Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 957

The group, having passed through Hebei and reached Anguo County, traveled with Yang Cheon, who was greatly surprised by Yeon-wi and Peng Mu-gang.

‘They are indeed not to be trifled with.’

The more he talked with Yeon-wi, the more he was amazed by his insight, and he was impressed by Peng Mu-gang’s ability to manage people.

At first, his attention was only on Yeon-wi, but as time passed, he found himself more impressed by Peng Mu-gang. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t expected much from him, so each unexpected aspect he revealed brought greater surprise.

The important thing was that both of them were outstanding talents, recognized by Yang Cheon, one of the top masters in the Jianghu [the martial world] and the leader of the Black Moon Clan.

‘There aren’t many people in the Black Moon Clan who are this well-trained.’

In terms of martial arts and character.

Furthermore, their ability to manage people, as well as their thorough self-management, was impressive.

‘It’s about time for a shake-up.’

Except for the Twelve Zodiacs, the actual masters of the Black Moon Clan were scattered among the elders and the leaders of the combat units.

This could be attributed to the unique nature of the Black Moon Clan.

The history of each individual sect within the Black Moon Clan was incomparably shorter than that of the White Path [the orthodox martial sects]. Betrayal was commonplace, and everything was decided by life-or-death battles.

Naturally, once they secured a position, they would not hesitate to commit all sorts of terrible acts to maintain their authority. In other words, most organizations ended up following the path of fear-based politics.

And the moment they chose that path, those who gained authority began to decline.

A position where no one could touch them, and they could simply kill anyone who displeased them. Moreover, none of their subordinates found this structure strange.

What happens when such powerful figures gather?

Naturally, the organization could not function properly.

The reason why Yang Cheon placed the Twelve Zodiacs, rather than the leaders of the Black Path sects, as his close aides when he first established the Black Moon Clan was because of this.

He placed people suited to their respective characteristics to ensure the smooth operation of the organization. At the same time, he only allowed the Twelve Zodiacs to have a minimal number of private soldiers under their command.

Now, after some time, the Black Moon Clan had reached a point where the leaders of the sects, who would have been the core members of the Martial Alliance, had been relegated to the middle ranks.

One might wonder if they would harbor resentment. However, no resentment could surface in the face of the name of the Tyrant King, Yang Cheon.

This could also be seen as another form of fear-based politics, but at least the reason why the Black Moon Clan had been able to grow to its current size was precisely because of this.

The elders, who were top masters, were even forbidden from having private soldiers, and they were bound to the Black Moon Clan only by their dreams, passion, and a considerable monthly salary.

And then there were the combat units.

The leaders of the numerous units trained under the Dragon Tooth Iron Cavalry, the strongest unit in the Black Moon Clan, all possessed formidable martial power.

In other words, the Twelve Zodiacs and the leaders of the combat units could be seen as sharing the roles of the Martial Alliance’s officials.

‘Due to the nature of the Black Path, it’s impossible to have the same kind of consensus-building as the Martial Alliance. The strongest person must always sit at the head of the Black Path. However…’

Watching Peng Mu-gang, who was chatting and eating jerky with the members of the Tyrant King’s Guard as well as the Black Moon Clan, Yang Cheon made up his mind.

‘It might be worth introducing.’

Just as Jeagal Mun-ho was impressed by the Black Moon Clan’s bold actions and wanted to establish a Martial Alliance leader as soon as possible.

Yang Cheon also felt, after seeing the Martial Alliance’s officials, that the Black Path needed a similar kind of harmony.

“He’s an interesting person, isn’t he?” Yeon-wi said, bringing Yang Cheon out of his thoughts.

“Indeed,” Yang Cheon replied.

“He doesn’t talk much during our council meetings. But he’s very informal with his subordinates. So, the officials are more concerned about the Peng Clan Leader than you might think.”

“Because of public opinion?”

“Yes. Because so many people have formed friendships with the Peng Clan Leader. When someone like that breaks his silence and offers an opinion, it’s not easy for the officials to ignore it.”

