Monochrome Sovereign (Novel) - Chapter 169 - Tying the Knot (3)
Chapter 169 – Tying the Knot (3)
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Translated by Heavenly Cat
Edited by Celestial Knight
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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“Have you arrived?”
Tang Kwan sat on the chair without a word.
He sits down even though the host didn’t even say to sit. It was an extremely rude behavior, but Murong Jun didn’t care. It was because he knew he was originally such a person.
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
“I’m fine with tea.”
“Then?”
Tang Kwan asked with a sullen face.
“Is there any Wuliangye left?”
Murong Jun spat out a dry cough.
“I drank all the Wuliangye, but there is Jiannanchun.”
“Then let’s empty one of that.”
“Let’s do so.”
A moment later, the two people sat facing cups.
Murong Jun asked while pouring alcohol into Tang Kwan’s cup.
“What brings you here at this time?”
“Aren’t you guessing it?”
“Of course I am guessing it though.”
Murong Jun, who filled even his own cup, stroked his beard.
“Yeon Ho-jeong, did you come because of that guy?”
Tang Kwan openly frowned.
“What in the world is that guy’s identity?”
Murong Jun smiled. It was a smile where bitterness could be glimpsed.
“I knew such a question would come out anytime. So I was also preparing the answer for that in advance.”
“…”
“I don’t know well.”
“What kind of answer is that?”
“It is the truth. That guy is the eldest son of the Green Mountain Yeon Clan and a crazy guy who tried to attack the Nine States Myeong Clan alone, and a master who broke through the Wall of the Martial Arts’ End as the youngest in the current generation’s Murim.”
Murong Jun shook his head.
“Other than that, I don’t know. I mobilized all sorts of informants and investigated, but his past was excessively ordinary.”
To be exact, it was the epitome of a tiger father and dog son.
He was a guy for whom a reason to grow into a monster-like guy like this couldn’t be found. So he said it was ordinary.
“So, how did you, the Tang Clan Head, view the guy?”
Tang Kwan’s eyes deepened.
“I don’t know if he’s a monster, but it seems certain he’s a sly snake.”
“Heoheoheo.”
Murong Jun nodded his head.
“A sly snake indeed. A sly snake bigger than a dragon and fiercer than a tiger. However, even that won’t be his true appearance.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s a guy who can change as much as he wants depending on the situation and the opponent. In front of a rat he will raise his claws like a cat, in front of a cat he will bare his teeth like a wild dog, and in front of a wild dog he will pounce in an instant like a leopard.”
“…”
“I can roughly guess what kind of appearance he would have shown in front of you. He would have surely shown unimaginable radicalness.”
The bridge of Tang Kwan’s nose trembled slightly.
He did let him go alive, but even thinking about it now, burning anger surged up. Truly, he had never seen a guy stringing together such reckless remarks in front of him.
Murong Jun shook his head.
“He sometimes did that to me too. However, it would definitely be different from the appearance he showed you.”
“I realized one thing.”
“What do you mean?”
Tang Kwan, who refreshingly emptied his cup, spoke with eyes young with Poison qi.
“That he is a dangerous guy.”
“…”
“I don’t know what that guy wants. I don’t want to know either. But that guy, is a guy who will even risk a war to get what he wants in his hands.”
“You saw it well.”
“And…”
“And?”
Tang Kwan, who was deeply lost in thought, shook his head.
“No.”
He, who filled the cup himself, said in passing.
“Anyway, I decided not to touch the guy for the time being.”
Murong Jun smiled.
‘Definitely not bad.’
Tang Kwan is a rough person.
He was rough, but he was also a person who clearly knew when to strike and when to pull out. There was also this kind of aspect to the tyrant reigning as the emperor of Sichuan.
‘He is not fitting as the master of the world, but he is a person overflowingly sufficient to protect the position of a regional hegemon. If only controlled well, he will definitely become a big strength.’
He joined hands with Tang Kwan, but he had no thought of sharing everything together.
The top priority was unconditionally his own dream. However, he felt it would be okay to hand over the leftover lean meat to Tang Kwan first.
As long as he didn’t go vastly astray.
Murong Jun wore a bitter smile at the thought that suddenly came to mind.
‘It’s a pity anew.’
