I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 843

People of the Central Plains took immense pride in their martial prowess compared to other nations.

They fought far more often against other humans than against monsters, which made them absurdly skilled in duel combat.

After all, during the Age of Discovery, when the Western Kingdoms mounted a full-scale invasion, the martial artists had banded together and driven them back.

Because mere martial artists had handled them before an army even mobilized, they tended to look down on Western martial capability.

Perhaps because of that, Westerners who ventured into the Central Plains—specifically its rougher, lawless regions—rarely met a pleasant end.

Normally, if a citizen met with misfortune abroad, their home country would file an official protest, but that only applied to formal diplomatic visits.

To make matters worse, the Central Plains was embroiled in a civil war, leaving vast swathes lawless, and foreign nations had long since issued travel bans.

As a result, a lone foreigner traveling by themselves was prime prey to the people of the Central Plains, especially bandits.

Anyone venturing into the Central Plains alone during times like these was one of two things:

either a clueless youth who knew nothing of the world, or someone utterly confident in their own strength.

To bandits, it hardly mattered which one it was, so attacking was second nature—but...

"So you attacked me. That it?"

"Y-yes! Th-that’s right...!"

"I heard this road was relatively safe. Isn’t this under the Demonic Cult’s jurisdiction?"

"W-we were going to pull off one big score and skip town..."

There were unlucky people everywhere, but some were truly cursed.

Furthermore, the martial world had an old maxim: beware the elderly, women, and children.

Plenty had ignored that warning only to pay in blood, and this situation was no different.

"Now. Let’s think this through nice and slow."

"Ab-about what?"

"About what just happened."

All around the man and woman, bandits lay strewn like garbage.

Some groaned in pools of blood, while others were already cold corpses.

Yet not a single drop of blood stained the clothes of the white-haired woman, Ash, whereas the bandit leader kneeling before her was another story entirely.

Ash had beaten him so thoroughly that his face was swollen beyond recognition.

He couldn’t even close his mouth properly, letting bloody saliva dribble down his chin.

"Even by Central Plains standards, I’m pretty good-looking, aren’t I?"

"O-of course! You’re gorgeous enough to earn the title of a flower!"

"Martial title? Ah, you mean an alias? Anyway, does it make sense for a woman that pretty to travel completely alone?"

"A-at first you were wearing a satgat..."

the bandit leader protested, sounding aggrieved.

Ash had been wearing a satgat that deftly concealed her face, so he hadn’t had a chance to see her looks.

"Talking back? Want another hit?"

"I-I’m sorry...!"

"Anyway, would a woman like that really travel alone? Use your common sense."

"Sh-she’d at least have an escort with her, right?"

That was true.

Even the most rebellious noble daughter would have bodyguards in tow.

Even if she managed to slip away, guards would normally catch up sooner or later.

"And yet I was walking alone without a care in the world. Doesn’t that set off any alarm bells?"

"N-now that you mention it... yeah..."

The bandit leader remembered the subordinate who had tried to warn him.

That covering her face with a satgat was suspicious, that a woman traveling alone felt off, and that they shouldn’t attack.

But between worrying about his reputation and having already suffered heavy losses from the Demonic Cult, his judgment had been clouded.

Desperate to recoup their losses somehow, he had flatly brushed the underling’s advice aside.

Lurking right under the Demonic Cult’s watchful eyes on the logic that the darkest place is under the candlestick told you everything you needed to know about him.

"Haaah... I took this road because they said it was safe..."

Ash let out a heavy sigh while the bandit leader nervously gauged her mood.

Her visit to the Heavenly Demon Cult was strictly unofficial.

She had only left word with her superior, Emperor Arnold, saying she had some business in the Central Plains and would be right back.

To avoid drawing attention, she had chosen a secluded route, only to run into this nuisance.

’If I knew this would happen, maybe I should’ve just taken a carriage the whole way.’

The frontlines in the Central Plains were shifting by the day.

It was the combined result of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s steady advance and the Imperial Court’s obsessive self-preservation.

Public order in the Central Plains had always been poor compared to other nations, and the civil war had only made it worse.

Areas conquered by the Heavenly Demon Cult were relatively better, but that didn’t mean crime had vanished completely.

In fact, there were bandits who took advantage of the improved security to ambush unsuspecting travelers.

"Whatever. Don’t do this again. Got it?"

"Y-yes! Of cour—!"

The bandit leader’s face brightened at what sounded like mercy, but only for a split second.

Slash!

As casually as cutting down a straw doll, Ash took off his head.

The head flew through the air, the bright relief still frozen on his face.

He hadn’t even realized he was dead.

Thud.

When the head landed on the ground, Ash said flatly,

"Starting in your next life."

Under normal circumstances she might have let him live, but this bandit leader was pure filth.

The bastard had practically drooled the moment he saw her face.

It simply felt cleaner to lop his head off out of pure disgust.

’I wanted to take my time since they said the Central Plains had nice scenery...’

The scenery really was nice—if you took out the people, that is.

Picking up her pace, she reached the Heavenly Demon Cult.

