Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1124

Thud! Thud!

Meng Gwak’s face flushed crimson.

‘These damn bastards!’

His greatsword stirred up massive winds as it swung left and right.

Whoosh!

From the seemingly thick greatsword came a sharpness that tore apart the bodies of three Qinghua Order soldiers with its unleashed blade wind.

But that was all. The sheer number of enemies surging forward was overwhelming.

“You bastards! How dare you run wild here!”

Meng Gwak’s swordsmanship, as he roared and danced with his blade, was truly astonishing.

He had once belonged to the One-Blade Society, a small sect in Fujian Province. However, he was a man who had been expelled after rebelling against the changed leader who was playing with local civilians like a black-hearted thug.

On the verge of death, he was saved by a hermit in the mountains. He spent ten years learning martial arts before returning to kill the One-Blade Society leader, who had turned Fujian into a pit of evil, and wiped the society itself from the face of the earth.

Back then, his martial arts were nothing short of brutal and ferocious.

Later, hearing that the Myeolsa Army [Army of Eradication] was crushing evil black-hearted sects in the Central Plains, he went to them and volunteered for service. Unfortunately, immediate enlistment was not possible.

Fortunately, the then-Myeolsa Army Commander, Byeoksan Hojang, was impressed by his spirit and corrected his rough edges in martial arts through three days of sparring. After that, he trained with the direct descendant of the Peng family, raising his swordsmanship to a higher level.

And now.

Having become a member of the Martial Alliance for less than two years, he had earned the reputation of ‘Cutting Moon Blade’ and became the leader of the Cutting Moon Squad, which was named after his title. He had been on a winning streak until he arrived here.

His ferocious martial arts had been refined and polished, and their power had increased even more.

However, his temper when facing enemies had not diminished at all. Rather, the thought that he was a man who could turn not just Fujian but the entire continent into a sea of fire filled him with a massive rage that made his vision blur.

“You bastards!!”

Swoosh! Thwack!

He decapitated the one on the right and crushed the groin of the one on the left.

Meng Gwak spun around, swinging his greatsword.

Whack! Whack! Whack!

His martial arts were indeed formidable. The Cutting Immortal Blade Technique, which he unleashed while spinning, was powerful enough to cut down anyone who came within its range.

But the number of enemies was too great. Not even his rage, which seemed capable of setting the sky ablaze, nor his valor, which could shake the earth, could stop this overwhelming number.

“Hold the line! The rear of the right flank, pull back! The left flank, advance more aggressively!”

While mercilessly slaughtering the enemy, Meng Gwak was able to closely observe the battle situation.

He had not risen to his position solely through martial arts and a fiery sense of justice. Although he appeared simple on the surface, Meng Gwak’s mind was as sharp as anyone else’s.

He was not only good at commanding people but also had considerable knowledge of strategy and tactics. Especially in the operation of troop formations, he was among the top leaders of the Martial Alliance.

His ability to adjust the artillery positions in time while fighting bravely against the enemy was as impressive as that of a sect leader.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The rear of the Imperial Palace defense force, which had been devastated by the disaster called Chal Geuk-pyeong, seemed to have recovered to some extent.

The archers fired arrows at the Qing and Hong units. Because the battle was taking place right in front of them, their firing point had to be in the middle of the Qinghua and Honghua Orders.

Meng Gwak gritted his teeth and shouted.

“General Hong! Leave the flanks alone!”

Hong Un understood his words immediately.

Whoosh!

The Martial Alliance forces and the Qing and Hong Fire Orders had been engaged in a brief but fierce battle.

But the real threat was in the center. The Baihua Order’s banner, which had been approaching from a distance, now right in front of them, seemed even more formidable than the eight thousand troops of the Qing and Hong Orders.

Meng Gwak shouted.

“Fall back!”

Whoosh!

The soldiers of the Qinghua and Honghua Orders were momentarily taken aback.

The enemy forces, which had been softly receiving their attacks, began to retreat with smooth and natural movements.

