Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 237

“My lord, preparations are complete.”

“Good, you’ve worked hard.”

Moyong Gun sipped his liquor.

The fragrant, potent alcohol felt like it was setting his esophagus and stomach ablaze. It was a liquor so strong, almost undiluted, that he had rarely tasted before.

Moyong Gun’s face, as he looked down at his glass, was very serious.

‘I never thought I’d meet the Fighting King like this.’

He was the one who had suggested the meeting, but now that it was actually happening, he felt very strange.

‘The Fighting King…’

One of the Thirteen Seats of the Celestial Heavens [a group of the most powerful martial artists].

That title, known as the best in the martial world, proved that they were on a different level from other masters.

Among the Celestial Seats, the ten of the Divine Immortal Emperor were known to be older and more skilled than the Three Armies.

The Fighting King was among the youngest of the Divine Immortal Emperor. Of course, even though he was considered young, he was already over sixty years old.

‘Regardless of the true enlightenment of martial arts, he is a hero of the Black Path [a morally ambiguous or evil martial arts sect] who has proven his strength to the world with only his fists.’

The reason why Yang Cheon, the Fighting King, stood out among the Divine Immortal Emperor was because of his crude martial arts and his gambler’s spirit.

The Divine Immortal Emperor were generally perceived as celestial beings from beyond the heavens. The same was true for the Three Armies.

But the Fighting King was different. He was a warrior of the age who had turned the Central Plains upside down with his realistic personality and martial arts.

‘To have a private meeting with such a legendary master…’

Moyong Gun took a deep breath and smiled slightly.

‘Am I, of all people, feeling nervous?’

The head of the Moyong family, feeling nervous before meeting someone. It was quite a blow to his pride.

But Moyong Gun accepted that unfamiliar feeling as it was.

‘It’s not something to be ashamed of. It’s because of who the other party is.’

Even if the other person wasn’t that important, he should still be nervous. This wasn’t a private meeting, but an official one.

At that moment, Mu Yeon asked.

“He may not be worth it, but… if something happens, I’ll blow up this entire area immediately.”

Moyong Gun shook his head.

“Of course, you should. But someone like Yang Cheon wouldn’t resort to violence just because things don’t go his way.”

“But he’s a member of the Black Path.”

“He’s a member of the Black Path and the Fighting King.”

“It’s a presumptuous question, but… you’ve never even seen his face, so how can you be so confident?”

“It’s not confidence, but rather trust.”

He was nervous, but he also seemed excited. Moyong Gun’s face was flushed.

“When you reach this level, there are things you naturally come to know without having to meet them. Yang Cheon is the same. He’s different from the vicious Blood Jade Demon Lord or the Mad Soul Demon Lord.”

Although he was a member of the Black Path, he had gathered many sects to create a huge alliance.

Of course, he would have had helpers, but that didn’t change the fact that he was the leader of that huge organization.

To become the leader of an organization, one must have a certain level of dignity. Yang Cheon was worthy of high praise just for not revealing himself until now, despite becoming the master of the Black Dragon Division.

He was truly a different kind of person from the Blood Jade Demon Lord, Guo Jun, or the Mad Soul Demon Lord, Gok Gyeong, who were considered the worst among the Three Armies, who were also among the Thirteen Seats of the Celestial Heavens.

“However, you can never be sure how things will turn out in this world. If there’s even a sliver of a chance, we must prepare thoroughly.”

Moyong Gun was the one who had chosen this place. And countless explosives and hidden weapons were concealed throughout the building.

Of course, he couldn’t kill Yang Cheon with these kinds of devices. Even Moyong Gun himself was confident that he could escape, even if he was seriously injured.

But it was enough to buy time. He didn’t expect to actually use it, but if he did, he had taken all the necessary measures to escape this county within half a quarter of an hour.

“Ah, and…”

Moyong Gun frowned.

“Has there been any contact from Yeon Ho-Jeong?”

“No, there hasn’t.”

How strange.

‘He should have given me some kind of heads-up.’

