Descent of the Demon Master

'By the way… What am I even doing here?'

Nobuo gradually became aware of where he was. And that happened to be a boat operated by the Korean Martial Assembly! Which was teeming with the Assembly's martial artists!

'Who!? Who said that Korean martial artists are weak?!'

Everything Nobuo heard before the start of the expedition, plus his prior knowledge of the Korean martial artists, had to be a crock of sh*t. If not, the ones saying the Koreans were weak probably didn't know what they were talking about!

Why would Nobuo think this way, though? Simple. Not a single martial artist he could see on this boat looked like a pushover!

'This is so weird. Things weren't like this back then, so how?'

Nobuo was fairly knowledgeable about South Korea. He knew what the overall standard of the Martial Assembly was like as he had several opportunities to interact with the Assembly's martial artists from a young age.

But these people were substantially different from the Assembly's martial artists Nobuo was familiar with. Their level of martial prowess was one thing, but what was more notable was the air they exuded.

'I can't even breathe properly!'

The killing intent these people oozed was thick and dense. It was choking the life out of Nobuo! He finally understood what the killing intent sharp enough to cut flesh felt like.

All the auras from the surroundings were crushing down on Nobuo, but the problem with this situation was that… None of these people were doing this deliberately. They weren't even trying to suppress Nobuo!

'I mean, look at them!'

Not a single Korean martial artist was paying attention to Nobuo. And that included the duo that brought Nobuo onto this boat, Wiggins and Kang Jin-Ho! They had completely turned their attention off as soon as they stepped foot in here.

With them like that, it was no wonder Nobuo was being roundly ignored right now. Initially, some Koreans did show hints of interest in the presence of an unfamiliar face, but that didn't last long. Their expressions morphed into one of understanding almost instantly.

It seemed Kang Jin-Ho and Wiggins bringing Nobuo on board was the best guarantor of the latter's identity!

'E-even then, isn't this a bit too much of neglect play?'

Nobuo could barely breathe at this choking level of killing intent emitted by everyone. More pertinently, though… Why were these people emitting so much killing intent, anyway?! When they weren't even fighting anyone?!

Nobuo never knew people like this existed in the Martial Assembly until today!

“Mister Nobuo?”

That was when someone called out to Nobuo from behind. Nobuo reacted by flinching nastily and hurriedly turning his head to look. The fact that someone spoke fluent Japanese really took him by surprise.

He hurriedly replied, “Y-yes? I'm Nobuo!”

“Ah, so you can speak Korean.”

“Y-yes, I can,” said Nobuo. He stared at the man approaching him and blinked his eyes several times. What was this shockingly disharmonious impression?

This feeling surprised Nobuo even more. Why was that, though?

The man coming closer should be the “normal” person in any other setting. And all these killing-intent-emitting martial artists would've been the weird nutcases instead.

However, like how a two-eyed person would be treated as a mutant in a village of three-eyed people, the presence of a normal looking man in the company of these martial artists greatly amplified the feeling of disharmony.

The man introduced himself. “I'm Lee Hyeon-Su. I run the Martial Assembly's general management department.”

“Oh, uh… I'm Nobuo, sir. Nobuo Takeshi.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you,” Lee Hyeon-Su smiled and tried to explain. “I'm sure you're flustered and alarmed, but I assure you, there is nothing to worry about.”

“Oh…”

“I know that these punks emit some disgusting auras, but trust me, they don't amount to much.”

“…” Nobuo Takeshi didn't respond and smartly clamped his mouth shut.

'This dude… Does he have a death wish or something?'

Nobuo Takeshi estimated that Lee Hyeon-Su definitely was… not very strong. Of course, one shouldn't judge a martial artist by their cover or the aura they exuded, but it was still possible to estimate their strength to some degree using those metrics.

Lee Hyeon-Su did not exude any air of being a top-tier expert. So, for him to openly call all these scary dudes nobodies to their faces…

Sure enough, subtly sharp glares stabbed into Nobuo Takeshi and Lee Hyeon-Su from several directions.

Lee Hyeon-Su seemed to have noticed the glares because he suddenly glared right back and growled threateningly. “What!”

His burning glare instantly turned the sharp gazes of the martial artists docile.

“...It's nothing, sir.”

“Sir, it's not like we removed our mouths or noses, you know? No need to glare like that.”

“You're right as usual, Chief Lee.”

The martial artists mumbled some nonsense while sneakily averting their gazes away. And their reactions helped Nobuo Takeshi finally assess the situation.

