After the first target appeared, more and more Bronze Goblins began to show themselves.

Lin Mo soon spotted another goblin not far away that was exceptionally large.

Compared to the quasi-Bronze Goblins he’d killed when clearing the goblin settlement earlier, this one was much bigger—clearly a true Bronze Goblin warrior!

An enemy like this was a prime chance to grind higher-level skills.

As his skill list grew, many skills needed practice, and killing low-level monsters gave very little efficiency, so Lin Mo’s Accumulated Sword Combo hadn’t increased in proficiency for a while.

Now, it was its time to shine.

Lin Mo shifted his posture and activated Vanish, slipping back into invisibility.

Night and battlefield conditions made detection through Vanish nearly impossible, so Lin Mo smoothly moved behind the Bronze Goblin warrior.

The next moment, he gripped the Black Sword tightly, circulated his qi and blood, a powerful force rapidly concentrating along the blade—and then he struck, suddenly slashing out!

At the instant it appeared, seven sword energies sliced out together, all landing on the unsuspecting Bronze Goblin.

In an instant blood spurted like a fountain;

the seven sword energies overlapped and severed its head clean off!

Vanish proficiency +20

Accumulated Sword Combo proficiency +20

The Bronze Goblin warrior in front of him had a threat level around three—definitely strong. If he’d fought it head-on, Lin Mo could still win, but it wouldn’t be easy;

it would have required a drawn-out fight.

He wasn’t about to be picky about martial ethics with goblins—why fight fair when you can assassinate?

An assassin with warrior-level strength is frankly a broken existence. As long as a sneak attack lands, anyone of the same level except Knights is one-shot!

Sherfilia watched from the side, inwardly stunned.

It seemed he had held back when he “retaliated” earlier.

The power of that skill was definitely at the level only a level-3 warrior using an excellent-grade skill could reach!

“He actually killed it!”

The assassin who had been observing that goblin warrior nearby jumped in surprise. When he recognized Lin Mo’s figure, he was speechlessly shocked.

Half a minute earlier, he had scoffed at Lin Mo—Lin Mo looked too young, and his words sounded like the boastful babble of an inexperienced kid.

But now it was clear—this person really had the strength!

That was a bona fide Bronze-level goblin, and not a squishy class but a warrior!

If it had been him, even using everything he had he could probably only seriously wound it and then face a counterattack;

one misstep and he’d likely be instantly killed…

If that were the case, then the young man’s plan might actually work!

He quickly withdrew from the battlefield, informed his companions, and spread the news.

These assassins had been cooperating for days and had developed some tacit understanding;

they soon all knew what had happened here.

The seasoned elder assassin immediately made a decision and shifted their focus.

Before long, one of the assassins came to Lin Mo and told him the location of another Bronze Goblin.

They really were clustering together…

Lin Mo narrowed his eyes. Bronze Goblins he rarely engaged were suddenly pouring into the battlefield—were they planning a full assault tonight to decide the outcome?

He nodded and set off at once toward the direction indicated.

Sure enough, he soon spotted the target.

It was another Bronze Goblin, though not as tall as the previous one—broader instead—and carrying a large shield, probably seized from some adventurer.

This must be a goblin guard, then.

Lin Mo didn’t waste time. He activated Vanish and hurried forward, then executed an Accumulated Sword Combo just like before.

But this time it wasn’t so smooth.

The seven sword blades struck one spot, shredding flesh, but failed to sever the goblin’s neck. The goblin guard cried out in pain and swung its shield to smash Lin Mo.

Lin Mo quickly pulled back, dodging the blow—no surprise.

After all, this was essentially a Knight-class type: not dying to one strike was normal.

No matter—if once didn’t work, try again.

High defense meant lower speed and power, so it posed no real threat to Lin Mo.

He thrust the Black Sword forward;

the goblin blocked with its shield, the force rattling his balance.

The next moment, the blade surged again and Consecutive Thrusts activated, skimming past the shield into its flank and leaving a not-too-deep bloody hole.

The goblin guard grew fearful and tried to flee. Lin Mo chased swiftly, launching another series of attacks.

The guard could only scramble to defend and couldn’t hold out;

it soon lay dying.

