Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1155

Wiggins, entering the conference room, took a slight breath.

The board of directors meeting was, to be honest, half a game. It wasn’t that serious discussions didn’t take place, but no one felt particularly burdened by the meetings.

That was the case even when Kang Jin-ho was present.

But now, the atmosphere was different.

‘Of course.’

The reason the directors could usually afford to be relaxed was because they had confidence in themselves.

Even the one who had lived the most peaceful life here had walked a path of hell in the eyes of others.

Bator had lived a life of constant fighting, a path of carnage, and Jang Min was a monster who had protected the Demonic Cult even through its tumultuous history. Not to mention Kang Jin-ho, and even Bang Jin-hoon, who had lived the most human-like life, had faced death threats dozens of times a day while opposing the monster Lee Joong-gul.

Ironically, Wiggins, who had performed numerous roles in the absolute position of the Round Table, was the one who had lived the most peaceful life among them.

That was how much these people gathered here had been through. There was no one who didn’t know what awaited them.

“I’m back.”

Kang Jin-ho gestured with his chin towards a seat. Wiggins sat down without a word.

“What’s the situation?”

“It’s certain that Japan is moving. However, we haven’t yet figured out how they will enter Korea. We’ve decided to pursue it to the end, even if it means some sacrifices.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded silently.

“Is the Round Table helping?”

Wiggins sighed at Bang Jin-hoon’s words.

“They say they will.”

“It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“It can’t be helped.”

The Assembly had grown in many ways, but it still lagged far behind other countries in terms of intelligence capabilities. This was partly due to the relationship with Japan, but even if Korea and Japan weren’t enemies, it wouldn’t have been much different.

In the first place, nurturing intelligence agents takes time.

Moreover, until recently, the Assembly had no capacity to look towards other countries.

The Assembly was busy collecting information on the Yeongnam Assembly, and the Yeongnam Assembly was busy collecting information on the Assembly.

What about just turning those agents overseas?

Collecting information in one’s own country is a completely different matter from collecting information in another country.

In order to send agents who were active domestically overseas, additional training was required. There was no guarantee that everyone would successfully complete that training, and the absolute number of agents was also insufficient.

“I thought we needed to reinforce it, but realistic problems are holding us back.”

“Well, isn’t it the same for them right now? Those bastards haven’t been able to properly send agents to our side either.”

“That’s a relief, at least.”

Just as Korea couldn’t focus on Japan, Japan also couldn’t properly monitor Korea. To be precise, it wasn’t that they didn’t have the capacity, but rather that it wasn’t worth it, but either way, the result was the same.

‘It’s like blind men fighting with knives.’

Considering that the 21st-century war is called an information war, where victory or defeat depends on how well each side understands the other, this war was bound to be very unusual.

“I know this isn’t the time to discuss this, but…”

Kang Jin-ho quietly opened his mouth.

“Are intelligence agents being deployed to China?”

“It’s still at a basic level. But after this is over, we will prioritize reinforcing our intelligence agents.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

Whether it was a realistic problem or not, it wasn’t right to blame what couldn’t be done right now. What should be blamed was the failure to fix the problem despite its existence.

Even if it was difficult to obtain information about Japan right now, information about China, which would become an enemy in the long term, had to be obtained independently.

“You said you don’t know how they will enter Korea?”

“That’s right.”

“Can’t they just come by plane?”

Wiggins looked at Bang Jin-hoon with a slightly bewildered expression.

“Have you ever been to an airport?”

“We went together last time.”

“…There’s something called immigration at the airport. You can only enter Korean territory after passing that inspection. If they are rejected at the inspection, they have to return to their own country. The Korean government has that much power.”

“Can’t they just escape from the airport?”

“What do you think would happen if that many people escaped from the airport? Even if it’s the work of the Murim world [martial arts world], airports and immigration are matters of the outside world. It’s not something that can be done while causing that much diplomatic fallout.”

“I heard that the Japanese political world is completely in their hands?”

“That’s why it’s even more so. The Japanese Murim world is creating a regime and gaining enormous funds. They wouldn’t do anything that would cause problems and cut off their money supply.”

Bang Jin-hoon scratched his head.

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

“In any case, it means they can’t come by airport, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then they’ll come by ship.”

“Didn’t we see blood once before when they did that? Even a three-year-old with a brain wouldn’t do it again, would they?”

“A three-year-old wouldn’t start a war either.”

“Honestly, I think the director is being too complacent in saying that those bastards can’t enter through the airport. From what I see, it seems like those bastards are putting in all their effort this time, and isn’t that what war is all about? The ones who do what you think they’ll never do are the ones who win the war. Like, what was it? Alexander the Great crossed the Alps and won the war!”

