Chapter 539. Clearing Up (4)
'Why! Why do you keep causing these big problems?!'
Lee Hyeon-Su leaned against the couch, his expression still slightly stupefied.
A knight of the Round Table?
'What the hell?! Why am I suddenly getting involved with a knight?'
And why was that knight transferring to the Martial Assembly?! Technically speaking, Knight Wiggins wasn't joining the Assembly but going under Kang Jin-Ho's wings, but...
'That's splitting hairs, isn't it?! Mister Jin-Ho is the Assembly, and the Assembly is him, anyway!'
Still, Lee Hyeon-Su kept his rising blood pressure down and accepted this development. So what if someone transferred to another workplace? There was nothing wrong with that.
It wasn't as if one's affiliation was like an unbreakable slave collar, anyway! If one wanted to move to a different pasture, so be it. However, why did that older gent not discuss his transfer with his previous employer first?!
Did Wiggins not recognize the importance of his position? Wasn't he a knight of the Round Table?
Yes, he's a bloody knight, of all things! A knight wasn't some mid-level executive in the Round Table. No, the holders of the 'knight' title were directly involved in making decisions for the whole organization!
What did that mean exactly? Well, a knight like Wiggins would be like... a detailed log containing intimate knowledge of the Round Table's operations, previous actions, and even all the hidden, less-than-savory dealings it had made over the years!
If this was the Martial Assembly, it'd be like Bang Jin-Hun or Lee Hyeon-Su switching allegiance to Japan or China. Without even negotiating with the Assembly on how much they'd remain silent about their past dealings, too!
'Yup, this is a catastrophe. A freaking catastrophe! That's what this is!'
This development should only worsen the already strained relationship between the Martial Assembly and the Round Table. And it was emphatically not what Lee Hyeon-Su had envisioned.
The art of befriending distant states but antagonizing close neighbors! This smart and exceedingly obvious strategy had been passed down since time immemorial. Since South Korea had crossed the point of no return with both Japan and China, maintaining a good relationship with a faction like the Round Table became extra crucial for its survival.
Yes, things had already gotten off to a bad start when the Chevaliers decided to attack Kang Jin-Ho, but there was still a chance to mend the relationship. Kang Jin-Ho would probably not agree with this approach, but Lee Hyeon-Su had been planning to negotiate with the Round Table soon, and the Chevaliers were supposed to be used as bargaining chips. Of course, that'd be done after squeezing out everything that could be squeezed out of the Chevaliers first.
But now... The scale of this problem was in another realm altogether!
'He's a knight! A bloody knight!'
Even normal corporations would become irreconcilable enemies if one stole the other's employees away. But this matter didn't involve corporations. No, the groups involved were far, far more sensitive about things like this. In the world of martial artists, when such transgressions usually called for bloodshed... What kind of potentially calamitous outcome was Lee Hyeon-Su looking at here?
Panic was the only thing quickly filling Lee Hyeon-Su's mind. This was not something he could deal with on his own. "N-no, hold on. This... This is...! This, uh, this... This is not something... normal...!"
Lee Hyeon-Su never stuttered before in his life, but now seemed as good a time as any to start doing it!
If the 'urgency' was used as the yardstick, then the situation with Vator was much graver than this one. However, considering the aftermath and the incoming secondary impact... This crisis easily exceeded the Vator situation. At least, that was the case for Lee Hyeon-Su, who had to deal with the aftermath!
“Mm? Is this matter worthy of being so nervous about?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head in genuine confusion.
Lee Hyeon-Su reflexively facepalmed just then. 'Pleeeeeease! Please tell us in advance before doing something like this! PLEASE!'
Was Lee Hyeon-Su's request so earth-shatteringly difficult? It wasn't as if he was asking Kang Jin-Ho to get his permission first or pay upfront, so why!
Lee Hyeon-Su only wanted to be notified ahead of time. What was so difficult about that request that Kang Jin-Ho couldn't be bothered and did as he pleased to cause all these huge crises!
Right now, Lee Hyeon-Su was getting a first-hand lesson on the grief of all hard-working salarymen in this country.
'You... You mindless idiot of a boss...!'
The worst 'oblivious boss' in the world imaginable was sitting right in front of Lee Hyeon-Su with a confused look on his face.
