Descent of the Demon Master

"Going through Tianjin is unfeasible, my liege."

Elders spoke in heated voices.

"Tianjin's ports are closest to our current location, but we must pass through Yantai and Dalian if we do so. It is far too risky."[1]

Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded. "What's our alternative, then?"

"We were thinking of heading to Qingdao, my liege. Although we must travel some distance on land, it seems the most realistic solution."

Kang Jin-Ho nodded again, his eyes studying the map. In terms of safety, going through the Southern coast seemed a better option than the Eastern coast. However, this option would waste too much time. And far too many variables could rear their heads during the transit on land. They needed to find the closest port that could also offer a safe passage out of the country.

"Qingdao, is it..."

Before Kang Jin-Ho could say something else, a dissenting voice rose up among the elders. "I oppose Qingdao, my liege! Yancheng should be a better alternative."

"Your reason is?"

"There are many small islands near Qingdao, my liege. However, those islands cannot be used as an assembly location or a rest stop. Many islands are too small for that purpose, and the big ones are occupied by the navy. And that extends the Chinese territorial waters by a larger margin, sire. In that case, it's more realistic to use Yancheng as it has no islands, and the distance to the international water is shorter."

"Hmm..." Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. He didn't have much to add to this discussion.

Even Lee Hyeon-Su had left the decision of the coast they'd use to leave China to the demon cult elders. As for the cargo ship Lee Hyeon-Su had found, it was currently traveling across the Yellow Sea. It'd change the heading once they had decided on the port of departure.

It all now depended on the elders to find the right port.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Chang Min. "Chang Min?"

"Yes, my liege!"

"What do you think?"

"I'd like to avoid any locations with islands, my liege. What makes Qingdao unsuitable is that there's an island about fifty kilometers away from the coastline. Realistically speaking, the cult believers swimming that far out and then swimming another twenty kilometers to reach international waters is next to impossible. Which means our ship must come in closer, but…"

"But, we have the navy to worry about?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Then it'll be unfeasible."

The two variables they absolutely had to avoid during this operation were the Chinese army and Public Security.

The standing army was a formidable, nay, scary foe. To a handful of top experts, an army consisting of normal soldiers might be no different to a group of scarecrows. However, to a large group, no other opponent would be scarier than an army possessing weaponry capable of creating wide-area kill zones over a long distance.

Most average martial artists wouldn't even survive such an onslaught, after all! Worse still, these demonic cultivators would get wiped out without even thinking about offering any form of counterattack.

There was a reason why martial artists had to blend into the streets of the night. If the army and martial artists faced each other over a distance in an open terrain, the question the martial artists should ask wouldn't be 'How do we fight?' but 'How do we flee?'

In that sense, Kang Jin-Ho wanted to avoid going through locations with a heavy army presence. Or, in this case, the navy.

Kang Jin-Ho asked again, "What are the disadvantages of heading to Yancheng?"

"The trip on land will be extended even further, my liege," said Chang Min, his expression stiff. "Even if our numbers have not breached ten thousand, this group is still quite large. Someone is bound to notice such a large group moving on land, sire. Even if we rent buses, we'd need at least over a hundred of them."

'Over a hundred buses...'

Kang Jin-Ho massaged his face. That number, one hundred, was probably arrived at after not considering human rights. In that calculation, at least sixty people would've been crammed inside a bus. But the passenger limit for a bus should be around forty-four. Cramming sixty people in a bus like that would be no different than packing sardines in a tin can.

Even then, they still needed over a hundred buses...

"Will it be a problem?" Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered.

Chang Min tilted his head. "My liege? What problem are you referring to?"

"I was wondering about the kinds of problems renting a hundred buses might pose."

"Mm…" Chang Min glanced at the other elders as if it was a bit troublesome to reply. Others here were more knowledgeable about worldly affairs than he was, so Chang Min didn't see a need to answer every question fielded in his way.

The elder who answered Kang Jin-Ho this time was Li Xiaoyu. "It might not be a big problem, my liege."

"Hmm?"

"Actually, uh... What was the name of that Korean island...?"

"Mm? Do you mean Jeju Island?"

