"I..."
Finnie's mouth hung slightly open, her lips trembling gently from nervousness.
The young girl's face was full of shyness, yet also carried so pleasant surprise and relief.
All along, she hadn't dared to voice the thoughts in her heart.
Because she always worried—worried that Mr. Lin Mo might not like her, worried that Miss Ellie might be unhappy. She couldn't help but think, what if she got rejected...
Every ti she thought about this, that heart-wrenching feeling made her increasingly timid, increasingly afraid to express her feelings.
Thus, the emotions hidden in her heart continued to accumulate, becoming heavier and more oppressive.
And now, although it was a very abrupt mont, Mr. Lin Mo had actually suddenly said those words, just like the scenes she had seen in her dreams...
So the accumulated feelings finally erupted all at once, overcoming her naturally shy personality.
"I... I also like Mr. Lin Mo!"
For Finnie, this was already a very loud voice, one could say she had mustered all her courage to shout it out.
Lin Mo reached out and took off her large white hat, gently embracing the adorable young girl in his arms.
Finnie leaned against his chest, her face still flushed red, her heartbeat uncontrollably accelerating. Feeling the warmth coming from him, she experienced a dizzying sense of happiness.
"Miss Sherfilia, the look in your eyes right now makes you seem like a relieved mother hen."
Ellie approached Sherfilia, whispering close to her ear.
Although Sherfilia's face always maintained that cold expression, the truth was, as long as one was human, emotions were inevitable. After spending enough ti with her, one could naturally read her current mood from her subtle changes.
"I don't..."
Sherfilia glanced at her, imdiately returning to that cold state.
"Hehe~"
Ellie chuckled, not bothering to expose her further, but instead took a few steps forward: "Miss Finnie is so sneaky, I want a hug too!"
As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around Lin Mo's waist from behind, her curvaceous figure pressing tightly against him, making Lin Mo inwardly exclaim about the imnse pressure.
In any case, the atmosphere in the room beca peaceful and harmonious again.
After that, Lin Mo roughly explained so of the things that had happened during this period to Finnie.
For example, so of the content from Lady Behira's initial conversation with him, and how Sherfilia had been taking care of him during this ti.
Of course, he didn't ntion the more sensitive content to Finnie.
"So that's how it is..."
After listening, Finnie's face flushed red again.
So, without her knowledge, her mother had already done so much.
If Mother hadn't helped pave the way like this, Mr. Lin Mo probably wouldn't have suddenly said he liked her, right?
Thank you, Mother!
Finnie felt like she was now the happiest person in the entire world.
...
After the small interlude, it was still necessary to get so proper rest.
Lin Mo sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered a ditative state.
ditation-type skills were among the most difficult to learn in the spell category. When Lin Mo first learned the [Primary ditation Technique], it had taken considerable effort.
But the importance of this skill was extrely high.
Learning spells wasn't that easy to begin with, and obtaining enough spells was also quite difficult. So, talented mages would face relatively severe level-stagnation issues after reaching higher levels.
This problem actually existed for all professions, but for physical professions, they could use monster at to enhance their Qi and Blood and attributes.
Although magic professions had similar rare treasures, relatively speaking, these items were much scarcer and more precious than monster at.
So most mages had to find alternative thods, and this thod was related to ditation techniques.
When the level of the ditation technique reached a certain degree, and the mage's mastery of the ditative state was sufficiently high, they could continuously communicate with the surrounding elents through ditation, and during this process, continuously refine their mana, ultimately achieving the effect of increasing mana.
Of course, this process was very long, especially with the [Primary ditation Technique] that Lin Mo was currently using. The ti required to increase mana through it was simply too long.
But if it were the subsequent [Interdiate ditation Technique] or even [Advanced ditation Technique], perhaps the situation would be different.
Even though ditation was relatively low efficiency for Lin Mo, he couldn't always be grinding monsters to level up his skills. Having one more thod to enhance strength was never a bad thing.
[Primary ditation Technique] proficiency 1
...
Lin Mo's ditation beca increasingly proficient, and after his mana increased, the upgrade progress of his ditation technique seed to have beco faster than before.
No good, if this continues it's going to level up.
Lin Mo's ditation technique was already at level 3;
one more level would bring it to level 4, which was the level where Exceptional-Grade skills gained attribute points.
In the past, this would have been good news, but now, since Lin Mo needed to stall his mage level, it was better not to obtain attribute points so easily.
