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“I need specifics.”

“Sir! The sporadic engagements with their faction members have stopped. Even the persistent provocation has ceased completely. We believe their side has finished sorting out their internal situation.”

“Sons of bi*ches…!” Cai Kechang chewed those words out, then puffed deeply at his cigarette.

If only those bastards had attacked in full force! Then, the Crimson King\'s faction would have responded in kind, but no… The Azure King\'s people didn\'t seem interested in doing that.

Signing a ceasefire with South Korea\'s Martial Assembly meant the Crimson King\'s faction could focus most of their forces on the frontlines. However, that led to the Azure King\'s faction withdrawing swiftly as if there never had been conflicts between the two camps, to begin with. They probably thought there was nothing to gain by clashing against the near-full-strength Crimson King\'s faction. Although…

If the two Kings\' factions went head-to-head in an open warfare, the Azure King\'s faction should hold the upper hand. After all, the Crimson King was still unable to fight at his full power, and his men didn\'t have enough strength to stop the advent of the Azure King.

Even if the Crimson King forced his injured body to fight to the death… The odds of his defeat were uncomfortably high.

In that case, why did the Azure King\'s faction go into its shell again? It was simple enough—the Dark King was acting like a crouching tiger.

The Azure King’s faction could overwhelm the Crimson King’s faction, but the war would cost them dearly. Meanwhile, the Dark King’s faction would be spared from the bloodshed, giving them a much easier time finishing off the battered and bruised Azure King’s faction.

‘Since our forces were split, the Azure King bastards probably figured they could swallow us up and still have enough room to push back against the Dark King’s people.’

In that case, signing a ceasefire with the Martial Assembly was the correct call. Even so, Cai Kechang couldn’t pat himself on the back.

“Fuu-woo…”

The order of events was wrong here. If the Crimson King\'s faction hadn\'t gotten tangled up with the Martial Assembly in the first place, the Azure King wouldn\'t have provoked them like this. As a matter of fact, the Crimson King\'s faction could have nurtured a combat force exceeding the Azure King\'s by now… had it not wasted all those people\'s lives so unnecessarily.

Cai Kechang might not have lost much, but he also failed to gain all he could have gained. In short, the losses incurred were too painful to mention.

“Still, it’s good that they decided to behave themselves.” Cai Kechang groaned softly.

For now, the urgent fire had been put out. This situation was the same as not having enough water to stop the fire from spreading, forcing Cai Kechang into using expensive spring water instead. Still, it was a small price to pay compared to the fire potentially spreading to the rest of the house and burning it down.

It was now the time to start the re-organizing process.

Cai Kechang glanced at his subordinate. “Did you summon the individual as I told you to?”

“Yes, sir. He’s on standby outside.”

“Good. Tell him to come inside.”

Almost as soon as Cai Kechang gave his permission, the door to his office opened, and a nervy-looking man stepped inside. This man walked cautiously before kowtowing in front of Cai Kechang\'s seated figure, his face deeply pale. “I give you my greetings, sir!”

“I don\'t care about that,” Cai Kechang responded disinterestedly before narrowing his eyes. “I told you to push the ruling Party into action. How far along are we on that?”

“Sir. We are still working on it. However, those officials have been surprisingly stubborn, and…”

“Have they covered their necks with armor? Is that it?”

The kowtowing man’s body began getting soaked by his cold sweat.

Cai Kechang continued to speak in chill-inducing coldness. “What do you think is our reason for fattening them up so nicely until now? Because we\'re a charity organization? And we\'re philanthropists?”

“...N-no, sir.”

“It\'s so we can use them in times of need! That\'s why we spent so much money supporting your people and helping you get into the Capital\'s political circles. Who do you think is the true sponsor of your luxurious lifestyle?”

“I-it’s all thanks to the Crimson King’s boundless generosity, sir.”

“At least you know.”

Click!

Cai Kechang mouthed a fresh cigarette and lit it up with a lighter. The unhealthy smoke quickly filled this surprisingly small secret office.

“Fuu-woo…!”

Cai Kechang exhaled a lungful of smoke before sharpening his glare at the kowtowing man. “Fail to bring me favorable results, and I will forcibly recoup everything we invested in you and your group. And you better not think that will be the end of the story. You see, we… never forget to collect interests, too.”

“B-but, sir… This is not a straightforward problem. A local problem can be dealt with one way or the other. But we\'re looking at the matter of international politics. If we haphazardly push for this… Our faction could be purged outright.”

