Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1380. Arriving (5)

Wang Lung scowled deeply.

“Say what? They lost him?!”

His aide-de-camp grimly replied, “Yes, Vice Chief.”

Sparks of anger began shooting out from Wang Lung’s eyes. Despite his reputation for keeping his composure no matter the circumstances, his face still grew flushed uncontrollably from sheer rage.

“Didn’t you say that the North Koreans would definitely kill that bastard?! Ah?! What the hell happened?! Answer me, you goddamn mongrel!”

“My sincerest apologies, sir!”

“You stupid bastard!”

Wang Lung shot up to his feet and grabbed the ashtray off his desk before hurling it at his aide-de-camp.

Smack!

The ashtray hit the aide-de-camp squarely in the forehead before bouncing off. Burnt cigarette tips scattered everywhere, and the ashes fell to the floor.

The skin on the aide-de-camp’s forehead split open, causing blood to trickle down and stain his face. However, the aide-de-camp didn’t even let out a single pained moan and remained standing at attention.

“You incompetent bastard! Just how could you be this bloody incompetent?! You couldn’t kill Kang Jin-Ho when you had the chance! And you couldn’t even stop him from fleeing this country, too! Then, you let him waltz right into North Korea, saying they would get the job done, but they also failed just like you?!”

Wang Lung roared like a furious beast, and the poor aide-de-camp couldn’t even blink out of sheer fear. He knew that any movement from him would prompt the Vice Chief to yank out his pistol and unhesitantly blow the aide-de-camp’s brains out!

“How will you take responsibility for this failure?! Ah?! Say something, you mongrel bastard! If I don’t hear any feasible plans coming out of your mouth, I’ll rip out your intestines and feed it to my dogs!”

The aide-de-camp remained standing at attention as he replied urgently. “Yes, sir! It’s true that Kang Jin-Ho has escaped. However, we shouldn’t think of this outcome as a net loss for our glorious nation!”

“What the f*ck did you just say, you mongrel?!”

“Vice Chief, sir! Our operation this time was indeed a failure. However, we’ve earned a lot from this failure as well!”

“Really now?! Fine! Keep talking! I’ll decide whether to put a bullet in your head or shove my gun right inside my goddamn mouth instead!”

The aide-de-camp swallowed his saliva first, then explained his thought process. “In terms of results, we believe this situation is not unfavorable for us, sir! We might have failed to kill Kang Jin-Ho, but we now know the true extent of his strength, as well as his inclinations!”

“Sure, sure! We certainly found out, didn’t we?! After losing so many of our men, wasting considerable time, and dumping money like water, that is!”

“Sir, Kang Jin-Ho cannot be tamed.”

“So? We already knew that...”

“As such, he will never cooperate with the Three Kings!”

Wang Lung clamped his mouth shut, then glared at his aide-de-camp. He eventually chewed his words out. “So? What are you saying?”

Cold sweat trickled down the aide-de-camp’s forehead, causing the blood to drip like water from a leaky tap.

“From the very beginning, our approach was incorrect, sir! That man can never be tamed. Trying to turn him into our hound was the wrong move. We should have acknowledged him as a King and negotiated with him as equals. Then, this situation would have ended very differently!”

“...I see. Continue.”

“It is still not too late, sir! We must consider negotiating with...”

“You think what we did was shoot at him a few times with a bloody BB gun?! If it was you, would you come to the negotiating table after what we did?!”

“No, sir! I wouldn’t. However, that man might. As you already know, those calling themselves Kings think differently from ordinary people.”

Wang Lung’s expression crumpled hideously. “Okay, so... Since we can’t get rid of Kang Jin-Ho, we must compensate him for our actions, then attempt to negotiate with him again?”

“Yes, sir!”

“You seriously think that’s a solution?! You incompetent mongrel!”

“It’s because his worth has changed, sir!”

The aide-de-camp shouted urgently. No, rather than a shout, it sounded far closer to a desperate scream.

“Say what?”

“Sir! Even if we try our best to cover this incident up, the Three Kings will find out that we tried to kill Kang Jin-Ho. And they will also find out how we failed to kill him despite all the troops we’ve deployed!”

Wang Lung gritted his teeth.

Of course he knew that his aide-de-camp was right. Even if the military did its absolute best to keep everything under the wraps, the information network of the Three Kings was simply too good to not uncover the truth of what had transpired.

If fooling them was that easy, they didn’t deserve to be called the Three Kings in the first place!

“So, what are you saying? Since we’ll get publicly humiliated and forced into groveling under the Three Kings’ pressure, we might as well congratulate Kang Jin-Ho for his successful escape, too?!”

