I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 598

Like the mythical Hydra, new necks sprouted from the severed stump of the centipede.

And seeing a pair sprout instead of just one made it clear that this creature was far from ordinary.

The lion fighting it seemed to know this as well, remaining entirely unfazed.

The surrounding ground was already littered with what appeared to be remnants of the centipede’s severed heads.

"Master. What shall we do?"

"For now, let’s help the lion."

I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but helping the lion was a no-brainer.

He was usually gentle, and he had provided us with useful information in the past.

Above all, helping him was the right choice if we wanted to get to the bottom of this situation.

"Since it has high regenerative power, we’ll need to use fire. Lackey."

"I will prepare fire magic."

"Good. Dolsoe, get ready to throw the oil flasks."

"Understood."

"Cain-ssi, please draw its attention by circling around it."

[Understood.]

As soon as everyone readied their gear, Cain darted forward.

The lion, exhausted, was busy dodging the giant centipede’s attacks.

Seizing the moment just as the centipede tried to bite the lion with its pincer-like jaws, Cain stepped in to block it.

Cha-kang!

"Grrr?!"

"Tskeee?!"

Both the lion and the giant centipede were startled by Cain’s sudden intervention.

I took advantage of that opening. Gripping my sword with both hands, I dashed forward and slashed at the centipede.

I wanted to cut its waist in half, but judging it wiser to sever the head first, I aimed high.

Seogeok!

Thanks to the opening Cain created, cutting off the centipede’s heads was easy work.

Shortly after, the pair of regenerated heads fell to the ground, revealing the exposed cross-section of its neck.

Jjaenggeurang!

Following my prior instructions, an oil flask flew through the air and hit the exposed surface dead-on.

With the severed cross-section soaked in oil, all that was left was Lackey’s finishing blow.

Peo-ang! Hwareureureuk!

The moment that thought crossed my mind, an explosion erupted from the cross-section, lighting up in intense flames.

Now, even without me issuing commands, everyone executed their roles flawlessly.

Kwareureung! Kwareung!

My satisfaction was short-lived, however, as the giant centipede began thrashing violently, its regeneration blocked by the fire.

Even without raising its body fully, its stature easily surpassed 5 meters.

In other words, its total length exceeded 10 meters, so it was only natural for the ground to shake as it thrashed.

’Insects have a different nervous system from animals.’

I had seen it before—a snake with potent neurotoxin biting a giant insect.

If it were an ordinary animal, its whole body should have been paralyzed or dead within 3 minutes, but surprisingly, that insect stubbornly survived and devoured the snake.

Of course, after about 10 minutes, it died like anything else. This centipede was no different.

"Kuh-aaaaahng!"

So cutting off its head was no reason to relax.

Just as I thought about severing it section by section, the lion moved first.

As if paying no mind to the centipede’s wild thrashing, the lion mercilessly tore into it with his front paws.

However, the torn parts already showed signs of regenerating.

It seemed it possessed energy inside its body that aided its rapid recovery.

’Where is it?’

I immediately activated my Eye Lantern to search for a weakness—the place where intense energy concentrated.

That would be its true weak spot. And then, I witnessed an absurd sight.

Glitter! Glitter! Glitter!

"What the...!"

There wasn’t just one glow; there were multiple. With a slight exaggeration, there was practically one embedded in every single segment.

It was utterly ridiculous, like jewel fragments out of a cartoon. No wonder its regenerative ability was so absurdly strong.

’What kind of region was this thing living in?’

My wonder was brief, however. Rather than finding that answer, it seemed better to locate and extract all of the centipede’s Inner Cores first.

Now was the chance, while the centipede was weakened by the fire and shredded in several places by the lion.

I stabbed my sword into every glowing spot to create an opening, then extracted the Inner Cores by hand.

An unpleasant sensation washed over my hand, but this was the best way.

Seureureuk-

As expected, the moment the Inner Cores were pulled out, its regenerative power plummeted. No, it vanished entirely.

Being an insect, it still squirmed, but finding its clear weakness was more than enough.

"The weak points are hidden inside the regenerating parts! Target the insides!"

I wanted to remove them all myself, but the centipede was simply too huge.

After investing a considerable amount of time, we succeeded in removing all the Inner Cores within the centipede’s body.

The last remaining spot was the head region. It was still burning, likely due to the oil.

’This one is exceptionally large.’

Unlike the Inner Cores embedded in the body, the one near the neck was far bigger.Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping . com.

