Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1218

Yeon-wi’s face stiffened for a moment as he was drinking tea.

“Does the tea not suit your taste?”

“……No.”

“You are frightening. It feels as if the Imperial Sword might be drawn at any moment.”

“I just felt strange for a moment. Do not mind it.”

Though he spoke those words, Yeon-wi’s face did not relax.

He glanced out the window. It was a window facing far to the north.

‘Ho-jeong?’

Why was that?

For a moment, his son’s face flashed before his eyes.

It wasn’t anxiety. Rather, it was the face of his son wearing an expression close to joy that was striking.

That was why it was strange. His son, who had already surpassed him and opened his eyes to the world, had lived such a desolate life that such joy was far from him.

If his son were to truly feel that level of joy, the Three Sects would have to fall and this insane war would have to end.

That was why he was worried. He wondered if his son might have been affected by some kind of sorcery.

If it wasn’t that and there was truly something that made him that happy, then as a father, he should be happy with him. However, the reality that the Central Plains faced was far too dangerous. Even Yeon-wi himself, who was called the incarnation of a martial arts hero with the alias of the Judge’s Sword, found it difficult to see the world with only positivity.

‘It will be alright.’

It was a worry that had become a habit. Yeon-wi tried to calm his heart.

His son, Yeon Ho-jeong’s martial arts had long surpassed his own. In terms of judgment, military strategy, and drive, he had reached a level that was difficult for any martial artist in the Central Plains to match.

Thanks to that, there were times when he sent him to the battlefield without any burden on his mind. Yet, seeing how he still worried like this, it seemed that the relationship between parents and children was unavoidable.

‘Perhaps it is I who am strange.’

Thanks to the Yeon Family Divine Pill located in his upper dantian [an energy center in the body], he no longer had the side effects of feeling reckless unease or having premonitions as before.

However, as the divine energy formed the core, the stabilized upper dantian tried to generate more divine energy and tried to increase the size of the pill on its own.

In the process of correcting that, he would sometimes see what could not be seen and feel what could not be felt. Considering Yeon-wi’s nature, it was truly an unpleasant thing, but as he thought of it as a kind of training and dealt with it, the speed of his upper dantian training increased over time.

‘Perhaps it is a necessary ability for someone as lacking as I am.’

Yeon-wi stared straight ahead.

In front of him was a middle-aged man.

‘If I didn’t have this power, it would have been difficult to face this person with such peace of mind.’

The middle-aged man, Moyong Gun, chuckled.

“Why? Is there something on my face?”

“No.”

Yeon-wi looked around.

“It is different every day. The level of completion is different from what I felt yesterday. I can see that the craftsmen’s skills are very outstanding.”

Yeon-wi had come to the new imperial palace in Nanjing, Jiangnan, with the Emperor.

Of course, not all the officials and soldiers of the imperial palace had followed. Moving the imperial palace required an unimaginable amount of work, so those who remained in Beijing were still working day and night to move the imperial palace’s supplies.

In other words, it meant that a small elite force had come to Nanjing, protecting the Emperor. It was a scene that showed how much the Emperor himself, as well as the generals and officials, trusted Yeon-wi.

Moyong Gun spoke with a languid expression.

“Their skills are outstanding. Considering the money that is still leaking out, this much is only natural.”

It was an arrogant tone, but Yeon-wi knew.

His words were worldly, but his voice was detached. It was the voice of someone who was not attached to money or fame. He had no great ambition, and he was a man who lived only in the present moment.

‘I really never thought this day would come.’

Moyong Gun, the head of the Moyong Family.

He was a man who was considered the most ambitious person among the Nine Great Sects and the Six Great Families, a hero who had committed numerous evil deeds to actually become the leader of the Martial Alliance.

He would eventually be punished for his evil deeds. However, since he, who had seen the world with a twisted perspective, had gained great enlightenment and changed like this, depending on how he lived in the future, the heavens might embrace him, or they might throw him under the ground.

“The construction is being completed much faster than expected. Furthermore, for the sake of any unforeseen circumstances, we are purchasing gunpowder weapons traded overseas through the Merchant Alliance. They will all be used to protect the imperial palace.”

Yeon-wi’s face hardened.

“Are you saying you are trading with foreigners from overseas?”

“That is correct.”

He spoke so confidently that it was embarrassing to get angry.

“That is against the national law.”

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“Are you talking about the national law that I can’t even remember when it last worked properly?”

“Whether it works properly or not, it is the law that was made to be followed. Although the imperial palace’s situation is not like the old days and the martial world is taking its place, it is no small matter to engage in trade that is prohibited by national law.”

“Well, you are not wrong.”

Before his change, Moyong Gun would have refuted Yeon-wi’s words with his eloquent speech. Of course, Yeon-wi would not have lost, but it would have turned into a fight that had no end from the start.

However, the current Moyong Gun was different.

He acknowledged Yeon-wi’s words while not taking them seriously.

However, that was it. Even if he acknowledged it, he had no intention of stopping this act. He would see the world in his own way, and no one could say anything to him. There was a sense of free will and a dangerous recklessness.

Yeon-wi spoke calmly.

“Since you know it is an illegal act, you must report this to His Majesty.”

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“Would the Emperor want to meet with a nameless nobody like me? If it really bothers you, you can report it yourself. I don’t care.”

