Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1452

“I don’t know what the hell is going on here.”

Reggie Mercer muttered, a hollow laugh escaping him as he watched the soldiers setting up a base in the desolate desert.

“It’s like a bunch of kids playing house.”

No matter how hard he tried to understand, he couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening.

For starters, the fact that this whole operation was top secret was bizarre.

Top secret?

Did they really think they could maintain secrecy with this many troops mobilized?

‘Two whole divisions, no less.’

Even though they were mechanized divisions, not infantry, and the number of personnel was lower than expected, it was still two divisions.

There was even talk that this operation was originally supposed to involve an entire corps, not just two divisions. It was only canceled due to the vehement opposition of the corps commander.

‘That’s just ridiculous.’

This wasn’t some World War II scenario. How could an entire U.S. Army corps be mobilized for an operation like this?

Reggie was certain that with that kind of force, they could conquer Europe. Especially if that corps was the 3rd Corps, a mechanized corps, no country in the world would dare to challenge them.

No.

They didn’t even need that much.

With the forces they had here, they could occupy most countries in less than a day.

This was not arrogance.

It might be incomprehensible to ordinary people, but anyone with even a basic understanding of military power would know that Reggie’s thoughts were not far-fetched.

“Sir.”

The operations officer approached him and gave a short salute.

“The deployment of the 2nd and 3rd Armored Brigades is complete.”

“Good work.”

Reggie glanced at the tanks lined up in formation and chuckled.

“I have no idea what they’re trying to do. And I have no clue what that lucky bastard is thinking.”

“You can say that again.”

Their gaze turned towards the rear. They could see a low hill. The hill, which bulged out on all sides, wasn’t a sand dune.

It was a temporary bunker made of special concrete.

Of course, compared to a bunker built to proper thickness standards, its defensive capabilities were negligible, but it was a hundred times better than nothing. At the very least, it easily surpassed the defensive capabilities of most buildings.

And Phil Button was holed up inside that bunker. As soon as the bunker was completed, Phil Button had locked himself inside and hadn’t taken a single step outside.

‘What a coward.’

The operations officer seemed to think the same thing.

“I don’t know why he bothered to come all the way here if he’s so scared. It wouldn’t make much of a difference if we just set up a model or a mannequin.”

Reggie chuckled.

“It’s not quite like that. I actually admire his attitude.”

“…Is that so?”

“He wants to leave his mark on this operation, even while trembling in fear. It’s an incredible obsession with power that transcends fear.”

“I’m not sure if you’re being sarcastic or admiring him.”

“Let’s just say it’s both.”

That was exactly it.

He wanted to admire the tenacity with which Phil came all the way here to make his voice heard, but he couldn’t help but be cynical about the driving force behind that tenacity.

It was probably the difference between those on the ground and those in command.

“Sir, I’m having trouble understanding this mission. The enemy is unclear, and the objective is unclear, isn’t it?”

“What was the mission again?”

“Defense against the assassination of key personnel by a small special forces unit.”

“How can you say it’s unclear when you know it? You’re not being thorough, Colonel.”

The operations officer frowned.

“The mission itself doesn’t make sense. How can a division be mobilized to defend against an assassination by a small special forces unit?”

“I always welcome questions about the mission. That kind of attitude can help the military develop. But I’m afraid I can’t answer your question, Colonel. I haven’t been able to make a clear interpretation of this goddamn mission myself.”

“Those higher-ups…”

“Don’t forget that I’m included in the higher-ups you’re talking about. Being mocked to my face isn’t very pleasant.”

“Would I ever mock you, sir?”

Reggie chuckled lightly.

It was common for this many troops to be mobilized in one place. But it had been nearly 20 years since this many troops had been mobilized with live ammunition for an actual combat situation.

But Reggie wasn’t particularly nervous.

Unless they screwed up the operation and caused an accident themselves, there was no way a small special forces unit could pose a threat to this many troops.

‘It’s insane.’

Training is only meaningful when it’s based on realistic scenarios. But even a three-year-old would say that the scenario this training is based on doesn’t make any sense.

“Maybe not.”

Reggie smirked.

“Maybe it’s training to find a way to survive in any situation.”

“In that case, they’d be better off hiding in the White House’s underground bunker.”

“I’d recommend that too.”

It wasn’t that he had a strong dislike for Phil Button. But field commanders tend to have a strong aversion to non-military experts interfering in military operations.

So, good words were unlikely to come out.

“Hurry up and finish the deployment. Even if the training ends quickly, it’ll take more than a day just to get the troops back to their bases.”

