Descent of the Demon Master

“That stinking bastard...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su's fidgety hand kept trying to find a place to rest, only to fail repeatedly. His hand would grab his knee before rising up to his chest, then went down again.

Wiggins glanced at his disciple. “Isn't it a good thing?”

“Of course, it is. It is a very good thing, but…” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly. “In times like this, I grow to hate myself more, master. I know I should be happy, but my brain only cares about benefits, you see…”

“As in, if only they had died back there?”

“...”

Wiggins chuckled gently while sipping his black tea. “No need to beat yourself up over it, Mister Lee. You are supposed to think that way, after all. As a species, that's how we operate, and it's a part of our job description, too.”

“Even so...”

“And that's why we can't stand on top as leaders,” said Wiggins, his demeanor relaxed. “A leader of men can't always be ruled by his brain, Mister Lee. At times, they must pay no attention to potential benefits. We humans are quite complicated creatures, after all. It's impossible to grade us in hard, cold numbers.”

“It might be a loss, yes. But, so what? Haven't we already acquired what we initially wanted?” Wiggins asked, his gaze toward Lee Hyeon-Su slightly languid.

'The Round Table is limited in that regard...'

The Round Table selected its Master from the pool of its top knights. Which meant that, if a knight wanted to become the Master, they needed to be a part of the Round Table's operations for a very long time.

The Round Table was an intense battleground to secure one's benefits. As knights represented their respective countries, they responded rather 'sensitively' to perceived benefits and losses toward their home in every topic they discussed.

Only the knight who received the most favorable evaluation by their peers could become the next Master of the Round Table.

This method sounded quite logical, but people reaching the Master's position through such methods would grow to become more 'aware' of even the tiniest benefits available.

It'd become their second nature to excessively consider each nation's stance and position. Eventually, any decisions perceived as too drastic or disadvantageous to one party disappeared from their discussions, leaving only the tendency to pursue safer, more peaceful alternatives.

At the expense of greater benefits, the Round Table would endlessly chase after minor accomplishments and profits instead.

'Doing things that way has its limits.'

Wiggins wasn't trying to say the Round Table's way was wrong. He might have left the organization as their values no longer aligned, but he still respected their methods. After all, this system of not letting the power concentrate on one country had played a major role in the Round Table dominating Europe for so long.

That didn't mean Wiggins couldn't see the limitation of this system, though.

If the Martial Assembly operated in the same sort of system as the Round Table, it would've never grown at the astronomical rate as it had done. This organization could still exist because Kang Jin-Ho was the only person allowed to issue the commands, and everyone worked according to the directions he set.

Although this way of doing things had plenty of risks and side effects to worry about, this method was still the best to achieve rapid growth.

Wiggins glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su. “So? Still think it's a waste?”

“A little bit, yes,” Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded.

“And now you're lying.”

“I'm sorry?”

Wiggins stared straight at Lee Hyeon-Su and loudly tutted. “If my lord had ordered us to forsake the hostages, I'm quite certain that you'd be the one most disappointed out of us. Or am I wrong?”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned, unable to neither confirm nor deny.

“And that is why humans are such hypocritical creatures. Even though we all believe we're in the right, we still sometimes wish to make decisions that go against our beliefs.”

Lee Hyeon-Su contemplatively nodded, knowing Wiggins was right.

If Kang Jin-Ho had ordered them to abandon Yi Myeong-Hwan and Co. or had displayed even a hint of calculating potential losses to the Assembly by bringing those guys home... Lee Hyeon-Su might have praised Kang Jin-Ho's decision, but deep inside, he would've been disappointed by it.

This was not what he wished to see from Kang Jin-Ho, after all.

“My lord has made the choice expected of a man leading this organization. The truth was, this equation already had its answer when the other side told us the method to contact the hostages. It's just that…” Wiggins slowly rubbed his chin. “Cai Kechang, was it…? What a frightening man he is.”

Wiggins had no idea who decided to keep Yi Myeong-Hwan and the others alive. Maybe it was Cai Kechang. Or it could've been the Crimson King.

‘In that situation, no less…’

Before teleporting out of there with Kang Jin-Ho in tow, Wiggins clearly saw the expression etched on the Crimson King's face. Suppressing his boiling rage and keeping the assailants alive was an extraordinary display of patience.

