Chapter 1561 Challenged (1)

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su. “Then, how is the recruitment going in other places?”

“They have finished already, sir.”

That made Kang Jin-Ho chuckle softly. “It feels like we’re bulldozing through this thing, doesn’t it?”

Lee Hyeon-Su shrugged. “We weren’t trying to be strict or secretive about this recruitment, after all. Weren’t we trying to recruit three times the desired number of people, sir? So that we can filter out the useless chaff during the training period?”

Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded. “I wonder... Will we find anyone useful from other regions?”

“You shouldn’t get your hopes up, sir.”

“Yeah, I guess not.”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned wryly. He shouldn’t blame the others for this state. After all, wasn’t he the culprit who had utterly destroyed Japan’s pool of talented martial artists?

“Sir, why did you have to go and kill all those people?”

“I didn’t know things would turn out this way,” Kang Jin-Ho replied while ruefully licking his lips.

During the war, he never considered keeping the lineage of Japanese martial arts intact as much as possible. The idea of using the Japanese warriors as his gophers never crossed his mind. Which was obvious, considering he and the Martial Assembly were in a mad scramble to survive the Japanese invasion back then!

That made him appreciate how dizzyingly hectic things had been for them so far.

“Sir, these Japanese warriors fundamentally can’t be treated the same as the American or European warriors. For one, we need to respect the Western martial artists’ sense of identity even if they come to us for guidance.”

Simply put, the Martial Assembly wouldn’t force the Assembly’s exclusive martial arts or demonic arts on the American and European martial artists. A good example would be the Chevaliers; despite being a part of the Assembly’s core combat force now, they still stuck to their own system of martial arts.

Just like the Chevaliers, the American and European martial artists must retain their systems of martial arts while still aiming for a massive improvement in their combat strength.

But that story didn’t apply to the Japanese. The Martial Assembly could teach them anything it thought was appropriate. After all, the Japanese no longer had traditional martial arts to protect. They didn’t have to worry about preserving their martial arts for future generations.

Lee Hyeon-Su curiously asked, “Sir, have you decided on what to teach them yet?”

“Well... Not exactly.”

Kang Jin-Ho sheepishly scratched his cheek.

He didn’t have an extensive blueprint of what he wanted to do since he hadn’t thought too deeply about this thing. Although, he still believed there was a clear limit to Japan’s traditional martial arts.

They were a bit too over the top, after all.

Did Japan’s martial arts fall badly behind those found in Korea? Of course not.

A martial art was just that, a martial art. Things like “What martial art did you master?” weren’t as important as “Who mastered it?” and “How did you master it?” in the world of martial arts. Would Kang Jin-Ho have been a weakling had he mastered orthodox cultivation methods instead? Highly unlikely.

No, the issue with the Japanese martial arts as far as he could tell was the “versatility.”

The Japanese martial arts were difficult to master. Worse still, mastering them didn’t mean you’d enjoy their effects right away, either. To produce satisfactory results, one must constantly and endlessly polish oneself. They must continue to analyze and dig into the mysteries of their martial arts.

Maybe this was a reflection of the Japanese people’s tendency to analyze things to a minute degree, but whatever the case might be, the Japanese martial artists needed a lot of time and hard work before they could taste the sweet fruits of their labor.

Kang Jin-Ho’s side obviously was in no position to take its time and guide the Japanese that way. The worth of the Japanese warriors would diminish by more than half if they were incapable of becoming decent combatants as soon as possible.

But we don’t have to go down that route, do we?

Kang Jin-Ho nodded once before glancing at Lee Hyeon-Su.

“We’ve decided to let Bang Jin-Hun handle this, so let’s leave it up to him.”

“Yes, I agree that’s the best option, sir.”

Imparting demonic cultivation to the Japanese should lead to their strength improving drastically in no time at all. However, the problem with that idea was that the demonic cultivation still wasn’t quite stable enough.

With supervisors from the Demon Cult and the Martial Assembly around to monitor the proceedings, there shouldn’t be a lot of problems even if the Japanese started mastering demonic cultivation. However, wouldn’t that also imply the Japanese had to be monitored and supervised constantly until they could perform their demonic arts stably?

That would be a case of putting the cart before the horse. The Japanese martial artists were meant to be used as tools, so turning them into a group of white elephants made no sense.

“I’m sure Director Bang will take care of it, sir.”

“Yeah...”

“In all honesty, Director Bang is probably the most... uh, underestimated executive in the Assembly. Right now, the work he’s doing for the Assembly is several times more important and wider in scope than what Lee Jung-Geol used to do in the past, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su. “Not only is he managing the large number of members, which has swollen considerably since the Assembly and the Yeongnam Group became one, but he also ably resolved the friction between the two sides.

