Descent of the Demon Master

“Come to an end, my foot!”

Lee Hyeon-Su grumbled unhappily.

Of course he knew he said that all the freaking time! He repeatedly said it to the point of getting sick and tired of it, but… Dealing with the aftermath was always, always more challenging than making a crazy mess.

The war might be over, but the hellish task of mopping up the mess left behind still remained. And the person saddled with the responsibility of handling that hellish task was… As usual, Lee Hyeon-Su!

‘Why do I have to do this in England, too?!’

Isn't it logical for Wiggins and the Master to handle the aftermath of an event inside the United Kingdom?! Why was a Korean man forced into running around as if his feet were on fire, trying to deal with all the crap in a foreign country!

‘Aaaaargh! God-freaking-dammit!’

Unfortunately, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't bring himself to voice his displeasure. After all, Wiggins and the Master were trying to deal with a matter much more serious than the aftermath of this war.

Thanks to Kang Jin-Ho creating one mighty explosion while trying to enter the Round Table’s lair, the whole area was currently surrounded by the members of the British army and police.

Obviously, the higher-ups in the British government must know about the Round Table HQ’s whereabouts. They must’ve immediately figured out that the Round Table was currently under attack and mobilized the army and the police to deal with the situation.

Although mobilizing the army to handle the matter within the martial world was tacitly forbidden… This side also created that massive explosion without alerting anyone ahead of time, so no one had any right to complain about this situation!

...And so, the Master and Wiggins, who were well-known individuals with the British government, were busy trying to calm the situation down on the surface.

Even if the government forces urgently showed up here to deal with an emergency, they wouldn’t have a choice but to back off once the Master and Wiggins popped out of the hidey-hole and said there was nothing to worry about. After all, those two men represented the United Kingdom’s martial society.

However, that meant…

‘...I have to deal with absolutely everything down here! That’s what!’

With two “assistants” necessary to mop up the aftermath unavailable, Lee Hyeon-Su had no choice but to shoulder the burden all by himself!

Kang Jin-Ho and Vator were never going to be helpful in this situation. Bang Jin-Hun was no good either since his English was, charitably speaking, not very good. At least Lee Hyeon-Su could count on the assistance of the Chevaliers and the Garter Knight Order when handling this situation!

But the decisive factor was…

“In here, folks. Yes, in here,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while pointing at the entrance to a large underground space. The Round Table’s knight order members wordlessly nodded and shuffled inside.

After confirming that everyone had stepped inside, Lee Hyeon-Su warned them in a cold voice. “I’m saying this for your own good. Please do not try anything inadvisable. Do remember that one person’s idea of plucky resistance could make things very difficult for everybody else.”

No one responded. But that was also fine.

Thunk!

Lee Hyeon-Su closed the door behind him, then sighed deeply.

‘At least I don’t have to worry too much about this…’

In all honesty, this situation didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

The forces currently here were less than one-tenths of what the Round Table could theoretically mobilize. Even then, they were well over ten times the number of combatants dispatched by the Martial Assembly.

Realistically speaking, a group with fewer numbers shouldn't be able to control the larger army.

However, the Round Table’s people showed no signs of resistance whatsoever. Maybe they had been too shocked by Kang Jin-Ho’s godly might capable of completely and utterly flipping the Round Table on its head.

‘And the Master’s presence must’ve helped out a lot, too.’

The credit for calming the panicking crowd inside the hall should be given to the Master. He declared no one else would be sacrificed tonight. And he also promised that he’d normalize the Round Table’s situation as quickly as possible.

With Leveaux's neck snapped like a twig by Kang Jin-Ho, the Round Table should have a solid justification to fight back. Of course, that didn't mean they were willing to fight back, but still!

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

‘Isn’t this kinda funny?’

The Round Table operated within a rigid system. Such a system would always have its pros and cons. One of those pros was that the organization wouldn't suffer from the whims and emotions of its human members or unexpected variables.

Imagine a scenario where someone occupying a similar position as the Master died during a battle. Most other organizations would've fallen into a panicked state, but not the Round Table. This particular ancient organization had already set up foolproof guidelines on what to do in case something like that happened.

Everyone here must’ve known who should act as the proxy of the fallen Master and what they must do to respond.

However, that guideline was not adhered to this time.

The existence of Kang Jin-Ho easily ripped apart all the principles, systems, and the guidelines the Round Table held dear for so long. One creature, who seemed beyond all known methods of response, had sent everything out of whack. In a way, he was like a foreign object thrown inside a perfectly functioning set of cogs to disrupt its operation.

