Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 867

“What on earth is going on?” Nobuo was completely disoriented. He was a martial artist. To be precise, he was a low-ranking member of the Eihanakai [a small martial arts group], a small group in a corner of Kansai. While low-level members of typical Yakuza organizations barely make enough to survive, martial arts organizations offer their members significant benefits. The money they make is on a different scale than the Yakuza. So, even as a low-ranking member, he had no particular complaints. He was confident that if he could climb a little higher, he wouldn’t have to live envying others. Moreover, Nobuo was recognized for his skills within the Eihanakai. If he worked a little harder, it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to rise within the organization. Just until this evening, he had been happy with that thought. But now, the situation was rapidly changing. “What the hell is going on?” “Nobuo.” “Yes!” “Shut your trap.” “…Yes.” Nobuo quietly closed his mouth. The inside of the bus was eerily silent. His seniors and superiors, who always seemed so relaxed, were all staring out the window with stiff faces. ‘Is it war?’ The atmosphere seemed to be heading in that direction. Otherwise, there was no reason for so many people to move all at once. And they wouldn’t have told them to bring weapons either. ‘But why?’ War wasn’t a common occurrence. But if you lived in the martial arts world, it was something you inevitably had to face. Even Nobuo, with his short career, had experienced war a couple of times. Once, it ended with just facing off with weapons, but another time, he had really fought for his life. The atmosphere of this move was definitely similar to that time. But there were too many strange things to just call it war. In a war, there’s no reason not to say who you’re fighting and where you’re going in advance. Rather, it’s more helpful to clearly state the enemy. Moreover, as far as Nobuo knew, the Eihanakai didn’t have any particularly hostile organizations right now. If it were a personal issue, this many people wouldn’t be moving together. Then there must be something going on… “Nobuo!” “Yes!” “Stop making that dumb face and shut up!” “I’m sorry!” Everyone was on edge. The executives sitting in the front seemed to know something. But he couldn’t ask them for the reason. Their stiff expressions were preventing him from even speaking to them. ‘I’ll find out when we arrive.’ Nobuo quietly looked out the window. It had already been several hours since they started moving. But the bus was driving recklessly, as if the brakes had failed. Finally… “Get off!” After a drive that completely disregarded the passengers, the car stopped abruptly. ‘A dock?’ Disembarkation was carried out in an orderly fashion from the front. Nobuo joined the flow, while also glancing out the window. Large containers could be seen on both sides. Beyond the containers, there were huge cranes and the vast sea. It was a typical dock scene. It wasn’t unusual. Docks are large. And after a certain time, the entry of the general public is restricted. And because it’s adjacent to the sea, it’s a good place to dispose of bodies if you just use your head. That’s why wars between organizations have often taken place at docks since the old days. The fact that noir films often use docks as the location for gunfights isn’t just a directorial choice. But it didn’t seem like that was the situation now. ‘Who are all these guys?’ There were a lot. No, not just a lot, but a huge swarm. People were gathering like an ant colony. ‘Where did this many people come from?’ Nobuo looked around in shock. Of course, people could gather at a dock. If there’s a good enough reason, anything can happen. What shocked Nobuo wasn’t that this many people had gathered here. It was that every single person gathered here was a martial artist. ‘Even if you gathered all the guys in Tokyo, it wouldn’t be this many, would it?’ It was like a general assembly. In the past, before the biker gangs were suppressed and their power was completely broken, it was said that when all the biker gangs in Tokyo gathered for a rally, more than a thousand people would gather. This was exactly like that. That had never happened in the martial arts world. It was said that it had happened a few decades ago, but as far as Nobuo knew, ordinary members had never gathered in one place. ‘They all have such a fierce aura.’ They weren’t just a bunch of random people who had been gathered. Each and every martial artist had a sharp aura. There wasn’t a single person who seemed easy to deal with. So, the people gathered here must be the elites selected from each group. Judging by the fact that they didn’t seem too old, they weren’t the real power holders who moved the groups, but even so, they were definitely not people to be ignored. “Attention!” As he was assessing the surroundings, a sharp voice was heard. Nobuo quickly straightened his posture. In this kind of atmosphere, anyone who stood out would be beaten immediately. The hierarchy within the group was absolute. The social atmosphere in Japan is not free at all. Japan is a place that operates based on hierarchies and authority that would be unimaginable in other countries. The society of martial artists tends to be more rigid than general society. Even within the Self-Defense Forces, beatings and violence are still rampant, so how much worse would it be in the martial arts world? If you talked back or acted foolish, you would get punched right there in the group. The person in front opened his mouth. “From now on, you will go to Joseon [an old name for Korea].” Nobuo’s eyes widened. ‘Korea?’ Why was Korea coming up here? ‘Which side are they talking about?’ South Korea or North Korea? If they were going to South Korea, there might be a reason. But if they were going to North Korea, this was a serious problem. ‘Surely it’s not North Korea, right?’ North Korea was an unknown place. If they went there, who knew what would happen. If the higher-ups had any sense, they wouldn’t do such a thing. “Is it, South Joseon?” Nobuo opened his mouth without realizing it. Angry eyes poured down on him. Nobuo froze and stood at attention. “It’s South Joseon.” But the person who was speaking lightly affirmed and moved on, as if he didn’t want to waste time. As the sharp gazes returned to their places one by one, Nobuo finally let out a breath. ‘Damn my big mouth.’ If he could, he wanted to punch himself in the mouth. Even though he knew that speaking wouldn’t bring anything back, why did he have to cause trouble? But the ship had already sailed. The fact that his seniors’ merciless scolding was waiting for him tormented him, but it was still a relief that he was going to South Korea and not North Korea. Either way, he had no right to refuse. As long as you lived in the martial arts world, orders from above were absolute. Unlike in general society, where you have the right to refuse your boss’s orders. If there’s something you don’t like at a company, you can leave the company and choose a new one. Of course, there are risks such as financial losses, stress, and the possibility of not finding a new job, but the choice itself definitely exists. But that’s not the case in the martial arts world. If you get kicked out of a group due to trouble or leave the group on your own, you can’t join another one. These bastards are usually at each other’s throats, but in these cases, they are incredibly united. Therefore, those who are abandoned by the group have no choice but to live as ordinary people. And if they are seen using martial arts even once while living as an ordinary person, they will be eliminated on the spot. In other words, it was like saying that the moment you left the group, you would have to live under surveillance for the rest of your life. So how could you possibly disobey? ‘Going to Korea?’ It wasn’t unusual for a Japanese person to go to Korea. Recently, it’s common to go to Korea for sightseeing. But this didn’t look like a sightseeing trip at all. The weapons in everyone’s hands were ominous, so what kind of sightseeing was this? This was war. Nobuo swallowed hard. ‘Are we invading Korea?’ His mind went blank. It wasn’t a big war, but he had experienced a few wars. And he had heard countless stories about the wars between groups in various regions. But a war between countries? Who would have imagined that such a huge thing would happen? ‘This is crazy.’ The times have changed. Now is the era of waging war with economic power and diplomacy, not with force. Even though the savagery of power still exists in the martial arts world, a war between countries? Is this even possible? Nobuo bit his lip. It wasn’t the time to question whether it was possible or not. The war was already happening. They had gathered this many people, so they couldn’t just end it by saying, ‘Just kidding.’ At this point, it was already a fait accompli. They had no choice but to push forward, whether it worked or not. “The groups that achieve merit will receive enormous rewards. Of course, you will also receive the fruits of that. We will be watching who achieves merit and who fights most bravely.” His throat was parched. ‘This isn’t a joke.’ War, really? What kind of nonsense was this? Nobuo glanced to the side. He wanted to see the reactions of those who were hearing this for the first time, like him. But unlike what he expected, the others didn’t seem to be taking this situation as seriously as Nobuo. No. There were even some who couldn’t hide their excitement. ‘You crazy bastards, it’s war!’ When war breaks out, people die. And where was the guarantee that that person wouldn’t be him? It was a situation where his head could be chopped off at any moment, and yet they were excited? These crazy bastards. But it was a fait accompli. It wasn’t a situation where he could do anything just because he thought differently. Nobuo could only wonder how he had ended up in this situation. “They’re boarding.” The people in the front began to board a huge passenger ship. Seeing this, Nobuo swallowed a groan. They didn’t even give him time to think. Perhaps not telling them the destination and forcing them to board as soon as they arrived was all calculated. So that they wouldn’t have time to think about anything else. ‘Are they really going to do it?’ He was suddenly scared. Moreover, Nobuo had another reason to hesitate. He was… “Huh?” A familiar voice reached Nobuo’s ears as he was at a loss. Nobuo turned his head to look at where the voice had come from. A man in a wheelchair and a rather large man. And a man who looked like a typical Japanese person. The three men were standing there. “Korean…?” The three men’s gazes simultaneously turned to Nobuo.