Chapter 1042 - 498: "The Invincible Gauss

If an even larger-scale riot were to erupt, the Green Dragon Army might just collapse from within. Without the massive numbers of the auxiliary Vassal Army, relying solely on their core Army Group to fight the Human Alliance Army would be far from enough. Besides, who could guarantee that the Army Group wouldn’t mutiny once the Vassal Army defected, leaving them without enough frontline cannon fodder?

Monsters’ loyalty had its limits. When the army advanced triumphantly and the situation was excellent, they were the most ferocious of beasts. Even without the urging of the regular army in the rear or the encouraging Spells of the Shamans, they would madly tear into the humans. But when the tide turned sharply and countless companions died on the battlefield, even Ordinary Monsters could vaguely sense the disadvantageous situation. At that point, they, too, would start harboring selfish thoughts.

The Green Dragon Army now desperately needed a sweeping victory to win back the hearts of their hundreds of thousands of Vassal Army troops. But that was easier said than done. The deterrence of Gauss publicly executing the Extraordinary Centaur and the Extraordinary Goblin General in succession was simply too overwhelming. Let alone the low-level monster vassals, even the other Extraordinary Creatures and the three great generals were starting to feel anxious, terrified that Gauss would single them out as his next opponent. Until they felt completely secure, the Green Dragon Army was unlikely to launch a new offensive anytime soon; doing so would be no different from throwing their lives away.

"By the way, Guild Master Monroe, how are the sick patients doing?" Gauss asked.

Seeing the battlefield situation stabilize, he turned his attention to another major issue on the frontlines. Up until now, Serdur and several Priests from the Red Dragon Team still hadn’t returned. Over the past two or three days, Serdur had essentially made up for all the medical duties and instincts he had neglected in the past, forcefully yanking himself back from his headlong dash toward becoming a Berserker. Still, staying separated from the team like this indefinitely wasn’t a sustainable solution.

"They are fine now.

"Farlim sent a team of Senior Priests as reinforcements. Yesterday, they finally identified the root cause of the illness. Right now, many people are resting and recovering, and they should be able to return to their posts in a day or two."

Speaking of this, Monroe breathed a sigh of relief. If there had been no progress, the death toll from this strange disease might have far exceeded that of the war itself. As a Paladin, Monroe possessed healing abilities, but he wasn’t a full-time medical professional, leaving him with some shortcomings in this area. Fortunately, the human leadership wouldn’t just sit back and watch so many people die in vain.

"What was the cause?" Gauss asked, somewhat curious.

"It’s related to demons. I heard it was a curse left in the Material Realm by a Demon Lord who governs plagues. It can be traced all the way back to the Second Era, and was likely unearthed by the Dragon Worship Sect during an excavation."

Gauss blinked. To humans and many other species, demons were a much higher form of life. It was just that they didn’t live in the Material Realm. Instead, they resided in the various layered worlds of the Bottomless Abyss, with each layer ruled by a corresponding Demon Lord. It was a place where true chaos bred and eternal darkness reigned.

So this strange disease actually involved a Demon Lord’s curse. No wonder it was so tricky to handle; after all, some of the more powerful Demon Lords were entities capable of rivaling gods.

However, he still couldn’t help but marvel at the massive disparity in individual power in this world. The Demon Lord hadn’t even acted personally. This was merely a curse left behind, worn down by the passage of countless years—perhaps even millions—yet upon being unearthed by later generations, it could still easily cause tens of thousands of human casualties.

Keep in mind, this was the frontline of a war. Those stationed here were relatively powerful individuals. If the curse had been released in a densely populated city where the residents generally had weaker physiques, the resulting chaos would have been catastrophic. It evoked the horrifying feeling of a mere sneeze wiping out an entire civilization.

Gauss felt that his current strength was already quite outstanding within the Material Realm. But in the eyes of such majestic entities, he was probably nothing more than a slightly larger mosquito—albeit a very unique-looking one that was great at drawing unwanted attention.

Fortunately, the rules of the Material Realm protected him.

Thank the great mother of the Material Realm.

