I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 667

In this world, because of the existence of the Gallery, rumors and all kinds of information spread incredibly fast.

If something happened in a country, posts would often go up almost instantly, and inquiries about it were bound to be exaggerated.

Therefore, it was common for nations to double- or triple-cross-verify to obtain reliable information, but when a country made a grand ’proclamation’, the story was different.

Even more so if it was the Central Plains, which was practically a hot potato lately.

Title) What’s up with the Heavenly Demon Cult?

They’re saying they’ll hold a Martial Arts Tournament. Are they out of their minds in this current state of affairs?

ㄴ Didn’t they hold a Martial Arts Tournament last time too?

ㄴ Yeah, but that was before the civil war. People are calling them crazy because they’re holding it in the middle of a civil war.

ㄴ Isn’t it at least in a lull right now?

ㄴ The Emperor is just holed up in the capital, so it’s close to a truce.

ㄴ Only the Imperial Court isn’t fighting, the Demonic Cult is steadily gobbling up territory lol

ㄴ Are those bastards seriously cowards? Why aren’t they fighting?

ㄴ Because the previous Emperor has a history of getting his head chopped off by the Heavenly Demon~

ㄴ Even back then, the Heavenly Demon was only in her late teens and still took his head lol

ㄴ From the Emperor’s perspective, he’s probably thinking, ’There are definitely bastards colluding with them!’ right?

Title) Heavenly Demon Cult Proclamation

(Roughly a video of the Demonic Brain announcing the Martial Arts Tournament)

The name of the Martial Arts Tournament is designated as the Heavenly God Martial Festival.

The unusual thing is that normally, only people from the Central Plains participate in the Martial Arts Tournament, but the tournament hosted by the Demonic Cult targets the entire world.

In fact, it looks like a political means to pressure the Imperial Court... so, are you not going?

For now, I definitely want to go lol

ㄴ Given what was shown in the last Martial Arts Tournament and all, there will probably be many people attending just to see the Heavenly Demon’s martial prowess.

ㄴ But isn’t the road to the Demonic Cult a bit rough?

ㄴ That’s an old story. Now the roads are well-paved, so it’s fine. And as long as it’s not winter, walking there is no problem.

ㄴ Besides, looking at the merchant guilds lately, they visit the Demonic Cult more often than the capital.

ㄴ Isn’t that because of the Hair Growth Herb?

ㄴ Correct!

ㄴ Ah lol, the Hair Growth Herb is a valid reason lol

ㄴ Right now, one of the Demonic Cult’s cash cows is the Hair Growth Herb lol

Title) What’s certain is

They definitely drew aggro.

More than anything, just the single name ’Heavenly God Martial Festival’ has too huge of an impact lol

Especially in a situation where Grylls is being called the Chief God and whatnot, naming it after the God of Heaven?

Even from the Holy Kingdom’s perspective, they’ll be like, ’What are these bastards up to?’ lol

ㄴ Doesn’t the Heavenly Demon usually refer to herself as heaven?

ㄴ Yeah, that too, so she was already a person of interest, but now they can’t even afford not to go;;

ㄴ They drew all the aggro possible lol

ㄴ What if nobody shows up despite this? lol

ㄴ Just like your birthday party, right?

ㄴ You motherfucker

ㄴ lolololol

ㄴ lolololol

ㄴ lol

The Heavenly Demon Cult, which had been receiving a lot of attention lately, announced the hosting of a Martial Arts Tournament.

And they didn’t just limit the eligible participants to people of the Central Plains, but targeted people from all over the world.

In fact, the Martial Arts Tournament itself doesn’t restrict who can participate.

It’s just that due to physical distance and various other reasons, outsiders usually don’t attend.

The Imperial Court itself tends to be reluctant, fearing it might interfere with state affairs.

Therefore, unless it is hosted by a powerful clan or is a highly prestigious tournament, it is rare for foreigners to participate.

Title) Who do you think will go this time?

First of all, it’s certain that people from the Messiah Empire, which usually interacts with them, will come, but will Ash come too?

ㄴ What is Ash doing lately?

ㄴ She’s probably sleeping right now

ㄴ lolololol

ㄴ lolololol

ㄴ lolololol

Title) It’d be so fun if the Hero came too

She might not come because of the opening of the Forest of the Four Seasons, but if she does, it’ll be seriously fun, yeah.

ㄴ No. The Hero can’t go.

ㄴ How do you know that?

ㄴ Because if the Hero leaves, work will flood in like a tidal wave...

ㄴ lolololol

ㄴ lolololol

ㄴ When are they going to elect the Pope? They keep saying they will, but it’s already been almost a year.

ㄴ Still, they are filling things up step by step from the bottom right now. Electing the Pope will probably be the very last thing.

ㄴ And there’s a rumor that they’re establishing another institution besides the Pope?

