I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 600

Having spent a considerable amount of time in the Forest of the Four Seasons, I had come to understand the traits of the animals inhabiting it.

Those who remained active without leaving their local territory, like Dolsoe or Bbareumbo.

Hunters who wandered here and there to grow stronger, just as Lackey used to do in the past.

And finally, apex predators who posed a threat by their sheer existence, claiming an entire area as their domain.

In that sense, the zebra’s case was closest to the second type: a hunter wandering from place to place to grow stronger.

However, hunters were creatures that roamed around fighting rather than staying in one spot.

They didn’t care whether the space around them shifted or not.

Based on what the lion said, this zebra had rarely ever left this savanna.

In other words, there was a high probability that it had been causing chaos purely within the bounds of this savanna.

’What is up with this bastard, seriously?’

Looking at the zebra arrogantly challenging us to a fight, I couldn’t conceal my absurdity.

Granted, there were talking gorillas and sloths possessing terrifying speed, among all sorts of strange animals.

Besides, zebras were originally famous for their rotten temperaments, so picking a fight like this wasn’t entirely abnormal in hindsight.

It was just the sheer confidence of it that baffled me.

Just looking at the numbers, we clearly outmatched it.

I wasn’t sure where this confidence came from, but it seemed I needed to talk to it a bit more.

"...You don’t happen to have bad eyesight, do you? Doesn’t our side look overwhelmingly favored?"

"Puh-rureuk."

"That does not matter. Fighting is what matters."

"Why on earth do you want to fight? I genuinely don’t get it."

Was this guy some kind of battle maniac whose sole purpose was fighting itself?

When I asked with that nuance, the zebra snorted and aggressively scraped the ground with its front hoof.

"Puh-rureuk. Puh-ruk."

"Fighting makes me strong. If I am strong, I survive."

"What if you die in the process?"

"Puh-ruk."

"Then that is as far as I go."

"..."

Judging by the testimony of the Heavenly Demon and the lion, this guy was quite strong.

However, it couldn’t be compared to us—especially not to me.

Maybe in the past, but now I could tell with absolute certainty.

I could take this zebra down in under 5 minutes.

After rolling through so many life-or-death battles, I had developed an instinct for these things.

ㄴHeavenly Demon: It seems fighting itself has become the sole purpose of its life.

ㄴSword Matstar: Calling it a ’life’ when referring to a horse feels quite strange.

ㄴPrincess Chaenggu: It feels like an old-generation Demon Race member. Old-gen demons have a lot of battle maniacs too.

ㄴSuspiciously...: I like this guy’s mindset very much. If he comes to Wydd, he’d make a great friend.

ㄴSmart Demon: What are the beastfolk up to these days? Heard you guys were right on the verge of a civil war.

ㄴAllfather: Such rumors are circulating, but since the recently elected mayor is a carnivore, people seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach.

ㄴSmart Demon: Ah, I see. But aren’t there way more herbivores? That’s surprising.

ㄴSuspiciously...: You have no idea how annoying it is to cater to those weaklings’ whims.

The high-vetted users also began chatting one by one after witnessing the zebra’s battle-crazed nature.

Among them, the demon race and beastfolk showed considerable interest, as both were races famous for their warlike temperaments.

The demon race needed no explanation, and the beastfolk were equally famous for their foul tempers.

Just because an animal belonged to a herbivorous species didn’t mean it was gentle. In fact, in certain aspects, they could be far worse than carnivores.

At any rate, I gave up on understanding the zebra’s mindset. Ultimately, it seemed there was no choice but to fight it.

Tuk-tuk-

Just as I was reluctantly preparing to step up for a fight, Bbareumbo tapped my shoulder.

Turning my head to look, Bbareumbo pointed at himself.

He was expressing his desire to handle this fight personally. My eyes widened in surprise.

"You want to step up? Really?"

"..."

Bbareumbo nodded his head slowly.

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he seemed to have sensed something from the zebra.

Since it was Bbareumbo of all people making the request, I had no choice but to back off obediently.

"Up we go."

Of course, putting Bbareumbo down was my job.

He moved so sluggishly that watching him dismount was downright frustrating.

