novelhk Chapter 330: Gauss Descends
Chapter 330: Gauss Descends
"Just ahead, deep in the woods."Shadow, who had come ahead once already, spoke up to remind them.
The forest before them was lush. It probably had to do with the tree species growing there — even though it was late autumn, the trees remained luxuriant. That was precisely why Aria had chosen this place for retreat.
"Boom!"
Gauss faintly heard several rumbles coming from deep within the woods.
Something seemed to be happening there.
He glanced back toward Longdi Fort. He had already infused magical energy into the golden bracelet on his hand, which served as Praelius's summoning token.
If it really worked the way that tiefling paladin claimed, Praelius should have received his signal by now.
Still, that was only a backup plan.
He couldn’t just wait here for others to arrive; by then it would be too late.
Never put hope solely in others. He had only himself to rely on.
He took a deep breath.
Gauss jumped down from the ostrich; the mount couldn't enter the forest.
"Be ready to fight at any moment!"
"Move out!"
Everyone checked their gear, tied their mounts to trees at the forest edge, and strode into the woods.
....
"Boom!!!"
A waterfall poured down the hillside, the cool mist soaking the air.
The lake reflected the afternoon sun.
But the serene natural scene was shattered by the arrival of uninvited guests.
"Kehehe!"
"Indeed a drake, and a Red Drake descendant at that."
A man standing not far away adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and spoke with visible delight.
A flicker of obsession and admiration passed through his eyes.
Although a drake wasn't a true dragon, its posture still enthralled them.
Especially since this drake carried red dragon blood — theoretically the strongest lineage among the chromatic dragons — and he vaguely felt the creature emitted an aura that quickened his heartbeat.
"Seize it!"
Although the Dragon Worshipers now revered the chromatic dragon goddess Tiamat and maintained friendly relations with many powerful dragons, that didn't mean they kowtowed before every wild Red Drake they encountered.
If they could capture this Red Drake, his rank within the Dragon Worshipers would likely rise several levels.
Maybe one day he could even glimpse the position of Dragon Priest; the purple-robed Dragon Priest rank was a fantasy he hardly dared to imagine.
"Attack!"
The scholar, heart burning with excitement, waved his staff and gave the order.
At his command, the nearby monster thralls surged forward like madmen, lunging at the trapped drake.
"Cecilia-sama is on her way; we must capture the drake before she arrives."
Though capturing the beast would be a major achievement, finishing the battle before the priestess arrived would bring even greater credit. That was why he urged those under him to press the assault without delay.
Outsiders, regular members, core backbone, regional stewards, local priests, purple-robed Dragon Priests...
The Dragon Worshipers’ promotion ladder was clear, and everyone craved advancement along it.
Scholar Nolan’s power met the requirements, but his merits were lacking; he remained stuck at the core backbone rank, and his promotion petitions had been repeatedly denied.
He believed that capturing this drake would put him in line for a promotion to regional steward, and perhaps, in his lifetime, he might undergo the special Dragon Priest transformation ritual and ascend to an entirely new realm.
The other cultists looked at the drake with hot expressions.
They continued casting spells, loosing crossbow bolts...
"Roar!!!!"
The Red Drake Hephaestus raised its head and roared.
The pitch-black binding array beneath it had fully formed; black smoke drifted up like countless tentacles, clamping onto its wings and keeping it grounded.
It shielded Aria with its body, taking spells and arrows from all directions.
With fang and claw, it shredded the monsters that kept rushing in.
The attackers were frantic. Even when it stomped some into paste, more charged forward heedless of death.
"Thwak!!"
A twisted air-rending giant crossbow bolt suddenly shot from behind and struck it.
The bolt pierced the thin membrane on the underside of its relatively fragile wing while the drake expanded its wings to intimidate the monsters.
Pain surged from the wound, and more deadly, a deep purple toxin began to spread through the slice.
"Roar! Roar!"
Hephaestus thrashed and let out a pained howl.
Aria's situation behind it was also dire.
Several Dragon Worshipers in black cloaks had crept up and surrounded her while Hephaestus writhed in pain.
"Put down your weapons and surrender, and we might spare his life."
"Moonlight Radiance!"
Aria ignored their pleas; she simply lifted her staff with resolute expression.
A silvery-white brilliance flared at the staff tip, extending a radiant strip of light in front of her.
Gritting its teeth, Ulfen leapt at that moment.
Its blood-filled maw clamped onto a cultist who had been trying to dodge the Moonlight Radiance.
