After speaking with the bearded guild president, Gauss gained a deeper understanding of the current battlefield situation.
Although he had already spoken with Alia and the others before coming here, they were, after all, only an adventuring company. They still knew nothing about many movements involving the higher levels.
This was determined partly by strength, and partly by the unequal roles and identities between the two sides.
The Adventurers' Guild could not possibly share important intelligence with the majority of adventurers.
After all, there might also be spies from the monster side hidden among humans. The more people who knew a piece of information, the greater the risk of exposure.
In the early days after this war broke out, those human traitors from the Dragon Worship Cult had joined forces with wyverns, moving from both outside and inside to rapidly destroy quite a few magical cannons.
As a result, during battle, many adventurers and soldiers not only had to guard against the enemies attacking them from the front, but also had to split their attention and watch the teammates beside and behind them, bringing an extra burden to combat operations.
Because of that, Monroe also reminded Gauss that he had to be careful of strangers in the camp.
Even now, there might still be human traitors who had not been exposed hiding among them. It was very difficult to identify them from appearance alone.
After all, the Dragon Worship Cult was not that stupid. Members who had been hiding among the crowd long-term usually would not tattoo religious markings on their bodies.
And at this point, the number of people moving in and around the camp had already reached several tens of thousands. It was impossible to carefully investigate the identity and background of every single person one by one, then infer whether they were cult members through their family circumstances, movement history, financial connections, and so on. That workload would be nearly astronomical.
They could only remind those who might be targeted by the Dragon Worship Cult to be more cautious.
Gauss walked out of the Adventurers' Guild building.
The camp was lively. People of all kinds, dressed in all sorts of clothing, moved through it.
Although this place was on the front line, and although this was a tense and oppressive wartime period, a considerable portion of the combatants were adventurers. It was difficult to restrain them with overly strict regulations.
Furthermore, because the killing on the front line brought enormous pressure, people needed even more opportunities to relax and release that tension after returning to camp. So all kinds of shops and service workers were available inside and outside the camp.
It was far more prosperous than most towns.
Gauss looked at the burly adventurer beside him, who had one arm around a woman on each side and reeked of alcohol. He could not help shaking his head inwardly.
He did not agree with this attitude of enjoying life while one could.
In his view, people capable of achieving great things were often extremely self-disciplined, especially during special periods and stages.
Wine and women could indeed relax a tense body and mind, but they could also strip away focus and alertness, lowering one's reaction speed and physical condition. Even for professionals with superior physiques, these effects might only be tiny, almost negligible differences. But those differences, which might not be noticeable most of the time, could cause one's head to fall in the split second between life and death.
Taking himself as an example, against most ordinary enemies, one second was enough for him to kill them at least ten times.
So during commissions and wartime, he never touched alcohol.
Only when safety was confirmed would he drink a few cups.
As Gauss walked back to the Red Dragon Company's station, quite a few eyes gathered on him.
Most of those gazes were curious and probing. The scene of him descending from the sky on a red dragon had been seen by many adventurers just now. Even those who had not known much about Gauss before had already labeled him an important figure.
Dragons were proof of power in this world.
And someone capable of subduing a dragon and turning it into a mount left an even more unreachable impression in people's hearts.
It was like a flashy limited-edition supercar driving down the road in a small county town in Gauss's previous life. Who could resist taking a few looks?
After returning to the Red Dragon Company's station, because of the bearded guild president's reminder, Gauss deliberately paid attention to the people around him, especially the new members who had just joined the Red Dragon Company.
This careful perception really did bring him some unexpected gains.
Gauss showed nothing on the surface, but inwardly, he silently memorized several people.
The way these people looked at him was a little off. Unlike most new members, whose eyes were filled with worship, admiration, envy, and longing, their gazes were too calm. It was as if they were deliberately hiding their true thoughts.
Of course, this was not because Gauss was narcissistic enough to believe everyone had to worship him from the bottom of their hearts.
But his attributes were too high. After his Intelligence broke through to 21, his spiritual power had also reached an unprecedented level. Because of that, he had a much deeper perception of other people's mental and emotional states toward him.
On top of that, the class specialty Proof of Leadership further amplified this specialized perception.
