Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 288

“Have you arrived?”

Moyong Gun’s eyebrows twitched.

Jeagal Mun-Ho continued speaking with a composed face.

“I had some words to say separately, so I had to ask you to come all the way here. I hope you understand.”

“So, what is it about?”

He didn’t seem to have shaken off the emotions from before.

He was showing a more honest side than expected. Since they had already openly discussed how they viewed each other, he didn’t bother hiding his discomfort.

Jeagal Mun-Ho pointed to one of the doors.

“I have a favor to ask of the Moyong Clan Head.”

“A favor?”

Moyong Gun’s eyes gleamed.

He amplified his senses.

‘…….’

The corners of his lips slowly curved upwards.

“Oh my.”

Moyong Gun shook his head.

“You seem to have overdone it, not like a strategist.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho gave a wry smile.

“In the affairs of the Martial Alliance, what does overdoing it matter?”

“That’s a welcome sound to my ears. But you must know, right? If this matter goes to another official, you’ll receive quite a harsh reprimand.”

“One person already knows.”

“One person?”

“Yes.”

Moyong Gun’s expression became strange.

“Surely it’s not Clan Head Yeon? That person, no matter how much he trusts the strategist, he’s someone who would say no to what’s not right. If he knew about this, he would have immediately informed the officials, wouldn’t he?”

“I know that as well. That’s why I didn’t tell Clan Head Yeon.”

“Haha, it’s rare to find someone so in sync. Then, who did you tell?”

“Would you like to guess?”

Jeagal Mun-Ho maintained his composed expression to the end.

Moyong Gun, who had been staring at his expression, clicked his tongue.

“Could it be, Great Master Gong Gong?”

“That’s correct.”

“That’s incredibly bold.”

“It’s already water under the bridge. If chaos is about to descend, the only way is to inform the most influential official among them to prevent the aftershocks.”

Indeed, he was not an easy person.

Knowing that his actions were a judgment made for everyone, not for himself, was admirable and, at the same time, bitter.

‘If he were someone who could kneel for his own sake, I could have made that brilliant mind mine long ago.’

Unfortunately, even when using such sudden and extreme methods, Jeagal Mun-Ho was doing it for the sake of the Martial Alliance.

It wasn’t bad. No, a strategist should naturally be like that.

It was just a pity.

If Jeagal Mun-Ho had worked under him, he wouldn’t have had to live so quietly now.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Those who bark for their own sake are easy to handle. But those who bow their heads for others are bound to cause problems sooner or later.

Jeagal Mun-Ho was thoroughly the latter type of person.

“Well, either way, we’ve avoided the worst, I suppose.”

Moyong Gun shrugged his shoulders.

“So, what do you want this person to do inside there?”

“I’ve gotten most of the information out of him, but he wouldn’t tell me a few of the most important details.”

“That’s an interesting thing to say. It seems the person who went to such lengths has shown unnecessary kindness.”

“It’s not like I could torture him.”

“You should if necessary.”

“There’s no need. That’s why I called you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Aren’t you skilled in this area? The method of threatening and intimidating the opponent to get what you want.”

It was quite a sharp attack. Moyong Gun chuckled.

“You want me to handle the rest?”

“You are the one who has given great teachings to this lacking strategist, so I believe you will be different.”

“It seems you intend to get my hands dirty as well. Are you trying to have some insurance?”

“Please don’t misunderstand. The Moyong Clan Head has no value as insurance.”

Moyong Gun clicked his tongue.

“That’s quite an insulting thing to say.”

“So, what will you do? Will you go in? Or would you prefer us to handle it, even if it takes some time?”

Moyong Gun, who had been staring at Jeagal Mun-Ho, soon gave a chilling smile.

“Since there’s an expert, there’s no need for the strategist to suffer.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho smiled back.

“I’ll give you a moment.”

Thud!

The door opened.

In Moyong Gun’s eyes, as he entered through the open door, were several doctors tied tightly to chairs.

