"Well, let’s get going first." Gron bid farewell to Gauss outside the carriage window. "You should go back soon too."
"See you at Farlim."
"See you at Farlim."
The carriage gradually grew distant.
...
Perhaps influenced by the events in Black Water Town’s urban area two days prior, Gauss noticed that the monsters in the surrounding areas seemed to have become more active.
Among different monster clans, there appeared to be some sort of intelligence exchange, swapping significant information with each other.
Gauss listened as three goblins by the roadside chatted animatedly, using "Fluent in Language" to translate their conversation.
"Human!"
"Capture the horned human, first prize is a treasure."
"Kill?"
"Kill!"
"Want to eat."
"Can’t eat."
Perhaps the translation of Magic "Fluent in Language" was lacking, or maybe the goblins’ conversation was inherently fragmented; in any case, the information Gauss received was scattered.
Watching the goblins become increasingly excited, as if they already had this horned human in their grasp, Gauss couldn’t help but feel exasperated.
No matter how bad he was, he couldn’t possibly be caught by those goblins, who looked more like small monkeys, from afar, could he?
This was the limitation of ordinary goblins.
Even if they received information, they couldn’t think rationally or analyze the content, thus failing to realize Gauss was a formidable opponent they couldn’t handle.
As Gauss focused his attention on the three goblins.
The goblins, arguing whether to eat him or exchange him for treasure, quickly met their end without further dispute.
"Boom!"
The three goblins foamed at the mouth and soon fell heavily to the ground.
When Gauss shared his findings with his teammates, given his identity was disclosed by the leader as soon as they arrived in Black Water Town, he had indeed become famous, whether in several cities in Cold Jade Province or among the monster clans along the Jade Forest coast.
This brought some helplessness to Aaliyah and the others.
Perhaps this was akin to people being afraid to become famous and pigs afraid to grow fat.
"Try not to leave any alive."
Though unsure if the low-level monsters could realize Gauss was the target being pursued by higher-ups, they still decided to avoid leaving any clues.
If they slaughtered all the monsters, there’d be no risk of exposing his identity.
Gauss gazed at the distant Hot Stone Mine.
Their first mission on this trip was the open-pit mine occupied by about 2,000 to 3,000 kobolds.
The open-pit mine had been excavated into a deep valley.
Neither past humans nor the current monsters occupying the land would relinquish the extraction of natural resources.
"Clang!"
"Clang clang!"
Kobolds swung pickaxes, the heads landing with precision on the weaker spots of the rock wall minerals.
As metal met mineral, a crack visible to the naked eye appeared on the mineral surface.
With one pick, then another, the crack, under the kobolds’ diligent labor, expanded continuously until fist-sized mineral chunks fell, and after loading a basket full of mineral fragments, the kobolds began carrying the basket toward the mine cave below the valley.
There, a taller kobold, clad in gleaming iron armor, stood at the cave entrance supervising, glaring fiercely at the crouching miner kobolds, occasionally whipping those attempting to cut in line, causing their dark red scale-covered bodies to be torn open.
"Ah! Ah ah ah!"
This scene frequently occurred in front of many teams.
At the front, miner kobolds handing over their mined minerals quickly received corresponding remuneration, usually a couple of blobs of sticky black substances.
It was food boiled from an assortment of substances including bone powder, insects, possible soil, traces of rat meat, plant roots, and more.
As for pure meat, only those powerful Warriors were worthy of savoring it.
All the lower-level miner kobolds seemed to have no complaints about this.
After consuming their portion, washing it down with water from a muddy pond nearby, they strapped on their baskets, picked up their picks, and headed back toward the rock wall.
If viewed not from a human standpoint, kobolds were a hardworking and diligent race.
"What a pity..."
Gauss, observing the mine activities from a distance, shook his head.
Even though many of the kobold miners here might dig until their deaths without harming any humans, their excavation activities are deemed a crime in the eyes of humans.
They unearth ore, refine and forge it into weapons and equipment, and can arm even more monsters, enabling them to gain greater combat strength against humans.
Rather, these producers are more important than warriors.
For races like goblins, which have an exceptionally high reproduction rate, as long as they have equipment and food, even if only a tenth survive, they can quickly raise a new army.
Just like weeds on the plains, they cannot be eradicated.
"Everyone is in position at all the exits to the mines."
Ying appeared beside Gauss.
"Then let’s begin the operation."
Gauss nodded.
Ying quickly conveyed his orders to all locations.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow pierced through the air, ultimately striking the heart of the kobold on the watchtower.
The kobolds below heard the peculiar noise and were just about to look up towards the source of the sound.
A sliver of sacred moonlight descended from the sky.
What seemed like gentle moonlight became a form of terrifying "radiation" energy.
In the blink of an eye, kobolds exposed to the moonlight began to "dissolve."
"Exit 1 secured!"
"Exit 2 cleared!"
"Exit 3..."
In less than a few minutes, a total of five exits from the mining valley were silently uprooted.
At this moment, the entire kobold clan of the Hot Stone Mine had become like fish in a barrel.
Any kobolds attempting to leave here would encounter fierce opposition from Gauss’s Red Dragon Team members and the clay creatures.
Of course, the central battlefield was the most important.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The repetitive, seemingly unchanging sound of metal striking ore echoed throughout the valley.
All the kobolds seemed numbed to this way of life.
Even the kobold overseers were the same.
"Crack!"
"Don’t slack off! Fool!"
"Ah!"
Only by swinging their whips and striking the fellow kobold miners, hearing those cries of pain, could those overseers reveal cruel smiles.
For demons, tormenting other creatures was also an important form of amusement, even if the other party was their own kin.
Noticing the rare glint of hatred in the eyes of the kobold rolling in pain on the ground, the overseer’s cruelty intensified. Most kobold miners had resigned themselves to such fate, and only a few newcomers would show such an exciting gaze.
"Crack!"
Another lash, and the scales on the kobold on the ground burst open, spraying blood.
It was precisely this gaze, seeing the hatred in the young kobold’s eyes on the ground, that made the kobold overseer more excited, almost trembling with anticipation.
However, it failed to notice the deep awe in the young kobold’s eyes when it looked up, as though witnessing a deity.
The third whip of the kobold overseer froze in mid-air, not yet fully descending.
The surrounding air temperature began to rise sharply.
Before confusion could form in its mind.
Crimson, magma-like flames capable of igniting the sky descended!
Fire! Instantly consumed everything!
Like a divine purification flame, whether miner or overseer, or the ore beside them, all instantly dissolved in the fire. Neither the deep-seated hatred nor the twisted satisfaction held meaning at that thousand-degree heat.
A colossal entity had arrived without warning.
It spread its wings, casting a vast shadow on the ground, its crimson scale armor reflecting molten gold-like dazzling and majestic light in the noontime sun.
It was a dragon!
Flying over the valley, the giant beast soaring through the sky lowered its long neck, and from its gaping maw, a torrent of pure white heat poured forth!
Wherever it reached, it transformed into a purgatory of fire and heat. It had come simply to obliterate this clan.
The kobolds below raised their heads, blankly watching the fiery rain fall until it engulfed them.