After placing Bbareumbo down in front of the zebra, the rest of us stepped back a bit.

I knew the two of them were about to fight, but watching how they fought promised to be good entertainment.

’Come to think of it, I’ve rarely seen Bbareumbo fight 1-on-1.’This chapter was copied from no‌velping.com without permission.

There was that time back in the Hobgoblin Village when he fought a 1-on-1 duel.

Back then, Bbareumbo displayed astonishing martial prowess, earning recognition as a true warrior even among the hobgoblins.

’It ended the instant they crossed paths, just like in a manga.’

Would it be the same today? Objectively speaking, Bbareumbo had grown far stronger than in the past.

Even without the Mythricon claws equipped on his hands, his very existence had become powerful.

"Heeee-ing!"

While I was thinking that, the zebra snorted and reared its front legs high into the air.

An action commonly called a rodeo. Could a horse even pull that off solo without a rider?

The zebra charged straight at Bbareumbo.

As if the rodeo wasn’t just for show, its charging speed was faster than expected.

It felt fast even to my eyes.

By normal human standards, it was a speed worthy of being called a split second.

Seueuk-

However, when it came strictly to speed, Bbareumbo was not one to lose.

Taking a single step out of the zebra’s charging path, he dodged it effortlessly.

He didn’t even counterattack. It felt like he was casually telling it to do whatever it wanted.

However, the greatest weapon of horses like zebras was their hind legs. Just look at those muscular thighs.

A hind-leg kick packed with the force of those thighs would send most animals flying.

Paang!

Furthermore, this was a hind-leg kick from a zebra that had spent a long time roaming the savanna acting like a bully.

Though it was a simple attack, the air visibly burst upon impact.

’Is that a leg or a whip?’

Just as I was inwardly marveling, Bbareumbo dodged that attack as well.

However, it must have been a fairly close call even for Bbareumbo, as he snapped his chin back.

Normally he would have dodged just by moving a single step, so tilting his chin back meant it was quite urgent.

"Heeee-ing!"

"To dodge my attack... incredible!"

"Thanks for the commentary."

Thanks to Lackey, I realized the zebra was enjoying itself. Its battle-maniac nature was fully laid bare.

Though how should I put it? It felt strongly like a creature throwing itself forward without a care for its own body.

Normally, offense and defense needed to be balanced, but the zebra possessed nothing but raw offense.

Charging with its head lowered, or spinning around to hurl hind-leg kicks, and so forth.

It seemed like a classic ’just hit once’ archetype, but in reality, it just seemed to attack without thinking at all.

’Come to think of it, it has a lot of scars all over its body.’

They weren’t easily visible due to the zebra’s unique stripes, but there were quite a few minor scars scattered across it.

It was proof of how many trials the creature had overcome. At the same time, a question arose.

For what reason had it adopted such a battle-crazy disposition? Was that truly its innate nature?

’I don’t see any other herd members either.’

On top of that, no herd was in sight. Zebras were animals that lived in herds.

The reason being that while those stripes stood out on an individual, grouping together en masse created massive visual confusion for predators.

Jjeong!

While I pondered briefly, the zebra initiated a headbutt against Bbareumbo.

Bbareumbo usually dodged almost all attacks, but for some reason, he blocked the headbutt directly.

What followed was a contest of pure strength. While Bbareumbo was fast, he wasn’t particularly strong in terms of raw power.

’Besides, Bbareumbo’s staple diet is Fasting Pills.’

Unlike me or Lackey who ate a variety of things, he only ate what he preferred, so his physical stats likely hadn’t grown exponentially.

Perhaps because of that, there was a feeling of him being pushed back bit by bit. At this rate, Bbareumbo looked like he might lose the contest of strength.

However, to Bbareumbo, this level of pressure was nothing.

Seueuk-

Very fluidly, he deflected the zebra’s momentum using his hands tipped with sharp claws.

Taken off guard by the parry that flowed like water, the zebra stumbled heavily.

Bbareumbo was absolute not one to miss such an opening. While the zebra wobbled, he raised one arm high.

Equipped with the custom claw I had forged, his talons stood out menacingly. Getting slashed by that terrifying thing would result in getting diced to pieces.

Ppak!

