I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 393

Is this what it feels like to have your brain rattled? I shook off the dizziness as best as I could.

Though my body aches a bit, it’s a miracle I’m intact after taking that hit just now.

A normal person wouldn’t just have broken every bone in their body—they would have died instantly.

Still, I gained one bit of confidence: my body is far tougher than I imagined.

Leaving aside my Body-Protecting Gangqi, my physical body itself boasted incredible durability.

’Am I supposed to double as a tanker...?’

Setting useless thoughts aside for a moment, I looked toward the Flesh Golem.

As if it still had strength to spare even after slamming me around for a while, the creature was taking on the rest of our party.

The one currently fighting it was Cain. He was struggling simply because he hadn’t found a strategy yet, but they were evenly matched.

Ludwig was taking care of the other zombies to assist Cain.

Perhaps because these zombies still possessed biological life functions, using Holy Water seemed useless against them.

Jjuaaak!

’...The Law of Conservation of Mass really went right out the window.’

What was even more surprising was its regenerative power.

I could look past the main body possessing terrifying regenerative speed.

The problem was that even the zombies broken off from the beast possessed that same regeneration.

Even the soldier zombie whose neck Ludwig had decapitated was restored before I knew it.

It seems the Inner Core harbored inside the Golem’s body was acting like a perpetual motion engine.

There’s no chance of winning a long, drawn-out battle. Judging by the soldier zombie, this thing has lived for at least several hundred years.

Aside from looking like a giant meatball, if it were any other creature, it would easily be worthy of being called a ’spiritual beast’.

’Is that even possible... No. Possible or not, it doesn’t matter.’

What I need to do right now is bring down that Golem. I reached into my Subspace Backpack.

Since Holy Water is useless, there’s only one thing left: fire.

Even if it can’t completely negate the regenerative ability, it should at least slow it down.

"Tyranno! Give me a hand for a second!"

"Ppi-ik!"

I called out to Tyranno. Lighting them one by one by hand takes too much work.

Now that all preparations were set, I left the main body to Cain and dealt with the extras first.

’I have to eliminate the ones that look like soldiers first.’

In our current situation, guns were the most dangerous threat.

It was questionable whether guns would work after so many years had passed, but the possibility was high.

After all, didn’t the Gatling gun mounted on the hermit crab work perfectly fine?

Especially if it uses mana instead of standard ammunition, it’s even more dangerous.

Kwajik!

I threw an oil flask at the soldier zombie. Drenched in oil, the zombie glared in my direction.

"Tyranno! Fire!"

Hwareureureuk!

Tyranno spewed a breath attack at my command.

Even if he’s a hatchling, a dragon is still a dragon. What erupted from his mouth was practically a flamethrower.

Perhaps due to growing through molting earlier, his breath attack seemed to have evolved as well.

Hwareureureuk! Hwareureuk!

[Errrr!!! Ahhhhh!!!]

The soldier zombie began to burn fiercely in the flames.

It hadn’t cared when its limbs were cut off, but now it was screaming.

As its body caught fire, its muscles shrank rapidly, preventing it from moving properly.

’As expected, fire is always the answer.’

It was an effect worthy of humanity’s greatest energy source and weapon in history. The answer to everything, right after water.

The stench of burning flesh filled the air, but I could easily stomach this much.

[No! My friend!]

Was it actually caring for it just because it came from its own body?

The Flesh Golem looked on in horror at the burning zombie.

Then, shoving Cain back with force, it rushed toward the burning zombie.

Ugeok! Ugeok! Ugeok!

The Golem stuffed the zombie into the mouth situated in the center of its torso—a mouth split wide vertically.

Even though the zombie’s entire body was ablaze, it didn’t care and crammed it inside anyway.

Ssuuk!

Once it had swallowed the zombie whole, a face sprouted on its torso like a mushroom. It was the face of that zombie from earlier.

It seems the mechanism absorbs everything the moment it eats it. This is troublesome.

We barely managed to find a way to counter it, and it easily neutralized it.

I thought about setting its main body on fire instead, but gave up on the idea.

’It recovered even when its body exploded earlier. My only choice is to target the Inner Core.’

Still, it wasn’t completely gainless. It revealed that it cares about its subordinates—or rather, its detached pieces.

Which means if I set every single zombie on fire, a massive opening will present itself.

"Cain-ssi. Please hold out a bit longer."

[Have you found a way?]

"I have to try everything I can."

This creature possessed regenerative power comparable to the Hydra, the famous monster of Greek and Roman mythology.

