Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 607

“Cough!”

Blood splattered as Dang Ho slumped down, a look of utter defeat on his face.

‘What is this?’

Blood trickled down his body.

He hastily circulated his inner energy, pressing on pressure points to stop the bleeding and prevent his consciousness from fading.

But that was all he could do. He managed to avoid collapsing from blood loss, but he couldn’t stop the explosive force that had penetrated his wounds from ravaging his body.

“Not bad.”

Sizzle!

Smoke rose from Tang Gwan’s body.

He was using his power to break through the Soul-Summoning Formation’s suppression of true energy. The formation’s energy that had infiltrated his body was being forced out through his pores, unable to withstand the power of his Emperor Poison Art [a martial art focused on using poison].

‘This…?!’

It was an unbelievable situation.

Dang Ho was certain. No one could remain unscathed within this formation unless they were at the Saintly Heaven level [a very high level of martial arts mastery]. No, even a Saintly Heaven master would have to put in considerable effort to escape this formation.

The Soul-Summoning Formation was indeed that powerful. It was one of the most potent techniques he had received from the Ghost Lord, Tang Chungho.

Yet, it was not working. He couldn’t understand it.

If he had broken through with brute force, he might have suspected some strange poison or explosive.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

Dang Ho, enraged, tried to stand up, but clutched his chest instead.

“Ugh!”

The amount of blood he coughed up was alarming.

Dang Ho’s eyes wavered.

‘When did I get internal injuries…?!’

In an instant, he pushed the Three Yang Returning Origin Art [a technique to heal internal injuries] to its limit.

Trickle.

He endured the internal damage and forced his inner energy to examine the blood points throughout his body. Only then did he understand the reason.

‘This is insane!’

Dang Ho stared at Tang Gwan with trembling eyes.

Tang Gwan looked down at him with an indifferent expression.

Standing tall, emitting thick smoke from his entire body, he looked like a giant emerging from the mist in a myth.

‘Even his penetrating force is laced with poison. How is this possible!’

Penetrating force, by its nature, is extremely difficult to infuse with poison, as it requires pure inner energy.

Yet, Tang Gwan’s penetrating force was laced with poison. Not only that, but even the traces of the force left in the wounds were still poisonous.

The force might have died, but the poison did not. That poison was constantly causing internal injuries. Even Dang Ho hadn’t noticed it!

And this was despite the fact that he hadn’t used his hands directly, but attacked with hidden weapons.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

Tang Gwan’s voice and gaze were no longer wavering.

This was truly the end. His demeanor made it clear.

“Kneel down quietly. You won’t escape death, but at least your name won’t be recorded as a traitor in the family’s history.”

“…”

“What will you do?”

Dang Ho’s cheek twitched.

He wasn’t hesitating. He was filled with self-loathing for not being able to defeat Tang Gwan even after luring him into the Soul-Summoning Formation. He was also enraged by the fact that the man was looking down on him after his defeat.

‘I’ll kill him.’

His expression became calm due to extreme anger. But the seething murderous intent was growing stronger with each passing moment.

‘I’ll tear him apart and kill him!’

Then, Dang Ho’s eyes caught sight of the iron ball in Tang Gwan’s hand.

A chill ran down his spine.

The iron ball was nearly half-dented. But it wasn’t from someone grabbing it or breaking it with force.

‘What was that?’

Dang Ho’s eyes glazed over as he looked at the iron ball.

‘What the hell was that just now!’

The petals of light that had bloomed from the iron ball, which had floated about an inch above Tang Gwan’s hand.

They looked like plum blossoms, or willow leaves. They also looked like tiny bamboo leaves, or blades of grass.

Those countless fragments of light covered the surroundings, constricting him with a strange hidden weapon technique. It was a divine technique that Dang Ho had never seen in his life.

“So, you still can’t give up?”

Tang Gwan’s face hardened.

