Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1348

Jo Hol’s eyes darkened.

‘Something is happening.’

Woo-oong! Woo-oong!

Inside the Chaejeong Formation [a type of energy barrier], dark energy writhed around Sa Mun-hyang, who sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

The energy was truly bizarre. It was definitely dark, but it was hard to tell if it was black or gray. In some ways, it looked completely colorless and transparent.

It was like formless snakes, raising their heads stiffly and shaking their bodies. And the number of those snakes was increasing.

Jo Hol looked at the Evil Sorcerer.

The Evil Sorcerer had his eyes closed and was muttering something. His voice was low, and it was hard to understand what he was saying.

However, judging by how soaked his body was with sweat, it seemed he was trying to overcome a significant hurdle.

‘Will it be alright?’

He glanced down the mountain.

The fog was so thick that he couldn’t see what was happening. However, his senses were picking up the killing intent and fighting spirit that were rising through the thick fog.

Auras that were stronger and more intense than before.

‘It’s fortunate that the Eight Evils have left.’

The faint presence of a supreme master.

A blue sword energy that he had never felt before was there. It seemed another supreme master from the Murim [martial arts world] side had appeared.

A slight anxiety flickered across Jo Hol’s face.

‘It feels like things aren’t going well. Is this also that damned sky interfering?’

From the start, he didn’t believe in fate or providence. He was someone who denied the existence of any transcendent being other than the Blood God.

However, after coming this far, he had many conversations with Sa Mun-hyang and the Evil Sorcerer.

They acknowledged that there was an unseen providence in this world, and that there were also unbreakable absolute principles.

If they said so, then it must be true.

The Evil Sorcerer was second to none in scholarship within the Demonic Cult. He was feeling a thrill at the thought that he could tear apart providence and break the absolute principles of this world.

‘Does the sky truly exist?’

Is it something that exists as a concept, not just a simple metaphor?

‘If so, then the sky will do anything to make us fail, even to protect itself.’

If this was not a coincidence but the intervention of some transcendent will, could we, who are ‘still’ human, overcome that power?

‘We must overcome it. The Cult Leader is here.’

Jo Hol’s gaze at Sa Mun-hyang became serious.

‘I will protect you so that you can achieve your great work.’

It was then.

Kuururung.

The explosion from below echoed and spread throughout the mountain.

‘The Eight Evils.’

The Yin Desolate Energy [a dark, destructive energy] of the Eight Evil King, Myeong Yu, was felt.

Myeong Yu was a man who had completely eliminated the poison of the Yin Desolate Martial Art and reinterpreted it into his own martial art using the spiritual power of his upper dantian [an energy center in the body].

‘Someone is coming up.’

Woo-oong!

The Evil Qi of the Masses flickered in Jo Hol’s eyes.

‘The Tenth.’

A withered spiritual power, a leaking life force, was felt.

The speed at which he was coming up was quite slow. Still, he seemed to have reached the middle of the mountain.

Anxiety returned to Jo Hol’s face.

‘Will he be able to come up safely?’

He couldn’t move now. Even if everyone died, nothing should happen to Sa Mun-hyang. He was the last bastion protecting the god.

‘If we fail, we will have to create the Reverse Heaven’s Axis from the beginning. It could take hundreds of years.’

It was then.

“……!!”

Jo Hol turned his gaze to the south.

Although each had mastered different martial arts, their roots were the same.

The power of that root was shouting. That another power had arrived on this land.

A smile spread across Jo Hol’s lips.

“Dan Hyang.”

Oh Sa Wang Dan Hyang, who had fled later than Muk Bi and Ui Jeong-gun, the still-intact Sancheon Group [a martial arts group], and the Lightning Shadow Unit, the supreme masters under Dan Hyang, had arrived at Mount Tai.

* * *

“Brother!”

“I know!”

Even after running thousands of miles, their fighting spirit was firm.

