I Am Not Goblin Slayer

Chapter 347: Thousand Threads Boundary Severed

"Control Water."As Gauss focused his mind, the water in the courtyard's vat surged out, coalescing in the air into a twisting, serpentine shape.

"Brother is so amazing."

Xisero clapped her hands beside him.

However, after manipulating the water for a while, Gauss let it fall back into the vat.

No particular reason.

Even achieving this level, he still hadn't truly mastered this fourth-circle spell.

While he could now control water bodies to a preliminary degree, the reason he could do so was purely due to his exceptional natural talent, or rather, his excessively high affinity with water.

Regarding the spell itself, there still seemed to be a slight gap in his mastery.

"Don't get too cold, go inside where it's warmer."

He reached out and gently pinched his little sister's red cheeks. She was bundled up thickly, with a fluffy bear-style cap covering her head, looking quite bulky.

"Tap tap."

Shadow pushed the door open and walked into the courtyard.

"How is it?"

Gauss looked at her and asked.

"Not here yet, for now."

She was referring to the situation outside the town.

"But many defensive facilities have been deployed."

"Troops have already entered the city and are stationed."

Gauss nodded.

Everything in Grayrock Town was proceeding with intense preparation.

Whether it was the civilians' preparations for the festival, or the mobilization of soldiers and adventurers, of course, only a small portion of people in the town vaguely knew the news that the beast tide might arrive in the near future.

Yet, the entire town was still enveloped in a festive atmosphere.

Gauss sometimes thought this was also fine.

Rather than living in anxious fear, it was better to let the civilians live well in the present.

Of course, perhaps the town's upper management had more considerations, such as the severe cold making it inconvenient to evacuate civilians from the city, easily causing panic crises, chaos, and so on...

Gauss shook his head.

From this perspective, becoming a powerful adventurer indeed had significant benefits.

He received information earlier than ordinary people and could make preparations in advance.

Procuring supplies, arranging for family, and so on.

"Food's ready."

Aria's voice came from inside.

Gauss pulled back his thoughts, closed the door, and turned to walk into the house.

New Calendar, December 31st, Year 1015.

In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the year.

The New Year's festival, also known as the Winter Veil Festival, began amidst a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Just like last year, this year's celebration ceremony was equally grand.

The citizens gathered in the central square of the small town.

A giant bonfire burned like a small mountain, its orange-red flames pushing back the winter's chill, illuminating the swirling snowflakes into specks of golden light.

Several musicians played music on a temporarily erected small stage; the sounds of the lute, tambourine, and bagpipes intertwined. Acquaintances and strangers alike held hands to the music, singing and dancing around the bonfire.

Only a very few people's faces flashed with a trace of gravity they couldn't quite conceal.

Gauss's family was also participating in such an activity for the first time. In previous years in the village, although there were celebrations, the scale and sense of ceremony were far from this strong.

Gauss spotted a familiar face in the crowd.

After a moment of contemplation, he moved closer.

"Shopkeeper Grom, I didn't expect to see you here." Gauss greeted.

The tall man before him was indeed the shopkeeper of the blacksmith shop, Garon Bates.

Seeing him here genuinely surprised Gauss.

Because in his impression, Shopkeeper Grom rarely went out. Usually, leaving the shop was only for necessary procurement activities, making it even less likely for him to voluntarily participate in such a densely populated celebration.

"Gauss."

Meeting Gauss here, Grom didn't seem surprised.

Even a reclusive blacksmith like him had heard the news of Gauss's return days ago.

Adventurers who came to his shop to purchase weapons and equipment often spoke highly of Gauss's strength, dreaming of becoming the next Gauss.

"I thought, having been in this town for so many years, I've never come out for a festival. If I don't come out now, I might not have the chance in the future."

Grom's gaze turned to the lively crowd, a hint of nostalgia flashing in his eyes. It was unclear what he was remembering.

Gauss glanced at him sideways, knowing he had probably received the news from somewhere.

But that was normal. Firstly, Shopkeeper Grom's strength was not ordinary. Secondly, after all, he ran an important business like the blacksmith shop and might have detected anomalies from the order volume.

The two quietly watched the bustling square.

...

The New Year's festival passed quietly.

No unexpected incidents occurred.

After the New Year passed, another five days went by in a flash.

January 6th, Year 1016, clear weather.

Today, the sun rarely peeked out from the gloomy sky, raising the temperature slightly.

"Control Water."

Gauss drove the water to condense into thin filaments, then shot them out.

"Thud thud thud!"

The water threads, fine as needles, contained powerful water elemental mana. The accelerated water needles precisely hit the target.

