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Childhood Friend of the Zenith (Web Novel) - Chapter 1117: The World of Ascension (47)
Chapter 1117: The World of Ascension (47)
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“I refuse.”At the Heavenly Lord’s answer, the atmosphere immediately turned cold.
A rejection? That was an unexpected response.
‘What?’
I narrowed my eyes. He was refusing? That was an absurd statement.
“Are you saying you will not offer your assistance?”
Even my father, seemingly unable to believe it, asked again.
“Yes.”
The Heavenly Lord’s answer did not change. Unbelievable.
‘He’s really not doing it?’
It wasn’t just about anything—this was the Namgung family. No, more than that, the entire Anhui region could suffer from this.
And on top of that, the Red (Crimson) Magyeong Gate, which hadn’t even been properly addressed, was evolving into the Grand Magyeong Gate.
It could explode in just a few days. And if it did, no one could predict the extent of the damage.
And yet, the Heavenly Lord was choosing not to intervene?
‘What the hell?’
No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t make sense. It wasn’t fear—there was no way it was fear.
It wasn’t just me. No one could comprehend it. Then, the Heavenly Lord, instead of looking at us, turned to Namgung Jeohwi and spoke.
“I relinquished my position as the family head long ago. I plan to leave Zhongyuan and live quietly. I have entrusted all matters to the family head, so it would not be right for me to interfere.”
“......”
Hearing that, I clicked my tongue inwardly. On the surface, it sounded reasonable.
‘The old man’s playing with words.’
But if you broke it down, none of it really held up.
‘What? He gave up his position as family head?’
That was laughable. Anyone could see that he still held power.
Even now, Namgung Jeohwi was busy gauging his reaction.
‘The elders must be the same.’
The elders of the Namgung family—they too were undoubtedly watching the Heavenly Lord’s every move.
‘Of course, Jeohwi’s low cultivation level is also a problem.’
A family head who hadn’t even reached Hwagyeong.
His lack of honor and strength must have been a heavy burden. Yet, despite that, he had been chosen as family head.
‘Maybe he’s as capable as they say in handling internal affairs, but...’
Anyone could tell that the Heavenly Lord’s influence had played a role.
A man who still wielded actual power was claiming he had stepped down.
And now he was saying it was not his place to interfere?
‘As if.’
It was an unbelievable statement. Even his claim of leaving Zhongyuan was the same.
He hadn’t left.
‘I know for a fact that in the reality I came from, he was still secretly working with the Martial Alliance.’
For at least another decade, he would continue operating behind the scenes.
And now he was saying he wouldn’t interfere in the family head’s matters?
‘Does he have some other reason?’
He hadn’t even known about the Crimson Magyeong Gate.
If he was aware of the situation and still refused to act—
‘The reason must be in there.’
The space where the Heavenly Lord resided, the one we were about to ascend to.
Something was there.
‘Ah, so that’s it.’
It made sense now. I had been wondering why he revealed himself before we could climb up.
‘He’s trying to stop us?’
Whatever was up there, he didn’t want us reaching it.
‘I don’t know what it is, but one thing is clear.’
The Heavenly Lord would not be getting involved in this matter.
‘Tsk.’
This was becoming troublesome.
“......Father.”
Namgung Jeohwi, too, seemed shaken, looking at the Heavenly Lord with uncertainty. But his gaze remained firm.
“Family Head. If you are truly the family head, should you not at least prove that you have the ability to handle a crisis of this level?”
“......”
At those words, Namgung Jeohwi fell silent.
“Withdraw. I will not tolerate any more than this.”
It was a warning. There was nothing else to be done here.
Even if we could not understand his decision, it was still the Heavenly Lord’s choice.
“......I understand.”
In the end, Namgung Jeohwi nodded in agreement.
And so, instead of continuing up the mountain, we descended and returned to Namgung Manor.
**********
Upon returning to the Namgung Manor, I had a brief conversation with Namgung Jeohwi.
He spoke of issuing an evacuation order and preparing for battle.
Then, he turned to Gu Cheolwoon and asked his intentions.
Would we cooperate with the Namgung family to stop the Grand Magyeong Gate, or—
‘Would we return to Hanam?’
Would we simply leave, avoiding involvement?
It was a choice.
Even if we left, it wouldn’t be a major issue. After all, our original mission had been reconnaissance.
We had already gathered information on the Magyeong Gate and its transformations.
Leaving now and returning to Hanam would be justifiable.
This was technically a matter for the Martial Alliance, but the risks were extremely high, and ultimately, it was Anhui’s problem.
However—
‘There is the matter of duty.’
A moral obligation. Could a righteous martial artist walk away, leaving civilians behind while a Grand Magyeong Gate loomed?
