I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 346: Monster Army

The Magic Missiles were like they were loaded with some kind of target-seeking mechanism. Even though many were fired simultaneously, each one could still accurately find its designated target.This sounded difficult, and in reality, it wasn't simple either.

Moreover, achieving this effect wasn't just about proficiency with the [Magic Missile] spell; it required the stacking of a series of complex and precise elements.

First, without a doubt, was perception.

Before casting the spell, Gauss had to disperse his attention, yet simultaneously focus this dispersed attention onto over a dozen specific targets.

And this process was continuous. Because the targets Gauss needed to kill were living monsters, not stationary targets, he needed to gather intelligence in real-time based on their movement trajectories throughout the process, even up to the second before casting.

Subsequently, this vast and complicated intelligence would converge in his mind, constructing a visual network image. He had to predict the final impact point of each Magic Missile based on the target's speed and trajectory direction.

Then came the spellcasting itself, which also had its intricacies.

Although currently, the amount of mana required for a single Magic Missile was a drop in the bucket for Gauss, due to his habit of striving for perfection, he would still adjust the corresponding output power of each missile based on the target's strength.

So, each of those sky-filling, azure missiles was imbued with considerable effort and calculation.

It wasn't a purely brute-force, overwhelming crush.

He didn't know if any other spellcasters could refine this magic to his current level, but he guessed there probably weren't any. Or at least, spellcasters of the same level, or even several levels higher, definitely couldn't do it. As for those true great mages or legendary mages, he wasn't sure.

Of course, even if such powerful beings could do it, it would be a meaningless act, because they mastered more powerful magics or could create entirely new spells themselves.

As the last missile pierced through a Goblin's body, the forest suddenly fell quiet.

Gauss and Shadow didn't spend too much time cleaning up this lumbering monster team.

Gauss used Magic Missiles to kill the vast majority of the targets, while Shadow and her clone phantoms intercepted the stragglers who tried to flee.

Fortunately, the snowy terrain hampered the monsters' movement, otherwise, a few would have inevitably escaped.

Perhaps due to the recent activity, he felt the ambient temperature had risen by several degrees.

"Let's rest for a while."

Gauss beckoned to Shadow, who was still carefully checking the surroundings for any danger.

He took out the Magic Pot and began cooking and heating food.

Objectively speaking, their recent exertion had caused some consumption, but it wasn't severe. However, maintaining one's physical and mental state at a good level at all times in the wilderness was very important.

The pot bubbled with steaming meat stew. Gauss poured a cup of hot tea brewed from pine needles gathered nearby for Shadow.

He held his teacup, quietly gazing at the snowy ground.

For a moment, his mood was quite tranquil.

The scenery before his eyes was hardly beautiful: a bare clearing, monster corpses scattered haphazardly on the ground, not to mention the splattered, filthy viscera and blood clots. An ordinary civilian coming here would surely be frightened and unsettled, mistakenly thinking they had arrived at some large-scale murder scene.

However, both of them were already accustomed to the presence of monster corpses, so they could treat them as if they weren't there.

"Gauss, we need to be careful."

"The number of monsters gathering here is probably very large."

Shadow took a sip of hot tea and said worriedly.

Gauss also followed her gaze toward the cleared area of the forest. The area was simply too vast.

Furthermore, the monster team they just dealt with numbered over two hundred.

Considering they likely came from a medium-to-large monster tribe, there was probably more than one team sent out to cut trees and gather resources. This meant the monster count of this tribe was likely at least in the five-digit range.

This was already a rather terrifying magnitude.

These monsters might not be individually outstanding in strength, but when they gathered, they could form a monster army that struck fear into hearts.

Considering they might encounter a monster army in the near future, he had specifically sought out some relevant books to understand the specifics.

From the battle situations he read about in books, when monster numbers broke through a certain magnitude, they formed a terrifying combined force.

According to the descriptions in the books, it was an intangible existence similar to momentum.

Individual power would be suppressed before this group momentum. If you were unfortunately in the area at the forefront of this momentum, being "focused," and if your strength was decent, you would experience symptoms like difficulty breathing, cold hands and feet, and a feeling of being enveloped by a mountain-like pressure. If your strength was insufficient, you would likely be scared to death.

In Gauss's conceptual understanding, that should be a so-called "army momentum," "battle formation aura," or "war halo" type of existence.

