Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 418

“Haa… Haa!”

Yayul Jeok had never imagined his breathing would become this ragged.

Sizzle.

“Kuh-uk!”

A sharp pain shot through his left shoulder where it had been sliced open.

He had meticulously stopped the bleeding with extreme pressure point techniques, but even that seemed impossible now.

As time passed, his internal injuries worsened, and the rate at which his remaining inner energy was depleted accelerated. Even the inner energy he had gathered at the pressure points to stop the bleeding was gradually being consumed.

Once all the inner energy stored in the pressure points was exhausted, there would be no way to stop the flood of blood. He would die from excessive blood loss.

‘It’s okay.’

He forced his blurring eyes open.

‘It’s still okay.’

With great effort, Yayul Jeok moved his feet and finally arrived at the 136th small secret cave of the Wildness, connected to passage number nineteen.

And there, he saw the massive trigger that could set off the Volcanic Grand Formation [a large-scale trap or mechanism].

Thump! Thump!

The secret cave shook.

Fierce battles were raging throughout the maze-like passages.

By now, probably more than half of the Dark Emperor Clan was dead. With the Yu-gun unit members having infiltrated and joined the fight, the damage must have been immense.

It was fortunate that all members of the Dark Emperor Clan were skilled in poison and hidden weapons. Even with two supreme masters on the other side, they should be able to hold out somehow.

Twitch!

As Yayul Jeok tried to walk towards the trigger, he felt his lower body lose strength and he clenched his toes.

He truly had no strength left. He was barely clinging to life; that was all the power he had left.

‘It’s not working.’

He had thought that with the burning power of loyalty and faith, he could activate the Volcanic Grand Formation and even contact the main sect.

It was a mistake. He had underestimated the strength of this side’s forces and their strategies.

‘I may not be able to contact them, but…’

Rather than surviving and reporting the current situation to the sect, it would be better to activate the Volcanic Grand Formation, even if it cost him his life.

That was his decision. Only at the very end was he able to make a cold-blooded decision for the sake of the sect.

‘It’s a shame. It’s a shame, but if this is where my life, as determined by the Evil God, ends, then there’s nothing to be done.’

Yayul Jeok looked up at the ceiling.

The secret cave, with only one night-illuminating pearl embedded in it, was narrow and dark. Except for the tiny passages and entrances where air circulated, it was blocked on all sides.

But Yayul Jeok wasn’t looking at the ceiling; he was looking at the sky.

He was looking at the sky beyond the ceiling, at the god beyond that sky.

‘I do not know what the god desires, or why he seeks to end my life here. But…’

At least, he had lived fiercely.

He had lived for the god, but at the same time, he had lived so much like himself. He had absolutely obeyed the sect’s orders, but he had not lost himself.

A faint smile appeared on Yayul Jeok’s face.

The formless god he saw in his eyes was gradually forming a single expression.

The face he had seen only once in his life. The son of the god who led the Evil Sound Sect, and also the god himself.

The current leader of the Evil Sound Sect, he was there.

“…May you achieve your great work.”

Yayul Jeok placed his last remaining hand on the trigger.

This trigger required the combined strength of ten strong men to operate. Normally, Yayul Jeok would have scoffed and pressed it down easily.

But with his battered body, it was not easy. He had to squeeze out all his inner energy and strength just to press this trigger.

Yayul Jeok closed his eyes.

Then, he focused all the extremely minute inner energy he had used to stop the bleeding into his hand.

Fwoosh!

Blood gushed from his left shoulder.

“Kuh-uh-uh-uk!”

Yayul Jeok’s face turned crimson as he mustered all his strength.

But it was only for a moment. His face, which had turned red from the massive blood loss, quickly turned pale.

‘More… just a little more!’

Thump!

The trigger began to depress, little by little.

To prevent the Volcanic Grand Formation from being activated by unnecessary external factors, the trigger was locked with a total of three latches.

Yayul Jeok bit his lip.

Click!

The depressed trigger passed the first latch.

It was only the first one. Yayul Jeok felt his vision spin.

“Ugh-ugh-ugh!”

Click!

Soon after, the trigger passed the second latch.

“Haa-uh-uh-uk!”

Yayul Jeok felt his breath cut off for a moment.

His lung capacity had weakened drastically. Even when he tried to inhale, no air came in.

If no air came in, he couldn’t exert any strength. Moreover, he had no time. Blood was still flowing, so he had no time to rest.

“Eek!”

Yayul Jeok, gritting his teeth, pulled up even his weakened innate energy.

It was energy that would scatter to heaven and earth when he died anyway. It was not the time to hold back, fearing a slightly earlier death.

Whoosh!

For a moment, life returned to Yayul Jeok’s face. His nearly depleted innate energy had exploded.

Yayul Jeok forcefully pressed the trigger.

“Uwaaaaaa!”

It was then.

Crash!

A huge hole was punched through the wall of the secret cave, and dozens of stone fragments struck Yayul Jeok’s body and head.

It was a moment of shock. But Yayul Jeok did not stop. He could no longer see.

He took his last step.

“No!!”

A sharp female voice was heard.

And.

…Click!

The trigger passed the final third latch.

Thud!

At the same time, Yayul Jeok was flung sideways and slammed into the wall.

“Cough!”

The blood he spat out was bright red. Of course, Yayul Jeok could not see what color the blood he had spat out was.

Rumble!

“Wh, what is this? Could it be activated?!”

“…It has been activated.”

For a moment, the corner of Yayul Jeok’s mouth twitched.

A familiar voice.

“Damn it! Then what happens? From now on, will all the assassins near high-ranking officials immediately kill their assigned targets?”