If that was the Crimson King's intention all along, now that would be extraordinary. And Cai Kechang calming the Crimson King's rage in the nick of time would be just as extraordinary, too. People achieving extraordinary feats deserved to be rewarded for their efforts.

Of course, that reward coming from Kang Jin-Ho's side left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth, but what could they do about it now?

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed. “This timing really is…”

“Well, you could say they got us good.”

Lee Hyeon-Su and Wiggins would've modified their plan of attack a little bit had they learned about the survival of Yi Myeong-Hwan and the others ahead of time. However, Cai Kechang expertly hid their survival while negotiating. That man nimbly played the tense tug-of-war to minimize the losses to his side as much as possible, then proudly wheeled out the hostages into the open toward the end.

Since Lee Hyeon-Su was under the impression that his side had won with room to spare, he didn't get too hung up about squeezing out as many benefits as possible. And now, he got caught with his proverbial pants down and had to worry about what to give up to secure the hostages' release.

“So, that's the brains of the Crimson King's faction, huh… I figured he wouldn't be an ordinary man, but to think he'd play us like this. Including me…” Wiggins muttered, his expression displaying how amused he was.

He viewed all the intense mind games played during his time in the Round Table as an inevitable everyday occurrence, a part of the job requirement.

After joining the Martial Assembly, though, he grew a bit rueful at the lack of opportunity to demonstrate his expertise. However, to think one of the worst defeats in his life would occur in this place!

What amused Wiggins wasn’t the losses to his side, though. No, it was the fact that he and others had been dancing on Cai Kechang’s palm since the beginning. From the get-go, saying they had no idea about Cai Kechang's side holding a hidden trump card didn't wash.

After all, that trump card was provided by the Martial Assembly. They had put themselves in this bind, so to speak.

If the shoe was on the other foot… Could Wiggins do the same and withhold the hostages' fate right up till the end?

‘He’s a terrifying individual, then.’

Cai Kechang most likely had calculated that the situation would reach this state even before contacting Kang Jin-Ho. It seemed the reason for the surprisingly-early contact wasn’t because Cai Kechang didn’t care about their pride, but to minimize the risk of information leaking out.

Kang Jin-Ho's tendencies, the Martial Assembly's position, and even their own situation… Cai Kechang had considered all these factors before proceeding with the negotiation. After leading the negotiation by the nose, he pulled out his trump card to flip everything on its head at the last possible moment.

What remained now for the Assembly was to let Cai Kechang drag them to the destination he wanted to see. Of course, the Assembly wasn't in any position to worry about gains and losses here, but… From Wiggins and Lee Hyeon-Su's perspective, their pride had been mercilessly trampled on.

Wiggins harrumphed loudly. “We must reflect on what happened.”

“Yes, master.”

“We became too drunk on trivial victory. No, let’s revise that. My lord won, not us. Yet we acted as if we were the victors. And this is just dessert for acting like we have an unknown enemy under our thumb. Even though we’ve never even won once against him. This isn’t our lord’s failure. No, it’s entirely our fault.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded with a deep frown on his face. “Yes, master. I’ve learned my lesson.”

“We'll let them have this victory, at least this time. However, the same thing will not happen again. That should be enough.”

“Of course.”

Wiggins slowly turned his head and glanced outside the window.

‘I’ve let my guard down.’

Wiggins joined the Martial Assembly to find a new life and reach a new goal. After rescuing Kang Jin-Ho from danger, Wiggins relaxed as if he had achieved something important.

‘Unfortunately, the world is a battlefield.’

A man letting his guard down on a battlefield was a walking dead man. Not working for the Round Table anymore didn’t mean Wiggins could afford to relax and lower his guard. He chided himself for his lax mindset.

“Mister Lee. I’m sure you know what we need to do from now on.”

“Of course, master.”

“To repay this debt, we need to get the Martial Assembly in order first. A relationship of equals maintained through luck is not sustainable.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “Yes, master.”

“It’s our job to capitalize on the opportunities our lord has created. So, stand up. We have no time to waste.”

Lee Hyeon-Su didn’t say anything else and got up before rushing outside the office. Wiggins gently smiled while watching his disciple’s energetic sprint.

