Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 120

“Huh?!”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“Hehe, it’s nothing, Elder. My back just tingled for a moment.”

“Hahaha, did a bug bite you?”

“I guess so.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong rubbed his back, or more precisely, the area below his nape.

‘What was that? Was it really a bug?’

It felt like something sharp had poked him.

It bothered him, but he decided to ignore it. Now wasn’t the time to worry about a bug bite.

“Hmm, shall we take it out now?”

Chiiiiik!

As the red-hot sword was exposed to the cold mountain air, its surface gradually darkened.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s mouth fell open.

“T-That’s amazing.”

The old man chuckled.

“Haven’t you seen it many times before?”

“Still! Ugh, it’s hot.”

“Step back.”

The old man plunged the hot sword into a large water jar.

Chiiiiiiiiik!

In an instant, grayish-white smoke spread all around.

The heat and humidity were immense. The water that filled the jar instantly boiled.

“Hahaha, one more hammering should do it.”

“Wow.”

“Are you that amazed?”

“Yes! It’s incredibly amazing. I want to try making one myself.”

It was quite a presumptuous remark, but the old man burst into hearty laughter. Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s bold voice was full of innocence. That was what captured the old man’s heart.

“If you’re seriously thinking of embarking on the path of a craftsman, come to me anytime. I’ll teach you the basics.”

“Hehe, I don’t think that’ll be possible.”

“Hahahaha!”

“Still, it’s really amazing. I didn’t know so much effort went into making just one sword.”

The old man spoke in a cheerful tone.

“In any endeavor, if you don’t put in the effort, it’s hard to achieve good results. Isn’t it the same with martial arts?”

“That’s right.”

“So, take good care of it. It will be your friend in overcoming the rough waves of the world.”

“Of course! I still can’t believe it, that I’m really receiving the Elder’s sword. And I’m still so young.”

“Tsk! You rascal, just like a craftsman, a martial artist shouldn’t be judged by age. If you have the right to wield a sword, you wield it. You are more than qualified to receive my sword.”

“Hehe.”

“It’s a sword made of fine steel, without a single impurity. Depending on how much you cherish it, the sword’s power will also change.”

“……”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“……”

“Pyeong-ah?”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s eyes deepened as he turned his head to look at the mountain peak across from them.

The old man was inwardly surprised.

A subtle sharpness was swirling in his clear, deep eyes. It was a look that Yeon Ji-Pyeong had never shown before.

‘Truly, the eyes of a swordsman.’

After a moment, Yeon Ji-Pyeong turned his head back.

“I’m sorry. I guess I was mistaken.”

“Hahahaha.”

“What’s next? I want to see the next step soon!”

“We’ll have to hammer it again. I think this will be the last time.”

Ttang! Ttaang!

The sound of the hammer striking the metal rang out clearly.

The sound was so grand that it almost sounded like the drums of a battlefield.

* * *

Thwack!

With a single strike of the Mad Dragon Axe, the bodies of two assassins were torn in half and sent flying.

Bang!

He didn’t bother to recover the Mad Dragon Axe. He left it swinging as it was, and with a left fist, he smashed the head of an assassin who was far away.

With one axe swing and one punch, three assassins lost their lives.

Thwoooong!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes gleamed.

As soon as they lost three assassins, the assassins in the front line retreated. They were reorganizing their formation.

‘Not bad.’

The assassins were deploying a formation?

Anyone who knew the martial world would scoff at that, but the assassins’ formation attack was threatening in a different way from that of a combat unit.

It was because of their nature.

Pa-ba-ba-bak!

It was as if sparks were flying in the empty air.

‘This is bad……’

The assassins were advancing in a horizontal formation.

The speed wasn’t anything special, but the problem was the forces behind them.

Assassins were as skilled at exaggerating their killing intent as they were at suppressing it. They were masters of amplification and convergence, compression and release.

When two hundred such professional assassins each released their chaotic killing intent, it was enough to make one’s vision blur.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression turned as cold as ice.