'What the hell. This normal looking dude is actually a rabid lunatic!'

It wasn't the case of these martial artists being nobodies, but Lee Hyeon-Su was the extraordinary son of a b*tch instead! Nobuo Takeshi was instantly unnerved by the possibility of his head going flying with just one wrong thing uttered in front of this guy.

“As you can see, these punks are nothing much. So, you don't have to get so nervous around… Huh? You seem even more tense, Mister Nobuo?”

“N-no, sir! I'm totally fine!”

Lee Hyeon-Su furrowed his brow slightly at Nobuo Takeshi's stiff response. However, he soon smiled gently. “You don't have to get nervous around me. After all, you are the Martial Assembly's benefactor.”

“B-benefactor, you say?”

“Yes, you are. Thanks to you, we were able to minimize our losses greatly. It wouldn't be strange for everyone here, including myself, to express our gratitude by planting our heads on the floor and kowtowing to you.” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled, then pointed at the trio of people at the bow of the boat with his eyes. “Except for those three, of course.”

“…” Nobuo Takeshi didn't say anything and just stared at the trio.

Vator and his massive physique initially stole all of Nobuo Takeshi's attention away, but his gaze eventually drifted away to zero in on Kang Jin-Ho's back.

'I guess… He's a bit slimmer than average?'

It was hard to sense any sort of incredible power from Kang Jin-Ho's back. But Nobuo Takeshi had already witnessed Kang Jin-Ho's immense strength from a close vantage point. That was why Kang Jin-Ho seemed so much more gigantic than even Vator to Nobuo Takeshi's eyes.

Nobuo Takeshi muttered quietly, “I haven't done anything too impressive, you know…”

“Mister Nobuo,” Lee Hyeon-Su smirked smoothly. “You aren't supposed to evaluate your own handiwork. Let others do that. More specifically, people who benefited from your actions. As a man who falls under that category, let me assure you that what you did is worth its weight in gold, Mister Nobuo. It's verging on being heroic.”

“B-but, I…” Nobuo Takeshi hurriedly waved his hands in a fluster. “I didn't do anything that impressive. Really! And, uh, and I didn't do it out of such noble intentions. You could say it was a bit more like, uh, pathetic…”

“No. Not true,” Lee Hyeon-Su resolutely shook his head. “Intentions aren't important when evaluating the actions of someone. You only need to look at the end results.”

“B-but, uh…”

“It's impossible for humans to know about the true intentions of their fellow humans, Mister Nobuo. We can certainly guess, but how can we know the truth? Besides, people can easily lie about their intentions. That is why we'll just evaluate your actions through the end results.”

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly bowed deeply in Nobuo Takeshi's direction.

Nobuo Takeshi was taken aback and hurriedly tried to dissuade Lee Hyeon-Su. “P-please, don't do this!”

“I'm merely a head of a department and can't represent the Assembly as a whole. Even so, on behalf of everyone from the Assembly, thank you. Thanks to your bravery, we were able to save many lives.”

Lee Hyeon-Su was being serious here. Without Nobuo Takeshi's information, the best outcome for the Martial Assembly would've been meeting the Japanese by the shore. Regardless of how fast the Assembly prepared countermeasures, that was the best-case scenario.

The worst case would've been learning about the invasion only after the Japanese had infiltrated the country. That would have spread out the battlefield over the entire country.

The areas Kang Jin-Ho and other directors could cover were physically limited. And that meant losses of lives were inevitable in areas not covered by the most powerful members of the Martial Assembly. The gap in strength between the lower-ranked soldiers of the Assembly and Japan was still real and insurmountable, after all!

As that was the case, Nobuo Takeshi's decision had genuinely saved countless lives.

Lee Hyeon-Su stood up straight and nodded slightly. “This is as far as my involvement will go, Mister Nobuo. From this point onward, you should discuss the rest with the Assembly Master.”

Nobuo Takeshi blinked his eyes. “Pardon?”

“Please, this way.” Lee Hyeon-Su dragged Nobuo Takeshi toward the bow of the boat.

Nobuo Takeshi flinched but didn't resist. He knew he had no choice here.

'I don't want to, though!'

Who in their right mind would welcome the opportunity to “have a chat” with Kang Jin-Ho and his friends! Maybe if this was the first meeting, then…

'...Wait. It is technically my first meeting, isn't it!'

In any case! Nobuo had witnessed far too much tonight to brush aside his concerns with some silly remarks!

