Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 478

“So it was.”

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Jeagal Mun-Ho, don’t tell me you don’t know what that fox-like bastard has done?”

“…….”

“What we wanted was an overwhelming victory. Even if we fought and won, we wouldn’t be able to fully control this vast continent.”

“…….”

“To do that, we had to completely separate the forces of the Central Plains. It had to be a piecemeal defeat. Haven’t we been working towards that all this time?”

“And?”

“Are you pretending not to know? He made the first move! This makes it easier for him to control public opinion!”

“Public opinion and the hearts of the people are like fire. If you create a bigger fire, it will naturally merge with that fire.”

“Are you thinking of fighting fire with fire?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“That’s absurd! If we fight fire with fire now, it will only prove that there’s a spy among the Bonggong [a high-ranking group within the Martial Alliance]!”

“Isn’t that none of your concern?”

“……!”

“Don’t worry. We value you highly. It’s not easy to plant a spy in the Martial Alliance.”

“Damn it! Instead of just saying you value me, tell me how things are going!”

“What good would it do for you to know? If you show any sign, a sharp-witted strategist might realize you’re a spy.”

“You made me a spy without even that much trust?”

“We made you a spy because we trust you. The reason we don’t give you much information is to prepare for any unforeseen situation.”

“…….”

“Don’t be impatient. You are a chosen one. This look on your face isn’t good.”

“Damn it, I didn’t expect him to declare war so suddenly.”

“Jeagal Mun-Ho is a limitless man. No one knows what he’ll do next.”

“That’s why…”

“That’s why your role is important. No matter what happens, don’t be surprised, and don’t show any signs.”

“…….”

“We’ll stop sending information for the time being.”

“That won’t do.”

“Why not?”

“If I suddenly stop doing what I’ve been doing habitually, they’ll notice something strange during the investigation. I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

“Hmm.”

“It would be better to warn the contact, not me.”

“You’re a reliable person after all.”

“Enough. Those words don’t comfort me at all.”

“Don’t worry too much. You are one of the vanguards who will determine when our main force advances. And we don’t give that role to just anyone.”

“You’re unusually talkative today.”

“Because you’ve lost your usual self. Managing you is also my job.”

“Enough. Go now. I’ve calmed down enough.”

“I’ll come back when things quiet down.”

Swish.

The man disappeared like a ghost, just as he had arrived.

It was a mysterious martial art, no matter how many times he saw it. No, he didn’t even know if it was a martial art or a sorcery, but it was a skill he truly wanted to learn.

“…I want to get rid of this disgusting inner energy as soon as possible.”

Innumerable martial artists seek to learn the secret techniques of the Nine Great Sects. Even if they were only taught one stance properly, tens of thousands of martial artists would flock to them.

The man was an absolute master who had cultivated the secret techniques of the Nine Sects as well as anyone. Yet, he loathed the energy he had cultivated and wanted to get rid of it.

He looked at the mask in his hand.

The mask was shimmering with a bright aura.

He put the mask back on.

* * *

“He did seem a bit different.”

Yeon-Wi tilted his head at Tang Gwan’s words.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the Jeagal Clan Head.”

“Ah.”

The decisiveness and confidence that Jeagal Mun-Ho had shown during the meeting were considerable.

Frankly, Tang Gwan was inwardly impressed.

The Jeagal Mun-Ho he had seen so far was cautious, though not timid, and had a rigid side, though not cold, truly a typical strategist.

But today’s Jeagal Mun-Ho was different.

In the eyes of Jeagal Mun-Ho, veiled in a cold languor, a terrifying rage was smoldering. Though he didn’t say it, he was furious at the fact that there was an enemy spy in the sacred Martial Alliance.

“He needs to have that kind of temperament. Maybe that man has grown a little.”

Yeon-Wi chuckled.

“Grown? The strategist would be upset if he heard that.”

“Upset? It’s a compliment.”

“The strategist was always like that. It’s just that he’s been suppressing himself all this time.”

“Is that how you saw it?”

“I didn’t know either. I only realized it after seeing his appearance at the meeting. That the strategist’s heart is also full of passion, as much as anyone else’s.”

“Whatever the case, I think that kind of temperament isn’t bad.”

“I agree.”

Tang Gwan, after taking a sip of tea, asked with a slightly mischievous expression.

“By the way, you must have had a hard time?”

“Hmm?”

“Playing the spy, I mean.”

Yeon-Wi couldn’t help but laugh.

“No one would be foolish enough to use someone like me as a spy.”

That was a clear fact. Yeon-Wi was too honest to be used as a spy.

That was a huge disadvantage in the rough and tumble world of martial arts. However, Yeon-Wi was using his honesty and beliefs as weapons to gain a reputation as good as anyone else.

Tang Gwan smacked his lips.

“I’m curious. It must be quite a struggle to hide that dark interior with a smiling face.”

“Whoever it is, it’s a truly terrifying thing.”

Yeon-Wi fiddled with his cup.

“They’ll do anything to win… There are many such organizations in the world, but I never thought they would plant a spy among the Bonggong of the Martial Alliance.”

“Isn’t a crisis also an opportunity? There’s no need to be complacent, but there’s also no need to walk around with your shoulders puffed up.”

Yeon-Wi smiled.

“It seems you have a lot of experience with this kind of thing.”

He didn’t really think so, but unexpectedly, Tang Gwan nodded.

