Monochrome Sovereign [EN]: Chapter 988

“Military Advisor.”

“Hmm?”

Though the title was merely a formality, Jeagal Ayeon’s face, as she looked at her father, was etched with deep concern.

“Moyong Clan Head requests an audience with you.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho chuckled.

“Only the Moyong Clan Head?”

He had countless eyes and ears within the Martial Alliance. He received information from all over the Central Plains, but he was especially well-versed in the situation within the Alliance.

Jeagal Ayeon sighed.

“…And also Vice Leader Yeon.”

“Understood. Tell them to wait in the pavilion. I’ll be out shortly.”

The position of Military Advisor was not one that allowed for a moment’s rest. The reason people had been meeting him in his office was out of consideration for his hard work.

However, Moyong Gun and Yeon Ho-Jeong were different.

Jeagal Mun-Ho could not treat them as casually as before. Though his heart was at ease, he had to treat them with respect, if only for appearances. That was the right thing to do.

After Jeagal Ayeon left, Jeagal Mun-Ho rose from his seat and straightened his attire. Then, he went to the bookshelf and took out a few documents to review.

‘Hmm.’

After reviewing the contents, Jeagal Mun-Ho sighed softly.

‘Goodness, am I forgetting even this much now?’

Every day, a vast amount of information was inputted into his mind.

There was a limit to what a human brain could hold. No matter how intelligent a person was, they could not store a massive amount of information until the day they died.

Whether there was a total capacity or not, he would forget some things and remember others for life, depending on their importance.

Jeagal Mun-Ho knew a great deal of information, but now he was forgetting more and more.

‘I need to get more sleep.’

Jeagal Mun-Ho, having tidied himself once more in front of the mirror, left his office.

A short while later.

Two people were sitting in the pavilion, and Jeagal Ayeon was standing respectfully below.

A look of pity crossed Jeagal Mun-Ho’s face as he looked at his daughter.

‘She’s suffering so much because of her incompetent father.’

She was a child with outstanding martial arts and strategic talents.

She was more beautiful and had a better character than any other young lady from any family in the Jianghu [the martial world].

Yet, because she had a Military Advisor for a father, she was unable to do what she wanted and was burdened with work. She was of a considerable age, but it was still a time when she needed to study, yet she was helping her father with his work.

He felt that he was barely holding on thanks to his daughter. If the Military Advisor’s work was one of the central roles of the Martial Alliance, then his daughter was helping the Martial Alliance function properly.

Moreover, his daughter had even collapsed from overwork two days ago.

It was fortunate that her recovery was quick thanks to her deep inner energy. He had told her to rest, but her personality was not ordinary, and she had immediately returned to work and handled various tasks.

As the Military Advisor, he could not bring himself to stop his daughter’s stubbornness because of the Alliance’s operations. It also meant that his daughter’s abilities were outstanding, but Jeagal Mun-Ho’s heart could not help but rot inside.

‘Now, I really need to have a proper talk.’

The Military Advisor’s work was important, but his daughter’s future was also important. He would no longer try to ruin his daughter’s future.

With that thought, Jeagal Mun-Ho walked towards the pavilion.

Swoosh.

Yeon Ho-Jeong and Moyong Gun stood up.

Jeagal Mun-Ho, having ascended to the pavilion, bowed his head.

“I greet Vice Leader Yeon and Clan Head Moyong. It has been a long time indeed.”

“……”

The two did not return the greeting.

They were angrier than he had thought. It couldn’t be helped.

Jeagal Mun-Ho, with a bitter feeling, raised his head and was shocked.

Both Yeon Ho-Jeong and Moyong Gun were looking at him with surprised eyes. It was as if they had seen a ghost. They seemed to be in great shock.

“How…?”

“This is truly absurd.”

Moyong Gun’s first words were like that.

“Are you in your right mind?”

Was he getting straight to the point?

Jeagal Mun-Ho opened his mouth.

“Let’s sit down first…”

“You.”

Moyong Gun said to Jeagal Ayeon.

“Go to the cook right now and have a meal prepared.”

“Pardon?”

“Hurry!”

Whoosh!

A terrifying aura erupted from Moyong Gun’s body.

It was not a conscious release of inner energy. It was an aura that was involuntarily released due to intense anger and surprise.

Jeagal Ayeon was startled and hesitated. Her martial arts were also worthy of being called a master, but she could not help but freeze at the overwhelming aura of Moyong Gun, who had defeated Gong Gong before reaching the Supreme realm.

Jeagal Mun-Ho said in a calm voice.

“If you were hungry, you should have said so. Ayeon, go and ask them to prepare a meal.”

At that moment, Yeon Ho-Jeong spoke.

“It’s not because we’re hungry, Military Advisor.”

“Hmm?”

Flames shot from Moyong Gun’s eyes.

“Are you not even aware of it?”

At this point, even Jeagal Mun-Ho could not help but feel something was amiss.

“What do you mean…?”

“Look at your appearance. Is that the look of a human being?”

“…?”

Jeagal Mun-Ho unconsciously stroked his cheek.

Moyong Gun frowned.

“The Alliance Leader is a position to rule and make decisions. But the Military Advisor is the pinnacle of administrative work that practically leads the Martial Alliance. How can such a person do anything with such a withered body?”

Withered? Me?

Jeagal Mun-Ho thought. Was he really that withered?

Looking back, he had felt that his face had become quite gaunt when he was putting on his attire. He had also felt that the clothes he often wore had become loose.

However, he did not think that he had become so withered that the people around him would be this surprised.

‘Come to think of it.’

Not long ago, when the Alliance Leader had come to see him about the atmosphere within the Alliance, he had said this.

