Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 701

Thwaaang!

It was a terrifying clash.

The Plum Blossom Spears and the vanguard of the Blood Wolf Corps collided head-on, creating a chilling roar.

Blood Wolf Corps members were pierced and killed by the spears, while even in their death throes, they managed to embed arrows and swords into the bodies of the Plum Blossom Spears.

The Plum Blossom Spears, despite coughing up blood, pushed their spears even deeper; their ferocity was immense.

The martial prowess of the Plum Blossom Spears was on par with the Plum Blossom Swordsmen. However, in such chaotic battles, especially during charges, they displayed combat power exceeding that of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.

The wars of martial artists were different from those of ordinary soldiers. While the strategies might be similar, the tactics had to be completely different. This was because the variations in individual abilities were so significant.

However, the ultimate utilization of weapons was what defined martial arts. True to their nature, the Plum Blossom Spears’ charge, for a brief moment, displayed greater efficiency than even the Jongnam swordsmen’s sword formation.

Thud! Thud!

The appearance of the Plum Blossom Spears allowed the Jongnam sword formation to catch its breath.

However, in a back-and-forth battle, variables could always arise.

Clang! Bang!

“Cough!”

Geukpae’s fist finally reached Yong Ho-Jin’s chest.

Yong Ho-Jin was sent flying with a thunderous sound; the amount of blood he spewed from his nose and mouth was tremendous. Having taken a direct blow to his stomach, past his sternum, he would suffer severe internal injuries as well as excruciating pain.

Thud.

Geukpae wiped the blood flowing down his face.

To deliver a fatal blow to Yong Ho-Jin, he had also lost an eye. If the sword energy had been a little deeper, it would have invaded his brain.

Giving flesh to take bone. It was the ruthless judgment of a practical martial artist that overturned the urgent war situation in an instant.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Geukpae’s martial arts, which instantly charged forward and crushed the heads of three Plum Blossom Spears, were truly outstanding.

Hwang Seok-Tae shouted.

“Sword Formation!”

Flash!

A massive cluster of light flew from the rear’s Taeul Formless Sword Formation [a sword formation that emphasizes fluidity and adaptability].

Geukpae’s remaining eye turned red.

Thwaaang!

He deflected the attack with his iron arm guards.

It was a power that even a supreme master could not withstand. The sword energy that slightly missed him cut down five Blood Wolf Corps members and disappeared.

Whoosh!

Geukpae, who had instantly penetrated the Plum Blossom Spears, swung his arms and legs.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

More than ten Plum Blossom Spears fell, coughing up blood.

Even with one eye missing, he was accurately gauging distances. He was incapacitating one person with each strike. This was because he was targeting only vital points with his swift fists and kicks.

A master of close-quarters combat, against whom even a squad leader, Hwahan, could not guarantee victory.

Geukpae, who had instantly broken the Plum Blossom Spears’ formation, rushed towards Dong-Gwon.

Dong-Gwon’s eyes flashed.

“You bastard!!”

Clang!

Dong-Gwon’s Taeul Formless Sword and Geukpae’s Wolf King Fist collided.

The difference in power was clear. Geukpae stepped back three or four paces.

It was when Dong-Gwon took a step forward, gaining confidence.

Thwack!

Dong-Gwon’s left arm was completely severed.

It was So-Wol’s Iron Spike [a type of projectile]. Geukpae had pulled him out from the center of the sword formation where he was being protected, and So-Wol’s archery, seizing the opportunity, had attacked Dong-Gwon.

Thwack!

So-Wol, who had fired the Iron Spike, coughed up blood.

She had managed to sever Dong-Gwon’s arm by seizing an opening, but Muk Bi had also fired an invisible projectile at So-Wol.

She thought she had somehow dodged it, but a sharp pain shot up from her side where the invisible projectile had grazed her. Three of her ribs were broken.

Clang!

And that wasn’t all.

So-Wol had severed Dong-Gwon’s arm with one strike, but Muk Bi pushed So-Wol away while simultaneously pressing Geukpae. She deflected four out of five consecutive invisible projectiles, but the last one struck Geukpae’s chest.

Thwack!

Geukpae coughed up blood.

Muk Bi’s eyes wavered.

‘It didn’t penetrate?!’

The power of the invisible projectile could pierce through rocks. He had taken such a blow, and all he did was cough up blood from the impact?

In that instant, her eyes caught something dark and murky within Geukpae’s torn clothing.

‘Armor!’

