I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 457: After Gauss Leaves

After completing the blockade on Meteor Swarm, the battle in the sky officially erupted.Under normal circumstances, if Dira's true body had arrived in person, Elijah Karos and the others, despite their numerical advantage, would have had to immediately find a way to flee in all directions.

Great Demons with seats on the council all possessed Legendary combat power and could easily crush non-Legendary individuals.

But what descended here was merely a descent body after all, and many of its techniques could not be fully utilized. Coupled with the fact that the teleportation trio worked seamlessly together and had long prepared for a Great Demon's descent, they were not without a fighting chance.

The three exchanged glances, and there was no sign of retreat in their eyes.

Those who could become Epic-level experts were no ordinary people; they could not be easily intimidated by Dira's fearsome reputation alone.

Seeing the eager looks in their eyes, a smile curled at the corner of Dira's lips.

For a Great Demon, finding a suitable opponent was not easy either.

Especially being deep in the heart of the Monster Kingdom, the only opponents she could usually match were her few colleagues.

And among them, there were a few freaks, so even she, as the 9th Seat, had to keep her distance.

After all, she craved sufficiently fierce battles, not a one-sided beating.

The other Great Demons were often in a state of secluded cultivation, forcing her to suppress her combative nature as well.

So, this time, when she heard that border conflicts had reignited, although her true body could not cross the border, she still volunteered to come to the front lines and take command.

"I hope you can bring me a bit more fun. Don't die too easily."

After saying this, she blinked out of the spot in an instant.

High Priest Milo Dalton reacted with lightning speed. Almost the moment the battle broke out, three holy flames were bestowed upon the three who did not already have blessings, aside from Elijah who was already boosted.

From the moment he heard Dira's name, he had been silently reciting and preparing.

At the same time, Elijah Karos slammed his golden scepter downward with force.

Instantly, his aura, along with that of Milo Dalton and Mabel Burns, was linked together.

If you looked closely, their Domains formed a solid triangular stance, like a tripod standing firm.

Although the three were of quite different ages—especially Mabel Burns, who hadn't even been born when he and Milo Dalton had already made a name for themselves, and when Milo Dalton served as High Priest, Elijah himself was just a brash youth—the synergy between this trio, despite their generational gap, was exceptional. That was why they often operated as a team.

Their Domains appeared independent but had no sense of conflict; instead, they merged into a seamless whole.

In the sky, it seemed as if a vast, ever-flowing golden kingdom had appeared.

This was also their greatest confidence in facing a possible Great Demon descent body without fear.

By combining their strength, their Domains reached a higher level, and they could not be broken one by one. Any attack would be simultaneously shared among the three.

Dira's voice rang out.

"Decree of Exhaustion!"

In an instant, countless pale torrents poured down from above, their momentum overwhelming.

The scene inside the majestic golden kingdom seemed to have been fast-forwarded. Pedestrians' faces gradually aged, and the splendid palaces, temples, streets, and markets began to collapse.

This was the clash of two completely different top-tier Epic Domains, grinding against each other.

The danger within was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Even a Transcendent expert, if caught here, would likely be crushed to dust in an instant.

But the next moment, buildings within the golden kingdom sprouted up again like mushrooms after rain.

The city gates swung wide open, and tens of thousands of golden phantom cavalry formed a torrent, charging toward the Great Demon in the sky.

On the other side, the Spellweaver Erich Xavier locked eyes with the Green Dragon Queen, both blazing with the light of hatred.

There was no need to elaborate on the Spellweaver's grievance; he carried the vengeance of his murdered wife and child. The Green Dragon Queen was equally full of resentment toward Erich.

In her smooth-sailing dragon life, she had rarely encountered a life-or-death crisis.

Clearly, the three human experts were invited by the man before her, forcing her to join the Demon race's ranks.

For an ordinary monster, becoming a demon might be the ultimate honor of a lifetime, but for a True Dragon, that was not the case.

On one hand, as a Border Lord, she originally enjoyed considerable autonomy, with absolute power over life and death within her territory. Even this war, she only cooperated because she saw profit. Now, having joined the Demon race, she would be part of the Demon King's army, lowering her status in name.

