Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 183

Thud!

“Huck!”

Pa Sa-Reuk snapped back to his senses, jolted by the ground-shaking vibration.

“Kuh-euk!”

The pain that surged through his body as he regained consciousness made it hard to breathe.

“Ughhh!”

It was agony.

He had never experienced such excruciating pain. Below his severed knee, maggots writhed, devouring his flesh, and his mangled left hand was swollen and blue. His dantian [the energy center below the navel] was crushed, making it impossible to circulate his inner energy, and excessive bleeding made his head spin. Yet, amidst all this, the pain was so vivid that it was maddening.

‘It hurts! It hurts!’

Cold sweat poured from his entire body.

Normally, he should have died in this state. His innate, strong vitality had become a curse.

Then, a chilling voice reached his ears.

“Does it hurt?”

Pa Sa-Reuk was startled and raised his head.

Flash! Flash!

A young man with piercing blue eyes stood before him.

Blackish-gray chains crisscrossed his upper body. A massive axe was slung over his shoulder, and the sight of the slender man carrying a weapon the size of a human torso was bizarre and terrifying.

“Y-you, you?!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong slowly squatted down.

Pa Sa-Reuk flinched.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes, which shone with an even more intense blue light than his own mixed Western blood, looked like a grim reaper.

“Of course, it should hurt. I deliberately left you without treatment, so it would hurt.”

“Y-you bastard!”

“Should I cut you up some more?”

Pa Sa-Reuk involuntarily held his breath.

Cut him up some more? How could a human say such a thing to another human? Even during his time as a bandit, he had never talked about cutting people up or not.

It was a clear indication of how the other person saw him. Pa Sa-Reuk’s face turned pale.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

It was a devil’s smile.

“I was going to start by gouging out your eyes if you uttered another word of nonsense.”

“……!!”

“You certainly have a remarkable survival instinct. Or is it not? You held out until we stormed in.”

Pa Sa-Reuk shut his mouth.

‘This guy is crazy.’

He knew it from experience. He looked like a gentle scholar who had spent his life reading books, but this guy was capable of butchering a person like meat in a butcher shop.

You shouldn’t provoke such a person carelessly. Gouge out his eyes? Not only his eyes, but he would be lucky if he wasn’t turned into jerky while still alive.

“You can roughly guess the situation, right?”

“……”

“The entire band you led is buried.”

Pa Sa-Reuk swallowed involuntarily.

Yeon Ho-Jeong tilted his head.

“No reaction.”

It was a difficult statement to understand.

Pa Sa-Reuk swallowed again and cautiously opened his mouth.

“What… what do you intend to do with me?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

His tone was quite polite. When he fought Moyong Woo, every word he uttered was so harsh, but now he was trying not to provoke his opponent at all.

He was truly a beast. If he had trained in martial arts to that extent, his mental strength should have been strong as well, but this guy was a bandit to the bone.

Thanks to that, it seemed like he would be easier to handle.

“What I do with you depends on what you tell me.”

“……?”

“You know your condition well, right? Your vitality is amazing. But no matter how tenacious your vitality is, you won’t last long in that state.”

“……!”

“If you answer my questions honestly, I’ll treat you and give you some money.”

Pa Sa-Reuk’s eyes wavered.

Treat him and give him money? Did that mean he would be spared?

‘That can’t be!’

He knew from experience how to deceive an opponent with clever negotiations.

“Are you really going to do that?”

“Yes.”

“You said you would treat me and give me money, but you didn’t say you would spare me.”

A smile appeared in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes.

“You’re cunning. I didn’t think that far. It seems like those who have eaten know how to eat well. I learned something good thanks to you.”

Pa Sa-Reuk was not deceived by his opponent. No, the opponent might be sincere, but he had to assume he wasn’t and enter negotiations.

If he made a mistake, his life would be in danger. A leg? A hand? Those were problems he could worry about later. The most important thing was to survive.

“I will answer your questions. I will answer, so treat me, give me enough money to live without worry, and… move me to a safe place without harming me in any way.”

It was a very brazen request.

Yeon Ho-Jeong scratched his cheek.

“Well, you’re making such a bold demand that I’m feeling intimidated.”

“If you don’t, I won’t answer either.”

That was unlikely.

If he said he would kill him without getting an answer, everything Pa Sa-Reuk had asked for would be gone. If Yeon Ho-Jeong pushed a little harder, Pa Sa-Reuk would bow his head.

But unexpectedly, Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“Okay. If you answer honestly, I’ll give you money, treat you, and take you to a safe place.”

“You’re not going to come back to kill me again, are you?”

“Do you think I’m the kind of person who would waste time killing a bandit like you?”

“……”

“Don’t worry. Unless we happen to meet again while wandering the Central Plains, I have no intention of going out of my way to find a walking corpse like you.”

Pa Sa-Reuk let out a sigh of relief. He had read sincerity in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s voice.

“…Okay. What’s your question?”

He was truly light-mouthed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong had no doubt that his opponent would tell the truth.

“Why did you come?”

“……?”

“I heard you guys were causing trouble in the western regions, Qinghai, and the northern part of Gansu. Why did you come all the way to Shandong to cause chaos?”

Pa Sa-Reuk swallowed again. His mouth was so dry that he had no more saliva to swallow.

“Do you know a man named Yeong Go-Wi?”

“If he’s a Yeong, is he affiliated with the Hae Ryong Merchant Group?”

“Yes. He’s the younger brother of the head of the Hae Ryong Merchant Group. In the past, he embezzled goods from the group several times and traded with us.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“And?”

