Chapter 1597. Training (2)

“...! It’s here!”

“Oh!”

Analysts rushed to a computer monitor and crowded in front of it.

“Do we finally have the footage?”

“Yes, it’s been uploaded to our servers just now!”

“Finally! Now we can do our job!”

Wayne Russell stared intently at the screen, his excitement rapidly rising higher.

“Why do we have to do things the old-fashioned way, anyway? And wait for the footage to be uploaded first?”

“What can we do? They don’t want to do a live feed in case of a security breach, after all. Don’t forget they are on the other side of the planet, too. And even the satellites are being jammed in the area because of the potential hacking attempts. We’re solely relying on a dedicated communication line here.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s just so damn inconvenient, that’s all.”

An analyst nearby tutted while watching the graph gradually fill up on the screen. “Gee whiz. It’s like we’ve gone back twenty years or something. Waiting for the footage is making my heart race and stuff like I’m a high school kid.”

“Back then, you were probably downloading photos from the internet.”

“Photos of scantily clad ladies, that is.”

“Shut the f*ck up! I was waiting for essays and dissertations to come through back then, okay?!”

Wayne Russell chuckled while listening to his colleagues bantering away. But his hand moving the mouse around contained hints of anxiety.

So, we’re finally witnessing the training method of the Demon King of the East...!

Despite his anxiousness, though, the corners of his lips still curled up slightly. Which was understandable, considering the incalculable worth of the data he was about to analyze. No other government had had access to such an incredible secret until now, after all!

After the American government decided that it’d also like to nurture martial artists of its own, it worked tirelessly to acquire training methods of powerful experts via various channels. However, getting its hands on “proper” training methods proved nearly impossible.

All they stumbled upon were foundational techniques or some worthless tricks.

That was why the American government decided that, rather than trusting such methods, they might as well establish an independent way of training their people using science. And the result was the Special Operations Brigade, or shortened to “SOB”.

But now... they were about to get their hands on the Demon King’s preferred training method!

Wayne Russell licked his lips. He’s one of the top-five strongest experts in the entire world, at the very least!

That wasn’t all, either; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Kang Jin-Ho might be the world’s best when it came to “teaching” other people. After all, he only needed a few years to take East Asia’s wasteland, South Korea, and transform it into the center of the massive storm trying to engulf the entire world.

While not even bothering to calm his pounding heart, Wayne Russell stared wide-eyed at the screen before double-clicking on the first uploaded footage. That prompted the video to play on the large central screen.

Everyone’s attention snapped toward the large screen. Some wondered if they should get popcorn and make themselves comfy or something just then.

However, their expressions began cramping up or turned into scowls the longer they watched the video.

“What... the hell?”

“Did they upload the wrong feed?”

“...Wait, what about the rest?”

More videos were being uploaded, so they kept playing them one after the other. However, content-wise... They were pretty much the same.

“T-this is the Demon King’s training method?!”

“Are you f*cking kidding me?”

Wayne Russell stared dazedly at the screen. He could see a soldier, his face covered in drool and sweat and his eyes glazed over, getting kicked by Kang Jin-Ho and flying away.

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho walked up to the collapsed soldier, grabbed the latter by the collar, and dragged the clearly unconscious man away. He arrived at an athletics field in the corner of the spacious training area, then shoved the soldier into the group of running soldiers.

“Running? That’s it?”

“No, wait. It can’t be that simple. Look at them. They must be running fast enough to break the world record.”

“That might be true, but it’s still running, right?”

“I’m pretty sure those soldiers would want to disagree with you on that one.”

“...”

The analysts could see that all the SOB members running around the track were half out of their minds. Their expressions resembled those of the exhausted soldiers trying to survive the last day of a 1000km march.

Plop, plop...!

Several soldiers couldn’t endure it anymore and collapsed to the ground, but the others chasing them simply jumped over their fallen comrades without skipping a beat as if there was nothing to see here. Rather than them, other soldiers on standby dragged their collapsed comrades out of the track.

“Is this supposed to be a last-man-standing kind of training?”

“I don’t know. What are they doing? Isn’t that more like a torture session instead?”

“Goddamn it! That man is trying to kill our people!”

The overall reaction of the analysts was negative, to say the least. Wayne Russell frowned deeply.

