Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1043

A large tatami room.

The people gathered inside were looking at each other with displeased expressions.

“Why did you call us here?”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything specific about that. But isn’t it obvious?”

The heads of each group exchanged glances.

Their positions were all different, but at this moment, they all shared a common thought.

Reorganization.

Shin’nichikai had made a big mistake this time.

Gathering the young elites of each group for the Korean expedition and suffering a crushing defeat was an irreparable blunder.

However…

Their true feelings were a little different from what they showed on the surface.

The power of the young people within each group was not actually that significant.

In any group, power and real authority are not given to the young. And that tendency was even more pronounced in the martial arts world.

The reason was very simple.

Basically, a person’s ability and strength do not correlate with age. Strength that was weak in youth reaches its peak in middle age and gradually weakens as one becomes elderly.

However, this common sense did not apply in the martial arts world.

The reason was very simple. Because internal energy [a concept in martial arts referring to the energy within the body] exists.

Unlike ordinary people whose abilities begin to decline around the age of 50, martial artists become stronger as they age, with the internal energy they have accumulated throughout their lives becoming more powerful.

In the end, those who have lived longer and trained for longer are bound to be stronger than the young.

Losing young martial artists meant that they could not avoid weakening at a specific point in the future, but when viewed coldly, it could not be said that their current strength had weakened.

“The damage was significant.”

“Weren’t the guys who were supposed to lead the groups all wiped out? This is an irreparable mistake.”

“Someone has to take responsibility for this.”

But contrary to their calculations, they continued their denunciations in a somber tone.

Like actors appearing in a well-rehearsed play.

The meaning of the glances they were exchanging was only one thing.

Shin’nichikai.

And the leader.

For a long time, Kansai [a region in Japan] had been under the control of Shin’nichikai.

Of course, the control of Japanese groups was not as coercive and violent as in other countries, but it was an undeniable fact that they were under the influence of Shin’nichikai.

For them, Shin’nichikai was like an inescapable shackle.

But now, that shackle had loosened.

‘If we do well, we might be able to cut it in half.’

‘Leader, you made a mistake this time.’

The most important thing in a coalition is not strength. No matter how strong Shin’nichikai is, they cannot face the entire Kansai region. More important than strength in a coalition is justification.

Shin’nichikai and the leader had lost their justification.

And now they had to pay the price.

They might not be able to completely destroy Shin’nichikai’s status, but if they could use this incident well, they might be able to pull them down from their current position.

At that moment, the sliding door opened wide, and the leader walked in. Those who were sitting upright bowed their heads in unison to pay their respects to the leader.

The leader, who sat down at the head of the table without a word, looked around at those sitting upright with a calm gaze.

“Thank you for attending without anyone missing.”

“The reason I have gathered the leaders here is to discuss one important matter.”

“…If you say it’s an important situation?”

“War.”

The leader’s voice was firm and concise.

But not everyone accepted that conciseness in a good way. As soon as the word war came out, some people frowned.

“War… are you talking about war with Korea?”

“That’s right.”

The leaders looked at each other.

The leader’s way of speaking had momentarily shut them up.

If he had given a word of blessing as usual, or asked about the current situation and led the conversation, complaints and denunciations would have erupted from all sides. But since he threw the matter out like this, there was nothing they could say right away.

‘Like a fox.’

He was skilled.

They couldn’t deny that. The leader was someone who knew how to lead the conversation in his favor.

But more important than that was the topic of conversation that had just come up.

“Are you planning to invade Joseon [historical name for Korea] again?”

“The word ‘again’ wouldn’t be appropriate. We’ve never properly targeted Joseon.”

“Are you going to pretend it never happened?”

“Pretend it never happened?”

The leader glared at Yohei with cold eyes.

“Yohei.”

“Yes.”

For a moment, his heart sank at the cold voice, but Yohei did not back down. If he backed down now, the previous incident would really become something that never happened.

‘This is politics.’

In politics, the event itself is not that important. What’s important is not the event itself, but what meaning you give to it. Depending on how you handle it, an insignificant event can become a huge storm that shakes the world, and a huge event can become a storm in a teacup.

“Was that really an invasion?”

“Of course, Leader. An invasion is…”

“Then why weren’t you at the forefront of the invasion?”

Yohei lowered his head and bit his lip.

A cunning fox.

That phrase suited him perfectly.

With just that one sentence, the leader had cut off any room for excuses. None of those present had boarded the ship to Joseon.

They had only sent some young guys.

