Some of them were regular soldiers, others adventurers, and some joined the group silently, driven by a herd mentality when they saw everyone following him.
"Okay."
Just as the words were spoken.
Andri, who had been floating in the air outside the city walls, slowly descended from above his head.
Her chest heaved slightly, gasping for breath.
It was clear that the recent battle had taken quite a toll on her as well.
Her gaze paused momentarily on Gauss’s dragon claws before shifting away.
"Let’s rendezvous with the main force first."
Now, the group was at the corner of the city wall, while other adventurers, soldiers, and cavalry were contracting the defense line inward.
Staying here would be like an isolated island in a vast ocean, soon to be overwhelmed by the numerous demons.
Even Gauss, who needed to slay monsters to grow stronger, did not want to see such a scenario.
Killing monsters was for the purpose of becoming stronger, and becoming stronger was for better survival in this world. He was not driven by simple bloodlust.
Soon, under the leadership of Gauss and Andri, this temporary team tore through the monsters’ blockade along the way.
Andri soared into the sky, attracting those Level 5 and above demons.
Nearby monsters were left to Gauss and the others.
Especially Gauss, as the main force; those grotesque monsters, even elite demons, were like fragile dolls under his dragon claws, instantly torn in half.
Any monster daring to stand in his way was sent flying.
The extreme violence unfolding before them left the temporary members suppressing distant monsters with arrows, completely dumbfounded.
Compared to those demons, Gauss in this state seemed more like a monster!
Gauss fiercely tore open a path through the shantytown, finally returning to the center of the camp, reuniting with the others.
As they returned to the main force, the defensive line continued to retreat.
In the distance, laborers, merchants, and caravans could be seen heading towards the back gate for evacuation.
Gauss mounted a land walker.
Andri descended from the sky, sat in front of him, and looked around.
She whispered to the three.
"We need to prepare for retreat too."
She saw more clearly, demons were continuously flooding toward Outpost 11 from the forest.
Although she didn’t understand why the stationed forces here were so empty and why the number of demons exceeded normal levels, now was not the time to ponder this.
She only knew that relying on the forces in the camp, there was no way to hold this isolated outpost, Outpost 11.
The defensive fortifications here were not fully completed.
Perhaps if the adventurers and soldiers in the camp were fearless, there might be some chance of holding this camp.
But the reality was that faced with an endless demon tide and the continuous appearance of elite demons, the morale of the defenders was visibly collapsing.
Unless one exceeds the level, personal courage in war ultimately has limited effect.
Especially since many adventurers suspected that President Rich, who had not appeared, and the cavalry that went out during the day had foreseen the demon tide siege and retreated early, diminishing their will to fight even more.
In the end, adventurers are just mercenaries paid to do a job.
"Knight Ferrin has issued an order for everyone to retreat towards the northwest gate alternately!" A messenger soldier rode swiftly through the chaotic camp, straining his voice to deliver the order.
It was confirmed that Outpost 11 was to be abandoned.
Gauss and his companions exchanged glances.
They were surprised by the decisiveness of this order.
Although even without the order, adventurers had already begun retreating on their own, at least now there was nominal justification for their "retreat" under the command of a local officer.
This commander, however, might not avoid punishment for making such a decision; it took considerable courage to do so.
"Whoa!!!"
In the camp, the figures of goblins, kobolds, and jackal-wolf people were everywhere, holding torches, setting buildings on fire, turning the entire camp into a sea of fire and a slaughterhouse.
Buildings took immense effort to construct but were easily destroyed.
Everywhere the eye could see, the shanties, stables, warehouses, and the Adventurer’s Guild sign were ablaze.
The scorching air distorted and painted the pitch-black night sky an ominous crimson.
The crackling of burning wood and the rumble of collapsing buildings were constantly heard.
The flames, blood, and clamorous cries stirred Gauss’s blood instinctively, prompting him to refocus and suppress his body’s heat once more.
"Retreat!"
He and his companions quickly headed towards the northwest gate, following the group.
Along the way, chaos was rampant throughout the camp.
Some adventurers got separated, lost in the monster tide, crying out as monsters pounced, piercing their bodies with claws and weapons repeatedly.
Goblins acted like crazed maniacs, shrieking, and waving rusty blades and torches, searching for prey. They wanted not only to kill but reveled in destruction, smashing barrels, lighting cloth ablaze, and even fighting and biting each other for a shiny leather armor piece stripped from a corpse.
The numbers were overwhelming.
The only fortunate thing was that most people in the camp had already evacuated.
When Gauss began resisting on the wall, non-combat personnel had started evacuating under soldiers’ command.
As for the unlucky few who didn’t receive the message or got lost, they could only blame their bad luck.
Moreover, the monsters seemed not to pursue, focused instead on looting camp supplies and destroying buildings, as if carrying out an order.
Thus, the group quickly escaped through the open west gate.
Gauss set down his magic wand, his expression heavy.
Along the way, he had been using Flaming Arrows to pick off demons, but compared to the total number, those he killed were like a drop in the ocean.
"Total monsters killed: 2875"
In the recent short-lived demon wave defense battle, he had slain over four hundred monsters.
It was efficient, but at this moment, he felt far from pleased.
Strictly speaking, this should count as the first setback in his adventurer career.
But on careful thought, retreat was inevitable; even with the power of the Steadfast Scales bloodline, the monsters deep within the demon tide exceeded elite levels, all beyond his current ability to handle.
In fact, if not for a few master-level knights left behind to cover their retreat, it wouldn’t have gone this smoothly.
Once again, he realized his strength was not enough.
The only consolation was...
He looked at his companions, still shaken but safe, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone being fine was good.
He looked back at the distant, fiery sky, taking a deep breath of cold air.
A temporary setback wasn’t worth dwelling on.
He still had time to grow stronger.