But they were always ready for battle.
After all, in the wild, even if the weather is calm and everything seems peaceful, an unexpected monster attack can happen at any moment.
So Gauss reacted swiftly, almost immediately pulling out the White Bone Staff as soon as the passerby left his side.
He quickly fired a few Magic Missiles to intercept the enemy from a distance.
This swift reaction was thanks to his frequent practice.
Not only during commissions, but also while resting in town, he often conducted similar quick-response training for unexpected encounters.
Additionally, some enhancements provided a small boost.
The White Bone Staff’s rapid attack property, secondary core position enhancements, Magic Missile lv3 (45/50), quickly approaching lv4 proficiency, all made his Magic Missile fast and precise.
"Defeated Rust Frogs*3"
The 13th type of Ordinary Monsters was unlocked in the Monster Atlas.
Moreover, Gauss also successfully obtained the title effect for Rust Frogs.
"Obtained title [Rust Frog Hunter], which upgrades with the increase in the number of kills."
"Current effect: Intimidation. When the ability is activated, it causes a mental intimidation effect on Rust Frogs within a 3-meter radius, causing 0.5-1 second of control."
In this time, Aaliyah, who was half a beat slower than Gauss, also completed her spell preparation.
Accompanied by the wooden staff tapping the ground.
The wooden staff in her hand emitted an emerald green light, and the vibrant energy quickly poured into the ground beneath her feet, rippling outward.
"Entanglement Technique! Nature’s Bind!"
She pressed her left hand forward.
This was her fixed casting process; she had to rely on similar chants and gestures to assist in spellcasting.
This aspect made her spell release speed no match for specialists like Gauss.
Fortunately, Gauss’s earlier missiles bought her a lot of time.
Rumble!
Instantly, tough vines burst out from the ground like pythons along the road.
Unlike last time facing the giant rats, they were used more restrainedly for the Entanglement Technique.
Nearly ten vines stretched between the two of them and the frog horde.
Precisely blocking the frog horde’s path forward, like laying a deadly net.
Enraged by the death of their companions and pushed forward by the rest of their group, the Rust Frogs crashed unguardedly into this net.
"Whoosh whoosh!"
The flexible vines snaked like living creatures, precisely wrapping around their thick hind legs, tightening and pulling!
"Aroooo!"
The Ulfen lurking in the grass on the flank pounced out like gray lightning, biting hard into the side neck of a Rust Frog ensnared by the vines.
The sharp wolf teeth instantly tore the tough skin, ripping away large chunks of flesh.
Gauss did not stop, swinging his staff once more.
"Flaming Arrow!"
The air at the tip of the staff twisted, with orange-red fire elements rapidly converging; a scorching small flaming arrow formed instantly and shot out!
Swoosh!
The arrow pierced precisely into the body of another Rust Frog bound by the vines.
The high temperature seared the flesh instantly, emitting a sizzling sound and the smell of burning.
The Rust Frog convulsed violently a few times before succumbing to the flames.
Lv3 proficiency Flaming Arrow, with casting done effortlessly, had considerable power.
This was also why Gauss chose to use Flaming Arrow.
On one hand, he wanted to test the combat effectiveness of the lv3 Flaming Arrow, and on the other, Flaming Arrow consumed slightly less magic power compared to downgraded Magic Missiles.
Facing such numerous but individually non-threatening enemies, using Magic Missile seemed wasteful.
Using Flaming Arrow was more economical.
Of course, aside from its power, the triple-shot effect of Magic Missile is irreplaceable when needing to clear monsters quickly.
But with the vine barrier created by the Entanglement Technique, there was no immediate need to rush kill the enemies, so Gauss chose to practice in battle, continuing to use Flaming Arrows.
"Flaming Arrow!"
Flaming Arrows, like the grim reaper calling names, quickly reaped the monsters.
The air began to fill with a strange aroma of roasted meat...
Gauss sniffed the air; it was a scent he liked.
He couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
So fragrant...
