Descent of the Demon Master

"Okay, so… Sir, the reason why you summoned us all here is because you wanted to discuss how to deal with politicians in the future?"

Bang Jin-Hun was the person responsible for saying that. And unlike his usual self, he spoke rather formally, too.

Kang Jin-Ho nodded. "Well, yeah. That's a part of it."

Bang Jin-Hun sighed deeply. "That is, well, hmm… It's not easy as…"

The way he scratched his head seemed to indicate his frustration.

Only then did Kang Jin-Ho realize that Bang Jin-Hun should have plenty of experience in these sorts of things. After all, didn't Bang Jin-Hun serve as the Assembly's director for a long time? He probably had to mingle with a lot of high-ranking politicians in his lifetime.

"Well, mm… If we must do this, do you mind if I handle it, sir?"

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. "You will do that?"

"Yes, sir. The thing is… Well, I figured I should be the one handling this matter. Our Assembly Master personally getting involved doesn't look great, you see?"

"What do you mean?" Kang Jin-Ho asked back, unable to understand.

Wiggins decided he'd offer his help and raised his voice. "My lord. It seems Director Bang doesn't wish to see you bow your head to someone or be a witness to the underhanded dealings of the political world. Huhuhuh… I didn't know Director Bang had such a soft-hearted side to him."

After listening to the translation, Bang Jin-Hun scowled deeply. "Don't make light of this situation, Mister Wiggins. You have no idea how venomous and unsavory politicians can be."

"On the contrary, Mister Bang. I know only too well. The evaluations on politicians don't differ much between countries, after all."

Bang Jin-Hun didn't seem to be in an agreeable mood today and shot back at Wiggins. "Don't you want to learn Korean, Mister Wiggins? If only you could speak Korean, I'd let you watch the news for twenty-four hours straight. That would've changed your tune pretty quickly."

Wiggins casually shrugged but didn't say anything else.

"In any case…" Bang Jin-Hun groaned and addressed Kang Jin-Ho again. "I'm not saying all politicians are scums, sir. I'm sure some of them were genuinely passionate about their jobs and wanted to do something good for their country. Unfortunately, even folks like that change after getting tangled up with us. Or something like that."

Kang Jin-Ho frowned a little. "People change after dealing with us?"

Wiggins decided to butt in again just then. "My lord. To politicians, people like us are a thorn in their side."

"That's an amusing description. But why?"

"Even if politicians all hold different ideals and work toward disparate goals, they still have one commonality, my lord. And that is… They wish to control people."

Kang Jin-Ho stared at Wiggins, now intrigued by the explanation.

"Politicians create laws and enforce what they deem to be the norms of our society. They ponder how the country and its people should continue into the future. In other words, they are in charge of the flow of worldly events. However, martial artists exist outside that flow."

Wiggins briefly paused there, a deep smirk etched on his face. As the Knight representing Britain, he had to experience many troublesome run-ins with the members of the UK's political scene. Explaining each and every one of those run-ins would probably take the whole night… And he'd still not be halfway through!

"All things considered, it's only logical why the politicians cannot view us in a favorable light. A country operates on a strict set of rules and regulations. However, we are not limited by those rules and regulations, my lord."

"That's right, we are not," said Kang Jin-Ho.

"Imagine this, my lord. You're a politician at the highest echelons of the government. But there's some strange bear sitting right in front of you. This bear doesn't pay a dime in taxes but still dares to run a violent organization full of thugs, and it even goes around killing a whole bunch of people, too. How would you feel in that case?"

"...I probably wouldn't view that bear favorably."

"For the politicians, interviewing a serial killer might feel better than dealing with us. We are the guilty party, after all."

Wiggins' explanation helped Kang Jin-Ho understand why Bang Jin-Hun said those things earlier. Without a doubt, the politicians must've viewed the martial artists as insects.

Wiggins continued to speak. "Not only that, but the situation itself is designed to breed trouble."

"How so?"

"Those newly entering the political world do not know about the existence of the martial world, my lord. They only learn about us after rising through the hierarchy to the point where they can take responsibility for what they say. By then, however… You could say the timing is quite unfortunate."

