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\'Which one is it, though?\'

What would it be this time? Lee Hyeon-Su carefully studied Kang Jin-Ho\'s expression, and what he discovered there relaxed him a little.

Other people might not be able to discern the minute differences in Kang Jin-Ho\'s expressions, but Lee Hyeon-Su could. And he could tell that Kang Jin-Ho was amused by this development.

\'...Which is a huge relief.\'

It was far too obvious what might happen if Kang Jin-Ho became furious. The fact that he didn\'t lose his cool was enough to allay some of Lee Hyeon-Su\'s fears.

"Okay, so…" Kang Jin-Ho slightly sat forward, then stared straight into the Master\'s eyes. "What is your impression after meeting me? Do you want to kill me or not?"

The Master replied forcefully to show he wasn\'t backing down. "I\'m still deciding."

"Oh? And after you make up your mind, do you think you have what it takes to kill me?"

"I also have not decided on that yet."

Kang Jin-Ho\'s smirk deepened. "This is getting interesting."

He leaned back against the chair again and stubbed the cigarette out before mouthing a new one.

"You\'d need a basis to help you decide, wouldn\'t you say? In that case, how about we go back to the beginning? What is it that you want to talk to me about?"

The Master reflexively fake-coughed. He acted a little more provocatively than before to push back against Kang Jin-Ho\'s relentless pressure. However, his provocation fell flat and failed to agitate Kang Jin-Ho.

\'At least in that regard, he\'s not what I expected.\'

The Master furrowed his brow slightly. Kang Jin-Ho possessed the qualities of an absolute ruler. A tyrant. And a man like that would never look past provocations made against them.

However, Kang Jin-Ho handled the Master\'s attempt with ease. There could be one of two reasons for his unperturbed attitude.

One, Kang Jin-Ho was completely different from all the other tyrants the Master knew of. Or…

\'Or, he thinks I\'m not even worth getting worked up for.\'

A tiger wouldn\'t get angry if a hare tried to provoke it. Get irritated, yes, but genuine fury? Not very likely. Kang Jin-Ho wouldn\'t have a reason to lose his cool if he viewed the Master as the little hare busy playing around in his front yard.

The Master was quite certain the truth leaned a lot closer to the latter possibility. And that made him chuckle hollowly.

Just who was he? Wasn\'t he the Master of the Round Table? Even without relying on his status, he still could confidently say only three people in the whole of Europe could rival him in strength.

Even then, Kang Jin-Ho was still looking down on him?

\'How… arrogant!\'

Indescribably arrogant, that was what this was!

The Master wouldn\'t have let this go if someone else dared to behave this way in his presence. He would have made the offender pay dearly for insulting him and the Round Table!

However, he didn\'t particularly feel like doing that right now. Was it because he was weaker than Kang Jin-Ho? No.

\'For some reason… I\'m not mad about it.\'

He soon realized why. This behavior seemed so natural when Kang Jin-Ho did it.

No one could criticize a lion for attacking a prey to fill up its empty stomach. That didn\'t make any sense, after all. It was merely nature doing its thing.

This man\'s arrogance was largely the same story. It came across as all too natural and fit Kang Jin-Ho like a glove. And that was why the Master didn\'t particularly feel like he was insulted or humiliated.

"So, what I want to say to you…" The Master sat back a little comfier than before.

He finally realized that this summit wouldn\'t be what he had envisioned. For one, it was not a summit between two nations or heads of powerful organizations. No, it was… Simply put, a clash between two humans, one named Kang Jin-Ho and the other referred to as the Master of the Round Table!

The Master narrowed his eyes slightly. "I was originally planning to take my time and enjoy the scenery, but with you coming for me directly like this… I should reciprocate in kind, then."

"That\'s fine by me," Kang Jin-Ho smirked deeply.

The Master saw that expression and slightly amended his evaluation of Kang Jin-Ho. It seemed the Assembly Master of the Korean Martial Assembly wasn\'t simply an oppressive tyrant. Since he didn\'t care much for keeping up appearances, he didn\'t force others to behave properly either.

That indicated he wasn\'t an authoritarian.

\'What a bizarre mixture of traits this is.\'

Considering his strength and the pressure from his presence alone, it wouldn\'t have been too strange to see Kang Jin-Ho demanding maximum respect from everyone he ran into. However, he didn\'t do that.

When the Master recalled the conversation between them so far, he quickly realized Kang Jin-Ho was a shockingly straightforward person.

