"Lin Mo, run quickly!"
Without ti to explain, she hurriedly said this while grabbing Lin Mo and Finnie with each hand, turning around to flee.
Lin Mo had just witnessed Ellie's unusual behavior and knew her keen sense of sll might have detected so danger, so he didn't hesitate to follow and retreat.
"Wait... wait a mont..."
At tis like this, Finnie clearly couldn't keep up with their speed. After just a couple of steps, she stumbled and nearly fell.
Lin Mo quickly turned back to catch her, smoothly scooping her up in his arms.
It was in that mont of turning back that he saw what had frightened Ellie so much.
A crimson figure appeared in his vision, its body wreathed in flas, dripping black-red blood resembling lava that scorched the ground black wherever it fell...
Even though he had never seen one before, Lin Mo imdiately recognized what it was.
Rotted Corpse!
Among undead creatures, Rotted Corpses weren't actually considered particularly powerful, only one rank above the lowest-level skeleton monsters, but this was relative to the entire undead creature hierarchy.
In practical terms, Rotted Corpses could be quite troubleso among elite-level magical creatures.
Especially this type of Rotted Corpse that had mastered elental power - they were extrely difficult to deal with.
In close combat, it was hard to avoid being affected by the frenzied elental energy surrounding them, and Rotted Corpses themselves weren't weak in strength or constitution, making them well-rounded fighters.
Generally speaking, professionals of the sa level found it difficult to confront them alone. It required at least two professionals of equivalent level working together, or having many helpers to deal with them, and even then injuries were likely. In the latter case, casualties might occur, making any victory a pyrrhic one.
Not to ntion, they weren't even of the sa level...
Lin Mo clearly rembered that when selecting missions at the association earlier, he had considered one called [Eliminate Icy Rotted Corpse].
This Rotted Corpse before him was probably of similar level to that one, aning its threat level was at least 3!
In an instant, Lin Mo assessed the power balance between them - they couldn't win through force.
While not completely hopeless in a fight, given his current strength, battling this monster was too dangerous with low chances of success. Unless absolutely necessary, there was no reason to take such great risks.
Although agility was typically a Rotted Corpse's weakness, the speed of a level 3 Rotted Corpse still surpassed that of Ellie, a level 1 professional.
Just in the mont he looked back, the distance between them had already shortened considerably. Continuing like this, they would definitely be caught.
Having made his judgnt, Lin Mo shifted Finnie to his side amid her surprised cries, holding her slender waist with one arm while quickly moving forward to scoop up the running Ellie as well. Thus carrying one in each arm, he sprinted forward.
Lin Mo's agility reached 25 points, plus the [Light's Assistance] Finnie rembered to cast in her panic, bringing it to 26 points - still considerably faster than that Rotted Corpse.
In the blink of an eye, they created distance.
But this didn't an they were safe, because...
The Rotted Corpse emitted an inhuman roar from its mouth, and the next mont, a blazing fireball shot from its hand toward Lin Mo.
Though not looking back, Lin Mo could feel the intensifying heat approaching and quickly dodged sideways, evading the attack.
The fireball, larger than a human head, struck a tree and instantly penetrated the trunk that was five to six ters thick, leaving a fiery red hollow.
The fireball then exploded, setting ablaze a large area of surrounding vegetation.
Lin Mo broke out in a cold sweat. This was magical attack - [Fortitude] only blocked physical damage and wouldn't work here. Taking a direct hit would probably hurt quite a bit...
He quickened his pace, but heard Ellie cry out: "Careful!"
As her voice fell, another fireball shot out. Lin Mo narrowly dodged again, but noticed the scorching heat behind him hadn't dissipated.
Looking back, he saw the Rotted Corpse had launched several fireballs in succession, sealing off his escape routes as well.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Mo prepared to set the two down and draw his sword to face the attack head-on.
Though magic was powerful, it wasn't invincible. With his strength, using [Accumulated Sword Combo] to slash might just be able to cut through this Fireball spell!
However, just as Lin Mo prepared to do this, a cold gleam suddenly appeared in his vision.
The next mont, that fireball dissipated instantly like a deflated balloon.
Lin Mo turned to look in the direction the throwing knife ca from, only catching a glimpse of a black-and-white skirt hem and a familiar shade of ivory gray.
His footsteps never stopped, so after the crisis was resolved, the distance between them and that Rotted Corpse had completely widened.
That must be the person secretly responsible for protecting Finnie. Unexpected...
A sowhat surprised expression appeared on Lin Mo's face.
No wonder she always ca to pick up Finnie - she had been following along the whole ti.
After running further ahead until the danger was completely gone, Lin Mo finally set Ellie and Finnie down.
