Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1084

“What?!”Cho Geom-ja’s face flushed crimson upon hearing Noksu Daeju’s words.He had been uneasy due to their prolonged absence, but he never imagined the entire scouting party had been wiped out.Noksu Daeju quickly continued,”Currently, the Clan Head and Nokpungdae [Elite warriors of the Tang Clan] are facing two thousand enemy soldiers. The Gansuk forces must quickly retreat to the rear and pursue the three thousand soldiers attempting a flanking maneuver!””Damn it!”Cho Geom-ja, who had been blinded by rage, took a deep breath to calm himself.His youngest disciple was among the scouts sent out.He felt as if his insides were burning black. If it weren’t wartime, he would have collapsed on the spot and wept.But this was war, and Cho Geom-ja was the highest-ranking officer in charge of the front lines and the entire Gongdong Clan’s forces.”Are you certain?””The Clan Head personally went beyond the northern border! With his abilities, he couldn’t have missed them even if the enemy was hiding!”Cho Geom-ja gritted his teeth.He knew that Tang Gwan had broken through to the Supreme Extremity [A high level of martial arts mastery]. He was well aware of how terrifying those who had reached that level were.But this was war. A single tactical misjudgment could inflict fatal damage on their side.He believed in Tang Gwan’s abilities. But what if the enemy had retreated so far that Tang Gwan couldn’t see them?”Elder!”Cho Geom-ja turned around at Nokpung Daeju’s anxious cry.”Contact the Second and Third Lines! The enemy may attempt to bypass Gansuk by maneuvering west near Qinghai! Tell them to move quickly and join the Fourth Line to stop the enemy’s advance!”The swordsmen who received the order spurred their horses south.Noksu Daeju’s eyes wavered.”Then what about the First Line…?””How is the Clan Head doing?””It’s still unpredictable. We don’t know the extent of the enemy’s abilities. The Clan Head and Nokpungdae are likely engaged in combat right now.””Even if it’s the Clan Head, can he fight against two thousand soldiers?””He will somehow manage. We handle poison and hidden weapons, and the Clan Head is the strongest in Sichuan. Don’t worry.”That was true.Cho Geom-ja nodded.”Go and assist the Clan Head. We will also move out.””May fortune be with you! Then.”Noksu Daeju hurriedly returned the way he came.Watching Noksu Daeju’s retreating figure, Cho Geom-ja clenched his fist.A swordsman under his command asked,”Should we also move out quickly?””…””Elder.””Let’s wait and see.”Cho Geom-ja tried to be cautious.He believed in Tang Gwan’s abilities. But no one could predict how the enemy would move.’The Gongdong Clan has eyes in northern Gansuk as well. It won’t be too late to go after receiving their information.’The forces of the Second and Third Lines alone could stop thousands of soldiers. And if the reserve forces of the Fourth Line were added, they would surely be able to stop three thousand soldiers even if they tried a flanking maneuver.The important thing was the vague unease that the enemy might have another trick up their sleeve.No matter how outstanding someone was, it was absurd to move the entire army based on the word of a single person. The informants in the north were working hard even at this moment, so he needed to receive their information to be certain.’It’s okay. It will be okay.’Cho Geom-ja was a man well-versed in strategy and tactics. But real combat was different.He could use what he had learned for troop deployment, but in an actual war, when he started a battle of wits with the enemy, he needed that much experience to react quickly. Or he needed to have a keen intuition as a martial artist.In fact, Cho Geom-ja’s thoughts were not wrong. It wasn’t a good choice to move the entire army based on the intelligence of a single person.He was trying even harder not to get agitated because he had lost his youngest disciple. He was trying to judge and act as rationally as possible.That almost obsessive mindset overturned the tide of the Gansuk battle.* * *Tang Gwan’s poison techniques were brutal.He poured out his inner energy without holding back. He had evaporated every last drop of poison to reach the Supreme Extremity, but the vessel that had contained thousands of poisons, the poison core, still lay dormant in his dantian [A vital energy center in the body].However, the number of poisons he could manifest with his inner energy had drastically decreased, and a considerable amount of true energy was consumed to create poison with his inner energy.Even so, Tang Gwan’s poison techniques, having gained the vast Upper Divine Energy upon reaching the Supreme Extremity, were no different from the poison techniques he had used before.Tang Gwan’s movements, as he ravaged the enemy by scattering the Seven Steps Soul Severing Powder [A potent poison], were relaxed. He was still moving quickly here and there, but he was outside the demons’ attack range, so he didn’t receive any attacks.”Kyahhhhh!”Fear began to take root in the demons’ screams, as if they had been eliminated.They had never known fear even when their bodies were torn apart by bare hands, but poison was different.Every time an invisible ghost waved its hand, dozens of their comrades fell down. The bodies of the fallen comrades were horribly deformed, too gruesome to look at.This was not a fight. They couldn’t catch him because he was too fast, and even the demons who tried to catch him fell to the ground, clutching their necks and trembling.The demons could no longer move.They had followed Tang Gwan to the front of the sandstone hill, a hundred yards away, but they couldn’t chase him any further.They didn’t know that Nokpungdae was stationed on the hill. They were simply unable to move because they could no longer suppress the rising fear.Swoosh.Tang Gwan landed ten yards away from the demon forces.It was an overwhelming sight.A single man