civilwarnovels Chapter 292: The “Fired-Up” Heffis
Chapter 292: The “Fired-Up” Heffis
Although the load had noticeably increased, the drake Hephaestus's flying speed remained extremely fast.Before long, Gauss and the others arrived above their destination, Shattershell Shallows.
Gauss looked at the flat shallows, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
If he really wanted to compete for rankings, how could others possibly contend with him.
If it were other adventurer teams, just getting here might take several hours.
The straight-line distance might not be that far, but land transportation was nowhere as convenient as flying, plus the area was crisscrossed with water systems, frequently requiring fording rivers and streams, which would seriously reduce travel speed.
Flying mounts were just too overpowered.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Drake Hephaestus flapped its giant wings, stirring up sand and stones everywhere, slowly landing on a relatively flat open area at the edge of Shattershell Shallows.
Gauss and his companions dismounted from the dragon.
"So fast," Aria sighed sincerely.
What kind of hard life had they been living before!
"However, we still need to be cautious. Long-distance travel still has to be by land for now," Gauss said casually.
On one hand, Drake Hephaestus was after all a juvenile dragon, its size and stamina insufficient to support long flights;on the other hand, flying in the sky for extended periods was too conspicuous, increasing the risk of being discovered by other creatures.
Whether humans or other flying monsters in the sky detected the drake's traces, it would always bring some trouble.
The former might attract unnecessary trouble and complications, while the latter...
The wilderness sky, especially areas far from towns, was not absolutely safe.
No one knew if other powerful flying monsters were hiding above the clouds.
Therefore, currently Gauss only rode Hephaestus around near towns, not venturing too far.
After landing, Gauss began observing the surrounding environment.
These shallows truly lived up to their name.
The water was very shallow, beneath the clear surface lay fragments of various shellfish and other crustaceans, along with heavily weathered reefs.
Several small fish shadows were freely darting through the underwater debris searching for food.
"It looks like these shell fragments were left behind by those giant crabs breaking open shellfish and snails."
"Of course, there should also be casualties from fights among themselves."
Gauss observed the water surface, speaking softly.
Ironclaw Giant Crabs were extremely aggressive monsters.
This combative nature wasn't only displayed against enemies;even facing their own brethren, they would occasionally fight fiercely.
Losing limbs was a common occurrence.
Fortunately, their appendages had regenerative repair functions, requiring only half a month to a month to naturally grow new limbs, then restoring to original size through multiple molts.
"I wonder how they taste?"
Gauss couldn't help but swallow saliva.
In his previous life, he quite enjoyed eating crabs, but after coming to this world, he hadn't consumed them much.
Even when available, he only used those tiny river crabs as side dishes, snacks, or sauces.
After scouting the area briefly and confirming no other monsters were present, Gauss and the others went to find their target.
Finding the Ironclaw Giant Crabs wasn't difficult.
It was now morning, the sun had already climbed the sky, releasing the last intense heat of late summer, and the excessively high water temperature caused insufficient dissolved oxygen, making the Ironclaw Giant Crabs escape this high-temperature, low-oxygen environment, climbing ashore seeking more suitable conditions.
Gauss wore the Eagle Eye Monocle, his gaze sharp and firmly locked on the lush reed grass along the shore.
The reed grass swayed intermittently.
That wasn't the wind.
It was movement created by those large crabs inside.
Although they were bottom-tier monsters, don't underestimate their combat ability.
Their shells were very hard, plus they preferred communal living;ordinary fishermen and anglers would find it hard to survive their attacks unless they could escape immediately.
Even some adventurer teams would feel apprehensive facing these hard nuts.
Moreover, this tribe's scale was clearly extraordinary.
Gauss counted the numbers;since they were hiding in continuous patches of lush reed grass, he couldn't accurately count the specific quantity, but roughly it should exceed one hundred.
And several clearly larger elite Ironclaw Giant Crabs were boldly climbing ashore, occupying shady spots under several trees, half-burying their bodies in moist soil to enjoy the cool.
While resting, the giant crabs didn't forget to sharpen their pair of huge black pincers reflecting metallic luster against tree trunks.
Leaving no doubt that these pincers could easily cut through metal.
What most caught Gauss's eye was one particularly massive elite giant crab, its carapace covered with crisscrossing scars.
Clearly it was a battle-hardened fierce leader.
"Should be almost two meters wide, right?"
Albenia said in a muffled voice.
