"Gaah?"
A puzzled cry ca from the goblin's mouth.
Even among goblins, this one was a low-tier mber, which was why it hadn't kept up with the main force and had chosen to stay behind to see if it could scavenge so "leftovers."
As expected, it did find leftovers — but then these human adventurers suddenly appeared. What was going on?
Seeing the approaching humans with unfriendly expressions, the goblin tightened its grip on the wooden club and thought for about a second.
Then it imdiately put the club down, grabbed the "delicacy" it had just found, and stuffed it into its mouth.
The next second, its head flew clean off.
"Still planning to gorge yourself to death, huh..."
Huck's mouth twitched as he put his sword down.
"Can't let that happen!"
Saying that, he stomped on the goblin corpse.
Though Huck usually ca off as carefree and liked to joke around, when it ca ti to be serious, he didn't fool around.
"The goblins shouldn't have gone far—chase them!"
Landon quickly analyzed the situation from this lone goblin they’d encountered. He followed the village road and saw evidence everywhere of goblins marauding and destroying things;
scattered goblins were still rummaging through the ruins, just like the one before.
The trace of a large goblin migration was obvious, even beyond the village.
"They moved into the nearby hills."
Alden observed the direction of the tracks. "If I'm right, the villagers should have retreated up into the mountains. We need to hurry."
The others nodded and sped up toward the hills.
The faster, agile-class mbers like Sid and Sheila, and Lin Mo himself, went ahead to pursue.
For seasoned adventurers, tracking goblin movent in the hills wasn't difficult. Following the clues, they chased after them.
Before the sun fully set, they finally found the goblin host.
At the sa ti, they also found the villagers who had hidden in the mountains.
The villagers were sheltering in a relatively large cave. After being discovered, the village's able-bodied youth had spontaneously ard themselves and stood at the cave mouth, valiantly resisting the goblin assault.
Thanks to the narrow cave entrance and the lack of strong fighters among the goblins, they managed to hold for now.
But clearly, if this continued, those few young defenders would soon be wounded or killed one by one, and the villagers inside the cave would be captured and turned into food and breeding stock.
"Luckily, we arrived in ti..."
Zuo Yan breathed a sigh of relief and hastily raised his hand, imdiately unleashing a Blizzard.
Although it was an Exceptional-Grade skill, and such high-tier abilities suffer so proficiency decay when used to kill common goblins, saving people mattered more.
Blizzard remained Landon's smallest-area damaging skill, capable of slowly clearing mobs.
Sure enough, that Blizzard smashed down and almost instantly wiped out every goblin within its radius. Landon placed it very cleverly.
He didn't choose to put it where it might hit the villagers in front of the goblin mass, nor at the rear;
he placed it in the middle.
That maximized the goblins caught, and those just outside the area who reacted slowly might still wander into it. Even a graze by the elental waves of Blizzard would be more than enough to kill ordinary goblins.
This group probably numbered in the dozens;
Lin Mo's magic strike alone accounted for more than two hundred goblins felled.
Even accounting for decay on Exceptional-Grade skill kills against common goblins, the combined two hundred-plus kills still granted him nearly forty proficiency points.
As the Blizzard ended, Lin Mo had already cut through the goblin host and arrived before the villagers.
"Adventurers!"
"The adventurers have co to save us!"
When the villagers saw Lin Mo and the terrifying magic, they were overjoyed. The despairing defenders imdiately regained morale.
The frontline goblins didn't know what had happened behind them;
their minds were full of thoughts of feasting and breeding. Seeing Lin Mo, they weren't scared and kept attacking.
The young defenders were getting overwheld;
many were already injured.
This was the mont for the Knight's skills to shine.
Lin Mo used a skill he had never used since learning it—Taunt.
With qi and blood flowing, a faint glow appeared around him. The next mont, it was as if the goblins' gazes were forcibly redirected—every single one fixated on him.
This skill worked perfectly.
Especially now: although Taunt is a Knight skill, its success rate and duration depend not only on level difference but also on the target's Spirit attribute.
These ordinary goblins were far below Lin Mo in level, and their Spirit was rock-bottom, at most one or two points.
So after Lin Mo activated Taunt, he anchored their hatred solidly, making it nearly impossible for them to shift targets.
In an instant, the pressure on the defenders dropped dramatically. The goblins no longer attacked them and sward toward the newly arrived adventurer;
so even turned their backs, not retaliating even if struck.
Individually, a goblin is weak—an ordinary adult could handle them easily. Their bodies are fragile;
without resistance, even won or older children could kill them.
When the villagers realized the goblins wouldn't fight back, they cheered and began harvesting goblin heads with their weapons.
The agile-class teammates who arrived soon after also joined the battle.
With their strength, dealing with these goblins was effortless.
