Descent of the Demon Master

“What’s the matter, sir?” Lee Hyeon-Su curiously asked.

“No, it’s just that…” Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. Where should he even begin with his counterattack?

Even if he could overlook other things, he still couldn't get past the concept of asking the Coast Guard or the Korean Navy for assistance.

“Are you saying the Martial Assembly has that level of power in this country?”

“Aaah, that… It seems there’s been a slight misunderstanding here,” Lee Hyeon-Su awkwardly chuckled. “No, sir. We don’t have enough influence to mobilize the nation’s army. Even if we did have it, though… I’m sure you’ll agree that we must never abuse it willy-nilly.”

“Yes, I do agree,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Getting the Coast Guard to help us is quite simple, sir. We can just tip them off.”

“Tip them off? What do you mean?”

“We simply tell them that a large cruise ship is attempting to enter the country’s waters illegally.”

“Oh!” Kang Jin-Ho hurriedly nodded after finally understanding what was what.

Smuggling people in was a crime. And the Coast Guard existed to prevent maritime crimes. If the Coast Guard believed the tip-off could be trusted, there was no reason for them to sit on their butts and do nothing about it.

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. “Even so, why would they believe this tip-off?”

“Everything depends on who says it, sir. If I went to the Coast Guard office and told them over a thousand Japanese are attempting to enter the country illegally, they would straightforwardly tell me to go home and babysit my kids instead.”

“Huh? You don’t look like you have kids, though…?”

“...How is that important right now, sir?” Lee Hyeon-Su expertly slipped past that unexpected tackle and continued to explain. “However, if the tip-off came from someone like a sitting National Assemblyman, the degree of importance would only go up.”

“Mm…”

Although it was unfortunate that the attitude of public servants toward a grave matter changed significantly depending on who told them about it, that was how the world operated.

If there was a way, the Martial Assembly couldn’t afford not to utilize it.

“We had one of our contacts in the National Assembly to tip off the Coast Guard. And we’ve also told him that the ship could be smuggling drugs and other illegal paraphernalia.”

“Huh?” Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes. “What if the Coast Guard tries to enter the ship? Wouldn’t that be a serious problem?”

“Of course. That was why we told him in no uncertain terms to look for the ship only. And do nothing else but contact us right away.”

“I see…” Kang Jin-Ho smiled, although his expression was unreadable.

‘Well, then. Power sure can be terrifying, now isn't it?'

Kang Jin-Ho had been worrying about how to distribute people evenly until now. If he had been in charge of this situation, he'd dispatch as many people as possible to the East Coast, then try to figure out where the enemy would land. He'd plan the responses afterward.

That was the limit of what a civilian like him could do.

Another thing he could've done was hire a ship as quickly as possible to search the area himself. Or he could have scattered hundreds of drones in the area. And that would be the extent of what he could have done.

However, just one word to a sitting National Assembly member, and it seemed like everything was taken care of.

Here was another reminder of why some people, who had already amassed envious amounts of wealth, fought tooth and nail to achieve even greater positions in society while putting up with all sorts of indignation and humiliation.

Kang Jin-Ho sighed, then asked Lee Hyeon-Su something else. “In that case, what about the army?”

“The army won’t get involved in this matter. Their involvement will only worsen the situation.”

“Mm?”

“First of all, the incoming Japanese warriors are nominally still civilians. The Korean army can't touch them even if they are strong enough to kill a bear with their bare hands. Any wrong move, and we'd be giving the Japanese Self-Defense Force a pretext. Something like that must not happen, sir.”

“Then, what? Will they do nothing?”

“The word should have reached them by now, as well. So, for now… I’m sure they’ll be monitoring the situation closely.”

“Does that mean… They know about us?”

“Yes. But there isn't much we can do about that. After all, those in the know are bound to know about the martial world. Hiding our existence to the military's top brass is simply impossible, sir. And they would have to consider getting involved if events beyond our ability to control happen within the country's borders.”

“...I see. How complicated.”

The martial world seemed to be completely separated from the surface world, yet the more he listened, the more Kang Jin-Ho realized that wasn’t true. The two worlds still maintained some level of connection even now.

This arrangement seemed strange but also made some sense.

‘Well, Murim and the Imperial Government also enjoyed a similar sort of relationship back then, didn't they?'

There was an unwritten rule during ancient Zhongyuan about how the government forces would never get involved with the Murim people and vice versa. Unsurprisingly, though, that rule was never really adhered to.