Rather, now that they had reached the land of destiny, their power had reached its peak. The depleted stamina and consumed internal energy were no problem.

Gang Ryang shouted.

“Help Ui Jeong-gun!”

“Understood!”

The Black Emperor Fortress’s forces, who had gone to Shanxi with Moyong Gun and finally arrived here in Shandong, were considerable. They were nearly half of the main forces of the Black Emperor Fortress, enough to wipe out several sects.

They were tired and exhausted, but the determination in their eyes was no less than that of Gang Ryang and Jin Yang.

Pa-ba-bak!

Even after running that far, they moved in perfect order. It was like watching a thoroughly trained army. Nearly two thousand troops under the Black Emperor Fortress charged towards the rear of the Dharma Protectors.

Gang Ryang glanced at the foot of Mount Tai.

‘Sister.’

Muk Bi, who had just escaped the crisis thanks to the arrival of Tang Gwan and Namgoong Seung, was visible.

‘Thank you for coming!’

To be honest, he was half-doubtful. No matter how fast and sharp the information network of the Black Path [a term for the underworld or criminal organizations] was, it would take time to reach Jiangsu Province across the continent.

Even if they arrived, they wouldn’t know where in Jiangsu Province they were. It was practically a request for support that he had half given up on.

However, Muk Bi and Ui Jeong-gun had thrown everything away and arrived here as if by fate.

‘Now, we have to earn our keep!’

Pa-a-a-ang!

Gang Ryang and Jin Yang charged towards the Dharma Protectors as if they had agreed on it beforehand.

Their appearance, charging at the front with nearly two thousand troops, seemed reckless. However, the warriors of the Iron King Unit and the Flying Sky Unit of the Black Emperor Fortress did not think so.

In the past, the leaders of the Black Path only knew how to command their subordinates, and rarely took the lead in wielding their swords. Although the safety of the leader was the most important thing in an organization, the Black Path also had to show their courage when the time came.

Now, they were watching the leaders of the Black Path, who were proudly leading the way in countless training sessions and battles.

Even though they were just as exhausted, the morale of the Black Emperor Fortress’s troops soared at the sight of the two masters advancing with their crude greatswords and sharp swords without showing any signs of fatigue.

Jin Yang shouted.

“Wipe them all out!”

Bu-u-u-ung!

He kicked off the ground and soared into the air, using the Soaring Sky Thunder Fire Blade.

Flash!

A flame-like sword energy covering a wide area engulfed the Dharma Protectors.

Kwaang!

Jin Yang’s eyes deepened.

None of the Dharma Protectors in the rear had died.

‘These guys are not ordinary, after all.’

If they had blocked it head-on, he would have accepted it. But even though they were attacked from the rear, they turned their bodies and released their internal energy to disperse the impact with just the necessary number of troops.

It was as if they knew that this was the best way to block such an attack.

‘But there must be a gap.’

Jin Yang’s thought was accurate.

And Gang Ryang, who had the same thought, accurately penetrated that gap and unleashed the Demonic Sword Style of Returning to the Origin.

Flash! Flash!

A huge scythe-like sword energy swung left and right, severing the necks of four Dharma Protectors.

Gang Ryang’s eyebrows twitched.

It was a sword strike that he had put his full power into. Judging by the range of the sword energy, at least six or seven should have died.

‘They’re really not ordinary.’

Their individual martial prowess was outstanding, but what was even more amazing was that bizarre internal energy technique that dispersed power. The technique of offsetting the power of a small or large number of people with internal energy dispersion was something he had never seen before.

Sasa-sak!

The Dharma Protectors swung their swords.

Their swords were similar to the northern curved sabers. They were thinner and shorter than the Central Plains’ broadswords, but they were smoothly curved, making them suitable for cutting down enemies on horseback.

However, they were emitting terrifying sword energy even though they were not on horseback.

Jjeo-jeo-jeong!

