Descent of the Demon Master

It took immense courage to charge unhesitantly at an enemy you knew you couldn't win against. And stronger enemies would require even more courage to face them.

That was why Breunor was working up as much bravery as humanly possible right now. To be more courageous and bold than ever before in his entire life!

The big man’s legs quivered and shuddered. His heart pounded madly away.

Breunor bit down hard on his lip.

Scared? Of course he was!

People often mistakenly believed courage was the absence of fear. But Breunor disagreed. The way he saw it, not fearing a terrifying adversary was not courage but arrogance. And it was also being too dull-witted for one's own good!

True courage was acknowledging one's fears and overcoming them somehow so that one could carry out their original duties.

Breunor fully awakened all the courage slumbering within. His legs stopped shaking, and their muscles began tensing up. His bloodshot eyes glared sharply at Kang Jin-Ho.

That man no longer possessed the devilish appearance from earlier. All those eerie black flames were gone for good, leaving behind the figure of a seemingly ordinary human being.

That was because the intimidating pressure Kang Jin-Ho emitted remained the same. The visuals might have changed, but his heavy, dense, explosive aura had not.

In other words, Kang Jin-Ho had not changed. At all!

“Uwaaaaaaht!” Breunor powerfully roared before sprinting forward.

He didn’t roar to strengthen his fighting spirit. No, this was his subconscious attempt to blow away all the fear gripping his heart tightly!

He woke his senses up through that loud roar, then charged straight at Kang Jin-Ho. Breunor’s glare locked squarely on Kang Jin-Ho, only for him to grit his teeth. That was because Kang Jin-Ho… was smiling!

It wasn’t a smirk meant to belittle Breunor, though. No, Kang Jin-Ho seemed to genuinely enjoy this situation!

‘You abominable monster!’

For a split second there, Breunor thought the battle he must risk his life to win must be nothing more than a game, a moment of amusement, for Kang Jin-Ho. Indescribable humiliation quickly welled up in Breunor's chest, but it served as more fuel to strengthen his determination!

‘Fine! Smile all you want!’

Because the Elder Knights would be the ones laughing at the end of the day!

Breunor poured his mana into his shield. He wasn't naive enough to think he could stop Kang Jin-Ho this way. However, his goal wasn't to hurt his enemy but to restrict the latter's movements.

He wasn't even trying to tie Kang Jin-Ho down here. Simply by charging in, he should be able to lure Kang Jin-Ho's attack meant for someone else toward himself. That was the role of a vanguard standing at the front of the group.

“Ohhhhhh!”

Breunor's shield brimmed with a pure-white aura. That milky color was from how much he had condensed his aura until it couldn't be condensed any further. And with his shield reinforced to the max like that… Breunor slammed into Kang Jin-Ho!

However, the expected collision noise didn’t occur. Even though the shockwave from the impact should have rocked the hall!

‘What…?!’

Breunor instantly realized something was wrong. He did not pick up the sensation of hitting something. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t feel anything on the other side of his shield! Ȑ𝖆ℕȎ฿Ε𝒮

“You are no martial artist.”

A subdued whisper registered in Breunor's hearing just then. He sneakily turned his head to the side to look and discovered Kang Jin-Ho staring at him with a pair of eerily cold eyes… while standing right next to Breunor!

“…!”

Kang Jin-Ho slightly raised his Crimson Destiny. And then, with practically zero resistance… stabbed the weapon through the armor and into Breunor’s side!

Breunor's jaw fell, but no scream burst out of his mouth. What ruled over his mind at that very moment wasn't the knowledge of his side being stabbed and the resulting pain, but a question.

What was this? What was this burning sensation akin to Hell’s flames devouring his entire body?!

Breunor's jaw fell because of the pain he had never experienced before. Even his eyes rolled back in shock.

Meanwhile, Kang Jin-Ho leisurely raised his leg, then mercilessly stomped on Breunor’s knee.

CRACK!

