I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 352: Battle Success

Gauss felt that cold, dark energy flowing from the Ogre Leader's body was rapidly merging with the Ghost-transformation Bloodline within his own body.Even though he had just finished an intense battle, he didn't feel tired. On the contrary, the influx of this energy made him feel incredibly full.

This also allowed him to finally let out a long sigh of relief.

After all, every time he used the Ghost Form together with the Sturdy Scale Bloodline state, there were often severe side effects after deactivating them.

But now, it seemed at least it wouldn't be as serious as the previous few times.

He glanced at the Ogre Leader that had just crashed to the ground.

The dust settled.

It lay on the ground, its body convulsing violently.

Each spasm was accompanied by a gush of blue-black foul blood oozing from the terrifying, bowl-sized wound on its back.

The energy within its body had completely gone berserk and out of control.

The Purification energy Gauss had injected was still surging wildly inside it.

He reached out and recalled that Godwater, then lightly raised his palm.

Scorching hot mana slowly gathered in his palm.

"Fireball!"

"Boom!"

A massive, blazing fireball erupted from the Ogre Leader's corpse.

Gauss hovered in mid-air, his pale hair swaying in the heat waves.

After everything was over, he quietly looked down at the burning remains of the giant beast below, his gaze calm and unruffled.

"Commander-level Monster Ogre Leader (Ghost-transformation) *1 has been killed."

Only when the Monster Encyclopedia popped up with that prompt did the massive boulder in his heart finally settle.

He had finally killed this powerful enemy.

Not counting Cecilia, the Dragon Priestess of the Dragon Worshipers he encountered outside Longdi Fort, this Ogre Leader was probably the strongest opponent Gauss had ever fought so far.

Don't be fooled by how short this battle lasted, and that the true deciding factor was only that "divine hand" moment, but the combat process was extremely perilous.

If he hadn't been focused enough, if his reactions weren't fast enough, he might have already been chopped into mincemeat by his opponent.

However, many real battles are often like this.

You just need to seize the opportunity, often a few moves or techniques are enough to kill your opponent.

Clearly, Gauss, who was at a disadvantage in terms of raw strength, was the one who seized that opportunity.

He slowly deactivated the Ghost Form and the Sturdy Scale Bloodline.

An intense wave of weakness surged from the depths of his body the moment he deactivated them.

Gauss's figure flying in the sky swayed a couple of times, but ultimately stabilized.

His muscles were still somewhat sore, but it was far from reaching the point of exhaustion.

"Charge!!!!"

His gaze turned towards the distance.

Sir Belock, leading the defense of the city, was charging forward with a contingent of elite cavalry.

The scene of Gauss piercing through and killing the Ogre Leader in the sky had been witnessed by many monsters on the ground.

This caused the monster army's morale to instantly collapse, panic spreading through the beast horde like a plague.

Even though organizing a resistance might still have offered a sliver of hope, they instead scrambled to turn and flee.

Only a group of Elite Ogres were still putting up a desperate last stand, roaring commands for their subordinates to keep fighting.

But facing a formation that had already disintegrated, their orders were useless now.

In fact, when these monster leaders looked towards the human still floating in the sky, a trace of fear and terror flashed deep within their pupils.

Their leader, such a powerful monster, had died at the hands of that seemingly frail human. If that white Grim Reaper turned his spearhead towards them, it would probably be even more devastating and overwhelming.

"Run!"

The Green Dragon Queen's authority, the tribe's glory, all became worthless in this moment.

Gauss sensed the small amount of mana remaining in his body, then tossed a few more fireballs into several areas where monsters were most densely packed, harvesting some monster heads.

On the outer edges of the battlefield, the human army's momentum was like a rainbow, launching the final victorious charge.

Hooves trampled mud and monster corpses, spears and sabers glinted coldly under the firelight, crashing fiercely into the fleeing monster horde.

This was no longer a battle, but a one-sided slaughter and pursuit.

The monster army, having lost its leader's command and its morale, was utterly helpless against the organized, disciplined cavalry charge, falling in droves.

Gauss slowly descended to the ground, his feet landing on scorched earth that was still warm.

Serlandul rushed to his side, reaching out to support him.

He looked at Gauss, and upon sensing that his physical condition seemed better than after past instances, couldn't help but sigh in relief.

He then used healing magic to repair the damaged tendons within Gauss's body.

"The battle is won."

Gauss didn't move anymore, calmly accepting Serlandul's treatment.

