Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1277

It was then.

“Scatter them!”

Another explosion echoed at the command of Dang Pae, the leader of the Four Kings.

Fwoop-fwoop-fwoop-fwoom!

Was it a cannon against a cannon?

No. The yellow poison bullets that flew over the heads of the Shaanxi martial artists exploded, spreading a yellowish smoke like the sandstorms of the wilderness, but the small cannons fired by the Dang Clan immediately spat out black beads.

Beads filled with the antidote for the yellow poison bullets.

Kwakwakwang!

The sound was loud, but there were no flames or iron fragments.

The material of the beads seemed too weak to withstand such destructive power, yet they exploded at precise points, spreading the antidote in all directions.

Saaaah!

“Kuaaaak!”

“Aaaak!”

The martial artists who inhaled the yellow poison smoke writhed and convulsed.

Some of them died. Hundreds of people died on the spot from just a brief inhalation.

However, almost immediately after the antidote was spread, the writhing martial artists only coughed and trembled.

The detoxification happened in an instant.

“How can this be!”

Hang Il, the leader of the Yellow Poison Clan, gaped.

“An antidote, you say?!”

It was unbelievable.

The Golden Iron Cannons were also exceptionally superior firearms, but the yellow poison bullets fired from those cannons were truly terrifying.

The poison bullets that Yeong-eum Mountain had improved over decades. Even a master of the highest level would die within ten breaths if they inhaled it even once, and even a transcendent master would not last a quarter of an hour. And that was only for those with strong resistance to poison.

Was there an antidote for such a deadly poison?

Even if there was an antidote, how did these guys know that they would use the yellow poison bullets?

Dang Pae smiled coldly.

“Even if you spent decades, no, a hundred years, to create it, you cannot escape our eyes and knowledge. We have lived and died for hundreds of years for poison and hidden weapons alone.”

The Dang Clan had developed and created dangerous items that were forbidden by the country, such as hidden weapons, poison, and cannons, for hundreds of years with a single-minded focus.

The yellow poison bullets were indeed extremely dangerous, and the Dang Clan had to struggle for quite a long time to create the antidote, but it was by no means impossible.

A family that could detoxify all the poisons in the world, and at the same time, a family that could create poisons that no one in the world could detoxify.

That was the Sichuan Dang Clan, the heretics of the righteous martial world, called the masters of poison and hidden weapons.

“The Four Kings Unit, advance while maintaining the Falling Poison Formation! Our allies come first! Move the incapacitated victims to the mountain path!”

“Understood!”

They came to fight and win, but fighting was not just about clashing swords.

For allies to win, their condition had to be good. Helping them was also a major contribution to the battle, and since the enemy was even using poison bullets, the Dang Clan’s forces had a clear task.

That was not all.

Although they could not approach due to the formation, thousands of troops from Sichuan were behind the Dang Clan’s forces.

They were waiting for the right moment, ready to jump in and push back the enemies as soon as the morale of the battlefield was restored.

“Th-this…!”

Hang Il, who bit his lip in frustration, shouted.

“Put away the poison bullets! Load the grenades we received from the Maga [a term for a witch or sorceress]!”

The Golden Iron Cannons were now loaded with grenades received from the Fire Maga, the Shin Hwa Sect.

If yellow poison bullets were fired, there would be casualties, but there was a way to detoxify them. However, if real fire bullets were fired, even the Dang Clan would have no way to deal with them.

Dang Pae shouted.

“Fire bullets, not poison bullets, may come! Everyone, put on the Explosion-Proof Robes!”

Parararak!

Three people in a group covered themselves with a wide black cloth.

It looked like an ordinary cloth, but it was the Dang Clan’s treasure, the Explosion-Proof Robe, which could block fire and even explosive hidden weapons without a scratch. After the Sichuan Great War, Dang Gwan and Dang Hyeong had used all the family’s treasures to increase the quantity of these robes.

“Fire!”

Fwoop-fwoop-fwoop-fwoom!

