Chapter 977 - 474: Resolving Doubts

All Gauss could do was achieve merits on the high-end battlefield like he did today, then use Magic to kill as many Demons as possible. This way, the pressure on others on the battlefield might be somewhat alleviated.

Next, Gauss met the other Extraordinary-tier human powerhouses on the battlefield one after another. This included Wenster Xavier, whom he had briefly met before; Kevin Brennan, the commander of Barry City’s direct city defense legion, the Green Shade Defense Group, along with his deputies; and several vice presidents of the Barry Adventurer’s Guild.

Counting himself—a rising star who had just slain an Extraordinary Centaur in battle—the human faction had amassed over a dozen individuals with Extraordinary Combat Power on this frontline. Of course, only three of them truly possessed level 15 peak Extraordinary Combat Power: Matthias Monroe, Wenster Xavier, and Kevin Brennan. The rest ranged from levels 11 to 14. Some hailed from Barry, others from the provincial capital, or even inland cities. Aside from the three level 15 Professionals, the vast majority exhibited weaker combat power than what Gauss had displayed.

However, this did not mean that the vast forest capital, combined with numerous reinforcement forces from elsewhere, only had a dozen or so fighters with Extraordinary Combat Power. The other Extraordinary combatants were currently stationed within the city or guarding major secondary checkpoints and routes nearby. Notably absent from the scene were the commanders of Barry’s two top local adventure groups, the Golden Team and Thorn Heart. Otherwise, this battlefield would have gained two more top-tier individuals with Extraordinary Combat Power.

Gauss had already verified with President Monroe that both Wes Augustus, the commander of the Golden Team, and Freya Lancaster, the commander of Thorn Heart, were level 15 Professionals. In terms of combat power, Monroe even voluntarily admitted that both of them were stronger than him. Monroe’s Profession was a Paladin, an all-rounder class that combined Protective abilities, offense, and team support. But at the same level, being an all-rounder meant it was difficult to achieve the ultimate extreme in any single aspect due to the Profession’s characteristics. Not everyone was like Gauss. Wes Augustus’s Profession was a Xunfeng Ranger, while Freya Lancaster was a Warlock. It was perfectly reasonable for their combat power to surpass that of a jack-of-all-trades like Monroe.

Naturally, although the two commanders were absent, they had each dispatched a deputy commander to the scene along with several battalions of reinforcements. All of them followed the command and deployment of Monroe, the Adventurer’s Guild president.

"You’ve met all the human Extraordinaries here. What do you think?"

"Not bad." Gauss walked shoulder-to-shoulder with President Monroe, suddenly hesitating to speak. "It’s just..."

"Speak your mind, my friend. We’re all on the same side." In Monroe’s eyes, Gauss was indeed different from an ordinary Adventurer.

"We have you, Mr. Monroe, Mr. Xavier, and Mr. Brennan—three top-tier Extraordinaries," Gauss said. "If we deploy a few more top-tier Extraordinaries here, wouldn’t we have the strength to launch an active counterattack against the Green Dragon Army? After all..."

"After all, the Green Dragon Army only has four generals, right?" Monroe finished his sentence.

"Yeah," Gauss nodded.

This was exactly what he meant. From the previous battle, he had also deduced the Green Dragon Army’s strategy: keep their main forces stationary and drive the massive hordes of low-end cannon fodder conscripted from the forest into a war of attrition against the humans. Even though he had blasted them to his heart’s content with his Fireball Technique just now, other cannon fodder units were scattered across numerous locations, trading lives with human soldiers and Adventurers. For the Green Dragon Army, no matter how many of those wild Demon cannon fodder died, it wouldn’t hurt their core strength. As long as they could chip away at the human forces, it was highly profitable.

It was currently unclear whether this strategy had been devised by the Green Dragon Queen, but the higher-ups of the Green Dragon Army were undoubtedly executing it perfectly. They showed a level of restraint completely unlike the ferocious and stupid monsters humans typically imagined. Their only significant recent loss was probably the Extraordinary Centaur that died by Gauss’s hand. But then again, the things he had done in the Jade Forest had simply drawn too much enmity. They couldn’t just turn a blind eye to it; even to merely show their loyalty, they had to dispatch a heavyweight assassin to kill a madman like him.

According to Gauss’s intelligence, the four generals of the Green Dragon Army were all top-tier Extraordinaries. Although their strength was outstanding, there were only four of them. From a numerical standpoint, it didn’t seem as terrifying as one might imagine.