Finnie held onto her hat, which hadn't blown away, her face still slightly flushed. Ellie wasn't particularly embarrassed, having already experienced more intimate situations.
"Let's go, ti to head back."
Although they encountered a minor setback at the end, this mission could still be considered quite successfully completed.
The three made their way out of the forest. Once they left the Deep Forest Area, they could relax their vigilance sowhat, and Lin Mo began summarizing this adventure in his mind.
Since he had mostly followed squads before, with the captain handling many matters, this first adventure leading his own team felt quite unfamiliar in many aspects.
Including handling miscellaneous items, resting at night, and other matters - having a few more team mbers might improve the situation.
But Lin Mo wasn't keen on casually recruiting unfamiliar people, as that might bring more trouble instead.
Or perhaps cooperating with other squads? That was an option worth considering.
Additionally, because his strength had increased too rapidly, Ellie actually couldn't quite keep up with his pace anymore.
Ellie herself clearly understood this too, spacing out sowhat unhappily, lost in thought.
As a priest, Finnie didn't have these concerns, and during this adventure, Lin Mo could clearly sense Finnie's improvent.
On one hand, her growth as an adventurer - becoming increasingly proficient in setting traps, making camp, keeping watch, clearly studying seriously.
Besides this, her strength seed to have improved sowhat too. For instance, her [Light's Assistance] skill had noticeably higher proficiency.
Along the return journey, they encountered several Goblins, all becoming proficiency points for Lin Mo's [Fireball] spell. By the ti they left the forest, [Fireball] had reached Lv4 (39/100).
When they reached Silverstream City, darkness had already fallen.
The three pushed open the association's doors to find many adventurers still gathered inside drinking, so having just returned from missions and celebrating.
Lin Mo walked up to Lena's counter and took out the trophies from this mission.
Of course, he didn't choose to directly sell the Minotaur horns and axes to the association. He submitted one pair of horns to complete the previously accepted [Horn Charge] mission, then had the association notify Ross, who posted this mission, to co purchase the remaining items - this way he could earn slightly more.
Lena skillfully processed the relevant procedures.
"Number E1348 has received the Mutated Giant Rat tails, mission confird complete, reward 40 gold coins."
"Number E6636 confird complete, base reward 40 gold coins... and number E2334 mission, 1 pair of horns 21 gold coins. We've notified Mr. Ross, he'll be here shortly."
"This late too?"
Lin Mo was montarily surprised, having expected to wait until tomorrow.
They decided to order so food at the association and drink so Barley Tea.
After waiting a while, a hurried Dwarf pushed through the door and ca straight over.
"This is Mr. Ross."
Lena introduced.
"Hello, hello..."
Ross actively shook Lin Mo's hand: "I'm Ross, owner of shop number 11 on Adventurer Comrcial Street."
"I'm Lin Mo, pleased to et you, Mr. Ross."
Lin Mo rembered this shop from that "Silverstream City Adventurer Guide Complete Edition" book. When he wanted to buy new weapons before, it ntioned this shop.
The description said the owner was most enthusiastic but prices were sowhat expensive, so Lin Mo ultimately hadn't chosen to go there.
"Mr. Lin Mo, may I ask how many pairs of horns you have?"
Ross asked expectantly.
"Well... aside from the pair submitted earlier, there are 16 pairs of ordinary Minotaur horns, 2 pairs of Minotaur Vanguard horns, and 1 pair of Minotaur Chieftain horns."
Ross was imdiately shocked: "This many?"
He scratched his head: "I didn't bring that much money with . How about you all co to my shop?"
Since it wasn't far, Lin Mo nodded and temporarily bid farewell to Lena.
Soon arriving at Ross's shop, compared to the one Lin Mo visited before, Ross's shop appeared much cleaner and tidier. Simply put, the surface presentation was better done.
"16 pairs of horns, 21 gold each pair still, totaling 336 gold. 2 pairs of Minotaur Vanguard horns, 35 gold each pair, totaling 70 gold. As for the Minotaur Chieftain horns... how about 80 gold?"
The price wasn't particularly high, but it was within reasonable range. Lin Mo nodded: "That works."
"Then, all materials together co to 486 gold coins!"
Lin Mo maintained a calm expression outwardly, but inwardly he was absolutely thrilled.
This Minotaur settlent was incredibly rich - this round he made a killing, equivalent to several missions' worth of earnings!
Of course, this was also because his strength was sufficient. Normally, a Minotaur settlent like this wasn't sothing ordinary adventurer squads could handle.
Even complete professional squads would require at least three or four squads cooperating, or teams with level 3 professionals leading and one or two level 2 professionals in the team to manage it. Calculated that way, while the profits would still be high, they wouldn't be this exaggerated.
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