WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 436: Episode 82: Outer Gods (5)
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Extras cannot become protagonists.
And because the Outer Gods couldn't even become extras, they were pushed outside the fable.
The dying monsters of fable looked up at us.
【I can do it too I can do it too】
【Captain captain captain captain captain captain】
【Who am I who am I who am I who am I who am I】
It was a voice Junghyeok couldn't hear.
I thought that was fortunate.
"All you can do is convey that they, too, exist here."
Junghyeok continued as he stared beyond the mist-covered Tongtian River.
"With that alone... you've done everything you needed to do."
What I had to do.
As if responding to our story, the narration began to speak.
(Their best course of action here was simply to make it known that monsters of fable had existed there.)
Han Suyeong probably felt the same sorrow I did.
The corpses of monsters of fable drifted down the rain-soaked Tongtian River.
[Many audience members are moved by the theme of Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong.]
[Some judges feel sorrow.]
Extras were extras, and protagonists were protagonists.
There was no story where everyone could become a protagonist.
I knew that too.
[The judge Prisoner of the Golden Headband repeatedly grabs and releases his hair.]
[The judge Bimawen contemplates the lives of the monsters of fable.]
[The judge Handsome Monkey King says he isn't sure, but asks whether everyone can be saved.]
But even so...
[The Outer God's share is rapidly falling.]
[The Outer God's current share in this fable is 13.473%.]
I couldn't truly be satisfied with this and end everything here.
[The Scenario Master is watching you.]
Suyeong probably thought so too.
"It's a turtle! Take the turtle!"
The interlopers who had climbed up the side of the Turtle Dragon shouted. They were members of other teams envious of our warship.
"Kill them! If we kill these bastards..."
They had picked the wrong opponents.
Slash!
Jihye's Twin Dragon Swords cut off the head of a Sun Wukong climbing onto the deck.
[The judge Handsome Monkey King touches the back of his neck with an uneasy expression.]
The headless Sun Wukong fell into the river without even a scream.
The startled Sha Wujings and Zhu Bajies shouted as they climbed onto the deck.
"You arrogant bastards!"
"You're reciting lines like that? You've got no chance of winning."
Jihye's Swordsmanship swept mercilessly through the air, while Gilyeong and Yuseong rushed forward beside her and sent the other Incarnations tumbling off the deck with skilled punches and kicks.
The Chimera Dragon, transformed into a Dragon Horse, flapped its wings and summoned powerful winds.
"You worthless bastards..."
Junghyeok had already leaped to the highest point of the ship. With a cold expression, he drew his sword. Violent sparks began to fly from the surface of the Black Heaven Demon Blade.
Sky-Splitting Sword Lightning.
Junghyeok's sword, which split the sky itself, plunged into the Tongtian River like a bolt of lightning.
"Arghhh!"
The Incarnation bodies struck by the blue sky-splitting sword strike were roasted whole and burst apart like fireworks.
Only then did the Incarnations realize what was happening, look at one another, and shout.
"How can a Zhu Bajie be that strong?!"
"Don't tell me that Zhu Bajie is..."
"It's them! They're the characters from 『Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong』!"
It seemed our identities had been exposed.
[The hidden information of the Scenario has been revealed!]
[Defeating characters from higher-ranked teams will increase your fable room's ranking!]
"Even if we don't get the scriptures, killing those bastards will get us into the rankings!"
And once they entered the rankings, they could receive considerable rewards even without winning.
"Kill them! Hunt the Zhu Bajie first!"
Dozens of cast members surged toward the warship, stepping on piles of monster-of-fable corpses before leaping. Some were powerful Incarnations, while others were Constellations. I urgently looked back at my allies, but none of them looked particularly flustered.
"Now this is getting fun."
"Sun Wukong, stay back."
Jihye smiled faintly and released her Status.
[The Great Fable Next City begins its story!]
[The Constellation Naval Warfare God has revealed their Status!]
At Gilyeong and Yuseong's command, the Dragon Horse returned to its true form, an Azure Dragon.
Kuooh!
At the same time, powerful fable energy erupted from my allies' Incarnation bodies.
[The Great Fable Spring of the Demon Realm begins its story!]
[The Great Fable Holy Flame That Devoured Myth begins its story!]
The airborne Chimera Dragon spewed fire and evaporated the waters of the Tongtian River. Junghyeok ran through the steam rising from the river.
Slash! Slash!
Whenever the black flash moved, nameless Sun Wukongs and Zhu Bajies died.
A shiver ran through me. I knew my allies were strong, but I hadn't realized they had grown this strong. It was the result of overcoming absurd Scenarios.
"Arghhh!"
Just because everyone was in the same ninety-fifth Scenario didn't mean they were all at the same level.
It was like 『Journey to the West』.
Everyone had their own way of reaching their destination. Some might fly there comfortably, while others might choose only easy paths.