Yeah, I can understand where their reactions are coming from.

It wasn’t as if America had never understood the concept of “perseverance.” After all, America was a country where, during the days of the Wild West, people didn’t even question the belief that brave folks could even magically dodge bullets.

But the advancement in society and science had completely debunked that antiquated idea of perseverance.

Everything under the sun operated according to a set of rules. The training for pro athletes used to be about finding out how much extreme training an athlete could endure, but it had morphed into finding the right balance between training and recovery many decades ago.

However, here was a relic from the bygone era being reenacted right in front of these analysts’ eyes. Of course they would never accept this insane and antiquated method of training.

“Son of a b*tch! Make them stop! Right now!”

“Calm down, okay? You know we don’t have the authorization to do that.”

“Authorization?! Don’t give me that crap! Can’t you see our soldiers getting destroyed over there?!”

Wayne Russell roughly scratched his head. “Hold on. Wait. I’ll speak to the higher-ups. Let them pass on our feedback, okay?”

He groaned deeply, then hurriedly left the analysis office.

This is going to get troublesome.

***

Reggie Mercer roughly massaged his temples.

—Tell them to stop, right now!

“Sir, even if you order me to do that, you know there’s not much I can do. I only hold the authority to command our men. But you’ve given the full authority regarding our men’s training to them. Unless we have casualties from training, our hands are tied on this one.”

—How can you say that after witnessing that outdated training method?!

“Outdated, sir?” Reggie Mercer chuckled helplessly. “Sir, I must remind you that we got obliterated by the person practicing the so-called outdated training method. Let’s not kid ourselves here, shall we?”

No response could be heard coming from the phone’s speaker. That didn’t surprise Reggie Mercer, however. The other side probably didn’t know what to retort with, after all.

“Still... I’ll try to talk to them, sir. However, don’t get your hopes up. I didn’t set this thing in motion. You and the others did. I’m sure you can already guess what will happen if they hear about you changing your mind so soon.”

—Urgh...!

Reggie Mercer chuckled weakly. “Also... This is just my opinion, but sir? Don’t dismiss what they are doing as outdated. Their understanding of martial artists far surpasses ours, after all. And Kang Jin-Ho I know isn’t the type to resort to the old-fashioned way of doing things for no reason.”

—Mm...!

“Let them be, sir. I’ll try to stop them if they get too close to crossing the line.”

—Very well. We’ll leave it up to your discretion, Commander. And... speak to the corps commander, as well.

“Understood.”

Reggie Mercer ended the call there and tutted slightly.

“That was unnecessary.”

It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand what the brass was worried about. But such things came with the territory, didn’t they?

The process of breaking free from the old and adopting something new was always chaotic like this. People used to the old ways would always feel reluctant and resistant. And whether you took a step forward into the future or not depended on whether you could overcome that reluctance or not.

Reggie Mercer tossed the phone onto his desk, then got up to leave. He yanked the flap open and stepped outside the tent. He was immediately greeted by the sight of a pandemonium unfolding on the training ground.

“Mmm... That’s...”

That looked serious, didn’t it? Quite serious, in fact!

He couldn’t help but recall the stirring sight of the soldiers standing at attention on this very ground not too long ago. Even though he was the commander who nurtured the 15th armored division into one of the best in the army, Reggie Mercer still had to concede that the members of the SOB made them look like little kids. That was how tough and well-disciplined they looked back then.

That sight made him feel proud of being assigned the role of their commander. But now? Well...

“C-commander... Sir, please...!”

“Help... us... Please...”

“I’m dying here, sir. I’m dying!”

Reggie Mercer grinned back at the pleading soldiers. “Fellas? I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you.”

“...”

“So, keep running.”

“...”

Any semblance of light flickering in the eyes of the soldiers got snuffed out just then.

Reggie Mercer sneakily turned away from them. He genuinely couldn’t do anything to help them this time. What could he even say to Kang Jin-Ho when he knew nothing about training martial artists?

He scanned the surroundings and spotted Kang Jin-Ho in the center of the training ground, leisurely waltzing about like a man on a Sunday stroll. And then...

“Commander Mercer! Would you like some coffee?”

“...”

