Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 967

Chapter 967

“Mmph…! Mmmph!!”

“…”

A young man with pale green hair thrashed violently against the ropes that held him.
One of Mangye’s Four Great Generals—Yusa.
I stood speechless, staring at him.

‘…What in the world?’

How had it come to this?
What could I possibly say in this situation?

‘Why is he like this?’

He was one of only four generals in all of Mangye.
Just last night, he had radiated an aura nearly on par with the Three Lords.

“Mmph!!”

And now, look at him.
Not only was he bound—

‘Wait, what’s in his mouth? Is that… a gag?’

An unfamiliar stone was wedged between his teeth.
Even as he strained, it refused to dislodge.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

His eyes bulged, veins throbbing as he emitted stifled cries,
desperate to speak,
yet the ropes holding him didn’t give an inch.

Then—

“Ugh, so noisy.”

*Thwack!*

“Guh!”

Shin Noya swung his arm and struck Yusa squarely on the head.
His forehead smashed into the ground with a solid thud.

*Crack!*

The force of the impact fractured the floor, a long split racing across it.

“Mmmnnnghh…!”

Yusa groaned in agony.
It didn’t seem like his forehead was the source of the pain—

‘The back of his head must be throbbing.’

That was where Noya had hit him.

‘…What is going on?’

Why was this man tied up?
What was happening here?

Especially when I saw Gubong’s expression—
he looked completely bewildered.
It was obvious that seeing a general in such a state was deeply shocking to him.

I mean—

‘Even I’m stunned, so I can only imagine how he feels.’

In this world, the status of a general was unimaginably high.
This territory—
it was practically the size of an entire province.

And generals ruled over such lands.
In terms of power, they held a prestige comparable to the Three Lords in Zhongyuan’s golden age.

And yet—

‘…He’s squirming in ropes like a hog-towed pig.’

Even I was having trouble making sense of it.

Anyway—

“What exactly happened here…?”

I asked, hoping for some clarity. Noya, sounding utterly bored, answered flatly.

“What do you mean what happened? He was being annoying, so I tied him up.”

“A general?”

“So? Is that an issue?”

Of course it’s an issue, you old fool!

I had plenty I wanted to say,
but I carefully measured my words.

The main problem with dealing with Noya was this—
before, I could speak freely.
Now, one wrong word, and I’d get hit.

So, after some thought,
I tried to phrase it as politely as I could.

“Noya… have you lost your m—”

*Smack!*

“Gah!”

I crumpled, clutching the top of my head. What was that for?!

“…That’s the best you could come up with after all that thinking?”

“That was me being as polite as possible…!”

“Tch. What am I going to do with that mouth of yours?”

Do what, exactly?

At my age, if I haven’t changed by now, it’s not happening.

“Tch.”

I groaned in pain, slowly pushing myself up.
Even at his age, his hands were still impossibly heavy.

‘Just how strong is he?’

Judging by the situation,
Yusa must have been completely overpowered by Noya.
And yet—

There were no signs of any struggle in the area.

Which meant—

‘He was subdued without a fight.’

How was that even possible?

‘This doesn’t make sense, even compared to the Three Lords.’

Just how powerful was Shin Noya?

Even at my peak,
if I fought Yusa at full strength, my odds of winning would be uncertain.

And yet, Noya had restrained him completely.
It was a stark reminder of just how monstrous the old man was.

A sense of awe washed over me.

Was it even possible for a human to be this strong?

Even so—

“…So what now?”

I swallowed my shock and asked again.

And then—

“I already told you. He was whining, so I tied him up.”

“Yeah, but why? I went through all the trouble of sneaking in here.”

At my words,
Noya tilted his head slightly.

“Sneak? Who?”

“…What?”

Now I was the confused one.

“What do you mean ‘who’? Noya, weren’t you sneaking in?”

“Why would I?”

“…What?”

“I haven’t done anything wrong. Why would I need to sneak in?”

“…”

For a moment, I was at a loss for words.

If he had done nothing wrong, then sure, that logic tracked.

But—

‘Then why…’

Based on what I knew about Mount Hua’s view of him,
it didn’t quite seem to fit.

‘…I’ll set that aside for now.’

I took a deep breath and spoke.

“…Then what about the crime you just committed?”

“Crime?”

I pointed at Yusa, still bound in the ropes.

“Turning a general into this—
doesn’t that qualify as a crime?”

“Ah, him?”

Noya let out a short laugh,
casually twitching his fingers.

The air shimmered slightly,
and the stone gagging Yusa slid out.

The moment it did—

“You son of a—!”

Yusa roared—

*Bang!*

But before he could finish,
Noya’s fist hammered into the back of his head.

The sheer force sent a shockwave through the air.

*Whoooosh—!!!*

A blast of wind pressure erupted in all directions.

Worried it might spill outside,
I quickly threw up a barrier to contain it.

‘How hard did he hit him?!’

“Guh…!!”

Before Yusa’s head could even rebound,
Noya stomped down, pinning it firmly to the ground.

*Crack—!*

“Didn’t I tell you to be quiet?”

“Khh…!”

“I never said you could bark. Why is that so hard to understand?”

Noya smirked as he spoke.

Seeing that expression sent a cold shiver down my spine.

‘…This old monster.’

He could radiate this kind of aura, too?

This wasn’t just overwhelming bloodlust.
It was bloodlust refined and compressed.

Though it felt thin as a thread,
there was something unbreakable within it.

