The instinctive fear originating from their bloodline caused most ordinary goblins present to become hesitant and restrained in their movements.

It was as if Gauss had an invisible fear field specifically targeting goblins surrounding him.

Only those few elite-level goblins could barely maintain their composure under this imposing pressure.

Gauss's appearance instantly reversed the battle situation.

At the right moment, a single straw can break a camel's back.

Let alone the appearance of such a "colossal figure" like him.

The sailors quickly gained the upper hand in the close-quarters combat against the goblins.

"Kill!"

In ship-to-ship boarding battles, there was another crucial factor.

Although the goblins far outnumbered the Seagull's sailors, they were limited by space and area.

The number that could actually jump onto the deck wasn't as high as it appeared on paper.

Additionally, the other three members of Gauss's team, along with the ship's original captain Fourn and first mate Leyton, had all taken the brunt of the first wave of attacks.

So for a short time on the Seagull, the humans who were numerically disadvantaged actually held the advantage.

Gauss glanced at the situation on the Seagull.

His boot lightly tapped the deck, then he swept past the ship's railing, finally landing steadily on the goblins' modified "mothership."

The scene here was completely different from the Seagull - the deck was messier, piled with various stolen junk, rusted ironware, and rotten, moldy wood everywhere. There were even several unidentified corpses emitting a nauseating stench.

Fewer shore-running goblins crowded there.

They had been preparing to board, but now fell into chaos because of Gauss's arrival.

Gauss waved his arm, throwing several lumps of clay from his sleeve.

Magic activated.

The clay rapidly transformed in mid-air.

Clay shore-running goblins appeared, identical in appearance to the surrounding monsters except for their color.

They were even more goblin-like than real goblins, because they were stronger and more powerful, filled with a sense of muscular beauty.

The clay shore-running goblins quickly snatched weapons from the nearby shore-running goblins, mercilessly hacking at their heads with knives.

"Wah yah yah!!"

Soon, under the slaughter of the clay shore-running goblins, the goblins let out miserable screams.

Gauss ignored the other ordinary goblins - these creatures could hardly break through his defenses now.

With a sweeping glance, he instantly locked onto the group of elite goblins hiding at the ship's stern.

Saying they were hiding might be somewhat inaccurate.

With their higher intelligence, they were observing the suddenly arrived Gauss, who was covered in ominous aura like a nightmare.

They planned to have their underlings test what bizarre abilities he possessed.

But they didn't expect that Gauss would summon several even stronger clan members to slaughter their subordinates, while Gauss himself set his sights on them.

The goblin leader that Gauss stared at suddenly stiffened all over.

It was as if it had been locked onto by some terrifying creature.

Unease surged uncontrollably from the depths of its heart.

In its eyes, it seemed like countless terrifying black energy coiled around Gauss.

That black energy crossed through layers of air, like tentacles piercing through its skin and flesh tissue, finally firmly gripping its heart, causing it to momentarily stop beating right then.

Breathing became difficult.

Fortunately, that strange magical pressure only lasted briefly, and it quickly freed itself from the suffocating feeling.

But...

He's gone!

The figure of Gauss that had been in its sight had suddenly disappeared.

It quickly turned its head to look around,

Nothing! Nothing!

Where did he go?

The heart in its chest that had been gripped suddenly accelerated its beating violently, almost jumping out of its chest.

Just as it felt fear.

The skin on its bald head suddenly transmitted a sharp, stabbing pain.

It looked up.

Its vision was occupied by a brilliant white light!

Gauss looked down from above, exerting force throughout his body, accompanied by accumulated gravity pressing down together.

"Boom!!"

Under this sharp slash, the surrounding air was instantly forced out.

"Swish!"

The White Falcon Sword Technique executed a diagonal slash, slicing downward across the goblin leader's neck.

Die!!

Crimson splattered, and a goblin pirate leader with grand ambitions had its life taken away in the blink of an eye.

Perhaps this goblin had once tyrannized others, standing on this ship deciding life and death over other creatures.

