Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 359

They will all die here.

The young man’s words sounded utterly absurd.

Already, eighty percent of the Divine Flame soldiers stationed here were dead. From the start, more than half of the Divine Flame soldiers had died from the gunpowder explosion.

They were certain there were at most four martial generals, but two were already dead. The tide of the battle had already completely turned.

Naturally, they should have fled. Yet, the young man was spouting such nonsense.

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“What an amusing little brat.”

“Brat?”

The young man grinned.

“Brat… that’s quite an unfamiliar word.”

It wasn’t just that he looked young. The young man’s voice and manner of speaking felt even younger than his appearance.

Whoosh!

A fierce killing intent erupted from the young man’s body.

Unlike his laughter, Moyong Gun was inwardly tense.

‘What kind of guy is this?’

It was a terrifying killing intent.

In some ways, that killing intent was similar to Yeon Ho-Jeong’s. It was as dense as the killing intent Yeon Ho-Jeong emitted when he was extremely enraged.

It wasn’t simply that a strong will could emit a strong killing intent. One had to possess a well-honed mental fortitude and perfect control over their true energy [internal energy] to not be consumed by the killing intent.

That was why Moyong Gun highly valued Yeon Ho-Jeong’s talent. Although he wasn’t a great martial artist, the fact that he could maintain his sanity while emitting such a killing intent meant that Yeon Ho-Jeong’s mental strength was unparalleled.

In other words, he could overcome his lack of martial prowess with enlightenment and wisdom. That was why Moyong Gun was certain that Yeon Ho-Jeong’s growth would be explosive.

Yet, this guy’s killing intent seemed no different from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s.

‘No, there is a difference.’

Moyong Gun’s sharp eyes sensed a bizarre madness mixed within the killing intent.

‘This guy isn’t normal.’

Whoosh!

Moyong Gun’s eyes widened.

The young man was already right in front of him. It was a truly chilling speed.

“You shouldn’t let your guard down. Especially not in front of an opponent stronger than you.”

The young man’s hand moved like lightning.

Clang!

Moyong Gun’s body slid backward.

He hadn’t even managed to draw his sword. A faint wisp of smoke was coming from the sword’s guard that had blocked the young man’s hand attack. If he hadn’t injected his lightning energy in time, this treasured sword would have broken.

A vein bulged on Moyong Gun’s forehead.

‘He’s strong!’

Whoosh!

He felt a killing intent from his right.

He moved before he could even look. It was an unbelievable speed. Aside from the Black Dragon Deputy Yang Cheon, no one had shown such terrifying speed recently.

It wasn’t the time to conserve his strength. Moyong Gun used the Unrestrained Thunderclap Style.

Flash! Rumble!

The thunderous sword was as fast as lightning and as strong as thunder. The area where Moyong Gun’s sword strike passed was not only deeply gouged but also charred black.

“Oh, you can handle lightning energy to this level? Impressive.”

Moyong Gun’s thunder sword hadn’t even grazed the young man’s clothes. The young man was now sitting on a collapsed pillar, his chin resting on his hand, watching Moyong Gun.

Moyong Gun’s face hardened.

‘What kind of guy is this…!’

The young man chuckled.

“You’re quite skilled. If we went head-to-head with strength, even I would be overwhelmed. Amazing, isn’t it? I didn’t expect so many experts to appear one after another.”

“…”

“But being that slow, how can you be of any use?”

Flash!

The young man appeared behind Moyong Gun.

He had seen it twice, but he still missed the third movement. Since he had held a sword, Moyong Gun had never missed an opponent’s movement three times.

“Hahahaha!”

The young man let out a mad laugh and threw a punch.

Thud!

Moyong Gun staggered and stumbled forward about six steps.

The young man tilted his head.

“Huh? You blocked it?”

A sword was blocking Moyong Gun’s back. Having sensed the attack, he had drawn his sword to protect his back.

“That’s strange? How did you react to my speed?”

Boom!

The explosion sounded only after the young man had moved. The speed of his movement technique had surpassed the speed of sound.

It was a movement that far exceeded imagination. Despite moving at such speed, only his clothes were slightly damaged, his skin was fine. It was proof that his true energy was stably protecting his entire body.

The young man swung both palms.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Moyong Gun’s body was continuously shaken by the rapid-fire palm strikes.

Even if the martial art itself was weak, if the speed was this fast, its destructive power would be doubled. Speed was power, and at extreme speeds, even a pebble could become a deadly weapon.

However.

Fwoosh.

A faint wisp of smoke rose from Moyong Gun’s staggering body. It was because he had randomly released his true energy to block the young man’s attacks.

The young man frowned.

“You blocked all of that?”

To be precise, he hadn’t blocked the techniques, but the energy. Moyong Gun had only reacted to half of the techniques the young man had used.

Unbelievable speed. Destructive power that matched that speed.

“…I knew it.”

Moyong Gun spat out a mouthful of blood. Blood was mixed in with his saliva.

“It’s difficult to respond, but not entirely impossible.”

If the power of his strikes had been as powerful as his speed, Moyong Gun would have been dead long ago.

That meant that the young man’s martial art was purely focused on speed.

Speed was power, but in the world of inner energy masters, that wasn’t always the case. Of course, power would be proportional to speed, but to properly realize that power, one absolutely needed the insight to create the corresponding power exertion techniques and the flow of power.

In other words, the level where all of that was possible was beyond the peak, the realm of the martial god that people spoke of. The young man’s martial art seemed impossible to deal with at first glance, but a martial art that was only fast could not reach the realm of the heavens.

