"Bang!"
Suddenly, a tremendous force erupted under Gauss’s feet, and his body swiftly dodged to the side.
The next moment, a huge stone smashed into the ground where he had been standing, leaving a bottomless pit.
"Boom!!!"
That was close.
The Giant Tree-man chased him while hurling massive rocks like a catapult.
He felt the giant egg within him still emitting a gentle glow.
Gauss felt helpless.
Egg treasure, oh egg treasure, you’ve truly caused me so much trouble.
Although he had coveted it from the start, he wasn’t that stubborn.
He wouldn’t put himself in such danger for an egg of unknown origin and purpose.
This was precisely why he had been refraining from taking any substantial action and was using the clay worshippers to probe.
Who would have thought this egg could be so domineering.
If he didn’t approach it, it would fly to him!
Feeling the commotion growing nearer from behind.
Gauss’s legs were slightly aching from the exertion.
Aside from not using the , he had exhausted almost all methods, pushing his body to 120% of its strength.
But he still couldn’t shake them off.
On either side of his vision, some high-level worshippers had moved swiftly to his side.
And ahead, he could vaguely see traces of white, ghostly figures rushing to intercept.
Behind, slower but much stronger Short Tree-men and Giant Tree-men.
"Will I have to unleash the Ghost Form?" Assessing the encirclement, Gauss quickly thought to himself.
In Ghost Form, his speed would increase significantly.
For a short time, he could surely distance himself from them.
But what then... Once unable to fully shake them off in Ghost Form.
They’d quickly catch up.
By then, Ghost Form would have consumed most of his energy, and he’d have no strength left to resist.
It’s nothing but drinking poison to quench thirst.
But if he doesn’t drink this "poison," he’s about to be surrounded.
Just as Gauss prepared to activate the Ghost Form.
The next moment, a soothing intent emerged from within him, from the hidden giant egg.
This intent wasn’t any clear message, but Gauss instantly understood its meaning.
"You have a way?"
"Then hurry up."
Gauss sprinted forward, already seeing a shadow growing from the ground, reaching out its thorn-covered "arms" to grab him.
"Buzz!!!"
The next moment.
A white wave of energy surged from within Gauss.
The wave expanded rapidly, affecting all surrounding demons.
In an instant.
All the demons seemed to have their pause button pressed, motionless and crouching.
Upon closer inspection, their bodies were trembling slightly.
An invisible will shrouded the land.
Gauss didn’t dare waste time, taking advantage of the gap to flee quickly.
In an instant, he ran far away.
A few breaths later, the demons were left far behind, out of sight.
Only after running very far did the roars resound again from behind.
However, this time, Gauss faintly detected a sense of powerlessness and sadness in the roar, like abandoned believers by their god or young beasts forsaken by their owner.
The demons didn’t pursue him further, instead standing dumbfounded in place.
After a long while, the Short Tree-men began destroying everything around them frantically, venting their anger and frustration.
The trees fell under their blows, dust flying everywhere.
Some unlucky worshippers were also caught, their bodies swept away like torn rags!
Some Short Tree-men even started fighting each other.
The once quiet Black Forest descended into chaos, rage, and disorder.
...
Gauss dared not stop running.
Until he escaped the Black Forest, ensuring no pursuers behind him.
Only then did he collapse onto the ground, gasping heavily for air.
Thankfully... Thankfully, that egg seems to still have some control over the demons nourished by it.
Otherwise, he couldn’t imagine how he would’ve escaped.
He began stuffing food into his mouth.
The energy expenditure made him feel extremely hungry.
He ate a lot of jerky continuously.
Yet Gauss still didn’t feel full.
He furrowed his brows, feeling the changes within him.
A moment later, he raised his brows.
"No! Why is this egg still eating my Magic Power?"
"You thief!"
He realized that despite having eaten enough food, according to his usual understanding of his body, it should be enough to restore spent energy, but he remained unfed.
Turns out, there was a magic thief in his body.
Continuously consuming his Magic Power, forcing his body to activate the , continuing to consume food, rapidly converting it to replenished Magic Power.
But thinking of how considerate the egg was.
It didn’t abandon him in his moment of crisis, he sighed.
Fine.
Eat when hungry.
Anyway, he has abundant Magic Power and recovers quickly.
Just treat it as compensation for its earlier consumption.
Upon Gauss’s realization, this egg stopped pretending.
Directly, openly transmitting its intent.
The intent was muddled, translating roughly as follows.
"Hungry!"
"So hungry!"
"I’m so hungry!"
In Gauss’s perception, it felt like a child hungry for food.
"Eat, eat. Can’t leave you hungry, can I?"
Gauss continued stuffing jerky into his mouth.
"So hungry, so hungry..."
"Don’t rush, I’m eating too, aren’t I?"
However, as he chewed and chewed...
He suddenly felt... something wasn’t quite right....
No way! Have I become your mom?