Chapter 1166: Chapter 1166
One of Shinichi-kai’s captains, Yoshinobu, stared stiff-faced at the Japanese warriors jumping into the ocean below.
The sea must be as cold as ice, yet the ones jumping into it didn’t even hesitate once. Their superhuman level of discipline and determination eventually brought a satisfied smirk on Yoshinobu’s stony face.
With such outstanding elite warriors, conquering South Korea should be a breeze. They had already overcome supposedly the trickiest hurdle in this invasion, after all!
‘And did so with such ease, too.’
The first hurdle to overcome when invading the Korean peninsula was figuring out how to enter it. It didn’t matter how vast and powerful an army was if it couldn’t even land on the enemy territory.
The Japanese could have used planes to enter the country, or even smuggle themselves in as stowaways had their number been much smaller. However, that was not possible when the total number of warriors scheduled to invade Korea neared four thousand!
Ensuring the safe arrival of so many people was no easy feat. Thanks to the previous failed attempt, the Koreans had stepped up their surveillance of the eastern coastline. Not to mention, the fools from the Korean Martial Assembly must be standing guard with their eyes peeled at strategic points in the country’s east, too.
However, Cai Kechang stepped in to resolve that problem rather easily.
“...Even though I don’t appreciate smelling like fish!”
Yoshinobu smirked deeply at the sight of the Japanese warriors diving into the ocean.
Although the Japanese had to go through the cumbersome process of getting on planes bound for China, traveling to the Chinese coast, then climbing on to various rickety fishing vessels, everything was still acceptable, as long as the outcome was to his liking.
It was just that Yoshinobu was a bit miffed about the noble warriors of the Great Japanese Empire needing to hide in some smelly storage meant for dead fish.
Yoshinobu scanned the far-off distance ahead of him.
Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to see anything because of the distance and darkness of the night, but not him. He could clearly see the shore from his position.
At this distance, the elite Japanese warriors should not have a problem reaching the destination.
‘With this, the first phase of the plan is complete.’
Yoshinobu almost guffawed at the sight of the panicking Korean Coast Guard running around like headless chickens.
‘Hah. Incompetent bastards!’
This was the true face of the surface world’s bureaucrats.
There should have been plenty of ways to respond to this situation. If Yoshinobu had been the captain of this particular Coast Guard fleet, he’d have ordered his men to ram the patrol boats into the suspicious fishing vessels and sink them all before they had the chance to enter the territorial waters.
However, these bastards couldn’t do that. This was the limit of what they could do.
Things like the rule of law, public perception, the media, and even diplomatic dealings between countries served to restrict the surface world.
The ordinary people might think they were free, but in reality, countless fetters and restrictions tightly constrained them.
No wonder they couldn’t even speedily deal with a catastrophe unfolding right before their eyes! Like right now.
“What should we do, sir?! Should we rescue them?”
“What about their ships? What should we do about them?”
“I said, wait! Goddamn it!”
The panicked cries of the Korean Coast Guard stabbed sharply into Yoshinobu’s hearing. A slimy smirk floated up on his lips.
It’d be impossible for these idiots to respond right now. Not with their inflexible mindset, at least!
“Mm!” Yoshinobu grunted heroically when his name was called out.
“Most of our men are in the water now.”
Yoshinobu turned his head toward his adviser, only to frown slightly at the vinyl wrapping in the latter’s hands.
“This is not something a noble warrior should be doing, don’t you think?”
“But a true warrior should be prepared to chew on mud to achieve his goal, sir!”
“...I don’t like that saying at all,” Yoshinobu groaned unhappily while accepting the vinyl wrapping. He then carefully wrapped his sword with it.
He didn’t mind getting wet, but a weapon made of steel should not come in contact with the saltwater. A man about to fight in a war should treat their weapon as a part of their body, no?
Although he knew that...
Yoshinobu still felt inexplicably irritated at the sight of his sword tightly wrapped in vinyl.
“Hmph! Has the commander been notified?”
The adviser nodded. “Yes, it’s already done. It sounds like once the first wave successfully infiltrates Korea, the second wave will begin their infiltration right afterward.”
“Makes sense,” Yoshinobu slowly nodded while tightening the vinyl around his sword.
