Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1382

“……There aren’t any lawyers willing to take the case.”

Wiggins tilted his head.

“What do you mean? No lawyers?”

“Yes.”

“Are Korean lawyers different from the ones I know? Aren’t they supposed to defend even the devil if you pay them enough?”

“Well, yes, but…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

“It seems the government is putting pressure on them.”

“Pressure? Did you say government pressure?”

“Yes.”

Wiggins stared at Lee Hyun-soo, his eyes wide with disbelief.

“Aren’t lawyers supposed to make money by picking apart even the smallest mistakes of the government, and then sue them again to make a fortune? At least, that’s what I know.”

“That might be the case in the Anglo-American world. But Korean lawyers don’t have that kind of power. Moreover, the National Security Law is a very sensitive issue in Korea. They can’t just step forward to defend someone. They have an image to maintain.”

“Image? Just because of an image?”

Seeing Wiggins’s dumbfounded expression, Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head. How was he supposed to explain this?

“Unlike the US or the UK, it’s still difficult to sue or defend against the state in Korea. Especially with those troublesome North Koreans openly targeting South Korea.”

“I don’t understand. Does that mean that all those who have been imprisoned under the National Security Law haven’t received proper legal representation?”

“Actually, there are lawyers who specialize in that area, but…”

“Right. Of course, there should be. Then we should contact them.”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

“Of course, I tried. But they said they don’t want to take on the Chairman’s case.”

“Why?”

Lee Hyun-soo pursed his lips.

“Because he’s rich.”

“……What did you just say?”

“They said that since he’s a wealthy chaebol [a large family-owned business conglomerate], they don’t feel the need to defend him. They told us to hire an expensive, top-notch lawyer.”

Wiggins slumped back in his chair.

He couldn’t understand how things worked in this country.

‘What kind of country is this?’ Lawyers are a service industry. They are there to represent people who don’t know the law. Fundamentally, they are no different from tax accountants. But why would a lawyer refuse a case, even when offered money?

It was beyond his comprehension.

If this were the UK or the US, the top law firms would be fighting over who gets to represent him.

“So, you’re saying we can’t find a lawyer?”

“It’s not like that. We can still find someone to take the case. And if all else fails, we can appoint a public defender. The problem is that we failed to secure a top law firm that can put pressure on the government.”

Wiggins sighed deeply.

“Damn it.”

It was hard to understand, but whether he understood it or not wasn’t important. What mattered was that the situation had turned out this way.

“……If only we could bring in lawyers from the UK, we wouldn’t have to worry.”

“The laws are different.”

Wiggins tapped his thigh nervously.

“The priority is to secure a decent lawyer. It seems the Lord wants to resolve this situation as legally as possible.”

“……Yes.”

“Damn bastards.”

Wiggins gritted his teeth.

If they hadn’t arrested Kang Jin-ho in front of his family, things wouldn’t have escalated this far. If necessary, they could have taken the extreme measure of crushing Kim Myung-chan first and then cleaning up the mess.

But now that his family knew that Kang Jin-ho was detained in a detention center and were applying for visitation, it would be difficult for Kang Jin-ho to leave the detention center on his own.

There was no way to explain it.

“That’s why I told you from the beginning that coexistence was impossible, but…”

“What’s the point of saying that now? So, how is your thing going?”

“The results should be out soon. It’s not something that can be processed as quickly as you think.”

While Lee Hyun-soo was in charge of legal matters, Wiggins was handling diplomacy.

“Is there any hope?”

“Well…”

Wiggins sighed.

“Normally, it wouldn’t be a difficult issue. The European Union has a close cooperative relationship with the Round Table. They would have prioritized any request from the Round Table.”

“……It sounds like things are different now?”

“There are two problems.”

“Yes?”

Wiggins frowned as he spoke.

“One is that the current chair of the EU is the German Chancellor. As you know, Germany…”

“Is the worst for us.”

“That’s right.”

Germany was one of the countries that suffered the most at the hands of Kang Jin-ho during the Master’s takeover of the Round Table. While he maintained relatively amicable relations with most European countries, Germany and France were practically sworn enemies.

And now, the Chancellor of Germany was the chair of the EU.

“They can’t be in a good mood, so they won’t be quick to process any requests. And since the chair is dragging their feet, there’s not much the other member states can do.”

“……Then what do we do?”

“Normally, I would pressure Germany through the British Parliament to speed up the process, but…”

Wiggins’s face contorted even more.

“As you know, Britain is currently…”

“Oh, um…”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

“Brexit, I see.”

“Exactly.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s face showed annoyance.

“Seriously, why is Britain so hopeless?”

“When have they ever been competent? Britain has always been hopeless, and they always will be! Those lunatics!”

Seeing Wiggins’s fierce self-criticism, it was hard to press him further. Lee Hyun-soo chuckled and continued.