While Gauss and Monroe conversed, the nearby engineering team was making extremely rapid progress. Repairing a gap tens of meters long—going through processes like clearing debris, reinforcing the foundation, erecting scaffolding, tying steel rebar, pouring formwork, and removing the molds—would have taken at least a month in his previous life. Yet, in the mere hour or so since Gauss had arrived, they had already completed a fifth of the work. Even factoring in the subsequent, more complex restoration of the Array, the entire process probably wouldn’t take more than a few days.

In this regard, the productivity of this world was terrifying.

Building Mages could effortlessly transport materials and stone blocks weighing far more than themselves, and they could cast Spells to make rocks rise straight from the ground. However, in other aspects, many domains lagged far behind his previous life. Due to the numerous dangers lurking in the wild, many commoners would never step foot outside their villages and towns in their entire lives. The material conditions and entertainment options available to them were nowhere near as abundant as those enjoyed by commoners in his past life.

Gauss silently watched the rising city wall, feeling incredibly lucky. He possessed the Talent to advance toward the very pinnacle of this world.

As the two conversed, the Building Mages in the distant engineering team would occasionally look up at the figure standing atop the far-off city wall. Someone had recognized Gauss the moment he landed. Even though this team had only arrived at the frontlines this morning, it didn’t stop them from identifying the man whose reputation here was already thunderous.

A feat like slaying a general of the Green Dragon Army, single-handedly reversing the tide of the war, and saving tens of thousands of humans could not possibly be kept low-profile. The Adventurer’s Guild wouldn’t engage in such meaningless behavior, either. All they needed to do was provide protection in specific areas; they certainly wouldn’t hinder Gauss from making a name for himself.

On the contrary, the Adventurer’s Guild had played no small part behind the scenes in helping his fame spread so rapidly in such a short time.

Adventurers needed their deeds to be known to the world. As for the nobles who ruled the towns and cities, they wouldn’t go out of their way to promote a commoner Adventurer to whom they had no ties. The prestige of a commoner hero among the masses brought nothing but disadvantages to local lords.

Even Sword Saint Roland had received similar treatment after drawing the Hero’s Sword. Rumor had it that during his travels, the reaction of many local nobles was rather lukewarm. It was only after Roland continuously conquered obstacles, slew countless members of the Demon Race, and saw his fame skyrocket that the nobles finally humbled themselves. From then on, wherever Roland went, he would be greeted by grand welcoming ceremonies and celebrations spontaneously organized by the people.

"Is that Lord Gauss? He’s just as handsome as the rumors described."

"I heard he single-handedly chased away the Monster Legion of hundreds of thousands."

"If you ask me, the other three great generals only survived out of pure luck. Lord Gauss just couldn’t be everywhere at once and didn’t have the time to deal with them. Otherwise, a mere Goblin General wouldn’t have been the only one left behind."

"It’s a pity the Monster Legion ran so fast, or we would have won even more."

"Is Lord Gauss the strongest Adventurer in our Cold Jade Province?"

"Probably. At the very least, Guild Master Monroe shouldn’t be as powerful as him."

A certain bearded Guild Master, who was silently eavesdropping nearby, couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

"I actually think Lord Augustus of the Golden Team might be the strongest..." someone else objected.

"Give me a break! Where is your Lord Augustus fighting right now? What war has he led and won? This is the main battlefield of the Cold Jade Province!" a seeming fanatic of Gauss retorted, instantly triggered and interrupting with dissatisfaction.

"What about the Earl?"

"Uh... let’s not talk about that for now."

Even though the engineering team had just arrived, they chatted animatedly as they worked. They spoke with such absolute certainty that it sounded as if they had personally experienced the battle from two days ago.

A small number of people even started arguing about who the strongest human in the Cold Jade Province was. Gauss didn’t actually consider himself the strongest human in the province yet; after all, many of his methods were specifically tailored against monsters. Objectively speaking, his overall strength wasn’t as terrifying as others touted.

However, the mere fact that he was put on the table as a candidate for discussion showed just how immense his prestige and popularity had become among Adventurers and the general public. Furthermore, due to the recency effect, many people were even beginning to develop a faintly fanatical sense of worship toward him, feeling that as long as he was present, they would be invincible.

It was foreseeable that as long as Gauss kept winning, more and more people would rally around him. Earlier, when Gauss had left the Red Dragon Team’s encampment, he noticed a long line of strangers queueing up outside. Most of them were likely Adventurers hoping to join the Red Dragon Team.