I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 279

In combat, ’weight class’ is immensely important, needing no extra explanation.

Is it not famous that Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu who single-handedly turned the tide of war, was over eight feet tall?

No matter how much technology or skill develops, reality dictates that a severe gap in physical weight class makes victory difficult.

That is why humanity continuously developed technique to somehow bridge that gap in weight class.

Had an ordinary human been able to win a 1-on-1 fight against a bear, technology would not have developed.

If beating it to death with bare hands brought victory, there would have been no need to invent tools.

Furthermore, this world is one where mana exists—a realm where fantasy and martial arts merge. The value of martial arts is equivalent to strategic weaponry.

A place where a single knight can conquer a castle alone, and a single mage can burn down an entire city.

The reason all of this is possible is thanks to mana (qi), which is the sole means of compensating for a lacking weight class outside of martial technique.

BANG!

"Kuuuh...!"

A stone hammer as large as my torso slammed down violently onto my shield.

Even though the shield was infused with aura, the shockwave traveled up my arm. It tingled as if I’d been electrocuted.

Being a hobgoblin with a weight class two heads taller than me, his raw physical strength was terrifying.

’What kind of ridiculous strength...!’

I was someone who absorbed all the energy from that weird eel and even underwent Body Metamorphosis.

My muscle strength was supposed to be far superior to an ordinary human’s, yet I barely withstood the hobgoblin’s blow.

I had to account for it being a downward strike, but I couldn’t let my guard down.

’Is it a relief that I at least have more aura?’

Ludwig told me before: I had to adopt a style that crushed opponents through sheer weight of aura.

Since my aura capacity was abnormally massive, I had to utilize it properly.

’Simply possessing a lot of aura doesn’t boost pure physical strength or quickness. You have to know how to apply it for it to increase.’

My innate physical weight class—my body’s baseline capacity—was on the upper tier among humans, but weak compared to the Forest of the Four Seasons.

The reality was that if I arm-wrestled bare-handed against Lackey right now, I’d lose.

Even after undergoing Body Metamorphosis, as long as it was a human’s baseline physical body, it was bound to be helplessly fragile.

Unless I frantically dug into External Arts alone, it was difficult to escape the limitation of being a glass cannon.

’There are two ways to enhance physical capabilities: focus on training External Arts, or reinforce yourself with Internal Energy.’

Simply put, it’s the difference between a passive buff or an active skill.

In the first place, aura (internal energy) accumulates because the physical body can handle it.

If I diverted all of this purely into physical enhancement, achieving Xiang Yu’s signature Strength to Uproot Mountains and Might to Dominate the World wouldn’t be impossible.

’But I struggle with aura control.’

When I can’t even properly control my internal energy, attempting that could lead to god-knows-what.

Didn’t Cain give a similar warning before? If other people were normal cups, I was an oak barrel.

Unless I narrowed the nozzle, everything would come out excessively, with a high chance of backfiring.

What if I concentrated aura on a specific body part for enhancement?

That body part could go POP! and explode, causing severe external trauma beyond internal injuries.

It sounds like a joke, but there is a living witness.

’Heavenly Demon also mentioned her body almost collapsed because she couldn’t endure her internal energy.’

Though her case was different from mine, uncontrollable internal energy is no different from poison.

In short, I couldn’t even properly digest what I possessed. You might wonder what kind of ridiculous guy I am, but it’s the truth.

’Leaving digestion aside, I also lack technical talent.’

The explanation got long. The conclusion is one and the same.

If I mess up even slightly, I could lose to this hobgoblin.

When I blocked his downward slam just now, I felt it vividly: this guy’s physical weight class was downright horrifying.

Ludwig and Lackey, who possessed high technical prowess, hadn’t warned me to be careful for nothing.

’Still, it’s too early to lose heart.’

I shoved my shield forward with force. The hobgoblin faltered back a step accordingly.

Even if his physical weight class was superior, and even if I couldn’t control aura properly...

