Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 550

551. Signs of Collapse (1)

Five days later.

“Seriously…”

Hwang Seok-tae frowned.

“It’s brutal.”

The road to Szechuan was truly savage.

Of course, for a master confident in their movement techniques, it was just a slightly tricky path. In fact, none of the group lacked movement skills.

Gang Ryang shrugged.

“Didn’t you know? That entering Szechuan is difficult?”

Hwang Seok-tae glanced at Gang Ryang and said in a stiff voice.

“I knew.”

He had even crossed Szechuan several times while traveling the Jianghu [the martial world]. Although it wasn’t the same path as now, Szechuan was a difficult place to enter from anywhere.

There was another reason why Hwang Seok-tae frowned anew.

‘As expected, it will be difficult to advance.’

Unlike other units, it seemed it would take quite a long time for the Iron Cavalry to enter Szechuan.

In fact, to quickly advance from the Central Plains to Szechuan, one had to pass through Hanzhong or go up the Yangtze River.

Otherwise, they would have to cross the mountain roads, which would not only take time but also be incredibly dangerous. It might be possible for a small force, but for a large army, it would be a life-or-death situation.

Do martial artists not care much about terrain?

Unless they could fly, dangerous terrain was equally dangerous for both ordinary people and martial artists. There was only a slight difference in safety.

Only masters, who were considered top-tier forces in the Central Plains, like the group, were almost unaffected by the terrain.

Even so, they had crossed several rugged mountains. It was different in many ways from entering other regions.

Whoooosh.

It was the time of year when autumn was slowly turning into winter. The wind blowing was quite cold.

Yeon Ho-jeong, standing on a cliff-like land and looking down at the vast basin of Szechuan, narrowed his eyes.

‘The humidity is quite high.’

The huge basin of Szechuan was concave. It was surrounded by mountains of tremendous height, making it a great advantage for defense.

Moreover, due to the nature of the basin, clouds and fog were frequent. Naturally, there was little sunshine, so there were few days when the scenery was as clear as it was now.

‘The wind.’

A strong wind was swirling, wildly flapping the group’s clothes.

As he felt the wind, Yeon Ho-jeong felt his senses becoming sharper.

‘Strange.’

It would take at least three more days to reach Chengdu, where the Tang family was located.

If they were to run with determination, that time would be drastically reduced, but now they had to pay attention to maintaining their stamina. The reason was that they didn’t know what might happen in Szechuan.

‘The important thing is the atmosphere. Especially, I need to figure out what the atmosphere is like near Chengdu.’

The Tang family held a tight grip on most of Szechuan, centered around Chengdu.

In other words, the atmosphere of the city was to some extent representative of the Tang family’s atmosphere.

‘From now on, I will never move hastily.’

There was another reason why Yeon Ho-jeong decided not to move hastily, besides not knowing the current situation.

‘It’s stuffy.’

Wooong. Woooong.

The Yeon family’s divine core was emitting an unstable energy, repeating rotation and stop.

‘A messy killing intent.’

To be exact, he didn’t even know if it was killing intent.

He had just felt something unpleasant in the wind sweeping up from the Szechuan basin. It was extremely faint, though.

And it was highly likely that a foul killing intent was at the center of this unpleasant atmosphere.

“The atmosphere is strange.”

Yeon Ho-jeong looked to his side.

Gang Ryang frowned.

“The sun is shining well, but there are many clouds over there… I guess it’s just my mood?”

Yeon Ho-jeong asked.

“What’s wrong with the atmosphere?”

“Well? Should I say it’s just gloomy? Well, it seems like it’s because the road here was hard. It’s also quite humid.”

Paeyul said in a nonchalant voice, as if throwing it out.

“How can a young man be so tired with just this?”

“Aren’t young people allowed to be tired? And consider the difference in martial arts between you and me. Why do you keep picking on me?”

“I’m telling you not to say useless things. Gloomy my ass, the air is great.”

“It seems like you’re getting old, senior.”

“Your manners seem to be disappearing more and more?”

“I was originally famous for being rude in my neighborhood. My parents raised me like that.”

His eloquence had made great strides.

Paeyul chuckled and asked Yeon Ho-jeong.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to rest for a bit before going?”

Yeon Ho-jeong looked at Gang Ryang without a word.

Gang Ryang blinked.

“Why are you looking at me? Is there something on my face?”

Yeon Ho-jeong shrugged.

“Just because you look ugly today.”

Gang Ryang’s face crumpled. On the other hand, Paeyul’s face showed a strange sense of satisfaction.

Yeon Ho-jeong said in a calm voice.

“We’ve been camping for several days, so we don’t need to do that today, right? If we run for about two more hours, there will be decent taverns. Let’s suffer a little more.”

During his time as the Dark Emperor, there was no region he hadn’t explored. Especially Szechuan, he had traveled back and forth several times due to its regional characteristics.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Whoosh!

As Yeon Ho-jeong started, everyone quickly followed behind him.

The group’s lightness skills were unwavering as they descended the steep mountain path. They were all quite tired, but there was no way their posture would be disturbed by this.

Yeon Ho-jeong read and checked the condition of each member of the group.

It was a dangerous mission. There had been many difficult missions, but this time, in particular, it was a battlefield where one could lose their life in an instant.

It would be good if everything went smoothly, but judging by the unpleasant smell the air was carrying, that seemed unlikely.

‘By the way.’

Yeon Ho-jeong glanced at Gang Ryang’s face as he ran beside him.

‘This guy, was his sense this good?’