This was a meeting with Yang Cheon, one of the most powerful men in the world. Considering how Yeon Ho-Jeong had handled things so far, he should have contacted him at least once more, even if it wasn’t about the information theft.

‘I guess he’s that busy.’

He was puzzled for a moment, but quickly dismissed it. It was understandable.

However, he had received separate contact from Ga Deuk-Sang, so nothing serious must have happened.

“My lord.”

“Hmm?”

“We just received word from the other side. They’ve arrived within half an hour’s distance.”

Moyong Gun took a deep breath.

‘I wonder why Yang Cheon wanted to meet me?’

* * *

‘That’s the place.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes, as he looked down at the county from the peak, were as cold as ice.

‘As expected of Moyong Gun.’

Even though it was a fairly large county, he was able to pinpoint the building that Moyong Gun had chosen for the meeting.

‘It’s easy to secure an escape route. The alleys aren’t complicated, but the path leads directly to the river and mountains. He probably has masters stationed at every escape route.’

There were probably warriors from the Moyong family lying in ambush at every escape route.

‘I don’t know how many warriors he’s deployed, but they’ll be meaningless in the face of Yang Cheon’s martial arts. Moyong Gun probably knows that too, but it’ll be enough to buy some time.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled coldly.

‘He’ll be quite flustered.’

He hadn’t informed Moyong Gun about Yang Cheon’s situation. Of course, he hadn’t told him that he would be going in Yang Cheon’s place either.

It wasn’t just to fluster Moyong Gun. Of course, seeing his flustered face could be a bit of fun, but he had no intention of taking risks for such a trivial reason.

‘I trust you’ll handle it properly, Moyong Gun.’

At that moment, Cheongho approached.

“Information Chief.”

“Speak.”

Cheongho was the first of the Twelve Zodiacs [a group of skilled martial artists] he had met when he entered Honam. But neither Yeon Ho-Jeong nor Cheongho were the type to let past conflicts affect their duties.

“It seems like it’s time for you to go down.”

He was implying that there was no reason to stand here and wait.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“Wait a little longer. We’ll be getting a call soon.”

“Yes?”

“There’s something like that.”

Cheongho was puzzled, but he took a step back.

The Twelve Zodiacs didn’t know everything about the Black Dragon Division. Rather, they didn’t have any organizations to manage other than their personal subordinates, so they weren’t very familiar with the internal affairs of the Black Dragon Division.

Suryong said.

“As soon as the Information Chief makes contact with the Moyong family head, I’ll deploy my personal subordinates a hundred paces away. What do you think, Cheongho?”

Cheongho nodded.

“That would be good.”

Gwanggyeon scratched his head.

“What could possibly happen? Unless the Moyong family head is crazy, he wouldn’t try to attack us.”

“You never know. The Moyong family head thinks the Vice-Chief is coming.”

“Huh?”

Gwanggyeon looked at Yeon Ho-Jeong with surprised eyes.

“You didn’t contact the Moyong family head separately?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded.

“The one who contacted them first was the Vice-Chief. If the Vice-Chief were to send a proxy for some reason, there’s a high chance that this meeting itself would have been canceled.”

“Hmm.”

That wasn’t wrong.

Gwanggyeon’s eyes sparkled.

“Then how about reducing it to fifty paces instead of a hundred? I don’t think it’ll happen, but if the Moyong family head does something…”

Sending a proxy without prior notice? The other side could be quite angry.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

“It’s better to keep your subordinates a hundred paces away, and only deploy the unit that will go in with me within thirty paces.”

All of the Twelve Zodiacs nodded. Considering the structure of the county and the paths, that was the most effective way.

“Then who are you thinking of taking with you?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled and looked at Hwawon.

Hwawon, who was looking at him with a complicated expression, was inwardly surprised.

“Hwawon, senior.”

“…Yes.”

“You’ll come in with me.”

Hwawon was flustered.

“M-Me?”

“Is there a problem?”

“…No.”

Gwanggyeon cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“Is there a reason why you’re taking the monkey, I mean, Hwawon? It would be better to take me or Hwansa…”

“Hwawon, senior, has quite a beautiful appearance. I don’t know how much of an effect it will have, but I think Hwawon, senior, will be better at reassuring the other party than anyone else.”

