Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 287

“Hoo.”

The young man gasped for breath.

“Indeed, training one’s movement techniques by traversing mountains and rivers is the best. What I had only learned but not mastered has already become ingrained in my body.”

Of course, this was only in regards to his movement techniques; actual combat was another matter. One had to know how to mix swordsmanship and movement techniques appropriately to increase combat efficiency.

‘Perhaps my brother can do all of this.’

The young man thought of his own flesh and blood.

A hidden dragon waiting for the time to roar at the world.

Since clearing up their somewhat strained relationship in their childhood, his brother had become a completely different person.

Until a few years ago, the young man could only watch his brother’s progress with endless admiration. In a way, he was also relieved. The fact that his brother was far superior to him was, in a family with an extraordinary history, rather fortunate.

However, now the young man was able to set his own mind straight.

He was genuinely happy for his brother’s progress, for his reputation as the greatest late-stage master who had broken through the wall of martial arts at the young age of his early twenties, but at the same time, he was keenly aware that he should not tarnish his brother’s name.

His brother was a once-in-a-lifetime genius. He could not show his pathetic self to such a brother.

And so, after days of shedding blood and carving bone.

The young man was finally able to have confidence in his own strength and realm.

Confidence that he was at least good enough not to tarnish the names of his father and brother.

“Well, I’ve rested enough, shall we run again?”

In that short time, he completely restored his breathing to normal.

It was an astonishingly fast recovery speed. Regardless of the quality and quantity of his inner energy, he would not have been able to restore his breathing so quickly if he had not trained his stamina to the limit.

The young man kicked off the ground.

Paang!

He moved forward as fast as a shot arrow.

A tremendous speed, his movement technique was at a level that even most top-tier masters would look up to. Even in that short moment, his slightly awkward movements and breathing were rapidly finding their place.

A genius.

He was truly a talent bestowed by the heavens. Not the kind of talent that analyzed and understood with the head, but a rare martial bone where his innate senses were so exceptional that his body remembered before his head did.

Paah-aang! Paah-aah-aang!

The speed of his movement technique, which was already fast, became even faster as time passed.

The distribution of his breathing was gradually being adjusted towards perfection. The movements of his arms and legs gradually became one, unnecessary breathing decreased, and naturally, the consumption of his inner energy also gradually slowed down.

It was as if a noble scholar was flying on a crane. This was the true form of the greatest movement technique of the Byeoksan Yeon Family, the Heavenly Soaring Flight.

How long had he been moving like that?

‘……?!’

The young man’s eyes sharpened.

‘The sound of metal.’

Chiiing. Jjeoeong.

From somewhere far away, the intense sound of metal was heard.

It was the sound of weapons clashing against weapons. Furthermore, behind that intense collision sound, a murderous aura like fire and a desperate stench of blood were surging like waves.

‘If it’s this direction, it must be where my brother and his group are going…….’

It was then.

Hwaaaah!

The young man’s eyes widened.

Amidst all the savage energy and stench of blood, one familiar yet foreign aura made the young man’s heart tremble.

Hwareureureureuk!

It was a fiery aura, more splendid than anything he had ever felt before. No, it was an actual fire energy that was surging as if it would burn the world to ashes.

And supporting that fire energy was a divine skill that was close to the realm of perfection.

‘Byeokra Jin Gyeol! [Sword Extreme Thought Energy]’

The Sword Extreme Thought Energy exploded.

Peo-eo-eo-eong!

The young man’s body shot out like a beam of light.

* * *

Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeo-jeong! Pu-hwa-aak!

The blood that adorned the sky looked like black ink, even under the bright moonlight.

Chwa-reureureuk! Peo-beo-beo-beok!

The fangs of the encompassing dragon tore off the heads of the black-clad figures who were charging in without question.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“Moyong Commander!”

“I know!”

Paah-aang!

Moyong Gun, who had entered the left attack route in an instant, stepped down with a powerful stomp.

Kwang!

The earth shook.

It was a stomp of power. Although the power was weaker than the stomp that Yeon Ho-Jeong made, the vibration that spread further instead spoke of Moyong Gun’s martial arts characteristics.

‘Heaven and Earth.’

Moyong Gun’s Tangma Greatsword [a large, curved sword] moved like a beam of light.

Jjeo-eo-eong! Seogeok! Jjeo-eo-eo-eong! Seogeok!

Each time the heavy blade cut through the air, the black-clad figures’ narrow-bladed swords and mandarin duck axes were shattered into pieces.

