Descent of the Demon Master

The decision was made at a lightning-quick pace.

More crucially, though, no one seemed to be dissatisfied with how the decision came about. That was because the Martial Assembly's decision-making process usually unfolded this way.

Everyone in the room accepted the necessity and justification for taking this course of action. Except for one man, that was!

‘No one!’

Indeed, absolutely no one!

‘Why is no one worried about me! Me!?’

Lee Hyeon-Su clutched at his hair after his mind had finally melted down to a puddle.

Deciding on things was easy. Everyone could run their mouth, after all! The problematic part was trying to bring those decisions into reality. Even a blind and deaf person could see that the responsibility of making it happen would fall squarely onto Lee Hyeon-Su's shoulders!

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at his subordinate. “Lee Hyeon-Su?”

Even when they were about to receive their school grades report card, people would cross their fingers and hope for the best. And the result of their ardent prayers was usually a horrible and crushing disappointment. Like right now!

“...Yes, sir.”

“How soon can you finish the preparation?”

“P-please wait, sir! We haven’t decided on anything yet, you know?!”

“What do you mean?” Kang Jin-Ho confusedly stared at Lee Hyeon-Su. Didn’t they already decide to go on this expedition to Britain? In that case, what else was left to decide? At least, that was what his gaze was asking.

Instead of explaining verbally, Lee Hyeon-Su turned his attention to Wiggins. “Master?”

“I’m listening.”

“How many are you planning to take with you?”

“Hmm…” Wiggins rubbed his chin while contemplating his options.

‘It would’ve been better to have more information.’

Wiggins still exercised some influence over Britain. Not being a part of the Round Table didn’t automatically erase his past as Britain’s representative Knight, after all. Besides, he had never abandoned his identity as a British national, anyway.

The Round Table had tried to sever its ties with Wiggins as completely as possible, but there were still some people left in Britain willing to follow his cause. The problem here was that none of them were in any position to quickly hand over relevant information to him.

After a new representative Knight for Britain was selected, the authority to control the information flow from the UK was handed to this individual. Unfortunately, the Round Table must be closely scrutinizing this new Knight's activities.

Extracting info itself wouldn’t be that difficult, but sending it to the other side of the planet right away would be next to impossible in the current situation.

In short, Wiggins had no way of knowing the situation in Britain. The best he could do was make an educated guess.

“Mm. The fewest possible number is the only way to go,” said Wiggins.

“But, master… We’re about to enter the potential enemy territory.”

“And that is precisely why. Knight Leveaux is not a moron. He should be on full alert against our impending arrival. Even if some other group and not us entered the country in large numbers, he’d try to investigate why and how.”

“...Hang on? Does the Round Table really wield that much authority to monitor everyone entering a country?”

“Indeed. If we measure a martial society's influence over a government, Koreans would fall under the ‘weirdly powerless’ category.”

“I'm sorry? But how?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. Even now, the Korean martial society wielded considerable influence over the Republic of Korea. So, to say that it had no power?

“Well, the Koreans didn’t have strength back then, and that’s why they don't have the power now.”

“Huh? I don’t follow, sir.”

“Most martial societies existed long before the founding of their nations, Mister Lee.”

“...Ah!” Lee Hyeon-Su nodded after finally figuring it out.

The current government system in China hadn't been around for too long. As for Japan, its government might look like it had stayed the same throughout history, but the difference between before and after World War Two should easily be noticeable even to a layman. However, their martial societies had existed for far longer than their governments.

The story should largely be the same in other countries, too.

“Founding a new nation can never be a cakewalk, Mister Lee. It is bound to be accompanied by chaos and confusion. And most martial societies took advantage of this chaos to infiltrate their governments.”

“Well, that sounds logical,” Lee Hyeon-Su slowly nodded away. Even he would’ve jumped on such a chance, so the others would’ve done the same without hesitation.

“That’s why martial societies in other nations maintain a… very intimate, dare I say inseparable, relationship with their respective governments. Of course, it might not seem that way on the surface, but behind closed doors? I’m sure you’ve heard a few conspiracy theories by now. Such as the one involving the Rothschild family.”

“...That is somewhat immature, isn’t it?”

“Indeed,” Wiggins grinned deeply. What an irony it was to talk about conspiracies in this place! “However, it isn't entirely incorrect, now is it? Even if the Rothschild family conspiracy is all nonsense, you can't deny that there are shadowy figures responsible for setting certain events in motion hiding behind governments all over the world.”