"Entangling Roots!"
Thick vines burst from the ground and the forest, twisting toward the Dragon Worshipers.
She knew their words might be true; they could spare her life if she surrendered. But then they would use her as leverage to force Gauss to comply.
She'd rather fight to the death. At least then she could die with some dignity.
Her eyes flicked to the tide of monsters further away and to more cultists poised behind them; hopelessness tightened in her chest.
She couldn't handle so many enemies at once.
Today might be the last day of her life.
And it was a shame.
A shame Hephaestus had followed her, otherwise it wouldn't have come to this.
She inhaled deeply.
All the power of nature within her surged forth without reservation!
Nature's force poured into the ground, into the plant roots, trunks, and leaves.
The forest seemed to boil; leaves and branches rustled incessantly.
Massive vine tendrils as thick as tree trunks leapt at the attackers from all directions.
Some foes who weren't ready had their ankles seized and were soon wrapped by swarming vines as they struggled.
"Ugh—"
The vines tightened, squeezing hard.
Finally, a man exploded as if wrung dry, blood spraying everywhere.
"Clang!"
A nimble figure appeared behind Aria and thrust at her back.
Aria reacted in time, using Shillelagh to hold her staff as a barrier and block the dagger thrust.
"Chomp!"
After knocking the attacker away, she followed up with a crushing blow to the head.
The struck man slumped, out cold and unable to rise.
Though she often seemed unremarkable among Gauss's party, merely a mundane support, on a long journey she had already undergone a profound transformation.
She'd always been sheltered by the group, rarely taking on heavy combat duties.
Cornered, she now unleashed strength beyond her imagination.
"Scale Powder Butterfly!"
A barely visible butterfly in the sky scattered powder.
The cultists doused in the powder soon wriggled with itchiness.
Ulfen, when covered with the dust, became invisible.
As a hunter, it struck the entangling cultists and monsters with deadly efficiency.
For a moment, the battle reached a stalemate.
"I'm not someone to be trifled with!"
Aria swung her staff again like wind, knocking a monster unconscious, and took a few gasping breaths.
As she looked toward other enemies closing in, the air behind her suddenly rippled, and a gaunt black silhouette slowly materialized.
"!!!"
She went cold all over.
When did that happen?
"Plip!"
A short dagger the length of a forearm, shaped like a dragon's fang, stabbed into her abdomen without warning.
It slid in as easily as cutting tofu.
"The farce ends here, child."
The black assassin withdrew the dagger.
Without looking at her, his gaze fixed on the invisible silver wolf tearing at his comrades.
Though the wolf was invisible, its scent and movements left traces that an experienced assassin could pick up.
He hooked a long spear lying on the ground with his boot, weighed it in his hand, and gathered a little force.
The spear thrust through the air toward the invisible wolf.
"Thunk!!!"
Metal ripped flesh.
A spray of blood blossomed in the air.
Ulfen collapsed and began to reveal its form.
The spear had completely pierced its abdomen.
Excruciating pain tore through its brain; as it lay on the ground with its head tilted, its eyes looked weakly toward its master's direction.
When it saw Aria collapsed in a pool of blood...
It let out a heartbreakingly human howl.
"Ha—"
"What a fine dog — not even sure if it'll live, yet still clings to its master."
A few cultists stepped on the weakening Ulfen and mocked it.
"Enough."
"Lock them up; don't kill them all. They'll be useful."
He pointed to a prison cart engraved with sealing runes nearby and issued orders.
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, and you."
The assassin suddenly looked up as an invisible butterfly floated above his head, trying to ambush him.
"!"
The dragon-fang dagger flashed red, slashing out.
A blue spray of fluid burst forth.
The previously invisible Scale Powder Butterfly was cut in half.
"Better. It's quiet now."
Nearby, Hephaestus, who had just been recovering from the disorienting sedative, saw his fallen "comrades" out of the corner of his eye.
A heavy fury erupted in its chest like a volcano.
It would kill them all!
Overcoming the spreading numbness in its body, it pushed itself up.
"Thud!"
Several goblins were instantly crushed into paste under its feet.
Its internal flames, newly rekindled, burst from deep in its throat and spewed forth.
A rain of fire fell; monsters that failed to dodge were incinerated into blackened bones.
"The drake's angry."
A burly man remarked to the scholar nearby.
"Let it vent."
"Once it's exhausted itself, that's when we move in."
They served true dragons but studied draconic biology; none understood how to handle a drake or Dragonborn better than they did.