Wiggins smirked deeply again.

"By then, those people have become rather proud of the years they have served in politics. That gives them the confidence of being able to do anything. So, imagine a politician like that suddenly learning about a violent organization full of thugs beyond the control of the government. Even if they rise through the hierarchy and become the head of the state, they still can't do anything about us."

"...I guess they will feel quite unhappy about it, then?"

"Yes. Very unhappy. This is why we will never be welcomed by the politicians. Such a thing is simply unthinkable."

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. "That reminds me. There's something I've been curious about."

"What is it, my lord?"

"Why don't various governments try to control the martial world?"

"Mm?" Wiggins seemed slightly taken aback as he stared at Kang Jin-Ho.

"It's because I can't understand it. Martial artists are certainly strong, but governments can still call on their military, right? As far as I can tell, it should not be impossible to regulate the martial world, so why hasn't that been done yet?"

"Your curiosity is not surprising, my lord. I'm sure no one in their right mind is interested in fighting someone wielding a powerful firearm. Unless they boasted a cultivation realm as high as yours."

Wiggins smiled in amusement at this unexpected line of questioning.

"The answer is simpler than you think, my lord. Please consider why European nations, Japan, or even the United States have not eradicated criminal elements from their societies until now."

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. He never considered that before, but what did that have to do with his question?

"Getting rid of the criminals should be far easier than wiping us out. At least we have our martial prowess to fall back on, but some measly criminal syndicates can't possibly resist the full might of a determined government.

"So, at least in theory, no criminal can survive if the government becomes serious about eradicating crime from their country. Not even the Yakuza, the Mafia, or the Triads will be able to survive the purge."

Wiggins theatrically shrugged while pursing his lips.

"However, this is only in theory. In reality, none of this is feasible."

"How come?"

"There are several reasons, my lord. One of them would surely be how diligently the criminal syndicates have lobbied for their survival with the politicians. Which is rather similar to our own efforts.

"This arrangement has lasted for generations, leading to everyone's vested interests intertwining into a complicated web. And now, it's reached the point where getting rid of the criminal syndicates will not benefit those running the country. Especially in the… Shall we say their financial situation?"

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. That made sense to him.

"More pertinently, though… Eliminating criminals still doesn't solve the fundamental issue, my lord."

"What would that issue be?"

"Crime won't disappear overnight."

Lee Hyeon-Su expressed his agreement with Wiggins. "He's right, sir. Crime is like dust accumulating in your home, after all. No matter how much you sweep and vacuum and mop your home every day, new layers of dust will still form.

"And if you leave your home unattended for any length of time? Dust will completely fill your house, top to bottom. A thorough Spring clean performed periodically can remove all dust and grime from your home, but it's still a temporary measure, sir. It won't eliminate dust for all eternity."

Kang Jin-Ho nodded back at Lee Hyeon-Su. "Yeah, you're right."

"It's the same principle with the criminal syndicates. Crime itself cannot be eradicated. Wiping out all existing criminals will only see new ones popping up out of the woodwork."

Kang Jin-Ho wholeheartedly agreed with that assertion. Human nature was definitely not peace-loving, after all! Various measures in place had suppressed criminal elements as much as possible in the modern era, but back in ancient Zhongyuan? That had not been the case at all.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call those days the era of lawlessness.

Kang Jin-Ho had witnessed what would happen if humans were released into the wilds and allowed to do whatever they wanted. Anyone who had spent even a little bit of time in that era would view their fellow humans as evil, vile creatures with no goodness in their hearts!

"If eliminating criminal syndicates can lead to the eradication of crime itself, everyone would have acted already, sir. But… Well, I'm sure you've already seen several instances of obvious criminals not getting arrested for one reason or the other."

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. "Yeah, I recall some events like that."

"The government officials think it'll be easier to 'manage' the existing criminals instead of eliminating them altogether only for even more vicious replacements to fill the void, sir.

"And that's how they view us. Throughout history, governments have tried to eradicate the martial world, but the will of martial arts continues to live on. Martial artists still found a way to continue their legacy and the lines of inheritance. That is why the government simply gave up."

