Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 922

‘Impressive.’

The momentum of the red swordsmen charging in a wedge formation was truly formidable.

‘That’s an incredible amount of demonic energy.’

The supreme masters were positioned at the front, center, and rear.

And the masters of the peak realm, filling the gaps between them and charging with appropriate spacing, maintained a sharp, unwavering sword aura.

‘Moreover.’

Though they were charging, their speed wasn’t very fast.

They were advancing slowly, maintaining sufficient breakthrough power. They were advancing as cautiously as possible because they didn’t know how the opposing force would react.

‘Of course, their caution won’t last.’

The opponents were demons who had mastered demonic arts. [Demonic arts are martial techniques that draw power from dark or evil sources.]

Even in one-on-one life-or-death duels, they often couldn’t control their excitement in the face of urgency. In a unit, the transfer of emotions would be much faster and more intense.

Hwang Seok-tae shouted,

“Dragon Tooth Three Hundred Formation, Disperse!”

The three hundred ironclad knights, divided into three units, transformed into a long, stretched-out chain formation.

It was a horizontal line. A formation reminiscent of a linked strategy, where each member acted as a link, ready to receive the Blood Demon Swords, even without chains.

Paeyul, Busun, and Yeon Ji-pyeong watched Hwang Seok-tae.

Yeon Ho-jeong had selected a few top masters and charged into the main camp, while Mak Won was engaged in a life-or-death duel with the enemy commander.

That meant Hwang Seok-tae was the commander here. His personal martial prowess was great, but his leadership and tactical insight were so outstanding that Yeon Ho-jeong entrusted everything to him.

Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes shone sharply.

‘Forward charge… the change in momentum isn’t very diverse. Then, they’ll either move as one body or come in a mass and then scatter all at once.’

Even for someone at a similar level to Hwang Seok-tae, reading the momentum of a unit and predicting its formation was not something anyone could do. It was only possible for someone who had always studied unit tactics, had extensive experience in group battles, and had a keen sense of energy.

‘Then.’

The distance to the enemy was about twenty yards.

Hwang Seok-tae opened his mouth.

“From now on, to ensure smooth communication, I will omit honorifics. Paeyul, Busun, you two, use your full power in your energy techniques to engage the vanguard.”

Fwaaa!

Paeyul and Busun, who had been waiting, quickly unleashed their power.

Kooong!

It was as if they had planned it in advance. The two, stepping forward simultaneously, unleashed the Descendant of Hou Yi Flash [Hou Yi is a legendary archer in Chinese mythology] and the Whirlwind Lion Fist’s Gale Blood Fang, respectively.

It was an energy technique unleashed with full power by two supreme masters. No matter how much the unit was charging as one, or rather, precisely because they were charging as one, it was a brilliant move that would inevitably cause them to panic.

Kwarururung!!

With a roar, the advance speed of the Blood Demon Swordsmen decreased.

The ground cracked, and about a dozen swordsmen at the front were pushed to the left and right.

Hwang Seok-tae’s eyes flashed.

No one died. The sword barrier of the supreme master at the front and the momentarily concentrated formation had offset the power of the two masters.

But that was enough.

Swish!

The two short spears that Hwang Seok-tae threw pierced the chests of the two Blood Demon Swordsmen who had been pushed to the left and right.

They didn’t penetrate, but the spearheads completely pierced their hearts. The two swordsmen coughed up blood and collapsed.

From the start, two enemy soldiers were killed. Each one was a master with the power of a peak expert, so the surprise attack that exploited the gap had worked perfectly.

Nevertheless, everyone’s faces hardened.

Even those who were ignorant of strategy and tactics knew that when exploiting a gap, a powerful attack should be launched.

Yet, they failed to pierce the chests of just two swordsmen. They had accurately destroyed their hearts, but they hadn’t even managed to inflict a penetrating wound.

Hwang Seok-tae’s flying spears couldn’t have stopped at that level of power.

‘As expected.’

