Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 354

A man wearing a bamboo hat dashed across the mountains and streams.

Whoosh!

The movement of his feet pushing off the ground was incredibly light and graceful.

Yet, he was fast. Each push off the ground propelled him over ten yards with ease, and he repeated this motion dozens of times without even a gasp for breath.

His legs were full of elasticity, his breathing was extremely stable, and the movement of his arms, which doubled his speed, was so fluid that it resembled the fluttering of a bird’s wings.

Thus, the man ran.

With an elegant and refined posture, yet at a speed that defied comparison with any other master.

How long had he run?

Flash!

From beneath the bamboo hat, a pale green light emanated from the man’s shadowed eyes.

‘There it is.’

Whoosh!

He was fast before, but now he was even faster. His figure, leaping off a rock and soaring into the sky, was truly like a bird.

Thud, thud!

Having soared high into the sky, the man stepped on numerous tree branches and advanced. Finally, a middle-aged man came into view.

Flash!

Like lightning, the bamboo-hatted man landed in front of the middle-aged man.

A subtle admiration appeared on the face of the middle-aged man, Moyong Gun.

“I’ve heard there’s a saying throughout Gangdong: when the Judge flies, all evil holds its breath… Indeed, your martial art is as astonishing as your decisiveness.”

“You flatter me.”

The man took off his bamboo hat.

It was Yeon-wi.

“You’re fast. I thought it would take you at least two more days.”

“I couldn’t afford to be leisurely when a battle could break out at any moment.”

Moyong Gun nodded.

“I was worried I might have to go capture them alone.”

Yeon-wi asked,

“Did you receive contact from their commander?”

“Yes. It seems they will arrive in about half a day.”

“Half a day, is it?”

Yeon-wi turned his head.

It was a dark night. The moonlight was clear, but there were also enough clouds. It was sufficient to distinguish objects, but it was difficult to see as clearly as in broad daylight.

However, the two men were powerful figures who had reached the realm of the divine through martial arts, and aside from the Saintly Heavens, they were unmatched by any other in the entire martial world. [Saintly Heavens refers to the highest level of martial arts mastery].

In this level of brightness, they could use their inner energy to see things clearly with their excellent eyesight.

“There it is.”

Yeon-wi pointed to a large manor.

Its size was so vast that even high-ranking officials would be amazed. It wasn’t luxurious, but it was large and spacious enough to comfortably accommodate hundreds of people.

Moyong Gun said,

“I heard that they moved the surrounding civilians to other places over the past year. Thanks to that, there are no civilians within a ten-mile radius of that manor.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate, we’ll only know after the fight.”

“Have you grasped their strength?”

“Of course.”

Moyong Gun took out a small letter from his pocket.

“It’s what the intelligence organization of Governor Yeo Sang-do found out.”

Yeon-wi’s eyes deepened as he read the letter.

“Four, is it…”

“To be precise, it could be four in the worst-case scenario. We’ve been poking around everywhere, so they must be in disarray. If they’ve sent people elsewhere, there should be about two or three masters there who can match us.”

“I don’t think they’ll be the only ones there.”

“Of course. Even excluding the transcendent masters who have broken through the Wall of Martial Arts, there will be hundreds of masters with considerable skill.”

“Hundreds.”

“When I secretly went to meet Governor Yeo, there were about fifty men guarding him. Those fifty were all masters with outstanding skills, not to be taken lightly.”

Yeon-wi nodded.

“Ho-jeong said they are called the Divine Fire Soldiers.”

“Divine Fire Soldiers, is it…”

Moyong Gun smirked.

“What a grand name. Well, how much confidence did they have to try to seize the government office?”

That wasn’t the important thing.

‘If so, how many masters did the Divine Fire Sect originally send to the Hanam government office…?’

Gyujeok and Yorae.

Add to that the three warriors who went to Yeon Ho-jeong and Tang Gwan, and the masters at the place the two of them were about to attack?

‘Nine transcendent masters alone…’

That was a chilling number.

It was fortunate that they had defeated two of them first through separate attacks. Now, even if Yeon Ho-jeong, Tang Gwan, and Muk Bi defeated all the enemies on their side, four would remain.

It was a formidable force. Well, if they wanted to seize everything in a province, they would have to deploy that much power.

Moreover, they had hundreds of subordinate masters.

‘Can we attack them?’

Yeon-wi’s eyes deepened.

He looked at Moyong Gun.

‘Moyong Clan Head… he definitely has a hidden card.’

His martial arts were often underestimated because his scheming was too outstanding.

Just by looking at him, Moyong Gun’s martial prowess was no different from his own. Moreover, he had heard that Moyong Gun was training in another martial art besides the Qiankun Martial Art, the family’s secret technique. [Qiankun Martial Art is a fictional martial art technique].

In other words, he was hiding his true strength.

‘I am the same, though.’

There was a difference. Moyong Gun had deliberately hidden his strength to prepare for the future, while Yeon-wi simply hadn’t had the opportunity to reveal his true abilities.

The important thing was that both he and Moyong Gun were at least one level stronger than what was known to the public.

‘But their martial arts could also be more powerful than expected.’

Especially since the place the two of them were targeting was the enemy’s headquarters.

It was originally built by Yeo Sang-do for his subordinates and officials to actively discuss military and political affairs. Thanks to that, it was very spacious and had excellent defensive capabilities.

Furthermore.

“May I go out for a brief reconnaissance?”

Moyong Gun glanced at Yeon-wi.

“Are you confident you won’t be discovered?”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Alright, let’s go together.”

Whoosh!

The two men suppressed their presence and closed the distance to the manor.

