Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1231

Clang!

Lee Cheol-gyeong’s fist technique was formidable.

Even charging without a horse, it was as if a group of armored cavalry was crashing head-on. With a single punch, half a dozen demonic beings at the front were sent flying, vomiting blood.

It wasn’t just the power that was impressive. Lee Cheol-gyeong aimed for the flanks, but he also kept in mind the demonic beings charging from the rear.

Not a straight line to the side, but a diagonal one.

The Shaolin’s invincible technique, the Arhat Divine Fist, disrupted the formation of the charging demonic beings.

“Cut their throats!”

The sharp formations charging from the left and right penetrated deep into the front lines of the three thousand demonic beings.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Kuaaaak!”

“Kill them!”

“Send them to hell!”

Splattered blood and flesh spread like mist around a waterfall.

It wasn’t just a simple clash of armies. Although the demonic beings were foaming at the mouth and only focused on advancing, their power, having mastered demonic arts, was incomparable to that of ordinary people. In the midst of their madness, they only charged unconditionally, resulting in incredible speed relative to their mass.

Those demonic beings clashed with the experts who had mastered inner energy, giving it their all.

An enormous chaos erupted beneath the head of the large army. It was like rocks falling into a river overflowing from a flood.

‘Damn it!’

Lee Cheol-gyeong gritted his teeth.

Not even forty years old, it would be hard to find a man with his level of martial arts and experience. But even he, the strongest martial talent among the Shaolin lay disciples, could only grit his teeth as he watched the bodies of allies and enemies alike flying like explosions.

‘This is a real war!’

He had seen many small-scale battles and wars between sects. He had even participated in a few as a child.

But this was different.

Not only was the scale different, but it was a place where human lives could disappear like flies. There was no room for the elegant and formal displays of martial arts. There wasn’t even time to do such a thing.

All they could do was crash into each other and eliminate the enemy. His vision was incredibly narrow.

Thud!

Although he had received a great shock in the first engagement, his strengths were not limited to his martial talent.

Stepping on the head of one demonic being, Lee Cheol-gyeong’s eyes scanned the entire demonic army.

‘It’s enormous!’

It stretched out endlessly. He thought he had cut off the head, but it felt like he had only cut off a strand of hair.

‘So many… it’s truly unbelievable.’

Fwip! Fwip! Fwip!

Lee Cheol-gyeong’s eyes widened.

Hundreds of arrows were flying from afar.

The fact that arrows were flying without an order meant that there was a commander in the central army who was closely watching the situation here.

It was only natural. The supreme commander leading this force might be one or two people, but there would be dozens of generals and commanders controlling the demonic beings in between.

‘I won’t be defeated.’

Lee Cheol-gyeong’s palms softly turned forward.

Whoosh! Chiri-ri-ri-ring!

The arrowheads, colliding with the heavy force, created a chilling sound.

Thinking it sounded like the scales of a snake colliding, Lee Cheol-gyeong descended.

Thud!

The palm strike was the Shaolin’s Demon Subduing Great Buddha Palm. The power of the palm technique itself was low among the seventy-two arts, but its demon-subduing power was so strong that it was more powerful against demonic beings than the Great Strength Vajra Palm. [The seventy-two arts refer to the legendary martial arts techniques of Shaolin Temple.]

With a strike full of the Buddha’s wrath, a dozen demonic beings fell. Only two demonic beings were directly hit, but the other eight who fell were also writhing, clutching their heads or chests.

This was because the inner energy of the Brahma Heaven Divine Art had been converted into demon-subduing power, stirring up their demonic energy.

‘It’s okay.’

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

He entered the heart of the enemy lines and unleashed his fist and leg techniques like a possessed man.

In this kind of battlefield, weapon techniques were more effective than fist and leg techniques. It was common sense.

However, Lee Cheol-gyeong’s fist and leg techniques were more effective at defeating demonic beings than thick greatswords or long spears. He himself was a master who had surpassed the realm of martial arts, and a natural talent recognized by the main temple. His fist and leg techniques, which poured down like lightning, were even meticulous.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

He relentlessly struck the eyes, philtrum, neck, and solar plexus.

