Chapter 1598. Training (3)

Inside the commander’s tent...

“They are all weak,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“...”

A hint of dissatisfaction could be spied on Kang Jin-Ho’s face.

Lee Hyeon-Su tried to improve his boss’s mood. “But sir, you knew what to expect from their previous demonstration.”

“But back then, they were merely weak.”

“...? Then, what about now?”

“Now? They are just weaklings.”

“...?”

Lee Hyeon-Su furrowed his brow slightly. He always thought of his Korean language skills as quite excellent, but even then, he had to admit that catching the subtle nuances this time proved rather tricky.

“O-okay, so... Back then, you thought their skills were not up to snuff, but now that you had a proper look this time, they also lack mental fortitude and physical strength. Am I correct so far, sir?”

“Mm!” Kang Jin-Ho firmly nodded in affirmation.

Lee Hyeon-Su’s jaw slightly fell. Huh. His manner of speech has gotten a bit... mixed up, no?

It was as if Kang Jin-Ho’s old manner of speech was in an uneasy co-habitation with his newer way of speaking. When that thought popped up in his head, Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

“But, sir. I thought they looked the part, at least.”

“Sure, their underlying stamina is not bad, but it’s as if they have never used it before.”

“Ah. In other words, they have been living a cushy life until now.”

“Something like that.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned wryly, only to notice that Reggie Mercer next to him was silently staring at him with a question mark over his head.

“Oopsie! Sorry about that. I forgot that you were with us and kept conversing in Korean instead. A force of habit, unfortunately.”

Reggie Mercer hurriedly shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize. The right thing to do was for me to learn Korean, after all. Still, if you don’t mind, can you explain what you were talking about...?”

Lee Hyeon-Su explained, but that only made Reggie Mercer tilt his head in confusion.

“I remember you saying that before, but I have to say, I don’t understand what you mean. Our people don’t have enough strength and stamina?”

Before this training “camp” was launched, the military performed various tests first on the SOB members to decide who would get to join the program. As their commander, Reggie Mercer was naturally given access to their test results. He could still remember his shock at what he had seen back then.

So, to hear that those results weren’t good enough?

“We are not talking about something that simple, sir. Mm, let me try to explain.”

Lee Hyeon-Su rubbed his chin, then casually shrugged.

“The more you try to hammer a person, the more that person will get injured and broken.”

Reggie Mercer nodded. “Yes, that is so.”

“But martial artists aren’t like that. They will get tougher, instead.”

“...?”

“Simply put, the pressure a martial artist can withstand is substantially higher than what an ordinary person can endure. If you push an ordinary person physically to a point where they end up passing out, they won’t be able to do anything on the following day. However, that story doesn’t apply to martial artists. Your people will be back on their feet by tomorrow morning.”

“...And you’re saying we must take that into account.”

“Yes. But that’s what martial art is like, sir. And in martial arts, you’re supposed to break through your limits every day. You could say martial art is a constant battle against yourself. Some people can do that no problem, while some can’t. That’s how you determine who will become an expert and who will end up as a weakling, but...”

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed in lamentation.

“But, for the past ten years, your people were forced to stop before they could find out where their limits were.”

Reggie Mercer was rendered speechless.

Wait. Are you saying it’s not as simple as the idea of perseverance over everything?

At this rate, this breached into the realm of “methodology” instead.

It all boiled down to the fact that the East’s understanding of martial artists’ rate of recovery differed significantly from what the Americans believed.

But, how... No, wait.

When Reggie Mercer thought about it some more, it became so obvious to him.

Pushing the SOB members to the extremes just to figure out their limits would’ve been very tricky to pull off for the American military, since doing so would skirt very close to the realm of human rights violations.

But the East had been doing that for the past several centuries. No, for the past thousand-plus years!

Reggie Mercer asked incredulously. “Are you saying this level of training is nothing to your men? That they can easily withstand it?”

Lee Hyeon-Su tutted softly. “You still don’t get it, Commander Mercer. No, what you saw today wasn’t training. It was merely a taste of things to come.”

“I’m... sorry?”

“It was just a warm-up, you know? The real thing will start tomorrow. Oh, but the Assembly Master won’t be here tomorrow.”

“Mm...” Reggie Mercer slowly nodded. “There’s something else I’d like to ask you about, and...”

Lee Hyeon-Su innocently tilted his head. “Yes? What would you like to know?”

