Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 1717

Go Han-bong’s hand, reaching for the glass in front of him, trembled slightly.

‘Is he out of his mind?’

His gaze followed Lee Hyun-soo. However, unlike him, who was flustered and didn’t know what to do due to tension and embarrassment, Lee Hyun-soo was looking at him with an extremely calm expression.

“Ahem.”

Only then did Go Han-bong realize his mistake and cleared his throat to change the atmosphere.

No matter the situation, a politician should never show any emotional turmoil to the person they are facing.

Go Han-bong picked up the bottle and poured alcohol into Lee Hyun-soo’s glass.

Once the empty glass was filled, Go Han-bong quietly put the bottle down. His slightly trembling fingertips couldn’t be hidden, but he had managed to calm himself down to some extent.

“It’s all so sudden.”

“I think you expected it to some degree.”

“Well, yes, but…”

Go Han-bong sighed.

Of course, he had thought that there would be a clash with China again… or more precisely, with the Changwang faction. In the worst-case scenario, he had thought that they might lead their forces and invade Korea.

He had been racking his brain about how to respond to such a situation when…

‘That would be a hundred times better.’

If they were the ones being invaded, they could at least play the victim. Of course, the matters of the Murim world [martial arts world] couldn’t be made public, but it was a fact that there were implicit discussions about it between countries.

But to attack first?

‘This is something that cannot be excused.’

Wasn’t it an unwritten rule that those who attacked first and lost had to endure any consequences?

‘The risk is too great.’

It was a method that anyone with a bit of sense would never choose. The losses would be too great compared to what could be gained.

Nevertheless, the reason why Go Han-bong couldn’t strongly object was that the person in front of him was not someone with a bit of sense.

Lee Hyun-soo was someone who controlled and manipulated a huge organization called the General Assembly. There was no way such a person wouldn’t have thought about the things that Go Han-bong had considered.

“What on earth are you thinking?”

Instead of beating around the bush, Go Han-bong chose to ask directly. There was no point in being indirect in front of this person anyway.

“It’s because that’s the only way.”

“Have you considered the risk of failure?”

“No.”

“…Huh?”

Go Han-bong couldn’t help but ask back at the too simple answer.

“…Aren’t you being too complacent?”

“Prime Minister.”

Lee Hyun-soo looked straight at Go Han-bong and opened his mouth.

“I hope you don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way.”

“Haha…”

Go Han-bong smiled slightly and then closed his mouth.

Normally, he would have made a joke at this point, but in the current atmosphere, he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

“It’s not me who’s being complacent right now, it’s you, Prime Minister.”

“…Huh?”

Go Han-bong looked at Lee Hyun-soo as if asking what he meant.

“Risk?”

Lee Hyun-soo shook his head.

“I think you’re misunderstanding the situation a bit. There’s no need to consider the risk in this matter.”

“What do you mean…”

“No matter how we respond, the result is the same the moment we lose. So why should we think about the risk?”

Lee Hyun-soo opened his mouth with cold eyes.

“The concept of managing risk is only meaningful when our response can lead them to make a different choice. But Changwang is not that kind of guy. Whether we invade China and get crushed, or wait in Korea and get crushed… the result waiting for Korea will be the same the moment we fail to stop them.”

“But, but the government is there. Even if it’s the same for them, the response at the party level…”

“It won’t be any different.”

Go Han-bong closed his mouth.

“If we go all the way to the end, there’s nothing left. They say there’s a basement under the floor, but that’s only meaningful for those who can endure being pushed all the way down to the basement. It’ll end before that.”

Go Han-bong gripped his thigh.

“Prime Minister, this is war. Moreover, there are no mediators in this war, and no public opinion. Once it starts, we have no choice but to fight until one of us is finished.”

Go Han-bong leaned back on his chair.

It was a fact he already knew, but hearing it from Lee Hyun-soo’s mouth felt distinctly different.

“Of course… I’m sorry for getting you involved.”

“It’s alright.”

Go Han-bong waved his hand.

Accepting the other party’s apology was a point they couldn’t miss. But now was not the time to discuss such trivial matters.

“Basically, if the General Assembly didn’t exist, the Murim world of Korea would have already been occupied by China. I’m not a fool either.”

A sigh escaped from Go Han-bong’s mouth.

Ordinary humans cannot deal with Murim practitioners.

Especially in a place like Korea, where firearms are not allowed, there is no way to restrain Murim practitioners who can break rocks with their bare hands and jump over buildings.

No matter how secretly they are excluded, and even if the military is mobilized, the Murim practitioners who have infiltrated among the people cannot be dealt with in ordinary ways.

Isn’t it a reality that the country is often turned upside down because of a few criminals who come over from China?

What if a large number of people who cannot be compared to them were to flow in?

‘It would turn into a living hell in an instant.’

The Korean government, which had recently increased its investigation into the Murim world, had also confirmed several similar cases.

The moment they confirmed that the reason why some countries, which were said to have fallen due to drugs or the economy, had collapsed so severely was because they had failed to control the Murim world, how chilling it was.

The General Assembly was clearly the cause of this terrible situation. However, Go Han-bong was well aware that the reason why this situation had only come now was also because of the General Assembly.

“So…”

Go Han-bong fiddled with his glass before opening his mouth.

