Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1296

‘Not bad.’

He had taken a spirit pill to recover his inner energy while glimpsing the ultimate realm of martial arts.

For a master of the Limitless Art, who absorbs, breathes, and refines the energy of nature through every pore, a certain amount of internal energy consumption was not a big deal. Still, he took the spirit pill because he knew that speed was crucial in a large-scale war like this.

He could have jumped in and slaughtered the enemy right away, but Yeon-wi held back. Seven-tenths of his depleted inner energy had returned, but he waited for the remaining three-tenths to fully recover.

Instead, he surveyed the battlefield.

‘So far, so good. But…’

The flow of the battle was on their side.

The surprise attack by the two Limitless Masters and the greatest archer, along with the use of explosives and war chariots, had significantly reduced the enemy’s forces. Considering the enemy’s overall strength, it was only a small portion, but it was enough to ignite the morale of their allies.

The problem was that the enemy was not easy to deal with.

‘All the warships have landed on the coast. They’re slowly pushing in.’

The individual combat power of the Demonic Sound Cult was considerable, but the real problem was the presence of experts who had landed on the coast but were not joining the front lines, instead watching the situation.

‘They’re not ordinary, after all.’

They had been ambushed by similar experts. Although the impact was not significant, it was undoubtedly an attack that could make one’s eyes turn red with anger.

If they had been a little more agitated, they would have rushed in madly to retaliate, assassinating key figures or trying to reduce their forces. Yet, they did not move.

‘This battle in Gangso Province is just as important to them.’

The Demonic Sound Cult’s attack on Gangdong was clearly intended to burn down the imperial palace.

The imperial palace was like the heart of the Central Plains, and it could never be breached. For the Gangdong martial artists, this battle was one they had to win.

‘……?!’

Yeon-wi’s eyes flashed as he was recovering his inner energy and watching the flow of the battle.

‘Have they become agitated?’

The ranks of the martial arts forces, who had been calmly facing the enemy in good order, were gradually becoming disorganized.

It was not due to a disadvantage in strength. It was because the martial artists, who were becoming increasingly agitated, were rushing ahead to fight the Demonic Sound Cult members.

‘This is bad!’

They had never fought together before. He had predicted this to some extent.

The problem was that they were pushing forward much faster than expected. In a battlefield filled with killing intent, excitement, and extreme tension, it was extremely difficult to establish a stable army.

‘Even if the Ghost Army stepped in, it would be impossible. The enemy is constantly pushing in, and they’re using too much strength from the start…’

It was then.

Boom!

Amidst all the fighting, a group of people was seen piercing through the martial arts forces like a sea snake.

‘The Black Imperial Guard?!’

It was the Black Imperial Guard’s forces. But their movements were truly astonishing.

It was impossible to understand how they could so flexibly penetrate between forces that were not far apart. It was a skill beyond the realm of martial arts, an outstanding ability to infiltrate.

‘Bu-seon. It’s Bu-seon.’

Bu-seon, his son’s junior sister and the beloved disciple of Vice-Commander Yang Cheon, was leading the Black Imperial Guard forces to the front lines.

Yeon-wi’s eyes wavered.

‘Amazing infiltration, but what are they trying to do?’

At that moment, an astonishing sight unfolded.

Thud thud thud!

The Demonic Sound Cult members fell, bleeding, from the Black Imperial Guard’s sudden wave of attacks.

As the elite of the Black Imperial Guard, their destructive power was not surprising.

What was truly astonishing was the flow of the front lines.

‘They’re taking positions in the recessed areas, making the front lines as straight as possible.’

The straight line of the front, which had been like a wave due to the attacks of the agitated martial artists, was being filled by the Black Imperial Guard, reinforcing its role as a straight line.

It had happened in an instant.

There was another change.

Boom!

The Black Imperial Guard members, who had knocked down the cult members with their powerful force, lightly pulled the sleeves and arms of the martial artists who were trying to jump out from the left and right, cutting off their breath.

The martial artists, who had been trying to attack recklessly, gave up their attacks and retreated, their breath cut off. Then, they looked around to the left and right, shouting.

The Black Imperial Guard members silently maintained the straight line, attacking the cult members without answering.

The agitated martial artists came out again. Each time, the Black Imperial Guard members silently cut off their breath, forcing them to retreat. They made them maintain the straight line until the end.

Then, an amazing thing happened.

After a very short time, none of the martial arts forces at the front tried to rush out.

They were not made to realize it by shouting or hitting. In the process of having their breath cut off and then facing the enemy step by step, their bodies had memorized how to maintain the straight line.

Yeon-wi could not help but admire it.

‘An incredible maintenance of the battle formation. What kind of unit is that?’

In a large-scale battle, there was nothing more important than maintaining the battle formation. It was no different for martial artists.

The unknown unit of the Black Imperial Guard had stabilized the martial arts forces by naturally keeping pace with them.

‘It’s an admirable response. It’s not something that can be done with training alone. It’s the power of experience that can’t be shown without fighting a hundred battles.’

They were people who knew exactly what was important in group combat. If they had not been there, the martial arts forces would have suffered unnecessary sacrifices.

‘We owe a great debt to the Black Imperial Guard.’

Feeling grateful, Yeon-wi shook his head.

‘No, I have to abandon that thought itself. Black and White are already one. Even if I am grateful for the decision of that unit, I must not think that I owe a debt to the Black forces.’

If the Black forces had been struggling on the front lines, they would have intervened. Black and White were a community of fate.

Yeon-wi looked around the battlefield again.

‘The response is good. They’ve regained their vitality. Unless additional forces come from the rear, we are clearly in the superior position in this fight.’

