Chapter 1211. Finishing Touches (1)

Chapter 1211. Finishing Touches (1)

Turned around?

Kang Jin-Ho was leaving?!

The Iemoto grew stupefied by this unexpected response. His expression clearly conveyed his failure to comprehend this situation.

But his face contorted indescribably soon afterward after he finally understood what Kang Jin-Ho’s action implied.

“

Euh

...?!”

Something crumbled. Something that acted as the Iemoto’s psychological support crumbled within his heart.

“You...!”

However, he couldn’t say anything to Kang Jin-Ho.

The Korean’s back seemed too resolute. Too disinterested.

Not a hint of hesitation could be felt from Kang Jin-Ho’s figure walking away.

Blood vessels in the Iemoto’s eyes ruptured, dyeing his eyes crimson.

Utter humiliation!

This was the worst type of humiliation he could suffer.

The Iemoto growled sharply. “...Shinya!”

Shinya didn’t respond immediately and faltered, but the Iemoto was in no mood to care.

“What did that man say?!”

The Iemoto already had an idea but wanted to confirm it.

Shinya stole a quick glance at the Iemoto before casting his gaze to the ground.

“Answer me, Shinya!”

“That man, he...”

Shinya sucked in a quick but deep breath. His demeanor said he couldn’t bring himself to reveal the truth to the Iemoto. But the pressure from the Iemoto’s glare proved too much, and he finally relented.

“He said you are not a warrior...”

Squeeze!

The Iemoto clenched his fists tightly. His nails dug into his palm, causing thick blood to trickle out between his fingers.

His entire body trembled like a lone leaf against storm winds.

Such was the intensity of this humiliation that he couldn’t even feel the pain of his teeth tearing into his lip.

“I... I’m not a warrior?”

The Iemoto’s clenched fists quivered.

There existed plenty of insults in this world. But nothing could be more insulting and humiliating to the Iemoto than saying that he was not a warrior.

After all, he was supposed to be a proud warrior. The best in Japan!

Although he sometimes thought his actions had crossed the line, he never questioned his identity as a ‘warrior’. As a matter of fact, he proudly saw himself as a warrior more noble and accomplished than everyone else.

But now, that man dared to say he wasn’t a warrior?!

“...You! You dare humiliate me like this!?”

His yell came out more like a scream. But it sounded more like a despairing cry rather than a scream.

To a Japanese warrior, who upheld the ideals of aesthetics above all else, nothing was more humiliating than being told he wasn’t a warrior. Of course, it wasn’t as if Kang Jin-Ho knew that.

Clomp, clomp...

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t look back regardless of what noises the Iemoto made behind him. He didn’t act heroically determined or anything like that, either. His expression was closer to that of a child who had lost interest in a toy.

Wiggins curiously asked, “My lord?”

“I’m going back,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“...Aren’t you going to finish him off?”

Kang Jin-Ho finally glanced behind him. The Iemoto making an indescribably contorted face was glaring right back at him.

Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged. “That’s nothing more than an empty shell.”

“...”

“I can’t work up the appetite for it. You deal with him.”

Wiggins ended up chuckling reflexively at that.

‘My lord is genuinely a devil, isn’t he?’

Kang Jin-Ho got swept up in the enemy’s scheme and almost lost his life. After he showed up here, the Iemoto was as good as a dead man walking.

Even though the Iemoto had done everything in his power to win, he still couldn’t overcome the enemy’s overwhelming strength and lost. A man who prided himself on being a true warrior would have two options in such a situation.

Either he fled the battle with a heavy heart filled with bitterness and determination. Or surrender and welcome a clean, honorable death.

However, Kang Jin-Ho had permitted neither. The Iemoto couldn’t flee nor bask in the glory of getting struck down by the enemy’s sword.

Would there be a worse humiliation than this to a proud warrior? No!

‘And the fact that my lord didn’t do this intentionally makes him so much scarier.’

Kang Jin-Ho most likely didn’t plan to humiliate the Iemoto to this degree. Although he was a man who trampled on the enemies relentlessly when in the mood until they were turned into sobbing wrecks, his current expression said that he really had lost all his interest in the Iemoto.

But this seemingly simple act was enough to crush the Iemoto’s heart.

