Gron didn't know how strong Gauss truly was. But seeing the confidence on the man's face, he instinctively chose to believe him.
Maybe Gauss himself was the very definition of a miracle—a chosen one out of legend.
Otherwise, how could anyone explain it? Two years ago, he'd still been a hunter scrambling from job to job just to survive, and now he was the captain of an adventuring company.
At least in Gron's understanding, you couldn't reach that kind of height in only two short years.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
And just like that, the request was settled.
Next, under Gauss's orders, the entire Red Dragon Company went into motion at full speed.
Second Squad and Third Squad mounted fast horses and escorted the pack-beast wagons out of Grayrock, to the cheers and send-off of countless townsfolk.
Not far away, several members of the Fang of the Gray Wolf adventuring company watched the scene, exchanging looks.
"We're an adventuring company too—why don't we get treated like that?"
"No idea!"
Not only did they get none of that welcome—if anything, their movements in town had been restricted.
All because a few members from one of their other groups had gotten into a fight in the market district days earlier, and some ordinary civilians had been hurt in the crossfire.
They'd heard that afterward even their captain had been "invited for tea" by the local guildmaster.
Only after he promised to rein in his people—and paid a hefty compensation to the injured—did the matter finally get put aside.
And yet, they were the established, old-guard company from Falrim, while Red Dragon Company was supposedly just a bunch of rookies.
It made no sense.
…
Once they left Grayrock, the road opened up.
This time, Gauss didn't split off and rush ahead alone to the Blackwater region.
Unlike the trip here, the road to Blackwater was genuinely dangerous—and the odds of running into trouble were high.
There was no need to fight for a two- or three-day head start.
Inside the carriage, Gauss and the others busied themselves with their own things to pass the time.
Ivan, meanwhile, was breathing hard—hiss, hah, hiss.
"You okay?"
Gauss had kept his voice low, but his hearing was too sharp to miss it. He set his book down and turned to ask.
"Me? I'm great, Captain."
Seated beside Gauss, Ivan's blood was practically boiling—he looked thrilled.
He didn't get many chances to share a carriage with Gauss, and this time they were going into battle together. He finally felt like his strength would actually be useful.
"Is that so… Serandur, check him."
Ivan was about to say it wasn't necessary, but Serandur had already put a hand on him and started a quick examination.
Sensing the movement in Ivan's bloodline, Serandur's expression flickered with understanding.
"Gauss, he's fine. Ivan's just too excited."
He shot Ivan a knowing look—he understood exactly what that felt like.
As a draconic-blood warlock, the effect Ivan felt around Gauss was stronger than what Serandur felt. Back when Serandur first met Gauss, he'd suffered that same bloodline pressure too. It still existed even now—he'd just grown used to it.
Time passed quickly.
The closer they got to Blackwater, the more desolate the land became.
Apart from their convoy, there were no other humans on the road.
After weathering wave after wave of monster attacks, Gauss's group finally reached the border of the Blackwater region.
"People! People!"
Raven Echo returned with news.
Following its guidance, Red Dragon Company arrived at an adventurer encampment.
"Hey, how much for a blood potion?"
"One gold per vial."
"You're robbing me!"
"Then don't buy it. This is top-grade."
"Fencing and repairs! Flowerblade Trading Company buys equipment and takes refurbishing orders—seeking clients!"
"…"
Stepping into the camp left the Red Dragon members feeling strangely unreal after days without seeing any humans.
For a moment, it almost felt like this wasn't a wilderness frontline at all, but a rough early-stage human town.
Except there were practically no civilians—only adventurers, and merchants who served adventurers.
Where there are people, there's business.
Still, this was the last supply point before pushing deeper into Blackwater territory.
Merchants loved profit—but they weren't going any farther. That would be suicide.
Even here, the risk to life and property was enormous.
If monsters attacked, adventurers might survive. Ordinary people almost certainly wouldn't.
It was called a "camp," but really it was just a crowd gathering on open ground—no complicated rules.
Gauss's group numbered in the dozens, and the red dragon banner on their wagons clearly marked them as an adventuring company.
Lone adventurers and small teams naturally avoided a "giant" like that. Some sharper merchants even sent greetings and small gifts.
Out in the wild, an adventuring company simply carried a kind of unspoken privilege.
"I didn't expect an adventurer camp out here."
"Maybe we should call in the people still in Grayrock," Ivan suggested, looking around.
"Let's settle in first," Gauss replied noncommittally, not giving a firm answer yet.
His gaze shifted to Gron, who'd been unusually quiet the whole way.
Gauss knew he was worried about the children trapped in Blackwater, so he spoke to reassure him.
"Don't worry. The kids should be okay."
It really wasn't worth panicking over one or two days.
After all, the war that swallowed Blackwater had happened months ago.
…
The next day, after resting up, Gauss's group set off again.
They left some people behind in the camp—Teb and the other three dwarves stayed too.
Even without leaving many guards, few would dare provoke an adventuring company. The weak couldn't afford it, and anyone with power would hesitate unless they were confident they could wipe out the whole camp—otherwise they'd face a company's retaliation later.
Besides, what they left behind was mostly bulky, inconvenient equipment—big, heavy, and not worth much. Robbing it would be a terrible risk-reward trade.
Crossing the border, Gauss immediately felt it—something in the air was different.
He rolled his shoulders, reflexively loosening his body.
It felt like stepping into the Jade Forest: a subtle, pervasive discomfort, like a thin pressure laid over everything.
