Chapter 1051 - 502: Warren Castle

Grant was a Level 7 Druid.

"Lead the way," Gauss said without any objections.

Villages were generally built in relatively habitable areas with open fields of vision, making them perfect temporary shelters. The abandonment of the village ahead was likely a recent event. Affected by the war, the settlements and gathering places along the border had all been emptied out. Some people had relocated early after receiving the news, while others—either harboring false hopes and unwilling to leave their homeland, or simply failing to evacuate in time—had fallen victim to monster attacks.

It was worth noting that a smooth battle on the main front did not necessarily mean all monsters were kept at bay. The main battlefield was a vital thoroughfare that large-scale armies had to pass through. Breaking through it would allow subsequent monster armies to continuously and rapidly deploy troops and supplies, completely taking root and consolidating their forces. Meanwhile, along the extensive border, many wandering monsters had already begun slowly infiltrating the inland areas. These stragglers might be inconsequential to the overall war effort, but to ordinary people, they were a natural disaster.

Soon, the Red Dragon Team’s convoy slowly drove into the village.

Gauss retracted his gaze from the dried bloodstains still clinging to the walls. His Spiritual Power swept through the village, and after confirming there were no survivors, he let out a silent sigh.

Another tragedy.

Along the way, he had seen many human remains. On both sides of the road, in the wasteland, in the settlements they passed... Most did not have intact bodies, leaving behind only corpses that had been gnawed clean.

Aaliyah cast him a glance, and Gauss subtly shook his head. "Set up camp and rest. Stay on high alert.

"Grant, come here for a moment." Gauss called over the Druid who had been responsible for reconnaissance.

Grant approached and looked at Gauss with deep respect. His reason for joining the Red Dragon Team was simple: Gauss had saved him on the battlefield. Although Gauss himself hadn’t realized it, Grant had silently kept it in his heart. The moment he heard the Red Dragon Team was recruiting, he couldn’t wait to sign up.

"Commander, do you have any orders for me?"

"Please provide their coordinates. I’m going to clear out the surrounding monsters," Gauss said casually.

Grant was a little surprised, but he instinctively replied, "They’re just some very small tribes. They pose no threat to us." Worried he hadn’t made himself clear and that Gauss might have misunderstood the threat level, he quickly added, "If you’re still concerned, Commander, there’s no need for you to take action personally. I can handle it for you."

In his mind, a powerhouse like Gauss going out of his way to kill small monster settlements of a few dozen creatures was complete overkill. In fact, if Gauss hadn’t brought it up, he wouldn’t have even bothered to lift a finger against them. They were just a few dozen insignificant bottom-tier monsters; it was absolutely impossible for them to pose any threat to the Red Dragon Team stationed in the village.

"It’s fine. Just give me the coordinates.

"If I clear them out, it’ll be worth it if it saves even one life in the future."

Gauss just wanted peace of mind. Although he wasn’t sure if those monster tribes were the culprits behind the village’s massacre, they were just unlucky to have bumped into him. Furthermore, one should never fail to do a good deed just because it’s small. It would be one thing if he hadn’t known, but since he had used his Detection on them, he couldn’t turn a blind eye. If left alone, they might eventually cause the deaths of villagers, travelers, and Adventurers.

The look in Grant’s eyes grew even more respectful. The Commander truly despised evil. It was his own mindset that was lacking; he had only thought about whether the monsters would bring trouble to the team, failing to realize that Gauss had considered the potential threat they posed to others.

Under Grant’s guidance, Gauss quickly dispatched clay creatures to sweep through and eradicate the nearby miniature monster settlements one by one.

The next day, the Red Dragon Team set off once again. Over the following week, the group traveled methodically. As they progressed, the team quietly grew by more than twenty refugees and beggars. These people had lost their way in the wilderness, and Gauss planned to bring them to their destination, Warren Castle.

"We have already entered the jurisdiction of Warren Castle."

The surrounding wasteland quietly transformed into patches of farmland. However, many had already been burned to the ground, and the nearby farmsteads and blockhouses hadn’t been spared either.