\'Is that why?\'

Even though the temperature in the room had been rising higher and higher since the very beginning, Wiggins didn\'t bother to step in and calm Kang Jin-Ho down. The Master finally understood why.

That was because Kang Jin-Ho wasn\'t trying to be provocative or combative. He simply conversed this way. A man who omitted all the unnecessary fat and went for the meat right away! That was who he was!

People used to more... usual types of conversations could feel offended or uncomfortable by this approach. However, not the Master. He was actually feeling refreshed by it.

\'I haven\'t felt this way in a long time.\'

A summit was a war all but in name. It was just that the parties involved didn\'t stab or shoot each other to maximize their benefits. No, they simply resorted to all kinds of underhanded dealings and schemes while trying to get a read on the others by any means possible!

At least, that was how all summits the Master had participated so far had unfolded.

\'No, wait. It\'s not just the summits I\'ve attended, now is it?\'

It was the same story for the Round Table, as well.

The Round Table might be a legislative body representing Europe, but no one would deny that the complicated webs of interests of various nations and their martial societies operated within it.

That was why the members, despite the facade of fairness and dignity, still fiercely competed with each other to maximize benefits for their country and themselves in everything the Round Table did.

The Round Table wasn\'t to be blamed here, though. This was what summits and conferences always devolved into, after all.

However, this summit was different. Since Kang Jin-Ho came out this way, the Master also wanted to change his approach somewhat.

"Before we start… I\'d like to confirm a few things first, if you don\'t mind," said the Master.

"Sure, go ahead," Kang Jin-Ho casually nodded away.

"You must be aware that the existences and actions of you and the Martial Assembly have rocked East Asia to its core."

Instead of a verbal reply, Kang Jin-Ho simply leaned back against his chair. However, that was not a sign of denial. If anything, it seemed to indicate that he didn\'t feel like responding to something so obvious.

"Then, I only wish to ask this one question. What is it that you want?"

Click…!

Kang Jin-Ho lit the cigarette dangling between his lips, then slowly puffed away at the gray smoke. When he stared back at the Master, however, Kang Jin-Ho seemed a little dismayed about something.

"Really? Is that what you really wanted to ask me?"

The Master narrowed his eyes. "Yes, it is. Why? Is it too difficult to answer?"

"No. It\'s just that I\'m a bit surprised by how easy it is." Kang Jin-Ho chuckled quietly, then shook his head. "What I want is simple enough."

Rather than immediately clarify himself, Kang Jin-Ho deliberately took his time. The atmosphere in the room grew slightly heated as a result.

Only when everyone\'s unbridled attention was locked on him did Kang Jin-Ho leisurely raise his voice once more. "It\'s… peace."

"…!" The Master briefly forgot what he wanted to say.

Peace, was it? What a nice notion that was.

However, that idea seemed so weirdly ill-fitting when it came out of Kang Jin-Ho\'s mouth.

\'Is he trying to make fun of me?\'

The Master initially suspected that but soon realized he was wrong.

Although there was a hint of a smile in Kang Jin-Ho\'s expression, the Master could tell it was no sneer. Kang Jin-Ho was being genuine with his answer here!

The Master asked back just in case. "Did you say… peace?"

"Hmm? It\'s not like you\'re not getting a decent translation, and the concept of peace shouldn\'t be that difficult to understand, so…" Kang Jin-Ho stared straight into the Master\'s eyes again. "Why do you ask again after getting your answer?"

"...It\'s because I find it hard to understand," said the Master while sneakily turning his head to glance at Wiggins and Lee Hyeon-Su. And he could see that there hadn\'t been any discernible changes to those two men\'s expressions.

\'In other words, it\'s not odd to hear Kang Jin-Ho talking about peace?\'

It also meant all the things Kang Jin-Ho had done so far aligned with the goal of achieving peace, but…

But wasn\'t that strange?

Kang Jin-Ho\'s presence itself had broken the region\'s peace, didn\'t it?

Anyone who had been observing East Asia\'s developing situation would readily agree that the series of actions Kang Jin-Ho initiated was rapidly turning this region into a bomb that could blow up the whole world.

Before Kang Jin-Ho\'s entrance into the scene, East Asia had been maintaining a delicate but perfect balance, at least in the Master\'s opinion. So, for a man responsible for destroying that balance and plunging East Asia into a state of constant tension to say he wanted peace?