“And you’re saying those shadowy figures belong to the martial world.”

“That's right. Without that explanation, do you think Japan trying to invade Korea in this day and age would be possible? A large cruise ship disappearing without a trace should have whipped up a media frenzy and utter international chaos. But no one is talking about it.”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded while listening attentively.

“It's the same story for British martial society and her government, Mister Lee. If the Round Table demands it, the UK government will readily hand over the data of everyone entering the country. So, imagine what will happen if a large group from an East Asian country enters the British Isles?”

Lee Hyeon-Su frowned deeply. They wouldn’t be able to avoid the surveillance network in that case. “Why did it have to be Britain, of all places?”

“Yes, that is a problem, isn't it?” Wiggins nodded away, his expression wry.

The fact that the upcoming stage would be Britain gave him a pause to ponder the pros and cons of his plan. Unfortunately, the cons overshadowed any potential pros in this situation.

A variety of ways to sneak into a country within the European continent existed regardless of how strictly it monitored its borders. After all, the idea of borders was to keep out the regular, powerless civilians. Such a flimsy “wall” would never stop a martial artist.

People in this room could cross the infamous Demilitarized Zone splitting two Koreas tonight if they felt like it. But the borders in Europe weren't as fastidiously monitored as the DMZ. So, Kang Jin-Ho and Co. could hop into any European country without care, even if it was the middle of a sunny day!

However, Britain was a different story altogether. After all, it was an island. And only two ways existed to enter an island nation: flying or sailing.

The method Kang Jin-Ho and Co. used to return from China or what the Japanese tried to use—anchoring a ship near the shore and swimming the rest of the way in—wouldn’t be viable this time around.

Why? Because the urgency of the situation prevented the Koreans from taking their sweet time like that. The window of opportunity would've closed by the time they reached the United Kingdom from Korea on a ship.

“Sir… How about parachuting off a plane?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked hopefully.

Wiggins immediately shot back. “I hope that was your ill-timed attempt at cracking a joke, Mister Lee.”

“...My apologies.”

Which air force in their right mind would not pay attention to an airplane entering the country's airspace? Kang Jin-Ho could jump off a helicopter to land on the Japanese ship because he was still within the Korean maritime borders. No one could predict what might've happened had Kang Jin-Ho flown the helicopter into the Japanese airspace back then.

Lee Hyeon-Su muttered grimly. “In the end, there’s no other choice but to enter through an airport…”

Wiggins nodded. “Indeed. It’s an honest way to travel, isn’t it?”

“Honest, yes. But it's kinda easy to notice, too.”

“It can’t be helped, though,” Wiggins helplessly shrugged.

Lee Hyeon-Su groaned loudly. “Through the airport… The airport…”

That was when Kang Jin-Ho broke his silence and spoke to Lee Hyeon-Su. “That’s not going to be a problem, though?”

“Sir? What do you mean?”

“We only need to land in the airport, right? Once we do, what's stopping us from skipping the security checks altogether?”

“But sir, arriving at the airport itself won't be the end of the story. For one, the record of your arrival will automatically be entered into their system.”

“Then, we won’t let that happen.”

“...Sir, aren’t you underestimating the immigration officers a little too much?”

Kang Jin-Ho nonchalantly asked, “Can’t we do this by hitching a ride in a cargo plane?”

“A cargo plane is supposed to ferry cargo, sir.”

“I know. The plane can carry half the usual load. And we'll occupy the empty space.”

“W-wait, sir. Yes, that is feasible. But who is gullible enough to take such a loss in their chin and send a half-empty cargo plane to… Britain… Huh.” Lee Hyeon-Su quickly nodded. “I’ll contact Chief Jo Gyu-Min right away.”

“Good.”

***

“Now wait a minute!” Jo Gyu-Min shouted into his phone. “Please be reasonable, hyung! How do you expect us to pull that off?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su replied flatly.

—You already did it for the trip to China, though.

“China and Britain aren't the same, you know! If you have enough money in China, you can even get someone to yank a pillar straight out of the Forbidden City! But that's not the case in Britain! Get caught smuggling people in, and it won't simply end with you getting fired! Besides, with so many airports in China, their immigration has got more holes than Swiss cheese! But Britain isn't like that!”

—Nah, bro. People are the same regardless of where they live. So it's gonna be fine.