“Are you really going to go through with it?”

“Yes.”

“What about the Assembly Head…”

“He thinks the same.”

Of course.

Lee Hyun-soo was not the type to take an issue outside without Kang Jin-ho’s approval.

Go Han-bong, who had been given the sentence he had been anticipating, let out a deep sigh.

“I understand the reason.”

He didn’t need to hear a long-winded explanation. Trained in numerous political issues, he could guess all the circumstances with just a few words.

“But… Director Lee, this is too dangerous even considering all of that. The most worrying thing is the risk that the Chinese government will accept this war not as a war between the General Assembly and the Changwang faction, but as a war between Korea and China.”

“That won’t happen.”

“Why are you so sure…”

“Don’t they also lack the resources?”

Go Han-bong bit his lip slightly.

Certainly…

Even if they judged it that way, China couldn’t mobilize its army against Korea. Above all…

“And that’s why we brought those guys in to prepare for this situation. The hard work you did to create the site wasn’t in vain.”

“…Is the United States participating?”

“We have to make them.”

Go Han-bong’s mind began to race.

‘Then it’s a different story.’

If the Murim practitioners from the US participated, China would have to avoid turning this into an actual war. A full-scale war with the US would mean hell for any country.

“Hoo.”

Go Han-bong took a deep breath.

‘I went too deep.’

By only assuming the worst-case scenario, he had taken the situation too extremely. War was not something that happened so easily. Especially between countries that were not confident in completely suppressing each other.

“External problems will be desperately suppressed by both sides.”

“…I understand.”

Go Han-bong nodded.

“But…”

“Yes.”

“Then one question remains. What exactly do you need us to do?”

Go Han-bong looked straight at Lee Hyun-soo.

If this was really just a matter between Murim practitioners, as Lee Hyun-soo said, there would have been no need to call him out. There must be something else he wanted, so he had created this meeting.

“First of all…”

Lee Hyun-soo picked up the glass on the table and downed it in one go.

Thud.

He put down the glass and looked at Go Han-bong with a smile.

“The first reason I asked to see the Prime Minister was to express my gratitude, and the second reason was to inform you of this fact.”

“And there is no third reason.”

“…Huh?”

Go Han-bong closed his mouth again.

He thought he was looking stupid for asking back so often today.

“You asked what you should do for us, right?”

“That’s right.”

“The question is wrong.”

Go Han-bong managed to refrain from asking back this time, but he couldn’t hide his expression. A strong suspicion clouded his face.

“That’s what we should be asking. Prime Minister, what can you do for us?”

At Lee Hyun-soo’s question, Go Han-bong’s body froze like a stone statue.

“I’ll say it again, we’re all in the same boat. If the General Assembly falls, the regime will fall too.”

“No…”

Go Han-bong shook his head.

“It’s not the regime, it’s the country.”

“Yes. I’m sorry to say this when we haven’t done anything for the country, but the game is already set. If we are annihilated in China, they will never leave this no-man’s land alone. You know what will happen after that.”

“So, this is not something you can sit back and calculate. The government must do everything in its power to support the General Assembly. We can’t win by just getting what we can within my knowledge.”

“…Director Lee.”

“Think about it.”

Lee Hyun-soo’s voice coldly pierced Go Han-bong’s ears.

“Gather everyone who is allowed to know this fact. And you need to figure out what the government can do to help.”

“Ha… hahahaha…”

Go Han-bong laughed as if he couldn’t believe it.

“So, you’re saying…”

A cold chill settled in Go Han-bong’s eyes, which had been smiling kindly.

“We have to cut off our own flesh to support the war that the General Assembly is recklessly starting?”

“Yes. That’s exactly it.”

“We…”

Go Han-bong gritted his teeth.

The words ‘Why do we have to do that’ didn’t come out of his mouth. He had already heard the reason several times.

What made Go Han-bong feel like a fool was that there was no way to escape this damn situation. To survive, the General Assembly had to win somehow. At least, they had to achieve a draw.

If they failed to achieve that predetermined result, Korea would undoubtedly become no different from a vassal state of China.

“The US won’t leave it alone.”

“The US, which can’t even clean up the cartels in Mexico right next door, will take care of the Murim world in Korea?”

“Look at reality, Prime Minister.”

Lee Hyun-soo coldly retorted.

“Frankly, even this time is a waste. Go and find out all the support you can provide. We’ll continue the conversation after that.”

Lee Hyun-soo got up from his seat.

It was not polite behavior, but Go Han-bong’s mind was too occupied to think about that.

“Wait!”

Go Han-bong grabbed Lee Hyun-soo, who was about to leave the room.

“…Are you confident that you can win?”

Lee Hyun-soo curled up the corners of his mouth.

“It depends on how much the government does for us.”

“…Director Lee.”

Go Han-bong glared at Lee Hyun-soo before opening his mouth.

“You’re a real bastard.”

“I appreciate the compliment. Then.”

Watching Lee Hyun-soo walk out the door, Go Han-bong reached out and grabbed the table.

“Damn it.”

His head was so complicated that he felt dizzy.

But there was no time to calm his mind. The wheel had already started turning.

‘I have to see that person.’

Go Han-bong desperately moved his legs, which had no strength, and got up.