Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1272

The Advent of the Evil God (9)

Namgoong Seung’s eyes widened.

“Lord Yeon!”

The energy was as fierce as a storm yet as warm as a spring breeze, making him wonder if it could be real.

But upon hearing that voice, he was certain.

The peerless prodigy of the current martial world, the young leader of the Black Alliance and the eye of the storm, Yeon Ho-Jeong, had appeared.

However, what he said was something Namgoong Seung found hard to accept.

“No! We must retreat!”

Krrrrrr!

The remaining Martial Alliance forces numbered just over a thousand. If they formed ranks and fought, they might somehow manage against the Divine Cult, but here, there was a cavalry force of ten thousand.

Even if they were not skilled in martial arts, the arrows would ensure the Martial Alliance’s defeat. Moreover, there were still three more masters of the Supreme Realm who had yet to reveal themselves.

“Yeon…”

It was then.

Whoooom!

The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art [a powerful martial art] was fully unleashed, spreading Yeon Ho-Jeong’s energy throughout the entire battlefield.

Namgoong Seung’s eyes wavered.

‘What is this?’

His head felt heavy, as if a large rock was pressing down on the back of his neck.

Yet, strangely, his heart was burning.

His lungs seemed to be twitching uncontrollably, and his breathing became rapid. His heart rate increased quickly, and the hand gripping his sword grew stronger.

Whoom! Whoom!

The Boundless Azure Sky Divine Art [another powerful martial art] responded to its master’s changes, drawing out an inner force like a volcano from deep within his dantian [an energy center in the body].

Namgoong Seung had been conserving his strength, intending to use it at the right moment. But now, all that carefully preserved power was being unleashed with a roar.

‘This, this is…?!’

It was a phenomenon he couldn’t understand. His body and inner force were moving against his will, yet at the same time, he seemed to desire it.

Flash!

From afar, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s golden eyes met Namgoong Seung’s.

In that instant, Namgoong Seung felt a chill run down his spine.

‘Advance…’

Without realizing it, his body turned.

He found himself pointing his sword at the enemy. He felt an urge to unleash all of the Namgoong family’s secret techniques: the Thunder Sword, the Wind Sword, the Solitary Sword, the Boundless Azure Sky Sword, the Emperor’s Sword Form, and more.

Thump! Thump!

His heart felt like it was being squeezed.

His blood was indeed flowing faster, but it was more like an attempt to push out the martial spirit and fervor that had been hidden behind a veil of caution.

Namgoong Seung opened his mouth without realizing it.

“Haaaap!”

Zzzzzzzzz!

His voice, imbued with powerful true energy, was like the sonic attacks of Yin Master Ha Eun-Gyo. [a master of sound-based martial arts]

His roar, no less than the Lion’s Roar of Shaolin [a powerful Buddhist martial art technique], was filled with overwhelming fighting spirit. It was the cry of a warrior who sought to unleash everything he had in this moment, not a general who planned for the future.

That burning emotion was not felt by Namgoong Seung alone.

Kwaaaang!

Jongli Baek, who had knocked back Ironwood Hou with an even stronger strike, roared like a lion, and Oh Gu-Mun, worried about his master, swung his sword, unleashing all his strength with shouts, attacking the Divine Cultists.

Each of them fought in different areas, with different intentions, and in different battles.

Yet, in an instant, they became of one mind, one purpose, and pointed their swords at the enemy.

Retreat was no longer an option. Their hearts were filled with the desire to annihilate the enemy and achieve victory in this brutal battlefield.

And among them.

There was Yeon Ho-Jeong, leading the Martial Alliance forces in a charge.

“Senior Namgoong and Oh Gu-Mun, break through the flanks of the cavalry!”

The ability to grasp the situation at a glance.

It was the insight of a strategist, unrelated to the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art. Now, he could be said to have the best strategic mind in the world when it came to war.

After quickly giving orders to the two, Yeon Ho-Jeong immediately saw through Jongli Baek’s condition.

And his will.

“Senior Jongli! I entrust you with the vanguard!”

The vanguard was none other than Ironwood Hou.

Jongli Baek grinned, raising his Tyrant Blade.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

He displayed a morale and military spirit unlike anything he had shown before.

True energy was imbued in his shouts, and that true energy, following its master’s will, unleashed tremendous fighting spirit and killing intent towards the enemy. It was a power that could not be explained by mere mental strength, and it stimulated fear in the cavalry as well as the Divine Cultists.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

“The Martial Alliance’s left flank, switch to a deep strike against the Divine Cultists! The right flank, follow Senior Namgoong and Oh Gu-Mun and sweep through the cavalry!”

Suddenly, morale was at its peak.

An explosion of military spirit that defied common sense. Even Supreme Realm experts like Namgoong Seung and Jongli Baek were mesmerized, following Yeon Ho-Jeong’s words and attacking the enemy.

Someone who seemed to be a cavalry commander shouted in their language to fire arrows.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s left hand moved like lightning.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

As the archers fired their arrows, a rain of blood erupted from the center of the cavalry.

The White Dragon Axe, which had grazed past Jongli Baek and Ironwood Hou, instantly annihilated about thirty cavalrymen and shattered the commander’s upper body.

It wasn’t some secret sword technique. It was simply a power-infused throw, following the principles of the Gale Island. Yet, the center of the formation was completely breached.

But there were still many arrows flying. At least three hundred arrows were heading towards the Martial Alliance forces.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes blazed.

“How dare you.”

Bang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had leaped up after stomping the ground, swung the Mad Dragon Axe.

Before he knew it, the Mad Dragon Axe was connected to the Coiling Dragon Chain, flying through the air.