With the villagers safe, Lin Mo could relax and focus on trying out his newly acquired skills.
He started with his magic-type basics—Earth Spike and Water Orb are good practice.
With Lin Mo's current mana, the range and damage of his basic spells were substantial. A single spell could easily kill three or four goblins;
in dense spots, seven or eight.
Their proficiency rose rapidly.
Earth Spike proficiency 1
...
Water Orb proficiency 1
...
Countless proficiency increase ssages popped up;
Lin Mo simply muted the notifications.
Casting spells nonstop felt great—this is what it’s like to be a high-tier spellcaster unleashing continuous bombardnt.
As a mage, he rarely had the luxury to spam spells: usually he either played in high-tier challenges or on battlefields where mana conservation and high cost-performance AOE spells were necessary.
Although large AOEs are fun, this steady rain of small-spell explosions felt incredibly satisfying too.
The Taunt's duration exceeded two minutes.
All the goblins still poured toward Lin Mo like madn, only to be blasted to pieces by his magic.
By the ti Landon and Alden arrived, the scene was a wreck, and the goblins had all been slaughtered.
Lin Mo then noticed a Quasi-Bronze Level goblin hidden among them—likely the leader of this group.
He had no idea when his magic had dispatched it.
Given Lin Mo's current mana, even his most ordinary spell was more than enough to fell a Quasi-Bronze goblin;
killing it wasn't much different from killing a regular goblin.
Well, one difference: it yielded more proficiency.
After the fight, Lin Mo checked his gains.
First were the two primary spells.
Earth Spike's form made it relatively more useful in chaotic situations, so Lin Mo had used it more and its proficiency rose faster—already reaching Level 4.
"Skill Earth Spike Lv1 (10/10) upgraded!"
"Skill Earth Spike Lv3 (40/40) upgraded!"
"Current skill Earth Spike Lv4 (13/100)"
"Attribute point gained: Mana 1!"
Water Orb, used sowhat less, reached Level 3.
"Skill Water Orb Lv1 (10/10) upgraded!"
...
"Skill Water Orb Lv2 (20/20) upgraded!"
"Current skill Water Orb Lv3 (27/40)"
"Attribute point gained: Mana 1!"
That totaled two mana points, bringing Lin Mo's base mana to 85;
he was now half a level away from Level 9.
He also gained from Taunt.
This skill seed to level based on the taunted targets' level, number, and duration. Though the goblins were low-level, they were nurous and the effect lasted long, so Lin Mo received a healthy chunk of proficiency.
Taunt jumped up to Level 3 at once.
"Skill Taunt Lv2 (20/20) upgraded!"
"Current skill Taunt Lv3 (34/40)"
"Attribute point gained: Constitution 1!"
That pushed Lin Mo's base Constitution to 40.
"Promotion conditions t: Knight (Lv3) promoted — Current profession Knight (Lv4)."
"Profession attribute increase: Strength 1, Constitution 3, Agility 1!"
Finally...
Compared to the Warrior and Assassin professions that had already reached Level 6, and the Mage that had reached Level 8, Lin Mo's Knight progress was lagging.
No way around it—the Knight's offensive capability is weaker than others. Outside a few special skills, it's harder to quickly grind levels by killing mobs.
Relative to other classes, a Knight's promotion is less impactful.
After all, if I can one-shot you and move so fast you can't touch , Constitution isn't as crucial.
Still, improving it is worthwhile—there will be troubleso enemies where Constitution could be the deciding factor.
The villagers' imdiate danger was resolved, but cleanup and recovery would take ti.
Finnie hurriedly healed villagers, but she couldn't manage alone;
Lin Mo joined in.
The problem: Healing Art was already maxed, so normal Healing Art casts no longer granted proficiency.
Fortunately, its upgraded version, Greater Healing Art, is not strictly single-target. Lin Mo had two or three wounded sit together and cast one Greater Healing Art, instantly restoring them all.
Mana supremacy is reality—Lin Mo's mana was absurdly high, effectively at Elite Level. For ordinary villagers, his Greater Healing Art could bring anyone back from the brink in an instant.
After a while of treating all the wounded, the Village Chief of Falling Leaves Village finally relaxed and looked toward the supporting adventurers to thank them.
His gaze landed on Lin Mo first, and he froze.
He clearly rembered this face—this adventurer had saved their village from a goblin invasion not long ago.
But compared to that ti, this adventurer had changed so much that the chief was montarily at a loss to recognize him.
Only when he saw Alden and other mbers of the Raging Bull Team did he finally place him. Trembling, he gripped Lin Mo's hand.
"It's you again. Thank you for saving the villagers of Falling Leaves Village once more!"
Hearing that, other villagers began to recall.
