Chapter 1172: Chapter 1172

‘You sure are causing a mess in someone else’s backyard, aren’t you?!’

Inspector Choi Gu-Hyeon gnashed his teeth while scanning the ocean.

‘You goddamn sons of b*tches!’

The Chinese government acting like arrogant bastards was not anything new. By now, everyone knew that those bastards couldn’t care less about common sense or international law even if they tried!

What pissed Choi Gu-Hyeon off even more was the fact that the Chinese government had the full knowledge of its citizens causing harm to its neighbors, yet didn’t even bother to rein them in!

Actually, the damn bastards even sneakily endorsed the breaking of international laws and fishing in other countries’ territorial waters without permit!

The Chinese government kept mum as if they had no idea of what was going on. But then, when issues inevitably arose, they’d start pressuring the Korean government under the pretext of protecting their citizens!

‘A bunch of shameless bastards, that’s what they are!’

Watching these arrogant Chinese bastards running their mouths off was more than enough to rouse murderous urges in Choi Gu-Hyeon.

Events were already stoking anti-Chinese sentiments throughout South Korea. However, those sentiments couldn’t be worse than Choi Gu-Hyeon’s, who was unfortunate enough to deal directly with the trouble caused by the Chinese!

“Still, isn’t this too much? Just what the hell is up with this situation, man? Gimme a break!”

Illegal fishing vessels brazenly entered the South Korean territorial waters, dumped an entire group of people into the sea, then leisurely sailed back to China.

This unprecedented event left the Coast Guard so flustered that not only did it fail to stop the ships from returning, but it even failed to apprehend the mysterious swimmers, too! Thanks to their slip-up, those ships must have reached the Chinese territorial waters by now.

After the commotion had cleared up, the only things remaining on this stretch of the empty ocean were patrol boats with nothing to do just aimlessly floating around.

Choi Gu-Hyeon snapped back, “What now!”

Jeong Yo-Han asked while making a distorted face. “Isn’t this, you know, totally crazy?”

“...What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about common sense, sir. Where’s the common sense here?”

Choi Gu-Hyeon groaned loudly. “Hey, man. When have you ever seen those bastards act rationally or according to common sense?”

“No, that’s not it, sir.”

“I mean, common sense-wise, how could they just dump all those people in the water here?”

Choi Gu-Hyeon turned his head to look in the direction of the land. However, the nighttime fog had set, making it impossible to see the shore from the patrol boat. He could only make out faint balls of light in the distance.

“I mean, it’s stupid to take the ocean for granted, right? Sir?”

“...Well, yeah. That’s true.”

Most of those unfortunate enough to fall out of their ship from the rough waves, or worse, the ship overturning and sinking, did not survive their ordeal.

The first reason was that the ocean didn’t allow the victim to stay in one place.

No matter how hard you tried to stay in one spot, the waves would still carry you away in the end. Even if the rescuers arrived at the accident area as quickly as possible, it’d still be next to impossible to find the victim carried away to the open sea by the relentless current.

The second reason was the water temperature.

A human would feel bitterly cold after spending thirty minutes submerged in a pool of refreshingly cool water. And the temperature of the distant seas was much, much lower than what most people would call ‘refreshing.’

Those who fall into the cold sea would rapidly lose their body temperature, which, in turn, weakened their ability to swim or remain afloat. Even capable swimmers would eventually lose to the elements and drown in such an environment.

Seong Yo-Han asked, “All those people who jumped into the water earlier... They should be all dead by now, right?”

Logic said yes, those unidentified people should have drowned. Surviving in the middle of the ocean during the night when it was difficult to get one’s bearings? That would be impossible.

Couldn’t they have swum toward the shore?

Even national-level swimmers would’ve found it impossible to reach the shore while breaking through the rough waves of the unforgivingly cold ocean in the middle of the night. Not even Choi Gu-Hyeon, a man trained by the best swimmers in the business as his job required him to rescue people in the rough seas, would dare try that.

However, Choi Gu-Hyeon couldn’t nod in agreement with what Seong Yo-Han said because...

The patrol boat’s massive spotlights continued to cast bright light beams on the ocean’s surface. However, the Coast Guard members couldn’t see anything.

“...Where are all the bodies, then?”

Seong Yo-Han groaned in frustration. “That’s what I’m saying, sir. Isn’t this just too much?”

If all those people had drowned, the water’s surface should be littered with floating corpses by now.

Bodies of drowning victims would initially sink but after some time, they’d float back up again. However, Choi Gu-Hyeon couldn’t spot a single body even after a considerable length of time had already passed. Forget bodies, he couldn’t even see a single fish leaping out of the water, either!

