Childhood Friend Of The Zenith – Chapter 1261

Something exists in the west. I figured that much out, but I couldn’t head there right away.

Cheolryong Daeju also opposed moving that way, and judging by everyone else’s condition, pushing on any further was out of the question.

I thought that was a reasonable cause. So, whatever my instincts said, I chose to head back first.

“We’ve returned.”

“Welcome back.”

As soon as Cheolryong Daeju returned to the hideout, he went straight to Mi Hyoran and began his report the moment he arrived.

“You’re saying the monsters rushed us?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“…Regardless of species, they clustered together and attempted the first strike.”

“By any chance, did the Wind Dragon Unit have anything else to say?”

“No, we heard nothing from them.”

The formation masters maintaining the arrays—there was no word passed to them either.

“…That’s strange. This hasn’t happened recently.”

“Yes. It seems anomalous. We intended to investigate further, but the fatigue from combat was severe, so we couldn’t proceed. We’ll re-form a search party and set out again as soon as possible.”

“…Understood. Delaying won’t do us any good. You’ve worked hard.”

“Yes. Dismissed, everyone.”

At the Cheolryong Vice Captain’s words, the personnel moved. I, too, was about to move along with Dokbong and Dang Cheongi when—

“Cheolryong Vice Captain.”

“Yes, Sodan-ju-nim.”

“Come in with me.”

Cheolryong Daeju went inside with Mi Hyoran.

“……”

I watched the two for a moment, then moved my feet again.

After sending off the party, Mi Hyoran stepped into a room and looked at Cheolryong Daeju.

At that gaze, the vice captain immediately waved his hand.

Hwoooong—!!

Qi unfurled and formed a qi-veil.

Only after the veil went up did Mi Hyoran question him.

“What happened?”

Her expression was somewhat different from earlier.

“You’re saying the monsters began an assault?”

“It was while we were heading toward the western region. Suddenly the ground trembled, and as I described a moment ago, the monsters swarmed.”

“You mean monsters of different kinds as well.”

“Yes. It was a first for me.”

“Was there anything else?”

“…Other areas showed no notable signs.”

“…How strange.”

Her eyes said she couldn’t make sense of it. Understandable—nothing like this had happened in recent times.

“We’ll need to check for issues with the formations, but since there were no reports, it’s likely they didn’t perceive this on their end.”

“Yes. In that case, the problem likely lies elsewhere.”

“…Elsewhere.”

What could that be? Mi Hyoran’s eyes sank into thought for a moment.

“Sodan-ju.”

Cheolryong Daeju carefully opened his mouth.

“Do you have suspicions about something?”

“…It’s nothing else but this.”

He creased his gaze slightly and continued.

“If an anomaly has occurred, I believe we need to look for reasons within as well.”

“Within—?”

“This so-called oddity has, in fact, also occurred on our side—strictly speaking.”

Cheolryong Daeju glanced behind him.

“It would be fair to say a peculiar individual has appeared.”

“……”

Mi Hyoran’s eyes cooled at that.

“By that, do you mean, perhaps, Young Master Baek?”

“Yes.”

“Are you suggesting Young Master Baek is at the center of the anomaly? Or that he’s someone from the Apostles’ side?”

“It could be both, or neither.”

“So you’re saying you’ve judged based only on circumstantial hints without proof.”

“That’s true as well. However, I believed it a situation worth suspecting. The circumstances point that way.”

“Then, in the end, your intent is for us to cast suspicion on Young Master Baek.”

“Yes. That’s correct. Moreover, if I have Sodan-ju-nim’s permission, I will take the initiative to verify it myself.”

“…How, exactly?”

We verify Baek Yangcheon. Hearing that, Mi Hyoran asked,

“I have a plan.”

Cheolryong Daeju answered with confidence.

The next day dawned.

Maybe because of what happened the first day, I fell asleep a bit early. The moment I opened my eyes, I was out again.

“We’ll begin the second day of the search.”

Once again, Cheolryong Daeju said he would lead the search at the front.

There were a few changes in personnel.

Dokbong was included, but Dang Cheongi was excluded. Another person was also dropped. The team was composed of warriors attached to the hideout.

Dang Cheongi did protest, but was immediately put down by Dokbong, and the anger became meaningless.

“We’ll head west to grasp the anomaly that occurred yesterday.”

At Cheolryong Daeju’s words, I stole a glance at him.

‘Hmm.’

So we’re going west, huh. Given what he discussed with Mi Hyoran yesterday, it wasn’t all that strange.