Instantly, cracks appeared on the stone. The water mana destroyed the stone's interior, shattering it into countless tiny fragments.

After days of practice, he had finally mastered this fourth-circle spell.

And, just as he had anticipated, [Control Water] could indeed be applied to the Water Transformation Armament, achieving a combined practical effect.

For example, water arrows shot out had a longer range, and their homing ability was greatly enhanced. As long as the mana within the arrow shaft wasn't exhausted, he could remotely control it to curve according to his predetermined direction.

Therefore, Gauss could very easily achieve: rapidly shooting arrows, making consecutive mid-air directional changes, hitting enemies, and retrieving the arrows.

This held special significance for him. It meant his attack range would be multiplied, and he could even accurately snipe enemies beyond line of sight.

Aside from this ultra-long-range strike, the effect of Control Water was even better at close range.

Gauss could control the Godwater to form countless threads of silk, creating a network that coiled around his body.

Any enemy entering his vicinity would be sliced by the high-speed vibrating water threads like knives, cut into countless pieces of flesh in an instant.

He named this high-speed vibrating water thread network [Thousand Threads Severing Boundary].

Within the area shrouded by the thousand threads, it was like a slaughterhouse.

Simultaneously, due to the barrier of the flowing water threads, this ability also possessed an offensive and defensive integrated effect.

Of course, once the Thousand Threads Severing Boundary was deployed, the consumption of mental power and mana would be rapid. Therefore, in Gauss's conception, this ability couldn't be maintained for extended periods.

Its usage scenario was more suited for him to displace into the midst of enemies, briefly activate it for one or two seconds to clear the enemies, deactivate it, move to the next area dense with enemies, and repeat the process.

It was precisely because he had proficiently mastered this fourth-circle spell that Gauss felt more at ease about the impending war.

No matter the situation, what an adventurer can most rely on is always the weapon in hand and their skills.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Gauss heard the sound of war drums.

He knew it was the city defense forces conducting drills again.

These past few days, the sound of war drums beating would ring out from time to time.

He walked out of the alley.

Today's streets seemed considerably more chaotic compared to usual days.

"The war is coming!"

"The monsters from the forest are coming out."

Gauss watched as pedestrians on the street passed messages to each other. He knew the town's leaders had released the news.

In fact, over the past few days, there had been rumors that the monster army from the forest was going to launch a war against the town. However, the town had been peaceful for too long, so naturally, no one would easily believe such news.

For the vast majority, war only existed in the stories of books. For many who never stepped out of the town, they had even lived half their lives without seeing a living monster.

It wasn't until the military camp on the town's outskirts sounded war drums and people occasionally saw the soldiers drilling battle formations that some began to half-believe.

And now, the news posted outside the town hall's main gate and the Adventurers Guild finally confirmed the rumors. War was truly coming!

The town's civilians discussed this extensively.

Some were uneasy, afraid the monsters would breach the town and massacre civilians.

Others were very optimistic, believing that the Mayor, the Adventurers Guild President, and other important figures had long prepared for war. With those well-equipped armies stationed in the city, plus possessing a large number of adventurers, and the legendary Crimson Dragon Knight Gauss, defending the town should be secure.

Some were excited, a kind of inexplicable excitement, a restless feeling that something big was about to happen.

But regardless, this news instantly spread throughout the entire town.

"Lord Gauss, are the monsters really coming?"

"Yes."

"Will you protect us?"

"I will."

Facing the anxious inquiries from civilians on the street, Gauss calmly nodded.

Perhaps seeing his composed expression, the surrounding town residents also settled down.

This was the famous Crimson Dragon Knight, the Monster Slayer. Having this Bane of Monsters here was enough to put people at ease.

Not to mention the towering, thick city walls.

From their perspective, they truly couldn't imagine how to breach them.

Returning home, his family came to him to verify the war news.

"Gauss, is it true we're going to war?"

"Yes," Gauss nodded. "Don't worry, if anything unexpected happens, I'll have Hephaestus take you all away."

"And those monsters might not necessarily be able to break in."

Gauss said this not out of blind confidence.

You must know, as an adventurer town, Grayrock Town's city defense forces had always been somewhat over-spec.

The walls were thick, there were various city defense installations, the guard corps had been expanding since last year, plus there was the mixed army that came to support from Anvil Fort. One could say they had strong soldiers and sturdy horses.

This wasn't even counting the large number of adventurers remaining in the town.

At the high-spec combat power level, there was also the level 9 Eberhard. Compared to the level 7 or 8 guild presidents of most towns, Eberhard was undoubtedly top-tier.

