Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 562

As they passed through the forest, clear moonlight illuminated the world.

‘Is it over there?’

Tang Gwan, carrying Dang Yang-seon on his back, leaped forward.

Swish!

Even with a person on his back, his movement was light and ethereal.

He was far more advanced than when he fought the warriors of the Divine Cult in the past.

It was thanks to his sparring and discussions on martial arts with Yeon-wi. They had thoroughly dissected each other’s martial arts, and in the process, they had gained strong trust and explosive growth.

Of course, not just anyone could achieve such results by joining hands. Tang Gwan and Yeon-wi had opened their hearts to each other, and because their martial arts styles were so different, it had actually created a synergistic effect.

It was no exaggeration to say that Tang Gwan was now at a level where it would be difficult to determine a winner even against Gong Gong.

And the same would be true for Yeon-wi.

Whoosh.

Stepping on dozens of branches, he soon arrived in front of a three-story building on the outskirts of the prefecture.

“Who are you?!”

A warrior guarding the entrance of the building reached for his waist. Instead of the swords commonly used by warriors, there was a coiled whip.

Tang Gwan took out a small token from his pocket and threw it.

The warrior, who had caught the token in a daze, widened his eyes.

“Huh?!”

The warrior, checking the token and Tang Gwan’s face several times, prostrated himself on the spot.

“I greet the master of the Great Sichuan Tang Family!”

The etiquette shown to the head of a family was excessive. The posture, close to a full prostration, was closer to that of a monarch.

Tang Gwan, looking down at the warrior, spoke in a stern tone.

“Who told you to prostrate yourself like that?”

“Yes, yes?!”

“If I were an enemy disguised as the family head, you would have died without even fighting.”

“……!”

“I clearly ordered all branch offices to get rid of all unnecessary formalities.”

That statement itself proved that Tang Gwan was the family head.

The warrior’s face turned pale.

“I, I’m sorry!”

“It’s not your fault.”

Tang Gwan raised his head.

“Inform those inside.”

“Yes!”

Soon after, Hwang Gak, the branch head of Daejuk Prefecture, rushed out and prostrated himself.

“Branch Head Hwang Gak greets the family head!”

Tang Gwan frowned.

It seemed he would have to send an official notice to all of Sichuan. Loyalty, when excessive, could become poison. After visiting the branch office, he realized that communication between the main family and the local branches was not going well.

“Get up.”

“Yes!”

Tang Gwan placed Dang Yang-seon on the ground.

“Imprison him in the lowest level of the prison.”

He ordered imprisonment without any explanation. But Hwang Gak did not question it.

“I obey your command!”

A warrior lifted Dang Yang-seon.

Tang Gwan, watching his son being carried away on the warrior’s shoulder with an unreadable gaze, asked as if throwing a question.

“Has there been any contact?”

“Yes?”

“I mean, there should have been separate contact from Yeon Ho-jeong.”

“Ah! Yes, there was! Please, let me escort you inside first.”

“No, that’s fine. Just bring me the letter he sent.”

“Understood.”

Shortly after, Hwang Gak handed Tang Gwan a red envelope.

Tang Gwan opened the envelope and read the letter, then frowned.

“That damned bastard.”

The letter stated that ‘that person’ had been called as reinforcements to resolve the Sichuan situation.

He was annoyed that he had been called without any consultation. He didn’t like the fact that that person had been dragged into this, especially.

But on the other hand, he could understand it.

At least when it came to scheming, that person was as good as they come. In some ways, even more so.

If he helped properly, he would be a great asset.

‘The problem is that he might cause unnecessary trouble here.’

He doubted it, but when he thought about his past, he felt uneasy.

‘Even that bastard wouldn’t have thought of that.’

It would be one of two things. Either the situation was so urgent that they had to take that risk, or he had his own way of dealing with it.

Or maybe both. Whatever it was, he wouldn’t bring such a dangerous person into Sichuan without any thought.

Tang Gwan put the letter in his pocket.

“What is Yeon Ho-jeong’s location?”

