Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1391. Being Hostile (1)

Lee Hyeon-Su grimly addressed Wiggins.

“We... couldn’t find any lawyers willing to take the case.”

Wiggins tilted his head in confusion. “What do you mean by that? No lawyer was willing? Not a single one?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“Are Korean lawyers different from the lawyers I’m used to? I thought all lawyers would unhesitantly defend even Satan himself as long as they get paid enough?”

“Well, yes. That’s still true in this country. But...” Lee Hyeon-Su deeply sighed. “It sounds like the government is putting pressure on them.”

“Pressure? The Korean government is... pressuring the lawyers?”

“It seems that way, yes.”

Wiggins stared wide-eyed at Lee Hyeon-Su after failing to comprehend this outcome.

“Aren’t the lawyers the type to go after any minor mistakes the government makes to win large settlements? And when they get pressured like this, they turn that into another lawsuit to make a killing in compensation? In short, I thought all lawyers were avaricious little demons?”

“That might be the case with English-speaking countries, but the Korean lawyers don’t have that kind of power, master. Worse still, the National Security Act is a sensitive topic. Very sensitive. Knowing that, no lawyer would want to take on a case like this. They gotta worry about their public image, after all.”

“Public image? For a trivial reason like that?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su could only scratch his head when Wiggins stared at him in disbelief. How was he supposed to explain this to a foreigner?

“Unlike how things are in the UK or the USA, fighting the government in court to defend someone is still incredibly difficult in South Korea. Especially with charges like this, master. Don’t forget that we have a troublesome neighbor called North Korea busy licking their lips, waiting to cause more trouble for us.”

“I still don’t get it. In that case, what about all those who are accused of breaking this National Security Act? Are you saying they can’t even defend themselves in court?”

“Actually, we do have lawyers specializing in that area, but...”

“There you go, then. Of course such lawyers would exist. Let’s get in touch with them right away.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply again. “I already did, master. But none of them wanted the job.”

“Why not!”

Lee Hyeon-Su chewed on his lips. “Because... he’s rich, master.”

“What did you say?”

“The lawyers all said they don’t want to defend the Assembly Master because of how wealthy he is. They even sarcastically told us to hire expensive lawyers instead.”

Wiggins sagged into the chair. His common sense failed him this time, and he couldn’t figure out what had transpired here. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

What on earth was wrong with this country? A lawyer was supposed to be a part of the service industry, wasn’t it?

Their job was to act as the proxy for the citizens who didn’t know much about the law. Fundamentally, they were no different from, say, tax accountants. So why were these lawyers refusing to take the case, even with the promise of a handsome monetary reward?

Wiggins just couldn’t comprehend it. In the United States of America, or his home, Britain, reputable law firms would’ve been tripping over themselves in eagerness to represent Kang Jin-Ho. Yet in this country...!

“So we can’t find any lawyers?” Wiggins asked.

“No, of course not. I’m sure we’ll find someone willing to take the case. If all else fails, there’s the option of going with a court-appointed lawyer. But our problem is that we’ve failed to hire a law firm powerful enough to pressure the government.”

Wiggins groaned loudly. “Bloody hell...”

He still found it incomprehensible, but that didn’t matter right now. What did matter, though, was that their dire situation seemed to have gotten even more dire.

“If only we could import some barristers from Britain...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “Our laws are too different for that to work, master.”

Wiggins anxiously tapped on his thigh. “...Still, our priority is to find a good lawyer. Because it sounds like my lord wishes to resolve this situation as legally as possible.”

“I... think so, too.”

“Those stinking bastards...!”

Wiggins gritted his teeth.

It wouldn’t have been so disadvantageous for them had the cops not arrested Kang Jin-Ho in front of his family members. If the push came to shove, they could have resorted to the extreme method of destroying Kim Myeong-Chan and then fixing the situation afterward, after all.

However, with his family knowing about his arrest, and even applying to visit him in prison, Kang Jin-Ho should find the idea of breaking out too tricky to implement.

After all, he wouldn’t have a way to explain all this to them.

“This was why I kept telling my lord living a double life would be unfeasible...”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned deeply. “It’s pointless to bring that up now, master. Besides all that. What about the thing you said you’d look into?”

