Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1096

Mok Won’s approaching steps halted.

Splat.

A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. His face paled instantly.

‘What is this?’

He was at least five *li* [approximately 2.5 kilometers] away from where the enemy was supposed to be.

He had thoroughly concealed his Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon and moved silently. Even though he wasn’t a professional assassin, he used movement techniques he had casually learned from the Martial Sect, along with his mastery of martial arts at the Supreme level.

But why?

It felt as if an invisible net was binding his entire body. He couldn’t even take a single step, let alone breathe.

‘What is this?’

Mok Won instinctively almost activated his Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon.

The Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon was based on metal energy. Although he had become much freer from the mutual generation and destruction of the five elements after reaching the Supreme level, the nature of the energy remained the same. The moment it was released, it would push aside the wood energy of the forest and spread in all directions.

In other words, there was a possibility that the enemy would notice the foreign Supreme level energy. That was why he couldn’t unleash his true energy.

However, if he didn’t unleash his divine power, it would be difficult to escape this unknown, formless net.

Mok Won took a step back with superhuman patience and effort. It was similar to a person suffering from sleep paralysis trying to move their limbs.

Swoosh.

As he took one step back, the pressure of the net binding his body seemed to lessen slightly.

Mok Won cautiously retreated step by step. As he did so, the pressure of the net noticeably weakened.

After moving back about ten yards, he was finally able to regain his composure.

‘Could it be some kind of sorcery?’

That was his first thought.

However, if it were sorcery, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize it. Mok Won had only ever trained in martial arts, but as someone who had reached the Supreme level, he had no problem distinguishing between martial arts and sorcery when faced with any phenomenon.

In other words, this was not sorcery.

‘It could be a sorcery I don’t know, but… I don’t feel any of its unique magical power at all.’

Then?

‘It’s not martial arts either.’

Neither martial arts nor sorcery.

It was simply energy. An overwhelming force of energy had bound his body. That was the only conclusion he could reach.

Mok Won swallowed unconsciously.

‘Who on earth?!’

Of course, it couldn’t be a formation or a mechanical trap.

If that was the case, it had to be a person. But who could possibly exert such pressure on him, a member of the Three Holy Heavens Army whose martial arts were now comparable to a king’s?

‘The pressure was so intense that it was hard to breathe. If the one who bound my body with energy is really a person, their martial arts must be truly…’

Beyond the heavens.

‘No, that can’t be. No matter how different each person’s enlightenment is, it’s unlikely that such a difference in power could exist.’

It wasn’t because he wanted to deny reality.

Mok Won, who had reached the Supreme level, could perceive a facet of this world that ordinary people could not even imagine. It wasn’t just him; everyone who had reached the Supreme level would be the same.

However, some would be curious about that facet and become obsessed with it, while others would only aim to become stronger and not pay attention to such metaphysical things.

Mok Won was clearly the latter. Perhaps most of the Holy Heavens were like that.

Swoosh.

He quietly opened his senses.

In an instant, his eyes shook.

‘It’s gone?!’

Just a moment ago, he had a rough idea of the direction and distance of the enemies.

But now, he couldn’t sense them at all. It wasn’t that his senses had become blurred; they had completely disappeared.

Whoosh!

Mok Won instinctively dashed forward.

This time, the formless energy did not bind his body. Mok Won was surprised, but at the same time, he could see that he had somehow expected it.

How long had he run?

“They’re gone!”

The plains where he expected ten thousand cavalry to be resting were filled only with chewed grass and wind.

‘Where on earth…?!’

It was then.

“Gasp!”

Mok Won, looking up at the sky, felt dumbfounded.

The sky had darkened. He hadn’t even realized that so much time had passed in that short while.

‘This is insane!’

It was an absurd situation. Since he had entered the martial world, this was the first time Mok Won had experienced such a bewildering moment.

Whoooom!

The Heavenly Martial Divine Weapon filled his entire body.

Only then did Mok Won realize that his five senses had become blurred. It was a misjudgment to think they hadn’t been blurred. His five senses, as well as his energy sense, had become sufficiently blurred and dulled.

‘I didn’t even realize time had passed? I’ve been wandering alone in the forest for over half a day?’

It was an unbelievable situation, but amidst it, there was also a question.

If someone truly powerful had bound him with energy alone, that someone would surely have had hostile intentions.

Yet, they had let him go. How could this be?

Confused by the situation he couldn’t understand, Mok Won’s eyes flashed.

“I have to go back.”

No matter what had happened, he had come to scout, but he hadn’t seen even a shadow of the ten thousand cavalry. They must be heading south by now.

Whoosh!

Mok Won’s steps, as he unfurled his White Gang Steps [a specific movement technique], were filled with anxiety.

* * *

‘This can’t be.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong had seen this scene before.

It was the scene he had seen right before he died. It was the place where the Martial Alliance Leader, Sword Saint Moyong Gun, the Poison Master Tang Gwan, and he, the Black Demon Emperor, had come to subdue the Evil Cult Leader.

In other words, the scene he was seeing now was the situation after he had died.

‘How can this be?!’

He couldn’t understand at all.

He had been able to see the conversation he had with his master in his dreams before. Although he had been unconscious, he could hear the words his master had spoken at the time.

However, at that time, he had been present in that place. Furthermore, it was possible because his master’s thoughts remained in his body.

It was different now.

It was clearly the situation after he had died. Even if his body was here, his soul would have been completely gone, so how could he be seeing this scene in a dream?

‘Is this my subconscious? Is it just a dream, literally?’

But the air felt too familiar.

Not the air that hung in this place, but the air in the dream that surrounded his translucent self.

‘Could it really be?’

At that moment, Tang Gwan vomited blood.