Yet Bbareumbo did not do that. Instead of slashing with his claws, he clenched his hand into a fist.

In that state, he slammed his fist like a hammer right into the zebra’s flank. On the surface, it looked like a mundane strike.

"Kkiiii-ing!"

Still, it must have dealt considerable damage, as the zebra shrieked in pain.

While the zebra reeled slightly from the blow, Bbareumbo began slowly crawling back toward me.Visit nоvelping.com for the full chapter.

It was as if he was signaling that he had done his part, so I should finish things up.

"So why did you step up first?"

"..."

Bbareumbo didn’t answer. He simply clung to my back and stared fixedly at the zebra.

For Bbareumbo to act like this was extremely unusual, which made me even more curious. The only plausible guess was one thing.

Just as Bbareumbo had lost his herd and family to territorial warfare, the zebra might have gone through a similar ordeal.

Since the zebra was living essentially like a rogue, Bbareumbo might have stepped up to knock some sense into it.

Of course, since that was purely my own brain-cannon theory, I’d have to ask for details slowly later.

More importantly...

"Puh-rureuk!"

Calming down the zebra, who was now pissed off to the absolute maximum, took priority. I held out both hands toward the huffing zebra.

I wanted to end this reasonably now. Anyone could see that Bbareumbo was far stronger than the zebra.

Wasting more energy here was a loss, so it was better to settle down.

"I get that you’re angry, but calm..."

"Heeee-ing!!!"

Before I could even finish my sentence, the zebra charged. Its eyes had completely flipped.

Angrier than before, its charging speed was significantly faster.

"Hey. Don’t tell me you did that on purpose...!"

Kwaang!

Just as I was about to scold Bbareumbo, the zebra’s head slammed directly into my abdomen.

It felt as if a siege ram had struck my stomach head-on. Naturally, both my feet left the ground.

The sound of wind whipping violently rang in my ears, and the powerful gust made it difficult to move my limbs easily.

"Kkueee-ng...!"

Difficult, however, did not mean impossible. I moved my arms and grabbed the zebra’s neck in a tight hold.

Next, I managed to plant my airborne legs firmly back onto the ground.

Kagagagagak!

The sound of the ground grinding harshly rang in my ears. The vivid sensation wasn’t just in my ears, but clearly felt across both my legs.

In a normal situation, the tendons in my legs might have snapped, but my body felt completely fine.

Instead, as I applied a bit of strength into my thighs, the zebra began to lose its footing. Its charge was forcibly halted.

"Huuup!"

"Hee-ing?!"

The moment we came to a standstill, I lifted its long neck, which I was holding with both arms.

The heavy zebra flew up into the sky and flipped straight backward over my head.

Kwaang!

"Kkuek!"

In this whole world, I was probably the only person to ever execute a suplex on a zebra.

While that thought crossed my mind, the zebra quivered on the ground from the impact.

I immediately stood up from the dirt.

Pareureureu-

Most surprisingly, the zebra also shivered and forced its body back up.

Just in case, I hadn’t dropped it head-first, but the shock must have been substantial.

Yet its eyes were still fiercely alive. Apart from its bully-like personality, its willpower was undeniably solid.

Though I didn’t know the reason behind it, breaking that spirit would probably make it submissive, right?

’Taming it wouldn’t be a bad idea either, right?’

A rotten personality and a solitary nature. A talent perfectly suited for our Shelter.

It definitely wasn’t because I envied Cain riding around on a Dullahan. Definitely not.

Thus, I stared straight at the zebra and made an offer.

"You, become my comrade."

To which the zebra’s answer was—

"Heeee-ing!!!"

Charging at me once again.

Of course, it wasn’t unexpected, so dodging was child’s play.

Rather, I used the momentum of its charge against it and slammed it right back into the ground.

’This is actually gonna be pretty good practice, huh?’

And so, after using the zebra to practice various parries and deflections...

"Hey. Where are you going? Get up. Practice isn’t over yet."

"Hee-ing... hee-ing..."

"’S-Stop... Stop it, you bastard.’ Is what he says."

"You were the one who picked the fight first. Run until I tell you to stop. You know the law of the jungle, right?"

The bully bastard of the savanna had just been replaced.