Chapter 897 - 443-2:

For everyone in the Red Dragon Team aware that war is imminent, their feelings at this moment are somewhat complex.

Both tense and inevitably timid, yet there is also a trace of indescribable excitement.

It’s as if they are standing at a great moment in time.

Perhaps many, many years later, they will also become part of the stories recorded in history books.

This human obsession with "grand narratives" seems to be innate.

But at the same time, none of them have really experienced a war of this scale, so they inevitably worry about their fate, as no one can predict what the future holds.

Even Gauss, who has experienced what counts as war only during the defense of Gray Rock Town, but undoubtedly, these two cannot be compared.

Others were not idle either.

Albena had been using her free time to forge soft armor, and after completing the last set of Blin’s soft armor yesterday, the entire Gauss team now had fitted soft armor.

Unlike ordinary armor, these soft armors are relatively lighter, only slightly heavier by two to three tenths than regular leather armor, but due to the inclusion of mithril, both the physical and magical defenses, as well as flexibility, far exceed ordinary armor.

They also provide another means of survival for the team in the complex battlefield situation.

Everyone else was practicing their skills.

Gauss then spent one thousand gold coins through the Barry Adventurer’s Guild’s channels to purchase a 5-ring spell, the illusion-based Disguise Skill.

This price is actually quite reasonable, if one goes through market channels, it might cost several times more.

Moreover, having just cleared the maze, the Red Dragon Team had funds on hand, even excluding some items that were inconvenient or unwilling to sell, as well as the wages and bonuses distributed to the members, Gauss still had five thousand gold coins, so he didn’t hesitate much when buying.

Money only has meaning when it’s spent.

The Disguise Skill might sound mundane, but its effect is actually very powerful.

It can give the target creature a new appearance, including but not limited to the creature’s physical appearance, clothing, weaponry, and even their size can be greatly altered—tall or short, fat or thin.

Gauss can transform into a demon he is relatively familiar with through it.

He has many choices, whether it’s a goblin, Kobold, lizard people, or Jackal-Wolf People, they are all subjects he is extremely familiar with and can act accordingly.

Moreover, due to its illusion abilities, creatures with insufficient spiritual power almost cannot see through his Disguise Skill.

Even targets with strong spiritual power, unless they are close enough and specifically vigilant, would also find it hard to detect anything amiss.

This spell in the hands of Gauss, whose spiritual power is stronger than most extraordinary beings, is only more effective.

This is also why Gauss bought it and chose it in the dwindling practice time.

Compared to those offensive 5-ring spells, this kind of auxiliary spell is truly what he needs for soon infiltrating the enemy lines.

The combination of excellent physical fitness, 5-ring Disguise Skill, and the Spatial Magic Any Door allows him to move freely in the perilous Jade Forest.

Haylir from the Golden Beak Trading Company did not let him down either, even in such special times, she still managed to gather over 500 kilograms of Magic Clay for Gauss in the past few days.

With these, Gauss now had 2.8 tons of Magic Clay on hand.

When casting spells, by mixing in some ordinary soil, the number of clay goblins he could create was approaching a hundred, which was already a considerable force.

Moreover, Gauss had another unexpected gain.

During the days he was learning the Disguise Skill, the clay magic he had been researching all along also saw new breakthroughs through related insights.

The new clay magic creatures created now are even more lifelike, almost indistinguishable from real creatures, in terms of skin color, behavior, or physiological structure, they can achieve high-precision replication.

He tested it himself, cutting off a clay creature’s arm, it would bleed the same crimson blood, and its painfully realistic reactions showed no indication of it being a clay construct—the clay magic quietly absorbed some advantages of the Disguise Skill.

Sometimes Gauss himself was a bit dazed, if he wasn’t the caster, he wouldn’t be able to tell the difference with his naked eyes.

One can imagine that if these clay monsters and real demons charge into battle together, it would create immense confusion for the enemy.

Clay creatures can coordinate with each other, but demons find it hard to distinguish each other and might mess up their own formation in haste, or even attack one another.

Even if not used in actual combat, they make an excellent disguise method during long-range raids.

A lone goblin moving through the woods might seem suspicious, but a group of goblins, even if spotted by other monsters, wouldn’t raise too much doubt, merely seen as other comrades in a large monster army.

Under Gauss’s dedicated efforts, the progress of improving the Disguise Skill was rapid.

Very soon it reached the latter half of Level 2, presumably, before he officially enters the Jade Forest to carry out the mission, it should reach Level 3 proficiency.

...

Meanwhile, in the Jade Forest.

The layers of emerald green canopy surged like a sea of green.

In the depths of this ancient forest, a thin veil-like mist of light gray-green lingers year-round.