The big Elder Knight’s knee cracked and bent the wrong way as the chilling noise rang out in the air. Kang Jin-Ho suppressed Breunor with the ease of an adult twisting a little child’s wrist, then grabbed the scruff of the big man’s throat.

“Kkeuuuuhk…!” Breunor grasped, his entire body shivering. Even then, he did not let go of his shield.

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes at this sight. This level of courage and dedication was worthy of heartfelt praise. However, one's courage was a factor in evaluating a person, not a martial artist.

These Elder Knights were not martial artists.

Breunor rushed in to delay Kang Jin-Ho. He believed in his teammates and faithfully fulfilled his role. In that sense, he was a commendable team player. However, that was where the praise stopped.

‘A martial artist shouldn’t be doing that.’

A martial artist should be ready to explore all sorts of possibilities. Even if it was not feasible, one should always have the mindset of resolving the situation on their own, regardless of what that situation was!

In that sense, these Elder Knights were not martial artists. It’d be more correct to say they were far closer to being soldiers.

No matter how strong soldiers were, though, they could never become martial artists. Even if they were stronger than Kang Jin-Ho!

...And it was up to Kang Jin-Ho to teach them why that was so.

Crack!

Kang Jin-Ho strengthened his grip, causing Breunor’s armor to crumble and dig into the big man’s throat. Blood and drool trickled out of Breunor’s wide-open mouth.

“Let him go this instant!” Gawain roared in panic and thrust his spear forward. And then… He fired a dozen-plus Vortexes containing vicious air currents at Kang Jin-Ho.

“...Not martial artists, and also idiotic.” Kang Jin-Ho muttered while raising his hand that held Breunor’s helpless figure.

“…! You, you son of a b*tccccch!” Gawain reflexively cried out in despair. That was because the dozen-plus Vortexes he had fired accurately struck Breunor instead!

The big Elder Knight's figure shook around like a ragdoll being buffeted by strong winds. Half of the impact was negated by the towering shield, but the rest slammed into Breunor's defenseless body.

“Kkurrurururuk…!” More blood gushed out of Breunor’s mouth. Despite half of his consciousness already gone, he still admirably held on to the shield that gushed out the pure aura.

Anyone with a heart should be moved by Breunor's unyielding will. However, now wasn't the good time to be impressed. Because, his unwillingness to let go of his fighting spirit had turned him into a perfect meat shield for Kang Jin-Ho!

“Do you not know what honor is, you bastard!?”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned while listening to Gawain’s frenzied rebuke. Why was this place so full of idiots yapping on and on about useless nonsense? It was always honor this and honor that!

“Okay, so…” Kang Jin-Ho grunted, then took a step forward while lifting Breunor in the air. “According to your logic…”

He took another step, then another.

“...It’s honorable for the ten of you to gang up on me? And it’s honorable for me to emulate your way of chivalry and fight back all by myself? Is that it?”

“…”

“Basically, it’s the case of whatever you feel like, isn’t it?” Kang Jin-Ho shook his head.

That statement proved that these Elder Knights couldn't even be classified as real soldiers. And they were also not martial artists. Take their strength away, and these people would be hollow shells with no substance to speak of.

“Kkeuhh…!”

Breunor’s pained moan viscerally stabbed into the Elder Knights watching from the distance.

Gawain grimaced deeply. “Everyone… We must attack!”

“What? B-but!”

“We must not hesitate even if the enemy has captured our comrade! Do you think Breunor wants that?!”

“…!”

“If we fail to produce a favorable result today… The Round Table will be destroyed!”

That stark warning set blazing infernos in the hearts of these Elder Knights.

Didn’t they already cast everything aside to guard the Round Table? Since that was the case, why would they lose to a moment of hesitation over their comrade’s fate and forsake the Round Table?

They would never do that!

Gawain roared again. “Now, attack!”

“Blast it all to Hell!” Galahad shouted while raising his bow. Not many among the Elder Knights could attack the enemy at this distance. If others were too hesitant to take a shot, it was up to Galahad to sober them all up!

