Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 366

“So, did that guy wake up?”

“Yes.”

Tang Gwan scoffed.

“He’s so weak. It’s as if his body has withered from swinging that mountain-sized axe around. Shouldn’t we get him some tonic or something?”

His tone was quite aggressive, but that was just how Tang Gwan spoke.

Moreover, they were comrades who had fought together for a common goal, so he felt closer to him than before. Yeon-wi smiled and replied,

“It is said that wounds of the heart run deeper than those on the body.”

Tang Gwan looked dumbfounded.

“That guy has a wound in his heart? What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?”

In Tang Gwan’s mind, Yeon Ho-Jeong was a complete brute, a characterless person who knew nothing of respect for his elders. He was a terrible person who didn’t resemble his father, who was revered as a great hero, in the slightest.

Of course, he was outstanding in martial arts, intelligent, and quick-witted, but that was it. He couldn’t say that Yeon Ho-Jeong was a good person, even as a polite gesture.

And to have that kind of attitude, one needed a heart of steel. He would sooner believe that Mount Tai [a sacred mountain in China] had collapsed than believe that Yeon Ho-Jeong had a wound in his heart.

Yeon-wi clicked his tongue.

“I’m not saying that’s how Ho-Jeong is. It’s just that the flow of events he stirred up grew uncontrollably, and he couldn’t handle it.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“In the meantime, Ho-Jeong has been running around trying to keep an eye on the Three Sects and check Moyong’s family head. People get tired when they have too much to worry about, and it seems he has accumulated a lot of fatigue without realizing it.”

Tang Gwan chuckled.

“That’s also a funny thing to say. That guy knows his own capabilities well. If it was something he couldn’t handle, he wouldn’t have touched it in the first place.”

If the current Yeon Ho-Jeong had heard Tang Gwan’s words, he would have been very embarrassed.

“That is also true.”

“There’s no great reason for him collapsing. It’s a lack of mental strength and physical strength.”

It was an overly assertive statement, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either.

It was hard to say what exactly constituted mental strength, but as far as what people commonly thought of as mental strength, Yeon Ho-Jeong was second to none.

The problem was that his body couldn’t keep up with his mental strength.

That the mind controls the body? That was a statement that only knew one thing and not the other. There were indeed cases like that, but if the gap between mind and body was as extreme as Yeon Ho-Jeong’s, it was bound to break down.

Rather, considering what Yeon Ho-Jeong had been doing, it was a wonder that his fatigue had only exploded now.

Tang Gwan snorted.

“Anyway, we did benefit from that guy this time. If he hadn’t properly dug into those guys, those Shinwha [Mystical Divine] Sect or whatever-they-are bastards would have taken control of the Henan province’s military and administrative organs, and shaken the entire Central Plains.”

“That is true.”

In the Central Plains, Henan province was located in the center.

In terms of Go [a strategic board game], it was as if the center point was about to fall into the enemy’s hands. And if the center point was taken by the enemy, the win rate in the overall game would plummet.

Even more so if it was a situation where they hadn’t even had a proper fight. If they responded well, they could isolate the enemies, but if they were careless, the entire Central Plains could have fallen into ruin.

In a way, Yeon Ho-Jeong had saved the entire Central Plains with this operation alone.

That was why Tang Gwan acknowledged Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“The question is whether those guys were only lurking in the Henan province’s government offices….”

Yeon-wi shook his head.

“They wouldn’t have touched other areas. The forces they dispatched to Henan were too great for that.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

They were able to win this war because they launched a surprise attack on the Shinwha Sect and took them down one by one.

If they hadn’t found out beforehand, the entire Martial Alliance would have been isolated by the power of those numerous supreme masters and the government offices. Moreover, since there was the Shaolin Temple in Henan province, the damage would have been even greater.

Thanks to the superiority of the deployed masters’ martial arts, experience, and intelligence, they were able to taste victory without much damage. If they had made a mistake, half or more of the deployed masters might have crossed the river of no return [a metaphor for death].

