Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1013

“Hah… Hah…!”

The young man gasped for breath.

His legs trembled with an indescribable emotion. His heart pounded like crazy, and his empty hands shook as if they were holding a thousand-pound rock.

The trembling hands were quite dirty. It was hard to see clearly in the dimly lit place, but they were covered in blood and dirt.

Several fingernails were missing from the dirty fingertips, revealing the red flesh underneath. The little finger on his left hand was broken and bent sideways.

It was a gruesome sight. Naturally, the pain would be severe.

However, the young man felt no pain.

‘It’s done.’

The young man felt a strange sense of wonder.

At first, he thought ‘he’ was just some common riffraff. When ‘he’ slyly handed him a silk pouch as a bribe, he almost clicked his tongue at its modest size.

But the moment he checked the contents of the silk pouch, the young man realized that ‘he’ was no ordinary person.

He was very pleased, and they even made plans to have a drink together.

The next day, the drinking party took place immediately.

Beautiful women, whose origins he didn’t know, attended to the young man. At first, he tried to maintain some decorum, but as the alcohol flowed, his reason vanished.

‘He’ knew how to please people. He had never experienced such a night of pure pleasure. It was as if he had never indulged so much before.

That was it. To the young man, ‘he’ had become a friend.

The young man confided many things to ‘him.’ Even though they had only met a few days ago, ‘he’ understood the young man’s heart like an old confidant.

And ‘he’ made him realize that even in death, he would not escape the swamp of a loser.

In this family, where the shadows of his older brother, his father, and even his grandfather were cast upon him, the young man’s world would never come.

The young man had never dreamed of his own world. He had only vaguely wanted to be the best.

Then, could he become the best if he left the family?

Of course not.

Rather, the world outside the family was teeming with all sorts of monsters. Even without going to the Holy Heaven [a reference to a powerful, perhaps mythical, place], there were many peers who looked down on the young man, who was considered an outstanding late-stage talent.

‘He’ told him this fact, and the young man, witnessing the truth he had been ignoring, fell into utter despair.

A life where he could not be the best.

A life that was correctly misaligned, something he had never considered.

However, there had been a ray of light in his life.

It was when he met ‘her’ as a child.

She radiated light.

Free from the pressure of the family and the desire to be the best, she was beautiful, confident, and shone brighter than anyone else.

The young man was instantly captivated by her.

It wasn’t just because he was a passionate youth. To the young man, she was more than just an object of affection.

Whenever he had a brief conversation with her, he felt the unknown weight on his shoulders disappear.

Her eyes were more sparkling than the stars in the night sky and more beautiful than the full moon, like the sun that he could not dare to look at directly.

From then on, the young man worked hard and harder.

Thanks to his efforts, he became a famous late-stage talent, and within the family, he received unprecedented expectations.

The young man studied the world and learned how the world viewed his family. And he realized how he should use his family and his reputation to become the best.

However, as much as the young man grew, or rather, far surpassing his growth, she rose higher.

No, she was already high from the start. That’s how the young man felt.

Nevertheless, she was new every time he saw her. Furthermore, as she grew older, she even showed the beauty of a mature woman.

The young man thought, ‘Am I worthy of her?’

The family’s reputation was higher on his side. But the young man lacked confidence.

So, he couldn’t properly convey his feelings. He decided that once he reached the same position as her, he would propose to her with confidence. That’s what the young man decided.

However, there was no guarantee that she wouldn’t marry until then.

He asked his father for the first time. To block her marriage prospects. To somehow buy time, even if it meant taking away the power of her family.

His father was not interested in the young man’s affection. What his father was interested in was the power of her family itself.

His father ‘allowed’ the young man’s affection, and after that, her family gradually lost its luster.

He thought it was okay.

If I rise high, if I stand confidently before her, and if I marry her, both families will be able to engrave their names in history as great influential families of the Jianghu [the martial arts world].

And then, ‘that bastard’ appeared.

A talentless fool born as the eldest son of a small family in the Jiangsu region bordering Anhui.

That talentless bastard had become a Goru Geogak [a term for a towering figure, like a mountain peak], a mountain peak, and now he had reached the sky.

The gossips called him a genius who appeared once in a hundred, or even a thousand years. It was an unpleasant title, but they said he was the leading figure among the young people of this era.

He felt jealousy. But if it was just that, it would have been okay.

‘She’ was the problem.

From the moment she started hanging around with that foolish bastard, something that had been cast in the young man’s heart began to twist and break.

He felt more than jealousy. He felt murderous intent.

When they encountered each other on the way to the first Martial Alliance founding, he didn’t know how much he had suppressed the urge to draw his sword and cut off his head.

In fact, there was even a commotion because of the murderous intent that had leaked out without him realizing it.

From that point on, his father treated him like a useless sack of barley. His older brother, who had been in seclusion, had returned, so it seemed that the second son, who had no ability and didn’t know his place, was no longer of any importance.

