CH 476

- Sir, it looks like everyone has landed on the island.

“I see. Make sure to keep an eye out, see if anyone tries to join them later. And keep restricting the boats coming and leaving the harbor, okay?” Lee Hyeun-Su spoke into the phone's receiver.

- Yes, sir. There won't be any mistakes.

“We've already sent word to the county office, so boats shouldn't be heading to that area in the next two days. However, some people might try their luck, so keep your eyes peeled, okay?”

- Sir!

“Okay, I'll speak to you later.” Lee Hyeon-Su ended the call and leaned back against the couch. “Fuu-woo...”

Lee Hyeon-Su massaged his eye sockets with some force. The extreme level of stress seemed to have blurred his vision somewhat.

That was when the door to his office was suddenly flung open, and Bang Jin-Hun burst into the office.

“Lee Hyeon-Su!”

Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly opened his eyes, only for his expression to stiffen a little. Bang Jin-Hun's face clearly said he wasn't in a good mood.

“What the hell are you up to this time, you punk?!” Bang Jin-Hun roared in rage as a frightening aura gushed out of him.

'Yup, as expected of Bang Jin-Hun...' A cramped smile formed on Lee Hyeon-Su's face. When he thought about it, Bang Jin-Hun possessing this level of strength didn't seem so surprising.

One shouldn't forget that Bang Jin-Hun had managed to unite the Korean martial society, which had been split between Lee Jung-Geol and Kim Seok-Il for years. In terms of achievements, Bang Jin-Hun certainly did not fall short of those two old men. It was just that Bang Jin-Hun's operational style was so markedly different from the two men, making it harder to make a straight-up comparison. Even so, he should not be found lacking even when compared to those two former titans of the Korean martial society.

'Right. He's on par with that Kim Seok-Il...'

Lee Hyeon-Su hated Kim Seok-Il. However, despite his hatred, Lee Hyeon-Su still couldn't escape from Kim Seok-Il's grasp. Even if he was a rotten human being, Kim Seok-Il's abilities as a leader were something Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't win against.

Objectively speaking, though... Bang Jin-Hun was more capable than Kim Seok-Il. His sense of presence might be lesser than his predecessor because of his mellower personality and Kang Jin-Ho's shadow cast over him, but that didn't mean Bang Jin-Hun was some random nobody. After all, he managed to create his own faction within the Martial Assembly dominated by Lee Jung-Geol and eventually deposed the former Assembly Master altogether, didn't he?

As such, it made sense that Lee Hyeon-Su would be suppressed by Bang Jin-Hun in the blink of an eye.

“...Is something wrong, sir?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked while minding his manners.

“Something wrong? What the f*ck? Would you listen to this punk run his mouth off? You wanna forget about consequences and have a go at me for real? Is that it, you punk!”

Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't help but sigh under his breath. If this was Kim Seok-Il, he'd have craftily asked this and that to find his opponent's weaknesses and used that to his advantage. However, Bang Jin-Hun was totally different. He was like an angry bull, pounding the ground with its hooves and getting ready to charge!

Lee Hyeon-Su didn't have much experience in dealing with outgoing people like Bang Jin-Hun, so he felt somewhat flustered by this situation. “F-for the time being, please calm down, Assembly Master.”

“Aha, so I'm the Assembly Master now? F*ck it. Actually, that's great timing, as*hole. I'm the Assembly Master, and you are a branch director, isn't that right? In that case, how dare you do whatever the f*ck you want without reporting to me first?!”

Lee Hyeon-Su shot up to his feet while looking like a stiff log.

Bang Jin-Hun cocked an eyebrow. “What the hell? You really wanna have a go?”

“I apologize, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su bowed his head deeply.

“Huh?” Bang Jin-Hun faltered slightly as if he was caught off-guard just then.

“Sir, this matter required utmost secrecy from our side, and that's why I couldn't inform you. I thought that too many people from our side knowing the plan might make us look too busy and scare away the prey.”

“The prey? What? Explain to me in a way that makes sense!”

After confirming that he had successfully turned the situation around from a potential bust-up to a more civilized discussion, Lee Hyeon-Su sighed in relief and pointed at the empty chair. “For the time being, please take a seat, sir.”

***

“What the hell? That many people were targeting Mister Jin-Ho?” Bang Jin-Hun blinked his eyes in disbelief.

“Yes, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su pensively nodded.

“I did expect it to some degree, but who knew it was even worse? Okay, fine. I get it with the Japanese, sure. But, why are the French butting into this matter?”

“I didn't expect it either, sir. I believed another faction might get involved sooner or later, but... As for why they are here, well...”

“Are you sure they are hostile toward Mister Jin-Ho?”

