Chapter 943 - 461: Lord of the Red Earth

Sincerity is always the ultimate weapon, even when facing a Giant Dragon.

"Let’s leave first."

Gauss himself wasn’t sure what level his strength had reached. It seemed difficult to summarize his current power with a conventional metric. Level 9 Magic Envoy, 21 points of Intelligence, [Future Sight], [Dragon King Descendant]... The superposition of these numerous abilities made his combat Power fluctuate within a very vague range.

It also depended on the opponent’s combat intelligence. Facing an extraordinary ability like [Future Sight], even extremely powerful enemies could suffer irreversible injuries if they were careless enough to let Gauss seize an opportunity. If the opponent was fully prepared from the start, however, the result might be vastly different. But in any case, the initiative lay in Gauss’s hands.

In live combat, he could use [Future Sight] to deduce numerous upcoming futures in advance and choose the path most favorable to himself, achieving a pseudo "omniscient and omnipotent" effect. Of course, he was still a long way from true omniscience and omnipotence. What kind of Gods would have abilities that could only look a few seconds ahead and still have a limit?

Gauss was not discouraged by his shortcomings. In his Perception, his development of time abilities was still only fragmentary. [Future Sight] would definitely become stronger in the future. The upper limit would rise, while the duration and the number of possible deductions would increase exponentially, eventually evolving into a limitless future sight.

After regrouping with Hephaestus, it didn’t take long for the man and dragon to appear beside Nira and the others.

"My Lord..."

"Just call me Gauss."

"Lord Gauss." Zeke didn’t dare call him by his first name as Gauss had suggested. The Power grasped by this impeccably handsome man far exceeded their imagination; it was a level of strength so incredibly fast that it was impossible to track.

"I apologize for bringing disaster to your tribe. As compensation, I will take you away from here and back to human territory," Gauss promised. Even if he chose to leave right now and shake off these "burdens," no one would blame him. But he remained willing to do what he felt was right.

The moment his voice faded, the panic on the faces of everyone who heard his promise suddenly morphed into pleasant surprise. What did they just hear? Return to human territory? Many in this tribe of dozens had already begun to doubt the very existence of the Human Kingdom. Even those who still harbored hope didn’t believe they would ever return there in their lifetimes. Yet, the man before them was telling them exactly that. The calm expression on his face made almost everyone want to believe him immediately.

Could they truly usher in a life in the Human Kingdom? A life straight out of the stories, free from conflict, where they didn’t have to worry about being attacked by Demons the moment they woke up, or live from hand to mouth? Did such a powerful human nation even exist? The future Gauss promised seemed far too beautiful. As much as they wanted to believe it, their hopes were quickly overshadowed by anxiety.

Oppressed by a long life of living like hunted rats, they had nearly abandoned all their human pride. After all, since the day they were born, the only world they had ever known was territory ruled by Demons. Just surviving was hard enough. Perhaps many more hidden human tribes had already been slaughtered completely. Looking at the complex expressions on the people before him, Gauss did not make any further promises. Saying more would be useless; it was enough that he knew the truth in his heart.

Gauss glanced at Hephaestus beside him. The Black Dragon’s size had grown significantly after killing that Black Dragon cub, but carrying dozens of humans was still beyond his capabilities. Even if they somehow managed to squeeze on, the vast majority of ordinary people would not be able to withstand the intense wind pressure during flight. The item, Biological Bag, presented a similar issue. Although it could store living creatures, it was not suitable for carrying humans for long periods of time, especially those with frail bodies.

Gauss’s mind raced. "We have to take the water route."

Once they reached a nearby body of water, he could build a makeshift ship. With his abilities, doing so wouldn’t be difficult. A water route would allow them to bypass many pursuers, leaving aquatic Demons as his only concern. However, relying on the Power blessed by Methera, he could not only breathe underwater and move freely, but his strength would even advance further in an aquatic environment... He quickly sorted out his thoughts. A rough topographical map he had memorized before his departure surfaced in his mind, and he swiftly mapped out a route.

