Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1030

“……”

Hang-oh’s eyes flashed.

From behind a huge tree on the right cliff of the gorge, where he had been watching the fierce battle, he slowly raised his hand.

Swoosh.

At his gesture, about fifty masked men who had been hiding shouldered black, heavy iron rods.

On closer inspection, they weren’t iron rods but iron blocks with holes in them. They looked similar to cannons, but they were small enough to be placed on a person’s shoulder.

Hang-oh skillfully overlapped his fingers.

Then, the masked men subtly adjusted the direction of the muzzles.

‘The fire net is formed.’

‘That’ fired from the fifty muzzles would fall directly into the battlefield. The width was also assumed to be about thirty yards, so all three would be trapped inside.

‘With the skills of Protector Lee and the Deputy Protector, they won’t be hit by the projectiles.’

It was Protector Lee who had ordered this in the first place. He must have been able to reach the position of Protector because he actually had that much skill.

‘Is it not the time yet?’

Hang-oh felt a subtle excitement.

These devices were developed by the Evil Yin Cult over a very long time. They were made by kidnapping merchants from the Western Regions, who were unknown to the people of the Central Plains, and those who were engaged in manufacturing gunpowder weapons. Now, they had been improved to a much more advanced form than those of the Western Regions.

And Hang-oh was a living witness to the history of these weapons, having lived as a developer of these weapons for twenty years.

‘It’s a shame. I imagined facing a master of the Extreme Realm head-on.’

Masters of the Extreme Realm were all those who were looking to surpass the realm of demigods. No matter how excellent a weapon was, it was meaningless if it could not be used. If they were to face demigods, it was obvious that they would lose their lives.

However, if they were to launch a hidden ambush like this, they would be able to play their role sufficiently.

‘As soon as the signal comes.’

The corners of Hang-oh’s lips curled up.

‘We can capture that Yeon Ho-Jeong.’

It was then.

Rustle.

The sound of bushes moving came from somewhere.

Hang-oh, startled, looked around.

‘…….’

There was no sign of anyone.

Perhaps it was just a tree branch swaying in the wind. Thinking that he had no choice but to be very sensitive, Hang-oh turned his head back to the battlefield of the monstrous beings.

However, it would have been better for him to quietly search his surroundings.

Far away in the bushes, a bowstring was being silently drawn.

* * *

Clang!

The Azure Dragon Axe vibrated slightly.

Clang!

With the explosive force of the strike, Hoyeon Gwang staggered back.

‘Strong.’

Strong and heavy.

Hoyeon Gwang was a man who had killed enemies while his vision was stained red with blood, having been stabbed in the stomach, had a leg broken, and his head cracked open.

He was not intimidated by pain or shock, and of course, they would not even stop his steps.

However, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s strike, each strike, was not a martial art that he could endure and counter.

‘What is this martial art?’

Hoyeon Gwang gritted his teeth and raised the Dark Yin Energy to its limit.

Whoosh!

The yellowish sandstorm seemed to create a whirlwind.

It was a storm of evil energy sweeping through all directions. Within that storm, Hoyeon Gwang’s rage-filled will gave terrifying divine power to his trembling legs.

Bang!

He charged forward and swung the Giant Dragon Mace.

The Dark Yin Martial Art was a martial art that the cult leader had directly bestowed upon him. Hoyeon Gwang had no doubt that the Dark Yin Martial Art alone was enough to stand at the pinnacle of the world.

However, the Dark Yin Martial Art was merely a martial art that adorned his body. The Dark Yin Martial Art was fundamentally not suited for him. As an internal energy cultivation method, it was second to none, but using it for explosive power did not suit Hoyeon Gwang’s enlightenment.

Now, as in the past, only this steel weapon was everything to him.

“You bastard!”

Clang!

The Giant Dragon Mace was swung down with a stomp.

It was as if a landslide had occurred. Beyond the pouring debris of the mountain, it was as if a huge wave was crashing down. The force was tremendous.

This was Hoyeon Gwang’s unique martial art, the Crushing Mountain Luminous Wheel Martial Art.