“We should hear from that side soon. Unfortunately, this isn’t a matter that will get resolved quickly, you see?”

While Lee Hyeon-Su handled the legal side of things, Wiggins was looking at the diplomatic avenue.

“Will it even work, though?” asked Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Well...” Wiggins sighed deeply. “It shouldn’t have been a difficult matter. The European Union and the Round Table have a strong cooperative relationship, after all. It should have given priority to whatever requests the Round Table made.”

“Why... does it sound like that situation has changed a bit now?”

“There are two issues to consider.”

“Really?”

Wiggins furrowed his brow. “The first issue is that the current head of the EU is the German Chancellor. And as you know...”

“Germany and us aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye at the moment.”

“Indeed.”

The country that suffered the most while the Master seized control of the Round Table was none other than Germany. The Martial Assembly managed to maintain a cordial-enough relationship with most of Europe, but the story with Germany and France could only be described as the absolute worst.

As bad luck would have it, the current President of the European Commission just so happened to be the German Chancellor.

“With bad blood between us, I’m sure they’ll put our request on the back burner and take things very slowly. With the President of the Commission taking their sweet time, other member nations won’t be able to do much on their own,” said Wiggins.

“Then... What should we do?”

“In the past, I’d have gotten in touch with my contacts in the British government and have them pressure Germany during the EU parliament sitting to get them to move their asses, but...” Wiggins groaned, his expression crumpling hideously. “As you might have heard, the UK is... Well...”

“...? Oh, that.” Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly, too. “You meant Brexit.”

“Yes, that one.”

Lee Hyeon-Su scowled in irritation. “How could the UK politicians be so irresponsible, master?!”

“You think their irresponsibility is something new?! No, it’s been like this forever! Those fools have always been so bloody irresponsible and moronic! And they will continue to be like this for the rest of eternity! A bunch of witless, feckless fools!”

“...”

With Wiggins so strongly criticizing the politicians of his own mother nation, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t continue with badmouthing the UK government anymore.

He smiled bitterly. “In other words, we shouldn’t expect too much from the diplomatic route, either.”

Wiggins shook his head. “No, that’s not quite correct. As long as the issue is brought up within the parliament sitting, the EU will start pressuring the Korean government. That I can guarantee. But what I cannot guarantee is when that pressuring will commence.”

“...”

“Worse still, the atmosphere within the Round Table has become somewhat volatile after the news of my lord’s arrest reached that side. Well, it was not something we could hide, anyway.”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned. “That’s right. I forgot about that. Will the Master be alright?”

“For now, yes. The Master of the Round Table is far more capable than you give him credit for, Mister Lee. It seems he has put into place various measures to tighten his control of the organization since you last spoke to him.”

“Mm, that’s a relief.”

“Unfortunately, even those measures won’t be effective forever. You know that the Master’s control over the Round Table largely depends on my lord’s presence.”

“Yes, that’s true.”

Wiggins grimaced. “As such, the Master should be pressuring the European parliament with everything he has as well. My lord’s freedom is the only way to ensure the Round Table’s internal stability, after all.”

“For sure...”

Lee Hyeon-Su subtly chewed on his lips while mulling over the information.

The longer the Assembly Master’s absence extends, the more likely everything we’ve built up will crumble!

First of all, the Round Table; like Wiggins said, that organization would eventually crumble if Kang Jin-Ho’s imprisonment was not resolved quickly enough. The ripples from that event would definitely reach the Assembly, too.

If the one ruling over a group with an iron fist lost his grip on power, people with totally opposing inclinations would often fill the power vacuum. Which meant that, in the case of the Master getting kicked out of his position again, the odds of the Round Table falling into the hands of the anti-Martial Assembly faction were uncomfortably high.

That’s right, it’ll be the crisis of our most dependable ally turning into the worst enemy imaginable literally overnight!

That alone would have been a horrifying prospect, but the fallout from losing the Round Table’s support wouldn’t just end there. The Three Kings and the factions, who had been holding back on invading South Korea due to the potential financial and military backing coming from the Round Table, would start re-calculating their odds again.

...And then, they would swiftly reach a rather obvious decision.

