CHAPTER 187: EMERGENCY RECRUITMENT ORDER, THE WAR IS ABOUT TO BEGIN

Evening remained the time for helping Ellie improve her strength, while simultaneously, the proficiency of the 【Joint Cultivation】 skill steadily increased.

Ellie was exceptionally diligent this time;

even though she was already trembling, she refused to give up. She placed a pillow beneath herself and gritted her teeth to persist.

She simply desired progress too much.

Continuing like this, in a little more time, Ellie would probably reach level 3.

【Joint Cultivation】 Lv4 (43/100)

The next day, as there was no need to undertake missions, life remained relatively leisurely.

Apart from the daily sparring practice with Sherfilia, there wasn't much else to do. Lin Mo could also calm his mind and read some books properly.

His room was piled with quite a few books: introductions to the geography of various countries in this world, illustrated guides on magical creatures, reference books on plants, weapons, equipment, materials, and even some story picture books compiled by bards.

During his idle moments, Lin Mo would take out these books to read, aiming to deepen his understanding of this world.

Within these books, he encountered many interesting facts or rumors, such as the war between the Empire's border fortresses and the orcs, the mysterious races of Gray Dwarves and Dark Elves in the Underdark, many relatively stable large dungeons and underground labyrinths, and so on.

Including some magical creatures he had never seen before... Ghouls, Lizardfolk, Wyverns.

And some more peculiar magical creatures like Wraiths, which attack adventurers on a spiritual level, causing headaches even for many high-level adventurers.

If a party lacks a mage, dealing with these beings can be difficult even for those one or two levels higher.

The experience and knowledge gained from reading these books would surely prove useful sooner or later.

Moreover, reading now was quite comfortable. Since Finnie mostly went to the church during the day, Sherfilia's accompaniment wasn't strictly necessary. Therefore, Sherfilia didn't go to the City Lord's Mansion but chose to stay directly at the manor, focusing on serving her future master.

Tea, fruit platters, massages....

Sherfilia's previously demonstrated excellent qualities as a maid were now showcased to the fullest.

Lin Mo thoroughly enjoyed the life of a noble lord.

It must be said, it was truly enjoyable.

Two days passed quickly in this manner.

After two days, Lin Mo summarized his gains from this period.

Besides the increase in knowledge, the main improvement came from sparring practice with Sherfilia.

【Fortitude】 Lv5 (163/180)

Although the progress still couldn't be considered fast, at least it was close to reaching level six.

Additionally, there was the newly acquired ranger professional skill 【Swiftness】.

Because its level was relatively low and required less proficiency, it successfully leveled up once.

"Skill 【Swiftness】 Lv1 (10/10) has leveled up!"

"Current skill 【Swiftness】 Lv2 (8/20)"

Then there were functional skills like 【Flash】 and 【Primary Meditation Technique】.

Meditation goes without saying;

Lin Mo had been consistently practicing it these days, and its proficiency steadily increased.

As for the Flash skill, Lin Mo tried it;

simply casting it increased proficiency, but the rate was relatively slow. The progress was probably similar to skills like Fortitude and Swiftness. However, since Flash was, after all, a blue Superior-grade skill and also a relatively difficult-to-master spatial skill, the overall progress was still somewhat slow. ɽ𝙖NŎ𝐁Ëș

He wondered if using it in combat would make it increase faster.

Honestly, perhaps because he had grown accustomed to the feeling of battle since crossing over, these leisurely days in the city actually made Lin Mo feel somewhat uncomfortable.

To put it bluntly, he was feeling a bit itchy for action...

Sparring with Sherfilia couldn't really be considered true combat. Furthermore, since his status changed to that of the master, Sherfilia's attacks during practice had become more conservative.

Even so, Lin Mo still hoped these peaceful days could last a bit longer.

After all, once life becomes unsettled, it usually means danger is approaching.

And this day ultimately arrived sooner than he expected.

