Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 979

Creating a Void (5)

When Yeon Ho-Jeong arrived near the battlefield, the fight was already in its final stages.

He had come quickly, wanting to save even one more person, but upon arrival, there was no need for him to intervene. The Martial Alliance forces were overwhelming the Lesser Sound Temple forces.

‘Peng Dae-Ho was right.’

The Lesser Sound Temple was greatly shocked by the fact that there was a master in the Central Plains who could stand against Na Gak-Roe. That alone was enough to shake their morale, and even as their forces dwindled, Na Gak-Roe did not appear.

Furthermore, the enemy’s relentless attacks were so efficient and powerful that there was no way to stop them.

The absence of the Lesser Sound Temple’s top master, and their morale already broken once.

That was the end of the battle. However, it wasn’t all thanks to Yeon Ho-Jeong; the attack power of the Alliance’s candidate leaders and the two combat units was simply too outstanding.

‘Good.’

It was just a matter of how many casualties the allies would suffer. From the start, this battle was a victory for the Martial Alliance forces.

Suddenly, Yeon Ho-Jeong’s gaze landed on Dang Sang-Ah.

Swish, swish, swish!

Her movements were like a divine dance.

‘Amazing. She’s improved so much?’

Her martial arts were at a level comparable to Muk Bi.

Especially her fast and fluid movements seemed freer than Tang Gwan’s before he reached the peak. She wielded her red daggers, imbued with poison, as if a Rakshasa [a demon in Hindu-Buddhist mythology] in human guise was cackling and dismembering its prey.

It was a terrifying killing technique. It seemed like a Tang family martial art, but it fit Dang Sang-Ah perfectly, like a custom-made suit.

‘It’s a top-tier martial art. Not just Dang Sang-Ah, but the martial art itself is outstanding.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled.

‘Within twenty years, the best female master in the history of the Tang family might emerge.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes scanned the candidate leaders one by one.

The most noticeable was Oh Gu-Mun. He was executing the martial arts that his master, Doje Jong-Ri Baek, had used when he fought Yeon Ho-Jeong, with a decisive and straightforward approach. His boldness was enough to make even the onlookers excited.

‘The True Devil Sect… he’s already achieved mastery. All that’s left is enlightenment. I didn’t know he was so aggressive.’

Next was Namgoong Pyo.

‘Good. Not bad. He’s one of the calmest people on the battlefield. He’s fighting to protect rather than to gain merit. It must have been a difficult choice.’

He was even more surprising than Dang Sang-Ah and Oh Gu-Mun.

Yeon Ho-Jeong didn’t know much about Namgoong Pyo, but he knew that his confidence had been excessive, bordering on arrogance.

Regardless of his personality, it was surprising that someone who had lived with such self-importance was now fighting to protect his allies instead of trying to take down more enemies to gain merit.

‘Did Senior Noh teach him?’

Sword Saint Namgoong Seung was a true swordsman with a completely different character from the Namgoong family members he had seen.

However, even a revered Sword Saint would have had difficulty making his grandson come to his senses. Namgoong Pyo was already well over thirty, and once a person’s mind is set, whether for good or bad, it’s as difficult to shed their old skin and change as it is to master a high-level martial art.

Whether he had gained enlightenment on his own or Namgoong Seung’s teachings had been effective, the current Namgoong Pyo was clearly showing the demeanor of a proper righteous martial artist.

‘People can change…’

Looking at Namgoong Pyo, Yeon Ho-Jeong suddenly realized.

That he had also changed.

He, who had been busy envying others without even looking at his own potential, had seen his family fall, gone out into the world, met his master, and then joined the dark path, completely transforming into a different person.

Yet, he believed that people did not change easily. After all, if such a major event hadn’t happened, he would have lived his whole life in defeat, dying as just another ordinary person.

Considering that, Namgoong Pyo’s change was nothing short of an anomaly. He had been raised as a hothouse flower, praised as a genius his whole life, and burdened with the expectations of his father and family.

