Descent of the Demon Master

There were days when a word or term used without much care would suddenly hit differently.

Some people would learn the true meaning of what it meant to be happy. And some others would unfortunately learn how difficult the term 'being sad' was to cope with.

A person who threw around the term 'being lonely' without giving it too much thought would one day return home to face the cold reality of no one waiting to welcome them back and finally realize what loneliness was.

Life... was inevitably a series of new discoveries and epiphanies. At times, happy discoveries would accompany one's journey through life. On another occasion, sorrowful discoveries would put tremendous strain on a person's heart and soul.

Sometimes joyful, at other times sorrowful... Such discoveries would ultimately enrich people's lives. This much was undeniable.

However, there was one person right now who would dearly love to deny that fact of life. And this person, a man, didn't usually find himself discovering things like this. That was because this particular man was the type to analyze every new word he'd come across, figure out how it should be used in which situation, and determine which emotions it linked up with.

For this man, suddenly gaining a new 'appreciation' of an already-existing term was a truly rare occurrence. Unfortunately, he was experiencing that rare occurrence right this moment. As for the term in question?

It was none other than... 'Out of the blue'!

"O-okay, so..." Lee Hyeon-Su muttered, his hand gripping the phone's receiver trembling unsteadily.

'No, it can't be.'

He must've misheard it. That was what Lee Hyeon-Su desperately tried to convince himself with!

Even though such a thing could never happen since he was the type to never miss what the other party was saying and minutely analyze everything he heard, he still devalued his own excellent hearing and avoided facing reality!

"Okay, so...!"

Another rare thing for him happened as well just then, and that was him struggling to find the right words to say!

However, the man responsible for inducing this situation spoke in a truly unperturbed, unconcerned manner imaginable!

-What's the matter? Will it be too difficult?

"Assembly Master, did you ask me if it will be difficult? Did you really ask me that? Hah. Hahaha... Haha... hah…" Lee Hyeon-Su's cheeks and lips and almost every facial muscle twitched unstably. "What could possibly be difficult, Assembly Master? Mm? I mean, we have enough technology to send people to the Moon and dispatch robot submersibles into the deepest parts of our ocean, don't we? And AI bots can beat human grandmasters these days, so what could be impossible in this era of technological marvels? Just say the word, and I will deal with whatever you throw in my way, sir!"

-Oh? You can? That's good.

No, it's not 'good', you punk!

I was being sarcastic! Sarcastic!

Don't you understand what sarcasm is?! Stop accepting people's words at face value, okay?!

Lee Hyeon-Su genuinely wanted to break down and cry.

There were all sorts of different workplace bosses in this world. No, wait. To be more precise, there were all sorts of different workplace as*hole bosses in this world!

How about those as*hole bosses who assign genuinely nonsensical work to you with zero support and criticize you for your lack of ability or passion when things don't work out favorably?

Or how about those as*holes who seem to conveniently forget that you have a life outside of work?

Or even those as*hole bosses who spit out endlessly irritating bullsh*t every single time they open their bloody mouths!

The workplace bosses capable of turning your work experience into a trip to Hell came in various shapes and difficulty levels. However, on this very day, Lee Hyeon-Su finally discovered the answer to the question that had been tormenting him for quite a while. And that was...

What kind of an as*hole boss was the worst type of as*hole boss to deal with?

'And the answer is... It's this type!'

Lee Hyeon-Su's eyes burned angrily as he glared at the phone.

The type of workplace boss that made one's life more difficult than anything else was someone who tried to squeeze out every drop of his workers' abilities. Just like Kang Jin-Ho, in other words!

'Why! Why are you doing this to me!'

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced deeply.

Kang Jin-Ho was a surprisingly cunning man. Lee Hyeon-Su didn't know that, but now? He was dead sure of it. As it turned out, Kang Jin-Ho never tossed an assignment in Lee Hyeon-Su's way for sh*ts and giggles. No, he always thoroughly considered if Lee Hyeon-Su could handle it first!

The problem with this consideration was that... The assignment usually could only be dealt with if Lee Hyeon-Su sacrificed sleep, minimized breaks, skipped meals and worked like there was no tomorrow! That was where Kang Jin-Ho's level of consideration for his workers stopped!

If only! If only the assignment had been something so outlandish that it prompted Lee Hyeon-Su to go, "Uwaaaah!? This is utterly impossible, Assembly Master! Just fire me already!" He'd have shot himself or something by now!