In the morning, just as Lin Mo was preparing to get up and read as usual, Sherfilia suddenly knocked on the door. After receiving permission, she entered and said, "Master, the Lady has matters to discuss with you."

Over the past few days, Sherfilia had gradually become accustomed to this new form of address for Lin Mo.

In contrast, Lin Mo adapted slower than her;

no matter how many times he heard it, it still gave him a feeling that made his bones go soft.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that, because if Lady Bessie was looking for him, it likely meant the situation around Silverstream City had changed.

"I'll go right away."

Sherfilia very naturally walked to his side and helped him change clothes.

Lin Mo put on formal attire, was tidied up properly by Sherfilia, and followed her to the City Lord's Mansion.

Upon entering the mansion, attendants led them to the conference hall.

Pushing the door open, they found the conference hall already occupied by many people, including several familiar faces to Lin Mo.

For instance, some adventurers who had previously supported Silvermoon Town and rescued people from the caverns were there;

Landon was naturally among them. There were also owners of shops within the city, including the foul-mouthed dwarf boss from shop number 27 on Adventurer Street, the owner of shop number 11, and others.

There were also many owners of alchemy shops;

"Auntie" Madam Shachel was also among them, still appearing leisurely. However, the heavy dark circles under her eyes clearly indicated she had been very busy these past few days.

Besides these important and recognizable figures within the city, some officials of Silverstream City, Bishop Fright, and Chairman Vic were naturally indispensable as well.

One could say this small conference room was now a gathering of heroes.

And people were still continuously arriving later...

After about half an hour, the conference room doors were closed. Lady Bessie, seated in the main position, finally stood up and formally began the day's meeting.

"Based on continuous investigations and intelligence gathering over these past few days, it has now been confirmed that the goblin side has gathered a horde potentially numbering in the hundreds of thousands, preparing to launch a city assault. Their target is precisely Silverstream City, where we live..."

"In this special period, I hope everyone can unite and cooperate, each contributing their strengths, to help this city, help the residents within the city, and also help yourselves overcome this crisis!"

Lady Bessie's formal speech was delivered forcefully and with great power of conviction.

Many young adventurers felt their blood boiling with excitement.

But shouting slogans is simple;

the actual tasks to be done are much more complex.

What followed was a very lengthy and detailed meeting agenda.

This included alchemy shops working overtime to produce more alchemical potions, adjustments to the Adventurers' Association's rewards for hunting goblins, temporary price reductions and rentals of low-level weapons by various blacksmithing shops, and so on.

For those uninterested, these complex meeting details were somewhat of a disaster;

many young adventurers began dozing off secretly.

Lin Mo, however, listened with great interest. But since his understanding in these areas wasn't deep, he didn't have much opportunity to interject.

Overall, this was a pre-war mobilization meeting aimed at the city's important personnel...

In fact, many of the matters discussed had already been initiated days earlier;

it was just now being formally announced and clarified.

The meeting lasted for most of the morning. Further specific arrangements for the guard troops, adventurers, and other personnel still required City Lord Bessie, the city's military officers, and Adventurers' Association Chairman Vic to communicate and decide further.

However, these matters weren't closely related to Lin Mo. He only knew that war was about to begin.

In the afternoon, news of the impending goblin assault began to spread. Simultaneously, Silverstream City immediately implemented a curfew, prohibiting ordinary citizens from leaving the city without reason.

In an instant, the atmosphere throughout the entire city became tense.

Lin Mo felt relatively fine about it. On one hand, he had his own strength, which naturally gave him confidence. On the other hand, he also trusted Lady Bessie.

He always felt that her preparations for this goblin campaign weren't as simple as they appeared on the surface.

Beyond conventional methods, there must certainly be some unknown contingency plans.

With all preparations in place, the entire city was enveloped in a feeling of impending storm.

The next day, the weather was gloomy.

Having rested well the entire night without helping Ellie improve her strength, Lin Mo woke up early.

