Glenn was not an idiot. Having worked at the Jade rchant Group for so many years, he knew exactly how the company operated.
Although the caravan’s young master hadn’t actually died and had been deliberately set free, if this matter were exposed, the rchant group would never let them off the hook.
On the other hand, if they followed the suggestion of the current Young Master Benerod and insisted that the one who was set free earlier was the real Preston, that would also fit with the fact that the real Preston family’s young master had escaped.
As for the casualties, they could easily explain them as having been killed by powerful monsters encountered on the road while protecting the young master, including that assassin who sacrificed himself for ti;
in the end, the young master safely reached the Royal Capital....
Although losing an elite-level combatant was a serious matter, those people were, after all, Preston’s own. They had simply been turned by Miss Camilla, so the caravan would probably not pursue the matter to the absolute end.
If the Prestons asked questions, Miss Camilla could help provide explanations.....
Most importantly, they had no choice.
If they refused, they would most likely be killed imdiately.
“Give so ti, I’ll go persuade everyone.”
Glenn drew a deep breath. Once he’d decided to do it, he had to do it thoroughly. If anyone leaked information afterward, none of them would be expected to survive.
“Good.”
Benerod nodded. “But you must hurry, it’s getting late.”
“I’ll do it tomorrow.”
.......
Glenn turned around to talk with the caravan mbers. Benerod turned to look at Lin Mo.
“Mr. Lin Mo, you’ve already grasped the general situation. I heard from Uncle Grim that you also have so conflict with Duke Sted Morin?”
“Indeed.”
Lin Mo nodded, already understanding the implication. “We can cooperate, and even...”
He glanced at Dirk standing beside him.
Dirk was stunned for a mont, then ca back to himself. “Right, there’s also our Lion Adventuring Company!”
He looked at Grim and smiled. “Our captain and Mr. Grim are old acquaintances, and those nobles are indeed annoying. Especially Duke Sted — among those harassing our company, at least one-third co from his side.”
He was not stupid. Given the current situation, it wasn’t optimistic for Glenn alone;
it wasn’t great for them either.
Although the Falcon Company and the Lion Adventuring Company had always been on good terms, on matters of this importance, if disagreents arose, there was no guarantee the other side wouldn’t resort to violence.
Several core mbers of the Falcon Company had co. If a fight broke out, Lin Mo might have a chance to run, but they couldn’t.
“That would be best.”
Benerod breathed easier as well. eting Lin Mo and Dirk had been completely unexpected.
Although both sides shared a common enemy to so extent, that didn’t an they would automatically beco friends.
If Glenn agreed to the plan, frankly, both Camilla and I would be put in a difficult position.
Because we might move against Glenn.
Standing before is, in fact, a tiny creature a hundred tis more terrifying than the Morin family!
“Alright, I’ll briefly explain the plan to both of you...”
Benerod outlined the subsequent sche.
Lin Mo listened and nodded. “It is indeed a good idea.”
It was just a little slow.
According to Benerod’s plan, even if everything went smoothly, it would still require a long ti to completely overturn the Morin family.
But for now, there really wasn’t a better option.
At least the first part of his plan suited Lin Mo’s tastes.
Glenn quickly persuaded the caravan mbers. Those who could not be persuaded, or who obstructed the persuasion, were simply treated as “losses” and dealt with decisively.
Soon the carriages were back on the road.
During the final stretch, they encountered no more trouble. Before long, the caravan left the boundaries of Blackwater Swamp.
The remaining journey held no real danger, at most so monsters not even lord-level.
Lin Mo returned to the carriage and finally had ti to check his recent gains.
[Flash] Proficiency 90
[teor Thrust] Proficiency 90
Killing humans also granted proficiency.
Ninety proficiency points suggested, as Lin Mo suspected, that the opponent was a level 11 professional.
“Skill [Flash] Lv5 (180/180) upgraded!”
“Current skill [Flash] Lv6 (25/300)”
The Flash skill had been raised to level 6, only one level shy of max evolution into a new skill. Although Lin Mo currently didn’t want magic skills to evolve.
On the other hand, [teor Thrust] was already nearly full.
These 90 proficiency points filled the last gap.
“Skill [teor Thrust] Lv6 (300/300) upgraded!”
“Current skill [teor Thrust] Lv7 (Max)”
“Attribute point gained: Strength 5!”
Finally... finally it was maxed!
Although it ca relatively quickly, Lin Mo had used this skill countless tis along the way, feeding it proficiency until it was full.
Moreover, an Exceptional-Grade skill granting 5 base Strength points upon maxing was a fair reward for his hard work.
So what would his second warrior-class epic skill be?
Lin Mo eagerly watched the following ssages.
“Automatically evolved into new skill — Demon Light Pierce Kill!”
“Skill learned: [Demon Light Pierce Kill]! Attribute point gained: Strength 5!”
[Demon Light Pierce Kill] Lv1 (0/20): Condense qi and blood into a highly compressed sword-energy beam that pierces and kills the enemy! This skill can be charged;
maximum charge duration is 5 seconds, each second adds an extra 10% power. At full charge an additional spiral beam will wrap around the main beam, dealing 30% of the main beam’s damage.
Note: Can be used with index and middle fingers aligned.
A purely lethal skill, no flashy extras, just raw numbers.
Generally, skills of the sa rank do not have drastically different power;
even if there are distinctions, strengths remain within a certain range.
