Chapter 1470: Toying Around (5) |
“That was one-sided, wasn’t it?”
“Indeed, Mister Lee. Indeed.”
Lee Hyeon-Su and Wiggins dazedly stared at the distant battlefield.
“Even though he was struggling so much the last time…” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered while shaking his head, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Wiggins replied with a wry smirk. “It’s… the matter of if the enemy is close enough for him to attack or not.”
This was the same problem Wiggins faced, wasn’t it?
The effective attack range of the mage unit had given him something to think about.
The military had the option of blowing up the martial artists from afar.
Being able to hit the target without fail when close by wouldn’t matter one jot if the enemy was an extreme distance away from you. Because you’d turn into dust well before you could get close enough, after all!
Hmm. If my lord can close the distance, this will be the outcome.
Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t win against the army. But the army couldn’t deal with Kang Jin-Ho, either.
The pros and cons, plus the combat style, of each side were too disparate.
If the military stayed far away and relied on artillery, with the air force providing support by raining down bombs… Even the one-and-only Kang Jin-Ho wouldn’t have a choice but to get one-sidedly pummeled to oblivion.
However, if the military was within the touching distance of his sword, they would not be able to overcome Kang Jin-Ho’s speed and destructive power.
The military made the right call by choosing the desert as the battleground. But the outcome of this exercise was decided when they inadvertently gave up their superior attack range.
No, wait. That might not be true.
Wiggins had a hunch that this outcome wouldn’t have changed much, even if Kang Jin-Ho was thirty kilometers away from the military. He was capable of spotting the rounds fired by tanks nearby and dodging them, after all! And he could even use his sword to deflect the incoming mortars and shells, so the idea of him getting killed by the artillery fire seemed utterly inconceivable at this point.
Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “He got hit by every mortar round coming down the last time, you know?”
“Even if it’s my lord who had hit max level with all the exp accumulated to upgrade his class, he still would’ve lacked the requisite experience in dealing with artillery bombardment at that time, Mister Lee.”
“…? Master, since when did you start playing video games?”
Wiggins decided he should stop talking here. Because talking to Lee Hyeon-Su about this topic would not be good for his mental health!
“Well, at least it’s over,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.
“Yes, it is over,” Wiggins replied with a contemplative nod.
The 15th armored division had already lost its will to fight. No, never mind losing its will to fight, the army had already entered the post-operation mop-up phase.
That division commander is made of sterner stuff, isn’t he?
Most people wouldn’t be able to ignore the fact that the enemy they had been fighting was doing whatever he wanted right behind them and focus on the recovery efforts instead. That would require some guts to do so. Or a broken mind, maybe.
Wiggins wasn’t sure if he should praise that mindset or be wary of the commander’s insanity.
Whatever the case might be, though, he knew the commander’s decisions should lead to the best-possible outcome for his men. The faster the recovery of the injured personnel, the lower the number of the casualties, after all. And it’d also reduce the severity of the injuries greatly.
“By the way… Those soldiers are still alive, aren’t they?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked while narrowing his eyes.
“It seems that way.”
“Doesn’t that mean the Assembly Master knew where people were inside those tanks and safely (?) chopped them apart? All the while those tanks were shooting at him nonstop?”[1]
“…”
“Gee whiz! A human should act like a human being, you know?”
Lee Hyeon-Su tutted loudly.
Of course, both he and Kang Jin-Ho knew this was not a real battle. From Lee Hyeon-Su’s perspective, Kang Jin-Ho hadn’t been serious about this fight at all. Because, if he had been serious, the outcome wouldn’t have been this peaceful!
Kang Jin-Ho would’ve unleashed the torrent of demonic qi and started butchering everyone his eyes could see.
But Kang Jin-Ho didn’t emit any demonic qi. And he hadn’t even unleashed a particularly powerful attack, either.
Yeah, I’m sure the other side saw his attacks as brutal and powerful, but still!
What this all meant was simple enough; to Kang Jin-Ho, this situation was nothing more than a “training exercise.”
Wiggins chuckled hollowly. “Looks like I owe him an apology.”
“An apology? What for?”
“I kept saying this could get dangerous, after all.”
“I am one of those people who will celebrate vigorously at the prospect of you eating humble pie, but even I think you haven’t done anything wrong this time, master. Your actions were based on rational thinking, after all.”
“You, uh, think so?”