“Ugh!”

The blood he spewed soaked the ground. The blood-stained earth began to melt, emitting white smoke.

Even if he was a poison user, his blood wasn’t poison. Of course, it was possible to spray poisonous blood with the power of internal energy, but there was no way that the blood he vomited would be mixed with poison.

In other words, it wasn’t normal. His poison core had shattered and spread throughout his body. Tang Gwan’s life was not long for this world.

‘Well, his heart meridian was ruptured.’

There was a hole in Tang Gwan’s chest. It was a wound caused by the Evil Cult Leader’s Yin Yellow Earth [a type of dark, earth-based energy].

“Are you alright?”

“Tch!”

Tang Gwan, spitting out blood-mixed saliva, said with an indifferent face.

“How could I be alright?”

Although they were the Alliance Leader and Vice Leader, they were almost the same age in private. Considering Tang Gwan’s pride, it was natural for him to speak informally.

Moyong Gun smiled bitterly.

“It seems we’re all going to die like this.”

“…Why.”

“What do you mean?”

Tang Gwan looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong’s corpse.

In that instant, his eyes shook. Yeon Ho-Jeong in the dream could see deep guilt and frustration in Tang Gwan’s eyes.

“Why did you tell me to kill that guy?”

“Because he had to die.”

Tang Gwan glared at Moyong Gun with terrifying eyes.

“Even though he was an unlucky bastard, he was genuine. He was a guy who sincerely stepped forward for the sake of the world. He was a black path guy I didn’t want to talk to, but at least he was better than you or me.”

“He was.”

“We even formed an alliance.”

“……”

“You’re telling me to kill a junior who formed an alliance with us after we die? That there’s no one to stop the Black Demon Castle? Are you really the Martial Alliance Leader?”

“Then why didn’t you refuse?”

“……”

“If you had refused, that guy wouldn’t have died.”

Tang Gwan’s face contorted.

Even as he was dying, his face, glaring at Moyong Gun, was truly like that of a fierce demon.

“It was the Martial Alliance Leader’s order. I had no choice but to do it.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong in the dream looked at Tang Gwan with sad eyes.

Tang Gwan was exhausted.

It wasn’t just the common people who were tired of the long war. Many martial artists fighting against the Evil Cult were tired and also insane.

Tang Gwan was the same. He fought on the front lines and comforted the surviving warriors.

As those years repeated, Tang Gwan’s mind was also greatly broken.

He completely separated himself as the Vice Leader from himself as a member of the Sichuan Tang Clan [a powerful clan known for their poison techniques]. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to carry on this insane war normally.

Even in Moyong Gun’s cloudy eyes, which had gone blind, there was a sorrowful light.

“A few days ago, I received intelligence. About the Black Demon Castle Lord.”

“……”

“The Black Demon Castle Lord was colluding with the Divine Cult.”

“…What did you say?”

“It was information obtained from a reliable source. The probability of it being true was very high.”

“Damn it! Are you calling that an excuse?!”

“Can’t you trust me?”

“You should look at the person, not that information! Thanks to that guy, the warriors of the Martial Alliance, and even I, have escaped from life-threatening crises several times! And you’re saying that such a guy was colluding with the Divine Cult? Does that even make sense!”

“……”

“The Central Plains are over now. Do you think it’s over just because we crushed the Evil Cult? The Blood Demon hasn’t even shown half of his forces yet. The Divine Cult has occupied the imperial palace and is about to establish a country! If even that guy had been alive, our descendants would have been able to lay the foundation for a comeback!”

“…I’m sorry.”

“Now you’re saying sorry…!”

“I don’t know either.”

“What?”

Life drained from Moyong Gun’s face.

“I, I don’t know anymore. I’m not the same as before. I’ve come to think a hundred, a thousand times more about words that won’t be misunderstood, rumors that won’t be misunderstood. I’ve thought countless times about what if, even if it’s just a possibility, it’s true.”

“……”

“If, even if it’s one in ten million, the Black Demon Castle Lord is colluding with the Divine Cult… not a single one of our descendants will survive.”

“…Damn it.”

“I had no choice but to give the order.”

In the end, Moyong Gun was no different from Tang Gwan.

Faced with the countless deaths he had to take responsibility for, the mind of Moyong Gun, who was even called the Sword Saint, had also broken down. He could no longer judge right from wrong, nor could he distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Sizzle.

Tang Gwan’s legs slowly began to melt.

Once it started melting, it was instantaneous. As his legs disappeared, his abdomen soon followed.

Tang Gwan closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry…”

Before he could finish his words, Tang Gwan became a puddle of blood.

Yeon Ho-Jeong in the dream closed his eyes.

War drives even the Supreme level masters, who have reached the ultimate realm, insane. The more responsibility a person has, the more strongly they feel that responsibility, the harder it will be for them to escape that pressure.

‘It’s okay. We’ve started over anyway.’

It was then.

Swoosh.

At the sound of something moving, Yeon Ho-Jeong turned his head.

In an instant, his eyes widened.

The Evil Cult Leader, whose head had been severed, was getting up. As if he were perfectly alive, he was slowly getting up, placing his hands on the ground.

‘What is this?!’

Moyong Gun also seemed to sense something was wrong.

“Who’s there? Are you a warrior of the Martial Alliance?”

The headless Evil Cult Leader approached Moyong Gun step by step.

Moyong Gun’s face grew paler. It didn’t seem to be just because his life was ending.

“I asked who you are!”

The Evil Cult Leader’s hands grabbed Moyong Gun’s face.

Moyong Gun’s mouth was forced open.

A stream of murky smoke flowed from the severed neck of the Evil Cult Leader and entered Moyong Gun’s mouth.