Lee Hyeon-Su grimly nodded. “If they weren't, they wouldn't have followed him to the island.”

“France, eh...” Bang Jin-Hun grimaced a little. 'Another source of headache, huh...'

Bang Jin-Hun didn't need to worry about stuff like this while contesting for the Martial Assembly against Lee Jung-Geol. After all, why would foreign powers be interested in the domestic shenanigans of a small country like South Korea?

'But now, not only Japan but even France...'

The resolution of one matter seemed to open the doorway for the next trouble to rear its ugly head. Bang Jin-Hun suddenly was scared at the prospect of foreign powers having designs in South Korea and getting directly involved.

'Can I... Will I be able to deal with them?'

What a difficult quandary this was. Bang Jin-Hun was painfully reminded of how blind he was to all things related to international politics and situations.

'Wait... In that case, what's up with this punk?'

Bang Jin-Hun was supposed to be the boss of this organization yet couldn't even do anything about this situation, but Lee Hyeon-Su... Not only did this punk manage to analyze the situation, but he even stepped up to the plate to resolve it, too. When his thoughts reached this point, Bang Jin-Hun's eyes narrowed to slits.

Lee Hyeon-Su was quick to catch on to the meaning behind that suspicious glare and groaned softly. “No need to look at me that way, sir. I'm not a threat to you, Assembly Master.”

“What are you trying to imply here, Lee Hyeon-Su?”

“You thought I'd become a threat, didn't you?”

“...Mm.” Bang Jin-Hun said nothing while leaning back against the chair.

Lee Hyeon-Su didn't wait for verbal confirmation and continued to speak. “You probably wondered if I'm after your position as the Assembly Master. If Mister Jin-Ho values my abilities more than yours, he might start believing that installing me as the Assembly Master is a more efficient way to control the Martial Assembly. I know that you're not happy about Mister Jin-Ho acknowledging my abilities or me getting more friendly with him. However, you're completely wrong about this one, sir.”

“I'm wrong about this, you say?”

“Yes.” Lee Hyeon-Su took out a packet of cigarettes, then sneakily pushed it toward Bang Jin-Hun. “Everything is ultimately decided by Mister Jin-Ho. However, I have to say... He has both positive and negative aspects about him.”

“...Eh? What?” Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head, wondering what Lee Hyeon-Su was trying to say.

“Even if he acknowledges my abilities, and even if the right thing to do is to install me as the new Assembly Master, Mister Jin-Ho won't do that. Because he has a personal connection, a friendship, with you.”

“...Ah. Sounds like a typical Hell Joseon boss, then.”

“Yes. Mister Jin-Ho is exactly that. Not exactly surprising, considering he's from the ancient past. From my perspective, I'm rather dissatisfied, but... What can I do about it? Not much, that's what. And that's why you don't have to be wary about that, sir.”

Bang Jin-Hun yelled unhappily. “Who says I was wary! You brat! I'm not here to be wary of you but to find out what the hell is going on, okay! What is up with this situation?”

“We used Mister Jin-Ho as bait to attract all the foreign forces in South Korea. And it worked a lot better than we imagined.”

“I heard he took a boat trip? What's that about?”

“We lured them to an uninhabited island, sir. And they stupidly followed right after him.”

Bang Jin-Hun scowled deeply. “What the hell, you punk! Doesn't that mean every bastard out to get Mister Jin-Ho is in one place?!”

“Yes, that is so.”

“What's the plan, then?”

“The plan?” Lee Hyeon-Su stared at Bang Jin-Hun with a confused face. “What plan are you talking about, sir?”

“Didn't you say they are all on that island?”

“Yes, I did.”

Bang Jin-Hun tutted loudly. “In that case, you must've laid out a trap for them, right? You're not a dumbass, after all.”

“...Assembly Master, please calm down, sir.” Lee Hyeon-Su took out a cigarette from the packet and offered it to Bang Jin-Hun. The latter wordlessly stared at the cigarette before mouthing it. “Yes, sir. We do have a trap of sorts. Although, it's not what you'd call a conventional trap…”

“What does that even mean?”

“Well, sir... Mm... I'm merely setting up the stage, that's all.”

“...Stop beating around the bush, will ya? My patience is wearing thin, man.”

“Countless CCTV cameras. Curious onlookers. Brightly illuminated everywhere you go. That is modern civilization,” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled loudly. “The bastards couldn't target Mister Jin-Ho because of such things. However, they were badly mistaken about something.”

“Really? About what?”

“Simply put... It's not the case of modern civilization preventing them from targeting Mister Jin-Ho. No, it had been protecting them from him until now.”

