Chapter 1228. Rapid Changes (3)

Chapter 1228. Rapid Changes (3)

Getting everything back to normal required a little more time.

Of course, it wasn’t as if the Martial Assembly had suffered considerable losses in this war, so it didn’t have to go through a major recovery process. And the issues related to injured people weren’t all that serious, either.

So, what the organization needed to regain was the sense of normalcy.

“Hey, did you hear? Elder Chang Min went to Japan, apparently.”

“

Huh

? Why?”

“Those f*ckers are now our serfs, right? It’s all to keep them in line as long as we can and suck out all of their wealth.”

“Really now? Who told you that?”

“I’m not 100% sure, but someone did tell me.”

“What the hell, who would tell a blockhead like you about stuff like this?!”

“I’m being serious! It’s true!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! And we’re gonna get richer and richer!”

“F*ck!”

“

Oii

, what are you swearing all of a sudden?”

The Assembly member replied while furrowing his brow. “Forget money and sh*t, we should’ve slaughtered every single Jap f*cker when we had the chance.”

“What the... Hey, how were we supposed to kill that many?”

“I’m just saying. Besides, if we did fight, I’m pretty sure we could’ve killed them all.”

“Well, I guess so.”

Various conversations between the Assembly members all contained vague hints of confidence now. This was different from how they talked in the past. Back then, the Assembly members knew they were getting stronger, but didn’t know if they were actually ‘

strong

.’

But this war against the Japanese had given them all the confidence they needed. After all, hadn’t they witnessed the sight of the Japanese warriors, objects of fear once upon a time, getting swept aside by their hands like some discarded autumn leaves against stiff winds?

Also, this development held another, perhaps just as significant, meaning for the long-time members of the Martial Assembly.

“Hold on! Our Assembly Master killed half of the Japs, no? So why are you getting so full of yourself, man?”

“Come on, now. Doesn’t that mean we killed the other half?”

“That’s nothing to boast about, you know?”

“No, it is. Think about it, okay? Remember when we went to fight the Yeongnam Group? We couldn’t do anything but suck on our thumbs back then.”

“Well, that’s because the directors did the bulk of the work.”

“Even then. Flip that notion around, and then... Doesn’t it mean everyone in the Assembly working together can now rival the Assembly Master in strength? That’s something we could’ve never dreamed of in the past, right?”

“...

Eh

?”

If one thought about it, that argument had some merit to it.

𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

In the past, the Assembly lagged well behind the Yeongnam Group in terms of combat strength. But Kang Jin-Ho went in alone and made utter mincemeat out of the Yeongnam Group until it unconditionally surrendered.

In other words, at that point in time, the entirety of the Assembly’s combat force was weaker than Kang Jin-Ho.

“Wow. Now that I think about it, that’s crazy.”

“You see now? But this time, we did more or less an equal amount of work, didn’t we?”

“Hey, that’s... kinda true?”

Getting stronger was something to celebrate for everyone. But the joy felt by the people who walked the paths of martial arts was incomparable to what regular people might feel.

“We really have become dragons, haven’t we?”

“Nope. It’s the Assembly that has become a dragon, not you. Let’s be crystal clear about this, shall we?”

“What the hell? You wanna have a go?!”

The buoyant mood didn’t want to settle down easily. Usually, heads of departments or team managers would have bitten the regular members’ heads off to bring discipline back into the proceedings, but not this time. They deliberately let things slide.

Victors were supposed to enjoy spoils of war. And those didn’t have to be physical things. Celebrating the victory and enjoying the festive mood was also a good-enough reward. Knowing that, the higher-ups of the Assembly didn’t bother to dampen the celebratory mood.

Although discipline had gotten a little too lax in some areas, when would these members get another chance to celebrate a major victory like this?

“Dammit. We should’ve fought with those f*ckers, though.”

“...Nope, count me out.”

“How come? Not feeling confident enough?”

“It’s not that. Sure, we’ll win. But if I die, what’s the point?”

“Why would you die, you dumbass!”

“Come on, man. Let’s be real. We got lucky this time. If things went the other way, even by a little bit? We’d be looking at a massive number of casualties by now.”

“

Mm

...!”

Everyone in the Assembly knew that opinion was not wrong.

Variables always existed in a war. The Assembly might have overwhelmed the Japanese this time, but what if the war began before the Koreans had reached their current level of strength? Then, an outright victory would not have been a sure thing.

Also, what if they had fought on a wide open plain somewhere? The losses to the Koreans would have increased exponentially.