Since Kang Jin-Ho was somewhat indisposed, and there was no threat of the Round Table’s support... It was safe to assume that the Martial Assembly would lose at least half of its combat strength. No, realistically speaking, the reduction in combat strength should be as much as seventy percent!

If Lee Hyeon-Su was brutally honest with his evaluation, just half of the Crimson King’s faction should be enough to rout the Martial Assembly without breaking too much sweat.

Lee Hyeon-Su’s grimace deepened. “Hold on? The more I think about this, the worse it sounds, doesn’t it? We gotta protect the Round Table no matter what.”

“It’s not only the Round Table, Mister Lee. Can you imagine what will happen if the news of my lord’s imprisonment reaches Japan?”

“Huh? But I thought the Japanese martial society has lost most of its combat strength?”

“I’m not worried about the enemy, Mister Lee. No, it’s our allies that frighten me the most. Have you forgotten? Most of our expeditionary force in Japan is made up of the Demon Flames and cult believers. Do you think they’ll be able to carry out their mission in the right frame of mind with my lord behind bars?”

“Nope, that’s asking for a miracle.”

Actually, Lee Hyeon-Su was underplaying it a bit. It was plainly obvious that those people would rush back to Korea and raise a massive fuss about destroying the prison to rescue their Assembly Master.

Of course, actually destroying the prison walls would lead to Kang Jin-Ho beating their rowdy asses up without mercy. Still, just the possibility of that happening alone was frightening enough.

Lee Hyeon-Su and Wiggins exchanged knowing glances.

“So we must, mm...”

Wiggins nodded when Lee Hyeon-Su mumbled. “Yes, we must do everything in our power to hide the truth from them. Honestly, I can’t even imagine how Elder Chang will react to this news.”

“Elder Chang is one thing, but...”

“Mm?”

“What will we do about Sir Vator?”

“...!”

Wiggins’ mind automatically painted the scene of the enraged Vator utterly destroying the prison Kang Jin-Ho was in.

“Bloody hell. And I’ve been told that allies could be scarier than one’s enemies...!”

Allies were supposed to be the pillars of strength in crises like this one, yet here was Wiggins, trying to hide the truth from his own allies!

Groans kept leaking out of his mouth.

“For now, let’s do our best to... be as ambiguous as possible,” said Wiggins.

“Master, that plan doesn’t even qualify as a plan.”

“What choice do we have at the moment? We have to do something, otherwise...”

Before Wiggins could finish, the entrance to the conference room was shoved open with a loud Bang! And Bang Jin-Hun rushed inside.

Wiggins’ expression crumbled a little. “Mister Bang, I told you we must stay calm in a situation like this. A door is supposed to be opened with hands, not with a kick.”

Bang Jin-Hun urgently cried out, “Now is not the time to talk nonsense, Mister Wiggins! Turn on the TV! Hurry!”

Wiggins’ expression stiffened. “TV? Why?”

“...! Dammit, there’s no TV in here!” Bang Jin-Hun cried out again, then yanked his phone out before accessing a video streaming app.

“Hang on, Mister Bang! Tell us what is... going... on...?”

Wiggins, who tried to calm Bang Jin-Hun down, clamped his mouth shut after looking at the phone’s screen. And his entire body froze still on the spot after the audio coming from the phone’s tiny speaker registered in his hearing.

—The police have announced that they have arrested Mister K, a businessman in his early twenties, for the crime of violating the National Security Act. Mister K is being suspected of visiting North Korea recently without the government’s permission. The police will investigate why the suspect has entered North Korea illegally, and also find out if he is involved in any other suspicious activities. The suspect is the current chairman of MK Corporation, a recently established company, and...

Wiggins’ expression crumpled beyond description in rage. “These... These sons of b*tches!”

That was as clear as a declaration of war could get. Not any declaration, either, but one that announced the enemy’s intention to fight this war to the bitter end!

Wiggins roared, “Chief Lee!”

Lee Hyeon-Su stood straight up. “Yes, Director Wiggins!”

“Summon Elder Chang and Yi Myeong-Hwan back from Japan! And contact Sir Vator! Tell him to come back right now!”

“Yes, sir!”

Wiggins loudly gritted his teeth.

So, you want to play? Is that it?

Now there was no stopping this runaway train. What remained now was the two sides tearing each other down until one of them was dead!