“Sir, just what did we witness today?”

Choi Gu-Hyeon couldn’t reply to Jeong Yo-Han’s question. How could he, when he also didn’t know?

At least one thing seemed certain at this point: some outrageous and surreal things were happening in this part of the ocean!

“Also, over there... Mm?”

Jeong Yo-Han suddenly stopped talking and narrowed his eyes to stare off into the distance. Then, he pointed at the distant horizon.

“Sir? Can you see that?”

“Over there, Inspector. I think there’s something way over there!”

Choi Gu-Hyeon hurriedly turned his head to stare in the direction Seong Yo-Han was pointing at.

‘What is this brat talking about? See what?’

What could anyone see in this pitch-black darkness...?

That was when the patrol boat’s spotlight swung past the area Jeong Yo-Han was pointing at.

Choi Gu-Hyeon’s brows shot up after spotting distant blurry objects. He was convinced now. There really was something in that direction!

“Wasn’t that... a ship?”

“I was right. There is something there, isn’t it?”

“...! Insane sons of b*tches!”

Choi Gu-Hyeon cried out after realizing the implication of what he saw.

This part of the ocean was currently being cordoned off. Fishermen and other civilian vessels were forbidden from entering this area. Yet he saw what looked like a ship in the distance.

That could mean only one thing.

“Those bastards dare come back here?!”

Choi Gu-Hyeon’s face reddened from anger.

Even if the Chinese bastards were known to treat Koreans in disdain, wasn’t this still too much disrespect for one night?!

“Hey, all of you! Get your gears ready! Those motherf*ckers! I don’t care how, we’re gonna get those bastards this time!”

Seong Yo-Han urgently tried to calm his superior down. “H-hold on, Inspector! Let’s calm down first and report this in!”

Choi Gu-Hyeon hurriedly raised his walkie-talkie. However, even before he could report the situation, his communication device noisily beeped at him first.

And then, a set of new orders came in.

Choi Gu-Hyeon’s face contorted weirdly as he silently listened.

“Sir! It’s the Korean Coast Guard.”

When he heard that brief report, Miura Kazuhiro raised his head to study the distant patrol boat. The commander of Yamashiro-gumi, the strongest faction in Kanto, smirked deeply.

“I see that Koreans have put up a lot of scarecrows for us today.”

“Sir, engaging with the Coast Guard can create issues.”

“Issues, you say...?”

The smirk on Miura Kazuhiro’s face deepened.

“Even if we create issues, we won’t be the ones dealing with them later, anyway. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, sir. You have a point there.”

This whole expedition had always been Shinichi-kai’s idea. So, mopping up the mess should be their job, not Yamashiro-gumi’s.

“I’m not too keen about worsening the situation, but! Where is the fun in sticking to the Shinichi-kai bastards’ plans like good little boys? When we get close, deal with the Coast Guard appropriately!”

Miura Kazuhiro leisurely walked to the bow of this ship to take in the view of the ocean before him.

‘I’m still uncomfortable about this.’

Humans were meant to live on dry land. Living in an archipelago meant the Japanese people had plenty of opportunities to interact with the ocean, but for Miura Kazuhiro? He just couldn’t get used to the ocean even if he tried.

‘That’s why we want the continent, isn’t it?’

A continent was vast. A land where a man with ambition could spread his wings as much as he wants!

The importance of the size of one’s territory had waned in the modern era, but to Kazuhiro, things had not changed at all. The way he saw it, one’s power ultimately came from the land they owned and the people living in it.

Logic said occupying a larger land would help you obtain even more wealth.

However, land was in short supply in Japan.

In an archipelago like Japan, people had no choice but to compete for the limited habitable land available. That was the story before, during, and after the Warring States period. And whenever the situation had stabilized within its borders, the Japanese would always turn their attention to outside their borders next.

Was it because they were too greedy for their own good? That was not the case.

Everyone subconsciously knew the truth already. If so many people continued with their cramped existence in Japan, eventually another civil war would break out. They’d be busy cannibalizing each other.

The only way to resolve that situation was to expand Japan’s territory. What they wanted wasn’t the cramped archipelago, but the vast Asian continent. The endless expanse of land where one could run forever and still not reach the end! That was what they desired.

...And Miura Kazuhiro could see the bridgehead leading to that vast continent waiting right before his eyes!

‘Although, the order of things has been reversed somewhat.’

