I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 344

The reason I noticed right away was surprisingly simple. It was because of Asella’s personality.

Although she acts like a total pushover on the Gallery, she is the type to get things done properly when it counts.

She knows how to distinguish right from wrong, and she is a true Hero who would rather sacrifice herself than let others suffer.

For someone like her to bring up such an extreme topic meant one of two things.

Either the situation was just that dire, or she had been persuaded by someone.

It couldn’t be the former, because the situation at the border where Asella was active had actually improved.

Not only had I been steadily supplying water and Empty Sky Stone Milk, but Kadir, who would handle the heavy firepower, had also joined her.

Thanks to that, the situation at the border was quite stable, and posts were even appearing on the Gallery saying they were going to survive.

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: H-how did you know that?! I didn’t say anything!]

Look at this. Didn’t I say earlier that she has a bit of a pushover side to her?

Her reaction is just like a squirrel caught trying to hide its acorns. It’s quite cute.

Since Asella had been honest with me, I brushed aside some of my discomfort and sent a reply.

[Wild Grylls: I just had a feeling. Who made that request? You can be honest with me.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Well... you know that Kadir-nim came to the border, right? Oh, before that, do you know who Kadir-nim is?]

[Wild Grylls: I saw the video. He was dropping Meteors like shooting stars. Can’t he just handle everything himself?]

Honestly, this was the part I didn’t understand. Why would they need my help when they have a literal living missile right there?

Asella hadn’t even hinted at a nuclear warhead, but asking for my help in the first place made no sense.

Therefore, I needed a more concrete explanation. A reason why my help was necessary.

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Actually...!]

When I asked for the reason, Asella answered with utmost sincerity.

While it was true that the border had stabilized, the root cause of the problem had not been resolved.

To eliminate the root cause, they had to strike the region leading the wraiths—specifically, the capital of the Balkan Kingdom.

However, the capital of the Balkan Kingdom was crawling with undead powerful enough to keep Kadir in check.

Therefore, a swift strike was essential, but even for Kadir, casting Meteor took a long time.

[Wild Grylls: So you’re saying you want me to launch a missile? Since we can easily set the coordinates as long as we have the Holy Sword.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: It’s perfectly fine if you refuse! In a way, it’s shameless of me to ask this of you, Grylls-nim!]

[Wild Grylls: At least you know.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: I’m sorry! T_T]

When I spoke in a slightly sharp tone, the Orange Badge apologized. Still, it wasn’t like I actually disliked her for it.

It wasn’t as if Asella had made a morally wrong choice, so why would I hold it against her? Anyone would naturally prefer the easier path.

It was just that it became annoying because it involved me. Above all, one question still remained.

’She spoke with such certainty, but in the end, it’s just a possibility.’

Was the method Asella mentioned truly guaranteed? That was merely a part of a "plan."

If the plan went awry midway, there was no telling what kind of disaster might occur.

In the worst-case scenario, it could miss the target by a mile and strike some completely random place.

The same applied even if we borrowed the power of Cain, who had answered the call of the Holy Sword. We weren’t going there physically; we were launching a missile.

[Wild Grylls: I’ll go ask Cain-ssi first. After all, this is a task that Cain-ssi has to bear entirely, not me.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Okay! I’ll be waiting!]

Crucially, the success rate of this operation depended on Cain, not me.

They made it sound as simple as clicking a button, but in reality, launching a missile involved an incredibly complex system.

Not to mention setting the proper coordinates, the input system, and so on.

Since I didn’t know how to do any of that, I had no choice but to leave it to Cain.

[It is quite simple, though?]

"Pardon?"

[If it is merely a matter of flying toward where the Holy Sword is located, I can easily manage it.]

He said he could easily do it. I couldn’t hide my bewilderment.

I knew he was a high-performance AI, but to think he could even do something like this. I had no idea what kind of architecture he was built on.

"Are there any potential issues?"

[The performance of the missile itself, most likely. Do you think it would still be intact after so much time has passed?]

"Ah. That’s true."

The issue was the missile itself rather than the accuracy. The bunker was presumed to have been abandoned for a very long time.

Therefore, the missile’s performance must have deteriorated as well. Even maintaining its current state would have been difficult.Read this novel at novеlping.com for the best experience.

With modern weapons, just keeping them in working order requires an astronomical amount of money.

To put it bluntly, it might explode mid-flight. If things got even worse, it could detonate the moment it was launched.

[However, from what I have observed, there are no issues with the missile.]

"You checked that too?"

[Did I not tell you before? The moment I connected, a vast amount of information flooded in. The same goes for the missile.]

The more we looked into the details, the higher the probability of success became. It felt as if we were being urged to just fire it once.

Besides, it wasn’t even a nuclear missile. Unless we swapped the warhead, it was just a "normal" missile.

The problem was that I had no idea whose standard of "normal" this was. Even by my standards, this technology was from the far future.

’Since they said it was built after the discovery of mana, its destructive power must be far greater...’

And would it just be simple destructive power? It probably possessed some bizarre, unimaginable capabilities.

After agonizing over it again and again, I decided to gather everyone’s opinions first.

"I am in favor."

[I am also in favor.]

"Of course you guys are, just because you’re from the Holy Kingdom."

And so, Ludwig and Cain cast their votes in favor. They claimed they would gladly do such a thing for the sake of the Holy Kingdom.

As for Lackey? He just picked his nose and let the words go in one ear and out the other. It was practically an abstention.

