Kang Jin-Ho couldn’t immediately figure out what Willie Reese was trying to say.

Station? Now that was a strange idea to Kang Jin-Ho, who had been a part of the martial world all his life.

Lee Hyeon-Su stepped in just then, after noticing his boss’s confusion.

“Please don’t beat around the bush and be more direct. Only then would we be able to answer you more clearly, as well.”

Willie Reese nodded briefly. “It’s not a complicated concept, actually. South Korea already hosts American troops, yes?”

“Yes.”

“The cost of stationing troops in Korea is considerable, but America has been footing most of the bill, anyway. What we’re proposing is not all that different in principle. If you grant us the permit to use a small territory in your country, we’ll station some of our martial artists there.”

Okay, so... They want to set up a United States Forces Korea, the Martial World Edition?

Lee Hyeon-Su scratched his cheek while leaning against his chair. This didn’t sound like an offer to become buddies or something like that.

The Americans contacting Kang Jin-Ho was a given. But neither Lee Hyeon-Su nor the executives in the Martial Assembly expected the other party to show up with an actual agenda to discuss so soon. After all, it’d be their first encounter, and the Martial Assembly and the American government weren’t... familiar enough to discuss anything important yet.

Lee Hyeon-Su narrowed his eyes. “Isn’t it too early to bring up such a topic?”

“I agree with you,” Willie Reese replied, his somber gaze alternating between Lee Hyeon-Su and Kang Jin-Ho. “But we prioritize efficiency and results over things like processes and procedures. Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough time for us to gradually build our friendship. Which means we must handle it as a trade negotiation.”

...Even if they were friends, a trade would remain as that, a trade. Lee Hyeon-Su chose not to say that out loud, though, and simply nodded.

Well, at least this guy is a no-nonsense type.

Was it how the Americans carried themselves? Or was Willie Reese simply the confident type? Lee Hyeon-Su couldn’t tell. However, at least he knew that a straightforward type like this guy was...

Lee Hyeon-Su sneakily glanced at Kang Jin-Ho. Sure enough, his boss was smirking strangely.

...Yup, this type of approach usually works with the Assembly Master.

That smirk only showed up on Kang Jin-Ho’s face when he was in a good mood. For some reason, he seemed to prefer people who spoke their minds instead of trying to beat around the bush dozens of times.

His preference made some sense, though, considering Kang Jin-Ho had to take a loooong way around—like thirty thousand light years long!—whenever he was doing stuff related to other countries.

Kang Jin-Ho sucked in a deep puff of the cigarette smoke before leisurely exhaling it into the air.

“And what for?”

His question was as brief as it could get without losing its meaning.

Willie Reese explained, his expression remaining somber. “There are several reasons, of course. But most of all, the East Asian situation is spiraling faster into chaos than most of us have expected.”

“Mm...?” Lee Hyeon-Su tilted his head. “What does the East Asian situation matter to America on the other side of the planet?”

“Mm... You’re exactly what the intel said you’d be like, Mister Lee.”

“I’m sorry?”

“We analyzed you to be a sly individual, an expert at pleading ignorance. As to prove that, you still ask me, despite knowing the answer already.”

Willie Reese grinned brightly.

“Do you still want our explanation, regardless?”

Lee Hyeon-Su narrowed his eyes. Was this American being courteous or rude? Whatever the case might be, Lee Hyeon-Su decided to stick with the charade for now.

“Yes, please explain, since I don’t get it.”

“It’s not complicated. We’re not concerned about the chaos in East Asia itself. But we do care about one faction using the chaos to unify the entire East Asia.”

“Wow!” Lee Hyeon-Su frowned in dismay. “Are you supposed to say that out loud in front of us?”

It’d be one thing to think about something like that, but blurting it out while Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su were still around? What was this American thinking?

Willie Reese grinned. “I told you, this is simply an unofficial discussion. Whatever I say now does not represent America’s position.”

“Aha. So, your side won’t take responsibility for your words. Got it.”

“Yes, that is so,” Willie Reese powerlessly shrugged. “Besides, I know it’s not possible to hide things from some people. I simply don’t have the talent to hide our intentions from East Asia’s Demon King or his right-hand man.”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked derisively. “I didn’t know America could be this hopeless. Usually, you wouldn’t send a man with no authority to the battlefront like this, you see?”