“I’ve had quite a few.”

Honest surprise appeared on Yeon-Wi’s face.

“There were spies operating in the Tang family?”

“That’s right.”

“Huh.”

The notoriety of the Sichuan Tang family was known throughout the world. To send a spy to such a group? Where would such a daring organization come from?

Tang Gwan shook his head.

“Because we surrounded ourselves with fear like bricks, there were even more spy infiltration incidents. There were many fools who were curious about what was inside the impregnable fortress that no one had ever breached.”

“They send spies even at the risk of danger…”

“Curiosity drives people crazy.”

“I’d be more worried than curious.”

“That’s how they all start. They confidently send spies, but once they send them, they worry about whether they can actually infiltrate. Still, they watch with anticipation, and if that fails, they raise another spy with a sense of disbelief.”

The corners of Tang Gwan’s mouth turned up.

“From their perspective, the spies they send are all just tails. They never think they’re in danger if they’re cut off.”

“…….”

“I’ve burned down more than twenty organizations like that, just in my generation.”

Surprise flickered on Yeon-Wi’s face again.

“That, that many?”

“To tell you an even more surprising fact, less than half of them were martial arts sects.”

“……?!”

Tang Gwan crossed his legs and looked out the window.

It was the face of an experienced person who had gone through countless incidents, so familiar that he felt weary.

“Sending spies to martial arts sects? Most people think they send those who are moderately skilled in martial arts and good at stealth, but they’re wrong. The truly terrifying spies are those with strong mental fortitude, not physical abilities.”

“Mental fortitude…”

“Those who can shake up relationships with just a few words. Those who haven’t learned martial arts but are quick-witted and can read the atmosphere of an organization more sensitively than anyone else. Those who can smile without breaking a sweat even in the face of a suffocating reality.”

“……!”

“Those are the truly terrifying spies. In the same vein, if there’s a spy among the Bonggong, that person must be truly remarkable.”

“Even if they’ve learned martial arts?”

“The question is what kind of martial arts they’ve learned.”

Tang Gwan’s eyes deepened as he looked out the window.

Outside the window, in the training grounds, Tang Sang-A was practicing the Savi-Musangse [a unique martial art of the Tang family].

Tang Gwan’s eyes became a little, just a little, kinder.

“If they exist among the heads of the Six Great Clans, they are people with such a strong sense of purpose that they can cut off even the bonds of blood.”

“How so? The entire family might have joined hands with the Three Sects…”

“That’s impossible. A spy in the position of a clan head wouldn’t touch their own forces. The fewer people who know a secret, the better. At least, that’s how a real spy would be.”

It was a chilling statement.

That meant that the spy was so ruthless that they could cut down their own family members who didn’t follow them when their plan succeeded.

“For similar reasons, if there’s a spy in the Nine Great Sects, that’s also a huge deal. The martial arts of the Nine Great Sects are based on the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism. There are many who have gone mad in the process, but if they have cultivated martial arts to the level of a sect leader, they would either feel a sense of revulsion at deceiving someone due to their high level of enlightenment, or it would be difficult to cultivate their inner energy to that extent.”

“Then…?”

“If it’s one of the sect leaders, they are a person with a dual personality close to a split personality that is not broken by the inner energy of Buddhism or Taoism, and a genius with the talent to reach the realm of an absolute master while hiding such a split personality in their heart.”

Tang Gwan, who had been watching Tang Sang-A’s training, turned his gaze back to his teacup.

“Either way, they must be someone whose mental fortitude is stronger than steel.”

Yeon-Wi’s face stiffened.

He had also caught a spy before. The identity was none other than the chief manager, Tae-Gyeong, and it would have been difficult to catch him without Yeon Ho-Jeong’s wit.

But after hearing Tang Gwan’s words, Tae-Gyeong was relatively mild.

Tang Gwan chuckled.

“That’s why I don’t think Moyong Gun is a spy.”

“Why not?”

“Because his desires are too excessive to be a spy, and I don’t think he has that much mental fortitude. You saw it too, didn’t you, Clan Head? How many times he was surprised by Ssagaji’s surprise attacks.”

Ssagaji was referring to Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“The surprise he showed from time to time was genuine. It couldn’t have been an act, something like that.”

“What if even that was an act?”

“Then we’d be getting fooled with our eyes open.”

Yeon-Wi nodded.

‘Moyong Gun wouldn’t be it.’

He knew from his son. Moyong Gun was the best martial artist of the righteous martial world who had allied with his son when he was called the Dark Emperor in the past to fight against the Evil Sound Sect [one of the Three Sects].

There was no way such a person would be their spy now. In the first place, he was a person with a very strong pride.

‘But… it’s strange.’

Yeon-Wi’s eyes gleamed.

‘Ho-Jeong said that Moyong Gun had definitely killed him by borrowing the hands of the Tang Clan Head at the last moment.’

It was just one of the Three Sects, the Evil Sound Sect.

In other words, the Central Plains was still in crisis. In such a situation, he killed one of the few absolute masters?

No matter how greedy and jealous Moyong Gun was, he was someone who took care of his own people. There was no reason to kill the king of the underworld.

‘Why? Why did Moyong Gun kill Ho-Jeong back then?’

In the midst of unresolved questions.

Yeon-Wi’s eyes sank deeper than ever before.

‘There’s something there.’