If other True Dragon Lords of the same rank found out, she would be laughed at by dragons.

On the other hand, what she feared most was this: everyone knew the Demon King's methods were unfathomable, and joining the Demon race carried the risk of being "brainwashed." The best example was the current Demon Council.

Whether it was the Great Demons with seats or the ordinary demon councilors, all were utterly loyal to the Demon King.

Could there really be nothing wrong with that?

But now, it was too late for her to say anything. To win the support of several powerful races, the Demon King would not forcibly conscript powerful faction creatures like True Dragons, Titan Bloodline Giants, Lichs, and others into the Demon race.

But if these creatures agreed to join on their own, that was another matter entirely.

Legendary individuals from these factions would not have much to say about it either; that was the power of nominal allegiance.

Moreover, Green Dragon Aetherass knew that under these circumstances, no Ancient Dragon among the Chromatic Dragons would stand up for her.

If it had been the more harmonious Metallic Dragons, it might have been possible. The Chromatic Dragons were all selfish creatures; they would only worry if the Demon King's excessive demands would affect them, and in that case, they might unite to resist. But in special circumstances, they would mostly turn a blind eye. There was no need to offend the mighty Demon King for an unfamiliar adult Green Dragon.

The Green Dragon Aetherass had nowhere to vent her pent-up frustration. She dared not direct it at the Demon King or the Great Demon Dira, and the three coordinated human Epic experts were clearly beyond her ability to defeat at the moment. So, she could only take it out on the originator, the Spellweaver.

"Die!"

Hundreds of dark green poisonous wyrms once again shot out from around her.

The Spellweaver Erich Xavier did not panic upon seeing this.

He was the one who understood Aetherass the best. Moreover, he now bore the blessing of an 18th-level High Priest's wish power. Additionally, although the Green Dragon seemed unspent, her momentum had actually been greatly shaken by that Meteor Swarm, which could have taken her life.

Momentum was an extremely important factor for Epic-level experts like them, often deciding the direction of victory or defeat.

The battle in the sky had become unknowable to those on the ground.

When the battle's level surpassed a certain threshold, ordinary people lacking sufficient strength could not even observe it.

Epic-level experts had too many means to isolate space, taking their battlefield to a special Domain.

Even the most primal, flesh-to-flesh physical combat would be too fast for the human eye to track.

Unless an Epic expert intentionally chose to massacre ordinary life forms; then it would be impossible not to see.

But at the moment, neither Elijah Karos's trio nor the Great Demon Dira had any interest in that. The Spellweaver's eyes were only on the Green Dragon. Perhaps the Green Dragon Aetherass would have wanted to slaughter ordinary soldiers, but she had been stripped of her Domain power, effectively disabling her most effective large-scale killing weapon. Moreover, she was bound by the Deception power, unable to evade the Spellweaver's attacks.

Thus, the battle split into two entirely different theaters.

Time passed in a flash, and several days went by.

As the war continued, the once lush plains were now riddled with deep and shallow craters.

In the near-ground sky, a flock of carrion-eating vultures and crows circled.

On the ground, dense swarms of flies hovered around the corpses.

Real war was not grand and magnificent. After shedding the initial tension and excitement, what quickly arrived was an emotion called numbness.

Every day, familiar people could die silently around you.

It was only when you came off the city wall shift and sat down for a meal that you realized the person who usually appeared in your field of vision had disappeared.

Wave after wave of attacks and defenses, beating back the monster army only for them to regroup and come again, seemingly endless.

As the monster army retreated like an ebbing tide, leaving behind a dense carpet of corpses, the Red Dragon Guild members breathed a sigh of relief. Upon receiving orders from the regional commander, the exhausted crowd slowly descended from the city wall.

Albenia steadied Aria, who was feeling a bit weak.

Aria had released too many spells at once, causing overconsumption. Her already fair skin now showed an unhealthy pallor.

"Are you alright, Aria?"

"Don't worry." Aria took a deep breath, waved her hand, and comforted the kind-hearted giant in the party.

"Just overused my natural power. I need to rest a bit. It's not a big problem."

After so many days of war, even the usually lively Aria had a weary look in her eyes.

