Chapter 116:As for me, the Mouse

“Title 【Mousefolk Hunter】, Effect: Nemesis. In battles against Giant Rats and Ratmen, attacks deal an additional 10% damage.”

With the activation of the newly acquired title, an invisible force seemed to infuse Gauss’s attacks, adding a sharper edge against the rodent-type creatures before him!

Watching the surging black tide rapidly collapse in the flames, turning into scorched remains and scattered fleeing black dots, Gauss felt a slight sense of relief.

Those small mice only appeared intimidating due to their numbers, but they were ultimately mere cannon fodder, unable to withstand even a single blow before the blaze of magic.

Only the tenacious Giant Rats still posed a threat.

“Squeee—!!!”

Several Giant Rats nearby locked their blood-red beady eyes on Gauss’s direction.

Despite their poor vision, the bright flash from the wand tip every time Gauss cast Fire Bolt was far too conspicuous to miss.

They growled low, like enraged hounds, skillfully dodging or leaping over the lingering flames on the ground as they launched a rapid charge toward the pair!

“Fwoosh!”

Gauss calmly fired another Fire Bolt, precisely igniting the lead charging Giant Rat. With a wail, it rolled to the ground in flames.

One more Giant Rat down.

Yet, Gauss frowned.

He had just learned Fire Bolt and lacked sufficient proficiency, so the casting wasn’t very smooth. Plus, predicting movements took time...

Against these fast-moving targets, it was better to rely on his most trusted skill!

“Magic Missile.”

Magical energy of a deep blue hue surged and gathered at the tip of the wand!

Gauss fixed his gaze on the Giant Rats charging swiftly ahead.

“Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh——!”

Three Magic Missiles, trailing bright tails of light, tore through the air with sharp howling, striking three sprinting Giant Rats with pinpoint accuracy!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy explosions sounded.

The missiles pierced through the plump bodies of the Giant Rats like hot balls through butter, splattering flesh and shattered innards in all directions!

The three ferocious Giant Rats collapsed to the ground before even letting out a scream.

Beside Gauss, Arya, who was preparing to cast Entangling Spell to bind the rats, gasped at the scene.

Such power, such precision in control—though she had partnered with Gauss in the forest some time ago and witnessed the effects of his spells, and had done some initial practice afterwards, training and real combat were two entirely different things.

Suppressing the shock in her heart, Arya slammed her Oak Wand hard into the ground.

A vivid green light flared from the wand’s shaft, and a vibrant life force surged forth like a boulder tossed into a still lake, rapidly spreading as a ripple of green from her center.

“Entangling Spell! Nature’s Bind!”

Her other hand pressed into the air before her, pure natural energy streaming like an invisible current, instantly seeping into the parched ground beneath her feet.

Rumble!

The earth seemed to awaken.

From withered grass patches gnawed by the rat swarm, inconspicuous moss, even bare scorched soil, countless vines tough as pythons burst from the ground.

Like awakened vipers, they twisted and coiled madly in the air, wrapping precisely around the legs of the charging Giant Rats and yanking them down fiercely.

Beside a withered tree, deeply buried knot roots suddenly burst through the surface, and the branches of low shrubs grew wildly, becoming natural tripwires.

Branches and roots found their marks too.

In the blink of an eye, the plants animated by Arya’s Entangling Spell ensnared many Giant Rats, firmly guarding the two of them at the center.

“Well done!”

A flash of admiration passed through Gauss’s eyes as he gave Arya a thumbs up.

Though Entangling Spell wasn’t powerful in direct combat, its value often lay in the type of enemy and team coordination.

And this instance of Entangling Spell had been used to perfect effect.

Gauss didn’t give the restrained Giant Rats any time to gnaw through the vines.

The Bone Wand was raised again, flashing with bursts of deep blue light. Each set of triple-cast Magic Missiles struck like the call of death, slamming accurately into the bound and struggling Giant Rats.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

Thudding impacts and the sound of shattering bones filled the air.

One by one, the Giant Rats died with wails of agony.

“Giant Rat slain *1”

When the final burst of blue light faded.

“Total Monsters Killed: 382”

Gauss tallied the numbers—he had slain 14 Giant Rats in total.

On the battlefield outside the church, apart from a few dazed and scurrying small mice, no enemies remained.