One of the highest martial arts of the Evil Yin Cult, which had defeated the previous Three Protectors in one blow when he first reached the Supreme Realm.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s Azure Dragon Axe moved like a dragon ascending to the sky.

Clang!

Hoyeon Gwang’s eyes widened as if they would tear.

It felt like his waist was being completely bent. No, it actually was halfway there. He barely supported his waist, which was bent as if it would break, with his powerful internal energy and leg strength, but the shock went through his entire body.

‘This can’t be.’

The Crushing Mountain Luminous Wheel Martial Art was not simply a staff technique, a cudgel technique, or a mace technique that involved swinging an iron rod. It was a martial art that had reached the pinnacle of all weapons that handled long and heavy weapons.

Therefore, one had to be born with naturally strong arm strength, and as much as arm strength, excellent endurance was also required, so it was difficult to even begin if one was not born with it.

He had deflected such a martial art with just one swing of an axe.

Moreover, not with a downward strike, but with an upward strike.

‘How can such power come from an ordinary axe swing…….’

Crack!

He hurriedly rotated his body and retreated, but his feet had already created a long groove in the ground.

Hoyeon Gwang’s eyes widened.

By now, the woman, Gong Yeo, the head of the Thousand Illusion Gate, was attacking Yeon Ho-Jeong with sword strikes as fast and sharp as rays of light.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of the sword blade hitting the axe shaft was so clear and beautiful that it was almost dazzling.

Surprisingly, Yeon Ho-Jeong was blocking all of Gong Yeo’s Illusionary Sword with one hand. He was holding the heavy Azure Dragon Axe with only one hand, and was deflecting the sword strikes with short, quick swings.

‘That……!’

The key was not reflexes or arm strength.

‘Tremendous internal energy!’

The power of a single strike could not be compared to Yeon Ho-Jeong or Hoyeon Gwang, but it was Gong Yeo’s swordsmanship that made up for it with speed. Moreover, she was also a Supreme Realm master, so even if her power was diminished, she was still capable of attacks that could cut through rocks like tofu.

She was receiving countless such sword strikes and not retreating even a little. No, her expression did not change at all.

As if he was examining his opponent’s martial arts, Yeon Ho-Jeong, with his mouth tightly shut, was facing Gong Yeo’s gaze, swordsmanship, and footwork, and he was full of composure.

‘Composure?!’

No. It was not just simple composure.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s gaze now was the kind of gaze that a master who was standing far above would show when looking at the martial arts of novices.

He did not miss a single movement. At the same time, he was accurately grasping where and how the next attack would aim, and was moving his axe in advance.

‘Crazy!’

Bang!

Hoyeon Gwang, who had entered with full force again, unleashed the Crushing Mountain Luminous Wheel Martial Art.

It was a technique to pierce through the center and crush the enemy with force, the One Point Mountain Break.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes blazed.

Even though there was a difference in skill, it was a fight against two Supreme Realm masters. No matter how skilled he was, it was a match he could not be careless about.

Swoosh.

Hoyeon Gwang and Gong Yeo’s eyes wavered.

It seemed like he had moved one step, but Yeon Ho-Jeong had already disappeared from that spot.

All that was left was the sword and mace moving towards the spot where Yeon Ho-Jeong had disappeared.

‘Eek!’

Bang!

Gong Yeo, whose weapon was light and nimble, changed her sword path in an instant, but Hoyeon Gwang was different.

It was possible, but it was slow and put a lot of strain on his body. That was because the Giant Dragon Mace was a heavy weapon.

‘I don’t know how he dodged it, but if he induced this situation, then his next attack will be……!’

Clang!

He twisted his body as if his spine would break and swung the Giant Dragon Mace, but he could not withstand the power of the Azure Dragon Axe.

Clang!

Hoyeon Gwang’s knees hit the ground.

Since he had swung it while rotating, the power carried by the Giant Dragon Mace must have been tremendous. However, the Azure Dragon Axe lightly suppressed that power and even made Hoyeon Gwang, the owner of the weapon, kneel.