The mana within his body had been completely drained.

Moreover, he had killed enough enemies tonight; it was time to rest a bit.

The night breeze brushed past, the sounds of shouting and killing still continuing on the battlefield.

Soon, a squad of cavalry surrounded Gauss, who was receiving treatment, to protect him.

Ensuring he wouldn't be harmed by monsters.

Of course, this was obviously unnecessary, because those monsters saw him as a demon god, fleeing in fear was all they could think of, why would they actively approach.

Sir Belock's cavalry had already driven the fleeing monsters far away, sporadic resistance was quickly snuffed out, and the battlefield was littered with monster corpses everywhere.

However, Sir Belock himself did not continue the pursuit. Instead, he led a portion of the cavalry back, riding directly towards Gauss's location.

The dull thud of hooves in the mud soon approached.

The old knight dismounted. His armor was covered in marks from blades and axes.

After arriving before Gauss, he lifted his visor, revealing a face slightly flushed with excitement.

Clearly, tonight's battle was a great victory.

Even though the monster army led by the ogres had breached the walls and killed many soldiers, militiamen, and adventurers during the attack and defense, the monsters paid an even heavier price, and they had successfully defended Grayrock Town.

Four thousand human troops, a significant portion of which were filler militiamen and logistical personnel, had stubbornly resisted a monster army several times their size. Even though the defending side held the advantage, it was by no means easy, because the advantage provided by the walls was actually limited. Otherwise, the walls wouldn't have been breached in several places not long after the battle erupted.

Of course, Belock knew the biggest contributor to this battle's victory was this squad that raided the monster army's command tent, especially this seemingly young man before him.

During the charge, he had also noticed the massive commotion from Gauss's fight.

He originally wanted to rush to support, but before he could even ride over, the battle had already drawn its curtain.

"Lord Gauss!"

"Please accept my most sincere gratitude! Thank you for slaying that monster leader, saving this town and the countless civilians behind it!"

"You flatter me, Sir. It was my duty." Gauss's tone was relatively calm, not claiming all the credit for himself. "It was also thanks to your army's soldiers launching flanking assaults, fighting bloody battles that tied down a lot of their forces, that I could find the opportunity to penetrate deep into their ranks so smoothly."

Sir Belock shook his head with a smile. He knew this opportunity wasn't as simple as Gauss made it sound.

A monster leader commanding such a massive monster army must possess formidable strength.

Gauss single-handedly slaying the leader, single-handedly crushing the enemy's morale, was the key to turning the tide of the battle.

Everyone present witnessed this contribution.

The morning light was faint.

When the first rays of morning sunlight spilled from the horizon.

The town residents who had spent the entire night in fear and anxiety slowly filed out of the vaults in lines.

"The battle is won!"

"Grayrock Town is safe!"

Soon, the civilians leaving the vaults heard this heartening good news from other soldiers and adventurers.

The human defenders had held the city.

These civilians no longer had to worry about the town being breached and suffering monster slaughter, or being forced to leave their hometowns and abandon this familiar town to start over.

Although Grayrock Town wasn't particularly prosperous, many had lived here for years, long accustomed to the environment. They had jobs and houses in the town. If forced to leave, it would mean half a lifetime's efforts going down the drain.

'Three! Two! One! Heave!"

On the streets, soldiers were working together to lift shattered boulders embedded in the ground, loading them onto carts.

While the town residents hadn't personally experienced last night's battle, they could sense its intensity and danger through these ruins, congealed bloodstains, and scattered weapons.

"Morgan!!!"

"It's so good to see you're alright!"

A couple embraced each other, wishing they could merge into one body.

The man named Morgan wore leather armor that didn't fit quite right, clearly a militiaman.

After searching for a long time, his wife saw her beloved safe and sound, finally unable to contain her emotions, weeping tears of joy.

Of course, besides soldiers like Morgan who survived, in many corners, suppressed sobs and cries of despair echoed.

At the edge of the square temporarily serving as a morgue, some residents tremblingly lifted the coarse burlap covering the faces of the fallen. Upon seeing familiar faces, they immediately collapsed to the ground, letting out heart-wrenching wails.

Some children looked blankly at their father covered by a white cloth, their age perhaps not yet understanding the profound meaning of death.

There were also young wives, white-haired parents covering their faces, shoulders shaking violently, sobbing with hoarse voices.

Even though this was a great victory, its cost was still so heavy.

The city gates slowly opened.

"Woo woo!!!"