"Ah, yes, my liege. It's not uncommon to see a tourist group consisting of three thousand people or more heading to Jeju on a cruise. If we disguise the buses as a tourist group, we might not encounter any serious issues."

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. "Would that be really okay?"

"Well, we might run into a couple of minor issues along the way, but... Well-timed greasing of a few palms should do the trick, my liege."

"I see. Then, what else?"

Chang Min sighed deeply. "We've tried our best to stay under the radar, but it's safe to assume that our enemies have already noticed our movements. Those bastards might disparage and persecute demonic cultivators on a daily basis, but we should never forget that they also go batsh*t crazy whenever demonic cultivators gather in a group."

Kang Jin-Ho surreptitiously thought that a grandpa over 180 years old's choice of vocabulary was somewhat modern-sounding. Then again, Chang Min was an 'early adopter' of things, so it shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"In conclusion?" Kang Jin-Ho asked while glancing at everyone in the office. However, no one dared to open their mouths.

While the elders were cautiously studying Kang Jin-Ho's moods in silence, Vator grunted loudly and offered his concluding thoughts. "Master, the other side won't happily sit back and wait for us even if we set up camp here. The Crimson King is known to be somewhat impatient, after all."

"Hmm..." Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded.

"In that case, it's better to get a move on as soon as possible whether we sink or swim. If all else fails, it'd be wiser to push back the Public Security or whoever is standing in our way and just jump into the ocean."

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. "People wouldn't normally call that a wise move, Vator."

Vator remained unyielding in his stance. "Sometimes, trying to respond perfectly to all potential situations can worsen your chances instead. I'm sure you already know the truth, don't you? No matter how much you prepare, no preparation can be foolproof and perfect."

"Yes, that's true..."

"In that case, it might be better to forget about preparations and whatever and charge straight at the problem. By doing so, we will at least earn one thing."

"Is that right? What will we earn?"

"Time, of course." Vator snapped his fingers. The loud ‘Snap!’ prompted everyone to focus their attention on the big man. "Time is the most valuable thing for us. And we can't afford to waste any of it. Instead of wasting that precious time running mouths off like this, it's more beneficial to go out there to find as many buses as possible, scoop up the demonic cultivators with excavators or something, and dump them in those buses, then drop them into the Yellow Sea. At least that's what I think."

Vator's idea sure was crude, but...

"You have a point," Kang Jin-Ho nodded while agreeing with Vator's opinion.

Moving these many people obviously was a massive undertaking. That was why Kang Jin-Ho wanted to be as cautious as possible. The past version of himself wouldn't even have bothered with preparations, though. It wasn't his job to move the believers, after all!

Back in ancient Zhongyuan, Azure Demon was in charge of such activities, while in modern-era South Korea, Bang Jin-Hun and Lee Hyeon-Su would have dealt with them.

'And my problem right now is that I can't do that.'

The implication of Kang Jin-Ho personally getting involved like this was that... He didn't trust the elders, including Chang Min, to do a good job here. As a matter of fact, it was safe to say his trust in them was close to non-existent.

It wasn't because they were incompetent, though. It was just that Kang Jin-Ho usually took his time observing the abilities of people he worked with. But he didn't have that luxury this time. As such, he couldn't entrust this operation to them. Since that was the case...

"Vator?"

"I'm listening, master."

"I'm giving you the command of this operation," said Kang Jin-Ho with a straight face. "Bring me the best result you can create."

"What's my time frame?"

"According to you, the sooner the better."

"Hmm. Master…" Vator suddenly smirked deeply. "I'm glad you trust me, but I'm the type who only cares about the results. The process of getting there doesn't matter to me."

"Got it. I'm still leaving you in charge."

"Very good!" Vator grinned while looking back at the rest of the elders. "Well, then! Let's get started, my dear demon cult colleagues. Let's get started on this entertaining mass migration operation that also happens to be unprecedented in the history of the demon cult!"

Elders were instantly thrown into pits of worry after noticing the sinister smirk on Vator's face.

***

"...Is this supposed to be our ride?"

"Yeah."

Zhu Gang tilted his head while staring at the 'thing' right before his eyes. "Really? This is our ride?"