‘They’re good enough to be considered top elites.’

He had once fought against the Cheongrang [elite warriors] sent by a prestigious family in the past.

But they were only half-baked. They were praised as experts in killing, but their power started from shaking the opponent’s psychology.

That was also a great power, but their strength was not focused in one place. Since they were so disorganized, they could be easily dealt with if one prepared an unwavering mind and an efficient strategy.

These guys were different.

Pa-pa-pa-pang!

The hidden weapons that the assassins lined up in the rear fired fell in an arc.

Each one was as small as a fingernail. But there were hundreds of them.

Yeon Ho-Jeong took a powerful step forward.

Kwaang!

The fallen leaves on the ground rose into the air. The front horizontal formation was slightly disrupted.

Pa-a-a-ak!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had charged forward with the White Tiger’s Forest Step, immediately deployed the Tiger King’s Iron Wall Stance.

Hooong! Thwack!

Two dodged it, but three couldn’t. A crimson spray of blood painted the air.

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong saw the assassins in the front line bringing long tubes to their mouths.

Pa-ba-ba-ba-bak!

Dozens of poisoned needles were fired at Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Paang!

Having trained his movement techniques, he could evade them with ease. Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had soared high into the sky, spotted the assassins lined up in the rear.

‘There are a lot of them.’

The difference between seeing them from afar and seeing them up close was significant.

The swarming assassins were glaring at him, each drawing their weapons. It was a chilling sight.

‘This is……’

Who on earth sent these assassins? Where did these assassins come from?

He discarded all those questions.

Faced with the assassins’ collective attack technique, the Siege Killing Formation, Yeon Ho-Jeong felt the instinct of the Dark Emperor, which he had hidden deep within his heart, stirring.

Pa-a-a-ang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body descended at an incredible speed.

It was the technique of the Thousand-Pound Drop. It was a high-level mastery of internal energy that increased weight using internal energy.

Surprisingly, the place where Yeon Ho-Jeong landed was behind the front horizontal formation.

In the middle of the assassins.

Kwaang!

The fierce general, who had descended to the ground with a huge axe, unleashed a storm-like attack.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

About ten assassins around Yeon Ho-Jeong were torn to shreds and sent flying.

It was an immense power.

It was the combination of Yeon Ho-Jeong’s unique martial arts, which he had trained in, and the killing intent of the Dark Emperor that had been awakened. Whether it was a one-on-one duel or a chaotic battle against many, no one could stop him now.

“Uwaaaah!”

Thwack! Thwack!

The Mad Dragon Axe, weighing over eighty pounds, moved horizontally and vertically, tearing the assassins’ bodies like rags.

Whoooosh!

The blue Wall of Azure Energy strengthened his body, and the martial arts of the White Tiger of the West swept away the assassins.

It was a continuous series of attacks that were so fast and powerful. The bodies of the caught-off-guard assassins were being indiscriminately smashed. In a short time, as many as forty assassins had died.

Pa-ba-ba-bak!

Of course, the assassins weren’t just standing still.

Although the skill of the target, Yeon Ho-Jeong, was beyond imagination, he was still just a beast trapped in a cage.

The assassins each swung their weapons.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Attacks were flying from all directions, front, back, left, and right.

There wasn’t a single place to dodge. If he dodged into the air, the assassins who were waiting would fire hidden weapons the moment he jumped.

‘Interesting.’

The White Tiger Energy was concentrated in both the Mad Dragon Axe in his right hand and the left fist he clenched.

Whoooosh! Crackle! Crackle!

The shockwaves of the rotating and swirling explosive force caused most of the assassins’ attacks to miss.

Swish! Thud!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body was also marked with three or four sword wounds.

They weren’t deep, but the problem was the poison on the blades. Assassins put poison on any weapon. Expensive, potent poison was impossible, but they always applied paralyzing poison.

The assassins’ eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

They had him.

Just one wound was enough. The powerful paralyzing poison would dull the opponent’s movements.

