Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1297

“It begins.”

Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes flashed.

“They’re sending in the central army! We’ll be in battle soon too, secure the plains!”

The Yongah Iron Cavalry was strong in plains warfare. Their horsemanship was so great that they could respond to battles in the dense forests, but that was just a response; it wasn’t the way to maximize the Iron Cavalry’s power.

Thus, the Black Emperor Castle’s combat units moved to the front in pairs. They were ready to be deployed to battlefields where they could each show their strengths.

‘It’s going to be a tough fight.’

From the start, the martial forces were not united. The Black Emperor Castle had undergone intense training and had more combat experience than the White Path martial world, but they had little training mobilizing the castle’s total forces.

Decisively, the battlefield was not an open field, and the paths to expand left and right were limited, so the strategies that both allies and enemies could use were extremely limited.

‘In the end, it’s a battle of strength. This war will not last long. It could end in a single day. If so…’

Hwang Seok-tae strung his short bow and shot a signal arrow to the rear.

Pee-ik!

The arrow, making a sound like a bird crying, flew far away.

Shortly after.

“You called?”

Hwang Seok-tae was momentarily startled but didn’t show it. It wasn’t the first or second time.

“You’ve arrived.”

“The killing intent is too mixed. It’s so disgusting I feel like throwing up.”

The person who appeared like a ghost was none other than Sama Hyeon. The unofficial number one assassin in the world, who could assassinate even a Supreme Master [a martial arts expert of the highest level] under certain conditions, had revealed himself.

And he was also one of the Five Great Generals of the Black Emperor Castle.

“The battlefield has limited tactics. In a place like this, it’s advantageous to quickly eliminate the enemy’s commanders and vice-commanders.”

“I know that.”

“Now, their central army is coming in. Please assassinate them as quickly as possible.”

Sama Hyeon’s eyes deepened.

“What about the Supreme Masters?”

“It’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“General Sama is the Black Emperor Castle’s number one hidden blade. This war is extremely important, but the Grand Elder will be here soon, so the numbers will be about right.”

“You’re going to deploy the Fighting King to keep me away from the Supreme Masters? That old man would be disappointed to hear that.”

“I am merely a subject serving the current Lord of the Castle.”

It was an extremely cold statement.

Sama Hyeon nodded.

“I understand. I’ll return after assassinating the key figures.”

Swoosh.

Before he knew it, dozens of men appeared behind Sama Hyeon. They were the Dark Army, Sama Hyeon’s direct unit, all of whom had been called except for those who were still too young or whose training progress was slow.

Each of them was a skilled individual who could be called a top-class assassin in the martial world. They had even mastered the Yin Fire Crimson Flow and Yin Cold White Flow, the strongest assassination martial arts in the martial world.

Even among the top-class, their quality was different.

“Dark Army, kill only those who my killing intent is directed towards.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go.”

Whoosh!

With a gust of wind, they all disappeared.

It was an unbelievable movement technique. It was fast, but they hid their presence and blended into the crowd, so no one could find them.

Shortly after.

Kwarururung!!

The martial forces’ front line was bloodied by the enemy’s fiercer attacks.

A battlefield thirty or so yards wide was not wide at all. But it was gradually widening. This was because the Demonic Sound Cult’s elite forces were breaking through the forests on the left and right from the rear.

Even if a formation charge was impossible, they could send in special forces. The judgment of the commander-in-chief, Ilsa King Dan Gong, shone.

But the same was true for the martial forces.

The Yeon family’s Flying Eagles and Flying Sword Masters entered the forest to fight the cultists. Behind them, the Yeon family’s swordsmen followed, and two of the Black Path’s combat units jumped in to support the Yeon family’s forces.

The battle was intensifying.

The martial forces were losing their initial fiery passion as time passed.

‘We’re being pushed back.’

Muk Bi’s face showed anxiety.

‘It can’t be helped, I suppose.’

The number of front-line troops was smaller than the Demonic Sound Cultists. Moreover, they were now starting to send in their proper elites, and in the meantime, they were deploying archers and outstanding experts.

