The bark of that tree is marred by rodent gnaw marks, and the roots are sprinkled with a few black droppings the size of fingernails.
"Their range of activity is quite large," Gauss whispered. "We’re still nearly two hundred meters from the church."
"It’s the work of the rat swarm," Aaliyah’s voice sounded somewhat muffled through the gas mask. "They greedily plunder surrounding resources to sustain themselves and breed their accompanying creatures."
Both were fully armed before setting out.
Besides Aaliyah wearing protective gear, Gauss also cast [Gauss’s Defense Guard] on her.
To avoid startling the rats, her wolf companion was positioned at a distance, on standby.
"Indeed, it seems they’ve occupied this area for a while now," Gauss nodded.
His Perception of 7, fully utilized under the [Insight Skill], even allowed him to judge the size of the rats from their paw prints.
The giant rat in the paw prints, not counting the tail, was almost half a meter long, comparable to a small dog! The number of other rats wouldn’t be small either.
According to the Demon Introduction Manual’s records about ratmen.
It’s likely the ratmen couldn’t provide enough food, so they let the trained rats forage on their own.
This also explains why the manor several kilometers away suffered a rat infestation.
The two were talking.
A large rat, over thirty centimeters long, suddenly darted out from the pile of fallen leaves, holding a stiff bird carcass in its mouth.
Seeing Gauss and Aaliyah blocking its way, it was clearly stunned, staring at them while holding the bird, puzzled by these unwelcome guests intruding on its territory.
"Squeak squeak squeak!"
A series of sharp cries rang out, not from the rat but from Aaliyah’s mouth.
Gauss knew she was adept at [Animal Communication], a spell for easy interaction with wild animals, and was gathering information at the moment, so he kept quiet to await the outcome.
"Squeak squeak squeak!"
"Squeak! Squeak—squeak!"
Aaliyah tried to communicate again.
But the rat showed no response, turning to flee with the bird carcass.
"Failed."
Watching the rat preparing to scamper away nearby, Gauss fired his One-Handed Crossbow.
Whizz!
Gauss’s crossbow arrow broke through the air, pinning it to the ground with precision.
"Can’t communicate with rats using Animal Communication?" Gauss curiously inquired.
"No, this spell can establish contact with almost all animals; the response varies based on the target’s intelligence. But this rat... as if it’s a block of wood, showed no response. This might be some modification method of the ratmen," Aaliyah’s tone was grave.
The two continued towards the church.
The closer they got, the denser the traces of rodent activity became. The air was filled with a pungent stench, increasingly withered plants.
"Is it intentional root gnawing, or some kind of toxin pollution?" Gauss was on alert internally.
Ratmen might lack goblins’ strength, but their wisdom is much higher.
Excessive destruction of vegetation would prematurely expose the existence of their nest, clearly not aligning with their habits.
Finally, after covering more ground.
The abandoned church appeared before them.
With tiles falling off the spire and mottled walls, the building bore the marks of time’s passage.
As for the church surroundings, it was covered with rats’ trails.
Dug-out hole entrances were everywhere, animal bones gnawed to the core scattered on the ground, and the soil even oozed eerie dark green slime.
But most hair-raising, was the gray-black "empty space" in front of the church.
On closer inspection, it wasn’t any empty space, but a "carpet" of hundreds of thousands of writhing rats! They crowded tightly together, their gray-black fur forming a chill-inducing "wave."
Among them, several giant rats nearly seventy centimeters long stood out, perched like leaders within the swarm, their scarlet eyes gleaming fiercely.
Suddenly, Gauss’s heart skipped a beat, a sensation of being secretly watched pricked like a thorn!
He squinted slightly, his sharp gaze followed the hunch, scanning toward a broken window missing stained glass high on the church.
A fleeting scarlet glimmer vanished into the shadows.
Been discovered?
"We’ve been discovered," Aaliyah also spoke.
Her perception was equally sharp.
"Of course," Gauss gripped the White Bone Staff tight. "With so many eyes, sneaking close is almost impossible."
Since stealth was out of the question, only one path remained—direct assault!!
He raised the staff, its tip pointing toward the densest area of rats, muttering softly.
"Flaming Arrow!"
The air at the staff’s tip began to warp, orange-red fiery energy rapidly converging, in the not-so-long chanting time, forming a Flaming Arrow the length of a forearm!
The arrow’s heart was scorching white, edges flickering with crimson flames, sparks sprayed out continually.
This was precisely the Trick Gauss recently mastered, unexpectedly getting quick use.
Whizz—!
The Flaming Arrow left the bowstring, dragging a dazzling orange trail through the air, precisely hitting the rat swarm!
Boom!
The arrow fiercely struck a giant rat, instantly exploding! Scorching flames accompanied by flying sparks, igniting the surrounding crowded rats like sparks in boiling oil.
The dry fur became the best fuel, flames spreading at an astonishing speed.
"Squeak squeak squeak—!!"
The silent church ruins were instantly drowned by piercing shrieks, the stench of scorched flesh and burning flesh filling the air.
"Giant rat killed*1"
"Total Monster Kills: 369"
Indeed, giant rats are viewed as a separate species in the Monster Atlas.
Gauss nodded.
Counting these giant rats, the total number of "monsters" involved in this mission might be close to a hundred!
Watching flames triggering chain combustion in the dense rat swarm.
Countless rats rolled and screamed in the blaze, Gauss felt deeply moved.
The Flaming Arrow indeed proved to be useful.
Although not as powerful as a 1st Ring Magic Missile, in front of these gathered weak creatures, its effect is even better.
Fur being vulnerable to fire, an eternal truth.
Seeing the outstanding effect of the Flaming Arrow, Gauss’s hands didn’t pause for a moment.
The White Bone Staff repeatedly pointed towards the densest areas in the rat swarm.
Flaming arrows roared out one by one, dragging fiery tails, fiercely stabbing into that heaving black "carpet."
The sound notifications of giant rat kills kept echoing.
Before confronting the main ratmen patrons, he didn’t mind clearing their claws in advance.
And beside him, Aaliyah started throwing Molotov cocktails.
Her solid arms traced a powerful arc, hurling the ignited bottles fiercely towards areas not yet touched by flames.
Bang! Bang!
Crackling bottles and the "whoosh" of rising flames intertwined, grease carried by flames spread quickly.
The surrounding vegetation long devastated by the rat swarm, turned into barren scorched earth, which instead let Aaliyah throw without any psychological burden.
In no time, the church ruins turned into a fiery scene.
Countless small rats were devoured by flames amidst desperate and "squeak" screams.
Only those large-bodied, more resilient giant rats survived, relying on their thick fur and fierce instincts, forcefully breaking from the blaze.
Rolling madly on the ground, using mud-covered bodies to extinguish flames on them.
Their scarlet eyes, burning with pain from the fire, stared fiercely at the arson culprit, Gauss.
While in the depths of the church, the dark entrance leading to the damp cellar.
Amidst the sharp, crowded squeaking of the carpet of rats.
Over a dozen ratmen, more agile than ordinary counterparts, clad in armor, holding rusty yet still sharp scimitars, Wooden Spears, and mauls, mounted giant ratbacks.