“He passed through here half a day ago and was heading west. If he was moving fast, he would have arrived at Daechung Prefecture by now, and if he was taking his time, he would still be on the road.”

Then he would be in Daechung Prefecture. He knew that time was of the essence in this matter.

“You’ve done well.”

“It’s nothing!”

“The one imprisoned in the lowest level of the prison will not wake up for three days. Even if he wakes up in the middle, do not release him.”

“I obey your command!”

“You’ve done well.”

Hwang Gak bowed his head as if he was sorry.

‘…….’

A little time passed.

Hwang Gak, who had cautiously raised his head, realized that Tang Gwan had already disappeared.

“Hoo.”

Hwang Gak clicked his tongue.

“He’s really amazing.”

As a branch office not far from the capital, his martial arts level was certainly worthy of being called a master.

Yet, he hadn’t even felt a trace of him disappearing.

“But what’s going on?”

Hwang Gak tilted his head.

“He seemed to be in a hurry for some reason.”

* * *

Boom!

The explosive fist wind of the Tiger King’s Wall Breaking Fist sent three masters flying.

Pung Byeok-ja was dumbfounded.

‘How can he have such power?!’

The fist pressure was immense. It seemed like he had just thrown it out randomly, but the pressure alone sent three top-tier masters flying backward without being able to do anything.

And that wasn’t all.

Jjeojeojeojeong!

The wind pressure of the footwork, which was laid low under the slashes of the rotating twin axes, did not allow anyone to approach.

Rotation meant showing a blind spot, even for a brief moment.

Yet, there were no gaps. The rotation speed was fast, but he had accurately judged how they would attack and had taken the position in advance.

Paak!

Yeon Ho-jeong rushed towards Pung Byeok-ja like a ghost.

The energy wave emanating from him before the speed was terrifying. The energy wave alone was enough to restrict movement.

It was a fight where they had to give it their all, but even considering that, he was too strong. None of the current leaders of Qingcheng had reached that level. If they wanted to find someone that strong in Qingcheng Mountain, they would have to look through the old masters of the past.

Kwaang!

Pung Byeok-ja spat out blood and retreated.

He thought he would swing his axe, but he twisted his body at a short distance and attacked with his elbow.

It was such a natural movement. The speed at which he changed from a slash to an elbow attack was also lightning fast.

‘He’s a monster!’

Fababak! Boom!

But even such a monster couldn’t ignore the sheer number of their forces.

After quickly changing his attack and knocking Pung Byeok-ja away, he blocked the sword strikes and palm strikes of the masters aiming for his blind spots.

However, there were too many attackers. Yeon Ho-jeong finally allowed a palm strike to hit his back.

Flash!

Yeon Ho-jeong’s pupils flickered with a fiery red light.

Buaaaaaang!

Turning his body at an explosive speed and striking with his footwork, one of the arms of Jamo Sinni, who had unleashed the palm strike, was torn off.

“Aaaagh!”

The pain of having an arm torn off raw was something that only those who had experienced it would know.

Yeon Ho-jeong deflected the attacks coming from all directions and charged straight at Jamo Sinni.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

After fixing her collarbone with the Black Dragon Axe, he struck Jamo Sinni’s head twice with the White Dragon Axe.

Normally, one blow would have been enough. He had poured his inner energy to defend against the attacks coming from behind and from his blind spots. Because of that, his strength was lacking, and he had to increase the attack that would have ended with one blow to two.

Yeon Ho-jeong kicked Jamo Sinni.

Jamo Sinni, who had flown away powerlessly, rolled on the ground. Her head was horribly crushed.

“Hoo!”

Whirr!

He took a breath and raised the output of the Vermilion Fire to the maximum.

The masters who were about to attack again were startled and stepped back. The firepower emanating from Yeon Ho-jeong’s body was too strong to continue the attack.

Yeon Ho-jeong wiped the blood flowing from his mouth.

“First, one down.”

Whirr!

Behind the surging flames, a murderous intent even more intense than the firepower began to rage.

“……!”

The eight masters hesitated.

