Chapter 951 - 465: Gauss Returns the Favor

After a conversation with the bearded Guild Master, Gauss gained a deeper understanding of the current battlefield situation.

Although he had communicated with Aaliyah and the others before arriving, they were only an adventure group after all. They remained completely ignorant of many movements involving the higher-ups. This was dictated by their strength and limited by their unequal status and roles. The Adventurer’s Guild could not possibly share crucial intelligence with the majority of Adventurers. After all, spies from the Demon faction might be lurking among humans. The more people who knew the intelligence, the greater the risk of exposure.

In the early stages of this war’s outbreak, human traitors from the Dragon Worship Sect had collaborated with wyverns, rapidly destroying many Magic Cannons from the outside in. As a result, during battles, many Adventurers and soldiers not only had to guard against enemies attacking from the front but also had to split their attention to keep an eye on the teammates beside and behind them, bringing an extra burden to combat operations.

Therefore, Monroe had also reminded Gauss to be wary of strangers in the camp. Even now, there might still be unexposed human traitors hiding among them, and it was difficult to identify these guys by their physical features. After all, the Dragon Worship Sect wasn’t stupid. Members who had hidden in crowds for a long time usually wouldn’t ink themselves with religious tattoos.

And with tens of thousands of people active inside and outside the camp at this moment, it was impossible to carefully screen everyone’s identity and background one by one. Deducing whether they were members of the Dragon Worship Sect through their family backgrounds, whereabouts, and financial relationships would require a near-astronomical amount of work. They could only remind those who might be targeted by the Dragon Worship Sect to be extra careful.

Gauss walked out of the Adventurer’s Guild building.

The scene in the camp was bustling, with people in various outfits walking about.

Although this was the front line during a tense and oppressive wartime, it was difficult to restrain everyone with overly strict regulations because a significant portion of the combat members were Adventurers. Moreover, due to the immense pressure of slaughter on the front-line battlefield, there was an even greater need to relax and relieve physical and mental stress after retreating. Therefore, various shops and service personnel were fully available both inside and outside the camp. It was far more prosperous than the vast majority of towns.

Gauss looked at the burly Adventurer beside him, a woman in each arm, reeking of alcohol, and couldn’t help but shake his head inwardly. He could not agree with this live-for-the-moment attitude toward life. In his view, those capable of achieving great things were often extremely self-disciplined, especially during special periods and phases.

Although wine and women could soothe a tense physical and mental state, they also easily sapped a person’s focus and agility, lowering their reaction speed and physical condition. Even with the physical fitness of a Professional, these effects might seem like insignificant nuances. However, a difference that might go unnoticed in most everyday situations could cause a split-second delay in a life-or-death moment, resulting in one’s head rolling on the ground.

Take him for example: when facing the vast majority of enemies with ordinary strength, he could kill them at least ten times in a single second. Therefore, he had always been a teetotaler during commissioned work and wartime. He would only have a few drinks when he was certain it was completely safe.

On Gauss’s way back to the Red Dragon Team’s encampment, he attracted no small amount of stares.

The vast majority of these looks were curious and inquiring. The scene of him riding a Red Dragon down from the sky just now had been witnessed by many Adventurers. Even those who hadn’t known much about Gauss before had already labeled him as a big shot.

In this world, a Giant Dragon was proof of power. And the ability to subdue a Giant Dragon as a mount left an unattainable impression in people’s minds. It was just like a flashy, limited-edition supercar driving down the road of a small county town in Gauss’s past life—who could resist taking a few glances?

After returning to the Red Dragon Team’s encampment, keeping the bearded Guild Master’s warning in mind, Gauss paid special attention to the people around him, especially the new members who had just joined the Red Dragon Team.

This careful Perception indeed yielded some unexpected gains.

Gauss remained outwardly impassive, but he secretly memorized several people’s faces. The way these people looked at him was a bit off. Unlike the majority of new members, whose eyes were filled with worship, longing, envy, and desire, their gazes were a bit too calm, as if they were deliberately hiding their true inner thoughts.

Of course, this wasn’t because Gauss was narcissistic to the point of demanding everyone worship him from the bottom of their hearts. However, his Attributes were simply too high. Furthermore, after his Intelligence Attribute surpassed 21 points, his Spiritual Power had also reached an unprecedented level. Therefore, he had a more profound Perception of others’ mental and emotional states toward him. Coupled with the Professional Specialty of the [Leader’s Certificate], this specialized Perception was further amplified.

If they hadn’t joined the Red Dragon Team and were merely passersby, it would have been fine. However, becoming nominal insiders only left them with nowhere to hide.

But Gauss did not apprehend them on the spot. On one hand, it could easily cause panic and other adverse effects; on the other hand, it might result in false accusations. He planned to have Luna pull their files for another round of verification. He would deal with them once everything was confirmed without error.

Gauss was very cautious about this. He was already a priority target on the Dragon Worship Sect’s list. At such a critical time, it was only natural for them to harbor some crooked thoughts. The Dragon Worship Sect couldn’t possibly be intimately familiar with the speed of his strength progression; their impression of him most likely remained stuck in his previous stages.

Silently returning to his tent, Gauss told the others not to come in and disturb him, then began sorting through the gains of this trip.