Whoooosh! Chiiiirrrring!

The radius of rotation was enormous.

The heavy Mad Dragon Axe created a shockwave as it drew a circle, causing the arrows to collide with each other and scatter in all directions.

It was a shocking sight. It was due to the use of the weapon, more than skill.

There was no chain like the Coiling Dragon Chain, and there were few martial artists who used a heavy weapon like the Mad Dragon Axe. When those two weapons became one and swept a wide area, a mere volley of arrows without inner force was instantly swept away.

And it didn’t end there.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had soared up and neutralized the arrow volley, descended towards the Divine Cultists.

Kwaaaang!

With a single strike of the Mountain Crushing Stance, a corner of the Divine Cult crumbled.

Bang! Bang!

The strike, which had devastated a wide area, caused several of the explosives he carried to detonate on their own.

The explosion instantly turned part of the formation into a wasteland. The Divine Cultists, startled by the explosion, retreated, but that was an opportunity for their allies.

An opponent who retreats once can retreat twice or three times.

And the attack power of the allies, who had become aware of the ‘fact’ that they could make a retreating opponent retreat twice or three times, could only become stronger.

“Uwaaaaaa!!”

“Kill them!!”

The left flank, moving according to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s orders, was consumed by madness and overwhelmed the Divine Cultists.

Chiiiirrrring! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Hot blood painted the sky.

The appearance of an overwhelming master. Namgoong Seung had restrained his own power to save his allies, but Yeon Ho-Jeong had made the opposite choice.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted in a booming voice.

“Retreating when you could have won means you were being led by the enemy! A sluggish war of attrition wears down the mind more than the body, and that mental fatigue diminishes your combat power and breaks your will!”

Not many people properly understood his words. They were too focused on attacking the enemy, driven by their rising morale.

Still, Yeon Ho-Jeong did not stop speaking.

“That is exactly what the enemy wanted! Unless a master capable of changing the tide of battle appears, this battle is yours! Firearms and cavalry cannot harm you! You came here to win, not to be defeated!”

Even if they didn’t hear properly, the will behind his words was seeping into everyone’s hearts.

The madness on the faces of the Martial Alliance warriors grew more intense. Some of them were shouting even more bizarrely than the cavalrymen. They were attacking while shouting as if they were releasing something that had been stuck in their chests, and they looked like fanatics.

“Don’t try to stop the enemy’s invasion! The important thing is to win! If you retreat, your families will have to rush out with swords and spears! If you’ve risked your lives, do it properly! Don’t just block, win and devour them!”

Whoooosh! Kwaaang!

The Mad Dragon Axe, which had flown out, smashed seven cavalrymen and returned.

“That is our war!”

Just defending will not end it.

Fight and win. Win and advance. If you don’t fight with that mindset, your family might die.

What Yeon Ho-Jeong was saying was clear. And those clear words pushed the morale of the already high-spirited allied forces to the limit.

“We will definitely win!”

“Uwaaaaaa!!”

In the face of the fierce, fire-like attacks, the Divine Cult and the cavalry had to retreat again and again.

Moral is not an absolute factor in combat power. However, an army with proper morale can achieve two or three times its original capacity.

Yeon Ho-Jeong did not stop at just boosting their morale. There were countless ways to raise morale in the moment. What was important was what came after. How they would fight in the future, and with what mindset, was what mattered.

The real reason why foreign invasions are terrifying.

It’s because not only I, but my family as well, could be brutally killed. To prevent that, you must not just block the enemy, but rather fight with the intention of devouring them.

That was the mindset of a victor, according to Yeon Ho-Jeong. If you don’t have that kind of mindset, you will lose even a winnable fight.

Bang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had flown over the cavalry in an instant, smashed the commanders and their guards in the area.

Whinny! Whinny!

The horses cried out, and the soldiers trembled in fear.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

‘Evil energy.’

Everyone’s eyes were filled with evil energy.

He remembered a similar tactic. Of course, he hadn’t experienced it directly, but he had seen such a scene when he had briefly glanced at the battlefield of the Demonic Sound Cult. [a cult known for using sound-based martial arts]

‘They wouldn’t just plant evil energy, would they?’

Whether it was evil energy or demonic energy, it was meaningless in front of the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art.

‘Whatever they’re aiming for, I’ll crush it all here.’

The Yellow Dragon Divine King Art.

The final secret technique of the Four Divine Martial Arts, and a martial art of enlightenment that points the way to true invincibility.

Even before opening the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art, Yeon Ho-Jeong was skilled at leading an army as a general. But now, having awakened the true Yellow Dragon and regained himself, he, as a Four Divine Martial General, could endlessly raise the morale of his allies.

If he had only wanted to become invincible alone, he would not have been called a general, but a martial god. It was when he was with his allies that the Four Divine Martial General’s control truly shone. The saying that there was no defeat on a battlefield where a Four Divine Martial General appeared came from this incredible control and fighting spirit.

Thus, Yeon Ho-Jeong had appeared, overwhelming a battlefield that had been on the verge of defeat.

How long had it been since the retreating allied forces had begun to push back the enemy?

Whoooosh!

As if they could no longer stand by and watch, huge energies stirred from the rear of the cavalry.

‘So they’re finally coming.’

A being of extreme evil, yet draped in a flame as vast as a mountain.

It was the appearance of Gi Woo-Hwan, the current leader of the Divine Cult, who had overthrown his father in a rebellion and become the new king.

And in response, a streak of holy flame was flying from behind Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“The right flank, move to the left and attack the Divine Cultists! The battlefield has changed!”