Chapter 593: The Majority is Right
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 593: The Majority is Right
"You only speak so coldly because it isn't your own family, don't you?"
Lee Dae-gon raised his voice, practically screaming.
An uncontrollable rage surged within him.
"Hwalbindang Master! What insolence is this!"
Heo Sam-gwan shouted back, his face flushing red. Lee Dae-gon’s words were far too insulting to ignore.
"Did I say anything that wasn't true? You can afford to spout such leisurely nonsense because your clan is still intact, Hall Master Heo!"
"Do not insult me! I, too, feel immense grief over the loss of our allies!"
"Don't make me laugh! How can a man who claims to grieve defend the Demonic Cult?"
"Defend them?! I am saying we should think more rationally! I understand perfectly that this is a heartbreaking and miserable tragedy, but we must not let emotions lead the way in this investigation! Letting feelings cloud our objectivity could lead us to seize an innocent suspect!"
"Are you suggesting the Demonic Cult is innocent right now?"
"Stop twisting my words! You know that's not what I meant!"
"If that's not what you meant, then what is?"
"Hall Master!"
Heo Sam-gwan scowled deeply and roared. He felt a surge of resentment toward Lee Dae-gon, who was letting his emotions run wild and nitpicking every word.
Cackle... Fight... Keep fighting...
Meanwhile, Lee Jae-won began to wear a faint, mocking smile as he watched the two men argue. Everything was going exactly according to plan.
Tang Jin-seol... She really is one hell of a woman.
Lee Jae-won marveled at Tang Jin-seol inwardly. By wiping out the clan of his own supporter, Lee Dae-gon, she had simultaneously removed herself from the list of suspects and sowed internal division.
If it had been him, he likely would have wiped out Heo Sam-gwan’s clan, as the man was a constant thorn in his side. His interference at every turn was incredibly irritating.
However, she had chosen to destroy the clan of Lee Dae-gon—someone on their own side—and in doing so, she had forged Lee Dae-gon into a perfect pawn. A magnificent piece that would serve as the detonator for the Great War of Righteousness and Demons.
Fight more... More, more...
Lee Jae-won urged them on in his mind. He wanted the atmosphere between the two to turn even more hostile.
Of course, the best-case scenario would be them actually coming to blows.
A small smile played on Lee Jae-won’s lips. It was so faint that no one would notice unless they were looking very closely.
He continued to watch the spectacle for a while longer until—
Vrooooooom.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy and sharp. Lee Dae-gon and Heo Sam-gwan had begun to circulate their internal energy.
Now's the time.
The smile on Lee Jae-won’s face deepened.
"What do you think you are doing?!"
He looked straight ahead and let out a roar infused with internal energy.
Rumble!
Every piece of furniture in the meeting room began to vibrate violently all at once.
"Ugh..."
"Gah..."
"Nngh..."
The members of the leadership seated at the table groaned in pain. They were completely overwhelmed by Lee Jae-won’s vast and profound internal energy.
"I summoned you here to discuss our future response, not to watch you engage in a common brawl!"
Lee Jae-won continued, his face contorted in a fierce scowl as if he were truly enraged.
"......"
"......"
Lee Dae-gon and Heo Sam-gwan clamped their mouths shut. They realized they had forgotten themselves and turned the meeting into a disaster.
"If you ever threaten each other by drawing your internal energy again, I will personally see to your punishment! Keep that in mind!"
Lee Jae-won spoke while radiating a murderous aura.
"......Understood."
"......I will keep it in mind."
The two leaders bowed their heads deeply in response. They had clearly crossed the line and had nothing to say in their defense.
"Good! Then let us return to the main topic. First, Hall Master of the Palbok Hall!"
"Please, speak, Alliance Leader."
"Why are you defending the Demonic Cult?"
"I am not defending them. I simply wish to be more certain."
"We sensed Demonic Energy and found traces of the martial arts Honma used. How much more certain can we be?"
Lee Jae-won asked back, looking as though he couldn't understand the man's logic.
"......It is too artificial."
"Artificial?"
"Yes. If the Demonic Cult wanted to cause chaos, they would have handled the matter without leaving traces of demonic arts. But they didn't. They used demonic arts openly and left clear evidence behind. It's as if they wanted us to know it was them. How can I not feel that this is artificial?"
"Could it not be a declaration of war, as the Hwalbindang Master suggested?"
"That isn't certain either, is it? No one actually witnessed the demons of the Demonic Cult. To start the Great War of Righteousness and Demons based solely on circumstantial evidence is preposterous."
Heo Sam-gwan looked Lee Jae-won in the eye as he spoke.
"But Hall Master, we cannot simply sit on our hands and wait forever, can we? Four of the Cheonmu Alliance's member clans have been massacred. How can you suggest we do nothing until 'definitive evidence' appears in such a situation?"
"It is better to sit back and observe than to start the Great War of Righteousness and Demons!"
"What?!"
"Four clans have been destroyed now, but if the Great War begins, the number of clans wiped out will be more than we can count on our fingers. Waiting until the situation is clear is ten times... no, a hundred times better than that."
Heo Sam-gwan spoke with conviction. He was sincere. He truly believed that observing until physical evidence appeared was the better path.
He was one of the martial artists who had fought in the Great War twenty years ago. Therefore, he knew better than anyone the horror and misery of such a conflict. He wanted to stop it. Such a tragedy must not be allowed to happen again.
"......Hall Master Heo, let me ask you this then."
Lee Jae-won spoke with an incredibly solemn expression.
"Please, go ahead."
Heo Sam-gwan nodded.
"If another allied clan is massacred tomorrow... and if, like this time, the circumstances clearly point to the Demonic Cult but no physical evidence can be found... what will you do then?"
