Chapter 856 - 427:
Setting out early enables us to gather more resources.
"Let’s go."
Gauss knew that due to the racial characteristics of the Mushroom People, once they set off and leave this camp, they would quickly learn about the arrival of the adventurers.
So they had to act even more swiftly.
After leaving the cave.
Gauss activated the [Weaver’s Seal].
As he began communicating with the omnipresent insects nearby, numerous tiny creatures responded to Gauss’s inquiries with loyalty, as if paying their respects to a king.
Gauss quickly mastered the gathering spots of the surrounding slimes.
Yes, he intended to take down some slime farms along the way first.
Unlike the fourth level, slimes raised like this were easier to kill.
He and the members of the Red Dragon Team only needed to stand atop the deep pit or by the sole cave entrance, continuously showering it with arrows and magic, to easily and swiftly massacre the dense slimes, like farmers harvesting crops.
Strictly speaking, they were more like a band of robbers, plundering the fruits intended for the Mushroom People.
Soon, Gauss and the others reached the first cave.
The entrance and exit weren’t large, indicating the limited scale of this slime farm.
Therefore, Gauss did not let others act, instead summoning the long unseen Hephaestus.
It had been cooped up in the Biological Bag for a week, perfect for letting it stretch its legs.
"Roar—"
Just out, Hephaestus shook its head, seeming to just realize it had left the confines of the Biological Bag.
Exchanging a glance with Gauss, it quickly understood his command.
Slightly lowering its body, it stretched its head towards the cave entrance.
"Everyone step back a bit."
After ensuring all members maintained a safe distance, Gauss gave it a nod.
"Boom!"
With Hephaestus’s slender neck turning red.
A surge of flames spewed from its fearsome dragon muzzle, diving headfirst into the cave.
"Crackling!"
Before long, a rumbling sound echoed from inside the cave.
One of the slime’s weaknesses was fire.
The intense, inextinguishable red dragon flame wielded even greater power in a confined space.
Petrified slimes dropped from all sides, falling into the flailing claws of the dragon flame, vaporizing almost instantly.
"Slime killed *1"
"..."
The information in Gauss’s Monster Atlas popped incessantly.
A minute passed and the commotion ceased.
"Total monsters killed: 58511"
This time about five hundred slimes were killed in one go.
Indeed, employing a strategic attack could yield twice the result with half the effort.
For Hephaestus, breathing those flames for a few dozen seconds was relatively easy.
Even Gauss, casting the 5th circle spells Dawn and Bigby’s Hand, could hardly achieve the same effect in such a short time.
This is not to say that Hephaestus’s dragon flame was more powerful than Gauss’s casting of Dawn and Bigby’s Hand, but rather that each specialized in their own field.
"Next, you’ll need to exert a bit more effort."
Gauss patted the thick body of Hephaestus, encouraging it.
Having just ceased its breath, the slightly parched dragon beast felt a foreboding sensation in its heart.
Although breathing flames for dozens of seconds wasn’t too difficult, it wasn’t a machine; sustaining it for a long time would be quite burdensome.
Truthfully speaking, it was still just an immature baby, not a true adult giant dragon.
After extinguishing the flames, Gauss instructed the Red Dragon Team’s members and his clay creatures to go inside and collect the spoils.
Most of the slime’s mucous had already evaporated from the dragon flame, leaving behind only small, glass-like beads on the ground.
Those were their targets to collect.
The once elastic slime cores had been dehydrated, shrunk, and hardened into crystals under the high temperature.
Yet, they still held value, functioning as partial substitutes for low-grade magic stone fragments.
The Red Dragon Team moved swiftly.
They quickly scoured slime farm after slime farm like a sweeping army.
The main contributor was Hephaestus, and Gauss wouldn’t leave such an effective method unused.
This also allowed him to train the dragon beast.
It wasn’t until Hephaestus was nearly emitting smoke that he allowed it to rest, swapping in himself and the Red Dragon Team members.
"Slime killed *322"
"Slime killed *678"
"Slime killed *566"
"..."
This was undoubtedly Gauss’s easiest monster killing spree to date.
Slimes, like lambs to the slaughter, many nests were emptied without encountering even a token resistance.
However, the only thing Gauss regretted was that each slime farm was limited to triple-digit numbers due to the terrain.
Gauss reasonably suspected it to be the Mushroom People’s deliberate control.
After all, having too many slimes in one area would lead to overcrowding, causing internal fighting and attrition.
Additionally, feeding them would become more complex.
Nonetheless, Gauss was not picky, subtly thanking the "Mushroom People" for their gift, then communicating with the insects to obtain slime farm locations and complete his harvest.
Just as he had slain nearly 3500 slimes.
The sweeping operation finally encountered a twist.
Despite Gauss and the Red Dragon Team’s swift and clean action, another large race of the maze’s 5th layer, the Mushroom People, had discovered them.
Gauss looked at the Mushroom People troops suddenly blocking their path.
Clearly, this fully armed group of Mushroom People was specifically targeting the Red Dragon Team.
Unlike the kind Gauss had seen feeding slimes, this group of Mushroom People’s physique and demeanor appeared fiercer.
They were shorter than the farmers but had mushroom caps resembling helmets atop their heads and held spears and bows.
A line of beasts covered in creamy white spores stood in front of them.
Neither side exchanged many words; in seconds, the first battle erupted.
Those white spore slaves charged like rabid dogs.
Gauss was well aware that they were biochemical weapons created by the Mushroom King using living spores.
Yet, the Mushroom King wasn’t the only one capable of creating soldiers.
Gauss waved his hand, scattering blobs of clay.
The clay quickly solidified into goblin creatures upon landing.
His clay goblins, equally fearless of death, were fit to match against the spore slaves of the Mushroom King.
Under the cover of the clay creatures, members of the Red Dragon Team soon launched attacks on the Mushroom People ahead.
"Bigby’s Hand!"
Magic power surged from the tip of Gauss’s White Magic Wand.
Under the terror-stricken gaze of the Mushroom People, a pair of enormous hands soon appeared above the battling spore slaves and clay creatures, descending towards them.
They formed a pincer movement with the arrows and magic shot by Red Dragon Team members.
Some Mushroom People hurled their sharp plant spears at the hands, but to their despair, the silver-glowing giant hands remained unharmed.
The spears, despite their piercing sound, shattered upon contact with the palms like toothpicks.
"Vajra Palm!"
Gauss muttered softly, then Bigby’s Hand slammed down in the most densely packed section of the Mushroom People troops.
A few Mushroom People anticipated Bigby’s Hand’s attack, but they couldn’t respond in time.
The pressure created by the enormous palm made it difficult for them to move their originally strong legs.
"Boom!"
Just like squashing mosquitoes, the Mushroom People underneath burst into juices, becoming patches of plant matter on the ground.
Although Mushroom People’s regeneration was formidable, against such bone-crushing palm strikes, it was impossible for the deceased to revive.
The pressure created by the enormous palm made it difficult for them to move their originally strong legs.
"Boom!"
Just like squashing mosquitoes, the Mushroom People underneath burst into juices, becoming patches of plant matter on the ground.
Although Mushroom People’s regeneration was formidable, against such bone-crushing palm strikes, it was impossible for the deceased to revive.