Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 563

Hyo-an, the leader of the Samhyeon Unit’s third squad, watched with narrowed eyes.

‘Impressive.’

The Samhyeon Unit was divided into three squads.

The first squad, which Yeon Ho-jeong had annihilated, was led by Pung Byeok-ja and consisted of fifty men. They were all masters of martial arts from the Cheongseong [a famous Taoist sect], Emei [a famous Buddhist sect], and Tang families [a family known for their use of poison and hidden weapons]. Their skills, honed over many years, were at least at the level of a master.

The second and third squads, on the other hand, were assassins trained since the early days of the Paradise Society.

Though called assassins, they weren’t individuals who had solely focused on the art of killing. The Paradise Society was extremely sensitive to information control. While they didn’t hesitate to assassinate when necessary, their focus was more on espionage and information manipulation.

The second and third squads of the Samhyeon Unit were composed of such black operatives. Each squad had fifty men, totaling one hundred, and they acted as an intelligence organization when needed.

Therefore, they weren’t often used as actual combat forces. Their abilities shone in espionage and information control, not direct combat.

‘Indeed.’

Hyo-an frowned.

‘There was a reason why they forcibly brought us along.’

Of course, the arrogant leader of the first squad wouldn’t have considered involving the second and third squads in the battle.

And that was natural. The assassination techniques the black operatives had learned didn’t suit the martial arts of the first squad at all. If they fought carelessly, it would only lead to unnecessary sacrifices of their own forces.

The reason Pung Byeok-ja, the leader of the first squad and the head of the unit, mobilized all of the Samhyeon Unit was probably to control any forces that might leak out.

The problem was.

‘We’re getting caught up in it.’

Kwaaang!

Even though they were far away, the booming sound was so loud it hurt their ears.

Truly tremendous power was clashing. The collision of skills and experience, the shockwaves alone were making the mountains and forests tremble.

‘Amazing. Pung Byeok-ja was killed in one blow.’

Though he was a superior they couldn’t dare to look at, neither Hyo-an nor the leader of the second squad liked Pung Byeok-ja personally.

However, this was a mission. Personal feelings had to be set aside.

‘What to do.’

Whoooosh!

The intense shockwaves, the wind heated by the shockwaves, were blowing all the way here.

The scent of blood was mixed in with the hot wind.

And that scent of blood wasn’t from the enemy.

After a moment of contemplation, Hyo-an took out a small horn from his pocket and blew it.

Peeeee.

It was a faint sound. Even a master couldn’t hear this sound if they weren’t trained to do so.

After a while.

Peeeee. Peeeee.

The same horn sound was heard twice, briefly cut off, from the opposite peak.

Hyo-an nodded and said to his rear.

“We’ll wait here. Stay hidden until the order is given.”

There was no reply.

That was natural. Most of the black operatives of the Samhyeon Unit had their tongues cut out. This was a measure taken to prevent them from revealing internal information even if they were captured by the enemy.

Even if that weren’t the case, there was no need to make noise with unnecessary reports during field ambushes.

Hyo-an’s eyes gleamed.

‘Let’s see how long they can hold out.’

They were stronger than expected, and the first squad’s losses were greater than anticipated, but Hyo-an didn’t think the first squad would be defeated by them.

That was natural. There were nearly forty masters, and the rest were all supreme masters.

With this level of power, even if there were four masters of the Shaolin abbot level [a very high level of martial arts], it would be difficult to win in a head-on fight. They might be able to survive by using hit-and-run tactics, but they wouldn’t be able to annihilate the first squad.

‘We can just wait until then.’

The first squad wouldn’t waste their strength unnecessarily either. That would be an irrational fight.

However.

Bang! Thump thump thump!

The explosions continued to intensify, and all sorts of impacts and shockwaves erupted.

Terrible screams echoed continuously, and the cliffs and the ground shook madly.

“……?!”

Startled, Hyo-an rose from his seat.

As the battle progressed, the first squad’s formation was becoming increasingly disorganized.

The fact that it was disorganized wasn’t the problem. The problem was the one being that was rampaging like an enraged beast in the middle of that formation.

Swoosh!

More than ten masters fell on the spot due to the iron chains that were extending freely.

Flames soared, and destructive explosive force techniques were driving back the supreme masters.

In the rear, a spearman with a red spear was confusing the rear of the unit with his exquisite advances and retreats, and a swordsman who had appeared from nowhere was skillfully coordinating the battle between the masters wielding iron chains and axes and the spearman.

‘Is this……?’

How could this be?

Hyo-an was bewildered.

There were only four of them. Each one was an amazing master, but that was also true of the first squad.

Yet, because of those four, two-fifths of the first squad’s forces had already been wiped out.

‘T, this is.’

The order hadn’t been given. The second and third squads shouldn’t move.

But Hyo-an really didn’t know if he should wait like this.

This was his first time experiencing such a chaotic battle. Moreover, the first squad was also completely flustered. No one was able to request support from the second and third squads.

‘They’re completely mesmerized!’

Their consciousness was clouded by confusion due to the enemy’s skill, their aura, and their amazing formation tactics.

‘This won’t do.’

A determined light appeared on Hyo-an’s face.

‘There’s no choice. This won’t do. Even if we are questioned later, we have to move to minimize the first squad’s losses.’

He took out the horn from his pocket.

Peeeeeeeeee.

It was a long and intense sound. At least, that’s how it would have sounded to the assassins.

Hyo-an listened carefully.

‘……?’

What was that?

Hyo-an frowned. There was no response from the leader of the second squad.