The government desperately wanted to exert its authority over the people of Murim, while the powerful leaders of Murim desired to devour the government after gaining enough strength.

The story in the modern era didn’t seem all that different from back then.

Lee Hyeon-Su continued to speak. “For now, we should focus on verifying this intel first. And then, we can discuss the…”

Clunk!

That was when the exit suddenly opened, and the stiff-faced Lee Hyeon-Ju rushed inside. She made a beeline to Lee Hyeon-Su and whispered something to his ear.

“...Okay, got it.” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded, prompting Lee Hyeon-Ju to back off and take a seat by the remote corner. Lee Hyeon-Su addressed everyone next. “We just received word that a suspicious cruise ship has been located.”

“Already?”

“Yes, sir. We made an educated guess by considering the departure time, the distance, and the possible route. Knowing the port of departure is Tokyo, we were able to narrow down the probable routes.”

“Mm…”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression hardened. “You could call this a flaw, a hole in their plan. Even if the Japanese martial artists tried their best to hide their activities, the ones operating the ship would still be existing civilian crews. In that case, they would travel using the preexisting routes. Which makes things easier for us.”

Kang Jin-Ho furrowed his brow. His head understood it, but something about it still felt a bit off. He quietly muttered, “Doesn't it feel like it's going too easy for us…?”

Wiggins shook his head and raised his voice. “My lord. That’s not true.”

“Mm?”

“This situation is only possible because we learned of the Japanese's attempt to invade South Korea ahead of time. Without the warning from the whistleblower on the ship, we would have already knocked off for the night and... And watching TV at home or some such.”

“Mister Wiggins is right, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su quickly chimed in. “That’s why the Japanese must’ve worked extra hard to cover up their tracks all in order to take us by surprise, but… They must’ve failed to take into account the possibility of a traitor among their ranks.”

“I see." Kang Jin-Ho nodded, now finally understanding everything. His thoughts quickly shifted toward the mystery person on the inside who sent them the warning.

‘Whoever that person is, we owe them a lot.’

Although the question of how to utilize this intel still remained, the fact was that the mystery informant’s actions allowed the Martial Assembly to prepare ahead of time.

Kang Jin-Ho asked, “Is the cruise ship the same one from the message?”

Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “We’re not sure, sir.”

“...Mm?”

“Verifying that is impossible, sir. We can be 99% certain that it is the ship we’re looking for thanks to its size and the route it’s taken, but the authenticity of the message itself hasn’t been verified, so…”

When Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t finish his sentence and hesitated, Kang Jin-Ho urged him on in a firm voice. “So, what are your thoughts on this matter?”

“...I believe we have our ship.”

“And why do you think so?”

“That's because it's rare for all the pieces to fit so nicely. First of all, someone could have sent a prank message to us. And it's also possible for an unidentified cruise ship to sail toward Korea. These things could happen at any time… But the odds of them happening together can't be that high.”

“Is there any other additional way to verify this situation?” Kang Jin-Ho curiously asked.

“We’re still thinking of…”

Before Lee Hyeon-Su could finish, Wiggins butted in. “Hold on. Mister Lee?”

“Yes, Mister Wiggins.”

“How many agents do we have in Japan?”

“Not many, I'm afraid. Only barely enough to verify the movements of some people. However, they didn't seem to have noticed the movements of the Japanese gumis this time.”

“In that case, let’s go about it the other way.”

“I’m sorry?” Lee Hyeon-Su failed to understand what Wiggins meant and asked back.

“Tell our men to kick up some fuss. And then, confirm who has shown up to deal with the commotion. If those who should be present are missing, then well… Wouldn't that be enough to deduce that they might be riding on that ship?”

“Ah!” Lee Hyeon-Su let out a loud gasp. “I see! I’ll get on it right away.”

“Mm, good. Also…” Wiggins turned his head and stared at Kang Jin-Ho next. “This event might end up as much ado about nothing, my lord. Which would be the best outcome for us, of course. However, the smartest way to handle any event is to assume the worst.”

“Mm…”

“And the worst case scenario is the Japanese elites packing that ship like sardines, their goal being the conquest of South Korea. In that case, how will you respond, sir?”

Kang Jin-Ho leaned against his couch.

‘Invasion, is it…?’

This subtly indescribable feeling washed over him.

The Martial Assembly and the Yeongnam Group joined as one. In other words, the South Korean martial society had become united under one banner.