Anyway, after ditating for a while, he had rested enough, so Lin Mo opened his eyes and stretched his body.
Ellie and Finnie were still resting. Ellie was lying on the bed sleeping sprawled out, drool almost dripping from her mouth. Finnie was sleeping on another bed, her sleeping posture not as well-behaved as her usual impression, but compared to Ellie, she appeared much more proper and ladylike.
Sherfilia sat on a nearby sofa, resting with her eyes closed.
She actually hadn't experienced much combat;
most of the ti she stayed by Finnie's side, responsible for protecting her.
Now that Lin Mo's strength had beco very powerful, he no longer needed her to worry so much.
Lin Mo didn't disturb her rest and got up to go outside.
"Creak—"
The gentle sound of the door opening coincidentally overlapped with another.
Lin Mo turned to look and saw that Flora had also just erged from the adjacent room, stretching her lovely figure.
"Finished?"
Flora turned her head, eting his gaze, and asked teasingly.
Lin Mo rolled his eyes helplessly, "The soundproofing in this inn isn't that good."
aning that if there had really been any commotion, she would have heard it long ago.
Flora pouted, initially wanting to say that wasn't necessarily true—what if you were too fast... but then rembered that this guy wasn't just a mage professional;
he also had warrior, assassin, and knight professions, so his Constitution attribute wouldn't be low.
So, just where did this kind of "monster" co from?
"Miss Flora, what did you want to see about earlier?"
"Co in and talk."
Flora pointed to her room. Lin Mo followed her inside and took a seat on the sofa.
Flora sat on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs, looking at Lin Mo with a sowhat strange expression: "So back when I told you that Finnie was like a little sister to and asked you to take good care of her, this is how you were planning to care for her......"
Lin Mo spread his hands sowhat helplessly.
Initially, he actually hadn't had such thoughts, it's just that...
Finnie was just too adorable, the benefits were too tempting, and his mother-in-law had been so proactive, arranging everything. Naturally, he could only go with the flow.
"Forget it, forget it..."
Flora waved her hand: "Let's get to business. Actually, it's not exactly serious business—I just wanted to ask, what exactly have you been doing all this ti?"
She still couldn't quite understand why Lin Mo's strength could improve so rapidly?
"Well..."
His own experiences—there wasn't really anything to hide, so Lin Mo gave her a brief account.
"So it seems you've indeed been through quite a lot."
After listening, Flora also felt sowhat emotional.
But still, the question remained—how exactly did his strength improve so quickly?
According to Lin Mo's description just now, he had experienced quite a few adventures and battles during this period, basically never really stopping to study and practice skills properly. Although there was indeed a saying that skills improved more easily in combat, this still had to be related to usual accumulation. Essentially, for most people, it just ant being able to more quickly convert usual practice into results.
But the problem was, this guy hadn't accumulated much either...
Could he really be so kind of combat genius who could improve his strength just by fighting?
Couldn't figure it out.
Although she had various doubts in her heart, Flora didn't continue to dwell on this issue, nor did she intend to actually probe into Lin Mo's secrets.
"By the way, you said earlier that you haven't reached Elite Level yet?"
"That's right."
Lin Mo nodded: "My mage level is only 9, but it's almost reaching 10."
"Level 9?!"
Flora was stunned again. Being able to cast magic of that magnitude, she had thought he would be at least level 10.
Good news: this guy was one level lower than she had estimated. Bad news: at level 9 he could already display strength comparable to an Elite Level mage.
For a mont, she didn't know whether to be happy or unhappy.
"If you're at level 9 approaching 10, your Elental Affinity should be relatively high, plus equipnt bonuses..."
Put that way, it did seem sowhat reasonable—at least a hundred tis more reasonable than this guy's leveling speed.
"What about you, what have you been doing all this ti? Also, why did the neighboring city suddenly send reinforcents?"
After her questions were done, Lin Mo also beca curious. Flora must have been busy with matters related to the goblins and the Lawrence Family during this ti. It seed now that she had achieved so results, but Lin Mo knew almost nothing about the details.
"... I haven't had as exciting a ti as you and little Finnie."
"Most of the ti, I was actually investigating..."
Flora's experiences weren't as rich, so her account was much more concise. In a short while, she had outlined the general sequence of events.
"So that's how it is."
Lin Mo nodded.