“On top of that, he’s working as the instructor for the Assembly members and even does his absolute best to stop any conflicts with the Demon Cult, too.”

“No one is underestimating him,” said Kang Jin-Ho while grinning softly.

People who stepped forward to fight or shouted for their voices to be heard weren’t the only ones pulling their weight. Bang Jin-Hun acted as a solid foundation so that the others could bring out their best.

In the past, Kang Jin-Ho might have dismissed someone performing such a role as insignificant, but now he knew better. Now he knew how tough and back-breaking such a role was.

If someone asked him to pick the most necessary executive among the current crop of the Martial Assembly’s higher-ups, Kang Jin-Ho would’ve picked Bang Jin-Hun without a second thought.

Kang Jin-Ho could take over Vator’s role, and do so completely, if he wanted to. That story also applied to Chang Min. Wiggins was a bit trickier, but Lee Hyeon-Su could take over some part of the Englishman’s duties if push came to shove.

However, neither Kang Jin-Ho nor Lee Hyeon-Su could replace Bang Jin-Hun and the role he performed.

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. “I guess I should reward him with a handsome bonus or something.”

Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly shot back. “Raise our wages first, sir! Our wages!”

“...? But I promised to do that already?”

“Yes, but please stop saying you’ll do it and just do it, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned deeply. He’d rather deal with that Japanese martial artist from earlier than with Lee Hyeon-Su.

These days, Lee Hyeon-Su had gotten so full of himself that he started arguing with Kang Jin-Ho over even minor stuff like raising wages! However, what could Kang Jin-Ho do about it, when he was the one responsible for raising this monster?

“In any case... Our preparations are more or less finished, sir. And now, we must do everything we can.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

“However, we still have one more thing left to do, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “Mm? There was more?”

“Of course!” Lee Hyeon-Su brought his hands to his front and grinned. “It’s time to pray, sir! So that the Three Kings can mutually self-destruct! By themselves!”

“...!”

“Ohhh! I pray to thee! Please listen to my prayers!”

Kang Jin-Ho groaned loudly. This guy, he’s really beyond saving, isn’t he?

***

—Chairman Jeong, sir. Please stop insisting on this. We don’t have enough evidence to proceed.

The Taegwang Group’s chairman, Jeong Hong-Geun, roared into his phone.

“Mister Lee! I know you’re the Prosecutor General of this country, but still! You don’t want to test my patience! I’m telling you!”

—Chairman... I wouldn’t dare go against you, sir. I’m not ballsy enough to do that. But please, do understand that this is not something we can fix.

“You expect me to believe that?!”

Jeong Hong-Geun loudly gritted his teeth.

This was his third time talking to the Prosecutor General of South Korea. During the first two calls, the Prosecutor General tried to avoid giving a direct reply to Jeong Hong-Geun’s demands and mumbled about how his people would investigate the matter as thoroughly as possible. But this time? He was openly throwing his arms up in the air!

Simply listening to this “So, sue me!” attitude was making Jeong Hong-Geun grit his teeth, his blood threatening to rush to his head.

“This crime happened in the middle of the day! And in the middle of the city! How is it possible for the CCTV cameras in a luxury officetel to go offline at the same time?! Someone from your neck of the woods must be involved, otherwise this makes no goddamn sense!”

—Chairman, I give you my word that our people were not involved in this matter. Quite frankly, we have no reason to get involved in the first place, sir.

“Then, what? You really don’t know anything? Is that it?!”

—Huhuh...Gee whiz, this is going nowhere.

Jeong Hong-Geun furrowed his brow just then. Would you listen to this punk?

One’s attitude made all the difference in the world, even if one was saying the same thing.

The summary of the Prosecutor General’s excuse was that they couldn’t designate anyone as a suspect due to the lack of evidence. That much was understandable, but the issue here was that the Prosecutor General didn’t sound apologetic at all.

No, he sounded more like an annoyed store manager who had to deal with a stubborn old customer who didn’t want to leave!

Jeong Hong-Geun narrowed his eyes and subtly probed even further. “Mister Lee, if you keep being unreasonable like this, I’ll have to get more personally involved. Do you understand?”

—Chairman, we’ve done our absolute best under the circumstances. However, there isn’t much I can do if you still don’t believe me.

“Is that right?”

Jeong Hong-Geun mouthed a cigarette. His hands trembled subtly as he lit up the cigarette with a lighter.

The Prosecutor General didn’t get scared by that threat?

