Descent of the Demon Master
Chapter 1106. Squashing (1)

Chapter 1106. Squashing (1)

“It’s about time they make a move...”

Lee Hyeon-Su muttered to himself while stretching his limbs, followed by a lazy yawn. He then picked up the cup of coffee on his desk.

‘Hmm... Maybe I should have a secretary of my own back in the Assembly?’

Things were certainly a lot more convenient with a secretary to assist him. His work efficiency had noticeably improved since he didn't have to waste time handling sundry chores.

“Hah. Forget about it.”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled helplessly.

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t have a secretary, so if Lee Hyeon-Su tried to get one, Chang Min would try to bite his head off. Meanwhile, Vator would simply grab him and toss him right outside the office window. As for Wiggins...

—Pfft. What, you want a secretary? You?

Lee Hyeon-Su thought he could hear Wiggins’ scoff already!

“Dang it. If you want me to work, at least give me an environment where I can do my job properly...”

Lee Hyeon-Su grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Coming here had opened his eyes to how much he got exploited on that side. Compared to that damn Hell Assembly, this place was heaven itself. Not just any heaven, but one designed to ensure maximum well-being for its workers!

And in this heaven, gentle music could be heard coming from the speakers while the appetizing scent of coffee filled the office.

‘Ah, ah... This is literally...’

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply before shaking his head.

“Yup, let’s stop right here.”

Thinking about this wouldn’t help him. After all, a man must get his head out of the clouds and live in reality.

The place Lee Hyeon-Su belonged to was his office back in the Assembly with a chair that squeaked noisily whenever he moved his butt a little too much, and a keyboard so old and so abused that none of the letters could be seen on its keys anymore.

Compared to that, this place was like...

‘Right. It’s a resort. A holiday resort.’

A holiday resort was, in short, a place with the bright and warm sunlight kissing the endless stretch of emerald ocean, something you did not have back home. A place that put you at ease simply by looking at it. A place that filled you with a sense of leisure that whispered, “Yes, you don’t have to do anything. Just kick back and relax.”

This small office was Lee Hyeon-Su’s holiday resort.

...What a sad situation that was. What was even sadder was that this wasn’t even the saddest part!

There was always that person who called you during your vacation to ask about work. That kind of person would not know what “vacation” meant and expect you to take your work to a holiday resort as if it were the most obvious thing in the world!

And that person in Lee Hyeon-Su’s life was...

Creak!

“Mister Lee! How is the work going?” Wiggins grinned brightly as he entered the office.

There he was, that evil boss-type character in Lee Hyeon-Su’s life!

“Well, well... You seem to have a lot of free time on your hands, Mister Lee.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sighed deeply. “Why does that sound like you don’t want me to enjoy any free time, master?”

“That’s incorrect, my dear disciple. Being relaxed at work is a good sign. It’s just that... How should I put this? That it feels like you’re not utilizing your gifts to their fullest? And I feel it’s such a waste?”

What an evil boss-like move that was!

Wasn’t Wiggins originally from the Round Table? It hadn’t been that long since he switched his allegiance to the Martial Assembly, so why was he so good at bossing his underlings?! At this rate, he might as well get naturalized as a Korean citizen and change his name to... Kim Wiggins or something!

“Hmm... Master?” Lee Hyeon-Su slowly rubbed his chin.

“Yes?”

“I’m not trying to get cheeky with you or anything like that, but! I believe we need to make something crystal clear.”

Wiggins cocked an eyebrow. “Hoh-oh? And what do you wish to make crystal clear?”

Lee Hyeon-Su sucked in a deep breath. “I’ll be honest, sir. I did not want to say this out loud to you, but... I’m officially dispatched by the Assembly to learn as much as possible about the Round Table’s operations.”

It was more like he was assisting with the Round Table, not learning from it, but still!

Of course, he was technically learning some things during this job. By taking over some of the Master's duties, Lee Hyeon-Su got to see how the flow of the Round Table's funds was managed.

Being able to see this much was already a great lesson for him.

Wiggins curiously tilted his head. “So?”

“And you’re now affiliated with the Assembly, not the Round Table.”

“Yes, that is true.”

Lee Hyeon-Su confidently declared, “That is why what I do here and how well I do is beyond your purview. I’ll take care of my business, so you can stop worrying about it, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned triumphantly.

