The two-member team is now ensuring their physical condition is optimal and racing against time as much as possible.
To help clear monsters in areas assigned to others, they need to first deal with the monsters in their own area.
They arrive at the second area where monsters have gathered.
Gauss sees the target and looks slightly disappointed.
The leader of those low-level monsters is still a half-ogre.
However, on second thought, this is a monster army led by an ogre wizard, so the probability of encountering ogres and half-ogres is naturally higher compared to other elite demons.
And the number of half-ogres in the tribe is often more than that of ogres.
This is because the reproduction rate between pure-blood ogres is relatively low, with longer birthing cycles.
Whereas half-ogres act as a quick way to supplement tribal strength by crossbreeding with other races, though not as powerful as pure-blood ogres of level 2 challenge, they are more numerous and replenish faster.
Just like the first battle.
Gauss still opts to launch a surprise attack on the half-ogre leader.
He observes from afar.
This time, the half-ogre’s vigilance is clearly higher; it didn’t lie down to sleep but sat grandly on the ground, tightly gripping a broad sword stained with filthy blood, and a large, heavy shield lay beside its foot, scanning the other subordinate races in the team with a piercing gaze.
A few goblins nervously placed roasted food on the plantain leaf in front of it, but one of them was a bit slower, and was backhandedly slapped away by it, crashing into a tree trunk with a scream, then fell silent.
"Indeed, it has a violent temperament..."
Gauss watched this from afar and commented inwardly.
Though half-ogres can somewhat speak common tongue, they fundamentally remain violent demons, unable to coexist harmoniously with ordinary intelligent beings.
They only see other intelligent creatures as food, reproductive machines, or slaves.
"Looks like it’s impossible to launch a sneak attack." Aaliyah, after observing for a while, also commented.
The monsters gathered before them were slightly fewer in number than the previous area, but their overall vigilance was higher, with monsters in the group constantly observing the surrounding forest.
"No worries, then we’ll attack head-on." Gauss said. "You save your energy this time; don’t go up to kill the monsters yourself; just cast the Entanglement Technique from afar and leave the rest to me and Ulfen."
Aaliyah nodded in agreement.
Gauss’s gaze fell on the distant half-ogre.
Though a sneak attack was impossible, the half-ogre was very vigilant.
But from the previous battle, he gained a more accurate understanding of his current power.
At least, when facing these somewhat cumbersome strength-type level 1 challenge demons, he could handle them with ease.
He felt no psychological pressure when looking at that half-ogre now.
The two humans and one wolf were already protected by Gauss’s Force Field ahead of time.
Once everything was confirmed ready, the Magic Missiles in Gauss’s hand swiftly shot out!
As soon as the three missiles left the fern clumps, the ever-alert half-ogre noticed them.
It rolled awkwardly to one side.
But a missile scraped its thigh, which was bound with leather armor.
"Boom!"
The tough leather plates exploded into fragments from the impact of the Magic Missile.
A layer of skin was torn away, and blood slowly oozed out from underneath.
"Roar!!! You sneaky bug, come out!"
Just as it finished speaking, a glossy-haired giant wolf leapt out rapidly from the woods like a flash.
The half-ogre’s attention was partially diverted, but its gaze remained fixed deeper into the forest.
That was... the direction the spell came from.
"Whoosh!"
As it was preparing to lean down to pick up the large shield, another Magic Missile quickly attacked.
The intense pressure forced it to abandon its attempt to pick it up, painfully pushing off with its bleeding thigh, letting its giant body dodge swiftly to one side.
"Boom!"
But Gauss’s missile’s speed wasn’t just for show.
With level 4 proficiency, core spell slot enhancements, and newly acquired title effect: Weak Point Strike began to take effect.
As the half-ogre dodged, it was at a moment when its relatively clumsy body found it challenging to evade again in such a short time.
In that brief airborne moment, the three Magic Missiles came swiftly, sealing all its escape routes.
The half-ogre twisted its muscular body to barely dodge one missile, but the other two incoming Magic Missiles were unavoidable.
"Boom!"
Its massive body was hit by two Magic Missiles.
One missile struck the front armor, while the other hit its exposed side where the leather armor could not protect.
"Boom!"
The forceful Magic Missile struck its rib.
"Crack!"
A clear and crisp sound spread through the air.
Its ribs instantly fractured; one side of the bones stabbed into the body, while several bones on the other side broke through the skin, protruding out grotesquely.
The title effect of Weak Point Strike was even stronger than Gauss had imagined.
He had merely felt a moment of inspiration before casting the spell, resulting in this precise hit.
At this moment, the half-ogre struggled to get up from the ground.
Its breached chest cavity made breathing extra difficult; the words it intended to shout angrily got stuck silently in its throat.
"It seems easier now..." Gauss emerged from the thicket.
Although it wasn’t an instant kill by ambush, this almost frontal fight proved that he had a significant advantage facing these half-ogres.
Next, it’s time to finish it off.
Its chest cavity was likely punctured, making breathing difficult; this half-ogre had lost its last bit of threat to him.
"Da! Da-da!"
Gauss dashed lightly through the monsters, killing them along the way.
His gaze finally turned to the half-ogre attempting to retreat.
Its leg was injured, and its body was severely wounded now. How could it possibly be a match for Gauss?
Within moments, he caught up with it.
"Magic Missile!"
Three Magic Missiles almost fed towards the half-ogre’s face; its difficulty in maneuvering rendered evasion impossible.
All three missiles were consumed in full, burrowing into its body.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The missiles mercilessly tore open its chest cavity, creating a huge void within.
Darkness swallowed this half-ogre.
"Elite Demon Half-Ogre killed *1"
The subsequent actions went even more smoothly.
A group of disorderly monsters, without a leader, were killed in sevens and eights as Gauss adeptly cleared them out.
Unfortunately, he didn’t encounter any new types of creatures.
Gauss looked over the ravaged battleground, chewing on some jerky, and thought with a hint of disappointment.
But this winter hunting event would last for a week, providing plenty more opportunities later.
"Total Monster Kill Count: 739"
This time, he killed 58 monsters in total, plus 9 monsters encountered on the way, reaching a total of 739, nearing the thousand-level mark.
Reviewing the monster count in the Adventurer’s Handbook’s Monster Atlas, Gauss silently took stock.
He had collected 14 types of ordinary monster records now.
If nothing went wrong, before he completed collecting 20 types, he’d likely reach the milestone of a thousand kills first.
During their rest, Raven Aik, who was sent out earlier to gather intelligence, also returned.
"How is it? In our area, are there any decent monster groups left?" Gauss inquired while resting.
Aaliyah shook her head after communicating with the raven.
"It seems not."
"Then we will have to move to nearby areas next." Gauss said.
The killing efficiency of this small team was extremely high.
It was still just around noon.
They had already cleared out two monster tribes with around a hundred members each; the total value harvested should be in the range of a dozen Gold Coins, while other teams clearly couldn’t achieve such efficiency.
The simplest logic was that most adventurers’ earnings from the winter hunt were about 10 Gold Coins.
Assuming a four-person team,
the total profit would be around 50 Gold Coins.