I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 313

I looked at the sloth wraiths that had emerged from the Dullahan’s coffin.

Seeing how deeply shaken Bbareumbo was, they must be his family.

Earlier, Cain had explicitly stated that a Dullahan is one who leads the dead.

However, I thought it only led them; I didn’t expect it to pull off such a ’dastardly’ trick straight out of a certain ninja manga.

"I thought you said it leads the dead? It can summon them too?"

[I’ve never heard of one summoning them either. That’s something a Lich would do.]

Cain spoke in a lukewarm, dubious voice, as if he had never seen such a Dullahan either.

Then again, I had never heard of a Dullahan carrying a coffin around instead of its head either.

Normally, it’s just headless, resembling a kind of Death Knight.

’That must be why it reacted to Ludwig’s divine power.’

Regardless of that, those sloth wraiths bothered me.

Wraiths wouldn’t be able to inflict physical damage.

So it should be difficult for them to directly attack us.

’For now, I have to fight.’

Sorry to Bbareumbo, but those sloths are enemies—even if they were his family in life.

If the rider has lost his mind, then I, as the steed, must pull myself together.

Gritting my teeth, I charged at the sloth wraith that was lounging lazily with its characteristic expression.

Chwaak!

As expected, my sword merely passed through the sloth, having no effect whatsoever.

Just as I was thinking whether I should have put my faith in Aris after all—

Seueueuk-

The sloth wraiths floated up into the air and surrounded me.

To be precise, they surrounded Bbareumbo, who was riding on my back.

Just as I wondered what on earth they were doing, the Dullahan struck.

Kwaaang!!

"Keuh?!"

Bbareumbo failed to block in time, leaving me no choice but to block it myself.

I somehow blocked its sword with my shield, but enduring the sheer impact was difficult.

Afterward, Ludwig and Lackey looked for an opening, but the creature casually executed a Wraith Transformation.

As expected, unless one possessed Bbareumbo’s speed, dealing damage before it went into Wraith Transformation seemed impossible.

’Otherwise, using divine power like Ludwig is the better option...!’

Perhaps knowing this, the Dullahan focused its attacks on Ludwig rather than me.

Ludwig lacked the physical capability to trade blows back and forth with the Dullahan, so I had to protect him at all costs.

Kwaang! Kwang!

"Ack! Kuaak!"

[Hiiiiing!]

With the Dullahan and its damn horse both going completely fucking wild, we were gradually pushed into a corner.

Bbareumbo wasn’t even attempting a proper counterattack, whatever he was doing.

So I turned my head to see what was going on.

"Bbareumbo?"

"...."

"Hey. Are you crying?"

He was crying. Shedding tears while maintaining his usual relaxed expression.

The sloth wraiths were still hovering around him.

Only then did I realize what trick the wraiths were playing.

’Are these bastards in charge of mental attacks?’

They seemed silent, but the wraiths’ mouths were twitching slightly.

They were probably speaking in sounds that only Bbareumbo could hear.

Since they couldn’t deal direct physical damage, they were inflicting psychological damage.

Indeed, Bbareumbo had lost his family in the past, so his trauma must be severe.

He had trembled in agitation the moment the Dullahan summoned the wraiths.

[Could the dead be contained inside that coffin? Just what is that Dullahan’s true identity?]

"Identity or whatever, can you help Bbareumbo snap out of it?"

[If it were a magical attack, I would have done so already. But this isn’t magic, is it? His trauma is being provoked, so he has to overcome it on his own.]

I clicked my tongue.

Even I would be deeply shaken if my parents appeared as wraiths.

I shouldn’t blame Bbareumbo, but rather curse the Dullahan for resorting to such a treacherous trick.

"Ahjussi! I’ll hold off the Dullahan, so clear these things out!"

First, we needed to return Bbareumbo, who acts as our spear, back to normal.

Ludwig caught on to my intention and dashed toward me, regardless of whether the Dullahan was attacking or not.

Naturally, the Dullahan turned its focus to me. The moment I saw that, I shouted.

"Lackey! You handle the horse! I’ll hold off the Dullahan somehow!"

"Understood!"

Lackey hadn’t accomplished much until now.

But as a gap opened up in our lineup, he naturally took on a different role.

Since we were on the defensive, every single person was precious.

Koong!

"Hmph...!"

[Hiiiiing!]

Lackey forcefully grabbed the horse’s head in a brutishly simple attempt to stop it.

The impact must have been considerable, but blocking it like that showed that Lackey possessed terrifying strength too.

Seogeok!

[....]

I heard the sound of something being sliced above. That was probably Ludwig cutting down a wraith.

But protecting Lackey was the priority right now. I quickly rushed over and raised my shield.

Kwaang!

