Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 319

Donggak’s eyes brightened.

‘They’re coming.’

Flap, flap!

The bird that landed by the window chirped, looking at Donggak.

A old man carefully took the bird in his hand and untied the message tube from its leg.

Donggak, who had been puffing on his tobacco pipe, frowned.

‘That damn bitch, if she’s infiltrated as a spy, she should send even minor reports quickly.’

He would have to send information again within forty-five days. If she failed to follow that rule, he planned to report her to the higher-ups and have her punished.

The old man opened his mouth.

‘A letter from the seventh member of the Sogang Group.’

‘Hmm.’

Currently, there were a total of four contacts residing in the outer fortress of the Martial Alliance.

They worked in the ironworks, the stables, the medical ward, and the food storage, respectively, and all of them possessed top-tier skills.

The leader among them was the seventh member who had infiltrated the food storage, the Sogang Group. It seemed the leader had sent the first report himself.

Donggak tapped his pipe and said,

‘What kind of information is it?’

‘Detailed information about the commander of the Myulsa Army, a unit of the Martial Alliance’s reserve forces.’

‘Is that all?’

‘Yes, it is.’

Donggak’s face visibly contorted.

‘Even if it’s the first report, to send only the personal information of a reserve unit commander, not even one of the Bonggong [a high-ranking military position]?’

He knew that the commanders of the Myulsa Army and Tangma Army were called the best late-stage masters in the Central Plains.

But they were just late-stage masters. Their martial prowess wouldn’t work against a true master.

And they were young, not someone to worry about right now.

To send information about such a person, and only one of them at that? He was dumbfounded by Giuhee’s work.

The old man handed Donggak the letter.

‘It doesn’t seem like information that can be simply ignored.’

‘What?’

‘The amount of information about one person is quite large. The content is also more serious than expected. It would be best if you read it yourself.’

‘Hmm?’

Donggak looked at the old man with a puzzled expression.

The old man’s face was serious. Unlike his appearance as an ordinary farmer, the old man was a brilliant intellectual. There was a reason why he kept an old man who had not learned any martial arts by his side.

Donggak silently took the letter and read it.

After a while, his eyes widened.

‘What? The core of the Martial Alliance’s power struggle?’

The old man’s eyes gleamed.

‘Judging by the contents of the letter, he is the most important figure in the numerous power struggles within the Martial Alliance that have occurred so far.’

Donggak was dumbfounded.

‘Is this even possible? The core of the Martial Alliance’s power struggle? At the young age of only twenty?’

‘……’

‘Could this be a smokescreen?’

The old man’s thoughts were similar to Donggak’s.

However, he couldn’t say for sure whether it was or wasn’t, without being certain.

‘Whether it’s a smokescreen or not, the Saintess wouldn’t have sent this letter for no reason. It’s information with too much unexpectedness to just ignore.’

‘Hmm.’

‘I think the first thing to do is to investigate this person named Yeon Ho-Jeong in detail.’

Donggak frowned.

‘I know about him to some extent. Wasn’t he a young master who lived like a fool for over a decade and then suddenly rose to prominence? He took the lead in destroying the Guju Family, and even made great contributions to annihilating the Corridor Group connected to the Evil Sect.’

Despite his somewhat hasty behavior, Donggak was no less intelligent than anyone else. It was just his personality; when he became serious, he showed above-average intelligence.

He had memorized all the major events and key information in the Central Plains. And in the past few years, the most talked-about incident in the Central Plains martial world was caused by Yeon Ho-Jeong, the so-called ‘Tiger of Byeoksan’.

‘Even so, the core of the power struggle…’

Donggak muttered to himself and asked the old man,

‘If we use our power without revealing our sect, how much intelligence can we mobilize?’

‘It would be much better than any mediocre intelligence organization in the Central Plains. And…’

The old man’s eyes flashed.

‘If the Overseer moves, we can find out quite a lot of details, though not as much as the Beggar Clan.’

