CH 474

The light blinding the Chevaliers came from the coast. Vincent immediately realized that something had gone terribly wrong when the light shone on him and his men.

The spotlights were coming from the ocean. Which meant someone, or a group, was monitoring them from the open sea, something that shouldn't have happened.

Vincent urgently cried out to Mathieu. “Weren't our men supposed to stop all boats from leaving?!”

“Sir! They say they only woke up just now!”

“Say what?!”

“Apparently, they had been ambushed earlier. They called me as soon as regaining consciousness!”

“Son of a...!” Vincent clenched his teeth.

This was the absolute worst in two meanings. One, the Chevaliers' plan had gone down the drain. And two...

'Even if they got ambushed, my men are still proud Chevaliers! Yet, you're telling me they still lost without being able to put up a fight?'

Didn't that signify Korea's combat strength was far greater than he imagined? In that case, it also meant this whole plan started on the wrong foot, didn't it!

Three Chevaliers had been left behind in the port town. However, the South Korean martial artists were powerful enough to defeat the trio in one go, even before they had a chance to contact the rest of the Chevaliers!

'Dammit!'

Vincent tightly clenched his fists. A bad design meant a building could not be built as intended. And the Chevaliers were facing perhaps the absolute worst trouble they could imagine. Even before any of the Round Table's agents could think of a countermeasure, the sounds of splashes rang out one after the other, signaling that the individuals on the boats were entering the ocean.

Indeed, 'boats'; there were more than one. Which meant there were a sizable number of them here.

Vincent's expression hardened as he watched the intruders emerging from the water. He thought he could hear them mutter something.

'...Is that Japanese?'

Vincent recognized the language, even if he didn't understand it. He was sure that the other party was speaking in Japanese. However, why would he hear Japanese in this situation?

Even if Korea was right next to Japan, each nation used its own language, so Japanese wouldn't be spoken by Koreans in a regular setting. So, why...?

Vincent's confusion was answered soon afterward. When the figures hidden by the darkness stepped closer to reveal themselves, questions circling Vincent's mind were instantly quashed. That was because the individuals showed up looking like stereotypical Japanese warriors. As a matter of fact, they could've passed off as extras in a historical Samurai TV show!

Although they hadn't half-shaved their heads, these individuals were kitted out in the distinctive black kimono, and katanas were tied to their hips. Only the Japanese would walk around dressed like that.

“What are the French doing on this land?”

Someone asked that in fluent French, jolting Vincent awake from his stupor. As for the one who asked that, he stepped out from behind the front row of the Japanese.

Vincent narrowed his eyes. “You... know French?”

“Hmm? Why do you ask possibly the stupidest question in the world? Maybe you thought I was speaking German, then?”

“...!” Vincent hurriedly shut his mouth after realizing his slip of the tongue. Trying to analyze this situation was already making a mess out of his head.

“And here I am, thinking that 'he' didn't have any plan, but look at you all now. He did have a plan, after all. Although, to think he'd call on some weak Frenchmen…” The Japanese man fluent in French, Oizumi Shunsuke, sneered in contempt. “Did he think joining hands with foreigners would resolve his situation? How foolish!”

Vincent dazedly asked Mathieu. “What... are these bastards talking about?”

“Sir. I think they are under a mistaken assumption,” said Mathieu, his expression also grim. He seemed to have realized this situation was not in their favor.

Vincent frowned and racked his brain for a way out.

'Japan has already made a move, it seems...!'

Only then did he recall what Elena had told him earlier, the one about an unidentified third party monitoring Kang Jin-Ho. Vincent didn't pay too much attention to that since the situation developed at a breakneck pace, but to think... To think he got carelessly caught in the absolute worst possibility!

This wasn't a situation he could think his way out of. Even so, he still had to do it. Vincent asked Mathieu another question. “...Are they also targeting Kang Jin-Ho?”

“It seems that way, sir.”

Vincent slightly turned his head and glanced at the boats trundling away from the island. He gritted his teeth and swore inwardly.

'Dammit...!'

Chevaliers and the Japanese warriors were confronting each other on this small island. And Kang Jin-Ho should be somewhere nearby, too.

This had to be the absolute worst possible situation! It couldn't be easy to deliberately set up a situation like this. But this unimaginable catastrophe still happened.

Vincent carefully scanned the Japanese warriors emerging from the ocean.

'Around fifty of them...'

