WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Got a Gallery in the Wild ◈
Chapter 107: Way of the Wild (1)
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The wild was harsh and savage.
Expecting animals in the wild to be rational was stupid.
The strong took everything from the weak. Survival of the fittest.
At the same time, it was a world where those who survived were strong.
Even if I wanted to act rationally, beasts weren’t rational.
Instinct came before reason for them, and that didn’t change even if their intelligence increased.
Anyone who invaded their territory was an enemy. Anyone who stole their food was an enemy. Anyone who went beyond stealing it and ate it was an enemy too.
Either kill the enemy, or be killed by them.
That was the way of the wild, the law of nature.
Whoosh!
The gorilla head the Leader Gorilla had knocked away with its fist came flying.
It flew toward Fast Sloth like a cannonball, but who was Fast Sloth?
The bastard could easily dodge even a bolt fired point-blank at its face.
Avoiding a head launched by a punch was nothing.
‘But that was launched with a punch?’
Still, the Leader Gorilla’s punch had been horrifying.
If it had simply been strong, that would’ve been one thing. What shocked me more was how perfectly it had controlled its strength.
Had it mindlessly pushed through with brute force, that gorilla’s head would’ve exploded.
Yet though I had no idea what technique or principle it had used, the head had only been launched like a cannonball without bursting.
“Ooh! Ooh!”
“Ooh! Ooh!”
The Leader Gorilla attacked after Fast Sloth provoked it.
When it beat its chest, the other gorillas followed suit.
A gorilla beating its chest was clearly a threat.
In other words, a declaration of war.
“Ha...”
“...”
“Grrr...!”
Unlike me, who let out a sigh, Fast Sloth looked as relaxed as ever.
Wonmo seemed to have read the mood too, raising every hair on his body as he stayed on guard.
‘They were the ones who started it, though.’
The gorillas had poured the oil first, but Fast Sloth had thrown the match.
The problem was that my house was the one burning down. What a fucked-up situation.
Unless I dealt with those gorillas, putting out the fire in my home would be impossible.
I steeled myself and prepared for an attack that could come at any moment.
‘They’ll be nothing like the otters.’
These weren’t just any animals. They were gorillas, creatures with the greatest brute strength among primates.
And as the clubs in their hands showed, they even used tools.
This definitely wouldn’t be an easy fight. More than anything, the Leader Gorilla bothered me.
‘Why is that bastard empty-handed?’
It had no weapon, yet it seemed stronger. A strange instinct told me so.
As I narrowed my eyes and glared at the Leader Gorilla, the other gorillas began charging in.
They rushed forward like gorillas, bracing their long arms against the ground.
Even so, the Leader Gorilla stayed back and watched without stepping in itself.
“Fast Sloth. Get on Wonmo’s back.”
“...”
“Wonmo, don’t run off right away. Stay close behind me.”
After giving Fast Sloth and Wonmo their orders, I slowly backed away.
If I charged at those gorillas like this, my odds of winning were low.
I’d been able to beat the otters because they were smaller and their fighting style was simple.
But look at these guys. They weren’t just rushing in blindly.
‘They’re surrounding us.’
Instead of charging straight at us, they spread out in every direction.
Front and back, even both sides. They were forming an encirclement.
It seemed like they’d done this more than once, because they carried it out the instant the fight began.
‘They really know how to use their heads.’
That made them even more dangerous. Intelligence was why humans had climbed to the top of the food chain.
Even if they fell far short of humans, that didn’t make them any less threatening.
“Kuuaaah!”
Once the encirclement was complete, a gorilla that met my eyes swung its weapon down.
Of the ones holding bones, stone axes, and wooden clubs, it was the one wielding a stone axe.
I hastily raised my shield to block it. I even poured mana into it just in case.
Clang!!
The stone axe collided with the shield, ringing out with a deafening crash.
As expected of the strongest primate, the blow carried tremendous weight.
If I hadn’t eaten that eel, every single attack would’ve been lethal.
There was no time to worry about the sound, though. The one holding a wooden club was closing in.
Without even thinking about counterattacking, I quickly pulled back my shield.
Whoosh!
The club barely swept past my eyes.
At the same time, the gorilla with the stone axe roared and charged at me.
Its vicious teeth scared me a little, but I forced the thought away.
Clang!
The stone axe and shield collided again. But counterattacking was difficult.
Just like before, the gorilla with the club followed up with an attack.
They were attacking wildly, but that was exactly why they covered each other’s openings.
‘At this rate, I’m at a disadvantage.’
I didn’t even have time to check on Wonmo or Fast Sloth.
I was somehow blocking and dodging with the skills I’d honed until now, but I was outnumbered.
Unless I attacked, I couldn’t escape the gorillas’ endless barrage.
‘Their attacks themselves are simple.’
After exchanging a few blows, I figured out their pattern.
Though calling it a pattern might’ve been a stretch.
Their attacks were close to random.
Still, they were using tools. They were hitting me with tools.
I was looking for the openings that inevitably appeared when they grew careless while relying on those tools.
It was ironic.
They picked up weapons to become stronger, yet those weapons created openings for me.
Whoosh!
The stone axe barely passed in front of me.
I stepped back as I watched for the moment it came down.
‘Now it’ll hit me with the club.’
I glanced to the side. Just as I expected, the gorilla was about to swing its club.
It was a diagonal downward swing rather than a blow coming straight down from above.
I raised my shield, roughly anticipating its direction. Then the sword in my right hand...
Stab!