Donggak shook his head.

‘The Imperial Guard is out of the question. The Imperial Palace is a den of demons, even worse than the martial world. It will take at least two or three years, or even ten years, to completely take control.’

‘It’s impossible, as expected.’

Donggak clicked his tongue.

‘The Evil Sect is a pity. If we had handled Yang Cheon properly, we could have already had the Mukryong [a secret military unit] in our hands. If that were the case, we would have been much more familiar with the martial world situation.’

He had heard that Yang Cheon’s movements had been unusual lately. Judging by the situation, it seemed that he had figured out the intentions of the Evil Sect.

‘The Evil Sect will have to move more cautiously.’

If they fought with force, how could the Mukryong Unit be a match for the Evil Sect?

However, the Mukryong Unit was not the only force in the martial world. The Martial Alliance was a massive power that could not even be compared to the Mukryong Unit, and they didn’t even know how many hidden old masters there were in the Nine Great Sects and Six Great Families.

In other words, the Three Sects had not fully grasped the power of the Central Plains martial world.

If they engaged in an all-out war, they could expect to win, but the damage to their own side would also be devastating. Rather than achieving such an ambiguous victory, it was better not to fight in the first place.

The old man cautiously said,

‘In that case…’

‘Do you have a good idea?’

‘How about getting help from the Mad Blood side?’

Donggak’s eyes deepened.

‘The Mad Blood is also out of the question. No, it’s much more dangerous than getting help from the Imperial Guard.’

‘I see.’

The Mad Blood Sect.

The power of the Three Sects was difficult to compare. If power did not only mean martial prowess, then the power of the Three Sects was clearly equal, and each had its own strengths.

Among them, the Mad Blood Sect was the most violent and rough group among the Three Sects. In a way, it could be said that they were the sect that most strongly inherited the blood of the Blood God, who was defeated by the Martial God of the Central Plains three hundred years ago.

‘The Mad Blood is a den of beasts. Our Divine Sect and the Evil Sect have become human while carrying the nature of demons, but the Mad Blood is not. They are still the demons of three hundred years ago.’

‘……’

‘The Mad Blood is a group that we should consider until the very worst situation. Of course, this is just my opinion.’

The old man nodded.

‘Then, since you said there is still time, let’s approach it a little more slowly. Even if it takes time, we will investigate as carefully as possible.’

‘Yes, that’s better.’

The old man folded the letter.

‘After copying it, I will send it to the next base.’

‘Do that.’

The old man took out a fine brush and quickly wrote down the letter.

Surprisingly, even the handwriting was exactly the same without any error. It was an informant’s writing technique that blocked the writer’s information from being left in the handwriting.

The old man whistled.

Pee-eep!

The old man’s whistle was very strange. It was so small that you would miss it if you didn’t listen carefully, but if you listened closely, it was a strangely sharp sound.

Flap, flap.

After a while, a black crow landed by the window.

The crow had a bronze beak and red eyes. It was clearly not an ordinary crow.

The old man attached the letter to the crow’s leg, and the crow flew up powerfully.

Flap, flap! Swoosh!

At that moment, Donggak’s eyes flashed.

Thud!

At the same time as the crow flew up, Donggak opened the door and ran out, looking around.

The old man looked at him with a puzzled expression.

‘What’s wrong, Chief?’

‘……’

‘Chief?’

‘……Hmm, it’s nothing.’

Donggak frowned.

‘It seems like it was just the sound of the wind.’

He had heard a strange sound. Just in case, he had run out immediately, but he didn’t feel any presence.

‘Was I being too sensitive?’

His senses were as sharp as a beast’s. He could detect even the hiding of a decent assassin from five yards away.

There was no way anyone could be there.

Donggak closed the door and entered the hut.

‘I’ll guard this place, so you go and find out about Yeon Ho-Jeong in detail.’

‘Understood.’

* * *

‘The tea tastes good.’

‘Hehe, right?’

Jeagal Mun-Ho said with a cheerful face.