Lee Hyeon-Su hyperventilated briefly before regaining his wits somewhat. He then cautiously raised his voice. “Let's forget about everything for the time being and focus on this one thing. If we go through with this, our relationship with the Round Table will become irreparable.”
Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head even more. “We don't have any relationship with them in the first place, though?”
“Y-yes, we don't. For now. However, our future relationship can only be hostile after this.”
“Will it matter, though?”
“...!”
Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged his shoulders. “Even if we maintain a cordial relationship with the Round Table, I don't think they will go out of their way to do something nice for us. I'm pretty sure they won't dispatch a combat force to help us. As for financial support... They might give us some. But do we need any more money than what we already have?”
“Yes, you might be right. However!” Lee Hyeon-Su desperately spoke up, droplets of cold sweat visible on his forehead. “The mere potential of that hypothetical military and financial support is what matters in our case, Mister Jin-Ho! Yes, we might not need their actual assistance. But the mere possibility is enough to suppress our unruly neighbors! Even if our enemies wish to hit us, they will be forced to stop and think about the 'What if?' first. Which means, they would have to build a force large enough to counter that 'what if' situation. And the larger your force, the harder it is to control it.”
“Hmm. That makes sense,” Kang Jin-Ho nodded in understanding. Lee Hyeon-Su immediately sighed in relief. Unfortunately for him, though, Kang Jin-Ho wasn't the type to easily agree with everything others said. “However, I don't think it's smart of us to rely on an unknown quantity of external assistance that may or may not materialize. Shouldn't we focus our efforts on enhancing our combat strength through Knight Wiggins here? Let's say we rely on this strength that isn't even ours to suppress others. What will we do if our enemies finally create a force strong enough to rival that foreign assistance? Wouldn't we get wiped out in the blink of an eye?”
“...Mister Jin-Ho, it's the role of politics and operational strategies to ensure things don't end up that way.”
“This is what I think. There is no point in overlooking the immediate benefits because you're scared of a threat that might not even exist. Do what we can do now, one at a time, and that will be the ticket to solving our problems. That's what I've been told, you see?”
Lee Hyeon-Su shot up to his feet and yelled, “Which stupid son of a b*tch told you that nonsense?!”
“...My father.”
“...Oh.”
The temperature in the room rapidly fell off a cliff. Bang Jin-Hun was making a shocked face that silently screamed, 'How could you say that about Mister Jin-Ho's dad?' while staring at Lee Hyeon-Su. Meanwhile, Kang Jin-Ho's expression was... unreadable.
“N-no, hang on. That's not what I... Uh…” Lee Hyeon-Su's stuttering intensified. Even the one-and-only Lee Hyeon-Su couldn't think of anything to say. He was getting repeatedly kicked around by the feeling of having done something dumb while looking at the dispirited Kang Jin-Ho. “T-this is... Yes, it's a misunderstanding! Ehem, yes, it's…”
That was when Wiggins suddenly butted in. “Hmm... I think I understand now.”
Elena had been accompanying him to act as his interpreter, so Wiggins had a good idea of what was being said in real-time.
While making a gentle smile, Wiggins addressed everyone in the office. “So, this place is actually a democratically and logically run...”
Lee Hyeon-Su was about to frown while thinking, 'What the hell has he been listening to all this time?' but then...
“...Dictatorship, now isn't it?”
'Oh...'
As it turned out, Wiggins had been paying attention. A lot of attention, as a matter of fact!
Lee Hyeon-Su's favorability toward Knight Wiggins suddenly went through the roof.
***
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...
Zhang Dajing's dead-tired eyes were glued to a monitor. All he could do right now was stare at the intermittently beeping green line on the screen.
On top of a hospital bed large enough to rival two king-sized mattresses placed side-by-side was Vator's unmoving figure.
The warrior of the wild plains was lying on it like a corpse. His impressive muscular figure was no longer damaged, but various medical paraphernalia dangling from his body gave off a rather pitiful overall impression of his state.
“Sir Vator...”
Even if they were stuck in South Korea, medical facilities with ties to the Crimson King's faction could still be found here. So, Zhang Dajing had Vator hospitalized in the most trustworthy facility.
Kang Jin-Ho said Vator didn't really need medical attention, but Zhang Dajing didn't serve him. Obviously, he couldn't take any of Kang Jin-Ho's words at face value.
