Chapter 933: So in the end.

A daughter?

Noya’s words made me stare blankly for a moment.

‘A daughter?’

Shin Noya had clearly said that the being called Yarangg was my mother’s daughter.

“…What…is that.”

Even though I tried to say something, my mouth wouldn’t move properly, as if it were broken.

Was it that much of a shock?

That my mother had another child?

If I were to be shocked by something like that, I thought it would be too childish and petty.

It must be simple surprise.

As I stuttered with wide eyes, Noya, who had been cutting grass with a seogeosseogeo sound, added,

“Your mother said as much. I don’t know the details.”

Noya spoke while putting down the sickle he was holding.

“The important thing is that this Yarangg possesses your mother’s eyes and ears.”

“…Eyes and ears?”

“Yes.”

Having tossed the sickle somewhere out of sight, Noya began to put on the martial attire he had casually left on a nearby rock.

“Under this sky, there is nothing Yarangg cannot see or hear. That is the divine power that fellow possesses.”

“That’s some seriously nonsensical power…?”

To be able to see and hear everything.

This isn’t something you can achieve by expanding your senses with energy, is it?

“Of course, this isn’t the entirety of it either. It’s all within the realm of divine power, after all.”

As he spoke, Shin Noya pointed somewhere with his finger. It was a spot full of blooming plum blossoms.

“Where a Divine Tree exists, divine power cannot be used, so it cannot see.”

“…Huh? Really?”

It was a fact I didn’t know.

No, rather, since he never told me in the first place, it’s natural I wouldn’t know, right?

‘Where a Divine Tree exists, divine power cannot be used….’

Did such a thing exist?

“That’s why, usually, within the Yarwol Palace or other places, divine power cannot be used.”

Hearing this, I frowned.

Because there was a part I didn’t quite understand.

“Noya.”

“Yes.”

“Just now, you said divine power can’t be used around a Divine Tree, didn’t you?”

“That’s right.”

“But if it can’t be used in other places too… does that mean there are Divine Trees everywhere?”

Did it mean there were Divine Trees everywhere, including Yarwol Palace? As I asked with this question,

“It seems so.”

“…They planted that big thing there?”

When I went to Yarwol Palace, I didn’t see a tree like that.

No matter how spacious the interior was, if something like that were there, it should have been visible at a glance.

At my words, Noya looked at me with a look of pity and said.

“Do you think all Divine Trees are this large?”

“…Aren’t they that big?”

Well, I wouldn’t know since it’s my first time seeing one. Shouldn’t you have told me?

“Not all Divine Trees are large; it could be a small Divine Tree, thus unnoticeable, or it might have been hidden entirely from view.”

So not all Divine Trees are large, and some are hidden.

Indeed. If all Divine Trees were that size, there’s no way I wouldn’t have seen one.

But.

“Are there more Divine Trees like that in this world…?”

“There would be if you looked. Excluding that one, there are probably three more.”

“Three?”

“Yes. There are four Divine Trees in total. The same number as the general.”

The same as the general’s number.

I focused on that statement.

“As many as the general’s number… are the Divine Trees that exist?”

“To be precise, it’s more accurate to say they exist in different regions… but perhaps one location won’t have one.”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask?”

As he pointed earlier, Shin Noya indicated the plum Divine Tree.

“It’s because I stole that and planted it over there.”

“…”

Hearing that, I unconsciously wiped my face with my dry hands.

What is this? Why is he saying it so proudly?

I had heard something like this before.

He said he stole the seed of a Divine Tree and went through a lot because of it.

“Therefore, it’s likely impossible to see within this area, but the outside might be different.”

Noya hugged the harvested crops one by one.

Watching Noya, I asked.

“…No, why on earth did you steal it?”

Why would he go out of his way to steal that Divine Tree?

As I asked, unable to comprehend, Noya calmly replied.

“I needed it.”

“The Divine Tree?”

“Yes. But there was no way to obtain it, so what could I do?”

“So you stole it?”

“Naturally.”

It was a truly bold statement.

So much so that it was absurd.

“That might be why Yarangg is trying to find it.”

“Why Yarangg?”

“Because that Divine Tree originally belonged to Yarangg.”

That plum Divine Tree?

I stared at the Divine Tree with a strange look.

“That it belonged to Yarangg means….”

“Divine Trees are used when a general establishes their own nation. That Divine Tree is what Yarangg received upon becoming a general.”

“And you stole that?”

“Ahhh. It really wasn’t easy.”

His proud expression, as if he had accomplished something great, was priceless.

So in the end.

“…That Divine Tree belongs to a woman named Yarangg. And you stole it and planted it here?”

“That’s right.”

“And that’s why she’s trying to find it?”

“Probably?”

“…Why isn’t the last part certain?”

What do you mean ‘probably’? Seriously.

At my pointing out, Noya said with a somewhat awkward face.

“It’s because it might not be the case.”

Could it be otherwise?

The fact that this being named Yarangg came last time, and this time too.

Cheonma told me he came to see me, but it’s strange for a general to say they came to see me.

I remember last time they tried to catch the dragon.

Then they should have started fighting the moment they saw me.

‘What if they’re more cautious than expected?’

If that’s why they aren’t approaching, then maybe.

But from my perspective, that didn’t seem to be the case.

‘Moreover, is this Yarangg fellow strong enough to injure Cheonma?’

Cheonma is someone who was fine even fighting the Three Saints alone.

Of course, the Cheonma of the past life and the current Cheonma feel very different, but still.

No matter how different.