What was being shattered was not only the weapons but also the lives of the black-clad figures wielding them. It was not only Yeon Ho-Jeong who was enraged by the sudden attack; Moyong Gun was also rarely emitting a murderous aura as he cut down the enemies.

Peok! Peok! Chi-ri-ri-ri-ring!

He crushed heads with the back of his sword, and with one swing of his sword, he held down seven short spears and narrow-bladed swords.

It was a fluid and smooth series of sword techniques. It did not have the power of a single fatal blow, but its flow was as majestic as the current of a great river.

Moyong Gun twisted his Tangma sword.

Pakang!

The weapons caught in the sword were all shattered.

At the same time, his left hand spat out fire.

Peo-beo-beo-beok!

Seven black-clad figures who were hit by the soft force spat out blood from their seven orifices and collapsed.

He was a cruel assassin. It was the moment when the Moyong Family’s secret hand technique, the Desolate Wind Palm, revealed its power to the world.

Jjeo-jeo-jeo-jeong! Seogeok! Pu-hwa-aak!

Moyong Gun’s swordsmanship was astonishing.

Until now, he had left most of the battles to Yeon Ho-Jeong, but in reality, Moyong Gun’s skills were also among the top of his peers.

Moreover, he had a talent. A talent that Yeon Ho-Jeong did not have, a talent that only he in the Moyong Family was born with.

‘Five.’

Moyong Gun closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, his sword created a majestic flow, enveloping the black-clad figures who had soared high into the sky.

In an instant, the inner energy of the Heaven and Earth Eight Extremes Mind Method became sharply focused.

Pu-hwa-a-aak!

A rain of blood poured down from the sky.

After ensnaring the targets with formless sword energy, he pulled them down and cut them down in an instant. It was a sword energy technique that he had instantly implemented after seeing the movements of the Dragon Binding Chain, a technique not found in the Heaven and Earth One Hundred and Eight Sword Sea.

It was truly an amazing feat.

Even if one had an epiphany, it was a completely different matter to implement it directly in actual combat. The reason was that even if one tried to unleash an unfamiliar epiphany in a life-or-death situation, it would not work properly.

However, that was not the case for Moyong Gun. He was able to unleash what he saw and felt in the extreme situation directly into his sword techniques, as if he had practiced it hundreds of times without any awkwardness.

That was Moyong Gun’s talent.

A talent different from Yeon Ji-Pyeong, who absorbed everything through his senses. It was the ability to accelerate the speed of learning itself.

It was not that his practical combat ability was outstanding, but that he could immediately and skillfully unleash any martial art he learned. The speed at which he could internalize the enlightenment gained through his extreme analytical skills was incomprehensibly fast.

‘This is it.’

Chwa-a-a-aak!

The blood splattering in all directions obscured the moonlight.

‘This is my martial path!’

He drew a majestic sword form without any interruption. He was now clearly unleashing his own martial arts, which he had realized through his conversation with Yeon Ho-Jeong earlier.

At that moment, a huge net spread out over the heads of Yeon Ho-Jeong and Moyong Gun.

Moyong Gun’s eyes wavered.

‘This is difficult.’

The number of enemies rushing in was too great to cut through that net. His swordsmanship was only enough to keep the enemies at bay.

It was then.

Bu-a-a-a-a-ang! Peo-eo-eo-eong!

A single iron projectile, like a cannon, no, with more power than a cannon, shattered the net and pushed it back.

‘Muk Commander!’

Muk Bi, who had not intervened in the front lines until now, had joined the battle at just the right moment.

‘As expected!’

It was a splendid strike. Moyong Gun was impressed not by the power of the arrow, but by the timely intervention of Muk Bi.

There was no need to waste arrows trying to help while he was still recovering from his internal injuries. It was enough that he had unleashed his archery at the moment when a gap appeared in the ironclad offense and defense of Yeon Ho-Jeong and Moyong Gun.

As a result, Muk Bi was able to conserve his strength, and even if a one-in-a-million chance occurred, he would be able to increase the survival rate of his allies.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“Moyong Commander! This is not the time to be distracted!”

“Ah, my apologies!”

Chwa-reureureuk! Peo-beo-beo-beok!

The tip of the Dragon Binding Chain pierced through the bodies of the black-clad figures like a sharp blade.

It was a monstrous martial art that encompassed all directions. In addition, each time the eighty-pound Great Dragon Axe was swung, the bodies of the black-clad figures exploded with a loud bang, as if they had been hit by a fire bomb.

