"You're saying your group went through a power struggle, your captain is dead, and now you're being hunted by your former team."
After listening to the woman in front of him—who called herself Luna and claimed to be Fang of the Gray Wolf's former Deputy Captain—Gauss quickly sorted the logic out in his head.
It wasn't complicated, but the details clearly weren't something you could unpack in a minute or two.
"Yes. And Fisher will probably come for you soon. He's had his eye on you for a while."
Gauss listened without changing expression.
She was still a stranger. He didn't fully believe what Luna said—not yet.
But he couldn't afford to ignore it either.
For adventurers, a lot of things are better treated as possible than dismissed as impossible. A little extra caution never hurts.
And Gauss knew his "abnormalities" were exactly the kind of thing ambitious people would salivate over.
Even setting aside the fact that many people assumed he possessed an absurdly pure draconic bloodline, Hephis alone was enough to make gamblers throw reason out the window.
There would always be people whose ambition outweighed their caution—Gauss had learned that the hard way. You couldn't assume everyone in the world was objective and rational.
"Thank you for the warning, Lady Luna."
Gauss voiced his gratitude, while keeping his guard up.
Even if she hadn't lied about Fisher coveting him, how could she prove she wasn't working with Fisher—putting on a show to lure him into a trap?
It also wasn't impossible that she was simply using him to fight Fisher, exaggerating or fabricating details to manipulate him.
So whatever the truth was, Gauss would confirm it with his own eyes.
And according to Luna, Fisher would arrive soon.
Luna seemed to understand she couldn't earn trust quickly. To avoid raising Gauss's tension, she took her people and moved farther away instead of pressing close to his camp.
That way, if something went wrong, she could at least buy time for the few who'd fled with her.
Gauss glanced up at the giant eagle circling high overhead. It spread wings several meters across, wheeling through the sky—but it never left the village airspace.
A sharp cry suddenly rang out from above.
In the distance, a fast-moving squad appeared on the horizon, closing rapidly on the village the Red Dragon Company had claimed as a temporary camp.
The other Red Dragon Company members had already been alerted. They were bracing themselves.
Normally, two unfamiliar adventuring companies didn't approach each other in the wild unless there was a reason.
If they did, it was either because they were close—frequently cooperating on large-scale hunts—or because a fight was coming.
Which one this was would depend on what their leaders did next.
By Luna's account, this group was chasing her, so what Gauss saw approaching shouldn't be Fang of the Gray Wolf's full strength—just an elite vanguard.
Otherwise they couldn't move this fast.
That, at least, made sense.
Gauss's hawk-like gaze fixed on them even from far away, assessing.
Less than twenty people.
They were even fewer than Red Dragon Company's numbers in the village.
But if you excluded Gauss himself, this elite squad's overall combat power was clearly higher.
And at the front, it wasn't Wolf—Fang of the Gray Wolf's captain from the last time. It was a pale, clean-faced young man Gauss had never seen before.
"Captain Fisher—please have your people stop there."
"Why don't we talk first, just the two of us?"
Gauss stepped forward a few paces. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried cleanly across the field, reaching every rider.
To be honest, Gauss didn't care much about Fang of the Gray Wolf's internal coup. Who was right, who was wrong—it wasn't his business.
He had no ties to them. That earlier encounter in Grayrock Town—"maybe we'll cooperate someday"—had been polite small talk, and everyone knew it.
But he did have a responsibility to protect his own people. He wasn't going to let a suspicious unit ride straight into engagement distance.
Maybe he could stay out of it entirely.
If Fisher didn't make a move against them…
Was Gauss really going to risk his members' lives for a "justice" he hadn't even confirmed?
It was worth thinking about.
Fang of the Gray Wolf's vanguard slowed sharply, then stopped about two hundred meters away.
Not close—but not far either. Gauss had plenty of time to respond if something went wrong.
After raising a hand to signal his own people to hold position, Fisher rode forward alone on a black horse wreathed in drifting dark mist—clearly some kind of bloodline mount.
His eyes lingered on Gauss.
Just like the reports said: black hair, green eyes, pale skin—handsome enough to make him feel a stab of envy.
And unlike his youthful face, Gauss carried a calm, heavy presence—one of those people you notice instantly, even in a crowd.
Fisher stared for two seconds, then shifted his gaze to Luna's group standing off in the open.
He knew what Luna was doing. He knew she'd probably already told Gauss something.
With that, he dismounted, smiling politely.
"Captain of the Red Dragon Company—Lord Gauss. I've long heard your name. I've wanted to meet you for some time, but never had the chance. Now that we finally do meet… you truly live up to the rumors."
His voice carried far as well.
His words were courteous.
But Gauss's caution rose instead of falling.
Secondhand descriptions always had distortion. He'd only half believed Luna—but face-to-face, he felt something unpleasant rolling off Fisher like a chill.
It was an irrational discomfort—constant, persistent—like their very "wavelengths" didn't match.