“...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su's cackling became a little more sinister. “Right about now, those folks should be learning that painful lesson. That they had been protected by the surface world after all this time. As a bonus, they are probably also learning about what it means to confront Mister Jin-Ho in a place with no civilization to protect them.”

Bang Jin-Hun sneakily rubbed his forearm. Just listening to Lee Hyeon-Su roused up goosebumps on his skin. By now, he had realized how stupid he had been while asking about traps this and traps that.

'Hah. Who cares about traps?'

Bang Jin-Hun chuckled helplessly before lighting up the cigarette dangling between his lips.

A trap, was it? Yes, there was one. Kang Jin-Ho was the trap. And those idiots would soon learn the painful truth.

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***

What should anyone do when their comrade died in the blink of an eye through inexplicable means? What if they couldn't figure out the killing method but knew who the killer was?

Should they fight back? Or try to flee? Or... start thinking about it?

There were several options to choose from. As humans were individualistic creatures, their choices seemed varied and all over the place.

The brave ones raised their weapons and charged forward. The cautious types stopped what they were doing and tried to analyze what was going on around them. As for the cowards... They were stumbling back in fear.

Their choices decided their individual fates.

Stab!

Azuremourne pierced right through the throat of a martial artist charging at Kang Jin-Ho.

The martial artist gasped loudly. “Kuh-rururuk...!”

The blood gushing out from the punctured throat flowed back into his esophagus to produce a gurgling noise of water boiling. After realizing that his throat had been pierced before he could defend himself, the martial artist's disbelieving eyes shifted to Kang Jin-Ho next.

“I don't care whether you accept it or not,” Kang Jin-Ho muttered while slowly pulling Azuremourne out.

The martial artist seemed to understand what would happen to him if the sword was pulled out from the wound. He hurriedly raised his hands and tried to grab the blade. Unfortunately for him, Azuremourne's sharpness exceeded his imagination by a country mile. His last-ditch struggle only resulted in his fingers gripping the blade getting sliced off instead.

The sword slid free from the human flesh, causing a fountain of blood to gush out with a mini-explosion of noise. Kang Jin-Ho didn't bother to dodge the blood shooting toward him and simply smiled away. Meanwhile, the dying martial artist continued to stare at Kang Jin-Ho in sheer disbelief.

“...Because the result won't change either way.”

Plop.

Kang Jin-Ho casually stepped over the fallen corpse and strode forward.

'Hmm. Something about this...'

This was a bizarre feeling. How was Kang Jin-Ho supposed to describe it? Was this a feeling of... liberation?

'Ah. So... It's been suppressed all along, is that it?'

That made sense if he thought about it. Kang Jin-Ho could be a rather 'noisy' person, after all. Once he picked his sword up, he'd not stop until the blood had been spilled and people had died. However, this era put up too many hurdles for him to satisfy his needs.

Anyone could walk right past, and cameras could be filming them from somewhere at any given moment. Kang Jin-Ho had to be mindful of this fact in everything he did, but on this island?

He was reveling in this feeling of liberation. He didn't need to worry about anything here. He could just swing his swords around and kill.

Kill everything his eyes could see!

“Kekeke...!” A twisted cackle left Kang Jin-Ho's lips.

What a familiar sight this was. The darkness was so deep that the tips of one's fingers were barely visible, yet Azuremourne's blade still gleamed faintly under the pale moonlight. And then...

All those terrified eyes staring back at Kang Jin-Ho! Looking at this scene brought back memories of the past. Those memories were from a time when Kang Jin-Ho wasn't Kang Jin-Ho, but... When he walked the Earth with the title of Heavenly Crimson Demon Emperor! And memories nurtured a person's personality. Their nature.

The sword elegantly swimming in the air gradually flowed faster and faster. Kang Jin-Ho's movements became a little more vicious and just as sharper, more ruthless.

This was the purest form. A form that discarded all superfluousness to focus on killing the enemies had finally begun.

Kang Jin-Ho's single strike cleaved an enemy charging at him in half around their waist. Another enemy, paralyzed to his spot in fear, lost his head next. As for a coward who tried to flee, Kang Jin-Ho thrust his sword into their spine and twisted the blade around.

In the blink of an eye, Kang Jin-Ho sent three of his opponents into the next life, then slowly sucked in a lungful of seaside air. He picked up the scent of blood.

This dense, acrid scent stimulated his olfactory senses. As he breathed in this familiar scent of blood and death, the light in Kang Jin-Ho's eyes grew darker and more sinister.

Soon after that, demonic energy darker and denser than the darkness of the night oozed out from Kang Jin-Ho's body like a living fog.

“Do not disappoint me. You better be more satisfying than this...!”

Kang Jin-Ho's eyes now burned in a ghostly crimson hue as he pounced on his prey again.