Chapter 117. Commotion (1)
A luxury hotel in Jongno.
It had stopped operating as a hotel long ago, but the building was still in excellent condition, so Lee Hyeonje had taken it over and turned it into his base.
“I’d rather they just let us rest comfortably than prepare something like this.”
“Haha, don’t be like that. Lee Hyeonje said he couldn’t just let this pass without doing anything.”
“Well, it should be better than that restaurant he took us to last time. That place was way too stuffy.”
“A buffet should let us eat more freely.”
While having that conversation, Kang Yujin’s group entered the banquet hall.
The moment they did, thunderous applause erupted.
“What?”
“W-What’s going on?”
As the four stood there bewildered, Lee Hyeonje pushed through the crowd and approached them.
“You all worked hard.”
“Lee Hyeonje, what is this?”
They had only been told they were coming to eat at a buffet.
There were far too many people here.
“What do you mean? It’s a celebration party.”
“That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“What?”
Lee Hyeonje tilted his head blankly.
Seo Youngmi, dressed in a women’s suit beside him, immediately spoke up.
“Lee Hyeonje, did you seriously not explain it properly?”
“Me?”
“You said you would explain it yourself.”
“Did I?”
“Seriously...”
Seo Youngmi sighed.
“Kang Yujin, Seok Taejun, Lee Jukheon, Joo Minha. This party is being held to celebrate your victory.”
“A party?”
“A victory celebration?”
“Yes.”
While Kang Yujin’s group remained visibly confused, an old man approached through the crowd.
It was Jegal Geum.
“You all truly did well.”
“Sir.”
“You really are... accomplishing things no one could have imagined.”
Jegal Geum stepped closer and firmly clasped Kang Yujin’s hand.
“You’ve given hope to the people of the Capital Region. No, to every Korean.”
“No, that’s going a little far...”
“He’s right.”
Won Pilso spoke from behind Jegal Geum.
“What you did really was enormous. Honestly, it’s almost unbelievable.”
“Yeah, exactly!”
Lee Sion of the Hwaseong Sect walked over and slapped Kang Yujin on the shoulder.
“You were incredible! Hahaha, I never expected you guys to pull off something this huge!”
“That’s right!”
“You are the hope of the Capital Region!”
Other people began crowding around them as well, each trying to say something.
“W-Wait.”
Overwhelmed by the chaos, Kang Yujin urgently looked toward Joo Minha.
“Joo Minha, you should answer everyone on our behalf...”
“Kang Yujin.”
Joo Minha smiled gently and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Responding to the support of the public is also the duty of a hero.”
“What hero?!”
Surrounded by the crowd, Kang Yujin felt cold sweat forming on his back.
“I’m going to die.”
After finally escaping the crowd, Kang Yujin sighed from a corner of the banquet hall.
Lee Hyeonje was currently onstage, explaining the present situation in the Capital Region with slides.
Everyone else was eating while listening.
Kang Yujin, however, was too exhausted to feel like eating.
“Haha. You look pretty worn out.”
The one who spoke to him was Shin Minyu, one of the Eight Guardians.
He was a former athlete and Contractor based in the old Goyang area, contracted with the S-rank Constellation Cú Chulainn, the ‘Warrior of the Fierce Hound.’
After Choi Cheolmin, who had ruled Uijeongbu, died, Shin Minyu had effectively taken responsibility for the entire northern Gyeonggi region.
Apparently, he had been devoting himself to patrols near the border due to concerns over another Pandemonium invasion.
“Still, what can you do? You have to respond a little.”
Shin Minyu smiled and handed him a glass of something to drink.
Kang Yujin accepted it and emptied it in one go.
“You killed Phenex, the commander responsible for the northern front... and you wrecked his command headquarters too. For the time being, we don’t have to worry about Pandemonium invading.”
"..."
“So of course people are going to celebrate. There hasn’t been much good news lately.”
Shin Minyu took a sip from his own drink.
“The last Scenario ended reasonably well too, but it wasn’t exactly the kind of situation where people could openly cheer.”
“Yeah.”
“Cheon Sangwoon turned out to be the mastermind, a lot of the other Eight Guardians died... and then rumors spread that Pandemonium might invade soon. Everyone was terrified.”
Shin Minyu flicked a finger.
“And then you guys charged into Pandemonium, took the enemy commander’s head, trashed the place, and came back. Of course people went wild.”
"..."
Kang Yujin remained silent.
Shin Minyu smiled and lightly patted his shoulder.
“Defeating enemies isn’t everything.”
He spoke more quietly.
“Giving people peace of mind and letting them feel hope... that’s part of a Contractor’s job too.”
Then Shin Minyu stepped back.
“From that perspective, you’re the best Contractor around. I’ll be looking forward to what you do next.”
After Shin Minyu left, Jegal Geum approached.
“I already said it earlier, but you truly did well. You’ve been through a lot.”
“It was nothing.”
“So, did [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder] work properly?”
“Of course.”
Kang Yujin nodded.
“You were the one who taught it to me, sir. There was no way it wouldn’t work.”
“Hoho. Is that so?”
Jegal Geum smiled faintly.