It was then.

‘……?’

Yeon-wi’s eyes wavered.

‘What is it? Where did he go?’

From the coast to the rear of the front lines.

There were a lot of forces waiting, but among them, there were those who exuded a particularly noticeable presence. Naturally, they were the top experts of the Demonic Sound Cult.

But one of them had disappeared.

Whoooosh!

The Yeon family’s divine core rotated fiercely, maximizing the power of the upper dantian [a key energy center in the body].

‘……!!’

One of the experts, who had moved at some point, had broken through the cult members like the Black Imperial Guard’s combat unit.

There was no time to wonder how he had missed such a presence. Yeon-wi instinctively shouted.

“Ghost Army!”

* * *

‘Good.’

Thwack thwack!

Bu-seon’s martial arts, using the Black Lion Divine Fist to strike down the cult members, showed the pinnacle of stillness within movement.

The Black Lion Divine Fist, created by the Fighting King Yang Cheon, was the best fist technique of the Black Path, killing enemies with its unconventional style, dynamic footwork, and powerful inner energy. Her understanding of such a fist technique, using it with the solemnity of a Shaolin fist technique, was truly remarkable.

Her training had not been in vain. In fact, the Black Lion Energy she emitted was calmer and more refined than that of her master, Yang Cheon.

It was not a difference in realm but a difference in the direction of enlightenment. If Yang Cheon’s fist technique showed an extremely practical style within its aggressive power, Bu-seon’s fist technique was calm and deadly, like a beast that hides and cuts off its prey’s breath in one blow.

However, even with such outstanding skill, she could not kill all of the many enemies.

‘It’s enough, my role is.’

Bu-seon shouted.

“Black Imperial Guard, retreat little by little!”

They retreated while maintaining the straight line. Not completely retreating, but retreating little by little to watch the situation, a precise order that did not forget that the Black Imperial Guard was a second-line force.

It was then.

Thud thud!

Bu-seon’s eyes wavered.

‘Amazing!’

Far away, in the left rear, there was someone firing arrows like a god.

It was Muk Bi. Her presence, firing exquisite volleys with the archers in this chaotic battlefield, was like an irreplaceable treasure.

‘She was amazing before, but she’s even more so now. She truly deserves to be called a Divine Archer.’

Even though she was watching closely, she could not tell how she was firing the arrows. When she aimed and released the bowstring, two or three people would die, and then she would be drawing the bowstring in another direction.

The speed of loading and firing was like lightning. In the meantime, she did not allow a single enemy arrow to fly in from afar.

Her archery skills had reached a divine level, the martial arts of another genius who was on the verge of reaching the true Limitless realm.

‘I see why Senior Brother trusts her so much. The calmest person on this battlefield is her.’

It was then.

Whoosh!

It was as if a giant monster had suddenly appeared from the calm sea.

The entire battlefield seemed to freeze for a moment at the appearance of that terrifying presence. The fragments of killing intent that flew out like foam seemed to be visible like illusions.

‘A Limitless Master!!’

Someone who had appeared in the middle of the enemy lines was flying towards them at an incredible speed.

Speed was secondary. He was running with a bizarre killing intent all over his body, and the density of his energy was so high that his body was barely visible.

‘Dangerous!’

Clang!

An anomaly was met with an anomaly.

As if he had known of the enemy’s appearance, Gok-gyeong, who had approached like a ghost from the side, pushed the Sixth King of the Demonic Sound Cult, Beon Yo-gyeong, away with his whole body.

It was a simple push, but he had run out with the explosive power of his Limitless realm. In an instant, Gok-gyeong and Beon Yo-gyeong flew to the side.

The two of them flew about twenty yards, creating a battlefield in an instant in the undeveloped area where the battle had not yet taken place, a dense forest.

Crash crash!

It was as if a giant stone pillar had flown in and destroyed the forest.

Beon Yo-gyeong, who had been pushed into the forest, immediately regained his posture. He seemed to have suffered no damage from Gok-gyeong’s reckless body slam.

Gok-gyeong was the same. It was a move to remove Beon Yo-gyeong from the battlefield, not to inflict damage.

“Not bad.”

Beon Yo-gyeong’s voice was somehow terribly twisted.

“You have a great density for a mainland martial artist.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“All the martial artists of the world are rooted in our cult. If you surrender to our cult now, I will accept you as someone who walks the evil path.”

“An idiot who doesn’t even know the difference between the evil path and the demonic path speaks well. Do you even have the authority to accept me?”

Killing intent flickered in Beon Yo-gyeong’s eyes.

“If you refuse, I have no choice but to kill you.”

“Shut up!!”

Clang!

Gok-gyeong’s sudden roar was filled with killing intent and anger that overwhelmed Beon Yo-gyeong.

“How dare you, you barbarians, covet the land of the Emperor?! It is a great sin that cannot be forgiven even if you are torn apart and killed a thousand times!!”

Clang!

Gok-gyeong ran out, unleashing the anger he had been suppressing. His two hands were now filled with cloud-like energy. It was the Black Lion Divine Palm.

Beon Yo-gyeong swung his palm to meet it. His palm force, filled with a crimson glow, was tainted with a terrible demonic energy that seemed to rot even the air.

The one who had reached the pinnacle of mainland martial arts and the sixth king of the Demonic Sound Cult collided head-on.

Crack!

Numerous trees were shattered, and weeds groaned.

At that time, when the two experts were engaged in a life-or-death battle.

“They’re coming!!”

Finally, the 20,000 forces of the Demonic Sound Cult, who had been waiting in the rear, began to charge.