Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1114

How far had they marched?

With the mountain range five hundred measures [approximately 1.5 kilometers] away, Gi Cheon-Woong raised his hand.

“Halt here.”

Gu Maha raised a massive flag. At that signal, the thousand troops stopped as if they had been waiting for it.

They had made hardly any noise while marching here. Moreover, the thousand troops stopped simultaneously with just one flag signal.

It was proof of their exceptional discipline. Though they had lived a lax life in the imperial palace, they reacted flawlessly when entering combat. Their strength was undoubtedly far greater than that of any other force of the same size.

Gi Cheon-Woong, having ridden his horse to the foot of the mountain range, spoke.

“Surely, you don’t expect me to climb this place.”

Though his voice was not loud, it traveled along the majestic mountain range and reached the Gathering Fire Order’s flames in an instant.

Immediately, there was a response.

“That would not do.”

Flap.

Piercing through the darkness, numerous experts descended to the middle of the mountain range.

It wasn’t very high, but it was still a mountain. Having descended to the middle, they could see each other, but the distance was still considerable.

However, Gi Cheon-Woong thought it was enough. Though they were dozens of measures away in a straight line, it was sufficient to see the faces of the experts who had appeared.

And so, Gi Cheon-Woong was quite surprised.

“That you would come here.”

The one who revealed himself was a young man with half-gray hair.

His hair made him look like he was in his fifties or sixties, but his face was strangely young. It wasn’t that a young man’s hair had turned gray, but rather that he had a bizarre appearance, as if he were walking somewhere between youth and old age.

Aside from that strangeness, his physique was imposing, and his features were handsome. He looked like a mix of a Central Plains person and a Western Regions person, and he wore clothes as black as the night’s darkness.

“It has been a while.”

The man knelt on one knee respectfully.

“Cheol Heum-Gi greets the elder of the Gi clan.”

Not a former cult leader, nor just a cult leader, but an elder of the Gi clan.

It was an unusual title. However, Gi Cheon-Woong had no interest in how he was being addressed.

What he was interested in was the existence of Cheol Heum-Gi himself.

“Interesting. The fifth Fire King leads a large army. And in such an important battle.”

Gi Cheon-Woong’s statement had a clear meaning.

Simply put, it meant, how could someone as inadequate as you be in charge of a large army?

It was a very provocative remark, but Cheol Heum-Gi did not get agitated in the slightest. It wasn’t that he was trying to hold it in, but he genuinely seemed not to be angry.

“Do you think I am inadequate?”

“Of course.”

Gi Cheon-Woong frowned.

“Fifth Fire King Cheol Heum-Gi. Your mastery of the Fire Essence is more outstanding than anyone else, but even after reaching the Heavenly Fire, you have made no progress. Frankly speaking, you haven’t even truly reached the Heavenly Fire. If it weren’t for your unparalleled understanding of the Fire Essence, you wouldn’t have even been able to step foot into that realm.”

“That’s right. I know better than anyone that I am inadequate.”

It was a strange atmosphere.

‘He’s calm.’

Cheol Heum-Gi had always been someone who didn’t easily reveal his inner thoughts. However, the reason he became a Fire King wasn’t solely because of his martial arts, which had somehow reached the Heavenly Fire.

Cheol Heum-Gi was more skilled in sorcery and poison arts, the so-called unorthodox techniques of the Central Plains, than in martial arts.

To be skilled meant that he had talent in that area, and indeed, Cheol Heum-Gi had dedicated his entire life to mastering that field.

Thanks to that, he had also manufactured various items that one could not even imagine. More than half of the firearms possessed by the Shin-hwa Cult came from Cheol Heum-Gi’s mind.

Of course, most of those firearms were not much different from the cannons and weapons made in the Central Plains, but the fact that he had created cannons after only a few years of study, starting from a state of complete ignorance about firearms, was truly genius.

The Shin-hwa Cult also recognized Cheol Heum-Gi’s talent and passion and provided him with active support. Later, he also produced a small amount of the sacred fire powder needed for fire magic, as well as poisons, hidden weapons, and mysterious sorcery.

That Cheol Heum-Gi was here today meant?

‘It doesn’t mean they’re just going to push forward with their forces. It’s a sign that they intend to actively use cannons and other weapons.’

Even so, Gi Cheon-Woong felt something was lacking.

“Who else has come?”

“……”

“Leaving aside your talent and abilities, there’s no way they would have sent only you to attack the imperial palace.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Our cult has been working for a long time to attack the imperial palace. In other words, occupying the imperial palace is the primary goal of this Central Plains conquest. After messing up the cooked rice [a metaphor for making a mistake] with one mistake, it’s not hard to deduce that they would concentrate all the cult’s forces to avoid making a second mistake.”

“Indeed, that’s true.”

Cheol Heum-Gi smiled.

“Even though we’ve narrowed the distance this much, you still can’t read the situation properly. If it were the elder’s usual abilities, you would have known all the forces beyond this mountain range.”

“……”

“Have you still not recovered from the upper dantian [an energy center in the body] injury inflicted by the cult leader?”

Gi Cheon-Woong’s face hardened like frost.

“Even if that mere upper dantian is broken, it’s no problem for me to deal with you.”

“I’m sure you could.”

Cheol Heum-Gi nodded.

“If we put aside the issue of the elder’s lifespan, who wouldn’t fear the martial arts of a fire god who carries hundreds of fire bombs within his body?”

“……”

“What’s puzzling is why the elder would reveal his martial arts just to face someone like me… It seems you have no intention of saving that martial art for your final revenge.”

He knew that not only was there the issue of his upper dantian, but also that using his martial arts recklessly in the current situation would shorten his lifespan.

