The first ti they witnessed up close that majestic figure that made their entire bodies burn with fervor should have been a mont filled with honor for the Doghead People. But at this mont, this place was like hell.
Fire!
Everything in their field of vision was the high-temperature dragon fla hot enough to distort the air.
If they were contaminated by even the slightest bit, it would cling to their entire bodies like a venomous snake. No matter how the Doghead People rolled on the ground, it was useless.
Within re seconds, that terrifying dragon fla could burn them into piles of black ash.
"The dragon is here!"
"Run!"
Faced with the dragon and the threat of death, the Doghead People who had been muddle-headed and imrsed in their labor finally woke up. They threw down their mining picks one after another, scrambling and crawling to flee into the surrounding escape tunnels.
Gauss, sitting on the dragon's back, looked at the rapidly rising numbers on the Monster Encyclopedia, with no pity in his eyes.
"Doghead People killed *12"
"Doghead People killed *24"
"Doghead People killed *15"
"..."
Gauss watched the prompts constantly refreshing before his eyes.
He sighed inwardly, Hephaestus's killing power in specific terrain was still very strong.
Its dragon breath fla had beco much stronger compared to the beginning.
Not only had the temperature beco higher, but the duration had also beco longer, and it was difficult to extinguish.
It would continue burning until it reduced the target to ashes.
In the mine, as if sensing the chaos outside, more advanced Doghead People ran out from within.
Almost imdiately, they spotted the giant beast circling in the sky.
That dragon was so conspicuous, so beautiful.
If it weren't for the fact that the dragon was currently burning their ho, they might even have subconsciously felt the desire to prostrate themselves and worship.
"It's a Red Dragon!"
Seeing that figure clearly, these advanced Doghead People showed sowhat despairing expressions on their faces.
If it were any other creature, they might not have felt this pessimistic.
But why did it have to be a dragon?
"Prepare for battle!"
From the bewildered crowd of Doghead People, a short, elderly Doghead Person, holding a burning golden candle, floated out in a cross-legged sitting posture.
Its appearance seed to rekindle so hope in the other Doghead People.
Right, they still had their clan leader!
If it was the clan leader, perhaps...
However, what they didn't notice was that their own clan leader, looking at a certain figure on the back of the dragon in the sky, gradually had a grave expression.
The clansn only saw the terror of the drake that was setting the valley ablaze, but it knew that the master riding on its back was an even more terrifying threat.
Of course, it would not and could not say this to the clansn, otherwise they would only feel even more despair.
After taking a deep breath...
It looked at the leaders who had reorganized the clan's elite forces and couldn't help but shake its head inwardly.
These leaders had superficially regained so confidence, but in reality, each one was restless. It knew that the man and the dragon could only be dealt with by itself; this group of subordinates wouldn't be of much use.
Thinking of this, the fla of the burning golden candle in its hand suddenly blood.
Clusters of flas attached to its scale armor, making its short, small body also seem full of imposing aura.
Under the gaze of the clansn, it, carrying the hopes of many, slowly floated into the air.
Go, Clan Leader!
Go defeat that monster!
Pairs of hopeful eyes fell upon it.
Gauss, sitting on the dragon's back, was originally still directing Hephaestus to fly towards the direction where the Doghead People were most densely concentrated, when he suddenly noticed a figure floating up in the distance.
Under the gaze of his golden dragon pupils, it emitted a fairly decent mana fluctuation.
But... it was just a fairly decent level.
Without much thought of dealing with the other party, he continued activating his [Rider] talent, slaughtering the Doghead People below in perfect sync with Hephaestus.
Even if so Doghead People rolled down the hillside, luckily avoiding the dragon fla sweeping along the way, they would be locked onto by Gauss and killed with Magic Missiles.
Noticing that Gauss on the dragon's back glanced at it, then quickly looked away and threw himself back into slaughtering the Miner Doghead People, the Doghead People clan leader's eyes flashed with a trace of anger deep within; it felt the other's contempt.
