Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1229

“Ugh, ugh!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, turning his head to the right and vomiting blood, looked terribly pale.

“Big Brother! Are you alright?” Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s voice was full of worry.

Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke weakly.

“You brat, do I look alright? These bastards, there are so many of them, they just keep coming no matter how many we kill.”

He had become the sub-leader of the Black Dragon Unit and established the Black Emperor Castle, making himself the leader of the Black Path martial world [a term for the unorthodox or evil martial arts world].

His manner of speaking and attitude were befitting of a leader, but in front of his long-lost kin, the way he spoke when he was an eighteen-year-old full of youthful vigor naturally came out.

“You were too reckless! You almost died!”

“You guys came, didn’t you?”

It was a single sentence filled with absolute trust.

Even amidst the chaotic mix of murderous intent and screams, Yeon Ji-Pyeong felt a smile forming.

“Yes. We came. It’s such a relief.”

It was then.

Boom!

The exploding force scattered a tremendous amount of blood.

The blood clots that flew high into the sky fell towards Yeon Ji-Pyeong and Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Flash!

The left-hand sword, Iron Sword Great Yeon, manifested the Gentleman’s Eight Sword Stance [a specific sword technique].

Within a neat circle were several straight lines. The sword energy that was released spread out widely, creating a perfect barrier.

It was a sword barrier. He was using the sword barrier, which only the highest masters of swordsmanship could achieve, as naturally as breathing.

Chiiiik!

The pouring blood collided with the sword barrier and evaporated into white mist.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled and said, “What, you’ve become a crazy master. From now on, take over some of the things I do.”

“If I could, I would want my brother to rest for the rest of his life.”

Unlike Yeon Ho-Jeong, who hid his true feelings with jokes, Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s voice was filled with nothing but sincerity.

His brother had struggled to hold back the Three Sects [a major power in the martial world] for years.

Instead of being able to help, he had wasted years in various training and worries. It was a time that any martial artist would have to go through, but thinking about his brother who had suffered alone, he felt like crying blood.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong truly felt that way, and he resolved to dedicate everything he had for his brother, who would not rest in the future.

Clang! Clang clang clang!!

Swords and spears clashed, creating a complex sound.

With the demons pushed back, the demonic beings carrying huge heavy weapons were advancing and confronting the Righteous Army.

The demon forces were finally starting to use different tactics. Even if they advanced blindly, they knew that they would never reach the end if they continued like this.

‘Is this also Spirit Thread [a technique that allows control over others]?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed with a sharp light.

Even though his internal energy consumption was enormous and he had suffered internal injuries, the divine energy in his upper dantian [an energy center in the body] did not decrease much.

‘It was that guy from before. Most of these guys were under that master’s command. You could call it a command of words.’

Cheon Hwa-Je.

He was a formidable opponent who would have taken at least half a day to fight if one did not possess a martial art that countered his. His martial arts had already surpassed Sword Emperor Namgoong Seung and Blade Emperor Jongri Baek.

It was not strange for such a demonic being to have an upper dantian capable of handling the divine energy of the entire army.

In other words, it was because Cheon Hwa-Je had died that they were able to start taking different measures. Unlike Cheon Hwa-Je, who had only insisted on advancing, they seemed to have decided that if they were going to die anyway, they might as well defeat the Righteous Army first.

“Damn it!”

What made it easier to deal with was that the enemy’s actions were consistent.

However, unlike before, if they came out with the attitude of just fighting, the Righteous Army’s response would also have to change.

Peng Man-Ho shouted, “Fall back! Avoid engaging the enemy as much as possible!”

Flutter flutter flutter!!

The flag of the standard-bearer fluttered wildly.

The original purpose of the Righteous Army was not to annihilate the enemy, but to stop the enemy’s advance as much as possible and rescue Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Since they had primarily rescued Yeon Ho-Jeong, now the task of stopping their advance as much as possible remained.

