"Title [Ratfolk Hunter], Effect: Bane. In battles against giant rodents and ratfolk, attack damage is increased by an additional 10%."

With the activation of the newly acquired title, an invisible force seemed to merge into Gauss’s attacks, adding an extra edge to his strikes against these rodent creatures before him!

Watching the rolling black tide rapidly disintegrate in the blazing flames, turning into scorched earth and scattered fleeing black dots, Gauss felt a slight relaxation in his heart.

Those little rats, though their numbers looked terrifying, were ultimately just cannon fodder—no match for the fierce magic flames.

Only the giant rodents with tough vitality still posed a threat.

"Ah——!!!"

A few giant rodents closest to him locked their blood-red eyes tightly onto Gauss’s direction.

Although giant rodents had poor eyesight, every time Gauss fired a Fire Bolt, the dazzling blaze erupting from the staff tip was far too conspicuous to ignore.

They growled lowly like enraged hunting dogs, skillfully dodging or leaping over the lingering flames on the ground as they launched a swift charge at the two of them!

"Whoosh!"

Gauss calmly shot another Fire Bolt, precisely igniting a giant rodent at the front of the charge, which howled miserably and rolled to the ground, dying.

He also eliminated another giant rodent.

However, he frowned.

His recently learned Fire Bolt was not yet proficient enough, so casting it was not smooth, plus prediction required time.

Against these swift targets, he still had to rely on his most reliable weapon!

"Magic Missile."

Blue magical energy surged and gathered at the staff tip!

Gauss fixed his gaze on the giant rodents rushing quickly ahead.

"Swish swish swish——!"

Three Magic Missiles with bright light tails tore through the air, emitting sharp rushing sounds, and precisely blasted the three sprinting giant rodents!

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Dull explosions sounded.

The missiles pierced through the fat bodies of the giant rodents like hot balls through butter, scattering shredded flesh and innards everywhere!

The three fierce giant rodents collapsed heavily before they could even scream.

Beside Gauss, Aria, who was ready to cast Entangle and bind the giant rodents, gasped sharply upon witnessing this.

Such powerful force, such precise control!

Although she had cooperated with Gauss in the forest some time ago and had seen the effects of his spells, followed by preliminary practice, training and real combat were two different things.

Suppressing the shock in her heart, Aria slammed her oak staff heavily on the ground.

The staff radiated a strong emerald glow, and a vibrant energy surged outward like a giant stone thrown into a still lake, forming a rapidly spreading circle of green ripples centered on her.

"Entangle! Nature’s Bind!"

Her other hand pressed forward in front of her, and the pure natural energy seeped like an invisible stream into the parched earth beneath her feet.

Rumble rumble!

The earth seemed to come alive.

The withered, sparse grass gnawed by the rodent swarm, the unremarkable moss, and even the exposed charred soil cracked open as countless snake-like vines burst forth from the ground.

Like awakened venomous snakes, they wildly twisted and coiled in the air, precisely ensnaring the legs of the charging giant rodents, dragging them down hard.

Next to a dead tree, the root knots beneath the soil suddenly burst through the surface, while the branches of low shrubs crazily stretched out, turning into natural tripwires.

The branches and roots found their targets.

In an instant, Aria’s Entangle created living plants that bound numerous giant rodents and firmly protected the two of them in the center.

"Well done!"

A look of approval flashed in Gauss’s eyes as he gave Aria a thumbs up.

Although Entangle itself wasn’t strong in combat, its effect often depended on the enemy type and team coordination.

Right now, Entangle was used perfectly.

Gauss didn’t allow the giant rodents ensnared by Entangle any time to tear through the vines.

Raising the Bone Staff again, blue light flashed continuously.

Three consecutive Magic Missiles, like the reaper’s summons, accurately bombarded the struggling giant rodents tightly bound by the vines.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Dull impacts and cracking bones echoed nonstop.

More giant rodents died amidst their wails.

"Killed giant rodent *1"

...