The young man was falling apart.

He was dragged away by his grandfather and trained to forget his worries, but that was it. His martial arts had grown, but the young man’s insides were much more twisted than before.

And ‘he,’ who had become his confidant, showed the young man reality.

He showed him that there was no place for the young man in the family, in the Martial Alliance, or in the entire Central Plains martial world.

He reminded him that he had already become a loser, that his one and only life had already been ruined beyond repair.

The young man felt despair to the point of contemplating death.

His confidant’s words were right.

He was a failure. He was a loser, an incompetent cripple.

Then, his confidant told him one more thing.

‘Is your one and only life going to be lived forever crushed under the weight of your family’s name?’

‘Even if you know my heart, you can’t know the weight I feel.’

‘I don’t know. I’m carrying something much heavier than you are.’

‘What is it?’

‘The important thing is not me. If you’re going to keep failing like this, isn’t it a man’s spirit to aim for one last shot in life?’

‘One last shot? Do I have any chances left?’

‘Run away with her.’

‘Impossible.’

‘It’s possible. The Gangseo region is firmly in the hands of our Sangmu Alliance. I’ll set up a new home there, so take her and live together.’

‘I can’t. The family, and even the world, will try to catch me.’

‘If the world doesn’t accept you, then you just have to destroy the world and live alone in solitude.’

‘Destroy the world?’

‘You don’t need martial arts, knowledge, or family. All you need is her.’

‘……That’s right.’

‘If your family is crushing your shoulders, then blow away the family. If the Martial Alliance is making your head heavy, then strike down the Martial Alliance.’

‘How?’

‘Didn’t you do a lot of things with your father while your older brother was in seclusion? There must be many family secrets that you share with your father. You can negotiate with that.’

‘Are you telling me to blackmail my father with my family’s dirty secrets?’

‘That father abandoned you.’

‘……!’

‘This is the last chance in your life. I don’t care what happens to the world. I’m just risking my life for my dream. So, are you going to give up on the dream you hold?’

‘My dream…….’

‘What is your dream?’

‘My dream is…….’

‘If you keep going like this, she will end up in another man’s arms. You know that there’s a very high chance that that man will be the eldest son of the Yeon family, right?’

‘No!!’

‘If you make a decision, I’ll help you. Even if you disappear with her, I’ll make sure the Martial Alliance will never find you. Of course, you’ll have to play your part.’

‘……What’s the method?’

‘First, let me meet your father.’

‘What will you do when you meet him?’

‘Instead of you, I’ll make him give up on you.’

‘How?’

‘You have to tell me. The information that can push your father to the edge.’

His confidant sighed deeply and finished speaking.

‘It will be a life-or-death gamble for me too, but what are friends for? If I die at the hands of your father, then you’ll have to find another way.’

‘He’ was truly a confidant. He was a benefactor who showed that there was hope even in his hopeless life.

And surprisingly, he succeeded in completely controlling his father.

‘He’ made so many things possible. Seeing the things that seemed impossible become reality, the young man was filled with a strong hope and the expectation that he could grasp his dream, which had been close to a fantasy.

And now.

Just as his friend played his role, he had finished his role.

“It can’t be helped. It can’t be helped. I will reclaim my life. I will find her.”

He dug into the ground with his bare hands, fearing that a master might sense his internal energy fluctuations and come looking for him.

One finger was broken and several fingernails were missing, but it was okay.

The overflowing tension turned into joy. Because of the things he had buried in the ground, the Martial Alliance would never be able to find him.

Not to mention his dead father…….

‘……!!’

The young man’s face turned pale.

The fact that his father was dead suddenly messed with his mind.

At the same time, he realized that there was no turning back. His father was dead, and he had finished his work.

All that was left was her.

“Wait for me, Ayeon. For a moment, just a moment, you might be uneasy. But it’ll be okay. I, more than anyone, can make you happy.”

The young man took out a small silk pouch from his chest.

It was something his confidant had given him after negotiating with his father, a spiritual medicine with a strong fire energy.

It was said to double his internal energy for a moment, but after half an hour, all his internal energy would be exhausted, and he wouldn’t be able to circulate his energy for two days.

It sounded plausible. There was nothing in this world that could give you benefits without any risks.

With twice his internal energy, he could surpass the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects just by the sheer amount. With that kind of power, there would be no problem in taking her away.

“I will make you happy. For me, and for you, you will know that this is better.”

The young man staggered out of the ground.

He was covered in dirt, so he looked a bit disheveled, but there was no time to groom himself.

Thus, the young man, Namgoong Hyeon, headed towards the military headquarters through the forest path.

It was the very time when the anti-Black Faction warriors, who had gathered in the plaza, began to disperse due to Gong Gong Dae Sa’s resolute actions.