Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 214

“What did you say?” A strange light flickered in Hwawon’s eyes.

“The successor of the Guicheol Sword Clan?”

“Yes. It is said that he is currently heading towards the eastern part of Jangsa.”

Hwawon fell into thought.

‘Eastern Jangsa, huh.’

She didn’t know how he escaped, but this Jangsa was Mukryong’s [a powerful clan] front yard. Of course, he would be caught.

‘He’s a bold one.’

She never thought he would show up here. She didn’t know what he was thinking, but he certainly had guts.

‘The problem is.’

The Black Sheep and its Black Sheep Squad were mobilized for this Guicheol Sword Clan extermination plan.

The Black Sheep held a unique position among the Twelve Zodiac Generals [elite warriors].

He wasn’t someone who served Yang Cheon from the beginning. Yang Cheon brought him in from the outside, and his skills were among the top of the Twelve Zodiac Generals.

Moreover, the Black Sheep Squad, which the Black Sheep directly commanded, was also an elite force, ranking within the top three among the units under the Twelve Zodiac Generals. Both the leader and his subordinates were all outstanding warriors.

So, would he cleanly capture the successor of the Guicheol Sword Clan, whom he had missed this time?

“How many of our teams are closest to here?”

“Hwawon Team Two is returning from southern Jangsa. They should be within ten li [approximately 5 kilometers] by now.”

The corner of Hwawon’s mouth twitched.

‘Good.’

Hwawon’s team consisted of five groups, and the lower the number, the stronger they were.

Among them, Team Two was composed of experts not far behind Team One. In particular, unlike Team One, which handled many tasks simultaneously, Team Two was a slaughter team that moved solely to annihilate the enemy.

Hwawon looked at the manor a little further away.

Jeong, the guy from the Mujong Clan, hadn’t crawled into the manor yet.

‘Even if he did return, I wouldn’t be able to move.’

It was an order directly given by the Vice-Chief. She was greedy, but she was even more loyal to Yang Cheon.

Hwawon asked one last question.

“Did the entire Black Sheep Squad move?”

“The entire squad moved, but I heard they are all scattered. If they were to face the successor of the Guicheol Sword Clan, it is estimated that there would be at most fifty or so.”

“Fifty or so.”

That was enough.

Even if they were outnumbered, they had ‘that thing’ on their side.

“Tell Team Two to pursue the successor of the Guicheol Sword Clan.”

As she gave the order, Hwawon thought of the Black Sheep.

‘A disagreeable fellow.’

The Black Sheep was not to be trusted.

A man who was nothing but unpleasant. However, her interference in the Black Sheep’s affairs wasn’t simply because she disliked him.

‘I need to get into the Vice-Chief’s good graces with this.’

She had a history of making several big mistakes before the Mukryong Clan was established.

Fortunately, Yang Cheon had forgiven her, but Hwawon felt a sense of crisis. She realized that Yang Cheon’s gaze towards her was becoming increasingly indifferent.

‘Sorry, Black Sheep.’

Even if it was a bit underhanded, this was the only way to gain points. If she accumulated merits like this, the Vice-Chief might one day teach her a few martial arts moves herself.

Like those powerhouses among the Twelve Zodiac Generals, including that Baekseo.

A subordinate asked.

“If the Black Sheep Squad captures him first, what should we tell them to do then?”

“If the Black Sheep Squad is one step ahead….”

A demonic aura flickered in Hwawon’s eyes.

“If it seems possible, ambush them and kill them all, then steal the hostage. If they have killed the successor of the Sword Clan, bury them all anyway.”

Hwawon smiled.

“The successor of the Guicheol Sword Clan will be considered captured by us.”

* * *

“Huff! Huff!”

Gang Ryang’s breathing was now irreparably broken.

Whoosh!

A slow and melodious force was shot towards his back.

Gang Ryang’s hand moved instinctively.

Crack!

The force was split in half.

Clang!

The greatsword that had split the force was embedded in the ground. He was still holding the sword, but he didn’t have the strength to lift it.

‘This can’t be.’