Hoyeon Gwang’s eyes twitched.

The sun was setting in the west.

In front of it, there was an absolute master, with his black robe fluttering like wings, and his flawless golden demonic eyes looking down at him.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, with the afterglow of the red-burning sun on his back, was truly like an evil god from legends.

“You bastard!!”

Clang!

While kneeling, he twisted his body, released the Giant Dragon Mace, and unleashed a double palm strike. It was the Dark Yin Divine Palm.

It was then.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s left hand moved smoothly.

In a strange movement, the black-gray Coiling Dragon Chain that popped out from his sleeve wrapped around the power of the Dark Yin Divine Palm.

Chiling!

Gong Yeo, who was aiming for Yeon Ho-Jeong’s back, was terrified. That was because a strange force that had curved in along a single chain had reached right in front of her nose.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gong Yeo’s swordsmanship was at a sublime level that was truly admirable.

It was as if she was drawing a huge, fully bloomed flower with a sword as a brush. Within the illusionary sword that was being swung like an illusion, the double palm power of the Dark Yin Divine Palm was being peeled away like fruit skin.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

Chiriring!

The Coiling Dragon Chain, which was shot out like lightning, wrapped around Gong Yeo’s sword blade.

Clang!

Although she was ahead of Yeon Ho-Jeong in terms of technique, she could not match Yeon Ho-Jeong in terms of power and speed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had blocked Gong Yeo’s sword with the Coiling Dragon Chain, raised the Azure Dragon Axe.

“You abandoned the martial arts that could aim for the Heavenly Sword and learned the mundane Earthly Sword, so it is only natural that you would be defeated by me.”

Gong Yeo’s eyes widened.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Gong Yeo’s body, which had been flung away, was covered in blood. The area between her chest and abdomen was completely stained with blood.

Gong Yeo gritted her teeth. The sword she was holding was completely broken from the handle up.

It would have been better to drop the sword, but her instincts refused it. Instead, she forcibly broke the sword blade and pulled her body away.

Bang!

Hoyeon Gwang, who had seized the opportunity, swung the Giant Dragon Mace once more, but Yeon Ho-Jeong’s divine footwork instantly evaded the attack and at the same time, he sent Hoyeon Gwang flying with a cannon-like kick.

Whoosh.

The wind blew.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, standing between the two, holding the Azure Dragon Axe and the Coiling Dragon Chain in each hand, was truly overwhelming.

‘This…….’

Gong Yeo’s eyes trembled.

Although she had not learned the martial arts willingly, she had still reached the realm of light, so she was overflowing with confidence in her martial prowess.

Hoyeon Gwang was no different. His martial prowess, which had made him the Second Protector in an instant with a talent that belonged to a handful among the many children of the Evil Yin Cult Leader, was truly admirable.

However.

Even with those two, it was not enough. They could not even inflict a proper scratch, let alone push him back.

Rather, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s martial arts, which overwhelmed the two, were unusually mysterious and bizarre.

‘Is this even possible? Even Yeon Sim, who was said to be the greatest talent in the history of Bota Hermitage, would not be this good. Just how monstrous a talent does that young man have……!’

‘That guy was right. He said it was a martial prowess that could not be measured by information or rumors.’

The two men and women felt a sense of futility.

The opponent was a young man who was at least twenty years younger than them. Since the prime of a martial artist starts from middle age, the expression ‘young’ was more appropriate than ‘youthful’.

Yet, he was overwhelming.

Although it was not a martial prowess that could be discussed as the strongest under the heavens, it was a martial prowess that toyed with two absolute masters who were just below that level.

“……You bastard!”

Flash!

Hoyeon Gwang’s eyes were dyed in a single color.

His eyes, with even the whites completely dyed yellow, were somehow similar to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s.

“I cannot accept it! You will surely die here!”

Hoyeon Gwang raised his hand, and Gong Yeo attacked Yeon Ho-Jeong with a bare hand strike.

At that moment, an explosion erupted from the cliff above the gorge in the distance.