Chapter 437 — Outer God (5)

An extra couldn’t become a main character.

And the ‘Outer Gods’ couldn’t even serve as the extras, so they were being forced out of the ‘Fable’.

The dying Yogoes were looking up at us.

[IcouldalsodoitIcouldalsodoit]

[CaptainCaptainCaptainCaptain]

[WhoamIWhoamIWhoamIWhoamI]

Yu Jung-Hyeok couldn’t hear those voices.

I thought that might be a good thing.

“All you can do right now is to let everyone know that they exist here.” He stared past the fog-covered Tongtian River and spoke. “With that.... You have done everything you set out to do.”

What I set out to do.

As if to respond to our conversation, the narration suddenly began yapping on.

(The best they could do was to let the world know that Yogoes were in this place.)

Perhaps Han Su-Yeong was feeling as much indignation and grief as I had.

The Tongtian’s water rained down, corpses of Yogoes floating away on the river’s surface.

[Many audience members are resonating with the theme of ⸢I’ve become the retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong⸥.]

[A portion of judges are currently feeling melancholic.]

Extras were just that, extras, while the main character would be the main character.

A story where everyone could become its protagonist didn’t exist.

I knew that.

[Judge, ‘Prisoner of the Golden Headband’, is repeatedly grabbing and letting go of his hair.]

[Judge, ‘Bimawen’, is contemplating on the lives of the Yogoes.]

[Judge, ‘Meihouwang’, is asking, although he isn’t sure, if they could all be saved.]

However, even if that was true....

[Shares of ‘Outer God’ are tumbling lower at an alarming rate.]

[Current shares of ‘Outer God’ for the applicable scenario is 13.473%.]

I just couldn’t be satisfied with this result and end it here.

[Scenario Master is now looking at you.]

It seemed that perhaps Han Su-Yeong was thinking along the same line.

“It’s the turtle! Steal it!”

Several uninvited guests clambered up on the side of the [Turtle Dragon] and shouted out. They were from other Fable chambers, feeling envious of our ship.

“Get rid of them! As soon as we kill.....”

Unfortunately for them, they picked the wrong opponents today.

Slice!

Yi Ji-Hye’s [Twin Dragon Sword] sliced off the head of a hapless Sun Wukong that landed on the deck.

[Judge, ‘Meihouwang’, is rubbing his neck with a spooked expression.]

The Sun Wukong who lost his head fell back into the river water, unable to even mouth a scream. Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie freaked out from that sight, roared out loudly, and landed on the deck next.

“You insolent....!”

“Seeing that you’re still sticking to the script, you guys aren’t going to win.”

Yi Ji-Hye’s [Kendo] mercilessly slashed out and split the air apart, while Yi Gil-Yeong and Shin Yu-Seung also ran to her sides to use their experienced fists and kicks to punt other Incarnations off the deck. Chimera Dragon had morphed into a full-on Dragon Horse and flapped its wings to create a powerful gust of wind.

“You measly little....!”

Yu Jung-Hyeok had already climbed up to the highest point in the ship by then. He unsheathed his weapon with an icy-cold expression. Sparks danced violently on the blade of his [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword].

Breaking the Sky Thunder Blade.

His sword attack, capable of even shattering the heavens, slammed into the waters of the Tongtian like a thunderclap.

“Kuwaaaahk!!”

Incarnations were roasted black by the azure-blue lightning and exploded like fireworks. Only then the surviving ones realise the severity of their current situation and yelled out to each other.

“How the hell can a Zhu Bajie be that strong?!”

“C-could it be, that Pigsy is....??”

“It’s them!! They are the main characters from [I’ve become the retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong]!!”

....It seemed that our identity had been exposed now.

[Hidden information of the scenario is now open to the public.]

[Your Fable chamber ranking will rise up by defeating the main characters from another Fable chamber with a higher ranking.]

“Even if we don’t get our hands on the sacred texts, our ranking will rise if we just kill them!”

After reaching the higher rankings, even if they didn’t win the event, they could still enjoy quite the amount of rewards.

“Kill him!! Hunt down that Zhu Bajie first!”

Dozens of actors rushed in towards the battleship while stepping on the corpses of the Yogoes. Some of them happened to be quite powerful Incarnations as well as Constellations.

I urgently looked back at my companions, but they didn’t seem to be flustered at all.

“I guess it might get a little more entertaining now.”

“Sun Wukong, be still and stay back.”

