Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 66

“Hmm.”

Moyong Gun gazed out the window.

The sun was setting.

“The sun’s already setting.”

Moyong Yeon-hwa frowned. Having been cooped up in their residence all day, she felt stiff.

“How did it go?”

“I wonder.”

It had been over a day since they had been stuck in one place, so it was understandable that Moyong Yeon-hwa would ask such a pointless question. She had never just waited for news without doing anything, so she couldn’t help but feel restless.

Moyong Yeon-hwa sighed.

“I’d rather he was alive.”

Moyong Gun chuckled.

“Of course, he should be. Otherwise, our trouble coming all the way to Hanam would be for nothing, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s true, but I really want to meet him and give him a piece of my mind.”

Moyong Gun said slyly.

“Still, wasn’t he almost your husband at one point?”

He was referring to when he had proposed a business deal to the Yeon family.

Moyong Yeon-hwa shrugged.

“But it didn’t happen, did it?”

Moyong Gun smiled.

She seemed a bit bored, but that was all. His daughter still maintained a detached demeanor.

Moyong Yeon-hwa hadn’t stepped outside the lodging, even though he hadn’t explicitly told her not to. She believed there was no point in distracting the Open Heaven Sect with unnecessary movements. In a situation where they didn’t know whether to join hands or reject them, any rash action was absolutely forbidden.

She could consider the big picture even in the smallest things. That was why Moyong Gun favored Moyong Yeon-hwa.

“Since the sun is setting, let’s have dinner soon.”

“Yes.”

Moyong Gun grabbed a rope hanging in the air. Pulling it would ring a bell, and a waiter would soon come running.

He was about to pull the rope when it happened.

‘…….’

Moyong Gun’s eyes gleamed.

Moyong Yeon-hwa tilted her head.

“What’s wrong, Father?”

“I smell blood.”

“Pardon?”

Moyong Gun, having let go of the rope, looked out the window again.

A voice reached his ears through a sound transmission.

[Young Master Yeon has arrived.]

“……What?”

Surprise flickered across Moyong Gun’s face.

‘So fast?’

No, before that, he survived the Blue Wolf Demons’ assault? How?

“Father?”

“He’s coming.”

“Yes?”

“Yeon Ho-Jeong is coming.”

Moyong Yeon-hwa involuntarily opened her mouth.

“He defeated the Blue Wolf Demons?”

Moyong Gun didn’t answer.

He naturally assumed he had defeated them. There was no way he would come without wiping them all out.

At the same time, he thought it was impossible.

‘Didn’t they say they clashed at noon today?’

Once the Blue Wolf Demons locked onto a target and started moving, it would take at least three to five days. They would exhaust their target over time and then strike the final blow.

It was exactly like the wolves’ hunting habits. Wolves with good stamina would chase their prey until it collapsed from exhaustion.

But he had wiped out those tenacious bastards in half a day? And alone?

‘That’s impossible.’

It couldn’t be possible.

Even if Yeon Ho-Jeong had pushed back the Blue Wolf Demons by himself, the remaining ones would have fled to hide. Killing them one by one would not have been easy.

‘Did the Open Heaven Sect help him? No way? If they knew he was a force of the Myeong Clan, they wouldn’t easily get involved.’

Then it happened.

Whoosh.

Moyong Gun felt the smell of blood intensify in an instant.

Thump. Thump.

The sound of knocking on the door was quite rough.

Moyong Gun said calmly.

“Come in.”

Creak.

The door opened, and a young man entered.

He was a tall, slender young man. His eyes were somewhat sharp, but he was still very handsome.

Thud!

The floor shook.

The young man, who had placed an axe as big as a person’s torso next to the door, was panting.

“Excuse me.”

The young man’s entire body was covered in blood.

His clothes were torn and had holes in them, and all the exposed skin was stained with blood. A trail of blood ran down from his temple, across his jawline, and down his neck, and the blood was still wet.

He was covered in wounds and his breathing was rough. He looked like a general who had come through a fierce battle.

“Are you the eldest son of the Yeon family?”

“Are you the head of the Moyong Clan?”

“I am.”

“I am.”

The young man, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes flashed.

‘Moyong Gun.’

He looked at him with surprised eyes, but his expression was calm and composed.

A fierce ambition that could burn even the sky was hidden within his clear gaze. His thick lips, trapped within his well-groomed beard, were firmly shut, and his angular jaw exuded determination.

‘…….’

His fists clenched involuntarily.

If all that gray hair and black beard turned completely white.

If his perfectly structured frame became slightly smaller, and instead, a much deeper gaze and a detached expression were added.

If he wore a pure white martial uniform and a long robe instead of luxurious silk clothes.

‘He’s the same.’

Moyong Gun, the martial arts alliance leader who was revered as a sword god. [A title given to a martial artist of exceptional skill and power.]

He was the same as when he had met him as the Black Emperor of the Black Emperor Castle. Although there were differences in appearance, that unique, flawless aura was unmistakably Moyong Gun’s.

Yeon Ho-Jeong took a deep breath.

Seeing this man made his heart complicated. In reality, he was closer to disliking Moyong Gun than liking him.

Moreover, he was the one who had ordered Tang Gwan to kill him at the end of his life.

‘If I die, who will be there to stop you? The current orthodox martial world… cannot stop the Black Emperor Castle.’

‘I will apologize in the afterlife. Let’s go together.’

Even if it was a precarious alliance, a comrade was a comrade. He had been betrayed and killed by his comrade. Naturally, he couldn’t have good feelings towards Moyong Gun.

However.

‘…….’

