When Gauss finished speaking in a calm manner.
The air suddenly fell into an inexplicable and eerie silence.
Around them, there was no more talking, only the howling wind and the subtle sound of Gauss leisurely chewing dried meat.
Blake, the warrior at the head of the group, turned back and exchanged a glance with the others. In a position out of Gauss’s sight, a flicker of fierce determination flashed in his eyes.
With a barely noticeable nod to his companions, he turned back to Gauss, forcing a somewhat "sincere" smile on his face.
"Forget it, peace is precious! Pierro, don’t get angry. Just make friends with this brother." Blake waved his hand generously.
Watching the man in front slowly chewing his food.
Quietly observing him the entire time, yet not giving any verbal response.
Blake took a deep breath and signaled the others to step back.
"Then we’ll take our leave for now."
The mage and priest in the group were the first to retreat back.
Then the warrior and wanderer covered the rear, slowly withdrawing.
It seemed everything was developing just as he said, but the next moment.
When the mage and priest had moved a fair distance away, Blake suddenly turned, then powered his legs.
The strength he had been accumulating burst out from the tips of his toes, and he changed direction almost instantly.
Then, he charged fiercely towards Gauss.
He raised the massive sword in his hand high, its blade flashing a sharp white light, and struck down viciously in Gauss’s direction!
"Clang!!!"
No scene of a successful sneak attack as anticipated.
Gauss didn’t even blink an eye.
At some point, his weapon had switched to the Unbreakable Staff from his storage pouch.
He held the metallic staff horizontally in front of him, blocking the massive sword.
The metallic clang echoed in the air, sparks flying at the point of weapon contact.
"What immense strength!"
In the brief standoff with Gauss, warrior Blake gasped inwardly, his pupils slightly narrowing.
Gauss’s figure wasn’t as brawny as his, yet he seemed to hold no particular strength advantage!
Moreover...
"Freakish strength!"
Gauss activated a newly learned skill he had been quietly preparing.
The next moment, a surge of massive power gathered in his arms.
His arms holding the Unbreakable Staff visibly grew thicker, then exploded with even more formidable strength.
"Boom!"
In disbelief, Blake, despite his larger size and bulging muscles, was sent flying by Gauss.
He staggered a few steps before managing to stabilize himself.
This result defied intuition.
Feeling the immense power accumulated in his arm, Gauss understood the dominance of the skill he had just acquired that morning.
Being a Level 1 Mage, even though his strength attribute was excellent, it was difficult to overpower a Level 1 heavy-armored warrior in close combat.
But after activating the freakish strength, he managed it, at least in terms of strength.
"As expected..." Gauss glanced at the cautious quartet on the other side.
He knew the opponent’s words of peace were merely a stalling tactic.
An unbreakable principle, never listen to what someone says, but watch what they do.
Despite the warrior’s friendly facade and pacifying demeanor, his body remained tense, ready to unleash power at any moment.
So Gauss remained secretly vigilant.
The facts proved that his caution wasn’t the suspicion of a petty heart.
With one hand behind his back, he signaled Aaliyah to step back and be on guard.
And in front of him.
"Let’s all attack together!" Having completely dropped the facade, Blake no longer pretended, loudly calling to his companions.
Although being sent flying by Gauss made Blake somewhat doubt himself, he quickly adjusted.
On one hand, he believed his previous turn and power didn’t flow smoothly; on the other hand, they had the advantage of numbers, and the opponents had just been through a tough fight, giving them a physical edge.
Outnumbering the foe isn’t shameful!
Failure is the true disgrace.
As long as they win the battle!
Blake once again gathered his full strength and charged at Gauss.
At the same time.
His mage companion swung the Magic Wand, while the other hand formed a seal in the air, quickly casting a mysterious energy, landing in the area between the retreating Aaliyah and Gauss, who was preparing to use the Entanglement Technique.
An invisible ripple spread out!
"Sleep Curse!"
The mysterious magical wave swept over Gauss and Aaliyah.
Gauss, resisting another of warrior Blake’s attacks, shivered all over, but nothing happened next.
Ulfen, left by Aaliyah to guard Gauss, was about to leap at Blake from the side, but hesitated due to the mysterious energy, his eyelids drooping, seemingly falling into some sort of stupor.
Gauss glanced at this scene, his gaze quickly shifting to Aaliyah.
As expected, she seemed affected by the mysterious spell as well.
The Gauss Force Field placed on her was, after all, a weakened version. Aaliyah didn’t possess the inherent magic resistance Gauss had, so her resistance to spells wasn’t particularly strong.
Despite having decent physical attributes, she was inevitably affected during the brief moment when the spell was in effect.
And the wanderer, who had been hiding all along, emerged from the shadows, using the spell’s effect to launch an attack on Aaliyah!
His target had always been Aaliyah, this made the previously vigilant Gauss frown.
Although Aaliyah also had a Gauss Force Field over her, it had suffered some wear and tear during the earlier fight, and he didn’t want to take the risk.
His gaze suddenly grew sharp.
Gauss activated the freakish strength again, and with a surge of massive power, he first sent Blake flying a few steps back.
Then, seizing this opportunity, the Unbreakable Staff in his hands emitted a magical glow.
"Magic Missile!"
Three Magic Missiles were fired in a triangular formation.
Blocking the wanderer’s advance, intercepting his retreat.
"He’s actually a mage!"
Blake’s face showed a look of shock upon seeing this.
It wasn’t an overreaction.
It’s just that the four-member team were all outsiders, and their understanding of Gauss was largely hearsay.
Additionally, the scenes they last witnessed of Gauss fighting were all melee-related, making it hard not to initially view Gauss as a balanced type warrior.
Or rather, the scene of Gauss effortlessly casting spells like a caster was what genuinely defied logic.
"So, all this time I’ve been in close combat with a caster?"
Blake was greatly shaken.
A sense of foreboding welled up in his heart.
Meanwhile, in the distance, the already-fired Magic Missiles were astonishingly fast.
The wanderer Dylan, swiftly sprinting close to the ground, felt an overwhelming sense of threat pressing from the side.
He slightly tilted his head, only to witness a heart-stopping scene.
Three menacing Magic Missiles were headed straight for his position.
The dangerous magical fluctuations emanating from them were faster and more lethal than any similar spells he had seen before.
"Where did this caster come from!??"