There was no reason to shed unnecessary blood, but in order to stop the enemy’s advance, they could fight without hesitation. However, they had to avoid engaging in an all-out war. Even though they were cavalry, they were outnumbered.

Dududududu!!

Every single one of them was an excellent warhorse.

In addition, each soldier had a strange ability to transfer their internal energy to their warhorse. They could not amplify the speed by two or three times, but they could provide tremendous endurance and stamina.

“Where did you learn this kind of internal energy technique? Even I have never thought of transferring internal energy to a horse in this way.”

He had spent his entire life on the battlefield. His horsemanship was also among the best in the Central Plains [a region in the martial world].

However, he had never thought of a way to transfer his internal energy to his horse to reduce the burden on the joints and improve cardiopulmonary function.

Of course, it was not something that everyone could do even if they thought of it.

“It is the Horseback Energy Transfer Technique created by the Wudang Sect Leader and the Blade Emperor.”

“The Ascetic Master and the Blade Emperor?”

“Yes. The Blade Emperor has been interested in that area for a long time. When we combined it with fragments of the Wudang Sect’s secret techniques, which are said to be the best in natural energy cultivation, this martial art was created in an instant.”

“Amazing.”

“It’s amazing that they created it, but once you learn it, the operation itself is not difficult. Because it is a martial art mixed with the Wudang Sect’s secret techniques, it moves extremely harmoniously with each soldier’s internal energy cultivation method, so once you are proficient, it is possible to transfer energy to the horse without even being conscious of it.”

There would be many factors that made the Righteous Army strong, such as training, experience, and camaraderie.

However, if it were not for this miraculous technique called Horseback Energy Transfer, they would not have been able to display such divine horsemanship. It was truly like a welcome rain for the Righteous Army.

“And the Alliance Leader said, let’s pass this Horseback Energy Transfer Technique to the Black Emperor Castle as well.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes widened.

“To the Black Emperor Castle?”

“Yes. The Black Emperor Castle also has the Dragon Fang Iron Cavalry, the strongest cavalry unit.”

“Of course, they would become stronger if they learned this secret technique… but how did he make such a decision?”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong looked back at Yeon Ho-Jeong with a puzzled expression.

“Aren’t we all comrades fighting against the Three Sects? If we hide a secret technique and get defeated by the enemy, that would be even more fatal.”

“Huh.”

“There were some people who complained without knowing it. I just don’t understand it, but thanks to the Wudang Sect and the Blade Emperor who also stepped forward, the proposal was eventually passed.”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s face seemed to say that it was a natural thing.

He now knew the martial world, but even so, he prioritized chivalry and the greater good over the common sense of the martial world. That was why he could make such an expression.

‘He must have taken on a lot of burden.’

The face of Great Master Gong Gong came to mind.

He had many worries and concerns. But he was a divine being who was more suitable than anyone else to be the first Alliance Leader, no, the Martial Alliance Leader.

It was said that he had created it by mixing the insights of the Wudang Sect and the insights of Blade Emperor Jongri Baek, but since they belonged to the Martial Alliance, the Horseback Energy Transfer Technique should also belong to the Martial Alliance. That was natural.

But he had said that he would give it to the Black Emperor Castle as well. He was a master of the Supreme and the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, but he must have taken on a lot of political burden without knowing it.

Even so, if he had pushed forward relentlessly and finally passed the proposal, it meant that Great Master Gong Gong had also made a great effort.

‘Thank you.’

Even if Yeon Ho-Jeong was not the Lord of the Black Emperor Castle, he would have tried to pass the Horseback Energy Transfer Technique to the Black Path martial world. That was the kind of person Great Master Gong Gong was.

He was different from the idiots who worried that they were doing good things for the people who might become enemies in the distant future. They would be mistaken in thinking that they were looking far ahead, but that was not looking far ahead, but rather a complaint stemming from a terrible greed.

In a situation where thousands of lightning bolts were falling before their eyes, it was either mutual destruction or mutual survival. It was impossible for one side to die and the other to live, and that was the situation in the martial world now.

