Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1101

It was a scene beyond imagination. At the same time, though it was not the time to feel such emotions, all the Martial Alliance troops were filled with awe and terror.

The sight of ten thousand cavalrymen charging, having occupied both sides of the hill, was truly overwhelming.

They were all clad in dark armor, which, though different in design from the Imperial Guard’s armor, looked sturdy and light at a glance.

Each of them held a black spear in one hand, and a small bow, quiver, and scimitar were attached to the horse’s hindquarters.

The highlight was the horses.

‘They’re huge!’

The horses were enormous.

They seemed slightly larger than the prized steeds ridden by the squad leaders of the Royal Guard. There were as many as ten thousand of these massive horses.

Apart from their momentum, their appearance alone was enough to be overwhelming. Even Moyong Gun flinched momentarily, let alone the other soldiers.

Moyong Gun also noticed that there was something strange about the horses.

‘Demonic energy?!’

The scouts’ information was accurate.

Saaahhh!

A faint demonic energy flowed within the overwhelming military discipline.

Surprisingly, the demonic energy was emanating from the horses. Each of the horses, with their red eyes, boasted skin as black as the riders’ spears.

They were not ordinary steeds. Each one was a monster worthy of the name ‘demonic beast,’ capable of easily trampling a tiger to death.

Moyong Gun shouted.

“Everyone, retreat into a line formation!”

He urged his troops to retreat, but he himself moved differently from the order he had given.

Paah! Paah!

Moyong Gun’s figure, having powerfully kicked off the ground, reached the cavalrymen in an instant.

It was a truly astonishing speed. It was as if a bolt of lightning had shot out.

Then, the Tangma Sword [a sword known for its speed and sharpness] moved like lightning.

Jjeo jjeo jjeo jeong!

The bodies of three cavalrymen, who had reflexively swung their spears at Moyong Gun, were thrown backward.

It was a terrifying force. The power contained in the single strike caused even the horses to shake their heads and break formation.

Jiiing! Jiiing!

Blue light emanated from Moyong Gun’s eyes.

As the Thunderclap Skill [a martial art technique that enhances speed and power] opened, the world seemed to slow down. In the slowed world, a blue lightning bolt surged through his entire body.

Moyong Gun’s foot kicked off the ground once more.

Flash!

He soared into the air, gripping the Tangma Sword with both hands.

‘Unfeeling Heavenly Thunder Style [a powerful sword technique of the Moyong family].’

From a brother to a brother, from a brother to a brother.

The blood-stained martial art of the Thunder God, stained with the bloody history of the Moyong family, finally stretched its wings in the battle of Shanxi [a region in China].

‘Energy Slash Thunder [a specific move within the Unfeeling Heavenly Thunder Style].’

Flash!

The six streaks of blue sword energy, bending erratically, looked like lightning bolts from the sky.

The energy that looked like lightning cut through the lightning. The six sword energies, spread like a spider web, poured down on the cavalrymen’s heads in an instant.

Peo beo beo beok!

There was a gruesome sound of flesh tearing and the earth-shaking cries of horses.

Six cavalrymen lost their lives in one move. The horses they rode also fell to the ground, their spines split or their flesh torn.

Moyong Gun’s eyes wavered.

‘This is bad.’

He knew they weren’t ordinary horses. He knew, but he had only thought they were horses with more strength and stamina.

He was wrong.

‘They’re tough!’

With sword energy of the Energy Slash Thunder level, it was normal to cut through the bodies of the cavalrymen and even sever the horses’ bodies.

But all that happened was that their spines were broken or their muscles were deeply cut. Although it had cut through the cavalrymen’s bodies, the power had clearly not diminished much.

And that was the end of it. All six cavalrymen might not survive, but they were still alive and struggling.

‘If they can withstand the Energy Slash Thunder, it means that even if they were hit by a master’s sword, they would only get their skin cut.’

Moyong Gun shouted.

“Do not attack the horses! We must deal with the cavalrymen first!”

Even as he gave the order, he wondered if it was really the right thing to do.