“Well... Wouldn’t you say they might really die if you leave them up there?”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su slowly turned his head to look in a certain direction. And through the tent’s window, he could see a large steel pillar driven into the center of the training ground. That wasn’t all, however; three pitiful-looking soldiers could be seen hanging upside down from the top of this pillar.

Lee Hyeon-Su tutted. “I told you. Don’t underestimate martial artists’ life force.”

“But they seem close to death to me?”

“They won’t die, sir. Definitely not.” Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled. “We’re trying to save a bunch of people who were destined to die, after all. So, them dying on us like that will be... very disappointing. For us.”

While saying that, Lee Hyeon-Su studied the trio of half-dead soldiers.

Those idiots declared their unwillingness to go through this type of training and even dared to argue with Kang Jin-Ho earlier. If that was all they did, things might not have escalated further, but they even bared their fangs and tried to threaten Kang Jin-Ho!

At least things ended with them dangling upside down, which should be considered “good news” overall.

“Lucky bastards,” Lee Hyeon-Su grunted. “If this was the Assembly, those three would’ve been buried alive on some nameless mountainside.”

Reggie Mercer frowned slightly. “Are you saying that the Assembly Master is far stricter when he’s in the Assembly?”

“No, not at all. Those three would’ve been beaten up to death by the other Assembly members.”

“...”

“I’m not kidding here,” said Lee Hyeon-Su, his voice getting icier. “A situation like that wouldn’t have been allowed to happen in the first place. But if it did, the number of people wanting to kill the idiots would’ve been impossible to count, sir. For one, I would have ensured that none of the offenders walked away from there alive.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s attitude had completely transformed now.

“You need to know that I’m holding myself back right now in consideration of you, sir. If it were up to me, I’d have ripped their heads off already.”

Reggie Mercer noticed the scary look on Lee Hyeon-Su’s face and hurriedly said, “Please calm down, Mister Lee.”

“Hah...! Thinking about it pisses me off even more. Assembly Master? Do you mind if I take over the training tomorrow?”

Kang Jin-Ho shook his head. “No, you can’t.”

“Why not? I’ll go easy on them, sir. I promise.”

“You can’t, because you’re weaker than them.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho flatly replied, “They will treat your head like a soccer ball instead.”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s shoulders sagged visibly. Why did Kang Jin-Ho have to say that in English?! Couldn’t he see that the commander of this place was listening in?!

Gee whiz! Sir, how come your personality is getting worse?

Kang Jin-Ho slowly got up from the chair and glanced at Reggie Mercer. “Commander Mercer.”

“Yes, Assembly Master.”

“The way I see it, this will take a while.”

“Mm... I see.”

“We’ll switch up the method. Let’s increase the length of training hours, and I’ll alternate with other people to supervise the training. For the foreseeable future, we’ll continue pushing your people to their limits.”

Reggie Mercer slowly nodded in agreement. He couldn’t offer his take even if he wanted to, anyway. After all, he had already made up his mind on trusting Kang Jin-Ho with the SOB’s education, hadn’t he?

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “Also...”

“Yes?”

“You should participate in the training as well.”

“...?” Reggie Mercer’s eyes widened. “M-me too?”

“Mm.”

“Even though I’m not a martial artist?”

“Didn’t you tell me that the commander must understand the system he’s working with?”

“That... is true, yes, but I merely wanted to know how it works, Assembly Master. And to improve my understanding of martial artists, not to become one.”

“I know that.”

“T-then, why?”

“The best way to understand how others feel is to become them.”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho stared straight at Reggie Mercer. “Do you honestly think you can command these martial artists without experiencing the training they go through and learning first-hand what it feels like to be one?”

Reggie Mercer sat up straight. Now that “command” had been brought up, this conversation was no longer about how he felt as an individual. Now it concerned his duty, his job, as the commander of these SOB members.

“Understood. I’ll participate.”

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips curled up slightly. “Good.”

This was why he liked Reggie Mercer. The American clearly understood what his assignment was. He was a man who tackled what he had to do head-on.

“Okay. Time to leave,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

Lee Hyeon-Su shot up to his feet. “Got it, sir!”

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely mouthed a cigarette and lit it up. While puffing away, he strolled outside the commander’s tent, his steps taking him toward where the helicopter was parked.

That meant he had to walk past the soldiers’ tents, however.