But Kim Dokja Company's companions were different.
(They had arrived here by the most difficult route.)
They couldn't fly, nor could they choose an easy road. They had to walk and walk on their own two feet.
They had pushed through unreasonable adversity and hardship, endured misfortune, and swallowed their grief.
They had come this far through their own strength alone.
(And this was the result.)
Those blessed by dazzling Great Fables were the true protagonists of this story.
Watching them, I recalled an old memory.
「That place in the 1,863rd round had also been the ninety-fifth Scenario.」
I wanted to show this to Suyeong of the 1,863rd round. I wanted to tell her.
Just as you proved there, there are people who survived here too.
「This is the story of the third round you don't know.」
Yu Junghyeok [999], sitting on my shoulder, was watching the scene as well.
What was Yu Junghyeok of the 999th round, who had lost his own round and come to this worldline, thinking as he watched this?
[The fable room's ranking has risen!]
[Votes: 25,912]
[The current ranking of this fable room is 3rd.]
[Many audience members and judges have awarded bonus points!]
The fable room's ranking rose quickly.
Some of the people who had attacked us must have belonged to fable rooms ranked higher than ours.
[The fable room's ranking has risen!]
[Votes: 26,412]
[The current ranking of this fable room is 2nd.]
Second place at last.
Having surpassed thousands of rooms, we had finally reached the brink of victory.
That was when I started to grow impatient too.
[The Outer God's current share in this fable is 13.142%.]
Even while the protagonists fought, those who had fallen into the role of extras continued to die.
The Outer God's share was rapidly falling. To keep my promise to the Hunchback King, the Outer God's share had to exceed thirty percent.
Even if we won this Great Fable event, everything would come to nothing if we couldn't keep that promise.
Boom!
The warship suddenly rocked to one side.
Powerful Mana cannon fire was pouring toward us through the fog ahead.
"What the hell? Which bastards are those?!"
Jihye adjusted her stance and activated her Stigma.
[The character Lee Jihye has activated Ghost Fleet Lv.10.]
Twelve Ghost Fleet warships rose on either side of the Turtle Dragon and began firing.
Amid the distant exchange of cannon fire, nearby Incarnations and monsters of fable vanished without even leaving behind screams.
When the firing stopped, dozens of warships appeared through the cloudy smoke.
[The Constellation Naval Warfare God groans.]
Rumble.
The ships formed a crane-wing formation and surrounded our warship.
Even Naval Warfare God, a Constellation skilled in naval combat, faced too many opponents this time.
Besides...
"Peihu."
At the sound of Junghyeok's grave voice, I saw the figure standing on the railing of the opposite ship.
The protagonist of 『True Journey to the West』, the fable room ranked first, was standing there.
It seemed they had prepared warships in advance as well. They had far more ships than we did.
"Aren't those fabled-grade Constellations?"
I could see the other members of 『True Journey to the West』 too.
As expected, the Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were both Constellations of the Emperor nebula.
The role of Zhu Bajie was Erlang Shen, the Master of the Three-Pointed Spear.
Could Sha Wujing be Prince Nezha, the third son of Vaisravana?
They were characters from the original Journey to the West and sworn enemies of Sun Wukong.
It wasn't for nothing that the saying, "Peihu wins anyway," had circulated throughout the original novel.
Actual Constellations from Journey to the West had appeared as members of Peihu's group, so it was only natural that Constellations from other rooms couldn't defeat them.
[Some audience members have revealed their identities.]
[The Constellations of the nebula Emperor watch Peihu's battlefield.]
Behind them, even the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Emperor nebula shimmered.
The gazes fixed on us as if they would intervene at any moment exerted immense pressure simply by being there.
Junghyeok surveyed the battlefield and said, "Sanzang isn't here."
Come to think of it, I couldn't see their Master Sanzang.
In the end, Sanzang was the one who obtained the scriptures in Journey to the West. They couldn't have left Sanzang at the river mouth in a situation like this... Wait. If Sanzang was the one who obtained the scriptures...
"Something's running away over there."
Several warships were speeding away where Gilyeong pointed.
It seemed some of them had decided to hold us back while the rest moved toward the scriptures.
If so, Peihu's Master Sanzang had to be among those warships.
"They plan to stall us here while they obtain the scriptures."
Jihye shouted.
"Damn it! I'll handle this place, so go on ahead!"
At Jihye's cry, the Turtle Dragon began reloading.
One Ghost Fleet ship pulled alongside us, took Junghyeok, Gilyeong, Yuseong, and me aboard, then sped away.
Whooosh!
I wasn't worried about Jihye. She was now a full-fledged Naval Commander. As long as the battlefield was on the water, Jihye wouldn't lose even if she couldn't win.
The problem was on the other side.
A warship moving from afar cut directly across our path and pulled alongside us.
It was the warship carrying Peihu and his companions.
