Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1381. Unfolding (1)

After receiving simple medical treatment, Kang Jin-Ho sagged lazily on the chair.

Wiggins reported first on matters Kang Jin-Ho should be interested in the most.

“My lord, we’ve been keeping your family safe.”

“Mm...! Any problems?”

“Unfortunately, I’m not in charge of their protection detail. As such, I can’t tell you for sure if your family has been under surveillance or not. However, we are certain that the enemy has not tried anything untoward to the members of your family.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded contemplatively.

Wiggins quickly added his opinion to his report as well. “It could mean they don’t wish to cross the minimum-possible line, my lord.”

“The line’s been crossed already.”

Kang Jin-Ho sounded resolute just then.

That was enough for Wiggins to know that Kang Jin-Ho was serious about not co-existing with the enemy hiding in the Korean government.

This is a major development, isn’t it?

Wiggins already knew that the situation would head in this direction when Kang Jin-Ho came home. Even then...

Our enemy is powerful.

The Martial Assembly’s battle against the current administration could

The enemy had to rack their brains to find a way to hurt the Martial Assembly. And the Assembly should be prepared to do something just as arduous to defeat the current administration. Actually, no; their task could very well be even harder than Wiggins had imagined.

Whatever the case might be, though, Wiggins knew they had passed the point of no return quite some time ago.

‘It’ll be impossible to negotiate and compromise now, after all that’s happened.’

The enemy tried to kill Kang Jin-Ho. That was something the Martial Assembly would never forgive. It was the same logic as not compromising with someone trying to stab you with a knife.

Kang Jin-Ho asked without looking at Wiggins. “So? Any movements from their camp?”

“We haven’t detected any notable movements yet, my lord. We also have not discovered any attempts to monitor the Assembly’s activities. To be safe, we’ve dispatched people to monitor nearby army bases, but nothing has caught our attention so far.”

Click...!

Kang Jin-Ho lit up a new cigarette and mouthed it, then glanced at Wiggins with still eyes. “What about the Prime Minister?”

“We haven’t located him yet.”

“...”

Worried that Kang Jin-Ho might jump the gun, Wiggins quickly voiced his thoughts on the matter. “In my opinion, it’s still too early to assume that the Prime Minister has gone into hiding, my lord. We have not been keeping tabs on his every movement, after all. As such, my recommendation is to continue observing the situation for another two days...”

“Yeah, I know.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled while expelling the cigarette smoke from his lungs. He could tell that Wiggins was still worried about him rushing to where Kim Myeong-Chan was like an angry bull.

Funnily enough, however, Kang Jin-Ho was in no hurry to punish Kim Myeong-Chan at the moment.

If the Prime Minister was indeed behind the attempt to kill Kang Jin-Ho, that man would never be able to escape. It didn’t matter what he did—fleeing the country, hiding in a location where no one could find him, etc.—as Kang Jin-Ho would still track him down one way or the other.

...And then, kill him without mercy.

However, Kang Jin-Ho was familiar with the nature of those in power and knew Kim Myeong-Chan would stay put.

He had seen it many times in ancient Zhongyuan. Humans were simply incapable of letting go of the power they wielded.

Giving up on everything and fleeing the country would be even more unthinkable to Kim Myeong-Chan than throwing his life away. Knowing this, Kang Jin-Ho was confident that the Prime Minister would never choose that option.

However, it seemed that not everyone in this room shared his sentiments.

“That rat bastard wouldn’t be hiding for no reason, right? Right?” Bang Jin-Hun shouted. Flames almost erupted from his mouth just then. “We gotta find that little f*cker right now, everyone! I’m telling you, our people will find him in no time! Let’s make him pay for what he’s done!”

Wiggins sighed. “Mister Bang, didn’t I tell you that this issue is not that simple?”

“And that’s exactly your problem, Mister Wiggins. There ain’t no simple problems in this world, you know? But you’re gonna miss your boat if you keep weighing this option and mulling over that possibility instead of getting it on! How many things do you think have gotten buried and forgotten over the years because people hesitated and whatnot?”

“...”

“You know what? It’s not the complication that’s stopping you, but the fear of the aftermath you think you can’t handle. And that’s why you don’t wanna touch this crap. Isn’t that right, Mister Wiggins?”