She was sniping those who seemed to be deputy-level figures and experts with her divine archery, but there was a limit to that. The Demonic Sound Cult was gradually responding to Muk Bi’s archery. They were blocking the arrows by sticking together and overlapping their shields.

Pshoo!

She had shot so many arrows that she felt like she was losing sensation in her fingers. It was rare for the sensation in her fingers, protected by internal energy, to become so dull.

If she kept pulling the bowstring, it felt like her fingers would tear.

‘When is it? When can I fall back?’

Muk Bi, who was looking up in anxiety, suddenly widened her eyes.

She saw Yeon-wi drawing his Imperial Sword and lowering his stance.

‘Father’s preparations are complete.’

The battlefield would soon change.

‘Until then, even one more!’

Pi pi pi ping!

It was fortunate that there were the thoroughly trained Imperial Palace archers. Although they had only practiced together for a short time, the presence of the Imperial Palace archers supporting her archery was like a ray of light.

How much time had passed?

When the martial forces’ front line had been pushed back by about twenty yards compared to the initial front line.

Flash!

A huge, light green sword aura soared from Yeon-wi’s sword.

Muk Bi shouted.

“Now!”

The sect leaders and grandmasters, who were commanding their subordinates in various parts of the martial forces, shouted loudly.

“Scatter to the left and right!”

“Scatter as you clash! Spread out to the left and right as quickly as possible!”

“It’s the forest! Retreat into the forest!”

The martial forces, regaining their senses, quickly scattered to the left and right. In the process, the number of those killed by the cultists reached a hundred.

But their sacrifice was not meaningless.

Crack.

Muk Bi, who had appeared in the middle of the battlefield where gaps had formed on the left and right, drew her bow.

Five Imperial Palace archers supported her from behind. Their faces were tense as they lowered their stances, with pre-prepared iron supports attached to their bodies.

Yeon-wi shouted.

“Fire!”

The Crimson Lotus Bow’s string was released.

Ta-a-a-ang!

The tremendous recoil pushed Muk Bi and the five archers behind her back by a yard.

Whoosh.

The arrow, which had flown low, rose into the air like lightning.

It wasn’t aimed at the vanguard. Her arrow became a shining star in the central sky of the rapidly advancing Demonic Sound Cult forces.

And.

“Die.”

Kwaaaang!!

With a tremendous explosion, hundreds of formless arrows scattered and poured down into the middle of the Demonic Sound Cult forces.

It was the Nine Dragons Breaking Heaven Bow’s secret technique, the Exploding Dragon Scatter Shot Formation. It was the Nine Dragons Breaking Heaven Bow’s worst mass destruction martial art, which had shattered the New Divine Cult’s elite White Flower Troops in the past during the Imperial Palace battle.

With more advanced internal energy and a stronger body than before, the Exploding Dragon Scatter Shot Formation, shot with all her might, naturally displayed even more powerful force.

Fubububub! Kwarurung! Kwakwang!

Even though they were invisible, it was as if hundreds of dark lightning bolts were falling, obscuring the sun.

It was a disaster that fell from the sky. The Exploding Dragon Scatter Shots, each with different power, direction, sharpness, and explosive force, turned the Demonic Sound Cult forces into a wasteland in an instant.

The tremendous martial art made even Yeon-wi and Beon Yo-gyeong and Gok-gyeong, who were in the middle of battle, flinch.

Although she had not yet reached the Supreme Realm, she was truly the best in the world when it came to mass destruction. Moreover, she was on the verge of reaching the Supreme Realm, and thanks to the Yellow Dragon Seed given by Yeon Ho-jeong, her divine art had even evolved to the next level.

Now, her internal energy arrows, which had reached a level where she could kill even a Supreme Master under certain conditions like Sama Hyeon, would be a more effective means of attack for the allies than dozens of cannons.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Uaaaaaaa!”

The Demonic Sound forces, whose center had collapsed, were initially flustered and looked around.

But it didn’t end there.

‘It hurts.’

Muk Bi drew the Crimson Lotus Bow again. She had suffered internal injuries from pouring excessive internal energy into the Exploding Dragon Scatter Shot Formation. Even the fingers pulling the bowstring were covered in blood.

But it wasn’t as bad as it was in the Imperial Palace. Compared to the time when she was on the verge of death, her body was practically fine now.

Whirrrrrrrrr!

A huge whirlwind swirled towards the center of the iron arrow on the bowstring.

The Nine Dragons Breaking Heaven Bow’s ultimate technique following the Exploding Dragon Scatter Shot Formation, the Dragon Fang Cannon, was loaded.

Kwaaang!

The Dragon Fang Cannon, which flew like a cannon, pierced through the center of the confused Demonic Sound forces.

She suffered even more severe internal injuries, but Muk Bi could smile. It was because she had played a big role in this battle, and because she could save more of her allies’ lives.

But.

Fuh-uh-ung!

The Dragon Fang Cannon, which was moving forward, shattered into pieces about halfway through.

“That’s a clever little girl.”

Osa King Dan Hyang, who had broken through the center in an instant, gritted his teeth.

“She could have used it earlier, but she waited until the central army arrived?”

Pa-a-ak!

Muk Bi and the archers retreated without looking back.

Dan Hyang’s eyes were bloodshot.

“Where do you think you’re going, you damned girl!”

Flash!

His movement, which was running at lightning speed, was much faster than Muk Bi’s.

However.

Kwaaang!

A sword of judgment falling from the sky blocked Dan Hyang’s sprint.

Dan Hyang, who barely dodged, looked up into the sky.

At that moment, he felt his vision darken. It was as if a huge sword aura, like the peak of a mountain, was pressing down on him.

Kwaaaang!!

The slash that split vertically took the lives of twenty or so of the Demonic Sound Cultists, including Dan Hyang’s Lightning Shadow Troops.

“She’s like a daughter to me. She’s not someone a ruffian from a heretical group like you can casually speak of.”

Yeon-wi, who had appeared once again. The sword energy and the power of the Yeon family’s divine elixir [a powerful medicine or potion], which were rising from his entire body, and the flashing killing intent were binding Dan Hyang’s body.

“This first battle is truly fast.”

As the first battle between the forces fell into a lull, the absolute experts appeared and raised the morale to its peak.

Dan Hyang shouted in a cold voice.

“You’re underestimating us too much. If you all die, it’s our overwhelming victory.”

“You have many experts?”

“Of course. There are only two on your side who can match us. But we have three, and we have elites who can exert that much power…”

“Who said there were only two?”

Blue sword energy leaked out from the Imperial Sword aimed at Dan Hyang.

“There are many talented people in our land too.”

It was then.

Euh-heo-heong!!

A roar of a ferocious beast, as loud as a real lion roaring, shook the entire battlefield.

Surprise appeared on Bu Seon’s face, and passion was engraved in the eyes of the Black Emperor Castle’s elites.

Dan Hyang’s face hardened like stone.

‘Extreme Realm?!’

The density of true energy felt in the tremendous lion’s roar was truly enormous. The owner of the Black Lion Flag, the son-in-law of the current Emperor and the legendary expert who founded the Black Dragon Guard, the predecessor of the Black Emperor Castle, the Fighting King Yang Cheon, had arrived.

And there, another presence revealed itself.

“Also, no matter how many of you come, we will win.”

Cheeeeeeeek!!

The rapidly rotating Yeon family’s divine elixir seemed to spread a reddish aura.

In an instant, the middle of the battlefield was filled with a killing intent like lava. It was as if a demon king, who had risen from the ground in a scene of destruction from mythology, was roaring.

Yeon-wi’s blue pupils turned blood red.

The Yeon family’s worst mass destruction martial art, the Asura Eight Swords, which caused demonic transformation through internal energy reversal, had appeared.

“You came with the intention of dominating, but we came with the determination to die with you all.”

“… !”

“You will not be able to escape this battlefield. Not a single one of you!”

Kwaaang!

The red swords that sprouted like wings from Yeon-wi’s body, who rushed in with an explosion, poured down on Dan Hyang.