Kraukh was a demon from a fairly well-known family.
Among demons, while they couldn’t be called one of the most prestigious noble houses, they were the kind of family that could walk around with their heads held high in their region.
True to being a demon race that valued bloodline, Kraukh grew stronger quite quickly.
He progressed through the ranks of Platoon Leader and Company Commander.
Though he aid for Battalion Commander, he inevitably hit a wall.
“Is this my limit…”
There’s a reason why bloodline is important to demons.
It’s because their limits are sowhat predetermined from birth.
Kraukh’s limit was Company Commander.
Though he was much stronger than other Company Commanders, his ability was insufficient to beco a Battalion Commander.
That was the end of the growth potential Kraukh was born with.
He despaired and left the Demon King’s Army.
“I’ll break through this limit sohow.”
Kraukh didn’t give up.
Demons have long lifespans.
He was only 200 years old.
Though his growth period had ended, he thought he could beco stronger if he tried.
He planned to leave the army and dedicate all his ti to training.
“Why…!?”
However, he couldn’t overco the wall.
To begin with, the demon race was far removed from training.
With their lack of intelligence, they couldn’t create systematic training thods.
Rather, growing through actual combat experience might have been more possible for breaking through the wall.
Not long after realizing this fact.
Just then, contact ca from his unit.
“The 3rd Corps is planning to create a special unit. Apply for it.”
An executive from the corps said.
They said he could fight humans all day there.
That they’d let him fight to his heart’s content.
Kraukh made his decision.
“This is my last chance.”
He would clash with them in a do-or-die situation.
If he charged in risking his life, he might be able to break through the wall blocking him.
And so he arrived at the main parade ground of Gardrak Castle.
What appeared at the interview venue for entering the special unit was a human.
“Ha, the Demon King’s Army has really hit rock bottom. A unit with a human commander.”
Humans are weak.
A unit with a weak commander is trash.
Honestly, he wanted to turn back right away.
“The interview will be conducted as 1 versus 5. Five applicants will spar with Choi Hyun-seok here.”
It was already insulting to his pride to spar with a human, but to say five should gang up on him?
This was an insult to demonkind.
From his position as soone from a noble family who took pride in being a demon, this was absolutely unacceptable.
His pride wasn’t just wounded – it was about to explode.
“I’ll go first!”
As per Kraukh’s request, he was selected for the first interview group.
Five demons including him stood in the wide parade ground.
And opposite them stood a small-bodied human alone.
‘I’ll end this before the others can step up.’
Look at that frail human.
Though he might be quite trained for a human, he was infinitely weak by demon standards.
Just looking at his build, he was barely more than half of Kraukh’s size.
He could crush such cute muscles with one hand.
“I am Kraukh of the Dehurn family. Human. I’ll kill you here and beco the commander myself!”
Kraukh shouted with all his might.
The human standing opposite him grinned at his provocation.
“Did muscles grow on your brain too? Stop talking nonsense and co at .”
The human raised his hand and wiggled his finger.
“Co on, muscle pig!”
The small creature beside him also provoked while swinging its fists.
Kraukh didn’t hold back.
“Uwaaaaah-!”
Kraukh, a muscular demon over 3m tall, charged forward.
“I’ll crush your head in one go!”
Kraukh drew up his demonic energy.
He’s different from other idiots who fight recklessly.
He’s an elite among elites who have mastered the Fighting Technique passed down through generations of the Dehurn family!
Dehurn Fighting Technique
Form 1 – Strong Punch
Demonic energy concentrated firmly in Kraukh’s fist.
Trendous power that could dent steel in one blow.
A fragile human head wouldn’t be able to withstand it and would be crushed.
Whoosh!
Kraukh’s fist cut through empty air.
“Where are you aiming?”
The human, who had sohow moved to the side, was shaking his head.
Kraukh’s eyes grew round.
“You! You could use magic!?”
“What are you talking about? I just moved diagonally.”
“So you did have a hidden move. But you can’t stop , Kraukh, with such shallow magic!”
Kraukh tried to swing his fist again.
However, the human movent was one step faster.
His legs moved like lightning and struck near Kraukh’s knee.
Crack…!
“Huk!”
Kraukh opened his mouth wide and inhaled.
“Ah, ah, ah…”
He moved his gaze to look down at his leg.
His knee was shattered with bone protruding out.
Only then did the forgotten pain begin to surge in.
“Aaaaaaargh-!”
Krauk scread while lying face down on the ground.
The human looked down at him with a contemptuous face.
“So damn noisy.”
He raises his fist.
Although it was clearly a much smaller fist compared to his own, for so reason, an indescribable fear washed over him.
“This is when you use a strong punch. Take note.”
The fist strikes his head.
Along with a bizarre noise, Krauk’s head beca slightly dented.
“Ah… He’s not dead, right?”
The human who threw the punch, Choi Hyun-seok, briefly showed a worried expression before quickly smiling.
“Well, accidents happen sotis, you know?”
The death interview was just beginning.
***
Motem is wearing black armor.
His expression can’t be seen because he’s wearing a helt that covers his head.
That fact was quite fortunate for others.
Because behind the helt, Motem’s expression was more distorted than ever.
If Choi Hyun-seok had seen it, it was fierce enough to make him drop to his knees and apologize imdiately.
“How dare he…”
Motem’s gaze was fixed on one side of the training ground.
The target of his glare was, of course, Choi Hyun-seok.
Once again, Choi Hyun-seok was incapacitating an applicant by destroying their leg.
Crack!
With a crisp sound, the knee shatters.
The demon tribe mber with a deer head wailed while looking at their shattered knee.
‘One hundred and fifth. Sa pattern.’
