sonovelo Chapter 415: The Lord Arrives
Chapter 415: The Lord Arrives
The Maze might sound like a limited environment, but in reality, each of its levels is astonishingly vast. An ordinary person suddenly teleported here would likely not even realize they were inside a Maze; they'd think they were in a dense forest.It's just that this forest is filled with obstacles and all sorts of traps that can snatch away lives at any moment.
"Tap, tap!"
Boots stepped on dry leaves, producing crisp, crackling sounds.
"!"
Aria casually swung her staff, swatting a magic frog that had lunged through the air away with a single blow.
"Croak!!!"
The magic frog let out a miserable cry. After flying through the air for a distance, it slammed heavily into the trunk of a giant tree, its body soon turning into a puddle of murky muck.
"Another magic frog."
"Ever since we entered the fourth level, the number of frog-type monsters has increased."
Aria shook her head.
"Could it be that this level's monster lord is a giant frog?"
"Maybe." Gauss's gaze looked off into a certain direction.
Just as Aria said, the proportion of frog-type monsters on this level had seen a very noticeable increase compared to the first three levels.
He had actually noticed this outside the camp near the entrance/exit, but at the time, he thought it was just an isolated case. Perhaps it was just a tribe of magic frogs that had received the Lord's command to attack the camp.
However, after everyone left the camp and officially began exploring the fourth level of the Maze, the surrounding monsters were still teeming with various magic frogs.
Clearly, the magic frog population held a dominant position in the fourth level's ecosystem. From this, it could be inferred that behind them was most likely a powerful magic frog Lord.
Magic frogs, as the name suggests, are frogs that can use magic.
Their abilities are diverse. Some can spit water balls, some can breathe fire, and others can launch sonic attacks or release lightning, and so on.
"No wonder the number of monsters on this level can be so high?" Gauss muttered to himself.
Compared to most other creatures, frogs have a shorter growth cycle, able to develop to adulthood at a faster rate. Furthermore, a single female frog can lay hundreds of frog eggs at a time.
Of course, compared to ordinary frogs, magic frogs definitely lay fewer eggs. Getting a few dozen per clutch is pretty good. However, another factor must be considered: within the fourth level of the Maze, they have virtually no natural predators. This means their offspring's survival rate is far above normal levels.
Gauss knew the Maze itself seemed to have a "monster replenishment" mechanism, but he couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Maze monsters themselves could increase their numbers through reproduction.
"Whoosh!!"
Before the magic frog in front of Gauss could spit out its thunderball, Gauss manipulated water threads to wrap around its plump abdomen. With a slight exertion from the water threads, the magic frog's mana flow was instantly severed, and its body was cut in two by the water threads.
The moment of the kill, Gauss did not forget to control the water threads to slice out the magic frog's magic gland and collect it into his Storage Bag.
90% of a magic frog's value lies in its gland. However, only glands from Elite monster-level magic frogs are worth more; the rest can only barely serve as supplementary materials for alchemy.
"The number of magic frogs we're encountering is increasing."
Shadow, having just dispatched over a dozen elite magic frogs ahead, returned to Gauss's side and said.
"Because we're getting close." Gauss said calmly. "That monster Lord probably can't hold back anymore."
Yes, according to the information on the map, after traveling along the shortest route for most of the day, they should be only about one kilometer in a straight line from that Lord.
This was also why those magic frogs, despite clearly not being their match, were still relentlessly charging the Red Dragon Guild like their lives didn't matter.
Whether it was their own will or they were controlled by the Lord, their current actions were at least an attempt to block their advance with flesh and blood.
But in the face of an absolute gap in strength, sacrificing their lives became futile, merely adding to the monster kill count in Gauss's Encyclopedia for nothing.
"Killed Magic Frog *1"
"Total Monsters Killed: 41,788"
A few hours earlier, his kill count had already broken through the forty-thousand mark. It was less than ten thousand away from the fifty-thousand milestone reward.
Of course, upon breaking forty thousand, the Adventurer’s Manual also provided two significant rewards: the 4th-circle spell Polymorph and the spell Invisibility.
Gauss was always very pleased with spells rewarded by the Manual, as they saved him learning time, and the effort required for subsequent practice and mastery was less. Most crucially, spells rewarded by the Manual did not place an additional burden on his will.
This was also the main reason why the number of spells he mastered was noticeably greater than that of other spellcasters.
Just as the Red Dragon Guild was advancing rapidly, deep within a hidden cavern about a kilometer away.
"Ribbit croak!!!"
A deep, powerful frog cry rang out from the darkness, causing loose stones on the cavern walls to fall.
Unlike most magic frogs, this was a giant creature several meters in size.
