Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1123

“Impressive.”

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s eyes shone with a fierce light.

“Their organizational skills are remarkable. It’s clear they’ve received different training, yet they maintain their positions as if they’ve been fighting together for ages.”

Such a feat would be impossible without extensive combat experience.

However, such movements cannot be explained by combat experience alone.

‘It’s the commander. The commander’s abilities are exceptional.’

It wasn’t about strategic tactics.

While the tactical prowess that had devoured the entire army was impressive, what was particularly remarkable was the presence of the enemy commander.

‘He doesn’t possess the same fierce and domineering aura as us. But…’

Even from this distance, it was clear.

The enemy commander, Yeon-wi’s presence, was gentle and seamless. This was likely due to his unique scholarly disposition, separate from his renowned reputation.

His flexible and refined demeanor, combined with the dignity he naturally acquired from mastering exceptional martial arts, had captivated the hearts of his subordinates and soldiers.

‘He’s a high-level upper dantian [energy center in the head] practitioner.’

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s gaze deepened.

He, too, had trained his upper dantian as much as anyone. His ascension to the throne of the Il-Wang [King of the Sun], surpassing other Hwa-Wangs [Kings of Fire], was partly due to time, but also largely due to his meticulously cultivated upper dantian.

However, even to him, Yeon-wi’s upper dantian seemed excessively vast and magnificent.

‘More than mine… or perhaps even more than the elder of the past.’

He possessed a more majestic divine energy than Gi Cheon-ung before he was exiled during the rebellion.

His upper dantian was so overwhelmingly developed that the balance between his upper, middle, and lower dantians seemed precarious. Chal Geuk-pyeong had never seen anyone with such an extreme upper dantian.

‘No, there was one person.’

The person who came to his mind was a young girl.

A girl who, despite her young age, possessed a goddess-like beauty. If her features were a bit more masculine and defined, she would have been eerily similar to Gi Cheon-ung in his youth.

‘The Saintess.’

The upper dantian of Gi Woo-hee, Gi Cheon-ung’s daughter who went to the Central Plains and was a Saintess in name only, was comparable to that of this warrior.

In other words, the enemy commander’s upper dantian was so overwhelming that it reminded him of someone with innate divine energy, a phenomenon that might occur only once in a hundred years.

‘But war isn’t won by the upper dantian alone.’

Chal Geuk-pyeong opened his mouth.

“The leader of the White Fire Order shall lead the Blue and Red Fire Orders to crush the enemy.”

“I obey the Il-Wang’s command!” shouted Gon Hyang, the leader of the White Fire Order.

“Blue and Red, advance in a two-pronged formation! White Fire, advance with flames!”

Krrrrrr!

Moving swiftly by lightening their bodies with internal energy was the essence of divine movement.

The White Fire Order, as well as the Blue and Red Fire Orders, were elite units that the Shin Hwa Cult was proud of. Naturally, their martial arts were exceptional, so even when forming ranks, their footsteps should have been nearly silent as they charged.

However, if their numbers reached ten thousand, things would be different.

Four thousand from the Blue Fire Order, four thousand from the Red Fire Order, and two thousand from the White Fire Order. Even excluding the five thousand Silver Fire Order troops, the core of the central army moving with Il-Wang Chal Geuk-pyeong, their numbers reached ten thousand, causing the earth to tremble.

Yeon-wi’s eyes flashed.

‘Strange.’

Apart from the enemy’s numbers and immense military might, their charging formation was quite unique.

Each of the four thousand troops wearing red and blue formed sharp, single-pronged formations. Behind them, white-clad masters occasionally shot flames into the sky as they charged.

It looked as if two white dragons with red and blue horns were advancing. The overwhelming pressure made it seem as if the main camp would be swept away in an instant.

Tension finally appeared on Yeon-wi’s face.

‘Their might is immense. Engaging such a force in this open field is suicidal.’

He knew that, yet he had come this far.

Furthermore, that was why he had flattened the mountain and created this battlefield.