Although Wiggins was a bit peeved by the first half of what Lee Hyeon-Su said, the second half made up for it, so he let it slide.
Wiggins was well aware of where his miscalculation had come from.
I keep thinking that my lord is a completed article when he’s not.
Thinking that way was obviously wrong.
Didn’t Kang Jin-Ho already say it? While the Martial Assembly and its people got stronger, so did Kang Jin-Ho. And judging from this outcome, maybe the rate of Kang Jin-Ho’s growth had far surpassed that of the Assembly’s.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the “Kang Jin-Ho” during his battle with the Crimson King and this “Kang Jin-Ho” were two different beings that happened to look the same.
“It’s also encouraging, isn’t it?”
Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “You mean, the Assembly Master’s strength?”
“No. I meant his demeanor.”
“…Eh?”
“Look at my lord. He has not once succumbed to his berserk nature during this battle. This has not happened before.”
“Uh?”
Lee Hyeon-Su hurriedly looked at Kang Jin-Ho, his expression saying, Yeah, that’s right!
Until now, Kang Jin-Ho participating in a battle of this scale would almost always lead to a slaughterfest.
Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t tell if that kind of outcome was what Kang Jin-Ho had been aiming for, or he got lost in the demonic qi’s grip and couldn’t think straight. Whatever it was, though, the battlefield would always turn into a hellscape soaked in blood after Kang Jin-Ho was done with it.
But the battlefield in the distance wasn’t soaked in blood or littered with severed limbs. All Lee Hyeon-Su could see were burning wreckage of tanks and plumes of black smoke.
Wiggins continued to explain. “This could mean my lord is now capable of maintaining his rational mind throughout the battle. Or it could be because the opponent this time didn’t pose much of a challenge. Whatever the case may be, however, this is undoubtedly an encouraging sign. It means his self-control has improved, after all.”
“And it also means the odds of us getting beaten up half to death when the Assembly Master is angry have gone down a lot, doesn’t it, master?”
“…”
Wiggins cocked an eyebrow. No, my dear disciple. I think the odds have gone up for you, instead.
After chuckling wryly, Wiggins shifted his gaze away from Kang Jin-Ho and at the bunker.
“However, that won’t be the story for the people in there.”
“The people in…? Oh, those people.”
Lee Hyeon-Su weightily nodded. He could clearly see the top of the bunker flying away after Kang Jin-Ho swung his sword at it.
“I guess so, sir. The Assembly Master has always been ruthless toward those whom he deems are responsible for what happened, after all.”
“Hmm…”
Wiggins scratched his cheek. For a moment there, he wondered if he should step in and talk Kang Jin-Ho out of doing whatever he had in mind. However, that seemed no longer necessary, since Kang Jin-Ho was clear-headed right now.
If the people in the bunker ended up dying, then… That must be because Kang Jin-Ho thought they deserved it.
Wiggins should remember his place and not try to butt in unnecessarily. Besides, he, too, agreed that…
“Someone must pay the price for this mess, after all!”
An odious smirk spread on Wiggins’ face.
***
“Ah… Huhk… Argh…?”
While trembling pathetically, Phil Burton stared at the man looking down at him. That man was, of course, Kang Jin-Ho!
They had never met until today, but Burton had heard enough about him. And despite having never met, that was the man Burton had consistently ridiculed and underestimated.
But now, that Kang Jin-Ho had utterly destroyed the armored division the overconfident Burton had mobilized. And here he was, standing right before the terrified Burton’s eyes!
Since he instinctively knew what this incredible event implied, how could Burton not be terrified?
This, this can’t be right!
Burton saw everything with his own two eyes. Every cell in his body could feel the truth, too!
However, no matter how much he witnessed it and felt it, Burton just couldn’t comprehend it.
How could a single human being destroy an armored division? If the reserve force was taken into account too, then Kang Jin-Ho had been fighting against the combined might of two armored divisions!
The firepower of America’s two armored divisions should have been enough to conquer most countries in less than three days. But that level of combat force lost against a lone man? And Phil Burton was supposed to believe it?
“Sir, you’re making a big mistake.”
That was when Burton suddenly recalled what Reynold Spencer once told him.
He said it was a big mistake. A big mistake? Could anyone look at this scene and say it was a mistake?!