This was also an important reason why human armies still existed in a world with transcendent powers.

Because organized, orderly human legions, through training or faith enhancement, could similarly form similar momentum to contend with monster armies.

Ultimately, it evolved into a form of soldiers fighting soldiers, generals fighting generals.

After a brief rest, Gauss quickly collected valuable monster materials from the scene.

After the quick collection, he eliminated the scents from himself and Shadow, then followed the wagon ruts and footprints in the snow backwards, searching for their main camp.

After walking some distance, Gauss knew he was about to reach the destination.

The ambient temperature was rapidly rising as he progressed.

The snow on the ground had melted, revealing the damp, black soil beneath.

"Rumble!!!"

From time to time, thunderous noises came from the massive valley ahead.

Gauss gave Shadow a gesture to proceed cautiously.

The two then slowly moved towards the source of the sound while scouting the surrounding terrain.

"Grrr!"

In front of the valley, ugly Gnoll soldiers stood guard on the wall at the entrance, their eyes constantly scanning the obstacle-free plain before them.

Fortunately, Shadow's method of movement was very stealthy and safe.

She enveloped Gauss with her shadow ability, merging into the ground, then quietly approached, bypassing the frontal wall and climbing up along the bare, treacherous slopes on either side.

Reaching a high point and confirming no enemies were around, their figures emerged from the shadows on the ground.

"Whew—"

Gauss put on the Eagle Eye Monocle and looked down at the scene within the massive valley, unable to help but let out a long exhale.

This... was too shocking.

He swallowed hard.

The valley plain below was like a busy, giant furnace.

Monsters, dense as ants, were constantly transporting lumber from outside the valley inside, then throwing the wood into giant, blazing furnaces.

There weren't just one or two furnaces; dozens were lined up along one side of the valley wall!

Each was three or four stories high, built from rough stone and some dark red clay. The furnace mouths, like the gaping maws of giant beasts, spewed scorching heat waves and billowing smoke.

The furnace bodies glowed red-hot, distorting the air around them.

The heat was continuously radiating from here, melting the snow, steaming water vapor, and shrouding the entire valley in a stifling, pungent haze.

It was clearly winter, but here it was as scorching as midsummer.

"Clang!!!"

Molten iron was poured into molds. Once set, other Ogre blacksmiths swung metal hammers, repeatedly pounding the rough iron ingots that still emitted a dark red glow, ultimately forging them into shapes like knives, axes, and spears.

Goblins and dog-headed creatures were handling the follow-up work, using grindstones to sharpen the edges of the roughly forged weapon blanks, or using animal sinew and vine to tightly bind wooden handles to axe heads and spearheads.

Gauss felt a bit of a scalp-numbing sensation.

This "production line" was simply too spectacular.

He also caught sight of a few even larger outlines, frameworks made of giant logs and beast hides. Although he couldn't see the full form, judging from the scale and structure, they were likely catapults or siege towers.

The entire valley was a massive, noisy, filthy, yet efficient monster factory.

Tens of thousands of monsters toiled within. Roars, hammering sounds, and the noise of burning intertwined, merging into a savage, mighty wave of sound that continuously assaulted Gauss's eardrums and thoughts.

Or rather, the reason he was so surprised was because, in his long-held perception, monsters were low-intelligence, chaotic, and disorderly creatures. This kind of large-scale, assembly-line "production" activity was subconsciously not associated with them in his mind.

But the scene before his eyes clearly shattered his perception. Or perhaps, this was the reasonable one.

Although the low-level monsters were stupid and irritable, they were often utterly obedient to the more powerful monsters. And monsters could also give birth to intelligent individuals. The creative and organizational abilities of these high-intelligence individuals were no worse than the wise among humans. Under the control and drive of these elite individuals, the numerous monsters could also operate like an army.

Gauss took out the "Memory Sphere" he had brought in advance to record.

He needed to bring this latest intelligence back.

He continuously adjusted the sphere's direction, trying to record in detail as many of the activities and scenes taking place in the valley as possible.

As for taking advantage of this monster army's unpreparedness to attack them...

Gauss naturally had no such insane intention.

Sure, he could cause hundreds, even thousands of kills in a short time. But what about afterwards? Those wyverns, the commander-level individuals among the monsters, and the tide of low-level monsters would completely swallow the two of them.