“It was Napoleon, not Alexander.”

“…Whatever.”

Wiggins sighed.

‘But he’s not wrong.’

Bang Jin-hoon’s point was not wrong. Even in situations where they know each other like the back of their hands, wars often take strange turns due to unexpected responses from the opponent.

Looking back at history, it wasn’t frequent, but it wasn’t rare either.

Considering that history disappears if it’s not recorded, there might have been more such cases than we think.

Moreover, in the current situation where they don’t know each other well, like blind men, even one unconventional response could throw the whole thing into chaos.

“You’re right, I was too complacent. I should have been more careful. I apologize.”

“What’s with the apology? It just means we should be more careful.”

“You’re right.”

Wiggins pushed the idea of the airport back into his mind.

Realistically, it was a difficult thing to do, but if it were possible, there would be no better way. What if thousands of Murim warriors landed simultaneously in Incheon, near the capital?

‘That would be terrible.’

That would truly be hell.

Moreover, flights from Japan to Korea don’t only go to Incheon. If it’s a relatively small airport, the security would be just as lax.

Then, Kang Jin-ho spoke.

“Is there a possibility that they will come in the same way we did last time?”

“The number of people isn’t small like it was then.”

“But the distance is shorter, and there are many more flights that can be mobilized, aren’t there?”

“The time it takes to come from Japan to Korea doesn’t even exceed two hours. Even when they came by ship before, we started responding more than two hours after they had already arrived.”

“That’s right.”

“If they move in a surprise attack, can we respond decisively?”

Wiggins’ face became serious.

He hadn’t thought about it that way. The Assembly had to endure enormous losses to send just one aircraft. But if you think about it the other way around, the Japanese groups boast financial power that cannot be compared to the Assembly.

And what they can gain from the Korean expedition is incomparable to what the Assembly could gain from the British expedition. It was worth trying, even if it meant overdoing it.

“I will check and respond.”

Kang Jin-ho turned his head and looked at the directors.

“Until now…”

“Yes.”

“We fought individually.”

“But not this time. You must fight leading those you have taught.”

The directors’ faces became serious.

If they made a mistake while fighting alone, they could pay the price with their own lives. But if they fought leading the children, the price of their mistakes would be paid by those children.

It felt like a heavy burden was being placed on their shoulders.

“Bator.”

“Yes, Master!”

Bator changed his tone.

“Are you ready?”

“The enemy won’t even be able to pick up their bones.”

“Jang Min.”

Jang Min rose from his seat and bowed.

“Give your orders, Demon Lord.”

“Do not drive the followers to their deaths.”

“It is not the job of the one who leads the cult to send the followers to the battlefield just because they have the will to fight. Only send those who can fight to the battlefield.”

“I dare to say a word, Demon Lord. Even if they are weak, they are followers of the cult and your subordinates. Not being able to go to the battlefield will be the greatest disgrace for them.”

“Disgrace?”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head.

“Shouldn’t what they consider a disgrace be not being able to go to the battlefield, rather than being too weak to go to the battlefield?”

“…That is correct.”

“Make it clear. The cult has never been lenient to the weak. If you want to discuss disgrace and rights… become stronger. Strong enough to be treated well.”

“I will follow the Demon Lord’s command.”

Jang Min bowed deeply. Given Jang Min’s nature, he would try to drag anyone who could wield a sword to the front lines, even as cannon fodder. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if the enemy came with elite troops, those who weren’t strong enough could actually be a hindrance.

So that situation had to be avoided.

“Wiggins.”

“Yes, Lord!”

“I heard the magic unit is ready. What about the Chevaliers?”

“They will also participate in the war. They are now warriors of the Assembly. And those they have taught will surely show outstanding performance this time.”

“I expect it.”

Kang Jin-ho’s gaze reached Bang Jin-hoon.

“How is it?”

Bang Jin-hoon’s expression was slightly different from the others.

And Kang Jin-ho’s question was also distinctly different from the ones he had asked the others.

The reason was simple.

Even though the directors were teaching the Murim warriors, most of the Murim warriors belonging to the Assembly were learning martial arts from Bang Jin-hoon. Whether they could be deployed to the front lines or not could drastically change the direction of the war.

Bang Jin-hoon, who had been lost in thought, raised his head and looked directly at Kang Jin-ho.

“In terms of combat power…”

Bang Jin-hoon bit his lip slightly.

“Objectively speaking, the guys who learned from me now are not combat-ready.”

“Hmm.”

“But!”

Bang Jin-hoon answered with a firm face.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t deploy them. In the first place, this is the Assembly’s war. I will deploy everyone.”

A firm will was evident in Bang Jin-hoon’s eyes.