I glanced at the Golem resuming its battle of strength with Cain, then turned my eyes to the zombies.

"Lackey. And Ludwig-ssi. I’ll hand out oil flasks to you two, so splash them around."

"Understood."

"Tyranno. Blast every oil-soaked target with your breath."Find the original chapter at novelping dot com.

"Ppi-ik!"

I assigned everyone their tasks. Bbareumbo was currently protecting the other kids.

I glanced at Cain, who was capitalizing on his horse’s mobility to fight the Golem. He was buying plenty of time.

Before long, dodging every attack from the zombies, I doused them in oil.

Hwareureureuk!

I lit the first fire, and following that, set every single one alight.

Only then did the Golem fighting Cain stop moving, as if detecting something amiss.

[No!]

The creature panicked as numerous zombies were taken down all at once. Now was the chance.

Shouting for Cain to fall back, I drew my bow and fired.

Kwagwang!!!

The arrow lodged deeply inside and triggered a massive explosion, blowing away chunks of flesh.

As the flesh disintegrated, the Inner Core tightly hidden inside its body was exposed.

"Rip that thing out!"

We had to hurry before it could regenerate. I called out to Cain.

At that, Cain reached out and grabbed the Inner Core firmly. The problem was that the creature regenerated in the meantime.

Cain’s arm became buried in the flesh, binding him. I hadn’t expected this.

[Ngh... It’s so... tough...!]

[Go away!]

The Golem also immediately resisted when its weak point was attacked.

It opened its vertically split mouth wide, as if intending to swallow Cain whole.

However, Cain’s body was a full suit of iron armor—specifically, a Dullahan’s armor.

Which meant ordinary bite force wouldn’t break it. Still, I couldn’t lower my guard.

’The zombies are incapacitated by the fire anyway...’

It’s a waste of an Inner Core, but there’s no choice. I have to smash it.

I gripped the Sword of the Heavenly Demon with both hands. My target was precisely the Inner Core held in Cain’s grip.

Earlier, it was thrashing around so wildly that I couldn’t aim properly. But now, Cain had it pinned fast.

Besides, as long as Cain’s main body wasn’t destroyed, he could easily restore himself.

"Haa!"

Puuk!

With that, I plunged the sword deep into the thick mass of flesh.

Perhaps because I channeled Aura into it, a faint aura leaked out past the exterior flesh.

’I pierced it!’

I realized from the sensation in my hands just now. I had pierced the creature’s Inner Core.

Checking with my Eye Lantern confirmed it. It had cleanly impaled something glittering intensely.

[Er...... rrrrrrrr....]

The moment its Inner Core was struck, the Golem made bizarre noises like a broken computer.

At the same time, its entire body bulged and warped, showing unstable signs.

It felt as if the mass of flesh might explode pop! at any moment. Not a good sign.

"Everyone, take cover!"

[Hmph!!!]

Jjwaaaak!

Along with my shout, Cain exerted all his strength and forcefully ripped the Inner Core out.

Compared to ordinary Inner Cores, its glow was considerably richer, and its size was immense.

[Ggururu... gguru....]

Perhaps because even its main core had been extracted, the Golem shuddered like an aspen leaf.

Its body squirmed as if it would burst any second. I immediately ducked behind a nearby tree.

Peobeobeong!

The instant I hid behind the tree, the sound of exploding flesh reached my ears.

Plus the sickening sound of meat splattering sticky against the tree trunk.

The problem was that it didn’t explode just once, but multiple times. Looking at it, the zombies seemed to be bursting as well.

How much time passed after that? I stepped out, grimacing at the foul odor radiating from all directions.

"Ugh..."

It looks like some giant bird dumped its droppings all over the place. I scowled at the gruesome scene.

The stench was bad enough, but the chunks of flesh scattered everywhere were hideous. There were even bones mixed in.

Could such a monstrosity really occur naturally? No matter how I looked at it, it felt artificial.

[It seems we’ve dealt with all of them.]

"One way or another, we managed. How’s the Inner Core?"

[Here.]

Cain showed me the Inner Core he had extracted. It was roughly the size of a baseball.

Furthermore, there was a strange detail: its condition was completely intact.

Even though I had clearly stabbed it with the Sword of the Heavenly Demon, it retained its original shape.

"Uh... do Inner Cores normally repair themselves when damaged?"

[Of course not. This Inner Core must be uniquely peculiar.]

"Hmm..."

Then again, considering cases like the Pumpkin Jack Inner Core, it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.

Whether to absorb this or not can be decided later. For now, it’s best to start cleaning up.