I stomped my foot down on the centipede whose body was completely shredded and thrashing on the ground.

Then, I thrust the Sword of the Heavenly Demon straight into it, pinning the centipede’s neck to the dirt.

Kwajik! Kwadeudeuk!

A mix of oil and burnt stench wafted into my nostrils, triggering a wave of disgust.

Enduring it stubbornly, I grabbed the giant Inner Core located right beneath its neck.

When I pulled it out, the neck region, which had been squirming relentlessly to regenerate, fell quiet in an instant.

Shaaaa-

The pulled-out Inner Core was roughly the size of a ping-pong ball.

Compared to the marble-sized Inner Core extracted from the fish, this was massive.

Even the ones inside the centipede’s body were marble-sized, but this one was on a completely different scale. I pondered how to absorb this.

-Impressive skill. I did not expect you to fight so well.

It was after the giant centipede had been slain. The lion who had been fighting it from the start spoke to me.

His complexion looked considerably more tired than last time. His usual composure was gone.

Since I had many questions for him, I engaged in conversation.

"Same to you. Are you the one in charge of the entire savanna?"

-That is not so. I merely rule over a specific territory; no one rules the whole domain.

"Then was this centipede ruling over another territory?"

-That creature came from a different environment. I ran into it during the great migration.

The great migration. Upon hearing those words, I looked around.

The horrific scene looked as though countless animals and insects had waged war.

"You were trying to move because the savanna’s weather turned strange, right?"

-Indeed. After hearing your words previously, I realized the savanna’s weather had suddenly changed. So I hastily planned to lead my pride and migrate.

It was just as I expected. And it brought a small sense of relief.

If this centipede had migrated toward the area where the herd of buffaloes went... it would have been an unmitigated disaster.

If aggressive creatures had swarmed out in packs, it would have caused immense chaos.

’The places where barriers weren’t deployed were Mountain and Alfheim.’

I had heard that the buffalo herd exited toward that exact direction.

That raised a question. Did this lion know where that place was?

"Do you know where the buffalo herd went?"

-I do not know. They suddenly disappeared at some point.

Regrettably, the answer was that he didn’t know. I clicked my tongue.

If he knew the location, I would have waited blindly just to catch an opportunity.

Well, the buffalo herd might have stumbled upon that place purely by chance, so it was better to give up on that line of thought.

"Then... you guys fought these bugs to cross over into a warmer region?"

-Correct.

"The casualties look severe, though?"

-Just crossing over proved difficult. If only the long-nosed ones, or at least the massive ones living in the water had been here, it would not have been this hard...

Was he talking about elephants and hippos? Granted, their raw weight class was astonishing, so their absence would naturally be missed.

Hearing him say that suggested both species had migrated early on, just like the buffalo herd.

I wasn’t sure where those guys went, but at least they hadn’t come to our forest.

’Wait, no. There’s a high chance they did.’

I had seen elephants in our forest before—specifically in the gorillas’ territory.

They were the ones using their long trunks to literally rip anacondas apart.

None had set foot in the Shelter yet, but it would be necessary to check later.

"Did everyone migrate?"

-A fairly large portion of the herds moved over there. But because I was dealing with this monster, I do not know the exact numbers.

"Then you’ll be heading over there as well."

-It seems likely... but if there are many creatures like this, it will be troublesome.

The lion nudged the centipede—which had completely stopped squirming—with his leg as he spoke.

The relaxed demeanor he displayed during our very first encounter seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Then again, this wasn’t a simple migration; it was the local animals moving just to survive.

He must have expected some damage along the way, but this likely exceeded his expectations.

"How many days have you been fighting?"

-What does "days" mean?

"I mean how many times has the sun risen and set?"

-Three times, or four times. Around that much.

I had heard about this on the Gallery.

When combatants of equal skill clash, a winner often isn’t decided even after fighting for three days and three nights straight.

ㄴHeavenly Demon: This humble one believes the lion’s skill is far superior to that of the centipede.

ㄴSword Matstar: I think so too. The centipede only held out because of its Inner Cores, but the lion relied on pure skill.

ㄴDon’t Abandon the Hero: The centipede was basically fighting while chugging Empty Sky Stone Milk!

ㄴAllfather: Studying for three days is hard enough, but fighting for three days must be exhausting.