The grenades, fired at tremendous speed, exploded above the Shaanxi martial forces, about ten feet high.

It was more effective to fire the explosives into the air and spread them than to shoot directly at people.

Peobeobeobeok!

“Kuaaaak!”

About two hundred martial artists screamed as they were hit by grenade fragments.

Thudududududuk!

The Four Kings Unit members, moving as smoothly as snakes and as quickly as hawks, unfolded their Explosion-Proof Robes and blocked more than half of the grenade fragments.

Just entering a battlefield where the evil energy was raging was a life-threatening act. It was fortunate that they had brought the Poison-Avoiding Pills, but the Poison-Avoiding Pills were only effective in neutralizing the poison.

Items named after avoiding poison, fire, and water all had the characteristic of blocking external energy, so they could also block some of the evil energy.

However, it was only to a certain extent. Unless the evil energy completely disappeared, the Dang Clan’s forces could also become mad if they stayed on the battlefield for too long.

“Hurry! We can’t stay here for long!”

Just as the battle, which had been in a lull, became noisy again as forces clashed, a big change occurred in the battle of the masters.

Kwaang!

‘Strong.’

Dang Gwan’s face hardened as he deflected the greatsword with his Wall-Breaking Palm.

The flow of the Thousand Poison Hands was shaken, and his explosive power was shattered and scattered. Even though he had not driven out the poison, the excellence of its power was undeniable, and he had suffered a loss in an instant.

Pa-ba-bang!

The Lightning Chasing Divine Steps now created movements that were almost like lightning.

Dang Gwan, who appeared above Myeong Hwal’s head, spreading red energy, unleashed the Three Yang Divine Palm.

Flash!

There was no explosion.

The force was shattered by a large sword strike that encompassed the lower, upper, and even rear areas, like a writhing dragon.

‘Surprisingly orthodox.’

Myeong Hwal’s movements, wielding the greatsword with both hands, were so beautiful that they could be described as such.

He struck down and lifted up. He parried and deflected. He thrust and then pressed down, pushed out and then pulled back.

He was a warrior who had thoroughly mastered the basics of the sword. It was not because he had reached the realm of the Limitless that he was great, but because he displayed the ultimate basics even after reaching that realm.

“Is this child’s play?”

Flash!

A shockwave like a wave surged from the end of the greatsword that was swung horizontally.

Dang Gwan immediately retreated and escaped the range of the slash, but he felt another shockwave approaching behind the vanished shockwave and had to swing his fist as well.

Kwaaang!

The following shockwave was truly fierce.

It was fierce, heavy, and sharp. It was so powerful that his bones would have broken if he had put even a fraction less of his inner energy into it.

Myeong Hwal raised his greatsword and said.

“Hidden weapons and palm techniques? Very good. Especially your hidden weapon skills are outstanding. If you have brought a mere hidden weapon technique to such a level, you can be called a grandmaster without a doubt.”

“…”

“Therefore, it is impure. It is not true martial arts.”

His posture was too honest, and the flaws in his entire upper body were exposed.

Yet, Dang Gwan could not easily attack him. The strange evil energy writhing from all directions made it seem like he would be sucked into the range of the sword if he rashly charged in.

“Since you have reached such a level with tricks, I will praise you for that alone. If you had held a sword, I would have truly thought it a pity to kill you.”

A cold glint appeared in Dang Gwan’s eyes.

“There have been countless fools who have called complex things tricks.”

“What did you say?”

“They don’t have the brains to understand complex things, so they only seek simple things. You’re lucky you had the martial bone to get that far. If you were born in the main family, you would have ended up as a second-rate even if you were a direct descendant.”

A murderous smile appeared on Myeong Hwal’s face.

“Well, who is right is ultimately decided by who wins.”

Pa-a-a-ang!

Myeong Hwal, who charged forward in that posture, swung his greatsword powerfully.

