novelhk Chapter 316: Traveling Together
Chapter 316: Traveling Together
Sturdy Scale Bloodline activated.Monstrous Strength transformation.
Sword Soul profession's sword energy attached to fist.
....
Numerous abilities erupted simultaneously in an extremely short time!
His fist even blasted out a sonic boom.
Waves of air surged outward along the contours of his knuckles and arm muscles!
"Thump!"
The situation was too sudden, the old woman opposite had no time to react,
The punch landed solidly on her loose, sagging skin.
"Thwack!!!"
Almost at the moment of contact.
The various energies attached to Gauss's fist directly shredded her soft, rotten skin.
It was like hitting a skin sack without flesh and blood.
"Crack!"
Then a crisp bone-breaking sound rang out.
The old woman's head was struck as if by a heavy hammer, her neck completely unable to withstand this sudden explosive force, her head snapped backward at an extremely unnatural angle.
The skin and muscles at her neck were instantly torn by the powerful force, a head with eyes filled with horror shot backward like a cannonball.
However, the expected scene of blood spraying did not appear.
The blasted-off head traced an arc through the air, pierced through several layers of cabinets, and finally smashed into the ground.
"Everyone be careful!"
Gauss exhaled a long breath, not relaxing because of his "achievement," but quickly warning his teammates.
Shadow's clone also appropriately appeared beside Gauss.
"She probably isn't dead yet."
Actually, Gauss had never believed the old woman before him from the very beginning.
In public perception, he should be considered a good person, but precisely because of that, he needed to be more cautious with suspicious strangers, otherwise good intentions could easily lead to bad outcomes.
From the moment he entered the house, every cell in his body seemed to protest,
It was a feeling of discomfort from both physiological and psychological aspects.
So his guard was always at maximum.
But before having clear evidence, he couldn't determine the right timing to strike.
Only after Shadow used her shadow clone to infiltrate the house and collected key intelligence in the cellar did he choose to strike first, decisively delivering a thunderous blow.
Gauss's golden pupils burned as they stared at the chaotic kitchen area.
"Cloud of Daggers!"
Although unclear about the enemy's current state, he had no intention of waiting for her to appear and engage in a fair fight with full preparation.
He spat out sharp magical energy.
Sharp, bone-piercing energy rapidly swelled and expanded after leaving his mouth, forming a sharp cloud of daggers that swept forward.
"Retreat!"
Everyone retreated together.
Gauss turned and exerted force, punching through the wall behind him.
Instantly breaking through the barrier between inside and outside.
Sunlight shone into the originally eerie hall from outside.
"!"
In specific terrain conditions, Cloud of Daggers was more effective than most second-circle spells, even third-circle spells.
The head lying among the furniture cabinets hadn't yet emerged before being enveloped by the dagger cloud again.
Gauss faintly heard several hoarse screams.
Indeed!
He knew she wouldn't die so easily.
After briefly gathering energy within his body, a mass of magical energy quickly condensed in his mouth.
Just as he prepared to release it.
The ground beneath his feet suddenly squirmed and softened.
The originally solid ground "awakened" like a living creature.
A swift figure pounced at him from the side.
But before it could reach Gauss.
Albenia, who had been on alert, sidestepped and swung her large axe, chopping heavily into its body.
"Thwack!" Dark green blood sprayed from the wound.
Albenia's charged attack wasn't something any random creature could withstand,
Even Gauss couldn't take it head-on without proper preparation.
Gauss glanced briefly at the enemy split in two by Albenia.
It seemed to be a humanoid creature.
Wrapped in filthy rags.
And its appearance seemed to sound a horn, as humanoid monsters crawled out from underground, surrounding everyone from all directions.
Zombies?
They seemed somewhat different though.
Gauss waved his hand and summoned several Clay Constructs.
"These guys are all yours."
He turned his gaze toward the house before him.
At this moment, the entire house had collapsed.
An ugly red head was rising from the ruins, her fragile skin had disappeared, replaced by red facial muscles exposed to the air and clearly visible bones.
Her sparse pale hair remained, spreading in the air, with several strands of energy threads emitting black smoke drifting below her neck.
Now, even though the skin on her face had been stripped away by Gauss's extremely violent punch, Gauss could still see the undisguised resentment and hatred beneath her twisted face.