Only…

‘Look at that.’

From the way Cheolryong Daeju looked at me, I could feel something else—suspicion.

It seeped from the eyes he turned on me.

‘Oh ho.’

It seemed…

‘He’s suspicious of me.’

He must be suspecting me regarding what happened yesterday. He has the pretext for it, sure, but going straight to suspicion in that situation was a little odd.

‘Is there something more? Or else—’

Maybe I just rubbed him the wrong way. Whatever it was, the important thing was—

‘This is going to get troublesome.’

—that the situation didn’t look all that good. If there was one consolation here,

‘We’re going west anyway.’

it was that I’d get to resolve what had been weighing on my mind.

I decided to focus on that for now.

On the way west.

It was Dokbong who barged into my mood to take it easy and just walk.

“So, about last time—”

She babbled without pause. Dokbong was far more talkative than I’d thought.

“Ah, right—at the Tang Gate, in Sichuan…”

From the Tang Army’s skill contests to the weapons they forged,

even down to the poisons she’d been planning to ingest lately,

she dragged out one thing after another I hadn’t particularly wanted to know.

“Ah, I see.”

All I could do was nod along.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell her to shut it.

‘Probably because she resembled Tang Soyeol.’

Because of the woman with light green hair in my head, it was a bit hard to treat Dokbong harshly.

‘Still, maybe it’s a relief there are no monsters.’

Noise aside, perhaps because we’d mowed so many down yesterday, the number of monsters was extremely low.

‘Let’s see.’

I checked inward. I didn’t have much qi left. I split off a little and spread it into my qi sense, letting it flow around us.

Ssssss—!!!

In an instant, my qi sense spread and blanketed the surroundings. I still didn’t feel any monsters.

‘Then—’

This time I focused my sense and shot it west.

Concentrating it to a point, I cast it out; it shot forth in an instant, and before long it brought back information from there.

At that moment—

“…!”

My body went rigid for a moment.

‘…Well, now.’

As the flood of information came in, the corners of my mouth lifted.

There was reason to be surprised.

‘…What is that number?’

At the far western edge—the number of monsters clustered there was out of the ordinary. It looked like twice what we faced yesterday.

What could it be? Do monsters have a reason to gather like that?

‘Besides, it doesn’t seem to be only monsters.’

Amid the gathered monsters, I felt something alien.

‘What is that?’

I tilted my head. I couldn’t tell. It was hard to discern with just my sense, and I lacked the qi to push it out further.

In that case—

‘We’ll know if we go.’

I’d find out in person. Nothing had changed from the choice I made when we set out.

“Prepare to search.”

As soon as we reached the destination, Cheolryong Vice Captain spoke. At his words, everyone moved to perform their assigned roles.

Some sought higher ground to gauge the monsters’ movements,

while others stood watch in case nearby monsters appeared.

And—

“We’ll go inside.”

The vice captain and I would head into the interior.

“Uh, then I’ll also—!”

“That isn’t your assigned task, is it?”

When Dokbong tried to follow, the vice captain blocked her.

“…But—”

“It’s fine. Please go.”

“……”

I said without looking back.

Hearing me, Dokbong hesitated and withdrew.

Only then did the vice captain move, and I followed him.

Deeper west. We entered inside the danger zone the map had indicated.

As we stepped beyond the target point, I asked him,

“Didn’t you say it was dangerous if we went this way?”

“It is. If we slip up, the Apostles could detect us.”

“Ah, is that so?”

“The limit of what we can veil from their sight is our range, after all.”

“Mm.”

Formations. Barriers.

They were using those to the utmost to blind the things called Apostles.

Step.

“……”

“……”

We walked on in silence a while longer. It wasn’t so much uncomfortable as it was unpleasant.

Then—

“Come to think of it—”

The vice captain, who had been quiet all along, spoke to me.

“I’m curious how you managed to survive for a whole year.”

‘Fishing, is he.’

I snorted inwardly.

“I got by, more or less. You know.”

“Your rations must have been limited.”

“Food’s not just one or two things. Even tree bark’s fine once you get used to it.”

I had, in fact, survived on bark before. That was probably when I was stranded with Murong Hee-ah in my past life.

“You ate monsters too?”

“If you have to eat them, you eat them.”

I said it flatly. At that—

“Really?”

Cheolryong Daeju halted for a moment and looked at me.

“If you aren’t an Apostle, eating monsters would kill you.”

“……”

My feet stopped as well.

Our eyes met.

“……”

“……”

The atmosphere cooled in an instant.