When he struck properly, he blew them away with abundant inner energy, and when he conserved his strength, he struck only the vital points of the enemy with minimal inner energy.

Even a single blow was enough to prevent the demonic beings from getting back up. Even if they avoided instant death, they were incapacitated. Lee Cheol-gyeong’s Shaolin inner energy was comparable to that of the elders of the main temple.

‘But I can’t keep this up forever.’

His thought soon became a reality.

A sinister killing intent approached from behind.

It was a particularly sharp killing intent, even among the demonic beings filled with madness. Lee Cheol-gyeong instinctively turned his body and raised his arms.

Clang! Thud!

Lee Cheol-gyeong was sent flying by a brutal blow, knocking down a group of demonic beings.

“Damn it! Is that a bracer?”

Bang!

Stepping on the fallen demonic beings, Lee Cheol-gyeong charged again, his arms now equipped with red bracers.

If he pushed the power of the Brahma Heaven Divine Art to its limit, he could turn his entire body into the hardness of iron. However, in this kind of chaotic battle, and in a fight that could last who knows how long, it was impossible to constantly exert extreme inner energy.

He had come prepared with bracers and greaves for any eventuality, and it was fortunate that he had. If not, one of his arms would have been cut off by that glaive strike.

Clang!

With a powerful kick, he extended a heavy fist.

It was a straightforward punch that seemed easy to avoid, but the glaive-wielding demonic being who had ambushed him couldn’t easily dodge it.

Clang!

Even if it wasn’t his forearm, the fist filled with inner energy showed a hardness greater than steel.

The heavy glaive was being pushed back. Along with the glaive, the demonic being’s arms were also bent backward.

Surprise flickered in the demonic being’s eyes.

Lee Cheol-gyeong said in a low voice.

“There’s no way someone who has learned evil martial arts can surpass the martial arts of Mount Song [Mount Song is the location of the Shaolin Temple].”

“You bastard!”

Whoosh!

With superhuman strength, he pulled back his pushed-away arm and swung the glaive again.

It was simple but incredibly fast and powerful. Regardless of whether it was a counter force or not, being cut meant death.

At that moment, Lee Cheol-gyeong’s body scattered like a shadow.

Thwack!

A brutal single slash cut through the air, and the shockwave split the bodies of three demonic beings in half.

Crack!

“Kuh!”

Lee Cheol-gyeong, who had appeared from the side, broke the demonic being’s elbow with a sliding kick.

The demonic being gritted his teeth and swung his other arm, but Lee Cheol-gyeong had already swung three punches.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Three punches landed on the demonic being’s ear, neck, and side.

The demonic being, spurting blood, convulsed as he fell. But that was only for a moment.

Crack!

Trampled by the feet of the charging demonic beings, his corpse couldn’t even remain intact.

Even though their commander had died, they just trampled over him. It seemed that his death didn’t cause any shock at all.

Thud!

Lee Cheol-gyeong, pushing away the demonic beings with a body slam, let out another lion’s roar.

“Cut them down and cut them down again!”

The left and right armies, having cut off three thousand troops from the main force, quickly retreated and then penetrated deeply again.

They aimed for the flanks and disrupted the formation. That was the aim of the five thousand troops.

‘There are still so many.’

Lee Cheol-gyeong’s face showed seriousness as he struck down the demonic beings with his fists and legs.

‘I expected it to be difficult. This is just the beginning.’

In this brutal bloodbath, his mind seemed to be tiring before his inner energy. Lee Cheol-gyeong displayed his unique strong conviction and stubbornly slaughtered the enemies.

But the fight wasn’t just there. In a way, the most important fight in this war was taking place at the front.

Clang!

The entire eighteen Arhats were pushed back a step by the surging shockwave.

But that was all. As if this was to be expected, they put strength into their retreating feet and advanced with even greater force, swinging their iron staffs.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The demonic being wielding the greatsword, Geon-hyung, the Third Priest of the Blood Demon Cult, felt like he was going insane.

‘These brats dare!’

