Chapter 1546 Spectating (1)

Kang Jin-Ho asked, “What’s the situation in China?”

The Blood Demon replied gravely. “They are still locked in a tense standoff.”

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips curled up ever so slightly at how stiff the Blood Demon was.

The usual Blood Demon would’ve smiled provocatively and tried to test Kang Jin-Ho’s patience several times by now. But not this time. As a matter of fact, he was behaving like a well-disciplined soldier.

Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze drifted past the Blood Demon and locked on Chang Min sitting behind him.

Yeah, I guess the notion of every creature having a natural predator is true.

The sight of the Blood Demon cautiously sneaking glances in Chang Min’s direction made it doubly difficult for Kang Jin-Ho to suppress his laughter.

“How long will they remain that way?”

“Uncertain, my liege! Because they all know the first one to make a move will lose,” said the Blood Demon. “In a battle of martial artists, the one who gains the upper hand early will be in an overwhelmingly advantageous position.”

“That’s true.”

Didn’t Kang Jin-Ho exploit this for himself often in the past?

His preferred method of attack was charging straight into the enemy camp and utterly demolishing their morale, battle strategies be damned!

Every martial artist was a living weapon. Once their morale soared, they could unleash limitless power.

“None of the factions wishes to gift the others an advantage of any kind. That’s why they are all biding their time.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “Their patience should have limits, though?”

“Of course. I believe this situation won’t last forever. On top of that...” The Blood Demon casually shrugged away. “I don’t know about the Azure King, but the Crimson King isn’t exactly known for his patience, you see? Soon, he will reach the limits of his patience. From what I’ve heard in the grapevine, I heard the one and only Crimson King is frequently wandering in and out of his domicile, like an impatient puppy or something.”

“...”

One could search heaven and earth but still never find anyone brazen enough to call the Crimson King a puppy, other than maybe the Blood Demon. Even Kang Jin-Ho avoided speaking so flippantly about the Crimson King, after all.

How nice it’d be if just one person in my circle of acquaintances is normal...

Kang Jin-Ho helplessly shook his head.

“Okay, so...” Lee Hyeon-Su furrowed his brow. “Who holds the upper hand?”

“Upper hand, you say?” The Blood Demon pondered his reply, then responded with little interest. “Can’t say. Too many variables, you see?”

“Then, if you were a betting man?”

“The Crimson King.”

“...”

“What? Why are you looking at me that way?”

When the Blood Demon shamelessly replied, Lee Hyeon-Su’s expression crumpled.

“Didn’t you say something about there being too many variables?”

“Oh, that? All I’m saying is that no one holds the clear upper hand, since stuff like luck can influence the balance day-to-day and favor one side over the other. Even so...” The Blood Demon scratched his chin. “If you put a gun to my head... I will have to go with the Crimson King.”

“And why is that?”

“No one knows who’s stronger between the Azure King and the Crimson King. But it’s easy enough to see whose faction is stronger.”

“Hmm...!”

“You see, the Crimson King is an unexpectedly generous man compared to other Kings. Which means his faction has a lot more experts than the others.”

Vator nodded in agreement. “Right. When I sought out the Three Kings for guidance, only the Crimson King had treated me seriously. Other Kings, well...”

The big man scratched his head.

“They slammed their doors in my face.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “I don’t think the Three Kings and their factions are conceited enough to turn you away like that, though?”

Vator smirked. “Let me clarify. Rather than turning me away, it’s more like they had no idea where their own Kings were.”

“...Huh. Now that’s surprising.”

Actually, no. That wasn’t all that surprising when Kang Jin-Ho thought about it some more. After all, something like that happened fairly frequently in the ancient past, didn’t it?

For instance, Wudang’s strongest expert often holed himself up on some uninhabited mountainside to pursue his dao. And then, the leader of the Beggar Sect went missing for a number of years just so that he could observe the mundane world, only to return without any warning whatsoever.

Right. No high-ranking experts could be called sane back then.

That also included Kang Jin-Ho, of course!

He hadn’t given this matter much thought back then, but now that he had... Maybe it wasn’t a case of all the experts being nutjobs, but more like only the people with screws loose in their heads could become powerful experts.