ㄴ What’s its role?Read the latest chapters at nоvelping.com.

ㄴ They say that if they only split power between the Pope and the Hero, they’ll repeat the same mistake, so they’re setting up another place.

ㄴ Ah. That? I heard about it too. I heard it’s someone who represents the citizens.

ㄴ That wouldn’t be bad either.

Thus, with a single proclamation, countless rumors circulated, blurring the lines between the Gallery and reality.

This meant that the Heavenly Demon Cult’s proclamation held immense influence, and everyone had no choice but to pay close attention to future developments.

Depending on who attended and how the Martial Arts Tournament proceeded, the global situation would change rapidly.

The conflict between Alfheim and Mountain, the internal power struggle in Setan, and finally, the Heavenly Demon Cult’s proclamation of the Martial Arts Tournament.

With so many things bursting forth at once, the leaders of each country must have felt like their heads were not just aching, but splitting open.

’The Demonic Brain... as expected, he is a sharp-witted man.’

Even without being a leader, there was someone else whose head was aching. It was Selena, the eldest daughter of the Mercedes Ducal House.

Having previously faced the Demonic Brain, Wi Seol-ak, she quickly grasped his intentions.

’High risk, high return.’

If this succeeded, it would be tantamount to advertising that most of the Central Plains Imperial Court’s administrative power had vanished.

If that happened, the Messiah Empire would also openly support the Heavenly Demon Cult.

No matter how much legitimacy the Imperial Court possessed, since ancient times, the will of the people was the will of heaven.

Even without this, the public sentiment toward the Imperial Court was growing increasingly turbulent and hostile, so the winner was as clear as day.

But if they failed, they would have to pay a corresponding price. Everything they had built up until now could collapse like a sandcastle.

Wi Seol-ak, that is, the Demonic Cult, truly wanted was external recognition.

They needed to gain international support to put more weight behind their rebellion.

If they failed to obtain it, it would only result in international isolation, making it literally high risk, high return.

’But I don’t understand. I didn’t take that man for such a gambler.’

Apart from understanding the Demonic Cult’s intentions, there was a part Selena still couldn’t comprehend.

Given the personality of Wi Seol-ak whom she met last time, he wouldn’t do anything unprofitable—meaning, he wouldn’t gamble.

Hadn’t he calculated that simply meeting her was advantageous to them?

With just that one meeting, the Mercedes Ducal House had no choice but to expend a significant amount of administrative power on the movements of the Central Plains.

For such a meticulous person to use a high-risk tactic this time? Something didn’t add up.

’It’s one of two things. Either he judged it to be the perfect opportunity, or pressure was applied from above.’

If it were up to Wi Seol-ak, he would have held it to tighten internal discipline rather than focusing on the outside.

Hadn’t even the Central Plains Imperial Court fail to properly manage that vast land, leaving public order to the clans and sects?

He should have been busy winning over the public while checking their movements, yet he expanded the scale.

’If the pressure came from above, there’s only one person.’

The true master of the Heavenly Demon Cult, revered as the heaven itself.

The Heavenly Demon, who is currently evaluated as one of the strongest people in the world.

She had only seen her martial prowess on the Gallery, but even a glimpse of it sent shivers down her spine.

A master who slaughtered countless martial artists with flawless, efficient movements. She was strong in a different sense than Ash.

’Ash-eonni feels like a massive, surging wave, while the Heavenly Demon was like a well of unknowable depth.’

Though both inspired equal awe, their destructive power was different.

A wave sweeps everything away, while a well slowly drowns you without you ever knowing its depth.

What was even more surprising was that neither of them had ever gone ’all out’.

In the first place, if they exerted their full power, the surroundings would be devastated, and there wouldn’t even be any witnesses.

’The scale is going to be bigger than I thought.’

With her brilliant mind, Selena envisioned the likely scenarios of the Martial Arts Tournament.

Depending on who participated, it was practically confirmed that key figures from each nation would attend.

Among them, the nations that would definitely participate were the Messiah Empire and the Holy Kingdom of Avalon.

Setan was suffering from internal political headaches, and Alfheim and Mountain were too busy fighting each other.

The Iris Kingdom was also highly likely to attend to keep the Messiah Empire in check, but they lacked any notable talents.

’The only variable is Mephisto...’

A country that had recently established formal diplomatic relations with the Holy Kingdom and begun exchanging various goods and culture.

From Mephisto’s perspective, they would invite others to their own country rather than traveling to another nation themselves.

’Or perhaps they might attend to extend an invitation, in the sense of recognizing the Heavenly Demon Cult as a government.’

From Mephisto’s perspective, it didn’t matter what state the Central Plains was in.

They didn’t interact frequently anyway, and they couldn’t care less whether it ruined itself or not.

The perfect country to indulge in pleasure without responsibility. Of course, they wouldn’t act completely without thought.

’Since ancient times, a distant country has always been the best ally.’

