WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈
Chapter 809: Episode 40: The Reign of Fear (1)
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I was going to start a Great War of Angels and Demons? I never expected such a ridiculous rumor to spread so quickly.
[Your infamy is spreading throughout the Star Stream.]
[Your new fable is being affected by your infamy.]
I was about to make an excuse, but decided against it.
Infamy was still fame, after all. It wasn't a bad thing if it could help build my fables.
"Still, I really have to admire you. Though I knew you were no ordinary person from the time you went around impersonating Kyrios's disciple."
"Please keep the impersonation thing a secret."
"Ha ha, of course. By the way, why the Fear Realm? Are you planning to cause another huge incident?"
"I've caused enough trouble already. I volunteered because I want to survive. Honestly, entering the Fear Realm seemed better than fighting Olympus's Twelve Seats."
I thought it was a fairly honest answer, but Cheon Gae sighed for some reason.
"You volunteered for a Fear Realm expedition to survive... You never stop surprising me."
"Didn't you volunteer too, Ark?"
"I gave it a lot of thought."
"You're too modest."
"It isn't modesty. I believe you and I are the only ones who volunteered for this expedition."
"What? Then what about everyone else?"
"They were dragged into it."
"Uh..."
"Don't tell me you didn't know?"
Cheon Gae sighed again.
"Do you know exactly what a Fear Realm expedition is?"
"Isn't it an expedition sent to explore the Fear Realm's Dark Dimension?"
"And do you know why the Martial World does this?"
"Isn't it because of the Outer God Incident?"
The Outer God Incident.
An Outer God called the Imoogi King had crossed over from the Fear Realm and invaded the First Martial World, massacring half the martial artists of Blue Dragon Castle.
In the end, the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint succeeded in driving back the Outer God. However, that day, the Martial World learned firsthand how terrifying Outer Gods were.
"I heard that the Fear Realm expedition inspects its outer regions to prevent something like that from happening again."
Of course, the Emperor Sword had asked Junghyeok and me to confirm the "end of the Fear Realm," but I had no intention of doing something like that.
「Even TWSA doesn't properly describe the "end of the Fear Realm."」
Why would we do that when our own lives were already hanging by a thread?
"I heard that although the Fear Realm is terrifying, there are fairly well-known ways to conquer its outer and middle regions."
No matter how dangerous Fear Realm expeditions were, this was already past the hundredth round.
While countless people died, the martial artists gradually discovered ways to conquer the Fear Realm. There were even people well versed in its outer and middle regions.
Among the Five Great Families' masters, some had rapidly reached Transcendence by conquering the Fear Realm.
I had acquired related information through TWSA, too.
So no matter how brutal the Fear Realm was, I was confident I could survive to some extent.
Cheon Gae, who had silently listened to me, nodded.
"You're right. Methods for conquering the outer and middle regions of the Fear Realm are widely known. That is why the survival rate has steadily risen until now."
"Then why do you think it's dangerous? You aren't planning to confirm the end of the Fear Realm, are you?"
"That would be madness. I have no such intention."
"Then..."
"To be honest, I didn't merely volunteer either."
Cheon Gae seemed hesitant about whether to say it.
"I was asked to do this."
"Asked?"
"The Five Great Clan Heads came to me directly and asked me to inspect the Fear Realm's interior."
It didn't make sense.
Why would they ask Cheon Gae, a Constellation from the Martial World, to do this at this particular time?
"As you know, the Fear Realm expedition is an important undertaking in the Martial World. It guards against Outer Gods beyond the Fear Realm, but more importantly, it allows the Martial World to produce powerful masters."
Cheon Gae looked around and continued in a quieter voice.
"That is why additional expeditions have recently been dispatched at short intervals. For example, the expeditions of the 188th, 189th, and 190th rounds were sent consecutively only a month apart."
It was obvious why the Five Great Families had done such a thing.
It was even more obvious when I considered the strange hostility Emperor Sword Namgung Jincheon had toward the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint.