The look in Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes as he glared at them was truly that of a demon.

He was strong before, but now he was different. Unlike before, when he was looking at the overall situation to avoid sacrificing his allies, Yeon Ho-jeong, who was now completely focused on the fight with the top-tier masters, had finally regained himself as a god of war.

Whoooo.

A strong murderous intent was mixed in with his exhaled breath.

The rising murderous intent, the battle senses that had begun to heat up.

The moment he recognized it as an eight-on-one fight rather than a fifty-on-one fight, he completely changed.

But even in the midst of that, Yeon Ho-jeong couldn’t help but think about the overall situation.

‘If it were just these guys, it would be one thing, but there are also assassins in the area away from here.’

Deung Hwa called those assassins Black Eyes.

He had killed them himself, but they were no match for his group. They were first-rate, but they felt more focused on espionage and information than assassination.

However, they could be a great threat when everyone in the group was exhausted.

‘They’re still watching. It doesn’t seem like they’ll attack right away.’

In a way, it was an efficient strategy.

If it was a chaotic melee, those who used orthodox martial arts would inevitably be at a disadvantage in combat. It was questionable whether they had even coordinated their movements, and even if they had, it was not desirable for so many people to rush in when facing a small number of opponents.

‘Then.’

Gang Ryang’s quick addition had shaken the original tactics.

But it wasn’t enough to disrupt the plan itself. From the beginning, they hadn’t even considered facing them without that level of flexibility.

‘I need to induce a melee.’

Pa-a-a-a-ang!

Yeon Ho-jeong, charging with his destructive momentum, swung the Black and White Twin Dragon Axes like a madman.

Whirr! Bang! Crash!

The eight top-tier masters retreated from the explosions, the blasts, and the fiery slashes that erupted.

If they had attacked head-on, risking injury, they could have inflicted internal and external injuries on Yeon Ho-jeong.

But they didn’t push it. The enemy was putting up an unexpected fight, but the difference in power was still clear. There was no need to risk becoming like Jamo Sinni by attacking recklessly.

And Yeon Ho-jeong had accurately seen through their psychology.

Kwaang!

Yeon Ho-jeong, who seemed like he was going to push even harder, suddenly changed direction.

All the masters who were preparing for the next attack were startled. Considering the momentum and the force of the charge, changing direction at that moment was nothing short of madness.

But that guy, he did it.

Buaaaaaang!

Yeon Ho-jeong saw Myeong Jin, who was engaged in a battle with Pae-yul.

‘Good.’

The sudden change of direction made his knees and hip joints ache as if they were about to break. He was only able to endure it because he had trained every part of his body, including his muscles and joints, to the limit.

“Huk!”

Myeong Jin was startled by the terrifying murderous intent he felt from behind and leaped to the side.

At that moment, Pae-yul’s spear was filled with immense power.

Bang!

A single spear strike, unleashed with a powerful step, the Sun Piercing Flash, grazed Yeon Ho-jeong’s shoulder and pierced Pung Byeok-ja’s thigh.

“Kuaak!”

Pung Byeok-ja collapsed on the spot.

At the same time, Yeon Ho-jeong threw the White Dragon Axe at Myeong Jin.

Flash! Kwaang!

Myeong Jin spat out blood and collapsed. He had deflected the White Dragon Axe by unleashing a fist wind in a twisted posture, but the power of the axe was too strong. A single blow was enough to shake his entire internal organs.

Yeon Ho-jeong, who had caught the White Dragon Axe like a ghost, shouted.

“Senior! Into a melee!”

“Understood!”

Pa-a-a-ak!

The two men, passing each other, ran towards Gang Ryang and Hwang Seok-tae, respectively.

The two pairs of forces, who had exchanged glances in a brief moment, spread out to the left and right of the mountain.

Myeong Jin shouted.

“Damn it! Catch them!”

The group of masters from the Samhyeon Unit, now numbering only about thirty, scattered to the left and right in confusion.

The formation tactics that would bring defeat to them and victory to Yeon Ho-jeong’s group had begun.