“Kang, Jin, Hooooo!”

It was impossible to find the authoritative figure of a man who ruled over the Japanese martial society as the Iemoto of Shinichi-kai from the way he despairingly called out Kang Jin-Ho’s name.

He was now merely a shell filled with the despair and pain of a man whose beliefs had been ruthlessly crushed as his end rapidly approached.

Wiggins genuinely pitied the Iemoto, at least for this moment.

The Iemoto deserved to be respected, even if he was an enemy. An unforgivable enemy, at that.

Even so, the fact that he led a

gumi

called Shinichi-kai and ruled over the Japanese martial society remained unchanging.

Hating the enemy and respecting the enemy’s accomplishments weren’t two diametrically opposed things that could not coexist side-by-side. So, acknowledging an enemy was not out of the question for Kang Jin-Ho.

But he summarily rejected doing that. He even turned around to leave as if personally cutting off the Iemoto’s head was a pointless waste of time.

Without a doubt, that was... Incredibly heartless. Vicious.

‘Then again...’

Maybe this outcome shouldn’t have come as a surprise.

‘Kang Jin-Ho’ dealing with martial artists and ‘Kang Jin-Ho’ dealing with politicians were the same person, yet also different. While he’d show interest and even unleash his primal savagery toward his fellow martial artists, Kang Jin-Ho would become exceedingly rational when talking to politician-like types.

An enemy not worthy of his interest was like a meaningless existence to him.

...Which was pitiful news for the Iemoto, of course.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Wiggins. “I’m going home.”

“M-my lord? What should we do about...”

Kang Jin-Ho replied, clearly disinterested. “Kill him.”

“...”

“Considering what he has done, we can’t let him live. Behead him and bring me his head.”

“Understood,” Wiggins replied, his voice slightly quivering.

That was when the Iemoto roared like a madman. “Kang Jin-Ho! You think you can escape from me?!”

The Iemoto yanked his sword out and charged straight at Kang Jin-Ho.

What a foolish act that was.

The Round Table already had taken over this area. Even if the Iemoto was Japan’s number one expert, facing off against so many Round Table’s knights would still be impossible. He wasn’t Kang Jin-Ho, after all.

If he had retained at least a modicum of sense, he should have been more prudent. Even if escaping was not feasible, he could have waited for an opening to present itself.

But the Iemoto wasn’t rational enough right now to do that.

“Oopsie! Excuse me.”

The Master unsheathed his sword and stepped into the path of the Iemoto’s charge.

Claaang!

The two men’s swords collided mid-air, creating a sharp metallic noise. Unlike the Iemoto and his distorted face, the Master’s expression conveyed how relaxed he was right now.

No matter how strong he was, the Master would never be quite good enough in the swordsmanship department to rival the Iemoto. Even then, the one with all the leeway in the world right now was the Master.

This moment starkly demonstrated the importance of one’s mindset.

Keep your head cool and collected, while letting your heart burn with emotions; that maxim was drilled into everyone walking the path of martial arts. And that cliched saying proved how right it was at this very moment.

The Iemoto proved how important one’s mindset was with his actions.

“Kang, Jin, Hooooo!”

The Iemoto howled again even as his sword locked on to the Master’s. His burning glare was fixed on Kang Jin-Ho beyond the Master’s shoulders.

In a way, this situation could be rather displeasing to the Master, but he was fully sympathizing with the Iemoto instead.

Even if he died a hundred times and started anew, the Master didn’t want to end up in the same situation as the Iemoto. He had to suffer through several hellish situations after Kang Jin-Ho entered his life, but he was still spared from the pain of his soul getting crushed like the Iemoto's.

As a fellow martial artist and a leader of an organization ruling over a large territory, the Master couldn’t stop pitying the Iemoto.

Kang Jin-Ho turned around slightly to glance at the Iemoto.

The leader of Shinichi-kai, currently unable to move an inch forward after the Master’s sword had blocked his path, was shedding tears of blood from his bloodshot eyes.

Frustration. Rage. And grief. All those emotions seemed to be erupting out of his entire figure. The way his body trembled, and all the drool dripping out of his mouth, proved how agitated the Iemoto was right now.

On the other hand, Kang Jin-Ho remained unflustered, nay, utterly disinterested. In fact, he even frowned slightly as if this situation annoyed him.