This was her first time seeing such a large crab.
"Hmm."
Gauss expressed agreement.
No wonder this commission had few takers.
Even level 5 professional teams might not necessarily defeat this Ironclaw Giant Crab tribe before them.
Plus its threat level wasn't too big, yet not too small either.
Just restricting nearby villagers from coming to this Shattershell Shallows could solve ninety percent of the risk, so it had been left alone.
However, Gauss didn't care about this;after defeating the Red Drake, he viewed these elite monsters as not very formidable.
He came to unlock the bestiary.
Besides the bestiary, he only thought about the crab's texture.
As everyone knew, crabs didn't have much meat, not satisfying to eat, but with such a large Ironclaw Giant Crab Chieftain, he dared not imagine how plump the meat in those half-human-body-sized pincers would be.
Thinking about it, he was genuinely getting cravings.
After all, it had been a long time since he ate aquatic river delicacies;last time was... the last time.
"Let's try to catch them all in one net?"
Although not believing this Ironclaw Giant Crab tribe would cause much trouble for their team, they didn't relax too much either.
This commission still had some difficulty.
Those ordinary Ironclaw Giant Crabs were hiding in water-side reed grass;although this monster species was inherently irritable, the possibility of them fleeing into the river when frightened couldn't be completely ruled out.
Gauss didn't want to fight them underwater, unnecessarily adding trouble.
"Let's first catch some prey to lure those crabs ashore."
After thinking for a while, Gauss decided to adopt the relatively primitive tactic of luring the enemy deep.
It wasn't troublesome anyway.
Prey was everywhere.
Gauss and his companions left the riverbank, searching the surrounding area slightly.
Soon they caught many suitable targets.
"I wonder if those crabs eat goblins?" Aria looked at the dozen or so goblins firmly trapped before them.
Their mouths were stuffed with straw, unable to make any sound, but their eyes were nearly frightened stupid.
Beside them were also a male and female pair of adult wild boars.
Drake Hephaestus lowered its head, looking at this captured prey, its gaze suspiciously turning to Gauss.
Thinking it was prepared for itself.
Then its gaze toward the goblins revealed some disdain, but when seeing the wild boars, it felt barely acceptable.
These two pigs looked very plump and delicious.
It turned its head to glance at Gauss discussing specific details with companions, then sneakily looked at the wild boars, swallowing saliva.
Although Gauss had caught it a deer for midnight snack last night, seeing these moving "fat deposits," it couldn't help feeling hungry again.
Sneaking one bite probably wouldn't matter, right?
Just one bite?
It secretly shifted several steps toward the wild boars.
This movement terrified the wild boars;even though tied up and lying on the ground, they struggled desperately, foul urine spraying out like out-of-control faucets.
"!!"
Gauss turned his head toward the wild boar direction following the sound.
Drake Hephaestus had opened its large mouth close to the front of the wild boars.
It was preparing to swallow one wild boar each in single bites, when it suddenly felt an almost tangible gaze concentrating on itself.
Hephaestus slightly raised its head, just meeting Gauss's calm, unrippled eyes.
Human and dragon stared at each other for several seconds.
"—"
Drake Hephaestus slowly closed its mouth, innocently retreated several steps, then averted its gaze, sometimes looking at the sky, sometimes at trees.
Putting on an appearance of being uninterested in wild boars.
Seeing it being sensible, Gauss also withdrew his gaze, continuing discussions with companions.
He increasingly felt raising this drake was like raising a child.
Slight inattention, and its innate nature emerged again.
He didn't believe Hephaestus could get hungry so quickly.
Besides hunting monsters, he also took it hunting ordinary prey daily for nutrition, so he wasn't mistreating it.
It was purely craving tasty food.
After brief discussion.
With the plan confirmed, the group approached the riverbank with the prepared prey.
"First we'll do this... then this... finally this..." Gauss finalized the arrangements with his companions one last time.
"Does anyone have anything to add?"
"No, the captain's considerations are already very thorough," Serlandul shook his head.
Aria and Albenia also nodded.
"Alright, then it's settled."
"Try not to let too many crabs escape," Gauss reminded.
Saying this wasn't entirely because he wanted to accumulate more hunting competition points;more importantly, considering the Ironclaw Giant Crabs also had excellent reproductive ability, letting a few escape might allow them to resurge into a full-scale monster tribe after a few years.
"Received!"
"Smells a bit corporate."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, let's start the operation then."
