Chapter 979 - 475: Mission: Impossible

Gauss had read in books that even now, the main diet of the elves in the Elf Kingdom, aside from vegetarian food like fruits and melons, occasionally included hunting high-nutrition demons to supplement their physical nutrients. Her worries were mostly just her human consciousness exerting its influence. In this regard, it might be difficult for her to become a pure elf. Even if her bloodline had reverted to an incredibly pure state, her brain’s cognition was still that of a human.

"Thank you." Aaliyah took the fork from Gauss’s hand, parted her thin lips, placed the meat into her mouth, and chewed a few times.

"How is it?"

"It’s pretty good," Aaliyah raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. She originally thought that during the chewing process, there would at least be a slight tingling sensation from the stimulation of Magic Power, but in fact, there was nothing. It was as if she were eating a fresher, more delicious piece of beef. It wasn’t until she swallowed it that a slight warmth spread through her stomach.

She turned to look at Gauss and blinked, her expression complicated. She wondered if she had also become non-human like Gauss. She was in a daze for a moment before suddenly remembering that her bloodline was indeed no longer human. Or rather, she was never a pure human to begin with, but a human with an extremely thin elven bloodline.

"Wow, you guys are sneaking a bite before everyone is even here."

A shadow fell over Gauss from behind. Albena and the others had arrived.

"There’s enough for everyone, assuming your bodies can handle it," Gauss said, spreading his hands. The edible meat produced from the Petrified Bull weighed hundreds of kilograms; there was plenty to go around. "But don’t eat without restraint just because you see me doing it without any hesitation," he reminded them. "You know I’m different."

It wasn’t that he was being stingy; rather, for the members of Gauss’s squad, consuming a large amount of Petrified Bull meat still carried some risks. Even though the team’s composition wasn’t simple—a human with a Giant bloodline, a Half-Snake Man, and the only pure human being Ying (well, maybe she was)—it was best to just have a taste. Not everyone was a monster among monsters like him. Besides, there were still plenty of ordinary ingredients in the camp.

While roasting meat over the campfire, Gauss noticed that Serdur hesitated to speak several times. However, whenever he cast a glance his way, Serdur would say nothing. Seeing this, Gauss didn’t press the issue. Since Serdur was hesitating, it meant he was conflicted about something. It was better to wait until he figured it out before talking. If Gauss were to ask rashly, it might seem like he was pressuring him.

The next day.

When Gauss woke up and came out, he found that a few figures were missing from the Red Dragon Team that was lining up. They were the exact suspicious individuals his Perception had picked up earlier.

"Captain, after the Guild’s review and investigation, three of the four people from yesterday were undercover agents from the Dragon Worship Sect. The other was a retainer of the Brenan Clan from Barry, likely aiming to establish roots in our Red Dragon Team early on to get into your good graces.

"The first three have already been taken away by the Guild, and I have dismissed the last one.

"Moving forward, our screening of members will be much stricter," Luna said, a guilty look on her face. After all, Gauss had caught so many spies right after returning, which made it seem like she hadn’t been doing her job properly.

"It’s fine. In the future, you don’t have to bother with the latter kind of people. As long as they keep their noses clean, you can let them stay," Gauss said, waving his hand.

He didn’t have much of a reaction to there being moles in the team. On the contrary, given his situation, he felt it would be weirder if no one tried to plant subordinates to set things up. Unlike him, Luna and the others didn’t possess the [Proof of Leadership], so it was impossible for them to achieve a flawless screening. In the future, as he became stronger, this kind of situation would logically only become more frequent.

Aside from organizations like the Dragon Worship Sect, there was no need to completely weed out the members sent by other nobles or factions. For one, they would just keep sending more people. For another, their intentions weren’t entirely malicious. Most likely, they just wanted to lay the groundwork early to gather more intelligence on him and monitor his movements. It would be even better for them if their planted personnel could snag an official position within the Red Dragon Team to influence him from the sidelines. Furthermore, Gauss possessed the Profession expertise of [Proof of Leadership], and his personal Charm Attribute was constantly rising. As long as they weren’t hell-bent on killing him, others with ulterior motives would very likely be won over as their time in the team grew. The probability of this happening was quite high. When that time came, they might even proactively confess their identities to the higher-ups of the Red Dragon Team and provide them with intelligence instead.

Finally, when Gauss operated with the other members of the Red Dragon Team, there weren’t really any secrets to hide anyway, so letting others know wouldn’t cause any serious consequences. For truly important commissions and operations, he either acted alone or brought his own squad with him; he never mobilized the entire team. To Gauss, the Red Dragon Team’s purpose was simply a supplementary channel for racking up kills for the Monster Atlas.

"Understood," Luna nodded in agreement. Although she didn’t know where Gauss got his confidence, since he had said so, all she needed to do was relay the order and execute it. After all, his words always seemed to carry a convincing power.

Once fully equipped and ready to go, the entire Red Dragon Team was set to head out to patrol and defend a certain mountainous area. Aside from when large-scale battles broke out, this was the daily routine for many Adventurers and soldiers on the battlefield.