What a pity, ordinary mice didn’t count—otherwise, the kill count would have easily surpassed five hundred.

Feeling slightly regretful, Gauss turned his gaze to Arya.

With her powerful field control support, his kill efficiency had significantly improved.

And most importantly, she didn’t steal any “last hits.” That felt very comfortable.

“Make the most of this break.”

While the Entangling Spell’s effect hadn’t yet fully dissipated, Gauss swiftly removed his mask, deftly pulling food and clean water from his Storage Bag and devouring them in big gulps.

The intense stench of blood and scorched flesh rushed toward him with the wind, but he remained unmoved.

“Want some?” he asked Arya vaguely, offering a piece of Dry Rations.

“Thanks, but I—I'll pass.” Arya watched as Gauss feasted so heartily in such an environment. Her throat moved involuntarily, her eyes filled with disbelief and admiration. “You can really eat under these conditions?”

Blood soaked the ground around them, the stench was overwhelming.

To be able to eat in a place like this—he really was a beast.

Gauss seemed not to hear her surprise, nor did he mind the refusal.

“What’s the big deal?” he replied calmly.

He could certainly smell the foul stench in the air as well, but when it was time to replenish, he had to force himself to eat, no matter what.

Moreover, the Energy Storage Gland talent also gave him a stronger craving for food.

Expressionless, he shoved the food into his mouth, calmly chewing and swallowing amid the intense stench of corpses and blood.

“Amazing!” Arya genuinely admired him upon seeing this.

Anyway, she had no appetite for the time being.

However, the luxury of rest was always short-lived.

Squeak—!

The heavy, decayed church door slowly creaked open inward with a tooth-grating sound!

Thud-thud-thud... thud-thud-thud...

Dense and heavy footsteps, mingled with the low growls of Giant Rats, slowly echoed from the darkness beyond the door.

Immediately after, a dozen fierce figures burst from the shadows.

A group of Ratmen rode on ferocious Giant Rats, each nearly a meter in length and stronger than the ones outside. Seeing the scorched, corpse-littered land before them, they shrieked in fury!

“Squeak squeak!”

Gauss’s gaze swept over this newly arrived rodent elite.

“Well now, not even a moment to catch our breath.”

He brushed off the crumbs from his hands and put his mask back on.

His expression, however, turned serious.

These must be their elites, right?

The newly appeared Giant Rats were larger, their fur glossy, and their fangs more menacing.

Together with the Ratmen riding on them, they now posed a genuine threat.

And because of their mounts, the Ratmen had higher mobility and could wield heavier weapons, making them significantly more dangerous than regular Ratmen.

The number of these cavalry seemed a bit much for a small Ratman tribe.

Shaking off the doubts in his mind, Gauss refocused.

The two quickly regrouped.

The Ratman cavalry had also rapidly assembled at the church entrance.

There were 15 Ratman cavalry in total.

The Ratmen controlled their Giant Rats, spreading out at the church gate.

Clearly, scouts hiding in the shadows had witnessed the earlier slaughter and relayed the information to their kin inside the church.

The spreading Ratmen formed a wide net, cautiously surrounding the two from multiple directions.

From the shadows atop the church steeple, Ratman Archers lit fire arrows and shot them toward the vine “traps” created by Arya’s Entangling Spell.

“Not bad,”

Gauss noted everything with a calm gaze.

He acknowledged their tactical sense—knowing not to rush in, but to first clear the obstacles.

Among low-level monsters, that level of intelligence was indeed above average.

Flames spread across the vines with crackling sounds.

Arya looked at Gauss, silently seeking his plan.

Gauss’s earlier performance had made her instinctively regard him as the backbone, and she was fully willing to play a supporting role.

“What now?”

“No rush. We continue to rest,” Gauss replied steadily.

“Alright.”

In the distance, the Ratman cavalry maintained their distance, subtly encircling the pair, communicating with each other in piercing squeals.

They clearly assumed Gauss and Arya were purely spellcasters, thinking that once they got close, they could tear them apart.

They were just waiting for the flames to completely burn away those annoying vines.

Gauss didn’t mind that.

Let them wait.

The longer it dragged on, the more mana and stamina he could recover.

Though the earlier battle hadn’t drained him too badly, a bit more recovery was always a good thing.

The Ratmen thought they had prey trapped in a jar, not realizing they were playing right into Gauss’s hands.