If they clashed without any variables, they were destined to lose. Even if all the Muguk [Martial Arts] masters remaining in the Imperial Palace came out, he doubted they could protect their troops.

War was completely different from battles between sects. Depending on how the Muguk masters were used, they could change the entire war, but in other words, even those Muguk masters with absolute martial arts had to be used carefully to turn the tide.

That was why war was said to be a numbers game. And now, the forces that Yeon-wi commanded were being overwhelmed in terms of numbers.

‘I’ve bought enough time. All that’s left is to receive them.’

Yeon-wi shouted,

“Artillery units, to the flanks!”

Meng Gwak’s eyes wavered.

If the Martial Alliance troops were divided to the left and right to form the artillery lines, the center would be left open.

Ultimately, the Imperial Palace guards would have to face the enemy forces rushing into that center, and it seemed impossible for the Imperial Palace guards to withstand that overwhelming offensive.

However, the order had been given, and Meng Gwak’s worries quickly disappeared.

“Artillery units, deploy to the flanks!”

The artillery flank formations, deployed more narrowly but thickly on the left and right, were formations designed for thorough defense.

Their defensive power was among the highest in the Martial Alliance’s formations. The foundation of this formation had originated from the Jeagal family, and the military strategist Jeagal Mun-ho had personally modified it for the Martial Alliance.

They would not be easily defeated.

White Fire Order leader Gon Hyang shouted,

“Wipe them all out!”

“Aaaaaaaah!”

They advanced, chanting once more.

It was the same chant as the entire army, but their chanting, superior in numbers and martial prowess, was another form of martial art.

Sreuk.

Yeon-wi walked twenty yards forward from the center of the artillery flank formations.

Even if the enemy commander’s martial arts were exceptional, it was rare for a frontline commander to step forward alone like this. If the commander died, the troops would become mere puppets.

However, both the Martial Alliance troops and the Imperial Palace guards believed that Yeon-wi would never die.

It wasn’t because they knew his skills. The presence that Yeon-wi exuded, his gaze, and his voice had transformed the warrior known as the Judge’s Sword into an absolute, invincible barrier.

Just as the two horns of the Blue and Red forces were about to crash into Yeon-wi’s left and right.

The General’s Sword flashed.

Kwa kwa kwang!

The General’s Sword swept left and right like a bolt of lightning.

It was impossible to tell whether the lightning had sprung from the sword or fallen from the sky. Twenty disciples of the Red Fire Order and thirty of the Blue Fire Order were swept away by the fiery sword energy and turned to dust.

“…!!”

Chal Geuk-pyeong, who was watching the scene from afar, jumped up from his palanquin.

‘What is that?!’

It was like lightning, yet so different from lightning.

It was like the sun, embracing all the heat in the world.

With two sword strikes that far exceeded imagination, the two horns of the Blue and Red forces were cleanly cut off at the ends.

Sssseuk.

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s hair writhed uncontrollably.

The Flame Emperor Divine Transformation Art almost exploded involuntarily, threatening to blow away the surroundings. It was that shocking of a martial art.

‘It’s neither lightning nor flame. That is…’

Yeon-wi’s sword eye (劍眼), far away, and Chal Geuk-pyeong’s fire eye (火眼) collided head-on.

‘Light. It’s a sword made of light.’

Suddenly, Chal Geuk-pyeong realized that the monster called competitiveness, which he had forgotten for over a decade, was growling from deep within his stomach.

‘To contain light in a sword? What kind of martial art is that?!’

Light is not fixed. That is a fact known to everyone.

Because it is not fixed, it is impossible to concentrate power, and if power is not concentrated, even if the greatest master in the world wields it, no power will be produced.

Yet, he could not understand how the enemy commander had managed to contain light in his sword.

‘Calm down. It’s an amazing martial art, but there’s no need for me, the commander, to move…’

That was when it happened.

Once again, brilliant light gathered on the enemy commander’s General’s Sword.

Kwang! Kwakwang! Kwang!

With two more sword strikes that flashed like rays of light, more masters from the Blue and Red Fire Orders were swept away.