If a person took an umbrella with them after hearing about an incoming hailstorm but got pelted to death instead by meteorites, could anybody say that person had made some kind of mistake?It’d be deeply unfair to say that that person had not been cautious despite being informed of the hailstorm.
In the same vein, this… This was an accident. An unplanned accident!
Unfortunately for Phil Burton, however… He could shout “It’s an accident! I’m not at fault!” all he wanted to, but his fate still wouldn’t change one bit.
“So? Which one of you is the undersecretary?”
Kang Jin-Ho’s weighty voice echoed within the bunker.
Reactions of humans who got suppressed and frightened by the atmosphere would become extremely simple. When their brains registered the term “undersecretary,” they all reflexively turned their heads and stared at Burton.
Of course, most of them immediately realized their mistake and hurriedly looked away, but by then, Kang Jin-Ho’s gaze was already fixed on Burton.
“Fuu-woo…”
Kang Jin-Ho exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke before lightly jumping into the bunker. He then leisurely made his way toward Burton.
“…!”
Burton couldn’t do anything.
A human body would get paralyzed when an apex predator was right in front of their eyes. Even though they knew they must resist or flee, humans couldn’t make their frozen bodies or brains function as they should in that critical moment.
That was the state Burton was in.
The man approaching him, however, far surpassed the likes of mere apex predators.
This… This is a martial artist?!
Burton finally understood why Reynold Spencer and other pro-martial arts people insisted on nurturing martial artists all this time.
Because martial artists couldn’t be stopped!
Burton now knew that the military tactics couldn’t prevent these inhuman monsters from charging in and killing their targets. The military might win the war, but protecting the lives of the commanders from the martial artists would completely be impossible!
This lone man broke through the formation of the United States army’s armored division and its destructive firepower to stand before Burton. The thing was, though, not even the President would be under such intense protection all the time. This level of combat force just to protect one individual would’ve been considered overkill, after all!
So, to stop someone like Kang Jin-Ho, what more should the military do?!
This martial artist was like a poisoned dagger. No, an arrow! An arrow that could pierce right through any shield!
This arrow might lose the war against the military, but anyone it targeted would die without fail!
Phil Burton’s fatal mistake was realizing this too late. But it wasn’t only him who made this mistake; even the American government was guilty of it, too!
“So, you’re the undersecretary?” Kang Jin-Ho casually asked.
“I, I…”
Burton’s brain began operating again. But his legs continued to tremble. And his shivering body had long escaped his control by now.
“I, I am…”
Cold sweat flooded out from his skin. His soaked clothes clung to every part of his body. But his mind was too occupied to feel disgusted by his current state.
After all, one wrong reply now would mean his severed head might go flying in the air!
“I, I am Phil Burton.”
Kang Jin-Ho silently listened while puffing away at his cigarette.
“The g-goal of this training exercise was for… you to reach my… N-no, to stand before… I-in any case, you have achieved your goal. This exercise is… is your victory.”
Burton admitted his defeat. He believed this was enough to end this terrifying spectacle. Unfortunately for him, however, Kang Jin-Ho had other ideas.
While puffing away at his cigarette, Kang Jin-Ho grinned cheerfully. But Burton felt his heart tumble to the pit of his stomach when he saw that grin from up close.
“You think you can end things that way?”
“…?”
“You think it’s over now? Like this?”
“…!” Burton forced his unwilling lips to open. “Y-yes, it’s over.”
Kang Jin-Ho briefly shook his head. “It sounds like your mindset differs from mine somewhat. When a man does something, he should see it through till the end.”
See it through till the end? See what till the end?!
That was when Kang Jin-Ho leisurely reached out. His movement was slow. Very slow.
Burton could see that hand closing in on his throat, yet he couldn’t do a single thing about it. Because he knew instinctively that the moment he tried to resist… That hand would suddenly accelerate, grab him, and break his neck right there and then!
Eventually, Kang Jin-Ho grabbed Burton by his throat, then slowly pulled the frightened American closer. Burton couldn’t even resist.
Once the two men’s faces were mere inches away from each other, Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a terrifying smirk.
“You want to quit after creating a mess of this scale? It seems someone needs to teach you the meaning of the term responsibility.”
“I, I…”
“Don’t worry, though.”
Kang Jin-Ho’s smirk deepened.
“Because I’m here to teach you. Starting from now.”
Burton’s complexion went pale from fright.
1. The (?) bit is from the raw. Left it as is. ☜