Descent of the Demon Master

The conference room was enveloped in the oppressive, grave atmosphere akin to the clouds of war hovering overhead.

No one knew precisely why they were summoned here, but the heavy atmosphere was all the proof needed to know something major had gone down.

Whether it was Vator, Wiggins, or other directors and the interpreters tagging along, no one dared to break this oppressive silence. The best they could do was wait while quietly gulping their saliva down.

Vator glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Where is the Assembly Master?”

“He’s on his way.”

“Mm…” Vator slowly nodded. Lee Hyeon-Su's stiff face told him that things were indeed quite grave.

‘Maybe the Crimson King has invaded us?’

Lee Hyeon-Su seemed to see himself as a strong, silent type whose job was to handle grave matters. However, in Vator’s opinion, Lee Hyeon-Su wasn’t really a serious type.

Obviously, Vator didn’t know what Lee Hyeon-Su was like in the past. From what he could tell, though? Rather than strong and silent, Lee Hyeon-Su was more of a happy-go-lucky guy.

Even so, Vator didn’t urge Lee Hyeon-Su to spill the beans. He saw no reason to sour the moods further by demanding an explanation when one should be given in due course.

Clunk!

That was when the door was shoved open, and Kang Jin-Ho stepped inside the conference room. Everyone stood up when they saw him enter.

“Take a seat,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Sir!”

With that, everyone smartly sat down simultaneously. There was no hint of the usual banter or jokes between them.

Kang Jin-Ho took up the seat of honor, then gestured at Lee Hyeon-Su with his chin. “Okay. Start the briefing.”

“Understood, sir!” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded, then got up while holding his report. He walked behind the conference room table, then stood before everyone.

This type of debriefing had never happened before. Of course, Lee Hyeon-Su made plenty of reports before with the present audience, but those were usually done in a more informal way. So, for him to be this serious and formal… It could only mean this situation was quite unlike any other.

Everyone grew tense, their undivided attention now focused on Lee Hyeon-Su.

“According to the information we received…” Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly stopped talking and stared back at everyone before quickly resuming from where he left off. “The Japanese gumis have united and are invading South Korea as we speak.”

“...Huh?”

Everyone's expression stiffened at this unexpected news. Almost everyone here was thinking of the Crimson King's faction, so to hear about Japan out of the blue…?

Bang Jin-Hun blinked his eyes. “Japan?”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “Yes, sir. It’s Japan.”

“Huh? But why would the Japanese…?”

Just before everyone in the room could start throwing questions around, Kang Jin-Ho raised his hand first, prompting the attendees of the meeting to clamp their mouths shut.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at everyone. “Let Lee Hyeon-Su finish first. Then you can ask questions afterward.”

“Sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su quickly sucked in a deep breath when everyone focused on him again. He usually didn’t get tense like this, but this situation certainly warranted that response from him.

“The information we received says each gumi in Japan has selected their elite warriors and has dispatched them to Korea. Their total number is estimated to be over one thousand.”

“...One thousand?”

“Yes, sir. However, that number hasn't been verified. We simply are going with a conservative estimate.”

“I see. A thousand, eh…” Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded. “Carry on.”

“...For now, that’s the crux of the report.”

Everyone was submerged in their own thoughts after the briefing ended. The first person to break this silence was, somewhat unsurprisingly, Wiggins.

“I have several questions.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “Of course.”

“For an urgent report, it's rather sparse in details, don't you think? Where did you receive this intel from? Our spies?”

“That is the weird part, everyone.”

“Mm?”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression became a little weird as he explained the situation further. “Our spies didn’t uncover this information.”

“Then, who did?”

“One of the members of the invading force contacted our people first. This mystery person seemed to have sent a message to their acquaintance in the Assembly. According to the message, the enemy forces have already set sail.”

“Set sail?”

“Yes. They are on a ship, apparently.”

Bang Jin-Hun grunted loudly in irritation. “What the hell? Can we even trust this intel? Why would anyone in the enemy camp give us valuable info like that?”

Several others in the conference room nodded in agreement with Bang Jin-Hun. Indeed, this information sounded a little too suspicious to be believable.