But facing a stronger opponent, it similarly had no ability to resist.

"So weak."

Gauss remained expressionless.

"Killed elite monster shore-running goblin pirate leader*1"

The opponent was weaker than he had anticipated.

Probably only challenge level 2-3.

Or rather, he had become stronger!

Having reached level 4, possessing the strength to briefly contend with level 6 opponents, facing monsters of this level now was almost like dimensional reduction attack.

He looked at the other elite monsters.

Without hesitation.

Soon, his figure disappeared again.

This time, he didn't employ stealth tactics.

Instead, he charged directly into the goblin group like a tiger among sheep.

These leaders were quite fearsome to ordinary people, but in Gauss's eyes, they moved sluggishly and were full of openings.

As for those makeshift armor pieces, under his sharp attacks they were like paper.

"White Falcon·Continuous Peck!"

His figure rapidly weaved through the goblins.

The Windrunner in his hand transformed into white afterimages difficult for the naked eye to track.

With each flash, the sharp sword tip accurately struck the vital points of any goblin.

Throat, eye socket, heart...

Wherever the sword edge went, a corpse would inevitably fall.

Some goblins tried to counterattack, but their heavy bone clubs only hit the afterimages Gauss left behind.

This was undoubtedly a one-sided massacre!

Fear spread among the goblin group like a plague.

Seeing their leader and other heads falling like harvested wheat under the attacks of that rapidly moving figure, their last will to resist collapsed!

"Wah wah!!"

"Wah wah!"

The goblins screamed, dropped their weapons, and ran toward both sides of the ship's railings, wanting only to jump into the sea to survive.

However, Gauss didn't give them this final opportunity.

"Cloud of Daggers!"

Magic quickly condensed before Gauss into spinning daggers, like a deadly cloud. As Gauss pushed his arm forward, it advanced and quickly enveloped the fleeing goblins completely!

As a 2nd circle attack spell, Cloud of Daggers worked extremely well in enclosed spaces.

Although the ship wasn't strictly an enclosed space, it still achieved terrifying results.

This fearsome "deadly cloud" moved forward rapidly. Under the cutting of countless spinning, piercing daggers, the goblins' skin blossomed with countless fine wounds. After a half-beat pause, the wounds suddenly split open, and countless streams of blood gushed out in a frantic rush!

"Splash splash!!"

A blood rain fell on the goblin ship.

Crimson blood soon flowed freely across the deck.

Gauss successively released "Cloud of Daggers" in three different directions.

The attacks covered almost 90% of the ship's area.

No ordinary goblin could resist the frenzied cutting of this deadly cloud covering the deck.

When Gauss lowered his hand.

Those densely packed goblins had disappeared.

Looking down.

A thick layer of viscous substance mixed with flesh and blood occupied the entire hull.

On the other side, sailors operating the light bolt cannons to shoot enemies in the water had noticed the huge commotion here.

Following the sound, they looked.

Their pupils violently contracted!

The originally brown ship nearby had transformed into a stinking blood vessel.

It made everyone who saw it for the first time feel their heads throbbing, instinctively sensing a strong sense of discomfort!

Just like a slaughterhouse.

What happened?

Their gazes turned to Gauss standing steadily at the ship's stern.

His clean, spotless appearance formed a stark contrast with the ship that had become a flesh-and-blood hell.

It was as if he wasn't the creator of that crimson hell, but a traveler who happened to pass by.

But if he didn't do it, then who could have?

"So... so strong!"

Only at this moment.

Did these sailors realize that what they witnessed yesterday wasn't Gauss's full strength.

Without their interference, Gauss going all out was terrifying.

To the extent that it made them feel fear.

If Gauss launched an attack like that on the Seagull, wouldn't they be no different from those goblins turned into bloody pulp?

Thinking of this.

They couldn't help but swallow several mouthfuls of saliva.

Gauss turned his gaze to the sea.