“To think a technique I created could even work on Demon God-class demons... I’m pleased.”
“Without that technique, I wouldn’t have been able to defeat Arioc or Phenex.”
“I see... I’m glad I met you.”
“I’m the one who should be glad I met you.”
“Hoho...”
Jegal Geum gave a small nod, then fell silent.
For a while, he simply looked at Kang Yujin with a gentle smile.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I really am glad I met you.”
He smiled.
“Truly.”
“Why are you repeating yourself?”
“Through all my years of training, I came to understand, at least roughly, what the ultimate realm of martial arts should look like.”
There was a complicated emotion in Jegal Geum’s voice when he spoke those words.
“But I also knew that I could never realize that ultimate martial art with my own body.”
“The ultimate martial art...”
“Yes.”
Jegal Geum looked directly at him.
“But you might be able to reach the realm I only imagined and could never attain.”
“Sir.”
“That destructive power you use... it’s an Awakening Skill, correct?”
“Yes.”
“To acquire an Awakening Skill at such a young age when even I never obtained one... truly remarkable.”
“It was only possible because of the blessing of the Great One.”
“Hmm. Is that so...”
Jegal Geum slowly nodded.
“Kang Yujin, you know that an Awakening Skill reveals the essence of the person who possesses it, don’t you?”
“I think I’ve heard something like that.”
“If you look at it from that perspective, then your essence is ultimately striking... or destruction through striking.”
He chuckled.
“Your swordsmanship is certainly awful.”
“That’s true.”
Just as Jegal Geum said, Kang Yujin’s swordsmanship barely improved no matter how much he practiced.
“That’s why internal energy will eventually become essential if you want to grow stronger.”
“Internal energy...”
“Your physical strength is unquestionably unique, but even it has limits. If you use internal energy, the inner energy of the human body, then theoretically, you can continue growing without limit.”
“After using [Heavenly Splendor Great Thunder] a few times, I did feel that if I properly built up internal energy, I could draw out tremendous power.”
“But with your personality, spending years sitting cross-legged and circulating qi probably isn’t realistic.”
“That... is true.”
“Which means you only have two realistic ways to obtain internal energy.”
Jegal Geum raised two fingers.
“One is to consume items commonly called spiritual elixirs.”
“Medicine that increases internal energy.”
“Quite a few circulate in places like China, but they’re difficult to find in Korea. There are also a lot of fakes.”
“Have you taken them before?”
“Of course. Half of them were fake.”
Jegal Geum smiled bitterly.
“And the second method... is to receive internal energy from someone else.”
“From someone else?”
“Yes. Haven’t you read stories like that? The protagonist encounters a hidden master by chance and receives their internal energy.”
“Wouldn’t that basically mean taking someone else’s internal energy?”
“Calling it ‘taking’ is a little misleading... but ultimately, the other person is giving you what they accumulated, so it isn’t exactly wrong.”
“Then that sounds even harder than finding a spiritual elixir. This isn’t some novel. Who would willingly hand over internal energy they spent years building up?”
"..."
For some reason, Jegal Geum fell silent.
“Kang Yujin, you...”
“Yes?”
Kang Yujin looked at him in confusion.
He waited, unable to tell what Jegal Geum was about to say.
Then the surrounding banquet hall suddenly erupted into murmurs.
“A Kaesong reclamation operation?!”
“They’re invading Pandemonium?”
“There’s no way that’s possible!”
Lee Hyeonje had apparently just announced the next plan from the stage.
“The Pandemonium forces in the northern region are currently in chaos. Phenex, their number one commander, and Arioc, their number two, have both fallen. Even the staff officers of their command headquarters were wiped out.”
Lee Hyeonje spoke coolly from the stage.
“At last, the time has come to launch the Northern Campaign.”
“The Northern Campaign...!”
Quite a few people gasped at the words.
“I come from a science and engineering background, but I know a reasonable amount of history as well. Since ancient times, our ancestors repeatedly attempted to reclaim the northern territories. That effort should continue in our age.”
“Ahem...”
“But is that really possible...?”
“Exactly. What if Pandemonium gets furious and launches a full counterattack...?”
“They might attack from the western coast too.”
“I understand your concerns.”
Lee Hyeonje listened to the murmurs for a while, then spoke again.
“To dispel those concerns, I intend to introduce someone to all of you today.”
He turned his head.
A new person stepped onto the stage.
His trademark long black hair flowed behind him.
“Pleased to meet you. I am Ma Taesu, recently appointed head of the Black Dragon Society’s Korea Branch.”
“Ma Taesu...!”
“The man who pacified the central-western region?!”
“Why is a heretical bastard who works with Pandemonium here...?!”
The banquet hall became noisy again.
“I imagine many of you think of me as nothing more than a collaborator with Pandemonium, so I would like to clarify one point first.”
Ma Taesu turned his head.
He looked toward Kang Yujin and smiled.
“I was the one who provided Kang Yujin’s group with intelligence on Pandemonium and helped them eliminate Phenex.”
"...!"
The commotion grew even louder.
“As all of you know, I maintain close ties with Pandemonium. That also means I possess more information about them than anyone else in this room.”