“Wiggins?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“I’m going home.”

“Of course,” Wiggins replied, then glanced at the Iemoto before bringing his hands together to start casting the spell.

Kang Jin-Ho’s figure was instantly enveloped in pure-white light.

“W-wait! Stop! I said, stop! Stop!”

The Iemoto cried out, his voice getting more urgent.

Since Kang Jin-Ho appeared with that burst of light, this situation could only mean... He’d also disappear the same way!

Despite the danger of being cut down, the Iemoto still urgently reached out, presenting numerous openings that the Master could have exploited. In fact, the Master could have beheaded the Iemoto at any moment if he wanted to.

However, rather than cutting the Japanese down, the Master simply stood firm and strengthened his grip on his weapon instead.

Meanwhile, the Iemoto continued to reach out toward the empty air.

Kang Jin-Ho was leaving? Just like that? After looking down on the Iemoto as if he was nothing more than an insect?! In that case, what did that make him?

What did the life the Iemoto had led up to now mean if Kang Jin-Ho did that?

What meaning was left for a warrior who got rejected by the last enemy he’d ever face in his life?

This humiliation! This horrifying humiliation crushed down on him.

Even if he gutted himself, no one was here to behead him. Even if the Iemoto committed

seppuku

right now, even if he stabbed himself in the throat...

No matter what he did now, his destroyed honor and pride would never return.

The Iemoto glared at Kang Jin-Ho as more tears of blood flooded out from his eyes. But Kang Jin-Ho remained disinterested.

If only his disinterested gaze had been filled with hatred...!

If only rage and killing intent existed in those eyes, the Iemoto wouldn’t have felt this way!

But Kang Jin-Ho was staring back at the Iemoto with eyes reserved for looking at inanimate objects. He didn’t acknowledge the Iemoto as his opponent. He didn’t even view the Japanese as an enemy.

Worse still, he didn’t even acknowledge the Iemoto as a warrior.

While leaving behind that disinterested gaze... Kang Jin-Ho’s figure vanished from the spot.

“...!”

The Iemoto dazedly stared at this spectacle, at the empty space.

Kang Jin-Ho, who should have been standing next to Wiggins, was now no longer there. All that was left was the empty space, and pitying eyes staring at him.

Plop!

The Iemoto crumbled to the ground and landed on his butt. His fingers dug into the dirt below as his face seemed to have aged by at least a decade or more.

He thought Kang Jin-Ho would say something. To further humiliate the Iemoto. To stoke the flames of rage in the Iemoto’s heart. And chew out some deeply humiliating insults in the Iemoto’s way to express his own anger.

But Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t even bother to offer that minimum level of sympathy. The enemy the Iemoto tried his everything in his power to fight... didn’t even acknowledge him as an adversary!

“

Kuh-huh

...”

The Iemoto’s shoulders trembled.

The giant who had been carrying the Japanese martial society and led Shinichi-kai... had crumbled.

“

Kuh... Kuh-huh-huh...

”

The Iemoto clawed the dirt below and sobbed, his wailing stabbing into Wiggins' hearing.

Wiggins silently closed his eyes, as he couldn’t bear to watch this scene any longer.

Regardless of whether they were enemies or allies, this sight... was too wretched to behold. Getting torn apart by Kang Jin-Ho’s swords might have been better than this fate. Because the swords tearing one’s soul apart were infinitely sharper and crueler than swords cutting through flesh.

Wiggins looked up and exchanged a knowing glance with the Master.

Kang Jin-Ho might have treated the Iemoto like an insect before leaving, but the others couldn’t do that. Maybe they wouldn’t have minded mocking the Iemoto if Kang Jin-Ho hadn’t arrived. But not anymore.

They should grant the mercy of the best warrior in this place beheading him.

The Master understood the intent behind Wiggins’ gaze and nodded, then raised his sword. He began approaching the Iemoto again.

But that was when the Iemoto suddenly spoke up.

“I...”

The Iemoto looked up at Wiggins and the others.

His face resembled that of a man whose soul had abandoned him. A man, who was alive on the surface but dead deep inside, muttered weakly as if to ask himself.

“What have I done wrong?”

Wiggins sighed under his breath.