How close had they gotten?

Moyong Gun’s eyes flashed.

[Did you sense it?]

[I did.]

Moyong Gun frowned.

[These guys are very well prepared.]

The first thing that stimulated the two men’s extremely heightened senses was the subtle smell of oil.

If one wasn’t a master who had maximized their senses, even a transcendent master would have passed it by without noticing. They had masked the smell very well.

[They are all masters of the Scorching Yang Art. According to Commander Yeon, they can ignite themselves, absorb the amplified fire energy to reduce their inner energy consumption, and even increase their power.]

[I’ve heard that as well.]

In fact, Yeon-wi had personally visited the site of the battle between Yeon Ho-jeong and Gyujeok.

It was fortunate that they had stopped it quickly, or it could have turned into a major forest fire.

It was truly astonishing. No matter how skilled one was in the Scorching Yang Art, creating a sea of fire was not an easy feat.

What was an adventure for ordinary warriors was not an adventure for them. It was a tactic that could never be used without a strong innate heat resistance.

Well, before it was an adventure, the very act of igniting such a wide area with inner energy was impressive.

‘Fighting in a favorable environment… it’s a basic of combat, but…’

The two men moved more cautiously.

No matter how skilled they were, they were people who had learned the orthodox martial arts of the White Path. [White Path refers to a righteous martial arts sect]. Although their understanding of Qi was so great that they could freely suppress and amplify their presence, it was impossible for them to use top-tier stealth techniques.

In other words, it was difficult to infiltrate the interior. Unless there were only masters who hadn’t broken through the Wall of Martial Arts, there was a high chance of being discovered if even one warrior-level master was present.

Thus, the two men circled the entire perimeter and returned to their original position.

“This has become troublesome.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

“I can smell oil everywhere. If a battle breaks out, they will start by setting fires.”

“I think so too.”

“They are truly interesting fellows. Not only are they unaffected by fire attacks, but they can even use it to their advantage… truly fascinating.”

Moyong Gun, who had been deep in thought, said casually,

“At this level, it seems impossible to extinguish the fire unless there’s a downpour.”

“…”

“Creating a favorable environment is the basis of combat, and if they are already fully prepared, then what we need to do is eliminate that advantage before engaging in battle.”

“You’re right.”

“It’s impossible to put it out with a mediocre amount of water. That means we need to move the battlefield.”

“Hmm.”

“If we lure them to a place that is advantageous to us…”

“Is it really necessary to do that?”

“What do you mean?”

Yeon-wi paused for a moment.

His face was unusually serious. Moyong Gun waited patiently until his thoughts were organized.

After a while, Yeon-wi said,

“It would have been good if the Tang Clan Head was here. He could have released poison to drastically reduce the enemy’s combat power.”

“The problem is that he’s not here.”

“That’s right. Then, the choices we can make are three.”

“Tell me.”

“First, to give up the battle.”

“…Well, that could also be one of the options. It’s better to plan for the future than to attack recklessly and have things go wrong.”

“That’s right. The problem is, I can’t imagine how these guys will move if my son and the Tang Clan Head send news of victory.”

“That’s why Clan Head Yeon and I came here. It’s best to wipe them out completely this time.”

“Then, there’s the second option. As Clan Head Moyong said, to lure them to change the battlefield. In other words, we need to use a lure.”

“That seems like the best option. It would be good if it was near water.”

It wasn’t just to neutralize the Divine Fire Sect’s fire attacks. Moyong Gun knew that the Thunderclap Art he had mastered was amplified by water energy. [Thunderclap Art is a fictional martial art technique].

If he did it right, he could incapacitate most of them in one blow. That’s why he wanted to lure them to a place near water.

“The problem is, will those guys, who are so well-prepared, really fall for a lure?”

“Hmm.”

Moyong Gun, who had been nodding, asked with a puzzled expression,

“Then, what’s the third option?”

“To fight here.”

“That’s the worst option.”

“It’s the worst, but depending on the situation, it could be the best option.”

“What do you mean?”

Yeon-wi whispered in a low voice.

In that instant, Moyong Gun’s eyes widened.

“…Are you crazy?”

It was definitely a historic moment in many ways. It was very rare for Moyong Gun to say such a thing.

Especially if it was admiration.

Yeon-wi sighed.

“I wouldn’t have thought of it if I hadn’t joined hands with Governor Yeo. Moreover, I don’t know if Governor Yeo would easily allow it…”

“No, he will allow it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. Governor Yeo’s anger towards them is no less than mine. He’s a man who would risk his life to drive them out. What wouldn’t he do?”

“Then…”

Moyong Gun’s lips curled up.

“Even if the battle on their side ends, it will take three days for the news to reach here. And if Governor Yeo lends his strength, we can complete all the preparations within two days.”

“…Alright.”

Yeon-wi said firmly.

“Then, let’s start working right away. Clan Head Moyong, please go to Governor Yeo yourself.”

“Understood. Clan Head Yeon, please wait here for the Demon Subjugation Army.”

“I will.”

Moyong Gun, who had turned around, paused for a moment.

“Clan Head Yeon.”

“What is it?”

“Don’t worry too much about Commander Yeon’s side.”

It was an unusual encouragement from Moyong Gun. But when you knew his true intentions, it was a very Moyong Gun-like thing to say.

He shouldn’t lose his composure in this battle because of worrying about his son.

Yeon-wi smiled.

“Go safely.”

Whoosh!

Moyong Gun moved at a terrifying speed.

Yeon-wi looked up at the sky.

“…It’s okay if you don’t win. Just don’t get hurt.”