The reason why cavalrymen were dangerous was because of the weight and momentum of the horses. Normally, one cavalryman could handle ten infantrymen, and a skilled cavalryman could charge in and out, trampling thirty infantrymen.

If that destructive power came from the horses’ strength, then removing the horses would negate the cavalrymen’s transcendent power.

Moyong Gun did not dismiss the confidence of the Mount Hua leadership as unfounded. He simply wanted to reduce casualties and fight more carefully and perfectly. He believed that with their abilities, attacking the horses would not be too difficult.

But with that level of durability.

Like a martial artist who had mastered top-tier external martial arts, a demonic beast with muscles and skin that were difficult to even scratch with ordinary swords.

‘It’s dangerous!’

Pi pi pi ping!

Dozens of arrows flew towards Moyong Gun, who was in the air.

It was an attack from the cavalrymen coming from behind.

They had calculated the position where Moyong Gun would fall, the angles at which he would move left and right, and formed a net of arrows to shoot. It was an astonishingly precise shot. Their ability to calculate speed and distance was remarkable.

‘These guys…!’

Chiri ri ri ring!

Moyong Gun, having deflected the arrows with the Tangma Sword, unleashed the Unfeeling Heavenly Thunder Style, Moonlight Drinking Thunder [another move within the Unfeeling Heavenly Thunder Style].

Flash!

The Tangma Sword, drawing a crescent moon, cut off the legs of about a dozen horses.

It was a strike that consumed a considerable amount of internal energy. However, even after unleashing the Moonlight Drinking Thunder, Moyong Gun had to retreat. This was because the cavalrymen flew up with their legless horses and thrust their spears.

Jjeo jjeo jjeo jeong! Pu hwa ak!

He deflected the spears with godlike swordsmanship and sliced the throats of the cavalrymen with the precise strikes of the Qiankun Baibajian [a sword technique focused on precision].

Kugugugung!

The cavalrymen fell.

Moyong Gun felt a chill.

Their throats were cut, so they couldn’t have screamed. But he had a feeling that they wouldn’t have screamed even if their throats hadn’t been cut.

Their wide-open eyes. The murderous eyes shining beneath their helmets showed no fear of death.

Jjeo jeong! Jjeo jeong!

The spears kept coming.

What was surprising was that the cavalrymen wielding the spears were not charging to capture Moyong Gun.

Their goal was to descend the hill and kill the Martial Alliance troops, and further, to break through the Mount Hua and Jongnam front lines far away.

In other words, even when they saw a master killing their allies in the middle of the battlefield, they did not try to gather and deal with him. They would just stab once as they passed by, as if they were just going down the hill.

That indifference, that sense of purpose, was an atrocity of puppets that was hard to explain even with madness.

Jjeo jjeo jeong! Peo beo beok! Pu hwa ak!

He deflected the spears several times, cut off the legs of about twenty horses, and beheaded as many cavalrymen.

But they were not flustered at all. Even though they were comrades, they seemed to think that if they died, they died, and they just kept running forward. Even if a monster named Moyong Gun was swinging his sword next to them, they would only react if he entered their area.

‘Damn it!’

Peo eo eong!

A brilliant explosion was heard from afar.

Although it was questionable in terms of rationality, it far surpassed Moyong Gun in terms of exhilaration.

Cheon Hyo-Rak’s huge hammer-like palm technique blew off the heads of the horses and crushed the bodies of the spearmen.

When he even unleashed a double palm strike, one of the heavy cavalrymen would even float slightly into the air with his horse and fly away.

The formation was disrupted, and three or four cavalrymen, swept away by the flying cavalryman, rolled on the ground, but they immediately found their horses and rode forward. Their movements were truly as smooth as flowing water.

Pu hwa aak!

Hwa Hyang’s face, who was protecting Cheon Hyo-Rak and fighting the enemy, was filled with exhaustion.

“Young Master!”

“Yes, I know!”

No matter how great their internal energy was, if they used palm techniques against these guys, their internal energy would soon run out.

