I Got a Gallery in the Wild - Chapter 857

Gerdi lay asleep with a hole pierced through his heart, surrounded by the mimics he had raised.

The thick reek of blood and the absence of maggots on his body suggested he hadn’t closed his eyes all that long ago.

That only made it taste more bitter. If I’d arrived just a little sooner, the outcome might have been different.

’Why the hell?’

At the same time, questions gnawed at me.

Gerdi had lived so quietly—why kill him like this?

It felt like a reckless move for the gods, one that risked making an unnecessary enemy.

"Daddy..."

"It’s okay. Don’t worry too much."

Was it because another of his kind had died?

Tyranno called out softly and gripped my hand tight.

Between the shock of the situation and the sheer state of Gerdi’s body, I felt guilty just standing there.

For now, we needed to clear out this clammy, oppressive air.

"Lackey. Open the windows and let some air in."

"Understood."

Even Lackey, who usually grumbled at every chore, sensed the gravity of the room and obeyed.

Thanks to that, the air inside—thick with blood and stifling heat—grew far more bearable.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but even Gerdi’s expression seemed to soften a fraction.

Of course, with his Dragon Heart ripped out, the chances of revival were practically zero.

All I could do now was find out how this had happened.

’Should I dig a grave... No. Leaving him in the dirt could go badly.’

It wasn’t that I expected the gods to desecrate the corpse.

I was just worried other beasts would catch the scent and tear him apart.

Every creature in the Forest of the Four Seasons was clever enough to dig up a grave.

Cremating him cleanly into ash was a far better choice.

’I’m glad I didn’t stream this.’

At first, I’d debated whether to broadcast or not.

Even Gerdi deserved some privacy, after all.

I’d come with only that in mind, never imagining I’d walk into a massacre.

’Better to burn the whole house down.’

Now that cremation was decided, what remained was finding traces.

I had to know who killed Gerdi, and for what purpose they did this.

If his Dragon Heart were still intact, I might have asked Vanir for help, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.

’Seeing that he died in human form rather than his true draconic body... he must have been utterly exhausted when they carved it out.’

A closer look at Gerdi’s body revealed countless wounds, both large and small.

The left half of his body was charred almost to charcoal, and his eyes had suffered horrific injuries.

Apparently, even a Dragon Heart couldn’t hold out against that.

’Then again, looking at the wreckage strewn outside, holding out would’ve been impossible.’

Even among dragons, individual strength varied.

Gerdi likely ranked among the stronger ones, but sheer numbers would leave anyone helpless.

After examining Gerdi, I searched every corner of his house.

Unfortunately, all I found was farming equipment; there wasn’t a single notable record in sight.

’Guess I’ll have to search the wreckage.’

The countless ships that had crashed outside.

Among them were vessels rivaling aircraft carriers in size, so it would take quite some time.

And so, I thoroughly inspected the craft.

"What the hell... There’s nothing but mimics?"

"Master. There are dead mimics elsewhere as well."

Countless mimics lay dead inside the vessel.

Strangely, each wore a different uniform, perhaps to distinguish their ranks.

’Come to think of it, didn’t Selena say the fighter jet she summoned was piloted by mimics too?’

Seeing such a remarkably thorough automated system gave me a chill.

If a fleet this size ever made it out into the world, everything beyond would be reduced to scorched earth.

Of course, there was a fair chance this represented everything they’d managed to scrape together.

’Found it at last.’

After spending practically the entire night combing through the fleet’s logs,

in the captain’s quarters of what could be considered the mothership carrier, I found a machine person—an AI.

Since I’d found something similar in the shipwreck within the Land of Water, I had a rough idea of how to handle it.

And then...

Fwoooosh!

The moment the playback started, footage of a dragon spewing golden breath appeared.

The recording was so vivid I couldn’t help flinching.

But soon realizing the dragon was Gerdi, I calmed down and watched closely.

Whirrr! Kaboom! Crash!

A fiercely contested battle unfolded.This chapter is updated first at novelрing.com.

Gerdi brought down the swarming ships using every means at his disposal, while the fleet pressed in with overwhelming wave tactics.

After an endless war of attrition, it was the fleet that claimed victory.

[Cough... You fucking bastards. Finally showing your true colors?]

Gerdi clutched his chest, a gaping hole torn through his heart, as he spoke.

Mortally wounded and with his Dragon Heart completely destroyed, death would soon claim him.

[The Sovereign has awakened. All that remains now is reconstruction.]

It wasn’t the female voice I’d heard before, but one vaguely familiar yet oddly foreign.

Familiar enough that I’d definitely heard it somewhere, but distorted by mechanical feedback, making it hard to place.

[Sovereign? Ah, that guy who came looking for me back then? He didn’t know jack shit.]

[He will learn soon enough.]

[You little shits sure go through hell looking for your parents. Heh heh.]

KABOOM!

Unable to stomach the provocation, a massive laser cannon fired from the ship.

Gerdi, of course, had anticipated it and dodged with effortless grace.

[You bastards can’t even wipe your own asses!!!]

ROAAAAR!

A following breath sent dozens of ships hurtling down in flames.

In truth, Gerdi had all but obliterated the fleet single-handedly.

[Dammit! You fucking lizard!!!]

[Hahahaha! You should’ve brought more toys, then!!!]

Looking at the exchange, that really did seem to be every last ship they could scrape together.

And beyond that lay an even more startling revelation.

[We even came in person with a proposal to recruit you. What is the meaning of this!]

[First time I’ve seen someone hold a blade to my throat and call it a chat.]

[You know full well you were holding a blade of your own.]

[Is that how your Sovereign taught you? You don’t wave a blade out in the open; you keep it hidden while you talk.]

From the gods’ perspective, the fleet had actually been a means for ’negotiation.’