“It seems you have a hard time understanding your position,” Cai Kechang growled before slowly getting up from his chair. Then, he strode over to the kowtowing man before squatting near the latter’s head. “Listen here.”

“...Y-yes, sir.”

“Humans are not treated as humans just because they look like humans. No, only those who know how to use their brains are treated like humans. Your brain!” Cai Kechang rudely poked at the kowtowing man\'s head with his index finger. “What did you say your name was, again?”

“I-it’s Wen Yao, sir.”

“Right, right. Listen, Wen Yao. Since you have a brain, it\'s time you use it. Think carefully now, okay? Between your group pushing too hard and getting purged for it or you getting killed by me after you fail to do what I ask of you… Which of the two do you think has the higher odds of happening?”

Wen Yao couldn’t immediately reply.

“You could get purged? Sure, that might happen. However, it\'s just a possibility at this stage. I\'m not like that, though. If I don\'t get what I want, I will make you cough up all the swine feed I\'ve fed you and your pals over the years. Do you understand me?”

“...Yes, sir.”

“I\'m not a patient man, Wen Yao. If you still fail to bring me the results I want next time we meet… You\'ll get a chance to see how large your liver actually is. With your own eyes, no less. If you\'re brave enough to handle that, go ahead. Do whatever you want.”

Cai Kechang drew an imaginary line across Wen Yao’s gut with his finger. His gesture implied that he’d split open the poor man right there.

Wen Yao’s complexion instantly drained of all color. “I, I will definitely bring you the results you want, sir!”

“Yes, you better. Now, get out of my sight.”

“Yes, sir!” Wen Yao bowed urgently several times before rushing outside the office.

Cai Kechang frowned deeply at this sight. “Goddamn pigs…”

All politicians were no different from pigs. Even if they were picked up from the streets and saved from dying of starvation, they still didn\'t know how to be grateful.

Since they didn\'t know, Cai Kechang should teach them. They would realize how generous the Crimson King\'s faction had been as the cold blades slowly sank into their fat bodies!

Cai Kechang shifted his attention back to his subordinate. “What’s the progress on our attempts to bribe the South Koreans?”

“It hasn’t gone as well as we expected, sir.”

“I see. And?”

The subordinate replied as Cai Kechang’s piercing glare opened the floodgates of cold sweat to trickle down his back. “We’re still trying, sir. However, the Martial Assembly’s influence is simply too strong in South Korea. Those with power in that country are already in the Assembly’s pocket.”

“Kang Jin-Ho is that wily? I thought he’d be a complete rookie in things like that?”

“Rather than Kang Jin-Ho, we believe it\'s the previous Assembly Master\'s doing, sir. Lee Jung-Geol was a surprisingly crafty man. He had the foresight to spread his influence all over the Korean political scene many years ago. And now, no Korean politician with even a speck of influence is willing to go against the Assembly\'s wishes.”

Cai Kechang narrowed his eyes. “...Listen here.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Is the thing on top of your neck only for decoration?"

Cai Kechang groaned loudly. “I don\'t need to hear the obvious crap, okay? All I want from you is to find any exploitable gap in that political scene, okay? Not finding and gathering a bunch of cheap bastards who\'d turn traitors at the first sign of money!”

The mood in the office rapidly turned icy when Cai Kechang’s expression grew cold.

“I don\'t care what you resort to. Threaten if that\'s what works with them. Coax them if that\'s a better option. Thoroughly investigate their weaknesses. Kidnap their kids if you must! I don\'t care what you do, as long as you find me the bastards who will cooperate with us! Do you understand what I\'m telling you?!”

“Yes, sir!”

“We just have to be careful about not leaving any clues behind. For that, use the disposable bastards from the Yanbian prefecture. Do whatever it takes to bring those politicians to our side! Only then can we suppress the Martial Assembly!”

“Understood! I will not forget, sir!”

“Fuu…!” Cai Kechang spat out a short but deep groan, then returned to his seat.

Click…

The fresh cigarette began burning and released more unhealthy smoke into the office air.

‘Nothing is going as I want, huh…’

Even so, Cai Kechang simply must keep at it! Even though they had agreed on a ceasefire, he had zero thoughts of leaving the Martial Assembly alone. The Koreans\' rapid growth posed a clear threat to the Crimson King\'s faction, after all!

