Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1150

“Young Alliance Leader.”

“Thank you.”

Moyong Woo, receiving the clean bandage from the warrior, unwound the old one from his left arm.

His eyebrows twitched. The clotted blood pulled at his skin as it was removed, causing considerable pain.

Perhaps because he had relaxed somewhat, his senses seemed more acute. Moyong Woo endured the pain and applied the golden wound medicine.

Fizz, fizz.

The white powder sprinkled on the wound bubbled.

‘Fascinating.’

Moyong Woo carefully examined the wound.

‘It was definitely in a state that was difficult to recover.’

By killing the enemy commander, he had sacrificed his left arm for a moment of enlightenment.

In reality, the enemy’s attack with his left hand was so powerful that it was impossible for his body to withstand it. Frankly, he thought it wouldn’t be strange if his entire left arm had been blown away.

Fortunately, his arm hadn’t been blown off, but his muscles were torn, and his bones were shattered into a mess. No matter how skilled he was, it was clear that it would be difficult to use his left arm as before with this kind of injury.

Yet, this desperate wound was rapidly healing.

The torn muscles were almost completely reattached, and the damaged bones, blood vessels, and nerves were gradually recovering.

‘It’s that energy.’

Moyong Woo recalled the Fire Sword Master who had ascended after giving him the seed of inner energy containing the divine skill of the Fire Mountain’s peak.

‘The energy that he gave me was the epitome of mutual growth, the pinnacle of Taoist divine skill with the power to dispel evil. Perhaps that energy is reviving my arm….’

Even he, who was infinitely sensitive to energy, could not read the flow of energy left behind by the Fire Sword Master. Now, he even doubted whether the Fire Sword Master had truly transferred his inner energy to him.

However, the healing power was impossible with the power of Thunderclap or the Eight Extremes of Heaven and Earth. It was clearly thanks to the Fire Sword Master’s inner energy.

‘I have regained the arm I had given up on with the energy that the elder gave me. I will strive to live a life without any shame from now on.’

Moyong Woo wrapped a new bandage over the wound where the golden wound medicine had soaked in.

The pain was more intense, but it also felt refreshing. Even if he couldn’t use it right away, judging by the speed of recovery, it seemed that delicate movements would be possible in about ten days.

“Young Alliance Leader.”

“Hmm?”

“The porridge is ready. Please eat.”

“Ah, thank you.”

It was porridge made by soaking dried jerky in water, shredding it, and then boiling it.

Since they were on the move, jerky was much more efficient than dried rice. Thanks to obtaining more rice and eggs from nearby villages, they could cook like this from time to time.

Of course, they couldn’t rest comfortably in villages or cities, but compared to the time when they were fighting fiercely, it was like heaven.

Moyong Woo, having finished his bowl of porridge, suddenly thought about familiarity.

‘Even a bowl of porridge is this appreciated.’

He was born into a martial arts family at the pinnacle of the Jianghu [the martial arts world].

Of course, from a young age, the atmosphere of his family was cold and cruel. In that environment, he struggled to survive and eventually crossed over to the Zhejiang branch.

He could say that he had experienced all sorts of hardships. He had fought many battles and faced death many times.

However, he had never worried about food itself as much as ordinary people did.

Even when he had to skip a few meals, he didn’t worry about food. He was hungry, but he could easily get a meal if he wanted to. That was his life.

However, after the war broke out and the initial battle was fought, on this journey back to the northern part of Shanxi, he became newly aware of the preciousness of food.

‘Even if martial artists don’t eat properly for a few meals, it doesn’t affect their fighting ability.’

Still, eating is important. There’s no need to worry about physical problems, but if you neglect eating when you’re injured like now, recovery will be delayed.

‘How many people will starve to death if we lose the war?’

It’s not just a problem of being swept away and killed in the war, but also that life will become so impoverished that it will be difficult to even get a meal.

Moyong Woo was able to recall one by one the reasons why he had to lead this war to victory.

“Let’s rest for a while. We need stamina to scout.”

“Understood.”

He had chosen about a dozen warriors who were relatively unharmed in the battle with the Silver Horse Troop to come with him. All of them had a natural talent for movement techniques.

Subtle fatigue appeared on Moyong Woo’s face as he leaned comfortably against a tree and looked up at the sky.

‘It’s really exhausting.’

His inner energy was full, and his physical strength was not bad either.

What exhausted him was mental fatigue. It couldn’t be helped, but he had killed countless enemies, and the pressure that the enemy might win had consumed his mental energy.

In fact, most of the warriors who were not seriously injured slept for a full day, or even three days, before waking up. That’s how mentally exhausted they were.

‘If I feel this tired after one battle, what will happen if I fight two or three times?’

Will I become accustomed to battle? Or will my mind become deranged from extreme fatigue?

It would probably be both. There were countless cases of soldiers who went to the battlefield and killed enemies, then couldn’t adapt to everyday life, resorting to violence or drinking themselves to death.

Fortunately, the experts, who could become a real disaster after the war, had some training in the upper and middle dantian [energy centers in the body].

‘Perhaps it has nothing to do with the level of dantian training.’

Even if the upper dantian is solid and the middle dantian is strong, people are greatly delighted by trivial things.

In that respect, even experts might suffer from madness after the war.

‘War….’

Moyong Woo smiled bitterly.