Geukpae, who was using his fists and kicks in the middle of the front line without any weapons, was wearing thin armor.

The impact was great, but it wouldn’t kill him.

‘Damn it!’

Muk Bi, who was drawing her bow again, felt a chilling killing intent.

Thwaaang!

A huge arrow that had pierced through the ground trembled. It was an Iron Spike.

Muk Bi looked at So-Wol.

So-Wol, with a pale face, was bleeding from the mouth but still aiming her bow at Muk Bi. Even while suffering considerable losses, she would never let her enemy go.

‘Damn it!’

A look of disgust appeared on Muk Bi’s face.

‘These guys are all insane!’

She was also a veteran warrior who had fought in countless battles.

However, the enemy commanders were different. Beyond the difference in martial arts, the number of hellish battles they had experienced was different.

Even if their arms and legs were severed, even if their bones were broken, they never lost their focus. In a way, they were even more ruthless than the Blood Wolf Corps members who were committing suicide attacks.

‘But.’

Powerful internal energy gathered in her hands.

‘Having suffered losses, mental strength alone cannot change the war situation!’

Muk Bi released her bowstring.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The invisible projectiles flew at a terrifying speed.

So-Wol also fired invisible projectiles.

Bang! Thud! Thud!

The two archers, who had been facing each other, launched attacks at the same time.

A fierce battle of speed that turned long distances into nothing in an instant.

In the midst of it, forces armed with spears, swords, fists, iron rods, and formations clashed, sacrificing their lives.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Bang!

The Blood Wolf Corps began to push back the remaining spearmen and the sword formation.

As Dong-Gwon’s sword injured Geukpae’s leg, Geukpae’s fist struck Dong-Gwon’s chest, causing him to collapse.

Hwang Seok-Tae was fighting Hwahan, and the Blood Wolf Corps was pushing back the sword formation.

Slowly, but surely, the Blood Wolf Corps was getting closer to the main mountain.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

With numerous explosions, the speed at which the sword formation was being pushed back increased.

The madness of the Blood Wolves, who were willing to die.

‘…!’

At this moment, they realized.

That so many of their allies had been defeated.

That the Blood Wolves who had advanced to Sadoam, and the forces that had been dispatched to deal with Dodong and the Hakdosa, had all departed this world.

Even without hearing it, their intuition told them. They, who had experienced the sharp military discipline on various battlefields outside the borders, realized that they had all been defeated.

Senses that had become sharper than ever in the midst of life-and-death battles.

In the madness that burned like a volcano, the Blood Wolf Corps realized another fact.

It was a failure.

The presence of Myeong-Geuk, who had been holding back the unknown master, was not felt. If the fight had ended, he should have arrived here long ago, but their leader had not yet appeared.

If that was the case, then it was over.

Even if they all died, if Myeong-Geuk was still alive, they could inflict devastating damage on Jongnam. But since that absolute master had not appeared here, they could only assume that he had been killed by the enemy commander.

“There is no retreat!”

Clang!

Hwahan, who had repelled Hwang Seok-Tae with a powerful sword strike, shouted in a terrifying voice.

“We do not retreat! Attack them until the moment our lives end!”

The wavering morale of the Blood Wolves flared up fiercely.

Clang! Thud! Thud!

With chilling sounds of flesh tearing, many people fell.

Jongnam swordsmen and Blood Wolves were dying.

The destructive power of Geukpae’s fists, which were ravaging the enemies at the front, was immense. It was a resolution that burned their lives, crushing the Jongnam swordsmen even as they sacrificed their own vitality.

Clang!

Hwang Seok-Tae, who had pushed back Hwahan, shouted.

“You madmen! Just give up!”

“We do not give up.”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The Red Dragon Spear and the greatsword did not yield an inch.

Hwahan’s eyes turned red.

“I will take at least one more with me!!”

That was when it happened.

Flash!

A beautiful flash of light appeared, and in an instant, Geukpae’s body was split in half.

Splatter!

Behind the gushing blood, an old man appeared, infinitely benevolent and gentle, yet somehow carrying a hint of sadness.

It was Hwgeomja.

Hwang Seok-Tae shouted.

“Senior Noh!”

“I intended to stay until the end to prepare for any possible surprise attacks, but it seems there is no more meaning in that, so I came myself.”

Hwgeomja’s eyes scanned the Blood Wolves.

Even with the appearance of a new master, the Blood Wolves’ spirit did not die. Rather, they advanced with even more madness.

An expression of pity appeared on Hwgeomja’s face.