"I’m telling you, if things go wrong, we could be in serious trouble! What if the missile drops right on top of our heads?"

[Well, I would be fine.]

"Only you would be fine, you irresponsible man."

Even Cain’s chances of survival were slim, considering there was a nuclear warhead right nearby.

I let out a long sigh. Honestly, this was something I could just ignore.

But if I did, Asella would have to strike the capital herself. If things went sideways, she would be in grave danger.

’And we need to wrap up this situation quickly so I can get help from Asella.’

Asella had said before that she would come rescue me herself, even if she had to lead an entire army.

But because of the Wild Hunt, that timeline was being dragged out.

Even the Holy Kingdom itself hadn’t been properly sorted out yet, so any further delay would make things difficult.

’Right. We’ll use it just this once.’

But the nuclear warhead would remain sealed forever. I didn’t even spare it a glance.

Since Asella was also terrified of nukes, we were in complete agreement on that front.

[Wild Grylls: I’ll go ahead with it then. But this conversation won’t leak out, right?]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: No one will know except for Kadir-nim! And Kadir-nim has absolutely no idea that I am the Orange Badge anyway!]

It seemed she was planning to pass it off as "The Hero requested it..." This was wise.

Since the very fact that she was communicating with me could cause problems. I didn’t even have to look far; just look at the other regular users.

There had been countless times when people threw a massive fuss trying to track down the regular users who had connections with me.

[Wild Grylls: However, since it’s late now, I’ll contact you tomorrow. You can hold out until then, right?]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Of course! I will prepare thoroughly on my end as well!]

[Wild Grylls: Understood. Just so you know, the moment you mention a nuke, I’m pulling the plug immediately.]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: I don’t want that either! It’s already a land filled with death; I don’t want to brand it with a curse as well!]

Unlike a certain someone, the Hero was well aware of how ominous nuclear weapons were.

I smiled briefly before starting to get ready for bed.

The children were already exhausted and sleeping soundly.

I moved carefully so as not to wake them.

"By the way, Cain-ssi."

[Speak.]

"Could you tell me what the name of that missile is?"

What I was most curious about was the name of the missile. If I knew the name, I might be able to figure out what capabilities it had.

The name I anticipated was ICBM—that is, an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile.

Seeing how it could be launched from so far away, I figured it would be the same or at least similar.

[Do you want the full name, or the abbreviation?]

"Give me both."

[It is the ICTM.]You are reading on NovelPing, the official source.

"Not ICBM?"

The names were similar. However, when it comes to weapons, a single letter difference can mean completely different capabilities.

When I asked, Cain kindly provided the full name.

[Intercontinental Teleportation Missile.]

"...."

[It was something like that. Though I do not know the exact reasoning behind it.]

Just hearing the name made it sound like it had insane performance. I grew more and more curious.

A day passed like that, and as soon as all the preparations were complete, I got ready to set out.

"Kkururuk."

"Hey, buddy. Give me a cola."

Right before leaving, I bought a cola from the vending machine crab.

Since it had started living in our Shelter, the fellow no longer had to worry about food.

Perhaps because of that, it granted almost all of my requests.

After distributing the colas to my companions, I made a request to Cheongseol.

"Cheongseol, you know the bunker we went to yesterday, right? Send us there."

"Ppaaek."

Jjwaaak!

Teleporting through Cheongseol, we arrived at the ancient ruins—specifically, the bunker.

The carcass of the bunker hermit crab had almost completely vanished by now; it seemed the other hermit crabs had devoured it all.

Seeing this, I debated whether or not to turn on the broadcast, but decided against it.

There was nothing to gain from turning on the broadcast. It would only cause unnecessary chaos.

[Wild Grylls: I’ve arrived. How are things on your end, Orange Badge-nim?]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Thanks to Kadir-nim, we’ve made it near the capital! However, it seems we might have a bit of a problem!]

[Wild Grylls: What kind of problem?]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: (An overwhelming number of undead) There are too many undead in the capital!]

The photo Asella sent was truly a sight to behold.

The entire capital was literally carpeted with the undead.

’If they had tried to clear all of this manually, it really would have been a hopeless endeavor.’

Firing the missile seemed to be the right decision. I stepped inside the bunker.

Asella had also mentioned that she would somehow deliver the Holy Sword to the center of the capital.

’Surely she isn’t foolish enough to charge in there with it, right?’

No matter how short-sighted she could be, she wouldn’t go that far. I chose to believe in her.

After entering the bunker, I headed straight for the command center. Not much had changed since yesterday.

"I’m counting on you."

[If it is for the sake of the Holy Kingdom, I will gladly do it.]

After entering the bunker, I slotted Cain’s stone statue into the generator.

Immediately, with the whirring sound of machinery starting up, energy surged into the bunker.

No matter how many times I saw it, it was fascinating. I wondered what kind of principle it operated on.

Brushing the thought aside, I waited for Cain to finish all the configurations.

’After all, my only job is to press the button.’

Just in case I accidentally pressed a self-destruct button, I didn’t take the key.

[All preparations are complete. I have also confirmed the coordinates of the Holy Sword.]

Cain’s voice echoed throughout the command center.

As soon as I heard those words, I sent a message to Asella.

[Wild Grylls: Orange Badge-nim, I’m all ready on my end. How about you?]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: We’re not far from the center of the capital! Just wait a little longer!]

[Wild Grylls: Don’t tell me you’re fighting your way through physically?]

[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Yes! We have no other choice!]

She really was fighting her way through.

’Can’t she just throw it?’