Ma Taesu spoke confidently.
“That is why I can state this with certainty. Even if we proceed with the Kaesong reclamation operation, there is no need to fear a large-scale retaliation from Pandemonium. The Pandemonium forces along the western coast will not move either.”
“W-What is your basis for saying that?”
“That is difficult to explain publicly in this setting. However, I have already shared the relevant information with the representatives of the Eight Guardians.”
Ma Taesu looked toward Lee Hyeonje.
Lee Hyeonje nodded, confirming his words.
“There are several other pieces of information favorable to us as well. I shared all of them with the Eight Guardian representatives and left the final judgment to them.”
“I thought the Black Dragon Society wanted friendly relations with Pandemonium... Will your headquarters in China really allow this?”
“I will exercise my right to remain silent on that matter.”
Ma Taesu smiled meaningfully.
“But I will say this much.”
His eyes narrowed.
“The Black Dragon Society headquarters is even more ambitious than a man like me.”
"...!"
The implication was obvious.
Even the main Black Dragon Society was preparing for conflict with Pandemonium.
“To be clear, I am not proposing an immediate full-scale war with Pandemonium. First, we reclaim Kaesong and establish a defensive line centered around the fortifications Pandemonium has already built there.”
Ma Taesu continued.
“That defensive line will serve as a shield protecting the people of the Capital Region when we eventually clash with Pandemonium again.”
“So... you’re saying we reclaim Kaesong and then negotiate another ceasefire with Pandemonium?”
“That would be ideal. At present, we simply do not have the strength to push all the way to the Yalu River.”
As the discussion became more concrete, people’s expressions began to change.
They were starting to think:
Maybe this is possible.
Once that atmosphere had formed, Lee Hyeonje spoke again.
“The Kaesong reclamation operation will be commanded by Shin Minyu and myself.”
“Lee Hyeonje and Shin Minyu personally...!”
“The current number one and number two among the Eight Guardians are both going?”
“And Ma Taesu will participate with Black Dragon Society forces too...”
Lee Hyeonje raised his chin before the increasingly excited crowd.
“Naturally, the heroes who eliminated Phenex, Kang Yujin and his companions, will also be joining us.”
“Ooh!”
“Of course!”
The people grew even more excited.
The mood shifted from Maybe we can do this...
to This is going to work.
“I never said I was doing it.”
Kang Yujin muttered quietly.
Jegal Geum smiled beside him.
“But you’re going to join, aren’t you?”
“Well... probably.”
Kang Yujin took another drink.
Joo Minha had already mentioned the idea to him briefly.
He had prepared himself for it.
“I promise all of you. The Eight Guardians will assemble our strongest force and make this operation succeed. We will secure the safety and prosperity of the Capital Region.”
“Ooooh!”
The crowd was no longer anxious.
They shouted the names of Lee Hyeonje and Kang Yujin, already excited for the battle ahead.
“May I make a suggestion?”
Then someone spoke in a clear voice that cut through the noise.
“Representative Lee Hyeonje just said you would assemble the strongest possible force.”
The speaker was a man in a black suit.
He appeared to be in his mid-forties.
A scar resembling a sword slash crossed his face, giving him an intimidating appearance.
“The war against Pandemonium is an important matter that could affect not only this country, but the entire world. If that is the case, then you truly need the strongest force available.”
“Yes... that would be true.”
Lee Hyeonje looked at him with confusion.
“So I would like to make a proposal. We wish to contribute our forces to the Kaesong reclamation operation.”
“Excuse me, but... who are you representing?”
It wasn’t only Lee Hyeonje.
Most of the people present seemed to have no idea who this man was.
“My apologies. I should have introduced myself sooner.”
The man bowed slightly.
Then he spoke in a cool voice.
“My name is Matsushita Soichiro. I am here representing Japan’s ‘Tenka Restoration Association.’”
“Japan?!”
“The Tenka Restoration Association...!”
Countless people in the banquet hall reacted with shock.
Jegal Geum, standing beside Kang Yujin, did the same.
“Sir, what is the Tenka Restoration Association?”
“You really don’t know much, do you...?”
Jegal Geum groaned.
“Unlike this country, which is divided among several powers, Japan is controlled entirely by a single organization.”
He lowered his voice.
“That organization is the Tenka Restoration Association. In other words, it is a force far larger than all of the Eight Guardians combined.”
As he spoke, Jegal Geum suddenly stiffened and leaned forward.
“Wait. Then could that be...?”
Directly behind Matsushita Soichiro, another man who appeared to be part of his group was sitting in a chair, casually drinking.
He looked to be in his early twenties.
A sharp-featured man in a black suit.
“We apologize for arriving so suddenly without an appointment. However, when my lord heard news of your victory, he insisted on attending personally to express his desire to cooperate.”
“Your lord...?”
Lee Hyeonje visibly drew in a breath at Matsushita Soichiro’s words.
“Allow me to introduce him.”
Matsushita Soichiro stepped aside and raised a hand toward the man sitting behind him.
“The Chairman of the Tenka Restoration Association, Lord Saionji Keito.”
The Contractor who represented Japan had entered the heart of Korea’s Capital Region without any warning.