Someone who operated logically would never be able to endure a kind of training that verged on deliberate self-harm and torture, after all!

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the Blood Demon. “Are you not even considering the Dark King as a factor?”

“No, rather than that...” The Blood Demon made a strange face. “The Dark King is shrouded in mystery, my liege. And that’s the only reason the balance has been maintaining itself until now. Not even the government’s intelligence division has uncovered the true identity of the Dark King.”

“But he must’ve made public appearances before.”

“He has. But he’s always been hidden under a thick black coat.”

“Really? Does he think he’s shooting a noir thriller or something...?”

“In the Dark King’s defense, he’s been sporting that black coat-look even before thrillers became a thing, sir.”

“...”

Who cared about that? Seriously!

The Blood Demon continued. “In any case... This deadlock will drag on forever if all the parties involved remain conscious of the Dark King. That’s why the Azure King and the Crimson King’s people had agreed tacitly that this war must end one way or the other. They all want to avoid the absolute worst case scenario, you see?”

“The absolute worst case?”

“Yes, my liege. You.”

“...? Me?”

“Yes. You, who are the peninsula’s messiah and the nightmare of the Chinese martial society’s expansionist ideals. Nothing pains them more than watching you steadily amass your power on this land.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “How come?”

“That’s because you are the great and noble demon emperor who has subjugated the world except for the Greater China region. You have conquered Europe, Japan grovels before your feet, and even the Americans have joined you in an alliance. Oops, my apologies. Those Yankees also grovel like...”

“That’s enough yapping from you,” said Chang Min with a tut.

“Yessir!” The Blood Demon changed his tone immediately. “Honestly speaking, the Chinese martial society hadn’t been paying you much attention in the past, my liege. Or, more correctly, they didn’t think you’d become as big of a problem as you are now. Because, no matter how talented you are, you will always be confined to this tiny peninsula at the end of the day.”

“Mm...”

“As long as the Martial Assembly is trapped within this tiny cage called South Korea, it can never match the other factions when it comes to the number of martial artists and their quality. So, they all figured that even if you become as strong as the Three Kings individually, they should still be able to eliminate you when you have no organizational foundation to support you. But now...”

The Blood Demon shook his head.

“With the exception of China, you’ve already acquired everywhere else, my liege. At this rate, even if one of the Three Kings unifies China, the rest of the world will still be under your rule. That is one outcome they do not wish to see.”

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “That’s why they are accelerating their war plans?”

“Yes, sir. In my opinion, of course.” The Blood Demon cackled jokingly again. “I wouldn’t dare guess what those mighty beings are cooking up in their heads, after all. But that’s what the flow of the current situation suggests, my liege.”

“Mm...” Kang Jin-Ho contemplatively nodded. “To summarize... A war will break out soon.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Then... What do you think will happen?”

“Well, I think the war will conclude swiftly. And the victor between the two Kings will fight the Dark King next.”

“What about the Chinese government, though?”

“It won’t interfere as long as its... safety is guaranteed. I mean, it’s hellbent on ensuring its survival even now, you see? Its higher-ups are trying all sorts of things even as we speak. It’s not like you’d help them out in their time of need, anyway.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled softly. The Blood Demon had guessed correctly.

“So, that means China will be united pretty soon...”

While muttering that, Kang Jin-Ho’s expression grew strange. Here was news that should’ve roused much dread in his heart, but for some reason, he wasn’t scared at all. As a matter of fact...

Hah. I guess I still have some ways left to go.

Especially considering how excited he was getting from this news!

“Since the enemies have decided on what to do, we should also get ready to respond,” said Lee Hyeon-Su, his voice getting colder and more withdrawn. “However, my gut feeling says that they will take longer than what the Blood Demon has predicted.”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head again. “And your reason is?”

“They have far too much to deal with, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su while tapping on the map of China. “Also... Unlike the Blood Demon’s prediction, I believe the Crimson King will remain patient for as long as possible.”

A difference of opinion occurred, and the Blood Demon narrowed his eyes. “The Crimson King can be surprisingly short-tempered, okay? I’m telling you, he’s not the most patient man in the world.”

“You’re right. He sought the Assembly Master out when we were in China, after all.”

“So, why the disagreement?”