They believed that without a doubt.

Kwaang!

The red Fire Energy created a terrifying shockwave.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s figure, enveloped in red energy, became lightning fast in an instant.

Thwack! Kwaang!

It was a Heavenly Killing dash that created explosions. The blazing Vermilion Bird Energy and the extreme speed of the Blood Wing Sky Sweep blew away one axis of the formation.

Chwaaaak!

The flesh that kept bursting out and the net of blood that painted the sky looked surreal.

The assassins’ attacks wounded Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body several times, but he never tired. No, his movements gained momentum as time passed.

At that moment, an assassin in the rear shouted.

“Scatter!”

Pa-a-a-ak!

The assassins scattered at a terrifying speed.

They gave up the Siege Killing Formation and retreated first. The opponent’s skill was too great to kill in a chaotic battle.

“Hoo!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was breathing heavily, looked like a general who had survived after breaking through a large army alone. Hidden weapons were embedded all over his body, and he had suffered over ten sword wounds.

Hwaaaak!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s aura, which was wiping the blood from his mouth and emitting killing intent, was like a giant tornado.

The leader of the assassins, Sa-Geuk, clicked his tongue.

‘What makes him so strong?!’

It wasn’t a particularly advantageous terrain, and he had even jumped into the middle of the assassins to engage in a frontal battle, yet in that short time, they had lost as many as seventy assassins.

The sight was so shocking that he was late in giving the order to scatter, which was unlike him. That meant that Yeon Ho-Jeong’s martial arts were that impressive.

‘They told me to deploy the Siege Killing Formation against a monster like that? They’re completely insane.’

As Sa-Geuk was inwardly grinding his teeth, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s mouth opened.

“I don’t think you’ll tell me willingly, but I still have to ask. Ptooey!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who spat out blood-mixed saliva, glared at Sa-Geuk with murderous eyes.

Sa-Geuk flinched.

“Who hired you?”

It was a surprising remark.

He had heard things like, who are you, where did you come from, why are you trying to kill me, but he had never heard who hired you.

This meant that this kind of thing was common for Yeon Ho-Jeong. In other words, he was a master of anti-assassin combat who had experienced this situation countless times.

Sa-Geuk opened his mouth.

“Where did the girl who was with you go?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“……Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes sparkled.

‘So it was me.’

These guys only needed to capture him. He thought that would be the case, but it was the moment he became certain that he was the target.

‘Wait for me, Muk Bi.’

Muk Bi wasn’t as far away as Sa-Geuk thought.

‘You have to wait until I signal. You have to stay completely hidden.’

When facing the Siege Killing Formation, a frontal breakthrough was reckless.

But he chose that recklessness. It was because of the sense of unease that was nagging at the back of his mind.

At that moment, Sa-Geuk’s eyes sparkled.

At the same time, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fist swung backward.

Thwack!

The white fist strike, which shot out like a whirlwind, blew off the head of one assassin. It was an assassin who had tried to fire a poisoned needle at Yeon Ho-Jeong’s back, which had shown an opening.

Sa-Geuk groaned.

‘Damn it, they didn’t say he was this strong!’

He was a monster who was outstanding in all aspects, including martial arts, senses, and combat techniques.

‘This won’t do. I’ll have to retreat for now, observe the situation, and then attack with a nighttime assassination.’

After all, all they had to do was kill him. They had specifically requested the Siege Killing Formation, but now that things had come to this, there was no other choice.

Sa-Geuk raised his hand and shouted.

“Go down the mountain! Attack again at night……”

Thwack!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

Sa-Geuk’s eyes seemed to blur, and he collapsed. There was a round hole in his chest.

“If you heard the request, you should have followed it. You paid the money, after all.”

Behind the rear assassins.

A blurry shadow was walking leisurely.

‘Yes, it was him.’

There was no time to plan a strategy, but that was the reason why he had risked a frontal battle by using himself as bait.

“But… well, it’s no longer possible.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked.