Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1336

‘Got it!’

Moyong Gun’s eyes gleamed.

He hadn’t anticipated the Rain of a Thousand Flowers to be this extensive. Moreover, the lightning energy, propelled by the water vapor, had rendered half of the enemy forces unable to defend against it.

Even if they had been prepared, it would have been difficult to block. However, if the two enemy commanders had reacted just a bit faster, the range and power of the Rain of a Thousand Flowers would have been reduced by two-thirds.

The result of their failure was terrifying.

Whoosh!

Flesh and blood soared into the sky.

Even tens of thousands of hidden weapons, due to their small size, would struggle to unleash the power of an explosive. Yet, the enemies caught in the Rain of a Thousand Flowers were brutally torn apart, meeting a gruesome end.

It was as if a meteor shower was falling. The sight of enemies dying without even putting up a fight, as if judged by the heavens, was utterly tragic.

‘Beautiful.’

It’s abnormal to find beauty in the sight of people dying, even if they are enemies.

Yet, he couldn’t shake the thought of its beauty. The blood and flesh exploding outwards were gruesome, but the overall scene looked like hundreds of red flowers blooming in the air.

Of course, that thought was fleeting.

Thud, thud!

The moment the flesh and blood fell to the ground, Tang Gwan moved.

Moyong Gun was startled.

‘Already?!’

After using such a wide-ranging technique, one should feel some difficulty in circulating internal energy or be exhausted and out of breath, even for a moment.

That was the case even for a Supreme Master. There would only be a slight difference in recovery speed.

‘He’s ascended to a realm I can’t reach.’

He no longer felt jealousy. He was simply in awe of the Supreme Master’s use of the dangerous techniques of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

‘I’ll do what I have to do.’

Flash!

Moyong Gun’s movement technique was incredibly fast.

While the speed difference between a Supreme Master and a top-tier expert wasn’t significant, Moyong Gun’s movement technique was on par with Tang Gwan’s Churae Divine Steps [a high-level movement technique].

In an instant, Moyong Gun bypassed the shattered front lines and roared.

“Attack the rear!”

Uwaaaa!

The Moyong Clan forces and the martial artists of the Sangmu Alliance, who were already in pursuit, launched a surprise attack on the rear forces.

Flash!

Moyong Gun’s sword sliced through the air.

It was the first time in a long while that he had unleashed the Unfeeling Heavenly Lightning Style [a powerful sword technique]. His martial art, which had defeated Grand Master Gong Gong before he reached the Supreme realm when he was in the Martial Alliance, was now displaying a power increase of more than one level against the enemy.

Whack, whack!

Seven members of the Evil Cult were torn to shreds by the merciless strikes of the Sword Lightning Net.

No blood flowed from their torn limbs. The lightning energy, which had reached its peak, had completely cauterized the wounds.

But that was it.

“How dare you.”

With a low voice, an unimaginable force approached.

‘Danger!’

The lightning energy flowing through his nerves instantly increased his reaction speed.

Whoosh!

As he retreated, a crescent-shaped blade of energy came crashing down.

KWAANG!

The earth was gouged out.

It was a strike that made him break out in a cold sweat. The destructive power of the blade energy, which had landed from a distance of almost ten yards, was comparable to the secret techniques of the Unfeeling Heavenly Lightning Style.

‘A Supreme Master, and one who is at least at the Third Level.’

Moyong Gun’s eyes were accurate.

The person advancing with the Tenth King, Blood Rin, not far from the front lines, was none other than the Fourth King, Myeong Hwal.

Moyong Gun and Myeong Hwal’s eyes met.

Shivers!

A chill ran down his spine.

‘He’s incredibly strong.’

Anyone who had opened the Supreme realm would be stronger than him. But Myeong Hwal seemed different from those monsters.

He might be at the Third Level, but his bloodlust and aggression were unmatched by anyone at that level. His eyes, filled with a madness that went beyond bloodlust, suggested he was a man who wouldn’t hesitate to annihilate an entire region if necessary.

‘Yes, like me.’

Moyong Gun saw his past self in Myeong Hwal’s eyes.

A man who would do anything for his desires. That’s why Moyong Gun was both afraid and felt a sense of kinship with his opponent.

Whoosh!

He immediately moved to the rear and unleashed the Unfeeling Heavenly Lightning Style.

The bursts of lightning sword strikes indiscriminately destroyed the bodies of the cult members. Moving at a speed comparable to Tang Gwan and wielding the power of lightning, even elite experts couldn’t block Moyong Gun’s attacks.

In an instant, there were over twenty casualties. Fifteen of them were dead, but the five who survived were so severely injured that they would have been better off dead.

“This won’t do.”

Whoosh!

In an instant, Moyong Gun felt the world darken.

Myeong Hwal, who had flown up, blocking the sun, raised his greatsword.

It was as taut as a drawn bow. The moment that strike landed, the entire area would be devastated.

Flash!

Before he could even think, his body was already moving.

KWAANG!

The strike that overturned the spot where Moyong Gun had been standing changed the already chaotic atmosphere of the battlefield once again.

“You rat.”

Thud!

Myeong Hwal, having pulled his sword from the ground, glared at Moyong Gun with murderous eyes.

Moyong Gun felt his body freeze. He could have used that brief opening to kill more enemies, but his instincts forced him to stop.

‘Incredible.’

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

‘It’s not about his movements being extraordinary or his power being great.’

Flash!

Myeong Hwal’s gaze was a martial art in itself.

The moment he looked at it, his body seemed to stiffen. Was this how a fly felt when caught in a spiderweb?

‘Upper Dantian!’

This was also one of the methods of using the Upper Dantian [a spiritual energy center].

It wasn’t a martial art specifically created for the Upper Dantian, but simply using one’s will to devour the opponent’s will.

This was the true martial art of a master. It went without saying that they could wield more powerful martial arts, and with the divine energy of the Upper Dantian, the Dantian of the gods, they could manipulate others as they pleased.

Reaching the pinnacle of power, freely wielding abilities not permitted by the heavens, that was what made that level so great.

But Myeong Hwal’s surprise was greater than Moyong Gun’s.

“This is truly amazing.”

Swoosh!

The greatsword was lowered to the side. It wasn’t an aggressive stance.

Yet, it created a sense of pressure as if he was about to unleash an explosive strike. It was like facing a beast, not a human.

“Mastering lightning energy is a difficult task in itself, but to show that level of proficiency means you have an extraordinary talent.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

Myeong Hwal smiled coldly.

It was the smile of a beast, but it contained an undisguised admiration.

“If you had reached the extreme with that martial art, I would have thrown away everything, including the Jade, and fought you for three days and nights.”

In other words, while he was impressive, he wasn’t worthy of being his plaything.

Moyong Gun smiled.

Just being able to smile while facing an opponent who exuded such intimidation was enough to earn him the title of a great master.

“Too bad. If you were a normal person, I might have tried to persuade you with words.”

“You’re arrogant. Since you’ve opposed us, your life is…”

In that instant, Moyong Gun pointed his sword at Myeong Hwal.

Flash!

The sword energy that erupted flew as fast as Muk Bi’s arrows.

Myeong Hwal’s response was simple.

Bang!

He didn’t even swing his sword. He simply shattered the lightning sword energy with his bare hand, as if swatting away an annoying fly.

And in that moment, Moyong Gun had already moved to Myeong Hwal’s side.

His sword flashed.

Flash! Flash! Flash!

The merciless sword strikes that sliced through the air had already surpassed the limits of speed.

But not a single one of his strikes touched Myeong Hwal’s body. Again, he didn’t swing his sword, and simply by twisting his upper body a few times, he evaded all of the Unfeeling Heavenly Lightning Style.

‘As expected.’

Zzzzz!

The lightning energy further activated his brain.

‘This guy isn’t reacting to my speed.’

This level of sword speed would work even on a Supreme realm master. Moyong Gun was certain of it.

Yet, Myeong Hwal was easily dodging it with a snort.

Was Myeong Hwal’s movement beyond Moyong Gun’s imagination?

Of course, he was faster than expected, but the real reason lay in the use of the Upper Dantian.

‘He’s predicting it. When and how I’m going to attack.’

It wasn’t just predicting it through subtle changes in movement.

By using his extremely activated Upper Dantian, he could read not only the opponent’s bloodlust but also their killing intent. The killing intent would soon materialize, revealing the next move and whispering its location.

That’s why such evasion was possible. Anyone who was a Supreme Master could do this much.

‘Definitely.’

He wasn’t human.

Even if he had read the opponent’s killing intent with his Upper Dantian, to be able to respond with such certainty about the next move and location meant that he had to have absolute confidence in his own abilities and that his nerves had to be developed to the extreme to react to killing intent.

‘Then, I wouldn’t be much different.’

He couldn’t defeat Myeong Hwal because he hadn’t reached the Supreme realm.

He had been defeated by Yang Cheon in three moves. Although Yang Cheon wasn’t in his normal state and he was weaker than he was now, three moves was still too much.

Myeong Hwal wouldn’t be any different from Yang Cheon. Due to the nature of the Lightning Energy Art, if he engaged in a head-on fight, it would be difficult to last more than five seconds, or ten seconds at most.

‘I have to aim for more than that.’

The moment Myeong Hwal locked onto him, he would never be able to escape this web. Even if he did escape, Myeong Hwal would immediately start hunting his allies.

‘That can’t happen.’

He had to prevent his people from being harmed at all costs.

If the only way to do that was through death, then he had to use that to tie this guy down. Even Tang Gwan was fighting against two Supreme Masters, and if he couldn’t hold down one enemy commander just because he hadn’t reached the Supreme realm, it would be a disgrace.

‘Even if I die.’

Moyong Gun’s eyes blurred.

As he faced a monster-like master and thought about death, the countless relationships he had formed flashed before his eyes.

The most vivid memory was, of course, Yeon Ho-Jeong. There was no enemy in his life as impressive as Yeon Ho-Jeong. He was a truly annoying and formidable opponent.

But the last people to come to mind were not Yeon Ho-Jeong, but his two blood relatives.

‘Yeonhwa.’

His daughter, who had gone astray because of her father’s misguided teachings.

It was a relief that she was now living peacefully in the Sangmu Alliance.

Then, Moyong Woo came to mind.

His half-brother, whom he had distanced himself from due to his excessive talent. That brother had entered the Martial Alliance and was now the vice-leader of the Martial Alliance.

‘Although he’s my brother, you’ve become like a child to me, just like Yeonhwa.’

Moyong Gun missed Moyong Woo.

His brother, who had not lost his kind nature and talent despite being suppressed for so long.

Perhaps he had been envious of his brother. But now, those feelings didn’t matter at all.

He just wanted to see his daughter and his brother again.

And if he wanted to see them again, he had to win this fight and survive.

Zzzzzzz!

The Lightning Energy Art flared up once more.

The lightning energy, which had completely consumed the nerves that extended from his brain to his entire body, made Moyong Gun’s entire skin turn red.

“I will stop you.”

Myeong Hwal chuckled and raised his greatsword.

“Just hold out for three seconds. Then I’ll cut off one of your arms and let you live.”

Flash!

Moyong Gun moved.