“So, diplomatic support is also limited.”

“Limited isn’t the right word. If it’s put on the agenda, the pressure will definitely follow. The problem is that I can’t predict when that pressure will start.”

“Moreover, the atmosphere at the Round Table has been uneasy since they learned about the Lord’s arrest. It was something we couldn’t hide, so we had to be open about it.”

“Ah, I didn’t think about that. Is the Master okay?”

“It seems there are no major problems yet. The Master is more capable and amazing than you think. It seems he has already put in place quite a few control mechanisms.”

“Hmm, that’s a relief.”

“But that can’t last forever. As you know, the Master’s control over the Round Table largely depends on the Lord.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So, the Master has no choice but to desperately pressure the council. The Round Table will only stabilize again once the Lord is released.”

“Indeed…”

Lee Hyun-soo bit his lip slightly.

‘If the Chairman is away for too long, everything will collapse.’

As Wiggins said, if Kang Jin-ho is detained in prison for a long time, the Round Table will collapse immediately. And that impact will definitely affect the General Assembly.

When a powerful ruler falls, it’s common for those with opposing tendencies to take over. In other words, if the Master were to lose his position at the Round Table, there was a high probability that the Round Table would turn against the General Assembly.

‘Our strongest and most reliable ally would turn into our worst enemy.’

That alone would be terrible, but the impact of losing the Round Table wouldn’t end there. First of all, the Three Kings, who had been considering the Round Table’s support to invade Korea, would start recalculating.

And they would come to a very clear conclusion.

If Kang Jin-ho couldn’t move and didn’t receive the Round Table’s support, the General Assembly’s power would be reduced by at least half… no, realistically, it could be reduced by more than 70%.

To put it bluntly, even if the Hong King faction sent only half of their forces to invade Korea, they would be pushed back and annihilated.

“This is more serious than I thought. We must protect the Round Table.”

“It’s not just the Round Table. What do you think will happen if the news of the Chairman’s imprisonment reaches Japan?”

“Hasn’t Japan lost most of its forces?”

“The enemy isn’t the problem. It’s our allies. Don’t you understand? Most of the expeditionary forces in Japan are made up of the Demonic Cult and Demonic Flames. Do you think they can calmly carry out their mission while the Lord is in prison?”

“……That’s impossible.”

No, it’s not just impossible.

Even if they didn’t know the details, they would probably try to break down the prison walls and rescue the Chairman.

In reality, if that happened, they would be beaten like dogs and kicked out by the Chairman the moment they broke down the prison walls, but the mere possibility of such a thing happening was horrifying.

Lee Hyun-soo and Wiggins exchanged glances.

“For now, um…”

“Let’s try to hide it from them as much as possible. I honestly can’t imagine how Elder Jang Min will react.”

“Putting aside Elder Jang Min…”

“Hmm?”

“What about Bator?”

Wiggins vividly imagined a frenzied Bator smashing down the prison walls.

“……Damn it, our allies are more terrifying.”

Usually, allies are supposed to be a source of strength in times like these, but now they had to worry about how to hide the situation from their allies. Wiggins could only sigh.

“Let’s try to gloss over it for now.”

“That’s a very weak plan, isn’t it?”

“What else can we do? For now, let’s just…”

It was at that moment.

Bang!

Someone kicked the door open and entered.

Wiggins’s expression slightly soured as he recognized the person who had entered.

“I told you that we need to stay calm in times like these. You’re supposed to open the door with your hand, not your foot.”

“This is not the time for such leisurely talk! Turn on the TV, now!”

Bang Jin-hoon’s frantic shout made Wiggins’s face stiffen.

“TV?”

“Damn it, there isn’t one here!”

Bang Jin-hoon quickly turned on his phone and played a video.

“Let me explain…”

Wiggins, who was about to stop Bang Jin-hoon, closed his mouth as he looked at the screen.

The sound coming from the small phone speaker made Wiggins’s body freeze.

“[The police have announced the emergency arrest of a 20-year-old businessman, Mr. K, on charges of violating the National Security Law. Mr. K is accused of visiting North Korea without government permission. The police will investigate the purpose of Mr. K’s visit to North Korea and whether he engaged in any treasonous activities. Mr. K, who was arrested this time, is the CEO of the recently established company, MK…]”

Wiggins’s face contorted beyond recognition.

“Those bastards!”

This was a declaration of war.

A declaration that they would go all the way.

“Chief Lee!”

“Yes! Director!”

“Summon Elder Jang Min and Lee Myung-hwan! Contact Bator and tell him to return to the General Assembly as quickly as possible.”

“Yes!”

Wiggins gritted his teeth.

‘So, they want to play this game.’

Now there were no brakes. It was a fight to the death until one side was completely destroyed.