"It's him..."
"I rember! He rescued from the goblins!"
"He seems much different than before."
"Stronger, and more handso too."
"Looks like he has more girls following him now..."
"Of course—if I were a girl, I'd follow soone that outstanding."
"You? Forget it. Even if you turned into a woman, you'd be ungrateful..."
The mood among the villagers brightened;
the gloom from their earlier chase dissipated.
A girl of about twelve or thirteen excitedly approached Lin Mo. "Thank you, big brother! You saved Nainai and everyone again..."
Lin Mo recognized her;
she was the chief's granddaughter, one of those kidnapped by goblins before and later rescued by them and Flora.
He casually ruffled her hair and offered a small smile.
"I co when there's danger."
"Yes!"
The girl's eyes shone with admiration as she nodded emphatically.
After a brief rest, Lin Mo and the others bid farewell to the villagers and continued toward Roland Town.
Goblins strike their hardest at night;
they had to rush to provide aid.
The villagers would stay in the cave to avoid further goblin harassnt until the situation stabilized. Luckily, the chief had prepared supplies, so short-term survival was manageable without the threat of a goblin army.
"Goodbye, big brother..."
Nainai waved reluctantly, her eyes fixed on his silhouette until it completely vanished into the heavy night, then she lowered her head, feeling forlorn.
The old chief watched his granddaughter, hesitating to speak.
Nainai is sensible;
she doesn't need those lectures repeated.
After all, they were people from two different worlds.
"Before we reach Roland Town, we have to pass another village."
Lin Mo glanced at the map he had bought.
He hadn't discarded the map in Silverstream City;
he'd kept it, and now it ca in handy.
They took a carriage and hurried toward the next village at top speed.
This village was not far from Falling Leaves Village, so they arrived quickly.
Its condition was worse. From a distance, red and black bloodstains covered the ground, buildings lay heavily damaged, and goblins prowled through alleys and streets, waving human limbs and body parts like trophies.
Lania City and the Lawrence Family had adopted a completely different strategy from Silverstream City. When Silverstream faced the goblin invasion, it moved scattered rural residents into the main city and towns to minimize the area needing defense, and distributed a good portion of the guards to nearby towns to protect the people.
But Lania City disregarded ordinary civilians' lives. Facing the goblin disaster, instead of dispersing forces to help surrounding villages, they concentrated all their guards inside the capital, leaving the villages almost defenseless.
A few scattered adventurers or militia might defeat a small goblin group, but against a goblin host they were powerless.
If Silverstream hadn't sent aid, the casualty toll in the villages around Lania would have been unimaginable!
Even with reinforcents sent now, it's rescue, not defense of the capital. Lady Beixi would never risk sending the bulk of her troops;
at best she'd send half or less.
Adventurers willing to help were few.
At most they could limit the disaster's damage so it wouldn't beco total annihilation—preserving so life in the region so it wouldn't fall silent forever.
Putting aside his resentnt, Lin Mo's anger flared at these swaggering goblins.
"Conflagration Chain!"
Powerful fire elent condensed in his palm and transford into a stream of Explosive Fireballs that split and flew toward packs of goblins.
Each fireball exploded on impact, causing small blasts that engulfed nearby goblins.
Under the barrage of Explosive Fireballs, the streets echoed with goblin screams.
Other adventurers burst into the village too, searching the ruinous lanes and slaughtering every goblin they found.
Unlike Falling Leaves Village, the goblins here were more scattered and fewer in number, so cleanup was slower.
"See if we can find any survivors!"
Landon shouted while cutting down goblins.
Lin Mo snapped back to focus and deliberately let a few goblins go to watch their escape routes.
Over here!
Lin Mo used Shadow Split and followed.
His original body stayed and continued fighting, clearing the goblins in front of him.
In these complex ruined streets, large-area magic wasn't ideal.
Lin Mo also tried out a few of the other skills he'd learned.
Jumping Slash.
Lin Mo leapt suddenly and covered more than ten ters in an instant. His sword ca down and cleaved the goblin before him in two.
The impact slit the ground as if it were tofu;
the shock wave killed a few goblins nearby.
This wasn't because the skill itself was overwhelmingly powerful—it was a fairly ordinary common-level skill with so quirks and drawbacks.
Its dramatic effect ca simply from Lin Mo's terrifying attributes.
With profession boosts, his Strength reached 94. Add the Frost Dragon Scale Sword's 30 Strength, and he had a monstrous 124 Strength!
With such power, even a basic Slash would produce exaggerated results.
While Lin Mo kept cutting down goblins, his clone trailed the fleeing goblins to the village edge.
This village also sat near the mountains;
at the edge, "Lin Mo" saw many goblins surrounding a small hill and constantly assaulting its summit.
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