ㄴPassing Dwarf: I can drink for three days and three nights straight rotfl

ㄴSmart Demon: Agh, I can smell the alcohol from here, seriously lololol

While the giant centipede had plastered Inner Cores all over its body, the lion relied purely on skill.

Perhaps because of that, the high-vetted users evaluated the lion’s strength even higher. At the very least, he was definitely stronger than Dolsoe before his evolution.

Plus, since he could communicate, wouldn’t we get something good in return for helping him?

Pudeudeuk-

While I pondered for a moment, a small bird flew over and landed gently atop the lion’s head.Get faster updates on novelрing.com.

Perhaps because his mane was so lush, or maybe because it was a bird he knew, the lion stayed still.

"...Should I help you out?"

I averted my gaze from the bird and quietly offered to the lion.

Having already witnessed our martial prowess with his own eyes, it would certainly be something for the lion to consider.

-...

The lion remained silent for a while, seemingly torn.

Since he was quite sharp, he was likely wondering what we wanted in return.

"I don’t particularly want anything. I just want to be friendly with you guys."

-What good comes from being friendly with us?

"We won’t have enemies, for one."

-Does that mean you do not mind turning those bug creatures into your enemies?

"If you guys win, those bug creatures won’t come after us."

They’d all be dead anyway, incapable of even thinking about resisting.

At my words, the lion pondered for a long time. My offer was likely quite attractive.

I could also explore various places along the way while receiving assistance in return.

However.

-I decline.

The lion refused. It was a puzzling decision.

No matter how strong the lion and his pride were, having an ally made a massive difference.

I decided to ask whether it was due to his pride or some other reason.

"Why are you declining? Is it because of your pride?"

-It is because of the strength of you and your group.

Our strength was the problem? Just as I was about to question that, a companion chimed in.

"Are you worried the pride will recognize us as their rulers?"

It was Dolsoe.

The only one among us who had directly ruled over a ’territory’ and a ’pack’.

At that response, the lion stared intently at Dolsoe before nodding his head.

-You are one who once led a pack. Your words are correct. Entities possessing great strength will always come to lead the pack.

"..."

-This is a matter I must resolve on my own. If outsiders intervene, it will only escalate the confusion.

Do you have the confidence to handle a pride that falls under your command?

The lion raised concerns about potential internal strife. Hearing those final words, I gave up immediately.

In the wild, where the law of the jungle applied even more ruthlessly than outside, internal division would hit far harder.

The Shelter was already starting to get crowded. Adding more animals on top of this would cause trouble in many ways.

In the end, following the lion’s words, I decided not to get involved in the territorial war. Still, we could offer some basic ’support’.

"Drink this first. It’s called Empty Sky Stone Milk, and it’ll be great for soothing your exhausted body."

-Thank you.

"And I also have an Elixir..."

I handed over one bottle of Empty Sky Stone Milk and one Elixir for him to use in emergencies.

Even this level of support would ensure we could get assistance in the future if we ever needed help.

Just as we finished talking and were about to depart, I suddenly grew curious about the bird resting on his head.

"By the way, who’s that bird on your head? Is it your messenger?"

-Bird?

Upon hearing my question, the lion shifted his eyes upward.

Right on cue, the bird tilted its head downward, meeting the lion’s eyes.

"Khur-hung! Khung!"

"Kkyaaack!"

"..."

Both of them threw a complete fit. So they didn’t know each other after all.

Letting out a dry laugh, I saw the lion off. He walked heavily across the river.

As I watched his departing figure, a thought suddenly crossed my mind, and I called out to him.

"Ah, right. Which direction is that tree you mentioned before?"

Hearing that, the lion tilted his head, indicating the direction.

Though nothing but a vast savanna met the eye, now that a direction was pointed out, we had to press forward.

And so, after walking silently for a while, we were able to lay eyes on the ’tree’ the lion had spoken of.

Gkkuem-teul- Gkkuem-teul-

"Wait, this... isn’t a tree..."

[It looks like a giant lump of flesh.]

What we discovered was not a tree. As Cain put it, it felt like a giant mass of flesh fused together.

It was as if we were encountering the previous Flesh Aberration in a different form. Its intermittent squirming was deeply unsettling.

That wasn’t all. Aside from standing upright, things resembling eyes, noses, and mouths were visible on its trunk.

"Master."

"I know."

I silently gripped an oil flask in my hand.

I didn’t know the reason, but...

"Burn that thing."

Just looking at it filled me with a primal sense of disgust.