The medical examination didn't find any concerning wounds on Vator's body. Rather than that, the doctors were left gob-smacked by Vator's supernatural regenerative ability that healed his injuries at a scarcely believable rate.
At this point in time, it was probably fine to say Vator didn't have any external injuries. Even so, he still hadn't regained consciousness.
Zhang Dajing slowly rubbed his tired eyes. Without a doubt, Vator's physical body was awe-inspiring. Behold his toughness. Behold his transcendental regeneration!
However, Zhang Dajing couldn't help but recall something else whenever he thought about Vator's resilience.
'...Kang Jin-Ho!'
What a terrifying individual Kang Jin-Ho was! Just remembering the sight of Kang Jin-Ho turning Vator into a lump of bloody mess sent chills down Zhang Dajing's spine.
Kang Jin-Ho was unbelievably strong. And unbelievably cruel, too!
'Just... Just what are we supposed to do about someone like that?'
From the perspective of the Crimson King's faction, Kang Jin-Ho was a truly difficult quandary. In a way, he was like a sharp dagger creeping closer toward the Crimson King's throat. Even if the Crimson King wanted to reach out and stop the dagger, its approaching speed was excruciatingly slow.
If it hadn't been for how extraordinary this situation was, the Crimson King would've already stopped the weapon by now. However, both of his hands were currently preoccupied with defending against weapons thrown by the other two kings. So, he was left with no choice but to watch the dagger close in.
Despite knowing that one day, this dagger would plunge into his chin and go straight into his skull, the Crimson King didn't have a choice but to desperately ignore it for the time being. After all, he had already done everything short of actually making a physical move to stop it.
There was another question plaguing Zhang Dajing's mind right now. Even if the Crimson King used his hands...
Even if he stopped defending against the Azure King and the Dark King, would he be able to stop Kang Jin-Ho?
Zhang Dajing didn't have to think about this until now, but...!
The Crimson King's faction was powerful. In fact, each king's faction dividing China into three all possessed combat strength that easily exceeded other nations. If a faction as powerful as the Crimson King's got serious, a minor nation like South Korea wouldn't be able to deal with it. That... was what Zhang Dajing used to believe until now.
However, witnessing Vator's defeat with his own two eyes instilled a sense of unease, this uncertainty, in Zhang Dajing's heart.
Kang Jin-Ho was strong. Too, too strong! Would it be possible to deal with someone that powerful?
Zhang Dajing was certain of something, at least. He might not be sure of how likely it was to eliminate Kang Jin-Ho now, but... In the near future, Kang Jin-Ho would become a threat that not even the full might of the Crimson King's faction could deal with!
Zhang Dajing arrived at this conclusion not through logic but through his instincts. And it seemed someone else also heard the instincts' voice just then.
“Urgh...” Vator suddenly groaned groggily.
“...! Sir Vator!” Zhang Dajing snapped awake from his wandering thoughts and hurriedly got closer to Vator.
The big man's previously peaceful expression was crumpled unsightly. His eyelids seemed to quiver faintly before Vator finally opened his eyes. “I... I am alive?”
Vator's voice sounded hoarse. Cracked.
“Yes, Sir Vator! You're alive!”
“...Huh. How merciful of him,” Vator muttered hollowly. He then slowly raised his hand and massaged his head. “My... condition is a mess. How did I get here, though?”
“You lost consciousness and collapsed in the duel arena. I had you transferred to this location, sir!”
“Did that man... spare my life?”
“Yes, sir. That wicked bastard, Kang Jin-Ho, was…” Zhang Dajing tried to explain, but then...
Suddenly, Vator's eyes were dyed in a crimson hue. “Kuk...?”
He held his head as if something was hurting him up there.
“S-Sir Vator? What's the matter?” Zhang Dajing urgently reached out after noticing this strange change in Vator.
Bang!
That was when Vator slammed his hand down on the bed, causing it to shatter from the impact. His big figure tumbled off the wrecked bed.
“S-sir! Are you... alright...?”
“Did you say wicked bastard?!”
Zhang Dajing's mouth immediately clamped shut after noticing the chilling emotion in Vator's hoarse voice.
“How dare you rudely refer to a noble being like that? Do you wish for death, Zhang Dajing!”
Zhang Dajing's face instantly paled just then. Something...
Something was wrong here.
It had to be.
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