「They dream of a Martial World without a single god.」
The First Martial World had now entered the process of mass-producing Transcendents.
"However, I've heard that all news from the Incarnations who recently entered the Fear Realm has been cut off."
"Isn't that normal once they enter the Fear Realm? That place is cut off from the outside in terms of space and time."
"About ten rounds ago, the Five Great Families obtained an item through a contract with the Demon of the Horizon that allows them to communicate with the outside even within the Fear Realm."
The Demon of the Horizon.
I couldn't believe the Martial World had made deals with Hunchbacks, too.
"Yet their contact was still cut off..."
Cheon Gae nodded with a grave expression.
"No one has returned alive from the Fear Realm in the past three rounds."
Perhaps because of Cheon Gae's words, the expressions of the martial artists lined up in the tournament grounds looked different from before. What I had thought were resolute faces were now stained with fear of death. Some burst into tears, while others trembled.
"It won't be such a big problem."
I knew I shouldn't say something like that in the Star Stream.
However, I had my reasons this time.
"Even if something has happened inside the Fear Realm, you are here this time. More importantly... this is a Scenario Area in the twenties, isn't it?"
Naturally, Scenario difficulty gradually increased alongside its number.
For example, in Scenarios in the forties, part of the solar system could be destroyed. By the sixties, stars could be wiped out.
Once one passed the eighties, Calamities that threatened the Star Stream itself began to appear.
However, this place was still a Scenario Area in the twenties.
As long as the First Martial World was a Scenario Area in the twenties, the difficulty of the Fear Realm expedition couldn't exceed that level.
Yet Cheon Gae's expression was strange as he listened to me.
"Have you not read the Scenario yet?"
"What?"
"Read it right now."
I began reading the Scenario. Fortunately, nothing about its contents seemed particularly unusual.
+
<Main Scenario #■■ - Fear Realm Expedition>
Category: Main
Difficulty: ??
Clear Conditions: Explore the Fear Realm, fulfill the Exploration Rate, and return.
Time Limit: None
Compensation: ???
Failure: Death
+
Participate in the Fear Realm expedition, fulfill the Exploration Rate, and return. That much was exactly as I knew it.
The problem was...
"What is this, sir?"
"So you've finally noticed."
This Scenario had no Scenario number.
That couldn't be possible.
There had been many different kinds of Scenarios so far, but had there ever been one without a Scenario number?
If such a Scenario existed, one thing was certain.
「This Scenario might not be a Scenario in the twenties.」
A sinister premonition came over me.
Should I turn around and leave the tournament grounds even now?
I needed to find Junghyeok.
Just then, I saw Junghyeok standing atop the platform in the distance.
"Next, I will introduce the expedition leader for this Fear Realm expedition."
The crowd's fervent cheers filled the tournament grounds.
Junghyeok was moving his eyes busily as he glared at the crowd, as though he had no interest in their cheers whatsoever. It was obvious whom he was looking for.
"Sir, I should get going. I need to meet my allies."
"Go ahead."
"I'll see you again."
I gave Cheon Gae a light farewell, then pushed through the crowd toward the platform. Meanwhile, the speech on the platform continued.
"This young hero's name is Yu Junghyeok. He is the disciple of the renowned Sky-Splitting Sword Saint."
So the introduction had finally begun.
The moment the announcer finished speaking, chaos engulfed the tournament grounds. It was understandable. The Sky-Splitting Sword Saint had been mentioned.
"Sky-Splitting Sword Saint! The Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple has appeared!"
"Are they talking about that little kid? He isn't some old master rejuvenated to youth, is he?"
"He's really the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple?"
"Wasn't the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint refusing to take disciples?"
"Why is that young hero being introduced all of a sudden?"
Emperor Sword, standing on the platform, concluded as if dismissing the crowd's questions.
"Yu Junghyeok will be the leader of this expedition."