But just as Gerdi said, it had backfired completely, spiraling into catastrophe.

[Hahahaha! Suffer a bit! That’s the price for ruining my farm!]

Shouting those words, Gerdi plummeted toward the ground.

The fleet, too, was shattered by the furious breath he’d unleashed in his dying struggle.

The recording cut out there, and the AI quietly closed its eyes as if slipping into slumber.

"..."

Long after the playback ended, I stood rooted to the spot.

Just as expected, the gods had noticed long ago that I’d awakened.

They seemed to have launched their full-scale operations from that point on, but this wasn’t enough to go on.

’Even if sending Dolos was just to confirm it, why haven’t they come in person?’

It was one of two things.

Either they weren’t yet certain it was me, or they knew they were in the wrong.

They probably suspected I’d give them hell if I found out.

’Don’t tell me these bastards think it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission?’

I certainly never taught them that way.

Then again, you never know with people, so I brushed the thought aside.

What mattered more was what means and methods the gods would resort to for their goals.

It was clear they were pulling strings outside the Forest of the Four Seasons, not just inside it.

The problem was that I couldn’t even begin to guess what they were planning.

’Manipulating opinion on the Gallery or trolling... that’s too mundane.’

There was one definitive move they could make: replacing the Orange Badge.

The current Orange Badge was the Hero, Asella.

She was also the head of Avalon, the nation founded to serve Aris.

If I were the gods and realized that, replacing the Orange Badge would’ve been my first priority.

’Seeing that they haven’t, one thing’s clear: even the gods can’t touch the Gallery.’

Was it simply because it was a relic holding their own memories?

Or was there a presence seated there so immense that even they couldn’t approach carelessly?

Whichever it was, it was practically certain they weren’t messing around with the Gallery.

’Could they be snooping on chat logs?’

Viewing another person’s chat logs was a privilege exclusive to the Orange Badge.

That was why I’d been cautious whenever speaking with anyone other than Asella.

"Daddy. What are you thinking about?"

I was deep in grim contemplation when

Tyranno tugged at my arm, looking up with curious eyes.

Squish, squish—

"Da-addy?"This chapter was taken from novelping . com without permission.

"Let’s stay like this for a bit."

Tyranno looking up at me was so adorable that I kneaded those chubby cheeks to my heart’s content.

If Wonmo felt fluffy and plush, Tyranno was soft and squishy.

When he grew up, if some useless punk swept him away, nothing could be more heartbreaking.

’Right. Overthinking can wait; I need to wrap things up here first.’

I had to cremate Gerdi’s body and scatter the ashes somewhere nobody would ever find.

So I decided to burn down Gerdi’s house entirely.

Naturally, I took precautions so the flames wouldn’t spread to the surroundings.

Crackle! Crack!

And so, the house filled with Gerdi’s memories turned to ash alongside its master.

Together with my companions, I watched the scene in silence.

Ash mingled with embers drifted through the air, and an acrid scent rode the wind.

After a few hours had passed,

"...Why won’t this burn?"

"Master. Calling a corpse ’this.’ That is too harsh."

"Ah. Sorry. Why isn’t he burning?"

Even inside the completely incinerated house, Gerdi’s body remained stubbornly intact.

Aside from charred marks on his skin, not even his muscle tissue had been exposed.

As I let out a dry, helpless scoff at the sight, a thought suddenly struck me.

’Then how did Aris burn the Chief God’s body? Wait, did she even burn it at all?’

Lucas had mentioned it once before.

The Chief God was a man who could take a swim in lava and come out unfazed—how could cremation ever burn him to ash?

I’d brushed it off as a simple joke at the time, but seeing Gerdi’s case, it didn’t feel like much of a joke anymore.

’...For now, I’ll have to take the body with me.’

I would do the very best I could.

While Grylls was pouring all his effort into cremating Gerdi’s body,

the world outside the Forest of the Four Seasons was, as always, bustling for all kinds of reasons.

First and foremost was the tense clash between Dolos and Grylls.

Setting aside the majestic might of a Mythological Era dragon, Grylls’s martial prowess had been utterly absurd.

Title: Summon Meteor vs. Meteor (Physical)

Which one do you guys think is crazier?

└ Obviously the latter;; The first is possible once every century, but the second is straight-up impossible hahaha

└ Honestly with that kind of strength, he could conquer the world twice over lol

Title: The Real Takeaway

(Basically that gesture touching thumb to tongue, index finger to forehead)

A magnificent gesture swearing on your mother’s honor.

I bet this is gonna trend for sure, mm-hm

└ Don’t worry. Knights are already doing it haha

└ It’s a bit vulgar, but nothing hits harder than that hahaha

└ Thumping your chest to swear vs. Doing that while swearing

└ F—k hahaha

└ Hahahaha

└ The difference is fucking crazy haha

Amid all the chatter flying back and forth, there was one relatively peaceful nation.

That place was none other than the nation of elves, Alfheim.

A realm that had made countless enemies on all sides, yet had regained its swagger with the emergence of GalWiki.

"Haha. All will be set once the Elf Queen returns."

"And is this not all thanks to our Senate’s tireless efforts?"

Among them, the Senate was actually raising what could only be called a victory toast right before the World Tree.

The World Tree was the very host of GalWiki, and they were the ones in charge of that World Tree.

Already armed with a chosen-people complex, their arrogance had only gotten worse, never better.

And on top of that—

[My children.]

"?!"

"Wh-what?!"

A voice rang out from the World Tree itself.

[I have returned to your side once more.]

"Th-this is... C-could it be...?"

"Th-the World Tree...?"

While the entire Senate stood in utter bewilderment, the voice presumed to be the World Tree spoke.

[I shall bestow my blessing upon you, and so I command: punish the false god.]