Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 915

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Mukro, who had been sitting on the chair with his eyes closed, was thrown backward as if he had been struck.

Crash!

Mukro’s face contorted as he maintained his posture, stepping on the broken chair.

‘What on earth?!’

At that moment, Yuhyuk, the Third Chief Priest, who had been trimming his nails to one side, shone his eyes.

“The Transcendent Demonic Shadow was forcibly severed?”

Even with Yuhyuk’s booming voice, Mukro couldn’t come to his senses.

‘What is this power?’

Mukro looked down at his hands.

His hands were trembling slightly.

‘They broke through the Transcendent Demonic Shadow?!’

If it was just cutting off the flow of energy, he could understand. Even a Blood Demon-level expert who hadn’t reached the level of a Saintly Demon could cut off the flow of energy with a full-force strike.

However, it was impossible to transmit a shock through the illusion of the Transcendent Demonic Shadow. Even Mukro himself couldn’t do that.

The reason was clear. The secret art of the Transcendent Demonic Shadow was based on the harmony of true energy based on the upper realm’s spiritual power.

If someone else had done it, he could understand. But for the shock to be transmitted to the main body through the Transcendent Demonic Shadow that he, who had reached the level of a Saintly Demon, had directly used, was something even the Thirteen Seats of the Saintly Heaven [a group of powerful martial artists] couldn’t do.

Maybe the Lord of the Demonic Realm, who had reached the pinnacle of all demons, or the Lord of the Divine Flame, who had reached the realm of the Fire God, or the Lord of the Evil Sound, who had entered the realm of overcoming evil, could do it.

‘No way. Could that guy have already become a master close to the Three Divine Lords?!’

That couldn’t be. If that were the case, he would have been able to see through the truth and falsehood of the Immeasurable and Unbreakable Great Formation from the beginning.

“Hey, Mukro.”

“…He’s dangerous.”

Fwoosh!

Mukro clenched his fist. A yellow haze rose from his fist.

“He’s mastered a bizarre martial art that I can’t identify. To the point that it even shakes the demonic spirit, is there such a guy in the Central Plains?”

Yuhyuk frowned.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Mukro’s eyes flashed.

“You, prepare for battle, leading the Blood Demon Swords.”

“Battle? That sounds good.”

Yuhyuk, who had been grinning, tilted his head.

“But why suddenly prepare for battle? What happened?”

“They’ve started attacking. It’s not a full-scale attack, but we need to be prepared for the worst.”

“They’ve started attacking? Already?”

“That’s right.”

“No, why? Didn’t they accept the life-and-death duel?”

Mukro shouted.

“That’s not important! They even know our intentions… !”

Mukro’s expression went blank as he spoke.

Come to think of it, how did Yeon Ho-Jeong know that they were targeting Cheon Hyo-Rak? How did he know that they planned to capture him alive instead of killing him?

‘Could it be from that brief conversation?’

That was impossible.

Mukro couldn’t figure out which part of the conversation revealed their intention to capture Cheon Hyo-Rak.

There was a limit to insight. If someone could extract all of the opponent’s information with just a few words in a situation where neither side knew anything about the other, it would be a more terrifying ability than anything else.

In any case, now was not the time to be spacing out.

“We must preserve the forces of the Divine Demonic Forest as much as possible! You take the Blood Demon Swords and… !”

“So, you’re saying to destroy them all, right?”

“Take charge of the front line defense. With his senses, he’ll surely be able to detect the location of our main camp.”

“Alright. I’ll do that. I was feeling restless, but as always, interesting things happen when I’m with Mukro.”

At that moment, Mukro picked up his staff.

“No, wait a minute.”

“What is it now?”

Mukro’s eyes turned cold.

‘The Third Chief Priest’s martial arts are more focused on attack than defense.’

He looked at Yuhyuk.

Yuhyuk was openly frowning. He looked like he wanted to fight right away.