Paeyul and Hwang Seok-tae, who were evaluated to have already established themselves by breaking through the Wall of No Species [a significant milestone in martial arts cultivation], had not read the ominous feeling rising with the wind.

That was natural. The two’s martial power was far below Yeon Ho-jeong’s. Their energy and enlightenment were incomparable. It was not strange that the two did not feel what Yeon Ho-jeong felt.

That was why Gang Ryang’s senses shone even more.

A gloomy atmosphere? There was no way it was just his mood. Even if he thought so, Gang Ryang, as Yeon Ho-jeong saw him, was an extremely sensitive guy.

With martial arts lower than Paeyul and Hwang Seok-tae, Gang Ryang shared the ominous feeling that only Yeon Ho-jeong had felt, almost identically.

‘As expected.’

Yeon Ho-jeong looked forward again.

His gaze returned to the front, but he continued to think about Gang Ryang.

‘It was like that in the past too.’

The Iron-Blooded Sword King, who was in charge of one of the five great generals, the strongest masters of the Black Emperor Castle.

He was the youngest of the five great generals, but his martial power was enough to be called one of the five great generals.

In particular, Gang Ryang was a martial artist with such high enlightenment that he was called the incarnation of the sword. In terms of simple sword intent, he was even evaluated to be above the Sword God Moyong Gun, the best swordsman of the time.

Enlightenment is also connected to the expansion of the cognitive realm. Gang Ryang, who had higher enlightenment than anyone else, was the owner of a super sense that saw what others could not see and heard what others could not hear.

That extremely sensitive sense was slowly blossoming now, with the Wall of No Species right in front of him.

“Gang Ryang.”

“Yes?”

Yeon Ho-jeong said while running with an indifferent face.

“Stop playing around and come up quickly.”

“What do you mean?”

Yeon Ho-jeong didn’t say anything more.

Gang Ryang muttered quietly.

“Seriously, it’s a bad habit. Your way of speaking needs to be reformed, brother.”

He said that, but Gang Ryang was seriously pondering Yeon Ho-jeong’s words. At some point, he too had become accustomed to Yeon Ho-jeong’s way of speaking.

‘Come up quickly?’

Gang Ryang looked at Yeon Ho-jeong’s profile.

It was an indifferent face that even felt eerie, unlike usual. His expression showed how seriously he was taking this matter.

‘Stop playing around and come up quickly…’

Gang Ryang grabbed his sword hilt.

‘I want to do that too, brother.’

Like that feeling, he really had to change now.

Yeon Ho-jeong had never urged him. Especially when it came to martial arts. Rather, he had mainly heard words telling him not to be greedy to grow quickly.

That Yeon Ho-jeong was now telling him to come up.

To that realm that breaks through the limits of humanity.

Ooh!

Gang Ryang unconsciously stroked his arm.

Yeon Ho-jeong’s words were not simply a scolding for being late.

‘He’s acknowledging me.’

Finally, now.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had always regarded him as a younger brother, was now treating him as an equal.

As a comrade.

‘I’ve been acknowledged by this monster.’

His heart was pounding. He was so excited that his neck turned red.

Gang Ryang opened his mouth.

“Brother.”

“Speak.”

“You really have a talent for playing with people, brother.”

“Stop talking nonsense and take care of your stamina.”

“Yes, yes. Who am I to disobey your words?”

“You’ll get hit.”

“I don’t have that kind of hobby. Please coax me gently.”

Gang Ryang’s face was flushed as he said that.

Yeon Ho-jeong chuckled.

Paeyul, who was listening to their conversation from behind, grumbled inwardly.

‘Those terrible bastards. They might as well be running hand in hand. Are all the kids these days like that?’

Two hours later, the group entered a lively tavern in the city.

* * *

“Hmm.”

Tang Ho’s eyes deepened as he looked at the letter.

Tang Yeo-seon asked.

“What’s wrong, Father?”

“…”

“Did something happen in the Martial Alliance?”

Tang Ho folded the letter and said.

“My brother is coming back to the family with Yang-seon.”

“… !”

Tang Yeo-seon’s face crumpled.

“Could it be Yang-seon?”

Tang Ho shook his head.

“Yang-seon is arrogant and careless. But his respect for his father is genuine. Besides, haven’t you seen it too? Yang-seon is also a guy who knows how to grow.”

“That’s true, but…”

Tang Yeo-seon was not pleased with Tang Yang-seon. To be exact, he didn’t trust him.

Although they were cousins, Tang Yang-seon was an object of jealousy and hatred for him.

Just because he was the son of the family head, a guy with no ability was aiming for the successor position.

That was fine, but the problem was himself. For him, who had the son of the previous family head as his father, like Tang Yang-seon, there was no chance to become the master of the Tang family.

If Tang Yang-seon’s talent and character were so outstanding that everyone acknowledged him, he would have hated him but at least acknowledged him.

Tang Yang-seon was a ruined guy who could not be compared to his father or grandfather.

“If it’s not because of Yang-seon, what reason would Uncle have for coming?”

“How would I know your uncle’s heart? However, since the Martial Alliance is in a semi-closed state, he might want to stop by and see how the family is doing.”

“Is that really the reason?”

Of course not.

Tang Ho did not reveal his true feelings in front of his son. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust his son, but because it didn’t seem like something he should say to his son.

“How is the Elder Council?”

“Yes, they say they are approaching carefully. The remaining people are so stubborn…”

“I see.”

Tang Ho estimated the time Tang Gwan would arrive.

After a while.

“We must completely seize the Elder Council within three days. And…”

Tang Ho’s eyes turned to the window.

In an instant, a subtle fear arose in his pupils.

“I should see my father soon.”