“The rubies he embezzled could not be smuggled out of Shandong Province. So we came ourselves. We brought two sacks of top-grade rubies…”

“Do you want to die?”

Pa Sa-Reuk’s eyes widened. Why was he suddenly asking if he wanted to die? What was he talking about?

“Why, why are you doing this?”

“Do you see me as just a simple madman?”

“……?!”

“Trying to figure out your opponent with a ridiculous lie… You’re quite something. You have guts. Playing games when your life is on the line? I’m impressed, bandit leader.”

“W-what are you talking about! It’s true! It’s the truth! If you confront me with that Yeong Go-Wi…”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong took out a small piece of paper from his pocket. Pa Sa-Reuk, who had lost his inner energy, could not see the blurry letters on the paper.

“Pa Sa-Reuk, leader of the Corridor Band. From the So-Rae-Eum Temple in the Western Regions. Excommunicated for some reason ten years ago, then founded the Corridor Band. An up-and-coming figure who built the best bandit group in the outer regions over the past ten years. Cruel, cunning, and a typical petty person who values himself highly.”

“……!”

“Just for two sacks of rubies, a thousand members of the Corridor Band came all the way to Shandong? The great leader of the Corridor Band?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s blue pupils slowly turned red.

Whoosh.

Pa Sa-Reuk’s mouth fell open.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes, which flashed with fire for a moment, were the epitome of terror. His body, unable to properly circulate inner energy, was suffocating under the barrage of killing intent.

Yeon Ho-Jeong opened his mouth.

Was it his imagination? Pa Sa-Reuk felt that his canines were long like those of a beast.

“I’m changing the terms of the deal.”

“Huk! Huk!”

“I’m going to kill you no matter what.”

“Cough!”

“If you want to die cleanly, tell me the truth. If you put even a little lie in that disgusting mouth of yours.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

The chilling killing intent filled the entire warehouse.

“Then, I won’t kill you. Instead, I’ll let you live a long life.”

It was a truly chilling threat.

Not kill him? Pa Sa-Reuk wasn’t stupid enough to interpret that as meaning he would be allowed to live comfortably.

Tsk tsk tsk.

The crimson killing intent flowed into his eighty-four thousand pores [a traditional concept in martial arts referring to the numerous points on the body where energy flows].

“Why did you come to Shandong?”

Pa Sa-Reuk’s mouth opened involuntarily. It was irresistible.

“I, I received a request.”

“From whom?”

“The Fighting King, Fighting King Yang Cheon.”

In an instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes became twice as intense.

‘Yang Cheon!’

The Thirteen Seats of the Heavenly Citadel [a group of powerful martial artists].

The thirteen most powerful experts in the Central Plains martial world. Among them, the ten excluding the Three Lords, who could be considered new, were revered as the Divine Immortal Emperors. [a title given to the most powerful martial artists]

The Fighting King Yang Cheon was one of those Divine Immortal Emperors. He was the best in practical hand-to-hand combat, wielding destructive martial arts even in his sixties.

And he was the most threatening enemy Yeon Ho-Jeong had defeated before he unified the Black Path [a term for the underworld or criminal organizations].

‘Yang Cheon asked for a favor? These guys?’

That was unlikely.

Yang Cheon was an ambitious, autocratic, and cruel person. He was not the kind of person who would ask for a favor. An order, maybe.

In an instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fist tightened.

“Who is it?”

“Y-yes?!”

“I asked who is backing you.”

“Huck!”

“It’s not one person. It’s a group. Some group from the outer regions is backing you.”

Pa Sa-Reuk’s eyes trembled madly.

Yeon Ho-Jeong instantly read his wavering eyes and expression.

Pa Sa-Reuk was the same as the trash of the Black Path. Reading the psychology of such a person was easier than emptying a glass of wine.

“It can’t be So-Rae-Eum Temple, right? Come to think of it, that’s strange too. So-Rae-Eum Temple is one of the strongest forces in the outer regions. They wouldn’t just stand by and watch a disgraced disciple running around as a bandit.”

“……!”

“Who is it? Who is backing you?”

“T-that’s…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“Speak clearly!”

Pa Sa-Reuk involuntarily closed his eyes tightly.

“I, I don’t know!”

“What?”

“I, I don’t know their identities! But…”

“But?”

“They… they’re incredibly strong and cruel!”

“How do you know that? Did you even meet with them?”

“Yes, I did.”

“…You met with them?”

Of course, he would have met with them. There was no way this cunning guy would have been swayed without knowing the other party’s capabilities.

However, regardless of that, Yeon Ho-Jeong was shocked.

He had a suspicion. He wondered if these guys might be connected to ‘some’ group in the outer regions. But that thought was just a wish. The probability of it actually being true was low, but he hoped they were connected. It would make it easier to find them.

But it seemed like they were actually connected.

“Name.”

“Yes?”

“What is the name of that group?”

“I, I don’t know! I really don’t know! They have never mentioned their organization’s name!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s killing intent intensified.

Pa Sa-Reuk quickly continued.

“But! They had a characteristic!”

“A characteristic? What is it?”

“They were wearing strange cloaks! Everyone I met was wearing one!”

“……!!”

“It felt like… they were members of some religious group. It’s true!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong stood up.

Wooong! Woooong!

The warehouse walls seemed to tremble.

“A religious group?”

“Yes!”

“…I see, so that’s it.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong raised his head and looked at the ceiling.

His face, as he looked at the ceiling, was filled with extreme joy and extreme anger.

Shudder.

His tightly clenched fist trembled as if it would break at any moment.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s mouth slowly opened.

…I’ve found them.