"You... how dare you destroy my body!"
The old witch roared.
She truly hadn't expected Gauss's sneak attack to come so suddenly, resulting in her head being directly hammered off.
Although her life energy was mainly concentrated in her brain, and her bones had been specially reinforced so she didn't die instantly from that punch, that monstrous fist still left her dizzy and disoriented.
"Cunning little brat!"
Staring at Gauss's pure, flawless robe, the witch still felt some annoyance.
Gauss stared at the flying head.
Flying head demon?
The floating witch's head made him think of a certain fantasy horror creature from his previous life.
"Pity, I didn't kill you with that punch." He sighed with some regret.
Normally, a human spellcaster receiving his full-power sneak attack at close range would have almost no chance of survival.
But, could the creature before him still be considered human?
Gauss didn't think so.
Therefore, she couldn't be judged by ordinary spellcaster standards.
Gauss narrowed his eyes slightly.
Beneath the skin of her head seemed to be enveloped in a layer of black energy.
It was precisely this layer of black energy and steel-like bones that provided solid protection.
Could Fireball melt it?
Gauss wasn't sure, and more importantly, there was the victim Shadow discovered underground.
He couldn't risk Fireball collapsing the cellar below.
While thinking, Gauss's body lifted off the ground with Fly enhancement.
The White Wand quietly appeared in his hand.
As the wand tip aimed at the head.
Eight consecutive Magic Missiles instantly shot out simultaneously.
Breath casting was good, but it had its drawbacks. Since spell preparation occurred inside the body, even with his enhanced physique, frequently releasing spells in a short time would increase the burden on his body.
So for rapid firing, he still used traditional wand casting.
Azure blue light balls traced through the air, locking onto the floating head.
"?"
Several of Gauss's Magic Missiles passed by her head.
It seemed a special force was pushing the magic projectiles away one by one.
This was the first time Gauss encountered such a situation.
But he quickly adjusted, his mind rapidly analyzing.
Although he didn't understand the principle, it seemed she had both high physical resistance and a layer of magical resistance.
"You've truly angered me, little mage."
The old witch said ominously.
Even now, with her head knocked off, she still maintained considerable confidence.
Where does your confidence come from?
Gauss didn't sense particularly strong magical energy from her head.
This was also why he remained relatively at ease.
His mana perception suggested he had several times more than her.
Considering her aged and weakened appearance, although possessing abilities similar to a "flying head demon," it was normal for her magic to decline due to old age.
He had many cards to play, while she seemed to have none left.
Isn't she afraid of me?
Even her evil "puppet" helpers wouldn't last long under the siege of Albenia and the others.
If not for uncertainty about the witch's backup plan, he would have continued close-quarters combat.
That sneak attack punch, while not killing her directly, had clearly made her quite uncomfortable.
While Gauss was pondering.
The witch shook her head, seeming to finally recover from the earlier concussion.
"Although you hurt me... what an excellent body."
She stuck out her tongue, her eyes continuously examining Gauss's healthy body, practically drooling with desire.
She had personally experienced the power of that physique earlier.
Possessing warrior-like robust physique while mastering extremely unique casting methods.
Does he have some special bloodline?
She licked her lips.
Originally she thought little Abby was the perfect body, but now it seemed that compared to the young man before her, it was completely insignificant.
She was truly tempted.
But occupying a male body would cause severe soul and body rejection after the procedure. The most serious time, she almost died from side effects, which was why she almost exclusively took over female bodies.
Yet, even with such heavy consequences, it couldn't extinguish her "fondness" for the man before her.
A voice like a devil's temptation kept telling her in her mind.
If she successfully seized that body, all her troubles - whether aging speed or strength bottlenecks - would be resolved.
As long as she became him, everything would be fine...
She must obtain this man! Must!
As she thought, her eyes gradually turned red, like a starving wolf seeing a bloody piece of fresh meat.
This thought gradually occupied her mind, creating an urgent craving she couldn't bear to wait even a moment.
While she was lost in fantasy, Gauss continued spitting out Cloud of Daggers.
The dagger cloud enveloped the witch's head, the rapidly intersecting energy daggers continuously passing through her. Although they caused no damage, Gauss observed the black energy on her surface vibrating in defense.
