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Chapter 217 : Setback
Chapter 217: Setback
Gauss felt his entire body surging with an unprecedented power.
In the state of the Hardened Scales Bloodline being activated, his body seemed to have been strengthened in every aspect.
「So this is... the power of a dragon？」
A string of words that had just appeared flashed across Gauss’s mind.
Ẃе̃bn̈ оv̌ е l Е ñ um а
A dragon was a rather broad concept.
In this world, dragons were not a single species, but rather a vast and complex genealogical system.
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Within this system, standing at the very top were, of course, the most powerful and relatively scarce true dragons, also known as the real dragons.
Whether chromatic dragons, metallic dragons, or other special dragon species, all possessed extremely high intelligence, long lifespans, and immense power.
As they grew older, their strength would increase, and their size, physical strength, spellcasting ability, and armor would all be significantly enhanced—becoming the race that stood at the top of the pyramid.
Below the true dragons were drakes, lesser dragons, and various other dragon-blooded creatures.
Е́ ń uṁ а̇. ǐ d
As Gauss knew, even among humans there existed half-dragons, dragonborn, or Dragonblood Warlocks as inheritors of such bloodlines.
It looked like his own racial talent was developing in that very direction...：
After sensing the changes in his body, Gauss glanced around.
All of this had happened in a flash, and now on the city wall before him, the flames of Burning Hands were still surging.
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The air was filled with the strange meaty aroma of scorched protein.
Especially from the Elite Monster Bear Fiend before him, the meat fragrance it released was particularly rich.
Ē n ů m̃ а̂ . і d́
The bear fiend had first been roasted by fire, and afterwards blasted by several Magic Missiles. Chunks of its flesh had been scattered in the explosions into fist-sized lumps, roasted to just the right degree—emitting a mix of burnt and tantalizing aromas.
This scent burrowed into Gauss’s nostrils, making his throat involuntarily roll twice, as a strong urge to eat surged up from his belly.
He stared fixedly at the chunks of meat on the ground.
Until a violent explosion rang out beside his ear, pulling his thoughts out of it.
He shook his head sharply, realizing his state was abnormal.
Gauss, Gauss, now is not the time to think about eating.
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He looked at his Energy Dragon Claw and the surging special bloodline power within his body, suddenly realizing that under the activated state of the 【Hardened Scales Bloodline】, it brought not only power but also a predator’s instinct hidden behind this power.
In plain words, in this state, his brain was starting to grow muscles.
Fortunately, his Intelligence attribute was high enough. After a brief daze, rationality quickly suppressed that beastly instinct.
「Roar！！」
From behind came a furious roar. Another bear fiend had climbed up the city wall, lunging at him from the rear.
Its enormous paw wrapped in energy stirred up a tearing gale as it swung fiercely toward the back of Gauss’s head.
Ėn̄ um̃а̊ . і̌d̊
Do not be fooled by its massive bulk—its grasp of timing was exceptionally precise, accurately seizing the moment Gauss was briefly stunned.
However, it still underestimated Gauss’s current reaction speed and battle instincts.
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If it had been before, Gauss would certainly have chosen to dodge, creating some distance from the bear fiend before attacking.
But at this moment, he made a new choice. The surging power within him and the suppressed hunting urge made him instinctively perform a completely different action.
He did not even fully turn. He merely stomped hard with his foot.
Boom！
Е̂ n u m а́
The packed earth beneath shattered. The explosive strength granted by the 【Hardened Scales Bloodline】 propelled him with near-savage speed. Covered in dense energy scales by the Gauss Force Field, his right hand—already twisted into the shape of a dragon claw—did not dodge but instead met the bear fiend’s giant paw head-on.
Bang！
A thunderous muffled crash, as though two massive boulders had slammed into each other.
Gauss’s body did not move an inch. Instead, the two- to three-meter-tall bear fiend let out a pained howl. Its paw, capable of smashing rocks, felt like it had struck solid steel, its arm bones going numb from the shock, forcing it to stumble back several steps.
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The originally rough and tough bear paw had even been punctured by the dragon claw, leaving a bloody mangled wound.
Fresh blood dripped from the dragon claw scales onto the ground.
Е̇ṅ ûmã
「So my strength really is this powerful！」 Gauss himself was surprised at the defense and power of his transformation.
To think—he had been ambushed, and his explosive power had not even been fully unleashed. He had merely reacted with instinct under that battle urge.
Was it because of the magical boost？
Feeling the magical effects constantly being released from the 【Gauss Force Field】, he faintly understood something.