Suryong couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well, the Information Chief is right. There isn’t a man who doesn’t like women.”

Everyone chuckled to themselves.

Surprisingly, Hwawon was quiet, unlike usual. Given her personality, she would have lashed out with curses at such a conversation, but she was just staring at Yeon Ho-Jeong with trembling eyes.

Gwanggyeon, who glanced at Hwawon, openly mocked her.

“Why? Are you feeling burdened? If you are, just say so, and I’ll go instead. I’m quite handsome too.”

Hwansa shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter how handsome a man is.”

“Well, can’t you just act a little flirtatious? Who knows? Maybe the Moyong family head is a homosexual.”

“Gwanggyeon.”

“Ahem!”

Even with Gwanggyeon’s mockery, Hwawon didn’t get angry.

To be precise, she wasn’t in the right state of mind to get angry.

‘What is this?’

She was genuinely flustered.

‘Why is he still okay?’

The liquor she had given Yeon Ho-Jeong yesterday contained a potent poison called the Half-Corpse Poison.

The Half-Corpse Poison wasn’t an immediate poison, but a delayed one. At first, it would only make a person gradually tired, but after a day, it would noticeably weaken their stamina, and after two days, it would even decompose their inner energy, putting them in a state of suspended animation.

Unless you were an absolute master of the level of the Thirteen Seats of the Celestial Heavens, even the abbot of Shaolin would be helpless without an antidote. That was the Half-Corpse Poison.

But Yeon Ho-Jeong was much too fine. Rather, he seemed to be gaining a strange vitality as time passed. He didn’t look tired at all, and a smile never left his lips.

‘Could he have noticed?’

That couldn’t be. The Half-Corpse Poison that Hwawon had put in the liquor was something she had modified several times. It was colorless and odorless, and it didn’t even affect the flow of inner energy.

‘Even if he had noticed, there’s no way he could be so fine without an antidote?’

At that moment.

Flap flap flap!

A black bird flew from the other side of the sky.

It wasn’t a crow, but a pigeon. Judging by the strange luster of its black feathers, it was no ordinary carrier pigeon.

Yeon Ho-Jeong received the carrier pigeon and unfolded the letter tied to its leg.

His eyes lit up.

‘It’s done.’

The working group and ‘they’ had all taken their positions.

‘They must have started by now.’

The group looked at him with puzzled eyes. It was a carrier pigeon that they had never seen before in the Black Dragon Division.

Whoosh.

Yeon Ho-Jeong burned the letter, and the carrier pigeon flew away again at a terrifying speed.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

Whoosh!

The group descended from the mountain in an instant and entered the county.

Rustle rustle.

Once they had gone deep enough, all of the Twelve Zodiacs except for Hwawon scattered in all directions. Even though they bickered with each other, they were reliable when it came to getting things done.

And two quarters of an hour later.

Finally arriving at the meeting place, Yeon Ho-Jeong opened the door without hesitation.

“…?!”

Moyong Gun was visible in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes as he stepped inside.

Moyong Gun was smiling, but his eyes were shaking terribly.

Fortunately, Hwawon didn’t notice anything strange. She wasn’t in a state to do so.

Thud!

The door closed.

Yeon Ho-Jeong clasped his hands in a respectful bow.

“Greetings. I am Jeong, the Information Chief of the Black Dragon Division.”

Moyong Gun, who had been staring at Yeon Ho-Jeong, stood up from his seat and returned the bow.

“I am Gun of the Moyong family.”

“I’ve heard much of your esteemed reputation.”

“Anyway…”

Moyong Gun’s smile gradually twisted strangely. Any master with an eye for detail would immediately sense something was wrong.

Fortunately, Hwawon didn’t notice anything strange. She wasn’t in a state to do so.

“The Information Chief… where did the main character go?”

“Due to internal circumstances, I, the Information Chief, have come as a proxy.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled coldly.

“Will you accept it?”

Moyong Gun’s eyes twitched.

“…Please, have a seat.”