Anyone with combat experience knew how difficult it was to retreat while fighting.

Even if it were possible, retreating was not an easy choice. One could easily lose their life to the enemy’s blade while trying to disengage.

But the Martial Alliance forces were different.

While receiving the enemy’s attacks, they dispersed the impact by working together, and at the word to retreat, they withdrew so quickly and naturally that it was bewildering to watch.

Looking at the overall formation, it didn’t seem particularly impressive, but the movements of the warriors forming the formation were incredibly fluid. It was as if the formation itself was alive.

While the Qing and Hong Fire Orders were momentarily confused.

Thud!

With a ridiculously powerful punch, Meng Gwak was forced to stagger backward, gritting his teeth.

He had not retreated, but had been pushed back. It meant that the enemy’s martial arts surpassed his own.

“That damn bastard!”

The ferocious nature of Baihua Order Leader, Gonhyang, was no less than Meng Gwak’s.

“What are you doing! Can’t you even sweep away these weaklings? What are you dawdling for?!”

Gonhyang’s voice was twice as loud as Meng Gwak’s.

His terrifying authority made the Qing and Hong soldiers unleash even more intense killing intent, and the Baihua Order also advanced, raising an enormous fire.

‘Damn it!’

He had managed to block it somehow, but the enemy commander’s punch had made his insides churn.

A head-on confrontation was absolutely forbidden. If they were to engage in a life-or-death duel, he might not even last fifty moves, or perhaps even less.

At that moment, Gonhyang reached out his hand towards Meng Gwak.

Meng Gwak felt his hair stand on end. He felt a streak of golden fire flash from Gonhyang’s palm.

‘I can’t dodge it. I have to take it.’

If he dodged, the Imperial Palace defense force behind him would take the brunt of that force. At least two or more could die.

Just as Meng Gwak was bracing himself.

Sweeeng!

The sound of a taut bowstring being released sent shivers down everyone’s spines.

Gonhyang’s eyes widened.

Bang!

The force from his palm exploded right in front of him.

“Kuh-ack!”

Gonhyang, who had involuntarily screamed, staggered backward.

An ordinary arrow was lodged in the palm of his right hand.

Surprisingly, that single arrow had shattered Gonhyang’s force and pierced through his palm at the same time.

‘……!!’

Meng Gwak felt a chill run down his spine.

It was an ordinary arrow, but the power with which it had flown like a beam of light and shattered Gonhyang’s force was definitely an archery technique he had seen with his own eyes.

‘Could it be!’

It was not the time to do so, but Meng Gwak involuntarily looked back.

It was an incredibly long distance. It seemed to be at least three hundred yards.

A person who could see how the battle was unfolding from three hundred yards away, understand Meng Gwak’s situation, and grasp what kind of martial arts the enemy was using.

And a master archer with such amazing archery skills that he could shatter the enemy’s force with an arrow from that distance.

“Deputy Commander Muk?!”

“Don’t turn your head! Look ahead!”

While using the Dragon Flight Step to approach, he kicked off the ground and soared into the air, drawing the string of the Red Lotus Bow.

Sweeeng! Sweeeng!

He was a godlike archer. Four arrows flew towards Gonhyang in an instant.

The distance was too great. One arrow alone could not kill a master like Gonhyang.

The four arrows that flew in sequence were just that, in sequence, but their speed was faster than a gale.

“Tch!”

Gonhyang, who had already broken off the arrow lodged in his hand, unleashed the Blazing Divine Palm with his left hand.

Whoosh!

Golden flames that seemed to blind the eyes surged up.

From left to right, he created a temporary wall of flames. It was an incredibly skillful manipulation of inner energy, a technique that only a master who had broken through the Wall of Martial Arts could display.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The four arrows that had flown from a distance were shattered as they pierced the golden flame wall.

Whoosh!

As soon as the golden flame wall disappeared, Meng Gwak’s blade aimed for Gonhyang’s collarbone.