Yi Ji-Hye grinned and unleashed her Status.

[Great Fable, ‘Next City’, has begun its storytelling!]

[Constellation, ‘Maritime War God’, is revealing his Status!]

Under Yi Gil-Yeong’s and Shin Yu-Seung’s control, the Dragon Horse regained its former appearance of the Jade Dragon.

Ku-ohhhh!!

At the same time, energy from powerful Fables exploded out of my companions’ Incarnation Bodies.

[Great Fable, ‘Demon World’s Spring’, has begun its storytelling!]

[Great Fable, ‘Torch that Swallowed the Myth’, has begun its storytelling!]

The Chimera Dragon breathed out fire from the sky and dissipated the Tongtian’s waters, and Yu Jung-Hyeok dashed in and out among the rising screen of vapour.

Slice! Slice!!

Every time jet-black light flashed, Sun Wukongs and Zhu Bajies with unknown names died in droves.

I shuddered from that sight. I knew that my companions were powerful, but I still didn’t expect them to be this strong. This was the result of them surviving many nonsensical scenarios up to this point.

“Kuwaaaahk!”

Participating in the 95th scenario together didn’t mean that everyone’s level was the same.

It was rather similar to the ‘Journey to the West’ itself.

People’s methods of reaching its end destination were all different. Some wanted to fly in comfort, while some would only select the easiest roads to walk on.

However, the members of the were different.

(They arrived at this point in time through the hardest method there was.)

They couldn’t fly nor could they choose to tread the easiest paths. They walked on their own two legs again and again.

They beat back many unfair trials and tribulations, endured against misfortunes, and while holding back their grief, they reached this far with their own strengths.

(And the result of that was this.)

This story’s true protagonists were them, receiving the blinding light of grace belonging to the ‘Great Fables’. As I bore witness to this spectacle, I began recalling a certain old memory.

(That place back in the 1863rd turn was also the 95th scenario.)

I wanted to show this to Han Su-Yeong of the 1863rd turn. I wanted to tell her. Just like how you had proved it to me, there were people here who also had survived, as well.

(This is the story of the 3rd turn that you don’t know.)

Yu Jung-Hyeok number [999] sitting on my shoulder was also watching this unfolding spectacle.

What would the one who lost his own regression turn and entered this world-line, think about after taking in this sight?

[Fable chamber ranking has risen up!]

[Score: 25912]

[Current ranking of the applicable Fable chamber is 3rd.]

[Many audience members and judges are awarding additional points!]

Our Fable chamber’s ranking climbed really quickly.

It seemed there were a few actors from higher-ranked Fable chambers than ours mixed in among all the assailants coming after us.

[Fable chamber ranking has risen up!]

[Score: 26412]

[Current ranking of the applicable Fable chamber is 2nd.]

Finally, second place.

We had brushed aside thousands of other chambers and finally reached the cusp of victory. That only served to make me more anxious, however.

[Current shares of ‘Outer God’ for the applicable scenario is 13.142%.]

Even as the real protagonists were leaving their mark, the deaths of those relegated to the role of extras continued on unabated. So, the shares of the ‘Outer Gods’ continued to plummet.

In order to fulfil the agreement of the Wenny King, the shares had to exceed 30%. Even if our chamber won this ‘Great Fable’ event, everything would go back to square one if I failed to uphold that agreement.

Booooom!!

The hull of the battleship was rocked to the side just then.

Powerful magical cannon shells were raining down from beyond the fog of the battlefield.

“What the hell?! Which arseholes....?”

Yi Ji-Hye quickly regained her balance and activated her Stigma.

[Character, ‘Yi Ji-Hye’, has activated the ‘Ghost Fleet Lv.10’!]

A dozen phantom ships rose up on either side of the [Turtle Dragon] and commenced firing at once. Caught between the exchange of a vast number of cannon shells, the Incarnations and Yogoes in the surroundings were vaporised without a chance to even scream in pain.

Soon, the shelling stopped and dozens of battleships revealed themselves from the murky fog of the cannon smoke.

[Constellation, ‘Maritime War God’, is gasping out.]

Ku-gugugugu.

Those ships had surrounded ours in a crane wing-like formation.

Even if the ‘Maritime War God’ was an excellent Constellation when it came to naval warfare, there simply were way too many enemies this time. Not only that.....

“....Fei Hu.”

As I listened to Yu Jung-Hyeok’s heavy voice, I spotted a certain someone standing on the gunwhale of the opposing ship.

