Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 612

Not far from the Clan Lord’s main residence,

The shadow of Tang Ho, sitting on a flat rock, was dark and imposing.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

From his motionless body, true energy surged in constant waves.

Standing behind Tang Ho, Tang Yeo-seon swallowed hard.

‘What is this?’

The strange true energy emanating from his father’s body was agitating his nerves.

‘Has Father mastered such a martial art?’

It resembled the true energy of the Toban Samyang Return to Origin Technique [a martial art focused on circulating internal energy]. On the surface, it seemed to be that.

But within it, a bizarre element, not quite poison, was baring its fangs.

The more one focused, the more a strange energy pulled the viewer’s mind into a murky swamp.

Tang Yeo-seon felt a terrible unease.

It was then.

“…You’ve arrived.”

Whoosh!

With a gust of hot wind, an old man approached the father and son who had stained the history of the Tang Clan with blood for hundreds of years.

The old man wore a black robe over his pure white clothes.

Despite not being of great stature, he exuded a tremendous presence. Even without emitting true energy, Tang Yeo-seon felt a suffocating pressure.

Tang Ho, with a hardened face, slowly descended from the rock.

“Have you come?”

The old man, Tang Hyeong, silently stared at Tang Ho.

A smile appeared on Tang Ho’s face. It was a strange smile, somehow awkward and twisted.

“I didn’t expect Father to interfere in the affairs of the current main family.”

Father.

In an instant, Tang Yeo-seon’s face turned pale.

‘Grandfather!’

He had suspected it, but it was indeed so.

The old man in front of him was definitely his grandfather, whom he had not seen since his early childhood.

The legend of the Tang Clan, one of the strongest of the Saintly Heavens [a term referring to the most powerful martial arts clans] in the current martial world, had revealed himself.

Thump, thump!

His heart was racing madly.

The Dark King, Tang Hyeong, was an absolute master, considered the greatest in the history of the Tang Clan, surpassing all previous generations.

In front of him, no one could maintain their composure. Not only himself, but even his father and all the leaders of the Tang Clan combined would have difficulty touching even the hem of his clothes. That was his grandfather.

Tang Yeo-seon stared at Tang Hyeong as if possessed. He wanted to turn his head away from the immense presence that naturally emanated from him, but strangely, he couldn’t take his eyes off him.

Then, Tang Hyeong turned his gaze to Tang Yeo-seon.

‘Gasp!’

Tang Yeo-seon’s face turned white. Just receiving Tang Hyeong’s gaze made his legs tremble.

A faint smile spread across Tang Hyeong’s expressionless face.

“It’s been a while, Yeo-seon.”

“… !”

“You saw your grandfather, are you not going to greet him?”

Tang Yeo-seon, realizing his mistake, quickly bowed his head.

“Ye, Yeo-seon greets Grandfather!”

“Yes.”

Tang Hyeong nodded.

“The last time I saw you, you were so small, and now you’ve grown into a young man. You’ve grown so much.”

It wasn’t the right situation, but Tang Yeo-seon felt a strange surge of emotion.

A master known as a legend of the family and a legend of the martial world was telling him that he had grown a lot.

It could be taken as just a passing remark, but its impact was not small. Tang Yeo-seon looked at Tang Hyeong with admiring eyes.

Tang Hyeong turned his gaze back to Tang Ho.

Tang Ho’s face had lost its smile and was now as hard as a rock.

Tang Hyeong spoke.

“You managed not to cross the line.”

“…”

“Good. If you had crossed the line, it wouldn’t have looked good.”

“…Is that so?”

“The sight of parents running around to catch and kill their runaway child wouldn’t be pleasing, would it?”

Chills!

Not only Tang Yeo-seon but even Tang Ho felt a chill at those words.

Tang Hyeong spoke in a calm tone.

“I will not ask you for a reason.”

“…”

“There’s no point in asking for a reason from a fellow who framed the current Clan Lord as a traitor and took the Clan Lord’s seat himself.”

“Father.”

“Also, there seems to be no need to ask for a reason for your act of kidnapping civilians throughout the entire Sichuan region and tarnishing the reputation of the main family with your disgraceful deeds.”

In an instant, Tang Ho’s eyes wavered.

‘He knows?!’

He knows about the existence of the Paradise Lodge [a secret organization]. His father, the Dark King, Tang Hyeong!

‘How on earth?’

The shadow on Tang Hyeong’s face deepened as he saw his son’s expression.

“So it was true.”

Tang Ho realized his mistake.

Tang Hyeong was not certain about the Paradise Lodge. His expression had given him confirmation.

‘Damn it!’

Even if the existence of the Paradise Lodge was revealed now, it wouldn’t mean much.

But Tang Ho felt his back getting wet with cold sweat.

It was like when he was a child and got caught doing something bad by his strict father.

He felt like he was about to be scolded harshly. Moreover, the current incident was on a different level in terms of density and scope compared to the bad things he had done in his childhood.

The moment he thought of that, Tang Ho’s eyes became bloodshot.

‘Bad things, you say.’

Is it something to be morally condemned? Yes, it could be.

But Tang Ho didn’t think of it as a bad thing.

It was just the result of his gradual efforts to achieve his desires, to achieve his dreams. It might be misfortune for someone, but not for Tang Ho.

Sacrifice is inevitable to become the victor of an era. Heroes and enemies are only a hair’s breadth apart. Tang Ho never thought that the things he did to achieve his dreams were bad.

Whoosh!

The energy rising from Tang Ho’s body became even denser.

Tang Hyeong closed his eyes.

‘Indeed.’