“You’ve done wrong, but you’re still a member of the Tang family, so your pride must be considerable. I said I’d give you one last chance, but thinking about it, that might have been an insulting remark to you.”

Damn it.

Dang Ho was anxious.

It was just one strike. That unknown martial art could not be blocked by the inner energy or true energy flow amplified by the Soul-Summoning Formation. It was a terrifying martial art that nullified the difference in skill and inner energy.

Moreover, it seemed that he had used that technique with only his true energy and will, without even moving a finger. If he moved rashly, that unknown killing technique would immediately come flying at him.

‘What should I do?’

There was no way to win. A reversal was impossible. Even if it wasn’t his instinct, the results that had been revealed were telling him that.

‘If I use that now…?!’

Dang Ho was overcome with a powerful temptation.

Unlike the existence of the Ghost Gate, ‘that’ was the Tang family’s last, worst weapon, known only to the Tang family head. And Dang Ho also possessed that weapon.

‘No. If I use that, a true Dark King might appear. If that happens…’

By now, his father had also become a Dark King in his mind.

Dang Ho’s eyes became bloodshot.

‘If that happens, I’ll have to kill the Dark King too.’

He would be able to kill him. If he used ‘that,’ even the Dark King wouldn’t be able to withstand it. He was certain of that.

It wasn’t some miraculous formation like the Soul-Summoning Formation. If he used that weapon, not only the Dark King but the entire Tang family could be destroyed.

It was truly the last resort. It was something that could even endanger his own life.

“I said I would kill you, that I wouldn’t think of you as a brother, but in truth, I still think of you as my brother. I’m realizing anew that blood ties are such strong bonds that they cannot be severed so easily, no matter what wrong you’ve done.”

Shut up!

Dang Ho thought. He thought and thought again.

Should he use it? But is it okay to use it now? If he uses it, he’ll be in danger too? No, if he’s going to use it, he’ll have to get out of here first, right?

His mind was a mess for a moment. He had never expected this outcome. He was skilled at deceiving people in the moment, but he lacked the wit to escape unforeseen situations.

“However, even so.”

Screech.

Tang Gwan grabbed a part that was sticking out of the iron ball and pulled it off.

Even though it was clearly all one piece, it came off so easily when he pulled it. It seemed like it was so tightly joined that there were no seams, but he couldn’t understand how that was possible.

“Now, we have to end this. There’s no reason to continue this insane fight any longer.”

Screech.

What he pulled out of the iron ball was a small blade. It was smaller than a dagger, so small that it was embarrassing to even call it a blade.

However, Dang Ho thought that the small blade in Tang Gwan’s hand looked extremely dangerous.

A Tang family warrior could use hidden weapons with just a needle or a handful of sand. And Tang Gwan was the pinnacle of the Tang family.

‘Dangerous. This is really dangerous!’

Thump-thump!

His heart was pounding like thunder.

Time seemed to be moving slowly, yet also too quickly. Dang Ho’s anxiety reached its limit.

“Considering the sins you’ve committed, it wouldn’t be enough to grind your whole body to dust, but since we’re blood relatives, I’ll at least keep your corpse intact.”

Tang Gwan raised the hand holding the blade.

“Farewell.”

Damn it! Damn it!!

“…I will.”

“What?”

Tang Gwan frowned.

“What did you just say?”

Dang Ho, with his head bowed, spoke in a barely audible voice.

“I will… make a deal.”

“…”

A sigh of exasperation escaped Tang Gwan’s lips.

A deal? What kind of deal was he talking about in this situation?

“You pathetic fool.”

Disgust finally appeared on Tang Gwan’s face.

“I’ll tell you the truth. Truly, you are no longer my brother.”

He swung the blade. It was a cold, unhesitating movement.

Whoosh!

The blade left Tang Gwan’s hand, aiming for Dang Ho’s forehead like a lightning bolt.

It was an attack that would be difficult to block or dodge even if his body was in perfect condition. Dang Ho gritted his teeth, his head still bowed.

And then.