It squatted on a stone platform in the deepest part of the cavern, its thick hind legs half-bent, forelimbs braced in front of it. Its entire body occupied most of the space like a mountain of flesh.
What was hair-raising was that its dark purple skin was covered with large and small sacs. These sacs heaved violently with its breathing, as if something alive was writhing inside.
Upon closer observation, one would find these mana-filled sacs generally displayed four colors.
Red, blue, yellow, and green corresponded to fire, water, thunder, and poison attributes, respectively. The mana sacs covering its body allowed it to cast magic as if by instinct. With just a thought, the elemental energy within the sacs would gush out, transforming into magical attacks of the corresponding element.
Furthermore, within its body resided a special Maze authority. It was precisely by relying on this authority that it could freely command almost all the monsters on this entire level.
At this moment, its eyes were closed, as if sensing something.
But a moment later, it suddenly opened its eyes. A flash of human-like contemplation passed through its pair of crimson frog eyes.
"Ribbit roar......"
Although it had already ordered those magic frogs to begin frenzied attacks on them, those invaders were still advancing relentlessly towards its location.
It began to suspect whether it had been exposed.
As a monster, its intelligence was actually not low; it was even smarter than the vast majority of humans.
Since the Maze opened, it had not appeared outside even once. This was true even when facing human adventurers whose strength was far inferior to its own. As for facing humans who were stronger than it and could potentially kill it, it was even less likely to jump out in front of them.
It would only dispatch its subordinate monsters to attack. Even if it took the lives of many subordinates to trade for the life of a single human adventurer, it still chose not to show itself.
The reason was that besides attacking human adventurers, it had issued another command: for its monster minions to begin reproducing in large numbers.
The number of human adventurers entering the Maze was limited, while the reproductive capacity of monsters meant their numbers could far exceed those of humans. Therefore, as long as it, the Lord, remained alive, even if it took dozens or hundreds of monsters to trade for the life of one human adventurer, it was worth it.
But this time, the situation seemed different.
Even though it was hiding extremely well, that group of humans was charging straight towards it, killing their way through as if they already knew its location in advance.
"Why?"
Its gaze seemed to penetrate the thick rock layers, seeing Gauss and the others advancing rapidly.
Only when the distance between them had narrowed to about five hundred meters did it finally become certain that its existence was indeed exposed.
"Roar!!!"
With a low, rumbling frog cry, the entire fourth level of the Maze seemed to fall into a slight tremor.
Monsters from all directions almost simultaneously raised their heads, looking towards a certain direction, and then, just as unanimously, began to migrate.
....
"Careful!"
The swordsman youth swung his longsword, sending out a sword aura that sliced the massive thunderball hurtling towards his Mage companion in half.
The thunderball, cleaved apart, exploded rapidly. Countless small, snake-like currents of electricity blasted out in all directions.
In just a moment, they left a charred, two-meter-wide crater in the ground.
Seeing this, the Mage, whose attention had been focused on a few other Elite-level magic frogs to the front, suddenly widened his eyes. He turned to look at the swordsman youth and thanked him sincerely.
If the youth hadn't acted to deal with that treacherous sneak attack for him, once the thunderball exploded near him, he wasn't sure if the Mage Shield and Mage robes he wore could withstand that lightning-filled assault.
"We're teammates, it's all—"
The swordsman waved his hand, saying without turning his head, while vigilantly watching the surrounding forest.
But his words got stuck in his throat before he could finish.
"Why are these monsters suddenly retreating?"
Under the astonished gazes of him and his other teammates, those magic frogs were rapidly turning around, leaping away into the depths of the forest.
This anomalous scene left everyone present baffled.
You must understand, this was the first time since they arrived at the 4th level and began exploring.
Based on their experience, the monsters on the 4th level were like maniacs who didn't value their lives. Unless you killed them all, they would single-mindedly attack any humans they encountered.
It was precisely this "fight to the last drop of blood" rabid-dog combat style that sharply increased the difficulty of exploring the fourth level. The risks of injury and death were far higher than on previous floors.
Therefore, squads like theirs chose to return to camp to rest every day, even if it meant reducing their exploration efficiency.
"Captain, should we pursue?"
"No! Let's return to camp first!" The captain of the adventurer squad frowned. After pondering for a moment, he still made the decision.
Where there's anomaly, there must be a reason.
He knew that something extremely unusual had most likely occurred on the fourth level of the Maze.
Not knowing whether it was a blessing or a curse, the safest course for them was to return to the camp. Not only were there many people and sufficient defensive forces there, but more importantly, even if they encountered an irresistible force, they could withdraw from the fourth level at the fastest speed.
The treasures of the Maze were good, but it wouldn't be worth it to lose one's life for them.