Nobuo Takeshi was a survivor of the unforgiving Japanese martial society, but Kang Jin-Ho & Co. made him look like an innocent little kindergartner in comparison!

Nobuo Takeshi faltered and shuddered nervously while Lee Hyeon-Su pulled him along.

“Kuh-hum…” Lee Hyeon-Su let out a fake cough when he got near Kang Jin-Ho. That prompted three pairs of eyes containing three different lights to turn and stare at Nobuo Takeshi.

Hiccup!

Nobuo Takeshi convulsed ever so slightly when those three pairs of gazes locked on him.

Lee Hyeon-Su raised his voice. “Assembly Master? I've brought Mister Nobuo Takeshi.”

“Mm,” Kang Jin-Ho briefly nodded, then studied Nobuo Takeshi from top to bottom.

“...G-good day to you, sir!” Nobuo Takeshi stuttered out a greeting. Such a thing didn't seem appropriate in this setting, but he had no confidence in maintaining his silence while being subjected to Kang Jin-Ho's gaze.

Kang Jin-Ho quietly asked, “How are your injuries?”

“S-sir? Oh, uh… Ah, that! I'm fine, sir!” Nobuo Takeshi stood up straight and yelled out his reply like a disciplined soldier.

He didn't expect Kang Jin-Ho to be so… soft-spoken? So much so that what Kang Jin-Ho said back on the sinking ship's bow must've come from a different person altogether.

“Wiggins.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“How are this man's injuries? I can see that his dantian is damaged.”

Wiggins replied confidently, “This young man has already received emergency treatment. I've made sure there wouldn't be any side effects even if we were to take our time healing his injuries.”

“I see. Does that mean he can cultivate again?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Good.” Kang Jin-Ho weightily nodded.

Nobuo Takeshi's heart began beating faster and faster as he listened to this discussion.

'I… I can cultivate again?'

What an unbelievable claim that was!

A damaged dantian prevented a cultivator from accumulating internal qi. This was common sense, an inalienable rule, of the martial world. Nobuo Takeshi would've started hurling insults first if some random idiot said that to him.

However, he couldn't do that to Kang Jin-Ho and Wiggins. Not because they were super-strong, though.

No, it was because, no matter how hard Nobuo Takeshi tried, not a single thing this trio had done could be explained in the realm of common sense!

These three men were insanely powerful. So powerful that they could jump onto a ship full of invaders without a care in the world and utterly destroy the place. In that case, what good was common sense?!

Restoring Nobuo Takeshi's dantian might be a cakewalk for these people!

“Good to hear. It was weighing on my mind, you see?” Kang Jin-Ho nodded in satisfaction, then glanced at Nobuo Takeshi. “So… Your name is Nobuo?”

“Y-yes, sir! That is my name!”

“Good work.”

“…!” Nobuo Takeshi bit his lower lip just then.

Although Kang Jin-Ho didn't bother to add any flowery words to his praise, it still held more than enough power to shake up Nobuo Takeshi's heart.

Even someone like Nobuo Takeshi could tell Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the type to throw around empty gratitude he didn't even mean. And a man like that had acknowledged Nobuo Takeshi's contribution.

Kang Jin-Ho raised his voice again. “You performed a meritorious service for us, so you should receive a matching reward. Tell me what you want. I'll make it happen.”

Nobuo Takeshi sneaked a glance in Lee Hyeon-Su's direction when he heard that.

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned and came to Nobuo Takeshi's assistance once more. “It is as you've heard, Mister Nobuo. If you want something from us, please tell us. If it's incalculable wealth, we'll help you as much as we can. If you want a cushy post somewhere, that can also be arranged. Alternatively, you can also choose to join us. In that case, I'll do my best to help you acclimatize. Oh, and also…”

Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged his shoulders.

“You can also return to Japan if that's your wish.”

“Sorry?” Nobuo Takeshi's eyes opened wide at that unexpected option. “B-but, how? I can no longer go back home, you know?”

“Logically, yes, you can't go back to Japan. However, there are ways to make that happen. We can give you a new identity and a new life, you see? Of course, you will still have to go through a somewhat cumbersome process of altering your looks.”

Lee Hyeon-Su's grin remained on his face as he explained further.

“The martial world isn't as meticulous as you think, Mister Nobuo. If you wish to hide your identity and live an ordinary life, we can definitely assist you.”

Nobuo Takeshi's eyes powerfully quaked as he listened.