Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1287

With a merciless axe strike, Yeon Ho-Jeong killed Gu Jo and roared,

‘Hojongdae, retreat!’

‘Understood!’

The Lord’s command was absolute. Han Jung-Myeong and the hundred guards of the Hojongdae retreated in perfect order.

Whoosh! Boom!

The attacks of the Shin Hwa Ryung resumed.

In that short time, over fifty people had lost their lives due to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s onslaught. The total number of deaths at his hands had already exceeded one hundred.

Since the creation of the Shin Hwa Ryung, they had never suffered such losses at the hands of a single individual.

This fact fueled the Shin Hwa Ryung’s rage.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

The energy of the Flame God Sword spread in all directions.

It seemed like indiscriminate bombing, but it was not. In every corner where the Flame God Sword’s energy exploded, unusual smoke was rising.

‘A sword formation, is it?’

The Shin Hwa Ryung, like Yeon Ho-Jeong, had not been able to exert their full power due to the fight with Gu Jo. They couldn’t risk killing their own commander while he was fighting.

In the end, Gu Jo had died fighting without knowing his place, and his death became the catalyst that unleashed the Shin Hwa Ryung’s hidden potential.

‘Flame!’

Kwarururung!

The Shin Hwa Ryung reformed their ranks and advanced again.

Unlike before, when they had sought openings while fighting Gu Jo, now they showed no gaps, even to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

‘Truly the strongest of the Shin Hwa Cult.’

Even though it was not the time, he couldn’t help but be impressed.

The formation was impenetrable, and because they shared their inner energy, the flow of their qi [life force or vital energy] was like an iron wall.

The sword energy they unleashed was imbued with immense power, making it impossible for even skilled masters to approach. Yeon Ho-Jeong was able to fight while ignoring the burns because he had mastered the Yellow Dragon Divine King Art; any other master of the Seongcheon would find it difficult to engage in such close combat.

‘Lord!’

Han Jung-Myeong’s worried voice came from behind.

‘I’m fine! Just hold on a little longer!’

Yeon Ho-Jeong swung the White Dragon Axe.

Pow pow pow pow pow!

The invincible technique, the Violent Dragon Art’s Raining Dragon Fury, shattered the incoming sword energy, killing two of the Shin Hwa Ryung.

Only two. Considering the power of the Raining Dragon Fury, the casualties were surprisingly low.

‘They’ve become completely unified.’

He could win. Somehow.

However, with the situation on the battlefield so uncertain, Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t easily take risks. It was possible to break through with force, but he couldn’t predict the extent of the damage he would suffer.

Then it happened.

Whoosh!

The fierce fire that had been rising menacingly in the distance suddenly died down.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes wavered.

‘Has the fight ended?!’

The fire energy of Gi Cheon-Woong and Gi Woo-Hwan was so similar that it was impossible to tell who had won. Perhaps they had both suffered a mutual defeat.

‘Damn it, at least one battle is over.’

Whoo-oong! Thud!

Using telekinesis, Yeon Ho-Jeong pulled the distant Violent Dragon Axe towards him, a determined look on his face.

‘I have no choice. I’ll have to accept some damage…’

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong felt his hair stand on end.

‘Fire energy?!’

Whoooosh!

From far behind, terrifying fire energy surged.

Surprisingly, within that wave of fire energy, there was also the presence of a supreme master emitting a powerful qi wave. The surging energy, filled with anger and impatience, was greater than that of Namgoong Seung.

Only then did a sense of ease return to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face.

‘They’re finally here.’

One thousand troops were advancing from the rear towards this place.

At the forefront, someone shouted with a voice full of rage,

‘Everyone, risk your lives! The enemy is the Shin Hwa Ryung!’

‘Uwaaaaah!!’

The thousand troops of the Shin Hwa Cult, who had entered the Central Plains with Gi Cheon-Woong, had finally reached the battlefield, following Chal Geuk-Pyeong.

* * *

Sreuk.

Gi Cheon-Woong’s face was filled with sorrow as he caught his falling son in his arms.

Chiiiiik!

White smoke rose from Gi Woo-Hwan’s body.

It was a terrible heat. But that heat was not fire energy emitted as inner energy.

It was as if his entire body had become a ball of fire. His pale skin was flushed red, and it seemed as if fire would pour out from his hot breath.

Gi Cheon-Woong also had a hole in his abdomen from the palm strike. His inner energy was automatically tightening the abdominal wall, but it was clearly a severe injury.

However, he felt no pain.

Nevertheless, Gi Cheon-Woong’s face, as he slowly laid his son on the ground, was etched with pain as if the sky had fallen.

‘Woo-Hwan.’

Gi Woo-Hwan, who was bleeding from his nose and mouth, slowly opened his eyes.

His blurry eyes were terribly murky. They were not the eyes of madness from before.

‘…Father.’

‘Yes, it’s me.’

A smile spread across Gi Woo-Hwan’s face. It was a smile as blurry as his gaze.

‘As expected… Father is strong.’

‘…’

‘They say the victor is justice, so does that mean I was not justice after all?’

Gi Cheon-Woong did not answer.

He could have said that the victor is not always justice, that if that were the case, the world would be full of thieves.

But now was not the time for such words.

‘Cough! Hack!’

Gi Woo-Hwan coughed up blood again. The stench of blood permeated the air around him.

Gi Cheon-Woong’s eyes trembled.

‘The Hwajeong…’

The Hwajeong was broken.

The Hwajeong was the core of the Shin Hwa Cult’s martial arts. The more one trained, the more one increased its density, and eventually, it would become one with the source of life, the Wonjeong [the origin of life force].

In other words, the breaking of the Hwajeong meant the breaking of the Wonjeong. There was no way to restore a broken Wonjeong.

Death had come.

