Chapter 1554 Nurturing (4)

Lee Hyeon-Su nervously swallowed his saliva.

The Assembly Master is unhappy with something? Which part?

Was he objecting to the idea on moral grounds? If not...

What worried Lee Hyeon-Su the most was Kang Jin-Ho declaring his desire to do things differently from what the Japanese did during the occupation.

The Japanese imperialists in the past even published a textbook filled with every conceivable idea on exploiting and pillaging the colonies. If Kang Jin-Ho wanted the Assembly to avoid those practices, Lee Hyeon-Su quite literally wouldn’t be able to do anything!

“Sir? Which part was not to your liking...?”

Kang Jin-Ho leaned against his couch. “Sure, things might get good for us for a while if we do what you propose.”

The Martial Assembly would get to improve its combat strength, while the amount of funds it could extract from Japan would go up, too.

“But, results-wise, Japan’s combat strength would improve.”

“Mm...?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head slightly. “But, sir? Teaching a few hundred shouldn’t dramatically improve Japan’s strength.”

“Yeah, for now. However, what about after we’ve died of old age?”

“...?”

Lee Hyeon-Su dazedly stared at Kang Jin-Ho. Was he supposed to think that far ahead, too?

Kang Jin-Ho calmly asked, “Didn’t you feel it?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Haven’t you felt anything while fighting the Japanese?”

“I, uh...”

Kang Jin-Ho slowly shook his head. “Japan is different from China and the European nations. China is trying to bring the surrounding nations under its control to achieve its ambition of becoming the center of the world.”

“Yes, sir. That is so.”

“In other words, their goal is to unite the world.”

“Yes. I understand that,” Lee Hyeon-Su replied with a nod.

A lofty goal indeed, but the process of uniting the world had unfortunately caused all sorts of trouble for China’s neighbors and beyond.

“However, Japan isn’t like that. The Japanese warriors mercilessly devour the weak. Even though they aren’t all that superior, they still view themselves as such and think nothing of devouring anyone deemed weaker than them.”

“...”

“The characteristics of a country’s people can’t be changed that easily. Even after one... no, two centuries after our deaths, their national characteristics will undoubtedly remain the same. Which means the future generations might suffer from the seeds we plant now.”

The future generations in this case obviously belonged to Korea.

“But sir? Wouldn’t it be okay if our countrymen kept getting stronger, too?”

“When I was in Zhongyuan...”

“Yes?”

“I never imagined that the Chinese martial society would try to keep the Martial Assembly in check. And I also never thought that China would become so wary of Korea’s progress.”

That sounded fairly reasonable. Korea during those years was nothing to write home about, after all.

“Sure, I grant you that some things will remain as what-ifs only and will never happen. However, if something has happened once, it will happen again. Without a doubt. If you underestimate the Japanese because they have been neutered now, they will trip you up at the most inopportune moment in the future.”

“Mm...!”

Kang Jin-Ho mouthed a new cigarette and lit it up. “So... My question is, do we really need to do this?”

“Yes, sir. I believe so.”

Kang Jin-Ho heard Lee Hyeon-Su’s prompt response, then glanced at the other executives. “What are your thoughts?”

The first one to reply was Chang Min. “My liege! Just do what you feel like, and we shall follow.”

Just as Kang Jin-Ho frowned while thinking that Chang Min had said something rather cliched, the latter expounded on his response.

“Japan is a territory you have conquered, my liege. It’s your land now. I heard that in the past, you did not hesitate to use the martial artists of the lands you have conquered as meat shields.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “Yeah, you heard correctly.”

“The Demon Cult could conquer Zhongyuan and claim everything under the heavens as its territory solely because doing so greatly benefited you. There’s no reason to stop doing what you used to do in the past, my liege.”

“Hmm... What about everyone else?”

Vator smirked deeply. “I don’t see why we should worry about the distant future, master. Let the future generations handle whatever happens to them, I say.”

“...?”

“I’m not saying that because I’m not Korean, okay? I’d have said the same thing even if Mongolia was tangled up in this situation.”

Vator spoke grimly.

“Yes, the current generation should worry about future generations. But the future is supposed to be built by those who live in the future. We Mongolian warriors deliberately make things challenging for our children and next generations. So that they learn from their mistakes and injuries to become even better versions of themselves.”

Vator’s tone was resolute.

“Being overprotective will only make them weaker, master.”

“Mm...!”

Everyone contemplatively nodded as if they could see Vator’s point.