The fact that two clan heads of the Six Great Clans of the world were having this kind of conversation itself proved that Yeon Ho-jeong was a rare outstanding figure.
Thinking about it, it was truly an astounding matter.
To be racking their brains because of a young man who had just barely passed twenty? Does this even make sense.
‘It’s a real pity. Things would become much easier if that guy moved for me.’
Murong Jun smacked his lips for no reason and opened his mouth.
“Did the guy perhaps not demand something?”
Tang Kwan’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?”
“As expected it was so.”
Murong Jun emptied his cup and continued his words.
“I thought about it when he asked me to arrange a meeting with you. What the reason was for necessarily asking to lay a bridge at this point in time.”
“…”
“Wouldn’t it be one of two? Either he tried to drive you into a corner, or he had an ulterior motive to gain something from you.”
“…”
“If he had the thought of making up his mind and driving the master of the Sichuan Tang Clan into a corner, there is no way he would have gone looking alone. If so, naturally only one remains. That guy went to gain something from you.”
He’s different.
Tang Kwan thought. That Murong Jun was definitely different from himself.
Whether it was himself or Murong Jun, they were both as tainted by the rough waves of the world as they could be. However, while fighting with that rough world and rising to the peak, they each developed different abilities.
If he was skilled in pushing forward with instinct and power, Murong Jun was skilled in resourcefulness and Machiavellianism.
It is difficult to say whose ability is better. In an emergent situation, himself would be better, and when a political strife in the dark is needed, Murong Jun would be better.
‘If so…’
It would mean that the eldest son of the Yeon Clan was skilled in many fields enough to be able to deal with both himself and Murong Jun at the same time.
‘A monster.’
Murong Jun asked.
“So, what did the guy demand?”
Tang Kwan formed a bitter smile.
“He asked to borrow the skills of the main family’s craftsmen for a while.”
* * *
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes wavered.
Ga Deuk-sang blew a whistle without realizing.
“My goodness, it’s my first time seeing an Iron Chain made with this much effort.”
Chwareureureuk.
The long iron chain fell to the floor making a clear and elegant sound.
Surprisingly, the chain had a blackish-gray color. While being the same shape as an iron chain people commonly think of, perhaps because it emitted a peculiar gloss, it looked extraordinary even at a glance.
Ga Deuk-sang glanced at Yeon Ho-jeong.
Yeon Ho-jeong was looking at the Iron Chain as if bewitched.
“Do you like it?”
“Immensely.”
“You look like it.”
Yeon Ho-jeong grabbed the end of the Iron Chain and swung it forcefully.
Chwareureureureuk!
Along with the sound of metal clashing, the long Iron Chain flew through the air.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s wrist moved smoothly.
Chwareureuk! Chwareureureuk!
Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes widened. Muk Bi also looked at the Iron Chain with a surprised face.
‘It’s moving?’
It was an amazing sight.
He just grabbed the end of the Iron Chain and lightly twisted his wrist, but it was wriggling on its own accord.
It was like looking at a living, moving dragon. Even though it wasn’t that thick, it was giving a powerful and dynamic feeling.
‘How?’
It was as if looking at a mysterious magic. Even though he didn’t pour in that strong internal energy, it was emitting a peculiar sense of incongruity.
Yeon Ho-jeong, who handled the Iron Chain for a long while, swung his arm widely in an instant.
Ssue-ae-ae-aek! Peo-eok!
The end of the Iron Chain pierced through the trunk of a small tree in front of the wall.
It was an amazing delicacy. He exquisitely swung the Iron Chain close to five zhang in length alone to strike the desired target.
And he didn’t wrap it around, but shot out the end of the Iron Chain and pierced it through.
It was an enormous penetrating power.
“Hmm, is it because I’m still not used to it? It’s half a beat late.”
Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes widened.
“This is not being used to it?”
“Hm?”
“Did you learn a Whip Technique too? How do you handle that long iron chain so flexibly?”
No matter how much of a master of martial arts one is, it is never easy to skillfully swing a weapon seen for the first time.
Especially things like a whip or iron chain, Yeon Ho-jeong’s main weapon the Great Axe, or hidden weapons are hard to handle easily without thorough polishing.
Yeon Ho-jeong shook his head.
