The atmosphere in the training area rapidly grew icy.

The soldiers kept staring at the sight of collapsed Chris Glancy and Kang Jin-Ho’s approaching figure.

Meanwhile, Major Jimmy Bower’s complexion was as pale as it could get. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Just one hit?! That’s all it took?

Chris Glancy was definitely not a weakling. If he was, he wouldn’t have stepped forward to fight Kang Jin-Ho alone. Actually, he could very well be one of the top three strongest among the soldiers present!

Yet he went down with one hit. Just one!

Worse still, Kang Jin-Ho didn’t even attack seriously. It was as if he was flicking his hand to chase away an annoying mosquito. But that was still enough to leave Chris Glancy in a state where no one could tell if he was still alive!

Just how... How is this even possible?

Of course Jimmy Bower already knew there would be a substantial gap of strength between Kang Jin-Ho and the American soldiers. Everyone here, including Chris Glancy, would never think they stood a chance against Kang Jin-Ho.

However, this... This outcome was too much, even for that!

An average person would’ve expended more effort to kill a mosquito than Kang Jin-Ho had while defeating Chris Glancy. Didn’t this outcome imply that the gap between the two men was even larger than the one between a human and a mosquito?!

No! That cannot be true!

Bower’s eyes grew bloodshot. The soldiers of the Special Operations Battalion were supposed to be super soldiers. They were the amalgamation of America’s knowledge and power. These people received the most scientific and logical training methods to become the best of the best.

Even if their training method still hadn’t matched the cultivation techniques practiced in Asia or the Round Table, the gap shouldn’t be this big. Such a thing was simply unthinkable!

Unable to control his emotions anymore, Bower roared at the top of his lungs. “What are you all doing, you goddamn maggots! Attack the enemy, now! Hurry the hell up!”

His shout must’ve been effective, because several of the stupefied soldiers snapped wide awake from it. They hurriedly signaled to their squad mates with their gestures.

Since they now knew they couldn’t fight Kang Jin-Ho individually, the next best thing was to coordinate with the rest of their squad.

Kang Jin-Ho observed this chain of events while looking somewhat bored. Even then, he still continued approaching the soldiers.

“You must resolve yourselves to kill the target! Do it!”

The squad leader’s encouragement helped the rest of the SOB’s soldiers to sober up, too, and they all glared murderously at Kang Jin-Ho.

The numerical advantage was strength in itself.

If the soldiers were forced to fight Kang Jin-Ho by themselves or with only their squad, they would have fallen into a panicked state by now. But they had nearly one thousand comrades behind and around them.

Better still, this was their home turf, their backyard!

Even a coward would gain a bit of courage when in their own home. This base was where they lived and trained. Not to forget, they were in America, too. It didn’t matter who or how strong Kang Jin-Ho was, he should still think twice about running wild in this place!

These reasons finally freed the soldiers from the grips of paralysis.

“Now... Attack!”

These soldiers of the Special Operations Battalion had gone through thousands, nay, tens of thousands of combat drills. And all those repeated training sessions meant...!

Even before their brains could respond, their bodies moved first. When they saw the figure of the squad leader rushing ahead, the soldiers flung themselves forward to reach their designated positions without hesitation, too.

Unfortunately, that was all they did.

As the soldiers rushed forward, their vision was suddenly filled with the sight of their squad leader flying backward at a scarcely believable speed!

But wasn’t he supposed to take his position and lead the attack?

The soldiers’ heads snapped to follow their leader’s figure flying back. And they witnessed the squad leader slamming into the columns of soldiers still standing around behind them.

It was like watching a powerfully thrown ball hitting hapless bowling pins; screaming human bodies flew and clattered in every direction. None of them could withstand the power contained within the squad leader’s thrown body!

But, how was that even possible?! Something like that shouldn’t even happen in reality!

It felt like the ‘reality’ they knew just got smashed into a million pieces.

However, they couldn’t stew in that feeling for long. Because, with the squad leader now out of commission, they realized Kang Jin-Ho would switch his target to them next!

Their first mistake was charging at an enemy they didn’t have any hopes of winning against. And their second mistake was... Getting distracted when Kang Jin-Ho was right before their noses!

Kang Jin-Ho lightly extended his hand and grabbed the arm of a soldier wielding a large sword. And then, tossed him away like a broken toy!

