Chapter 41: Showing Weakness to the Enemy
A sudden attack had instantly thrown the previously peaceful slime colony into chaos!
"Pfft pfft!"
"Pfft pfft!"
Frightened by the sudden death of their companions, the slimes entered a panic, becoming aggressive and violently bouncing in the mud.
Upon landing, their gelatinous bodies smashed into the muddy water, emitting a continuous “pfft pfft” squishing sound.
For a moment, the entire turbid mud field seemed to be boiling.
Under emotional contagion, the slimes became restless and agitated.
They used the two round black eyes located on each side of their bodies to search for enemies.
Gauss did not intend to hide; instead, he watched the slimes with keen interest, recalling his past knowledge about them.
It was said that even low-tier monsters like slimes could give birth to much stronger individuals, some capable of mana sensing—locking onto enemies from afar without relying on vision.
Beyond mana sensing, it was rumored that some high-level slimes could even cast spells, mimic shapes, absorb energy, grow gigantic, merge, and wield other powerful abilities.
Some adventurers even claimed to have seen slimes stronger than dragons!
However, could the slime race really exceed dragons in potential?
The vast majority of people did not take these drunken boasts seriously.
Back to the present, this group of slimes was merely the weakest, ordinary gelatinous slime.
After visually observing them, one of the agitated slimes locked onto the positions of Gauss and his two companions.
It wasn’t clear how they communicated, but soon nearly all the slimes were looking toward the three of them.
Perhaps sensing the low number of enemies, and being naturally cowardly bullies, the slime colony “communicated” briefly and immediately sprang into action.
“Pfft pfft!” “Pfft pfft!”
All the slimes scrambled and hopped toward the trio, and twenty gelatinous monsters generated a surprisingly powerful momentum.
Seeing this, the three remained unruffled and prepared their second wave of attacks.
They nocked arrows, pulled triggers, and wielded the staff.
Another round of ranged attacks was launched.
However, this time Oliver’s and Meiva’s arrows failed to kill any slimes.
The arrows only pierced the outer gelatinous layer and did not hit the core.
Though the intrusion startled two slimes into shaking briefly, it caused no lasting harm, and after a short spasm, the creatures continued advancing with the main group.
Instead, Gauss, having patiently aimed, once again used his slowed-time ability to punch through the cores of two more slimes.
"Crack!!"
The magic missiles cut through two cores while flying just above the ground, then exploded into the mud, spraying waves of murky water.
Undeniably, possessing the staff had made Gauss’s spellcasting much smoother.
Earlier, casting spells empty-handed could not have been so precise and efficient.
“Slimes slain 2.”
“Total monster kills: 28!”
The failure to hit cores by Oliver and Meiva wasn’t due to poor archery, but because the slimes’ jump trajectories were unpredictable and their cores rolled wildly within.
Gauss succeeded by combining a low-grade bullet-time effect, the White Bone Staff’s bonuses, and the faster speed and wider range of magic missiles compared to arrows.
A short distance away, Meiva glanced at Gauss without a word, realizing that her suspicion—that his magic missiles flew faster—was not an illusion.
This guy had grown stronger again!
Perhaps emboldened by the sheer number of nearby allies, the slimes did not flee after the trio’s second strike.
Instead, they accelerated, quickly hopping out of the mud and onto solid ground.
It was at this moment that Levin and the others appeared.
The shield bearer Levin and swordsman Doyle, who had been hiding in the bushes, stood up.
Priestess Daphne also stepped out from behind a tree, positioning herself in front of the group and ready to provide healing at any moment.
The small team's formation immediately took shape!
Seeing the number of people suddenly surge from three to six.
The originally aggressive slime colony instantly faltered as if struck head-on.
The two slimes at the rear, hampered by arrows stuck in them, even stopped bouncing altogether.
They shivered in place, trembling in unease.
This was exactly why only Gauss and the other two revealed themselves at the start—to feign weakness, baiting the slimes into arrogantly leaving the mud.
The muddy ground was clearly not a suitable battlefield for the team to fight properly.
“Doyle, come up front with me!”
Without giving the slimes time to react, Levin shouted loudly, fearing that the lead slime might flee and cause the whole group to scatter.
If these nearly twenty slimes dispersed, it would be hard for their six-man team to chase and eliminate them all in the forest.
"Boom boom boom!"
Levin charged forward with heavy strides, activating his skill.
"Shield Bash!"
With a loud yell, his face reddened, Levin raised his oak shield in front of him and fearlessly charged at the slimes with firm steps.
Doyle, holding a small wooden shield, followed behind him, also charging forward.
Their “fearless” advance seemed to enrage the lead slime.
“Thud thud thud!”
It suddenly leapt forward, taking the lead.
A thick stream of dark green slime spewed from its mouth.
The large glob of slime drew an arc through the air.
“Splat!”
It struck Levin’s oak shield with a heavy thud.
Fortunately, Levin’s shield had a large enough coverage area, and since he didn’t go full force during his charge, he kept his body behind the shield’s protection.
So the thick slime merely splashed on the oak shield, evaporating into faint white smoke on the surface, without causing him any harm.
Levin did not slow down, pushing forward through the slime.
One step!
Two steps!
His massive shield finally collided with the lead slime.
Although the 50-centimeter-diameter slime charged with great momentum, it was still outmatched by Levin in raw power.
“Boom!!”
The 50-centimeter slime slammed into the shield, and under the forceful impact, was crushed almost instantly.
Two powerful forces clashed in a brief instant!
Ultimately, Levin, who had activated his skill, gained the upper hand.
“Hahhh!!!”
He launched a second charge while bearing the full weight of the lead slime!
“Bang!!”
With his shield up and head lowered, Levin forcefully carved a path through the slime “army.”
All slimes along the way were blasted aside by his sheer strength.
Following behind, Doyle drew his longsword and engaged the slimes.
Meanwhile, the ranged unit flanked the battlefield and began aiming, attempting to snipe isolated slimes from afar.
Gauss was technically part of the ranged group, but he had already used two magic missiles and only had enough mana for one more.
With teammates at the front, he couldn’t recklessly cast another spell.
So he chose to follow behind Levin and Doyle, holding a small wooden shield before his face with one hand and carefully carrying his rapier in the other.
"Smack!"
Doyle clearly wasn’t new to slime hunting.
With one hand, he deflected a blob of slime with his shield, and with the other, he brought his sword down.
“Cross Slash!”
“Swish! Swish!”
A flash of white light traced two rapid strikes—one horizontal, one vertical—precisely slicing into the core at the center of the slime.
"Splaaash!"
As the core was split into four pieces, the slime melted once more!
“Use your small shield to block the slime shots,” he said, “Slimes can’t spray continuously—block the first shot and strike back.”
“But also watch out for attacks from other slimes!”
“Don’t get surrounded by a swarm!”
“Oliver, Meiva, provide long-range support as needed!”
Levin shouted loudly to remind the team.
In fact, his initial charge had already blasted away nearly half the slimes, breaking their front line.
The most dangerous first wave of attack had been neutralized.
Now was the best time to kill the slimes.
Naturally, Gauss also heard Levin’s voice.
He mimicked Doyle and picked a slime to engage.
It was a 30 to 40-centimeter blob of thick-smelling, rotting slime.
It had likely taken the brunt of Levin’s strongest charge.
Now, it was sluggishly wriggling, its core trembling violently—moving left and right unpredictably inside.
This was its natural defensive reaction, preventing enemies from easily hitting the core while it was dazed.