Steam began rising from Jo Gyu-Min’s superheated head. As a matter of fact, smoke was about to hiss out of his ears, too!

“This is unfair! You don’t offer us anything but always look for a way to exploit us, hyung! Jaegyeong isn’t your personal assistant, you know?! We can’t just do whatever you ask of us! We are not pushovers!”

—Eiii, don't be like that. Besides, I'm not the one demanding it from you. The Assembly Master wants it done, you know. I'm just a messenger.

“What… Urgh…!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s name wasn’t some kind of a cheat key, so why bring him up every single time!

It seemed like Lee Hyeon-Su thought everything would go his way by mouthing Kang Jin-Ho’s name, but not this time! That was what Jo Gyu-Min resolutely told himself.

“It can’t be done. Not this time. Sorry.”

—Don’t be like that now.

“No! I’m telling you, this really can’t be done. We get caught, and it’s gonna be a serious problem for us! We can’t make it go away with money like in China, you know! Besides, we had people on standby at the Chinese airport to help you slip out of there, didn’t we? We can’t repeat that in Britain, you know! So, how will you slip out of a heavily monitored British airport?”n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

—Don’t worry about that. Make sure the plane lands sometime in early dawn, and we’ll take care of the rest.

“And what will happen if you get caught?”

—I’m telling you, bro. We ain’t gonna get caught. Heck, if we want, we can even ransack the Ministry of National Defense, you know?

“Even a cat burglar can ransack our country’s Ministry of Defense!!”

—Oii, you’re raising your voice at me?

“I'm just saying, you know…” Jo Gyu-Min immediately toned down his voice. “Besides, don't say you're not hurting anybody! You're telling us to carry less cargo than usual, after all! That alone will be a major loss of revenue for us, hyung!”

—Come on. I'll treat you to a good meal as compensation. Expensive meal, no less.

“I’m not hungry!”

—Fine. At least mention it to Chairman Hwang, will you?

Jo Gyu-Min nearly tripped on his feet. “S-sorry?”

—You don't have the final say in stuff like this, right? You don't have the authority to do so.

“…”

—Passing on the message won’t cost you anything, right? So, go and ask him. Oh, and you know that not asking the Chairman is like an abuse of your authority, don’t you?

“Aaahwoo!” Jo Gyu-Min unhappily groaned while scratching his head.

Lee Hyeon-Su was right. Jo Gyu-Min had no authority to unilaterally decide if Kang Jin-Ho's request to Jaegyeong should be ignored. A matter like this should be sent to the Chairman's office straight away.

“Fine. Fine! I’ll speak to the Chairman.”

—Thank you.

“However! Don't think something will happen just because I passed on the message, hyung! The company's prosperity is Chairman Hwang's utmost priority, after all! He's not gonna say yes to something this nonsensical! I know this because I know him too well!”

—Yes, yes. I won't get my hopes up, okay? So deliver the message like the brave warrior that you are, bro. You better not leave any details out, though.

Something about Lee Hyeon-Su’s voice sounded… slimy. Utterly hateful!

“I’m hanging up!”

Jo Gyu-Min angrily slammed the phone down and stormed out of his office while panting away like a bull. Other secretaries manning their desks and doing their jobs jumped up in alarm when the office door was angrily yanked open.

However, Jo Gyu-Min didn’t even spare them a moment’s glance as he stomped his way toward the corridor.

‘What kind of rubbish is this?’

Jo Gyu-Min stopped seeing himself as a Jaegyeong man some time ago. Although he was a man with one foot in the hidden world and the other in the surface world, his loyalty leaned a little more toward Kang Jin-Ho at this stage in his life.

However, that didn't mean his attitude toward Jaegyeong should be disrespectful. After all, Jaegyeong the company was instrumental in Jo Gyu-Min entering Kang Jin-Ho's circle of acquaintances and opening a new path in life.

Right now, Jo Gyu-Min's mission was to create a future where both sides could prosper together. As such, he must absolutely do everything in his power to avoid creating a situation where Jaegyeong was left holding the massive bill!

‘That’s why this request is a definite no!’

Jo Gyu-Min was not some miracle worker, a Genie in a bottle. But Lee Hyeon-Su seemed to think that his “little bro” should humor his request every single damn time! In that case, this might be a great chance to smack some sense into that hateful man!

While firming his resolve, Jo Gyu-Min made a straight beeline toward the Chairman’s office. And his shoulders were quivering suspiciously as he did so.