“I agree with Sir Vator on this one,” said Bang Jin-Hun while pouting. “It’s already tough for me to stay alive right now, so why should I care about future generations or whatever?”

“...”

Now that was rather cynical of him, wasn’t it?

Wiggins chimed in just then. “You wouldn’t have said that if you had children of your own.”

Bang Jin-Hun shot back. “Mister Wiggins, since when did you morph into a Korean boomer? Aren’t you British, sir?”

A wry smirk spread on Wiggins’ face just then. If he were being honest, he was also getting slightly confused about his current identity.

Bang Jin-Hun resumed explaining his position. “In any case... Yes, that’s how I feel about this situation. The prosperity of future generations? Our children? That’s nothing to lose sleep over, honestly.

“Let’s take those kids from wealthy families living in Gangnam. Are their lives charmed because their parents dote on them so much? No, it’s simply because their families are wealthy, that’s all. If I live an abundant life, my kids will, too. And if I’m successful, my kids will be, too. The same goes for the future generations.”

“Wow!” Lee Hyeon-Su gasped loudly and stared at Bang Jin-Hun as if he was genuinely impressed.

Bang Jin-Hun shot back. “What? You have a problem?!”

“N-no, sir. It’s just that I didn’t expect you to say stuff like that, you see?”

“What the hell...? Listen here, you dumbass! You haven’t considered stuff like this before because you’ve never had disciples of your own! You only had to worry about yourself until now.”

“Uh... You’re right, sir.”

Bang Jin-Hun shook his head. “In any case! Yes, I thought a lot about this and that back when, you know? That obviously included the future of the Martial Assembly. But no matter how much I racked my brain, I always arrived at the same conclusion. For now, all I can do is my absolute best. Only then will I be able to create a suitable environment for my disciples’ continued growth.”

“Mm!”

“Besides...” Bang Jin-Hun smirked weirdly. “Who cares about Japan or whatever, when we’ll all get skinned alive if we don’t stop the Three Kings? Aren’t we being waaay too lackadaisical here, everyone? I mean, throwing everything we have at them still might not be enough, you know?

“Assembly Master, you’ve become way too carefree these days. The old you would’ve told us to forget about all this stupid talk of the distant future and focus on squeezing out every drop from the Japanese right away, even if it’s their lifeblood.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s jaw fell slightly in stupefaction. You think I’d do that? Since when... was I such a character?

Lee Hyeon-Su cautiously voiced his agreement. “Yes, Director Bang is correct, sir. Didn’t you barge into the Yeongnam Group’s HQ and slaughter everyone getting in your way? And then, you confiscated every dime to the Yeongnam Group’s name before forcing the surviving Yeongnam martial artists into forming a sister organization under the Martial Assembly.”

“Huh?” Kang Jin-Ho grimaced. “This and that aren’t exactly...”

“They are practically the same, sir. Besides, it’s not like the Japanese are our underlings working in a sister organization, anyway. In a way, one could say we’re being rather generous.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled helplessly. These people just didn’t want to listen, did they? Still, he had to agree with them on this one thing.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about the future. What mattered right now wasn’t the Assembly’s future prosperity, but its survival. That was its priority. All the others were secondary, and it wouldn’t be too late to worry about them after they had achieved their primary objective.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Wiggins next. “What do you think?”

“My lord, we must not forget that we’re all human beings. And so are they,” Wiggins spoke resolutely. “That might be true, but in my opinion, our proposal isn’t inhumane. Besides, the Japanese attacked us first. So, they should pay the appropriate price, no?”

A slimy smirk spread on Wiggins’ face.

“Well, if the Japanese martial society continues to exist in the future, we might get painted as foreign invaders who tried to plunder the Japanese to death. But, so what about it? I certainly don’t care about what the future generations will say about me when I’m already dead.”

With that, Kang Jin-Ho became certain of one thing. None of these people possessed what could be considered a nice personality!

How did he end up attracting only people like them? Whatever the answer was, he was still impressed by the colorful personalities of the Martial Assembly’s executives.

“Got it.” Kang Jin-Ho nodded, finally agreeing with everyone else. “Let’s do it, Chief Lee.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Draft a plan on how we will do this.”

“Understood. I’ll get on it right away.”

“And who do you think should handle this?”

Lee Hyeon-Su shifted his gaze to the directors. “I believe Director Bang Jin-Hun will be the best candidate to oversee this matter, sir.”

Bang Jin-Hun’s eyes opened wider. “Me?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Huh? But Elder Chang Min is in charge of Japan, no? Why am I suddenly the best candidate?”