This power did not come solely from his muscles and bones, but also because the 【Gauss Force Field】 interwove with magic, further amplifying this strength.
In other words, his current state was not simply martial arts, but rather a prototype of a magical body-art style.
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His thoughts flashed, returning to reality.
The bear fiend’s attack had been interrupted. Its massive frame now revealed the disadvantage of its size. The rebound force made it hard to control its body, leaving a huge opening.
Gauss quickly judged and, guided by his battle instincts, continued to act.
He exploded forward with a step, body darting ahead in an instant, not giving the bear fiend a chance to recover its stance.
In the bear fiend’s terrified gaze, his clawed right hand shot out like lightning. His five fingers curled slightly, claw tips flashing with sharp brilliance.
「Shrrraaakkk！！！」
Е́ nūm̊ а
Gauss’s hand pierced directly into the bear fiend’s chest cavity—like a triangular-pointed spike stabbing into a block of tofu, effortless.
Squelch！
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He pulled out his arm, a massive bear fiend heart torn out in his grasp. The crimson heart still beat vividly, its warmth and sticky feel throbbing in his palm. Gauss licked his lips and slipped the heart into his storage bag.
The bear fiend’s roar came to an abrupt halt. Terror and disbelief slowly faded from its bulging eyes until their light extinguished, and its massive body collapsed backward with a boom.
「Elite Monster Bear Fiend slain *1」
Another Elite Point gained.
Ѐň u ḿа̀
Gauss looked at the bear fiend he had slain in mere breaths, feeling even more the strength of the 【Hardened Scales Bloodline】.
Though both were blue-quality racial talents, compared with Fiend Form, this state’s speed and magical amplification were much weaker. But its strength and stamina were greater, and overall its energy consumption was less. In a 「standby」 state, it would not continuously drain energy like Fiend Form.
His gaze swept toward the distance.
Some soldiers were locked in melee with monsters scaling the wall.
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He thought briefly, then raised his White Wand with his left hand, casting several Fire Bolts, precisely picking off the small monsters.
Although its magical amplification was inferior to Fiend Form, with the 【Hardened Scales Bloodline】 activated, casting spells felt far smoother.
Ӗnuṁ а̇. iḋ
At the same time, the Clay Spider leapt forward.
Together they quickly cleared the remaining monsters.
The soldiers slumped against the battlements, glancing sideways toward where he stood, curious as to who had come to their aid.
As they turned their heads, they saw—through blazing firelight—a figure covered in glowing energy scales, one hand a dragon claw, slowly walking toward them.
He radiated a brutal aura like that of a ferocious beast.
Anyone caught in his gaze instinctively averted their eyes, not daring to meet it.
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As if...
As if the one approaching was not a human, but a humanoid drake.
Each step he took left shallow imprints in the ground. Fresh blood still dripping from his dragon claw scales fell onto the scorched earth with 「tap, tap」 sounds, unnervingly clear in the short lull of battle.
Several low-level adventurers and soldiers he had just saved instinctively tightened their grip on their weapons, bodies tense. This was a natural bodily reaction of vigilance in the presence of a powerful creature.
「You’re not hurt, are you？」
Only when Gauss spoke, his clear human voice breaking the tension, did the others feel their nerves ease slightly, replaced instead with deeper awe and gratitude.
W̊_е̌ḃ n̈ӧv̈e l Е́n̄ ù mă
「Th-thank you for your aid, my lord,」 a soldier who looked like a small squad leader gathered his courage to speak, his voice still hoarse with emotion.
Gauss gave a slight nod, his gaze moving past the soldiers, toward the inside and outside of the city wall.
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The monsters had already fully poured into the camp.
Adventurers from elsewhere were relying on the burning shantytown to engage in bloody battle against them.
Outside the walls, those elite monsters in the rear were also clashing with several figures.
Though the night was dark, the Hardened Scales Bloodline granted him a special vision that allowed him to sense life in the darkness, so he could clearly see the situation around him.
Wе b̄n ӧv̈е l É nù m̆а̇
Overall, it was not optimistic.
In this monster assault, the proportion of elite monsters was not small.
Under their leadership, those low-level monsters that usually looked utterly ordinary could also erupt with astonishing power.
「Can you still keep fighting？」 Gauss’s voice deepened slightly, even carrying a faint, barely noticeable resonance-like vibration.
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「Yes！ My lord！」 The weary soldiers struggled to stand upright, gripping their weapons once more.
「Then follow me,」 Gauss said in a low voice.
