WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 65: Episode 14 - Master of the Throne (1)

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Kim Yusin's Stigma, [Great Gathering of the Hwarangs], was a skill that summoned the Yonghwa Hyangdo, the elite Hwarang who had died in history.

Put simply, it was the army version of Lee Jihye's [Ghost Fleet]. In sheer might, it couldn't compare to the Admiral, but even so, among large-scale Stigmas used by Historical-grade Constellations, it was one of the finest.

"Go!"

The Yonghwa Hyangdo, whose bones should already have crumbled into dust, all rose at once and lifted their weapons toward the Baekje army. Some of the Hwarang had no eyes. Some had no arms or legs.

It was cruel. As long as Kim Yusin remained here, they would rise again and again with swords in hand. Even after their souls had worn away, their anger had faded, and even their hearts had been ground down. The soldiers who had fought to prevent their country's destruction were now fighting for a country that had already been destroyed.

"Still as cowardly as ever, Kim Yusin! Now you're even driving your dead subordinates into battle?"

"......"

"Come at me! If you're a general too, then let's settle this one-on-one!"

Despite Gyebaek's provocation, I stayed still. I didn't want Kim Yusin to move. Gyebaek crushed the Yonghwa Hyangdo with overwhelming martial might. Mana streaming from his greatsword mercilessly embroidered the empty air.

"Kim Yusin!"

That fearsome shout boomed through the air, and even the emotionless ranks of the Yonghwa Hyangdo faltered.

He was Baekje's last great commander, Gyebaek.

In terms of raw physical ability alone, the Constellation Gyebaek overwhelmed Kim Yusin. In fact, Gyebaek had never fought Kim Yusin one-on-one in the Battle of Hwangsanbeol. More precisely, it would be more accurate to say Kim Yusin had avoided the duel.

[The character Chu Wangin has activated Fight to the Death Lv.2!]

In history, Gyebaek's detachment had fought against Kim Yusin's army despite being outnumbered ten to one, and had won again and again on an impossible battlefield. Though Kim Yusin had been the final victor, Gyebaek hadn't lost a single battle before the final act of Hwangsanbeol opened.

A battle maniac bound tight with patriotism bordering on madness and a grim resolve.

Right now, I had Kim Yusin's blessing at my back, but if circumstances had been different, I might have called on Gyebaek instead of Kim Yusin. Unable to bear it any longer, Gwanchang's Incarnation shouted.

"General!"

"Do not move."

Kim Yusin spoke through my mouth. Watching the dying ranks of the Yonghwa Hyangdo, his expression didn't change in the slightest. Kim Yusin's endlessly tranquil inner world was transmitted exactly as it was. Gyebaek shouted.

"Even after becoming a Constellation, your cowardice hasn't changed!"

That was right. Kim Yusin might be a coward. He feared death, and he feared defeat. But that was precisely why he was strong. He didn't act rashly, and he wasn't swept away by emotion. He destroyed enemies he could beat in a way that guaranteed victory.

That was why, even after losing four times, he had still been able to win at the final Hwangsanbeol.

"Kraaaah!"

Gyebaek's struggle against hundreds of Yonghwa Hyangdo was desperate. His Incarnation had already suffered wounds so severe that there was no way he could survive. Blood covered his whole body, and fatal wounds marked his thighs, both arms, and his side.

And yet he still cut through the Yonghwa Hyangdo and came toward me one step at a time.

"Kim...... Yu...... sin!"

[Stigma, Request for Reinforcements, has activated!]

Ghostly soldiers appeared like shadows behind Kim Yusin and thrust their spears toward Gyebaek. Judging by their attire, they didn't seem to be Silla troops. Perhaps they were the Tang reinforcements he had called when he destroyed Goguryeo.

As expected of Kim Yusin. The only thing that mattered to him was victory. Whether or not he borrowed foreign power wouldn't have mattered to him in the slightest.

The sound of countless spears piercing a chest. Unable to endure the pain, Gyebaek's Incarnation dropped to his knees.

"......How bitter. Even on a false stage like this, I still cannot reach you. I wished to cross blades with you, even if only once."