“You know the Thirteen Seats of the Saintly Heaven, right?”

“Of course.”

“Are you confident you can defeat the Three Lords among them?”

Yuhyuk chuckled.

“The Three Lords are the ones I want to fight the most. Of course, I’ll win, but they’ll be enough to stir up some excitement.”

He had never seen them in person, but if the rumors were true, the Three Lords were just right for him to play with. That’s what Yuhyuk thought.

Mukro nodded.

“Use the East Road to bypass and attack the remaining ones. But you must never kill Cheon Hyo-Rak. You must capture him alive.”

“Don’t worry. But how do you know who Cheon Hyo-Rak is? I’ve never seen that brat before.”

“He’s a guy who has learned demonic arts, even if he can’t use them properly. You’ll know him the moment you see him.”

“Oh, I see.”

Crack! Crack!

Yuhyuk, cracking his bones as he rotated his hands, left the room immediately.

“I have no choice.”

Thud.

Mukro, who had struck the floor with his staff, sighed.

“I have no choice but to defend this place.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s guess was correct.

In reality, the Crimson Blood Sect hadn’t dispatched many troops. They had only dispatched two top experts who didn’t need to be numerous.

Those two were the First Chief Priest and the Third Chief Priest. The martial arts of the two were undoubtedly at the level of emperors, so they were more than enough to control the Divine Demonic Forest where the Demonic Lineage was sealed.

Moreover, the hundred Blood Demon Swordsmen who were dispatched together were all elite experts that the Crimson Blood Sect had raised with great care. They were literally swordsmen who could take on a hundred men, so it wouldn’t be difficult to wipe them out.

The only thing that bothered him was the three hundred iron cavalry, whose military discipline was impressive, but whose individual martial power seemed far below that of the Blood Demon Swordsmen.

‘It’s a bit early, but I have no choice.’

Mukro left his lodgings and headed towards Mok Gye-Dam.

Mok Gye-Dam, who had been looking out the window in the main hall of the Divine Demonic Forest, was inwardly surprised by Mukro’s sudden appearance. Mukro was making an expression he had never shown before.

“What’s going on?”

“Some of them are attacking.”

Mok Gye-Dam’s eyes wavered.

“If it’s some, does that mean there are more than two?”

“If what I heard and saw is true, there are four.”

“Four experts who have reached the level of a Saintly Demon?!”

It was a statement that could only come from someone who knew the mystery of the Immeasurable and Unbreakable Great Formation.

Mukro shook his head heavily.

“Yeon Ho-Jeong has realized that the Immeasurable and Unbreakable Great Formation is only half-complete.”

“…How?”

There was no time to explain everything. Even if there was time to explain, there was no need to say something that would make the allies lose trust in such an urgent moment.

“That’s not important. His insight and martial arts are exceptionally outstanding.”

Mok Gye-Dam’s eyes turned gloomy.

“Are they so powerful that you can’t handle them?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean exactly what I said.”

Mukro’s lips curled up.

“You may not know, but they are not at a level that I cannot handle.”

“Then please defend well. I’ll go check the condition of the sacrifices.”

“Is the preparation not yet complete?”

“I’m going to check whether the preparation is complete or not.”

Mukro raised his voice.

“What have you been doing all this time without checking that!”

Whoosh!

A murderous demonic energy flickered in Mok Gye-Dam’s eyes.

“If you have time to yell at me, go and stop them.”

That arrogant bastard.

He wanted to curse him out, but Mukro suppressed his anger. It wasn’t time to deal with this guy yet.

“Select the Divine Demonic Forest members who are not sacrifices and send them to the defense line.”

“Alright. But there won’t be many. Maybe about three hundred.”

“That’s enough. But… are the rest all tied up as sacrifices?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“Why? Is there a problem?”

Mukro felt uneasy.

The more sacrifices there were, the better it would be for the Lord. But no matter how he thought about it, this guy wasn’t normal. Even if he was a demon, he was still human, and no one would think of turning people they had known for a long time into human sacrifices.

