging up on one person with eleven of them.

“This is troublesome, is it not?”

“What is, Sir Degore?”

“Are we supposed to fight that man? One lone enemy?”

“…!”

None of the Elder Knights responded to Degore’s question. Some of them even seemed flustered by that notion. Their reaction shouldn’t be surprising, though, considering they had never worked together to defeat one individual before!

A small number of enemies would never be strong enough to threaten the Round Table; the Elder Knights always had to fight against enemy forces consisting of large armies that boasted several strong warriors in their ranks. But fighting against one lone expert was something they had never experienced before.

They were Knights of honor and pride. A group fighting against one man would be too dishonorable for them, in other words!

“Hmm. It seems our enemy has come with allies? Aren’t they waiting at the back?”

“Indeed. But they don’t seem interested in joining the battle.”

“Mm…!”

That was when Leveaux suddenly yelled in unhappiness. “What are you all doing, sirs! That man is an enemy who dared to intrude upon the sanctity of the Round Table! You must execute him immediately!”

One of the Elder Knights glanced at Leveaux and grunted in displeasure. “I’d advise you to keep your mouth shut, oh young and inexperienced Master.”

“But!”

“Or we’ll cut your head off instead!”

“…!” Leveaux hurriedly clamped his mouth shut. He couldn't think of anything to say after realizing how emotionless and icy the Elder Knight sounded just now!

The Elder Knight continued to admonish Leveaux. “We respect the Master’s position, but our duty is not to obey the Master’s commands. Do you understand? Since time immemorial, the Round Table treated its Knights as equals. We were equals with your predecessors, so why should we treat you any differently?”

The humiliation of being belittled left Leveaux shuddering in indignation.

‘Just who or what are these bastards?!’

Leveaux didn't know much about the Elder Knights, other than their existence and intended purposes. Crucially, no one taught him how to utilize these ancient Knights properly. Then again, how could he know? When he didn't inherit the Master position from his predecessor in the “correct” manner?

At least one thing was certain at this point. These Elder Knights were not exactly what Leveaux expected. He believed he’d be acquiring powerful weapons, but the truth was… These Elder Knights were basically ego swords that acted on their own whims!

‘Dammit!’

Leveaux gritted his teeth. Regardless of what he felt, though…

At least the situation for him had improved. If the Elder Knights weren't here to stop Kang Jin-Ho, the only outcome available for Leveaux would've been death. Since he now enjoyed the possibility of escaping that fate, wasn't this situation already so much better than before?

It was just that, well…

“Now, step aside, oh young and inexperienced Master. We shall fulfill our duty and slaughter the enemy. However, you have no right to interfere.”

Leveaux stepped back while chewing on his lips. Meanwhile, the Elder Knight at the front of the pack addressed Kang Jin-Ho.

“Hear ye, oh the powerful invader from the East. We strongly recommend that you lay down your weapons and surrender. We give you our word that you shall be spared if you do so. If you don't comply… We will have no choice but to grant you a swift death. Even if doing so will dishonor us as proud Knights of the Round Table!”

Another Elder Knight took over the baton and addressed Kang Jin-Ho next. “Taking the life of a powerful warrior such as yourself does not bring us joy. It is a cause for sorrow instead. We wish to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s head slowly faltered. He seemed to be pondering something, only for his lips to crack open ever so slightly.

“Kek…!”

That was a cackle.

The Elder Knights silently stared at Kang Jin-Ho after hearing his cackle that suspiciously sounded like ridicule. Their expressions below their helms must've been crumpled in rage.

“Ah, sorry about that,” Kang Jin-Ho briefly waved his hand apologetically. “I wasn’t ridiculing you. It’s just that you reminded me of some people from my past.”

While saying that, Kang Jin-Ho continued to chuckle. Although the era had changed, and these Knights were from the other side of the world, they still emitted the familiar scent of the orthodox faction martial artists. Not just any, but from either Buddhist or Taoist-related sects and factions. Didn’t they also love to spew nonsense like these people?

Indeed, those orthodox sect fools constantly harped on and on about how humiliating it was for martial artists to gang up on one person, but for the sake of the greater good, they would willingly take on the shame. Since that was their go-to justification every single time, why couldn’t they just cut out the preamble, to begin with? That ganging up was humiliating and whatever?

“Things like honor and whatnot are completely useless,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

If one's honor could be set aside in extreme situations, that would not be a real honor. No, it would be nothing more than a decoration to make oneself look good to others. Wouldn't one's beliefs and determination only mean something if they were adhered to regardless of the situation?

Of course, Kang Jin-Ho would still mock and ridicule those believing in such a thing, but still!

“Stop wasting time yapping away like that and come at me already,” said Kang Jin-Ho. “I’ll make you regret waking up today.”

“You… How dare you, bastard!”

The Elder Knights unleashed their rage. However, Kang Jin-Ho faintly smirked even as their hostility rained down on him.

It felt like something hidden deep inside his chest began burning fiercely. Kang Jin-Ho tightly gripped the Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne as his fervor for battle reawakened.

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