Lee Jae-won glared at Heo Sam-gwan with cold eyes.
".........I will wait."
"And if the same thing happens again?"
Lee Jae-won asked once more.
"..............."
Heo Sam-gwan couldn't answer. He understood exactly what Lee Jae-won was driving at.
"Do you intend to keep waiting?"
When there was no response, Lee Jae-won pressed him. He was asking if the man would wait until every last ally was dead for the sake of 'physical evidence.'
"........I will."
"If we follow your lead, it seems every single one of our allies will be wiped out."
Lee Jae-won spoke with a look of pity.
".....But... Alliance Leader... that is an extreme leap in logic..."
"It is no leap. It is a very real possibility."
Lee Jae-won shook his head slightly.
"To begin with, weren't all the allied clans destroyed this time located in Shandong Province? Right here in Shandong, where the Cheonmu Alliance is based. And yet, not a single one of us could predict their movements. Do you know what that means?"
Lee Jae-won stared at Heo Sam-gwan with absolute gravity.
"It means we won't be able to predict them in the future, either."
"If we strengthen our guard and the Alliance provides support..."
"Hall Master Heo, do you even know how many allied clans the Cheonmu Alliance has?"
"Pardon?"
"I am asking if you know just how many allies we have."
"....I believe it numbers in the hundreds."
"Correct. To be precise, if you count every large and small power, the number exceeds several hundred."
Lee Jae-won nodded.
"Then let me ask you again. Do you really think the Cheonmu Alliance can protect all of these clans?"
"..........That... that is..."
"Our allies aren't just in Shandong! They are in Sichuan! Henan! Jiangxi! Hebei! Shanxi! They are everywhere! Are you! Are you confident that you can protect every single one of them!?"
Lee Jae-won glared at Heo Sam-gwan with a burning gaze as he delivered his impassioned speech.
"..............."
Heo Sam-gwan remained silent, his mouth shut tight. He didn't have the confidence. He couldn't possibly protect them all.
If the allies were limited to Shandong, it might be possible, but he couldn't protect clans spread out across every province.
"And yet you suggest we just watch? Are you in your right mind?"
Lee Jae-won scowled fiercely.
"Our top priority right now is the safety of our allies! The peace of the Murim! And yet you defend the Demonic Cult!"
"I am not defending them... Alliance Leader... it's just... the physical evidence..."
"Evidence, evidence... Do you intend to lose all our allies for the sake of that damn evidence?"
"Even so, we cannot start the Great War based on unverified facts!"
"Unverified?! Didn't I say I would personally guarantee it? I said it is clearly the successor of Honma! Do you not trust your own Alliance Leader?"
"It's not... that."
"Then what is the problem? Even a child on the street knows Honma belongs to the Demonic Cult! What is your grievance that makes you defend them so stubbornly!"
"Alliance Leader! You go too far! Have I not said I am not defending them? I am merely urging caution! This is the Great War of Righteousness and Demons! The war where countless people died! You know it well, don't you? You know the horror and tragedy of war!"
The veins on Heo Sam-gwan’s neck bulged as he shouted his appeal.
"I know better than anyone how horrific war is. I fought on the front lines twenty years ago. I know. I know exactly how terrible war can be. I know it is something one should ideally never experience in a lifetime."
Lee Jae-won spoke in a calm tone.
"However! There are times when one must not shrink from war in order to protect what is dear! I believe that time is now! Now is the time for everyone to unite as one and stand against the Demonic Cult!"
"Alliance Leader!"
Heo Sam-gwan cried out in horror. Lee Jae-won’s unwavering stance filled him with dread.
"I believe we must immediately reorganize our forces and march upon the Hundred Thousand Mountains where the Demonic Cult lurks!"
"That is preposterous!"
Heo Sam-gwan desperately opposed him. If war was unavoidable, then so be it, but now was not the time. They couldn't start a war based on mere circumstances.
"You oppose me to the very end."
Lee Jae-won looked at Heo Sam-gwan with a stoic expression.
"Because it is wrong!"
"Fine. I shall take your opinion into account and reach a fair judgment."
"A fair judgment?"
Heo Sam-gwan asked, sounding puzzled.
"Yes. The most rational method to use when a conflict of opinion arises."
"........Surely you don't mean."
"We shall decide this matter by a majority vote."
Lee Jae-won declared.
"That's absurd!"
Heo Sam-gwan immediately protested. This was a matter of the utmost importance, one that decided the fate of the Murim. It was a dangerous affair where hundreds, even thousands of lives hung in the balance. How could such a critical decision be made by a simple majority vote? It was madness.
"Why is it absurd?"
Lee Jae-won asked, looking genuinely confused. A majority vote was a very rational method. It allowed for a quick resolution when opinions clashed. That was why so many people used it to solve various problems. What could possibly be the issue? He truly didn't understand.
"The majority is not always right!"
"What a stupid thing to say. Isn't it obvious that the majority is right?"
Lee Jae-won asked, looking dumbfounded. The majority isn't right? What kind of nonsense was that?
Sigh... fuck... Just like a primitive Chink... He doesn't even know about democracy or the principle of majority rule... Ugh... what a primitive bastard, seriously.
Lee Jae-won began to curse Heo Sam-gwan internally. He felt the man’s level was so low that he couldn't even comprehend his methods. Even presidents were elected by majority vote in the world he came from. How could the choice of the majority be wrong?
He was ignorant. Too ignorant for words. It made Lee Jae-won’s skin crawl.
Sigh... so damn ignorant... This Chink bastard... is his head just for decoration?
Lee Jae-won shook his head slightly. Dealing with this ignorant Chink felt like a complete waste of time.