Ѐ.ṅu ḿ а . і̀ d
In such chaos, every additional man was another measure of strength. Moreover, these soldiers themselves had undergone strict training, and when effectively organized, they could still provide help.
「Understood！ My lord！」 Their tones carried faint excitement.
They could tell Gauss’s strength was far from ordinary. Acting under his lead was surely safer than grouping together in small clusters.
The soldiers followed Gauss’s steps with discipline, obeying his commands.
On the battlefield, overwhelming strength was always the best guarantee of authority.
Gauss charged at the front, relying on the destructive power of the Force Field Dragon Claw to smash through enemies. In his left hand, the White Wand unleashed instant Magic Missiles or Fire Bolts from time to time, accurately picking off distant foes and instantly rescuing soldiers or adventurers locked in desperate battle.
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Before long, he reunited with Arya and Serandur.
Because they had been reinforced earlier with the 【Gauss Force Field】, they were not injured—though inevitably stained with blood. Ulfen and Ike were the same.
「Gauss, you are...？」 Arya looked at Gauss’s energy scales and the obviously abnormal dragon claw on his right arm, momentarily dazed.
They had been apart only a few minutes, yet Gauss’s appearance had changed dramatically.
「You can think of it as a special type of spell,」 Gauss explained concisely.
Beside him, Serandur flicked out his serpent’s tongue, capturing the molecular traces of scent around Gauss.
Е n ù mа
His face showed an expression of realization.
No wonder he had vaguely smelled something both familiar and unfamiliar during the battle just now—it turned out the captain’s bloodline power had broken through once again.
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No matter how Gauss explained, Serandur already had the answer in his heart.
The aura Gauss released gave him a sense of contradiction—familiar closeness mixed with faint oppression.
It felt like a kind of suppression. The bloodline within his half-serpent body stirred uneasily.
「Let’s leave the wall first.」
W̄ eb̈ńо̀ vѐ l E n̊ǔm̄.а
Gauss spoke to his two companions.
As time passed, more and more people had unknowingly gathered behind him.
Among them were ordinary soldiers, adventurers, and even those who, following the crowd, silently joined the group after seeing others follow him.
「Alright.」
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The words had barely fallen—
And Andini, who had been floating above the wall outside, slowly descended from above his head.
Е̂ n̄um̌ а̇ .іd_
Her chest rose and fell slightly as she gasped for breath.
Clearly, the earlier battle had been no small drain on her as well.
Her gaze lingered briefly on Gauss’s dragon claw, before shifting away.
「Let’s regroup with the main force first.」
At the moment, they stood at the base of the wall, cut off from the larger force. Adventurers, soldiers, and cavalry were all already pulling their defensive line inward.
If they stayed here, they would be like an isolated island in the ocean, soon to be drowned by the countless monsters.
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Even though Gauss needed to kill monsters to grow stronger, he did not wish to fall into such a scenario.
He killed monsters to become stronger. He became stronger to survive in this world. He was not doing it just to satisfy a simple craving for slaughter.
Soon, under Gauss and Andini’s lead, this temporary force carved their way through the monsters’ blockade.
Andini soared through the air, drawing away Tier 5 and higher monsters, while those nearer were left to Gauss and the others.
Especially Gauss as the main force—facing snarling monsters, even elite ones, he could use his dragon claw to rip open the situation. Some monsters were even torn cleanly in two by him.
He kept charging forward. Any monster standing in his way had only two choices: fall back or die.
Е n ǔ m а̄
This brutal display of violent beauty left the temporary members behind—those loosing arrows to suppress distant monsters—utterly dumbfounded.
Compared with the monsters, Gauss in this state seemed even more like a monster himself ！
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So much so that, even knowing Gauss was on their side, they all still averted their gazes, not daring to meet his eyes.
Those blazing eyes shone brightly in the night, radiating overwhelming pressure.
One, two... Gauss no longer remembered how many monsters he had killed.
Through his ferocious slaughter, the force successfully tore open a passage straight through the shantytown, finally regrouping at the camp center with the others.
Ẇ еḃ ň о̂v̀ е̂l Еńu̇ m̂ а
As they returned to the main force, the defensive line was still pulling back.
From behind came glimpses of laborers, merchants, and caravans carrying light packs, their silhouettes retreating into the distance.
Gauss swung onto a Chocobo.
Andini landed from the sky, sitting in front of him, glancing around.
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In a low voice, she spoke to the three of them.
「We must prepare to retreat as well.」
Е́ n um̌ ӓ.і d̃
Flying above, she had seen more clearly—monsters still poured endlessly out of the forest toward Outpost Eleven.