If his intuition was right, and Gauss believed he'd lived cleanly… then what did it say about Fisher?
Still, Gauss wasn't going to start killing someone just because their "aura felt wrong."
He would listen first. Watch first.
If Fisher could leave peacefully, great.
If Fisher tried anything, Gauss would show him what his magic looked like.
"Captain Fisher, you're too kind. If you have business, say it plainly—so we don't create unnecessary misunderstandings. Agreed?"
Gauss nodded. No interest in small talk.
Wrong time, wrong place, and they weren't friends—this was a standoff.
If they were in a safe city, Gauss might've invited him somewhere to chat. Out here, extra words were worthless.
Better to lay out intentions, then go their separate ways.
"Straight to the point—how refreshing." Fisher's pale face lifted into a calm smile.
"I'm here to capture the traitors who assassinated Captain Wolf. I hope you'll do us a favor and hand them over. Fang of the Gray Wolf will reward you generously."
As he spoke, his gaze slid toward Luna.
Gauss fell silent for a moment.
"I have no intention of involving myself in your internal conflict."
Truthfully, he trusted Luna's version more than Fisher's.
When he'd seen Wolf in Grayrock Town, Luna had been at his side—Fisher hadn't. The closeness was obvious.
And after Wolf's death, Fisher was the biggest beneficiary.
But again—Gauss wasn't alone anymore. Behind him stood nearly thirty people, most with wives and children.
If he brought them out, he owed them the best chance to go home alive.
That didn't mean coddling them or forbidding them from fighting.
It meant avoiding unnecessary fights when he could.
If Fisher didn't attack them…
Was Gauss supposed to gamble his members' lives on a "truth" he hadn't confirmed?
He sighed.
"You can pursue them if you want. But Captain Fisher… they probably can't overturn anything anymore."
From what both sides had said, Gauss already had a rough picture.
But for Fang of the Gray Wolf, the truth no longer mattered.
Fisher had secured the loyalty of the core. In practical terms, he was the captain now. Even if Luna escaped, she couldn't change the structure.
And sometimes, hunting someone to the last breath only hurt you—internal resentment, reputation damage, the risk of creating martyrs.
Even if Luna tried to appeal to the Adventurers' Guild, would anything come of it?
Evidence could be destroyed. Witnesses were now Fisher's people. And this was monster territory—human divination and truth-magic often failed here.
Even if there was a chance to "clear the case," it wouldn't be easy.
Would the Guild even intervene?
Gauss doubted it.
From the Guild's perspective, morality inside a company mattered less than whether that company kept killing monsters for humanity.
If Fisher could lead Fang of the Gray Wolf to complete more commissions and slaughter more monsters, he had "value."
"I appreciate the advice," Fisher replied, not accepting the hint at all. "But Captain Wolf's body isn't even cold. He raised me. I can't let these traitors roam free."
Gauss shook his head—more wary now.
Fisher's tone carried a poisonous edge.
Just as Fisher started to walk past Gauss—moving toward Luna—
Gauss drew his white staff, instantly cast Control Water, and fired a Moterra arrow laced with holy power into the ground in front of Fisher.
The earth exploded into a crater.
The moment it happened, Fang of the Gray Wolf's riders grabbed reins, ready to charge.
Behind Gauss, Red Dragon Company didn't ask questions—Alia and the others trusted him instinctively and raised their hands, signaling their members to draw weapons.
The air turned knife-sharp.
"Captain Gauss—what is the meaning of this?" Fisher's face sank as he retreated a few steps.
"That's what I should be asking you," Gauss said coldly, magic surging around him. "Why did you attack my people?"
In that instant, Gauss had felt it—an evil current spilling from Fisher's feet, streaking toward a target.
If it had been aimed at Luna, Gauss could've chalked it up to Fisher being impatient.
But the direction was wrong.
It was headed for Red Dragon Company, specifically toward his closest companions.
Fisher understood who mattered most to Gauss—and he still chose to strike.
The intent was obvious.
He wasn't here for Luna.
Just like Luna warned, he came for Gauss—and he tried to cripple Gauss by hitting his companions first.
Only one thing went wrong:
Gauss's sense for evil was too sharp.
To him, that kind of power was like a torch in darkness—once it moved, it couldn't hide.
"Control Water!"
Holy water snapped back into Gauss's grip and split into dozens of needle-thin arrows, firing toward Fisher.
Pft. Pft. Pft.
A rapid chain of flesh-piercing sounds.
In an instant, Moterra's arrow-rain turned Fisher into a sieve.
…Too easy.
Gauss's instincts screamed that something was wrong.
"Kehehe…"
Fisher, riddled with holes, started laughing.
A force rose from him—completely opposite Gauss's holy aura.
So this was Fisher's confidence?
"You have… that inside you…"
Gauss frowned. The presence felt both familiar and unfamiliar—something he'd encountered long ago.
But back then, it had been on minor underlings, not someone like this.