“Watching all those people dying right before my nose was like... Like, it made me question what the hell I was even doing there. I wasn’t aware of it in the middle of the fight, but when we were coming back to the Assembly, did you know that my whole body was shivering like crazy? I couldn’t even think straight and stuff, man.”

“...You, too?”

“I’m telling you, fighting a war is no joke. If I can help it, I don’t wanna fight in another war ever again.”

“...”

Kim Won-Hyeok eavesdropping on others’ conversations wordlessly put his phone down. Watching the online lecture on his phone and concentrating on it proved impossible today.

No, maybe he should be honest and say that the conversations of his fellow martial artists around him had stolen most of his concentration away.

‘Responsibilities, is it...?’

It sounded like others all felt similar emotions as Kim Won-Hyeok.

The ecstasy of victory didn’t last all that long for him. The lesson he learned from this war was how heavy the burden of living as a martial artist was.

He must kill others. Trample on others to surge ahead of his competition. This war reminded him of that.

...And the fact that this kind of path was not something he could tread lightly.

In other words...

Everything Kim Won-Hyeok had enjoyed until now was the fruit of the labor performed by the previous generations of martial artists. He had created or achieved nothing of note on his own.

‘But now, it’s our turn to walk this path and open the way for the future generations.’

Although this concept was probably still vague and flitting in everyone’s mind, they must’ve become aware of it by now. That had to be why this indistinct heaviness was present in the people’s celebrations.

Squeeze...

Kim Won-Hyeok tightly squeezed the specially made hand grip strengthener.

“Take responsibility... Right.”

The Martial Assembly wasn’t solely Kang Jin-Ho’s.

He might be the undisputed boss of the Assembly, but that didn’t mean he should be held accountable for every facet of this organization. If people like Kim Won-Hyeok or his comrades wanted to dodge the responsibilities, they should give up financial incentives and martial art teachings provided by the Assembly.

After all, ‘privileges’ always came hand-in-hand with ‘duties’ since the dawn of mankind.

Grit...!

Kim Won-Hyeok clenched his teeth.

What he and his comrades felt during this war was the ecstasy only granted to the ‘strong.’ And what they walked away with from this experience was the weight of the responsibilities the strong must bear.

“Whatever the case might be, the Japs are like our b*tch now, right?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

“

Kuh-huh

! Hot damn! I wish our ancestors were here to see this! Can’t I, like, hop over to Japan and have some

fun

at their expense? Like,

gapjil

and stuff? Hey, how about we book a group holiday to Japan?”[1]

“You do that, and Chief Lee Hyeon-Su will try to behead you himself.”

“Why? Isn’t he a specialist in tormenting weaker people?”

“Sure, that’s true. He knows better than anyone where to hit you to maximize your agony.”

“So, why would he try to kill me?”

“Well, this is just my opinion, but maybe he views Japan as a fat dairy cow? You gotta keep it alive and feed it well so we can milk it for all its worth, something like that?”

“...Huh. When you put it that way, it kinda feels a bit disgusting?”

“

Hmm

.”

Kim Won-Hyeok resumed squeezing the hand grip strengthener. Maybe not everyone was pondering the same stuff as he was.

***

Bang Jin-Hun asked, “Okay, so? How’s everyone doing?”

Cheon Tae-Hun replied flatly. “It seems everyone is somewhat confused, sir.”

A smirk floated up on Bang Jin-Hun’s lips. “Confused, you say?”

“Yes, sir. Initially, everyone was celebrating. They have won a massive war, after all.”

“Sure.”

“However, with time, they have begun reflecting more and more on the battle and realized how close they were to dying. It must’ve been shocking to them, since regular members never really get exposed to deadly situations.”

“Sure, that’s true,” Bang Jin-Ho muttered while nodding.

Back when the Assembly was still at odds with the Yeongnam Group, the two organizations waged small-scale localized skirmishes, but never a large-scale fight to the death. In other words, South Korea had been a relatively peaceful country.

However, stiff winds began blowing faster and faster with Kang Jin-Ho’s entrance to the scene. And the war this time supercharged these winds into a full-blown storm. The Assembly’s martial artists must’ve realized that they were now at the center of this storm.

Bang Jin-Hun asked another question. “Have we started accepting our members’ requests to quit?”

“We were planning to start from tomorrow, sir,” said Cheon Tae-Hun. “But, sir. Will anyone actually want to quit? When everyone is still in a celebratory mood?”

“Well, I wonder,” Bang Jin-Hun casually shrugged. “It’s possible that no one wants to quit. But this isn’t about someone quitting on us or not. No, it’s about telling those idiots that quitting is an option.”

“Mm... I see.”