Since the leader had come out like that, a dilemma had arisen. If that expedition was a proper invasion, then their actions of only sending young guys would be disloyal. But if it wasn’t a proper invasion, then they would be giving the leader a free pass.

“Do you all think the same?”

The leader raised his head and scanned the leaders of the other groups. But no one could make eye contact with the leader.

Even if they were cursing and grinding their teeth inside, they had no justification right now. With a few words, the leader had easily seized the justification.

Their teeth were grinding, but they had no means to deal with it right now.

“Well, that’s an interesting thing to say.”

The leader sneered.

“If we couldn’t even reach the peninsula despite a proper invasion, doesn’t that mean that the warriors of the Great Japanese Empire were only at that level?”

“Leader.”

Yohei opened his mouth heavily.

“That may be true. We were disloyal, complacent, and also incompetent.”

The leader narrowed his eyes and looked at Yohei.

“But the leader will not be free from that responsibility either. Wasn’t it the leader who planned and carried out all those plans?”

Yohei took the lead.

Then the atmosphere changed.

“Hmm.”

The leader glared at Yohei with discomfort.

To directly point out the leader’s mistake in a meeting like this was nothing less than a declaration that they would no longer return to their past relationship.

A war had been declared.

‘I can hear the sound of eyeballs rolling.’

The moment Yohei raised the flag, the leaders of the other groups also began to think. They were wondering which side would be more beneficial to stand on.

A familiar sight.

But now it was an unfamiliar sight.

Once, he had secured Shin’nichikai’s position through this process. But since he had completely dominated Kansai, this situation had not happened even once.

It was proof that his position had weakened that much.

“I am aware of my responsibility.”

He had to admit what he had to admit.

“But your share of that responsibility is not small either.”

“Leader!”

“Ah, there’s no need to get so angry.” The leader waved his hand lightly.

Seeing his relaxed movements, Yohei frowned.

‘What is he thinking?’

He had managed to lead the atmosphere with his skillful rhetoric, but it could not be said that the leader’s responsibility for all of this was small. Everyone was ready to bite at his wounds like wolves, so no matter how much of a leader he was, he would have to give up a considerable amount.

The leader couldn’t possibly not know that.

So where did the leader’s composure come from?

“Now is not the time to discuss responsibility.”

“Yes?”

The leader looked around at everyone and said.

“We have experienced a great failure.”

“It is important to determine right and wrong, but we have missed one thing. We have already started a war.”

Yohei’s face contorted.

“Are you saying that we cannot discuss mistakes because we are at war?”

“That’s not it. But it means that just because we lost once, we shouldn’t act like everything is over.”

“In the first place…”

Yohei took a deep breath.

If he went any further, he would truly become irreconcilable with the leader.

‘There’s no place to retreat.’

He had to turn this situation around.

“In the first place, war…”

“Stop.”

The leader cut off Yohei’s words firmly.

Yohei stared at the leader with wide eyes.

“Distinguish between what you should say and what you shouldn’t say. Words can bring disaster. A single thoughtless word can lead to an irreversible situation.”

It was a tone like an adult scolding a child.

The moment Yohei was about to grind his teeth, the leader opened his mouth.

“Let me ask you one thing, how much do you know about Kang Jin-ho?”

“You don’t even understand what kind of person the enemy’s leader is, and you only thought about rushing in blindly. That alone shows how complacent you were.”

“We understood him well enough.”

“No!”

The leader shouted more firmly than ever.

“You don’t know how terrifying Kang Jin-ho is. If you knew that, you wouldn’t be so calm and looking for things to pick apart. Don’t you understand? The war has already begun. Kang Jin-ho, who has been attacked, will never leave Japan alone. Don’t you understand?”

The leader looked at everyone and spat out the words.

“It doesn’t matter how much you can pick at each other. Kang Jin-ho will take it all.”

An question mark appeared on Yohei’s face.

‘That much?’

It had already been proven that Korea was not the same as before. Just from the testimonies of those who had returned alive from that vast sea, it was clear that they were not people to be underestimated.

But they had not thought that they would dare to target the Japanese mainland. There was an insurmountable gap between Japan and Korea.

“You have a face that says you don’t believe me.”

The leader chuckled.

“Well, fine. From your perspective, it’s understandable that you would think I’m exaggerating to avoid responsibility.”

That was exactly right.

“So, I have brought someone who can testify about what kind of person Kang Jin-ho is.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened. Then, through that door, Chai Ke-chang walked in leisurely.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Chai Ke-chang.