It was a very honest strike, but Dang Gwan could not avoid it. The pressure felt from all directions, as if he had entered the deep sea, was beyond imagination.

‘You are wrong.’

Kuururung!

A strike that came down as it was.

It was as if an entire mountain that had been cut off was falling. The murderous intent and experience contained within it were far more terrifying than the form itself.

A powerful attack that could not be avoided or blocked.

‘I also thought that the one who survives is the right one. No, that was the history of the main family.’

Dang Gwan’s hands moved like lightning.

He pierced the pressure point on the side of the wave-like sword energy with his fingertips.

Peobeobeobeok!

Even though he was protected by the Myriad Return Divine Art, the skin on his fingertips burst and tore. It was truly an enormous force.

However, that action instantly reduced the power of the sword energy. Naturally, the pressure also decreased, and the invisible energy that had bound his body loosened.

Dang Gwan’s body twisted diagonally.

Kwaaang!

A strike that hit the ground split a cavalryman ten feet away in half, killing him.

It was a martial art that could split humans and livestock even ten feet away. The destructive power alone was enough to remind one of Yeon Ho-Jeong’s Mad Dragon Strike.

‘But that is wrong.’

Surviving is just surviving.

It is only meaningful to survive, win, and prove your worth. If everything was right just because you survived, then morality and ethics would not exist in this world.

Flash!

The Three Yang Finger that shot from Dang Gwan’s hand aimed for Myeong Hwal’s eyes.

Pshoo!

He turned his head to avoid it, but the finger wind was so sharp. A line of injury was drawn on Myeong Hwal’s cheek.

Kwaang!

Myeong Hwal’s movements, swinging the sword that had hit the ground to strike Dang Gwan, were very dynamic.

Dang Gwan, who had flown away after being struck by the blade of the greatsword from above to below with both hands, was unharmed, but his hands were stained with blood.

Myeong Hwal’s eyes became fierce.

“You block well!”

Pa-a-a-ang!

As expected of someone who used simple and powerful martial arts, his movement technique was also straightforward and linear.

Thud.

The falling drops of blood left cruel traces on the ground.

Poong!

Dang Gwan, who had approached while avoiding the greatsword that was thrusting in, brushed past his thigh in an extremely low posture.

Myeong Hwal’s eyes wavered.

The moment he felt something stinging, a line of blood was drawn on his thigh. He had cut through the muscle fibers with a dagger he had drawn at some point.

“You bastard!”

Buaaaang! Kwaang!

The momentum of rotation, the sword wind that was swung and blown away.

Dang Gwan’s body made a rapid movement.

Pa-pa-pa-pang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!

Each strike, each strike contained terrifying power.

It was truly not easy to even avoid, let alone block. Dang Gwan was genuinely impressed by the ruthless martial arts that Myeong Hwal was using.

Pa-ba-bak!

In an instant, his whole body was soaked in blood.

There were no fatal injuries, but he could not avoid getting injured while trying to avoid the sword wind with minimal movement.

It was then.

“You…”

Perhaps he sensed something was wrong.

Myeong Hwal’s face slightly distorted.

“What trick are you playing!”

Dang Gwan said coldly.

“I’m doing something that you, who hate complex things, could never dream of.”

“You bastard!”

It was then.

Pshoo-shoo!

Black smoke rose around Myeong Hwal and Dang Gwan.

It was poison gas rising from the ground.

He had broken down the poison core and used it as the basis for the Myriad Return Divine Art, but even if it was not as good as before, he could still pour poison into his inner energy.

He had created a death formation by embedding hidden weapons in various places on the ground along with his blood.

The Dang Clan’s secret technique, the Ink Dragon Fusion Formation, which he had learned directly from Dang Yu-Gwang before the battle, had been activated.

“Being strong is not just about being powerful. You have to know how to use your head to be truly strong.”

Another dagger was in Dang Gwan’s hand.

A dark red energy flickered at the tip of the dagger, as if a ghost had attached itself to it.

“Now it’s my turn.”