His logic was watertight. Wiggins was a member of the Korean Martial Assembly now, while Lee Hyeon-Su was temporarily under the Round Table’s management. In principle, at least, Wiggins had no right to inquire or get involved with Lee Hyeon-Su’s work.

After all, Wiggins was currently the Round Table’s guest, nothing more.

Wiggins smiled in satisfaction while nodding away. If it was the past him, he might have acknowledged the errors of his ways and backed off. But now?

“So, my dear disciple. Let me ask you something. Is your work life finished just because you’re on an overseas assignment?”

“...”

“It sounds like you've not considered what will happen after you return. Since you seem to have forgotten all about it... Disciple, you and I are going to knock off work together. However, do you think that will be 'knocking off' work? Or not?”

Lee Hyeon-Su could swear that Wiggins was Korean. He must be a born-and-bred-in-Korea Korean! Such was his Korean-ness that he might throw his burger away and ask for kimchi instead!

Just what did this man do to become an exemplary Korean boomer in such a short time?!

Wiggins tutted. “It seems your company life has been rather cushy, young man. Seeing how you have the leeway to say such things.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sourly pouted. “...No, sir. Not true.”

Thankfully for him, the office door suddenly opened, and the Master of the Round Table stepped inside to end this conversation.

Wiggins smiled warmly. “Master, you’re here.”

The Master frowned slightly. “What’s with all the gloomy atmosphere?”

“Ahaha! It’s nothing to worry about. We were having a friendly chat. That was all.”

“...”

It must have been a really friendly chat, then. The Master tutted while glancing at Wiggins and Lee Hyeon-Su, then addressed gravely. “It seems they have finally made a move.”

“Hmm...!”

“A bit later than expected.”

Lee Hyeon-Su and Wiggins responded as if there was nothing to be surprised about. Then again, there really was no reason to be surprised, anyway.

‘I’m sure they can’t endure it anymore.’

Lee Hyeon-Su had been systematically cutting off the Knights’ hands and feet, after all!

Where did the ‘power’ of the Knights come from? Unquestionably, it was from their forces.

What about their financial wherewithal? Indeed, it could have played some factor. But one's wealth meant little within the Round Table. This organization wasn't some poor pauper that needed to beg and borrow from various places.

Analyzing the information Lee Hyeon-Su had access to was enough to determine that the Round Table's financial power easily exceeded the best of the best global corporations. Revenues generated from all the business interests the Round Table owned were more than enough to run the organization without any issues.

So, one's wealth meant little here.

The foundation for the Knights' authority in this place was their individual combat strength as well as the support from their home countries. And the focal point of it all was the combat forces at their disposal.

...And Lee Hyeon-Su had been systematically severing that from the Knights.

The Master furrowed his brow. “The opposition seems more extreme than expected...”

“That was to be expected, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su smirked. “We were being unreasonable, after all.”

“Unreasonable, you say?”

“Yes. We’ve been trying to steal what they have been working hard to nurture, after all.”

“...Mm, yes. That’s right.”

The combat forces under the Knights had been trained and nurtured by their respective nations. However, to utilize such people, they must get the Master's express permission first?

This was no different from trampling on the foundational principle of the Round Table.

This was akin to the Martial Assembly requiring permission from the leader of the coalition made up of the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese martial societies before they could mobilize the Demon Flames.

‘If that happened, the Assembly Master would’ve stabbed the leader in the mouth with his sword.’

It didn’t matter who it happened to, they were bound to rebel sooner or later.

The Master frowned again. “Do we have to go this far?”

“Of course, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su replied with a smooth grin.

“But the authority to command is...”

“Yes, I agree that it doesn’t have to be this way.”

“Mm?”

Lee Hyeon-Su explained what he meant while grinning deeply. “It didn’t have to be with their combat forces. We could’ve taken their wealth away. Or even their private residences. Or we could have forced them to walk the last ten kilometers if they wanted to enter the Round Table’s HQ.”

The Master dazedly stared at Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Sir, do you know where the ‘authority’ comes from?”

“Isn’t it from strength and political power?”

“No, sir,” said Lee Hyeon-Su with a firm head shake. “Authority stems from irrationality.”

“...Irrationality, you say?”

“Yes, sir. Gradually taking over what's theirs is meaningless to us right now. No one would be too opposed to the idea of their superior planting a tree in their front yard. They might be dissatisfied with this arrangement, but getting over their unhappiness shouldn't be too difficult. Why? Because they are not harmed or inconvenienced too much. In other words...”