A hint of derision was unmistakable in what he said.

Willie Reese obviously would have picked up on that, but rather than expressing his displeasure, he simply shrugged. “It couldn’t be helped, unfortunately. No one wanted to have a sit-down with the Demon King, after all.”

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean, one slip of the tongue could get you killed, so who in their right mind would want to volunteer? Of course, it’s not like everyone’s a coward and didn’t want to do it. But those who were willing all have important job descriptions, so their demise would have left sizable holes in our operations.”

Lee Hyeon-Su sneakily glanced at Kang Jin-Ho again. Sure enough, Kang Jin-Ho was openly making a dissatisfied face.

Why did it feel like Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su had already heard something similar before? Wasn’t it from the South Korean government?

Kang Jin-Ho tutted. “Just what kind of rumors about me are circulating out there?”

Willie Reese tactlessly asked back. “Would you like to know?”

“...No thanks.”

Kang Jin-Ho had zero desire to confirm unsavory rumors about himself.

Lee Hyeon-Su butted in. “Well, if I’m being honest, sir? This kind of response shouldn’t be surprising at all.”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned. “I haven’t done anything that bad, though?”

“Have you already forgotten about Japan? And the Round Table?”

“...”

Kang Jin-Ho clamped his mouth after failing to think of a counterargument.

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled while addressing Willie Reese. “I’m not sure if you’ll believe me, but the truth about our Assembly Master is that he can be a very generous and easy-going person. It’s just that he’s very strict on the friend-or-foe classification, you see?”

Willie Reese nodded sheepishly. And that was why he was here, wasn’t he?

His higher-ups’ assessment of Kang Jin-Ho could be summarized as... He was a dangerous man, but being his friend guaranteed safety and stability. On the other hand, he could be one of the worst enemies to have.

It’d be a bad idea to create bad blood with someone like that. Especially when America was facing off against a powerful enemy called China. So, imagine having Kang Jin-Ho as an enemy, too; the numbers simply didn’t add up in that case.

The ones we’re supposed to form an alliance with got utterly obliterated, after all...

The truth was that America hadn’t planned on stationing its martial artists in South Korea. Although there was some distance, setting up a base of operations in Japan would have roughly the similar effect, after all.

Whether it was South Korea or Japan, it made little difference in the end, since one quick plane ride would be enough to enter China in case of a crisis, anyway.

But the Japanese martial society got subjugated by the Korean Martial Assembly.

The man the Martial Assembly had dispatched, Chang Min, employed some gruesome out-of-the-box methods to completely dismantle the Japanese martial society. And he did that in only a few months. At the rate he was going, Japan would no longer have any semblance of a martial society left in a month or less.

Once its martial society was completely dismantled, Japan would be forced to become the Martial Assembly’s branch office. And that would mark that country as the Koreans’ territory.

Which meant America would need to get the Martial Assembly’s permission to station its men there, anyway. In that case, why choose Japan, which was further away?

America no longer had a choice in the matter.

South Korea wasn’t the only country near China, but it was also undoubtedly the best place to station American martial artists in order to discourage China.

“So, in short...” Lee Hyeon-Su muttered, unimpressed. “You want our permission to station American forces in our country?”

“Yes, that is so.”

“And why should we do that?” Lee Hyeon-Su asked, still unimpressed.

He didn’t mind giving Willie Reese some points for being straightforward, but the topic of this conversation sounded like a pretty terrible idea to him.

“The United States Forces Korea is allowed in the country because its existence helps South Korea. That’s why the Korean government is willing to pay so much to keep having American troops in the country, but that story doesn’t apply to the martial world. I don’t see any merit in having your people in our backyard.”

Willie Reese cocked his head to the side. “It’s the same logic, however. Wouldn’t our presence deter any further Chinese aggressions?”

“Oh, just because of that reasoning, you want us to welcome a bunch of people who have not proven their skills yet into our home? When we’re not even allies? And when we don’t even know what kind of ulterior motives your people might have?”

Lee Hyeon-Su narrowed his eyes and growled.