Wiggins clamped his mouth shut.

If he was being honest with himself, he knew Bang Jin-Hun was right about this one. Wiggins would’ve had no problem ignoring trivial consequences had their opponent not been the current administration.

For sure, Wiggins and Bang Jin-Hun were polar opposites in things like this.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Kang Jin-Ho stopped Bang Jin-Hun with a brief wave of his hand.

“But, sir!”

“Don’t worry, I have no desire to forget about this and move on with my life. But it’s too early to punish them all. We need to be meticulous about this. Director Bang, learn to control yourself a bit better.”

Bang Jin-Hun lowered his head a little to show that he agreed with Kang Jin-Ho.

“Lee Hyeon-Su,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Yes, sir?”

“Your turn.”

Lee Hyeon-Su staggered up to his feet. Dark circles below his eyes and his coarse facial skin spoke of the toll the last few days had on his body and mind.

However, the light burning in his eyes had not waned at all. If anything, they burned even sharper and brighter than before.

“Sir. In my opinion, our priority isn’t finding out Kim Myeong-Chan’s current location.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “Then, what is?”

“It’s figuring out up to who we will consider as our enemy.”

Wiggins sucked in a deep breath. Here it was, the most difficult and sensitive issue currently facing the Martial Assembly!

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced. “Figuring out if Kim Myeong-Chan has indeed betrayed us or not is secondary, sir. We already know someone within the administration has screwed us over. And when the identity of the culprit is eventually revealed... We must decide who and which collaborators will be punished.”

Kang Jin-Ho sucked in a lungful of cigarette smoke, then asked quietly. “And your opinion is?”

“...Except for one person, everyone in the administration, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with some conviction. “However, please do note that when I say everyone, it does not mean we should punish every single member of the administration. Even so, we must not hesitate to punish them if they are guilty. Our punishment will only mean something when we make no exceptions.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled. “Aren’t we already making an exception here?”

“Honestly, the President will be pushing our luck, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “We just don’t have any guaranteed methods to punish the holder of the highest office in this country. And we don’t have enough justification, either. Sir, the President is not someone we can destroy using our martial strength alone. He was elected by the people of this country. And only they can bring him down.”

“Mm...!”

“However!” Lee Hyeon-Su’s eyes coldly flickered as he raised his index finger. “If the President turns out to be the mastermind, we must consider ways of making him pay the price somehow.”

Wiggins chuckled softly. “That shouldn’t be too hard, no? After all, South Korean Presidents only serve one term, don’t they?”

“...Eh?”

“I heard a pretty interesting Korean proverb not too long ago. What was it again? That a gentleman’s revenge can wait for a decade, and it still won’t be considered tardy?”

Where did Wiggins even hear that? Did he actually attend traditional Korean language academies or something?

Wiggins scanned his audience members. “Harming the sitting President will be nigh-on impossible. However, his term is bound to end one day, no? We can make him pay when that happens, then.”

Lee Hyeon-Su curiously asked, “Master, don’t you think he will try his luck again while still in office?”

“Well, there’s a good possibility of that, yes. However, one thing is for certain. The Martial Assembly won’t crumble so easily even if the current administration tries to bring us down.”

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

The losses during this event were substantial, but the Assembly still learned something important from it. Now it knew that the government, an organization they thought they could co-exist, could morph into an enemy at a flip of the switch.

Since that was the case, it was now time to analyze and dissect the government’s power as accurately as possible before filing them under the ‘Opponents To Keep Eyes On’ category.

“So, then. For the time being...”

Before Kang Jin-Ho could speak...!

Ka-boom!

“What was that?!”

“An enemy raid?”

Everyone in the conference room jumped up in alarm and stared at the doorway. Before long, an intruder kicked the door down and charged at Kang Jin-Ho with the speed of a lightning bolt!

“S-stop... Eh?”

The intruder immediately kowtowed before Kang Jin-Ho.

“E-Elder Chang?!”

“My liiiiiiiieeeeege!”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at the ceiling and groaned in resignation. And here he was, thinking that something was missing from this meeting!