It had ruled nearly three thousand Doghead People and had originally grown accustod to throwing its weight around. Now, suddenly encountering such disregard, the blazing anger in its chest quickly overwheld its caution towards the enemy's strength.
"You will pay the price for this!"
It lowered its head to look at the golden candle it held in its hands.
This was no ordinary candle.
It was a special magic item.
This item allowed it to unleash powerful flas at a smaller cost.
Unfortunately, each use brought significant wear and tear.
So, most of the ti, it used similar imitations to put on a show.
It had only brought out this divine artifact in a few battles, and without exception, each ti ended with its victory.
Those enemies worthy of it taking out the candle might have had considerable strength, but they all died from arrogance. Perhaps seeing it as old and frail, and a naturally timid and weak Doghead Person, they didn't muster their full concentration from the start. Only when it displayed strength far exceeding its appearance did they realize its power, but by then it was already too late.
And this was its ho turf.
Under its command, the Doghead People beside it quickly scattered.
"Hmph hmph hmph!"
As if imagining Gauss's miserable death in its mind, it snorted lightly in its heart.
Gauss in the sky knew nothing of this.
Of course, for him now, the priority of a Leader-level Doghead Person still couldn't compare to the larger number of Miner Doghead People below.
"Total monsters killed: 29212"
Like harvesting chives, the weak Doghead People were dying in large swathes.
The Red Dragon Hephaestus was full of imposing aura, especially combined with the purer dragon aura emanating from Gauss himself, which was even more authentic than that of the drake. The combination of the two was undoubtedly fatal to the Doghead People, who inherently worshipped dragons.
Gauss even suspected that if he hadn't co with the desire to kill, but instead adopted a "recruitnt" strategy towards the Doghead People, there was a chance these alien monsters might express submission to him, a human so pure he couldn't be purer.
At least the low-level Miner Doghead People would probably choose to submit.
After all, even among monsters, Doghead People were among the most opportunistic bunch.
And although monster Lords looked down on their combat power, for the sake of their mining skills, they often wouldn't exterminate them completely.
So, changes in the upper echelon masters were commonplace for the low-level Doghead People.
Unfortunately, Gauss could not beco a "Lord" of monsters.
That would make him a target of public criticism.
Amid his frenzied harvesting, the kill count was still rapidly rising.
"..."
"Total monsters killed: 29522"
"Total monsters killed: 29611"
This rapidly rising number wasn't solely his own achievent. Outside the valley, so Doghead People attempting to escape also encountered ambushes by Red Dragon Guild mbers guarding the exits.
On the surface, the proportion of kills shared with Gauss by the adventuring guild was around 20%, not a high level.
But in reality, it was far higher than this proportion, because Aria, Shadow, and his clay summons shared 100%, while Serlandul and Albenia shared 50%, all pulling up the overall proportion.
In his rough perception, this proportion was definitely above 60%.
As for those not shared, he didn't feel regretful.
After all, if those monsters weren't intercepted by the Red Dragon Guild mbers, they would likely have escaped, and that would be a real waste.
On a mound, Ivan felt his entire body burning with excitent.
His pupils had unconsciously beco lizard-like.
He lifted his head, looking at Gauss sitting on the dragon's back high above the distant valley, wantonly slaughtering monsters. A flash of awe appeared deep in his eyes.
"Is this the Guild Leader's strength?"
He finally understood why, before the operation began, Gauss only told the rest of them to guard the exits well, leaving the main battlefield inside entirely to him alone.
Initially, he had worried that Gauss was overconfident, but seeing the hellish scene before him.
The Doghead People had absolutely no ability to resist under the Red Dragon's breath and the Guild Leader's magic, and he realized his worry had been unnecessary.
The Guild Leader's strength far exceeded his imagination.
Perhaps, those inexperienced ordinary people might not know how incredible the scene before them was, but he was different. He himself was also a spellcaster, so he could better understand the terror hidden within Gauss's casual deanor.
