They traveled for a few hours.
The melancholy of parting had not completely left Gauss’s heart when a heavy rain fell from the sky on their way back.
The rain came suddenly.
The leaden gray clouds quickly devoured the sunlight, and raindrops as big as beans fell without warning.
At first sparse, in no time at all it turned into a white curtain of rain, splashing into the mud pits on the ground with a pattering sound.
"Tsk, this rain really doesn’t come at the right time!" Aaliyah furrowed her delicate brows, wiping her light blue hair that was wet and clinging to her forehead, as the cold rainwater trickled down her neck into her collar.
Gauss took out rainproof cloaks from his storage ring and tossed them to his two teammates.
Then he looked around.
As far as the eye could see, there was an open area, with no suitable place for shelter.
Feeling the dense raindrops hitting his robe, Gauss fastened his cloak, the heavy rain also made his mind clearer.
Calming the slightly uneasy Chocobo in the rain, as it kept shaking its wet head.
The harsh weather was an integral part of their adventurous journey.
The three exchanged a glance.
"Shall we keep going?" Gauss’s voice pierced through the sound of the rain.
"Alright." The two nodded in agreement.
Even Aaliyah, the weakest in constitution, was long accustomed to rain falling in the wilderness; she just felt a bit disappointed because they had just ended a short "vacation" and hadn’t returned to Gray Rock Town before encountering the rain.
Gauss squeezed the Chocobo’s sides with his legs.
"Screech!!"
The Chocobo, receiving the command, kicked off with its strong, powerful hooves like those of a horse, picking up large clumps of soft, sticky mud, and carried Gauss rushing into the denser rain curtain.
"Thud thud thud!!"
The robust Chocobo moved swiftly in the rain curtain, cold rainwater splashing against Gauss’s cloak, producing a dull sound.
The world seemed to consist solely of the white rain, the slippery, muddy road beneath, and the faint sounds of the Chocobo’s breathing and splashing water.
"Why don’t we just find a spot to set up a tent and take shelter from the rain?" Gauss used the Communication Technique twice consecutively, conveying his idea to his two teammates.
His original thought was to soon leave the center of this heavy rain behind.
However, just as he awaited his teammates’ responses,
the Chocobo under Gauss suddenly let out a sharp, shrill "Gaa" sound!
"Watch out, something’s up!"
Gauss also saw the small black dots in the distance, his heart tensed, and he immediately tightened the reins.
The Chocobo came to a sudden halt, its hooves plowing deep furrows into the muddy ground.
It restlessly pranced in place, the feathers on its neck standing on end.
Aaliyah and Serdur responded quickly as well, the former swiftly controlling her mount, the latter stopping his sliding figure and quickly drawing his weapon with vigilance.
Gauss’s sight pierced through the heavy rain curtain, raindrops continuously flowing down his cheeks as he frequently blinked to keep his vision clear.
In the shadowy tall grass ahead, he saw small, twisted figures swaying on the road and in the grass on both sides.
Among the pattering rain was a sharp, ear-piercing noise.
"Waa waa waa!!"
A group of green-skinned goblins emerged from the rain and grass bushes, crowded, with roughly dozens at a glance.
Their deep green, wet and greasy-looking skin appeared even more hideous under the wash of rain, as they waved various weapons in their hands.
And in their midst, a figure stood that was taller than the goblins, emanating a distinctly fierce aura.
Gauss saw the target clearly.
His heart leaped with joy.
It was an Elite Jackal-Wolfman!
It had a wolf-like, ferocious head, covered all over with gray-brown fur as stiff as steel needles, standing tall even in the downpour, its tusks visible, dripping murky saliva.
It wore a crude composite armor made of metal plates and leather, and in its hand was a massive scimitar that gleamed with a chilling light and had a menacing curve.
Rain pattered against its body, flowing down its sturdy lower limbs, but it remained unaffected, its ruthless, cunning yellow-brown eyes fixated on Gauss and his two companions, letting out a low, threatening growl.
This growl instantly overpowered the goblins’ noisy clamor, causing the small green-skinned creatures to instinctively hunch their necks.
The trio accidentally stumbled upon this goblin tribe led by an Elite Jackal Wolfman!
"How could we encounter this here?" Aaliyah blinked.
This was, after all, to the north of Gray Rock Town.
Relatively speaking, the probability of encountering such a monster team led by an elite demon was relatively low.
But they did encounter it.
"Prepare for battle!" Gauss’s mouth curved into a slight smile. Though he vaguely felt there was something strange about this, his super brain told him that now was the time to use super strength to fight.
Besides, his Monster Atlas had yet to collect an Elite Jackal Wolfman.
Now the Jackal Wolfman in the distance wasn’t just an ordinary monster but 10 walking elite points in Gauss’s eyes.
Separated by some distance, they couldn’t temporarily discern the opponent’s specific strength in the pouring rain, but rational analysis suggested it shouldn’t be too challenging.
The most straightforward point being, if a monster were truly powerful, it wouldn’t be leading such a small number of goblin subordinates.
Just like humans, in the simple and pure social hierarchy among demons, the stronger the individual, the stronger its followers often are.
Even though the act of this Jackal Wolfman driving a pack of goblins deep into the human world was unusual in itself, its strength likely wouldn’t exceed expectations by much.