Even in his dazed state, Gang Ryang felt something unbelievable.

‘I’ve become like this after barely lasting an hour?’

To master the Ghost Sword to its extreme, one needed extreme stamina and strength that surpassed all limits.

In other words, Gang Ryang was confident in his stamina. He had often been complacent with his natural talent, but he had never neglected his stamina training for even a moment.

But what was this state?

‘These guys are extremely used to fighting in a rotation.’

None of them tried to stand out.

Softly, slowly, but surely.

They used tactics that continuously chipped away at the target’s stamina while minimizing damage. Even if their allies were killed or injured, they didn’t lose their composure.

Like dolls that didn’t know how to think.

They simply used tactics they were used to, to thoroughly break down their opponents.

“Cough! Huff! You, you bastards! If you are heroes who uphold the Black Path, then come at me fairly!”

At that moment, the Black Leader spoke.

“What are you doing? Pressure him more.”

As soon as the Black Leader finished speaking, the Black Sheep Squad took another step forward.

Whoosh.

They had only taken one step forward, but it felt like the encirclement had tightened immensely.

The pressure from that one step was enormous. They hadn’t even released their inner energy, but his body shrank back momentarily.

A move that exploited a gap in his mind. All of their tactics were like that.

Woo woo woo.

Gang Ryang gritted his teeth and lifted the greatsword.

‘Am I going to be defeated so futilely?’

He was frustrated. Anger surged.

And he felt sorry.

The swordsmen of the Sword Clan who had knelt, telling him to kill them and go, came to mind. They were loyal swordsmen who had stayed with him until the end, even as the clan was destroyed.

Weeeeing.

The unstable Ghost King True Energy filled the greatsword.

It was less than half as effective as usual. Even if he swung it, it was obvious that the power, speed, and energy release wouldn’t be right.

But he couldn’t help but swing it. Because there were enemies in front of him.

The accomplices of the enemies who had taken away his home, his parents, and his siblings.

Whoosh.

The Ghost King True Energy in the greatsword completely seeped into the sword for a moment.

The Black Leader’s eyes flashed.

“Be careful!”

Paah!

Gang Ryang took a powerful step forward.

It wasn’t the Ghost Shadow Steps. This was a footwork that revealed power and killing intent.

And the second Ghost Sword that followed the footwork.

‘Ghost Killing Sword!’

The Ghost Killing Sword that followed the Ghost Shadow Steps.

That murderous sword strike poured down on five members of the Black Sheep Squad.

Jjeoeoeoeong!

A tremendous resonance rang out.

Trickle.

Blood flowed from the ears of the Black Sheep Squad members. Their eardrums had burst.

But none of them fell or broke formation. Rather, their eyes behind their masks were indifferent, as if nothing had happened.

Gang Ryang’s face turned pale.

“That’s an amazing sword.”

The one who had stepped between the Black Sheep Squad members and blocked Gang Ryang’s attack was the Black Leader.

“It claims to be sharp, but the root of the sword is thorough destruction. Indeed, it lives up to the reputation of the Overlord’s Sword Lineage.”

The Black Leader spoke coldly.

“But you are still foolish.”

Gang Ryang couldn’t believe it.

‘He blocked the Ghost Killing Sword with his arms?’

A tyrannical sword style that could blow away even a huge rock with one strike if it landed properly.

Even though his true energy was unstable, he had blocked the Ghost Killing Sword, which was filled with all his might, by crossing his arms. It was an unbelievable skill.

Thud!

“Cough!”

Gang Ryang fell on the spot from the Black Leader’s kick.

“When the odds are against you, the basic strategy is to make a move that considers retreat. To waste all your strength with a self-destructive attack because you can’t control your anger.”

The Black Leader turned around, putting his hands behind his back.

“He was just a moron with talent.”

“Cough! Cough!”

Gang Ryang, who was constantly spitting out blood-mixed coughs, stared at the Black Leader’s back with bloodshot eyes.

The Black Leader said.

“He is incapacitated, so there is no need to kill him. Transport him to the headquarters. Break his limbs so he can’t run wild.”

