Chapter 1159: Chapter 1159

The atmosphere in the Martial Assembly felt different today.

Even though nothing had changed since yesterday, it felt like the air was much heavier and more oppressive.

Seong Ju-Chan nervously swallowed his saliva while scanning his surroundings. The vibe in the training area stopped him from opening his trap.

This must be what they call the ‘calm before the storm’.

‘Geez. A war, though?’

Just thinking about it gave him goosebumps.

The concept of ‘war’ should be familiar to all those living on the Korean peninsula. Worrying about a war breaking out at any given moment was a daily ritual for all Koreans at this point, now wasn’t it?

However, if that notion were to be flipped around, Koreans should have grown numb from being constantly reminded of the danger over many decades.

But now, there would be a war for real this time?

The news of an all-out war breaking out as soon as tomorrow finally woke Seong Ju-Chan up to the grave reality of his situation.

“You think the war will really happen?”

Kim Won-Hyeok, his expression tense, glanced at Seong Ju-Chan. “...Well, that’s what the director said, so yeah.”

“Holy sh*t. A war...?” Song Ju-Chan dazedly muttered back.

They were martial artists and should be used to the life of constant combat. However, truth be told... To Seong Ju-Chan, the notions of combat and all-out war were deeply unfamiliar and unsettling.

The Martial Assembly and the Yeongnam Group had indeed been at odds with each other for a very long time. However, they had never gotten into an all-out war of extermination. The battles until now were on the scale of... war of nerves, maybe? If not, small skirmishes after the two sides ran into each other while carrying out their tasks; something limited in scale like that.

Besides, run-of-the-mill martial artists like Seong Ju-Chan and Kim Won-Hyeok never got assigned tasks that ran the risk of encountering enemy combatants. All they had ever done was deal with suitably shady folks from the surface world and not much else.

‘Actual combat, huh...’

Seong Ju-Chan could feel his heart pounding madly away.

It wasn’t as if he had never fought another martial artist before. But the circumstances were markedly different this time.

Even a promising boxer who went through countless sparring sessions would grow incredibly tense before their debut fight and not even display half of what they were capable of. Even though he wasn’t fighting with his life on the line!

But Seong Ju-Chan was about to participate in an actual war where people tried to kill each other. His heart pounded even harder at the mere thought of confronting the enemy.

“F*ck! F*cking Jap bastards!”

No wonder his resentment toward the Japanese martial artists began spiraling out of control!

“Doesn’t this piss you off the more you think about it? Those stinking sons of b*tches! How dare they think about showing their ugly mugs here again? Don’t they have morals!?”

Kim Won-Hyeok tutted loudly. “Hah! Those f*ckers never had morals, man, They haven’t even bothered to apologize until now, after all!”

“We gotta kill every single one of them,” said Seong Ju-Chan while gritting his teeth.

The ironic thing about this situation was that Seong Ju-Chan didn't have any ill will toward Japan until today. But with the threat of war looming over him, hostile emotions mushroomed out of control in his heart.

“We, uh, we won’t lose, right?”

“Oi, you better not jinx us like that, okay?” Kim Won-Hyeok shot back in irritation.

What Seong Ju-Chan said was absolutely forbidden before the start of any war. And that would be any suggestions or mindset that could demoralize the combatants!

Seong Ju-Chan testily replied, “You know why I’m saying that, don’t you? I mean, come on. Not too long ago, we wouldn’t have dared to fight the Japs.”

“Yeah, but we’re not the same as not too long ago, now are we?”

“Well, you have a point there...”

Of course Seong Ju-Chan knew that the current Assembly should not be compared to what it was like only a year ago. It had grown far stronger since then.

However, 'perception' just so happened to be one of the hardest things to change in this world.

Korean martial artists like Seong Ju-Chan spent most of their lives thinking they would never win against their Japanese counterparts. They were more used to hearing about how much stronger the Japanese and Chinese were compared to them.

So, he had never entertained the idea of going to war with Japan or China. Why fight when he and his pals stood no chance of winning?

