Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1154

“Welcome.”

Master gave a light smile as he watched Wiggins emerge from the portal. Master, stroking his chin lightly, smiled softly once more.

‘I’m not smiling well.’

It was strange.

He and Wiggins weren’t exactly close, but they were at least on friendly terms.

Yet, he couldn’t produce a natural smile for Wiggins.

He tried not to be conscious of it, but it meant that the difference in power between Wiggins and Master was that significant. Enough for Master to feel burdened by Wiggins.

Master forced the corners of his mouth up and opened his mouth.

“It’s hard to see your face.”

“I apologize. I should have shown my face more often, but I’ve been so busy with work…”

“Don’t say such things, even as a joke. You know it’s not easy to open a portal from this distance.”

“But you’re more than capable of doing that, aren’t you?”

“I’m not what I used to be.”

Master wore a bitter smile.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Wiggins began to walk down the hallway, following Master.

“Even if I’m a martial artist, I’m still aging.”

“I don’t think it’s time for you to say such things yet? You should say that twenty years from now, shouldn’t you?”

“You don’t know. I’ve already stagnated a long time ago. And now, I feel that my strength is not what it used to be. I’ve already reached my peak. What’s left is just a downhill path.”

“…You’re being overly dramatic.”

“I’m not being dramatic.”

Master shook his head.

“I’ve lived a long time. I might have become more seasoned, maybe a little softer. But that alone can’t completely replace the vigor of my youth. If the me from ten years ago fought the me now, the me from ten years ago would win.”

“Don’t make that face. Aging is like that. It’s something no one can avoid. Except for one person.”

“I agree with that.”

Wiggins wore a bitter smile.

Sometimes, he was envious of Kang Jin-ho. He had the power that came with age, yet he also possessed a young body.

How could he not be envious?

‘Of course, I’d refuse if I had to go through the same thing.’

Even so, he couldn’t say that Kang Jin-ho was lucky because he knew how terrible of a hellish path he had walked to get to his current situation.

It was too painful a path to walk for the price of regaining youth.

Strictly speaking, he didn’t even regain his youth. Kang Jin-ho had merely stopped time here and gone to hell. To envy that price was just a luxurious sentiment from someone who hadn’t experienced hell firsthand.

‘Certainly…’

Wiggins glanced at Master.

The corners of his mouth were stubbornly closed. It was an expression that couldn’t be seen on the Master of the past.

Whether it was because of age or because the things he had experienced were not smooth, Master had definitely changed from the past.

‘No one can remain unchanged.’

Wiggins was the same.

The important thing was not ‘has he changed,’ but ‘is he properly moving towards his goal.’ In that regard, neither Wiggins nor Master had strayed from the path yet.

“More importantly, what about the information?”

“We’re about to go hear the report. Join us.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the information organized by Master, but if possible, he wanted to hear the information directly from the source. It was that important of a matter.

Master, having moved to the conference room, opened the door and went inside. Two people were already waiting inside.

“We greet Master.”

“For the Round Table.”

Master nodded and sat at the head of the table. Wiggins stood quietly beside him.

“Let’s get to the point. So, what’s the situation in Japan?”

“Large-scale movements have been detected.”

Wiggins’s face hardened.

The Assembly was also aware of the information about Japan. However, after the last battle with Japan, it was inevitable that Koreans’ activities in Japan would be greatly reduced.

Outwardly, tourists were coming and going, but the martial world was not a place where ordinary people could stick their noses in. There were limits to obtaining information by disguising oneself as a tourist.

That was why they had to borrow the Round Table’s help.

“Has the number been identified?”

“It hasn’t been accurately identified yet. It’s impossible to monitor the movements of all of Japan. However, considering that nearly a thousand people are moving in the Tokyo area alone… the overall estimate is around five thousand…”

“Five thousand…”

Master unconsciously stroked his chin.

Five thousand was an enormous number.

In the concept of modern warfare, where a country can mobilize hundreds of thousands of troops, five thousand was just a small number that couldn’t really affect the war situation. But in the martial world, five thousand was a number that could turn a country upside down.

First of all, the difference in mobility was too severe.

In modern warfare, infantry had already lost its value in terms of firepower. No matter how many infantry gathered, they couldn’t stop bombings or tanks.

Even so, the reason why infantry still played a central role in the military was because they were the only military branch that could occupy territory. You couldn’t control an occupied area while riding in a tank.

In that sense, martial artists were a military branch that shouldn’t exist.

They moved faster than tanks, and depending on their abilities, they were stronger than tanks. And they could reliably occupy the areas they moved through.

Unlike tanks, which lost their combat power when their fuel and ammunition supplies were cut off, they would just grab a weapon and run wild endlessly, resupplying themselves.

In other words, they were one-man legions, and one-man legions that didn’t need supplies.

And those people were landing in units of thousands?

‘It’s hell.’

Even if a raiding force of thousands entered the rear during an ongoing war, the direction of the war would change. But what if five thousand with even more power landed without any resistance?