It was truly a brilliant victory.

“However, we can’t just relax. We’re not just dealing with the Shinwha Sect, those damned bastards.”

“That’s right. But before that, there’s one more thing we need to be concerned about.”

“Hmm?”

“If the Shinwha Sect infiltrated masters into other places, that would be truly terrifying.”

Tang Gwan tilted his head.

“Didn’t you just say that there was no possibility that they infiltrated other areas?”

“It’s not about the areas.”

“Then?”

“The Imperial Palace.”

“……!”

Tang Gwan’s face hardened.

That’s right. He had forgotten about that.

Yeon-wi’s face also hardened.

“We were able to defeat the Shinwha Sect’s masters who were lurking in the government offices with the Martial Alliance’s masters, intelligence, and connections. But the Imperial Palace is different.”

“……It is different.”

Even Tang Gwan, who was second to none in pride, couldn’t hide his tension at the word Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Palace was the heart and head of the empire.

A person could survive even if one of their arms was cut off. But no one could live if their head was cut off or their heart was pulled out.

What if the Shinwha Sect had taken control of the Imperial Palace?

“That won’t happen.”

A calm voice came from outside the window.

Tang Gwan openly frowned, while Yeon-wi had a calmer expression than expected. It was because he already knew that ‘he’ was coming.

Yeon-wi said,

“Although we were comrades who fought together, it is clear that you are a stranger. It is not right to not only eavesdrop on other people’s conversations but also to suddenly join in.”

“May I come in?”

It was a non sequitur. Tang Gwan said in a sarcastic voice,

“If you want your skin to melt off, go ahead and try.”

It was a blatant threat to release poison.

It was even more frightening because it wasn’t just an empty threat. The words of the head of the Sichuan Tang family carried a heavy weight.

“Then, I shall enter.”

Tsutsutsutsu.

A strange killing intent emanated from Tang Gwan’s body.

Yeon-wi slightly raised his hand to calm Tang Gwan down.

“Since you’ve come all this way, come on up. It seems you have something to say separately.”

“I understand.”

Shortly after, Moyong Gun, who had passed the first and second floors, entered the room.

Tang Gwan said in a cold voice,

“Should I thank you for not jumping through the window?”

Moyong Gun smiled.

“It’s not my place, so I can’t just go in and out of the window.”

“Well said. This is my place, and I don’t want to see you? I’ve seen your face, so I’d like you to leave now.”

“You’ll regret it if you don’t listen to me?”

Unexpectedly, Tang Gwan nodded.

“Of course, that could be the case. But the problem is that I’m not in a good mood right now.”

“…….”

“I’ll regret it later, so please get out of here. If you don’t want to end your life with a handful of poison.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

“It’s a shame.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you and I had maintained a good relationship all along, we would have been a pretty good combination by now.”

The corners of Tang Gwan’s lips curled up.

“I can’t listen anymore. If you don’t leave before I count to three, I’ll melt you down.”

At that moment, Yeon-wi opened his mouth.

“Tang family head. Let’s hear what he has to say first.”

“Yeon family head, stay out of this. From the moment I heard that man’s voice, my ears keep feeling numb.”

Yeon-wi looked at Moyong Gun and said,

“The Moyong family head I know is as smart as he is ambitious. He’s not the type to start a fight unnecessarily, so let’s hear what he has to say.”

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“If the Yeon family head hadn’t said that, the atmosphere would have been refreshing from the start. You’re truly amazing.”

“You flatter me.”

Tang Gwan, who had been watching the two of them quietly, got up from his seat.

“I’ll lend you the place. Buy me a drink later.”

“Tang family head.”

“When you leave later, tell the underlings to clean the room thoroughly. My nose is sensitive, so I can’t sleep in a place that smells rotten.”

Yeon-wi was flustered. It was because Tang Gwan was really about to leave.

