Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 872

“What’s wrong?”

“No….”

Where should I even begin to object?

Setting aside everything else, the very idea of seeking cooperation from the Coast Guard or the Navy was hard to accept.

“Does the Assembly have that much power?”

“Ah, it seems you’ve misunderstood a little.”

Lee Hyun-soo smiled awkwardly.

“Of course, the Assembly doesn’t have the power to mobilize the military. And even if we did, we should never wield such power.”

“I suppose not.”

“The method for getting the Coast Guard’s cooperation is very simple. We just need to make a report.”

“A report?”

“Yes. That a large passenger ship is attempting to smuggle people into the country.”

“Ah!”

Kang Jin-ho nodded as if he finally understood.

Smuggling is a crime. And the Coast Guard exists to prevent crime. If the report is credible, they have no reason not to act.

“But they’d believe that?”

“The same words can have different impacts depending on who says them. If I went and said that a thousand people are trying to enter the country illegally from Japan, they’d probably tell me to go home and watch my kids.”

“You don’t look like you have any kids…”

“…Is that important right now?”

Lee Hyun-soo brushed off the sudden jab and continued.

“But if it comes from a current member of the National Assembly, the importance is completely different.”

It was certainly problematic that the response varied depending on who said the same thing, but reality was reality. If there was a way, they had to use it.

“We’ve moved a National Assembly member who has connections. And we’ve also hinted that there might be drugs and other smuggled goods on the ship.”

“Wouldn’t it be a disaster if they stormed the ship?”

“We’ve emphasized that they should only locate it.”

“So?”

Lee Hyun-soo said calmly.

“The Coast Guard is currently searching the entire East Sea [also known as the Sea of Japan]. They will find it.”

“I see.”

Kang Jin-ho gave a subtle smile.

‘Power is truly a terrifying thing.’

Kang Jin-ho had been pondering how to deploy their personnel. If he were to handle this, he would have scattered as many people as possible across the East Sea and then figured out where they were landing. After that, he would have reconsidered their strategy.

That was the limit for civilians.

Other ideas he had were to secure as many ships as possible for their own search, or if that wasn’t possible, to deploy drones for reconnaissance.

But with a single word from a National Assembly member, all of that was being resolved.

It was a moment that made him understand why people strive for power, why those who have amassed great wealth endure all sorts of humiliation to gain one more position.

“What about the military?”

“The military won’t get involved. If the military gets involved, the problem will escalate.”

“Hmm?”

“For now, they are nominally civilians. No matter how strong they are, even if they can take down a bear with their bare hands, the military cannot intervene as long as they are civilians. If they move carelessly, it will give the Self-Defense Forces [Japan’s military] a reason to intervene. That is absolutely unacceptable.”

“Then what about Bae Jae?”

“We’ve given them a heads-up, so they’ll be watching the situation.”

“So they know?”

“It can’t be helped. After all, those who know about the existence of the Murim world [a world of martial arts practitioners] know. We can’t hide it from the top of the military. If a truly unavoidable situation arises, they’ll have to consider whether to move.”

“…This is difficult.”

The Murim world and the real world, which he had thought were completely separate, were actually maintaining a connection of sorts.

It felt very unexpected yet also natural.

‘The government and the Murim were like that in the past too.’

In the past, in the Central Plains [a historical region in China], there was an unwritten rule that the government and the Murim did not interfere with each other, but that rule was rarely followed. The government always wanted to exert influence over the Murim, and the Murim, whenever they gained power, tried to devour the government.

The relationship was similar to now.

“First, we need to confirm if this message is true. And then we need to discuss countermeasures…”

Bang!

At that moment, the door burst open, and Lee Hyun-joo rushed in with a stiff face. She went straight to Lee Hyun-soo and whispered something in his ear.

“…Understood.”

Lee Hyun-soo nodded, and Lee Hyun-joo stepped back and sat at one end.

“We just received news. They’ve confirmed a suspicious passenger ship.”

“Already?”

“Based on the departure time, we reverse-calculated the route and distance. Since the departure itself was from Tokyo Port, the route to Korea is obvious.”

“Hmm.”

Lee Hyun-soo said with a stiff face.

“This is a weakness, if you can call it that, but no matter how secretly the Murim people want to operate, those who move the ships have to be existing navigators. So, they will end up operating based on the original routes. Then it becomes obvious.”

Kang Jin-ho frowned.

He understood it in his head. But it didn’t really sink in.

“Things seem to be resolving too easily…”

Wiggins spoke up.

“Lord, that’s not the case.”

“Hmm?”

“All of this is possible because we knew first that an invasion force was coming to Korea from Japan. If it weren’t for the whistleblower inside the ship, everyone would probably be off work and watching TV at home right now.”

“That’s right.”

Lee Hyun-soo quickly added.

“That’s why they seem to have moved quite decisively and paid attention to security… but they didn’t seem to expect betrayal from within.”

“I see.”

That made sense.

At the same time, he was reminded of the insider who had sent the message.

‘They’ve done a great job.’

The question of how to use this information remained, but thanks to them, they were able to prepare without being too late.