The protagonist of the Fable chamber ranked number 1, the [Real Journey to the West], was there.

It seemed that they had prepared the battleships in advance. And their numbers vastly outstripped ours.

“Aren’t they Fable-grade Constellations?”

We also spotted other members of the [Real Journey to the West]. As expected, the roles of Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing were played by ’s Constellations.

Zhu Bajie was played by the Master of the Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear, Erlang Shen.

Meanwhile, it seemed that the actor for Sha Wujing was the third son of Vaisravana, Prince Nezha.

They were actual characters from the original ‘Journey to the West’, and Sun Wukong’s old foes as well.

It was not for nothing that the saying of ‘Victory is already Fei Hu’s’ did the rounds back in the original ‘Ways of Survival’. The actual Constellations from the ‘Journey to the West’ made their appearance as Fei Hu’s team members, so it was only obvious that the Constellations from other chambers didn’t even stand a chance against them.

[A portion of audience members have revealed their identities.]

[Constellations of the Nebula, , are looking at Fei Hu’s battlefield.]

Not only that, even the lights from the constellations of the ’28 Mansions’ were glittering behind them, too.

Those gazes, implying that they’d enter the battlefield at any given moment, presented us with incredible pressure just by being there.

Yu Jung-Hyeok scanned the battlefield and spoke. “I don’t see their Tang Sanzang.”

Now that he mentioned it, I couldn’t see their Tang Sanzang, either.

The one to receive the sacred texts in the original story was Tang Sanzang. So, they wouldn’t have stashed him somewhere safe under the current situ....

No, hang on. If the person tasked with retrieving the sacred texts was supposed to be Tang Sanzang, then....

“I think something is busy running away over there?”

At the place Yi Gil-Yeong pointed at, we could see battleships hurriedly distancing themselves away from here.

It seemed that a portion would remain behind and block us, while the rest would set sail towards the ‘sacred texts’.

Which meant that Fei Hu’s Tang Sanzang was somewhere among those fleeing ships.

“They are planning to secure the ‘sacred texts’ while wasting our time here.”

Yi Ji-Hye loudly yelled out. “Dammit! I’ll take care of this place, so go ahead!”

One of the ships from the [Ghost Fleet] came to our side and Yu Jung-Hyeok, Yi Gil-Yeong, Shin Yu-Seung and I climbed onboard it. The phantom ship then also began rushing forward in great haste.

Kuwaaaaah!!

I wasn’t worried about Yi Ji-Hye. She was now a respectable admiral. As long as the battle was fought on water and not anywhere else, she’d not lose even if she failed to eke out a victory.

The real problem was with this side.

One of the enemy battleships accurately blocked our route and stuck close to our side.

And it was the ship containing Fei Hu and his comrades.

“So, you are the .”

This particular Sun Wukong had piercing blue eyes. He stared at us as if he had just discovered strange lifeforms.

Yu Jung-Hyeok unsheathed his [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] once more and stood in front of us, wary of his new opponent.

[Constellation, ‘Master of Three-Pointed Double Edged Spear’, is unleashing his Status!]

[Constellation, ‘Third Son of Vaisravana’, is unleashing his Status!]

They must’ve decided to give up on their roles at this point. Both Erlang Shen and Prince Nezha began sending warning signals in our direction from the get-go. That wasn’t all.

[Constellations of the 28 Mansions of the Nebula, , are preparing to descend.]

[Lords of the Nine Stars of the Nebula, , are preparing to descend!]

....Goddammit.

I spoke sarcastically. “I guess you can’t do anything without your Nebula’s help?”

“ is me, and I’m . It’s even more foolish not to utilise what’s yours already.”

Even the current Yu Jung-Hyeok wouldn’t be able to deal with the situation if both the ’28 Mansions’ and the permanent fixture of the sky, ‘Nine Stars’, decided to descend here.

Besides, they were the original characters from ‘Journey to the West’, so they didn’t even need to spend all that much Probability to enter, either.

Goddammit, we were basically trapped in the playground set in ’s backyard.

“There is one thing I wish to confirm, however.”

Fei Hu pulled out his Ruyi Bang and began unleashing his real Status.

The candidate for the strongest Incarnation back in the original ‘Ways of Survival’, Fei Hu.

I had seen his face several times before today, but never did we get into a conflict with him until now.

But that made sense, considering that he was the gold-spoon Incarnation greatly coddled and protected by .

[Great Fable, ‘Inheritor of the Heavenly Palace’, has begun its storytelling!]