Lastly, the beastfolk nation of Wydd. This place didn’t have much connection either.

Though not as bad as Setan, she heard that Wydd’s internal politics were also quite a headache.

They claimed to be a democracy, but rumors said the country was actually declining because of that very democracy.

At least the current mayor of the capital was elected as a carnivorous beastfolk, but there were whispers that this was just a superficial triumph.

After gathering all this information, Selena was able to make a decision.

’For now, the Mercedes Ducal House has no choice but to attend. And I have no choice but to go as the representative.’

The Duke of Mercedes, Theodore, was currently unable to leave due to various duties.

His head was already bursting due to the opening and exploration of the Forest of the Four Seasons.

’...His hair has been thinning lately, so I should go and bring back some Hair Growth Herb.’

Selena thought so as she activated her personal communication orb.The source of this chapter is nove​lping.com.

As if indicating a connection was being made, the orb blinked occasionally.

Woong!

Before long, the communication orb lit up brightly, signaling a connection.

[Hello?]

The familiar voice of a woman flowed from the other side.

Her characteristically boyish voice sounded charming.

Sword Master Ash. She was the person whose attendance Selena was most curious about.

"Hello, eonni. What are you doing right now?"

[I’m watering a potted plant.]

"Ah. You mean that hobby you picked up recently?"

[Yeah.]

Why on earth did this person start watering a potted plant? Selena was suspicious.

Given Ash’s personality, whom she had known so far, she was not the type to grow plants.

She would have spent that time training or browsing the Gallery. Selena’s suspicion deepened slightly.

"You heard the recent news, right? That the Demonic Cult is hosting a Martial Arts Tournament."

[Of course I heard. Because of that, the Imperial Court contacted me. Asking if I could attend and bring glory to the Empire.]

"Are you going to attend?"

[Of course I don’t want to. Why should I bother traveling all that way? It’s a hassle.]

That’s so like Ash. Selena chuckled.

Indeed, if Ash attended, the world would shake once again.

There would even be rumors about whether the Heavenly Demon and Ash would spar with each other.

"Still, I think it would be better for you to attend."

[Why?]

"There’s a rumor going around about you lately, isn’t there? That you got a lover. Isn’t that annoying?"

[Mmm...]

"If you don’t show up, people will talk even more about how you’re spending time with your lover, you know?"

But Ash was already in a position where she couldn’t escape. It was because of the rumor that had spread throughout high society.

The rumor that Ash had found a partner. It was a rumor that Ash’s mother had personally spread.

From her perspective, it would be better to attend if only to buy some time to escape.

[Sssuuup... I’ll think about it again. But know this: I have absolutely no intention of returning to politics.]

"I don’t expect that much either. Then, is there something eonni wants?"

[Something I want...]

Ash pondered for a moment, then,

[By any chance, can I bring my potted plant when I go there?]

She made an out-of-the-blue suggestion. Selena was puzzled by the proposal.

But her confusion was brief, as her brilliant mind immediately revealed a single truth.

’That potted plant must have been given to her by Grylls-nim.’

As quick-witted as she was, there was no way she wouldn’t realize it.

While everyone was deciding whether to participate in the Heavenly God Martial Festival for political or personal reasons,

"Father."

"Speak. What is it?"

"I want to participate in the Heavenly God Martial Festival held in the Central Plains."

Kaylin, the Princess of Mephisto, made a direct request to Asmode.

At her request, Asmode also wore a puzzled expression and asked in detail.

"Do you mean you want to participate in the tournament, or simply visit?"

"Publicly, it’s the latter. I hear that the territory of the Heavenly Demon Cult is underdeveloped, so there is no proper entertainment."

Kaylin continued, her demonic sclera-inverted eyes gleaming sharply.

"Therefore, I want to participate to introduce the wonderful culture of Mephisto."

"Hmm... I see. If it’s just that much, it should be fine. If possible, I would like you to invite their key figures to our country."

"Thank you, Father."

Selena’s prediction hit the mark perfectly. Kaylin was heading there herself to spread their culture.

"Since you said the participation is for public reasons, do you have a separate personal reason?"

"Yes. Personally, I want to see with my own eyes how strong the Heavenly Demon’s martial power is."

No matter how much times changed, the competitive spirit engraved in one’s race never changed.

Furthermore, the Heavenly Demon’s martial power was exceptionally outstanding even in Kaylin’s eyes, so she couldn’t help but be intrigued.

Asmode also understood that point, nodding and letting it go. A simple spar was acceptable.

And lastly, one more thing.

"Ah. And I will also bring a potted plant."

"A potted plant? Ah, you mean the one you’ve been growing lately?"

"Yes."

"Why do you want to bring that along?"

Kaylin replied with a bright smile.

"Because it’s a flower filled with blessings."

Giving the flower the name of the team she supported was a bonus.