"As expected… this is monster territory now."
He sighed.
Unless most of the monsters on this land were wiped out, it would be impossible to reverse that rule-like oppression.
The others sensed it too, and unconsciously edged closer to Gauss.
It was like he carried an aura that could blunt that discomfort.
"Whoosh!"
From the treeline ahead, a swarm of goblins in ragged cloth spilled out, shrieking and waving weapons.
The moment they entered monster territory, Gauss's group received a "warm welcome."
Gauss glanced at the few dozen goblins—some infantry, some wolf riders. A pretty balanced mix.
But he didn't feel much urge to move.
For him, this number was too small. Better to let his people get some practice.
He couldn't be the company's babysitter forever.
He was doing them a favor: in a chaotic age, only strength lets you control your fate.
"Third Squad—everyone—kill them!"
At his shout, the Third Squad members—who'd been rattled by the sudden attack—settled down almost instantly.
No one knew why, but hearing Gauss's voice steadied them.
They spurred their mounts forward, and the two forces collided.
As Gauss intended, not only did Alia and the others hold back—even Ivan's team leaders mostly stayed in command roles instead of going all out.
Gauss himself also deliberately stepped away from the frontline.
The main fighting was done by the company's recruited rank-and-file adventurers.
"Kill them all!"
"Let's go!"
"For the Captain!"
Steel cut flesh. Horses and wolf riders slammed into each other.
The battle exploded into brutal chaos.
But it started fast—and ended fast.
In under ten minutes, it was over.
Red Dragon Company's members sat on their mounts, gasping for breath.
A few wounded were being treated by the medics and Serandur.
"We lived!"
"We actually killed that many goblins?!"
Unlike the excited ordinary members, Ivan looked tense as he watched Gauss, face unreadable.
He didn't know if his people had met Gauss's standard.
If they performed poorly, it reflected on him too—he'd helped with their training.
"Not bad."
Gauss nodded.
And he meant it.
With none of the company's high-level fighters stepping in, about twenty adventurer veterans—well-equipped with solid armor, weapons, and mounts—had wiped out nearly sixty goblins with only five injuries and no deaths.
That was a real win.
Most adventurers weren't like Gauss, killing goblins in huge numbers before even becoming professionals.
Hearing the evaluation, Ivan and the action-team leaders finally breathed again.
And where no one else could see, Gauss stared at the notification that had popped up in his adventurer's ledger and slowly smiled.
"Goblins Slain ×12."
He was delighted.
Because neither he nor any of the "kill-share" companions had personally killed a single goblin just now.
Which meant those kills came from the ordinary members.
That discovery made him genuinely happy.
Even if the shared rate wasn't perfect—clearly only a fraction—it was already enough.
He didn't need to personally swing the blade, and as the company grew, that assistance would only rise.
If one day he had hundreds, thousands… even a partial share would become terrifying.
His people could kill while he hunted bigger targets—and that was the whole point of building a company.
For now, the share rate felt like roughly one-fifth.
Gauss rubbed his chin.
He couldn't be completely sure with such a small sample, but the trend was clear.
Then why hadn't this "company share" worked before?
He thought it through.
Probably because this was the first time Red Dragon Company had truly operated as an adventuring company—a coordinated unit.
Before, it had mostly been his core team doing the fighting, with Torga's squad supporting. Not a true "company-scale" action.
"Rest for twenty minutes. Then we move again," Gauss ordered.
He was starting to think he needed to invest even more into running the company.
In this world, individual might was terrifying—but organized strength was no joke either.
Ten trained, coordinated people could outperform dozens of lone wolves.
"Everyone—recover fast!" Ivan relayed the order immediately.
Over the next two days, Red Dragon Company kept pushing deeper, fighting as they went.
Gauss also used the time to test and confirm the company's sharing behavior:
Ordinary members synced at about 1/5.
Alia, Shadow, and Hephaestus remained 100%.
Serandur and Albena were around 50%.
"Total Monster Kills: 28,611."
Gauss suspected this "company-mode share" might end up being the biggest gain of the entire operation.
"Ivan, settle the camp in this cleared village."
"Until I return, no one leaves without permission."
The village had been a gnoll holding site—now it was Red Dragon Company's temporary foothold.
Blackwater territory was fully monster-held now, divided among tribes and clans.
Short-term, no one else was likely to come contest this particular village.
"Captain, don't worry. Go."
Ivan knew Gauss and a small group were about to peel off for the private rescue mission.
To avoid panic among the lower members, only the core knew the details.
Gauss took only Gron, Alia, and Shadow.
Their current position was less than fifty kilometers from Blackwater town itself.
With Hephaestus, it would be a meal's worth of flight.
But in monster territory, flying high and obvious was basically asking to get hunted.
Gauss had confidence—but he didn't want unnecessary attention.
And a red dragon was rare enough that it would announce his presence to every intelligent monster in the region.
He also hadn't forgotten the Dragon Cult.
Compared to human lands, the monster realms were their playground. They had ties with many monster factions.
And as a rising star among humans, Gauss was surely already on some leaders' watchlists.
Maybe they were plotting right now.
After all, Gauss's kill count was nearing thirty thousand.
Thirty thousand monsters.
Even if they were all scrawny goblins, that was a mountain of flesh.
If Gauss were a thinking monster, he'd mark himself as a must-kill target.
Enemy hero, enemy scourge.
The more adored he became among humans, the more hateful he'd look to monsters.
Just like the way goblins stared at him now—like he was death itself.