"Assembly Master, you… Your actions do not suggest your goal is aligned with achieving peace. On the contrary."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I do," The Master\'s expression became withdrawn as he stared coldly at Kang Jin-Ho. "You have usurped the Martial Assembly\'s throne for yourself. Then, you proceeded to clash with the Chinese. Let\'s not forget your deadly friction with the Japanese, too. As a result, East Asia\'s three nations are busy baring their fangs at each other. Are you still suggesting that this chain of events is ultimately for… peace?"

"Yeah. Why? Is there something wrong?" Kang Jin-Ho casually shrugged. "Isn\'t it peaceful around here?"

"...Excuse me?"

"Isn\'t East Asia peaceful right now?"

"…!" The Master\'s face below the mask distorted into a scowl.

\'What is this man on about?\'

Kang Jin-Ho was not a moron. That was simply impossible. So why was he saying such stupid things right now?

"The way I see it, the Korean peninsula right now is several times more peaceful than ever before," Kang Jin-Ho gruffly muttered.

Lee Hyeon-Su silently nodded to agree with his boss\'s opinion.

"Really? The current situation in South Korea is peaceful?" The Master chuckled hollowly. "I\'m not quite sure why I must explain this to you, but…! In my honest view, South Korea is definitely not a picture of peacefulness, as you say. Didn\'t you fend off Japan\'s invasion attempt recently? Aren\'t China and Japan constantly targeting this nation? And you have North Korea right over the border, too. So, where is peace in this place?"

The Master spoke forthrightly. However, it seemed Kang Jin-Ho completely disagreed with him.

"What about them?" Kang Jin-Ho asked, his voice still and cold.

"...I beg your pardon?" The Master frowned.

"All those things you mentioned. Did they happen after I showed up?"

"…?"

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged again. "The things you mentioned have been the story of Korea for decades. It\'s just that only a little tidbit of it was shown on the surface until now, thanks to the \'delicate balance\' as you put it. However, here\'s the thing…"

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho\'s lips curled up in a sinister fashion.

"Whose peace is that now?"

The Master couldn\'t immediately respond and silently listened.

"Can you say the rabbit stuck between the territories of a tiger and a lion is in a peaceful state? You think peace acquired by acting as a buffer zone created to stop two hostile nations from waging war is real peace? Is that the lie you\'ve decided to blind yourself with?"

"…!"

"Don\'t make me laugh," Kang Jin-Ho growled menacingly. His voice was noticeably sharper and more hostile. "Maybe your lot call that peace, but not me. That\'s no peace. Peace isn\'t determined by a lack of warfare. No, real peace can only be earned when you\'ve finally acquired the strength to win if a war breaks out."

Kang Jin-Ho stopped talking there and glared sharply at the Master. His eyes were withdrawn, yet they still burned like fierce flames. And merely staring into them seemed to sap all strength from the Master\'s body.

\'I can\'t get a read on him.\'

It had barely been five minutes since Kang Jin-Ho walked in here, yet the Master\'s evaluation of him had to be revised several times already.

Without a doubt, Kang Jin-Ho was arrogant. However, he was also unpretentious. On top of that, he…

\'He\'s level-headed, too.\'

The Master was finally forced to admit it. Kang Jin-Ho was not some random oppressor who only relied on brute force. He might not be a typical behind-the-scenes schemer, but he definitely knew what he was talking about. More crucially, though, his focus never strayed from the heart of the matter, too.

To make matters worse, he had already proven that he was decisive enough to execute his plans without hesitation.

All these factors pointed to one indisputable truth.

\'He\'s… dangerous!\'

Kang Jin-Ho was indescribably dangerous!

A dictator wasn\'t as dangerous as most people gave them credit for. As for radicals filled with dangerous ideologies? Plenty of them could be found all over the globe.

The really dangerous individuals were created only when unwavering ideals were combined with the strength to bring those ideals into reality. And Kang Jin-Ho possessed both.

He definitely held an unshakable ideal, a goal. And his strength allowed him to turn them into a reality.

The Master knew. He knew that some piffling dictator or a madman could only create minor accidents and disasters. However, those with power and ideals could easily plunge the world around them into a terrifying Hell on Earth!

As an example... Humanity had already experienced what could happen if a man with political power and populist ideals acquired the military might, now didn\'t it!

\'This man… is too dangerous!\'

The Master\'s expression grew much more somber as he glared at Kang Jin-Ho.