It was impossible to grasp how big the damage would be.

“But five thousand…”

“And this five thousand doesn’t include the participation of the Kansai region.”

“…Say that again.”

“Basically, the Kanto and Kansai regions of Japan are in conflict with each other. That’s why during the last invasion, the martial world of Kanto moved on its own, and Kansai didn’t participate.”

“That’s right.”

“But this time, there’s a chance that Kansai will also participate. If that’s the case, the number will increase.”

“…Are you saying that the number could increase from five thousand?”

“If Kanto participates, it won’t just be a matter of increasing the number. In terms of quality, it should be seen as at least half as strong again.”

Master’s face was filled with bewilderment.

“Are you saying it could reach ten thousand?”

“According to our estimates…”

Master’s face was filled with a look of exhaustion.

‘Is this the extent of Japan’s power?’

How many martial artists could Britain mobilize on its own?

Even if they lowered the standards as much as possible and scraped together everything, it wouldn’t exceed a thousand. If they pushed it, they might be able to exceed a thousand a little, but anything more than that was impossible. Sending that many people on an expedition was practically a gamble on the nation’s fate.

But was it possible for a single country to form an army of nearly ten thousand?

“It’s not realistic.”

Wiggins shook his head.

“First of all, it’s wrong to assume that the people who moved from Tokyo were martial artists from within Tokyo. If I were in Shin’nichikai’s [New Japan Society] position, I would have gathered a large number in Tokyo from before to ensure speed.”

“I think that’s right too.”

Master and Wiggins’s opinions were in agreement.

No matter how much they thought about it, it was an unrealistic number.

“Even if they scraped together the martial artists from Kanto and Kansai to the maximum, it wouldn’t exceed five thousand. If their leader isn’t an idiot, they would have learned a lesson from the last battle. Even if they gathered a bunch of nobodies, they wouldn’t be much of a fighting force.”

“I agree.”

“I estimate it to be around two thousand.”

The informant looked at Wiggins and Master with slightly surprised eyes. They were the ones who had gathered the information directly.

But based on that information, Master and Wiggins were grasping the situation even better than they were.

“The problem is… more the direction than the number.”

Wiggins asked directly.

“Which way are those thousand people moving?”

“It’s not accurate because they’re moving in a disorganized manner. But it seems they’re generally moving west.”

“West…”

That was towards Korea. If they continued west, they would inevitably reach the coast.

“Did they not learn a lesson from the last damage?”

They had already experienced a loss while moving by ship once, so were they going to use the sea route again this time?

‘That can’t be.’

Wiggins shook his head.

Before discussing strategy, the one thing you should never do was to ignore the enemy. If you looked down on the opponent, you couldn’t properly grasp their intentions.

No matter how foolish they were, they had suffered such a terrible defeat, so they wouldn’t use the same method again.

But if not that method, then what?

Was there a way to land two thousand martial artists in Korea?

Airport?

That was out of the question. The airport was a place where they could control the passengers. If they didn’t give permission, there was no way to board a plane.

“It seems they have something up their sleeves.”

“It would be wise to be careful. You might think you’ve prepared enough against them, but they’ve also been thinking only about taking your heads during that time.”

“I know.”

Wiggins nodded quietly.

The power of Japan could never be ignored. It was true that the Assembly had gained great confidence after leading a great victory in one battle, but that battle was only possible because Kang Jin-ho had intruded into a confined space from which they couldn’t escape.

They couldn’t guarantee that such a situation would happen again this time.

“Anything else?”

Wiggins, having received all the general information, fell into contemplation with a serious face.

Master, who had been watching Wiggins, quietly opened his mouth.

“Have you prepared enough?”

“It was an obvious thing. We can’t be careless. However… I keep thinking that what we see isn’t everything.”

“That’s probably true.”

“I’ll go back. We need to finish our preparations now. So, Master…”

“I know.”

Master cut off Wiggins’s words. Wiggins also nodded as if no further words were needed.

“Then, I’ll be going back now.”

“The gate will still be open, right? I won’t see you off.”

“Of course, Master.”

As Wiggins left the conference room, Master let out a soft sigh.

‘Japan and Korea…’

The martial worlds of the two countries, which were close to being enemies, were finally entering a full-scale war.

The outcome of this war would shake the balance of power in East Asia.

And the balance of power of the Round Table as well.

If Kang Jin-ho died and the Assembly collapsed at this timing, Master’s control over the Round Table would also disappear. At that moment, the Round Table would split and enter a civil war.

To prevent such a situation, the Round Table had to help Korea. Only Korea’s victory, and a victory that preserved as much of their strength as possible, could allow the Round Table’s reform to continue.

‘I know, but it stings.’

They had to shed blood for the benefit of another country. Where could such irony exist?

But there was no other choice now. It was a time to endure, even if it meant chewing on poisonous weeds.

“Summon Knight Vesley.”

Master gave the order in a heavy voice.