Gi Cheon-Woong laughed coldly.

“I’ve already lived long enough. I don’t feel any burden in pushing in the remaining firewood if necessary.”

“I’m not talking about the elder’s age. I’m talking about your desire for revenge.”

“……”

“Don’t you want to face the cult leader?”

“Of course, I do.”

Gi Cheon-Woong shook his head.

“But on this continent, there are so many experts who can handle that bastard that they’re practically tripping over each other.”

“……”

“There are countless experts that I can’t even guarantee victory against, so how could that bastard U-Hwan possibly handle them?”

Cheol Heum-Gi’s face hardened for the first time.

He could read the plain truth in Gi Cheon-Woong’s words.

Gi Cheon-Woong was the supreme leader of a faction and a man who was called a god. Even if he could lie about other things, his confidence in his martial arts was absolute, so he wouldn’t have bothered to belittle himself.

“So, there are indeed many experts on the continent?”

“Well, to be honest, if the Three Sects joined hands, they could certainly overwhelm them in terms of numbers of experts.”

“……”

“It would be good if that were possible, but would you join hands?”

Cheol Heum-Gi smiled.

“Well, we might join hands.”

“You’re not joining hands, you’re being devoured.”

“……!”

“The evil of the leader of the Demonic Sound Sect is something you cannot handle. That bastard U-Hwan is already being played by him. Do you think you’d be any different?”

“Even if he is the cult leader’s father, I cannot tolerate such remarks.”

“If you cannot tolerate it?”

Whoosh!

A surge of energy emanating from Gi Cheon-Woong’s body focused solely on Cheol Heum-Gi.

In that instant, Cheol Heum-Gi flinched. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t stop his body from reacting automatically.

“If you cannot tolerate it? If you will not tolerate it? Then what can you do in front of me?”

Woo-woo-woong!

The air seemed to tremble.

Gi Cheon-Woong’s gaze and the majesty in his voice were truly immense.

There was something that many people had forgotten because he had only shown a calm and composed demeanor since entering the continent.

Gi Cheon-Woong was the leader of the Three Sects. He was the leader of a powerful organization that could inflict a fatal blow to the Central Plains martial world with just one well-executed surprise attack.

His martial prowess was such that even the Sword Saint and the Martial God, who were considered the strongest in the Holy Heaven, had to risk their lives to fight him. There were those in the Shin-hwa Cult who were close to Gi Cheon-Woong, but no one had surpassed him.

‘Incredible.’

Cheol Heum-Gi almost swallowed his saliva without realizing it.

‘He hasn’t revealed his full power, yet he’s this strong… His upper dantian is broken, but the density of his fire energy seems to have deepened.’

Because he had not reached the same level as Gi Cheon-Woong, he couldn’t be sure if he had become stronger.

However, his body and mind felt it. He didn’t know how much effort he had put in to compensate for his lost upper dantian, but in terms of raw firepower alone, that monster had clearly become stronger.

‘Indeed, the one who brought about the legend of the Fire God’s descent….’

Even in a situation where the hairs on his body were standing on end, Cheol Heum-Gi felt a deep sense of regret.

‘If you had been just a little more greedy, if you had shown just a little more ambition, none of us would have remained silent about the young cult leader’s rebellion.’

He knew it was a meaningless thought, but he couldn’t help but think it.

That was how overwhelming the cult members’ trust in Gi Cheon-Woong was. Even when he showed little interest in conquering the continent, most of the cult members were shocked, but they did not withdraw their faith in him.

Even Cheol Heum-Gi.

Even Cheol Heum-Gi before he became a Fire King had vowed to dedicate his soul to Gi Cheon-Woong, the former cult leader and the newly descended Fire God.

‘That’s a meaningless past now. That man is not the descended Fire God, but just an ember wearing the mask of the Fire God, showing only dreams.’

Cheol Heum-Gi spoke calmly.

“With my current abilities, I wouldn’t even be able to last thirty moves against the elder.”

“Thirty moves? Aren’t you overestimating yourself too much? Do you think you can withstand even ten moves from me?”

“I’m not overestimating myself, I’m just seeing reality.”

Cheol Heum-Gi looked at the thousand troops stationed five hundred measures away.

“By the way, those mainlanders are quite petty. To think they would send the elder and the betrayers to test us, are there really no talented people on the continent?”

“I don’t know where you heard what I said earlier. Don’t misunderstand. I chose this mission of my own volition.”

“A mission… So, the one who was called the Fire God didn’t give a mission, but volunteered to carry it out.”

“Fire God? Is that something you can eat?”

In a way, a playful, and therefore surprising, remark came from Gi Cheon-Woong’s mouth.

“There is no Fire God in this world. There are only swindlers who wear the mask of the Fire God and exploit the cult members.”

“……!”

In that instant, Cheol Heum-Gi’s face turned fierce.

“How far have you been corrupted by those mainlanders? For you, of all people, to deny the Fire God?”

“Doesn’t it sound much more plausible than the words of a bastard who betrayed the one he believed to be the Fire God?”

“You’ve completely broken down.”

Cheol Heum-Gi’s eyes turned cold.

“Truly, you’ve become unusable.”

“Well, I don’t know what you think of me, but I have something to receive from you.”

“Surely, it’s not my life.”

“That’s exactly what it is.”

Gi Cheon-Woong smiled.

“At this distance, my martial arts will reach you sufficiently.”

“Meaning you’re giving up your lifespan….”

It was then.

Gi Cheon-Woong’s right hand was swung like lightning.

Whoosh!

A massive pillar of fire swirled and shot out.