“Mmph...! Mmmph!!”

“...”

A young man with pale green hair struggled wildly against the ropes binding him.

One of Mangye’s Four Great Generals—Yusa.

I couldn’t say a word as I looked at him.

‘...What the hell?’

How did things end up like this?

What was I even supposed to say here?

‘Why is he in that state?’

He was one of Mangye’s only four generals.

When I saw him last night, he carried an almost Three Lords-level presence.

“Mmph!!”

And yet, look at him now.

Not only was he tied up—

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

There was an unknown stone lodged in his mouth.

Even as he struggled, it wouldn’t budge.

“Mmph! Mmmph!”

His eyes bulged with veins as he let out muffled screams,

desperate to say something,

yet the ropes restraining him didn’t loosen in the slightest.

At that moment—

“Ugh, so noisy.”

Bang!

“Guh!”

Shin Noya swung his arm and smacked Yusa right on the head.

His forehead slammed into the ground with a heavy thud.

Crack!

The impact fractured the floor, a long crack splitting across it.

“Mmmnnnghh...!”

Yusa groaned in pain.

Though it didn’t seem like his forehead was hurting—

‘The back of his head must be killing him.’

It was the side that got hit by Noya.

‘...What the hell is this?’

Why was this bastard tied up?

What was even happening here?

Especially considering Gubong’s expression—

he looked utterly dumbfounded.

It was clear that seeing a general in this state was beyond shocking for him.

I mean—

‘Even I’m shocked, so imagine how he must feel.’

In this world, the standing of a general was beyond imagination.

This land—

it was practically the size of an entire province.

And generals ruled over it.

In terms of strength, they held a status comparable to the Three Lords in Zhongyuan’s prime.

And yet—

‘...He’s writhing in ropes like a trussed-up pig.’

Even I was struggling to process this.

Anyway—

“What exactly happened here...?”

I asked, hoping for an explanation.

Noya, looking completely uninterested, replied flatly.

“What do you mean what happened? He kept whining, so I tied him up.”

“A general?”

“And? That a problem?”

Of course, it’s a problem, you old bastard!

I had a lot to say,

but I carefully chose my words.

The biggest issue with dealing with Noya was this—

before, I could say whatever I wanted.

Now, one wrong word, and I’d get smacked.

So, after some deliberation,

I tried to phrase it as nicely as possible.

“Noya... have you gone sen—”

Smack!

“Gah!”

I collapsed, clutching the top of my head.

What the hell, man?! 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“...That’s what you came up with after all that thinking?”

“That was me wording it as nicely as possible...!”

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

Do what, exactly?

At my age, if I haven’t changed by now, I’m not changing.

“Tch.”

I groaned in pain, slowly getting up.

Even at his age, his hands were still ridiculously heavy.

‘Just how strong is he?’

Judging by the situation,

Yusa must have been overpowered by Noya.

And yet—

There were no signs of a struggle nearby.

Which meant—

‘He was subdued effortlessly.’

How was that even possible?

‘Even compared to the Three Lords, this makes no sense.’

Just how powerful was Shin Noya?

Even at my peak,

if I went all out against Yusa, my chances of winning would be uncertain.

And yet, Noya had completely restrained him.

It was a stark reminder of just how monstrous the old man was.

A moment of awe passed through me.

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

Even so—

“...So what now?”

I swallowed my reaction and asked again.

And then—

“I just told you. He kept whining, so I tied him up.”

“Yeah, but why? I went through all this effort to sneak in here.”

At my words,

Noya tilted his head slightly.

“Sneak? Who?”

“...What?”

Now I was confused.

“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 had no words.

If he had done nothing wrong, sure, that made sense.

But—

‘Then why...’

Based on what I knew about Mount Hua’s stance on him,

it didn’t feel like that was the case.

‘...I’ll put 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 ropes.

“Turning a general into this—

that’s gotta count as a crime, no?”

“Ah, this guy?”

Noya chuckled,

casually moving his fingers.

The air wavered slightly,

and the stone gagging Yusa slipped out.

The moment it did—

“You son of a—!”

Yusa roared—

Bang!

But before he could finish,

Noya’s fist slammed into the back of his head.

The sheer impact sent a shockwave through the air.

Whoooosh—!!!

Wind pressure blasted in all directions.

Fearing it might reach outside,

I ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) hastily set up a barrier to contain it.

‘How hard did he hit him?!’

“Guh...!!”

Before Yusa’s head could even snap back up,

Noya stomped down on it, pinning him in place.

Crack—!

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?”

“Khh...!”

“I never gave you permission to bark. Why is it so hard for you to understand?”

Noya smirked as he spoke.

Seeing that expression sent chills down my spine.

‘...This old bastard.’