If he had not devoted himself to the enlightenment of the Tao [a philosophical concept emphasizing harmony with the universe], he would have lived a life like theirs.

‘I will not tell you to understand. For I myself cannot understand.’

Whoosh!

Dozens of plum blossoms began to bloom on his long sword.

‘The current me is just Hwgeomja.’

Hwgeomja thrust his sword straight forward.

Whoosh! Thwack! Thwack!

Flower-shaped holes appeared between the eyebrows of more than ten Blood Wolf Corps members.

The sword path was slow and straightforward, but the internal energy and sword intent within it were embodying the pinnacle of the Hwasan martial arts.

A sword without madness or killing intent. Yet, every time his sword was swung, three or four wolves were surely departing this world.

And that wasn’t all.

Uwaaaaaa!!

More swordsmen were coming from behind the main mountain.

They were the swordsmen who had been guarding Sadoam. And in front of them was Pae-Yul, wielding the Twin Wolf Spears.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The replaced sword formation, and Pae-Yul, who had charged into the enemy lines past Hwgeomja, was swinging his two short spears magnificently.

Whoosh!

The Blood Wolf Corps was being pushed back helplessly.

In the face of an absolute power imbalance that could not be overcome with bloodlust and madness alone.

“Ugh! Those damn bastards are still there!”

Jin Yang, the leader of the Hwaung Clan, aimed his Azure Dragon Crescent Blade at the Blood Wolves.

“Kill them all!”

Even the forces of the Hwaung Clan, each wielding heavy weapons, were pushing back the Blood Wolves.

Despair finally began to settle on the faces of the Blood Wolves, who were armed with extreme mental strength.

They wanted to kill more, but they couldn’t. The forces of the Hwaung Clan, overflowing with power, the replaced Jongnam swordsmen, and even the supreme masters Hwgeomja and Pae-Yul had joined the battle.

They could do nothing.

With each blink of an eye, their comrades were noticeably dwindling.

And then.

Whoosh!

Behind the forces pushing back the Blood Wolves, Yeon Ho-Jeong finally appeared.

His appearance was devastating. Although he could not engage in immediate combat, his mere presence boosted the morale of his allies and robbed the Blood Wolves of their remaining energy.

“It’s over now!”

Clang!

The destructive strikes of the Great Dragon Spear repelled Hwahan’s greatsword.

Hwang Seok-Tae shouted.

“Kneel!”

“Shut up!!”

Hwahan’s voice, which had been heavy, became sharp.

“Even if my life ends, I will not kneel!”

Bang!

The greatsword, which had failed to cut Hwang Seok-Tae, was embedded in the ground.

The shaft of the Red Dragon Spear moved elastically.

Crack!

The spear shattered Hwahan’s right collarbone.

In Hwahan’s wavering eyes, the huge jaws of a dragon were reflected like a hallucination.

Hwahan closed his eyes.

“I offer to the Evil God…”

Thwack!

Hwahan’s head was severed and he collapsed.

Splatter!

Jin Yang and Seo Jeong-Gwang’s glaives tore apart the body of the last remaining Blood Wolf.

“You bastards!!”

Whoosh!

Three Iron Spikes appeared in So-Wol’s hand, which had soared high into the air.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Holes were pierced through So-Wol’s torso. Three of Muk Bi’s invisible projectiles had struck her directly.

Whoosh!

The three Iron Spikes, fired before she lost her life, flew towards Hwgeomja, Pae-Yul, and Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Clang!

Hwgeomja’s sword deflected the Iron Spikes.

Bang!

The Iron Spikes were embedded in the ground due to Pae-Yul’s exquisite evasion skills.

And Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was defenseless.

Whoosh!

Muk Bi, who had flown next to Yeon Ho-Jeong in an instant, grabbed the Iron Spikes with both hands. The arrowheads of the Iron Spikes were three inches in front of Yeon Ho-Jeong’s forehead.

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

“That was close.”

Fwoosh!

White haze rose from Muk Bi’s hands, which were holding the Iron Spikes.

Muk Bi sighed.

“People who have lost their combat abilities shouldn’t come to the front lines. You almost died.”

“You stopped it.”

“Geez.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong looked at Hwang Seok-Tae.

A smile spread across Hwang Seok-Tae’s face.

As Yeon Ho-Jeong nodded, Hwang Seok-Tae raised the Red Dragon Spear.

“We have won!!”

“Uwaaaa!!”

A huge roar shook Jongnam Mountain.

The war was over.