I still had aura—the sole means to compensate for pure physical weight class outside of martial technique.

Above all, gathering it ’internally’ was the problem; discharging it ’externally’ was no problem at all.

"Hnk!"

I thrust my aura-laden sword toward the hobgoblin’s abdomen.

An Aura Blade more than twice the length of the sword rushed forward furiously.

Cha-kang!

The hobgoblin hurriedly defended with the stone head of his hammer.

The cutting power of an Aura Blade could sever almost any metal.

However, if the opponent possessed the same Aura Blade, the story changed.

’It didn’t pierce through?’

I narrowed my eyes at the stone hammer, which was relatively intact apart from a shallow gouge.

Being the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, the amount of aura it could channel was massive.

Yet the fact that it didn’t pierce meant one thing: this guy’s Aura Blade was no push-over either.

Rather than having a large visible quantity like me, he seemed to have densely compressed it to elevate its ’quality’.

Ggambu hadn’t proudly boasted about him being the strongest warrior for nothing.

"Keuaaa!"

The hobgoblin shouted a battle cry and forcefully shoved his stone hammer forward.

Naturally, my body was forced backwards as well. As I felt earlier, his force was terrifying.

Furthermore, the stone hammer only had a slight nick; it was relatively fine.

’A mere piece of stone endured an Aura Blade?’

I pierced through his Aura Blade, but failed to cut through the stone hammer.

It was shocking, but pondering over it, it might not be that bizarre.

Because this was the Forest of the Four Seasons. That stone could be a mineral harder than most metals.

It was a place where Mithril sat behind caves, and entire subterranean caves were made of Orichalcum.

BANG!

At this rate, it seemed the outcome would practically be decided by martial prowess.

I blocked with my shield against his horizontal swing rather than a downward slam.

Side swings, unlike downward slams utilizing his natural body weight, were fully blockable.

On top of that, I wrapped myself in Body-Protecting Gangqi just in case.

’I just need to somehow dodge downward slams.’

Range was overwhelmingly in my favor. If I fought while keeping distance, victory was guaranteed.

Thus, I slashed diagonally so the hobgoblin couldn’t approach carelessly.

Thrusts allowed him to close in quickly while I retracted the sword, so I avoided them as much as possible.Enjoying the story? Read on at novеlping.com.

"Kuak!"

Kkang!

But proving that the title ’strongest warrior’ wasn’t won through arm wrestling, the hobgoblin countered appropriately.

When I swung diagonally, he parried by scooping upward from below.

A sword’s center of mass is near the hilt, whereas a hammer’s center of gravity is at the head.

There was bound to be a discrepancy in force distribution. Naturally, my arm bounced upward.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

While I tried to regain my stance, he charged in rapidly.

I panicked slightly, but immediately backed away calmly to fix my posture.

Next, I struck down heavily from top to bottom. He twisted his body slightly to evade.

Huung! Huung! Booung!

The hobgoblin doggedly closed in, swinging his stone hammer relentlessly.

Frankly, engaging in close-quarters combat wasn’t necessarily disadvantageous for me. The win rate would just be lower.

When the path to victory was clear, why jump into a pit of fire?

’Even if we end up in close combat, I have the trump card of frost aura.’

He still doesn’t know what trick I’m hiding. Lackey fell for it that way too.

And I don’t know what trick he might be hiding either.

Seeing him charge like a bull despite the massive energy drain, he definitely has a hidden motive.

Preventing that scenario altogether is the best course of action.

Slash!

As a result, I managed to land a pretty significant effective strike.

Just as he aimed for my openings, I aimed for his and stabbed his flank.

Whenever he swung his stone hammer wildly, openings leaked out, and I seized them.

However, while it was a valid hit, it wasn’t a very deep wound.

’Did he learn Body-Protecting Gangqi too?’

The principle of Body-Protecting Gangqi is extremely simple. Calling it a ’technique’ is almost embarrassing.

Therefore, it’s highly possible that a hobgoblin without systematized aura training could use it.

