Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 522

Drip, drip, drip.

Dark crimson blood flowed from Makwon’s mouth.

‘It’s still too much for me.’

The Heavenly Martial Weaponry was a divine skill of the ages.

His sect had taught him one core mental cultivation method and then made him master countless martial arts manuals.

In addition to daily, blood-soaked training, he also studied academics to the level of a renowned scholar.

They aimed to cultivate both literary and martial skills. However, this teaching was not simply for ‘cultivation’.

The core mental cultivation method that the sect represented.

That single method showed vastly different forms depending on the talent and perspective of the one who mastered it.

Makwon had mastered countless books according to his sect’s teachings, fought fiercely, dissected martial arts manuals, and further defined his own path.

What he completed was the Heavenly Martial Weaponry. It had completely diverged from the sect’s original mental cultivation method, but the Heavenly Martial Weaponry blossomed into a unique divine skill.

Even with such a divine skill, it was not enough to remove the poison within his body.

‘My internal and external injuries are severe. And the environment isn’t helping.’

He was performing internal energy circulation on a running horse.

A master of Makwon’s caliber could perform comfortable internal energy circulation in any situation or posture. However, when the body was this exhausted, concentration would inevitably falter, and the circulation would be unstable.

What he needed now was a safe environment, treatment, and to maximize the self-recovery ability of his divine skill.

‘There’s no other choice.’

The only fortunate thing was that he could somehow contain the poison with the meager internal energy he had left.

At least it wouldn’t run rampant for a while. Though he didn’t know how long that ‘while’ would be.

“Are you alright?”

Hwang Seok-tae, who was running alongside him with a relaxed gait, asked.

Makwon nodded.

“I’m fine. You’re suffering because of me.”

“It’s nothing.”

It wasn’t easy for Hwang Seok-tae to say such words, given his personality. It meant that he respected Makwon as a martial artist.

It was then.

Boom!

Even though they were twenty miles away from the battlefield, the sound of an explosion reached them.

It was an incredible explosion. Although it was difficult to feel the shockwave or the energy due to the distance, the sound alone was enough to guess how intense the bloody battle was.

“I’m worried.”

Makwon’s expression was not good.

It was inevitable. Yeon Ho-jeong and Paeyul were amazing masters, but in the grand scheme of things, they were also his juniors.

His juniors were risking their lives to block the enemy’s attacks. Guilt, gratitude, helplessness, and bitterness made Makwon’s heart uneasy.

Hwang Seok-tae glanced back.

They were not visible. The distance was too far.

But he too had heard the explosion.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“Of course, the two of them are strong, but…”

“I haven’t seen them for long either. I don’t know their abilities well.”

“Hmph, then shouldn’t we reinforce the troops? It’s not right for such talented people to die because of one life like mine…”

“There were orders from above. To live and die by orders, that’s the Iron Brigade. And those two are also temporarily part of the Iron Brigade.”

“…”

“For now, just focus on moving to a safe place.”

Makwon gave a bitter smile.

“What else can I say?”

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The Iron Brigade’s speed increased as time passed.

Within that, Hwang Seok-tae thought.

‘They said there were cannons and countless assassins, and even a supreme master among them. Moreover, that supreme master, though critically injured, had exchanged blows with the White Army God. That alone is incredible.’

Why are legends called legends?

The reason was simple. They were on a different level.

The Thirteen Seats of the Saintly Heaven were masters on a completely different level from those who were considered supreme or ultra-supreme. They were invincible monsters who had reached the realm of the Limitless and had cultivated their own unique realms over many years.

Their perspectives were different, and the places they stood were different. Just the fact that they could single-handedly produce the kind of overwhelming power that even a large sect like the Nine Great Sects, even with their past masters, would struggle to stop, meant they were not human.

In other words, the enemy Yeon Ho-jeong was fighting was at least a master who had reached the verge of the Limitless. If they weren’t at that level, it would be difficult to block Makwon’s single strike, even if they were injured.

‘Can they really stop them?’

It had taken a little over ten days to travel from Honam to Guizhou. Before that, he had never spent even ten days with them. In fact, for five of those days, he had been held hostage, unable to even talk, and had only felt frustrated.

A relationship of less than a month. There was no reason to worry about Yeon Ho-jeong. He was an important person to the Black Dragon Unit, but if he died here, it couldn’t be helped.

However, Hwang Seok-tae couldn’t easily imagine Yeon Ho-jeong’s death.

‘He’s a terribly arrogant bastard, but…’

Yeon Ho-jeong’s words came to mind.

His powerful martial arts, and the clear confidence that showed no impurities.

‘He’s a guy who deserves to be arrogant.’

He wanted to fight alongside him. Not because of Yeon Ho-jeong, but because of his pride as the leader of the Iron Brigade.

The Iron Brigade was a unit that broke, destroyed, and occupied. It was not a unit specialized in rescuing key figures.

But since the situation had turned out this way, there was nothing he could do. Right now, it was more important to successfully complete the mission with flexible judgment than to hold onto his pride.

‘Don’t die. It’ll be unsettling if only we make it back alive.’

* * *

“It would be best if you stopped.”

Beonjak warned the two approaching him.

Paeyul chuckled.

“We’ll do as we please, so you can yap all you want. We’ll allow you that much freedom.”

“Come anytime if you want to lose your life.”

“Yeah.”

With a nonchalant reply, Paeyul strode towards Beonjak.