As the last blue glow dissipated.

"Total monster kills: 382"

Gauss counted and confirmed a total of fourteen giant rodents killed.

On the battlefield outside the church, except for a few dizzy little rats scurrying around, no enemies remained.

Too bad ordinary rats didn’t count... otherwise, his kill count would have surpassed five hundred.

Feeling a bit regretful, Gauss turned his gaze to Aria.

With her powerful crowd control support, his targeted kills became more efficient.

And she didn’t compete for “kills” at all, which made things very comfortable.

"Let’s rest for a bit."

Taking advantage of Entangle’s effect not yet fully fading, Gauss quickly removed his mask, deftly pulled out food and clean water from his Storage Bag, and started gulping them down.

The strong stench of blood and burnt flesh blew in the wind, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Want some?" he asked Aria in a muffled voice, handing her a piece of ration.

"Thanks, but... no need." Aria watched Gauss eat heartily in such an environment, swallowing hard, her eyes filled with incredulous respect. "You... really can eat this?"

Blood flowed everywhere, and the stench was overwhelming.

Being able to eat in a place like this was truly hardcore.

Gauss seemed not to hear her surprise and didn’t mind when she declined.

"It’s nothing," he said calmly.

He could obviously smell the foul air, but when it was time to resupply, he forced himself to eat.

Besides, his Energy Storage Gland talent gave him a stronger craving for food.

Expressionless, he stuffed food into his mouth, calmly chewing and swallowing amidst the intense corpse stench and blood smell.

"Amazing!" Aria was genuinely impressed.

Anyway, she had little appetite for now.

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

Ya—!

The heavy, rotten church door slowly creaked open with a teeth-grinding sound!

Tat tat tat... tat tat tat...

Dense and heavy footsteps, mixed with low growls of giant rodents, came slowly from the darkness behind the door.

Then, a dozen fierce figures charged out of the shadows.

A group of ratfolk cavalry riding even stronger giant rodents nearly one meter long screamed angrily at the scorched and devastated battlefield before them!

"Ah!"

Gauss’s eyes swept over the newly appeared elite ratfolk.

"Yo, not even giving us a breather."

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

But his mind turned serious.

This should be their elite, right?

The newly appeared giant rodents were larger, with shiny fur and more prominent tusks.

Together with the ratfolk riders on their backs, they already posed a preliminary threat.

Moreover, because of the giant rodents, the ratfolk had stronger mobility and could wield heavier weapons, increasing their threat level drastically compared to ordinary ratfolk.

The number of these cavalry seemed quite large, considering it was a small-scale ratfolk clan.

Shaking his head, Gauss cast aside the confusion in his mind.

The two quickly prepared.

The ratfolk cavalry completed their formation quickly at the church entrance.

There were fifteen ratfolk cavalry in total.

The ratfolk mounted giant rodents spread out in front of the church.

Apparently, scouts hidden in the dark had witnessed the recent slaughter and had reported back to their kin inside the church.

The spreading ratfolk formed a wide net, cautiously encircling the two from multiple directions.

In the shadow of the church spire, ratfolk archers lit rockets, shooting them swiftly at the vine “trap” created by Aria’s Entangle.

"Quite clever."

Gauss took in everything.

He approved the ratfolk’s tactical awareness of clearing obstacles before advancing.

Among low-level monsters, that intelligence was indeed top-notch.

Flames spread on the vines, crackling.

Aria looked at Gauss silently, asking for the next plan.

Gauss’s earlier performance had instinctively made her see him as the backbone, willingly cooperating in support.

"What next?"

"No rush. We keep resting," Gauss said steadily.

"Okay."

In the distance, the ratfolk cavalry kept their distance, faintly surrounding the two with sharp squeaks.

They clearly identified Gauss and Aria as pure spellcasters, believing close combat would tear them apart.

They were now waiting for the fire to burn away those annoying vines completely.

Gauss was glad to see that.

Then let them drag it out.

The longer it took, the more mana and stamina he recovered inside.