Normally, he would have died instantly, but Gi Woo-Hwan’s high level of mastery was keeping him alive.

That was why this time was precious.

They had resented and hated each other, but in the face of death, it was all meaningless. The fact that they had even a little time to face each other and talk was a blessing.

Even if it was filled with curses and accusations.

‘I hate you, Father.’

‘…’

‘I despise you, Father.’

‘Yes, I know.’

‘Do you know why?’

Gi Cheon-Woong silently shook his head.

Gi Woo-Hwan said in a weak voice,

‘It’s because I couldn’t understand you, Father.’

It was an unexpected answer.

‘They say that when people see something they cannot understand, they either admire or fear it.’

‘…’

‘To me, Father was an object of admiration. But as I grew older, I began to fear the father I could not understand, rather than admire him.’

‘…’

‘You were awkward, Father.’

‘Was I?’

‘Yes. I was afraid and awkward. That’s why I hated you.’

‘…’

‘As the next leader of the Shin Hwa Cult, I couldn’t be afraid of anyone.’

Gi Cheon-Woong sighed.

His son said he couldn’t understand his father.

It was inevitable, as they were from different generations. But Gi Cheon-Woong bore a heavy responsibility for that.

He, too, had received the teachings of his predecessors and wanted to establish the Shin Hwa Cult on a solid foundation. For him, there was only the Shin Hwa Cult.

As he grew older, he realized that coexistence with the other two sects was impossible.

So he devoted himself more to his work and focused on his training. Only for the Shin Hwa Cult, only for the Shin Hwa Cult.

But in his focus on the organization, he had never had a heartfelt conversation with his children.

To his children, he must have always been busy, always stern, and always frightening.

One of the children he had neglected had wandered the world, and the other had become a monster, consumed by resentment and anger, trying to overthrow his father.

It was all his fault.

‘Well, what’s the point of saying all this? In the end, I lost.’

‘…’

‘Father.’

‘Speak.’

‘Live in pain.’

Gi Cheon-Woong’s eyes wavered.

‘You must live in pain, and more pain.’

‘…’

‘Why? Do you not like that?’

Faced with his son’s honest words, Gi Cheon-Woong had no choice but to answer honestly.

‘Yes, I don’t like that.’

‘I see. Well, who in the world would want a painful life?’

Gi Woo-Hwan’s eyes gradually cleared.

It was the phenomenon of a dying person’s last clarity. Tears welled up in Gi Cheon-Woong’s eyes.

‘But I have realized that life itself is pain.’

‘…’

‘Living, meeting people, eating, training, even sleeping, it’s all pain. I have realized that.’

It meant that every day had been like hell. Gi Cheon-Woong shed tears, understanding the feelings with which his son had spent his years.

His son was also saying.

Even if life is pain, live. In the end, at the very end, his son was telling him to live long.

‘But I have no regrets. I was born as the next leader of the Shin Hwa Cult, and I lived as I pleased. Even if the end is death, it’s okay. After all, everyone dies.’

Gi Cheon-Woong wiped away his tears. And he said with a stern face,

‘Many people who shouldn’t have died, died because of you.’

‘I know.’

‘And you still have no regrets?’

‘That’s right.’

‘I see…’

Tears welled up again in his eyes that he had just wiped.

‘Then I will bear all that sin.’

‘…’

‘You grew up like this because of me. The Shin Hwa Cult has come to this state because of me. All the sins are mine. You…’

‘You’re wrong.’

Gi Woo-Hwan’s face hardened.

‘I know that Sa Mun-Hyang tried to use me. But it’s also true that I tried to use Sa Mun-Hyang as well.’

‘…’

‘Although it didn’t go as planned, I lived my life to the best of my ability. If the things I did are truly sins, then I should bear those sins, not my father.’

‘…’

‘So don’t say such arrogant things.’

Gi Cheon-Woong silently nodded.

His son was talking about pride even in the face of death. But that pride was not caused by madness, jealousy, or a sense of inferiority.

His son was now speaking about the way of a human being in a different way.

The extremes meet, as the Taoist priests of the Wudang Sect said, it goes around and returns to the origin. His son had lived a life more sinful than anyone else, but in the face of death, he had gained his own enlightenment.

Sreuk.

Gi Woo-Hwan’s body gradually lost strength.

Gi Cheon-Woong’s eyes shook violently.

‘Woo-Hwan.’

‘It’s peaceful.’

‘…’

‘Why didn’t you ever hold me like this?’

‘…’

‘I wasn’t in my right mind, but I could feel it. Your punches and kicks weren’t as bad as I thought.’

They were father and son who had fought to the death. His son was now saying that even though he had been hit and kicked by his father in that fight, the punches and kicks were okay.

A son who had never properly communicated with his father. In their last fight, intertwined with violence and death, Gi Woo-Hwan finally understood his father’s worry and anger.

The emotions his father had shown him, that concern.

Gi Woo-Hwan was saying that he was happy just with that.

In the end, Gi Cheon-Woong wept.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry.’

‘Father.’

Gi Woo-Hwan’s smile became blurry again.

‘If you don’t want to live in pain, then live well for my share.’

‘…’

‘The life I didn’t learn in this world, I will learn by watching in the afterlife.’

‘Woo-Hwan!’

Gi Woo-Hwan’s eyes closed.

Tears flowed from his closed eyes.

‘There’s no fire. It’s cold.’

With those words, Gi Woo-Hwan’s breath ceased.

Pusss.

Gi Woo-Hwan’s body gradually turned to ash and scattered.

Even though the ground was melted and scorched by the extreme heat of his Yang energy, his son said he was cold. He couldn’t even give his cold son a piece of clothing.

And so, Gi Cheon-Woong lost his son.

And he lost a part of himself as well.