Clanggggg!

Tang Gwan’s eyes wavered.

“Huh.”

Someone appeared next to Dang Ho.

“That was really close. Wasn’t it, Dang Ho?”

It was a strange voice.

A soft voice, but it stuck in his ears. It was a voice that made him think that it would have been better if he had spoken a little louder.

“You were so stubborn, and now you’re finally resorting to a deal. If you had said so earlier, we could have handled this cleanly without all this trouble.”

The white-masked man chuckled.

“Well, that’s how people are. They always act on their useless pride and regret it in the end. Even though they know the outcome won’t change.”

“Who are you?”

“Hmm?”

The white-masked man looked at Tang Gwan.

Tang Gwan’s face was frighteningly stiff.

“I asked who you are.”

The white-masked man tilted his head and shrugged.

“Well, I haven’t heard my name in a long time.”

He was a strange one.

Not only his voice and tone, but his actions were also light and frivolous. His comical gestures made him seem like a character from a traveling troupe’s farce.

“You.”

Tang Gwan said, looking at Dang Ho.

“Who the hell did you bring into the family!!”

Clang!

His voice suddenly became louder.

It was instinct. Tang Gwan could instinctively sense it. The white-masked man in front of him was no ordinary person. He was a master whose victory or defeat was difficult to predict, even for him in his current state.

And beyond that… this guy was not from the Central Plains martial world [the main setting of the story].

It was not logic, but intuition. Beyond his tone and actions, he could tell from the strange energy alone.

Dang Ho raised his head.

His face was full of humiliation, but his expression was filled with the certainty that he would not die.

“Take care of him.”

“Of course, I will. You agreed to a deal, so I can’t let the person I’m dealing with disappear, right? I have to get rid of all the guys who are trying to take the life of my client.”

“I’ll remove the Soul-Summoning Formation.”

“No, don’t remove it. It’s better not to. Thanks to you, I’ve had a lot of fun in this formation.”

“…When?!!”

“Always.”

A look of disgust appeared on Dang Ho’s face.

But it was only for a moment.

“If possible, kill him. If not, at least tear off one of his arms.”

“Don’t worry. I can kill him.”

Screech.

Dang Ho slowly moved away.

Tang Gwan shouted.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Several dozen rays of light shot out from the iron ball, heading towards Dang Ho.

It was an incredible speed. It was easy to understand why Dang Ho had been helpless against it.

Then, the white-masked man moved.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Thud!

“Oh my, what is this?”

Screech.

Dang Ho completely disappeared from within the Soul-Summoning Formation.

And in that place, the white-masked man remained.

The white-masked man touched his shoulder. Blood was seeping from the torn fabric of his robe.

“This… is really something.”

The white-masked man’s voice became more serious.

“You didn’t even use a proper technique, and just by throwing hidden weapons, you can achieve this kind of penetration and rotation?”

“What are you?”

He wanted to chase after Dang Ho right away.

But he couldn’t. The strange energy emanating from the white-masked man was binding him like a fog.

One thing was certain.

The reason why Dang Ho’s Three Yang Returning Origin Art had become half-baked, the person who had given him that bizarre demonic art, was this guy.

The scent of that martial art was strong on the white-masked man.

“I told you earlier. I haven’t heard my name in a long time, so I forgot it.”

Thud. Thud.

Where had he been hiding it?.

In the white-masked man’s hand was a long, three-pointed, double-edged blade. It was a heavy weapon that looked like it weighed at least thirty pounds.

“Let’s stop with the useless chatter. You were giving your brother a chance, blah blah blah, my ears were hurting. Do you always talk so much when you fight?”

“…?!”

Whoosh!

The white-masked man, who had been spinning the three-pointed, double-edged blade, lowered his stance.

“Now, it’s time for some swordplay!”

“You!”

Chirrrrr!

The iron ball scattered, shooting towards the white-masked man, and the white-masked man’s three-pointed, double-edged blade cut through the air.