Kim Won-Hyeok gruffly spoke, “We won the last time, right?”

“We didn’t do anything, though? Other than clapping our hands like some bloody cheerleaders while staying here.”

“What the hell are you even saying? You think the people who fought back then were some hired guns or something? Weren’t they the Assembly members like us? They did it, so why can’t we?”

“Hah. Easier said than done, dude,” Seong Ju-Chan grumbled unhappily without even realizing he did.

The Martial Assembly had already fought against China and Japan. Not only that, but didn't it also travel to Europe to teach the Round Table a lesson? It had experienced three large-scale conflicts in relatively quick succession. And that was excluding the war fought on Korean soil, no less!

‘Hang on, now that I think about it, we sure have caused many scenes all over the place, haven’t we?’

All those battles ended in the Assembly’s victory, but the problem here was that ‘regular’ martial artists like Seong Ju-Chan had no bearing on the outcome.

The first squad of a top team winning every match in the premier league did not indicate that the second squad would be just as good as well. It was common enough to see the second-string squad of such a team faltering badly in lower divisions.

Although everyone was allowed to dream about joining the first-choice squad one day, being conceited about the achievements of someone else as if you had done it yourself was the height of foolishness.

Besides, when objectively viewed, Seong Ju-Chan couldn't even make it to the second-string squad. Heck, he wouldn't even be considered good enough for the third-string squad!

His position would be more like that of a trainee who had to pay for his lessons.

But here he was, being asked to compete in the championship final tomorrow!

Seong Ju-Chan sneakily looked around. He could see plenty of people had gathered in the training area, but almost no one was focused on training. No, they were either hunched together, quietly discussing something important, or silently inspecting and analyzing their current physical condition. He also noticed a handful of people crouching near the distant corners of the area, deep in thought.

It looked like everyone here had worries of their own, too.

“Ha, you poor little dumbass,” Kim Won-Hyeok unhappily glanced at Seong Ju-Chan. “Weren’t you celebrating how well things were going for the Assembly not too long ago?!”

“...I didn't know things would end up this way, okay!”

“What the... You think you can enjoy your privileges without paying for them?"

“I get it, man. I get it, okay!” Seong Ju-Chan yelled back in unhappiness.

He didn’t want to admit it, but Kim Won-Hyeok was right. In everything. Anyone with a functioning brain could probably tell that!

However, humans weren’t creatures of logic and objectivity. Even if their heads knew, their hearts would disagree way too often!

“What about the higher-ups and...”

Before Seong Ju-Chan could finish his question...

“Oii! Check your phones! The message says we gotta show up at the central plaza!”

Someone loudly cried out. Seong Ju-Chan and Kim Won-Hyeok reflexively checked their phones like others around them. That was when they discovered a message on the messenger app developed by the Assembly.

“I think it’s Director Bang?”

Director Bang Jin-Hun as an individual was ‘special’ to Seong Ju-Chan and Kim Won-Hyeok. To people like them who originally hailed from the Assembly, Bang Jin-Hun was like a rebel who dared to stand up against Lee Jung-Geol.

He must’ve had a good reason for doing that, but as a man responsible for rocking the boat and interrupting the Assembly’s operations... Seong Ju-Chan and Kim Won-Hyeok didn’t hold favorable views of him.

Such sentiments probably were born from the fact that these two used to be pro-Lee Jung-Geol faction. Rumors and opinions were usually shared between people of similar interests and inclinations in an echo chamber, after all.

However, Bang Jin-Hun stayed put till now and became a figure representing the Assembly.

Other executives, including Kang Jin-Ho, pursued the policy of “elite-first” and focused solely on nurturing only those with potential. However, not Bang Jin-Hun. He put all of his energy and focus into teaching and leading the Assembly’s regular members.

It was possible that Bang Jin-Hun wielded more influence over the Assembly members than Kang Jin-Ho. It was difficult to not feel more at ease and even some level of friendship with a figure who taught people through online courses, after all!

Meanwhile, Kang Jin-Ho was perched up high on his lofty throne, unapproachable by almost everyone.