The horn sounded.

Knights clad in armor, covered in bloodstains, rode their horses slowly into the town.

"Clip-clop————clip-clop———"

The sound of hooves shattered the morning silence, attracting everyone's gaze.

The knight at the front of the column straightened his back.

Behind them were their comrades lying on flat carts.

The cavalry that went out, especially the first group that exited the city to draw fire from the flanks, allowing Gauss and the others to penetrate deep into the enemy camp, suffered significant casualties.

But unlike the militiamen, the families of these professional soldiers were not in the town.

On both sides of the street, residents clearing debris and moving stones slowly straightened their backs, looking up silently at this returning army.

Gauss and the others were in the middle of the column.

Besides Aria and the others beside him were Sir Belock and Chairman Eberhard.

His gaze swept over both sides of the street, passing over those unfamiliar, heavy faces, over the ruins and bloodstains, his expression suddenly becoming somewhat dazed.

"Brother!"

Suddenly, a clear, cheerful shout came from the crowd.

He looked over and saw it was his little sister Xisero, being held up by their eldest brother, waving at him.

"Go ahead."

Sir Belock signaled this great contributor to act as he pleased.

"Thank you."

Gauss and the others left the column and went to their family's side.

His family looked him up and down, confirming he was unharmed, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Brother, you're not hurt, are you?"

"Xisero was so worried she couldn't sleep all night."

"They said you went to fight a very scary enemy."

Xisero hugged Gauss's neck, leaning close to his ear, asking softly with concern.

"Brother is fine."

"Everyone came back safely."

Gauss rubbed her head.

Beneath her excited expression, dark circles were under her eyes, clearly having stayed up all night.

"But... brother, you smell really bad."

Xisero leaned in closer, sniffed Gauss again, then couldn't help but complain.

"Hurry home and take a bath."

"Okay, okay."

Gauss really hadn't had the energy to pay attention to these minor details before.

Last night, after receiving brief treatment from Serlandul, Gauss, having recovered some stamina and mana, couldn't resist participating in the subsequent mopping-up operations.

Only after ensuring there were no remnants of enemy forces in the vast area outside the town did they gather and return to the town.

Under the respectful gazes of others, Gauss and the others hurried towards their home.

"Total monsters killed: 15111"

During last night's battle, Gauss killed over three thousand monsters in total.

The vast majority died from his fireballs, the continuously released Thousand Threads Severing Boundary during the raid on the command tent, and subsequent joint kills with his teammates.

Of course, besides these three thousand-plus monsters, he also killed two Commander-level Wyverns and one Commander-level Ogre.

Especially the latter, which was the watershed moment that turned the tide of the battle.

He immersed himself in the steamy bathtub, silently gazing at the Adventurer's Manual.

Although the battle lasted only one night, the harvest was plentiful.

First was the reward unlocked upon reaching the fifteen thousand kill total.

"Total monsters killed: 15111/15000"

"Reward obtained: 30 Commander Points."

"Reward obtained: 4th-circle spell 【Ice Storm】"

Besides this reward, due to killing a large number of monsters, the talent 【Encountering Evil Hour】 also dropped some rewards.

"Skill: Beast's Breath."

"Skill: Sprint."

"Skill: Body Enlargement."

Among these, Gauss didn't know which minor monsters the first two skills dropped from.

Because they died in large swathes, there was no way to distinguish the source.

The last one he did pay special attention to; it was obtained after he killed that Ogre Leader (Ghost-transformation).

It should be the ability it used in battle.

Its normal size was only a little over three meters, but during the fight it suddenly increased to ten meters in height, causing Gauss quite a bit of extra trouble.

"Body Enlargement."

He stared at this skill.

This ability would undoubtedly enhance his close combat capabilities somewhat.

However, bigger size isn't always better. He would need to test this skill's effects in subsequent practice and actual combat.

The skill: Beast's Breath, allowed him to recover a portion of stamina and muscular strength during combat through a special breathing posture, but it consumed more of the stored energy within his body.

Besides these, he also obtained 35 Commander Points.

10 of those were rewarded for killing the first Wyvern, 5 for the second Wyvern, showing a pattern of diminishing returns.

The final 20 were provided by that Ogre Leader (Ghost-transformation).

Adding the 30 Commander Points from the fifteen thousand kill reward.

He now possessed a total of 65 Commander Points.

I wonder if it's enough to upgrade the blue-quality racial talent to purple quality?

Gauss looked at his attribute panel.