It wasn’t a high-level technique where each person in the formation created an invisible internal energy shield with their aura. It would be impossible to maintain a long battle while constantly emitting that much energy.

It was simply that the bodies of the demons were tough. He didn’t know what kind of demonic art they had mastered, but based on their hardness, they were almost like rocks.

‘This won’t be easy.’

Fwaaaaa!

The momentum of the Blood Demon Swordsmen, which had faltered for a moment, began to blaze again.

The commander of the Blood Demon Corps, the Blood King Sword, who had blocked Paeyul and Busun’s attacks at the front, emitted a vicious killing intent from his eyes.

“How dare you!”

He roared and swung the sword he held in both hands in a horizontal sweep.

Swish! Kooong!

It was a violent sword aura, knowing that they wouldn’t dodge.

Of course, Paeyul and Busun couldn’t dodge. If they dodged, Hwang Seok-tae and the Ironclad Knights would have to block it.

Instead, Paeyul used his short, oddly shaped sword with the Bifurcated Peak Sword Technique, and Busun used the Twin Tiger Fight, a rapid fist technique created from Yang Cheon’s enlightenment, to defend.

Kwakwakwang!

The massive sword aura scattered. Paeyul and Busun were pushed back a step each.

The Blood King Sword’s martial prowess was almost the same as the two of them. Perhaps half a step below, if one looked closely.

However, the sword aura unleashed while charging in a formation was something that even the two of them couldn’t easily block.

Moreover, the Blood King Sword had mastered demonic arts. Demonic arts were a martial art against the natural order, requiring extreme output at the expense of bodily stability. The martial art itself was bound to be fierce.

Just as the two who had retreated were about to charge again.

“Paeyul and Busun, engage in individual combat.”

Fwaaak!

As if they had been waiting, the two, who had created distance to the left and right, attacked the flanks of the charging Blood Demon Formation.

The Blood King Sword’s eyes turned to Hwang Seok-tae.

By now, Hwang Seok-tae and the Ironclad Knights were charging. However, the form of their charge was different from that of the Blood Demon Corps.

At the center were Hwang Seok-tae and about a dozen Ironclad Knights. The rest were moving like a soft chain, completely enveloping the Blood Demon Corps.

After attacking the flanks with outstanding masters like Paeyul and Busun, they were supported by the Ironclad Knights, who were skilled at hit-and-run tactics. It was a formation that showed remarkable instantaneous response capabilities.

Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes widened.

‘So that’s it.’

He had never properly learned unit tactics.

Still, he immediately realized that the enemy could scatter in an instant and engage in individual combat.

It was an intuition before learning. It was the sense of a genius, recognized by his own bloodline, who had made a name for himself in the glorious Sacred Heaven and discussed the world.

‘Commander Hwang knew from the beginning. That’s why he used this formation…’

Yeon Ji-pyeong couldn’t help but be impressed.

Not everyone would make such a judgment even if they knew it. This was a matter of experience before knowledge. Even if one sensed it with their intuition, it was difficult to deal with decisively without extensive combat experience.

‘I understand why my brother trusts Commander Hwang so absolutely.’

Right now, Yeon Ji-pyeong was seeing a new world.

Even when he stayed in Guangdong with the Righteous Army, when he followed their expedition and traveled the world, or when he was obsessed with swordsmanship like a madman and had countless duels with Moyong Woo, he had never been this surprised.

‘This is the world.’

There were many things happening in the world that he didn’t know about.

Yeon Ji-pyeong suddenly felt ashamed.

He had witnessed the lives of real people who had fearlessly gone out into the world, overcome the harsh waves, and grown.

If he had also gone out into the world earlier, would he have reached the level of those people, or even just their feet?

‘I absolutely wouldn’t have been able to.’

Yeon Ji-pyeong had become calm.

He also understood. That his talent was superior to others.

That could be seen just by looking at his achieved level. There were few late bloomers in the world who had reached such a level at his age.

However, he hadn’t properly felt it because the people around him were too outstanding.

