Chapter 1209. Cleaning Up (4)

On the outskirts of Shiroi, a city in Chiba Prefecture...

Rumble, wuuooong...!

More specifically, a large but empty storage unit that saw little to no foot traffic.

The interior of this storage building, its surfaces covered in thick layers of dust from being shuttered for several months, was bathed in a sudden burst of pure-white light.

But the firmly shut doorway contained the light from leaking outside.

A figure of a person slowly stepped out from the light.

“

Hmm

...”

That person was none other than the Master of the Round Table.

With an uncharacteristically stiff expression, the fully armored Master walked outside the portal and scanned his immediate surroundings.

“Master!”

“

Mm

.”

A man rushed forward and bowed toward the Master. The latter responded with a brief nod, before frowning slightly.

“It seems your preparations are finished.”

“Yes, sir. Although we still need a little more time to stabilize the gate, transferring people is not an issue for us.”

“I see. As for the additional coordinates?”

“For those additional coordinates, we need the other side to finish preparing, as well. Even if we work as quickly as possible, we will still need the minimum of at least forty-eight hours.”

“That’s long.”

The Master slowly rubbed his beard. Taking that long was not good news. But he knew urging his subordinates on wouldn’t change anything.

Arcane arts of magic were like dealing with precision machinery. Trying to rush things might lead to incorrect formulas, and it’d be near-impossible to correct the resulting issues even if the problematic formulas were rewritten.

In a way, it’d be similar to how reinforcing a building with a poor foundation would only go so far.

“There’s no rush with the additional coordinates,” said the Master. “Focus on stabilizing the gates instead.”

“Understood, Master.”

The Master nodded back, then turned around to leave.

Clack!

His armor click-clacked every time he moved.

‘How awkward.’

When was the last time he got fully suited up like this? The Round Table got into a huge tangle not too long ago, but funnily enough, he was basically an outside observer at that time.

What a strange thing this was.

Without a doubt, the man at the top representing the Round Table’s prestige was the Master. However, he never picked up his sword and fought when the Round Table was going through a great upheaval.

Intentional or not, all he did was spectate on the struggles of others as a third party.

Maybe because of the frustration from those times, the Master’s chest was pounding inexplicably away in excitement right now.

Clack!

The Master grinned at the metallic noise digging into his hearing.

“Look at me being silly at my age...”

“But you look quite natural to me, sir?”

The Master glanced behind him and spotted Knight Besley stepping outside the gate at a slow gait. He, too, was covered in full plate armor.

“Do I look that way?”

Besley nodded. “Yes. Looking at you in a suit of armor is amping me up for some reason.”

“To think I’d hear you say that again. Now that brings back memories,” the Master smirked deeply.

“It’s an honor to go on a conquest in your company. Master.”

“Don’t say what you don’t mean, Sir Besley.”

“I’m being serious, sir.”

The Master thought about cracking another joke, but stopped himself after noticing Besley’s earnest expression.

“It would’ve been nicer if other Knights got the chance to share this honor as well...” Besley muttered.

“It’s too early for that,” said the Master with a rueful shake of his head. “Now isn’t the right time to mobilize the Knights, anyway. The situation is too delicate for that, wouldn’t you say? If I bring only a few, others will accuse me of favoritism. However, there are too many Knights to bring on this quest. Their numbers would have complicated the matters.”

“That is true.”

“How cumbersome. To think so many factors would handicap me just because I’ve decided to get physically involved...”

The Master wouldn’t have had such worries in the past. He only had to select the Knights most suited to the job and request for their participation. Doing things that way was still possible while the Knights agreed that the Round Table should operate in such a manner.

But that was no longer the case.

Knights were razor-focused on every move the Master made these days. Even an insignificant little gesture from him got dissected and analyzed to a nth degree to give birth to various interpretations.

“It feels like I’ve become Louis the 14th.”

Besley chuckled. “It’s fine, sir. We won’t force you to wear the funny wig, after all.”

“It’s a good thing that the Chevaliers aren’t here. You just said something rather provocative, you see?”

“I’m pretty sure they won’t raise a fuss about it. Unless Knight Leveaux returns from the netherworld, that is.”

“Looks like I won’t win against you this time, then,” said the Master before shaking his head.

Besley had gotten a lot more talkative these days. More specifically, he joked a lot more.

Unlike the Master, who had gotten more cautious with what he said, Besley went the other way as if he wanted to become a foil for the Master.

His actions ensured that the atmosphere wouldn’t always be grave around the Master. For that, the Master was inwardly grateful.

“Whatever the case may be, we’ve brought the strongest available combat force, so this should suffice.”

Besley frowned slightly. “But two knight orders seem insufficient to me, sir?”

“If it was a normal situation, then you would’ve been correct. But not now. This place is like an ownerless mountain, after all.”

The Master smirked deeply.

Besley was right that invading Japan with only two knight orders would’ve been utterly impossible had this been an ordinary situation. The Japanese martial society boasted considerable combat strength, after all.

But it was as the Master said a second ago. This country was an ownerless mountain with its core elite fighting force participating in the invasion of South Korea.

The only warriors remaining were some random riff-raff and a few executives.

“With the situation like that...”

The Master glanced at the Round Table’s warriors stepping outside the teleportation gate and grinned.

“...Wouldn’t you say we’ve brought along enough combat power?”

The two knight orders in question were the Garters and the Teutonic.

Knights clad in heavy-looking armor issuing metallic clacks marched out from the gate like well-oiled units.

Even Besley had to grin at this awe-inducing spectacle.

“Yes. For sure, they do look very much up to the task.”

“Well, now. Let us hurry. If we’re too late, I might be too embarrassed to face the Assembly Master later.”