And there was also him, a Magician who could erupt with power far exceeding his own stage at any time.

Another two days passed in a flash.

During the past two days, Gauss wasn't idle.

He attended several meetings.

There were meetings held internally within the adventurer community for ordinary adventurers, secret operational meetings jointly held by the town hall and the military for the leaders of a few elite adventurer teams, and a morale-boosting mobilization rally held in the square.

During this period, Gauss and his companions also made an appearance, including the Red Drake, Hephaestus.

It must be said, the existence of a dragon had a peculiar effect.

The thought that this Red Dragon would be fighting alongside them boosted the confidence of many present considerably.

Gauss and his teammates walked up the city wall along the stairs.

In the distance, a dark, shadowy mass was already visible. It was an ocean formed by tens of thousands of monsters.

Siege engines and catapults were arrayed in rows in the center of the formations, slowly advancing towards the town alongside the monster army.

"Lord Gauss."

Noticing someone approaching from behind, the squad captain turned around. Upon seeing it was Gauss, he immediately extended his hands respectfully.

Other adventurers naturally wouldn't receive this treatment.

After all, even if a few adventurers possessed greater individual strength than them, they weren't in the same system.

Adventurers were under the jurisdiction of the Adventurers Guild President, while these external support soldiers only obeyed their direct commanders and the overall commander, Sir Belock.

However, Gauss was different from ordinary adventurers.

He was too strong.

Many even believed that, purely in terms of individual combat power, Gauss might be the strongest in this town.

Even the local guild president, Eberhard, likely couldn't match him.

After all, he had a record of killing a Transcendent.

Moreover, the majestic Red Dragon that made an appearance days ago was his mount. The guild president Eberhard's griffin mount paled in comparison beside it, which gave an idea of how powerful its owner was.

People have a psychology of admiring strength, and soldiers were no exception.

Gauss shook hands with the squad captain.

"Hello."

"Lord Gauss, do you have any instructions?"

"No, I just came up to see the situation," Gauss waved his hand.

His gaze turned to the slowly advancing monster army outside the city.

"According to the commander's estimate, these monsters will probably reach engagement range tonight."

"Tonight..."

Gauss nodded.

This timing of approaching the town was clearly not a coincidence but a deliberate control of the marching speed by the monster army.

Nighttime was a significant advantage for the monster side.

Many monsters possessed superior night vision compared to humans.

However, Grayrock Town also had its own advantages. They could rely on the sturdy city walls, towers, battlements, and various large-scale crossbow installations, rolling logs, stones, hot oil, molten metal, and other city defense equipment and tools for defense.

Gauss and his teammates walked along the city wall for a distance, arriving beside Eberhard and Sir Belock.

They were currently also holding spyglasses, observing the situation outside the city.

"The enemy numbers roughly 10,000 to 20,000."

Eberhard put down the spyglass and said softly.

"Sir Belock, you brought a total of two thousand four hundred soldiers this time: eight hundred heavy infantry, six hundred longbowmen, four hundred light infantry, three hundred cavalry, two hundred engineering support troops, and one hundred special operations squad members."

"The town's city defense guard corps and militia combined total eight hundred."

"Adventurers number approximately over one thousand."

"That makes a total of four thousand."

To be honest, this enemy-to-ally troop ratio sounded lopsided, but in reality, it wasn't to the point of being disheartening.

Because this wasn't an open-field battle on a plain. They had the advantage of a complete defensive system constructed around the town.

The dynamics of attack and defense naturally bestowed a huge advantage on the defending side.

Therefore, Sir Belock, this veteran general with graying temples, didn't show much fear on his face.

"What needs attention are those big guys in the sky."

Eberhard looked towards the few small dots on the distant horizon. They looked small now, but each was actually a large flying creature. Although the city walls were equipped with bolt cannons, hitting them would still be difficult, and they could bypass the city wall's obstruction to drop monsters into the city and create chaos.

"That will have to rely on Mister Gauss to handle," Belock said, looking at Gauss who had arrived.

"Rest assured."

Gauss nodded.

"If they aren't at the Transcendent level, I should be able to keep them here."

Though Gauss's words were plain, they acted like a reassurance pill for the two. Having such a high-end combatant skilled in anti-air in their own camp was indeed comforting.

"Heroes emerge from the young."

Belock stroked his white beard and said appreciatively.

Eberhard was fine; he had a flying griffin mount.

He, as an aged and physically declining Warrior, although still maintaining level 8 combat power, was truly powerless against flying units.