Fortunately, as she neared their territory, an escort had already been dispatched to meet her.

"It is an honor to meet you again, Sword Saint."

"Right. Good to see you too."

"The Heavens await."

The one greeting her was the Demonic Cult’s second-in-command, Wi Seol-ak.Read the latest chapters at novelрing.com.

Using a prearranged formation, he transported her straight to the Heavenly Demon Palace without any fuss.

"So the old maid arrives."

"You wanna die?"

And so, the two had their touching(?) reunion.

They were close enough on the Gallery to trade affectionate insults on a daily basis.

But talking on the Gallery and chatting face-to-face in reality were worlds apart.

Had this been their first meeting, an awkward tension might have hung in the air, but they had already laid their feelings bare during the Heavenly God Martial Festival.

Though it was only their second face-to-face encounter, they practically knew each other inside and out.

"Well, everything been quiet on your end? I’ve been busy running around from country to country."

"If this one has cause to act, it means the Heavenly Demon Cult is in jeopardy."

"That’s a clever way of saying you’re a shut-in bum. Why don’t you try traveling abroad for once?"

"And what would this one do out there?"

"Diplomacy."

Despite Yoo So-wol starting things off with a jab, the conversation flowed naturally.

How have you been? Anything bothering you? And so on.

"Ah, right. I ran into a pack of bandits on my way here. Are things still not cleaned up?"

"Rats from the Evil Faction must linger. Where were they?"

"I took care of them all, so you don’t need to worry about it."

Surprisingly enough, that was that.

For all their exalted ranks, both were essentially unemployed homebodies (...).

At least Ash had recently visited Mountain, giving her plenty to talk about.

"I met this giant toad there, and it was fascinating."

"We heard tell of a toad that loves alcohol. This one wonders how it would react to the liquor of the Heavenly Demon Cult."

"Who knows? From what I saw, the higher the quality of the ingredients, the pickier it gets."

Yoo So-wol showed keen interest in the tale of meeting the giant toad, Jinro.

It was a story from a foreign land, and the topic had set the Gallery abuzz not too long ago.

The revelation that a small World Tree sat inside the brewery had particularly sent shockwaves across the continent.

Because of this, relations between Alfheim and Mountain, already sour, had grown even worse.

To top it off, Alfheim had even antagonized Avalon, who had stepped in as a mediator.

"Speaking of which, if you have time later, would you like to visit our empire?"

"Regrettably, this one’s duties are not yet finished."

"You’re not just planning to dash straight into the Forest of the Four Seasons the moment those duties are done, are you?"

"..."

Hit right where it hurt, Yoo So-wol had no answer.

She merely blinked at Ash, eyes wide as if asking how she knew.

Ash let out a smirk, completely unsurprised.

For someone who held the world in the palm of her hand, she was remarkably simple on the inside.

’This is why they say love turns people into idiots.’

On top of that, Yoo So-wol had only just entered her twenties—an age where one struggled to control their emotions.

She might reign as the Heavenly Demon and command legions, but that only applied when dealing with subordinates.

When talking to someone on her level or the one who had stolen her heart, she routinely broke down like this.

"Do you know that you’re surprisingly naive?"

"This one, naive? That is a first."

"Glad you finally heard it, then. Ah, of course, being naive isn’t all bad. Sometimes charging straight ahead is better than agonizing over it alone."

"Like how you hesitated over the age gap with my lord?"

"My, aren’t you just full of sweet words? And for your information, he’s wayyy older than me!"

"Older than me, at least."

"I really want to smack you right now."

She was reminded once again of how unfair life was.

One person had to pull out all the stops just to tease, while the other needed nothing more than an attack on age.

"Whatever, let’s move on to what actually matters. What did you think of the proposal I mentioned?"

Ash would have loved to tease her more, but figured she’d only come out on the losing end.

There would be plenty of time later anyway, and Grylls was the main topic.

Yoo So-wol nodded as well, checking if the Translation Orb was working properly.

The conversation ahead concerned Internal Cultivation Arts—and by extension, the advancement of mana itself.

"The theory you proposed was intriguing. Applying the principles of Unity of Self and Object to effortlessly deflect even Daoist arts."

"It’s magic, not Daoist arts, but seeing as we’re in the Central Plains..."

"If it is merely to counter Daoist arts, would that not be terribly wasteful? Maintaining Unity of Self and Object alone consumes a great deal of internal energy."

This was one of the theories discussed on the Gallery.

While the potential of Unity of Self and Object was limitless, its mana consumption was fundamentally exorbitant.

Furthermore, although the timing of its mastery was uncertain, it was estimated to occur around the mid-stage of the Transcendent Realm.

At that stage of cultivation, one already possessed more than enough skill to handle a mere mage.

"True, but honestly, isn’t it fun?"

"Hm."

"Besides, it’s not limited to magic. It could be applied in all sorts of ways. You saw how Grylls-ssi nearly lifted the ground the other day, didn’t you?"

She knew all too well. Yoo So-wol nodded.

Right after his duel with Ash, Grylls had half-jokingly, half-seriously tried to uproot an entire slab of earth.