What he feared least was a prolonged fight.

For the moment, the battlefield entered a strange silence.

Apart from a few small mice darting around like headless flies, only the wind howled.

“That large-scale Entangling Spell from earlier—how many more times can you use it?” Gauss asked in a low voice, watching the vines burn away.

“How many times? Uh... that big-area one, just once more at most,” Arya admitted a bit awkwardly but answered honestly. “Smaller ones I can still cast a few more times.”

“Alright, then use them sparingly.” Though surprised at Arya’s limited spell usage, Gauss didn’t say much.

After all, that wide-area control had been somewhat wasteful.

Still, it had created favorable conditions and bought him valuable recovery time.

From here on, precision was key. Even if the effect wasn’t as strong, at least it would last longer.

“Got it!” Arya nodded, then quickly added, seemingly worried Gauss might think she was a burden. “I also have close-combat abilities, and... my companion is here!”

Before she even finished speaking, a low wolf howl echoed from afar.

“Good, then do as you see fit,” Gauss said without excessive instruction.

They were both Bronze-rank Professionals, confident in their own skills and judgment on the battlefield.

Besides, Arya had even passed the promotion earlier than him.

The vines finally turned to ash.

“Squeak!” A sharp screech rang out, like a signal to attack.

A dozen Ratman cavalry burst forward like arrows released from a bowstring, charging from all directions.

Gauss raised the Bone Wand, his gaze like a hawk, locking onto the leading few Ratman riders.

But he didn’t cast immediately.

Magic Missile had its range—distant targets were harder to lock onto, and even if locked, the farther they were, the easier it was for them to dodge.

Watching the nimble Ratman cavalry darting about, Gauss patiently waited for the right timing and distance.

“Magic Missile!”

Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Three Magic Missiles shot out in a triangular formation.

Two Ratmen were directly struck by the missiles, half their bodies blown apart as they fell from their Giant Rat mounts.

The third missile was barely dodged by an unusually agile Ratman, who managed to drive the Giant Rat into a sharp turn just in time—only grazing the skin!

Though Giant Rats were not particularly fast when charging, their agility in complex terrain was outstanding.

“Ratman slain *2”

“Total Monsters Killed: 384”

A new species had been added to the Monster Encyclopedia.

Gauss ignored the notifications and continued to focus on the remaining Ratman Cavalry.

These cavalry seemed to be the elites of this Ratman tribe.

Even at a considerable distance, one of them had managed to dodge an attack—an impressive feat among low-level monsters.

Boom! Boom!

After two Ratman Cavalry were accurately picked off—

The remaining Ratman Cavalry finally reached Gauss and Arya.

Arya’s large Wolf Companion lunged forward like a streak of gray lightning, snapping a Ratman’s neck in one bite. Arya herself demonstrated her close-combat skills as a Druid, sweeping out with her Oak Wand, which sliced through the air with a sharp whoosh.

Bang!

A Ratman that tried to attack her was struck hard in the chest by the Wooden Wand and sent flying like a broken sack.

The momentum of the wand did not stop there—it continued downward, smashing into the Giant Rat’s head. With a wail, the beast collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

However, the most efficient killer on the battlefield remained Gauss!

At this moment, he had already stowed away the Bone Wand. With a flick of his wrist, he drew a Longsword from his Storage Bag.

Switching to close-combat mode!

His figure blurred. The agility granted by Enhanced Jump allowed him to easily dodge a vicious thrust.

The Longsword traced a cold arc.

Slash!

A perfect decapitation—one savage rat head flew skyward.

Gauss darted and weaved agilely among the Ratman Cavalry,

The Gauss Force Field on his body continuously rippled with blue waves, effortlessly neutralizing attacks from all directions.

Meanwhile, his sword, in coordination with the Entangling Spell cast once again by Arya, began mercilessly reaping the lives of the Ratmen and Giant Rats.

The Gauss Force Field granted him defensive power far beyond standard Omni Protection. Paired with the simple yet effective killing technique of Basic Swordsmanship, and the mobility boost from Enhanced Jump, he was like a high-efficiency killing machine in close combat.

As a magic user, he didn’t want to admit it—but sometimes, his melee efficiency was even better.

In the distance, within the church, a Ratman Scout who had been secretly observing the scene wore a face full of terror. In a panic, it turned and bolted toward the cellar.

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