That was the real issue.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn’t be a major scandal.
Which was why—
‘I don’t have much time to decide. I’ll give an answer before midnight.’
My father, too, said he needed some time to think. Namgung Jeohwi accepted that.
Later, all members of our party gathered in my father’s quarters.
All except Namgung Jin.
The purpose of this meeting was clear—to decide whether to return to Hanam or not.
And just as my father was about to speak—
“We should leave.”
The one who answered first, without hesitation, was Mi Horan.
“There’s no need to think about it. It’s far too dangerous.”
Her eyes were resolute.
“The Grand Magyeong Gate is already a massive threat, but now we’re dealing with the Crimson variant as well? How can we possibly predict what will happen? And if even the Heavenly Lord has declared that he won’t interfere, that just makes it even worse.”
A logical argument. And not incorrect.
“We should leave, Young Master Gu. There is no reason for you to step forward in this matter.”
It was a familiar yet unfamiliar title.
It was exactly the way Moyong Hee-ah always addressed me.
At those words, my father turned his gaze toward Mi Horan—just as she finished speaking.
“No.”
From the other side, another voice spoke up.
It was Soi.
“......Are you really suggesting we abandon the civilians and leave? Do you even know what could happen if we fail to stop the monsters?”
“......Sword Peak.”
At those words, Mi Horan’s brow furrowed deeply.
“That’s far too emotional. Civilians? Sure, they’re important. But where does this confidence come from that we’ll even be able to stop the monsters?”
She wasn’t wrong. If we managed to stop them, then fine. But if we couldn’t, we would be caught up in the destruction as well.
Despite the calm reasoning, Soi’s response didn’t change.
“We might fail. I’m not certain either.”
“Then—”
“Even so. Even so, we must try, don’t we? We are righteous martial artists. We are the swords of the Martial Alliance. This is what we’re supposed to do.”
“Haa...”
Mi Horan finally let out a sigh. She must have realized that persuasion wasn’t going to work.
“Sword Peak. I understand that you’re still young, but no matter how you look at it, this isn’t something we can—”
“Lady Mi. You keep saying ‘we’ over and over again, but why exactly do you mean ‘we’?”
“......What?”
“You’re not part of the Sword Division, Lady Mi. The ones fighting are ‘us.’ So why exactly are you interfering?”
Tch.
At Soi’s words, Mi Horan’s expression twisted in an instant.
Well, damn. I didn’t expect her to pull that card.
‘But she’s not wrong.’
No matter how logical Mi Horan’s reasoning was, Soi had a point—Mi Horan wasn’t the one fighting.
And the fact that Soi called it out so bluntly must have struck a nerve.
“Sword Peak. Are you finished?”
“No. I was just getting started. So I’d appreciate it if Lady Mi stepped aside.”
“You—!”
Just as Mi Horan was about to explode in anger—
“That’s enough.”
Shaa—!
In the middle of it all, my father spoke in a low voice.
At that, the two women who had been shouting instantly fell silent.
“What are you two doing?”
“......Apologies.”
“......I’m sorry.”
With just a few words, they immediately backed down.
I had to admit, that was impressive.
While I was still marveling at it—
“Yangcheon.”
“......Yes?”
Suddenly, Father called out to me.
I flinched in surprise as he fixed his piercing red eyes on me.
“What’s your opinion?”
“......Mine?”
“Yes.”
An opinion.
My opinion? I scratched my cheek. Well?
‘In this situation, what opinion could I even have?’
What would the old me have done?
‘Would I have run?’
If I were in Father’s position, I probably would have. No, it wouldn’t have been running—I simply would have ignored it. It wouldn’t have been my concern.
Civilians or not, I had never cared about people whose faces I didn’t even know.
But.
‘If it weren’t my father’s situation—’
If it were my decision.
‘I would have done it.’
I would have stepped in.
For Namgung Bi-ah’s sake. And—
‘......Especially since this whole mess is my fault.’
The Grand Magyeong Gate—this entire phenomenon had been caused by me.
If I thought about that, I wouldn’t have been able to just walk away.
So.
“Logically speaking, returning to Hanam is the correct choice.”
I spoke first, directing my words to my father.
At this, Mi Horan’s expression brightened, while Soi’s face darkened significantly.
I ignored them and continued.
“But I’ll be staying.”
“......Hmm?”
“What?”
“Excuse me?”
“Yangcheon?”
Even Do Yun, who had been silent until now, reacted.
They all looked at me like they had misheard, but I had spoken clearly.
“You can all go back if you want. But I’m staying. That’s all.”
At my words, Soi, who had been sinking into despair, suddenly widened her eyes.