“No, sir! What I’m saying is that the Three Kings will stop underestimating Kang Jin-Ho’s strength now!”

“They have never done that!”

The aide-de-camp shook his head. “Sir, the truth is that Kang Jin-Ho’s existence has been a mystery to us and to the Three Kings. What we knew about him was that he fought the Crimson King and safely returned to South Korea. With added exaggeration, we thought he had fought the Crimson King to a standstill. That is all.”

“So? What about it?”

The aide-de-camp stared straight at Wang Lung. “Sir, did you honestly believe that?”

“...?” Wang Lung didn’t immediately reply, but his head cocked slightly to the side.

Did he honestly believe that claim? No, not really.

Plenty of exaggerated claims could be found doing the rounds in this world. Of course, the bit about Kang Jin-Ho fighting the Crimson King and escaping with his life intact should be true. Even then, Wang Lung never believed that Kang Jin-Ho was strong enough to rival the Crimson King.

In his view, it had to be a tall tale men often shared like a legend among themselves. Or an exaggerated claim deliberately spread around to harm the Crimson King’s reputation. It had to be one of the two, at least in Wang Lung’s mind.

“I see. So, the Azure King and the Dark King must’ve thought the same as me, then?”

The aide-de-camp firmly nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Since the Crimson King had personally fought Kang Jin-Ho, he already knew the truth. However, what about the Azure King and the Dark King? They wouldn’t acknowledge Kang Jin-Ho because of some exaggerated-sounding rumor.

“But now, they have no choice but to acknowledge him? Because of our actions?”

“Yes, sir! And once the story of North Korea failing to kill him despite mobilizing its military reaches their ears, Kang Jin-Ho’s worth will skyrocket even more. Sir!”

“...Since his worth is sky-high now, they won’t carelessly harm anyone joining hands with him? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, sir! Precisely!”

Wang Lung chuckled helplessly. “Okay, so. We failed to accurately gauge Kang Jin-Ho’s true worth. We also improved everyone’s evaluation of Kang Jin-Ho. And now, we must compensate him for our actions, but the amount will go up because of the improved evaluation? And hope that he’ll re-evaluate the idea of joining hands with us?”

“...Yes, sir.”

“Seriously? Is this a joke or something...?”

Wang Lung realized he didn’t even have enough energy to lose his cool.

He chewed on his lips. What a laughable notion this was. However, when he objectively thought about it, his aide-de-camp had a point here.

Right now, we don’t have a choice but to clutch at straws!

Kang Jin-Ho’s escape was not the cause of Wang Lung’s rage. No, it was because the military’s secret preparations had been exposed to the Three Kings now. Worse still, they might have figured out the government’s intention to fight them back, too.

That meant the government would have to deal with the immense pressure coming from the Three Kings and their factions from now on.

“Something like this happens all the time in politics, Vice Chief,” said the aide-de-camp.

“You better keep your mouth shut before I rip your tongue out,” Wang Lung angrily spat out.

When the aide-de-camp wisely stopped talking, Wang Lung took out a cigarette and mouthed it. After lighting it, he returned to his seat in silence.

The aide-de-camp sighed under his breath so that Wang Lung wouldn’t notice it.

Since the Vice Chief had returned to his seat, it should be safe to assume that the threat of a bullet to the aide-de-camp’s forehead had been staved off, at least for the time being.

Wang Lung contemplatively asked, “You think it’s possible to reconcile with Kang Jin-Ho?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Even though we waged a war against him?”

“Countries engaged in a bitter war against each other suddenly entering alliances happens all the time, sir. In fact, it happens so often that I’m embarrassed to even bring it up.”

“Huh. Aren’t you a confident little bastard?”

The aide-de-camp spoke resolutely. “There is no such thing as impossible negotiations, sir! The only issue at hand is how much we are prepared to lose in this negotiation. If our compensation is handsome enough for the Koreans to overlook our actions, we should be able to join hands with faces full of jovial smiles.”

Wang Lung chuckled bitterly. Now there was a deeply pragmatic piece of advice, one he didn’t want to hear if he could help it!

Indeed, the aide-de-camp was right. Wang Lung knew better than anyone that nothing was impossible in this world. But his side had started this. As such, the price they must pay could be substantial.

“Fine. Contact Kang Jin-Ho’s people.”

“Understood, sir!”

“For now, we’ll attempt to negotiate. But I must speak to the Party Leader first to find out how far we can go in this negotiation. In the meantime, find out what they want from us.”

“Yes, sir!”