Unfortunately, this latest assignment was... more or less doable with Lee Hyeon-Su's abilities. And that saddened him to no end.

"...Yes, Assembly Master. It's possible. Possible, I say. Nothing is impossible in this world, after all! Yes, everything is doable."

Indeed, everything was within the realm of 'doable'!

Starting from moving the higher-than-expected number of applicants to helping the family members of the applicants migrate to Korea legally, even though their number was far higher than the applicants themselves!

What about setting up suitable lodging for all the applicants entering the country illegally? And then, also finding houses for the applicants' families when they eventually arrive in Korea?

Finally, what about paying the applicants monthly salaries and finding work and schools for their family members?!

'Yes, they are all bloody possible! Nothing in this world is impossible, am I right! God-bloody-damn it!'

Of course they were all doable. Why wouldn't they be? The problem here was that one person trying to deal with all those things at once could drive him to the end of his ropes!

-I know that I'm asking a lot from you. For that, I'm sorry.

Huh. Huhuhuhuh...

Kang Jin-Ho said he was sorry. He actually apologized!

Lee Hyeon-Su almost shed a single tear. However, it wasn't because he was moved by Kang Jin-Ho finally acknowledging all the hard work he was doing. One must never forget that Kang Jin-Ho was the type of boss who nonchalantly assigned his subordinates tasks that made people wonder if humans could actually pull them off!

This assignment made a boss like that apologize, so how could Lee Hyeon-Su not express his sorrow? When he had no choice but to do this crazy assignment?!

"A-Assembly Master, just how did things end up this way? Isn't the scale of the operation at least double the previous estimate?"

-Well, if I'm being honest...

"W-wait a minute! Please be honest with me from the get-go. Please don't beat around the bush and scare me like this!"

-The application process isn't finished yet, so we might get even more people as time goes on. The double-the-estimate was yesterday's story, you see? We still have a long queue of applicants outside even as we speak, so... You want me to confirm the numbers just in case?

"...No, Assembly Master. No need to go out of your way to... confirm things. Well, that's how it's always been like for me, isn't it? Yes, indeed…" Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled hollowly as he mumbled some words of resignation.

-Well, what happened was...

After listening to Kang Jin-Ho's explanation, Lee Hyeon-Su spat out a lengthy groan.

-You think that was excessive?

"Honestly, sir? Yes, I'd like to tell you that you went overboard on this one. However... I believe that sometimes, we have no choice but to try to do things that seem beyond our capabilities to handle. Right now, we must increase our forces even if the method seems outlandish."

-Yes, I agree.

"However, Assembly Master. If these people we've gone to great lengths to bring to our side fail to become as strong as we need them to be... All these things will end up as meaningless waste of our energy. Accepting these many people will strain the Assembly, after all."

-With that much wealth burning a hole in our coffers, I'm pretty sure accepting ten thousand new members shouldn't be too much of a hassle.

"Well, technically, yes. However..." Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply again. 'I wouldn't be this worried if it's as simple as feeding and clothing ten thousand people, sir...'

The real problem here was with the matter concerning the family members. The Martial Assembly's finances certainly weren't secure enough to support people who would provide precisely zero assistance to the organization's survival.

For now, the Assembly seemed flush with cash as it had confiscated every dime Lee Jung-Geol and elders had stashed away. However, when looking at things long-term, this situation would no doubt put a huge burden on the Assembly.

"In the long term, this will put us in a bind, sir."

-Being able to consider the long term is already a win for us.

"...My apologies, I was being short-sighted, sir," said Lee Hyeon-Su, realizing that Kang Jin-Ho's decision was the right one under the circumstances.

What might happen in the long term? Lee Hyeon-Su should worry about that after securing the Martial Assembly's survival first.

With the Assembly's current combat strength, it'd have to rely on Kang Jin-Ho, Vator, and Wiggins to defend itself if foreign forces decided to invade South Korea. The stability brought on by only a handful of experts was not stability at all!

It was unknown whether accepting all these people now would help the Assembly or bring it to its knees later. Unfortunately, the current situation meant the Assembly didn't have the luxury to reject them.

Lee Hyeon-Su's expression stiffened.

'My judgment has been muddled.'

He should be madly egging Kang Jin-Ho to headhunt at least one more demonic cultivator and bring them over. That would be the most advantageous thing for the Assembly's existence overall. But here he was, busy complaining like an entitled brat when he should've been offering his encouragement.

