I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 469: Shedding Mortal Form

Perhaps because the terrain was so open, Gauss felt that today's wind was even more boisterous than usual.It carried a faint, rancid stench.

In the distance of his sight, the first wave of the monster flood had already reached ten miles from the city wall.

This was already within the attack range of the magic cannons. If it had been the battlefield on the first day, one would have seen enormous orbs of light fired from the magic cannons exploding across the plain, swallowing hundreds of lives.

But now, only rows of vigilant gazes lined the city wall.

Even if a few magic cannons could still be put to work, the human high command was unwilling to risk them being destroyed just to wipe out some irrelevant monster cannon fodder.

The low-level combat power on the monster side was far cheaper than humans had imagined.

So much so that, over these past few days, many couldn't help but wonder if the monster's waging of this war also served to cull the overly dense wild monster populations within their own territory.

While a large number of low-level monsters would birth more powerful individuals through the ordinary struggle for survival, it also sharply intensified the competition for resources within the Monster Nation.

In recent years, a massive number of monsters crossing the long border into the human kingdom was the best evidence of this.

They burned, killed, and looted, plundering the increasingly scarce resources from the Royal Land, like a swarm of locusts passing through.

And now, the battlefield before him seemed to make this scene tangible.

"Truly spectacular."

Ten miles was a distance neither close nor far. With Gauss's perception, he could clearly make out the races and sizes of those monsters.

However, the main force of tens of thousands of monsters surged toward the city wall, while the number heading toward the pass where he was located was much smaller.

After some more time passed, when the first wave of the monster vanguard had crossed the five-mile mark, Gauss finally moved.

"Go."

He waved his hand, splashing out several large lumps of clay. The clay writhed rapidly in the air, shaping and solidifying.

With a heavy "thud" as they hit the ground, they had transformed into several relatively robust-looking Goblin Clay Giants.

Each possessed combat power around Level 5.

Gauss didn't expect them to kill high-level monsters; he just hoped they would slay more ordinary and elite monsters on the front line, increasing his Monster Encyclopedia count.

That was the benefit of a large battlefield. Just a single glance, and he had already spotted several monster species he hadn't yet acquired.

After issuing specific hunting instructions to the Goblin Clay Giants, Gauss withdrew his attention.

High in the clouds above, over a dozen figures circled and soared.

Couldn't hold back anymore, could they?

Although they flew extremely high, Gauss still caught them immediately.

He knew this must have been an arrangement by the Green Dragon Army's high command. He just didn't know what information they were gathering, or when they planned to send their main force to assassinate him, this audacious man.

A glimmer of anticipation flickered in Gauss's eyes as he gazed at the distant skyline.

The first wave of monsters quickly came charging from the large path behind the valley.

When these large-armed, thick-legged green-skinned tribesmen, clutching battered weapons in their hands, saw the several giant green-skinned beings blocking the valley entrance, their brains, which were no larger than a chicken egg, were filled with confusion.

Why were there strong ones of their own race here?

And, they looked so tall, so strong...

Something that made ordinary goblins extremely envious.

For ordinary goblins with low intelligence, being tall and robust was an absolute symbol of strength. The taller they were, the stronger they were.

And these giant brethren? Their elbows were thicker than the combined waists of two or three goblins.

"Careful!"

Among the monster group, there were also slightly smarter species. Gnolls, silently backing away, shouted warnings to their comrades. Although they didn't know if the language barrier between different races would convey the meaning accurately, at least the intent was there.

Before the other goblins could react, those few oversized goblins started moving.

Unlike their massive size, their movements and speed were as swift and explosive as cannon fire.

"Boom!"

The ground beneath their feet burst open without warning. Then, several huge bodies leaped high into the air, crossing tens of meters before crashing into the monster ranks.

The unfortunate souls directly beneath the Clay Goblins were crushed into several piles of sticky, mushy paste.

The shockwave, along with dozens of nearby monsters who couldn't dodge in time, was sent flying. They hurtled backward, smashing into the rock walls, their bodies quickly snapped in two by the immense impact force.

In the face of absolute power, life appeared so fragile.

"Fall back!"

"Shoot arrows!"

The few "beasts" were like tigers descending a mountain, slaughtering wantonly through the dense mob of monsters. The ordinary monsters blocking their path couldn't even act as a speed bump.

They charged and killed swiftly, closing in on the kill targets Gauss had assigned.

Those were all monster species Gauss hadn't yet accumulated in his Bestiary.

A few elite monsters, confident in their own strength, tried to use the cover of other monsters to severely wound these traitorous "goblins."

But when their spears, magic, and greatswords landed on those massive, unarmored bodies, causing far lighter injuries than expected—and the wounds rapidly "healed" in the blink of an eye—their expressions changed abruptly.

What in the world were these things?

For the vast majority of monsters, they had absolutely no exposure to niche magic like clay magic.

Moreover, Gauss's clay magic was different from ordinary summoning magic. Clay constructs were significantly more troublesome to deal with.

They were practically without weaknesses. As long as enough mana sustained their operation, they could rapidly repair any "damage" to their bodies at any time.