‘I’ve drunk countless teas, but the tea my daughter makes is the best.’

‘Humph, then visit more often. I want to make you a cup of tea, but it’s hard to see you.’

‘Haha, what can I do when I’m busy? You’re also not getting enough sleep because of the Myulsa Army’s formation training, are you?’

Jeagal Ayeon smiled.

‘Fortunately, it’s all over as of yesterday. Now they move organically on their own without me having to set their positions or timing.’

‘Already?’

‘Yes.’

Jeagal Mun-Ho was surprised.

‘Didn’t you say you would teach them some of the formations you disassembled from the family’s Heavenly Gate Lock, Four Symbols Wind and Cloud, and Great Luo Nine Palaces?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Each of those formations is a famous formation that is difficult to use in actual combat even after three years of training. It takes more than five years of training to deploy them freely. Even if you taught them in an easy way, are they already moving on their own without a formation master?’

Jeagal Ayeon shrugged her shoulders.

‘Maybe it’s because they are from prestigious families, but their understanding is good. And they are good at fighting as one, so in terms of learning time, they are several times faster than the family’s martial scholars.’

‘Huh!’

‘Besides, it’s not the complete formation, but only a part of it. Anyway, it would take too long to learn it properly, and it’s a family secret, so I can’t do that. This much is enough.’

‘If you say so, then please call this father when you demonstrate it later. I want to see it.’

‘Okay.’

Seeing his daughter’s confident smile, Jeagal Mun-Ho was also greatly looking forward to it. He knew well how much of a perfectionist his daughter was in these matters.

After the father and daughter had a long, peaceful conversation.

‘Military Advisor.’

Jeagal Ayeon was surprised. It was a familiar voice.

Jeagal Mun-Ho said calmly,

‘Come in.’

The door opened and Yeon Ho-Jeong entered.

Jeagal Ayeon blinked her eyes.

‘What brings you here at this hour?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled once and said to Jeagal Mun-Ho,

‘I’ve found them all.’

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes gleamed.

‘One shrine, was it?’

‘Yes, it was.’

‘How many places?’

‘A total of four places.’

‘That’s a lot.’

‘That means they are also paying attention.’

‘You weren’t discovered, were you?’

‘On the way back, I checked three times in reverse. They didn’t notice.’

‘Indeed, you are amazing.’

Jeagal Mun-Ho took out a document from his desk and handed it to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

‘These are the people I’ve narrowed down. Because of the nature of the matter, most of them are from the family.’

‘As long as they are capable, it doesn’t matter.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong scanned the document, and Jeagal Mun-Ho clasped his hands together, lost in thought.

In the middle, Jeagal Ayeon blinked her eyes.

‘What is this conversation about?’

‘Hmm?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was scanning the list, looked at Jeagal Mun-Ho and said,

‘Military Advisor, one person is missing.’

‘Who are you talking about?’

Yeon Ho-Jeong pointed at Jeagal Ayeon.

‘Her.’

Jeagal Ayeon frowned.

‘What’s going on?’

Jeagal Mun-Ho clicked his tongue.

‘Ayeon is already under your command, isn’t she? I didn’t put her on the list because I thought you would handle her well.’

‘I see. Understood.’

‘……Ahem, don’t push her too hard.’

‘Is she going to die? She’s very capable.’

Jeagal Ayeon finally burst out.

‘What are you talking about!!’

‘You, you’re going to have to build some watchtowers with me.’

‘……Huh? Watchtowers? What watchtowers? And why me?’

‘Shut up, you.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong grabbed the back of Jeagal Ayeon’s neck and lifted her up.

Jeagal Ayeon blinked her eyes at the absurd action. Her two feet floating in the air looked strangely pitiful.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled and said,

‘Then, have a good day.’

Jeagal Mun-Ho coughed and waved his hand.

‘Always be careful.’

Jeagal Ayeon shouted angrily,

‘What the hell are you doing!!’