“First of all…” Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced a little while sorting out the facts in his head. “There is a good-enough reason for this mystery person to contact us. According to the intel, this person is a third-generation Korean-Japanese.”

“A Korean-Japanese isn't a pure Korean, right? They are practically Japanese, so what are you saying?” Bang Jin-Hun tutted loudly.

Lee Hyeon-Su tried to explain a bit more. “Korean-Japanese refer to people who still retain their Korean citizenship but also possess a Japanese permanent residency permit and live in Japan.”

“So what? That’s pretty much Japanese, isn’t it?”

Lee Hyeon-Su almost groaned just then. Of course, he held himself back, knowing such a response to Bang Jin-Hun’s unfortunate mindset right now would not help the situation.

No one should become emotional in a meeting like this. That was one thing everyone should be wary of.

“To explain in the simplest terms, you're thinking of people with Korean heritage who have naturalized and hold Japanese citizenship. The Korean-Japanese might live in Japan, but they are still technically Korean citizens.”

“Okay, so…” Bang Jin-Hun cocked an eyebrow. “Because the informant is a Korean-Japanese, we can trust this person?”

“Well, not necessarily, no. But…”

Bang Jin-Hun slowly shook his head in disbelief. “Nope. I still don’t see a reason to believe this intel. I’m not trying to look down on those people, okay? It’s just that… It makes no sense, right? What does that mystery person have to gain by letting us know?”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. Although Bang Jin-Hun sounded a little emotional just then, he was still making a logical argument.

“Let’s say this mystery informant is riding in that ship. Doesn’t that mean their life will be in danger, too? With this information, we might respond in kind, which would put the whole invading army in jeopardy, so why would that person contact us? Even at the risk to his own life?”

Bang Jin-Hun tutted while leaning against his chair.

“Nope. This thing stinks. By a lot, too. To me, this is a trap.”

Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded. “We’re also worried about that possibility.”

“You think so, too? Right, right. This thing is way too suspicious, you know what I mean? You know why this thing makes no sense to me? Since there’s nothing in it for this mystery person, they must be motivated by patriotism or something. However, is patriotism all that great? I don’t think it is.”

Bang Jin-Hun passionately spoke, the decibel of his voice getting higher.

“Sure, sure. I know some people have sacrificed their lives for their country. Like the freedom fighters and martyrs. But those folks are revered because they have done something most people can’t even dream of doing, right?

“Why would those folks be revered in history if anyone could throw their lives away for their people and country? Isn’t it because most people can’t do that?”

Lee Hyeon-Su agreed with Bang Jin-Hun's opinion once more.

Bang Jin-Hun didn't usually let his opinions known during a meeting like this, but he must do that this time. This matter involved South Korea and Japan. In other words, patriotism and one's nationality came into play. In that case, people from other nationalities shouldn't butt in.

“You're telling me a Korean-Japanese is on that ship? And that person suddenly developed a serious case of patriotism and martyrdom on the level of a freedom fighter and contacted us despite the grave risk to their life?”

Bang Jin-Hun smirked derisively as if thinking more about it dismayed him even more.

“Are we shooting a movie here, fellas? If we really are in a movie, then I guarantee you it'll be a box office smash hit.”

Lee Hyeon-Su's expression stiffened a little. Of course he knew Bang Jin-Hun wasn't mocking him. Still, the way the former Assembly Master snarkily said all those things got on his nerves.

“Then…” Kang Jin-Ho cut Bang Jin-Hun off at the perfect timing. “It sounds like we need verification.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded affirmatively. “Agreed, sir. It’s better to be sure, after all.”

“What about the one who received the intel?”

Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “It sounded like he wasn’t sure, either. Apparently, they aren’t all that close to each other.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su fake-coughed to clear his throat before resuming his explanation. “We've tried to contact this informant again, but all the attempts so far have been proven futile.

“We can't call the person on the phone. Messages seem to reach their inbox, but there haven't been any replies. It's unclear if the person is out of the communication range… Or stuck in a situation where checking one's phone for messages is impossible.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and replied pensively. “I see.”