Seeing Gyebaek's Incarnation with red-rimmed eyes left me with complicated feelings. Gwanchang had lived, and history had changed. But there were histories that remained unchanged all the same. Kim Yusin asked,

"Gyebaek. Why did you do this?"

"......"

"If you die in that state, you won't be able to choose an Incarnation for a while. Why did you suddenly give up on the Scenario?"

Gyebaek merely wore a mysterious smile beneath his blade-sharp gaze. After waiting, Kim Yusin drew his sword. I hurriedly snatched back control of my voice.

"You mustn't kill him with your own hands."

[Why?]

"......There are restrictions."

The King of No Killing must not commit murder directly. If I killed even one of my own kind with my own hands, I would be stripped of the throne. Kim Yusin nodded as if he understood.

[Is that so? I have a rough idea, then. Do not worry. I promise on the honor of the stars. The one who executes Gyebaek now will not be you, but I, Kim Yusin.]

"But......"

[......If that still leaves a bad taste in your mouth, very well.]

At Kim Yusin's gesture, one of the Yonghwa Hyangdo that had risen from the ground nodded.

I returned control of my voice to Kim Yusin.

"Gyebaek, let us meet again in the context of the stars."

Gyebaek's Incarnation silently looked up at us. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he never opened his mouth. In that final moment, his face looked less like Gyebaek's and more like that of a mere minor actor who had finished all his acting.

Then the Incarnation's head quietly flew through the air.

[Stage Transformation is ending.]

[You have relived the Battle of Hwangsanbeol.]

[You have obtained 1,000 coins as an experience reward.]

When I looked around, the Baekje army had been completely annihilated.

[The authority of the King of No Killing is maintained in consideration of the indirectness of the killing.]

Thank goodness. The King of No Killing would only be stripped away when I killed someone with my own hands. Lives taken by the Yonghwa Hyangdo didn't count as my own act of killing.

"Representative! Are you all right?"

Lee Seongguk's voice rang out through the dust. Yu Sangah was letting out a sigh of relief, and Lee Gilyeong looked displeased, perhaps because he hadn't gotten much chance to shine. And Min Jiwon...

"What in the world was that just now......?"

She looked completely dazed. I shrugged and said,

"If you want to become a king, you should start by studying some history."

I'd called on Kim Yusin, but I wasn't on Silla's side or Baekje's side. I had simply summoned him because Kim Yusin was the right choice to deal with Gyebaek. In any case, I was glad the result had been better than expected. I'd been able to thoroughly test the performance of Ganpyeongui, and above all, I had managed to pick up some of the coins and items the Baekje army had been carrying.

[You have obtained 5,400 coins.]

[Coin balance: 74,950C]

Now, even when the final phase of the fourth Scenario arrived, I didn't feel particularly afraid.

"We don't have time, so let's move north right away."

[The blessing has 3 minutes remaining.]

Kim Yusin's blessing was still lingering. Since I had already used Ganpyeongui, I needed to squeeze as much use out of it as possible. It was an item I could only use seven times. I had to make the most of it all the way to the end.

"Rise, Yonghwa Hyangdo!"

As the shattered Yonghwa Hyangdo rose once more, I pointed my sword north.

"Advance!"

The Mana consumption was enormous, so there wasn't much time left to command the Yonghwa Hyangdo. The Yonghwa Hyangdo, awakened from the soil, began marching north while indiscriminately sweeping away small and mid-sized groups.

At this rate, it might even be possible to wipe out all the other kings' forces gathered near the National Palace Museum. The factions brawling along the main road screamed from every direction.

"What the hell are these skeleton bastards?! Uwaaaak!"

The Incarnations charging at me were crushed by the Yonghwa Hyangdo's attacks. Since I wasn't the one attacking, I wouldn't be penalized even if someone died by accident.

Yeah, now this was satisfying. Kim Yusin's true speech rang out in my head.

[You are a peculiar one. To hear my true speech and still remain sane......]

"My mental energy is a bit strong."