Someone with Jeong Hong-Geun’s level of influence could easily get a Prosecutor General replaced. Literally overnight, no less! In fact, he wouldn’t even need a pretext for that to happen. All the bribes he had generously showered the politicians with should ensure that.

Besides, the politicians would create the necessary justifications themselves, anyway.

The Prosecutor General should know this better than anyone, yet he still wasn’t paying any attention to Jeong Hong-Geun’s threat? That could mean only one thing.

“So? Who is it?”

—I’m sorry?

“I want to know who it is that made you this brazen, Mister Lee!”

—Chairman, I don’t understand what you’re implying.

“You don’t understand?”

Jeong Hong-Geun scoffed derisively.

“Listen here. I’m Jeong Hong-Geun, okay? Jeong Hong-Geun! You dare play games with me when you know who I am?! Do you honestly think I’ll obediently back off now?”

Only silence came from the other side of the line.

“You don’t have to tell me. I can find out by myself! You want to mess with me?! Fine! Let’s all find out what I’ll do next, okay!”

—Chairman Jeong?

“What?!”

—Hah-ah...

A weak groan came from the phone’s speaker next.

—Sir, after you listen to what I’m about to say, please wipe the memories of this conversation from your head.

It seemed they were finally going somewhere. A satisfied smirk formed on Jeong Hong-Geun’s face as he leaned against his sofa, his legs now resting on his coffee table. While leisurely puffing away at his cigarette, he grunted softly.

“Fine. I’m listening.”

—Chairman. You must not get involved.

“...Say what?”

Jeong Hong-Geun’s relaxed expression instantly fell with that advice from the Prosecutor General.

—Sir, consider this matter as a poison that can kill you instantly.

“...! Fella, do you know who you are talking to?!”

—Of course I know. No sane citizen living in the Republic of Korea would dare underestimate the power of the Taegwang Group or you, after all. However, I’m not trying to be funny here, sir. I advise you to let this one go. And don’t even attempt to uncover the truth, either. Even you won’t be able to survive the fallout.

Jeong Hong-Geun’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Are you implying that it’s that side?”

—...! No, definitely not!

Judging from the Prosecutor General’s tone, it seemed the President’s office wasn’t involved this time. And it didn’t sound like someone extremely powerful in the political sphere was involved, either.

So, for the Prosecutor General to say this?

Jeong Hong-Geun’s expression crumpled hideously.

“Now you listen.”

—...Yes, I’m listening.

“I’m sure you already know this, but I got this far in life by experiencing and overcoming all sorts of trials and tribulations. At times, I had to pounce on enemies seemingly too powerful for me to win against, and you know what happened in the end? I brought them all down. So, tell me. Who can be so powerful that you think even I will get crushed instantly? Just who is it?!”

—Chairman... This is my last word of advice out of my respect for you. I still can’t give you the details, but please heed my warning seriously, sir. Do not get involved any further. Let it go and move on.

“...”

—There’s nothing I can do with my powers. In fact... Someone like me can’t even get involved in the matter.

Jeong Hong-Geun slowly exhaled a cloud of cigarette smoke before angrily stubbing the half-burnt cigarette on the ashtray.

“Let me ask you something.”

—Yes, chairman.

“Do you know who was behind this situation?”

—No, sir. I don’t.

“Really now?”

—Yes, really. And that’s why I keep saying there’s not much I can do. We haven’t even gotten the permission to continue investigating, sir. Hopefully, this much is enough for you to guess where the interference is coming from.

“...”

—Once more, my advice is for you to drop this. Sir, I’m willing to speak to you on the phone because of all the generous favors you’ve done for me. Other people would’ve rejected your call outright.

“...Fine. Got it.”

—Thank you. Then, please stay healthy, sir. Goodbye.

The line went dead almost immediately afterward. Jeong Hong-Geun thought he could sense the desperation of the Prosecutor General from the distinct droning noise of the dead connection and smirked derisively.

You want me to drop this matter? Really?

He dared to say that to the one and only Jeong Hong-Geun?!

Jeong Hong-Geun reclined against his luxurious sofa.

He wouldn’t have felt this crappy had the Prosecutor General hinted at the identity of this mysterious enemy. Or, at the very least, politely told Jeong Hong-Geun to stay calm.

But the Prosecutor General’s attitude on the phone had touched something that should never have been touched. And that was Jeong Hong-Geun’s pride.

You don’t know anything. None of you do!

Those who still had many years left to live, and those who dreamed of achieving even more, had no idea. They had no idea how those who had no choice but to cling to what they had achieved in the past valued their achievements!

“You’ll soon learn!”

Jeong Hong-Geun swore it deeply in his heart, then pressed the intercom button.

“Call Executive Director Bak. Tell him I want to see him now!”