Or perhaps his innate physical defense was just exceptional.

Whatever it was, his defense was at a non-ignorable level.

"Keuaaaah!"

With a rough roar, he threw his stone hammer outright!

Spinning rapidly through the air, the stone hammer rushed at me. Thrown with lethal intent, it reached right before my eyes in an instant.

BANG!

Having no room to dodge, I raised my shield in a frenzy.

Frowning at the heavy pressure against my shield, I waited for his next move.

There must have been a reason he threw his own weapon. It was far too precise to be tossed out of annoyance.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Sure enough, while my vision was blocked by the shield, heavy vibrations rattled the ground.

Charging straight at me with that massive, heavy frame. This was what he aimed for.

But I had roughly anticipated this much, so I slashed my sword toward the direction of the noise.

Slashed horizontally, since a diagonal slash might let him dodge.

Huung!

But I felt no contact whatsoever. It seemed I only cut air.

The moment that sensation hit, I lowered my shield and scanned left and right.

’Where did he go?’

Nothing in sight. He hadn’t jumped backward either.

Then only one option remained. I tilted my head upward.

"Wooooh!"

The hobgoblin, leaping into the sky, yelled a battle cry while bringing his stone hammer down.

It had clearly left his hands when he threw it at me, yet now it was back in his two hands!

Flustered, I made a judgment before it was too late. Blocking that attack with my shield was dangerous.

His strength was ridiculously high to begin with; taking that head-on was a gamble.

KWA-GA-GANG!!!

The expected destructive force unfolded right before my eyes.

Beyond merely gouging the ground, debris flew in every direction.

I had no choice but to raise my shield to block the flying fragments.

Huung!

Meanwhile, the hobgoblin charged forward, gripping his stone hammer tightly with both hands.

He then swung horizontally as if determined not to give me time to dodge.

Blocking was the only answer. I hastily raised my shield.

BANG!

Because it was a horizontal strike, it was a force I could adequately endure.

Which meant he had given me an opportunity to counterattack.

The moment I realized I had blocked it, I swung my sword without delay.

Close range or not, all are equal before the Sword of the Heavenly Demon.

Grasp!

"Huk?!"

An unexpected incident occurred. My eyes widened.

He violently grabbed my wrist. Because the size gap was so immense, my wrist seemed to disappear entirely inside his hand.

That wasn’t all. As soon as he seized my wrist, he dropped his stone hammer.

Thus freeing his right hand. And without hesitation, he threw a punch.

KA-ANG!!!

Not at my face, but at the Sword of the Heavenly Demon! His aura-infused fist struck the flat of the blade hard.

But the Sword of the Heavenly Demon didn’t break. It was simply forced out of my grip, unable to withstand the raw power.

The Sword of the Heavenly Demon spun in midair before stabbing into the ground. Only then did I realize:

"You son of a...!"

"Keuaaaah!!"

The hobgoblin had been targeting the Sword of the Heavenly Demon from the very beginning, not me.

Having cleared away the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, the hobgoblin initiated a bare-handed brawl.

The problem was that he had already halfway restrained me.

Grip!

In that state, a hand as thick as a pot lid clamped onto my head.

Facing him bare-handed with such an overwhelming physical size disparity was dangerous.This chapter is updated first at no⁠velping.com.

If I knew grappling or hand-to-hand martial arts, it might be different, but I hadn’t learned a single thing like that.

"Keuaaaaaah!"

"Ughhhhh...!"

I used every ounce of strength to hold out.

Realizing my Body-Protecting Gangqi was tough, this crazy bastard shifted tactics.

Instead of breaking it directly, he was trying to rip my entire head off!

Combined with a hobgoblin’s innate weight class and aura, it wasn’t impossible.

’In that case...’

I grabbed the hand that was clutching my face.

Since he showed his hand, I had to reveal mine as well, didn’t I?

Crak-crak-crack!

"Kruk?!"