The iron staffs pouring down felt like a rain of hailstones thicker than his forearms.

Each iron staff was imbued with powerful demon-subduing power. It was a power that anyone who had mastered demonic arts would have to avoid.

Clang!

Geon-hyung’s swordsmanship was truly formidable.

He swung his greatsword without paying attention to the demonic beings dying from the shockwaves, creating a truly rare destructive force.

Although it was a counter force, Geon-hyung’s demonic energy had reached the level of a Saint Demon, enough to corrupt even the minds of deeply cultivated practitioners in an instant. He was a master who possessed a particularly vicious demonic energy among those who had reached the Saint Demon realm.

Yet, he couldn’t turn the tide.

‘This is the famous Eighteen Arhats Formation!’

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Even while facing swordsmanship of tremendous destructive power, there was not the slightest retreat.

Rather, as if they had been waiting for it, they set their iron staffs to offset the force, displaying a defensive power that was unbelievable even when seen with one’s own eyes. It felt like hitting a cotton ball.

Clang!

The highlight was definitely this guy.

‘Damn it!’

The exquisite nature of the iron staff, which struck down with a downward blow and pierced like a sword strike, was truly dazzling.

It relentlessly destroyed the simple yet well-structured forms of the Dragon Demon Ten Swords.

Clang!

He swung his greatsword and extended his left palm, deflecting the iron staff.

At that moment, golden energy rose from the bodies of the eighteen Arhats and seeped into the monk wielding the iron staff who was fighting at the front.

Whoosh! Bang!

The veins on Geon-hyung’s forehead bulged.

As if it were natural, and without the slightest sign of strain, he swung his iron staff with a relaxed face, but it was imbued with the force of ten thousand pounds.

“How can this be!”

For Geon-hyung, it was naturally unbelievable.

Even if one’s innate talent reached the heavens, one could not reach the realm of the Saint Demon without luck.

A person who had reached the realm of the Saint Demon possessed a martial power that was worlds apart from those below. If they fought with determination, they could kill a supreme master in five moves, or even three. That was why the demonic beings who had reached the Saint Demon realm were called the guardians of the Blood God.

‘But these guys!’

Clang!

He was blown away by overwhelming power. Or so he thought.

But the middle-aged monk had only retreated five steps and seemed unaffected by any shock.

It was the power of Prajna. It was the power of the Eighteen Arhats Formation. [Prajna refers to wisdom or insight in Buddhist philosophy.]

If one were to put aside its power, the Prajna Great Ability was undoubtedly called the best divine art of Shaolin. The difference in power with the Unsurpassed Great Ability was not that great.

With a divine art reached through wisdom and enlightenment, and with the support of the Eighteen Arhats Formation, the strongest human formation in martial arts history, he was backed by the power of the Great Transmission of Enlightenment.

Beom Oh, the head of the Arhat Hall.

He was a man who had lost opportunities for development due to his arrogance, despite being born with a martial talent greater than even Gong Gong. However, thanks to a martial arts journey with a certain man in the past, he had a great awakening and became the man he was today, a man like the incarnation of an Arhat. [Arhat is a term for someone who has attained enlightenment in Buddhism.]

Even if the opponent was a master of the Saint Demon realm, the light of Prajna would not be extinguished. Even if it wasn’t Beom Oh, the eighteen Arhats alone would be able to fight Geon-hyung to some extent.

The momentum of Beom Oh and the eighteen Arhats, those who would become legends and those who would carry on the legends, was so overwhelming that it instilled fear even in Geon-hyung, who was ranked third among the priests.

“You bastards!!”

Clang! Clang!

The forms of the Dragon Demon Ten Swords were unleashed one by one with great power.

Even though he was receiving tremendous shocks, Beom Oh’s expression did not change.

It was calm and natural. It wasn’t a psychological tactic, but his mind was actually like that.

‘No mind.’

Beom Oh, who had closed his eyes and swung his iron staff, naturally took a step forward.

The left palm that extended, the Shaolin’s representative technique, the Great Strength Vajra Palm, landed squarely on Geon-hyung’s chest.

Clang!