‘Let’s expand the Military Advisor’s office soon. You will have to choose them yourself, but I and the elders will also recommend some good talents, so it would be good to increase the number of your subordinates this time.’

From that evening, a medicinal tonic had been delivered every other day by order of the Alliance Leader.

He was grateful that they were taking such good care of him, so he took the tonic. Of course, even that gratitude was quickly forgotten due to his busy work. It was an inevitable part of his daily life.

But was it this bad?

“It’s not just the Military Advisor.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong glanced at Jeagal Ayeon.

“Ayeon has also become much thinner than before. Her eyes are sunken.”

“……!”

“Decisively, the two of you do not have the same vitality as before.”

There were cases where people became emaciated due to excessive work or training.

However, the Jeagal father and daughter had lost even their vitality compared to before. It was not their inner energy, but their vitality, their life force itself, that had diminished.

Jeagal Mun-Ho was shocked. These were not people who would make up such things, so it seemed that there was indeed a problem with him and his daughter.

Moyong Gun clicked his tongue.

“You didn’t even know your life force was being depleted?”

“……”

“I need to go and question the Alliance Leader. How can he manage his subordinates so poorly that he has made the Military Advisor like this?”

Moyong Gun seemed genuinely furious.

Yeon Ho-Jeong said.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like your life force has been depleted for long. I’d say it’s been no more than three or four days, but it seems that the accumulated fatigue has caused a rapid impact.”

“……!!”

“It’s not that your energy was shaken by an external shock, so if you rest well for a few days and nourish your body with inner energy cultivation and medicine, you will quickly return to your former state.”

A few days…

Jeagal Mun-Ho was more alarmed by the fact that his daughter’s life force had been affected than by the fact that his own had been affected, and rather than being relieved by the fact that he would return to normal if he rested well, he felt burdened by the fact that it would take several days.

Yeon Ho-Jeong went down from the pavilion.

“Ayeon, go up and rest. I’ll go to the cook.”

Jeagal Ayeon was flustered.

“N-no, I…”

Yeon Ho-Jeong silently placed his hand on her back.

In that instant, Jeagal Ayeon was startled as if struck by lightning and froze.

Whoooom.

The Yellow Dragon Energy seeped in, swirling through her insides like a breeze.

Yeon Ho-Jeong removed his hand and said.

“Fortunately, your acupoints and dantian [energy center] are fine. However, your internal organs are not functioning properly due to prolonged fatigue.”

“I-is it that bad?”

“It’s not to the point where you need to go to a doctor. There’s nothing a doctor can do anyway. The best thing is to eat well and rest well.”

“Ho-Jeong.”

“Go up and rest. You’ve worked too hard all this time.”

Jeagal Ayeon felt an unknown emotion welling up inside her.

She could never show weakness in front of her father’s pitiful gaze, his apologies, or his words of comfort that she was suffering because of him. Because it would make her father feel worse.

Furthermore, she knew that her father was suffering much more than she was, so she had no choice but to try harder.

But when Yeon Ho-Jeong said those words, an unknown emotion surged up. She felt like she was going to cry for no reason.

If extreme fatigue persisted, it could happen to anyone, regardless of age or gender. Yeon Ho-Jeong gently pushed Jeagal Ayeon’s back.

Jeagal Ayeon went up to the pavilion, and Yeon Ho-Jeong disappeared in an instant.

Jeagal Mun-Ho looked at his daughter with pity.

“Ayeon. It would be best for you to go to your residence and rest.”

“No. I cannot do that.”

She had teared up for a moment, but her eyes were as bright as starlight.

It was because the Yellow Dragon Energy had temporarily energized her, but her scattered mental strength had once again become sharp as a blade.

“I am well aware of the reason why the two of you have come. I may be able to point out things that Father has missed. This is a place where I should be present as well.”

“Ayeon.”

“You know that I won’t be able to rest properly if I leave, Father.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho sighed.

Moyong Gun’s expression was still sullen, but his gaze towards Jeagal Ayeon had become quite gentle.

If she was the Military Advisor’s kin, she had to have that much fortitude. In that regard, Moyong Gun liked Jeagal Ayeon.

A short while later, Yeon Ho-Jeong returned.

“It seems that you haven’t been able to eat properly for a long time, so I asked them to prepare food that is easy to digest. It will be here soon.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho sighed.

“It’s been a long time since we met, but I have nothing to say to Vice Leader.”

He meant that it was the same for his own appearance and for Gang Ryang and Jin Yang.

Yeon Ho-Jeong did not smile. He was glad to see them after a long time, but it was not a situation where they could talk while smiling.

“Since the topic has come up, let’s get straight to the point.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

“Is it true that there is a movement within the Alliance to drive out the Black Faction?”

He deliberately excluded any mention of Gang Ryang and Jin Yang.

Talking about the two of them could be done after the main topic was over. Right now, it was right to talk about the Martial Alliance itself.

Jeagal Mun-Ho nodded.

“Such movements have existed since the old days. However, they simply couldn’t voice them easily. Even though we tried to coordinate our opinions, we had no choice but to proceed with some degree of coercion, as war is imminent.”

“That’s understandable. And it’s also understandable that such voices are emerging now. When peace continues, people tend to become insensitive to danger.”

“It’s just unfortunate.”

“However, I’m sure you haven’t just been standing by and watching. How on earth did things get to this point?”

“You need to rephrase the question.”

“…?”

“The core of this situation is not how things got to this point, but why we didn’t take immediate action.”

Jeagal Mun-Ho’s eyes sharpened.

“Someone from an influential force is involved in leading this situation.”

“……!”

“If we are not careful… it is a force so important that it could split the Alliance’s decision-making body.”

Yeon Ho-Jeong’s eyes narrowed.

In that instant, a young man came to his mind.