‘I vaguely thought it was difficult and arduous, but it really surpasses imagination.’

In the past, Yeon Ho-jeong, who had returned from the Zhongnan War, had said this:

‘War is the most violent means of politics. Humans have evolved to the point where they use even war as a means of politics. But the truly terrifying thing about war is that even after it ends, there is more than just victory or defeat.’

‘….’

‘Whether they win or lose, the survivors after the war cannot live normally. The fear that my life, my land, and my hometown could have been destroyed, and the shock of having cut people down like butcher’s meat, remain in the human subconscious as madness.’

‘Madness….’

‘Even when an era of peace arrives, if the ingrained madness becomes clear, they cannot endure reality and collapse.’

‘….’

‘In any form.’

At that time, he didn’t fully understand those words. But he thought it was terrifying enough to give him goosebumps.

And now, after fighting the initial battle, he could somewhat feel what Yeon Ho-jeong meant.

‘Yeonje.’

For some reason, he wanted to see Yeon Ho-jeong.

When he was living worse than strangers with his blood brothers, a Kirin child [a mythical creature, often a symbol of good omen], who was not related by blood, came and discussed his potential and offered his hand to work together.

Although he didn’t show it properly, Moyong Woo thought of Yeon Ho-jeong as a real brother. To the point that he felt much closer to him than Moyong Gun, who had now changed his mind.

It was a shame that they couldn’t build a deeper friendship because they didn’t meet often.

Once this war is over, and a true era of peace arrives.

Then, no matter how busy he was, he thought he should meet Yeon Ho-jeong often.

‘If I survive until then, that is.’

After a light meal and two hours of sleep to recover their strength, the group quickly moved north.

Since they were all specialized in movement techniques, Moyong Woo didn’t need to distribute his strength. Their speed was as fast as birds flying, and they quickly crossed the waist of Shanxi and reached its chest.

“Stop for a moment.”

Moyong Woo, who had stopped his movement technique, looked up at the sky.

Flap, flap, flap!

Several dozen birds were flying from the north in various directions.

Most of them were messenger pigeons, and some were messenger eagles. Whatever the case, information organizations were also moving quickly to find out the identity of a certain expert and a small unit coming down from Shanxi.

“Wait for a moment.”

Two quarters of an hour later.

Tweet.

A strange bird sound was heard.

The group immediately ran towards the direction of the bird sound. It was northeast.

Soon, a small clearing appeared, and there, a man disguised with bushes was standing respectfully.

“I greet the Young Alliance Leader. I am Ilgunggae, from the Shanxi branch of the Beggars’ Sect.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Moyong Woo.”

That was enough for introductions.

Ilgunggae quickly handed over a few small letters.

“They are currently located in the northwest of Yan’an, Shanxi. The distance from here is a little less than ten li [approximately 5 kilometers].”

Moyong Woo’s eyes were particularly sharp as he scanned the letters.

“How many people?”

“As per the previous report. There is one expert presumed to be at the Limitless Realm, and a hundred experts following her.”

“Her?”

“Yes. Although her face is covered with a mask, judging by her exposed figure, she is definitely a woman.”

“I see.”

“She doesn’t seem to be very old, but if her realm has reached the Limitless, it is impossible to guess her actual age.”

Moyong Woo shook one of the letters.

“Her attire is strange?”

“Ah, yes.”

Ilgunggae cleared his throat.

“Her attire is a bit… shall I say provocative, or unique? However, after examining various tribes from beyond the borders, it is speculated that it might be a type of ceremonial robe.”

“Ceremonial robe….”

“Not only that, but the hundred experts following her are also wearing similar types of ceremonial robes. Of course, they also wore masks. However, the woman’s mask was a white mask with long slits only around the eyes, and the masks of the hundred experts each had bizarre patterns engraved on them.”

Moyong Woo’s eyes deepened.

“I’ll ask one last question. I’ve been curious about this since I first received this information, but what is the reason for presuming that the woman is an expert at the Limitless Realm?”

“It is said that she split a large tree in half with a single gesture.”

“That is….”

“With telekinesis.”

“……!!”

If that was true, she was undoubtedly a Limitless Realm expert.

Moreover, she was not just at the beginning of the Limitless Realm, but an expert who had reached the level of a Divine Immortal Emperor. Perhaps she was a super expert beyond the Three Sovereigns, approaching the Two Immortals.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Young Alliance Leader. Are you really going to scout?”

“If their southward speed is so slow, it means that one of the leaders of the Shanxi martial world has a chance to observe them more closely. Even if we cannot exchange blows, observation alone will be a great help.”

Ilgunggae bowed his head.

“Please be careful. About thirty members of our Beggars’ Sect, as well as various information organizations, have been killed after being caught by their eyes.”

“……I see.”

“I wish you good fortune.”

“Thank you.”

Moyong Woo gestured to the warriors. It was a signal to depart.

It was then.

“Ah, I’m sorry. There is one piece of information I missed. It just came in.”

“Speak.”

“It is said that the woman, presumed to be at the Limitless Realm, had a small musical instrument that looked like a flute tucked into her waist.”

“A flute?”

“Yes. It was a rather ornately decorated flute, so it was particularly noticeable. Of course, how it is used has not yet been determined.”

“Thank you.”

Whoosh!

Moyong Woo and the warriors ran towards the northwest.