'That's because I now have someone I can depend on.'

Lee Hyeon-Su accurately diagnosed his situation. Something like this would've never happened in the past. And that something was him whining like a brat to Kang Jin-Ho! He was whining to his boss that, yes, he understood the matters of the Assembly were important, but he was also figuratively wasting away while doing those things. So he wanted his boss to acknowledge all his contributions, at least.

Lee Hyeon-Su's face reddened considerably after realizing his childish behavior.

"Assembly Master?"

-Yeah? What is it?

"I will deal with the matters on this side. No, let me rephrase that. I will perfectly deal with everything. So, don't worry about anything and bring as many people as you can find."

-...?

"I know you've been working hard in a foreign country, so I apologize for whining like that instead of supporting you properly. Please understand that it was not my intention to act like a brat."

-Lee Hyeon-Su, you...

"Yes, Assembly Master!" Lee Hyeon-Su sat up straight while grimacing. He could hear Kang Jin-Ho's voice on the line quaking a little. This powerful guilty conscience washed over Lee Hyeon-Su just then.

'Yup, it must be difficult on that side.'

In a way, the one having a torrid time right now was Kang Jin-Ho, not Lee Hyeon-Su sitting pretty in South Korea. Even though Kang Jin-Ho exercised incredible influence over the demonic cultivators, infiltrating the enemy territory and smuggling people out to shore up the defenses back home would never be a walk in a park, now would it?

Every day must feel like he was lying on a bed of thorns! So, how happy Kang Jin-Ho must be after someone, in this case Lee Hyeon-Su, had finally understood his plight!

Lee Hyeon-Su felt proud of himself and sat up straight in his chair. Too bad for him, though... The reality was never that kind.

-Hey, did you fall out of your bed this morning? And hit your head?

"...I'm sorry?"

What was up with this weird response? Lee Hyeon-Su suddenly realized that there was a huuuuge wall of distrust standing between him and Kang Jin-Ho.

-I'm not giving you bonuses even if you do all that, okay?

"You've never given me bonuses until now, so why bring that up, sir?"

-Well... We only have money grabbers on this side, you see?

"..."

Lee Hyeon-Su began thinking that maybe Kang Jin-Ho was going through some unmentionable things on that side. He briefly prayed for Kang Jin-Ho's well-being in his mind, then coughed to clear his throat before changing the subject. "I see. In any case, when will you depart, sir?"

-I want to leave within three days. Are the preparations finished on your side?

"Three days? That will be cutting it very close, but it's still doable, sir. We will have more passengers, but we can just cram them in the containers. If we treat them not as humans but as luggage, we will have plenty of room to not worry about anything. It's just that we need to temporarily forget about their dignity as human beings during the voyage itself."

-That's not a problem. Proceed with the plan.

"Understood, sir." Lee Hyeon-Su nodded, his eyes gleaming sharply.

-I'll give you another call if the situation changes this side. Call me if the preparation ends first, though.

"I'll try to keep you up to date periodically, sir."

-Got it. Later.

After Kang Jin-Ho ended the call, Lee Hyeon-Su leaned back in his chair and sucked in a deep breath.

'What an extraordinary undertaking this is...'

Objectively speaking, this operation was incredibly tricky to pull off. The biggest problem was something else, however. It was impossible to predict potential disruptions and interferences during the operation itself.

Worse still...

'We're rushing things.'

Indeed, everything was progressing at a break-neck pace. Kang Jin-Ho was never the type to push things through at such a fast pace. If he needed to prepare, he'd take his time and make sure everything was ready before pouncing into action like a flash of lightning.

Lee Hyeon-Su had never seen Kang Jin-Ho rushing things along during the preparation stage. That could only mean Kang Jin-Ho had perceived danger. And the odds of the source of that danger being the Crimson King's faction were very high.

"I need to handle this perfectly, with no room for error."

Lee Hyeon-Su picked his phone up again. He had already finished confirming everything. However, he could not afford to let any slip-up go unnoticed, however trivial. This event could very well determine the Assembly's future, after all!

"Come to my office," said Lee Hyeon-Su.

After summoning Lee Hyeon-Ju, Lee Hyeon-Su leaned against his chair again and closed his eyes. He carefully combed through every part of the operation once more in his mind.

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