At this point, even the most tenacious of people would have no choice but to be intimidated. The black-clad figures hesitated and retreated, forming a formation.

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s telepathic message was shot towards Moyong Gun and Muk Bi.

[These guys, their attacks are not consistent. They are not one organization, but a mix of multiple organizations.]

The two agreed with Yeon Ho-Jeong’s thoughts.

The enemies’ attacks seemed fierce at first glance, but they were somehow unsystematic. Of course, their numbers and murderous intent alone were a great threat, but they were creating unnecessary sacrifices by going back and forth.

[Those guys are retreating! They are trying to form a formation and deal with us calmly! We must not give them time to think!]

In an instant, a crimson fire energy flickered from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s entire body.

Moyong Gun and Muk Bi’s eyes widened.

Kwang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had entered the middle of the enemy lines three times faster than the speed at which the black-clad figures were retreating, swung his Great Dragon Axe.

Peo-beo-beo-beok!

“T-this!”

“Scatter in all directions!”

For the first time, screams erupted from the mouths of the black-clad figures who had been attacking in silence.

Moyong Gun shouted.

“Yeon Commander!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong raised his Great Dragon Axe above his head.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

It was a monstrous axe attack.

He was splitting the enemies by bringing down the axe he had raised high into the sky, and the speed was insanely fast. It seemed that even firewood could not be split so quickly.

Kwaang!

The Crimson Flame Six Kill Technique unfolded with a powerful stomp.

It was not the Tiger King Nine Wall Stance, a martial art of power and advance, but the Six Kill Technique of initial slaughter that sought the blood of the enemy and burned their corpses.

Peo-beo-beo-beok! Kwang! Kwang! Kwareureung!

It was no exaggeration to say that it was a solo performance.

He was swinging his axe like a mad killer towards the enemies who were already out of sync, and the attacks were even more intense than usual, as if he was going to catch them all while he could.

Seogeok! Pu-hwa-aak!

However, no matter how strong Yeon Ho-Jeong was, the number of enemies was too great.

Due to the narrow-bladed swords, harpoons, mandarin duck axes, and various hidden weapons, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body was accumulating wounds one by one.

Moreover, his internal injuries from breaking the cannon had not yet healed. Yeon Ho-Jeong’s complexion gradually became pale.

Moyong Gun’s face contorted as he saw this.

“Yeon Commander!”

It was when he was about to rush out without realizing it.

‘……?!’

He felt an unknown, powerful energy wave surging in from behind.

Moyong Gun and Muk Bi were startled.

‘A master?!’

It was an intense energy wave.

It also felt somewhat urgent, but the problem was that the speed of the approaching person was truly tremendous.

And the blade-like energy wave that matched that speed was stirring up the surroundings like a storm. Even if they were not a match for Yeon Ho-Jeong or Moyong Gun, the moment such an enemy joined the battle, the situation would change.

Moyong Gun shouted.

“Muk Commander!”

“I know!”

Now that it had come to this, Muk Bi could not afford to conserve his strength.

Kka-deu-deu-deuk!

Muk Bi, who was drawing the string of the Crimson Lotus Bow, caught sight of a young man approaching at a terrifying speed.

‘A swordsman! And fast! His reaction speed must also be great…… Huh?’

In that moment, Muk Bi blinked.

Why? For some reason, the opponent’s energy wave felt familiar. And the face of the opponent, who was approaching at a terrifying speed, also seemed like he had seen it somewhere before.

While Muk Bi was hesitating, saying, ‘Huh, huh.’

The young man, who was approaching with a whirlwind, kicked off the ground and jumped up.

Peo-eo-eo-eong!

The young man’s movements as he soared high into the sky were like a great roc soaring through the heavens.

Moyong Gun, who was about to shout at Muk Bi, involuntarily looked at the young man. The young man who had soared into the sky had already approached above the enemy lines.

‘Beautiful.’

His movements were unbelievably fast and beautiful to the point of momentarily losing one’s mind.

However, the moment that young man drew his sword, the atmosphere that had been making the viewers feel dreamy changed in an instant.

Cha-a-a-a-ang!

The advancing unsheathing of the sword.

The powerful sword energy that was spewing out like a net, as if it would cut through the entire world, focused the attention of everyone, friend or foe.

His eyes, which had become noticeably more mature and surprisingly stronger.

The young man, Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s strong eyes, emitted a terrifying sword light in an instant.

“Brother!”

Surprise appeared on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face.

“Pyeong-ah!”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s sword force enveloped the surroundings and wrapped around the wrists of the bandits.

Pu-hwa-aak!