Wang Lung pointed at the aide-de-camp. “If you fail again... You will not live to see another day. You hear me?”

“Yes, sir. I fully understand!”

“No, you don’t,” Wang Lung tutted. “The one who dies in case of failure will be me, not you. Unfortunately for you, however! I will not go down alone.”

“Sir! We will not fail!”

Wang Lung was about to nod and say something. However, he and the aide-de-camp urgently turned their heads toward the office exit.

“What was that?”

Bang!

The door was abruptly shoved open, and a man waltzed leisurely inside.

“Who do you think you... are...”

The aide-de-camp tried to raise his voice, only to clamp his mouth shut.

The uninvited guest glared murderously at the aide-de-camp, causing the latter to shrink back like a coward. He even averted his gaze away in fear, too!

The guest smirked insidiously at the aide-de-camp. “Aren’t you a bit too rude for your own good?”

Wang Lung sighed deeply, but his expression recovered instantly. “What do you want, Cai Kechang?”

The uninvited guest, Cai Kechang, turned his head to stare at Wang Lung. “I’m sure you can already guess why I’m here, Vice Chief.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You sure have done something rather amusing, haven’t you? Why didn’t you let us in on the fun, too?”

Wang Lung’s expression crumpled. “A mere fox riding on the tiger’s coattail doesn’t know his place and dares to run his mouth? Keep a lid on your insolence, Cai Kechang! The Crimson King’s renown can protect you only so much!”

“Oh, my! To think someone with a high standing, such as yourself, would worry about me! I’m touched. Touched, I say!”

Wang Lung tightly clutched at the packet of cigarettes as Cai Kechang muttered snarkily. However, his expression grew even colder than before.

“Do I look like a pushover who will allow you to visit me without a prior appointment?”

“Oh, no, sir. I wouldn’t dare do that to you,” Cai Kechang replied coldly. “I wouldn’t, sure. But the Crimson King’s messenger would certainly dare.”

“The Crimson King’s messenger...!”

Wang Lung chewed on his lips anxiously.

Cai Kechang didn’t bother to wait for Wang Lung’s response and stated his business. “My liege expresses his deep disappointment and anger at the action of the People’s Liberation Army.”

“You seem to be mistaken about something. We have not...”

“Please watch yourself. I will not forgive anyone daring to insult my liege’s insight.”

“...!”

Wang Lung glared murderously at Cai Kechang. However, the latter remained unfazed as he continued to speak. “My liege, the Crimson King, will scrutinize the actions of the People’s Liberation Army from this moment on. The only reason he has spared your lives, at least for now, is due to his boundless respect for those who have dedicated their lives to this nation. And also, as a sign of courtesy toward the Party Leader. However!”

Cai Kechang stopped talking and glared coldly at Wang Lung.

Two men’s glares collided in mid-air. The surrounding atmosphere seemed to freeze up just then as unbearable silence descended on the office.

After what felt like an eternity had passed, Cai Kechang finally broke the silence first. “This is your final warning.”

“...”

“Well, then. Please excuse me.”

Cai Kechang turned around and headed to the open doorway. He stopped before the door, then turned his head slightly to glance at Wang Lung.

“One more thing. A piece of advice, if you will. The other two Kings won’t be as... gentlemanly as we are. Since we have managed to figure it out, I’m sure they have also done the same. I sincerely hope that you’ll stay alive until we meet again, Vice Chief.”

Cai Kechang smiled brightly before exiting the office.

Craaack!

Noises of teeth breaking leaked out of Wang Lung’s mouth.

“That... That goddamn mongrel bastard!”

He trembled in indignation before covering his face with both hands. He remained unmoving for a good while before sighing out loudly.

The aide-de-camp quietly called out. “Sir...”

“I’m fine now. Relax.”

In order to survive in this treacherous jungle, one must know when to lose their cool and when to stay calm. Now was the time for the latter.

“You. Dispatch someone to South Korea and contact the Demon King’s people. Now!”

“Understood, sir!”

“I don’t care what conditions they put forward. Give them everything they want, but get them to cooperate, no matter what! If we fail... Only death and destruction await us!”

“Sir! I will not forget!”

“Now, leave me.”

“Sir!”

The aide-de-camp bowed, then exited the office.

Now left alone, Wang Lung pulled out his pistol from its leather holster. He then pointed its muzzle at his head.

Pulling this trigger is nothing to me.

But what mattered to him was snatching back the control of China from those thugs and bandits. As long as he could accomplish that goal, Wang Lung knew he’d laugh heartily away even as he got pulverized to death.

“Your world... will not last forever, Three Kings. That I swear!”