Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1017. Being Friendly (2)

The Knights scattered around the world received Besley’s summons and hurriedly returned to the Round Table.

Considering their locations, this process might sound like it’d take forever, but in reality? It didn’t even take one day.

It’d be rare for a plane from large cities to take longer than a day to reach London. And those Knights currently dispatched in distant countries wouldn’t leave their capital cities and fight in the frontlines, anyway.

That was how the Knights quickly returned to the Round Table, and the first thing they all did was... Stand in complete stupefaction at the level of destruction still visible within the Round Table’s HQ.

They all wondered if the British military had invaded this place or not!

The scale of destruction seemed unbelievable for a byproduct of a battle between martial artists.

The entrance was completely obliterated. The passageways leading to the main hall were covered in blood and burn marks. And the cherry on top was the state of the main hall.

The table symbolizing the Round Table was nowhere to be found, replaced by a stairwell going down into the depths of darkness. Of course, all the Knights here knew what that stairwell signified.

While they were away, the Round Table's legends had been revived. Even then, everything was still destroyed!

“Just what on Earth happened here...?!”

Generally speaking, the Knights fell into one of the two camps. One camp consisted of Knights who knew about Leveaux's attempt to impeach the Master and take over the Round Table but couldn't do anything about it. Meanwhile, the second camp consisted of Knights who had no knowledge of what was going down.

The second camp's situation was only possible because Leveaux had deliberately restricted the outflow of information so that he could exploit one of the Round Table's rules.

That rule stated that as long as more than half of the Knights attended a meeting, and two-thirds of the attendees agreed, the new Master could be sworn in.

Predictably, the Knights who didn’t know of the impeachment fell into a state of confusion. Why wouldn’t they be flustered by the sight of the wrecked Round Table? When the summons only told them to urgently return?

Worse still...

“T-The Elder Knights! They were woken up, too?”

The Knights stared in disbelief at the stairwell. Their eyes subtly quaked. Some even sucked in deep breaths without realizing it.

There were two primary reasons for their current shocked state. One was how the Round Table had encountered a situation so urgent that it needed to awaken the Elder Knights. And the other was that... Those Elder Knights were nowhere to be found!

‘But... It can’t be!’

Elder Knights lost? That seemed improbable. Impossible.

Those qualified to become the Knight of the Round Table knew how incredible and unrealistically strong the Elder Knights were. Although, they weren’t quite sure what any of those meant since they hadn’t personally witnessed the truth with their own eyes.

Still, the current Round Table wouldn’t stand a chance if those Elder Knights were half as strong as the legends said.

But all of those incredible Elder Knights were defeated?

Their first instinct was to deny it. And then, not believe it.

Unfortunately, the state of the main hall the Knights saw as they stepped inside made it impossible to deny the truth.

“You’re all here.”

The Knights hurriedly spun their heads in the direction of that voice. They spotted Knight Besley walking toward them while sheepishly scratching his head.

“Sir Besley!”

“What is the meaning of this, Sir Besley!”

“Eh, well...” Besley groaned deeply. Just from where should he start his explanation? “Hmm, how about we all take a seat... And we can’t do that since there are no chairs left. Does that mean we’ll have to do this while standing around?”

“It seems we should bring some chairs in.”

Besley turned his head to see who said that. The Master was entering the hall with Wiggins in tow.

“Master, sir.”

“Sir Besley. Could you call one of your people to bring us some spare chairs? At least we should take a seat first before proceeding with this conference. It’s against the Round Table’s customs to hold a conference elsewhere, after all.”

“Understood. Please wait,” Besley nodded while sighing in relief under his breath.

Thanks to the Master's timely appearance, the duty of explaining the situation had automatically transferred to him.

“Master!” One of the Knights cried out, “Give us an explanation of what had transpired here!”

“I will, but let’s not rush things,” the Master calmly raised his hand and dissuaded the Knights. “Yes, I know how you feel. But being in a hurry won’t change the situation. So, let us wait until we have some chairs to sit on. Then we’ll discuss what happened here.”

“...Very well.”