He could see Lee Hyeon-Su sitting on a camping chair by the corner of the training ground, drinking coffee from a thermos.

The thought popping into Reggie Mercer’s head at that exact moment was, Why am I beginning to detest that man?

It wasn’t as if Lee Hyeon-Su had done something hateful here, so why did Reggie Mercer feel this urge to smack the back of that man’s head with every ounce of his energy?

Reggie Mercer shook his head. “No thanks, I’m fine.”

“Really? But you are missing out on some great coffee here, sir.”

“...Then, I’ll have one cup. Thank you.”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked smoothly while pouring piping-hot coffee into a paper cup. After accepting the coffee, Reggie Mercer stood next to Lee Hyeon-Su and took a sip.

“Mister Lee. Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“No, not at all, sir.”

“Is this how you train your people in the Assembly?”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled airily. “Eii~, of course not. Our martial artists don’t go through this type of training.”

“I thought as much.”

“Yup. That’s because our people have already finished doing baby stuff like this before joining the Assembly, you see? But the standard of your people is so low that we don’t have a choice but to start from the basics of all basics.”

“...!” Reggie Mercer’s eyes widened in shock. “Hold on... Basics? This?”

Really?

Lee Hyeon-Su nonchalantly slurped the coffee before smirking again. “Your people should consider themselves lucky, actually.”

“I’m sorry?”

“To think they would receive basic training from our Assembly Master! Now that’s a privilege no one in the Assembly has enjoyed until now. Yessir, it’s one hell of an honor.”

Reggie Mercer stared dazedly at the training ground again. Privilege? Honor? But, how? When they were all on the brink of death right now?

“B-but, isn’t this too outdated...”

“Uh-huh! Please watch what you say, sir. The Assembly Master will get triggered if he hears you. Most ordinary people will get a heart attack if my boss becomes unhappy about something, you know?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su leaned in closer and spoke gravely. “Besides, you seem to be under some kind of misconception, sir. You shouldn’t think of Eastern training methods as old-fashioned. Yes, you can still find a few unscientific and outdated training methods out there. But make no mistake, sir. Ours has also evolved over the years, just like yours. We’ve also cut out all the irrational training methods.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that what I see is a rational training method?”

“Yes, sir. Very rational, in fact. Let me use the example of pro athletes. Before they start their intense training, athletes usually try to warm up their muscles and joints first with light jogging and other stamina-building exercises. Don’t they?”

“Light? That?”

“Yes, light.” Lee Hyeon-Su glanced at the soldiers still lapping the training ground. “Scientific training methods? Yes, they are nice. But the science underpinning those methods is meant for ordinary people. Isn’t that right, commander?”

Reggie Mercer asked incredulously. “Yes. However, isn’t that why we’ve adjusted the intensity of their training accordingly?”

“You have? So, your side thought that since these martial artists boast much greater strength and stamina, they should be able to withstand a level of training several times more intense than what ordinary people can handle? Was that your thought process?

“Please don’t make me laugh. You only arrived at such a conclusion precisely because you know nothing about martial artists.”

Lee Hyeon-Su pointed at the American martial artists.

“You see, those bastards? Even if their arms and legs get broken today, they’ll still be able to kick footballs around by tomorrow.”

“...”

“Exercises that don’t take into account the recovery rate of martial artists are nothing more than light stretching to these people. And what your side has done is nothing more than collecting data from such light stretching for over a decade. Quite frankly, the data you have is useless garbage.”

Reggie Mercer’s face stiffened at Lee Hyeon-Su’s honest take.

Lee Hyeon-Su sat back. “Mm... My apologies if I crossed the line just now.”

“No, it’s fine. I didn’t collect the data, anyway.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su stared weirdly at Reggie Mercer just then, prompting the American to cock an eyebrow and ask, “What’s the matter?”

“No, it’s nothing, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su looked away while thinking, Yup, this guy is not right in the head, either.

He reclined against his chair and smirked deeply at the sight of the SOB members busy lapping the training ground.

“You all must’ve been looking forward to today.”

...Since they must’ve thought that the method of gaining strength quickly had finally been found. Unfortunately for them, however...

The rule of this world was extremely simple: there was no such thing as a free lunch or the royal road to success. Everything came at a cost, and today, those people would get to learn that painful truth.