Casting spells requires concentration. In an adventuring party, the spellcaster's role is often the one being protected.
The others in the team need to buy ti and space for the spellcaster to release spells.
But sitting on a dragon's back in a state of high-speed motion, where was the possibility to calm the mind? At least with his shallow understanding, it was impossible to achieve focus, let alone cast spells smoothly and lock onto every enemy with pinpoint accuracy.
Just thinking about it, he felt the difficulty was simply fantastical.
But the Guild Leader had done it. He sat on the dragon, releasing his signature rapid-fire Magic Missiles like a storm without changing his expression.
"So strong..."
Ivan swallowed hard.
Suddenly, a clamor of voices ca from below.
He looked down and saw several dozen Doghead People running over in panic.
They looked through the passageway towards the world outside the valley, a glimr of hope seeming to appear in their eyes.
"How could we let you leave?"
Ivan withdrew his attention from the Guild Leader. Although he still wanted to continue admiring the Guild Leader's elegant spellcasting artistry, his primary duty was key.
They wouldn't let a single Doghead Person leave this place.
"Aim!"
As he raised his arm.
The action group mbers who had been lying in ambush on both sides pressed the hard walnut stocks tightly against their shoulder sockets, cheeks pressed against the smooth wooden bodies, right eyes beginning to aim and stare at the many figures jogging towards them in the distance.
"Fire!"
At his command.
Everyone simultaneously pressed the tal triggers.
"Twang!"
The bowstrings made crisp sounds, propelling the crossbow bolts straight out. The arrows, with a whistling sound of cutting through the air, plunged into the Doghead People squad.
"Thud!" Almost instantly, those arrows pierced through the Doghead People's bodies.
The power of crossbow bolts was fatal to the vast majority of low-level monsters, not to ntion the passageway wasn't very wide to begin with. The Doghead People sward out, almost with no way to avoid them.
Blood blossod on the bodies of the Doghead People one after another.
Accompanied by screams, the Doghead People at the front fell down.
The Doghead People behind fell into inexplicable panic but didn't know where the enemy was coming from.
They wanted to turn back.
But the next mont.
"Burning Hands!"
Ivan released sheets of fla, igniting the oil that had been spread on the ground behind the Doghead People in advance.
The high-temperature flas blocked the Doghead People's retreat.
And the other action group mbers also seized this ti to complete the second batch of crossbow bolt loading and cocking.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
The sound of arrows cutting through the air ca again.
With everyone's cooperation, another batch of Doghead People fell.
"Acid Splash!"
Ivan also occasionally released deadly magic. Soon, these several dozen Doghead People were all killed.
"Hurry up and clear the battlefield."
"Drag all the corpses out."
After the brief battle ended, Ivan imdiately, without a mont's pause, commanded the other mbers to clear the corpses.
There were multiple factors why they could be so successful.
First, Gauss, the Guild Leader inside, had already scared the Doghead People out of their wits. Those who fled out had often already lost their fighting spirit, only wanting to escape.
Plus, they had set up an ambush in advance, occupying the advantage of terrain, unity, and the convenience of weapons and items, coupled with planning against the unprepared, thus creating this one-sided situation.
And...
Ivan looked down at his right hand tightly gripping his staff.
Casting spells felt too smooth.
So fluent that he himself felt unfamiliar.
He naturally wouldn't think he had suddenly beco enlightened.
He had been a spellcaster for many years and was quite familiar with his own strength and condition.
The only explanation for this change had to lie with the Red Dragon Guild, or rather, Guild Leader Gauss.
He had heard before that under the influence of a very few powerful individuals, there was a chance to erupt with stronger strength. The powerful could gather everyone's montum and boost the morale of their subordinates.
He never expected this was actually true.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Perhaps, joining the Red Dragon Guild would be the most correct decision of his life.
His gaze turned to the passageway that had already been cleared.
Even those originally hideous monsters seed to have beco amiable. He waited for the next group of monsters fleeing out to practice his magic.