had taken down hundreds of demons with skin as hard as steel, yet he stood there with his hands behind his back, completely unfazed.No one in the world would have witnessed such a sight. Only Tang Gwan, a master of the Supreme Extremity in the Central Plains, could create such a scene.The manipulation of poison and hidden weapons.It was the majesty of Tang Gwan, who had risen to the ranks of the strongest.’About a third of them?’The corpses of the demons who had fallen one after another while chasing Tang Gwan were all abnormal. Their skin was rotting or turning yellow, making it chilling just to look at.’Damn it, it’s still a bit tough.’Contrary to what it seemed, Tang Gwan felt his dantian throbbing.The Myriad Return to Origin Divine Art [A powerful martial arts technique] was an invincible divine art that could even manifest the Tang Family’s poison techniques. But when it came to poison, it couldn’t keep up with the Monarch Poison Art, which was created solely for poison techniques.In particular, the consumption of inner energy was so extreme that even the Upper Divine Energy was raging chaotically.’It’s too dangerous now. I need to rest a bit.’Of course, he could fight. But it meant that he couldn’t use his poison techniques in this state.”Line up!”At the sound of a nervous voice, the demons immediately lined up.It was an amazing sight to see again. The irrational demons lined up like soldiers in response to the young man’s voice. It was an absolute command.”You!”The young man, who had climbed onto the demons’ shoulders, shouted with gritted teeth.”Who are you! Are you from the Tang Family?!”Tang Gwan chuckled.”So what if I am? Who else in the Central Plains can use poison techniques like this besides a Tang Family member?””You son of a bitch! What’s your name?!””Tang Gwan. I am the current head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”He revealed his identity proudly.He had nothing to hide, and it wouldn’t hurt if the enemy knew his identity.”…!!”The young man’s eyes changed.He had expected his opponent to be a member of the Tang Family, but he hadn’t expected the head of the Tang Clan to come in person.”You… you’re the head of the Tang Clan?””You young brat, your manners are terrible. You’re even worse than a dog.””You, you bastard!!”The enemy didn’t seem to be angry just because he was a member of the Tang Family. Tang Gwan read a deep-seated grudge in the young man’s eyes and killing intent.”Do you know me?””You bastard! Have you forgotten my father?!””Who is your father?””Ya Hyeok! Ya Hyeok is my father! You killed my father, who was an executive commander!”In an instant, Tang Gwan remembered a man he had fought just before gaining enlightenment of the Supreme Extremity, a man he had faced by drawing out the Monarch Poison Art to its fullest.A man with a huge, bear-like physique. A man who used beast-like martial arts. Even though he had been severely injured in the battle with Mak Won, he was still strong enough to be difficult to face.’So that guy is…?’That’s right. That red-haired young man was the son of Ya Hyeok, the executive commander of the Blood Demon Sect.The young man, Ya Baek-do, screamed.”You! I wanted to meet you anyway! I wanted to tear you apart with my own hands!”Tang Gwan recalled the grudges of the martial world.It was said that the favors in the martial world were like the wind, and the grudges were like the river.Favors disappear with just a breeze, but grudges flow like a river and gather in a vast lake. Sometimes, when there is a lot of rain and a flood occurs, the overflowing grudges take the lives of innocent people.Tang Gwan nodded.”The Tang Family does not avoid grudges. I will personally face you.””Grudges? What kind of dogshit is that?””…Huh?””I should have killed my father with my own hands! But you stole my prey! You will never be able to repay that sin while you live!”What kind of crazy bastard was this?Tang Gwan almost said that without realizing it. They were called demons, and it seemed like they were all abnormal.”Beasts!”At Ya Baek-do’s voice filled with anger, the demons’ eyes glowed.Now that he looked at them, these demons looked similar to Ya Hyeok, the executive commander.However, Ya Hyeok looked like a beast but was clearly a human, while these guys looked more like beasts or monsters than humans.”Even if you all die, capture that bastard! If anyone values their life, I will kill them with my own hands!”Intense demonic energy emanated from Ya Baek-do’s body.The density of that demonic energy was incredible. He looked like he had just reached adulthood, but his energy was almost comparable to a master on the verge of reaching the Unfathomable Realm [A very high level of martial arts mastery].”Kuaaaah!”The demonic energy that flowed out completely erased the beasts’ fear.”Kill him!!”Kurururung.One thousand four hundred demons rushed towards Tang Gwan all at once.Tang Gwan also retreated, swinging his palms.Bang! Thud! Thud!He didn’t overdo it.Although it was palm force, he only aimed for one life at a time.The demons running in the lead fell, spitting blood. Their heads were blown off or their chests were caved in.Still, there were too many of them.Tang Gwan, who had been retreating for a while, suddenly heard Nokpung Daeju’s telepathic message.[Rain of Arrows and Explosive Flowers, ready.]Tang Gwan’s lips curled up slightly.From a hundred yards to fifty yards, from fifty yards to thirty yards.Tang Gwan, who had lured the enemies to the base of the hill from thirty yards, then climbed the hill.When the demons, filled with madness, screamed and followed Tang Gwan up the hill,”Prepare the Rain of Arrows.”Along with a cool voice, the Nokpungdae members appeared on the hill.Tang Gwan raised his thumb and pointed behind him.Nokpung Daeju shouted,”Fire!!”Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!The iron balls fired from the small cannons the length of an arm exploded above the demons’ heads.