The elder tutted. "Yeah, that's what I said."

This wasn't the issue with language comprehension but more like the problem with language itself. Zhu Gang thought that... No, not just in his thoughts but even in the universally accepted common sense, one wouldn't call the machinery before his eyes as a 'ride'.

Of course, if a person was riding in the front, this machine indeed qualified as a ride. However, what about its spacious, nay, commodious accommodation at the back, though? Rather than 'ride', it'd be more correct to say one was being 'loaded' into it.

'No, hang on. Since I'll be getting in there on my own, how am I supposed to describe this? I'm loading myself?'

Even though Zhu Gang could confidently say he didn't lack proficiency in language, finding the right words to describe this bizarre situation was still beyond him.

However, Zhu Gang was a human being. One of the great things separating humans from animals was that when they encountered a problem they couldn't solve on their own or an event incomprehensible through their knowledge or logic, they could seek assistance from other human beings.

"Excuse me...?" Zhu Gang cautiously asked.

"What is it?"

"Isn't that a truck?"

"Yeah, it is."

"And that big thing at the back is a shipping container, yes?"

"Yeah, it sure is. Your eyes were working, then."

"But, uh, I'm supposed to ride in that thing?"

"You sure are."

"But I'm a human, though?"

The elder humoring Zhu Gang's questions shook his head. "No, you're not. You're a demonic cultivator."

"..."

"You're right, humans shouldn't be ferried inside a shipping container. It's not like the trip will last one or two hours. And being packed inside a tight space with no light like sardines would be pretty traumatic for regular people."

"Well, sure. So you do know..."

The elder tutted back at Zhu Gang. "However, you're a subordinate of the proud and noble demon emperor and a believer of the demon cult that has survived for over a thousand years. This kind of experience shouldn't leave you with long-lasting mental trauma."

"..."

Weren't demonic cultivators human beings, too?

Zhu Gang didn't expect human rights organizations to come to his aid during his time on this Earth. And thanks to the unique quirks of the country called China, he never considered human rights to be all that important, either.

But, at this moment in time, at least... Zhu Gang suddenly gained an epiphany on what human rights were. And those were factors that made humans... humans!

The moment humans were denigrated as mere luggage stuck inside a shipping container, humans would lose respect toward human life itself.

Even if it was a dog-eat-dog world, humans should never lose that respect. That would be wrong, now wouldn't it!

Zhu Gang was oh-so tempted to convert the cries of the God-given rights burning powerfully in his heart into his own voice, but that temptation was easily squashed by something that could override everything.

That something cocked his eyebrow. "Is there a problem here?"

"No, sir. No problem."

Indeed, there was no problem. Definitely not! Even if there were, it no longer mattered!

The existing problem vanished without a trace, not because Zhu Gang was submitting to the elder's authority. No, it was because he could see the broad chest of someone right before his nose!

Zhu Gang was not a short man. But when he turned his head, he was greeted by the sight of a man's chest. Something like that could only happen in a dream. Or maybe that someone was standing on a chair or something!

Unfortunately, the man capable of making that unrealistic scene a reality was now looking at Zhu Gang with a smirk. "So? What are you doing, young man?"

"Ah, oh, uh... I'm about to enter the truck, sir."

What choice did Zhu Gang have other than jumping inside the shipping container without saying another word?

Human rights? Those things weren't as important as one's survival, now were they? Even a three-year-old kid would know that experiencing the simulation of a whimpering salaryman's morning commute in a cramped subway inside a dark shipping container was better than complaining to Vator.

"So, have there been any issues?" Vator asked the elder.

"No, sir. It's been going well."

Vator smiled deeply at that reply. "Bus, my foot..."

They were running short on time, so who cared about renting buses or whatever? Whether it was people or luggage, they should be focusing on loading everything... No, everyone, as soon as possible, instead!

"Wrap this up in the next thirty minutes!" Vator roared.

"Yes, sir."

Vator nodded while studying the rapid loading of 'cargo' as far as his eyes could see. "Master has ordered me to do this, so... I better pull it off perfectly."

A command Kang Jin-Ho had made without too much forethought had given birth to yet another incident.

1. These are names of port cities in China. ☜

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