The weakest adventurers capable of reaching the fourth level for exploration were at least Bronze rank. Their adventuring experience was richer.
In fact, at this moment within the fourth level of the Maze, many adventurers were making the same choice as this adventurer squad, all heading towards the camp's direction the moment they detected the abnormality.
And at the source of the anomaly, Gauss's team was already extremely close to the target's location.
"Be careful."
"That Lord has probably discovered us."
Gauss noticed that the monster minions besieging them had clearly become more frenzied, and thus immediately realized the Lord behind them had issued a command.
"Guild Leader, you go ahead with peace of mind. Leave these monsters to us." Luna signaled for him to rest assured.
Although the number of monsters surrounding them was large, most were ordinary monsters without a formal challenge level. Perhaps they had been sent out to attack adventurers on the fourth level; the number of Elite monsters here wasn't as high as one might imagine.
"Alright."
Gauss nodded.
He then gently waved the White Wand in his hand. The powerful mana within his body surged like a torrent, circulating through him before blasting out through the wand's tip, landing on a massive lump of giant clay that had appeared on the ground.
"Clay Magic!"
The originally 2nd-circle Clay Magic was upcast to the 4th circle as Gauss focused all his attention.
The enormous clay lump, painstakingly collected by the Red Dragon Guild's relentless efforts, began to writhe like a living thing under the magical effect. Ripples formed on its surface, and countless tiny clay particles seemed pulled by an invisible force, beginning to take on a new shape.
During this process, streams of Goblin spiritual energy also poured madly into the clay.
Mana, clay, and spiritual energy from tens of thousands of Goblins combined, producing a kind of wondrous chemical reaction.
The clay began to expand!
"Rise!"
The moment Gauss's words fell.
The clay stopped its violent churning.
First, two thick, trunk-like lower limbs pushed out from the bottom of the clay mass, planting themselves firmly on the ground, causing the surrounding dry leaves to fly up.
Next, a massive, rock-like torso bulged and took form, extending two thick arms that would require a person to wrap their arms around to encircle.... Finally.
A huge, ferocious head, filled with a sense of oppression, slowly rose from the top of the torso.
A Goblin Clay Giant, seven to eight meters tall, appeared before everyone's eyes.
This was the first time Gauss had used Clay Magic to create such a powerful single Clay Construct.
In his perception, this Goblin Clay Giant's combat power should be close to a challenge level of 8 to 9, perhaps even more troublesome.
As a creation of Clay Magic, combat power was just its most insignificant aspect.
Not fearing death and having no weaknesses were its truly terrifying aspects.
Moreover, the mana consumed to create it wasn't as much as Gauss had imagined. It was probably the spiritual energy from tens of thousands of Goblins supporting the clay, also reducing the cost required to maintain its form and movement.
"Protect them."
The Goblin Clay Giant nodded.
It casually grabbed a tree beside it. Without even using force, merely grasping it. That tree, as thick as a grown man's waist, was directly uprooted from the soil.
It hefted the tree in its hand, seemingly finding it a serviceable weapon. Holding the trunk, it turned to face the magic frogs swarming from all directions and quickly ran towards them.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!!"
Under its immense, titanic strength, the monsters underfoot were like swept-away garbage, "poofing" into clouds of blood mist with a single blow, their remains sent flying dozens of meters away.
And the kill count in Gauss's Monster Encyclopedia was also rapidly climbing.
41,799....
41,820....
41,887...
Not far away, Red Dragon Guild members engaged in battle with monsters glanced up and couldn't help but swallow.
What a brutal fighting style.
Good thing this was their teammate. They dared not imagine how despairing it would be to face this giant if it were an enemy they had to fight.
After casting the Clay Magic, Gauss glanced at the rapidly increasing numbers on the Encyclopedia, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. He almost felt his strength growing bit by bit along with the increasing numerical values. To some extent, this kind of visual progress truly filled one with motivation, a very fulfilling feeling.
However, he still had his own business to attend to now. Pulling his attention back, he held the Crystal Orb in one hand while closing his eyes to sense his surroundings.
He was already at the location marked on the map, yet he couldn't see the enemy's presence.
Why? Could it be underground?
Just as Gauss attempted to extend his mental power to penetrate into the ground, the air in front of him suddenly rippled like water. A massive figure slowly coalesced into form.
"Croak!!! Ribbit~"
The fourth-level Maze Lord, having just manifested, threw its head back and roared, attempting to announce its arrival to the enemy.
The next moment, a scorching fireball descended from the sky, smashing towards its head.
The Magic Frog Lord's eyes instantly contracted in terror, seemingly not expecting the enemy's attack to come so suddenly.