The Knights didn’t seem convinced by that persuasion, but no one here dared to openly go against the Master’s authority.

As they silently waited under this strange atmosphere, the chairs were quickly brought in. The Master and the Knights settled down on their spots where the Round Table used to be.

“Well, to explain the current situation...” The Master muttered before casually shrugging away. “Sir Besley?”

“Yes, Master?”

“Please explain what happened here.”

“...Y-you want me to do it?”

“Yes. It feels rather wrong for me to explain it. Besides, I wasn't present during much of the event, anyway. In that case, I believe you explaining it is for the best.”

Knight Besley grimaced while nodding.

‘How... troublesome.’

The Master's argument was spot-on. He was locked up in the underground prison and missed the initial part of the battle. Meanwhile, Besley was present since the beginning of said battle. It made sense for him to take over the baton from the Master.

He groaned deeply, then told the Knights what had transpired in this place.

“...And that’s how we ended up in this state,” said Besley.

Knights all stared at Besley in naked disbelief. Some of them had already roughly figured out what went down before arriving at the Round Table HQ, yet their shocked reaction remained the same as everyone else’s.

Then again, brief text messages would never impart the same level of impact or urgency as the testimony of someone who had witnessed the event in person. That much was expected.

“O-okay, so...” One of the Knights making an awkward face falteringly raised his voice. “To summarize... Sir Leveaux impeached the Master and got himself elected as the new Master, only for Wiggins to burst through the doorway at that very moment with the Korean Martial Assembly in tow? Then, Leveaux was killed, and the Master was rescued?”

Besley nodded. “That’s correct.”

“In the middle of all that, the legendary Elder Knights were revived, but the Assembly Master named Kang Jin-Ho killed them all? By himself, no less?”

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“That is also correct.”

“Hah...”

The reactions of the Knights were varied, to say the least.

Some were dismayed by Leveaux cooking up such a scheme, while some others were angry about another organization daring to invade the sanctity of the Round Table's HQ.

Some among them also felt deeply humiliated by the fact that they were excluded from this historic event.

However, the Knights all reacted the same to one piece of news.

“Did you really say the man named Kang Jin-Ho has defeated all of the Elder Knights?”

Besley nodded. “Yes.”

“...Were the strength of the Elder Knights not as good as we thought? Was that it? If not, then...”

“No. The Elder Knights and their strength far exceeded what we’ve been told,” said Besley, prompting the Master, Wiggins, and the surviving Knights to nod in agreement.

“I-if so... Their defeat at the hands of a single man makes no bloody sense!”

“Yes, I get that you don’t want to believe me. But the truth is undeniable, everyone. We have plenty of witnesses to provide testimonies if you so wish. If you doubt my version of the story, you’re welcome to speak to any of those who are currently remaining in the Round Table. They will say the same thing, after all.”

“But... How...”

The Knights’ expressions grew even more stiff and unreadable.

The Elder Knights were the legendary figures within the Round Table. Since that was the case, how were the Knights supposed to process the news of such legends falling at the hands of one lone individual?

They weren't trying to deny or reject what had happened. Only a fool would keep denying the reality that everyone said happened, after all. Even so, the news still proved too difficult to properly digest.

“I-in that case...” Knight Johannesson reflexively swallowed his saliva, then raised his voice to address the Master. “Where are ‘they’ right now?”

“They are still within the Round Table’s premises.”

“...!” Knight Johannesson’s expression grew weird. The aggressor in the war staying put in the place they invaded could only mean one thing: occupation!

The Korean Martial Assembly defeated the Round Table in the war and was currently occupying it. However, that story seemed a little strange to accept at face value. After all, none of the Knights had encountered a single Asian while walking through the Round Table’s passageways.

“Then... Where are they?”

The Master glanced at Johannesson. “They are currently at the south gate’s dorms.”

“At our freaking dorms?!” Knight Johannesson reflexively cried out. His shock was so great that he even failed to catch his slip of the tongue just now.

“I understand how you feel, Sir Johannesson. However, our situation isn't as extreme as you might think. The Martial Assembly has assured us that it is not interested in taking over the Round Table.”

