Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 494

A flash!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s gaze, piercing through the darkness, was so eerie it could make a ghost stumble.

Pung Byeok-Ja chuckled and turned his body.

“It’s too dark here. Come with me.”

He turned confidently and walked without hesitation.

It was an incredibly bold move. His presence here was tantamount to admitting he was a spy, and he also knew he was under suspicion.

Yet, he showed his back.

Clack.

Without hesitation, Yeon Ho-Jeong gripped the Black Dragon Blade. Wasting time trying to figure out the enemy’s intentions was a luxury he couldn’t afford. It wasn’t too late to talk after breaking a few limbs first.

Then, Pung Byeok-Ja spoke.

“Ah, do you happen to know this?”

“……”

“If we make a move here, someone you know might be in danger.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled coldly.

“Make a move… What kind of move are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy. You know everything.”

He was completely relaxed. At least, that’s how he sounded.

“Wherever you were headed, talking to me won’t be a waste of time. I guarantee it.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“What do you have to lose by believing me? Besides, you’re stronger than me, aren’t you?”

He readily admitted that Yeon Ho-Jeong was stronger than him.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been staring at Pung Byeok-Ja’s back, eventually released his grip on the Black Dragon Blade.

Pung Byeok-Ja burst into laughter. Even without seeing it, he could feel Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fighting spirit diminish.

“Good thinking. I won’t go far. You don’t need to worry unnecessarily.”

“I might not, but you’re different. The road to the afterlife is long.”

“The road to the afterlife… I’m sorry, but the place I’ll go when I die isn’t the underworld. It’s by the side of a god.”

A god.

It was as good as revealing his identity outright.

Without delay, Yeon Ho-Jeong walked towards Pung Byeok-Ja.

He didn’t use any divine movement techniques, but his pace was fast. It was a fearless stride, the dignified gait of a Four Divine Generals [a high-ranking military title].

Pung Byeok-Ja felt a sense of tension within.

‘I can’t hold him with words.’

Whether he tried to buy time or anything else, this wasn’t someone he could reason with. Every time his foot touched and left the ground, a fierce aura emanated from him.

In a way, it was a stubborn energy. Pung Byeok-Ja felt his overflowing confidence diminish a little, just a little.

Pung Byeok-Ja took a small, deep breath.

‘There’s no need to be nervous. He’s just a man.’

Shortly after, the two arrived at a wide open space in the forest.

“The moonlight is nice.”

Pung Byeok-Ja still had his hands behind his back, showing his back.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked around.

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve set up any traps?”

“Traps? Hahahaha, what kind of trap could I set that would work on you? You’re not the kind of person who would get caught in a hastily made trap, are you?”

Pung Byeok-Ja turned around.

His face, lit by the moonlight, was completely different from what it was during the day.

A relaxed expression. A kind yet mischievous face. His expression itself wasn’t much different from what it was during the day.

But his eyes were deep and firm, not yielding to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fierce gaze. It was like looking at a well-forged iron ball.

A rusty iron ball. A cold, metallic glint that made you feel like you’d get reddish rust on your hands if you touched it.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been staring at Pung Byeok-Ja, asked abruptly.

“Where did you come from?”

“Don’t you know?”

“I know you’re from the Three Teachings [a collective term for three major religious sects]. But I don’t know which of the Three Teachings.”

Pung Byeok-Ja shook his head.

“We are three and one, and one and three. There’s no point in making such distinctions.”

It was a meaningful statement.

“Of course, my sense of belonging and loyalty to the sect I belong to is certain. I just don’t want to tell you about it.”

“Is it the Mad Blood [a sect known for its violent martial arts]?”

Pung Byeok-Ja’s eyes deepened.

“Why do you think so?”

If it were the Evil Sound [a sect known for its sound-based martial arts], he would have recognized it.

No matter how different the martial arts one cultivated, it was hard to change one’s unique disposition. It was the same even if one had cultivated Taoist martial arts in the Cheongseong Sect [a Taoist sect] their entire life.

In particular, the subtle energy he had felt during the day was different from that of the Evil Sound. It was a fleeting moment, so it was difficult to discern the essence of the energy, but it was certain that it wasn’t the Evil Sound.

If that was the case, then the Divine Transformation [a sect known for its transformative martial arts] and the Mad Blood were left, and if it were the Divine Transformation, there was no reason to take the unreasonable risk of creating an information hub so close by.

Yeon Ho-Jeong knew. As Pung Byeok-Ja said, the Three Teachings were three and one, and one and three.

However, they had not become perfectly one even during the era of the Dark Emperor. He had heard that they often clashed with each other.

Decisively, if he were a member of the Divine Transformation Sect, the Western Divine Woman, who had met the Bonggong [a martial arts technique] several times, would not have failed to recognize him.

And he knew that the Divine Transformation Sect was busy targeting the imperial palace rather than the martial world.

“Whether you’re Mad Blood, Evil Sound, or Divine Transformation, the fact that you’ll die here is not going to change.”

Chaaaaang!

A fierce killing intent surged from Yeon Ho-Jeong as he drew the Black Dragon Blade and the White Dragon Blade.

It was a killing intent that even Pung Byeok-Ja, who had trained in Cheongseong’s martial arts for a long time, would find difficult to withstand. Even if he drew on the energy of the ‘mask,’ it would be difficult to endure.

Pung Byeok-Ja said.

“I came to have a conversation, but you immediately pull out your axe.”

“I don’t dislike talking either. But I also don’t have a hobby of rambling on about useless things.”

“It might be useless to me, but it could be a very useful time for you.”

It was then.

Kwaaaaaang!

With a tremendous explosion, a huge flame erupted from the distant north.

