Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1026

Having bid their final farewells, Yeon Ho-Jeong, along with Moyong Gun, headed to the prison after saying goodbye to the leaders of the Alliance.

As they descended to the lowest level of the prison, Moyong Gun asked,

“How do you feel?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“Not bad.”

“I suppose so. With your personality, it must have been exhausting to constantly be mindful of these people, holding back here and there. You must be thrilled at the thought of going to the Black Dragon Unit and letting loose without worrying about anyone.”

It was an unusual jest from Moyong Gun.

Though a joke, it was also true. Yeon Ho-Jeong had often suppressed his strength to match the atmosphere of the Martial Alliance, even when he needed to strike out.

At least, that wouldn’t be the case in the Black Dragon Unit.

“Lord.”

“Speak.”

“Please take care of me.”

It was a statement filled with various meanings.

Moyong Gun gave a wry smile.

“I never thought the day would come when I’d hear those words from you.”

“I also never imagined you would change this much, Lord.”

Moyong Gun fell silent.

Normally, he would have made a joke, saying he should just take over the Martial Alliance, but the situation was too serious for such words.

Sensing his thoughts, Yeon Ho-Jeong continued,

“The Alliance Lord is a strong person. You might find him frustrating and overly diplomatic, but the center he holds….”

“I know.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. I would never have done it that way. That’s why I get frustrated and annoyed. But I agree that Grand Master Gong’s abilities are outstanding.”

“……”

“What frustrates me are the Bureaucrats and Elders.”

“……?”

“Grand Master Gong might have been keeping them in check, but the Bureaucrats and Elders are also leaders of their respective factions. Depending on how they are managed, they could create an overwhelming force. There might be other ideas, but watching them sit idly by is frustrating.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong agreed.

In this aspect, the two were quite similar. They might differ in the details of how they handled things, but they had the same eye for identifying what was important.

“Please help the Alliance Lord a lot.”

“I need to return to the Sangmu Union [a martial arts organization]. Me getting involved now would only harm the Alliance Lord’s politics.”

“……”

“But before I leave, I’ll have to nag him a bit. If he has the capacity to accept it, he will, and if not, he’ll ignore it, but at least he’ll know there’s another way.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been quietly watching Moyong Gun, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Seriously, what kind of enlightenment did you have on your own?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not like I’m doing this because I like those guys.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes darkened.

“To completely eradicate the Three Evil Sects, it’s unavoidable. If I’m not the leader, then I have to make sure the leader does his job properly.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s how it is for me, but what about you?”

“……?”

“Do you really have no regrets?”

“None.”

Clang!

The door to the lowest level of the prison opened.

Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke without any lingering attachment.

“From the beginning, the Martial Alliance was not a place for me. It was just a place I stopped by for a while.”

“……”

“As I said, I am a heretic. I might be considered a heretic even in the Black Dragon Unit, but I’m not the only one there. It’s a place where anyone can come and become the best. Isn’t that an environment like heaven for me?”

“……I see.”

“Like you, Lord, I’ll find a place that suits me and build my own home.”

That’s not it.

Moyong Gun almost said it without realizing.

‘It was seeing you that made me choose the Sangmu Union.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words that the Martial Alliance was not a place for him resonated strangely deeply.

Moyong Gun felt the same way. He had wanted to stand at the top of the Martial Alliance, but the current Martial Alliance was not a place for him.

If it weren’t for the war, he would have turned it into a kingdom that suited him. But with the war against the Three Evil Sects imminent, it would only cause unnecessary chaos in the martial world.

“The Black Dragon Unit isn’t far from the Sangmu Union. The war could break out at any time, but if you think of it, come visit.”

“I’ll return those words to you.”

“You never back down.”

“Hahaha.”

Thus, the two walked down the prison corridor, chatting about various things.

About halfway through, Moyong Gun looked at a prison cell with iron bars.

Inside, a young man with white hair was sitting on the floor, muttering something. His face was pale, and his eyes were vacant, as if he had completely lost his mind.

It was Namgoong Hyeon.

Moyong Gun’s eyes flashed with killing intent for a moment.

The people he hated most were those like the Anti-Black Faction and Namgoong Hyeon. At least the Three Evil Sects had ambition. If they were ignorant and incompetent, they should at least know what was right, but that man had none of that.

However.

Perhaps he himself could have ended up like that. Moyong Gun couldn’t deny that this possibility could have become a reality.

Blind greed leads people to ruin. It was a significant lesson.

Continuing down the corridor, the two finally stood before Hong Ik-Cheon, or rather, the nameless Three Evil King.

The Three Evil King, who had been muttering to himself with his head bowed like Namgoong Hyeon, flinched.

After a moment.

“You haven’t left yet.”

A subdued voice.

The Three Evil King’s voice, who had had no one to talk to except himself, was rough.

However, his senses were still sharp. Even with his eyes covered by a blindfold, he recognized that his opponent was Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“And even Lord Moyong is here.”

“Don’t utter my name with your filthy tongue.”

Moyong Gun’s voice was cold.

The Three Evil King’s lips curled up.

He had been locked up in this environment for days without anyone to talk to, yet he had somehow managed to keep his mind intact.