If a skill has powerful utility, its raw damage is often reduced accordingly. For example, [Shadow Split] is extrely functional, but its self-destruct effect’s direct damage is weaker compared to other epic skills.
Similarly, a skill with strong area damage usually has weaker burst compared to single-target damage skills of the sa rank and profession, or has comparable power but much higher cost.
[Demon Light Pierce Kill] is undoubtedly a very powerful single-target skill.
Compared to the warrior-class epic [Phantom Sword Dance], this skill concentrates damage more intensely and performs better against strong opponents.
Plus, it can be charged.
Although a five-second max charge is sowhat long, the payoff for full charge is high.
A concrete 50% power increase applied to an epic skill is terrifying.
On top of that, the extra spiral beam deals an additional 30% of the skill’s base damage, and that 30% is also affected by the 50% boost.
So the total power after full charge is not 1.5 0.3 = 1.8, but 1.5 × 1.3 = 1.95, almost double the base effect!
Of course, in real combat, a five-second charge is rarely achievable.
But Lin Mo’s situation differed.
With Vanish, Shadow Split, and Flash, he had plenty of tactical freedom.
For example, an invisible charge, or charging with the main body while the clone distracts, then swapping positions to unleash a charged Demon Light Pierce Kill;
or hiding to charge fully and then using Flash to instantly appear in the enemy’s face...
There were also tactics like invisibility plus Flash, position swap then Flash again to adjust angle, catching the enemy off guard.
Lin Mo could play around with this skill in many ways.
Like previous skills, [Demon Light Pierce Kill] also offered evolution choices.
Please select evolution path —
Evolution Path 1: Charge Power 1: The charge power gain of Demon Light Pierce Kill changes from 10% per second to 15% per second!
Evolution Path 2: Spiral Amplify 1: The additional spiral beam’s power at full charge increases from 30% of the main beam to 50%!
Holy crap!
Glenn was stunned.
Both options were brutally strong...
One turns into 1.75 × 1.3 = 2.275, the other becos 1.5 × 1.5 = 2.25. Both are small differences but substantial.
Can I watch an ad and take both?
Although both were desirable, if he could only choose one, there was no real dilemma. In terms of actual improvent and smoothing of benefits, the “Charge Power” effect was clearly superior.
So Lin Mo decisively chose Evolution Path 1.
Gaining this powerful new skill made Lin Mo eager to try it. Unfortunately, the remaining journey held no decent monsters. Although Lin Mo aggressively grabbed a few, using an epic skill on level 1–2 monsters was absurd.
Better to train [Swift Rushing Punch], [Whip Kick], and [Grab].
After a largely uneventful trip, the caravan was very close to the Royal Capital.
Grim and the Falcon Company had already left them before entering near the capital.
Lin Mo and Dirk with the Lion Adventuring Company escorted the sowhat anxious caravan, entering the Royal Capital under the cover of night.
Benerod, of course, had long been sitting in the middle carriage, playing the role of “fake Benerod.”
His mother, Miss Camilla, had never seen this other son and had even been inattentive to her first child Benerod, hardly understanding him, so this was not difficult.
The caravan entered the comrcial parking area of the Royal Capital as scheduled and reunited with the other side.
After leaving Blackwater Swamp, Glenn had already contacted the other group and inford them of many setbacks and that the assassin had sacrificed himself;
in the end, the mission was completed.
As they had expected, the plan proceeded as arranged.
As for the escaped “Benerod,” if he dared appear later, they would insist he was a fake with a false na, an impostor trying to climb above his station.
For soone like Lin Mo who knew the truth, in a way the process was entirely wrong but the result entirely right...
With things satisfactorily resolved, the adventurers’ part in the mission ca to an end.
In Glenn’s report, they claid the adventurers imdiately scattered upon encountering danger and thus suffered almost no losses, which made the assassin’s sacrifice to protect the young master plausible.
This also justified the adventurers’ ignorance of the young master’s existence and would prevent the Jade rchant Group from seeking trouble with them afterward.
Of course, this was the Jade rchant Group’s private report. Outwardly, to prevent plan failure, they would not pass such information to the Adventurers’ Association.
So their reward would not be reduced.
But the Adventurers’ Association was already closed for the day;
that would be dealt with tomorrow.
It was late;
they needed to find a place to rest.
Because it was late, they didn’t bother choosing carefully and picked an inn at random.
Although it was late, as adventurers a celebratory feast after completing a mission was indispensable.
They went to a nearby respectable tavern, ordered a table full of good wine and food, and celebrated heartily.
At the sa ti, the reward distribution for the mission was formally decided at the eting.
At the start of the cooperation, both sides hadn’t set clear terms.
Dirk felt that since his team mbers didn’t know Lin Mo well, rushing the reward split would leave soone unhappy, so they left it pending.
Now that the mission was over, based on everyone’s performance and contributions, dividing the rewards had a foundation.
“Brother Lin Mo, how about this... we take thirty-five percent, you take sixty-five percent, okay?”
Dirk considered it. Taking forty percent felt excessive... their contribution wasn’t that much, but taking only thirty percent felt a little short.
Adventuring involved not just fighting but vigilance, reconnaissance, setting traps — tasks they had done a bit more of.
“Fine.”
Lin Mo nodded, agreeing readily.
“Then, cheers?”
“To that!”
Glasses clinked crisply;
after a round of lively noise, quiet returned.
Back at the inn, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
Tomorrow they would go to the Association to claim their reward.
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