Jin Yang, who had broken the sword energy by wielding his greatsword like a madman, once again swung the Soaring Sky Thunder Fire Blade.

Whirring!

The sword energy, rising low while creating flames.

The eyes of the Dharma Protectors shone strangely.

Kwa-kwa-kwang!!

They held their curved sabers in reverse and planted them into the ground, releasing an aura like a shield.

However, Jin Yang’s sword energy penetrated part of that internal energy shield and cut off the ankles of three Dharma Protectors. The Dharma Protectors whose ankles were cut collapsed on the spot, but they did not scream or show any signs of pain.

Jin Yang felt a chill.

‘Are these guys ghosts?’

At that moment, the Dharma Protector unit split in half.

Hwa-a-ak!

They split exactly in the middle, with one side charging towards Ui Jeong-gun and the other towards the Black Emperor Fortress’s troops.

No one had given an order, but everyone moved as one. He couldn’t understand how that was possible even after seeing it.

And at that moment, the Iron King Unit and the Flying Sky Unit rushed in.

Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeong! Kwakwang!

A rain of blood rose.

In the areas that Gang Ryang and Jin Yang could not cover, dozens of people died.

Ten casualties were suffered by the Dharma Protectors, while the Iron King Unit suffered about twenty casualties, and the Flying Sky Unit suffered about thirty casualties.

They clashed with force, but suffered great losses. This was because the individual martial prowess of the Dharma Protectors overwhelmed the Iron King Unit and the Flying Sky Unit.

Hwa-a-ak!

Three streams of sword energy erupted from Gang Ryang’s body, rotating in a circle and increasing to six.

The Six Swords of the Demonic Sword Style of Returning to the Origin. It had begun to unleash its full power.

Peo-peo-peong!

The sword strikes were extremely practical and overbearing.

The bizarre energy unique to the Demonic King’s True Energy disrupted the morale of the Dharma Protectors and created holes in their necks.

Jin Yang shouted.

“Calm down! Don’t waste your internal energy!”

His words were correct.

The Six Swords of the Demonic Sword Style of Returning to the Origin consumed a considerable amount of internal energy. This technique, which protected the body with six streams of sword energy like a protective aura and continuously amplified its sharpness, had the disadvantage of consuming a lot of internal energy while its power increased over time.

It was advantageous and disadvantageous for a long battle. Especially in such a large-scale fight, one could easily be killed by a stray sword.

Gang Ryang knew that.

“Brother, protect me!”

Whirring! Kwang!

With a nervous sword strike, the bodies of two Dharma Protectors were split diagonally. Their split corpses instantly caught fire and were charred black.

It was the power of Jin Yang, who had added the enlightenment of Gi Cheon-ung to his extreme Yang energy.

“Protecting you is not difficult, but the important thing is to win!”

“That’s why we’re doing this!”

Puk! Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeong! Kwadeuk!

He smashed the head of one Dharma Protector with the handle, deflected the pouring curved sabers, and finally broke the neck of another.

Swordsmanship was not his only forte. Gang Ryang, who had been trained in countless real battles, was also skilled in close-quarters combat.

“I will break through the center!”

“Are you sure?”

“These guys’ internal energy control is too good! We need to tear one unit into several pieces to be able to fight them!”

“Alright!”

There was no need to talk long. Even if it was a wrong tactic, there was no time to think long in the current life-or-death situation.

Jin Yang shouted and swung his greatsword. The Dharma Protectors were constantly pushed back by the sword energy that created a firestorm, and Gang Ryang, taking advantage of the gap, steadily killed the enemies with his chilling sword energy.

Just when the plan to break through the center and split the enemy into two units was about to succeed.

“Damn it!”

Jin Yang cursed.

“Enemy reinforcements! A huge number!”

Nearly five thousand troops were approaching from the south of Mount Tai.

Oh Hwa Wang Dan Hyang, the Sancheon Group, and the Lightning Shadow Unit had appeared.