Sherfilia helped him change clothes as usual. Lin Mo put on his leather armor, draped his mage robes over them, wore the mithril gloves, hung the Steel-Cleaving Sword at his waist, and was fully equipped and ready.

After a simple breakfast, he saw the mobilization of guard personnel as he left the manor.

Arriving at the Adventurers' Association to gather information, sure enough, the goblin assault operation was about to begin.

"Based on the currently detected goblin movement information, the goblins seem to have roughly focused their attack on three locations: Silverstream City Main City, Silvermoon Town, and Starlight Town. Among these, the forces allocated to the Main City here are the greatest, exceeding fifty percent!"

Within the Association, some quick-witted adventurers had already begun analyzing the battle situation based on current intelligence.

Other adventurers listened attentively, finding his words reasonable even if they weren't entirely clear on the details...

One could only say many adventurers indeed had good combat strength, but really, their muscles were just well-developed.

Lin Mo picked up a map and examined it carefully, quickly noticing some issues.

The three main attack points of the goblins clearly came from different directions and were all key areas on the larger map of Silverstream City. They seemed intent on using their numerical advantage to swiftly overwhelm and invade Silverstream City directly.

If any one of the three locations failed to withstand the pressure, not only would the losses be huge, but the goblins would also gain a strategic terrain advantage. They could then advance unimpeded from the breached point, putting the remaining two regions in a difficult position of being attacked from both front and rear.

Although not particularly brilliant, it at least showed a certain level of strategy...

In this regard, those Silver Goblins indeed had some capability, possibly even smarter than some clear-eyed yet foolish university students;

perhaps they had the level of high school students.

However, Lin Mo believed that Lady Bessie's strategic vision was certainly superior to theirs.

And most likely superior to his own as well. So, things even he could see, she and the high-ranking military officials were unlikely to miss.

For now, at least, he only needed to play his role as an adventurer and contribute his strength in this war.

Following the morning meeting, the Adventurers' Association urgently issued a relevant large-scale special mission.

【Emergency Call to Arms】: Recently, the goblin tribes entrenched in Roland Forest have become increasingly rampant. They have currently gathered an army numbering in the hundreds of thousands and launched a full-scale assault on Silverstream City and the surrounding town areas! If not stopped promptly, Silverstream City could be breached within days. Should that happen, the city would suffer devastation, and the populace would face the brutal, inhuman slaughter by those aberrant creatures, potentially including your own relatives and friends. For the sake of Silverstream City, and for these innocent people, capable adventurers, please step forward and join the war effort to stop those detestable green-skinned shorties!

【Enlistment Requirements】: None

【Enlistment Objectives】:

1. Frontline Defense Battle: To resist the goblin invasion, City Lord Bessie has established three defensive lines outside the city. Each line has corresponding camp facilities and defensive fortifications. Join the frontline defense work to resist the frontal invasion of the goblin army.

2. Special Operations: Apart from the main battlefield, to counter potential goblin raids, special operations teams need to be formed to carry out missions including, but not limited to, assassination of specific targets, sabotage behind enemy lines, etc.

3. Rescue Teams: Many innocent civilians might be affected during this assault incident. Rescue teams are responsible for rescuing and escorting civilians to safety, as well as containing and combating possible pursuing forces.

Note: The enlistment objectives are not mandatory, and participants can, under reasonable circumstances, choose to change their objective, but approval from the corresponding responsible personnel is required.

Just from this Call to Arms, one could see that Silverstream City's leadership had a relatively thorough understanding of this war. They fully knew the necessary preparations and potential scenarios, with very clear role definitions.

As for Lin Mo's thoughts... since the action objectives could be changed, he wasn't in a hurry to decide immediately. He could act according to circumstances when the time came.

After reading the enlistment content, the most crucial part of the Call to Arms naturally followed—the remuneration and rewards.

【Enlistment Rewards】:

1. Mission Credit: All adventurers participating in the Call to Arms are considered to have completed one E-rank mission. Those with greater contributions can be credited with two, three, or even counted as a D-rank mission.