Great Master Gong Gong did not have great strategies or amazing tactical insights, but he had the wisdom to see through the times.

‘This side is this way, but… I wonder if that side is doing well.’

Leaving behind the Righteous Army, which was blocking the enemy’s advance with incredible horsemanship.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s gaze, full of worry, turned towards the distant south.

* * *

“Senior Brother.”

“Yes.”

A middle-aged monk in gray robes and a kasaya [a traditional Buddhist robe] looked at the distant place with sharp eyes.

“I can feel it. An enormous demonic energy.”

“I can feel it too.”

Beom Oh’s eyes were bright but calm.

The divine power he had gained through enlightenment, the Great Wisdom Power, filled his entire body. The divine power of wisdom, which made the invisible visible and the visible even clearer, calmed Beom Oh’s mind.

However, regardless of his calm mind, he could not help but be amazed by the enemy’s momentum.

‘It’s truly amazing.’

The fact that they could feel the enemy’s military spirit and demonic energy even from such a distance was because they had mastered the Shaolin’s divine techniques.

Since ancient times, it was said that enlightenment with deep Buddhist faith would subdue demons and bring about enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. The Shaolin’s divine techniques were like that. No demonic art in the world could use its power in front of the Shaolin’s unsurpassed divine techniques.

However.

‘If the Tao [the way or path] is one foot high, the demon is ten feet high. No matter how great the Shaolin’s divine techniques are, it is impossible not to feel burdened by the demonic arts learned by abandoning reason.’

The Taoist divine techniques and the Buddhist subduing-demons divine techniques were the natural enemies of demonic beings.

However, just as overwhelming firepower can evaporate water, the divine techniques of Taoism and Buddhism are powerless against those who have achieved extremely high levels of demonic arts.

Their relationship was that simple yet complex. Usually, demons could not use their power in front of them, but there were cases where that relationship was reversed.

One Arhat [a Buddhist saint], Beom Hang, sighed.

“So many demons like me have been eating away at the world… the path to the Pure Land is truly long and difficult.”

Beom Oh said firmly, “Their existence has nothing to do with the Pure Land.”

“Yes?”

“The real demons are in the worries of the practitioners. They are just a group of heretics who have learned demonic arts, and in the end, they are all the same people. Demons? That’s nonsense.”

Beom Hang was flustered. Not only Beom Hang, but all eighteen Arhats were flustered.

Beom Oh was a person who was more resolute and full of competitive spirit than anyone else. Sometimes his competitive spirit was so excessive that he seemed arrogant, but he was always a reliable senior brother to his disciples.

However, after going on a journey in the martial world, he had gained some enlightenment, and along with his tremendous growth in martial arts, he had surprised his disciples with a completely different personality than before.

Even now, that was the case. If they were not demons, then who were demons?

“Everyone has different circumstances and different backgrounds. It was said that there is a Buddha in everyone’s heart. That means that there is a Buddha in the heart of a murderer as well.”

“……”

“We have come here today as the Bright Kings who strike down ghosts and yakshas [a type of nature spirit] and save sentient beings, but we must not forget that they are also people.”

Beom Oh turned to the Arhats.

“Remember. We are going to face people who have learned evil practices, and we must break the precept against killing due to the coercion of the times. However, it is right for us, who have worked a little harder in our practice, to bear that burden rather than making another pure person a murderer.”

“……”

“Today, we are Bright Kings. Put aside the name of Arhat for a while. And while facing these pitiful people, burn the demons that reside in your hearts first.”

The eighteen Arhats bowed their heads.

“We will take your words to heart, Abbot!”

“Let’s go.”

Beom Oh walked forward, holding a long iron staff.

Behind him were eighteen top-level Arhats, and behind the Eighteen Arhats were one hundred and eight Arhats.

And behind the One Hundred and Eight Arhats, five thousand soldiers of the Shaolin lay disciples followed.

It was the departure of the Shaolin legend, the Arhats.