Chapter 143: Wrong? Die!

The Rogue Dilan’s hair stood on end all over his body!

It wasn’t that he had never seen a Magic Missile. On the contrary, he was very familiar with it.

Only, the threat this time was far greater than anything he had ever experienced before.

Too fast!!

His teammate Piero’s Magic Missile clearly didn’t look like this at all!

Moreover, why hadn’t he noticed that apart from that female target and that male Warrior in the enemy team, there was actually a hidden Spellcaster present! That lapse had left him completely caught off guard.

A thought flashed through his mind.

The holy light of the Blessing spell the Priest had preemptively cast on him earlier finally activated.

With the help of the Blessing and his survival instincts, he exerted all his strength, springing backward explosively.

The last Magic Missile barely grazed his waist.

「Thud! Thud! Thud!」

Three missiles exploded into the snow, sending up plumes of snowflakes.

“That was close, your lordsh—”

Dilan tumbled twice across the snow like a startled fox, just as he was about to steady himself and catch his breath—

From beside him came another magical fluctuation— “Magic Missile!”

「Boom!」

The Magic Missile shot out from the wand in Gauss’s hand.

Having just rolled across the ground a few times, Dilan felt his soul leave his body in fright.

Watching the missile hurtling straight toward his face, he knew there was almost no chance of dodging this time.

His strength was spent, new energy yet to come. Half-kneeling in the snow, he couldn’t even get proper footing.

He could only raise his arm clad in leather bracers to shield himself, curling his body as much as possible.

「Boom!」

A missile slammed into his forearm.

He felt a violent impact crash into him, as if struck head-on by a battering ram.

「Crack! Crack!」 The harsh sound of bone snapping rang out clearly—both forearms twisted and broke instantly like dry branches!

The next moment, the heavy force sent his body flying.

「!!」

He rolled several times over snow-covered ground.

Hot crimson blood splattered, painting the snow with clusters of “blood plum blossoms.”

「Cough! Cough!」

Collapsed in the snow, he coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

His shattered arms hung limply on the pristine snow.

On his chest, protected by leather armor, there was now a terrifying bowl-sized bloody hole—clearly, he didn’t have much time left.

Dilan, lying in the snow, found his fading vision drifting toward the direction from which the missile had come.

There—where he had assumed a Spellcaster stood—was still only that “Goblin Killer.”

“Who… was it…?”

In confusion, the last glimmer faded from his pupils.

“Dilan!!!”

Dilan’s sudden, tragic death made the Priest and Mage in the distance, who had been about to rush forward to heal him, narrow their eyes in shock.

Especially the Mage Piero—he was utterly dumbfounded.

That was his… Magic Missile?

What the hell?!

The Warrior Blake, standing before Gauss, seized the rare opening.

The instant Gauss had gone all-out to finish off Dilan, Blake swung his greatsword, unleashing a slash that tore through the air, the blade wrapped in white light as it hacked viciously toward Gauss’s shoulder.

「Bang!!」

A crisp sound rang out over the snow.

A hit!!

A trace of joy flashed in Blake’s eyes.

But the next instant, the rebound from striking something as solid as rock erased any trace of triumph.

It was as if Gauss’s body was encased in an invisible heavy armor—if one looked closely, faint rippling waves could be seen.

His proud slash had no effect whatsoever!

He couldn’t pierce the enemy’s armor!

Taking the heavy blow, Gauss furrowed his brows and used the momentum to leap backward.

Landing steadily, Gauss raised his eyes to meet Blake’s.

That gaze was completely different from the calmness at the start—now, it was filled with a cold killing intent.

“What a strong Protective Spell!” Blake swallowed hard.

He had already realized that Gauss’s strength far exceeded their expectations.

If he had known earlier, he never would have entertained any ill intentions.

Right now, regret filled his heart—deep, biting regret!

From the corner of his eye, Gauss saw that Arya and Ulfen behind him had both regained consciousness.

Arya was already mounted on Ulfen’s back, so there was no need for him to worry about her for the moment.

“All together—otherwise we’re all going to die here!”

Blake roared toward the two behind him.

Aside from the already-dead Rogue Dilan, the other three weren’t very fast—and the enemy had a Wolf Companion. There was no escaping in the short term.

The only option now was to fight with their backs to the wall!

The two behind him had also realized the severity of the situation after Dilan’s death.

The Priest waved his hand, casting Blessing—as the spell took hold, a glow of holy light enveloped the two.

With Blessing, a Warrior’s bodily control and a Mage’s casting efficiency and success rate would all improve to some extent.

Seeing that his own support—Arya—didn’t need his attention, Gauss ignored the Warrior Blake in front of him.

Activating 【Enhanced Jump】, his legs suddenly felt as if they had drawn strength from the snow itself, filled with powerful force.