Such a thing used to be nothing more than a remote possibility. But now, it had gone past that stage. This threat was as real as it could get.

‘Kang Jin-Ho…!’

As long as that monster was the leader, the Martial Assembly would become the most threatening entity the Crimson King’s faction had ever encountered. That was what Cai Kechang believed.

Of course, there was no denying that the Azure King and the Dark King were the biggest, most threatening enemies at the current stage. However, the factions of both Kings had reached the limit of growth and were steadily coasting along. In other words, they wouldn’t suddenly increase their forces and become even worse threats than before.

However, that story didn’t apply to the Martial Assembly. Kang Jin-Ho only required a brief window of time to rebuild the Assembly into a dangerous foe. Who could guess how much stronger those bastards would grow with more time?

‘That’s why I cannot afford to let them be!’

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t know. He didn’t know that war was not fought exclusively with strength only!

But he\'d soon learn this valuable lesson. Soon, he\'d find out how varied the enemy attacks could become! Idiots who only chased after what could be seen would get stabbed in the back by the unseen soon enough.

‘Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll stop making visible attacks.’

Cai Kechang glanced at his subordinate. “Let that brat in.”

“Yes, sir.”

Cai Kechang stubbed the cigarette on the ashtray, then fixed his sharp glare at the office’s exit. The doorway opened to allow a man to waltz inside.

This man glanced around the office before staring at Cai Kechang. “So, where is the Crimson King?”

“Insane son of a b*tch…!” Cai Kechang chuckled hollowly. “An insignificant insect forgets his place and dares to utter a noble being’s name? If you genuinely wish to seek his audience, I can arrange that. I’ll cut your head off and personally present it to the Crimson King!”

The man cackled derisively. “You have no sense of humor, eh? This is why the Chinese men in power are no good.”

“You better watch your mouth…!”

The suspicious man cackled even louder.

Cai Kechang frowned deeply.

‘Tsk!’

All the demonic qi leaking out of the man as he cackled bothered Cai Kechang to no end. Although it wasn’t as explosive as Kang Jin-Ho’s, the subtly leaking demonic qi was still more than enough to unsettle Cai Kechang to the point of disgust.

Cai Kechang growled menacingly. “Keep leaking demonic qi like that, and I will rip your heart out.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. This ain’t something I can fully control, you see? I’m just a low-tier demonic cultivator, unlike some other dude we both know, so this is the best I can do.”

It was rather obvious who the \'other dude\' the demonic cultivator was talking about.

Cai Kechang frowned again. “You’re way too full of yourself.”

“I came here to negotiate, not beg for a royal audience with the king.”

“Hah! You think someone like you can be the chief negotiator?”

“…”

“Don\'t delude yourself, boy. You\'re merely a messenger. Your role is simply delivering our message to those whom we don\'t want to speak face-to-face. You better remember your place.”

“Sure, sure. I’ll engrave that to my heart.”

Even though Cai Kechang deliberately went after this demonic cultivator’s pride, the latter didn’t get triggered. But Cai Kechang liked that. It meant this man held a grudge heavy and toxic enough to discard his pride as a martial artist.

“Very well. Now, deliver my message. We shall support you as much as you need. So, your side better make a move soon. In return, we will release the prisoners we currently hold.”

“Prisoners are one thing, but what we really need is real and substantial support from you. The Assembly\'s forces have gotten incomparably stronger than before, after all.”

“Fine. Make your requests,” said Cai Kechang without a shred of hesitation. “Like I said, we will provide you with all the support you need. Compile a list of everything you want and send it to me.”

“Oh? You’re pretty generous, aren’t you?”

“However…!” Cai Kechang’s eyes coldly flickered. “Fail to honor your side of the bargain, and I swear you will pay dearly. This is not a threat.”

“Sure, sure. I hear you. We’ll take care of it,” the demonic cultivator briefly bowed, then turned around to leave.

However, before he could start walking away, Cai Kechang quietly called out to him first. “Wait.”

“…?” The man silently turned his head slightly to look.

“I wanted to ask you something personal.”

The man shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. What do you want to know?”

The corners of Cai Kechang’s lips curled up. “How does it feel to sell out your own country? I’ve never experienced what it’s like to be a traitor betraying his own people, you see?”

The demonic cultivator heard Cai Kechang, and his expression distorted hideously like a demon.

...And his name was Lee Seong-Hwi, the former disciple of Lee Jung-Geol!