Woo woo woo.

A chilling killing intent emanated from the eyes of all the Black Sheep Squad members.

A shadow of despair fell over Gang Ryang’s face.

‘Is this the end?’

It would have been less humiliating if he had been killed by the enemy’s hands.

Not only was he captured by the enemy, but he was also being transported to his enemy?

‘I’d rather kill myself!’

Gang Ryang grabbed the blade with his left hand and brought the sword to his neck, squeezing out the last of his strength.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

His left arm was broken, and the greatsword was flung aside. One of the Black Sheep Squad members, who had noticed Gang Ryang’s intentions like a ghost, had stopped him.

The Black Leader said with a mocking tone.

“The last struggles of clumsy youngsters are always like that.”

Gang Ryang gritted his teeth.

He had vowed never to cry, but tears came out without him realizing it. They were tears filled with injustice and regret.

‘I’m sorry.’

A fate where he couldn’t even die as he pleased. A reality where his will to live was being violated by the enemy.

Gang Ryang faced his second regret, not long after being disheartened by his first regret in life.

Swoosh.

One of the Black Sheep Squad members raised his foot. He was planning to break Gang Ryang’s leg as it was.

Gang Ryang closed his eyes tightly.

It was then.

‘……?’

Why was it?

Not even a shred of Ghost King True Energy remained, and his body had reached its limit. He literally didn’t have the strength to move a finger.

But his senses, surprisingly, caught the presence of ‘one’ faster than anyone else here.

Although the difference was extremely subtle.

‘What……?’

Before the thought of ‘what’ could even finish.

A formless fist wind, like a hammer, broke through the Black Sheep Squad members.

Paah! Thud!

With a terrifying sound of air breaking, shattered bones and blood splattered everywhere. The head of the Black Sheep Squad member who was about to break Gang Ryang’s leg was smashed.

Thud.

The Black Sheep Squad member who had lost his head fell to the ground. The way his limbs were twitching was strangely eerie.

The Black Leader’s eyes widened.

‘What?!’

It was at that very moment.

A wind of divine speed, which no one here could follow with their eyes, rushed in.

Whoosh!

The air was burning.

Like an arrow, or a flying spear.

A huge dragon, emitting a brilliant green-blue light, flew in, with fiery wings flashing behind it.

The Black Leader shouted.

“Evade…!!”

Thud thud thud!

It was instantaneous.

Someone who had approached with tremendous speed blew off the heads of seven Black Sheep Squad members on the spot.

The Black Leader’s eyes widened.

He couldn’t even see what had happened. Something emitting tremendous force had approached, and then seven of his subordinates were dead.

And it didn’t end there.

Whoosh.

A brilliant green-blue mist fell like a whirlwind into the middle of the Black Sheep Squad.

Right where Gang Ryang had fallen.

Kwaaang!

The ground in the entire valley shook.

It was a truly explosive step. It was the highest level of skill, where one could gather the power of the whole body by releasing a step without lifting the leg.

And the power gathered by that powerful step.

It became the majesty of a blue divine dragon ascending in a whirlwind and spread in all directions.

Bang! Thud thud! Thud thud thud!

Eighteen strikes of invincible palm techniques that swept through in an instant.

The people of Gangdong called this palm technique the Reverse Dragon Palm. But this was so strangely twisted that it couldn’t be called the Reverse Dragon Palm. [a martial art technique]

It maximized the destructive power with the soft silk-like movements of the Azure Dragon Energy. This was a completely different martial art that had only borrowed the form of the Reverse Dragon Palm.

Krrrrrr.

The whirlwind subsided, and the dust cleared.

The place where the explosive force had swept through was all a sea of blood.

“The successor of the Guicheol Sword Clan.”

Gang Ryang looked up with blurry eyes.

‘……!’

A person silhouetted against the setting sun.

A monster with blue eyes was looking down at him, exuding a majesty that far exceeded imagination.

“……You are Gang Ryang.”

It was the appearance of Yeon Ho-Jeong.