Red dragons embodied absolute strength, heat, and the sun. When such a creature raged, one needed to avoid directly clashing with it.
Moreover, they had come prepared: thralls, binding arrays, dragon-shot crossbows — all tailored to this beast.
They believed the situation was under control.
Meanwhile, the cultists moving to snatch the unconscious Aria and stuff her in a cage were shoved back by a powerful force before they could touch her.
A gentle silver sphere of light had emanated from her body, enveloping her like a protective shell.
"Heavens!"
The assassin dodged the drake's lingering shockwaves and glanced toward his underlings.
Seeing Aria floating, gradually bathed in white moonlight, his eyes narrowed.
She radiated holy power, giving her the look of a spirit of nature.
He inhaled sharply.
He had thought the drake was the main prize and that this druid was merely bait to lure Gauss.
Now it seemed this druid was no simple captive; she might have more hidden importance.
As everyone knew, the Dragon Worshipers loved collecting beings with extraordinary power — human or monster, living or dead — for experiments.
His form flickered; in a blink he stood before Aria.
He eyed the light-sphere warily and slashed his dagger.
The blade, like a streak of crimson lightning, skimmed across the shield.
"!"
The assassin's body was thrown back by a force that rebounded from the shield.
After several cultists took the blow as a human cushion, he crawled up from the ground, licked his lips, and murmured, "Curious power."
When he had swung his dagger, he had had the eerie sensation of opposing the whole forest.
"No, maybe it wasn't just a feeling."
His gaze flicked to the surrounding trees; he sensed hostility.
As an assassin, his danger senses were keen.
"Forget the druid for now. Focus on the drake, and keep away from the trees."
He warned his men cautiously.
He didn't know what protected the unconscious druid, but the overall situation still favored them, even if they couldn't break the light shield yet.
Once the powerful Dragon Priest arrived, they'd have a plan.
"Ha ha ha—"
A smile he couldn't suppress crept across his face.
This haul was tremendous.
Perhaps this unremarkable druid could bring more profit than the drake itself.
Before long, he'd climb the ranks, become a regional steward, then a Dragon Priest, subjugate a drake lich, don the purple robe, wipe out a city with a flick of his hand, and hold countless lives at his whim.
"Men, charge!"
....
Time passed bit by bit.
Hephaestus had left a field of corpses beneath it.
Crimson blood stained the earth a deep, dark red; even the nearby pool had turned scarlet.
"Argh."
Hephaestus lowered its head and panted.
Its throat felt as if it were on fire.
Several stubborn purple wounds wept dark blood — proof of the toxin eating away at its body.
If not for its draconic physiology, tremendous strength, and tenacious vitality — and perhaps for its red dragon lineage — it might already be down for good if it had White or Black Dragon blood instead.
Its tired, cloudy eyes scanned the encircling enemies.
Those humans who had previously cowered behind their monsters were now close, hemming it in.
"Roar!!!"
It let out a hate-filled bellow, wanting to tear them limb from limb, drink their blood, and gorge on their flesh, but mounting burdens and the toxin robbed it of the power to resist.
"Poor confused Red Drake, why struggle in vain?"
Scholar Nolan approached the drake, his voice low and rhythmic, almost hypnotic, as he slowly chanted,
"Join the Dragon Worshipers. We will serve your growth, let Tiamat’s breath soak your bones; let the Abyssal scales cover your skin; you will be reborn as an immortal being."
Nolan tried to paint a tempting picture for Hephaestus.
There it would no longer be a simple, dull drake; with the cult's help, it would transform into an undead, immortal creature.
"Pfft!!"
Hephaestus sneered with a touch of human contempt.
Did these ants really think it couldn't tell friend from foe?
It let a weak, derisive gout of flame lap from its jaws.
The spot where Nolan had stood melted into a skull-sized crater.
This breath was more insult than attack.
Nolan, skirting the attack, showed a flush of embarrassed rage.
"Increase the spellcasting power!"
"Yes!"
Cult mages raised their staves; black-red magic like ribbons shot from their tips, binding all over the drake's body.
With whispering chants, the bonds tightened, causing Hephaestus to grimace in pain.
Suddenly.
Hephaestus lifted its eyelids with difficulty.
Despite the agony, it detected a familiar scent in the air.
Above, in the glaring afternoon sun, a small figure closed in fast.
Seeing that familiar silhouette, Hephaestus felt a stir of excitement.
"!!!"
Before anyone could react, Gauss crashed into the crowd like a falling meteor.
"Vampiric Touch!"