‘Please forgive me, Breunor!’

Paaaaaang!

He pulled back on the bowstring before firing an arrow that should’ve been called a javelin instead!

“Fuu-huph!”

Veins bulged on Galahad’s arm as he repeatedly yanked out new arrows from his subspace to fire them with his massive bow. In the blink of an eye, dozens of arrows accurately flew toward Kang Jin-Ho… No, toward Breunor!

Everyone watching gritted their teeth. If his mind had been intact, Breunor wouldn't have had any problem defending against this volley, but not in his current state. That would be asking for a miracle!

Crack! Crunch! Stab!

Sure enough, arrows mercilessly stabbed into Breunor's figure. Some arrows struck the shield and got deflected away, but those were too few to mean anything.

Kang Jin-Ho was comparatively smaller statured than Breunor. Since that was the case, attacking Kang Jin-Ho while avoiding hitting Breunor was impossible. Maybe Galahad and others could have tried some other methods had their opponent been only moderately strong.

But against Kang Jin-Ho? Handicapping themselves would be no better than committing suicide for these Elder Knights!

That meant they had no other choice but to eliminate the meat shield. The shield named… Breunor!

Stab! Bang!

Massive arrows… No, javelins stabbed all over Breunor’s body. Despite looking like a bloodied hedgehog, however, he still remained alive and trembled weakly.

“Good,” Kang Jin-Ho grinned in satisfaction while raising Breunor higher.

This was more like it. This was how war should be fought!

On a battlefield, even those lofty fools who kept yapping on and on about honor would unhesitantly kill their comrades with a barrage of arrows if they got in the way. Indeed, people regularly threw their trusted allies away to ensure their own survival in war. That was what true battlefields looked like!

Only now did Kang Jin-Ho catch the familiar whiff wafting in the air. It was the whiff of blood. Death. Corrupted morals. And fear!

Here was the boiling pit filled with the desire to survive messily intermingling with the fear of death! And it was an intimately familiar place for Kang Jin-Ho.

After smirking softly from the reminiscence of the past, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly rushed forward, the glow in his eyes getting sharper. All the while carrying the still-breathing Breunor!

While accelerating at a scarcely believable speed, Kang Jin-Ho powerfully slapped Breunor’s back with his free hand.

PANG!

All the arrows stabbing into Breunor’s figure flew back out toward the Elder Knights’ location.

“Kuk!” Gawain gasped, then hurriedly spun his spear to deflect the incoming arrows. Even if Kang Jin-Ho was a monster, flinging arrows that way meant his attacks would be much weaker than Galahad’s strikes.

However, what pushed Gawain and the rest of the Elder Knights back in dread weren’t those arrows. No, it was the sight of bruised, tattered Breunor!

With all the arrows gone, blood ceaselessly poured out of all the grievous wounds on his body.

...And with that, he finally left the world of living for good.

Even Elder Knights would not be able to survive if they lost all the blood in their bodies. That would be impossible for any human being.

Kang Jin-Ho unhesitantly discarded Breunor’s corpse toward the Elder Knights.

“You… You son of a b*tccccch!”

“I will kill you!”

The Elder Knights roared in unbridled rage after witnessing how casually Kang Jin-Ho treated their fallen comrade.

However, Kang Jin-Ho cruelly smirked back at all the incoming insults. After all, who killed Breunor here? Was it Kang Jin-Ho? Or was it… the Elder Knights?@@novelbin@@

Then again, it was pointless to argue the semantics. Kang Jin-Ho might have intended for Breunor's demise. And the big man died at the hands of his comrades. But anyone obsessing over things like that was disqualified from standing on a battlefield!

After all, death held little value in a war zone. And there was no point in arguing about worthless things. Death was just that, death. A corpse was nothing more than a lump of dead meat.

But these Elder Knights still didn’t know that?

‘If that’s the case, I should teach them.’

...And the price of this lesson would be their lives!

Kang Jin-Ho leaped up high above the Elder Knights just as their formation broke down.