Of course, beneath that weariness was an unshakable undercurrent of worry.

"It's been over ten days now..."

After stepping down the city wall steps, she suddenly turned to look toward the direction of the Emerald Forest beyond the wall and let out a cryptic sigh.

The others immediately understood what she meant.

Back when Gauss set out, he said that if all went smoothly, he should return within ten days.

At first, no one was too worried.

Ever since they had each joined the team, Gauss's display of strength had won them over.

There seemed to be a reassuring power about him, as if no matter what danger he faced, he could handle it with ease.

Whether it was the Red Dragon before it joined the team, the Transcendent Dragon Priestess, the one-man army outside Grayrock Town, or that terrifying centaur, nothing had ever brought him down.

So much so that they had developed a blind faith in Gauss's strength.

But as time passed, unease began to fester in their hearts.

No matter how reliable Gauss seemed, he was still only a young man in his early twenties, the youngest in the entire Red Dragon Guild.

If compared to ordinary adventurers outside, his peers might still be roaming around villages, facing off against a few goblins or slimes. But Gauss was now deep in an unknown human forbidden zone, completely alone.

What he might encounter was unknown to both the Guild's high-level members and Gauss himself before he left.

"Lord Gauss is so strong; he will surely turn misfortune into good fortune."

"Maybe he just got delayed by a detour."

"Or perhaps he hasn't found the lair of those dragon whelps yet and is still gathering intel."

They exchanged words back and forth, as if saying it a few more times would turn their guesses into reality.

Arriving at the Red Dragon Guild's camp.

Many wore expressions of fatigue and numbness.

"Another five dead."

Luna walked over to Aria and the others' campfire with a tray in hand, speaking softly.

Despite being assigned to a relatively safe zone for defense, casualties in the Red Dragon Guild were still inevitable.

A stray arrow, a spreading shockwave from above, or even falling from the city wall due to exhaustion could all take a life.

However, the Red Dragon Guild had not been without gains during this time. The war had tempered the team's spirit and cohesion, and many had made significant progress in their abilities through this bloody struggle.

Presumably, during a lull or after the war ended, many members would achieve breakthroughs.

Moreover, these past few days, many elite adventurers, either solo or from small teams, had come to join the Red Dragon Guild, drawn by its reputation. Those who could survive this dangerous battlefield usually possessed considerable strength and coordination.

It could be said that as long as they endured, the Red Dragon Guild would undergo a transformative breakthrough after the war's baptism—both in overall strength and reputation.

They would leap from a mid-sized city adventuring guild, overtaking the curve, to join the ranks of large-scale adventuring guilds, completing a journey that would take other guilds ten or even decades.

"By the way, Serlandul, you need to control yourself."

"That was too dangerous just now."

The others looked worriedly at the half-snake person. If there was anyone in the team, besides Gauss who was out on a special commission alone, who caused the most concern, it was the half-snake person Serlandul.

Serlandul's strength had been growing rapidly these days.

Of course, that should be a good thing.

But the pace seemed a bit too fast.

Aria and the others had noticed several times that he would jump off the city wall alone, engaging in close combat with the numerous monsters below.

If they hadn't called out to him, waking his consciousness, they even suspected he would have charged straight at the main force of the monster army in one go.

This was no longer the behavior of a healer. In terms of bravery, he surpassed even a Berserker.

"I... I understand."

Serlandul paused for a moment in his speech, then closed his eyes and nodded.

He could naturally feel that increasingly wild power inside him.

Gauss's departure seemed to make the suppressed monster inside him stir restlessly again.

But on the other hand, he deeply understood the importance of having powerful strength during such a complex and chaotic time as war.

The monster inside could indeed allow him to unleash power far beyond what he normally possessed.

And he could sense that its potential was far from exhausted.

With Gauss temporarily gone, he felt he needed to step up and take on more responsibility.

He didn't want to hear bad news when Gauss returned.

In truth, he wasn't the only one with this anxiety. Aria and the others also frequently exhausted themselves to the point of collapse, constantly pouring various potions down their throats, trying to squeeze every last drop of potential from their bodies.

War, for geniuses, was also the best training ground.