Of course, smaller clans and schools still sticking to the one-master-one-disciple rule still hadn't come under this banner yet. However, bringing every sect and clan in South Korea into one unified organization was realistically impossible.

Since that was the case, it'd not be an exaggeration to say the current Martial Assembly had unified South Korea. Although, that was when all the issues against China and Japan began.

Kang Jin-Ho obviously had thought about fighting those forces for regional supremacy sooner or later. That was why he worked hard to modernize and improve the Martial Assembly and to strengthen its combat capabilities.

Although the battle was happening sooner than he'd like, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't taken aback by it either. Even so, something about it was…

“...Lee Hyeon-Su?”

“Yes, Assembly Master. Please speak.”

“Brief us on what could happen if they have successfully invaded this country.”

“Understood. Assuming that the warning message is true and that the cruise ship is indeed filled with the elites from Japan's various gumis…” Lee Hyeon-Su resolutely spoke. “We cannot afford to underestimate the enemy forces riding in that ship. If they are elites hand-picked from each gumi, their combat strength should be far greater than what their number suggests.”

Everyone silently nodded. The difference between a thousand regular warriors and a thousand elite warriors was enormous.

The Japanese's fighting power should not be underestimated if they had been preparing for this invasion for a long time, and each gumi had done their part by supplying their best warriors.

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. “Can we fight them head-on and win?”

“We might, sir. Or we might not.”

“In simpler terms.”

“Understood. Their strength will easily overwhelm ours.”

Lee Hyeon-Su was objectively analyzing this situation. Even though the Martial Assembly had evolved and improved recently, thereby gaining some confidence, now was the time to forget such things and be as objective as possible.

“From the get-go, Japan has been way stronger than South Korea. So much so that it was useless to compare the two nations. If they wished for it, the Japanese could have conquered the Korean martial society quite easily.

“It's just that they were wary of going against the Crimson King's faction, as well as unresolved internal issues prevented them from venturing beyond their borders. That is why they haven't come after Korea until now.”

“…”

“Such people are now coming after us in earnest. Of course, we will emerge victorious if our full-strength combat force clashes with the warriors in that ship. Unfortunately, those people aren't idiots, so such a thing won't happen.”

“What will they do, then?”

Lee Hyeon-Su spoke confidently. “It'll come down to individual strength, sir. They would most likely try to establish combat superiority through small-scale clashes and hit us in various regions. And then, the Assembly fails to handle all the assaults on its massive organization and eventually crumbles, or we end up shrinking back to protect our hands and feet from getting severed by the enemy. Either way, we'll be finished for good.”

None of what he said sounded good to the attendees of this meeting.

Vator roared unhappily. “It’s only bad news, then. Are you saying the damn Japs are that strong?”

“Of course, everyone here can probably overwhelm them with ease. However, the issue is with the rest of the Assembly. Except for the Demon Flames, no one in the Assembly is stronger than the incoming Japanese warriors. Maybe we can count on the demon cult elders, but even they are not a sure thing, so…”

Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t finish his sentence and let it hang for a second or two before shaking his head.

“However, that doesn't mean we are out of options. If we can confirm where they will make landfall and deal with them before they scatter… We can spare ourselves from the upcoming chaos.”

When Kang Jin-Ho heard that, the corners of his lips suspiciously curled up. “Oh, I see. You want to cut off their retreat? Is that it?”

“Yes, sir. Doing so will force them to confront us directly.”

“I don’t like this tactic,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“...I’m sorry?” Lee Hyeon-Su stared at Kang Jin-Ho. He suddenly felt a chill run down his back after finally noticing the smirk on Kang Jin-Ho’s face.

“Forcing them to fight back with the ocean at their backs will certainly make it harder for them to escape. However, don't we already have a far better battlefield for that?” Kang Jin-Ho asked, his eyes narrowing.

“I… I’m not sure which one you have in mind, sir.”

“I'm talking about the place where all four sides are blocked off by the ocean.”

Lee Hyeon-Su tightly clenched his fists. That was because he had realized what Kang Jin-Ho was talking about. Only islands faced oceans on four sides. However, it was plainly obvious Kang Jin-Ho wasn’t talking about an island here. In that case…?

“Sir, could it be…?”

“I wonder… Is the water warm enough these days?” Kang Jin-Ho’s creepy smirk deepened. “There is no escape in the middle of the ocean, you see?”

Everyone shuddered powerfully at what Kang Jin-Ho said.