Descent Of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1464

“Me?”

“Yes.”

Kang Jin-ho tilted his head slightly.

“Why?”

“If you ask why… there isn’t really an answer I can give. I can’t know what the higher-ups are thinking. It might be personal curiosity, or maybe they have something else to say.”

“Is that also a condition of the contract?”

“It is not, but…”

Kang Jin-ho answered indifferently.

“Then I refuse.”

“Is that so?”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back on the sofa and slowly inhaled his cigarette.

“Hoo.”

After exhaling a short puff of smoke, Kang Jin-ho spoke with a blank expression.

“I wouldn’t have anything to say even if we met.”

“Ah, but that doesn’t mean I won’t meet them.”

“Yes?”

“Tell them to come if they want to meet.”

That meant he wouldn’t meet them.

Reynolds couldn’t relay those words to his superiors.

“…I’ll make it difficult.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

It seemed that being mindful of superiors was no different here than in Korea.

At that moment, Lee Hyun-soo’s phone began to ring. Lee Hyun-soo picked up the phone and went into the other room. After a short while, Lee Hyun-soo came back out.

“There are no legal issues.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There’s no trickery.”

Reynolds’s face twitched slightly.

Even so, it was a bit strange to say such things in front of the person involved! Those damn imbeciles!

He had never been treated like this in his life, and a surge of anger rose within him. But that feeling quickly vanished the moment he met Kang Jin-ho’s gaze.

‘It could happen.’

When have these people ever done such negotiations that they would follow all the rules? Even in contracts between countries, things like this often happen, so this is nothing.

Reynolds, who had quickly convinced himself, smiled and gently pushed the contract forward.

“Would you like to sign?”

Kang Jin-ho looked at Lee Hyun-soo one last time. Lee Hyun-soo nodded deeply.

“It’s quite funny.”

He had never seen such a complicated contract in his life.

Originally, a contract is made. Then, a contract is written stating what happens when that contract is not fulfilled, and then an agreement is written again stating that the second contract refers to the first contract.

Kang Jin-ho had no idea how this worked legally.

They were trying to legally guarantee something that wasn’t legally guaranteed, which led to this complicated process.

“I don’t know why this kind of contract is necessary.”

Kang Jin-ho said indifferently, and Reynolds opened his mouth with a slight smile.

“Everything in the world needs proof. It would be troublesome for you, Assembly Head, if we didn’t keep the contract.”

“Is it troublesome for me? If you don’t keep the contract, it’s you who will be in trouble.”

At first glance, it sounded like they had more to gain.

But Reynolds knew that wasn’t what he meant.

This meant that if the contract was not properly fulfilled, they would retaliate on their own without even dealing with legal issues.

Reynolds swallowed hard.

“Who is the person in charge?”

“It wouldn’t be the president, would it? No way someone who changes every five or ten years could be responsible for something like this.”

“That’s difficult to say.”

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes, Assembly Head!”

“Add a condition. The responsible person’s personal information and photo.”

“Yes!”

Lee Hyun-soo immediately began adding the item to the contract and printing it out. Reynolds’s eyes trembled as he watched.

“Is it strange?”

“…No.”

“There’s nothing strange about it. People are responsible. I don’t really prefer to be compensated with money or other things for damages. Especially when it comes to matters related to the state. If you compensate for your mistakes with taxes, then the people are taking responsibility, aren’t they?”

Reynolds nodded.

He wasn’t wrong.

“Responsibility is taken with one’s own pain. That’s what responsibility is.”

As Lee Hyun-soo added the new clause to the back of the existing contract, Kang Jin-ho nodded lightly.

“Will you accept it?”

“…Of course.”

No matter what conditions were added, he couldn’t back down here.

“Go and tell them. This is just a piece of paper. Laws and contracts are just facades. This is a deal. If our promises are broken, I will hold them accountable.”

And the personal information of the person who would take responsibility was added to the deal.

‘There’s no way this deal won’t be kept.’

Life is precious to everyone.

No matter how great money is, it can’t be more important than life. Especially for those who already have enough money and power.

“I’ll sign.”

“Yes.”

Reynolds signed the signature line. Kang Jin-ho also left a simple signature on his signature line. Once the signing was complete, Lee Hyun-soo stepped forward to handle the rest.

They signed three copies, each taking one, and the remaining copy was stored separately.

“Thank you, Assembly Head.”

“Then, may I offer a few words of advice?”

“Now?”

Reynolds smiled.

“There were a few things I wanted to say, but if I said them before the contract, it would feel like we were strengthening our conditions, so I wanted to do the contract first. This is just a request.”

“Alright.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded and looked at Reynolds.

Reynolds paused slightly before opening his mouth.

“The reason we accepted all these conditions without limitation is because we have a request for you, Assembly Head. Please properly train the SOBs [slang for ‘sons of bitches’, referring to the soldiers] who will be dispatched to Korea.”