He could exude this kind of aura, too?

This wasn’t just overwhelming bloodlust.

It was compressed bloodlust.

Even though it felt as thin as a thread,

there was something unbreakable within it.

It was terrifying.

His tone was casual,

but the air around him was anything but.

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

“Ghh....”

“Then behave. I can’t just shatter your skull with kids watching.”

Noya lifted his foot.

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

“You...!”

His voice, which had been full of rage,

now sounded noticeably subdued.

His glossy eyes were still filled with hostility,

but he was forcing himself to hold back.

“My master has already shown you great mercy.

So why are you here, causing trouble?”

“Trouble? I told you—I’m on a trip.

You’re the one who picked a fight.”

“A trip? Don’t be ridiculous. Release me now!”

Grrk—!

Yusa tensed, trying to break free.

Yet the ropes didn’t even budge.

Seeing that,

I couldn’t help but widen my eyes slightly.

I had felt Yusa’s strength before.

This was someone who could snap ordinary ropes like twigs.

And yet, he was struggling to break free?

‘...No way.’

I focused my gaze on the ropes.

Then I realized—

‘He infused them with internal energy.’

Noya’s qi was embedded in the ropes.

No wonder they wouldn’t break.

‘Even so... should this really be enough to hold him?’

No matter how much energy was infused,

there were limits.

Yet, even with Yusa thrashing like that,

the ropes held firm.

‘How did he even do this?’

I watched with curiosity.

It was fascinating—how did it work?

Was this another form of compression?

I was about to reach out and touch them when—

“And what the hell do you want?!”

Yusa growled in frustration upon seeing me approach.

“Ah—”

Oops. I got too carried away.

“My bad.”

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 bastard is one of yours?”

“Huh?”

He spoke as if he had figured something out,

glaring at Noya.

“What are you talking about?”

“I suspected something was off. Even among the Mount Hua bastards, there was an odd one mixed in...! What are you planning this time?!”

“...Tch. And here we go again.”

“No matter how much mercy my master has shown you...! I’ve held back my urge to tear you apart and even allowed your entry, but how dare you—!”

Crack!

Yusa gritted his teeth furiously.

His rage made the ropes tremble slightly.

“How dare you cross the line?!”

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

The more they talked, the more something felt off.

It sounded like they knew each other.

I had assumed they were at least acquainted,

but their history seemed deeper than I had thought.

“Ha...! So, am I supposed to believe that you showing up on the same day as my master arriving at Yahwol Palace is just a coincidence? Don’t make me laugh.”

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

“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 a moment.

Then he turned—

and looked straight at me.

His narrowed gaze felt piercing.

“Ahem...”

Feeling his stare, I quickly looked away.

“...Cheonma? Cheonma?”

“Don’t play dumb. Who else in Mangye would do something like this besides you?”

“You really think I’m some troublemaker, huh?”

“So, are you saying it wasn’t you?”

“Of course not—”

Noya stopped mid-sentence.

His lips shut as if deep in thought.

Something about his hesitation made me uneasy.

After a brief pause—

“No.”

Noya finally denied it.

Just as I felt relieved—

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

“...What?”

The hell was he saying now?

“Noya...? What are you—”

“To think he’s called Cheonma... The Heavenly Demon?  Wow. Just hearing the name is enough to make me tremble in fear.”

Noya chuckled, looking way too amused.

I had no idea what the old man was trying to pull,

so I just stood there, dumbfounded.

Meanwhile,

Yusa smirked like he had just confirmed his suspicions.

“So you really are connected to him.”

His lips curled into a wicked grin,

eyes glinting with killing intent.

“You think you can walk away from this alive? Now that this has reached my ears, you’re finished.”

“Pfft. Finished, my ass.”

Noya burst out laughing.

For a moment, it seemed like he was just brushing off Yusa’s words—

Then—

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

“...!”

His voice turned chillingly cold.

Yusa flinched.

Seeing that,

Noya smirked.

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

“You...!”

“But since I came all this way to see you,

shouldn’t we at least talk before you start throwing a tantrum?”

Yusa, who had been about to erupt,

paused at Noya’s words.

“...Talk? You want to talk with me?”

“Yeah. Consider it a stroll and a conversation.”

Even I was surprised at Noya’s words.

So this was why he had come to Yahwol Palace?

To see Yusa?

‘His goal was Yusa...?’

While I was still trying to process that revelation—

“Heh... Hehehe...!”

Yusa suddenly let out a low chuckle.

“Talk, huh...? What a joke. Since when were we ever in a position to talk?”

“I thought we were on good enough terms to have a chat. Am I wrong?”

“Of course you are.”

Then,

Yusa’s eyes gleamed,

sharper than before.

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

At those words—

My eyes widened in shock.