These Japanese warriors were nothing more than an advance party. Their real purpose was to show up first and distract the Coast Guard and disrupt the Korean Martial Assembly’s surveillance.
By now, the second and third waves should have entered the Korean territorial waters.
‘For sure, we must never underestimate that man!’
Recalling Cai Kechang’s face sent a subtly creepy chill down Yoshinobu’s spine.
Even after enduring such humiliation, that man was thick-skinned enough to offer a helping hand without hesitation, stating that there was a wonderful route to infiltrate South Korea.
Also, what about his calculating mind that allowed him to think of the most difficult route for the Koreans to obstruct?
‘He even managed to prepare an operation of this scale in the figurative blink of an eye!’
Cai Kechang didn’t even need a day to source all these fishing vessels and get the Chinese government to support him. Talk about a drive to make things happen!
Not even Shinichi-kai could pull off something like that, even though it spent an enormous sum of money to control Japan’s political sphere. That was because a government did not operate on the opinions of one or two people.
Considering the close scrutiny of the decisions made by the Prime Minister in today’s system of governance, the ability of that man, Cai Kechang, or rather, the ability of the Crimson King’s faction, to dominate Chinese politics truly defied all common sense.
‘Especially when considering China’s situation!’
Despite being categorized as an orthodox faction, the Crimson King’s faction was still closely monitored by two other Kings and their factions in China.
Those two should also have some say in the Chinese Communist Party, so for the Crimson King’s faction to still exercise this much dominance? If true, it deserved heartfelt praise from Yoshinobu.
‘I don’t want to admit it, but that Cai Kechang is indeed a capable and frightening bastard.’
If that wasn’t it, then... Maybe the weight of the Crimson King’s name actually was far greater than the Japanese’s imaginations!
Yoshinobu scoffed derisively.
‘For now, we’ll do your bidding.’
However, that would not continue on for long.
Yoshinobu already knew that it ultimately didn’t matter. It didn’t matter what kind of cooperative pact the two countries had signed. It also didn’t matter if the two sides had built a relationship of trust.
Why? Because their honeymoon would come to an unceremonious end once the Korean martial society was wiped off the face of the earth! When that happened, Japan and China would revert to being enemies targeting each other’s throats.
No one here was naïve enough to think the Chinese had provided support out of the goodness of their hearts. Even then, they still went along with this whole thing for one reason.
‘Life never really unfolds according to your plans.’
Humans were incapable of predicting the future. Even heaven-sent geniuses suffered from failures in their lives.
Li Mu was seen as one of the greatest genius tacticians responsible for stopping the Qin dynasty. But he still buckled under the heaviness of politics and eventually got killed off. Zhuge Liang was revered as one of the greatest strategists to have ever lived, yet still failed to prevent the Shu Han dynasty’s destruction.
An outstanding strategist controlling everything according to their will and moving the world as they saw fit? Such a thing only happened in delusions and tales spoken by gossipers and busybodies.
Cai Kechang fell into this category. His schemes were obvious to anyone with a brain. Even though the Japanese acted according to his schemes, the current situation would not continue unfolding according to the script he had prepared.
Before long, the day Cai Kechang and his pals bitterly regretted their decision should come. However...
Yoshinobu muttered, “...That’s a story for another day, isn’t it?”
The adviser tilted his head. “Sir?”
Yoshinobu shook his head. “Don’t mind me.”
It was unwise for a man fighting a war to worry about the future. His duty was to deal with the enemy right before his nose, after all, not some potential trouble in the distant future.
Failing to kill Kang Jin-Ho meant the Japanese didn’t even have to worry about their relationship with the Chinese. Kang Jin-Ho would destroy Japan before the confrontation with China could even happen, after all!
While resolving himself to see this special operation through till the end, Yoshinobu glared at the peninsula in the distance.
“Deliver this message to the commander.”
“This Yoshinobu swears to kill Kang Jin-Ho no matter what! If I fail to do so, I shall not set foot in Japan for the rest of my life!”
“I shall deliver this message without fail! I’ll pray for your success!”
“Mm!” Yoshinobu nodded, then leisurely headed to the front of the vessel before unhesitantly jumping into the water.
Once Yoshinobu entered the water, the adviser, Takahashi, coldly shouted back at his subordinates. “Turn the ship around! We’re leaving!”