He was satisfied with the results of the 2nd circle spell Cloud of Daggers, which he had been practicing for some time and was displaying its true power for the first time, but he wasn't content.

Under his command, the other clay shore-running goblins plunged into the sea with a splash.

Actually, clay constructs were susceptible to corrosion in seawater. Even though the original host he chose had swimming and diving abilities, clay constructs still weren't suitable for underwater combat.

Fortunately, clay magic's mana could protect them for a short time, consuming mana to create a waterproof mucous membrane on the outside, so it was sufficient for limited time use.

It sounded miraculous, but that was magic!

Soon, after the clay creatures entered the sea, crimson blood quickly spread across the originally calm sea surface.

The kill count on the panel before Gauss's eyes continued to rapidly increase.

The three Cloud of Daggers earlier and the clay creatures' continuous attacks had killed nearly two hundred goblins.

"Total monsters killed: 5275"

"Total monsters killed: 5278"

"5285"

...

Now with the clay creatures continuing the pursuit in the sea, the numbers kept increasing.

Unfortunately, the 3rd circle spells "Fireball" and "Fly" that he was currently trying to learn hadn't been mastered yet, otherwise he would have definitely brought them out for a test run.

Fireball.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a bit itchy.

If even the 2nd circle Cloud of Daggers could achieve such results in this environment, if it were replaced by the 3rd circle Fireball, could one shot sink this ship?

Even if one shot couldn't do it, a few more shots should be no problem.

Without overthinking, his fear of insufficient firepower was acting up.

He decided to continue focusing on mastering the 3rd circle spells after returning.

The battle gradually came to an end as the sailors and Aria's group handled the cleanup.

The shouting and killing ceased, the remaining goblins were either eliminated or luckily jumped into the sea and escaped the clay creatures' pursuit, disappearing to who knows where.

The sea surface returned to calm.

Besides the cries of seagulls circling overhead and the sailors' heavy panting, there were no other sounds.

Serlandul was treating the injured sailors.

With the battle situation so chaotic earlier, it was inevitable that some sailors got wounded.

Fortunately, there were no serious casualties.

This was still Gauss's credit - even though he didn't intervene directly this time, that aura that could weaken goblins still provided great help to the fighting sailors.

"Total monsters killed: 5345"

Only a few hundred away from the next small target of 6000 kills.

"White Falcon Sword Method lv2 (10/20)"

The White Falcon Sword Method's proficiency was increasing quickly too.

Practical combat truly was the best teacher.

Gauss also discovered that as his strength improved, his efficiency at killing monsters was gradually increasing.

More monsters in commissions, faster killing efficiency.

Even though he hadn't deliberately tried to steal kills this time.

Most of the kills were still created by him and his clay creatures.

Most sailors had lost the strength to speak now, staring blankly at the scene of corpses strewn everywhere around them.

They did it?

They killed such an enormous number of goblin tribe!

Some sailors, after calming down, ultimately couldn't withstand the dual impact of visual and olfactory senses, leaning against the ship's railing and vomiting violently.

"Captain Fourn! The left side is damaged, several planks are cracked and leaking!" A strong sailor hurried over to report.

Hearing this, Fourn immediately furrowed his brows.

He quickly walked to the ship's side, bending down to carefully inspect the area hit by the goblin mothership.

After the two ships separated, a clearly visible huge gap appeared. With the ship's rocking, seawater was gradually pouring in through it.

"Immediately organize personnel for emergency repairs, and head toward that island to dock." Fourn ordered decisively.

Gauss had already returned to the Seagull by this time.

He stood by the ship's side.

"Is the repair very troublesome?"

"Not troublesome. We have spare planks and adhesive on board, and experienced carpenters too. It just needs time." Although Fourn felt some heartache about the Seagull's damage, he didn't show it in front of Gauss.

Instead, he forced a smile and looked at Gauss.

"Mr. Gauss, haven't you updated your adventurer badge level?"

Although Fourn's strength was mediocre, his judgment wasn't poor.

He could tell that Gauss's strength had exceeded what an elite professional should possess.