That factor must’ve played a large part in why these Round Table’s people chose not to do anything.

However, Lee Hyeon-Su wasn't referring to Kang Jin-Ho's presence within the Round Table's grounds. Of course that was also a crucial factor, but the way Lee Hyeon-Su saw it? The collapse of the Round Table's system must be the reason why these people had no idea how to resist or even respond.

‘I wonder… What would've happened if we were the ones who lost?'

Lee Hyeon-Su was certain that the Martial Assembly’s people wouldn’t have been this obedient.

Neither Vator, Bang Jin-Hun, and even Wiggins were the type to obediently let themselves be captured by the enemy. Heck, even Lee Hyeon-Su and Yi Myeong-Hwan would've tried to do something to overcome the crisis without Kang Jin-Ho's input!

However, these Round Table’s people couldn’t do that. They became as powerless as puppets with their strings cut after their leader was killed off.

Maybe things could have been different had every person capable of issuing orders been wiped out. Unfortunately, several high-ranking knights, plus the former Master, were still alive. This meant the Round Table's people couldn't independently think and make decisions as per the organization's guidelines!

No wonder all these warriors became as dejected as soggy leftover vegetables from a few days ago!

Lee Hyeon-Su was rather amused by this turn of events.

“Chief Lee?” Yi Myeong-Hwan walked up and addressed Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Yeah?”

“We’ve finished locking up the others inside the suitable empty spaces. They all went in without any whining, sir.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised to hear that.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan rubbed his chin. “But, uh, is this really alright? It’s not like breaking the doors down will be difficult for those folks, so…”

“Nah, it’ll be fine,” Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged. “No one will dare do that.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan tilted his head in confusion.

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked subtly and explained his thought process. “That’s because there’s nothing they can do even if they break free. It’s not like we’re here to swallow up the Round Table, anyway.”

“But they don’t know that for sure.”

“No, they do.”

“Huh? Sorry?” Yi Myeong-Hwan’s head-tilting intensified.

However, Lee Hyeon-Su simply smirked away without saying anything. After all, those people had functioning eyes. Didn't they?

Wiggins staying back during the urgent moments was a deliberate decision. By doing so, the Round Table’s people must’ve witnessed him and the Master staying within the Martial Assembly’s camp.

The significance of the former Master and the former representative Knight of Britain siding with the Martial Assembly should not be lost on these people. Besides, they should also not forget that this was Britain. That alone would pose enough threat to the Martial Assembly.

Once the Round Table's people took all those factors into consideration and calculated the benefits and losses, they should arrive at the conclusion of, “Don't resist and let things organically return to the former Master's control.”

Some people might object to this arrangement, but the current situation was a bit too special to humor their objections. The former Master returning to the fold when Kang Jin-Ho and the Martial Assembly tried to occupy the Round Table should be a cause for celebration instead for these people!

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. Not everyone’s a dumbass like you.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan cackled back. “Eiii, I’m considered smart among my peers, you know?”

“Sure, sure. Whatever,” Lee Hyeon-Su waved his hand in jest.

It was a miracle to be able to crack jokes in the middle of this situation. This relaxed atmosphere was only possible because not many got hurt or lost their lives in this war.

Even so, Lee Hyeon-Su was well aware that this outcome didn’t qualify as a success.

‘Objectively speaking, you could say we failed strategically.’

Lee Hyeon-Su was acutely feeling the weight of the responsibility.

Even if Wiggins was tasked with estimating the Round Table's combat strength and forming a suitable combat force to counter the enemy defenses, Lee Hyeon-Su was not in a position to dump all the blame on someone else's shoulders.

He wouldn’t have climbed so high up in the hierarchy if that was how he lived his life.

Even if Wiggins said this much firepower was enough, it was up to Lee Hyeon-Su to prepare for the unexpected variables. However, both Wiggins and Lee Hyeon-Su failed to accurately assess the Round Table's combat strength.

‘Right. The Elder Knights were huge variables, weren’t they?’

Lee Hyeon-Su had no idea that the Round Table possessed such powerful experts. And so many of them, to boot! He and Wiggins were working under the assumption that the strongest enemy would be the Knights of the Round Table.

So, what would've happened if Kang Jin-Ho wasn't here?

Kang Jin-Ho's strength was also an unexpected variable for the Round Table. However, what if Wiggins and Lee Hyeon-Su had replaced Kang Jin-Ho with a combat force they thought would be sufficient for the task at hand?