‘What are they doing?’

There was no way they couldn’t have heard this sound. They weren’t so irresponsible.

After a moment of silence, he blew the horn again.

But it was the same this time as well. No horn sound came from the leader of the second squad.

A groan finally escaped Hyo-an’s lips.

“The leader of the second squad, what is that bastard doing right now…….”

It was then.

“Are you talking about that one-eyed guy with no eyes?”

In an instant, Hyo-an’s body froze.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

From somewhere in the rear.

It seemed as if an invisible, yet somehow white and heavy smoke was slowly flowing out.

The back of Hyo-an’s neck was soaked with cold sweat.

“Interesting fellows.”

The voice of the unknown person was the epitome of languor.

“You’ve learned assassination techniques, but you don’t know how to use them properly. Isn’t assassination your main job? But why would you call such dregs here?”

Plop. Plop.

The drops of sweat that had trickled down Hyo-an’s chin fell onto the wet leaves.

His body had stiffened. It was difficult to even twitch a finger.

Someone unknown was approaching from behind. Yet, Hyo-an hadn’t noticed even until he was close by, or until he spoke.

This was a huge deal. Although assassination wasn’t their main focus, Hyo-an and all the black operatives had mastered first-class assassination techniques.

Assassination techniques tend to focus on stealth, and masters of stealth are extremely sensitive to sensing the presence of others.

Yet, he hadn’t noticed. This meant that the opponent’s skill had reached an immeasurable level.

Rustle.

It was a chilling sound.

Even though it was a considerable distance away, he had reached the right side in that short moment.

He didn’t know when or how he had moved.

He felt defeated even before fighting. But now, defeat wasn’t the issue.

Hyo-an was certain. The moment he made a wrong move with even one finger, his neck would be severed.

That deep fear had turned Hyo-an’s body into wood.

His intuition was correct. The grim reaper who had appeared behind him was a terrifying master who could kill someone of Hyo-an’s skill with a single breath.

“Oh, they’ve all had their tongues cut out.”

“……!”

“Clumsy fellows. If this is the case, why did you spend so much money to train people?”

Hyo-an swallowed involuntarily.

Swoosh.

The opponent was straightening his bent back.

Now, he could feel every single movement of the opponent. But even so, he couldn’t move.

Shudder!

It was as if a huge, yet transparent, venomous snake was baring its fangs at his neck.

His whole body was covered in goosebumps.

“If your tongue isn’t cut off like these guys, how about turning around slowly?”

Thump thump!

His heart was pounding madly.

He couldn’t refuse the opponent’s words. Hyo-an slowly turned his body.

‘Gasp!’

Under the faint moonlight that pierced through the leaves.

A grim reaper stood with his hands behind his back.

A grim reaper and an evil god. The hem of his long coat, fluttering in the wind, was like the breath of a wicked god, and his two eyes, dyed a deep green, were shining grotesquely like the bewitching magic mirrors of a demon.

Hyo-an knelt down involuntarily.

Shudder.

His whole body trembled like an aspen.

Whoosh.

The aura that spread out low like a fog enveloped Hyo-an’s body tightly.

That presence was indescribable. When he didn’t know, he didn’t feel any presence, but the moment he made eye contact, it was as if he had faced a giant serpent as large as a mountain.

The grim reaper asked.

“What are you?”

Hyo-an’s mouth opened on its own. It was irresistible.

“W, we are called the Samhyeon Unit!”

“Samhyeon Unit… I’ve never heard of it.”

The corners of the grim reaper’s mouth curled up.

“You’re worse than insects, but you still have a poisonous sting. If a unit like this was openly breathing in Sichuan [a province in China], there’s no way I wouldn’t know about it.”

“…….”

“It seems you’ve done a very good job of controlling information. Isn’t that right?”

“Y, yes!”

Hyo-an wasn’t even aware of what he was saying.

The grim reaper looked at the horn in Hyo-an’s hand.

“Was that it?”

“……?”

Whoosh!

The horn flew on its own and was caught in the grim reaper’s hand.

It was an astonishing level of internal energy mastery. But Hyo-an didn’t even think that it was an internal energy technique.

It was the grim reaper’s doing. Nothing that happened would be strange.

The grim reaper, who was examining the horn, chuckled.

“Crude.”

“……?!”

“If you’re going to live like this in your next life, it would be better to throw away such things. It’s so noisy that my ears are ringing.”

“……!!”

“I’ve seen your face, so that’s enough. Now, go.”

The grim reaper flicked his hand.

And that was the end of it.

“Cough!”

It was as if his neck had been strangled by a giant’s hand.

Hyo-an, whose breath was cut off, fell to the side. His face turned pale in an instant, and black blood poured out of his nose and mouth.

‘……Poison.’

His vision was gradually blurring.

And with that blurred vision, he was finally able to see.

The sight of fifty black operatives all vomiting blood and collapsing.

The presence of the grim reaper, standing so confidently on that field of gruesome corpses.

‘What kind of poison is it……?!’

In that moment, a pop! sound came from Hyo-an’s eyes. A blood vessel had burst.

The world turned red. The last sight before death was too gruesome and too unkind.

Hyo-an’s eyes, with tears of blood flowing, gradually closed.

Before they closed, his eyes captured the snake and scorpion patterns engraved on the left side of the grim reaper’s chest.

“Tang family…….”

“That’s right.”

Hyo-an’s eyes closed.

The grim reaper, Tang Gwan, arrogantly raised his chin.

“I am the master of the Tang family.”