That would be a similar number to the Chevaliers. However, that didn't mean their combat strength was equal. Although Vincent loathed to admit it... East Asia was easily the most hotly-contested region in the entire martial world. The competition for greater strength here was too fierce. Even if Vincent's Chevaliers boasted a similar headcount, he knew his men couldn't defeat the Japanese.

His pride was hurt by acknowledging it, but the reality was unkind to his sentiments.

'Clashing against them is the worst outcome for us.'

The Chevaliers could get wiped out by engaging in full-on warfare with the Japanese. And the likelihood of that result was even higher on an uninhabited island like this one where there was no escape.

“...I will make you an offer,” said Vincent after desperately racking his brain.

“An offer, you say?” Oizumi tilted his head.

“Yes. You seem to be under a mistaken assumption here. We are not here to protect Kang Jin-Ho, but to kill him.”

“Oh? You also want to kill Kang Jin-Ho?”

“That's right. Which means our goal is ultimately the same. In that case, is there a need for us to fight each other?”

Oizumi cocked an eyebrow and stared silently at Vincent as if he found something about what the Frenchman said 'odd.' Then, he whispered into Saito's ear, reporting everything in full.

After listening to his subordinate, Saito immediately issued new orders as if there was no need to even waste his time thinking about anything.

Vincent tensely observed this development.

'I'm not getting a good feeling about this...!'

For a moment there, Saito glanced at Vincent. And the Japanese's eyes couldn't be described as... nice. At this stage, the best Vincent could do was pray for the reply to be as favorable as humanly possible.

Oizumi turned his attention back to Vincent. “Your offer is appreciated.”

“...Then, what is your answer?”

“We'll have to decline,” Oizumi muttered with a clear ridicule on his face. “This is our territory. And watching you foreigners doing whatever you want on our turf is like throwing mud in our faces. Even if Kang Jin-Ho slips through our fingers this time... We cannot forgive this humiliation!”

'Son of a bi*ch!'

Vincent gnashed his teeth in fury. He just couldn't wrap his head around the East Asians' obsession with aesthetics and saving face. How could these Japanese come to such a conclusion unless they were insane! Didn't they operate on rational thinking? Or did they not know the meaning of it?

“...We are the proud Chevaliers from the great French Empire. If you truly wish to confront us... You will have to suffer losses. Are you prepared for that?”

“Chevaliers, you say?” Oizumi slowly shook his head. “I see. In that case, shall we confirm with our own two eyes how strong the proud Chevaliers are? If your levels are similar to the trio we encountered in the port town... Well, that would be rather disappointing now, wouldn't it? I hope you're not a disappointment.”

The Japanese warriors slowly tightened their enclosure around the Chevaliers. Vincent scowled deeply while clenching his fists. “You think you can deal with us and Kang Jin-Ho at the same time?”

“Of course we can.”

“Son of a...!”

Oizumi cackled. “Looks like you are the ones mistaken about something here. What we're worried about is Kang Jin-Ho having another force hidden somewhere on this island. However, if it's only your group and Kang Jin-Ho, we won't have a problem dealing with you all. So, no negotiations and certainly no cooperation. Dying in a foreign land should be an eye-opening experience for you, Chevaliers.”

Vincent gritted his teeth. “You morons keep mouthing about Samurai this and Samurai that. However, let me shatter that stupid, uptight image you've built for yourself. And also teach you that weak East Asians like you lot can never win against us!”

"Oh... That sure sounds quite amusing."

Unlike Vincent, who was shouting in anger, Oizumi and Saito were the very pictures of calmness and leisure. They could already tell without fighting, after all. They all instinctively figured out the combat strength of each other, which meant they could already guess the likely outcome of the upcoming fight.

“What should we do, Captain?” Mathieu asked nervously. Unfortunately, Vincent also couldn't think of a way out of this situation.

How was he supposed to stop a bunch of muscle-brained bastards who were obsessively thirsting for a fight? In this world, some people could be reasoned with, but some were emphatically not.

These Japanese belonged to the latter category!

“...If we can't avoid it, we'll have to fight!” Vincent grimly replied.

“But, sir...!”

“Mathieu!” Vincent's bloodshot eyes shot a sharp glare at his subordinate. “Do not show a pathetic side to them! If a warrior is to fall on a battlefield, so be it. That will be our fate. Are you going to forget about the pride of being a Chevalier, Mathieu!”

“...No, sir. Of course not.”