“My liege! Oh, how much you must’ve suffered because of us! Because of our incompetence, this unthinkable event came to be! My liege, please give us your command! Just one word from your noble lips, and this incompetent servant will lead the ten thousand enraged loyal cult believers to punish the insolent bastards! Through their blood, your rage will be satisfied! And through their lives, we shall beg for your forgiveness! My liege, I...”

“And what about Japan?”

“M-my liege?”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow and stared at Chang Min, obviously unimpressed. “What are you doing here instead of in Japan?”

“T-that’s because...” Chang Min’s eyes darted around the room in obvious panic. “T-the matter in Japan is going well...”

“Really now?”

“...”

Chang Min planted his forehead on the floor with a loud Bang!

“Ohhh, my liege! Yes, it is true that this foolish servant has failed to fulfill your command! But this servant incorrectly believed that your life could be in danger...”

“Oh, so you thought I’d lose to weaklings like them? Is that it?”

“...!”

Chang Min’s kowtowing figure flinched nastily in silence.

Wiggins tutted at this sight. It seemed Chang Min had walked right into that checkmate.

If he said yes, that would be the same as belittling Kang Jin-Ho’s strength. But saying no would mean he had just disobeyed a direct order from his liege.

“P-p-please! My liege, this servant has always been nothing but loyal to you!”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. “Yes, I know you’re loyal. It’s just that you’re way too loyal. No need to raise a fuss here, Chang Min.”

“But, my liege...”

Chang Min raised his head. The light in his eyes was colder, more withdrawn, than only a second ago.

“It is an indisputable fact that they dared to target your life. Forgive this servant for reminding you of something you already know, but authority comes from being able to mete out appropriate punishme—No! Being able to mete out unfairly excessive judgment, my liege!”

“Yeah, I know,” Kang Jin-Ho replied, his eyes narrowing.

“Unless we teach them what the price of targeting you is, incidents like this will keep repeating itself!”

“I know that, too.”

“My liege...!”

“I said, I know,” Kang Jin-Ho coldly addressed Chang Min and the others in the room. “Remember this. I have never spared anyone daring to provoke me until now.”

Just as Kang Jin-Ho said that, Bang Jin-Hun’s head cocked to the side, just a little, and he stared at another person in the room.

Lee Hyeon-Su flinched when Bang Jin-Hun’s weird gaze landed on him. “Sir? W-why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing... really. I just remembered something, but it’s not important or anything.”

“...I’ll let you know that I’m paying through my nose for what I have done, sir! At least I wouldn’t have suffered like this had I died that day!”

“I don’t think it’s too late to fix that, though?”

“Wowsers, talk about a heart of stone...”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled again while listening to the two men bickering away.

Right. I’m really back.

Seeing them cracking jokes in the middle of a serious discussion helped Kang Jin-Ho with appreciating the fact that he was finally back in South Korea, his home.

“Everyone...”

The banter instantly ended, and everyone turned their attention to Kang Jin-Ho when he spoke again.

“I know you have a lot to get off your chest. I’m also more confused about this than I’d like. We have never experienced a situation like this before, after all.”

They didn’t have a clear enemy this time. However...

“That still changes nothing. If enemies stand in our way, we will crush them. As we have done so. Our current task is to figure out who is our enemy and who is not.”

Wiggins nodded. “We’ll redouble our investigative efforts and uncover Kim Myeong-Chan’s whereabouts, my lord!”

“I’ll speak to Chang Piljae and glean as much useful information on the NIS. This should give us the clearest picture overall.”

“Sir, we could get in touch with the politicians in our pockets. They should get us some information, too.”

Not only Wiggins, but Lee Hyeon-Su and Bang Jin-Hun also offered their advice. And that was when the oldest person in the room suddenly grinned suspiciously.

“My liege, grant me your permission, and this servant will hack into their systems.”

“...?”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho dazedly stared at Chang Min. “Wait, what...? You can hack into their systems? Like a hacker?”

“You underestimate me too much, my liege.”

...I can only judge by the cover in this case, okay? And that’s why I’m asking!

“Please do not fret, my liege! I shall wonderfully extract any and all information we need!”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t tell if he should be reassured or not for having Chang Min on his side.