civilwarnovels Chapter 289: Blue Lake
Chapter 289: Blue Lake
The red drake was somewhat overstuffed. It lay resting in place for a while.Gauss took advantage of this time to wander around the area a few times.
"Total monsters killed: 7545"
As he "farmed" around Gold-Silver Town, both he and the red drake Hephaestus had gained some benefits.
When monsters encountered this combination of one human and one dragon, they only faced the fate of being completely consumed—their spiritual energy harvested by Gauss, their bodies becoming Hephaestus's meal, leaving barely any trace of their existence in this world.
Gauss sometimes wondered if, from the monsters' perspective, he wasn't much different from a "monster" himself.
However, this world was often like that—no right or wrong, only perspectives. What was an enemy to them was a hero to him.
Gauss wandered through the forest for several rounds but couldn't find any more traces left by other monsters, shaking his head in disappointment.
Although there were many monsters, they couldn't withstand his carpet-like search with Hephaestus.
Whether beasts or magical creatures, every area had an upper limit to how many it could support.
He had almost cleared out most of the sizable monster tribes near Gold-Silver Town. Of course, there were definitely some that slipped through the net—those three or five monsters hiding deep in mountain valleys and forests. Unless he got lucky and stumbled upon them, the difficulty of tracking them down was extremely high.
Perhaps after he left, monsters would flow into this "depression" from more distant areas.
Casually collecting a few decent-looking iron items into his storage bag, Gauss walked over to where the resting drake Hephaestus lay.
He reached out and patted its head.
Perhaps because it hadn't fully matured yet, Hephaestus's head-to-body ratio wasn't particularly balanced—simply put, its head was a bit too large.
He touched the two small bumps on top of Hephaestus's head.
"Are you starting to grow horns?"
Dragons typically had horns, though this wasn't absolute, especially since hornless drakes were quite common.
Among the five chromatic dragon species, the forms of dragon horns varied considerably.
Red dragon horns tended to be massive and thick, appearing most majestic, while white dragon horns were relatively smaller, resembling icicles.
The presence of horns was also one of the markers distinguishing dragon species and age.
So, the drake Hephaestus beginning to grow horns was actually a good thing, indicating its body was continuing to develop.
Gauss patted the drake's head.
Grow a bit faster now.
Gauss had underestimated how long Shadow's "seclusion" would take.
After staying in Gold-Silver Town for these many days, she still hadn't returned.
The proficiency of the newly purchased 3rd-circle spells Counterspell and Haste had quietly reached Level 3 during this period.
Albenia had also finished handling her blacksmith shop.
"Creak—"
Albenia looked at the empty shop and suddenly felt a hollow emptiness in her heart.
Counting carefully, she had been running this blacksmith shop in Gold-Silver Town for over a year now.
Although Gold-Silver Town was remote and not particularly lively, she had unconsciously created many memories of her own here in this small blacksmith shop.
Her hand gently stroked the stone table surface.
She could still recall when she first arrived in Gold-Silver Town, not particularly wealthy, going outside the city to chop and polish this stone table herself, then carrying this thousand-pound stone table back to the blacksmith shop under the astonished gazes of the city gate guards and townspeople coming and going.
A smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Then there was that time when the blacksmith shop was robbed. She posted a commission to find the culprit, then single-handedly blocked their door with a large axe, ultimately dismantling one of Gold-Silver Town's few gangs. Not only did she recover the stolen goods, she completely crushed that gang, its members scattering like birds and beasts.
After that, the local merchants and residents respected her more, even feared her somewhat.
However, because her shop sold not only weapons and equipment but also many daily tools usable by commoners, plus her prices were fair, her business wasn't affected.
There were many similar memories.
"Sigh..."
Looking around the room, past events surfaced in her heart again, stirring mixed emotions.
"Albenia, need any help?"
Gauss's voice came from the shop entrance.
She turned to see Gauss, Aria, and Serlandul walking in from outside.
The melancholy and reluctance in her heart suddenly vanished.
Leaving Gold-Silver Town was just the starting point of a new journey.
She would create new memories with her companions.
Thinking this, she forced a smile.
"Lord Gauss, everything's packed, just these remaining items left."
In the corner stood a tightly bundled, extremely heavy-looking large package.
Those were some rare metal ingots and core tools she had carefully selected and couldn't bear to sell.
Everything else that could be sold had been sold.
The group walked out of the blacksmith shop.
On the street, commoners who had been watching the commotion were whispering among themselves.