It was a truly astonishing sight. Although the Blue and Red Fire Orders were not the strongest in the Shin Hwa Cult, they were a unit that could be called elite without question.

Yet, with just a few sword strikes, another hundred or so disciples of that unit were killed.

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s eyes flashed.

The enemy commander’s expression remained unchanged. However, his sensitive senses could detect that even in this chaotic battlefield, the opponent’s breathing had slightly faltered.

“The Silver Fire Order leader shall immediately move to the rear of the White Fire Order and sweep away the enemies.”

Hook!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Chal Geuk-pyeong’s figure flew over the heads of the White Fire Order.

Yeon-wi’s eyes sparkled.

‘He’s coming!’

The enemy commander, as well as the two horns of the Blue and Red forces, instantly formed a single-pronged formation and charged.

Despite the presence of the monster Yeon-wi, and despite the fact that nearly two hundred of their comrades had been killed by him, they maintained their formation to the end.

There was a powerful mental fortitude that the vanguard did not possess. They were shocked and terrified by Yeon-wi’s martial prowess, but that was not a reason to abandon the front lines.

Yeon-wi, too, could no longer attack the two horns. Now that the enemy commander had stepped forward, he had to conserve his strength as much as possible.

The two horns of the Blue and Red forces collided with the artillery flank formations.

Kwa kwa kwang!

Explosions erupted, and once again, a mist of blood and flesh filled the air.

At the same time, Chal Geuk-pyeong, having passed the front of the White Fire Order, reached out towards Yeon-wi.

Just as Yeon-wi was about to swing his General’s Sword.

Hook!

Chal Geuk-pyeong suddenly withdrew his energy, soared up, and flew past Yeon-wi.

Startled, Yeon-wi immediately understood Chal Geuk-pyeong’s intention.

“General Hong!”

“Scatter!”

Chal Geuk-pyeong’s palms unleashed fire.

Kwarurung!

Two pillars of fire, released from both hands, flew towards the rear of the Imperial Palace guards.

It was the Fiery Divine Palm. Although he was inferior to Gi Cheon-ung, he was still an absolute master who wielded martial arts so magnificent that those who saw it were left speechless.

“Get out of the way!”

Kwakwang! Kwaang!

With a single strike of his palms, about eighty archers and artillerymen were burned to ashes.

Not only that, but thirty cannons that had been hit were sent tumbling to the ground, and the pouches of the artillerymen who had been carrying gunpowder flashed.

Kwa kwa kwang!!

A chain of explosions followed, killing over two hundred artillerymen. It was a tremendous achievement made with a single surprise attack.

This was the achievement that a Muguk master could make by being in the right place at the right time.

And the same was true for Yeon-wi. Yeon-wi had stepped forward alone and broken the momentum of the entire army and the two horns of the central army. It was something that would have been impossible for anyone but a master of Yeon-wi’s caliber.

At the moment when the two enemy commanders were accomplishing the greatest feats they could achieve.

Flash!

A General’s Sword, flashing like lightning, aimed for Chal Geuk-pyeong’s back.

Chal Geuk-pyeong felt a chill run down his spine.

He had expected the opponent to attack, but he had not imagined that the opponent, suspended in mid-air, would unleash the supreme sword art of sword control (馭劍術) [controlling a sword with one’s mind].

It was not surprising that he could use sword control, as it meant he had reached a certain level, but he had never imagined that it would be such a fast and destructive sword control.

Pa-a-a-ang!

Chal Geuk-pyeong, changing direction in mid-air with tremendous power, appeared on the left side of the Imperial Palace army.

If Yeon-wi did not follow, he would attack from the flank, and if he did follow, the Blue, Red, and White forces would crush the enemy while he held the enemy commander.

That was Chal Geuk-pyeong’s plan.

And Yeon-wi had no choice but to fly towards Chal Geuk-pyeong.

Cha-a-a-ang!

Leaving the General’s Sword, which had flown off somewhere, Yeon-wi drew the Heavenly Net Imperial Sword and charged like a gale.

Chal Geuk-pyeong grinned.

“Come!”