Gauss's Intelligence attribute had broken through 21 points. Besides granting the amazing ability of Future Sight, it also brought comprehensive improvements to other areas involving magic.

Take clay magic, for example. The intelligence level of the clay constructs Gauss now summoned was clearly much higher than before. Once given instructions, they could complete their goals at a low-intelligence level.

This was also why Gauss could completely withdraw his mental focus from those Goblin Clay Giants.

Sensing they were under attack, the clay giants only glanced in the direction the attack came from, casually gathered strength to send a few nearby elite monsters flying, and then, ignoring the other elites farther away, continued charging rapidly toward their respective targets.

Completing Gauss's orders was their top priority.

It wasn't long before those few species mixed within the monster horde were casually swatted dead by the descending Goblin Giants.

Mudshell Fiend, Grass Leaf, Tunnel Talon...

Gauss's Monster Encyclopedia soon added three new ordinary monster species.

These three species weren't particularly powerful, and their chance of being encountered on human kingdom territory was slim, as they weren't species with strong reproductive capabilities.

They were likely brought along by the Green Dragon Queen's conscription officers.

From this perspective, the war was a good thing for Gauss. It had brought these niche monster species right to his doorstep. He just needed to notice them beforehand and then send his clay constructs to kill them effortlessly.

After killing these three new species, his ordinary monster encyclopedia count had reached 95 species, one step closer to the goal of 100.

However, compared to drawing talents from Transcendent monsters, he was now perhaps less enthusiastic about drawing low-tier Racial Talents.

After all, the former, once obtained, was a gold-quality Racial Talent. And with such an excellent prize pool and his mastery of a special Wishing Machine ability, he had a high chance of scoring a major jackpot.

As Gauss was pondering, the other adventurers hiding in various spots around the valley, taking advantage of the commotion the Goblin Clay Giants were causing in the monster horde, poked their heads out. From their elevated positions, they rained down arrows and spells.

"Boom!"

Boulders and rolling logs were pushed down from the hilltops. They rolled faster and faster, finally crashing down onto the monsters' heads, causing entire swaths of monsters to fall.

Don't underestimate these crude, primitive methods. In special terrain, the destruction and killing power they caused were stronger than many spells and weapons.

A swath of pure white moonlight drifted down like a silk ribbon above the valley.

It seemed beautiful and dreamy, but it was only when it landed on the monsters' bodies that its deadly nature was revealed.

The monsters shrouded in the moonlight quickly dissolved, their bodies dispersing like ash from burned embers at the slightest touch.

Combined with the relatively narrow natural corridor that forced the monsters to become denser, the effectiveness of Aria's moonblight magic was amplified many times over compared to usual.

High in the sky, seeing the humans act, the dozen or so Wyverns in the clouds finally descended.

A few of them couldn't wait and lunged towards Aria's direction.

Who could blame them? When she released her moonlight magic, she was so dazzling, like a bright moon shining over the battlefield. Even the Wyverns knew she was an elite among the humans and a priority target.

But before they could get close, Gauss, standing atop the fortress dome, raised his magic wand.

The tip of the wand silently aimed in their direction.

The next moment, the several Wyverns that had been diving downward at extreme speed instantly felt a primal, life-or-death tremor.

Sensing a lethal threat, they immediately tried to scatter like birds.

But it was too late.

The Dragon King's Progeny bloodline within Gauss surged, and his mana silently spiked.

If one looked closely, they would see that his originally light-blue, pure mana had transformed into a faint burnished-gold color, with golden, sand-like particles flickering within.

The same spell, cast by a dragon of a similar level, was far more powerful than when cast by a human spellcaster. It wasn't just a few percent increase, but a several-fold difference. Why was that?

The reason was that the mana flowing within a dragon's body was more refined. The principle behind Gauss's spells being more powerful than others was similar.

And now, with the purple-quality Dragon Breed upgraded to the gold-quality Dragon King's Progeny, this amplification effect was even more pronounced.

Gauss had noticed this a few days ago. He now found it much easier to perform heightened spellcasting.

Although theoretically, as one's understanding of magic and familiarity with specific spells deepened, any spellcaster could master the technique of heightened spellcasting, it was important to know that this was still a very profound art.

It required the spellcaster to have sufficient magical talent, be proficient enough with the spell, and meet specific level requirements.

For example, heightening a 1st circle spell to the 2nd circle allowed a 1st circle spell to achieve effects close to a 2nd circle spell.

However, among most people who mastered the heightening technique, the vast majority could only heighten by one circle.

If one wanted to heighten from 1st to 3rd circle, the difficulty increased exponentially. And even if one eventually succeeded, the effect might be disappointing, still a considerable distance from the effect of a true 3rd circle spell, and there would be various negative side effects.

Otherwise, spellcasters wouldn't bother spending effort and resources to acquire high-level magic matching their rank, then start learning and perfecting it from scratch. Wouldn't it be wiser to just keep using their originally mastered spells and heighten them?

This rule was no exception for Gauss. It was just that his upper limit was higher than that of ordinary spellcasters.

His usual practice was to heighten by two circles, raising his 1st circle Magic Missile to the 3rd circle. This was relatively easy for him. Actually, heightening it to the 4th circle was also possible, but even for Gauss, that was a bit of a stretch.