“He will meet you.”

“Is that so?”

“He despises petty people, but he is rather interested in dangerous ones.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes deepened.

That meant that he was not a petty person. It was a subtle compliment.

And seeing that he did not feel particularly happy at Yeon-wi’s compliment, Moyong Gun was once again aware of his own change.

“If it is illegal, then everything we do is illegal. In the end, life changes depending on how you see the world and where you set your standards.”

“That is why you are staying still.”

“Hmm?”

Yeon-wi took a sip of tea.

“If I had felt malice in your actions, I would not have backed down like this.”

It was not because he was stronger.

Just as Moyong Gun lived according to his own beliefs, Yeon-wi also had his own beliefs. He was a person who would speak clearly if someone had done something wrong, whether they were strong or weak, and would even draw his sword if necessary.

Because his life history and the values he pursued were connected to chivalry, his alias was the Judge’s Sword. Even if the actions were the same, if the intentions were different, one could become the villain of the world. Like Moyong Gun, Yeon-wi was always living on a precarious tightrope.

‘I can’t beat him.’

It was frustrating. He felt suffocated.

Even after changing this much, Moyong Gun still did not like Yeon-wi’s strictness.

But.

‘……It’s not bad.’

That’s right. Living like that was not bad.

Also, wanting to become the best in the world by wielding that magnificent divine power was not a bad thing.

Although he was not as bold as him, it was a life where he did not lose himself due to his firm principles.

Moyong Gun envied Yeon-wi’s life, his rigid principles.

It was inevitable that a junior who had come so far and was only now beginning to form his own principles would admire his senior.

Moyong Gun, who had been looking at Yeon-wi for a long time, fiddled with his teacup and said,

“The North is becoming chaotic again.”

“The North?”

“That’s right. The Blood Demon Cult Leader has appeared in Sichuan, and the demonic hordes that followed him have come with him.”

In an instant, Yeon-wi’s eyes deepened.

“How many troops are there?”

“The troops that followed the cult leader are not a big deal. But the real problem is Gansu.”

Moyong Gun frowned. If he had not been in charge here with the Merchant Alliance, he would have drawn his sword and rushed out long ago.

“Information has been received that tens of thousands of demonic troops, presumed to be from the Blood Demon Cult, will break through Gansu and head south.”

“……!”

“The appearance of the cult leader and the tens of thousands of troops from the Blood Demon Cult. It is sudden, and considering the current situation and the previous battles, it can be said to be an excessively ignorant and clumsy dispatch.”

“……They want something?”

Indeed, Yeon Ho-jeong’s clever mind did not come from nowhere.

Although he did not have the same level of recklessness as Yeon Ho-jeong, Yeon-wi was also fundamentally intelligent. He had the sense to grasp Moyong Gun’s intentions, who had lived in political strife his whole life, with just a few words.

“That must be it. Otherwise, it cannot be explained.”

It was an ominous piece of information.

The Central Plains, which had once groaned under the invasion of the Three Sects in the north, would once again be swept up in war. Before the aftermath of the previous war had even faded, another fight was breaking out.

“How is the martial world responding?”

“They will take care of it themselves. I also only received information from the Merchant Alliance and the Black Emperor Castle. It is difficult to know the details.”

Even if it was not in real-time, the fact that he was able to find out about what was happening in a place more than a thousand miles away so quickly was thanks to the information network of the underworld and the information power of the merchants.

And that meant that Moyong Gun had become a man who could be trusted. The Merchant Alliance was natural since it was where he belonged, but the fact that the Black Emperor Castle had come forward to give information meant that Yeon Ho-jeong’s influence was at play.

Yeon-wi, who had been lost in thought, cautiously asked.

“Was the reason for bringing in gunpowder weapons through trade because of that?”

“We have no choice but to watch the situation unfold. Even if we receive information every moment, we will inevitably be late in responding because of the distance.”

Moyong Gun’s face, as he took a sip of tea and turned his head to look out the window, was clearly older than when he first saw him, but his eyes were much sharper.

“To bring in all the measures that can be used to avoid experiencing even a single regret. Politics and actual war are so similar in this way.”

It was an enlightening statement. Although it would be difficult to become like him, Yeon-wi could see another world in Moyong Gun’s words.

Yeon-wi’s eyes also naturally turned to the north.

‘Please be careful.’

In any case, his concern for his son always came first.

With Yeon-wi still looking north for a long time, Moyong Gun got up from his seat.

“If you want to stay here, stay longer. I have some business to attend to.”

“No. I cannot impose myself on a house without an owner.”

“What owner? The imperial palace’s residences all belong to His Majesty.”

“I enjoyed the tea today.”

Did he feel something from that simple greeting?

Moyong Gun, who had been quietly looking at Yeon-wi, asked as if throwing it out.

“Would you like to come with me?”

“Where are you going?”

“I am on my way to meet the masters of Bota Temple.”

“……Bota Temple?!”

“Although it is ruined, the potential of a prestigious sect does not disappear so quickly. Led by an amazing swordswoman, quite a few masters have come to this land to protect it. Since we were the closest to the organization involved in this war, they said they would come here first.”

Bota Temple.

A mysterious sect that has produced so many great masters that they have been called the Sword Queens for generations.

Yeon-wi’s eyes sparkled.

“Let’s go.”