He gave up halfway, claiming it was too heavy and too much trouble.

Both Yoo So-wol and Ash saw through the lie immediately, but neither pressed the issue.

"Is that not a feat only my lord can perform?"

"The massive advantage is being able to manipulate the surrounding terrain however I please."

Making clever use of terrain was a fundamental skill for any martial artist.

Grylls himself had overcome countless crises by doing just that.

In Ash’s view, Unity of Self and Object would make that far more effective.

"More than anything, what I want isn’t the result, but the process. Not just Unity of Self and Object itself, but the journey to grasping its principles."

"The process..."This story is hosted at novelping dot com.

At the word ’process,’ Yoo So-wol looked up at the ceiling.

Like the solid ceiling above, the revision of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was completely blocked.

To break through the bottleneck, she had studied the Plum Blossom Sword Technique given to her by Grylls, but only the same ’result’ remained.

As she had mentioned before, it didn’t feel like hitting a wall, but rather the emptiness of staring straight at the edge of the world.

She had arrived somehow, yet without understanding the path that led there, she couldn’t find her direction.

"Not a bad proposition. It will be of great help to this one as well."

"Then we’re set? Ah, before that..."

With their cooperation decided, Ash gave a gentle, eye-crinkling smile.

It was a smile lovely enough to flutter any man’s heart, but to Yoo So-wol, it meant something else entirely.

It felt like a blatant provocation.

"What are you plotting?"

"Plotting? Just, well..."

Ash slowly lifted the sword at her waist, tapping it with her finger.

A signal obvious to anyone that she wanted a light spar.

Catching her drift, Yoo So-wol broke into a faint smile.

"Admirable audacity. Arrogance instead of a polite request."

"Shouldn’t you be honored instead? I’m a Sword Master, you know~"

"Clashing blades is better than squabbling with words."

Saying so, Yoo So-wol rose from her seat.

Ash rose slowly as well, following behind her.

"Oh, right. Where should I put the flower?"

Before heading out, Ash showed the Rose of Sharon she had brought along.

Yoo So-wol glanced at the budding Rose of Sharon before meeting Ash’s gaze.

Seeing that it had yet to bloom, a deep surge of satisfaction welled up inside her.

"Heh."

"...What’s that laugh for?"

"Nothing at all."

Yoo So-wol wore a smirk that hovered between a scoff and triumphant smugness.

Ash narrowed her eyes at her, but Yoo So-wol brushed her off without a second thought.

At any rate, they decided to place the Rose of Sharon in Yoo So-wol’s bedchamber, then headed outside.

"Heavenly One, is your discussion finished?"

Stepping out, they found an attendant waiting rather than Wi Seol-ak.

A natural sight, given that Wi Seol-ak had his hands full with his own duties.

"We shall step out for a moment. Inform the Demonic Brain that this one has gone to train."

"By your command."

The attendant accepted the order without question.

And so, the two walked quietly toward the mountain near the Heavenly Demon Cult.

The very mountain half-destroyed during the duel between Grylls and Ash at the Heavenly God Martial Festival.

It was the perfect spot to test each other’s techniques.

"This place should suffice."

Yoo So-wol picked a sufficiently wide clearing.

An empty expanse where every last tree had been obliterated in the fight between Grylls and Ash.

"And yet..."

Yoo So-wol looked straight at Ash.

Unlike Yoo So-wol, who hadn’t even drawn her blade, Ash had drawn hers long ago.

Furthermore, she wasn’t carrying just one sword.

"Did my lord give you those swords?"

"No? I have a conscience, you know."

"Then what are those? Spares?"

Indeed, Ash had brought no fewer than five swords with her.

Counting the one in her hand, that made six in total—an absurd number.

Far too many to be called spares, it naturally raised eyebrows.

Swish.

Actions speak louder than words.

Ash smiled softly at the question, then tossed the swords into the air one by one.

Normally, the law of gravity would have brought them tumbling down.

Float.

Amazingly, all five swords hovered in midair.

At a gesture from Ash, they even moved as gracefully as scattering flower petals.

"Ho."

Even Yoo So-wol, who would normally dismiss such a display as cheap parlor tricks, couldn’t suppress her admiration.

Their movements weren’t rigid in the slightest, dancing entirely to the swordsman’s will.

It was like a dancer loosening up before a performance.

"I gained quite a bit from my fight with him. What do you think? Pretty, isn’t it?"

"No matter how refined the trick, a parlor trick remains a parlor trick."

Shing.

So replied Yoo So-wol, the Heavenly Demon, as she drew her sword.

Her draw was plain and unadorned compared to Ash’s, but the sheer pressure rolling off it was on another level.

Hummm.

The moment she invoked Unity of Self and Object, Yoo So-wol’s blade gleamed as if an emerald galaxy were flowing across the steel.

Ash likewise circulated her mana and fixed her gaze forward.

In the breath before the storm, the one who took the first initiative was—

"You may have the first strike."

"Then don’t mind if I do."

Ash, who had mastered a brand-new technique.