[Great Fable, ‘Survivor of Great War of Righteous and Evil’, has begun its storytelling!]

Fei Hu had diligently earned his own Great Fables in places we weren’t aware of. While receiving support that was on another scale compared to ours.

[Great Fable, ‘Successor of Chiyou’, has begun.....]

Shin Yu-Seung watched those Fables appear and muttered out as if she was puzzled by something. “....Isn’t ‘Chiyou’ a Korean Fable?”

Perhaps that got under his skin, Fei Hu scowled deeply and flung a sword aura in our direction.

Yu Jung-Hyeok blocked that. Accompanied by the loud “Clang!”, the crack in the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword] grew even more noticeable.

Fei Hu’s eyes flickered as if he was amused by something. “Not bad. So, you’re that Zhu Bajie.”

Fei Hu was strong. However, the current Yu Jung-Hyeok was more than enough to defeat him, no matter how strong he was now.

The actual problem laid with the [Dark Heavenly Demon Sword]. With his main weapon damaged, Yu Jung-Hyeok wouldn’t even be able to exert 70% of his overall strength.

“I heard that Korea’s greatest Incarnation is with . That must be you, then.”

As if he was waiting for this moment, Yu Jung-Hyeok stepped forward.

Yu Jung-Hyeok versus Fei Hu.

The battle of the century was about to get underway.

However, I couldn’t continue riding the bus and spectate anymore. Because, that side still had Erlang Shen and Prince Nezha as well.

[Current Incarnation Body recovery rate: 71%]

[Outer God transformation rate: 96%]

[Rate of Outer God transformation currently is in a slowed-down state.]

Unfortunately, there was no way I could fight against those two in my current condition.

Shuruerueng....

The first one to make their move was Fei Hu’s camp.

Prince Nezha’s paopeis emitted gloriously brilliant rays of light, while a stunning level of Status exploded out from Fei Hu’s body.

At the same time, a clump of light suddenly wavered in the air.

[Player 9-nim has joined the ⸢I’ve become the retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong⸥ as an ‘Extra’!]

....A new actor at such a late stage?

Kugugugu!

As the lightning crashed down, a person appeared on top of the phantom ship’s cabin. The light from the lightning cracking in the dark, gloomy skies drew a lengthy shadow. A slender figure stood there.

A pair of giant horns rose above this person’s head.

[Player 9-nim’s role is ‘Bull Demon King’.]

.....The Bull Demon King.

Now that I thought about it, I had forgotten that such a role existed.

He was a sworn brother and a comrade-in-arms of the Great Sage Heaven’s Equal, Sun Wukong.

They did fight each other in the original story, but in our Fable chamber [I’ve become the retired SSSSS-Grade Sun Wukong], he had not made his appearance yet.

In that case, just who would take on that role....?

[Voting rights are being distributed to the members of .]

[A portion of members are unable to participate in the voting.]

[Only those able to vote will participate.]

The moment I heard those words, the inside of my head blanked out.

[Incarnation, ‘Yi Ji-Hye’, is agreeing with the judgement.]

[Incarnation, ‘Shin Yu-Seung’, is agreeing with the judgement.]

[Incarnation, ‘Yi Gil-Yeong’, is agreeing with the judgement.]

[Incarnation, ‘Jeong Hui-Won’, is agreeing with the judgement.]

[Incarnation, ‘Han Su-Yeong’, is agreeing with the judgement.]

[Incarnation, ‘Yu Jung-Hyeok’, is agreeing with the judgement.]

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as I watched the windows containing messages continue to pop up.

[Will you use your voting right for the ‘Hour of Judgement’?]

I saw the faces of my companions under the cascading shower of light.

I wanted to speak to them so badly.

However, I simply couldn’t.

Instead, this was all I could do for them right now.

[Constellation, ‘Demon King of Salvation’, is agreeing with the judgement.]

For a moment there, unreadable expressions floated up onto the faces of my companions. A heavy silence descended on the flowing waters of Tongtian River.

Another bolt of lightning crashed down, and Jeong Hui-Won lightly jumped off from the top of the ship’s cabin.

I thought that her shoulders trembled imperceptibly as her feet landed on deck, but they regained their calmness soon after.

[Everyone able to participate in the voting has agreed with the judgement.]

[‘Hour of Judgement’ is activating!]

Jeong Hui-Won slowly raised her head and opened her lips to speak.

“We can still fight.”

Fin.