Killing several cultists instantly, Gauss moved with blinding speed.
His Water Sword was wrapped in blood-red energy, mercilessly draining life.
"Enemy assault!!!"
The Dragon Worshipers quickly responded.
Staves and weapons swiveled toward Gauss.
Gauss's peripheral vision swept the battlefield.
He spotted the dying drake Hephaestus, the spear-pinned Ulfen lying in a pool of blood, and Aria floating in the air, unconscious, her abdomen horrifically pierced.
His eyes turned ice-cold as he looked at the cultists.
A storm of restlessness, guilt, and seething rage brewed in his heart.
If not for him, Aria might never have suffered this fate. Or rather, if he hadn't insisted on bringing Hephaestus with her...
Dragons are naturally irritable.
Although Gauss's draconic traits had been adapted to human form by the Adventurer’s Manual, they still influenced him at times. Normally he resisted that beastliness with reason.
Compared to monsters, he had always retained a sliver of empathy for fellow humans.
He often helped weaker civilians and adventurers; even when faced with the village chief or elders of the Herbal Medicine Village, he didn't unilaterally take lives, instead leaving matters to the guild.
But now, consumed by rage, he had no desire to suppress that inner animal agitation.
He didn't want to think about which cultists might have been coerced, or about their loved ones.
He wanted them all dead.
"Roar!!!"
A terrifying roar erupted from his throat.
Energy scales flashed across his body.
His pupils narrowed; those cold draconic eyes fixed mercilessly on the masses of monsters and the cultists beside them.
"You are... Dragonkin Gauss!"
When others saw him take on a draconic form, they realized who he was.
A variety of emotions rippled through the crowd.
Some felt fear at his extraordinary presence; others smiled with excitement, as if seeing a great achievement beckoning them.
They imagined glory, their mouths twitching.
"!!"
Gauss's dragon claw struck a cultist square in the face, instantly pulverizing the skull; the head exploded like a watermelon.
Death!!
Monsters and cultists were like fragile paper dolls before Gauss's brutal onslaught.
Blood and brain matter burst with each of his furious blows.
"Hold!"
"Wither Ray!"
Scholar Nolan, hiding among the crowd, seized a fleeting chance behind Gauss and quickly unleashed two spells.
Gauss felt briefly restrained, but he shook it off.
A pale green corrupting energy struck his chest.
The dragon scales of his Gauss force field vibrated; his Moonlight Robe expelled protective power to help absorb the damage.
"Master-level warlock?"
Gauss shook his head and zeroed in on the target.
Dragon scales shattered but regenerated; Gauss slashed and killed several monsters in succession.
Vampiric Touch drew life force from the dying corpses like tentacles, streaming healing energy into Gauss and repairing the damage from the Wither Ray.
He prepared to close in on the warlock.
But air behind him coalesced into a black silhouette.
"Clang!"
Gauss raised his hand and blocked a dagger thrust.
Dragon scales and the dragon-fang dagger sparked brilliantly.
Fortunately, Gauss's strength was greater and he sent the attacker reeling.
Before he could follow up, the figure vanished again into thin air.
"Another master-level professional."
And another. He glanced at the last burly man standing ready.
Clearly, the Dragon Worshipers had deployed three master-level professionals for this operation.
Coupled with thralls and cultists, this force could easily raze a village.
A normal adventuring party would struggle against such strength, even with a juvenile drake.
"I'll take that invisible assassin."
Three shadows rose from the ground, coalescing into shadowy forms.
"Good."
Gauss didn't hesitate.
In his feeling, the middle-aged man dressed like a scholar was the leader and the strongest of the three.
He even suspected the man might be the head of the Dragon Worshipers in Longdi Fort.
"Leave the big oaf to me."
Albenia lumbered out of the trees a step late and grunted.
She immediately fixated on the warrior-built opponent.
Serlandul quietly took advantage of the three drawing attention to slip closer to Aria and Ulfen and attempt a rescue.
Targets assigned, Gauss vanished and charged the warlock.
The warlock reacted quickly to Gauss's clear decapitation tactic.
Many monsters were soon controlled to throw their flesh-bodies in Gauss's path.
"Boom!"
Some creatures, on the brink of death, became living flesh-bombs aimed at Gauss.
Gauss’s reactions were fast; he dodged and moved.
Low-level creatures sacrificing themselves to block him only fueled his bloodlust.
"Magic Missile!"
Azure spheres like cannon shots roared from Gauss's mouth.
Creatures hit were instantly dead on contact!