“Because the lives of his subordinates are on the line.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su shook his head. “More than a handful of people will die during this war. That’s why. The Crimson King I’ve met was undoubtedly a great man. In my opinion, a man like that won’t impulsively throw away tens of thousands of lives.”

Kang Jin-Ho agreed with that viewpoint. Yeah, that man won’t do that.

If the Crimson King really was an impulsive man, he would’ve thrown punches around the moment he ran into Kang Jin-Ho in that restaurant. However, he didn’t. Despite drooling like a predator staring at a juicy slab of meat right before its nose, the Crimson King still restrained himself.

“I agree with Lee Hyeon-Su on this one,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Lee Hyeon-Su stared silently at the Blood Demon with a smug face. The Blood Demon shot back with a glare filled with murderous intent.

“Watch it. Or I’ll rip those eyes out,” said Chang Min. That was enough for the Blood Demon to behave himself demurely like a rabbit, though.

Having seized the initiative, Lee Hyeon-Su addressed the others in the conference room again. “The real question mark, though, is the Azure King, everyone. However, unless the Azure King is a complete moron, they should keep the deadlock going for a little while longer. Also...”

Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his chin.

“It’ll be nice if they keep going for longer, of course. They are busy exhausting their resources while we get to amass more strength, after all.”

“No, hang on.” Wiggins suddenly butted in just then. “Let’s not bet our future on prayers and crossed fingers, shall we? If we want something, we should proactively go after it. We can’t wait with our mouths open below a persimmon tree until a ripe fruit falls down on us, no?”

Lee Hyeon-Su smiled gently. Just how much better Mister Wiggins’ knowledge of Korean idioms will get, I wonder?

Even Lee Hyeon-Su was getting tempted to learn from Wiggins.

“Do you have a plan, sir?”

“We can certainly make things a bit... Shall I say, irritating for them? For instance,” said Wiggins while tapping on a certain part of the map. “We have a piece of land here right behind the Azure King’s territory where one of us can go as wild as they like.”

That was when everyone stared at Vator next. Because Wiggins was pointing at Mongolia.

Vator cocked an eyebrow. “What? You want me to lead an army of Mongol warriors and invade China?”

“No, not at all.” Wiggins shook his head. “Simply stationing those warriors on the border should suffice. If the Crimson King won’t make the first move, we should create a reason for the Azure King’s faction to stay put, as well. This should be well within your capabilities, Sir Vator.”

“Mm... Yeah, it won’t be difficult.”

Invading China was one thing, but merely stationing the warriors near the border should be doable.

“There are other things I’d like to try, but before that...” Wiggins smirked deeply. “I need more information on the current state of Chinese martial society first. Then I’ll update you all on what I have in mind.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. Since Wiggins sounded so confident, it should be a good idea to trust him on this one and wait.

“However,” Kang Jin-Ho spoke up while glancing at the others. “There’s no guarantee that our opponents will behave according to our predictions. No one knows what will happen tomorrow.”

“You’re correct, my lord.”

“Remember that everything depends on this. Step up our preparations accordingly. If we fail to overcome the Three Kings, everything we’ve done until now will go down the drain.”

Not everyone would die, but at the very least, everyone in this room would meet their maker. They all felt the weight of this knowledge and nodded in silence.

“No need to look so tense,” said Kang Jin-Ho disinterestedly. “Whether it’s the Crimson King, the Azure King, or the Dark King... I’ll kill them, no matter who shows up. The rest of you can deal with any stragglers or hangers-on.”

“Kekekeke!” Vator cackled softly. “Not sure if that’s confidence or arrogance, master.”

“It’s confidence.”

“Hoh-oh?” Vator slowly got up. “Then, do you mind if I confirm whether that’s really confidence or something else?”

Kang Jin-Ho grinned brightly at that provocation. “I hope you had a fulfilling lunch, Vator.”

“Mm?”

“Because when I’m done with you, you will be skipping dinner tonight.”

Vator’s eyes burned with fighting spirit. “Come outside, master. Let me show you what modern-day mutiny looks like.”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

When the two men burning with fighting spirit left the conference room, the remaining people could only chuckle hollowly.

Wiggins asked first. “How did our meeting end this way?”

The rest shrugged helplessly.

Don’t ask us. How should we know?