"Hephaestus, you lead them in this direction. I will clear out the enemies along the way," Gauss quickly communicated.

Hephaestus responded with a low roar, and the man and dragon officially sprang into action. Since Hephaestus had managed to bring Gauss here safely while he was unconscious, the situation would only be more optimistic now that he was awake. Nira and the others naturally had no objections to Gauss’s decision. They desperately yearned to return to the Human Kingdom from the stories. As long as it truly existed, dying on the journey there seemed entirely worth it.

The Red Earth Land grew lively once again.

***

Thousands of miles away from Gauss, in a towering, massive red fortress.

An incredibly bewitching female figure stood calmly on a balcony overlooking the entire fortress. Judging solely from her back, she possessed a slender, well-proportioned figure akin to a peerless beauty. But if one were to approach her, they would be shocked to realize that she was a chilling, terrifying Demon. Beneath her magnificent crown, her beautiful hair was slowly writhing like venomous snakes. Her face bore a cold, deathly stillness, and her eyes, in particular, seemed capable of capturing one’s very soul.

She was the Medusa King.

The master who ruled this Red Earth Land.

"Your Majesty, do we really not need to send out our generals?"

Behind her, another petite Medusa tribeswoman voiced her concerns. Although their relationship with that Green Dragon in the Jade Forest was tense, they were currently in a state of war. They had only mobilized some low-level vassals from the periphery. If the Demon King found out...

"The Demon King won’t care about such trivial matters," the Medusa King said, shaking her head with a calm expression. In truth, if it weren’t for the ongoing war and the official notification letter they had received from the Jade Forest, she wouldn’t have even bothered to deploy those low-level vassals. Low-level vassals were still military assets, after all, but she had to at least go through the motions.

As for exerting actual effort to help that venomous dragon strangle her enemies, she would never partake in such a losing venture. She was more than happy to let the other party’s major threat slip away to stir up even more trouble for that venomous dragon. As sworn enemies, the Jade Forest and the Red Earth Land had fought dozens of large and small wars. With new grudges piling upon old hatreds, her animosity towards Aiselas ran even deeper than her hatred for humans.

Furthermore, whenever she thought about making a move against the human who had appeared in her territory, she felt an ominous premonition. Although she couldn’t pinpoint the source of that faint, bizarre sense of danger, she chose to trust her instincts. Perhaps there was a human Legendary powerhouse involved behind the scenes; taking unauthorized action might invite an even greater crisis. Thus, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Right now was merely the first offensive wave of the war. By the time her Red Earth Army joined the battlefield, it likely wouldn’t be anywhere near the direction of the Jade Forest Borderland anyway. Ultimately, she was unwilling to do anything that didn’t benefit her.

***

Returning to Gauss’s side.

He soon discovered that the forces pursuing him were all bark and no bite. The pursuit seemed quite intense on the surface, but in reality, there wasn’t a single decent enemy among them.

After casually slaughtering a group of suicidal, long-snake Demon Beasts, a peculiar expression crossed Gauss’s face. He certainly didn’t believe that a Demon faction capable of rivaling the Jade Forest could only muster monsters of this pitiful quality.

To him, it felt as though the other party was half-heartedly going through the motions. They were merely pretending to encircle him, when in fact, they were escorting him out of their territory. Naturally, he wouldn’t let such goodwill go to waste.

Two days later, he, Nira, and the others arrived before a massive, murky river.

A large boat was already floating on the water’s surface. It had been crafted by Gauss, who chopped down a millennium-old tree and hollowed out its trunk. While it wasn’t exactly aesthetically pleasing, it was sturdy and durable enough. At the very least, carrying this tribe of dozens of people downstream to return to human territory wouldn’t be a problem.

Gauss also wanted to return to the Cold Jade Province as early as possible. He had already been away for half a month, well past the agreed-upon time with Aaliyah and the others. He had no idea what the situation on the frontal battlefield was like now...