Under the guidance of the Round Table’s agents on standby, the Master leisurely headed to the storage building’s exit.

A strange expression formed on Besley’s face.

‘Too embarrassed, you say...?’

Maybe that was true.

It was Wiggins who demanded that the Round Table invade Japan under the pretext of looking after the alliance. But it didn’t take a genius to figure out who he was speaking on behalf of in this case.

It was obviously Kang Jin-Ho.

Wiggins couldn’t have demanded anything from the Round Table without getting permission from South Korea’s Demon King.

In other words, the Round Table’s current expedition was the Korean Martial Assembly’s first demand as an ally... and also his first command.

The Round Table’s position in this so-called alliance would depend largely on how well they carried out this command.

‘Our position, is it...’

A bitter smirk formed on Besley’s face.

To think that one day, the Round Table’s position would heavily depend on whether it could satisfy one man’s demands or not. The more he thought about it, the more flabbergast-inducing this development was.

“Sir Besley?”

Besley nodded without looking when someone called out to him from behind.

“Alright. We are moving out.”

Thinking could come later. For now, it was time to fight.

***

Crack!

The Iemoto’s hand gripped the bonsai’s branch a little too hard and ended up breaking the poor tree.

“What did you say?”

The Iemoto’s voice contained doubt and shock.

Shinya remained prostrating as cold sweat poured down his whole body.

“Tell me again, Shinya!”

“...Iemoto, sir.”

“Hurry!”

Shinya squeezed his eyes shut.

“The... second wave landing on Gunsan was met with the Assembly’s combined attack and got completely annihilated, sir.”

The Iemoto silently glared at Shinya. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. He was waiting for the next part of the report.

“And also...”

Shinya swallowed his saliva down his dried throat and squeezed the unwilling words out of his mouth.

“We cannot establish any communication to the first wave that has engaged Kang Jin-Ho, who has chosen to stay behind in the Assembly HQ. The last communication we received from them was that they were suffering massive losses while fighting Kang Jin-Ho. It’s been over twenty minutes since that last message. Which means...”

Craaack!

Shinya had to raise his head at that unfamiliar noise. He saw the bonsai had been roughly torn apart.

Even though the Iemoto spent years nurturing that plant, he still ripped it apart. However, Shinya didn’t have any leeway to think that was a waste. The current situation meant that some stupid tree’s life didn’t matter right now.

“We can’t contact our men?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you even realize what that means, Shinya?!”

Shinya clamped his mouth shut. Of course he knew. How could he not?

They had emphasized the importance of maintaining a comm line to their elites innumerable times. Getting live updates on the battle in another country while remaining in Japan was obviously not possible. Since that was the case, the Iemoto wanted the minimum level of communication in place, at the very least.

The minimum level! It was exactly that, minimum, yet Shinichi-kai’s elites were stuck in a situation where they couldn’t even maintain that?

The most favorable possibility was that the Japanese warriors had killed Kang Jin-Ho and forgot about contacting Japan from all their wild celebrations, but...

‘But that’s unlikely.’

Wartime achievements only meant something if others recognized them. Calling the base after achieving a commendable feat was historically and logically the most

expected

thing to do.

Since the Japanese warriors hadn’t done that, it could only mean one thing: utter defeat! If not, then a complete annihilation!

It didn’t matter which one the answer was. In case of defeat, the remnants must’ve scattered everywhere to escape. But where could they go in a foreign country?

“Iemoto, sir...”

The Iemoto’s complexion grew redder and redder.

Shinya could swear that he had never seen the Iemoto become so openly emotional like this. But that was how furious the Iemoto was.

“Shinya, has the information we received been wrong?”

“...”

“I was informed that Kang Jin-Ho would be by himself at the Assembly HQ.”

“Yes, that is so, sir.”

“Yet, our men... have lost?”

The Iemoto’s expression crumpled hideously. The bonsai tree turned into powder under his intense grip before scattering away.

“Are you trying to suggest that Kang Jin-Ho killed all those warriors by himself?! Are you honestly telling me to consider that possibility?!”

“...”

Shinya couldn’t say anything and kept his head lowered.

What could he say when he was just as clueless? He couldn’t even guess what transpired in South Korea to create a situation like this.

‘It feels like we’re sinking into a deep quagmire of darkness.’

To think that South Korea, a land so close that a Japanese could travel to and from several times in a day, would feel this unfathomable and out of reach! Maybe they were in too much of a rush after all?

“Confirm the truth, Shinya!”

“Yes, Iemoto!”

“I don’t care how you do it, confirm the situation somehow! Even if that means the third wave will head directly to the Assembly after landing! We need to know what happened! Right away!”

“Yes, sir!”

The Iemoto’s facial muscles twitched ominously.

This was the worst.

If what the Iemoto feared had indeed happened, then this war was as good as over now. Even if the Japanese main army had conquered South Korea, the glory of this conquest would not belong to Shinichi-kai!

“Find out! Now!”

“Yes, sir!”

However, before Shinya could move...

The Iemoto’s head snapped in one direction. And that was the distant corner of the garden.

“What...!”

Sharp noises of weapons clashing and shouts of warriors dug into his hearing. Shinya’s brows also shot up high after noticing the commotion.

A messenger rushed into the garden before prostrating in front of the Iemoto.

“Urgent report, sir! We have intruders! Our forces are fighting back with everything we have, but it’s not enough!”

“Intruders?!”

Who would dare invade the base of Shinichi-kai at this time?

Before the Iemoto and Shinya could organize their thoughts, a wall defending the garden suddenly exploded, kicking up a huge dust cloud in the process.

...And then, a silhouette of a person, a man, slowly emerged from the dust.