Most people in the Red Dragon Team were coming to the Maze for the first time, and couldn’t help but repeatedly glance at the magnificent scenery of the second layer’s verdant world as they moved.
Moving shrubs surrounded by greenery from all directions, a deep breath felt as if the vitality of the plants filled them from the inside out.
But it’s not merely the scenery that has an impact, more profoundly, it’s the constant stimulation from the omnipresent natural magic in the maze’s environment.
Gauss led the group, controlling a dozen "water pythons" to swim along the passage walls ahead.
Monsters and beasts hidden in the grass would mercilessly be instantly crushed by the passing water pythons, leaving pools of blood on the ground and walls.
Enemies occasionally appearing from the rear sides were also swiftly dealt with by other members of the team.
While the second layer of the maze might encounter powerful creatures like the adult spider demons Gauss first faced, most are still low-level monsters and low challenge level creatures.
Their team, mostly composed of professionals, led by his extraordinary combat power, operated at an over-spec level in this environment.
Barging through like this, they quickly entered the first "forbidden zone."
Gauss squinted slightly, looking at the surroundings, the corners of his mouth slowly rising.
The environment around had a faintly familiar aura to him.
Although the position has changed, even the scene is almost different, he still captured a similar feeling.
He flared his nostrils.
A foul smell mixed subtly with the rich herbal fragrance.
This smell was faint but couldn’t escape his high perception attribute of 15 points.
His eyes slowly lit up.
Indeed, it is this scent.
The bloodline of the ghost...
In an instant, he channeled the magic power of "water manipulation" in his hands, gathering the flow into a great sword hovering overhead.
This flow was not holy water, just the most ordinary water body, but for Gauss now, even ordinary water could unleash terrifying power.
"Clang!!!"
Three pale bladed legs slashed down on the hard water great sword from different directions, exerting enormous force downwards.
Yet Gauss’s hand holding the sword didn’t sink even a bit.
"Too weak..."
Gauss raised his head, locking eyes with the three female-shaped forms covered in a pale carapace above.
These were creatures with voluptuous humanoid upper bodies, horns on their heads, blade-shaped arms, and spider-like lower bodies.
It’s been a while...
Gauss looked at one of them.
His memory tells him it’s the same one that once effortlessly pushed him to a dead end.
If not for her needing to drive him towards those juvenile compatriots, using him as their enlightenment tool, he could never have held on for so long back then.
However, that once overwhelmingly formidable creature now posed no threat whatsoever.
For a moment, Gauss was in a daze.
Perhaps Gauss left too deep an impression on it then. Even though over a year later, Gauss’s appearance and strength had significantly changed, the spider demon zeroed in on him and slowly recognized his identity.
Its vacant eyes flickered briefly, then a hint of fearful and uneasy humanity surfaced in the depths.
"Recognized me?"
Gauss’s spiritual power allowed him to vaguely perceive the emotional fluctuations of surrounding creatures.
He chuckled.
Then his hands erupted with overwhelming force.
In an instant, as white streamers swept outward, the three creatures far larger than him flew back together, crashing noisily into the ceiling above.
"Crack!"
Several crisp sounds rang out, the sound of bones and carapace shattering.
"Drip!"
Milky blood dripped from above, leaving corrosive marks on the ground.
Gauss stared across the distance at the spider demons.
Behind him, Luna narrowed her eyes, seemingly unsure of what he was doing.
From her understanding of Gauss’s strength, he should have been able to instantly slay these three creatures at first meeting.
The others hesitated as well, looking cautiously around them.
The captain’s actions must have deeper significance.
Could it be that these spider demons, or something hidden around, posed an unseen risk they couldn’t detect?
Among the crowd, only Aaliyah gently shook her head, smiling lightly.
That day when they were driven to desperation, it wasn’t just Gauss who suffered, but also her.
She could naturally guess what Gauss was thinking in his mind right now.
"We’ll just stay on guard around here, don’t let anyone disturb Gauss." Aaliyah didn’t explain further.
Luna nodded at her words.
She knew Aaliyah was the longest-standing member with Gauss and surmised that Aaliyah had some secret knowledge shared only between the two of them.
With this in mind, a subtle envy she hadn’t immediately recognized surfaced within her.
Though she appeared to be one of the highest professional levels on the Red Dragon Team, her power firmly in the top three, she did envy Aaliyah somewhat.
Aaliyah had the closest relationship with Gauss, and what’s more, she looked younger and more beautiful with her noble elf bloodline.
While she herself was already a ninth-level Warlock, she was still far from advancing to the tenth level, and as for that eleventh-level extraordinary domain, it seemed even further out of reach, even she wasn’t sure if she could break through in her lifetime.