The war between Kanto and Kansai still had not concluded yet. Although the civil war had entered a bit of lull while the sides involved concentrated on improving their strength, there was still no doubt they were at odds with each other. Who would stand at the top was still to be decided.

In a situation like that, forming a temporary truce and joining hands with the enemy to invade South Korea was a risky gamble.

‘However, this gamble is worth the risk, isn’t it?’

The Korean peninsula was a rather tempting trophy, after all!

In the past, this land was no different from a wasteland abandoned by everyone, but not these days. It might not be as abundant in resources as, say, the Japanese motherland, but occupying it should still give the Japanese gumis some breathing room.

In other words... If Miura Kazuhiro could take over the Korean peninsula, the lengthy and often brutal battle for supremacy between Shinichi-kai and Yamashiro-gumi would finally end!

“I’m not happy about following those bastards’ orders, but that doesn’t mean we can afford to miss out on this opportunity.”

The reward for participating in this war, as offered by Shinichi-kai, was very generous, to say the least. And it was... half of the peninsula!

What a massive reward that was for simply participating in the war! Although Miura Kazuhiro was suspicious about why those greedy Shinichi-kai bastards would even go this far...

‘...Maybe it’s an indication of how desperate they are.’

The catastrophe of Kansai’s youngsters getting massacred the last time they tried to take over South Korea was a huge story everyone in the Japanese martial society had heard about already.

Although Miura Kazuhiro didn’t want to acknowledge it, once upon a time, Shinchi-kai had leapfrogged Yamashiro-gumi to become Japan’s strongest faction. But that event was so disastrous for Shinichi-kai that its sky-high fame fell to the gutters in the proverbial blink of an eye.

For Shinichi-kai to rebuild its fame and glory, it must find a way to overcome that costly mistake. And that way... was this war!

“Sir! We’re closing in on the patrol boats!”

The ships carrying Yamashiro-gumi’s warriors could have changed their course and avoided hitting the Korean Coast Guard. However, Miura Kazuhiro did not order that. Why? Because the Koreans would just go through the motions and do not much else.

He knew the Korean Coast Guard would never actively try to stop the Japanese.

“Sir? The patrol boats are... moving away.”

Miura Kazuhiro narrowed his eyes and stared at the patrol boats in slight surprise. Those ships were clearly urgently turning away from the incoming Japanese ships.

‘They are trying to avoid us?’

In other words, the Coast Guard was opening the way.

“Sir, I think the cowardly Koreans are living up to their title.”

Miura Kazuhiro grunted quietly.

The Coast Guard’s response looked quite logical on the surface. The Japanese might be traveling on Chinese fishing vessels, but these vessels happened to be rather large. Even the Coast Guard patrol boats wouldn’t emerge from the collision unscathed.

If they didn’t want any casualties on their hands, avoiding a collision seemed the logical choice.

After all, martial artists could swim to the shore even if their ships sank. But not the Coast Guard members, who were powerless ordinary people.

Muira Kazuhiro knew all that, but...

But why did this exceedingly logical situation not seem logical to him?

“What should we do, sir?”

When he heard that question, Miura Kazuhiro quickly waved his hand as if there was no need to even think about this anymore.

‘When commanding an army, a general must be as swift as wind!’

Even a moment taken to ponder could slow the army down. Weren’t they already riding on the proverbial tiger’s back? What was there to hesitate, in that case?

“Since they are kindly opening the way for us, let us gladly use it. Tell the other ships to head to the peninsula at top speed! We shall land ahead of schedule.”

The fishing fleet quickly raised its speed and broke through the line of the Coast Guard patrol boats.

However, the patrol boats didn’t stay still after they got left behind. They began catching up and eventually positioned themselves at the flanks of the fishing fleet.

Wasn’t this like the Coast Guard was herding the Japanese to a specific location?

‘No, I must be overthinking it.’

Obviously, the Koreans wouldn’t just let the fishing vessels go. Since they couldn’t block the path, the only other alternative left must’ve been tailing the Japanese closely from behind.

As if to prove that assertion, the fishing vessels continued to head toward their original destination without encountering any further obstructions from the Koreans. Whatever this was, it couldn’t be called herding if the ships were not redirected to elsewhere.

Miura Kazuhiro spotted the distant lights of the harbor and shouted in a resolute tone.

“Once we reach the destination, do not wait for my order and immediately disembark! Reach the shore as soon as you can. Shinichi-kai might have started this war, but we at Yamashiro-gumi will be the ones emerging as the ultimate victors!”

As Miura Kazuhiro’s roar echoed, the vessels sailed even faster toward the silent harbor in the distance.