This indicated the special energy was being rapidly consumed.
So there was a limit to the protection. He thought to himself.
Wizards' abilities were famously unpredictable. Not knowing what tricks the witch had up her sleeve, Gauss wasn't prepared to get close to her yet.
The way she looked at him was very creepy, as if she wanted to devour him.
For safety reasons, Gauss decided to continue using Fly and long-range spells for kiting.
If necessary, relying on his massive mana, rapid energy recovery, deft spellcasting, and mobility could wear down her protective black energy.
Facing Gauss's attacks aimed at her face, the witch no longer showed anger. Instead, her eyes became very gentle, nodding with satisfaction from time to time.
"You have a lot of mana?" the witch asked.
"Enough to grind you down." Gauss hovered in the air.
Continuing to calmly release spells, Magic Missiles and Fire Bolts were thrown out as if mana was unlimited.
These two spells had the highest proficiency, offering the best effect for the same mana cost.
In fact, with these two spells, he could almost achieve zero consumption, as he was chewing pre-prepared food in his mouth.
Of course, there was still consumption - from Fly.
Dark purple arrows also began condensing around the witch.
He relied on Fly's mobility to nimbly dodge some in the air.
The rest were neutralized by Gauss Barrier and robe protection.
Both seemed to be testing each other.
Gauss glanced at the black stains appearing on his Moonlight Robe, left by the witch's dark energy arrows.
Not self-cleaned?
Gauss thoughtfully withdrew his gaze.
Controlling his body in the air, he precisely avoided the arrow attacks again.
His Fly had become quite proficient after recent extended practice.
"Your mana is running low, isn't it?"
Gauss dodged the arrows and asked calmly.
The witch's mana was already less than his, and obviously, with just a head, she didn't possess rapid recovery like him.
Unless facing opponents who completely outclassed him, he didn't think anyone could beat him in a spell attrition battle.
His magical abilities were simply too uniquely gifted.
"Enough, hehehe."
The witch emitted a triumphant laugh.
Perhaps feeling the timing was right, the delight she conveyed was almost impossible to hide.
After Gauss dodged another attack.
The witch stopped casting.
The next moment, the black energy around her head grew denser.
Indeed, it wasn't mana, but...
Gauss became more certain.
"Boom!"
The witch's head erupted with black light.
Simultaneously, that lone eerie head closed the distance toward Gauss as if teleporting through the air.
"Your body belongs to me now!!!"
The head suddenly appeared above Gauss.
Her jaw snapped open, revealing a bloody maw.
Instantly, waves of invisible special energy like raging tides, accompanied by the witch's sharp scream, completely enveloped Gauss's body!
Not sonic magic attack, but a force both familiar and unfamiliar to Gauss.
This wasn't physical impact, nor magical turbulence, but a direct assault on the consciousness core, shaking the very foundation of life - a soul attack.
The witch's eyes flashed with determined madness.
She seemed to see the soul within this flawless body before her shaken and scattered by her attack, allowing her to easily take this ownerless body and escape.
Once the brain transplant surgery was completed.
She would embark on a path to heaven.
She would steal this body's extraordinary magical affinity talent, break through level bottlenecks, and never have to change bodies frequently like a hermit crab again.
Hehehe!
However-
Thump.
Her contemplating mind suddenly surged with intense, heart-piercing pain.
The invisible wave that could instantly turn ordinary professionals into idiots or even cause soul collapse, when approaching Gauss, seemed to crash against an indestructible reef.
"You?"
Gauss's calm gaze met the witch's panicked eyes.
Coincidentally, he also had some research on soul usage.
Could this be considered... colleagues meeting?
"I think... perhaps we can exchange some insights."
Gauss's face remained expressionless, merely clenching his fist.
During the witch's continuous testing earlier, he had vaguely guessed her trump card.
His initial punch, which took the witch so long to recover from, didn't rely entirely on power output. Part of the credit went to the extremely subtle soul attack hidden within the energy wrapped around his fist.
As coincidence would have it, that bit of soul effect acting on the protection beneath the witch's skin, combined with the solid physical impact, created the stunning effect.
But because that soul impact was hidden beneath the more direct, violent physical strike, neither he nor the witch had noticed it at the time.