"The Giant's Daughter seems to have joined this adventurer team."
"Is she leaving?"
"Ah, Gold-Silver Town's best blacksmith has been taken away."
"Actually, I had a feeling ever since the day they returned from defeating the goblin-like creatures."
"A major figure like the Giant's Daughter couldn't possibly stay long in a small place like Gold-Silver Town."
"Thinking back, this place was once prosperous too."
"Oh... our Gold-Silver Town has declined."
The residents discussed, ultimately leaving only sighs behind.
The disadvantages of small towns were vividly apparent at this moment.
The area around the town itself wasn't rich in resources.
Not only natural resources, but even animal, plant, and monster resources weren't abundant, causing adventurers not to stay locally. Even adventurers from their own town would often choose to take their talents to larger towns with richer resources after passing the beginner phase.
The scarcity of adventurers led to a gradual decrease in the number of secondary professions like blacksmiths, apothecaries, and merchants who followed their activities.
All hustle and bustle under heaven is for profit.
"Let's go."
Gauss said softly to Albenia beside him.
"Okay."
Albenia took one last look around the blacksmith shop, then turned and followed Gauss and the others.
The group didn't linger, heading straight for Gold-Silver Town's north gate.
Guild Master Jon had brought some people and was already waiting there in advance.
"Brother Gauss, have a smooth journey."
Gauss had told him yesterday that he would be leaving this morning, so he wasn't surprised to see him here.
"Thank you. When my companion Shadow comes looking for us, please inform her of our travel route, Guild Master Jon."
"Leave it to me." Jon nodded.
"Then we'll set off."
Gauss and the others continued heading north from Gold-Silver Town.
Actually, even without asking Jon, Shadow herself probably knew their planned route.
With her scouting abilities, she could quickly catch up once her seclusion ended.
Gauss mounted his ostrich.
At the city gate, there were still many citizens who had come to watch them depart.
A powerful adventurer like Gauss with handsome looks and extraordinary temperament was quite a rare sight in a place like Gold-Silver Town.
Plus, since Gauss and the others had eliminated potential threats for them, the residents naturally held great goodwill toward their group.
"Goodbye!"
Gauss waved to Guild Master Jon and the many commoners.
Then amid a chorus of blessings, he gently nudged the ostrich's abdomen and slowly rode out of the north gate, gradually leaving Gold-Silver Town's silhouette behind.
"Clip-clop—"
The ostrich's hoofbeats were light and rhythmic.
Fields and forests replaced the town's houses on both sides of the road, fresh air blowing toward them carrying the scent of earth and vegetation.
"Blue Lake isn't far ahead, I heard the scenery is beautiful, though I don't know if it's true."
Aria rode her bird parallel to Gauss, her tone filled with anticipation.
One important reason that drove her to become an adventurer was that this profession allowed her to see many new sights, unlike ordinary townspeople who were tied to one place by property, work, and relationships.
The stronger the adventurer, the broader the lands they could tread.
Towns, cities, provinces, kingdoms, even setting foot on new continents with completely different customs and cultures.
And the Blue Lake she mentioned was the first significant landmark after Gauss's departure from Gold-Silver Town.
According to the map, it should be a large lake surrounded by dense countryside, with several prosperous towns nearby.
"The scenery is indeed quite nice." Albenia spoke up after hearing this.
She was thick-skinned—emotions came quickly and were forgotten quickly. Now she had completely moved on from the slight sadness of leaving.
Getting confirmation from someone who was practically a local made Aria even more expectant.
The next two days were spent traveling.
As the party continued forward, the moisture in the air gradually intensified.
Passing through a dense fir forest shrouded in thick fog, their view suddenly opened up!
A vast, boundless, azure-blue giant lake, like an ocean, resembling a massive sapphire embedded in the great earth, suddenly appeared before everyone.
The lake water was clear and transparent, sparkling with rippling light under the sunlight.
Looking closely, it wasn't entirely due to sunlight refraction—there were many glowing specks of light in the water, making the lake scenery as tranquil and beautiful as a painting, as if embracing the sky itself.
"Wow! It's really beautiful!" Aria couldn't help but exclaim.
Seeing this open, beautiful scenery, she felt her more than two days of anticipation hadn't been wasted.
Even breathing seemed to become easier.
As a druid, she naturally preferred vibrant natural environments.
"No wonder Gold-Silver Town declined."
Gauss shook his head and sighed.