At that moment, Moyong Gun said,

“It would be better if the Tang family head stayed here as well.”

“How annoying.”

“It’s about the Martial Alliance Leader election.”

In an instant, Tang Gwan stopped. At the same time, Yeon-wi’s eyes became as sharp as blades.

Moyong Gun’s smile faded.

“May I sit down?”

“…….”

“You have no words. Shall I speak while standing then?”

Yeon-wi looked at Tang Gwan.

Tang Gwan, who had let out a soft sigh, returned to his seat and sat down with a thud.

“I’ll listen while sitting, so speak while standing. There are no chairs.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

Moyong Gun crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

Yeon-wi said in a somewhat sharp voice,

“You said it was about the Martial Alliance Leader election?”

“That’s right.”

“……Just because one fight is over, are you already thinking of revealing your hidden claws?”

It was a very aggressive tone, unlike Yeon-wi.

It was inevitable. He was someone who thought that Moyong Gun’s killing intent towards the Shinwha Sect was genuine.

In other words, now was not the time to talk about the Martial Alliance Leader position. But to openly bring up the topic of the Martial Alliance Leader, Yeon-wi couldn’t help but be on edge.

Moyong Gun shook his head.

“That’s not it. No, it’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“Let’s postpone the Martial Alliance Leader election to next year.”

“……!!”

They never expected to hear such words.

Yeon-wi and Tang Gwan looked at each other. And so, the two of them knew. That the other was just as surprised as they were.

Tang Gwan opened his mouth.

“I’d like an explanation.”

“It’s simple. As the Yeon family head said, there are enemies we need to fight, and I don’t want to waste time on things like the next Martial Alliance Leader or elections.”

“……!”

“However, we can’t just put someone who isn’t qualified in the position of Martial Alliance Leader. Fortunately, the Martial Alliance is being maintained well. No, it’s not just being maintained, it’s growing.”

“…….”

“Right now, it’s okay to leave it as it is. I think it’s okay to hold the next Martial Alliance Leader election after we’ve crushed those guys to some extent.”

“Are you planning to propose this to the Bonggong Council [Council of Sect Leaders]?”

“That’s right.”

“…….”

“That’s why I came. To ask for your support.”

Tang Gwan, who had been staring at Moyong Gun quietly, said in a cold voice,

“Why do we have to postpone the Martial Alliance Leader election to next year because of that? I think it would be better to appoint a capable person as the Martial Alliance Leader and prepare for the fight against the Three Sects in earnest.”

“That’s a good point. But you missed one thing.”

“What?”

“The reason why I didn’t reveal the identities of those guys to the Bonggong Council is because there’s a possibility that spies have infiltrated.”

Moyong Gun said in an aggressive tone,

“Can the Tang family head take that risk?”

“Hmm.”

“Of course, we’ll have to investigate each member of the Bonggong Council. But as you two know, they are the heads of the Nine Great Sects and the Six Great Families. Even if we investigate them thoroughly, it would take forever, and you want to hold the Martial Alliance Leader election? I don’t think that makes sense?”

It wasn’t wrong.

Yeon-wi asked,

“Even if we postpone the election to next year, you could still be plotting something behind the scenes, right?”

Moyong Gun said bitterly,

“You don’t trust me.”

“That’s right.”

“……Well, I thought you would say that. That’s why I brought a separate proposal.”

“What is it?”

“A combined army.”

“A combined army?”

“I will try to combine two of the Yu army units into one. And I will help the Myeolsa army commander to take over as the head of that unit, not the Tangma army commander.”

“……!!”

“The Tangma army commander will be under the Myeolsa army commander. In other words, the Tangma army commander’s life and death are in the hands of the Myeolsa army commander. And the Tangma army commander is my younger brother, whom I have finally gained after ten years.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Moyong Gun’s eyes blazed.

“If you think I’m doing something wrong, cut off Woo’s head.”