And in the middle of them was Ha Gok.

“Ho ho.”

Moyong Gun smiled.

“I didn’t expect to meet you again like this, Doctor Ha.”

Ha Gok shouted.

“Clan Head Moyong?! What is the meaning of this! How can you randomly abduct innocent doctors!”

“Innocent… Well, that depends on the investigation, doesn’t it?”

“Investigation? What authority does the Martial Alliance have to… !”

Bang!

Moyong Gun slammed the door shut.

Startled, Ha Gok closed his mouth.

“We have the right.”

Zzzzzing. Zzzzzzzing.

Blue lightning connected like a net between Moyong Gun’s fingers.

Moyong Gun’s face turned expressionless.

“The right not to be toyed with by you pathetic doctors. And the right to crush ants like you to death.”

Ha Gok’s face was filled with terror.

Moyong Gun smiled brightly and grabbed his neck with his lightning-filled hand.

“Do you have so many secrets?”

Fzzzzzz!

* * *

Puhwaaak!

Blood gushed from the severed wrist.

Swish.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong, who had swept away the enemies that had swarmed Yeon Ho-Jeong with his incredible swordsmanship and divine movements, landed on the ground with a light motion.

“Pyeong-ah! You?”

Yeon Ji-Pyeong smiled. Perhaps it was because of the moonlight, but his face looked particularly pale. Nevertheless, his features, which had become much more mature than before, brought great surprise to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

That wasn’t all.

Muk Bi also recognized the young man as Yeon Ji-Pyeong at once.

“Pyeong-ah!”

In an instant, Yeon Ho-Jeong swung the Gwangryong Bu [a type of polearm].

Thwack!

One of the attackers was split in half by the brutal blow. It was an assassin who had been secretly targeting Yeon Ji-Pyeong.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“Greetings later! Let’s deal with these guys first!”

“Yes, Brother!”

It was an extremely urgent moment, but upon hearing Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s voice, Yeon Ho-Jeong couldn’t help but smile.

‘He’s all grown up.’

Not just his appearance, but even his voice was distinctly different from three years ago.

His voice, which had become much lower and calmer than before, was enough to inspire trust just by listening to it. There was still a hint of his youthful charm, but it felt like he had truly become a solid young man.

And his skills as well.

Fwip fwip fwip!

It was an amazing moment.

Not only did he fly high into the sky upon his appearance and cut off the wrists of the bandits, but even now, Yeon Ji-Pyeong was deploying his killing intent without hesitation.

Thud! Slice! Thwack!

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s swordsmanship was not flashy.

Nor did it have the precision or the natural flow of Moyong Woo’s swordsmanship.

Yet, it was surprisingly powerful. It wasn’t that his sword force itself was strong, but he was implementing a practical sword style that took the enemy’s life with minimal force and movement.

‘He’s made up his mind.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t know how much harsh training Yeon Ji-Pyeong had undergone in the past three years, or even if he had experienced actual combat. But he knew one thing.

Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s nature hadn’t changed. Whether he had experienced actual combat or not, his younger brother was not naturally skilled at killing enemies.

He could feel his younger brother gritting his teeth and killing the enemies.

Because there was someone much more precious than his own nature and beliefs.

Because his brother was there, Yeon Ji-Pyeong had no hesitation in using his killing intent.

Slam!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, gripping the Gwangryong Bu with both hands, swung his arms with terrifying force.

Flash!

The upper and lower bodies of the enemies were split in half by the Gwangryong Bu, which drew a crescent moon.

Bang! Thwack! Kwaaang!

Was it because he was energized by his younger brother’s appearance? Or was it because he had become more desperate?

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s martial arts were displaying a different kind of power than before. He was wearing the Gyoryong Swear [a type of armor] on his upper body and only using the Gwangryong Bu to kill the enemies. The speed and destructive power were so great that even the river of the Jang Gang seemed to be overturned.

“Brother!”