KA-BOOM!

A human body flew back like a cannon shell and blew away other humans like bits of trash!

KA-BOOM!

KAAA-BOOOOOM!

It happened for the second time, and then third... Human bodies kept flying back to produce more explosion noises.

One of the soldiers, Van Meiden, could only stare in stupefaction at Kang Jin-Ho leisurely approaching him.

That man was... too different.

Whether Kang Jin-Ho was stronger than these soldiers or not no longer mattered here.

Van Meiden’s focus was currently at its most heightened state. As such, everything in his view should have been moving extremely slowly. But within this slowed-down world, only Kang Jin-Ho moved freely and without any delay.

While making a face of a man about to yawn from boredom, Kang Jin-Ho reached where Van Meiden was and grabbed the soldier by his throat. And all Van Meiden could do was watch this unfold with his wide-open eyes.

That was when he could instinctively tell what his fate would be next.

Just as he sensed this extraordinary grip strength on his neck, his view of the world suddenly twisted and got flipped upside down.

“K-kkeu-reuk?!”

All of his blood seemed to flow backward from the power in Kang Jin-Ho’s grip. Mercifully, he soon blacked out from the impact force akin to his entire body blowing up!

KA-BOOM!

After “kindly returning” all the soldiers back to their original spots, Kang Jin-Ho leisurely dusted the cigarette’s ash off, then mouthed it again. He sighed softly while glancing at the still-standing soldiers.

“Looks like you still don’t get it,” Kang Jin-Ho grumbled, his brows furrowing. “I told you to attack me at the same time.”

So that he could save himself the annoyance of attacking several times!

Unfortunately for him, though, what he said just now came across as the most terrifying threat in existence to these soldiers.

How! How could Kang Jin-Ho toss humans around like that?

For now, the fate of the ones who got thrown back didn’t matter. No, what mattered was how the soldiers trying to catch—or failing to dodge, depending on how one looked at that situation—the incoming comrades got severely injured instead!

One soldier took out at least ten or more of his fellow soldiers just now. Kang Jin-Ho had tossed ten people in total, yet doing so resulted in over one hundred injured and incapable of carrying on!

All this happened in less than a minute, too!

Crack, crack.

Kang Jin-Ho cracked his neck from side to side. The popping of neck joints rang out eerily in the air.

Even a simple sound like that felt like the most terrifying threat to these soldiers, however.

*

All semblance of color drained from Willie Reese’s complexion.

“What... What?”

How should he describe the spectacle unfolding before his eyes?

Obviously, he knew Kang Jin-Ho was a powerful expert. And maybe, just maybe, he knew more about Kang Jin-Ho than Kang Jin-Ho himself.

Of course, he meant he knew about Kang Jin-Ho’s actions, his academic records, his business and personal life, and even the fake-sounding feats he had achieved, too.

However, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say the real article was a vastly different beast from the one he saw in video footage and read about in various reports.

Every step Kang Jin-Ho took oozed with tyrannical, inconceivable power!

Grabbing his attackers and throwing them around to snipe the rest of enemies? How did that make any sense logically?

Willie Reese would have been far more accepting of this situation had Kang Jin-Ho used a sword or something to cut his enemies down. But the way Kang Jin-Ho responded, and the strength he demonstrated, mercilessly trampled on the “common sense” Willie Reese had about martial artists.

Wiggins muttered. “Mm, he’s holding back considerably, isn’t he?”

Lee Hyeon-Su nodded. “Yes, he sure is.”

“What a relief. I was slightly worried about what might happen, but as expected of my lord.”

“I was never worried, though?”

“Looks like beating one soldier has inflated your ego somewhat, Mister Lee. Why don’t we have a private chat later? Just you and I?”

“...Please go easy on me, master.”

The two men chatted away as if this sight didn’t surprise them at all. Willie Reese eavesdropped on them, his mind focusing on what Wiggins said initially.

Kang Jin-Ho was... holding back? Really?

If that was true, how much worse would Kang Jin-Ho going at it seriously look like, then?!

Wiggins relaxedly called out. “Your name was Reese, correct?”

“Y-yes, sir.”

“I wouldn’t say your idea was faulty, to begin with. Once upon a time, I also entertained an idea similar to yours, you see? Martial artists have always been unruly creatures that didn’t want to be controlled, after all. So I wondered what might happen if we trained them like soldiers in special forces.”