It was terrifying.

His tone was casual,
but the air around him was deadly serious.

“Yusa. Do you need me to put your leash back on?”

“Ghh….”

“Then behave. I can’t just crush your skull with children watching.”

Noya lifted his foot.

Yusa’s head, which had been driven into the floor, finally rose.

“You…!”

His voice, once full of fury,
now sounded noticeably restrained.

His glazed eyes still burned with hatred,
but he was visibly forcing himself to hold back.

“My master has already granted you immense mercy.
So why are you here, stirring up trouble?”

“Trouble? I told you—I’m traveling.
You’re the one who started something.”

“Traveling? Don’t insult me. Release me this instant!”

*Grrk—!*

Yusa tensed, trying to burst free.

Yet the ropes didn’t yield at all.

Witnessing that,
I couldn’t help but widen my eyes slightly.

I had felt Yusa’s power before.
This was someone who could snap ordinary ropes like dry twigs.

And yet, he was struggling to break them?

‘…It can’t be.’

I focused my gaze on the bindings.
Then I understood—

‘He’s infused them with internal energy.’

Noya’s qi was woven into the ropes.
No wonder they held fast.

‘Even so… should this really be enough to restrain him?’

No matter how much energy was used,
there were limits.

Yet, even with Yusa thrashing like this,
the ropes held firm.

‘How did he manage this?’

I watched, fascinated. How did it work?
Was this another form of energy compression?

I was about to reach out and touch them when—

“And what do you think you’re doing?!”

Yusa snarled in frustration upon seeing me approach.

“Ah—”

Oops. I got too curious.

“My mistake.”

I quickly stepped back with an awkward smile.

Yusa looked at me,
then at Shin Noya,
his expression darkening.

And then—

“…I see. So this one is with you?”

“Huh?”

He spoke as if he had just pieced something together,
glaring at Noya.

“What are you talking about?”

“I knew something was off. Even among the Mount Hua crowd, there was a strange one…! What are you plotting now?!”

“…Tch. Here we go again.”

“No matter how much mercy my master has shown you…! I’ve suppressed my urge to rip you apart and even permitted your entry, and this is how you repay it—!”

*Crack!*

Yusa ground his teeth in fury.
His rage made the ropes quiver slightly.

“How dare you cross the line?!”

“Cross what line? You’ve always had a habit of inventing nonsense. I told you to fix that, but you never learn.”

The more they spoke, the more something felt off.

It sounded like they knew each other well.

I had assumed they were acquainted,
but their history seemed deeper than I thought.

“Ha…! So, am I to believe that you appearing on the very day my master arrives at Yahwol Palace is a coincidence? Don’t make me laugh.”

“If anyone’s laughing, it’s me. I was more surprised than anyone, you idiot.”

“So it was you.”

The veins in Yusa’s eyes bulged.

“That night… the one who called themselves Cheonma… that was you, wasn’t it?”

“Huh?”

At those words,
Noya froze for an instant.

Then he turned—
and looked directly at me.

His narrowed gaze felt like it was piercing right through me.

“Ahem…”

Feeling his stare, I quickly averted my eyes.

“…Cheonma? Cheonma?”

“Don’t act ignorant. Who else in Mangye would pull a stunt like this besides you?”

“You really think I’m some kind of provocateur, huh?”

“So you’re denying it was you?”

“Of course it wasn’t—”

Noya stopped mid-sentence. His lips sealed as if he were deep in thought.

Something about his hesitation made me nervous.

After a brief pause—

“No.”

Noya finally denied it.

Just as I began to feel relief—

“Cheonma is someone far beyond the likes of me.”

“…What?”

What was he saying now?

“Noya…? What are you—”

“To be called Cheonma… The Heavenly Demon? Wow. Just hearing the name is enough to make me shiver in fear.”

Noya chuckled, looking far too amused.

I had no idea what the old man was playing at,
so I just stood there, baffled.

Meanwhile,
Yusa smirked as if his suspicions had been confirmed.

“So you are connected to him.”

His lips twisted into a vicious grin,
his eyes glinting with murderous intent.

“You think you can walk away from this alive? Now that I’ve heard this, you’re finished.”

“Pfft. Finished, my ass.”

Noya burst out laughing.

For a moment, it seemed he was just dismissing Yusa’s words—

Then—

“If I kill you here, there won’t be any issues, will there?”

“…!”

His voice dropped to an icy chill.

Yusa flinched.

Seeing that,
Noya smirked.

“Just joking. Can’t go around killing an important general, can I?”

“You…!”

“But since I came all this way to see you,
shouldn’t we at least talk before you throw your fit?”

Yusa, who had been on the verge of erupting,
paused at Noya’s words.

“…Talk? You want to talk with me?”

“Yeah. Think of it as a walk and a chat.”

Even I was surprised by Noya’s proposal.

So this was why he had come to Yahwol Palace?
To see Yusa?

‘His target was Yusa…?’

While I was still digesting that revelation—

“Heh… Hehehe…!”

Yusa suddenly let out a low, dark chuckle.

“Talk, huh…? What a joke. Since when were we ever on terms to talk?”

“I thought we were on good enough terms for a chat. Was I wrong?”

“Of course you were.”

Then,
Yusa’s eyes sharpened,
becoming more intense than before.

“That ended the moment you betrayed our master and abandoned your post as a general.”

At those words—

My eyes widened in shock.