Moreover, he had openly insulted his own younger brother in front of others, so it was hard to say that he had a good character.

Yet, he was now abandoning his greed for the sake of his allies and displaying such beautiful sword techniques.

‘Was it the same for Moyong Gun?’

He didn’t know what had made Moyong Gun change his mind.

The important thing was that he had changed. He couldn’t be sure without seeing it for himself, which made their meeting all the more anticipated.

Lastly.

‘Brother.’

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes trembled.

Dang Sang-Ah and Oh Gu-Mun were charging forward like assault captains, while Jeagal Jun was standing behind them, coordinating the front lines. Peng Dae-Ho and Namgoong Pyo were focusing on defense while attacking.

The Great Dragon Unit and the Azure Dragon Unit were using formations suited to their respective organizations to pressure the enemy.

Looking at these things, it might seem like they were using a disjointed tactic. The reason why they could overwhelm the Lesser Sound Temple’s monks with such a seemingly disorganized tactic was because of Moyong Woo’s excellent command of the troops as their leader.

‘He’s truly amazing.’

He would rush to the front to kill enemies and then retreat like a ghost to join the defense lines.

At the same time, he kept the entire battlefield in his sight, issuing orders to plug any gaps in the tactics before they could even appear.

While Jeagal Jun was leading the tactics aggressively on the front lines, Moyong Woo was the one who saw the whole picture and drew the overall strategy.

He was truly worthy of the title of a great general. It was a terrifying ability to control so many troops as he wished, without revealing himself.

‘It looks disorganized, but in reality, it’s an extremely excellent formation. It’s being operated more efficiently than any other formation under my brother’s overwhelming tactical vision.’

In other words, this free-spirited formation was possible because of Moyong Woo’s presence alone.

Without Moyong Woo, they would have had to charge with a more rigid and solid formation. They would have clashed head-on, and naturally, there would have been more casualties.

‘Amazing.’

He knew better than anyone that Moyong Woo was an outstanding talent. He probably knew more about Moyong Woo than anyone else in the entire martial world, except for Moyong Gun.

But he had only known a lot, not truly understood him.

‘At this level, he really…’

It wasn’t just because of his excellent tactical and strategic vision.

To display such a tactical vision in this kind of formation, it wasn’t enough to just have individual abilities.

This formation was difficult to execute without Moyong Woo, and even if someone had the ability, they couldn’t have done it without everyone’s trust in Moyong Woo.

‘The next leader of the Alliance.’

Oh Gu-Mun, the only disciple of Doje Jong-Ri Baek.

Dang Sang-Ah, the daughter of the Sichuan Tang family, who was second to none in pride.

Namgoong Pyo, the eldest son of the Heavenly Sword Family, who was arrogance itself.

Peng Dae-Ho, the eldest son of the famous Hebei Peng family, known for his boldness.

Even Jeagal Jun, the young master of the Jeagal family, where the most brilliant minds in the martial world gather.

Each one of these unique and formidable geniuses was voluntarily following Moyong Woo. These geniuses, who could never be forced to follow anyone, had put aside their pride and made Moyong Woo their leader.

Beyond martial arts and tactics, this was Moyong Woo’s true strength. It was the charm of Moyong Woo, who had not shown it properly until now but was slowly beginning to face the world, and it was moving towards completion.

‘Indeed.’

Certainty settled on Yeon Ho-Jeong’s face.

‘I saw the right person.’

A moment later.

Swoosh!

Dang Sang-Ah’s Underworld Dagger sliced off the head of the last remaining monk.

She looked back at Moyong Woo.

Moyong Woo nodded, and Dang Sang-Ah smiled brightly, raising her Underworld Dagger.

“We won!”

“Woooaaah!”

The warriors’ shouts seemed to echo across the small plain and throughout the entire Shanxi province.

The day after the battle ended.

“Hoo, I’m completely out of it.”

Moyong Woo wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Winning the battle wasn’t the end of it.