Motem shifted his gaze.
There lay a group of applicants with similarly shattered knees, all wailing together.
Though healers were standing by to treat them, the injuries were so severe that treatnt wasn’t easy.
They would clearly need to be bedridden for at least a few weeks.
Motem raised his hand.
“Let’s change the interview process. From now on, interview ten at once instead of five.”
Choi Hyun-seok shrugged his shoulders and nodded in acknowledgnt.
A gesture that seed to say ‘do as you please.’
That made him angrier, but he decided to endure it for now.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The interviews that followed were no different from before.
The only difference was that the number of demon tribe mbers lying on the ground with shattered knees increased more rapidly.
That’s how overwhelming the gap in power was between Choi Hyun-seok and the applicants.
“Huu…”
Motem let out a sigh.
He had to admit it.
That he had underestimated Choi Hyun-seok.
‘I thought I could tornt him considering his magical power and demonic energy… I didn’t expect the difference to be this severe.’
In fact, Motem had never properly seen Choi Hyun-seok’s abilities.
In the previous Battalion Commander tournant, they had rely clashed briefly.
‘I knew he had a talent for combat. He instinctively knows how to fight, and his ntal strength was quite good too.’
In that brief mont, Motem had sowhat figured out Choi Hyun-seok.
Choi Hyun-seok knew how to really fight, not just exchange blows.
The problem was that this interview had been prepared considering even that.
‘I was completely mistaken.’
Choi Hyun-seok had developed beyond imagination.
In that short ti, his visible strength had more than doubled.
However, he thought that as flashy as the outside had beco, the inside would be lacking.
It’s common among young demon tribe mbers to struggle with handling sudden growth in power.
But when he actually examined it, it was the opposite.
His internal power had beco even more solid than his visible growth.
‘Sigh, should I be happy that my subordinate is strong…?’
Motem always used to say.
That the demon tribe of this era is too weak.
That they’re no different from overgrown babies.
By his standards, it was really true.
No matter how much demonic energy they had, none knew how to use it properly.
But to think that a human, not a demon tribe mber, would show such ability.
He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
‘There’s no aning in continuing the interviews.’
Motem was certain.
Even if they brought soone with similar power to Choi Hyun-seok, there would be almost no one who could defeat him.
At least not in this era.
That’s how completely Choi Hyun-seok was utilizing his power.
Even Motem had to admire it.
“We’ll stop here.”
Motem stepped forward and halted the interviews.
Continuing would only increase the number of crippled legs.
“…”
Given the aggressive nature of the demon tribe, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to shout for it to continue, but the applicants also quietly agreed.
In fact, they had been hoping for this internally.
They knew that if they stepped up, the only result would be their knees being shattered.
Motem was even more displeased seeing the applicants being so cautious.
He clicked his tongue and approached Choi Hyun-seok.
“Not bad.”
“Haha! You’re too kind!”
Choi Hyun-seok was drenched in sweat from conducting consecutive interviews.
However, rather than looking tired, he appeared to be full of energy as if his body was just warming up.
There was a brighter smile than usual on his face.
“Choi Hyun-seok. Are you planning not to take any subordinates?”
At Motem’s question, Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“It would be strange not to know after seeing that scene.”
Motem pointed to the demon soldiers groaning and clutching their broken legs at one side of the training ground.
Choi Hyun-seok scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.
“What’s the reason?”
“I thought about it, and I wondered if I really needed to beco a commander.”
“Why?”
“I’m still growing. I can beco much stronger than I am now.”
Choi Hyun-seok said with a serious face.
“Having subordinates would hinder my growth. At least for now, I think focusing on my own power rather than putting effort elsewhere would be more beneficial for the Demon King’s Army as a whole.”
“You’re arrogant.”
Motem smirked.
“But it’s reasonable. Yes. I should correct what I just said. You’re not arrogant, you’re overflowing with confidence. Confidence with valid grounds.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s pretend this interview never happened. And I’ll ensure you get as much personal ti as possible.”
Choi Hyun-seok couldn’t help but be surprised by this unexpectedly generous treatnt.
It was essentially like he had made a fool of Motem again, yet he was showing such magnanimity.
‘Did I misunderstand him?’
Honestly, until just monts ago, he thought Motem was narrow-minded.
It seed too obvious that he was harassing him over the Battalion Commander tournant.
However, he needed to correct that thought.
‘I suppose this is what you’d expect from a subordinate of the Lip Monster. Such magnanimity.’
Just as he was thinking this.
Motem raised his hand and grabbed Choi Hyun-seok’s shoulder.
“Additionally, I’ll personally guide your training.”
“What?”
“How could we let soone with your potential go to waste? I’ll help you bloom.”
“You, you really don’t need to…”
“I’ll help you.”
Motem’s grip tightened.
Crunch…!
It felt like his shoulder would break.
‘I take back what I said about magnanimity. He’s definitely a petty bastard…’
He was clearly a petty person pretending to be magnanimous.
It was obvious that Motem would use training as an excuse for violence.
“Why aren’t you answering? I said I’ll help you. Let’s start sparring right now.”
The grip on his hand grew even stronger.
Just as Choi Hyun-seok was about to force a smile and nod.
Soone grabbed Motem’s wrist.
A huge red hand.
It was Reidrun.
“Lord Motem. Choi Hyun-seok is exhausted right now.”
“…”
“How about sparring with instead?”
Motem silently looked at Reidrun.
Reidrun just stared back at Motem with his usual expressionless face.
“…”
Their gazes crossed briefly.
And Motem removed his hand from Choi Hyun-seok’s shoulder.
“Fine. That could be fun too.”
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