“I already told you that.”

“Please do your best.”

Kang Jin-ho, who was about to answer indifferently, closed his mouth after seeing Reynolds’s eyes.

“Do my best?”

“Yes. You don’t have to maintain the current method. Please implement the best method you think of. Even if there are sacrifices, it’s okay.”

“Sacrifices…”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“You’re carelessly talking about other people’s lives. That’s not for you to decide.”

“No. It’s not my decision. The SOBs who will be transferred to Korea from now on will receive support under those conditions.”

Then it’s a little different.

“They are soldiers and warriors. But they are also martial artists. If they are people who want to become stronger even if they have to risk their lives, I think they are enough to become the martial artists you envision.”

“Hmm.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded lightly.

That certainly aligned with Kang Jin-ho’s philosophy.

“It will be difficult.”

“You don’t have to worry about those who fail. We will replenish them on our side.”

Kang Jin-ho scratched his chin.

‘Do my best…’

Does this guy know what Kang Jin-ho’s ‘best’ means when he says this?

“You might regret it.”

“There’s nothing to regret.”

“I warned you.”

At this point, Reynolds also began to feel uneasy.

“Then, maybe reduce the sacrifices a bit…”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

“I’ll consider it.”

“Thank you.”

Reynolds bowed deeply.

Adding conditions to the contract wasn’t bad. But that wouldn’t draw out Kang Jin-ho’s sincerity.

This man wasn’t someone who moved by the words written on paper. If you wanted to move Kang Jin-ho, you had to bow your head and ask directly.

Reynolds, who had received a positive answer from Kang Jin-ho, smiled happily.

But Lee Hyun-soo and Wiggins couldn’t help but be horrified.

“…I think you should reconsider.”

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

At Lee Hyun-soo and Wiggins’s words, Reynolds tilted his head.

“Is there a problem?”

Lee Hyun-soo sighed.

‘It’s no use talking.’

There were so many things he wanted to say, but no matter how much he said, he wouldn’t understand. There was no way an ordinary person could understand Kang Jin-ho’s training methods.

If the Flame Demons [elite group of martial artists] were here and heard Reynolds’s words, they would have grabbed their stomachs and rolled on the floor. How could they not laugh at someone who was pushing his own subordinates into hell with his own hands?

Of course, Kang Jin-ho wouldn’t put as much effort into them as he did with the Flame Demons.

“…You’ll see when you experience it.”

Lee Hyun-soo left a last glimmer of hope.

“Just because you said this today doesn’t mean you can’t change your mind later, so don’t be unnecessarily prideful and tell us right away if you think it’s not going to work.”

Wiggins also chimed in enthusiastically.

“That’s right. You can’t be full on the first bite. You have to take your time and do it slowly.”

Reynolds tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

Looking at Reynolds, the two men smiled wryly.

As the contract was finalized, Reynolds put the contract into the bag he had prepared and stood up.

“Thank you for the good deal. I believe this deal has deepened the friendship between the Assembly and the United States.”

Kang Jin-ho stood up and extended his hand to Reynolds.

“Let’s meet again next time.”

“I would like to meet you privately next time. There’s a good wine bar, and I’d like to visit it with you. Please stop by sometime.”

“I will.”

Reynolds smiled and turned around. His expression was very relaxed, but his back was soaked with sweat.

As Reynolds opened the door and went outside, Kang Jin-ho sat on the sofa and took out a cigarette.

Click.

Kang Jin-ho, who had lit the cigarette, exhaled smoke.

‘It’s over.’

Although it wasn’t a long visit in terms of time, it felt strangely long. Anyway, this concluded all the schedules in the United States.

“Assembly Head.”

“Hmm?”

“What are you going to do with the Americans? Are you going to train them properly?”

“I guess I have to?”

Lee Hyun-soo chuckled.

“People don’t know they’re digging their own graves. I tried to pull them out, but they keep walking in on their own. What can I do?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Kang Jin-ho also smiled wryly.

They would probably try to create a new training system based on the people Kang Jin-ho had trained. But that was impossible. Kang Jin-ho’s method was not something anyone could imitate.

The more those trained by Kang Jin-ho became active and strengthened their position, the more Kang Jin-ho’s influence would increase, and the more dependent they would become on the Assembly.

“It was a good deal.”

“It was a really good deal.”

Looking at Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo smiling at each other, Wiggins chuckled.

‘They’re taking everything down to the bone.’

How many people in history have gained this much from a deal with the United States?

Their overwhelming advantage and misunderstanding of martial artists had led to this situation. And the timing was perfect.

“Let’s go home now.”

Kang Jin-ho said, sounding a little tired.

“I need some kimchi stew.”

“Ah, I completely agree.”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head as he watched Wiggins nod vigorously.

‘I don’t know who’s the Korean here.’