The corners of Lee Hyeon-Su’s lips curled up suspiciously.

“The idea of ‘I’m allowing this to happen’ is being implanted in their heads. Even though things have been forcibly taken away from them in reality.”

“Mmmm...!”

“Gradually getting them to yield like this is certainly an option. It’d also have less of a blowback, too. I usually recommend such a method, but not this time.”

The Master grew tense as he studied Lee Hyeon-Su. This young man was a quite dangerous individual, indeed.

“What we demanded from them is the same as planting the tree right in the middle of their living room. Which is illogical. Unfair, if you will.”

“Indeed, it is.”

“Authority and the power to rule are born when your subjects cannot refuse such irrationality and unfairness. The authority of a ruler is only born when others dare not oppose said ruler's acts that spit in the faces of rules and regulations. We must ensure these Knights fully comprehend that they cannot stop you no matter what you do.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged. “That is why it doesn’t matter how unreasonable our demand is. We can tell the Knights to give up their combat forces. We can even install someone in our camp as a representative Knight of some other country. As long as our demands are seen as unreasonable, illogical, and upsetting.”

“Huh. Huhuh...” The Master chuckled hollowly. “I did not expect you to go this far, fella.”

“Do not be mistaken about something, Master.”

“Mm?”

“There is no such thing as a saintly dictator, sir. Once power morphs into tyranny, it’ll basically become a blade placed right below the chins of other people. Even if you don’t have any intentions to use it, the blade will still be there.”

“...”

“You wish to possess tyrannical ruling authority but also wish to be gentle toward your subjects suffering under your rule. I'm sorry, but that's nothing more than a delusion. Sir, please do not remain indecisive like this. There is no retreat for those seeking total power.”

Considering each man's position, Lee Hyeon-Su shouldn't even dare offer such advice to the Master of the Round Table. However, no one here doubted that the younger man was the expert in this kind of thing.

Lee Hyeon-Su assisted Kim Seok-Il to lead the Yeongnam Group to prosperity and a position of dominance. He then reorganized the Martial Assembly’s structure and turned it into Kang Jin-Ho’s private army. In other words, he was more than qualified enough to say these things.

The Master slowly nodded. “I’ll remember that. Then, what should I do now?”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked. “Help the rebels gather strength, sir.”

“H-help them? What?”

“Please help them secretly so that they can amass as much power as possible. And then, once more people than they expected agreed to help, and they have amassed far greater power than what they had initially expected, coax them into clashing against you.”

The Master furrowed his brow. “Mm... It is true that we’ve been waiting for them to rebel against us, but now I have to help them, too?”

“Yes, sir. You must. Once they have so much power that it makes them think you can’t possibly win against it...”

Lee Hyeon-Su used his thumb to draw a straight line below his chin.

“...That is when we crush them.”

“...”

“Hopeless situations don't make humans despair the most, sir. No, it is when they realize the brilliant rays of hope turn out to be nothing more than an illusion. Those with hope will continue to resist against the authority. So, we need to teach them what powerlessness and despair feel like.”

The Master could only chuckle hollowly at what he heard.

‘Maybe it’s a good thing that Wiggins refused earlier.’

The Master had zero confidence in keeping Lee Hyeon-Su as his subordinate. Just what did the higher-ups of the Martial Assembly do to control someone like him?

“I see. Then, what will you do to crush them, as you say?” The Master asked curiously.

“That’s not up to me,” said Lee Hyeon-Su.

“Mm?”

Lee Hyeon-Su grinned brightly. “Whether it’s snapping them in half, chopping their heads off, or utterly crushing them, we already have a pro at such tasks. You want medication? Go to a pharmacy. You want to talk to a doctor? Go to a hospital.”

Lee Hyeon-Su casually shrugged again.

“So, we’ll leave it up to the pro.”

Everyone in the office contemplatively nodded.

Their job was to set the stage. But the ones to perform on it weren’t supposed to be them.

The Master shuddered ever so slightly.

‘I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing.’

Even though he told himself this was for the good of the Round Table, the Master couldn’t help but think that he was moving according to the Martial Assembly’s designs.

‘However, it’s too late to turn back now.’

The deal with the devil couldn’t be reneged on. The only thing the Master could do now was ardently pray that the devil wasn’t after his soul.