I never imagined that Cheonma would come injured.

I recalled Cheonma bleeding from his chest.

‘Does it mean generals are on a different level?’

They said Yarangg, the daughter of my mother.

For some reason, a sense of displeasure surged.

Is it because my mother has a child I don’t know about?

Or is it because Cheonma came injured?

I don’t know for sure, but what’s certain here is.

‘Although I haven’t seen clearly enough to be certain.’

These ‘generals’ seem stronger than I anticipated.

‘Even that leader fellow.’

Their level is impossible to gauge. That’s the problem.

‘It means it’s difficult to make a move rashly.’

To finish this as quickly as possible, I needed to know more definitively.

The same goes for attempting contact with their generals.

‘Sssseup.’

The path hasn’t deviated, but I feel slightly lost.

It felt stifling and somehow frustrating.

From within my mind, which had started to feel slightly irritated,

“Youngster.”

Noya called out to me. Hearing him, I shifted my gaze.

Noya had already finished changing his clothes.

“If everything’s done, let’s go.”

“Huh? Go where?”

Where are we suddenly going?

As I asked in confusion at the abrupt statement, Shin Noya grinned and said to me.

“It’s been a while since I saw you. Shouldn’t I see how much you’ve grown?”

“…What?”

“Follow me.”

As he spoke, Noya leaped.

Petals burst and disappeared.

I stared blankly at it before coming to my senses.

Noya was drawing petals in the air, as if showing the way.

“Hah…”

I had to stare at it, dumbfounded.

I wondered what this was all about, suddenly.

But.

“…”

I watched it quietly for a moment, then put strength into my feet.

Funnily enough, my face was probably smiling at that moment.

********

Following the petals led me to a clearing not far away.

It looked similar to the place where Gu Bong was beaten.

When I arrived belatedly, Noya was standing alone in the center of the field, hands clasped behind his back.

He stood with his eyes closed, quietly enjoying the breeze.

Seeing him, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.

‘I hate to admit it.’

He looks like he’s got something going on.

As a tall human who keeps his mouth shut, he looks quite dashing for an old man.

Watching him, I approached cautiously.

Even then, Noya still had his eyes closed.

“Why did you go to the trouble of bringing me all the way here?”

At my words, the corner of Noya’s mouth twitched slightly upwards.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier?”

I could see his martial attire rustling.

“I said I wanted to see how much you’ve grown.”

At that, I let out a breath and said.

“Why now, of all times?”

We were in the middle of a conversation. And you suddenly do this while farming?

This is quite a strange situation.

I wondered what this was all about.

“Don’t you like it? You looked stuffy, so I brought you here deliberately.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just too sudden.”

“For someone who feels that way.”

Seureuk.

Noya released his clasped hands from behind his back.

“It seemed like you wanted to vent something pent up inside. Was I mistaken?”

“…”

I didn’t answer.

Because I thought what he said wasn’t wrong.

That’s certainly true.

Lately, I had felt somewhat oppressed, both mentally and physically.

“So, come on. I can indulge you with a little performance.”

“A performance? Isn’t that a bit rough for a performance?”

“Haha.”

As if my words were amusing, Noya laughed heartily.

“Youngster. You think too highly of yourself.”

As he spoke, Noya opened his closed eyes.

At that moment.

Fwoooooooosh—!!!

“…!!!”

All the hair on my body stood on end.

My body tensed up, and my hands trembled involuntarily.

My instincts surged violently.

The moment I met Noya’s reddish-pink eyes, I involuntarily took a step back.

“Whatever you do, it will only be a performance to me.”

“…”

“So, do your absolute best.”

It felt like the whole world was distorting.

“That way, I too can enjoy it a little.”

My ears rang from Noya’s voice.

It wasn’t that his voice was loud. It was that my ears couldn’t withstand the energy wrapped within it.

Feeling that, I understood clearly.

‘…He was really holding back then.’

Shin Noya, whom I met in Yeongpung’s mental landscape. This was a sensation I had never felt when facing him.

It was the feeling of prey facing a predator.

I trembled.

And yet, my lips curled upwards involuntarily.

I thought, ‘Am I crazy?’ to be smiling while feeling something so terrifying.

Kkwahk.

I clenched my fist.

Dugeun.

My heart pounded once, and heat spread through my body.

Giiiiiiiiii—!!!

The rings of the Gu-yeom-hwa-ryun-gong. Now, all ten filled rings spun madly.

“Hoo.”

Seeing that, Noya reacted with apparent interest.

“Hooo…”

Heat permeated even my exhaled breath.

I compressed the power that threatened to explode any moment.

Containing it meticulously within my body,

“Noya.”

“Yes.”

I said, looking at Noya.

“Aren’t you drawing your sword?”

“Sword?”

At my words, Noya chuckled. It was clear mockery.

“Well. If it holds enough value, I might consider it.”

“…Aha.”

He intends to face me without even drawing his sword.

He’s not just stepping on my pride, he’s shattering it.

Normally, I would have cursed him out and gotten angry about this, but.

“Well then, let’s see.”

I wasn’t angry this time.

I thought Noya was someone who could say that, and was justified in saying it.

Kkuuk.

I lowered my upper body.

I put strength into my feet.

Deudeudeudeuk—!!!

As I applied force, the ground cracked and sank.

Hwareureuk-!

At the same time, enveloping my entire body in azure flames.

“I’ll put on a little show for you.”

Kwang-!

I charged at him with all my might.

Kwaaaaaaaa—!!!

Flames poured towards Noya like the Red Sea parting.