Kang Jin-Ho frowned again. "I don't get it. Would a government stop just because it failed a few times? Doesn't sound logical to me."

"What the governments fear the most is the martial world going into hiding, sir. Rather than letting uncontrollable human weapons disappear from their sight, the government would rather have said human weapons stay somewhere more visible, even if this arrangement gets on their nerves quite a bit."

Kang Jin-Ho could more or less understand now. However, the complicated situation made it tricky for him to get the full picture just yet.

"There is another wrinkle to consider in the modern era, my lord," said Wiggins. "Other countries attempted the complete eradication of their martial societies. In fact, such events occurred frequently in nations run by dictators. After all, all dictators can't stand the fact that a part of their territory isn't under their control."

"That sounds about right."

"Several dictators didn't want to acknowledge the existence of the martial societies in their nations and tried to wipe the martial artists out. And the result of their actions was simple enough. Those dictators got assassinated."

"…" Kang Jin-Ho was rendered speechless.

"When you think about it, such a thing sounds simple enough, doesn't it?" Wiggins chuckled briefly. "It might be difficult for martial artists to confront a well-equipped army, but covertly assassinating a lone individual should not be too difficult, my lord.

"Unless the dictator is planning to spend the rest of their life inside an underground bunker and sucking on their thumb or have the army escort them twenty-four-seven… Their safety cannot be guaranteed."

Kang Jin-Ho briefly pondered this situation.

'Well, I guess it won't be difficult, after all.'

Having the army constantly monitoring the vicinity of the target would certainly make the assassination very difficult. However, it'd be impossible to live a life that way. And it'd also be impossible to maintain that level of security forever.

'Isn't it eerily similar to how the emperors back then dared not provoke Murim?'

Back in ancient Zhongyuan, the emperor wielded absolute power under the heavens. Modern-day Presidents of nations would be like civil servants in comparison.

The emperor back then truly possessed the power to control all things under the heavens. However, even someone that powerful didn't want to mess with the martial world.

No matter how many imperial guards stayed by the emperor's side, no matter how many imperial palace soldiers threw their lives away to form human shields… They still couldn't stop one expert at a peak realm. Even though such instances were not recorded in history books, Kang Jin-Ho knew of several emperors who lost their lives this way.

A million-strong army waging war would ensure the total destruction of Gangho. However, a breakout of such a war would also ensure the death of the emperor responsible.

This knowledge was why the imperial government and the people of Murim eventually agreed tacitly to never interfere in each other's business and treat the other side as air.

That was how this relationship persisted for centuries, the sole exception being the time when the demon cult ruled over Gangho with overwhelming might.

Learning about how the same fears back then still worked like a charm in the modern era greatly amused Kang Jin-Ho.

"I see. In the end, no one wants to get killed. Is that it?"

"Well, that's not the only reason, but I'm sure they were worried about the possibility, yes." Wiggins chuckled slightly.

Kang Jin-Ho thought he could definitely understand this part.

The intricacies of established relationships and systems in place still escaped Kang Jin-Ho, but the concept of fear of assassinations was easy enough to get behind.

Knowing about several real-world examples certainly helped him out on this one.

"So, basically… Everyone has their own reasons."

"Yes, my lord. Also… There's another factor at play here. Arguably the most important factor in my opinion."

"Most important, you say?"

"Yes. Please look back to our last incident involving the Japanese. A nation's martial society getting wiped out presents the all-too-real danger of martial artists from another nation filling the void, my lord. A masterless mountain will become a free-for-all Wild West, so to speak. As for what would happen in that situation… I'm sure I don't need to verbally explain to you."

Kang Jin-Ho instantly understood it. Even if the Martial Assembly was an organization of lawless hooligans in the eyes of the Korean government, at least it was still run by Koreans. It couldn't be compared to foreign martial artists who only wanted to take as much as they could and go on their merry ways.

"So… We're uncomfortable but necessary roommates, then?" Kang Jin-Ho muttered while grinning wryly.