"Keuh...!"

Having blocked in a rush, I was pushed back as if blown away.

While being pushed back, I saw it clearly: the wraith Ludwig had just slashed.

That wraith was returning to the coffin slung on the Dullahan’s back.Enjoying the story? Read on at novеlping.com.

I saw that scene distinctly.

’There’s definitely something about that coffin.’

From wielding it like a flail to summoning wraiths.

There is definitely something inside that coffin. Maybe it’s even the Dullahan’s weak point.

’No creature in this world exists without a weakness.’

I repeated the action from earlier. Thanks to that, we took down one more wraith.

Only one wraith remained. As the wraiths disappeared, Bbareumbo gradually regained his senses.

However, he only blocked the Dullahan’s attacks without counterattacking. Still not enough.

"Cain-ssi, do you know the Dullahan’s weakness?"

[Other than divine power, not particularly... At most, I know that it treasures its own head.]

"Head, huh..."

Regrettably, this Dullahan didn’t carry its head around.

Did it hide it inside the coffin? The thought crossed my mind, but that’s too much of a gamble.

’If only the Gallery were working right now....’

We could have tackled it through collective intelligence. What a shame.

Cain was an ancient figure after all, so his up-to-date knowledge was relatively sparse.

There was Ludwig, a member of the newer generation (?), but he didn’t seem to know either.

’Or maybe it’s a creature that solely inhabits the Forest of the Four Seasons.’

This place evolves creatures indiscriminately, so why would a Dullahan be any different?

It’s easier to think of it as an entirely different species. If so, we have to formulate a strategy accordingly.

’First of all, knocking it down physically is tough.’

Chwaak!

The last wraith returned to the coffin by Ludwig’s blade.

At the same time, Bbareumbo fully regained his composure, leaving only the counterattack.

Just like before, I became Bbareumbo’s fine steed and continued the remaining battle against the Dullahan.

[Hiiiiing!]

The Dullahan’s steed raised its front legs high.

It was certainly a wraith, yet it acted as if it possessed self-awareness.

Seeing this, I rushed forward immediately. My target was only one thing.

Seogeok!

The steed the Dullahan was riding. Thanks to it showing an opening, I was able to slash the horse’s neck.

As for the Dullahan, Bbareumbo would block it anyway, so I didn’t worry much.

Tuk-

The steed’s head fell to the ground, but nothing changed.

It simply became a headless horse, just like its master.

Seumeol-seumeol-

It even possessed auto-regeneration, as the severed neck restored itself back to normal.

An ability similar to the Immortal Herb Colossus, but clearly a superior version.

Unless we targeted its weakness, the Dullahan would clearly regenerate the exact same way.

Chwaang!

The offensive and defensive exchanges continued like before, but the tides of war shifted once Bbareumbo stepped up in earnest.

Perhaps because he was hit with a mental attack earlier, he was acting aggressively.

His expression was slightly crumpled, looking genuinely enraged.

Seogeok!

No matter how tough the Dullahan was, handling Bbareumbo’s speed proved difficult.

A single swipe of Bbareumbo’s claws sliced off chunks of the Dullahan’s armor.

Unfortunately, the sliced sections restored themselves along with blue flames.

Kwaang!

Once the distance widened, the creature pressured us by using its coffin flail.

Its power shook the ground; a direct hit would knock us out cold instantly.

However, a flail like that leaves huge openings while being retrieved.

’Now!’

With a high probability that the coffin was both its weakness and main body, I swung my sword toward the chain.

Since it was an attack layering an Aura Blade onto the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, I judged that I could cut through it effortlessly.

Chaang!

"What?"

But it didn’t cut. There was only the ringing, crystal-clear noise of metal clashing against metal.

It couldn’t be cut even by the Sword of the Heavenly Demon. This wasn’t a matter of my technique, but of its hardness.

Just what material was it crafted from to be this hard? And another thing—

Jjeojeojeok!!!

The area that had collided with the chain froze over at rapid speed.

If it were just the Sword of the Heavenly Demon freezing, fine. But even the Aura Blade froze rock solid.

Even if it took form, Aura was fundamentally intangible like a gas.

’Yet it froze solid?’

I wondered what kind of energy was harbored within that chain.

I looked at the frozen Aura Blade and struck it against the ground.

Jjeong!

The frozen Aura Blade returned to normal.

Considering that even my own ’cold’ couldn’t chill aura, it was obvious that this was far more dangerous.

’An iron that can withstand that cold....’

I’m getting greedy. I wonder what material that was made of.

But regardless of that right now, we had no choice but to struggle against the Dullahan.

The creature was steadily pressuring the World Tree, while we were strictly blocking it.

Being undead, its stamina was virtually infinite. A prolonged battle was overwhelmingly disadvantageous to us.