Meng Gwak’s attack could be anticipated even before the blade was swung due to his overflowing killing intent.

Gonhyang immediately twisted his body to the left and advanced. He intended to evade Meng Gwak’s attack and counterattack at the same time.

But.

Sweeeng!

The sound of the Red Lotus Bow’s string being drawn again was particularly loud and clear.

Gonhyang gritted his teeth and swung his right hand, which had been pierced by an arrow. He clenched his fist and unleashed the Yama’s Eight Fists, its momentum even greater than the Blazing Divine Palm.

Thud!

Gonhyang’s body twitched.

At the same time, Muk Bi’s right hand flicked the bowstring at an incredible speed.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Kuh-aaack!”

Six invisible projectiles struck the same spot on his right fist.

It was a super-fast volley that only Muk Bi could perform in the entire Central Plains. Even if the difference in skill was significant, the opponent was still a master who had surpassed the Martial Arts Realm. The archery that allowed him to land six hits before the opponent could even pull his arm back in pain was something no one but Muk Bi could perform.

His right hand was completely mangled. Gonhyang gritted his teeth and retreated. If he were to die at the hands of that ghostly archer, his allies’ morale would plummet.

But he could not retreat.

Of course, even if he didn’t retreat, there wouldn’t have been a way out.

Whoosh!

Muk Bi, sitting in front of the defense force in the center of the Imperial Palace army, was concentrating an immense amount of power into his hand as he drew the bowstring.

Moreover, the arrow was not an ordinary one but an iron-tipped arrow. The Hongcheon energy [Heavenly Energy] surrounding the iron arrow was packed with immense density, causing the Red Lotus Bow’s string to scream continuously.

Gonhyang’s face turned pale.

“Get out of the way!!”

Whoosh!

The Dragon Fang Cannon, which created a whirlwind with the rotating iron arrow, gradually formed a massive vortex and swallowed the vanguard of the Baihua Order.

Krrrrrr!

* * *

‘Amazing!’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sword energy emanating from the longsword was brutally honest, moderately fast, and chillingly robust.

But that was all.

The sword’s trajectory was frustratingly orthodox, and even when cutting off the flow and counterattacking, there were formalities and rules. It seemed that anyone skilled in combat could find an opening and counterattack at any time.

At first, Chal Geuk-pyeong thought so too.

But now it was different. After a few exchanges and a few dodges, he was trapped inside the thirty-six iron bars that Yeon-wi had created.

‘What kind of guy is this?!’

The swordsmanship was still honest.

But it was not easy to block that honest sword. Dodging was possible, but that was all.

It was impossible to defend, impossible to counter. There were clear openings, but the sense of danger that a fatal move would come out if he tried to exploit them made him unable to act rashly.

Chal Geuk-pyeong clicked his tongue.

‘It’s truly swordsmanship that has reached the pinnacle. The level is different. He’s a man who has stepped into the ultimate realm that can be achieved with a single sword.’

He had approached, feeling admiration, competitiveness, and a sense of crisis at the light sword’s energy technique. The desire to experience that seemingly great swordsmanship firsthand was the greatest.

But when the battle actually began, the opponent was only using sword forms to fight.

At first, he thought that he was doing it on purpose to conserve his inner energy. But that was not the case. The enemy commander’s swordsmanship was so profound that it boasted the power of the best in the world even without inner energy.

Chal Geuk-pyeong unleashed the Yama’s Eight Fists.

Boom!

If Yeon-wi was not just a master, then Chal Geuk-pyeong was not just an ordinary king either.

Trapped in a sword prison and only repeating dodges, he shot a fist wind into the ground, causing an explosion and creating distance. He had escaped the prison.

A smile formed on Chal Geuk-pyeong’s stoic face.

“I’m going to receive a really great gift today.”

Yeon-wi adjusted his grip on his sword.

“I’ll give you plenty of that gift, so don’t leave any of it behind and use it as your ferry fare to the Sanzu River [River of the Dead].”