Although the recent battle’s consumption wasn’t terrible, getting extra replenishment was good.

The ratfolk thought they had them trapped, not knowing it was exactly what Gauss wanted.

He feared prolonged combat the least.

For a while, the battlefield fell into a strange calm.

Except for little rats running around like headless flies, only the whistling wind was heard.

"How many more large-scale Entangles can you use?" Gauss asked quietly, watching the vines burn unevenly.

"How many? Um... that large-scale one, at most once more," Aria answered truthfully, a bit embarrassed. "Smaller-scale ones, I can still do a few times."

"Alright, then save them." Though surprised that Aria’s spells were so fragile, Gauss said nothing.

After all, the earlier large-scale crowd control was a bit wasteful.

But it created conditions, buying him plenty of rest time.

Next, use them sparingly and precisely;

though the effect won’t be as good, it will last longer.

"Got it!" Aria nodded, seemingly worried Gauss would think she was holding him back, hurriedly adding, "I still have melee skills, and... my partner has arrived!"

Before she finished, a low wolf bark echoed from afar.

"Good, then you play freely." Gauss gave no further commands.

They were all bronze-level professionals confident in their abilities and battlefield judgment.

Besides, Aria had leveled up earlier than him.

The vines finally turned to ash.

"Ah!" A piercing scream sounded like the call to attack.

More than ten mounted ratfolk cavalry charged like arrows from all directions.

Gauss raised the Bone Staff, his gaze like a hawk locking onto the foremost ratfolk cavalry.

But he didn’t cast immediately.

Magic Missiles had a range;

the farther the target, the harder to lock on. Even if locked, distant targets could still dodge.

Watching the agile mounted ratfolk jumping and stomping, Gauss patiently waited for the right timing and distance to cast.

"Magic Missile!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three missiles shot out in a wedge shape.

Two ratfolk were directly hit, half their bodies blown apart, falling under the hooves of their mounts.

The third missile was sharply reacted to by an unusually agile ratfolk, who controlled the giant rodent to dodge just barely, only scraping some skin!

Giant rodents were not very fast in straight sprints but were excellent at maneuvering complex terrain.

"Killed ratfolk *2"

"Total monster kills: 384"

A new species was added to the encyclopedia.

Gauss ignored the notification, continuing to focus on the other mounted ratfolk.

These cavalry should be the elite of this ratfolk clan.

Though separated by a decent distance, having one that could dodge showed a notably high level among low-tier monsters.

Boom! Boom!

After two ratfolk cavalry were precisely killed,

the others finally approached Gauss and Aria.

Aria’s giant wolf companion lunged like a gray lightning bolt, biting off a ratfolk’s neck.

Aria herself showed the druid’s melee skill, swinging the oak staff to cut through the air.

Bang!

A ratfolk trying to attack her was slammed heavily in the chest by the staff, flying back like a torn sack.

The staff’s momentum continued, smashing a giant rodent’s head;

it whimpered and collapsed twitching.

However, the highest battlefield kill efficiency still belonged to Gauss!

He had already put away the Bone Staff, flipped his wrist, and pulled out a longsword from his Storage Bag.

Switched to melee form!

His figure flickered, the agility granted by Enhanced Jump letting him easily dodge a vicious stab.

The longsword slashed through the air with a cold arc,

Slash!

A precise beheading sent a ratfolk’s head flying skyward.

Gauss moved nimbly among the mounted ratfolk, weaving and dodging.

His Gauss Field continuously rippled blue, easily deflecting attacks coming from all sides,

While his sword, combined with Aria’s renewed Entangle, ruthlessly reaped the lives of ratfolk and giant rodents alike.

Gauss Field granted him defense far beyond normal protection, combined with Basic Swordsmanship’s simple but efficient killing skills and Enhanced Jump’s mobility, making him a highly efficient killing machine in close combat.

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

Far away at the church, a ratfolk scout observing the scene had a terrified expression and fled in panic toward the cellar.