Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1572

“I’ve laid the groundwork.”

Kang Jin-ho’s eyebrows twitched at Lee Hyun-soo’s words.

“Now, it’s up to the Chairman to finish it.”

“You make it sound so easy…”

Kang Jin-ho couldn’t hide his discomfort.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘finish it’?”

“You know what you’re good at, Chairman. Just step on them until they’re saying the sky is red, and it’ll sound like the most natural thing in the world.”

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes and pressed his temples.

“To that extent?”

“Yes. ‘To that extent.’ This is more important than you think.”

Kang Jin-ho sighed.

This was giving him a headache.

“It might be annoying, but it’s better to wrap it up quickly. We have a lot to do, and those guys have taken up too much of our time.”

“Alright.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded cleanly.

“Any other issues?”

“The SOBs will be entering Korea around next week.”

“Already?”

“They’re very enthusiastic. It seems they really plan to live in tents. In this regard, the US military is definitely more reasonable. If it were Korea, they would refrain from moving until the campsite is built.”

“Wouldn’t Korea make them live in tents anyway?”

“…Huh?”

Lee Hyun-soo tilted his head.

“That makes sense too. Anyway, the Korean military is a strange place.”

Kang Jin-ho chuckled.

Of course, the Korean military was a constant source of complaints for men who had completed their service.

“Looking at how they’re acting, I don’t think the Assembly [Korean National Assembly] is in a position to criticize the Korean military.”

“Ha, those bastards are so steeped in bad habits…”

Even Lee Hyun-soo didn’t know that such initiation rituals existed in the Assembly or the Yeongnam Association [a regional political faction].

It was something that Kang Jin-ho and Lee Hyun-soo, who had started as executives, wouldn’t know. How could they know what new recruits went through without following them around?

“Ha, when I was in the military, I used to criticize the higher-ups for not caring about the soldiers, but how could I have known I was doing the same thing?”

“You served in the military?”

“What are you talking about? I was in the reconnaissance unit! Do you know what a GP [Guard Post] is, Chairman?”

“Have you ever heard of a 155mm howitzer?”

“What’s so hard about that? If you wanted to, you could play catch with a cannonball!”

“What’s so hard about being in the reconnaissance unit? You could climb ten mountains while whistling!”

Bator and Wiggins tilted their heads, looking at the two of them, while Bang Jin-hoon wore a satisfied smile.

“Just leave them be. ‘My military service was harder’ is an indispensable pleasure for Korean men.”

“…Korea is a strange place sometimes.”

“I agree.”

Bang Jin-hoon shrugged.

“Don’t listen to them. What’s so hard about being in reconnaissance or artillery? They’re not even marines.”

Ah, this guy is a Korean man too. Lee Hyun-soo sighed deeply.

“Anyway, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again. There are so many remnants of the Japanese that were left behind…”

Wiggins chuckled and corrected Lee Hyun-soo.

“Ah, that’s a misunderstanding. I learned while studying history that in the past, even in Joseon’s [historical Korean kingdom] Sungkyunkwan [Joseon’s highest educational institution], new recruits were tormented by being thrown into ponds.”

What?

How do you know that? Are you Korean?

“And Koreans actually have a strange habit.”

“Yes? What habit are you talking about?”

“They think that things that happen in other countries are unique to Korea and feel ashamed of it. It’s a strange tendency.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s eyes widened slightly.

“Yes?”

Wiggins replied as if it were nothing.

“Whether it’s tormenting new recruits or bullying specific individuals, these things exist in the West and other countries. In the past, it was even worse. The reason why it doesn’t happen now is not because people’s perceptions have changed. It’s because the system has been improved and there are severe penalties for doing such things.”

“Most of the problems in Korea occur because the perpetrators are not punished. But Koreans see it as a cultural tendency and feel ashamed. It’s incomprehensible.”

Bator nodded.

“That’s right. If the same thing happened to the warriors of the steppe, no one would be ashamed. The one who gets bullied is the idiot!”

“…That’s a bit of a different story.”

That’s because you’re weird, you old man!

Lee Hyun-soo cleared his throat.

“I’m just saying this in case you misunderstand Mongolia, but please don’t think that Bator’s personal opinion is the tendency of the Mongolian martial world.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

Lee Hyun-soo scratched his head.

“What were we talking about… Ah, the US military! Anyway, whenever the military comes up…”

Lee Hyun-soo, who had been briefly afflicted by the chronic disease of veterans, cleared his throat and began to speak again.

“Anyway, they contacted us saying that they will set up their base next week and finish training preparations by the weekend. Then we can adjust the schedule with our side.”

“The site?”

“They’ve set up a base near the Assembly. It’s far from the capital and in a sparsely populated area, so there doesn’t seem to be much noise. There was some opposition from environmental groups, but that’s a problem for the politicians to solve.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Set up the training schedule and pass it on to me.”

“Yes. I’ll keep it to a minimum.”