Gauss looked at the collapsed ruins of a blockhouse not far away, where several monsters were wandering about. Without needing Gauss’s orders, the Red Dragon Team’s vanguard cavalry charged forward, rapidly launching a slaughter against the monsters roaming the village.

Gauss drifted down from the sky, pinning a small, dusty-gray monster under his foot. The creature beneath his boot tried to struggle, but no matter how hard it exerted itself, it remained completely immobilized.

"A Stone Element."

This was an incredibly rare type of Elemental Life around the Jade Forest, born only in special zones brimming with immense rock Magic Power. The Giant Tooth Highlands was precisely such an area.

Gauss looked down at the struggling stone monster. He thought that, just as the intel had mentioned, numerous monster clans from the Giant Tooth Highlands had swept into this region too, even though the main human territory the highland forces were attacking was the neighboring Ancestral Province.

As he thought this, he applied a fraction more force to his foot. Soon, the stone monster beneath him was crushed into fine rubble. His accumulated variety of Ordinary Monsters in the Monster Atlas increased by one.

Dozens of miles away at Warren Castle.

The leaden-gray clouds hung oppressively low. At this moment, Warren Castle stood silently upon the earth like a massive gray beast. The castle had weathered a century of history, but now, its heavy, gray solid rock walls were densely peppered with craters and pockmarks, looking as though it had just endured a fierce battle.

That was precisely the case. A vulture in the sky was driven away by the soldiers, its eyes glinting with reluctance as it stared at the corpses littering the ground. Ultimately, faced with the cold crossbows, it lacked the courage to swoop down and snatch a meal from the jaws of danger.

"CAW! CAW!"

After letting out a low, hoarse cry, it swiftly flapped its wings and flew off into the distance.

The vulture flew over the mottled outer walls and the quiet residential district, finally landing on the towering spire of the Inner Castle’s main keep. But before it could even catch its breath, it suddenly trembled violently. As if electrocuted, its body abruptly lost balance, and it plummeted downward.

By the transparent, carved windows of the main keep, a man sitting in a chair turned his head to glance at the falling object outside. Upon detecting that it was just a vulture, he calmly retracted his gaze.

"Ask the Adventurer’s Guild again. When will the team that accepted the commission arrive?" Putting down the battle report compiled by his subordinates, a trace of gloom flashed across his face before he issued the order to the butler beside him. "Also, did the Guild mention which team accepted our commission?" he added uneasily before the butler could leave.

"Lord Baron, the Guild only said they would dispatch an appropriate team, but they did not specify which one. As for their movements, I will go and—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a rapid KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK echoed from outside the door.

"Come in."

A Scout quickly leaned in and whispered something to the butler.

"My lord, the people we have been waiting for have arrived."

At the West Gate of the castle.

"Open the gates! Open the portcullis!"

The orders were relayed all the way down from the main keep’s corridors, echoing between the castle’s cold, damp stone walls. The military officers commanded the gatekeepers.

"Winch up the portcullis! Hurry! Winch it up! Lower the drawbridge!"

The heavy iron chains began to crank, and the massive, iron-bound oak portcullis rose inch by inch. Outside the gates, the Red Dragon Team’s convoy was parked right in front of the drawbridge. The five-hundred-strong group formed a winding, dragon-like line across the wilderness. Supply wagons, warhorses, and traveling Adventurers were arrayed in perfect, orderly formation.

At the very front of the procession, a crimson dragon-head flag flapped violently in the wind.

The moment the portcullis reached the top, the soldiers behind the city walls finally got a clear look at the entirety of the forces.

"Reinforcements are here!"

"It’s a new adventure group!"

Baron Valentine slowly rode over on his fine steed. Upon seeing the numbers outside, unlike the completely ecstatic ordinary soldiers, a flash of uncontrollable disappointment was the first thing to cross his cold, stern face.

Perhaps the ordinary soldiers found this scale of reinforcements inspiring, but it slightly deviated from the scale he had envisioned. In his original expectations, the adventure group assigned by the Adventurer’s Guild should have been on a much larger scale—a team of at least a thousand men or more.

The butler beside him, however, narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze lingered on the flag fluttering in the wind for a long time. Vaguely, he felt as though the flag looked somewhat familiar.