As if the appearance of the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple wasn't enough, he had become the leader of this expedition. The uproar in the tournament grounds was explosive in more ways than one.
"My God! Is he in his right mind?"
"Emperor Sword! Have you gone mad?"
"Don't lie! The Sky-Splitting Sword Saint would never take a brat like that as a disciple!"
"Emperor Sword! Answer us! How will you prove that boy is the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple?"
"Where is Young Clan Head Namgung Myeong? Young Hero Namgung was originally supposed to lead this expedition!"
Listening to the crowd's complaints, I finally understood roughly what had happened.
Originally, the Namgung Clan's Young Clan Head was supposed to lead this Fear Realm expedition.
However, Junghyeok had suddenly appeared and taken that position.
"Emperor Sword! The Namgung Clan was supposed to send the leader this round! And now you intend to make an outsider the leader?"
"He is not an outsider!"
Emperor Sword's booming Lion's Roar, bolstered by profound inner energy, rang throughout the venue.
"He is the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple! Though he may not share Namgung blood, if he has inherited the martial arts of Sky-Splitting, he is no different from a member of the Namgung family!"
"But..."
"Fellow martial artists! Do you dare question the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's reputation?"
Cheon Gae had said that no one had returned alive from the recent three rounds of expeditions.
If so, the reason Emperor Sword put Junghyeok forward as expedition leader was clear.
It was the utmost paternal love.
"If anyone objects, speak now. If the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple is not qualified to lead the expedition, then who else can represent our Martial World?"
Naturally, no martial artist could object to that. The Sky-Splitting Sword Saint, Namgung Minyeong, was an absolute powerhouse acknowledged by everyone in the Martial World.
However.
"That would be true if that young hero really is the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple."
"R-right. How will you prove that boy is the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple?"
"No matter how I look at him, he seems to be a boy. How could he have inherited the martial arts of Sky-Splitting?"
That was the problem.
How would they prove Junghyeok was the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple?
It would be different if Junghyeok's child penalty had been lifted. However, Junghyeok had even forgotten the Sky Splitter Sword Art.
"Emperor Sword! Prove it!"
The excited crowd looked ready to leap onto the platform at any moment.
However, Emperor Sword remained calm.
"If I prove it, will you acknowledge him?"
It was a tense moment for me, too.
Junghyeok was certainly the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple. However, who would acknowledge the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple if he couldn't use the martial arts of Sky-Splitting?
Then, the moment I heard the sound of a skill activating, I admired the old Namgung man's scheme.
[Someone has activated Lie Detection!]
"I ask upon Namgung's honor. Is your master truly the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint?"
His ingenuity in activating Lie Detection amid all this was remarkable, but there was something even more surprising.
「Emperor Sword knew that Junghyeok was truly the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple.」
Had he secretly used a Lie Detection-type skill to verify it? Or perhaps he had traced Junghyeok's past and learned the history of his martial arts.
Either way, he had discovered that Junghyeok truly was the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint's disciple and used that fact to create this situation.
"Yes."
The moment Junghyeok answered, everyone fell into heavy silence.
Everyone in the tournament grounds waited for the system message that would follow.
Then.
Thump.
At first, I thought it was the sound of my heart.
Thump. Thump.
However, when the sound rang out a second, third, and fourth time, and the hairs on my arms began to rise without my realizing it, I understood that something was wrong.
The sky was resounding.
"T-there!"
At someone's cry, I looked up and saw an Incarnation floating there, flailing.
I instinctively knew it was the Incarnation who had activated Lie Detection.
And there was a gigantic shadow gripping the Incarnation by the collar.
I had met countless powerful beings until now. I had witnessed Eden's Archangels, seen Olympus's Twelve Seats, and faced Great Evils like Asmodeus.
Yet why was that?
At least at this moment, it didn't seem like any of them could defeat that being in this Martial World.
"Sky-Splitting Sword Saint."
The god of the Martial World was there.
Footnotes:
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