‘He’ll grow even further now.’

Since Lee Hyeon-Su now knew there was another sky above the one he could see!

***

“I see. We will do that, then.”

After saying those words, Cai Kechang ended the phone call and slowly leaned against the couch. He fished a cigarette packet out from his pocket as a satisfied smirk floated up on his lips.

“Dammit. I finally got them.”

It was undoubtedly his victory this time. And it was the first victory since he got entangled with the Korean Martial Assembly, too. Even so, Cai Kechang didn’t feel all that relieved or happy about it.

The Crimson King had granted Cai Kechang unrivaled grace and favor.

A man who didn’t do what he was supposed to do because doing so might make his boss uncomfortable shouldn't call himself a true loyal subordinate.

Cai Kechang should gratefully accept the grace from the Crimson King but should also doggedly pursue all the potential benefits, even if it killed him. That was his job.

If Cai Kechang reported what happened to the Crimson King, the mighty leader of the faction would most likely chide his subordinate for doing something unnecessary. Even so, Cai Kechang was convinced that he had done the right thing.

Regardless of what, he had eked out a victory, didn’t he? It was just that…

'Can I really call something this trivial a victory?'

After getting thoroughly pummeled all over, no one would be satisfied by the so-called compensation of kicking the aggressor’s leg once.

Extracting financial benefits from the Assembly was not what Cai Kechang wanted. No, he wanted to see the complete and utter destruction of the Assembly itself!

The Martial Assembly… Or more correctly, Kang Jin-Ho, managed to acquire all he wanted from this adventure. As compensation, he had to cough up some surplus pocket change. Anyone with a sane mind would think of it as Kang Jin-Ho’s win.

Although Kang Jin-Ho’s subordinates might feel hard-done by how this negotiation had turned out, Cai Kechang never considered Lee Hyeon-Su as his opponent in the first place. A mutt was a mutt, no matter how talented it was, after all. What Cai Kechang wanted to bring down was a tiger, not a mutt.

“Fuu-woo…”

In any case… They were back to square one.

For now, neither the Assembly nor the Crimson King's faction could interfere with one another.

With the treaty in place, neither side could openly antagonize each other. Which meant the battle now must be fought with hidden daggers, not greatswords.

It was now a race to see who could first deal with the unearthed problems with their organization and bring their house in order. And then... Nurture a combat force strong enough to destroy the other side in the shortest time possible! For now, the Crimson King’s faction held an overwhelming advantage, but…

‘I’m sure they won’t take too long.’

...Since Kang Jin-Ho was in charge over there!

Even Cai Kechang had to concede that the Martial Assembly was growing stronger at a scarcely believable rate. The Crimson King’s faction was already on a fixed trajectory, so for it to match the Assembly’s growth and maintain a sufficient power gap would be next to impossible.

...Which meant the victory hinged on how much of a gap remained at the end of their treaty!

Cai Kechang could see two ways to victory. Either he focused on strengthening the Crimson King's faction or hindering the Assembly's growth somehow.

However… Which was the correct option?

“Fuu-woo…”

Cai Kechang sucked in a lungful of smoke and leisurely exhaled. While smirking deeply, he slowly got up.

‘Why should I choose between the two?’

He could just do both, couldn’t he?

A perfect victory required two things. One, knowing the enemy. And two, knowing oneself.

Cai Kechang knew all there was to know about the Crimson King’s faction, but his attempts to peer deeper into the Assembly and Kang Jin-Ho continued to fail until now.

However, that was no longer the case. The greatest benefit from this war wasn't something trivial as money. No, the crucial thing was that Kang Jin-Ho and the Martial Assembly had to expose all of their available combat forces. Since Cai Kechang knew the strength of his opponents, he could now cook up a strategy to overwhelm them.

Since time immemorial, fighting enemies cloaked in darkness was difficult, but dealing with enemies in the open was not.

“I acknowledge that you are pretty strong with a sword in hand, Kang Jin-Ho. However, it’s time you learn that wars are not fought exclusively with weapons...!”

Cai Kechang tightly clenched his fists as he walked toward his destination. Humiliation burrowing deep in his heart fueled his desire to fight.

As if his desire wanted to engulf the whole world in flames of revenge!

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