"So you're Kim Dokja Company."
The blue-eyed Sun Wukong looked at us as if we were strange animals.
Junghyeok drew the Black Heaven Demon Blade and stepped in front of us warily.
[The Constellation Master of the Three-Pointed Spear has released his Status!]
[The Constellation Third Son of Vaisravana has released his Status!]
Erlang Shen and Prince Nezha issued an intimidating warning from the start, as though they had abandoned the original appearances of their roles.
That wasn't all.
[The Twenty-Eight Mansions of the nebula Emperor are preparing for Descent.]
[The Nine Luminary Star Officials of the nebula Emperor are preparing for Descent!]
Damn it.
I said sarcastically, "Looks like you can't do anything alone without help from your nebula."
"The Emperor is me, and I am the Emperor. It would be more foolish not to use what I have."
No matter how strong Junghyeok was, he couldn't handle all of the Twenty-Eight Mansions and the fixed nine stars, the Nine Luminary Star Officials, if they descended as well.
Besides, they were originally characters of Journey to the West, so their Descent wouldn't consume much Plausibility.
Damn it, this place was practically the Emperor nebula's own playground.
"Before that, there's one thing I need to confirm."
Peihu drew his Ruyi Staff and released his true Status toward us.
Peihu, the strongest Incarnation candidate in TWSA.
I had seen Peihu a few times, but I had never fought him.
That was because he was the privileged Incarnation the Emperor nebula coddled most.
[The Great Fable Heir of the Celestial Palace begins its story!]
[The Great Fable Survivor of the War of Orthodoxy and Evil begins its story!]
Peihu had steadily built Great Fables somewhere beyond our sight.
And he had received support on an entirely different level from ours.
[The Great Fable Descendants of Chiwoo begins its story.]
When Peihu sent sword aura at us, Junghyeok blocked it.
Crack!
The crack in Junghyeok's Black Heaven Demon Blade deepened.
Interest flickered in Peihu's eyes.
"Not bad. Are you Zhu Bajie?"
Peihu was strong. Still, no matter how strong he was, Junghyeok in his current state could defeat him.
The problem was the Black Heaven Demon Blade. With his sword broken, Junghyeok would struggle to bring out even seventy percent of his usual skill.
"I heard Korea's strongest Incarnation was in Kim Dokja Company. So that's you."
As if he had been waiting for this, Junghyeok stepped forward.
Yu Junghyeok versus Peihu.
A battle of the century was about to begin.
But I couldn't just stand back and let them carry me this time.
Erlang Shen and Prince Nezha were still on the other side.
[Current Incarnation body recovery rate: 71%]
[Outer God Transformation progress: 96%]
[The rate of Outer God Transformation is currently slowed.]
Yet in my current condition, I couldn't possibly face those two.
Shing.
Peihu's side moved first.
Prince Nezha's dazzling artifacts began to shine, and powerful Status burst from Peihu's entire body.
That was when light rippled through the air.
[Player9 has joined Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong as an Extra!]
A new role at this point?
Rumble!
Someone appeared on top of the Ghost Fleet's cabin amid crashing thunder.
Lightning flashed through the dark sky, casting a long shadow. A slender figure stood there.
Two large horns rose above the figure's head.
[Player9's role is Bull Demon King.]
Bull Demon King.
I had forgotten there was a role like that.
The Bull Demon King was the comrade and sworn brother of Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong. He had also fought as an enemy in the original story, but he had never appeared in our fable room's 『Became a Retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong』.
Then who could be playing that role...?
[The members of Kim Dokja Company have been granted voting rights.]
[Some members are currently unable to vote.]
[Only members able to vote may participate.]
The moment I heard that, my mind went blank.
[The Incarnation Lee Jihye has approved the judgement.]
[The Incarnation Shin Yuseong has approved the judgement.]
[The Incarnation Lee Gilyeong has approved the judgement.]
[The Incarnation Jeong Huiwon has approved the judgement.]
[The Incarnation Han Suyeong has approved the judgement.]
[The Incarnation Yu Junghyeok has approved the judgement.]
As the messages appeared one after another, I could neither laugh nor cry. I could only stare at the window in front of me.
[Would you like to exercise your voting right for Hour of Judgement?]
I saw my allies' faces as they stood in the rain.
I desperately wanted to speak. But I couldn't say anything.
This alone was all I could do for them.
[The Constellation Demon King of Salvation has approved the judgement.]
For a moment, unreadable expressions appeared on my allies' faces.
A profound silence flowed across the Tongtian River.
Lightning struck once more, and Huiwon leaped down from above the cabin. Her shoulders seemed to tremble faintly when she landed on the deck, then she quickly regained her composure.
[All currently eligible voters have approved the judgement.]
[Hour of Judgement has activated!]
Huiwon finally raised her head and slowly opened her mouth.
"I can still fight."
Footnotes:
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