That claim was hard to believe from these Knights’ point of view. If that was the case, why did those Koreans even show up here and wage a bloody war!

Knight Negri butted in before Johannesson could say anything else. "Master?”

“Mm?”

“What are you planning to do now?”

Everyone’s undivided attention landed on the Master and Knight Negri. That was because all the Knights wanted to know the answer to that question.

The event had already unfolded. Learning about what happened and what the intentions were wouldn’t help the Knights out all that much at this stage.

To them, the crucial next step was figuring out the Round Table’s stance on this matter.

“For now... Mm. I’m planning to resume my position as the Master of the Round Table.”

“Mm...!”

The Master slowly nodded. “Choosing someone new would not be a bad idea, either. However, at least in my opinion, now isn't the best time to pick fresh blood to manage the Round Table. It is facing an existential threat, after all.”

The Knights silently nodded in agreement.

Other organizations might be tempted to pick someone new in the hopes of breaking through this crisis with fresh energy and ideas. But that would be difficult to pull off with the Round Table’s setup.

The Round Table was a coalition of many European nations. A new Master meant working relationships would reset, and everyone's interests would suddenly become more divided than before.

Navigating and stabilizing this turbulent situation would take far, far too long. In that case, it would be a better idea to pick someone who had already served as the Master for many decades and let him stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.

“I see. Then, what will we do afterward, Master?”

“We will form an alliance with the Martial Assembly,” said the Master.

The expressions of the Knights crumpled hideously.

Form an alliance with the Korean Martial Assembly responsible for invading the Round Table and murdering the newly-elected Master? Knights knew they must analyze this situation as rationally as possible. However, they couldn't do much about the waves of repulsion and anger washing over them when they heard the Master's plan.

Even so, these people were still the Knights of the Round Table. They were warriors representing their respective countries and seasoned veterans in the Round Table's politics! In other words, they weren't foolish enough to let their momentary emotions cloud their judgment.

The Round Table was, for all intents and purposes, being occupied by the invading force. With the situation as-is, the Knights knew they had no choice but to be friendly toward the Assembly. That was all they could do right now.

“Master...!” Knight Negri painfully chewed his words out. “I agree that your idea has its merits. However! Before we go ahead with this, we need to confirm something first. This alliance you speak of... Did you make this choice to secure the future of the Round Table? Or is it to ensure the survival of a man who has submitted to the Martial Assembly? Namely... you!”

What Negri said could be construed as rude and hostile. However, he was still raising a valid concern.

“Sir Negri... Do you doubt me?”

“If you have been alone... No, I would've never doubted you. However!” Negri shot up to his feet and glared sharply at Wiggins. “A man who betrayed the Round Table and lost his position among us is currently present in our conference! Doesn't that say everything we need to know? How could you tolerate that traitor's presence! I know you used to care greatly for Wiggins, but this is...”

“No, you’re wrong, Sir Negri.” The Master abruptly cut Negri off.

“I’m wrong? How?”

“Allow me to explain. I didn't bring Wiggins with me. Wiggins' presence in this conference is due to the Martial Assembly's request. In other words, he's not here as the former Knight of the Round Table but as a representative of the Martial Assembly.”

Knight Negri’s expression crumpled even more. Didn’t that mean the Round Table’s conference was being monitored by the Martial Assembly?

“In that case, why shouldn’t we...!”

“Stop right there,” the Master cut Negri off once more. That was because he knew what the passionate Knight was about to say.

Without a doubt, Knight Negri would've said something along the lines of, “Let us deploy the forces we’ve brought with us and attempt to drive out the enemy!”

Unfortunately, those words should never be uttered on this occasion.

The Master sighed. “It seems you need someone to help you understand the situation a little better. As luck would have it, that someone is headed over here. If the upcoming face-to-face with that man fails to change your mind... I give you my word that I will seriously consider your opinions.”

When the Master used his gaze to point in a direction, the Knights all turned their heads in unison to look at the wide-open doorway to the main hall.

...And they could see a figure of a man leisurely walking toward them in the darkened corridor.