It should have been impossible to escape from the Korean Coast Guard with such lousy ships. However, it should be doable now since those moronic Koreans probably still hadn’t decided on whether to rescue or arrest the ones swimming in the water.
“Captain, we’ll see you again soon!”
Takahashi’s priority now was turning this fleet around and joining with the main force. And then, they’d break through the defenses weakened by the advance party’s arrival and invade Korea’s western coastline.
Until that happened, all Takahashi could do was pray for Yoshinobu’s success.
“And so, we’ve carved out the path for you, you Kanto bastards,” Takahashi growled while quietly gritting his teeth, his glare scanning the distant ocean ahead.
The second wave of attack would exploit the confusion in the border defenses sowed by Shinichi-kai and land on Korean shores. And this wave just so happened to contain Kanto’s gumis.
Even though they had shared alcohol as a sign of working together for one purpose! Just remembering how those damn Kanto bastards resolutely refused to take the lead in this invasion made Takahashi grit his teeth.
Everyone agreed that spearheading the invasion was an incredible honor. That was why no one should have been averse to taking up this role.
Yet the Kanto bastards did. As a noble martial artist, Takahashi couldn’t hide his disgust toward the bastards who rejected an honorable role and only thought about securing benefits.
Kanto bastards were famous for having lost their spirit of martial arts a long time ago. However, to think they’d remain so greedy in the middle of war, too!
“Well, it doesn’t really matter.”
Takahashi was no fool, so he knew.
There was a good reason Yoshinobu didn’t mention this one thing, riling up his adviser before his departure. Even though the Kanto bastards royally irritated Shinichi-kai’s noble warriors, their strength was crucial to win this war.
These sorts of things happened pretty often in a war, anyway.
Cooperating with clans hailing from different regions was never going to be a straightforward affair. Everyone had ulterior motives and their interests to look after.
The method of uniting this ragtag bunch, and keeping them united, was shockingly simple, however.
Before a war commenced, the soldiers must train together. However, once soldiers were deployed to war... Their sole purpose was to achieve victory!
A series of victories improved morale and strengthened the army overall. Even those with different intentions would become much more willing to cooperate. Knowing this, Yoshinobu didn’t complain once while accepting the role of a spearhead in this operation.
All for the glory of Japan and Shinichi-kai!
Takahashi turned his head and peered closely at the ocean. He could clearly see the Japanese warriors densely filling the ocean’s surface blanketed by the darkness of the night and swimming toward the distant shore.
As for the Korean Coast Guard, they were still visibly gripped in the throes of confusion.
Finally, Takahashi could see the Korean peninsula beyond the rising and falling shoulders and arms of the swimmers.
There it was, the land the Japanese drooled after for so long and even had invaded several times, only to fail to conquer it completely and had to retreat from it in the end!
He could see the so-called bridgehead that would finally allow the Japanese, trapped inside a cramped archipelago for far too long, to advance into the Asian continent!
Without a doubt, everyone in the Japanese martial society would remember this day for years to come.
Indeed, people would remember this day as the start of the war that successfully conquered the land called Korea. The war that the Japanese had planned for and dreamed about for so long!
Takahashi entered the cabin and snatched up a walkie-talkie. “This is Takahashi, the adviser to Captain Yoshinobu. The first wave of Shinichi-kai’s noble warriors, with Captain Yoshinobu as the spearhead, has finished disembarking. They are currently en route to the peninsula. Please proceed with the second wave’s departure.”
The corners of Takahashi’s lips curled up as he listened to the static-ridden reply.
“Today, your haughty attitude will come to an end, you stinking Chosenjin bastards!”
Whether it was the Martial Assembly or Kang Jin-Ho... The bastards that inconvenienced Japan like rocks sitting in one’s stomach would finally pay the price for their insolence.
No one could stop the war now!
Either the Japanese got wiped out after landing, or the Martial Assembly got annihilated in the attack... Only one of these two outcomes would happen. Of course, Takahashi had no doubt that it’d be the latter.
Takahashi tossed the walkie-talkie aside and roared at his subordinates.
“Turn the ship around!”
The arrow fired by Japan scythed through the ocean veiled in darkness and headed straight toward South Korea.