However, having superior talent didn’t mean it was advantageous for survival.

‘My brother said that if we had gone out into the world together and overcome dangers, I would have already surpassed the Martial Ancestor. But I wouldn’t have even grasped half of the sword principles I have now.’

He trusted Yeon Ho-jeong’s words more than anyone else. If his brother said so, then it was so.

Moreover, it wasn’t alone, but together. If he had gone out into the world alone without his brother, he would probably be a corpse with only bones left, buried in some mountain.

A problem unrelated to talent or skill.

Swish!

A brilliant light burst from Yeon Ji-pyeong’s eyes.

‘So that’s it.’

If he had gone out into the world alone, he would have been the least likely to survive.

Not for any other reason. It was because of his own nature.

For the first time, Yeon Ji-pyeong coldly faced his own personality.

‘I was not decisive.’

He had killed enemies with decisive sword strikes.

But that was not true decisiveness. Rather, it was a sword strike that ignored a truth.

‘I only thought it was unavoidable. I thought that killing the enemy was unavoidable to protect my people. I’ve been facing enemies with that mindset until now.’

That was wrong.

It was true that it was unavoidable, but what was truly needed when facing an enemy was not hatred for the enemy, nor a rejection of killing, nor even worry for one’s allies.

He had to know the one mindset he should have when facing an enemy with his sword.

‘If I don’t kill the enemy in front of me, I will die.’

That’s right.

Everything starts with me. I am the center of the world, and I am the one and only being who proves the present and guarantees the future.

Yeon Ji-pyeong had been ignoring that obvious truth until now.

Because he was kind. Because he was naturally good and gentle. Because he was always more considerate of others than himself, and worried that he might inconvenience others.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know that fact. Of course, if he didn’t kill the enemy, he would die, and only a fool wouldn’t know that.

However, Yeon Ji-pyeong had simply ignored it.

‘Even if I kill the enemy, I’m killing them for myself. Whether I’m facing one person or a whole sect, the reason I draw my sword is for myself, not for anyone else.’

That was it.

Only those who had deeply acknowledged that could worry about their people. Only then would they have the right to hate the enemy.

Only those who had acknowledged themselves could truly become decisive.

Kurururung!

Yeon Ji-pyeong staggered for a moment. It felt like thunder and lightning were raging in his head.

‘Aaaaaah!!’

His mind was breaking.

The wall that had prevented him from looking at himself, the huge wall he had surrounded himself with to avoid seeing, was collapsing.

What existed inside the collapsed wall was a single will that shone too brightly.

Survival.

The boy, who had been too good and altruistic to look at himself, had transformed into a young man the moment he discovered and realized his true self.

The wall was collapsing.

The wall that his subconscious had built, and the huge wall he had erected before the end of martial arts.

Once one was broken, the next wall, and the next, were broken too easily, revealing a wide and long road.

There was no way he wouldn’t walk it. Yeon Ji-pyeong stepped onto that road with strength.

Thump!

It was the sound of a giant’s footsteps.

Finally stepping onto the road, another realization came to Yeon Ji-pyeong.

His brother’s words to trust his own talent.

His brother’s affectionate advice that it was time to acknowledge that he was even more outstanding than himself, who had made a name for himself in the Sacred Heaven.

Swish!

The emerald green, dazzling greatsword grew as huge as a palace pillar, endlessly amplifying Yeon Ji-pyeong’s sword power.

‘Brother.’

Yeon Ji-pyeong closed his eyes.

‘I now know how not to hesitate.’

Whoosh!

Yeon Ji-pyeong’s figure, which had soared high into the sky, suddenly appeared in the center of the Blood Demon Corps’s mid-air.

The moment everyone was surprised and looked at Yeon Ji-pyeong.

His sword, which had multiplied into eight, began to draw the path of the noble and the path of the asura. [Asura refers to a class of deities or demons in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, often associated with conflict and power.]

The commander of the Blood Demon Corps, the Blood Sky Sword, shouted.

“Scatter!”

Swish!