"Monster kill count: 29,212"
Just like harvesting chives, the feeble kobolds were dying in droves.
The presence of Red Dragon Hephaestus was overwhelming, especially mixed with the pure dragon aura from his body, which combined was undoubtedly fatal for kobolds who naturally worship giant dragons.
Gauss even suspected that if he had come with a desire for conquest rather than slaughter and adopted a "surrender" strategy, this group of alien race demons might have had a chance of expressing submission to him, someone as pure as a human could get.
At least the lower-tier miner kobolds would likely choose to submit.
After all, even among demons, kobolds are the most fickle bunch.
Though the Demon Lords might disdain their combat abilities, they often spare them due to their mining skills.
Hence, changes in the upper-level masters are a common affair for low-level kobolds.
Unfortunately, Gauss could never become the "Lord" of demons.
Doing so would make him a target for all.
In his frenzied harvest, the kill count was swiftly rising.
"..."
"Monster kill count: 29,522"
"Monster kill count: 29,611"
The rapidly increasing numbers were not solely due to his efforts; outside the valley, kobolds trying to escape were met with attacks from members of the Red Dragon Team guarding the exits.
On the surface, the adventure group shared a kill count with Gauss at around 20%, which wasn’t high.
But in reality, it was far higher than that, because Aaliyah, Ying, and his clay summons were at 100%, Serdur and Albena at 50%, boosting the overall proportion.
In his perception, it was definitely over 60%.
As for those not shared, he didn’t regret it.
After all, if not for the interception by Red Dragon Team members, many of these monsters might have escaped, and that would have been the real waste.
On a mound, Ivan was aflame.
Unbeknownst to him, his pupils had changed to resemble those of a lizard.
He raised his head, observing Gauss sitting atop a dragon’s back in the distant valley sky, slaughtering demons freely, with a hint of awe in his gaze.
"Is this the power of the group leader?"
He finally understood why, before the action started, Gauss only instructed the others to guard the exits, leaving the main battlefield inside for him alone.
Initially, he worried Gauss was being reckless, but witnessing the hellish scene before him.
Kobolds stood no chance against the Red Dragon’s breath and the leader’s magic, realizing his concerns were unfounded.
The leader’s power exceeded his imagination.
Maybe ordinary people who’ve never seen the world may not realize how incredible the sight was, but he wasn’t one of them; being a caster himself, he could better comprehend the terror in Gauss’s effortless prowess.
Casting requires focus; in an adventure group, the caster is often the one being protected.
The rest of the team needs to create time and space for the caster to release spells.
But sitting on a dragon’s back in high-speed motion, how could one possibly calm their mind, at least by his shallow understanding, it seemed impossible to focus, let alone cast spells successfully with pinpoint precision on every enemy.
Just thinking about it made the difficulty seem like an unwritten tale.
But the leader did it; he sat on the dragon, unperturbed, unleashing his signature barrage of magic missiles like a storm.
"Too strong..."
Ivan swallowed hard.
Suddenly, a commotion arose below.
He looked down to see dozens of kobolds scrambling in panic.
They gazed down the passage at the outside world, their eyes seemed to show a glimmer of hope.
"How could we let you leave?"
Ivan shifted his attention from the leader, despite wanting to continue appreciating the leader’s elegant casting art, his primary duty was crucial.
They would not let even a single kobold leave here.
"Aim!"
As he raised his arm.
Action group members on both sides, poised in ambush, pressed the sturdy walnut stocks against their shoulder, cheeks resting on the smooth wood, while the right eye began targeting the distant incoming figures.
"Fire!"
At his command.
Everyone pressed the metal trigger simultaneously.
"Crack!"
The bowstring snapped sharply, launching crossbow arrows straight forward, the arrows whistling through the air as they plunged into the kobold squads.
"Splat!" Instantly, those arrows pierced through the kobold’s bodies.
The power of crossbow arrows is fatal to most low-tier monsters, and given the narrow width of the passage, the swarming kobolds had nowhere to hide.
Blood blossomed on the bodies of the kobolds.
Accompanied by screams, the kobolds at the front fell.
The kobolds at the back fell into a panic, oblivious to where the attackers were coming from.
They attempted to turn back.
But the next moment.
"Burning Hand!"
Ivan unleashed a sheet of flames, igniting oil previously scattered on the ground behind the kobolds.
High-temperature flames blocked the kobolds’ retreat.
While other action group members seized this moment to finish loading and drawing the second batch of crossbow arrows.
"Whizz!" "Whizz!" "Whizz!"
The sound of arrows slicing through the air rang out once more.
With the coordination of all members, another batch of kobolds fell.