"Fireball!"
As Gauss discovered a group of Doghead People's hiding place, he decisively released a Fireball, burying the nurous Doghead People within the cave.
"Total monsters killed: 30055"
The total monster kill count instantly crossed the thirty thousand threshold.
"Total monsters killed: 30055/30000, achieved the 30000 kills milestone achievent."
"Reward obtained: 4th-circle Illusion spell [Realistic Illusion]"
"Reward obtained: 3rd-circle Conjuration spell [Call Lightning]"
"Reward obtained: Strength 1, Intelligence 1, Charisma 1."
Strength: 15-16
Agility: 15
Constitution: 16
Intelligence: 18-19
Perception: 15
Charisma: 15-16
"Obtained professional feat [Spell Mastery] advanced to [Greater Spell Mastery]."
"Next stage: Total monsters killed reaches 50,000."
Upon reaching thirty thousand kills, many lines of text flashed before Gauss's eyes as usual.
Then a brand new power surged within his body.
To his delight, among the three attributes increased this ti, there was Intelligence.
Among the various attributes, Intelligence undoubtedly provided the greatest overall boost to his strength.
He felt the agitation of mana throughout his body, a fresh stream of mana continuously appearing.
"Really good."
After sensing the changes in his body, Gauss let out a long sigh.
It was worth his earlier full-force killing of ordinary Doghead People to quickly gather the total thirty thousand kills.
Hephaestus had now soared into the high sky, so the surroundings were relatively safe.
Moreover, that elderly Doghead Person had been hiding in the shadows, but that didn't an Gauss had neglected to pay attention to it. It seed to be preparing so kind of ritual spell.
Gauss glanced at the other rewards.
He had encountered Realistic Illusion before, though it was cast at him by an opponent.
It was a powerful illusion capable of dealing real damage.
Its power depended on the mana Gauss invested and the realism of the illusion constructed by his ntal power.
And as everyone knew, his ntal power had always been exceptionally strong, so this 4th-circle spell was actually very suitable for him.
Call Lightning also needed no introduction. Its effect was just as its na suggested: summoning a thundercloud, then calling down lightning strikes.
The final reward was [Spell Mastery] advancing to [Greater Spell Mastery].
He indeed felt sothing different deep in his consciousness, especially when thinking about the spells he had mastered. A continuous stream of inspiration was welling up.
Thirty thousand kills brought Gauss a great harvest.
However, he didn't remain imrsed in experiencing these rewards for too long. Instead, he had Hephaestus descend towards the mining valley.
If he stayed out of combat for too long, whether the Doghead People gathered together to form a combined force or accelerated their escape towards the valley's exits, it wouldn't be good news for him and the Red Dragon Guild.
"It's ti to finish you off."
When Gauss rode the dragon down again, the elderly Doghead People leader in the distance, whose face had shown slight anxiety, finally revealed a sowhat excited smile.
Gauss lowered his gaze. Beneath him, the entire valley began to emit a red glow, like a giant magical formation.
Is this the thod you prepared?
Gauss's gaze t that of the Doghead People leader across the vast distance.
Clusters of flas flew towards him from the valley like birds, like inverted rain.
Gauss sensed the fierce mana contained within them and only slightly furrowed his brows.
Then his gaze slowly focused on the golden candle the Doghead People leader was carefully holding in its hands.
Even from such a great distance, he could sense a familiar fluctuation from it.
It was a noble, sacred aura.
Could it contain divine material?
Gauss guessed in his heart.
Who would have thought that an unremarkable-looking Doghead People leader would have such a good item?
He shook his head, thinking.
No, now this was his candle.
Imdiately, he noticed that as the Doghead Person continued to release the sky-filling firebird spell, the divine material within the candle was gradually depleting.
Detecting this phenonon, Gauss's eyes instantly turned serious.
He couldn't let it continue wasting it any longer; he had to retrieve it imdiately.
Blue light flashed, and Gauss directly vanished from the dragon's back.
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