I said it like I was brushing it off, but honestly, I was surprised too. There was a reason the Constellations used indirect messages to communicate. No matter how low-ranked a Historical-grade Constellation Kim Yusin might be, I was still an Incarnation from the opening phase of the Scenario. In other words, just hearing his true speech should have made me piss myself or pass out. I'd actually been worried about that, but...

[Remember this. You owe me a great debt. To help you, I had to shoulder more Plausibility than necessary.]

There was something ominous in the way he said it. I hurried to express my gratitude.

"I truly appreciate that. I won't forget the General's help for generations to come."

[You're a hasty one. It doesn't even look like you have a generation to pass it on to yet......]

"......Won't that happen someday? If I have children, I'll be sure to pass down what happened today."

[More importantly, it seems you have no Patron constellation.]

My bad feeling had been right. Damn it, I'd been wondering why this old fox kept talking to me.

[I like you. If you are willing, I would like to become your Patron constellation in this Scenario and travel the world together with you.]

He made it sound grand, but all he was really doing was taking the long way around saying he wanted to use me like a slave in this world.

"That would be difficult."

[Why is that? You have seen my power clearly enough, haven't you? If you possessed my Stigma, you could become the strongest in this era.]

I admitted that [Great Gathering of the Hwarangs] was a good Stigma. But there was a reason Kim Yusin had been called a fox by historians.

The strongest in this era? For a Historical-grade Constellation that wasn't even fabled-grade to say that, if the Great Sage Heaven's Equal heard it, he'd rip every last hair out of our General's head.

"This isn't the Three Kingdoms era, elder. You're old enough already, so go back and get some rest."

[The Constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband snickers at Great King Heungmu.]

[300 coins have been sponsored.]

Kim Yusin fell silent for a moment, perhaps because his pride had been wounded. I was hoping he'd back off quietly like this, but then a sharp pain suddenly stabbed through my head.

[You haven't forgotten that my blessing still remains, have you?]

At the moment, Kim Yusin and I were linked through Ganpyeongui. The muscles all over my body convulsed, and I sensed something deeply wrong. No, surely not. No matter what, a Korean historical figure wouldn't...?

[You would do well to reconsider.]

Yu Sangah looked at me anxiously.

"Dokja-ssi?"

"Yu Sangah-ssi. Get back. Quickly!"

My trembling right hand pulled out Unbreakable Faith on its own and began pointing it toward Yu Sangah. Kim Yusin had started exerting coercive force over my body.

[You said there was a restriction on killing, didn't you? I wonder what kind of restriction it is. Shall I kill that woman right now and find out?]

"Kim Yusin, this is your will. It won't be added to my karma."

[Heh heh, who can say? What if I release the blessing the instant the sword goes in? Wouldn't that still count as your act of killing? And from the look of it, that woman seems rather precious to you.]

"......Stop."

[Promise me. Promise that in the next patron selection, you will choose me, Kim Yusin.]

His intent was obvious. Once the fourth Scenario ended, patron selection would be held again. Kim Yusin was trying to exploit this opportunity and force a vow out of me.

If I hadn't read TWSA, it might not have been a bad choice. Kim Yusin was a reasonably decent Constellation, and [Great Gathering of the Hwarangs] alone was more than enough for the early and middle parts of the Scenario.

But if I were going to choose a Patron constellation and proceed that way, I would've chosen the Great Sage Heaven's Equal from the start. Why would I take Kim Yusin now?

"I said no."

Besides, I couldn't choose a Patron constellation anyway because of my contract with Bihyeong. Kim Yusin's voice turned cold.

[You are quite a spirited young man. But that is the wrong choice. Very well. Let me see how long you can endure.]

The hand gripping the hilt finally began moving toward Yu Sangah.

"Yu Sangah-ssi, quickly......!"

Why? Yu Sangah wasn't moving from where she stood. Watching my right hand move on its own, I finally had to make a decision. Damn it. I'd shown him respect because he was a historical figure, and this old man really was...

I steadied my breathing. This was my body. Constellation or no Constellation, I would never hand it over to the likes of you.

[Exclusive Skill, The Fourth Wall, has activated!]

Footnotes:

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