So behind the Lawrence Family was that Duke Sted Morin from the royal capital, and the various things they had been doing all this ti were most likely done with that duke's approval. Their goal was to use this "raising gu" thod to promote the evolution of the goblin race, in order to obtain the "Golden Egg" for alchemical research purposes.
And now, by collecting various pieces of evidence, they had been able to confirm the Lawrence Family's cris. Combined with help from the Oxivis Family, they had finally completely brought down the Lawrences.
As for the Oxivis Family, this was the first ti Lin Mo had heard of it.
Although he had previously guessed that Lady Behira's background might not be simple, he hadn't expected it to be so extraordinary.
An Imperial Royal Duke Family—that placed them among the top nobility on the entire continent. No wonder there had been this drama of arranging a personal maid and conducting advance assessnt tests.
Sherfilia's exceptional talent also had a reasonable explanation.
After all, fundantally, the blood of an Imperial Royal Duke Family flowed in her veins.
"By the way, what about that Golden Egg?"
Lin Mo suddenly rembered sothing.
"It should still be... no, wait... it should no longer be in the Lawrence Family's hands."
Flora started to speak but suddenly shook her head and changed her tone.
"Otherwise, these goblins would never have co to attack Lania City."
Indeed.
Back then, after the goblins failed to break through Silverstream City's defensive lines in one fierce assault, they imdiately chose to retreat. This matter itself was suspicious.
Because although they had successfully repelled the goblins that ti, and Lin Mo had even managed to kill a Silver Goblin, overall, Silverstream City's losses were still significant. The goblins' losses, aside from that Silver Goblin, were generally within acceptable limits.
If that battle had continued and the goblins launched a second attack, the situation for Silverstream City would have beco even more difficult.
Initially, the goblins must have thought the sa, so although they temporarily retreated, they didn't withdraw very far, only going back to rest and recuperate.
But later, for so unknown reason, they suddenly chose to continue retreating, completely leaving Silverstream City's territory.
Then, after a few days of rest, they launched their attack on Lania City.
Such a change in strategic decision-making was unlikely to be a spur-of-the-mont decision by the goblin commander;
it was probably influenced by so event.
At the ti, Lin Mo's train of thought had stopped here. Now, combining it with the information Flora provided, it seed likely that this event was them retrieving the "Golden Egg" that had originally been taken by the Lawrences!
But how did they manage it?
Lin Mo pondered for a mont, then suddenly thought of a question.
"That necromancer—hasn't it been a long ti since he appeared?"
Back on the battlefield between Silverstream City and the goblins, he had sent so undead to assist, but Lady Flora had been prepared for this, having hired an adventurer group from a large city in advance, easily resolving the undead creatures' offensive.
After that, this person seed to have disappeared.
But was that really the case?
Although the goblin army retreated and the undead creatures' intervention hadn't achieved results, according to post-battle statistical investigations, a significant portion of the soldiers who died in the goblin siege incident, including those guards and civilians from surrounding towns, had their corpses secretly taken away by the goblins during the chaos.
The logic was easy to follow—it was cooperation between that necromancer and the goblins.
So that necromancer was truly the only real winner in this war!
Perhaps because he discovered that Silverstream City wasn't so easy to breach, or maybe because he feared the Oxivis Family behind Lady Behira, after the goblins' first wave of attacks ended and he had acquired enough corpses, the necromancer took out the "Golden Egg" that he had previously stolen from the Lawrences and returned it to the goblin side, using it as a bargaining chip for continued cooperation.
And the Lawrences and Lania City, having lost the important leverage of the "Golden Egg," naturally beca the next target for these two parties.
After all, even a fool would know that attacking Lania City was much easier than attacking Silverstream City.
As for whether anyone would co to help, whether they could ultimately capture it, and what would happen to the Lawrences—these were all irrelevant matters to the necromancer.
All he needed was enough corpses!
Clearly, his goal had been achieved.
The casualties among the populace within Lania City's area during this disaster numbered in the tens of thousands. Even if not all, just half, or even one-third fell into that necromancer's hands...
Lin Mo now understood why necromancers were called public enemies of humanity.
All of this certainly originated from the greed of the Lawrences and the Morin Family, but the necromancer's manipulation of them and the goblins was undoubtedly the darkest, most oppressive cloud hanging over these two border cities.
But for now, they really didn't have the energy to search for this "cockroach" hiding in so corner. Resolving the imdiate crisis and bringing this goblin disaster to a complete end was the most important thing.
