Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 1364

Was it anger at Paeyul’s provocation?

“Kaaaah!”

It was unlike the roar of any beast in the world.

With a chilling shriek, dozens, no, dozens of Jiangshi [reanimated corpses] leaped forward.

‘Not bad!’

They were rushing in without formation, but at least their momentum was not to be ignored.

Moreover, their footwork was considerable. It was too advanced to be a martial art used by beasts that couldn’t think.

Paeyul’s body tilted diagonally.

Peeeiiing!

It was as if a tightly drawn string had been snapped.

Paeyul, who had charged with tremendous speed, unleashed the Whirlwind Flow Sword.

Whirrring! Pababak!

Due to the increased pressure from the rotation, about a dozen Jiangshi were gathered together with their footwork disrupted.

Immediately, the short spear moved.

Kakakakakang!

It was a series of flashes.

The explosive Seven Spears pierced the necks of seven Jiangshi. It wasn’t just a tear in the skin; the neck bones were severed, and the Jiangshi struck by the spear fell to the ground as if struck by lightning.

Jjeojeojeong!

The claws wielded by the remaining three Jiangshi were blocked by the left sword.

Paeyul, who had deflected their attacks with the defensive power of the Whirlwind Sword and gauged a suitable distance, rotated powerfully.

Jjeoeoeoeong!

The necks of the three Jiangshi were severed by the short but thick blade of the spear.

A spear was a weapon specialized for piercing, but if the blade’s length and thickness were sufficient, it could also cut.

Combined with Paeyul’s combat prowess as the master of the Pointed Spear Sect’s supreme martial art, the result was like a thick knife had sliced through them.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Keheong!”

The sounds were all different. It seemed that the massive energy Paeyul was emitting was stimulating the Jiangshi.

He was blocking the increasingly narrow path alone, but if they wanted, they could have climbed the walls and bypassed Paeyul.

However, the Jiangshi did not do so. Whether they couldn’t think that far, or whether Paeyul’s energy was too stimulating, they just glared at him and went berserk.

Jjeojeojeong! Kaang! Kwang!

The left sword and right spear moved splendidly, deflecting the Jiangshi’s attacks.

Although he was blocking the enemies in a narrow passage, the number of Jiangshi he faced at once was at least fifteen. Yet, Paeyul’s spear and sword moved at tremendous speed, deflecting all the Jiangshi’s claws and punches.

It was an extreme speed martial art. It wasn’t just about being fast; it was clear that he was reading the Jiangshi’s attack patterns in advance and moving accordingly.

And even so, it was not within human ability to anticipate and respond to all the attacks of so many Jiangshi.

The practical skills he had gained from defeating numerous demons alone had now reached their peak. Countless real battles had honed his martial arts far more sharply than those of other warriors of the same level, and that had led him to the point where he could read the enemy’s psychology or predict their moves after seeing them.

Jjeojeojeong! Kakang! Jjeojejeong! Kwaang!

The speed was increasing.

The Whirlwind Sword and the Blinding Light Sword showed six or seven changes even in a single move. The short spear, borrowing the patterns of the Qi Peak Sword Technique, pushed back the enemies splendidly, but also neutralized them by piercing a single point with minimal internal energy.

Different weapons were wielded at their respective highest levels. It was as if two people’s wills resided in one body.

Even if he had mastered the Yin-Yang Divine Art of the Wudang Sect [a famous Taoist sect known for its martial arts], he wouldn’t have been able to show this level of efficiency. His late-blooming talent and experience were blossoming him into a martial artist at the pinnacle of the Central Plains [the heartland of China, often used to refer to the martial arts world].

They clashed countless times, and countless Jiangshi died.

Already, the number of Jiangshi that had been disabled by Paeyul’s hand was well over eighty. Nearly three-tenths of the three hundred Jiangshi had fallen.

However, Paeyul could not be happy.