I thrust it toward the stone axe-wielding gorilla’s collarbone.
The Heavenly Demon’s Sword, rippling with aura, pierced through easily.
And given the gorilla’s posture, stabbing its shoulder was incredibly easy.
“Kuoooooargh!!”
Bang!
The gorilla clutched the stabbed area and staggered back.
My shield blocked the club in the meantime. This was my chance.
While one gorilla was still reeling, I decided to deal with the other one first.
‘One of them, at least...’
One gorilla kept attacking despite its companion being wounded.
That was its downfall. Its muscles were strong, but it was slow.
Besides, its weapon was a wooden club, not a stone axe.
Crack!
No matter how hard the wood was, it would break when it collided with an iron shield.
The moment I heard the club snap, I swung my sword diagonally.
Slash!
Rather than trying to cut through its entire body, I cut what I could. It was SwordTasteMaster’s teaching.
Cutting through a whole body required pouring more force into the strike.
That greatly reduced stability. With a sword, stability mattered more than force.
SwordTasteMaster had even advised me to use an axe instead of a sword if I wanted to put more force behind a strike.
‘They said I could mess up my shoulder if I hit something hard.’
I’d adjusted my fighting style slightly based on that advice.
Even when a sure opportunity came, I didn’t put too much strength into it.
The Heavenly Demon’s Sword was so exceptional that I didn’t need to worry for the time being.
“Kuaaaaargh!!!”
A diagonal wound opened across the gorilla’s upper body, and it was thrown backward.
No blood sprayed out, but it had to be a deep wound.
“Kuaargh! Kua! Kuaargh!”
The gorilla thrashed around and rolled across the ground.
Blood began gushing from the wound left by my sword.
Not only blood, but organs spilled from its split abdomen.
Even though I’d only cut lightly, the sword’s power seemed to have sliced open more than half its abdomen.
That took care of one. The other was still clutching its shoulder.
When our eyes met, it looked terrified.
The more intelligent something became, the harder it might be to escape the fear of death.
Stab!
“Ku... kuuh...”
Without hesitating, I finished it by piercing its heart.
Cutting its throat didn’t suit me, and more importantly, the cleanup would’ve been a hassle.
After killing both of them, I turned around and checked on Wonmo and Fast Sloth.
“Kyuu... kyuu...”
“Wonmo?”
As expected, the other two gorillas lay dead.
But Wonmo was whimpering as though he’d been hurt.
I glanced at the Leader Gorilla, then approached Wonmo.
“Kyuuu...”
“Your claw’s broken.”
One of Wonmo’s claws had snapped. Fortunately, it wasn’t a serious injury.
It didn’t seem like a gorilla had hit him. He must’ve made a mistake himself.
I patted Wonmo’s head, then spoke to Fast Sloth, who was sitting on top of him.
“Go to the cave and give Wonmo some Elixir. You can do that, right?”
“...”
Fast Sloth nodded at my words.
Then it lightly patted Wonmo’s waist.
Wonmo glanced at me once before lumbering into the cave.
‘Now all that’s left is...’
The Leader Gorilla. I turned my head to face it.
It had watched from the back without budging as its kin died.
Whether it was confidence or something else.
‘The fact that it has no weapon is what bothers me most.’
Unlike the gorillas that used weapons, this one was empty-handed.
What did it have that made it fight barehanded? I couldn’t help wondering.
Still, it was undeniably an enemy. I spoke to the Leader Gorilla.
“You still want to go?”
“...”
The Leader Gorilla didn’t answer. It only slowly stood up in response.
As it straightened its back, the two hands that had touched the ground rose as well.
Its legs were short compared to its arms, like a sloth’s. But they were as thick as logs.
‘It wants to fight...’
Just as I thought that, the gorilla began moving.
It stepped its left foot forward and pulled its right foot back.
Its left hand extended forward with the palm facing outward, while its right hand rested at its waist.
Finally... it slightly twisted its body.
All those movements came together to form a stance.
“...”
Fuck. What was I looking at?
No matter how I looked at it, that was a martial arts stance, wasn’t it?
And a gorilla was showing it to me?
Martial arts that were absolutely impossible to learn without a teacher’s instruction?
I wanted to deny everything happening before my eyes.
Even in the Forest of Four Seasons, this... this was too much.
“...Who taught you that?”
“...”
“Who taught you...?!”
Just as my voice began to rise without me realizing it, the Leader Gorilla bent its upper body forward, as if my question wasn’t worth answering.
Anyone could see it was about to charge. I calmed myself down and took my stance.
Whoosh!
Its movements were different from the other gorillas’. The others had literally charged at me.
But the Leader Gorilla approached me as if it were sliding.
Whoooosh!!
That wasn’t all. The moment it came within reach, the Leader Gorilla attacked.
A massive palm came directly for my face.
If that attack hit me properly, my head would burst like a watermelon.
Bang!!
I barely turned my head and dodged the palm strike.
But I hadn’t avoided it completely. It barely grazed my cheek.
A sharp sting suggested my flesh might have been torn.
‘Th-this...’
In a moment where time seemed to slow, I could clearly see the Leader Gorilla.
Its gaze was utterly calm, yet faint anger lingered in it. Even so, it maintained its composure.
Seeing that made me remember the palm prints I’d found while scouting today.
A palm print I’d assumed belonged to a gorilla. And beside it, one I’d assumed belonged to a human.
‘Who the hell...!’
It could only mean one thing.
‘Who the hell taught it...?!’
Someone had taught this gorilla martial arts.
Footnotes:
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