‘We would’ve been slaughtered.’

The Assembly’s people would’ve been annihilated without a chance to flee once the Elder Knights joined the fray.

Just thinking about that sent a deathly chill down Lee Hyeon-Su’s back.

One could chalk up this optimal conclusion to a coincidence of the Martial Assembly’s variable being “better” than the Round Table’s.

If Kang Jin-Ho hadn’t been strong enough to overcome the Elder Knights… Well, Lee Hyeon-Su would’ve been buried in a shallow grave somewhere by now.

Lee Hyeon-Su quietly licked his lips.

‘Dammit. We need more information!’

It was impossible to keep relying on the ways used back when the Assembly was still at odds with the Yeongnam Group.

Back then, the Martial Assembly and the Yeongnam Group intimately knew how the other side operated. In a way, Lee Hyeon-Su could say he knew more about Lee Jung-Geol than Lee Jung-Geol knew about himself.

That was why it was fairly easy to predict how the other side might act. And that led to the taut standoff to continue on for so long.

However, that story didn't apply to enemies in other countries. Unfortunately, and perhaps also shamefully, the Martial Assembly had zero information networks in other nations to rely on.

One could say the source of the current situation was the Assembly relying solely on Wiggins' memories to estimate the Round Table's combat strength.

What if Lee Hyeon-Su could gather and analyze information on the Round Table? He'd have found out about the Elder Knights and prepared an even stronger combat force from the Assembly. Or give up on the expedition altogether.

‘Right. We can’t keep doing things this way.’

The Assembly’s enemies were no longer local. From Japan to China, and now, even Europe… To fight all these threats off in the future, Lee Hyeon-Su needed to collect more information than ever before.

While telling himself to shore up the information-gathering network in other countries after they returned to the Assembly, Lee Hyeon-Su turned around to leave.

“By the way, Chief Lee?” Yi Myeong-Hwan suddenly called out to Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Mm?” Lee Hyeon-Su stopped walking and looked back.

“Do you know where the Assembly Master is?”

“...I think he's taking a break somewhere.”

“Really? Shouldn’t we, uh, call for a doctor or something? His injuries looked pretty serious, though?”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned wryly.

‘What a weird fella this guy is.’

The more he engaged with Yi Myeong-Hwan, the weirder his evaluation of the latter became. From Lee Hyeon-Su’s perspective, Yi Myeong-Hwan was a rather crafty bastard.

Even though Yi Myeong-Hwan seemed to do what was asked of him and not much else, there was an unmistakable hint of ambition bubbling under the surface. And, despite his penchant for acting like a dumbass, he was smarter than he looked, too.

Yet, someone like that was excessively loyal to Kang Jin-Ho. Lee Hyeon-Su found that so weird.

‘Then again, that kinda makes sense, no?’

Even ambition was dependent on the situation.

Even though King Sejo was born with the temperament of a tiger, would he have acted on his ambition if King Munjong hadn't died before his time? No, he wouldn't.

Maybe he could have. He could have put his abilities to good use and brought prosperity to the kingdom, thereby leaving his name behind in the history books as one of the best monarchs to rule the Joseon dynasty.

Ambition would only reveal itself once the superior power suppressing it had disappeared.

As long as Kang Jin-Ho was still around, Yi Myeong-Hwan's ambition would never see the light of the day. Since that was the case, Lee Hyeon-Su should do his utmost to exploit the man as much as possible!

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled slightly. “Don’t worry. Our Assembly Master knows what he’s doing.”

“Even so…” Yi Myeong-Hwan frowned, not even bothering to hide his dissatisfaction.

“Fine, fine. I’ll ask him. Happy now?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Besides that…” Lee Hyeon-Su turned around and resumed walking away. “Why don’t you go and check out the situation with the injured people on our side” I'm sure quite a few are too proud to whine about how badly hurt they are.”

Yi Myeong-Hwan dismissively muttered, “Why? I’m sure they can take care of themselves.”

“…?” Lee Hyeon-Su nearly tripped on his feet and looked back in dismay at Yi Myeong-Hwan. “...Didn’t you say we should get a doctor for our Assembly Master?”

“Well, yes. He is our Assembly Master, after all.”

“Then, what about others?”

“They are not kids, you know? I’m sure they know how to wipe their own butts.”

“…” Lee Hyeon-Su dazedly stared at the nonchalant Yi Myeong-Hwan before slowly nodding away.

‘Yup. This dude is definitely not right in the head.’