The coldness in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes gradually faded as he looked at Moyong Gun.

“I am Yeon Ho-Jeong of the Byeoksan Yeon family of Gangso.”

He bowed respectfully.

“I greet the head of the Moyong Clan.”

Moyong Gun’s eyes gleamed.

He saw an unidentifiable fragment of emotion in Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes as he looked at him. It was like hatred, yet also like longing.

‘What is it?’

It was an unknown emotion.

He was the one who had planted spies to destroy his family, so he could be angry. But what was the longing behind the hatred?

“I am the one in charge of the Moyong Clan.”

Moyong Gun smiled.

“So, this is the famous Mad Lion.”

“Hoo.”

Moyong Gun got up from his seat and reached for a large table on one side.

“Please, sit over there.”

“Very well.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong sat on a chair.

Even though he was badly injured and exhausted, his gait was steady. Moyong Gun was impressed by Yeon Ho-Jeong’s strength.

“Shouldn’t you get treatment? Your injuries look quite severe.”

“It’s fine.”

He had suffered countless injuries like this. He had fought day and night with even worse injuries countless times.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled faintly.

“By the way, do you have any alcohol?”

“Alcohol? Is that okay for your condition?”

“It’s fine.”

“Haha.”

Moyong Gun gave Moyong Yeon-hwa a look.

Moyong Yeon-hwa pulled the rope in the air. After a while, when the waiter came, Moyong Yeon-hwa ordered food and alcohol.

Moyong Gun sat across from Yeon Ho-Jeong.

“I never thought I would meet the eldest son of the family head, not the family head himself, because of this matter.”

Moyong Gun pointed to Moyong Yeon-hwa.

“You might have met her at the gathering of the rising stars. This is my daughter, Yeon-hwa.”

Moyong Yeon-hwa smiled and greeted him.

“I’m Moyong Yeon-hwa. It seems we’ve met sooner than expected.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who had been quietly looking at Moyong Yeon-hwa, nodded once and said nothing.

He had come to see Moyong Gun, not Moyong Yeon-hwa. Besides, he was busy managing his complicated feelings towards Moyong Gun.

Moyong Yeon-hwa’s expression changed slightly.

Moyong Gun burst into laughter.

“He’s a man of few words.”

“I’m just awkward talking to women. Please understand.”

“So, you’re a novice? That’s quite unexpected.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong chuckled.

Moyong Gun’s gaze became strange. He was wearing a gentle smile, but his eyes were sharply honed, probing his opponent.

‘Impressive.’

He recognized Yeon Ho-Jeong’s strength at a glance.

Yeon Ho-Jeong was strong. The inner energy and aura he possessed were not at the level of a rising star.

‘No, it’s not just that.’

His inner energy was one thing, but the man himself seemed strong.

An unbreakable strength, the steel among steel forged by a great general. From Yeon Ho-Jeong’s chilling aura, Moyong Gun could glimpse the shadow of a divine weapon that was hard to find anywhere.

Moyong Gun’s mouth opened involuntarily.

“Did you defeat all the Blue Wolf Demons of the Myeong Clan?”

“Do you call them Blue Wolf Demons?”

“You didn’t know who they were?”

“I only knew they were sent by the Myeong Clan.”

“Hahaha! You’re truly bold.”

Moyong Gun asked in a meaningful tone.

“So, did you catch them all?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shook his head.

Moyong Yeon-hwa slightly raised the corners of her mouth as if she had expected it.

Moyong Gun tilted his head.

“Judging by your momentum, I thought you had wiped them all out, but that’s not the case?”

“I caught sixty-eight out of seventy, and I sent the other two with one arm each to the Myeong Clan.”

“……!”

“I think the Myeong Clan Head’s face will be quite a sight.”

Moyong Gun’s face hardened.

Moyong Yeon-hwa was dumbfounded.

“Young Master Yeon. If you’re lying out of pointless pride…”

Moyong Gun raised his hand. Then, Moyong Yeon-hwa’s mouth closed involuntarily.

Moyong Gun, who had been studying Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face for a while, opened his mouth.

“You deliberately intended to anger the Myeong Clan Head?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m telling you clearly, that was a bad move.”

Moyong Yeon-hwa was inwardly dumbfounded.

Like Moyong Gun, she could read Yeon Ho-Jeong’s aura. But all she could read was his abundant inner energy and well-structured aura, nothing more.

A vessel that was not yet complete. She could not see what her father, Moyong Gun, saw.

Yeon Ho-Jeong tilted his head.

“Why do you think so?”

“If you had annihilated them without a trace, the Myeong Clan Head would have become more cautious from now on.”

“That’s probably true.”

“You should have taken advantage of the moment he became cautious. If you needlessly anger him, Hanam could become a living hell.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong readily admitted.

“That could be the case.”

“Haha, are you trying to joke with me now?”

“Did you receive my letter?”

“……?”

“You must have received it, or you wouldn’t be here. Then I’ll ask. No matter how rough and arrogant a guy is, what would make him send such a letter to the family head?”

Moyong Gun’s eyes flashed.

“You had something to believe in?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong took out a letter from his chest. The letter, stained with his own blood, looked eerie.

“What is this?”

“Open it.”

Moyong Gun felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

He slowly unfolded the letter.

“……Shaolin?!!”

Yeon Ho-Jeong gave a meaningful smile.

“I have no doubt that you, the family head, have a decisive move to destroy the Myeong Clan.”

“……!”

“However, in order for that move to work properly, shouldn’t there be a buffer to check the Myeong Clan? So, I’m trying to summon a reliable force to keep them in check. What do you think? Do you like my plan?”