“O-ouch... Urgh... My leg...”

“That... crazy... man... How is that training, for crying out loud...”

“I don’t even... have enough energy to wash up.”

Thanks to his supernaturally sharp hearing, Kang Jin-Ho could catch the conversations coming out of the tents despite not even trying to eavesdrop. He stopped walking and smirked deeply.

“A-Assembly Master?”

Reggie Mercer walking behind stared worriedly at Kang Jin-Ho, but Lee Hyeon-Su reached out and stopped him.

“Don’t worry. Just watch, sir.”

“Mm...”

Kang Jin-Ho strode toward the nearest tent. When he opened the door and stepped inside, the resting soldiers jumped up in alarm and stood up. However, a couple of them failed to stand and plopped down to the floor instead after their legs gave in.

“Wake those guys up!”

“No, don’t bother,” said Kang Jin-Ho. He raised his hand and stopped a soldier from waking his squad mates up from their slumber. “All of you, sit.”

“Yes, sir!”

As if to prove that they were soldiers, they didn’t argue back and smartly sat back in their spots.

Kang Jin-Ho scanned their faces one by one. Although they didn’t mutter a single word out, their expressions were obviously filled with dissatisfaction.

“Don’t be a baby,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“...!”

“And stop whining about how tough it is.”

The soldiers’ expressions grew even more hostile just then.

“Did you get dragged here against your will?”

“...No, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged. “You can always go home if you’re not happy with what happened today. I’ll speak to your superiors so that you can go back to the States whenever you feel like.”

The heads of several soldiers faltered.

“While you were enjoying charmed lives in the States, many, many people endured a training regime several times worse than what you’ve experienced today. You say you want to catch up to them, yet you also want to make it as cushy and painless as possible, too? Don’t delude yourselves.”

Kang Jin-Ho stopped talking there and leisurely puffed away at his cigarette. That was when a soldier raised his hand high.

“Speak.”

“Sir! It’s not that we are dissatisfied with the harshness of the training. We’re simply skeptical about how effective this type of training can be in the first place.”

“Skeptical, you say?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head in confusion. “Did you think you’d be learning something today?”

“Yes, sir. Like new techniques, or... Or, skills that can improve our strength quickly.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled loudly. “But that’s what you were doing today.”

“I... don’t follow, sir!”

“What you did today was a method to make you stronger quickly. And it’ll become a new training method for you all.”

“...?”

Kang Jin-Ho scanned the soldiers again. “I won’t force you to understand. In all honesty, you don’t have to understand anything.”

More confused faces stared back at Kang Jin-Ho.

“Ten days.”

“...?”

“Endure for the next ten days. Then, your body will start understanding it for you. However, if you think my method is pointless even after ten days, you’re free to train however you want. Or return to the States. The choice is up to you.”

“Sir? Will we really see a result by going through this training?”

“Yes. I give you my word.”

“Understood! We’ll trust you!”

Kang Jin-Ho smirked, then turned around to leave. As he stepped outside the tent, the soldiers began exchanging glances with each other. They must be thinking that ten days didn’t sound like an impossible challenge.

What Kang Jin-Ho said here should spread to the rest of the base before the end of the day.

Lee Hyeon-Su caught up with Kang Jin-Ho as they walked toward the helicopter. “Sir, will that be okay? In the next ten days, you will be here for only a handful of days. To produce an appreciable result, we need to increase the intensity of the training, but the Chevaliers are...”

“It’ll be fine.”

“...?”

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t sound worried at all while explaining his plan. “No one said the difficulty of my training should be the highest, right? I’ll just order our people with the most free time on their hands to come here.”

“Sir? Who do you have in mind, exactly?”

“For tomorrow, I’ll ask Vator.”

“...!”

“As for the day after, Chang Min.”

“...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su slowly looked away from Kang Jin-Ho.

So, the plan was to dispatch a giant who launched grown adults in the air to play catch, and on the following day, dispatch someone else who forced his fellow Demon Cult believers into a free-for-all melee all in the name of training?

...I’ll pray for your safety, fellas.

I don’t have the power to stop this from happening, unfortunately.

Gee whiz. I would dearly love for all of you to make wonderful memories during your stay in Korea, but...

Lee Hyeon-Su could now bet his entire fortune on the “When those people return to the United States of America, they won’t even piss in the direction of South Korea for the rest of their lives.”