"It's about ti to set off."
After exchanging information, Lin Mo stood up and returned to the adjacent room.
By now, Ellie was already up. Sherfilia, hearing his footsteps, also opened her eyes. Only Finnie was still in a dazed sleep.
But this couldn't be blad on her for sleeping in. As a priest, Finnie had to bear the responsibility of providing healing. Along the way, she had cast too many Healing Arts. While her mana could be replenished with mana potions, the ntal fatigue and pressure were difficult to relieve in a short ti.
So Lin Mo didn't choose to wake her, but instead gently picked her up.
Outside, Landon and the others had already brought the carriage to the inn's entrance.
The journey ahead was very dangerous, so Alden and Bern wouldn't be continuing further.
They would temporarily stay in the town to help guard against possible subsequent goblin attacks, and could also go support nearby villages, rescuing those villagers.
Bern and his team didn't plan to leave the town to develop elsewhere. As for Alden and his group, since they had already established new hos in Silverstream City and their families were now there, they would probably return to Silverstream City.
Lin Mo gently placed Finnie in the carriage, bid them farewell. There wasn't too much lingering sentintality—just simple waves, exchanged smiles, everything understood without words...
The carriage traveled on the road, but it would still take so ti to reach Lania City.
At the sa ti, those guards from the neighboring city who had set out with them were also departing.
In the previous battles, although they had suffered so losses, overall it was completely within acceptable limits, so naturally they would continue to the front lines to join the battle at Lania City.
In addition, so of the more elite guards from Roland Town would also accompany them.
Of course, Roland Town itself still needed defense and reconstruction, so not many people were going.
Lin Mo was calculating how long it would take to reach Lania City when a cry suddenly sounded beside him.
Flora, riding that hippogriff, landed next to the carriage and looked at Lin Mo.
"Do you want to go ahead with first?"
Both she and Lin Mo were mages, key figures who could have the greatest impact on the battle situation, so it was naturally better for them to go ahead first.
Lin Mo first turned his head and exchanged glances with Ellie and Sherfilia.
As for Finnie... she was still sleeping.
Ellie made a fist at Lin Mo, encouraging him to do his best. Sherfilia gently nodded.
"Of course."
Lin Mo imdiately gave his reply, got off the carriage, and mounted the hippogriff.
Only then did he suddenly realize—this ant they would be riding together?
"Well then, let's set off."
Flora's voice ca from ahead. The next mont, Lin Mo felt a shaking sensation, his view moving farther and farther from the ground. Within seconds, the carriage carrying Ellie and the others had beco a small dot.
So high, so fast!
This was Lin Mo's first ti riding a flying magical creature, even his first experience of flying.
Back when he was still on Blue Star, he hadn't even been on an airplane.
So the instinctive unease that ground-dwelling creatures feel toward high altitudes made him tense up for a mont.
Flora noticed this, turned her head and teased: "What, nervous?"
"A bit..."
"Because of the height, or because you're with ?"
Flora chuckled lightly. This mage lady's temperant had always been quite lively, so naturally she would joke at a ti like this.
If it were very early on, when Lin Mo had just arrived in this world, he might have been too embarrassed to speak.
But now, after going through trials, he was different.
"Both?"
"Giggle~"
This clever reply instead made Flora's heart flutter in panic, and she quickly used light laughter to cover her embarrassnt.
"Hold on tight, we're accelerating."
She picked up the reins, controlling the hippogriff beneath them, speeding up as they flew forward.
The howling wind quickly swept past their ears. The sudden acceleration made Lin Mo lean back slightly due to inertia, and he quickly grabbed onto sothing to prevent himself from falling off.
"Mmm~"
A barely audible soft exclamation escaped from Flora's partially open mouth. She imdiately covered her mouth, pretending nothing happened: "Although I understand this is to maintain balance, your hand is quite good at choosing positions, isn't it?"
Lin Mo gave a dry laugh, quickly moving his hand downward.
This reminded him of when the little maid had carried him away from the battlefield.
That ti also seed to be an accident, grabbing... no, that word wasn't accurate—given her strength, it wasn't sufficient to need the word "grab" to describe it.
More accurately, it was covering.
Only soone at Ellie's level could be described as grabbing.
As for Miss Flora...
Her level had already surpassed the category of "grab," reaching a higher realm.
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