Confusion washed over the hobgoblin’s face as he held my head.

Who wouldn’t be shocked when their hand was freezing over in real time?

The hobgoblin leaped back accordingly, looking at his own hand to figure out what just happened.

The severe frost had covered his entire hand and was encroaching up his arm.

"Kreureuk...!"

He tried to break the frost encroaching up his arm, but it wouldn’t be easy.

Even Lackey couldn’t easily shatter it. Furthermore, I was stronger now than back then.

"Phew."

I caught my breath. Honestly, I wanted to charge in right away.

But the moment I charged, the likelihood of a counterattack coming was extremely high.

Because the reach advantage due to physical weight class was so massive. Above all...

Crack! Snap!

He restored his frozen arm right back to normal. Watching this, I found it a bit incomprehensible.

Even Lackey couldn’t break free when he was hit by it for the first time, getting subdued quickly.

Even if the hobgoblin backed away, breaking it through force alone should have been incredibly difficult.

’Could it be...?’

Retrieving the thrown stone hammer at some point, not being cut through by the Sword of the Heavenly Demon...

Crucially, this guy didn’t know ’martial arts’ at all. Having sparred with Ludwig, I could feel it vividly.

Then only one possibility remained.

’Instead of spending time learning martial techniques, did he invest everything into aura application?’

Aura application relies on theory, but ’instinct’ is the most vital factor.

Combined with the Forest of the Four Seasons’ trait of accelerating evolution, plus the goblins’ high intelligence...

If they invested both into aura application? Everything shown so far made sense.

They say digging one well leads to great success. Just like Lackey invested in martial techniques rather than aura application.

’My head hurts.’

It was becoming more and more of a headache.

I merely possessed an absurd quantity of aura; I wasn’t skilled in application like him.

’If so...’

I watched the cautious hobgoblin and moved stealthily.

Not knowing what I would do, he also hesitated to step forward recklessly.

Therefore, what I decided to do was:

"Hnk!"

Sprinting forward blindly. The hobgoblin spread both arms wide as I charged.

He clearly thought I was rushing in for a grappling match.

But that was his assumption.

Swoosh!

"Kruk?!"

I neatly bypassed the hobgoblin and sprinted right past him.

I felt the hobgoblin’s bewilderment behind me, but I actively ignored it.

Because there was only one place I was running toward right now.

’If not now, there’s no way out!’

The place I sprinted to was the Sword of the Heavenly Demon stuck in the ground.

Without a sword, the current me is a fucking weakling.

’Grappling with that bastard is insane! When he breaks even frost aura!’

I know it full well myself. I don’t know how to fight properly.

However,

’All I need to do is win!’

Instead, I know how to win.

In this damn forest, that is more than enough.

Ludwig, Lackey, and finally Cain casually spectated the match.

The flagship fight between Grylls and the hobgoblin chieftain, Couque D’Asse.

From Grylls’ perspective, it was a fierce battle in its own right, but the evaluation of those with expertise in martial arts was as follows:

"Ah. He shouldn’t do it like that."

[Agreed. Both of them are fighting foolishly.]

"Still, the overall tactical management itself isn’t bad."

A so-called amateur scrub fight, with almost no technique.

Historically, one of the most entertaining types of fights to watch.

Even though neither knew how to fight with proper martial form, both knew ’how to win’.

Couque D’Asse thoroughly targeted the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, and Grylls retrieved it the instant an opening appeared.

"Teacher. I ask."

"What is it?"

Lackey addressed Ludwig in the Holy Kingdom language he had picked up along the way.

Ludwig was surprised that Lackey spoke Holy Kingdom language, but soon answered nonchalantly.

"How is Master’s talent?"

To this, Ludwig responded without even bothering to deliberate:

"It is not at a terrible level. Nor is he a genius of the century. It is strictly average."

The harsh evaluation of the teacher who raised the Hero.

"Which makes him all the more incomprehensible."

Grylls was a presence that shattered common sense by that much.