“Please hold on…” Lee Hyeon-Su took out his phone from his pocket, then sent a copy of the message to everyone in the conference room. “Here. Please check the contents.”

The meeting’s attendees took their phones out and read the message.

Kang Jin-Ho finished first, then spoke in a still voice, “Lee Hyeon-Su…”

“Yes, Assembly Master.”

“We need confirmation.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded in silence and continued to listen.

“The intel itself could be fake. Even if it’s not, though, we can’t simply take this message at face value and move without a plan. This is an extraordinary event, after all.”

Everyone in the room agreed Kang Jin-Ho was right. If Japan really had dispatched over a thousand of their elite warriors for an invasion, this crisis could easily lead to the destruction of the Martial Assembly.

‘The Japanese sure have sent a large combat force this time, haven't they?’

One could argue that number didn't seem all that threatening compared to the total number of Assembly-affiliated martial artists, but the reality wasn't that kind. After all, the majority of the Assembly's available forces were only good for filling the headcount and not much else. They were simply unfit for intense life-or-death warfare against powerful invaders.

Especially in the case of the Chinese demonic cultivators; they could swarm the enemy with sheer numbers and still be of no use. If their strength could be utilized in battles, Kang Jin-Ho would've already done so during the do-or-die fight against the Crimson King's faction.

Kang Jin-Ho had been trying to turn all these useless fighters into much more useful people. However, to make that happen, he needed time. Unfortunately, time was something he and the Martial Assembly sorely lacked right now.

Lee Hyeon-Su continued with his briefing. “That is why we moved to verify several things.”

“I see. Such as?”

“First of all… We’re investigating every ship departing from Japan for South Korea.”

Wiggins tilted his head. “Isn’t that mostly pointless?”

“…”

“Look back to how we managed to extricate the demon cult from China. We used a cargo ship to smuggle people, didn't we? Surely the Japanese would've thought up of something similar? It's hard to believe that the others can't think of a tactic we've already used. If the Japanese are dead-set on invading Korea, they could've already doctored ship departure records.”

“I agree, sir. That is why…” Lee Hyeon-Su replied, his eyes gleaming sharply. “We also began verifying the existence of cruise ships in the ocean between two countries that don't have any departure records.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “Mm? Will that be possible?”

How would Lee Hyeon-Su and the Assembly search for a lone ship out in the middle of the vast ocean?

“It's not as difficult as you think, sir. Usually, every ship ferrying a certain number of people must report to the relevant authorities first before their departure. It's to help the authorities in case of an accident.”

“I see. So what?”

“So, we only need to search for ships that have not reported their departure to any of the ports in the region.”

While listening, Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t help but frown.

‘How does that even work?’

At any given moment, many ships could be found sailing in that particular part of the ocean. So, how were they supposed to find just one out of so many?

Wiggins nodded. “Mm… I see, I see. That could work.”

Kang Jin-Ho's head reflexively turned toward the Englishman. And Wiggins acted like everything Lee Hyeon-Su said made total sense.

“…?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head in confusion.

Wiggins gently smiled after noticing the look on Kang Jin-Ho's face. That expression was all that was needed to figure out the question in Kang Jin-Ho's mind.

Wiggins briefly explained. “My lord. Searching the entirety of the East Sea will be challenging, but it won’t be completely impossible. Besides… We are not talking about a small fishing vessel or a submersible. A large cruise ship that can carry over a thousand passengers will be even harder to hide.”

Kang Jin-Ho was still not convinced and had to ask back. “But how will we search for it?”

“It's simple, my lord. We ask the Korean Navy, the Air Force, or the Coast Guard to assist us.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s eyes quaked subtly just then.

‘...Ask the army to help us?’

Wasn't the scale of this event rapidly ballooning out of control? Just as Kang Jin-Ho began thinking they were about to step into the realm of delusions, Lee Hyeon-Su chimed in.

“Mister Wiggins is correct, sir. We've already asked for their assistance. They should be combing the ocean as we speak.”

“…!”

Kang Jin-Ho dazedly stared at Lee Hyeon-Su.