It was an explosion. The explosive force was so strong that the ground shook even here.

‘That place is?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes narrowed.

‘It’s not where the leaders reside?’

Pung Byeok-Ja smiled and said.

“With that, the information documents and routes I had smuggled out have been destroyed.”

“And the contact is probably dead too.”

“……”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled coldly.

“Did you erase the traces? As expected.”

Pung Byeok-Ja’s eyes wavered.

“How did you know I killed the contact?”

“As I just said, you had to erase the traces. It’s obvious what you guys would do.”

“……”

“Who was the contact? It wouldn’t be someone from the Clothing Unit, and the best person to cast suspicion on would be Bok Ho. Then, there must have been a contact in the Sound Unit.”

A terrifying man.

Pung Byeok-Ja felt goosebumps at Yeon Ho-Jeong’s perception.

Suspecting the surroundings and investigating everyone around the suspected person was difficult. But using that information to analyze a sudden incident and derive a result was something that was close to impossible for an ordinary person.

‘It was him after all.’

Pung Byeok-Ja was certain.

This man was the invisible core of the current Martial Alliance. Jeagal Mun-Ho may have helped, but this man’s unfathomable abilities were the root cause of everything.

“What a shame. If I had known you were such a terrifying person, I would have killed you a long time ago.”

“Even if you had known beforehand, you wouldn’t have been able to kill me. I’ve been backstabbed so many times that I have a good sense for that kind of thing.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s why I’m curious.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong tilted his head.

“You intend to kill me. You have to kill me. But it’s too noisy, isn’t it?”

“Noisy?”

“There’s no reason to lure me out like this. You could just come secretly and poison me or set off explosives.”

Pung Byeok-Ja grinned.

“Yes, I could have.”

“In other words, keeping me tied up is your best option right now.”

The corners of Yeon Ho-Jeong’s lips curled up.

“Why? Did you send assassins to the Military Affairs Department? Did the manager who controls you tell you to do that?”

It was the second time.

Pung Byeok-Ja had already felt an emotion close to fear twice at the other’s insight.

Of course, he hadn’t actually sent assassins. He hadn’t seen his manager recently. Pung Byeok-Ja didn’t know where he was or what he was doing.

What surprised Pung Byeok-Ja was that Yeon Ho-Jeong had deduced the existence of the ‘manager’ itself.

‘……’

He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his mouth.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s judgment was accurate. Pung Byeok-Ja was a person who had been raised as the best spy, and he was someone who could hide his true nature enough to deceive even Taoists.

However, after decades without experiencing a single crisis, he had become a half-baked spy who was excellent in ability but lacked the wit to adapt.

That was the reason why he had a manager assigned to him.

“I’m sorry, but no assassin in the world can infiltrate the Military Affairs Department. Currently, the Military Affairs Department has become the most impenetrable fortress in the martial world.”

“……”

“Anyway.”

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-Jeong took a step forward.

“Even a three-year-old would know that your claim of not having a trap is a lie. Why don’t you show me the weapon that gave you that confident smile?”

Twitch!

Pung Byeok-Ja’s right index finger twitched.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s confident attitude was causing a storm in his wavering emotions.

“Surely, you didn’t call me here just to have a joke, did you?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong closed the distance step by step.

Watching him approach, Pung Byeok-Ja smiled. It was natural, but to Yeon Ho-Jeong, the smile seemed too forced.

“If you take one more step, you’ll die.”

“Is that so?”

“If you’re confident, take a step.”

It was neither a bluff nor a joke.

He couldn’t do that in the first place. Yeon Ho-Jeong had known from the moment he arrived at this open space. That the guy had set up some kind of trap. The statement that it didn’t seem like he had set up a trap was itself a statement designed to make the opponent lower their guard.

‘This is strange.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong was also smiling, but he was actually quite puzzled.

‘Killing me or the Military Advisor is a reasonable decision… but why is it so clumsy?’

It was completely different from when he had appeared in the alleyway. His reaction was similar to that of a third-rate thug.

He was the one who had pressured the opponent, but even if he was an inexperienced spy, could he really be shaken this much by this level of pressure? He was supposed to be the best of the best?

Yeon Ho-Jeong once again carefully examined Pung Byeok-Ja’s face.

‘Could it be someone else?’

That was nonsense. The man was definitely Pung Byeok-Ja.

Pung Byeok-Ja sneered.

“Why? Even the great Byeoksan Tiger [Yeon Ho-Jeong’s nickname] seems to value his life?”

It was a cliché line.

The smile disappeared from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face. His eyes gradually took on a serious light.

‘What is this?’

The moment the pressure reached its peak.

From that moment on, Pung Byeok-Ja was collapsing as if he had become a completely different person.

Not only that.

Wooong. Woooong.

Beyond the pure energy of the Taoist divine art, the bizarre energy that Yeon Ho-Jeong had felt during the day was gradually revealing itself.

As if it was starting to go berserk.

As if he was being controlled by someone else, not by his own will.

‘Could it be this guy?!’

It was then.

Kwaaaaaang!

Another explosion echoed.

It wasn’t from the Military Affairs Department. The explosion, which had erupted in the opposite direction from the Military Affairs Department, near the Criminal Division’s prison, was sweeping through the surroundings.

At that moment, Pung Byeok-Ja shouted frantically.

“Die!!”

Bang!

With a tremor, a hazy smoke rose from the ground of the open space.

The range was truly enormous. The smoke, covering a radius of about twenty yards, instantly obscured the vision.

And.

Chiiiiiiiiik! Shlurrrp.

Pung Byeok-Ja’s body melted away without leaving a single piece of flesh behind.