"What should we do with these fragments? Just leave them?"

"Either burn them, or bury them in the dirt."

We decided to bury them in the dirt. Burning them with fire might cause a wildfire in the surrounding forest.

Now that the Flesh Golem was taken care of, it seemed we could resume our exploration.

Since the tunnel was tightly blocked, I was about to head back, but...Follow the newest chapters on novelping . com.

"Master. Let’s break through over there."

"Break through?"

"With Master’s power, it is entirely possible."

Lackey offered a bizarre suggestion: to break through the collapsed section of the tunnel.

I wondered if there was any need to go that far, but honestly, I was a bit curious.

What could possibly be on the other side of the tunnel? After all, that was the only path available.

’It wouldn’t hurt to try, right?’

Worst case scenario, the tunnel collapses? I’ll just smack my lips in disappointment and call it a day.

Even if the tunnel collapses while we’re passing through, we can deal with it immediately.

"Well... alright. Trying isn’t a bad idea."

Saying so, I drew my bow. To prevent the tunnel from collapsing, it was best to set the output power as low as possible.

Then, I carefully adjusted the angle so the arrow would travel in a straight line.

’Since the end of the tunnel was about here...’

Piiing!

The moment I released the bowstring, the arrow shot forward at high speed.

The arrow vanished the instant it entered the tunnel, as though swallowed by the darkness.

Kwagwang!

But only for a moment—soon a flash of light burst out, accompanied by an explosion.

Right after the explosion, a rumbling urreureung! echoed, but fortunately, the tunnel didn’t collapse.

"Master. I see light over there!"

"Yeah. I’m looking at it."

Perhaps because I dialed the power down properly, the tunnel didn’t collapse.

Bright light streamed in from the exit on the opposite side of the tunnel. Just what could be over there?

Perhaps because I was gradually adapting to the Forest of the Four Seasons, my sense of adventure seemed to be growing.

’Escaping... is the top priority, but still.’

Understanding the past is also important.

I hadn’t been transported to a different world; I was simply someone who closed his eyes and opened them after a moment.

Of course, curiosity aside, I have no intention of settling down in this shitty hole.

Burying the past as the past, going outside, and forging new connections wouldn’t be bad either.

"Let’s go."

At my word, the party stepped forward. The Golem acting as gatekeeper had been completely subjugated.

No worrisome sounds came from the tunnel. If anything felt off, my plan was to flee immediately.

"Lackey. Is the magic ready?"

"Ready."

The safety measures were complete. We walked through the pitch-black tunnel.

Before long, we arrived at the exit. The moment we reached that exit, we couldn’t help but freeze in our tracks.

"This place is..."

Upon reaching the tunnel exit, what came into view was a sheer cliff carved like a blade, and a vast expanse of land stretching out beyond.

A crater hollowed out as if a meteorite had struck, and inside it...

"Are those, don’t tell me... all..."

"..."

Bones and flesh. It could be summarized in those two words.

It wasn’t piled up here and there; it was fused together into a single mass.

A mass of flesh far larger than a lake filled the crater to the brim.

What’s more, it twitched intermittently as if alive. Just looking at it made nausea surge up.

Ggumul-ggumul-

That wasn’t all. Had it sensed life in this desolate land for the first time in ages?

The mass of flesh filling the crater squirmed, then slowly began to rise upward.

Kugugugugu!

The rising mass of flesh was easily worthy of being called a ’colossus’, and its shape resembled a melted human.

[Uuuuuuurrrrrr....]

In a reality hard to believe, the mass spoke with a face of melted flesh.

Rather than speech, it was closer to a scream or a groan.

"M-Master... T-There, on its body, p-people..."

Lackey pointed his finger at the body of the flesh colossus.

Looking closely, just as he said, humans were attached all over it, densely packed.

They were even squirming and moving, looking like they were struggling to be saved.

[Pleease....]

The colossus spoke in a slurred voice. Hearing that, I realized.

[...the mana toxicity....]

Why they had sealed off this tunnel.

And for what reason a superpower like the United States had walked down the path to ruin.

I mumbled softly under my breath as I stared at the colossus, where at least several thousand humans seemed entangled together.

"My God..."

At a moment like this, I had no choice but to call upon God. But God was not here.

I quickly snapped back to my senses. We had to escape before that colossus reached us.

"Lackey! Magic!"

"U-Understood!"

We immediately returned to the tunnel entrance using Teleport magic, and

Kwagwang!! Kwagang!!

I collapsed the tunnel completely with my arrows.

I would never enter it again.