2. Bounty: Paid based on 2 silver coins per goblin killed. If an individual's count exceeds 50, then 3 silver coins per goblin. If the count exceeds 100, then 4 silver coins. If it exceeds 300, then 6 silver coins. Exceeding 1000 yields 10 silver coins per goblin! Mutated Goblin sub-adults reward 2.5 gold coins, adults reward 8 gold coins!

For Level 2+ targets: Level 2 Goblins reward 15 gold coins, Level 3 Goblins reward 30 gold coins, Level 4 Goblins reward 60 gold coins, and each Level 5 Goblin kill rewards 150 gold coins!

Additional Bounties set for Goblin Lords: Currently, three Lord-level Silver Goblins are known. One is Level 7, one is Level 9, and the last one is a Middle-tier Lord-level magical creature!

Bounty for the Level 7 Silver Goblin: 1000 gold coins!

Bounty for the Level 9 Silver Goblin: 2000 gold coins!

Bounty for the Middle-tier Lord Goblin: 5000 gold coins!

Note: This is only the bounty amount;

the material value of Silver Goblins is calculated separately.

Additionally: Weapons and equipment seized from goblins during combat belong to the killer. Furthermore, participants in this Call to Arms: Warrior, Knight, and Assassin Professionals will receive one free weapon repair;

Ranger Professionals will receive free basic arrows;

Mage and Priest Professionals can collect a number of free Primary Mana Potions equal to their own level!

So generous?!

Lin Mo was somewhat shocked looking at this long list of rewards.

Not to mention the substantial bounty itself, even the benefits just for participating were quite good.

One must know that repairing good weapons once can cost quite a bit of money.

For example, Superior-grade weapons require corresponding blue-quality repair fluid, with a repair cost exceeding 50 gold coins per use!

Ordinary weapons aren't that expensive, but they still cost some money, roughly 5%-10% of the weapon's own value.

It's also excellent that Ranger Professionals get free arrows.

And the treatment for magic-based professionals is even more exaggerated—they directly receive Mana Potions!

For instance, Lin Mo, as a Level 5 Mage, could directly receive 5 Mana Potions, worth 125 gold coins, given for free!

But upon careful thought, compared to the role a Level 5 Mage can play in the battle, this expense of 125 gold coins doesn't seem like much.

But the rewards aren't limited to these.

Besides the most basic gold coin rewards, there were naturally other incentives. Without bringing out some good items, they couldn't attract truly powerful experts to participate.

3. Special Rewards: Those who make outstanding contributions in any enlistment objective field of operation can receive additional rewards. The content includes Excellent-grade to Superior-grade equipment, Common-grade to Superior-grade Skill Scrolls, Kingdom Third-class to First-class Honorary Baron titles, and more!

To be honest, Lin Mo's mindset regarding such rewards was now somewhat different.

Before, he might have been eager to grab them, but now, being practically family with Finnie, he felt somewhat distressed on their behalf for these expenditures.

But these are necessary costs. As long as they can overcome this crisis, any price is worth paying.

Moreover, after a true victory, Silverstream City stands to gain benefits as well.

For example, the overt and covert gains from settling accounts with the Lawrence family, rewards from the Kingdom, and so on.

The posting of this very long Call to Arms also sparked a series of heated discussions within the Adventurers' Association.

Lin Mo paid slight attention;

generally speaking, the vast majority of adventurers were quite satisfied with it and were very willing to participate.

When facing such situations, adventurers could be said to be the easiest external reinforcements for local lords to enlist.

After all, adventurers usually lead very dangerous adventurous lives;

the dangers of the battlefield might not be much higher than their usual risks.

Furthermore, these individuals possess considerable strength and very rich combat experience, making them almost perfect "reinforcements."

At the end of the Call to Arms, Lin Mo checked the estimated time for the war... or rather, the time for the goblins to launch their first wave of attack.

It was clearly written: Estimated to be before 7 PM tonight.