Crack!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had kicked away an enemy’s head with a sweeping kick without looking behind him, shouted.

“Don’t worry about me! You’ll get hurt if you’re not careful!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Don’t try to check your surroundings with your eyes! Use all your senses! If you use your senses properly, you can read the flow of the air and even predict the enemy’s attack lines!”

“Yes!”

Even in the midst of battle, Yeon Ji-Pyeong immediately accepted Yeon Ho-Jeong’s teachings.

Flash!

The chilling sword energy on the ordinary longsword created extreme cutting power and overflowing sword force, completely blocking the enemies’ advance.

It had changed from a sword style that killed enemies to a defensive sword style that perfectly blocked the enemy’s attacks.

It was the result of sharpening his senses to the extreme. The attacks of the enemies rushing in from all directions were so numerous and subtle that his body recognized that blocking the attacks was more important than killing the enemies one by one.

And seeing Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s actions, Yeon Ho-Jeong cheered.

“That’s it!”

Kwaaang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had soared high into the sky with the Blood Wing Soaring Heaven [a martial arts technique], swung the Gwangryong Bu at the enemies trying to break through Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s defense line.

Kwaaang!

With a roar, a dozen black-clad men flew in all directions.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“Muk Bi!”

Thud! Thwack! Thud!

The black-clad men who had flown away without dying from the shockwave created by the Gwangryong Bu were pierced through the head and killed before they could even fall to the ground.

It was Muk Bi’s participation. Yeon Ji-Pyeong’s defense and Yeon Ho-Jeong’s attack power had combined, and the enemies were extremely flustered. Now, rather than conserving stamina, it would be a much wiser tactic to overwhelm the enemies at once and then make contact later.

His ability to read the timing of attacking and retreating was truly remarkable. It was the moment when Muk Bi’s combat ability was finally proven to have reached the level of a master.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted again.

“Moyong Commander! Take Gang Ryang and Gi Woo-Hee and go around! Ji-Pyeong! Stay at the rear of the group and block all the enemies’ attacks! And Muk Bi!”

Faaaak!

Muk Bi, who had quickly closed the distance and stood behind Yeon Ho-Jeong, drew the string of the Hongryeon Bow [a type of bow].

Yeon Ho-Jeong asked without looking back.

“Is your heart okay?”

“It’s pounding! Why does this kind of thing keep happening when I’m with Young Master Yeon!”

“Hey, you! Is it my fault! And you expected this much, didn’t you!”

“If I get assigned to a mission like this again, I’ll do it alone!”

“You were the one who followed me, you brat!”

Chiriring!

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had released a part of the Gyoryong Swear that was wrapped around his upper body and wrapped it around his left fist, powerfully extended his left fist.

Kwaaang!

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s fist, which was covered with the Gyoryong Swear like a glove, was like a killing weapon in itself. The enemy who was hit by that fist and bounced off stopped after knocking down about a dozen black-clad men.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“Ji-Pyeong is here, so let’s risk our lives one more time!”

“I was going to do that anyway!”

He had been trying to eliminate all the enemies by force with only one master, but now that a reliable swordsman named Yeon Ji-Pyeong had joined the battle, it was more reasonable to trust his allies, sweep away the enemies in sight, and then make contact later.

Yeon Ho-Jeong thought of Yeon Ji-Pyeong.

That trustworthy gaze, the calm swordsmanship, the heart that no longer wavered.

‘I can trust him. If it’s Ji-Pyeong now.’

Splash! Splash!

Muk Bi shouted.

“The enemies are escaping into the river!”

“They’re trying to go around! Good! Let’s catch them as they are!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s Gwangryong Bu was swung like lightning, and Muk Bi’s Hongryeon Bow was firing arrows at a terrifying speed.

Fwip fwip fwip fwip fwip!

The surface of the Jang Gang River surged as if it had exploded.

The next morning.

The color of the Jang Gang River flowing to the east was the most turbid it had been this year.