Lin Mo then reactivated Vanish, followed by Accumulated Sword Combo, finishing it off.

Vanish proficiency +20

Accumulated Sword Combo proficiency +20

In such a short time, those two skills earned 40 proficiency points!

Lin Mo’s eyes brightened.

The long-stagnant Accumulated Sword Combo had finally reached level 5.

“Skill Accumulated Sword Combo Lv4 (100/100) upgraded!”

“Current skill Accumulated Sword Combo Lv5 (6/180)”

Meanwhile, other assassins became more active. Besides observing the battlefield, gathering intelligence, and tracking goblin movements, their assassinations never stopped.

Their targets expanded from Mutated Goblins to include Quasi-Bronze Goblins.

After all, they were all level-3 assassins;

although killing a level-3 warrior was difficult, two or three of them working together could one-shot those around level 2.5 or below fairly easily.

In the previous days, they hadn’t done this because they didn’t understand the enemy’s situation and needed to prioritize reconnaissance;

they also feared alarming the goblins and forcing them to panic, which would increase pressure on the frontlines.

As long as those advanced goblin forces didn’t join the battle or approach the frontline, for the defenders focused on holding the town they were effectively nonexistent.

Better to kill more Mutated Goblins;

that might help the front more.

But now things were different. After days of fighting, the goblin numbers were trending upward while Silvermoon Town suffered heavy losses, forcing more aggressive measures.

And with these Bronze Goblins joining the assault, if they reached the frontline, ordinary soldiers and adventurers simply couldn’t stop them.

Although Silvermoon Town had experts—like the Adventurers’ Association’s chairman—if he intervened he could cut down not only level-3 but even level-4 or level-5 goblins.

But the front was long and experts were few;

even one left alive could cause serious losses.

The goblin offensive grew fiercer.

Besides dealing with discovered Bronze Goblins, Lin Mo didn’t forget to clear out other goblins as well.

The battlefield was large;

he couldn’t run around forever searching for targets alone.

Better to let others handle searching while he stayed put to facilitate communication.

Any spare time would naturally be used to practice other skills.

Ice Spike!

He’d already put on the mithril gloves;

ice elemental power concentrated in his hand and formed an ice spike launched forward.

No aiming required—one flick could harvest the lives of two or three goblins.

A scene packed with goblins was perfect for practicing magic.

While his left hand repeatedly cast Ice Spike, his right hand was not idle: holding the Black Sword, he occasionally used Backstab or Shadow Strike depending on circumstances to raise proficiency in those new skills.

Sherfilia didn’t just watch;

she joined the slaughter.

She tossed flying knives with decisive, efficient motions—no wasted movement—like an elegant dancer weaving through the goblin ranks, each throw hitting a vital spot.

Compared to Lin Mo, Sherfilia was unmistakably a true assassin.

Lin Mo’s combo was more like stealthy brute killing.

Magic drained steadily, but Ice Spike proficiency climbed.

Lin Mo planned to max this skill, evolve it, and take the bonus.

“Skill Ice Spike Lv3 (40/40) upgraded!”

“Current skill Ice Spike Lv4 (0/100)”

Great—upgraded! Only the last level remained for the skill to evolve.

But that final 100 proficiency for the last level couldn’t be filled today…

Not because magic was short—he actually had a decent reserve—but because tougher battles lay ahead and he needed to keep his condition intact. Using spells repeatedly would inevitably tax his spirit.

So Ice Spike would rest here for now.

But Lin Mo had another idea…

Using the mithril gloves’ effect to boost mana output by twenty percent, he created a slightly larger Earthen Shield.

Then, holding that large shield in his left hand, he charged forward.

Great Shield Charge!

Accompanied by a series of collisions, goblins along his path were blasted away by the massive impact and undoubtedly died on the spot.

Earthen Shield proficiency +15

Great Shield Charge proficiency +15

That one charge instantly killed about a dozen goblins and even blasted a Mutated Goblin away.

Holy crap, amazing!

Lin Mo stared at the Earthen Shield, which had darkened considerably but not disappeared, and felt even more exhilarated than when commanding Ellie.

Judging by the state of the shield in his hand, he could probably use it one more time...