“Sometimes, it’s not the tiger outside the house you should be worried about, but the rabid dogs in your house.”

“The rabid dogs, you say...?” Willie Reese chuckled helplessly.

For sure, it seemed the Americans had been having it too easy until now. No European martial artists dared to label Americans this way. Yet here was Lee Hyeon-Su, casually calling Americans rabid dogs. Was that a slip of his tongue? Probably not.

No, he must be deeply confident in himself.

“Well, if you think we’re rabid dogs, so be it,” said Willie Reese with a helpless shrug. “However, a military dog can only be of great help. It doesn’t pose any danger to its allies.”

“Really now? I thought trained military dogs would unhesitantly go for the throats of their targets when ordered to do so by their handlers?”

“Sure, that’s true. If you’re a regular person, that is. But I’m pretty sure the Martial Assembly isn’t weak enough to fall from a few dogs biting it, though.”

Lee Hyeon-Su smirked in bemusement at Willie Reese. Despite his brief attempts to unsettle him, the American remained unfazed. In that case, how about...

“What an amusing statement that is. If that’s what...”

“That’s enough,” Kang Jin-Ho suddenly cut in while sounding unimpressed. “I’m getting bored here.”

“...”

Lee Hyeon-Su pouted dejectedly, but still wisely clamped his mouth shut.

Even though this is the fun of diplomacy, you know! This is what makes it so much fun!

Besides, I’m supposed to pressure and crush the other side first to maximize our benefits, you know! That’s the rule of this game!

Unfortunately for Lee Hyeon-Su, though, Kang Jin-Ho hated such rules more than anyone else.

Lee Hyeon-Su could push a little more in order to extract even more benefits, but he also knew that everything would go down the drain if Kang Jin-Ho decided he had enough and flipped the table on its head. That was why he obediently kept quiet this time.

“Okay, so...” Kang Jin-Ho took over the baton and addressed Willie Reese. “What are the conditions?”

“We’ll give you everything you want as long as it’s within reason,” Willie Reese replied immediately and affirmatively. “The monetary compensation for allowing our people in your country is a given. And we will use our far-reaching influence to assist with the Martial Assembly’s activities. All of this is possible if you and the Martial Assembly become friends of the United States of America.”

“Friends, you say...?” Kang Jin-Ho smirked deeply. “The word you were looking for was ‘allies’, not friends.”

“Aren’t they the same, in this case?” Willie Reese replied with a bright smile. “Benefits cannot be left out in human relationships. A friendship that doesn’t benefit its participants is nothing but a facade, an empty shell. As long as this deal proves mutually beneficial, we can be friends forever, sir. At least, that is my humble opinion. What do you think, sir? Are you interested in joining us and creating a brand-new world?” 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Kang Jin-Ho mouthed a new cigarette and lit it up, then glanced at Willie Reese. Anyone could tell that he wasn’t impressed.

“Looks like you didn’t understand me the first time...”

“I’m sorry?”

“I wasn’t talking about compensations but your conditions,” said Kang Jin-Ho. “Stop trying to irritate me bit by bit. Just come out and say it.”

Willie Reese subtly chewed on his lip. It was as the intel said. Kang Jin-Ho was not easy to deal with.

“Our conditions, you say... Yes, conditions. We do have them. Two, as a matter of fact.”

Willie Reese raised his index finger.

“One. You must break off the alliance with the Chinese government and form an alliance with us instead.”

“Stop right there,” said Kang Jin-Ho. He grinned weirdly while getting up. “Looks like this conversation is over.”

“...! W-wait, please! Mister Kang!”

Willie Reese jumped up in alarm. He did not expect Kang Jin-Ho to respond like this so soon. He had been completely caught off-guard and fell into a bout of panic.

“Sir, please! I implore you to listen to me till the end. I...”

“When that dog was chased away, I thought I’d be talking to a human being. But as it turns out, it’s just another dog. Barking fewer times doesn’t make it any less of a dog.”

“...!”

Kang Jin-Ho growled menacingly.

“I’ll view this as an honest mistake on your part and let you leave in one piece. However, you better not show yourself in front of me ever again. If you wish to keep your life, that is.”

Willie Reese completely froze up on the spot.