Cheon Hyo-Rak already had several wounds on his body. This was his first time in such a chaotic battle, and his power distribution and vision had not yet improved to a level befitting his status.

Pa ba ba bak!

Cheon Hyo-Rak and Hwa Hyang, holding hands, stepped on a horse and dashed down the hill.

And at that moment, Moyong Gun had already reached the front of the cavalry unit descending the hill.

It was a footwork so fast that it made one’s eyes spin. It was the extreme speed of the lightness skill he had gained while mastering the Thunderclap Skill.

Pu hwa aak!

With a powerful swing, the horse and cavalryman were cut in half and rolled on the ground.

Hi hi hi hi hing!!

It seemed that the attack was too brutal to just charge through. For the first time, the horses whinnied and split to the left and right.

Moyong Gun looked at the Martial Alliance troops.

“Kuaaak!”

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“The combined formation is for the plains! Retreat in a line formation for now!”

It shouldn’t be like this, but Moyong Gun thought that the retreating Martial Alliance troops looked like sheep being chased by a pack of wolves. That was how overwhelming the cavalry’s charge was.

‘I made a mistake from the beginning. I thought I could occupy the hill first, but…’

They had clearly run at a moderate speed on the plains and then at top speed when climbing the hill.

The difference between that ‘moderate speed’ and ‘top speed’ was too great. Of course, it was impossible to know that without seeing it in person, but even so, Moyong Gun thought that this was also his mistake.

‘I should have considered all possibilities. Not knowing their abilities is no excuse.’

Peo beo beok! Pu hwa ak!

When necessary, he used the Unfeeling Heavenly Thunder Style, which consumed a lot of internal energy, and for the rest, he aimed for the necks or sides of the cavalrymen with the Qiankun Baibajian.

Even so, the number of enemies hardly decreased.

It was only natural. The number of cavalrymen killed by his hand was almost fifty, but the total force was ten thousand. This was not enough to make a difference.

Decisively.

‘It’s hard.’

His internal energy was already more than half depleted.

The enemies’ armor was very tough, and especially the horses’ bodies were like lumps of iron. To fight against such cavalrymen, he had no choice but to use attacks that poured out much more internal energy than usual.

It was a truly absurd situation, but Moyong Gun’s skill in not being swept away by the enemies and killing about fifty of them was truly remarkable. He had gone through countless real battles during his long service in the Royal Guard, so he had not suffered even a single significant injury. Even if they were at the same level, if they had no experience, they might have been covered in blood or even dead.

Pa ba ba bak!

Moyong Gun, Cheon Hyo-Rak, and Hwa Hyang charged at the cavalrymen who were chasing the rear of the Martial Alliance troops and thrusting their spears.

Despite the desperate fight of the three supreme masters, the number of enemies hardly decreased. On the other hand, the number of Martial Alliance troops killed by the cavalrymen’s spear attacks and horses’ hooves had already exceeded three hundred.

It was said that killing retreating enemies was the easiest, but the three-tiered line formation was a formation that was good at evasive maneuvers. Even when retreating, they would not be easily defeated. Knowing this, Moyong Gun had used this tactic.

But even an excellent tactic was meaningless in the face of overwhelming power.

This was not so much Moyong Gun’s tactical failure as it was that the enemy’s power was excessively strong.

Moyong Gun whistled.

Bbi i i i ik!!

The whistle, mixed with internal energy, reached the Mount Hua and Jongnam troops far away.

‘It can’t be helped. I tried to induce a full-scale battle by disrupting the enemy, but…’

If this continued, not only the Martial Alliance troops but also Mount Hua and Jongnam would suffer enormous damage. It was better to gather together and fight back.

Moyong Gun’s judgment was accurate.

“Damn it!”

Moyong Gun, having blown away three enemy cavalrymen while even uttering a curse he would never normally say, looked at the top of the hill.

At this moment, when they were repeatedly retreating due to the enemy’s overwhelming cavalry offensive.

Kugugugung!

The top of the hill was being destroyed by the brutal battle of the supreme masters.