Usually, after consuming magic power, the Energy Storage Glands would release a slight feeling of hunger, reminding him to replenish his nutrition.
At this moment, smelling that fresh barbecue-like aroma, different from cold hard jerky, his slight hunger was rapidly magnified several times.
If he remembered correctly, "The Complete Guide to Ingredients around the Jade Forest" mentioned that the leg meat of a rust frog seems to be... edible?
This thought flashed through his mind, and the Flaming Arrow in his hand silently shot even faster.
A relatively strong rust frog broke through the vine’s obstacle and leapt toward Aaliyah.
Aaliyah reacted extremely fast, infusing her Wooden Staff with the power of nature, which hit the frog’s forehead with a whooshing sound.
"Bang!" A dull sound echoed, and the rust frog was hit so hard it became dizzy.
Then Aaliyah quickly retreated, making way for Gauss’s Flaming Arrow, which seamlessly followed up and precisely finished off the dizzy demon.
This was also a tactic the two had discussed in advance.
Aaliyah’s ability to harvest was indeed relatively weaker; whether it was the Oak Stick Technique, Animal Communication Technique, Entanglement Technique, or the divine Berry Technique she was still learning, none had a decisive killing effect.
However, it didn’t matter, as long as she provided the stun, Gauss could proceed with the subsequent kill.
In their usual drills, they had developed enough tacit understanding.
And after discovering Gauss’s astonishing killing efficiency, Aaliyah no longer had any other thoughts.
She calmly did her job, and left the remaining kills to Gauss.
Although Druids do not reject killing, from the skills she learned and mastered, it was clear her desire for direct combat was not very strong.
Teaming up with Gauss also lightened her heart quite a bit.
Very quickly, under their smooth cooperation,
the group of pursuing rust frogs was all left behind.
The ground was full of pits burned by corrosive liquid and the marks left by the lashing long tongues.
"25." Aaliyah quickly counted the bodies.
"Not all of them."
"The mission briefing said that there should be about seventy in this colony, the rest should still be in their lair."
"Hmm, let’s take a short rest." Gauss nodded, his gaze sweeping over his panel.
"Total monsters killed: 458"
Excluding the goblins that sporadically "respawned" from the bushes along the way, in that brief skirmish, he had killed a total of 23.
The Gray Wolf Ulfen had injured many rust frogs but directly killed 2.
In fact, if it weren’t for Gauss’s spell-casting efficiency being too fast,
with Ulfen’s agility and bite force, combined with Aaliyah’s control, this Druid duo would have taken down these twenty or so rust frogs sooner or later.
But with Gauss’s presence, the speed of resolving the battle was faster.
The previous fight probably didn’t even last 3 minutes.
Just being a bit more careful in upcoming battles, this mission to bring the total monster count to the milestone of 500 shouldn’t be a problem.
He still needed 42 kills, and barring any surprises, at the rust frogs’ lair, there should be close to fifty more rust frogs.
It seems later he should discuss with Aaliyah to let Ulfen "take it easy" in the upcoming battles.
Gauss looked at the frog carcasses strewn about, contemplating.
Temporarily setting aside his thoughts.
He and Aaliyah began finishing off and collecting the mission proof, namely the rust frogs’ long tongues.
While deftly cutting off the frog tongues at their roots with a dagger, his gaze unconsciously stuck to the robust, well-defined muscles of the rust frogs’ thick thighs.
The bulging leg meat shimmered with a healthy hue under the sun, involuntarily bringing to his mind the delicious bullfrog pot from his past life... what might the texture of this otherworldly large frog’s meat be like? He was a bit curious.
"Aaliyah, are you hungry?"
"Huh?"
Struggling to pry open a rust frog’s big mouth, ready to reach in to cut the tongue, Aaliyah turned her head in surprise, looking at him incredulously.
If she remembered correctly, hadn’t they just recently left the village that provided lunch?
Hungry again so soon?
Then seeing Gauss’s eyes fixed on the body of a rust frog on the ground, a suspicion flashed in her mind.
Could he be thinking of...