Though she did not understand why the stationed forces here were so weak, nor why the monster numbers far exceeded normal levels, this was not the time to ponder such things.
With only the camp’s strength and incomplete defenses, there was no way to hold this isolated Outpost Eleven.
Perhaps, if the adventurers and soldiers in camp fought to the death, there might be a slim chance to hold.
But reality was that, against the endless tide and constant appearance of elite monsters, the morale of the defenders was collapsing visibly.
Unless one surpassed the current tiers, individual bravery in war always had limited effect.
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Many adventurers even suspected that the missing President Rich and the cavalry who had gone out earlier had already received advance intelligence of the beast tide’s siege and retreated beforehand, further sapping their will to fight.
Adventurers, in the end, were merely mercenaries working for pay. With no leader, they could not coalesce into true fighting strength.
「Knight Commander Filon has given the order！ All forces are to retreat in alternating waves toward the northwest gate！」 A messenger rode hard through the chaos of camp, hoarse from shouting the order.
It was confirmed—the decision was to abandon Outpost Eleven.
Gauss and his companions exchanged glances, surprised at the decisiveness of the command.
Though even without the order, adventurers had already begun retreating on their own, at least now the command of the local officer gave their 「flight」 a veneer of legitimacy.
Ẇéb̄ n oṽel Е num̊а̀
Still, this commander would likely face punishment for the decision. It had taken no small courage.
「Ooooh！！！」
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As the human defensive line pulled back, the tide of monsters surged forward to devour the ground.
Within the camp, Goblins, Kobolds, and Gnolls filled the scene. They carried torches, setting buildings ablaze, turning the entire camp into a sea of fire and slaughter.
Constructing these buildings had taken immense effort, but destroying them was all too easy.
Wherever the eye fell—shacks, stables, warehouses, even the Adventurer’s Guild sign—all burned fiercely.
Wе b ṅo v̆ е_l. .En u̇ m а̇
Blazing heat distorted the air, painting the black night sky in ominous crimson.
The crackling of burning wood and the crashing of collapsing houses rang constantly in the ears.
Flames, blood, and cries that shook the heavens stirred Gauss’s bloodline instincts once more, until he had to forcibly calm himself, suppressing the heat surging in his body.
「Retreat！」
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He and his companions followed the force swiftly toward the northwest gate.
All the way, chaos erupted throughout the camp.
Е̇ n ũm̌ а
Some adventurers fell behind, lost in the monster tide, screaming as they were pounced upon. Claws and weapons stabbed through their bodies again and again.
The Goblins resembled frenzied lunatics, shrieking as they waved rusty blades and torches, hunting prey.
They did not merely want to kill, but delighted in destruction—smashing barrels, igniting cloth, even biting and clawing each other in fights over a shiny piece of armor stripped from a corpse.
There were simply too many monsters.
The only solace was that most people had already evacuated the camp.
Back when Gauss and the others had first fought on the wall, the noncombatants had already begun evacuating under soldier command. The unlucky ones who missed the message or got lost could only blame ill fate.
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The monsters, meanwhile, showed no sign of pursuit. Instead, they busied themselves plundering supplies and destroying buildings, as if carrying out an order.
Because of this, the group quickly reached the west gate and withdrew smoothly.
Gauss lowered his wand, expression grim.
All the way, he had kept using Fire Bolts to pick off monsters, yet compared to the total number, the kills he made were but a drop in the ocean.
「Monster Kill Count：2875」
In the beast tide defense and subsequent retreat, he alone had slain over four hundred monsters, much of it thanks to the tireless attacks of his four Clay Spiders.
Е ń û mа̌. і d̊
The efficiency was impressive—but at this moment, he felt no joy.
Strictly speaking, this was his first true setback since becoming an adventurer.
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Yet thinking carefully, retreat had been inevitable. Even with the power of the 【Hardened Scales Bloodline】, within the beast tide lurked monsters beyond the elite level—beings far beyond his ability to handle.
In truth, had it not been for several master-level knight commanders in the city covering the retreat, they would never have escaped so easily.
Once again, he realized—his strength was still insufficient.
The only relief was.....
Ŵë bn̄ о̀ v̇еl Е̊ ñù.m̂а
He looked at his shaken but safe companions beside him, letting out a breath of relief.
So long as no one was harmed.
Turning back, he gazed at the firelit night sky in the distance, taking in a deep breath of icy air.
A temporary setback was nothing to dwell on.
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He still had time to grow stronger.
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