After recording was complete.

Gauss beckoned to Shadow.

He decisively had her take him away from this valley area.

Before leaving, he also explored the surroundings a bit.

A monster army of this scale, once on the march, would require considerable space, so the monsters would definitely widen the roads in the corresponding directions.

Combining this with his brain's map function, he observed the directions from which the monsters were cutting trees and found roughly three main directions.

One of them pointed directly toward Grayrock Town.

Sure enough, Grayrock Town was one of the targets of this medium-to-large tribe.

"Let's go back."

Having collected sufficient intelligence, Gauss didn't linger any longer.

He mounted his steed and swiftly galloped along the road towards the edge of the Emerald Forest.

After leaving the forest, he switched mounts to the Red Drake Hephaestus, accelerating towards Grayrock Town.

Based on his observations earlier, most of those monsters were already equipped with weapons, indicating that war might not be far off.

The sooner they prepared, the more secure they would be.

Entering Grayrock Town, Gauss hurried to the square and entered the Adventurers Guild hall.

"I'm looking for Guildmaster Eberhard. Is he in?"

Stopping a staff member, he asked directly.

The staff member clearly recognized him immediately, and Eberhard had probably given prior instructions. Hearing Gauss wanted to see Eberhard, she didn't delay, fetching a superior to lead Gauss to the third floor.

"Sit."

After reaching the third floor.

Eberhard, who had just put down a document in his hand, gestured for the travel-stained pair to sit.

He knew if Gauss was looking for him, it must be because he had made concrete discoveries in the Emerald Forest.

"Look at this."

Gauss took out the Memory Sphere.

"We found their main camp and recorded these images up close."

"Many, many monsters. They are arming their soldiers."

As the images from the Memory Sphere were projected.

Eberhard also saw the scene Gauss had witnessed.

He, too, couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.

Because the number of monsters in the images exceeded his imagination.

After the projection ended, Gauss also drew out the map from his mind, roughly sketching three routes.

Those were very likely the future attack routes of this tribe.

"Thank you, Gauss. Your intelligence is crucial."

Eberhard carefully stored the Memory Sphere and the hand-drawn map, thanking him solemnly.

"It seems we won't be able to celebrate the New Year's festival properly this year."

He sighed.

Previously, they only knew about the monsters' gathering movements, roughly inferring that this monster tribe would attack several surrounding towns, but couldn't confirm the specific routes. But now it seemed Grayrock Town was definitely one of their targets.

"I need to report this important intelligence. Wait a moment."

Eberhard pressed his handprint on a landscape painting beside his office. The wall moved, revealing a secret room inside.

After a short wait, Eberhard emerged from inside.

His hands were empty; it seemed he had already passed the intelligence to his superiors.

"Will there be military support for Grayrock Town?"

Gauss asked.

Eberhard nodded.

"According to the Kingdom's border defense regulations, when a large-scale monster army is confirmed to pose a clear threat to a border town, the nearest military fortress and provincial capital are obligated to dispatch reinforcements immediately. Anvil Fort is the military fortress closest to us, with a permanent mixed garrison regiment stationed there."

"The commander there is Sir Belock, an experienced veteran border general."

"If nothing unexpected happens, the garrison regiment from Anvil Fort will support our Grayrock Town."

"However, even with military support, the final victory will still depend on Grayrock Town's own defensive strength."

Eberhard took a deep breath.

"After all, resisting monster army invasions is the very reason for Grayrock Town's existence."

Listening, Gauss showed a thoughtful expression.

It seemed that even with the intelligence he gathered proving the monster army's movements, there still wouldn't be support on a very large scale.

Why?

Upon learning that Eberhard was going to hold a meeting with the Mayor and the other captains to discuss countermeasures, Gauss decisively took his leave.

His role was that of an adventurer, not a decision-maker. He was clear about this and wouldn't participate in such meetings.

He also needed to prepare for the war that was clearly coming.

Regarding this, his mood wasn't that heavy for now. After all, with Hephaestus's existence, even in the worst-case scenario of the town being overrun by monsters, he could take his family and friends and leave this place.

At the same time, he also hoped to fully master that fourth-circle spell [Control Water] in the next few days, adding a bit more to his combat strength.