The ominous demonic energy lurking in his son’s body.

The demonic energy, which had been writhing haphazardly in panic, momentarily eroded the energy of the Toban Samyang Return to Origin Technique.

That alone was enough to know that Tang Ho’s heart had become darker.

Tang Hyeong realized. His second son had already gone too far. He had reached a point where he couldn’t be stopped by just scolding him like he did when he was a child.

Tang Hyeong sighed.

“Truly, I never imagined such a thing would happen to the main family.”

“How did you come out?”

Tang Ho’s cheeks twitched.

“Father is not one to break his own promises. So how did you break that vow and come out?”

“…”

“The previous generation is forbidden from participating in the politics of the current generation.”

“It doesn’t seem like you’re the one to say that, you who stole your brother’s position and seized the Clan Lord’s seat.”

“What’s important is that the clause was already made. No matter what, Father should not have come out of there.”

“I intended to.”

Tang Hyeong’s eyes deepened.

“I intended to. But now, what meaning does your words have?”

“It has meaning!”

A voice bursting out suddenly was filled with intense desire and towering pride.

“I am the master of the current Tang Clan! I am the master who holds the lives of everyone who inherited the Tang surname in my hand! Even if it is Father, trying to oppress the master of the clan is an act of disregarding the family law!”

“Is the master of the family the one who runs away when things don’t go his way?”

“… !”

“The master of the Tang Clan does not run away. You criticize my actions as your father by citing the family law, but in the end, you are only citing the family law that is advantageous to you and justifying your own actions.”

Tang Ho gritted his teeth.

“That’s what a Clan Lord is! That’s what a master is! The master of the Tang Clan is a king, and a king is given absolute power!”

“So, is it inevitable that a king who feels a threat to his life would flee?”

“It means that whatever I do can be forgiven! That’s why this position is valuable!”

“The position of a leader!!”

Clang!

Tang Ho’s face turned pale at Tang Hyeong’s explosive shout. The voice, which was released without controlling his emotions, was filled with tremendous inner power.

“The position of a leader of an organization is not just a position to exercise power! Power is responsibility! To hold the lives of all the Tangs in one hand means that you are responsible for all of them!”

“I was taking responsibility! For everyone! If only Father and that traitor hadn’t interfered… !”

“Are you calling your brother a traitor in front of me now!!”

Tang Ho’s shoulders tensed involuntarily.

Flash!

The Dark King’s gaze, emitting a terrifying light, was not something that even the reckless Tang Ho could easily withstand.

“Who committed treason? Not only did you falsely accuse him of a non-existent crime, but you dare to utter the word ‘traitor’ from the mouth of the one who has sickened this family, this land of Sichuan? In front of me of all people!”

Tang Ho’s face turned pale.

That’s right. Tang Hyeong already knew everything. What he had done, and that Tang Gwan was innocent.

Tang Ho had already reached the point where he believed the lies he had told others were the truth. Beyond deceiving others, he himself had come to believe that it was the truth.

Tang Hyeong shattered that false belief with a terrifying shout.

“Face what you have done! Don’t make excuses that your wrongdoings were inevitable, that it was a life to achieve your dreams! You have only sickened the main family and Sichuan with your deceit and lies!”

“…!!”

Tang Ho’s cheeks trembled.

Tang Hyeong, who had been scolding fiercely, took a breath. Even if his emotions had become intense, a master of this level would not have his breathing disrupted. It meant that he was that troubled.

“It’s all over now.”

“…”

“Now that I have stepped in, everything you have done will be revealed.”

Crack.

A chilling sound came from Tang Ho’s fist.

Tang Hyeong raised his chin.

“Kneel. If you kneel now and confess all your sins, at least your children will not be imprisoned in the dungeon.”

“Gasp!”

Tang Yeo-seon involuntarily swallowed a gasp of air.

His father’s children were himself. His grandfather’s words meant that if his father did not confess his sins, he would also be destroyed.

“…Father.”

Tang Yeo-seon said that without realizing it. Father.

Then, Tang Ho chuckled.

“Father, you say.”

Father and son. Parents and children.

Family and bloodline, family law and the affection of blood.

“Such things.”

Swish!

Dark red energy began to unravel from Tang Ho’s body.

It was demonic energy. Much denser than before, it was now demonic energy that could no longer be considered based on the Toban Samyang Return to Origin Technique.

“I abandoned them a long time ago!!”

Tang Ho forcefully stamped the ground.

No, he tried to.

“…?!”

Tang Ho, who was glaring at Tang Hyeong with a triumphant face, was momentarily flustered.

‘Huh?’

Why isn’t it exploding? Why isn’t the poison bomb going off? Why isn’t the hidden weapon’s essence activating? Why isn’t the Heavenly Thunder working?

“How clumsy.”

Tang Hyeong still had his hands behind his back. With his hands behind his back, he silently looked at Tang Ho.

Tang Ho, who was blankly looking at Tang Hyeong, suddenly looked down at his right leg.

“…!!”

Tang Ho’s face turned blue.

On his right leg, which he was about to step on to activate his true energy, dozens of pieces of iron were embedded.

Splat!

A large amount of blood gushed out.

“Kuaaak!”

Tang Ho collapsed on the spot.

His right leg was in tatters. At the same time, the shattered pieces of iron began to break into even smaller pieces and penetrate his blood vessels.

A son writhing in pain, a father looking down at such a son.

“In the land of Sichuan, formations, mechanisms, deceit, and lies do not work. At least, not for me.”

“Uwaaaah! Kuaaaak!”

“Now is the time to end everything.”