“So, what brings you here today?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong squatted in front of the iron bars.

“There’s something I want to ask.”

“I have nothing more to say. Though, I must admit, it’s nice to have someone to talk to, even for a moment.”

“The Shadow Sound Sect’s intelligence network is quite impressive.”

“……?”

“Of course, the situation here might be slower than for us natives of the Central Plains. Still, it’s impressive. And the Central Plains are vast. Even with the best intelligence, it wouldn’t be easy to find someone who deliberately hides somewhere in this vast land.”

“That’s true.”

“You were like that, as were the warriors of the Divine Transformation Sect and the demons of the Blood Madness Sect. We’ve mobilized all our intelligence and concluded that there are no more experts from the Three Evil Sects in the Central Plains, and even if there are spies, they wouldn’t be active. But even that wasn’t a certainty.”

“There is nothing in this world that can be certain.”

“That’s right.”

“So, what answer do you want to hear?”

“Furthermore, if someone like you has been living in the Central Plains for a long time, it’s virtually impossible to catch them even if you wanted to. Highly trained spies blend perfectly into their environment.”

“……”

“When limited to the Shadow Sound Sect, there probably isn’t another like you in the Central Plains. Is that right?”

“That’s something I wouldn’t know. I may be called the Three Evil King, but my authority isn’t that great. I was only given orders to infiltrate and cause chaos.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong stared at the Three Evil King.

The Three Evil King, who had been sitting motionless, spoke as if throwing a stone.

“I misspoke.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked up at Moyong Gun and said,

“It seems there’s something more.”

“Is that so?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked back at the Three Evil King.

The Three Evil King smirked.

“It’s certainly difficult in a place like this. I guess I’ve become dull.”

“That’s not it. It’s not that you’ve become dull, but that the Shadow Sound Sect is no longer important to you.”

“Is that so? I wouldn’t know about that.”

“You tried to tear apart black and white. And you succeeded. You created a situation where I had no choice but to leave.”

“It’s a shame that my greatest achievement in life ends at that level.”

“But if you think about it differently, this isn’t anything new. We formed an alliance, but we were never truly one. Everyone knows that. Despite that, you tried to get me out of the Alliance.”

“……”

“Your greatest weapon isn’t your ability to predict and draw out the reactions of others. To be precise, you’ve hidden another blade within that ability.”

“What is it?”

“Paranoia.”

The Three Evil King did not answer.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes narrowed.

“Once a spy is caught, everyone is gripped by the fear that anyone could be a spy. But we didn’t. We had our own certainties.”

“……”

“But this situation is different. You were a spy, yet you swayed others and shook the organization without getting your own hands dirty. Now, people will be more suspicious, wondering if even those close to them have been swayed by a spy.”

“I didn’t intend it, but I thought it was possible.”

“But that’s temporary. Once the leader starts to properly control the organization, it’s only a matter of time before that atmosphere is corrected.”

“……”

“In other words, a decisive trigger is needed. A trigger that prevents any leader from properly fixing the organization. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

“What could that trigger be?”

The Three Evil King remained silent.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s lips curled up.

“……I think I know.”

He stood up.

“Let’s go.”

“Did you figure it out?”

“I think so.”

“Even I can’t grasp it this time.”

“It’s because I know that guy a bit. If I hadn’t faced him properly, I wouldn’t have known either.”

Moyong Gun looked down at the Three Evil King.

An unknown emotion flickered in his cold eyes.

“It’s a shame. Your abilities.”

He wasn’t talking about his ability to manipulate people, but his ability to lead an organization as the leader of the Sangmu Union.

The Three Evil King opened his mouth.

“Don’t be disappointed. I’ve sown many seeds. Most of them won’t bloom, but at least you won’t be bored for a while.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

The Three Evil King’s words proved that he was weakening. Moyong Gun somehow understood Yeon Ho-Jeong’s method, which he had deduced from the Three Evil King’s voice, words, and atmosphere.

Moyong Gun sighed and turned around.

“……!”

The Three Evil King’s face hardened.

Moyong Gun’s sigh was filled with many emotions. But there was no hatred in those emotions. Rather, there was pity.

That feeling, that emotion, made the Three Evil King’s mood plummet. And he couldn’t understand why his mood had dropped.

Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke calmly.

“I broke his limbs, and you, Lord, cut off his last breath.”

“……”

“I’ve met you once, and that’s enough.”

Not now, but in the Black Emperor Fortress.

“Let’s not meet again in the next life.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong also turned around.

Then, the Three Evil King opened his mouth.

“You are indeed a cruel man.”

“Of course.”

“……You are truly cruel. You knew everything, yet you tore apart the limbs of a man who was about to die.”

“You’re not one to talk. In that aspect, you’re no different from the other spies.”

The Three Evil King leaned against the wall.

“If there is a next life, I want to see you again.”

“I can’t stop unrequited love. If you get caught, you’ll die again.”

“Haha.”

With that, Yeon Ho-Jeong and Moyong Gun left the prison.

The next day.

The Three Evil King committed suicide by smashing his head against the wall.