Chapter 978 - 475: Mission Impossible
Whenever the sun set, the air during the blue hour became incredibly cool. Gauss sat before the campfire, quietly watching the dancing sparks. Perhaps because his five senses were so acute, he could still hear the sound of jogging on the distant city walls.
War was not like a daily job, neatly divided into shifts and breaks, clocking in and out on schedule. It was a continuous, unrelenting process. Being jolted awake by the blare of horns in the dead of night, hastily donning Armor and weapons, and engaging the enemy through bleary eyes was a common occurrence. There was even a small chance of accidentally injuring a comrade in a sleep-deprived daze.
These monsters would endlessly harass the city walls in varying numbers, grinding down the defenders’ willpower. Everyone seemed to be gradually sinking deeper into the quagmire of war.
"Total monsters killed: 85,442."
In addition to his own bombardment of monsters with the Fireball Technique on the frontal battlefield, his Red Dragon Team members were simultaneously killing quite a few on his behalf. There was strength in numbers. Even if everyone only killed five Ordinary Monsters, the 200-strong Red Dragon Team could accumulate a total of 1,000 kills. According to the previously tested 20% contribution ratio, the number added to Gauss’s bestiary would be 200.
It might sound like a small number, but this did not account for the members who had Profession levels, whose killing efficiency would only be higher. Furthermore, for Aaliyah, Ying, and Hephaestus, their shared kill count was 100%, while Serdur and Albena’s ratio was as high as 50%. Overall, it was very easy for the team to contribute over a thousand kills in a single battle.
In fact, when he had previously taken on the mission to kill the juvenile dragon, the Red Dragon Team members hadn’t slacked in their monster slaying. Unfortunately, he had been far too distant at the time, well beyond the effective range of the shared kill system. Pursuing a parallel, non-conflicting path of development was the absolute truth.
True, Gauss could inflict triple-digit casualties with a single Fireball Technique when the monsters were densely packed, boasting a higher efficiency than the team. But he couldn’t expect to encounter tightly clustered enemies all the time. Even on the battlefield, the monsters were often loosely distributed. Leaving these scattered enemies to the numerous but relatively average Red Dragon Team members was the perfect solution.
"What kind of meat is this?" Aaliyah had caught a strange, aromatic scent from afar, but out of caution, she asked before acting.
"Beef." Before Aaliyah could breathe a sigh of relief, Gauss added, "Petrified Bull beef."
𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"I knew it..." Aaliyah retracted her hand just as she was about to grab a piece. "You really dare to eat any kind of meat, don’t you? Aren’t you afraid something might go wrong? If you turn into a stone statue later, I won’t call anyone to treat you." She sat down on a rock next to Gauss, shooting him an exasperated glare.
Among ingredients sourced from Demons, the Petrified Bull was considered one of the most dangerous. Their flesh and blood were steeped in energy brimming with petrifying Magic Power for long periods, inherently possessing a certain corrosive petrification effect. If an ordinary person were to take a single bite, the inside of their mouth would likely turn to stone. If they didn’t chew it fully and their mouth remained unaffected, it would be even more dangerous. This was because the flesh might release its petrifying Magic Power in their throat or stomach, which would be much more troublesome for a Priest to treat.
Of course, one could soak and knead the meat in a dispelling Magic Potion beforehand to extract the toxic Magic Power within. However, this entire process was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but it also inevitably caused the cost to skyrocket. Only in certain niche, high-end restaurants could one find such dishes.
Aaliyah didn’t even need to think to know that the sizzling steaks on the grill in front of Gauss were absolutely raw, unprocessed, zero-additive natural ingredients.
"It’s fine. I already ate a piece before you got here," Gauss chuckled softly. "Do you want to try a little? Don’t worry, if you get petrified, I will definitely call someone to heal you."
This Petrified Bull was an important contributor to his rapid kill of the Extraordinary Centaur. If it hadn’t used its life to create a momentary opening in the Extraordinary Centaur’s defenses, Gauss would have probably needed to deduce the situation a few more times to secure the kill. If he hadn’t deduced his desired future before his Spiritual Power ran out, he likely would have had no choice but to let the Extraordinary Centaur escape. Perhaps for this reason, he found the roasted Petrified Bull meat exceptionally delicious.
As for the petrification issue Aaliyah mentioned... it had been impossible for it to affect him for quite some time. After his special stomach evolved into [Feast], and he subsequently acquired the two golden-quality Talents [Dragon King Bloodline] and [Supreme Magic Constitution], he became even more immune to the influence of such foreign Magic Power. Although he was still human on a genetic and superficial level, was he truly still human in terms of his physiological structure? Even Gauss couldn’t confidently give a definitive answer anymore.
"You..." Aaliyah was somewhat at a loss for words.
"Why so serious?"
"...By the way, I was just joking earlier. If something happens to you, I would definitely do everything I can to get you healed," Aaliyah explained in a low voice.
"Yeah, I know." Gauss nodded with a smile. He then used the silver knife and fork in his hands to cut a small piece of beef and offered it to Aaliyah. "Don’t worry, eating a little bit won’t be a problem."
Gauss had already tested it with his own body beforehand. For Master Level Professionals, even Casters, their Constitution was vastly stronger than that of ordinary people. Moreover, Aaliyah had undergone an atavistic awakening of her pure Elf bloodline, inherently granting her a Constitution rich in magic. Although it was a far cry from Gauss’s, there was no way she would be affected by a fully cooked piece of Petrified Bull beef.