Of course, thinking this way did not mean Seong Ju-Chan wanted to repudiate Kang Jin-Ho's authority or anything like that!

Kim Won-Hyeok glanced at his friend. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Yeah, we should.” Seong Ju-Chan pushed himself up, then trudged toward the central plaza. It wasn’t only him, though, as others also headed to the same destination without wasting any more time.

‘Well, at least the higher-ups did the good thing developing this app...’

After this app was introduced, the Assembly members no longer had to crowd around somewhere and listen to or read the latest news and messages.

That was great, but Seong Ju-Chan still couldn’t help but sigh under his breath. It dawned on him that pretty soon, he and his comrades might not get to use this app anymore.

“I think everyone’s here?”

Seong Ju-Chan murmured while scanning his surroundings.

The central plaza was packed full of people. He obviously wouldn't be able to count the total number, but judging from how no one else had joined the crowd for a while now, everyone who could come must be here.

Of course, it was unrealistic to expect everyone to show up from one public notice. Those who weren’t here would have to hear what happened from someone else.

‘So many people are here, yet it’s so quiet.’

Seong Ju-Chan unconsciously sucked in a deep breath.

With a big crowd , even small sounds made by individuals could grow into a cacophony of noises. However, despite the presence of several thousand people, the whole plaza was enveloped in tense silence.

That proved how tense everyone here was, though.

Seong Ju-Chan hurriedly turned his head to look. Sure enough, Bang Jin-Hun was striding out of the central building's open doorway.

Bang Jin-Hun scanned the crowd, then nodded slightly. “Looks like almost everyone’s here.”

His voice, amplified through qi, didn't need a microphone and speakers to reach the ears of everyone in the plaza.

“Have you all heard the news?”

“It seems the Jap bastards are about to wage war against us.”

No one responded this time. Bang Jin-Hun frowned slightly as if he didn’t reaction.

“This war will be different from previous ones. All the wars we’ve fought have been localized skirmishes. However, what we’re about to face is an all-out war. Those f*ckers are coming here to steal our land. If we can’t stop them, the Assembly will fall, and the Korean martial society will belong to Japan.”

“This is different from an expedition. No, we’ll be defending ourselves from their assaults. That’s why we ain’t gonna pick a few elites and head out like the last time. Every one of you will get deployed. In other words, you are all personally gonna fight the Jap bastards.”

Seong Ju-Chan felt his fingertips tremble in trepidation.

Since he heard the rumblings before coming here, Seong Ju-Chan had a good idea of what to expect. However, hearing it directly from Bang Jin-Hun imparted a totally different feeling. Because, when he said it... It’d mean this war was official.

...It meant this war would happen for real!

That thought swirled faster and faster in Seong Ju-Chan's head, making it harder and harder to calm his nerves. He never saw himself as a timid fool, but the impending war still made his legs tremble pitifully.

“I have a feeling that...” Bang Jin-Hun muttered, his expression unreadable. “...Quite a few of you will die this time.”

Was it okay to say that out loud in a situation ?

Even before the crowd could digest that statement, Bang Jin-Hun continued with his speech.

“Yeah, we all trained our butts off until today. And it's true that we've made a lot of progress. But we shouldn't forget that the Jap bastards have always been stronger than us. And they, well... If I'm being honest, they are still stronger than you. Because the ones coming over ain't gonna be some random nobodies, you see?”

Sounds of nervous saliva-swallowing could be heard coming from various places. However, Seong Ju-Chan’s attention was razor-focused on Bang Jin-Hun and no one else.

There must be a reason why Bang Jin-Hun was saying all these things. There must be!

“That’s why I’m gonna ask this now.”

Bang Jin-Hun paused there and scanned the crowd once more. Thousands of pairs of eyes were glued to him. He did not shy away from those gazes and resumed from where he left off.

His voice sounded subtly weightier than before.

“...Wish to quit and leave the Assembly, speak up now. I promise you’ll be allowed to leave without suffering any consequences.”

Seong Ju-Chan’s brows shot up high.

What on Earth was he even saying?