This would greatly increase the casting time for Magic Missile. Although the missile's power would increase, considering his missiles were more for a full-coverage area-of-effect bombardment, forcibly heightening to 4th circle was actually less cost-effective.

After his talent advanced, everything was different.

The first spell he experimented with was still his most familiar one: Magic Missile.

Actually, he had some inspiration back at the Dragon Lair. But the situation was urgent then, so he didn't have time to refine the prototype.

On his way back, while saving ordinary adventurers, he also studied the adjustments for enhancing Magic Missile.

After much trial and error, he successfully and perfectly integrated the amplifying power of Dragon King's Progeny into the Magic Missile system.

And now, this was the first time he was truly using the improved Magic Missile.

His White Wand began to glow with a white-gold light.

"Humm!"

In an instant imperceptible to others, a sublime force activated.

Because the distance was too great, to precisely strike the target, he also needed to apply a layer of World Rule power: Precision. This power helped Gauss lock onto agile enemies from extreme distances.

"The amplification of Dragon King's Progeny, the power of World Rule Precision, combined with a bit of my own magical talent."

After a brief moment, several clusters of heavy, pale-golden orbs condensed before Gauss.

The powerful fluctuations they emitted caused the very air to distort.

"Go!"

With a thought, he commanded.

In an instant, several golden missiles shot out, tracing breathtakingly beautiful, heart-stopping paths of light across the sky.

They were different from ordinary Magic Missiles. The difference wasn't just in color; their entire form had undergone a dramatic transformation.

In front of the light orbs extended something akin to a dragon-flame Tail of Flame, writhing flexibly. Once released, they could track and lock onto their enemies.

Now, although the Wyverns scattered in different directions, the homing missiles also dispersed individually.

The Wyverns nimbly evaded in the air, attempting maneuvers to shake off the threatening golden magic behind them. But no matter how they dodged, those damned missiles remained stubbornly locked onto their tails, rapidly closing the distance.

"Boom!"

In the end, the desperately fleeing Wyverns couldn't escape the golden-flame missiles. Several missiles instantly tore through their sturdy scale armor, burrowed deep into their bodies, and detonated. In a flash, they created massive, gaping holes in their bodies. Flesh and golden mana effects exploded together in the air, like a grand firework show.

Four Wyverns spiraled down from kilometers away in the sky, crashing like falling planes.

Even though they were Chieftain-level monsters, even though they were several kilometers away from Gauss, from the moment they were marked by that unavoidable magical bolt-arrow, their fate of death was already sealed.

With this improved Magic Missile, if Gauss didn't reveal it, no one would likely recognize it was just a mere 1st circle spell.

Two years ago, on that afternoon when Gauss first learned Magic Missile, the vision he had for this spell was finally realized at this moment.

The original small missile with a precise range of only a dozen or so meters had, like him, shed its mortal form and been elevated to this level.

Adjusting its power at will, becoming inescapable once the target was marked... It was even more powerful than he had originally imagined.

Seeing Gauss so quickly annihilate their kin from afar, the other Wyverns in the clouds were shaken. They dared not descend in altitude easily.

When facing other adventurers, maybe a height of a few dozen meters was a relatively safe distance. But facing the human standing atop the fortress, several kilometers were within his precision strike range.

However, just as Gauss thought those Wyverns had been scared witless, they suddenly, as if losing their minds, dove down in unison again.

"Coming to die?"

Gauss's current missile attack range still had its limits. But if they took the initiative to come closer, he wouldn't mind harvesting a few more flying monsters.

After all, from his conversation with the big-bearded Guildmaster, he knew it was precisely these highly mobile, high-level flying monsters that caused the human defenders the most trouble. Some high-level professionals wished to kill them but were limited by their lack of flight capabilities, rendering them helpless.

For every one he killed, he might reduce the number of human casualties by several hundred.

Just as Gauss was preparing to act, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura from the monster army further away.

A giant, multi-story-tall Centaur had begun its charge.

It held its spear forward, its entire body shrouded in a deep blue halo.

Too fast!

The very earth seemed to tremble under the trampling of this colossal war machine.

A variant Transcendent Centaur had joined the fray!

Seeing this, a faint smile curled at the corner of Gauss's mouth.

He hadn't expected that the opponent the Green Dragon Army sent to deal with him was the Leader Centaur he had briefly encountered before in Blackwater Town.

At that time, the Centaur's power had left a deep impression on him. He had fled without any ability to resist. If he hadn't caught it off guard with Space Magic, escaping smoothly wouldn't have been so simple.

One could only say, everything was for the best.

"Gauss, I need to go stop that Rotwing Drake. I might not be able to cover your side."

Guild Leader Monroe's voice came through.

"I can come over and support you," another voice said, rather eagerly.

The owner of that voice was Winston, the Guild Leader of the Iron Guard Knights.

"Thank you, but if it's just this Transcendent Centaur, I can handle it."

Gauss spoke into the communication device hanging around his neck, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the charging giant Centaur.

He certainly didn't want others interfering in his fight. This Centaur was already his prey.