"Is this Dragonkin Gauss?"
Nolan, backing away, swallowed.
"So beautiful!"
Even though Gauss was slaughtering his minions, Nolan found the sight heartbreakingly beautiful.
This was humanity’s evolutionary potential, not the puny ugly shell that men inhabited.
"Too beautiful!"
He murmured, almost entranced.
"You should join us, join the glorious evolution!"
He seemed to speak to Gauss across distance.
Sadly, Gauss gave no reply to his invitation.
He only wanted them dead.
"What a pity. I must show you the greatness of dragons, the true art."
"True Illusion!"
Nolan high-waved his staff.
As Gauss charged through blood and gore, Nolan’s body seemed to split apart; a dark green monster crawled from his form, unfurling a long, massive body.
A full-grown green dragon, vast as a mountain, descended into the forest.
Its hulking body was sheathed in emerald scales like armor, each plate glinting with dim metallic luster.
Horns curved back from its menacing skull; amber vertical pupils stared coldly down at Gauss, as if viewing a trivial insect.
Huge wings slowly beat, stirring gale-force winds and forcing the trees to bow.
Most terrifying was the greenish-yellow toxic vapor and acid that oozed from its maw and white fangs, dripping to corrode the ground with sizzling pits.
Compared to this, the Red Drake Hephaestus looked like a mere child.
"An adult green dragon?"
Gauss looked at his draconic armor; the protective layer was rapidly resisting the corrosive fog.
Keen pain crawled across his skin.
He inhaled deeply.
"No! Not right!"
He snapped back to clarity.
If this were a real adult green dragon, his injuries would be far worse. One spit could have overwhelmed his fragile defenses.
Understanding this, the damage from the toxic fog began to ease.
So it had been a special trick released by the shattered warlock earlier.
Ignoring the fog's corrosion, he charged theillusory green dragon — like a moth to a flame.
"Slaash!"
His Water Sword, shimmering with sacred aura, pierced the magnificent dragon's skull.
"Roar!!!!"
"You're dead!"
The lifelike adult green dragon let out a heart-rending roar.
Then the illusion shattered.
The mountain-sized dragon was gone.
Nolan, slinking away, wiped the sweat from his brow and watched Gauss with shrinking pupils.
He hadn't expected even this trick to be useless against Gauss.
True Illusion was Nolan's signature killing move.
Having once run errands for the Green Dragon Queen and seen Her Majesty up close, his illusory green dragon was more realistic than others', and that realism usually ensured overwhelming success.
True Illusion, as the name implies, inflicts real damage by simulating virtually all sensory perceptions.
If the illusion seemed real enough to convince the opponent, that belief would deepen the perceived damage and strengthen the spell.
At the moment of full conviction, the spell reached its peak and the enemy would die in endless terror.
Gauss’s gaze locked on the fleeing Nolan.
He had entered an almost instinctual combat state.
Combined with his draconic familiarity and high intellect, he deciphered the illusion before it could strengthen further.
A lesser creature might have been trapped longer.
But Nolan's illusion alone couldn't fully subdue such powerful mental fortitude.
Gauss shot forward like a cannon.
Nolan, exhausted after channeling the costliest Circle Four spell, was spent.
Before he could finish a word, Gauss stood before him, allowing no escape.
The Water Sword wrapped with Vampiric Touch plunged into Nolan’s body.
"Cough!"
Nolan spat blood.
"Cecilia-sama will not spare you."
Gauss ignored Nolan's spiteful final words.
Vampiric Touch pierced through his torso.
Gauss flicked his wrist, turned the sword horizontally, and braced his arms for an upward slash.
"Shlick!"
The Water Sword rose from below and into the sky, cleaving Nolan’s upper body, neck, and skull into two halves.
Gauss kicked the sorcerer's split corpse aside.
He scanned the battlefield in other directions.
His rage was far from spent!
He struck like lightning; any cultist trying to interfere with Serlandul’s healing was mercilessly killed by Gauss.
As the tide of battle teetered, a figure soared through the clouds.
High above, someone rode a blue-white bone-drake, slicing the sky.
Pale mist trailed from the bone-drake's wing tips, leaving two clear cloud streaks that quickly froze into frost.
"Almost there."
"Go faster, my little treasure."
The woman atop the drake flared her nostrils as if sensing her target's aura, a pleased smile on her face.
"Dragonkin Gauss, the one who has caught the Green Dragon Queen's attention — what makes you so special..."
Her heartbeat began to race.