“What about Japan?”

The answer came from Bang Jin-hoon, not Lee Hyun-soo.

“Japan will also be finished by next week. Unlike the military, they have things to sort out, so it’s taking a bit longer.”

“Have they secured housing?”

“They’ll be staying at the Assembly, so what’s the problem? I’m planning to assign them to the old dormitories that former members used.”

Unlike the US military, which needed a base because it was both a military and dispatch format, the Japanese martial artists could just train inside the Assembly.

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Instead of creating cumbersome tasks to maintain appearances, it’s better to go with the easiest method. That will reduce the burden on our side as well.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“I’ll organize it neatly and report back.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded.

“Any other issues?”

“Lord, there are some supplies we need to purchase. I want to train them more practically, so we need a lot of reagents.”

“Get support through Lee Hyun-soo.”

“…That guy is refusing.”

“Huh?”

Kang Jin-ho stared blankly at Lee Hyun-soo.

Then, Lee Hyun-soo said firmly.

“No, how can the equipment cost over ten billion won [approximately $7.5 million USD] to train less than a hundred people? How can the material cost per person be over one hundred million won [approximately $75,000 USD]?”

Kang Jin-ho’s head turned back to Wiggins.

Wiggins shrugged as if he was in trouble.

“Magicians are a class that requires a lot of money to train. I can’t help it.”

“Even if it costs money, how can it cost this much in such a short period! Is this not the cost of your personal research?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“…Yes?”

“I told you, I need a lot of money because I want to train them more practically.”

“That’s right. You did say that.”

“I need to train myself too!”

“I’m the strongest force! It’s important for me to get stronger too! So I need to do research and try different things!”

Wow….

That’s some logic.

Lee Hyun-soo was speechless, so Kang Jin-ho chuckled and made a decision instead of Lee Hyun-soo.

“Provide the support.”

“Thank you, Lord.”

“Chairman!”

Lee Hyun-soo shouted as if he couldn’t understand.

“Ten billion won isn’t some dog’s name, and even though the Assembly is making a lot of money and MK is raking it in, if we spend money like this, we’ll collapse soon.”

“It’s not like we’re spending it on useless things. Provide the support. Given the situation, do you think they’re asking for that money to play around?”

“No, of course, but…”

“Wiggins.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Kang Jin-ho said with slightly lowered eyes.

“I hope you’ll produce results in return.”

“Of course, Lord. You will be satisfied.”

“I know that we shouldn’t expect results from supporting training. I’m sorry for saying this.”

“You’re welcome. I’m not someone who doesn’t know what the situation is. Don’t worry. I will focus solely on practical training.”

Kang Jin-ho nodded quietly.

Lee Hyun-soo clicked his tongue slightly, but it was difficult to argue with Kang Jin-ho’s decision.

“…Then, I’ll provide the support for now.”

Wiggins winked at Lee Hyun-soo. Lee Hyun-soo, whose stomach was boiling, sighed repeatedly and opened his mouth.

“Let’s go back to Taekwang.”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at the report in his hand and opened his mouth.

“We’ve dealt with the martial world, but Japan is not completely under our control yet. The martial world and the government go hand in hand, but they are still separate. Therefore, there is a limit to the money we can extract using the influence of the martial world alone.”

“So, I’m planning to establish a company through Taekwang and seize distribution rights. In the end, it’s the distribution network that makes money. With the support of the martial world and the Yakuza [Japanese organized crime syndicate], we will quickly seize the distribution network and siphon money through various routes.”

“Oh, a distribution network?”

“Good thinking.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled at the directors’ positive response.

‘I have to pretend to understand.’

Why is that?

I went to business school and was told I was good at studying, but why can’t I understand what they’re saying?

What is university education… Ah, I didn’t even study for a few years.

“That’s why Jeong Hong-geun is important. That man is someone who can suck money down to the bone using all sorts of means. MK and Taekwang will form a joint venture, nominally 7 to 3, but in reality 9 to 1, and share the money extracted.”

“That will definitely benefit them as well.”

“Yes. And in return for the joint venture, we will receive Taekwang stock. That will compensate for the losses.”

Wiggins smiled contentedly.

“I’ve seen countless robbers in my life, but this is the first time I’ve seen a robber like this. Would anyone in their right mind accept those conditions?”

“They will. Jeong Hong-geun is not someone who cares much about short-term profits. He’s someone who wouldn’t hesitate to end up on the streets if he thought he could somehow plan for the future, even if it meant taking a loss right now.”

Lee Hyun-soo glanced at Kang Jin-ho.

“And isn’t it our Chairman’s specialty to make the impossible possible? I’m sure you’ll take care of it.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Let’s move on to the next agenda.”

Kang Jin-ho smiled as he watched the directors’ reactions.

Everyone.

Sometimes, your excessive expectations are a burden to me.

I wish you would understand….

Kang Jin-ho sighed as he watched the directors who had already moved on to the next agenda.