“Understood.”

Watching the operations officer rush off to direct the troops, Reggie frowned slightly.

‘I’m seeing all sorts of crazy shit.’

Not a training exercise that’s like a real battle, but an actual battle?

‘I’ll give them what they want.’

He didn’t know who the idiots were who had accepted this ridiculous operation, but he was going to make mincemeat out of them the moment he laid eyes on them.

That way, they wouldn’t do such stupid things again.

“Don’t blame me.”

They were the ones who did something stupid.

Reggie glanced at the bunker.

A soft aroma wafted from the coffee in the steel cup.

“That seems to be a pretty good bean.”

“I brought some of what I was drinking. It’s hard to get the right taste here, though.”

Lieutenant General Frank Wilson, the commander of the 3rd Corps of the Army Forces Command, looked at Phil Button with a subtle gaze.

‘He’s so relaxed.’

He was such an enigma.

From what he could see inside the bunker, he seemed like the most relaxed person in the world, but his actions were extremely cautious. He hadn’t taken a single step outside the bunker, just in case something might happen. He even took care of his bathroom needs in a makeshift space on one side of the bunker.

‘In the end, it’s people like this who survive.’

No matter how he felt or what he thought, he never created variables. If it was necessary to win, he wouldn’t hesitate to dive into a pile of filth and breathe through a straw.

“You don’t seem to be in a good mood, General.”

“How could I be? I have no desire to involve my precious subordinates in this clown show. If you hadn’t promised to increase the budget, I would have refused this training.”

“You’re still using the soft word ‘training.’ Don’t forget, General. This isn’t training. It’s a real battle.”

The Undersecretary took a sip of his coffee and continued.

“It may not be pleasant for you to hear, but I’m the only one who’s guaranteed to survive. That means you could all lose your heads at any moment.”

Frank Wilson chuckled.

“Is Superman coming?”

“I’m not joking.”

The Undersecretary said with a stern look.

“Victory itself is meaningless. I don’t want a single casualty in this farce. That would be a great national loss and a pointless death. Do you understand?”

That was the part Frank couldn’t understand.

The field commanders were extremely dissatisfied with conducting this ridiculous training. But in Frank’s opinion, the person who was most dissatisfied with this training was none other than Undersecretary Phil.

“If you’re so unhappy with this training, why are you going through with it?”

“Isn’t it obvious? To make sure this never happens again. There are some idiots in this world who won’t understand unless you hit them over the head. One of the biggest misconceptions people have is that those in high positions are cold and rational. That’s not the case in reality.”

Phil shrugged.

“Seeing a lot and knowing a lot doesn’t make you wise. Knowledge is just used to reinforce your own thoughts. In the end, you just become a stubborn idiot trapped in your own preconceptions.”

Frank said with a hint of sarcasm.

“Do you believe that you’re not included in that group of idiots?”

“Well, I don’t know. I might just be a stubborn old geezer with a closed mind. Maybe that’ll be revealed today?”

Frank shook his head.

He was an enigma.

“It’s not good to think too much, General. You’re a soldier. Isn’t a soldier’s duty to follow orders? Just focus on stopping the enemy that’s coming.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. No one can get here. And now that the deployment is complete, there’s nothing more for me to do. It’s the field commanders who need to step up. You, Undersecretary, should let go of the illusion that those in charge control everything.”

“That’s a harsh criticism. I accept it.”

‘He’s so slippery.’

No matter how much he mocked or poked at him, he got nothing in return. That’s why politicians were so hard to deal with.

“General, the report is that the deployment of all units is complete.”

“Have everyone hold their positions.”

“Yes, sir!”

The adjutant saluted and left the bunker. Frank turned to look at Undersecretary Phil.

“Deployment is complete.”

Phil looked at his phone with a slightly uneasy expression.

“It’s not that I’m scared, but this kind of thing always makes me nervous.”

After sending a message on his phone that preparations were complete, Phil let out a deep sigh and leaned back in his chair.

‘This is just a show.’

If they really wanted to, they could mobilize the entire corps. But that wouldn’t save face. The fact that they had to mobilize the entire corps just to stop a few people would be proof of their uselessness.

So, what they needed to mobilize was one division.

That was enough.

The fact that he had even called in a reserve division was due to Phil’s tendency to pursue perfection. Others might have thought he was scared.

“Now, let’s see how capable these Easterners are that they’re so confident about.”

Phil’s gaze turned to the monitor in the center of the bunker.

“I hope it’s not too boring.”

It would be a waste of all the effort that went into deploying all these people.

Phil let out a soft smile.