’In the end, what’s left is....’

We had no choice but to do something about that coffin. I waited for the right moment.

The plan was to temporarily incapacitate the Dullahan and its steed first, then shatter the coffin.

What if the coffin couldn’t be broken physically? I had a separate idea for that.

"Everyone. Does anyone happen to want to go inside that coffin?"

"...."

"...."

No answer came back to my question. Well, naturally.Find the original chapter at novelping . com.

Wraiths had popped out from that coffin earlier. Even entering it would feel unpleasant.

Koong!

The Dullahan slammed the coffin into the ground again to anchor it. Simultaneously, the chain unraveled.

I wanted to stop it somehow, but the wraiths spewed out even faster.

Hwiiiing- hwiing-

The wraiths didn’t emerge one by one. Two, three, and even more poured out.

Soon, those wraiths manifested beside the Dullahan, taking on the forms of ’knights’.

Being wraiths, they couldn’t deal physical damage, but their sheer presence alone would exert massive pressure.

[#$%%%#.]

[@$$%%%.]

[@#%&&%.]

Numerous knight wraiths were summoned. I narrowed my eyes.

I didn’t know if it was running around collecting all sorts of wraiths like some kind of collector.

Cheok!

The Dullahan extended its sword forward.

Receiving the command, the wraiths charged forward while emitting their characteristic eerie noise.

Since they were wraiths, they had no physical effect, so they were likely meant only to disrupt our mental focus.

If so, the problem was one thing: the Dullahan hiding among the wraiths.

Smartly enough, the creature executed a Wraith Transformation and concealed itself amidst the crowd of wraiths.

Kwaang!!!

"Keuh...!"

It approached while spinning the coffin flail and swung it at me.

Even with my vision disoriented, I maintained focus until the end and was able to respond.

But I couldn’t stop myself from flying far backward from the shock.

Luckily Bbareumbo balanced me, or else I would have fallen pathetically.

’It can’t go on like this!’

I have to get inside that fucking coffin or something.

It might be called dangerous, but let me ask one thing back.

Has there ever been a time fighting a guy like this that wasn’t dangerous?

In the first place, I’m the guy who went all the way into the heart of the Immortal Herb Colossus to break its core.

Entering a coffin is nothing. Times like this call for a gamble.

"Therefore, Cain-ssi. I’m relying on you."

[Didn’t you just say you were going in yourself?]

"Thinking about it, I felt you could carry out the mission much more magnificently than I could."

Chwaak!

I spoke as I slashed at a wraith. Of course, unable to use divine power, I only sliced empty air.

Since Ludwig had to clear out all these wraiths, I focused solely on keeping the Dullahan in check.

Before long, when the number of wraiths dropped drastically, I spoke to the party.

"Alright. Everyone agrees, right? We’re throwing Cain-ssi into the coffin."

"Mm."

[Wait. Hold on. Why are you agreeing?]

Perhaps Cain hadn’t expected even Ludwig to agree. He asked with a voice full of betrayal.

Of course, Ludwig was busy cutting down wraiths to pay attention. Or maybe he was pretending not to hear.

’Is he trusting me?’

He seemed to judge that I would definitely pull off a trick. It was strangely touching.

It also meant the situation was just that hopeless.

I hate gambling, but I slightly resent the situation forcing my hand.

"Lackey! Go fetch the World Tree thread from the house!"

"Understood!"

[Good Aris above.]

Regardless of Cain being aghast, I did what needed to be done.

Soon Lackey brought the World Tree thread, and I tied it tightly around Cain’s body.

"Now then. Since every living creature has agreed, let’s put Cain-ssi into the coffin."

[I didn’t agree, though?]

I knew. But I clearly said it.

"Every ’living creature’."

I emphasized.

Cain pondered those words carefully, then gasped in horror.

[Fucking Aris above.]

What can I do? This is the only way.

Besides, it wasn’t a completely insane move.

Cain was a being with a ’soul’ so powerful he had achieved Ascension to Immortality.

’He’ll raise hell inside, not get devoured.’

Even if a problem arises, we can just pull the World Tree thread.

With all preparations complete—

Koong!

The Dullahan slammed the coffin into the ground once again. At that moment, the chain unraveled and the coffin lid opened.

The moment I saw that, I threw Cain without hesitation.

"Hryah!"

[O Goddess Aris, grant me strength.]

Mid-air, Cain chanted a prayer.

[Upon my return, I shall punish that treacherous villain!!!]

Is that a curse? A curse from the first Paladin is a bit scary.

Anyway, along with that shout—

Ssok!

Cain slipped right inside the coffin. And...

Utteuk!

As if a machine had encountered an error, the Dullahan froze all motion.