Even if it was just one or two bodies, if these many corpses were left to rot, it could cause disease. Although the nearest village was quite far away, you never knew what could happen.

Along with the able-bodied warriors, they buried the monks’ corpses and took the important-looking items as spoils of war.

Furthermore, they took care of the injured warriors, and those who were seriously injured were transported to the nearest Martial Alliance branch.

The process took a full day.

“Here you go.”

A hand holding a bowl of steaming meat porridge appeared in front of Moyong Woo, who was leaning against his sword, looking at the sky.

It was Dang Sang-Ah.

Moyong Woo looked around at the resting warriors.

“Is there enough?”

“There’s plenty. It seems like it’ll be enough to last until we get to the branch.”

“Hmm.”

He had thought there would be a shortage of food, but that wasn’t the case.

It was because of the dead warriors.

They had annihilated five hundred monks, but at the same time, thirty from the Azure Dragon Unit and fifty from the Great Dragon Unit had died.

In addition, fifty were seriously injured and transported to the branch, and another fifty had left with them as escorts.

Even excluding those who had gone to the branch, eighty people were missing, so there was bound to be plenty of food.

Moyong Woo, receiving the bowl, looked at the warriors with a troubled expression.

They were gathered together, laughing and chatting while eating, but the fatigue and gloom on their faces had not disappeared.

It was a mixture of the joy of victory, the sadness of losing comrades, and extreme exhaustion. The fact that they were still laughing and chatting was their way of trying to cheer themselves up.

“It’s not because of you, Young Master Moyong.”

Moyong Woo looked at Dang Sang-Ah.

Dang Sang-Ah shook her head firmly.

“They all know honor and the way of a warrior. It’s inevitable that they’re sad, but they also know that the fault doesn’t lie with their leader.”

“It is the leader’s fault.”

“Young Master Moyong.”

“Even if an unimaginable variable occurs and my people suffer misfortune, it is the leader’s fault. Especially in battle.”

“But… if you think like that, you won’t be able to endure it.”

“That’s why not just anyone can take the leader’s position, I suppose.”

Dang Sang-Ah looked into Moyong Woo’s face.

He was troubled, but his strength had not diminished. Like steel that becomes harder the more it’s hammered, there was a giant there, looking at the world with eyes that seemed even more intense than before.

Dang Sang-Ah smiled.

“You look strong enough to handle the leader’s position.”

Moyong Woo gave a wry smile.

“Since I’ve been given this position, I have no choice but to handle it, right?”

“Come on, sit down. Let’s have a comfortable meal for once.”

Dang Sang-Ah forced Moyong Woo to sit down and ate with him. It was a quiet meal without much conversation, but there was no awkwardness to be found.

Yeon Ho-Jeong, who was watching the two from afar, leaning against a tree, had a warm smile on his face. It was because the two seemed close.

“You seem to be in a good mood?”

Yeon Ho-Jeong shrugged at Jeagal Jun’s words, who had approached him unnoticed.

“It’s nice to see a handsome man and a beautiful woman caring for each other.”

“But aren’t you quite old yourself, Brother?”

“Enough. I still have a lot to do.”

“Those two are the same, though.”

“Does the Jeagal family teach you how to talk before they teach you strategy and tactics?”

“Is this even considered talking? Weren’t you the best at verbal sparring in the martial world, Brother?”

“Well, well.”

Jeagal Jun handed him a bowl of porridge.

“Eat. You haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

“Oh, good. Is there enough?”

“There’s enough for your bowl too.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong smiled and began to eat the porridge.

Jeagal Jun, who had been quietly watching him, asked carefully.

“I’m sorry to bother you while you’re eating, but can I ask you something I’m curious about?”

“Did you bring me food to make me choke?”

“With your mental strength, you wouldn’t choke, Brother.”

“You’ve really grown a lot.”

“I guess so.”

“Alright, what are you so curious about?”

“It might be a bit out of the blue…”

“So, what is it?”

Jeagal Jun’s eyes sparkled.

“What kind of person is His Majesty the Emperor?”