"My friend, you must never underestimate the enemy," Monroe said with a bitter smile.

Gauss nodded solemnly.

"Even at the same level 15, the strength of those top-tier Extraordinary Demons is often far greater than ours. The reason I was able to contend with that Rot-Winged Dragon Bat multiple times was thanks to the blessing of our formations, coupled with the fact that the opponent didn’t dare go all out," Monroe explained. "My friend, you should have also had some Detection of this when you killed that Extraordinary Centaur just now."

Hearing Monroe’s words, Gauss recalled the fight. His Detection truly had picked up on a discrepancy. It was true that his strength was greater than that of the Extraordinary Centaur, but hadn’t the process of killing it seemed a bit too smooth? Or rather, why would a battle-hardened centaur, whose strength was considered outstanding even among Extraordinary Demons, be affected by the petrification energy of a Commander Level Petrified Bull?

Even though the duration had been brief—and only someone like him, who possessed the broken ability Future Sight, could have seized that lightning-fast opportunity—objectively speaking, the opponent had indeed died a bit too suddenly.

Monroe continued, "That is also the influence of the local momentum.

"The land beneath our feet is, after all, human territory. The moment Demons set foot on this land, they are subjected to varying degrees of suppression.

"Meanwhile, not only are we unaffected, but we can often exert even greater strength, as if guided by the gods.

"Under this ebb and flow, I was able to contend with that Rot-Winged Dragon Bat.

"The reason they continuously send cannon fodder legions to attack the city walls is to weaken this unequal rule of momentum.

"As the war drags on, an invisible line is constantly encroaching toward our position.

"If we take the initiative to attack and cross that boundary, we will be the ones weakened. The momentum condensed from a Monster Legion numbering in the hundreds of thousands can blot out the sky and completely crush your will.

"Previously, you went deep behind enemy lines for a commission, my friend, but the pressure of lurking in the shadows is vastly different from facing an army head-on in a frontal battle.

"Moreover, the top-tier Extraordinary Demons under the command of the Green Dragon Queen number far more than just four...

"It is only because our forest capital is the second-largest city in the province, apart from Farlim, that we remain standing. We have a myriad of experts, boast natural geographical advantages, and are easy to defend but hard to attack. Otherwise, an ordinary city would have fallen long ago."

"..."

"I have learned a lot," Gauss replied. Monroe’s answer had cleared up a portion of his doubts.

The Jade Forest faction, led by the Green Dragon Queen, was fundamentally on equal footing with the Cold Jade Province in terms of hierarchy—perhaps even a notch higher. Yet, this battlefield had managed to halt their advance with only the forest capital and a portion of external reinforcement forces. On the surface, the enemies did seem somewhat like a ’paper tiger,’ but hearing this now, it became clear that the Green Dragon Army of the Jade Forest was simply biding its time. Their true strength was nowhere near that simple.

He couldn’t help but recall the sight from earlier. The Rot-Winged Dragon Bat and the Extraordinary Two-legged Flying Dragon glaring fiercely from the southern clouds were likely just waiting for him to cross the boundary. Over there, they could unleash much greater strength, and President Monroe and the others would have to pay a much steeper price to rescue him.

Thinking of this, he completely dispelled the faint thought he had of carrying out a solo explosive infiltration plan to launch a surprise attack deep within the Green Dragon Legion. The risks were indeed far too immense.

In truth, there was an even more critical reason that Monroe hadn’t mentioned. The outcome of their campaign here would ultimately be decided by the top-tier slaughter surrounding the Green Dragon Queen. Even if they achieved a massive victory here, if the Green Dragon Queen returned triumphant on her end, they would hardly be able to withstand the pressure. The situation would instantly reverse, forcing them to surrender all their hard-won advantages to the dragons in an instant.

Gauss glanced at his Monster Atlas interface.

For the goal of accumulating 100 Ordinary Monsters Atlas species, he had currently gathered 98. As for the goal of accumulating 50 elite monster Atlas species, he had reached 47. For the 20 Commander Level targets, he had accumulated 15. The goals for the ordinary and elite Atlas species were drawing closer; he was just one step away from unlocking two new Racial Talents. Though unintentional, his previous pre-battle bombardment had indeed conveniently unlocked several new entries for the Monster Atlas.

He also needed some time to familiarize himself with his newly acquired Gold-quality Racial Talent, [Top-Tier Mana Body], through actual combat.