Yang Cheon chuckled.

“He’s a man who understands politics.”

“I don’t think he intended it that way. I believe it’s just his nature.”

“It’s politics that doesn’t betray his nature. As the Yeon Clan Leader said, if he couldn’t even intend that much, he wouldn’t be called the head of one of the Six Great Clans.”

Yeon-wi smiled awkwardly.

“Then I’m disqualified as the head of one of the Six Great Clans. I can’t do that kind of calculation.”

“That’s not true. You just don’t show it yourself, but when you analyze others, you’re as sharp as a ghost.”

“You flatter me.”

“Furthermore, the fact that you’ve gained such enlightenment at your age is more than enough to qualify you as the head of one of the Six Great Clans.”

“Haha.”

As the two continued their conversation, Peng Mu-gang approached from a distance.

“What interesting conversation are you two having?”

Yang Cheon said in a cheerful tone.

“We were talking behind your back.”

“Oh! Is that so?” Peng Mu-gang looked at Yeon-wi with sharp eyes.

“I didn’t expect that from you, Yeon Clan Leader.”

“Talking behind someone’s back is surprisingly fun.”

“Understood. I’ll have to live with the joy of slandering the Yeon Clan Leader with the strategist later.”

Yeon-wi, who had been chuckling, looked towards where Peng Mu-gang had been.

There, the Tyrant King’s Guard and the Dragon Claw Unit warriors of the Black Moon Clan were chatting.

“They’ve become quite close in just two days.”

“Indeed. People are all similar, no matter where they live.”

Yang Cheon looked at Peng Mu-gang with a subtle gaze.

In fact, the reason why the Peng Clan’s warriors and the Black Moon Clan’s warriors had begun to get close was thanks to Peng Mu-gang’s efforts.

He hadn’t given any speeches or done anything particularly noticeable, but the moment he opened a space for interaction by eating together and having friendly sparring matches without using internal energy, the black and white became one.

Not just anyone could do that. Peng Mu-gang had skillfully intervened whenever the atmosphere seemed to become tense, softening it, and sometimes he had strongly pressured them to feel a sense of camaraderie.

‘That wasn’t intentional, was it?’

In Yang Cheon’s view, Peng Mu-gang’s people skills were innate.

‘I wonder if there’s anyone like that at headquarters.’

At that moment, Peng Mu-gang grumbled.

“By the way, when are the Yeon Clan’s warriors coming?”

Yang Cheon looked at Yeon-wi in surprise.

“Are the Yeon Clan’s warriors also coming?”

“Of course. Given the situation, we can’t just have them training leisurely in Gangdong.”

“Hmm.”

“They were meant to be dispatched to the martial world eventually. With the imperial palace in danger, there’s no better opportunity for them to make their debut.”

“That’s interesting. I’ve heard that the Yeon Clan’s forces are the smallest among the Six Great Clans, but the individual skill of their swordsmen is said to be unmatched.”

Peng Mu-gang nodded.

“They pass down their family’s secret techniques, so it’s only natural.”

“……!”

Yang Cheon was once again surprised by Yeon-wi’s boldness.

Yeon-wi scratched his head and said,

“I don’t know how long it will take since they’re coming from a different route. But I contacted them through the Beggar Clan, and they’ll be coming through Shandong, so it shouldn’t be too late…”

It was then.

Screeeech!

A loud cry of a hawk echoed from somewhere high in the sky.

Yeon-wi’s face hardened.

Seeing his face, Yang Cheon and Peng Mu-gang’s faces also became serious.

“Is it from the imperial palace?”

“Yes.”

Shortly after.

A black hawk glided swiftly from the distance and then descended at an incredible speed.

Its speed was much faster than even the movement techniques of a supreme master. It only appeared slow because it was so far away, but in reality, it had descended to the ground in the blink of an eye.

Flap!