‘These guys……’

His stamina was still fine. His internal energy consumption was considerable, but he could still endure it.

His condition was the same as always, but the problem was the enemies.

‘They’re different from the beginning.’

There were no changes such as their internal energy becoming stronger or their morale becoming more intense.

However, their responses were changing.

The guys who had been recklessly charging and swinging their claws like beasts were gradually starting to form something similar to a formation.

Even their footwork was different from before. The guys who had been using top-tier footwork with considerable skill were now moving like masters of footwork.

Paaaang!

The destructive power of their claws, which they slammed down once in a while, was also tremendous.

Their haphazardly swung attacks had become systematic. The guys who had only been using continuous attacks were now reading the gaps and launching single, powerful strikes, and even Paeyul was surprised by how strong and timely they were.

‘These guys are growing.’

Was it that they had forgotten the martial arts they had originally embodied when they became Jiangshi?

He couldn’t know for sure, but at least he could tell that these guys were gradually using more systematic martial arts as they fought him.

The left sword, which had been maximizing its explosive power with wrist rotation, was suddenly shot out like lightning.

Jjeoeoeoeong!

Paeyul’s eyes deepened.

‘They blocked it?’

The Jiangshi, who was the target, reached out and blocked the sword.

A bizarre sound came from the mouth of the Jiangshi who had blocked the flash with both hands. Even though both palms were pierced, not a single drop of blood came out.

Paak!

Paeyul, who had pulled out his sword, rotated once more and launched a slash.

Kakang!

His neck flew off along with his fingers.

At that moment, two Jiangshi came at Paeyul, aiming for his face and lower body.

It was a perfect attack.

When humans are attacked in the head, they cannot pay attention to the other side. They only focus on their face.

Did these guys really know that and attack the upper and lower parts separately? If they were simply aiming for multiple areas, it wouldn’t have been a bad choice to aim for the upper body instead of aiming for the face half a beat later.

The short spear bent up and down with tremendous elasticity.

Jjeojeong!

The hand that was flying towards his face was deflected, and the head of the Jiangshi that was aiming for his lower body was crushed by the short spear.

Swish.

Although it was disabled, the Jiangshi, maintaining its forward momentum, tore a long gash in Paeyul’s thigh with its claws.

In an instant, Paeyul felt a burning sensation in the wound.

The wound was shallow, but the energy that was penetrating it was too foreign. It wasn’t that he had used a penetrating technique; it was as if the energy that had been in the claws was entering as it pleased.

‘Poisonous energy.’

This was poison.

Of course, it was not ordinary poison. Furthermore, it was a poison he had never seen anywhere.

Paeyul pushed the Northern Darkness Divine Art to its limit and stepped with his injured leg.

Kwang!

The Jiangshi hesitated and retreated at the earth-shattering step.

Blood splattered from the wounded leg with a ‘tick’ sound.

‘I expelled the poison with the blood, but……’

Even though it was just a scratch, the poisonous energy was trying to penetrate. He thought that if he were hit properly, it wouldn’t be easy to drive it out.

Paeyul, who had readjusted his sword and spear, lowered his stance again.

“Krrr.”

The hesitant Jiangshi tilted their heads.

In that instant, Paeyul felt another chill run down his spine.

‘These guys…… were they waiting?’

They were like vipers. Like vipers waiting for their poisoned prey to die on its own, the Jiangshi were watching Paeyul with narrowed eyes.

They looked like truly living monsters.

Paeyul’s face, which had been filled with shock, soon became filled with anger. How could he not be angry at being treated like prey?

However, he quickly regained his composure.

Now was not the time to become reckless with anger. If there were only a few of them, he could have poured all the power he gained from anger, but their numbers were still over two hundred.

Paeyul took a deep breath.

He opened the pathways of his energy so that natural energy could be absorbed into his body with a few breaths. It was advantageous to save even a little bit of power and to recover his internal energy whenever he had a little time.