“It is far lacking even if it’s lacking. With this much, it cannot be used in actual combat.”
About the degree of handling it appropriately flexibly.
Exactly that degree was all. It might work somehow against those weaker than himself, but if it was an equal or stronger expert, it would be worse than bare hands.
‘However.’
Yeon Ho-jeong was rarely excited.
‘It’s an amazing weapon. It’s different starting from the feeling of wrapping around the hand from the iron chain I swung in the past.’
In the past, he had swung an iron chain woven with steel along with the Wind and Thunder Axe.
The iron chain he carried around at that time was a weapon specialized for a chaotic battle. Furthermore, other than a life-risking strike of certain kill to maximize the power of the Wind and Thunder Axe, there wasn’t much use for it.
But this Iron Chain was different.
‘It is much more flexible than expected. While being several times harder than the old iron chain, it is incredibly flexible.’
If it was a weapon of this level.
If it was this iron chain that had not a single offensive part, it seemed it could be sufficiently utilized in a one-on-one short-term battle as well.
Yeon Ho-jeong unfolded the letter enclosed inside the box.
‘I heard you are building an amazing reputation recently. I thought that if I had made this item faster, your suffering might have been a bit less. I’m sorry for handing it over so late.’
He was a good person.
As if Pyeon Il-gang was directly speaking, the phrases written in the letter were full of friendliness.
And pride could be felt. It was probably several times harder than when he made the Crazy Dragon Axe.
‘I tried attaching the name Flood Dragon Chain. Of course, it’s a name I made up as I pleased. As I said before, a rare object called Soft Form Ghost Iron went into the Flood Dragon Chain. It is a wondrous object of the world that stretches and shrinks depending on the quality or strength of internal energy. It will be difficult, but I believe you will be able to handle it well.’
Yeon Ho-jeong grabbed the Flood Dragon Chain with both hands and poured in internal energy.
Uuuuung!
Surprisingly, the iron chain part held in his hand slowly darkened, and stretched little by little.
Yeon Ho-jeong’s eyes widened.
‘Amazing.’
A rare object called Soft Form Ghost Iron was something he hadn’t even heard of during the Dark Emperor days. To control the change of Metal Qi with internal energy and change its physical properties, it was fascinating beyond compare.
‘It will be harder to handle. Because the sense of distance won’t be caught. But…’
If he could just handle it properly, it would be a truly highly utilizable weapon.
Chiririring.
He, who made his arm at a right angle and wrapped the Flood Dragon Chain, placed the roundly arranged chain on the flat bench.
“Eh? What are you doing?”
“Hm?”
Ga Deuk-sang smirked.
“It’s a face that looks like you’d die of joy, but aren’t you going to train right away?”
Yeon Ho-jeong smiled.
“My mind wants to do so like a chimney (I want to do it very much), but now is not the time for that.”
“Then what time is it?”
“Didn’t you say the Successor of the Beggars is resting for today? If so, I have to use you as much as possible.”
Ga Deuk-sang’s face crumpled.
“Am I an object!”
“So you’re not going to help?”
“…Shit.”
Ga Deuk-sang, who firmly crossed his arms, sat down on the flat bench.
“I’m an expensive body. Serve alcohol or something and then ask.”
“Put the alcohol on my tab. I’ll treat you big time later.”
“To be indebted to a beggar, you’re no ordinary trash.”
He was grumbling, but Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes were full of doubt and tension. It was because he knew he wasn’t a person to ask for help from him unless it was a considerable matter.
Yeon Ho-jeong asked with a serious face.
“You’ll have to add some strength to our side.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means I have to make the factional fight of the Honoured Guests truly like a fight.”
Ga Deuk-sang’s eyes shone.
He understood what Yeon Ho-jeong was saying at once.
“You want me to introduce someone?”
“That’s right.”
“I heard the Demon-Sweeping and Evil-Annihilating Armys will dispatch together within a few days.”
“So we have to move even faster.”
“You’ll make a fight worthy of a fight before the dispatch…”
“Can it not be done?”
“There’s nothing that can’t be done. It’s just that the problem is you have to choose between quality and quantity.”
Ga Deuk-sang, who was looking up at Yeon Ho-jeong blankly, formed a meaningful smile.
“I heard sometimes kind people are scarier, will it be okay?”