“Get them ready. Just in case, move the sacrifices to a safe place separately.”

“Alright.”

“Lastly, make sure to keep your youngest disciple by your side.”

Mok Gye-Dam snorted.

“You’re quite greedy. Well, even that old man who said he wouldn’t take any more disciples broke his promise and took him.”

“Move.”

“Make sure to stop them.”

With those words, Mok Gye-Dam left the main hall.

A cold smile appeared on Mukro’s face as he looked at the door Mok Gye-Dam had left through.

“You’ll never know, even if you die and come back to life.”

He would never know how he was being used.

“Now, then.”

Mukro took a deep breath.

Crack! Crack!

With the sound of his bones cracking, Mukro’s bent back slowly straightened.

Not only that, but his hunched shoulders also straightened, and his wrinkled fingers gradually became more elastic.

In an instant, Mukro transformed into a completely different person than before. There was a limit to the Bone Shrinking Technique, but as his small body straightened, he became a dignified figure reaching six feet tall.

Fwoosh!

Emitting a dark demonic energy, Mukro moved.

It was earlier than he had expected, but it was time to return to the sect.

* * *

Chiririring! Boom! Boom!

The illusionary wall, which had been directly hit by the overwhelming strike of the Gale Nine Dragon Kill, cracked, and explosions echoed everywhere in the air.

The sight of the transparent barrier shattering and falling was visible to everyone. However, the original view did not change, but the Immeasurable and Unbreakable Great Formation, which had been only half-complete, began to collapse.

Fwaaaang!

The movement techniques of Tang Gwan, Muk Bi, and Okcheong, who were following Yeon Ho-Jeong, were extremely fast.

It was an urgent moment, but all three were experts in movement techniques, so they had no problem catching up with Yeon Ho-Jeong.

Among them, Okcheong’s speed was the slowest, but he was a Taoist who had learned the Cloud Riding Technique, the best movement technique of the Wudang Sect [a famous Taoist martial arts school]. Moreover, the demonic energy that grew stronger as they approached the mountain was constantly stimulating his Primordial Energy.

His inner energy was not decreasing but burning like fire, giving him powerful strength. A brilliant light flickered from Okcheong’s body.

Tang Gwan shouted.

“You brat! Is it okay to suddenly charge in like this?!”

Muk Bi, who had experienced such things frequently, didn’t feel the need to ask, but Tang Gwan did.

Yeon Ho-Jeong shouted.

“They didn’t have the materials or the time to deploy the Immeasurable and Unbreakable Great Formation in the first place! But they wanted the opponent to misunderstand that they had deployed such a formation! What do you think the reason is?”

“…!!”

“These guys have no intention of protecting the Divine Demonic Forest! They have no intention of establishing a base or a branch!”

“Could it be that these guys?!”

“Whatever kind of work they were doing, it’s coming to an end! We arrived in that situation, so they were trying to buy time with talk of a life-and-death duel!”

“You crazy bastard! Hey, you! Then we shouldn’t be charging in now! We should be more careful!”

“We should go as we are now. Since they knew we would charge in, they will be busy. It’s a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the surprise attack!”

“Damn it! Is this really okay?!”

“Trust me.”

What could he say when he was told to trust him?

Tang Gwan grumbled.

“Damn it, I don’t know who called you a genius of strategy and tactics.”

“If it’s too much to handle, we can always retreat.”

“Yeah, right. By the way, what about the others?”

“We’ll split the forces. Some of them will take a side path and target Young Master Cheon.”

“You bastard! Then we shouldn’t be splitting the forces even more!”

“No, that’s why we should split the forces even more.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

The Yellow Dragon, with its head raised, was clearly reading the flow of demonic energy in the sky.

The main camp of the Divine Demonic Forest would soon be revealed.

“Makwon is reliable, but Master Hwang is there.”