“That is correct.”

“I don’t understand! No matter how big the explosion and how thick the smoke, how wide is Guangdong Province!”

“There is no fool who would not see the crimson smoke rising from this entire mountain. Why do you think it’s called the Volcanic Grand Formation? It’s named that because it looks like a real volcano erupting. And…”

“…?!”

“The Volcanic Grand Formation releases a large amount of special incense, like the Ten Thousand Mile Tracking Incense. The assassins cannot smell it, but trained tracking dogs are stationed over dozens of miles. At the latest, within half an hour, all the targeted officials will lose their lives.”

“Then, instead of coming all the way here, you could have just killed the tracking dogs first!”

“We don’t know how many there are, or where they are spread out. Are you planning to catch and kill every dog in Guangdong to get the tracking dogs?”

“…”

“And there is one more piece of bad news.”

“…What is it now?”

“In half an hour, this Wildness will also collapse.”

“Damn it!”

Even as he was dying, Yayul Jeok was secretly surprised.

‘So, they knew that much.’

He had only told Sama Hyeon how the Volcanic Grand Formation worked and what its purpose was. He had not told him that the Wildness would collapse in half an hour.

‘It’s a shame. What a shame.’

Even though it wasn’t perfect, it was quite remarkable that they had independently figured out the manufacturing method of the Four Evil Sect. And now, it seemed they were also skilled in mechanical formations.

Such talent was truly hard to find. Sama Hyeon was truly a talent sent by heaven as the next Yin God [a title or position in the Evil Sound Sect].

He had recognized his talent early on, so he had planned to make him the next Yin God and take him to the Evil Sound Sect to create a new branch. That dream had long been shattered, but even as he was dying, he couldn’t help but feel regret.

‘It can’t be helped. Still, I accomplished my last mission, so…’

It was then.

“That won’t happen.”

Thwack!

In an instant, Yayul Jeok’s eyes snapped open.

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

It felt as if thousands of needles were traveling through his blood vessels, tearing through the nerves throughout his body.

The moment he had accepted death, he was jolted awake by unexpected pain. He was so shocked that after screaming, he could only gape like a fish.

Was that why? Yayul Jeok didn’t even realize that the blood gushing from his left shoulder had stopped.

“Do you remember? This technique.”

“…!!”

“It’s the Thousand Torture Needle Hand Technique of the Yin God’s Method. It’s one of the Yin God’s killing techniques that can torture an opponent horribly by controlling inner energy without any special equipment.”

“Cough!”

“The eyes that could not see will open, and the ears that could not hear will be unblocked. As long as even a shred of life remains, you can never die without my permission.”

Yayul Jeok looked at Sama Hyeon with trembling eyes.

His entire body was covered in blood, whether from killing countless assassins on his way here.

Despite that, Sama Hyeon’s face was as stiff as a doll. His voice had no inflection, and his breathing was inaudible.

A state of extreme calm. Even after countless battles, he maintained a stable state as an assassin.

Sama Hyeon, who had been quietly looking at Yayul Jeok’s eyes, smiled coldly.

“You didn’t contact that moronic place called the Evil Sound Sect, did you? Am I right?”

“…!!”

Sama Hyeon turned to Muk Bi.

Muk Bi nodded with a heavy face. If they had not reported the situation to the main camp, that was also fortunate, but this should be seen as only half a success. The Volcanic Grand Formation had already been activated.

Sama Hyeon turned his head back to Yayul Jeok.

In the meantime, Yayul Jeok’s face was contorted.

“You, you bastard…!”

“…”

“Kill me. Am I not your enemy?”

“Did you think I would let you live? Of course, I’m going to kill you.”

Swoosh.

Sama Hyeon took out a dagger from his chest. The sure-kill dagger, one of two daggers that had been sharpened thousands, tens of thousands of times, solely to kill Yayul Jeok.

“But I can’t just kill you. Until the Wildness collapses, you will experience pain that will make half an hour feel like ten years, and only then will you be able to die.”

“Y, you bastard!”

Sama Hyeon said to Muk Bi.

“I will take care of this one. Leave with the others first.”

“That won’t do.”

“What do you mean?”

Muk Bi glared at Yayul Jeok and said.

“I was ordered by the Commander to bring back this man’s life.”

“This man’s life is mine. There may be many who seek this man’s head, but I have the first right to it.”

“Then prove it.”

“Prove it?”

“Bring me proof that he is dead, whether it’s his head or his corpse. Then I’ll leave.”

Sama Hyeon smiled coldly.

“Do you trust me?”

“Just answer. If you don’t decide now, my arrow will be aimed at your heart.”

“…”

“…”

Sama Hyeon, who had been staring at Muk Bi, turned his gaze back to Yayul Jeok.

“I will leave him where I met your superior before. Now get out of here.”

“Alright.”

Swoosh!

Muk Bi hurriedly left the passage. He had to kill the assassins and evacuate the allies.

A terrifying smile appeared on Sama Hyeon’s face as he looked at Yayul Jeok.

“Shall we begin?”

Bloodshot veins appeared in Yayul Jeok’s eyes.

Sama Hyeon grabbed Yayul Jeok’s ribs with his red-hot hand.

Sizzle!

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

* * *

“Huck!”

Deputy Commander Go Yul asked in surprise.

“Y, you, who are you?!”

“Don’t you recognize me? I’m just a dirty old man.”

“But why are you strangling my concubine! Take your filthy hands off her right now…!!”

“If I take my hand off, you’ll die.”

“…What?”

The old man, holding the struggling woman by the neck and lifting her high, grinned.

“You should consider yourself lucky. We can’t save everyone.”