“Still, you’re definitely more troublesome than the others. Are you a martial general too?”

“Of course.”

The young man smiled brightly.

He had been frowning as much as he could, but now he was smiling brightly again. He didn’t seem to be in his right mind at all.

“I am the second in the Eighteen Martial Generals, Cheon Gang (Heavenly Dipper).”

The second of the Eighteen Martial Generals, Cheon Gang.

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“Cheon Gang… what a grandiose name for a barbarian from the outer lands.”

Cheon Gang meant the Big Dipper. For Moyong Gun, who believed that the Central Plains was the center of the world, the name Cheon Gang sounded truly arrogant.

Killing intent flickered in Cheon Gang’s eyes.

He dared to insult his name. A name that ‘that person’ had personally given him.

“You’re a bastard.”

Moyong Gun burst into laughter.

“To hear such an insult from a creature less than a bug, it’s truly absurd.”

Flash!

Cheon Gang flinched for a moment.

A fierce killing intent also erupted from Moyong Gun’s eyes.

Surprisingly, that killing intent was on par with Cheon Gang’s. For Moyong Gun, who was full of pride and self-esteem, there was no greater insult than being insulted by a lowly barbarian from the borderlands.

“I will tear you into eighteen pieces today and throw you to the wild dogs.”

The corners of Cheon Gang’s lips curled up.

“For the first time, we agree? I was thinking the same thing.”

Flash!

The two men charged at each other.

“Cough!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had coughed up a mouthful of blood, staggered to his feet.

Boom! Bang!

His body shook from the terrifying explosions and shockwaves.

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked towards the battle.

‘He’s responding.’

Cheon Gang’s speed was fast even when seen again. It wasn’t as fast as the Blood Wing Sky Dance he had used during the Black Emperor era, but it wasn’t far behind, and he was achieving that speed every moment.

That was truly amazing. It wasn’t just once in a while, but the speed itself was the foundation of his martial art.

How much powerful true energy and physical strength must he have to endure that speed? Even if his enlightenment was low, he must have undergone incredible training.

However.

‘Moyong Gun has a chance of winning.’

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The blue sword light that erased the void was causing the air to vibrate madly.

In just a few exchanges, he had found a way to cope with that unbelievable speed and was responding.

He had mainly shown a talent for scheming, but Moyong Gun’s true strength was his peak martial art that was displayed along with his cunning.

And Yeon Ho-Jeong knew how great Moyong Gun’s martial art was.

‘Thunderclap Art, Unrestrained Thunderclap Style, was it?’

The absolute martial art that had made Moyong Gun the strongest martial artist in the White Path in the past.

That martial art was a supreme technique that even Yeon Ho-Jeong during the Black Emperor era had found difficult to fight against. If one were to pick the strongest martial art besides the Four Divine Martial Arts, it would definitely be on the list.

A peerless sword technique that could contend for the world. Yeon Ho-Jeong believed that Moyong Gun could face Cheon Gang, and even win.

‘Then.’

Should he help him and kill that Cheon Gang? Or should he…

“Ho-Jeong.”

“Father.”

Yeon-Wi and Muk Bi had approached him.

“Are you alright?”

Whoosh.

A blue aura surged from Yeon Ho-Jeong’s body. The Yeon Family’s Divine Core was rotating at high speed, healing his internal and external injuries.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“Take this.”

Yeon-Wi handed him internal injury medicine. It was one of the emergency medicines he had brought just in case.

Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t refuse it.

As he took the internal injury medicine, the Yeon Family’s Divine Core immediately reacted. It received the medicine’s power and began to maximize his physical recovery by using an even faster and more stable rotation.

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s expression became much clearer.

“Now, shall we head towards the grand finale?”

Yeon-Wi’s eyes deepened.

“Did you feel it too?”

“Yes, I did.”

The two turned their heads towards the back of the large manor.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said calmly.

“It’s as if it’s hiding, but there’s definitely a great expert there.”

“A Saint-level expert?”

“Not quite.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong had already stepped into that realm. Even if that wasn’t the case, he had experienced Yang Cheon’s aura, which had been somewhat weakened recently.

The aura hiding in the back was even weaker than Yang Cheon’s weakened aura.

The problem was that he was stronger than anyone else here. Not just by one or two levels, but by several!

Whoosh!

Tang Gwan, who had flown through the air, dusted off his hands.

“The grunts are almost all dealt with. The rest will be cleaned up by the Tangma Myulsa Army [Tang Clan’s Elite Assassins].”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“By the way, what’s that monster over there?”

Tang Gwan had also felt the aura. Except for Moyong Gun, who was engaged in a life-or-death battle with Cheon Gang, and Muk Bi, who was still somewhat lacking, all three of them could feel the oppressive aura emanating from that place.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said.

“Whatever it is, it seems like this fight will end if we eliminate the guy hiding there. There doesn’t seem to be anyone stronger than that.”

Although he said that, Yeon Ho-Jeong was certain.

The air of the battlefield was telling him so. The fight with that unknown person would be the last of this battle.

Tang Gwan rotated his shoulders.

“Is there any need to waste time? I’ll go.”

“Let’s go together.”

Tang Gwan openly frowned.

“I don’t need help, but.”

“You will need it. Even if you don’t, we’re in the middle of a war. We need to end this quickly with a stronger force.”

“Hmph! Do as you please.”

Clang!

Yeon-Wi drew his sword.

Click.

Muk Bi slowly drew his bow.

Whoosh.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, with the Gwangryong Bow slung over his shoulder, said with a cold face.

“Shall we go and decorate the finale?”