The hawk, flapping its wide wings, flew up slightly and landed on Yeon-wi’s shoulder.

Yeon-wi removed the tube from the hawk’s leg, immediately opened it, and took out the rolled-up letter.

After quickly reading the contents, Yeon-wi handed the letter to Yang Cheon and Peng Mu-gang.

The two men’s eyes widened.

“It has begun.”

“We need to pick up the pace.”

Yang Cheon shouted.

“The imperial palace is under attack! We will run without rest, so everyone be prepared!”

* * *

There were many masters in the imperial palace as well.

Especially after experiencing great hardship before, the martial generals of the imperial palace had recalled more than seventy percent of the martial generals and masters who had been dispatched to various missions, and they had taken measures to defend the center.

The eyes of Geum Heon-tae, the commander-in-chief of the imperial palace’s defense forces and the strongest master affiliated with the imperial palace, gleamed.

“There they are.”

They had already evacuated all the residents of the villages near the imperial palace and had placed scouts and spies in their villages.

Thanks to this, they were able to learn about the enemy’s appearance much faster than expected.

Thump.

Geum Heon-tae saw a group approaching. Although they were far away, he could immediately gauge the number of enemies based on his long combat experience.

‘A thousand?’

It was clearly a force of about a thousand soldiers.

Geum Heon-tae was dumbfounded.

‘Could they really be trying to attack the imperial palace with such a small force?’

Of course, he was a supreme master who was at least at the level of the leaders of the Nine Great Sects, and he was close to reaching the peak of martial arts, so he knew well how terrifying a person who had properly mastered martial arts could be.

However, group battles and wars were different. Furthermore, there was a huge difference between the group tactics learned in the military and the group battles of martial artists.

If ten martial artists fought against ten imperial soldiers, the imperial soldiers would definitely lose.

If a hundred martial artists fought against a hundred imperial soldiers, the imperial soldiers would still certainly lose.

However, if a thousand martial artists fought against a thousand imperial soldiers, then it would be difficult to predict the outcome.

As the numbers increased to ten thousand, twenty thousand, and so on, the power of military tactics increased exponentially. The imperial soldiers were the ones who could respond to any extraordinary martial art.

Furthermore, there were a large number of unknown masters in the imperial palace.

Although the Emperor’s life had been endangered once due to a mistake, there would be no second mistake. It was not for nothing that the imperial soldiers and masters who had spread throughout the world had been gathered together.

‘They must have something up their sleeves. Even if the leader of the cult is a master at the level of the Thirteen Seats of the Heavenly Saint, it would be difficult to break through the imperial palace with such a small force.’

It was an obvious fact.

Because it was so obvious, Geum Heon-tae was even more tense.

The spies sent by the Divine Cult had been in the imperial palace for a long time, so there was no way they wouldn’t know the true strength of the imperial palace. In other words, they must have judged that it was possible to attack with about a thousand people.

Or perhaps another force was targeting another area of the imperial palace.

In any case, the time had finally come.

Geum Heon-tae said to his deputy.

“Raise the flags. Also, light the beacon fires so that they can be seen by the Four Directional Armies.”

“Understood!”

Geum Heon-tae nodded and turned his head back towards the enemies. At that moment.

‘Huh?’

He saw that the thousand enemies, who had been more than three hundred yards away, had already approached within two hundred yards.

And he also saw something flying at high speed from the rear of the group.

It was neither an arrow nor a sword or spear.

‘……A fireball?!’

A fireball the size of a small rock, shot from over two hundred yards away.

Geum Heon-tae shouted.

“Retreat from the gate!”

Kwaaaang!

The fireball, which had flown like lightning, smashed through the gate and created a spectacular display of flames in all directions.

It was an incredible power. It was an indescribable martial art.

In Geum Heon-tae’s common sense, even a master who had reached the Heavenly Saint level could not have displayed such unbelievable power.

And then, a solemn and clear voice echoed from the rear of the enemy.

“Summon the Emperor.”