If they had not joined the Red Dragon Company and were merely passersby, that would have been one thing. But once they became nominal insiders, there was nowhere for them to hide.
Still, Gauss did not seize them on the spot. On one hand, that could easily cause panic and other negative effects. On the other, it might also create "wrongful cases." He planned to have Luna bring over their files and investigate them again.
Once everything was confirmed, he would deal with them.
Gauss was very cautious about this. He had already been an important figure on the Dragon Worship Cult's list before. At this special moment, it was only natural that they might develop some crooked ideas.
The Dragon Worship Cult could not possibly know the exact speed of his strength growth. Their impression was probably still stuck at an earlier stage.
After silently returning to his tent, Gauss told the others not to come in and disturb him. Then he began sorting through the gains from this trip.
There was no need to dwell on the improvement in his strength.
He began looking through the treasures in the storage bracelet.
First were the four dragon corpses lying quietly inside the bracelet. These dragon corpses were as fresh as when they had just died.
The inside of the storage bracelet did not allow for decay. Everything stored inside would be locked in the state it had been in at the moment it was put there.
This was the main reason Gauss had shamelessly asked President Monroe to lend it to him for a longer period.
If the dragon corpses were placed in an ordinary storage space or outside, before long, many of the flesh and organs would rot and spoil. In the end, perhaps only materials like dragon scales, dragon teeth, and dragon horns could be preserved.
"How should I use them?"
Inside the tent, Gauss sat alone and fell into thought.
The simplest and most straightforward method was to sell each corpse whole. True dragons were extremely valuable.
From dragon hide and dragon scales to dragon bones, dragon blood, and dragon meat, almost every organ and tissue throughout their bodies had considerable value. Whether used as materials for special potions or made into equipment and armor, they were excellent resources.
Beyond that, there was also research value.
Some high-level spellcasters would be very willing to purchase the corpse of a true dragon hatchling as research material. Even though, compared to a living dragon, their research value as corpses was greatly reduced, they were still far superior to monster materials of the same level.
During their conversation earlier, President Monroe had directly said that they could provide sales channels. If Gauss intended to sell, whether he wanted to sell directly to the Adventurers' Guild officially, or have the guild contact high-level professionals who might need such things, the guild could handle it on his behalf without taking any intermediary fees.
In that regard, the guild really had treated Gauss impeccably.
Aside from the very beginning, when Gauss had just become a bottom-level adventurer and was still unknown, the Adventurers' Guild had started paying attention to him from the moment he advanced into a profession. The privileges they provided had also gradually increased.
By now, Gauss had nearly received treatment like the guild's own beloved son.
Various internal high-paying commissions, intelligence, rentals of high-level tools, the ability to use the guild platform as a sales channel, not to mention protection that was not visible on the surface.
Gauss did not believe that his smooth growth all the way to this point, without being recruited or suppressed by other great noble families, was purely luck. With just a little thought, one could guess that the guild had absolutely played a role.
Most likely, they had taken a two-pronged approach: protecting his information and intelligence while also warning those great nobles in advance.
That was what had created a relatively peaceful growth environment for him.
And now, he had smoothly grown from a talented genius with great potential into a magic user with powerful combat strength. If other forces wanted to manipulate him now, they would have to carefully consider whether they had the ability.
Although he knew the guild was investing in and cultivating him because of his potential, he had indeed enjoyed treatment that ordinary adventurers could not.
So Gauss planned to first sell one complete dragon corpse to the Adventurers' Guild officially.
One reason was to return the favor. The fact that he had obtained these four true dragon hatchlings was not only due to his own effort. The commission intelligence and precious tools provided by the guild had also been crucial.
Especially the tool support. Without the Silent Cage and the storage bracelet, he could not have smoothly killed the true dragons, nor could he have brought their corpse materials back intact.
Second, selling to the guild was also the easiest method.
The price offered by the guild might not be the highest, but it would definitely be fair.
More importantly, he could use this to exchange for many resources and tools he currently needed.
For example, the large storage bracelet on his wrist. He could not shamelessly borrow it forever. But if he wanted to buy one, his current cash would still be somewhat strained, and he would need to line up.
The creation and forging of such bracelets required a great deal of time and materials. Because of that, every year, many high-level adventurers with purchasing qualifications lined up to buy them.