“Because there is a conciliatory side to this matter, sir. And unfortunately, Elder Chang tends to be merciless toward those not on his side.”

That didn’t sound like a flattering comment, but the person himself sat up straight as if he was proud of what he had done. “Why should I be merciful to our enemies? My liege’s teachings told us never to do that!”

“Oh...”

The culprit behind everything hung his head in shame.

Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at his lowered-head boss and swore to himself to voice his grievances with him later before addressing Bang Jin-Hun. “No one among us is better than you when it comes to finding those who would cooperate with us and keeping them under control. My apologies, sir. I know your plate is already full, but please. You’re the only one who can do this.”

“W-well, it’s... I’m not saying I don’t wanna, but... Urgh.” Bang Jin-Hun scratched his head.

Until now, Bang Jin-Hun focused most of his attention on the Assembly’s internal matters. Basically, he was in charge of the organization’s housekeeping. So, the idea of him dealing with external matters felt so awkward to him.

“Okay, understood. If you say I’ve got to do it, I will. After all, it was me who said we all need to throw everything we have at this problem, didn’t I? After saying all that, I can’t back out of it now. That’d be uncool.”

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. “Chang Min, you assist Director Bang.”

“I shall obey, my liege! I shall assist Bang Jin-Hun to the best of my abilities until you’re satisfied with our result!”

“Good,” Kang Jin-Ho replied, then turned his head. “Wiggins.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Lee Hyeon-Su seems to be cooking up something else as well. Discuss it with him and come up with a plan.”

“Understood, my lord!”

Wiggins gazed at Lee Hyeon-Su next. His probing gaze silently asked, What are you scheming this time, my disciple?

But Lee Hyeon-Su responded with a silent smile.

Would Wiggins dislike his idea? Of course not! That man didn’t care about the concept of the European continent being a land of his birth, after all!

Since that was the case, their discussion should go well.

“Our meeting has gotten a little sidetracked, but the outcome is still concise enough, isn’t it?” Kang Jin-Ho resolutely spoke. “We must do everything we can to survive.”

The weight of that statement felt different when Kang Jin-Ho said it. The loose, jokey expressions on the directors’ faces were instantly replaced with determination.

“The Three Kings are tough opponents. And the situation still doesn’t favor us. That’s why we must rack our brains. To figure out what we must do to ensure our survival.”

Chang Min grimly bowed. “We shall remember, my liege!”

Wiggins nodded slightly. “Understood, my lord.”

Vator simply replied, “I’ll do my best, master.”

Kang Jin-Ho took a long puff of his half-burnt cigarette. Yes, I must do the same, too.

Bang Jin-Hun was half-joking when he said it, but his observation of how Kang Jin-Ho had gotten a bit too carefree still stabbed Kang Jin-Ho like a dagger.

Of course, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t think he should reflect on himself since all humans were bound to slack off eventually.

No human could maintain their heightened state for 365 days straight. Anyone who attempted such a thing would keel over shortly after the start from exhaustion.

The important thing in this situation wasn’t reflecting on himself, but being clearly aware of his current state. If he was being too lackadaisical, all he had to do was pull his socks up a bit.

Is there something else, something more, I can do?

Kang Jin-Ho started pondering just then. But the answer to this question wasn’t something he could find so quickly.

In a way, this was like homework. A homework given to Kang Jin-Ho. Depending on how he solved this homework, the outcome of the war against the Three Kings could change significantly.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Lee Hyeon-Su.

When he thought about it, Lee Hyeon-Su had come up with all these ideas on his own, hadn’t he? Maybe, listening to how he had thought up these things could help Kang Jin-Ho out in reaching his own answers.

“By the way, Chief Lee?”

“Yes, Assembly Master?”

“What made you think up these things? Have you been pondering them for a while?”

“Mm? Oh, it’s...”

“Yeah?”

Lee Hyeon-Su scratched the back of his head. “Those bastards have been getting super annoying lately, you see?”

“...?” Kang Jin-Ho dazedly stared at Lee Hyeon-Su.

“That kinda pissed me off, and that was when a light bulb went off in my head, sir. Ehehe.”

“...But, uh, didn’t you say earlier that you didn’t have any resentment toward them?”

“No resentment here, sir. Nope, my decision is based on logic and utility. Since they claimed their actions were based on logic, what’s stopping us from doing the same?”

“...”

I knew it. I shouldn’t trust this guy.

I bloody knew it!