“...”

“Can you guess why I abandoned that idea in the end?”

“I... No, sir. I can’t.”

“It’s because it was ultimately useless.”

Reese’s eyes powerfully quaked just then. But Wiggins replied with a casual shrug instead.

“Your biggest oversight? You failed to understand the existence of absolute powerhouses. Of course, this is something out of your control, since the Round Table in the past had prevented top experts from leaving Europe and settling in America. You must’ve thought that you have collected and analyzed all the necessary data, but...”

A strange smirk floated up on Wiggins’ face as he pointed at Kang Jin-Ho.

“Do you honestly think you can accurately convey what you saw today to those who aren’t here?”

Reese instinctively knew that such a thing would be impossible.

Even if he relied on his considerable vocabulary, he still wouldn’t be able to convey one-tenth of what he felt today.

“Some things in this world can be quantified into stats and numbers. But some things cannot be. And my lord belongs to the latter category. Also... Numerical advantages mean nothing against an expert of such caliber,” said Wiggins. “What you’ve done so far is akin to gathering two thousand ants to hunt a bear.”

Wiggins shrugged again.

“In that situation, all you can do is pray that the bear isn’t interested in devouring the ants.”

“...”

A subtle smirk floated up on Wiggins’ face next.

“Don’t be disheartened. I’m not saying your method is completely wrong. If your men invade the Round Table tomorrow, they might win against the rank-and-file martial artists. However, when the Knights led by the Master of the Round Table show up? Your men will get massacred without mercy instead.”

“Are you... Are you saying those soldiers are that weak?”

The subtle smirk was suddenly wiped off Wiggins’ face, and he glared sharply at Reese. “What did you say just now?”

“...”

“You’re supposed to be someone holding an important job title, yet it seems you are too slow to understand the situation. Those soldiers are not weak at all, but the blame lies with your incompetence! You’ve spectacularly wasted such wonderful prospects with your ineptitude! Had I been in charge of their education, they would’ve been at least three times stronger than their current level. Do you understand now?”

“...!”

“If a new method works, it will be hailed as revolutionary. A game changer. However, most of the time, such methods and ideas will fail. Any would-be revolutionaries must remember to be cautious. Meticulous. But when you get too hung-up on creating something new just because you feel hopeful about it... This is the result you get, you absolute trash.”

Wiggins’ expression crumpled hideously, which was unlike him. However, he was far too furious right now to care about such things.

Despite being labeled American soldiers, they were still martial artists. Their talents meant they could have become a pillar of the martial world with proper guidance and nurturing. Knowing this, how could Wiggins not get angry at the people responsible for ruining such promising prospects?

After all, Wiggins was also a teacher, a mentor, who had nurtured many martial artists until now.

“Now, keep your eyes peeled and watch,” said Wiggins, his icy glare burrowing a hole in the faces of Reese and Bower.

“I...”

“Force your inept brains to figure out what kind of defect your mass-produced goods possess. Watch why those half-baked soldiers can never be counted as an actual combat force!”

The two American officers stared at the location Wiggins pointed at. That was where Kang Jin-Ho, still puffing away at his cigarette, was leisurely closing the distance toward the American soldiers. And then...

The soldiers were fearfully retreating.

Those soldiers, whom Reese and Bower believed would jump into the conflagration of Hell if ordered to, were hurriedly backing away in terror like a herd of meek rabbits that saw an incoming tiger!

This shocking sight forced the eyes of Jimmy Bower and William Reese to shoot wide open.

Bower reflexively muttered, “H-how dare they embarra...”

Wiggins growled menacingly. “You better keep your pie hole shut, Major. Before I rip your face off myself!”

“...!”

Bower hurriedly clamped his mouth shut. Almost at the same time, Wiggins’ snarky voice slammed into his hearing.

“Throwing your life away to fight an enemy you can’t handle? People usually call that a dog’s death. And there was a country that demanded such a thing from its people not too long ago.”

“...”

“Didn’t your fellow countrymen belittle such a mindset less than a century ago? But now, in our current age of enlightenment, you try to replicate the very mindset you made fun of? This is why humans can be such horrible little creatures.”

Bower’s head faltered as this unbearable shame rushed into his heart.

This defeat... It couldn’t get any more humiliating even if they tried!