Large storage equipment was necessary for all adventurers. And the demand for this kind of thing was enormous. Even after obtaining one, people still needed a second and a third.
With the treatment Gauss enjoyed at the guild, if he had enough funds, he could also custom-order large storage equipment. But the other adventurers in line were not simple either. Even if the guild wanted to look after Gauss, it could not blatantly let him cut in line.
At least, as an official institution, they still had to appear fair on the surface.
That was a good thing for both the guild and Gauss.
But if Gauss sold a true dragon corpse, everything would be different. That would count as making a special contribution to the guild, so naturally, a fast-track green channel could be opened for him, and no one who heard about it would have much to say.
Even if someone was dissatisfied, the Adventurers' Guild would have an answer.
If they really had complaints, everyone could submit dragon corpses in exchange for cutting in line too. In that case, the guild would even be willing to use its strategic reserves as rewards.
After all, the value of a true dragon corpse was simply too high.
Using a complete dragon corpse to exchange for a high-grade storage bracelet was definitely more than enough, and he could also exchange it for many other resources.
High-level spells, special artifacts, equipment…
However, since the amount of money involved was enormous, President Monroe had said frankly that a professional actuary from the guild would need to be present, and sufficient reference materials would need to be brought over before the next stage of exchange could proceed.
Gauss had no objection to this. He did need to convert the dragon corpse into useful resources, but this sort of matter could not be rushed, nor could the benefits be maximized instantly.
As for the other three dragon corpses, he planned to keep them for now and let the guild contact high-level professionals to see what offers others would provide.
If the price was suitable, he did not mind selling a few more and converting them directly into resources.
That would count as comparing offers. But if the price was about the same as what the guild offered, then it would be more convenient to hand them to the guild.
For now, that was his arrangement for the dragon corpses.
His consciousness moved away from the four massive dragon corpses. Beside them was a pile of miscellaneous items.
These were the spoils he had swept up from the dragon nest after killing the juvenile dragons, when sleepiness was surging over him and he had forcibly endured intense drowsiness to collect everything.
Because he had later fallen unconscious, and after waking up had been rushing along the whole way, he had not yet carefully checked these spoils.
Although he felt that the possessions of four juvenile dragons who could not leave the nest should not logically include priceless treasures, out of habit, he still decided to inspect them carefully.
While he was at it, he would use Identification on them one by one.
As his adventuring experience had grown, the effect of his Identification spell was now sufficient to assess the value of most items.
"Scales shed by a juvenile blue dragon. Over time, their activity has been severely lost, but they are still suitable as rare materials for armor. Aside from that, they can be used in potion refinement…"
"Shed scales from a juvenile green dragon…"
There was naturally no need to say much about the shed skin and fallen scales of true dragons. Although their colors had already dimmed and could not compare to the radiant scales still on the dragon corpses, they still had considerable value.
Good things.
Gauss silently gave that evaluation, then separated the mixed dragon scales and dragon hide into several piles according to the species of true dragon.
The scales of different dragon species were suitable for making different kinds of armor and potions.
Next were magic crystals and gold coins.
True dragons naturally liked shiny things. Even kobolds, as their followers, imitated this habit. However, true dragons usually collected expensive jewels, precious metals, and magic crystals. Kobolds' treasures were mostly pretty stones of unclear significance, murky glass they occasionally fired, and so on.
Unfortunately, as juvenile dragons living under someone else's roof, these four dragons were not true dragons in the full sense when it came to wealth. Altogether, they only had a little over a hundred magic crystals and more than a thousand gold coins.
Although this would still be a considerable fortune to ordinary adventurers, for four true dragons, it was truly pitiful, especially the gold coins. There were far too few.
Gauss estimated that this was probably the result of the Green Dragon Queen "taxing" them.
There were slightly more magic crystals, perhaps because the juvenile dragons needed to consume some for physical development. But when it came to gold, the queen clearly had no obligation to leave them much.
"Better than nothing."
Gauss looked toward the final pile of miscellaneous items. In truth, he had not held much hope for it, but out of habit, he continued identifying them.
Suddenly, his attention paused.
He looked inside a completely ordinary-looking box.