At that moment, the Jiangshi roared.

Pabababak!

The Jiangshi advanced again.

Paeyul’s eyes widened.

‘A formation!’

Surprisingly, the Jiangshi were charging in a sharp triangular formation.

It was as if they were moving with one mind. It didn’t seem like they were communicating telepathically, but the moment the leading Jiangshi lowered its stance and charged, the remaining ones automatically formed the formation.

‘These guys were originally part of an organization!’

It was clear that their memories were coming back as time passed. There was no other way to see it.

‘Then, the fact that they swept down from the north……!’

Now he understood the situation.

Whoever created these Jiangshi, whether it was the Blood Demon Cult or someone else, must have thought that they needed to regain their memories and experiences from when they were human as quickly as possible.

That’s why they targeted the small and medium-sized sects in the northern part of Sichuan [a province in China] first. Because the more they fought, the more their memories would be awakened.

‘It was suspicious. If they had nearly a thousand troops, they could have just swept away the Qingcheng Sect [a famous Taoist sect] or the Tang Clan [a powerful family known for their hidden weapons].’

With this much force, even the Tang Clan could not be ignored. It seemed that poison didn’t work well on them, and unless they used explosive hidden weapons, even the Tang Clan was in danger of being half-destroyed.

Moreover, if they launched a surprise attack, the damage would be much greater. If they were managed well, it was possible to even destroy the Tang Clan.

‘They’re really something.’

The triangular formation was right in front of him.

The eyes of the Jiangshi at the forefront were filled with murderous intent. The way it was drooling and rushing at him was like a tiger possessed by a ghost.

Paeyul stretched his right foot back.

Duuung!

It wasn’t even a step, but a powerful vibration spread from the tip of his right foot.

“The triangular formation was a mistake.”

He stretched his left sword straight out to gauge the distance to the triangular formation, and he loaded his right spear behind him, slightly turning it towards his torso.

Kurururung!

The power of the Northern Darkness Divine Art gathered in the short spear.

Paeyul’s eyes blazed.

Peeiiing!!

The left sword, which had been extended forward, was pushed back by the elasticity of his upper body, and his left leg, which had become a strong pillar, held the path of the Piercing Sun Art loaded on the right spear steady.

Paaaaaang!!

With a roar that tore through the air, the short spear was explosively shot out.

It was the Piercing Sun Art that contained the mysteries of the Whirlwind Sword. The rotating force at the tip of the short spear became sharper at a terrifying speed, maximizing its piercing power.

Pointed Spear Piercing Sun Spear.

The invincible spear technique, boasting the strongest attack power in the history of the Pointed Spear Sect, was unleashed with proper form.

Flash! Kwaaang!

With an explosion, the leading Jiangshi and the Jiangshi charging behind it were swept away.

It wasn’t just an attack that pierced a single point. As soon as it pierced the leading Jiangshi, the sharply compressed force of the whirlwind exploded, spreading the power of the Piercing Sun Spear in all directions.

Pupupung! Kwadudeudeuk!

The force exploded in a line.

The triangular formation was destroyed in a single blow. The number of Jiangshi whose bodies were shattered or whose limbs were blown off was as many as thirty.

It was a martial art that exerted power beyond the internal energy consumed. It was possible to use it momentarily, but the Piercing Sun Spear used with proper form could expand its range as it extended, devastating a wide area.

Pssshhh.

A hazy shimmer rose above the ground where the force had swept through.

Were they surprised to see their comrades being shattered in an instant? The remaining Jiangshi hesitated and retreated.

“Tuh!”

Paeyul also suffered some internal injuries because the charging power and formation of the triangular formation were stronger than expected.

Paeyul, who spat out the rising blood, did not lose his fighting spirit even though he was injured internally. Rather, his increasingly amplified momentum, as if he was finally ready to fight, stimulated the Jiangshi’s nerves.

“I’m getting excited. Please, just don’t run away.”