「!」

Gauss put away the Unbreaking Staff, not even glancing at Blake, his figure flickering as he charged toward the Priest and Mage behind him.

Blake, clad in a solid yet cumbersome metal armor, had no chance of keeping up with Gauss.

He tried to intercept, but in the end could only turn his head, watching helplessly as Gauss tapped lightly a few times on the ground and vanished swiftly from his side, his eyes filled with a sense of powerlessness.

Because he knew—although he could use a Charge skill, the straight-line burst movement and heavy load meant that in both agility and speed, he could never catch up!

The only one in their party who could match Gauss’s speed—Dilan—was already gone.

Gauss’s figure flickered rapidly across the snowy ground.

The distant Mage and Priest, realizing they were his target, both felt their hearts clench.

“Magic Missile!”

The Mage’s wand unleashed several shots of a spell he was very familiar with toward Gauss’s direction.

But in terms of power, speed, and accuracy, it was nowhere near Gauss’s Magic Missile.

Seeing those obviously smaller, fist-sized projectiles, Gauss tapped the snow lightly, body flickering away in a preemptive dodge.

The Mage’s mental state was clearly in shambles—his casting a complete mess. Without the Priest’s Blessing, his casting speed would have been even slower.

From the difference in Magic Missiles, he had already recognized the enormous gap between them.

Aside from the already-dead Dilan, no one understood better than him how terrifyingly strong the man before them—whether swordsman or spellcaster—truly was in magic.

“Run!”

The Priest pulled out a crossbow and symbolically loosed a few bolts toward the rapidly approaching Gauss, just as he turned to flee.

At their feet, several green vines broke the season’s law and burst from the snow.

The vines shot up, rapidly growing and wrapping precisely around both their ankles.

It was Arya who had cast Entangling Spell.

「Thud!」

The two, mid-turn, were instantly yanked and tripped to the ground.

“Magic Missile!”

As if answering the Mage’s earlier attack, Gauss fired two Magic Missiles in return.

「Boom!」

The Mage and Priest, having just fallen, didn’t have time to turn around.

The two missiles slammed into their hearts.

「Bang!」

The Magic Missiles shattered the area where their hearts were, fresh blood blooming across the pure white snow.

Gauss then followed with a Fire Bolt to the right side of their chests—

—to prevent the extremely rare possibility of the heart being on the right.

With that, three were dead.

He halted his steps, eyes turning to the last man in the snow.

The Warrior Blake stood motionless where he was.

His gaze swept over the three cold corpses of his companions, his throat working painfully.

He had no time to mourn—he knew clearly that with his teammates gone, he had lost any chance to stand against this man.

How many of those deadly attacks could his proud iron armor withstand?

On the other hand, his own full-power slash earlier hadn’t even broken the man’s Protective Spell.

Not to mention—the man was more mobile than he was.

「Clang!」 The heavy greatsword slipped from his grasp.

「Thump!」 Hitting the ground at the same time were Blake’s bent knees.

“I’m sorry, I was wrong! I was misled by my teammates!”

He knelt heavily in the freezing snow, bowing his head deeply.

Arya, riding Ulfen, came to Gauss’s side, giving him a cautious look.

“Don’t worry.”

Gauss’s gaze fell on the Warrior who had so cleanly dropped to his knees.

“Information! I’ll trade a precious piece of information for my life!”

Blake pulled out a yellowed scroll.

“A treasure map, right?” Gauss spoke calmly before he could open his mouth.

“Y-yes.”

Gauss didn’t believe a word of it.

Sure, he’d take it, fine?

“Then toss it over. I agree.”

Blake gritted his teeth. “N-no! You have to guarantee my safety! Once we’re back at camp, I’ll—”

Gauss smiled at that.

He glanced at Arya and activated Message.

Receiving the message, Arya nodded.

“That won’t do. Who knows if you’ll bolt the moment we get back to camp? And what if you…” Gauss spoke idly as he chewed on Magical Berries and dried frog meat, replenishing his energy while stringing along the last Warrior.

Time was on his side.

With the current completely reversed numbers, taking him down wouldn’t be a problem—but if he could save strength, why not?

And beside him, Arya was already prepared.

The next moment—

With Gauss’s signal—

Vines shot up beside Blake, growing rapidly.

Before he could react, they bound his kneeling body and the greatsword scattered at his feet.

“You! You promised to spare me!” Blake’s eyes widened.

He struggled violently, the vines snapping under his pull—only for new ones to sprout, binding him again. Snake-like, they slithered over his body, slipping cunningly into the gaps in his armor, eventually yanking apart the straps.

“Magic Missile!”

Three deep-blue missiles roared toward Blake.

“What a pity—” Gauss looked at the thick malice and hatred in Blake’s eyes and slowly shook his head. “You don’t know you were wrong—you only know you’re going to die.”

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