Cheon Tae-Hun glanced outside the office windows. He could see overflowing vitality and enthusiasm among the Assembly members. However, he could also pick up a hint of this vague tension in the air. He had never witnessed an atmosphere quite like this one before.

“That’s what the weight of responsibilities does to people, Tae-Hun. They have finally understood that walking the path of martial arts will require them to pay with their lives one day. Those who get that and still want to walk that path will keep accompanying us. If they are not willing to do that, they should give up as soon as possible. That’s for the best for all of us.”

“...But, sir. The number of people who quit the last time is nothing to scoff at.”

“Yeah. What can we do, though? If some people are not suited to this lifestyle, we should just let them go. It’s better to have a smaller number of elites instead.”

“Sir, that’s not the right way to view this situation.”

Bang Jin-Hun tilted his head. “Mm?”

Cheon Tae-Hun grew somber as he explained. “You must’ve seen the demon cult believers running wild during the war, sir. Unlike our people, the demon cult believers are celebrating madly for winning the battle. It’s almost to the point of things getting out of control.”

“...Really?”

“If our side continues to bleed people, there might come a day when the guests take over the house and push the original occupants out.”

Bang Jin-Hun tutted. “So what?”

“...But, master.”

“Don’t sweat over stuff like that, you dumbass. We’re living in the age of globalism, right?”

Cheon Tae-Hun’s expression crumpled a little at that nonchalant response.

Bang Jin-Hun noticed that and frowned, too. “

Oii

, Cheon Tae-Hun.”

“Yes, sir!”

“What the f*ck, man? What the hell do you think you are doing?”

“...?”

“Listen here, you brat. Damn factionalism kept us at each other’s throats for over thirty years. Not only were we doing that sh*t with the Yeongnam Group, but I had to create a faction of my own to fight tooth and nail with Lee Jung-Geol’s people on top of that. We’ve finally overcome that crap and have some semblance of unity now, yet you want me to get all tribal and create another faction to bicker with the demon cult?”

“...That wasn’t my intention, sir.”

“

Oh

, really? Then, what was your intention, you dumbass!”

Cheon Tae-Hun sheepishly lowered his head.

“Listen, man,” said Bang Jin-Hun with a groan.

“Yes, sir!”

“I get why you’d be worried about this, okay? You think the demon cult people will get prioritized over us if we lose out in the power game or whatever.”

“Yes, sir.”

“You think the Assembly Master is the type to do something like that?”

“...”

“Besides, what’s wrong with that, you brat? Those with strength getting better treatment makes total sense, wouldn’t you say? If you’re worried about that, just get stronger than the demon cult. That’s all.”

“You are right, master.”

“That’s right. So, talk to our people, get them to calm down, okay? Tell them we’ll resume training from tomorrow. And that they better behave themselves, or else!”

“Yes, master!”

“It’s not master, but Director Bang!”

“Yes, director!”

Cheon Tae-Hun bowed deeply before exiting the office. Bang Jin-Hun grunted, then slowly got up.

“...! Ouch! This motherf*cker...!”

Bang Jin-Hun frowned deeply at the stabbing pain coming from his side. He walked over to the window and watched the scattered groups of martial artists by the training area.

‘So, growing pains, eh...?’

To grow and mature, one must experience some sort of pain. That painful truth applied to both humans and organizations. Simply staying still and letting the days go by would not be enough to help you grow.

The war against the Japanese would undoubtedly trigger massive changes in the Assembly. First of all, the members coasting along as a part of the Assembly had finally learned the weight of the martial arts. That alone should count as a massive harvest.

‘This will definitely enrich us in the long run.’

The demon cult people must’ve known about this. That was why they didn’t whine once during their intense training, allowing them to come this far in such a short period.

...And now, the Martial Assembly’s people had learned it via the war against the Japanese. It was up to Bang Jin-Hun now. If he took advantage of this momentum and continued to push the Assembly members even harder, their growth rate should pick up even more steam.

However, one potential concern had reared its head, and that would be...

‘Factionalism, eh...?’

Bang Jin-Hun groaned deeply again.

Directors and executives nurturing their own disciples was a good thing. This would certainly improve the Assembly’s overall strength, after all. However, as a part of a larger group, this arrangement would definitely create frictions between different cliques.

Unless properly policed, this situation could cause serious issues in the future.

“Looks like I’ll have to discuss it with the Assembly Master sooner rather than later.”

Bang Jin-Hun helplessly shrugged, then left his office to head to the training area. For now, he should knock some discipline back into those over-excited idiots first.

1. “Gapjil” is a Korean slang expression referring to an arrogant and authoritarian attitude or action of people who have positions of power over others. ☜