Soon, Gauss's team dispersed according to arrangements.
The riverbank returned to tranquility.
A hot wind blew past.
Reed grass tips swayed, making rustling sounds.
The morning shallows were as peaceful as ever, only occasionally hearing distant water waves gently lapping the shore.
Suddenly, chaotic noises broke the silence.
Several green-skinned humanoid figures and two wild boars rushed out from the woods as if gone mad.
The noise they created quickly attracted the attention of several elite Ironclaw Giant Crabs under tree shade.
The giant crabs first cautiously climbed up from the soil.
Upon discovering the targets were harmless creatures like goblins and wild boars, their vigilance clearly relaxed.
The goblins and wild boars charged onto the riverbank, before the giant crabs could even move out, suddenly collapsing on the gravel, motionless, as if dead asleep.
If it were other monsters, they might consider it more.
But these Ironclaw Giant Crabs didn't seem like monsters that pondered details much.
Facing free lunch delivered to their doorstep, they appeared very happy.
Especially those two plump wild boars.
The Ironclaw Giant Crab Chieftain directly monopolized the largest male boar.
This was carefully selected by Gauss for it, weighing nearly three hundred kilograms.
Now it seemed clearly very satisfied.
The smaller female boar was divided among other elite giant crabs.
With the wild boars for comparison, they obviously also looked down upon those dozen or so skinny, dried-up goblins.
This was why Gauss needed to catch two large prizes after capturing over ten goblins.
Worried these leaders and elites would monopolize the food, not letting other ordinary individuals approach.
Now it seemed they were too preoccupied to care about goblins and their own tribe members.
Soon, ordinary giant crabs observing the food ashore also came ashore in numbers.
These giant crabs were mostly several dozen centimeters in size, moving very fast.
"Clickety-clack!"
Dense collision sounds that could make one's hair stand up rang out.
That was the sound of giant crab appendages contacting riverbank stones.
Ordinary giant crabs clearly weren't picky about food like goblins.
Approaching the motionless goblins, they soon started competing with pincers.
Some clipped off necks, carrying a head to crab-less corners for solitary enjoyment;some cut off an arm or a large chunk of meat.
Greedy crabs tried dragging entire goblins away, but soon faced encirclement from other crabs.
Almost every goblin was covered with crabs.
Fighting and scrambling, using pincers to frantically deliver flesh and blood to their mouthparts...
The entire quiet riverbank instantly became very lively.
Gauss in the distant sky saw this scene, revealing a satisfied smile.
Humans compared to monsters, at least the vast majority of low-tier monsters, had their biggest advantage in brains.
Meanwhile, the drake Hephaestus beneath him stared at the two plump wild boars being devoured by giant crabs, its gaze toward Gauss somewhat resentful.
It didn't understand why food was given to those multi-legged monsters to eat, but not to it.
It had always worked diligently without complaint;if not merit, there was hard work.
Seeing Gauss wasn't looking at it, it turned its head toward the monsters below.
An uncontrollable, inexplicable anger arose in its heart.
If Hephaestus couldn't deal with Gauss, could it not deal with these weak monsters?
It would vent all its fury upon them!
"Go down now!"
"ROAR!!!"
Hearing Gauss finally issue the command, the drake excitedly roared.
Flapping wings, it dove downward.
Changed temperament?
Seeing its inexplicably highly motivated appearance, Gauss sitting on the dragon's back felt somewhat puzzled.
He hadn't figured it out yet, and didn't ponder further, could only temporarily attribute it to being influenced by his own diligent nature through constant exposure, the dragon's innate lazy habits fading away, becoming diligent again.
As the saying goes, "Near vermilion, one gets stained red;near ink, one gets stained black."
Having motivation to work was always good anyway.
From within the clouds, a crimson figure rapidly descended.
"Whoosh—"
Accompanied by a thunderous, dull roar.
Dragon descending from heavens!
"Hate-filled" Hephaestus opened its dragon mouth, briefly gathering in its throat depths, then terrifying tongues of flame erupted forth.
While flapping wings flying, it simultaneously breathed fire, completely igniting the reed grass where crabs originally inhabited, creating a hundred-meter-long fire wall, directly cutting off their retreat.
The dragon's pressure in enraged state worked better than imagined.
The crabs ashore eating simultaneously froze.
Raising their pair of tiny eyeballs toward the sky.
But saw a red dragon staring at them with sinister eyes.