Whoosh.

Golden flames erupted from Beonjak’s hand that touched the ground.

The temperature of the flames was truly immense. Paeyul involuntarily stopped in his tracks.

“Damn hot. He’s not just a washed-up has-been, is he?”

Paeyul glanced at Yeon Ho-jeong.

Yeon Ho-jeong nodded.

“Stop. It will be dangerous if you get any closer.”

“Looks like it.”

Paeyul confidently stepped back three paces. He had a strong ego and a competitive spirit, but he wasn’t the type to risk his life for no reason.

Yeon Ho-jeong pointed the White Dragon Blade at Beonjak.

Beonjak’s eyes flickered slightly. A bewilderment that he couldn’t control settled in his eyes.

“Hey, Yellow Flame.”

“…”

“You know a guy named Lee Ho-Moo-Jang Cheon-Gang, right? Do you know that he’s locked up in our main sect’s prison?”

“…!”

Beonjak’s eyes deepened.

He had suspected it. But he didn’t know they had kept him alive until now.

Of course, he wasn’t too worried.

He knew Cheon-Gang very well. He sometimes acted carelessly and thoughtlessly, but at least his loyalty and tenacity were remarkable.

“What do you want to say?”

“Will you be dismembered, or will you join hands with that guy and cooperate with us?”

Beonjak scoffed.

“You’re a funny one. I don’t think you’d trust me even if I did cooperate, would you?”

Yeon Ho-jeong readily nodded.

“I wouldn’t. Would you trust you if you were me?”

“Then why are you talking such nonsense?”

“I don’t know.”

Yeon Ho-jeong stroked his chin.

Honestly, he didn’t know why he had said that. He just felt that it was unsettling to kill him right now.

‘Something’s bothering me.’

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had been deep in thought, nodded.

“Alright.”

In that instant.

Wham!

“Ugh!”

He had tried his best to dodge, but Yeon Ho-jeong’s Flying Axe Technique was too fast.

Beonjak’s face contorted. The White Dragon Blade, embedded in the thigh of his good leg, dug into the muscle fibers.

Swoosh!

The place where the spear had pierced him was also where an artery had been torn. He had stopped the bleeding and the artery from retracting with his Golden Restriction Circulation, but it had happened again.

Whoosh!

He hurriedly diverted his energy to the thigh where the axe was embedded.

Whoosh.

The flames swirling in Beonjak’s hand lost their momentum.

His internal injuries were severe, and both legs were sealed. He had to bind the newly torn artery and prevent the blood vessels from retracting up to his upper body.

On top of that, the bleeding was severe. Beonjak’s already pale complexion now looked bluish.

No matter how great the Fire Essence was, it couldn’t restore the blood he had lost.

If he suffered another massive hemorrhage here, even the great Beonjak would not survive.

“While I’m sorting out my thoughts, I want to ask you something else.”

Yeon Ho-jeong squatted down as if to show off.

His posture was perfect. Since being dispatched to the Black Dragon Unit, he seemed to be slowly returning to his past self, living in the back alleys of the underworld.

“You seem to know that White Army God guy.”

“…”

“Well, I can ask him for the details. But what I want to ask you is something else.”

Yeon Ho-jeong tilted his head.

“You’re not just trying to take down that guy, are you?”

Beonjak didn’t answer.

Yeon Ho-jeong ignored Beonjak’s lack of response.

“Whether you’ve occupied the imperial palace or seized the government offices, that’s your Divine Flame Church’s business.”

“…”

“The remaining Evil Sound Sect and the Bloodthirsty Sect should be joining forces to overturn the martial world.”

“…”

“Of course, I know that you have quite a few Saintly Heaven-level experts. But war isn’t just about clashing forces, is it? You have to plan strategies, take care of supplies, and sometimes sacrifice your own pieces to take the opponent’s pieces. That’s how it works.”

“…”

“In other words, as the invaders, it’s best for you to eliminate our side’s strongest forces as much as possible. You have to eliminate variables, and you can’t have a victory that’s just a pyrrhic one.”

That was the basics of war.

People who don’t know say that when forces clash, one side has to be annihilated to win.

But in actual warfare, that rarely happens. When large forces clash, if one side suffers more than 20 to 30 percent casualties, it’s considered annihilation.

The definition of annihilation as a word and annihilation as a military term are different.

In military and war terms, annihilation is an expression used when it’s impossible to continue fighting.

The enemy’s forces are intact, but your own forces have lost 20 to 30 percent?

It’s a retreat, no questions asked. There’s no point in fighting anymore.

If you chase after the enemy in that meaningless fight with the goal of collapsing their forces and kill them all, then you use the term ‘obliteration’.

That was the difference between annihilation and obliteration.

That’s why even when there’s a chance to obliterate the enemy’s forces, they don’t. The moment war becomes a battle of obliteration rather than a battle of annihilation for victory or defeat, both sides walk the path of destruction.

That’s why wars don’t happen easily. Even when they do, unless there’s a huge difference in power, they never completely uproot the opponent.

That’s war and politics.

“No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like the White Army God is your first target.”

“…”

“Regardless of how it started, you chased and cornered the White Army God very naturally. That’s something that’s absolutely impossible without experience.”

“…”

“Alright, here’s the real question.”

Yeon Ho-jeong asked in a chilling voice.

“The Divine Immortal Emperor, and the Three Armies. How many did you win over, and how many did you kill? How many are left?”