Given the choice, he would also choose to live in this place of green mountains and blue waters, rather than the sand-covered Gold-Silver Town suffering from over-mining.
The vitality of a town or region could often be determined at first glance.
This was also the first relatively prosperous area Gauss had encountered since leaving Sena City.
Just as Gauss and the others were admiring the scenery.
Gauss faintly heard one or two distant cries carried by the wind.
"Seems like there's a situation."
Gauss said quietly.
"Let's go take a look." Aria also nodded.
Gauss and the others approached.
They quickly found the source of the sound.
On a riverbank, among reeds, several young faces were fighting a group of water ghosts.
Just by their appearance, they were even younger than Gauss's group, probably only fifteen or sixteen years old.
"Ah, they're novice adventurers."
Aria blinked.
In the distance was a combination of two boys and two girls.
A half-orc teenage warrior holding a sword, a young female mage waving her staff behind the warrior, a purple-haired female archer shooting arrows frantically in the distance, and a tall priest casting healing glows on the frontline warrior.
"They seem to have no coordination at all." Albenia commented.
It was clearly visible that the people in the distance were a rookie adventurer team with extremely clumsy coordination, obviously just starting out.
Under the attack of the water ghosts, the team members were flustered and gradually being pushed toward the river direction.
"Rod, heal me!"
"Wait! Hold on!"
"Mira, you almost shot me!"
"Sorry!"
The team was filled with panicked shouts.
But surprisingly, they could still maintain the situation.
The reason was obviously because their basic strength was considerably higher than the water ghosts'.
They just lacked experience, hence the flustered state, achieving the remarkable effect of 1+1 being less than 1.
Gauss watched the chaotic scene in the distance and couldn't help shaking his head.
Their starting point was actually quite high, but panic and lack of team coordination prevented them from displaying their true strength.
"Should we help?" Serlandul inquired.
Each of them had the ability to easily deal with the group of monsters in the distance.
"Let's watch a bit more." Gauss wasn't in a hurry to intervene either.
Because this adventurer team could still hold on, and such "perilous" adventure experiences were very important for several young adventurers just starting out.
People teaching people doesn't always work. Experience teaching people works in one go.
After receiving Gauss's instruction, the team members quietly sat on the embankment, observing this "chaotic" battle.
The riverbank battlefield was fraught with danger, yet maintained a decent balance.
Until...
A slightly larger, more cunning water ghost suddenly burst out from the reeds on the side, avoiding the frontline half-orc warrior, its sharp claws aimed directly at the young female mage preparing a cantrip.
"Pello! Watch out!"
Only then did Gauss's group finally take action.
He quickly flew up.
Then a deep red arrow condensed in the blink of an eye.
"Whoosh!"
The fire arrow crossed the forty-meter distance in an instant, piercing through the cunning water ghost's chest from top to bottom just before its claws could reach the girl's body.
"Thud!"
The fire's power was well-controlled, not exploding and spreading.
Instead, carrying strong kinetic energy, it firmly pinned the water ghost to the shallow bank.
Pello screamed in fright from the sudden attack, collapsing to sit on the ground, her face stained with warm, dirty blood, stunned motionless.
Her companions, realizing she was safe, also breathed sighs of relief.
Gritting their teeth, they fought more fiercely against the monsters before them.
Gauss, standing in the air, couldn't help but nod.
Indeed, people needed stimulation to change.
Realizing these monsters had almost killed their companion, their original tension eased considerably, their movements becoming more crisp and decisive.
Even the frightened mage got up from the ground and continued casting acid cantrips to help her companions.
After regrouping, this newly united adventurer team quickly gained the upper hand with their superior strength.
One by one, water ghosts soon fell to their swords, arrows, and magic.
Aria curiously glanced at Gauss as he slowly landed.
He only killed one?
To be honest, this was very un-Gauss-like.
She had originally thought her captain would kill all those water ghosts.
After all, in her understanding, Gauss had an obsession with killing monsters—something everyone in the team knew.
As if guessing what Aria was thinking.
Gauss shook his head with a bitter smile. Was he some kind of "person from the planet where you die if you don't kill monsters"?
"I'm not so impatient as to compete with novice adventurers for monsters."
Just over ten water ghosts were undoubtedly a drop in the bucket for him who had already killed over seven thousand monsters.
But for rookie adventurers, it was a crucial battle.
As the saying goes, a gentleman loves wealth but takes it by proper means. Gauss naturally wouldn't "snatch their prey."