Thus, he finally understood.

Why this team had this man as captain, rather than that level 5 professional.

But he somewhat suspected that Gauss was already level 5 strength. Even if level 5 professionals possessed such power it would be excessively strong, but at least it would be more acceptable to him than level 4.

"No, I'm level 4."

Gauss told the truth.

"Hiss———"

Fourn inhaled sharply upon hearing this, the air temperature seeming to rise several degrees.

His gaze toward Gauss became even more respectful.

This situation - being level 4 was more terrifying than level 5. The information this revealed, even he could understand some of it.

"Mr. Gauss, let's go rest in the cabin."

His attitude became even more deferential.

Gauss glanced at him, silent for a moment.

He knew that as he gradually revealed part of his true strength, an invisible thick barrier had quietly erected between this elder brother who was still happily playing teacher and chatting cheerfully yesterday and himself.

Not hostility, but a kind of instinctive awe and sense of distance when facing something far beyond one's comprehension.

Essentially it was also a form of self-protection.

"Alright."

Gauss spoke calmly, his voice unchanged.

"I'll go rest for a while."

He mainly felt that while he stood here.

Many sailors were too busy watching him, becoming hesitant in their repair, carrying and cleaning work.

Returning to his room, Aria and Shadow followed him.

Only Serlandul remained on deck as the medic.

"I didn't expect there would be so many this time?"

With no outsiders around, Aria became more talkative. She couldn't help but express her amazement.

"But those leaders didn't seem very strong."

She had been watching Gauss's situation from the Seagull earlier, so she could roughly judge the enemies' strength.

"Maybe that's how things are at sea?" Gauss wasn't too sure about this either.

"After all, most areas of this world are ocean. We humans have never even reached most sea regions, while sea monsters can reproduce freely. In this situation, maybe there are more low-level monsters?"

Aria nodded.

"Perhaps we could buy a ship in the future too."

"But we lack personnel, unlike those adventure groups that have thousands or hundreds of people." Gauss remained clear-headed and rational.

Whether for coastal or ocean exploration, essentially only those adventure groups had the qualifications to sit at the table.

As for those small teams of several people, they were essentially just minor skirmishes.

"That's true too." Aria sighed.

"I wonder how those adventure groups operate?"

"That's quite a distant plan, right? First, as core members, their levels can't be too low." Gauss felt that the stage of establishing an adventure group was still some distance away for their current team.

With insufficient personal strength, how could they attract others to follow?

Sometimes relying solely on potential, future prospects - such intangible talents don't work well.

People are realistic, especially followers who only focus on the present.

Only the strong can lead them to seize more benefits.

From Gauss's intelligence, many core members of large adventure groups needed to be at least level 10+ in combat power.

He was still far from that currently.

But...

Gauss pondered inwardly.

He would definitely take this step in the future.

Having more adventure group members would help spread operations wider and collect more information at any time.

And many trivial miscellaneous tasks outside of combat could be handed over to other members for processing.

That way he could kill monsters more efficiently.

Of course, the core team should still remain streamlined, not too bloated.

That way he could come and go freely, easily accepting commissions from various places, and flexibly adjust according to local conditions.

...

The island where the Tidal Cavern was located wasn't too far from the Seagull.

Before long, before nightfall.

The Seagull dropped anchor near a shoal, and carpenters and sailors began emergency repairs on the breach.

Gauss and the others stepped onto the rough sandy beach in the gradually deepening night.

"Roar!!"

From the high mountains behind them came the faint roars of beasts.

Clearly, besides shore-running goblins, this island had other monsters and creatures.

In fact, shore-running goblins weren't very high in the ecological hierarchy.

"Be careful."

Gauss reminded his teammates.

"This island doesn't seem that simple."

"Alright, we'll leave immediately tomorrow after the ship repairs are done."

Fourn nodded in agreement.

Better avoid trouble than invite it. The commission was completed, and this time's gains could be described as filling the basin to overflowing - it was time to leave.