“Is it certain that the passenger ship is the one mentioned in the message?”

“We don’t know.”

“…Hmm?”

“It’s impossible to confirm. Based on the size and route, we’re 99% sure, but the authenticity of this message is the problem…”

Lee Hyun-soo trailed off, and Kang Jin-ho urged him decisively.

“So, what’s your opinion?”

“I think it’s certain.”

“Why?”

“It’s rare for all circumstances to align. A prank message like this could come. And an unidentified passenger ship heading to Korea could also happen. But the probability of both of those things happening at the same time by chance is not high.”

“Are there any other ways to confirm?”

“Not really at the moment…”

Then, Wiggins spoke up.

“Chief Lee.”

“Yes, Director.”

“How many informants do we have in Japan right now?”

“Not many. Just enough to grasp personnel and movement. But even they don’t seem to have noticed this movement.”

“Let’s go the other way.”

“Yes?”

Lee Hyun-soo didn’t understand Wiggins’ words and asked again.

“Tell them to stir things up. And have them figure out their personnel. If those who should be in their positions are missing, we can reasonably assume that those people are on the ship, right?”

“Ah!”

Lee Hyun-soo exclaimed.

“I’ll check right away.”

“Okay, and…”

Wiggins turned his head and looked at Kang Jin-ho.

“This might end up being nothing. But if it ends up being nothing, that would be the best outcome. We must always prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

“The Japanese elites are on that ship, and they are coming to Korea. What are you going to do?”

Kang Jin-ho leaned back on the sofa.

‘An invasion…’

It felt strange.

The Assembly and the Yeongnam Association were united. That meant that the Korean Murim world was united. Small-scale sects and single-lineage sects were not yet fully integrated, but it was realistically impossible to bring all the sects in Korea under one roof.

So, it was fair to say that Korea was united.

From that moment, the problems with China and Japan began, and he had always thought that they would have to compete with them someday. That was why he had been trying to develop the Assembly and strengthen its power.

The timing was faster than he had expected, but it wasn’t something he hadn’t considered at all.

But something….

“Lee Hyun-soo.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Give me a briefing. Assuming they are invading.”

“Yes. I will. Assuming that the Japanese elites are on that passenger ship and that all the messages we received are true…”

Lee Hyun-soo said firmly.

“The power on that passenger ship is absolutely not something we can ignore. If they are the best of the best from each group, they will exert power beyond their numbers.”

Everyone nodded.

The difference between a thousand ordinary warriors and a thousand elite warriors was enormous.

If they had been preparing for this for a long time and had loaded only the true elites with the help of each faction, their power was absolutely not something they could ignore.

“Can we handle them?”

“We might be able to, and we might not.”

“More simply.”

“Yes. Their power overwhelms us.”

Lee Hyun-soo was looking at the situation calmly. The Assembly had gained some confidence recently as it had developed, but now was the time to put aside that confidence and look at things objectively.

“From the start, Japan was stronger than Korea. It was so much stronger that there was no comparison. If Japan had wanted to, conquering the Korean Murim world wouldn’t have been difficult. However, they were hesitant to get involved with the Hong and Wang factions, and they had internal problems that they hadn’t resolved, so they had been watching from the sidelines.”

“Those people have decided to attack. Of course, if those on the passenger ship and the current Assembly were to clash head-on, we would win. But unless they are fools, that won’t happen.”

“Then?”

Lee Hyun-soo said with conviction.

“They will try to poke around everywhere based on individual strength and superiority in small-scale skirmishes. Then the Assembly will either collapse under its own weight or have to shrink to avoid getting its limbs cut off. Then it’s over.”

Everything he said sounded bad.

Bator spoke in a booming voice.

“All I hear is bad news. Are those bastards really that strong?”

“Of course, those of you here would overwhelm them. But the problem is the rest. Except for the Flame Demons, there are no others in the Assembly stronger than them. At best, maybe the elders of the Demonic Cult, but even that’s not certain…”

Lee Hyun-soo trailed off slightly.

“But that doesn’t mean there’s no way. If we can find out where they are landing in advance and deal with them before they scatter, we can avoid chaos.”

The corners of Kang Jin-ho’s mouth curled up slightly.

“You’re going to force them into a do-or-die situation?”

“Yes. Then they’ll have no choice but to fight us head-on.”

“That’s not a good strategy.”

“…Yes?”

Lee Hyun-soo looked at Kang Jin-ho.

The corners of his mouth were curled up, looking eerie.

“If we make them fight with the sea behind them, it will be hard for them to escape. But isn’t there a better place for a battlefield?”

“Where are you talking about?”

“A place where all four sides are the sea.”

Lee Hyun-soo clenched his fist.

He finally understood what Kang Jin-ho was saying. A place where all four sides were the sea could only be an island. But he didn’t mean to fight on an island. Then?

“…Could it be?”

“I wonder if the water temperature is warm.”

Kang Jin-ho’s smile deepened.

“There’s nowhere to run on the sea.”

Those words sent shivers down everyone’s spines.