When you're just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Rumble...!

Mathieu extended his right hand to his side, causing the space to waver. The void seemed to tremble before a burning symbol engraved itself in the air. Mathieu unhesitantly shoved his hand inside this symbol.

Something shocking happened when he did—as if the wavering space had turned into an invisible pocket, Mathieu's right hand disappeared into nothingness. And when he pulled his hand out, a distinctive long sword was gripped in his palm.

“Oooh, so that's magic, huh? Now that is something you don't see everyday...” Oizumi watched the scene of Chevaliers yanking out their weapons from the so-called subspace with great interest and intense amusement.

Vincent growled menacingly. “And today will be the last time you'll see it.”

“Oh, wow. That's a scary threat, isn't it?” Oizumi cackled, then 'kindly' began translating what Saito said into French. “Knowing a few sundry tricks does not make you strong. And you shall learn that painful lesson today... Through your death!”

“Hah! I see you Asians fight with your mouth.”

“Mm, now that's a nice little provocation. And we shall graciously fall for it! Kill them!” Oizumi roared at his fellow warriors.

The Japanese martial artists speedily approaching the shore angrily pounced on the Chevaliers as soon as his order rang out into the night sky. Chevaliers also raised their swords and charged at their enemies.

Actually, the correct description would be... they all tried to.

'...What's going on?'

For a brief moment there, Vincent failed to get a grasp on his current situation.

'Why... have we stopped?'

It wasn't just Vincent who had stopped moving. The Japanese martial artists pouncing on their enemies and the Chevaliers trying to confront them, they... They all had stopped. Even Mathieu standing next to Vincent, and the leaders of the Japanese, Saito and Oizumi, were no longer moving.

If it hadn't been for the waves gently lapping the shore, they would've thought that time had stopped still.

'But, why...?'

Before Vincent could question himself any further, he realized something. The attention of all the Japanese was... focused elsewhere. As a matter of fact, their eyes were glued to one location far away from the battlefield.

Vincent also slowly turned his head to look. He would never do something like this when enemies were practically right before his nose, but it was as if he was under a spell and couldn't break free from its grip.

When he turned, Vincent also saw it in the distance.

'Is that... light?'

No, it was far too small to be a light source. It looked like nothing more than a tiny little red dot. Something that small and faint would've never registered in Vincent's vision unless he was on a deserted island blanketed in choking darkness. But he was on an island like that, and his eyes could clearly see that crimson dot.

That was when the small crimson dot seemed to burn a little brighter than before. Only then did Vincent recognize what that dot was. It was the tip of a burning cigarette.

Thanks to the impenetrable darkness of the night, something as faint as the cigarette light could be seen so clearly. And... Vincent didn't need to be a genius to figure out whose cigarette light that was.

They were on an uninhabited island. And there could be only one other person besides the Chevaliers and the Japanese in this place.

Suddenly, a man's footsteps quietly echoed in the air. It was quiet, composed, unhurried. The footsteps registered in Vincent's hearing along with the gentle waves, and the dread rapidly building in his heart began crushing down on him.

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely stepped toward the beach that now carried an otherworldly vibe from the choking darkness surrounding it.

No one could say a word. And no one could tear their eyes away from Kang Jin-Ho.

“Fuu-woo...” Kang Jin-Ho leisurely exhaled the gray smoke while strolling toward the beach. And Vincent reflexively gripped his thigh at this sight.

That... was Kang Jin-Ho? That man?

Vincent had already met Kang Jin-Ho before. He'd never forget that absurd encounter back in the airport, after all! Even so, this...

'Are you telling me that is the real Kang Jin-Ho?!'

But that couldn't be right. No, it had to be wrong!

Vincent refused to believe that that kind-looking young man and this... 'thing' were the same person! Even if the two had the same face, that young man and this creature were two fundamentally different creatures. It had to be!

As if to help Vincent sort out his confusion, Kang Jin-Ho leisurely took the cigarette away from his lips and muttered to the two stunned groups. “Let me ask you something. Can you... guess it?”

His voice was calm, soft. Yet it still sounded as if... As if it could suck out the listener's soul from their body.

“Can you guess how I'm feeling right now?”

Obviously, Vincent could not guess Kang Jin-Ho's current mood. However, he could predict one thing right now. And that was the fate of everyone here.

The fate of everyone who was about to get ripped apart to bloody shreds by the enraged Kang Jin-Ho's hands!