CHAPTER 190: THE "GOODS" OF LANIA CITY

Even from this distance, he could clearly feel the powerful winds and biting cold.

This was absolutely not a level that an entry-level mage could possess—even ordinary veteran-level mages were far from capable of this... Without a doubt, Lin Mo, who hadn't even reached level 1 when they first met, had already stepped through that threshold ahead of him, entering the realm of veteran level that he had long dreamed of!

Even though Landon had known Lin Mo for quite some time and had developed a resilient mindset through training, he still couldn't help but curse:

"Damn!"

To be fair, you really couldn't blame Landon for being fragile-hearted—anyone in his position would have their mentality shattered.

If it were Flora, she would definitely curse much more colorfully than him.

Meanwhile, Lin Mo was busy looking at the messages before him.

After both skills reached level 4, they could choose their second evolution direction.

First was the recently acquired 【Spiral Wind Vortex】.

Please choose evolution direction:

Evolution Path 1: Pull I: Spiral Wind Vortex's pulling capability increases by 25%!

Evolution Path 2: Vulnerability II: Spiral Wind Vortex's ice, fire, and lightning elemental vulnerability effects additionally increase by 7.5% (including level 1)!

Compared to when the skill was first obtained, this time Evolution Path 2's effect was to additionally increase Spiral Wind Vortex's vulnerability effect by 7.5%, meaning it only increased by 2.5% compared to level 1, making it not very cost-effective.

Plus, the pulling effect of this skill had truly exceeded Lin Mo's expectations earlier, so this time Lin Mo still spread the love evenly and chose Evolution Path 1.

Next was the evolution path for 【Blizzard】.

Please choose evolution direction:

Evolution Path 1: Stacking Flow I: During the duration, damage received by enemies within the range will increase with the number of hits, stacking up to 20%.

Evolution Path 2: Frost II: When the slow effect stacks to maximum, there is a 30% chance to freeze enemies.

Last time, Lin Mo had chosen Evolution Path 2, the frost effect, and this time the enhancement to the frost effect was an additional 10% freeze probability.

It was still the same issue—the benefits from evolution paths were basically highest when going from 0 to 1, while going from 1 to 2 was relatively less cost-effective.

So in most cases, when choosing evolution paths for the second time, Lin Mo would choose the path he didn't select last time, unless that evolution path was truly useless.

Undoubtedly, this time Lin Mo chose "Stacking Flow" to enhance Blizzard's power.

The battle continued, but after all, their area was just a small section of the peripheral defensive line. After Lin Mo's two skills directly eliminated over 200 goblins, the number of goblins before them seemed to start showing signs of decrease.

Although new goblins were still continuously replenishing from behind, overall, it posed basically no danger to these powerful adventurers.

With proficiency to grind, Lin Mo certainly wouldn't stop. After selecting the evolution paths, he immediately unleashed the same combo again.

Howling winds roared, ice hail fell, and numerous goblins were devoured by the powerful magic. The wind vortex, strengthened by the evolution path, had indeed become much stronger, pulling in goblins from a wider range. So even though the goblin density had decreased somewhat, the proficiency Lin Mo gained wasn't much less than last time.

【Spiral Wind Vortex】 proficiency +69!

【Blizzard】 proficiency +69!

Watching the rapidly increasing proficiency and his still relatively abundant mana, Lin Mo couldn't help but sigh with emotion that having high mana attributes was good—he would never be as "mana-starved" as before. 𝘙άNÖＢЕ𝙎

Lin Mo seemed to have gone crazy, trying this combo again.

【Spiral Wind Vortex】 proficiency +54!

【Blizzard】 proficiency +54!

...

【Spiral Wind Vortex】 proficiency +41!

【Blizzard】 proficiency +41!

After two more consecutive combos, the number of goblins before them decreased even more noticeably, and the proficiency gained also dropped significantly.

After casting 8 exceptional-grade spells in succession, Lin Mo finally felt some pressure on his mana, having consumed about a quarter and then some.

As for mental burden, there was almost no need to worry.

Lin Mo's spirit attribute was now quite high, and he had "Mage Heart" reducing the mental load from spellcasting, plus the effect of the "Calming Bracelet"—he no longer had to fear headaches from spellcasting.

After several consecutive casts, both skills gained 164 proficiency points and smoothly leveled up again.

"Skill 【Blizzard】 Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!"

"Current skill 【Blizzard】 Lv5 (93/180)"

"Skill 【Spiral Wind Vortex】 Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!"

"Current skill 【Spiral Wind Vortex】 Lv5 (64/180)"

.......

Time to take a slight break. The number of goblins before them had noticeably decreased, and using large-area AOE skills wasn't very cost-effective anymore.

After all, tonight's battle wouldn't last just this short while—the goblin offensive wouldn't stop so easily. So even though Lin Mo's total mana pool was now quite ample, he still couldn't be too reckless with mana usage.

It was worth mentioning that the goblins didn't seem stupid either. After noticing the unusually fast death rate on this side, they stopped pointlessly throwing more troops here.

Lin Mo drew his Steel-Cleaving Sword and began close-quarters combat.

The progress of his mage profession was accelerating faster and faster, causing his other professions to gradually fall behind. Although this wasn't necessarily bad, Lin Mo pursued well-rounded development after all, so he would try to catch up on progress whenever possible.

This was a skill Lin Mo had long wanted to level up and evolve, but single-target skills like this were difficult to level up. Moreover, as an excellent-grade skill, he was reluctant to invest proficiency in it when dealing with higher-level monsters, so the progress was really quite awkward.

【Consecutive Thrusts】 proficiency +8!

Lin Mo directly stabbed an adult mutated goblin to death with one sword thrust. As the proficiency arrived, a line of information appeared before his eyes.

"Skill 【Consecutive Thrusts】 Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!"

"Current skill 【Consecutive Thrusts】 Lv5 (4/180)"

Finally reached level 5—just one more level until evolution.

I wonder what skill 【Consecutive Thrusts】 will become after evolution?

It couldn't possibly become Triple Thrust, could it...

While thinking about these random things, Lin Mo's movements showed no hesitation whatsoever. He thrust his sword repeatedly, overwhelmingly slaughtering the surrounding goblins.

This wasn't because he wasn't taking the battle seriously—it was just that these ordinary goblins posed absolutely no pressure on him.

Not just Lin Mo—most of the other adventurers around were in similar situations.

Ellie was already having a blast, charging into the goblin horde with her sword and slashing left and right.

Because Lin Mo had been practicing 【Joint Cultivation】 with Ellie all along, Ellie wasn't just an ordinary level 2.5 warrior—her constitution and agility attributes were also quite high. These ordinary goblins, including mutated goblins, couldn't even break through her defense.

So Lin Mo didn't stop her—let her have her fun.

Finnie remained as diligent as ever, but there were really no injured around, so she could only buff Lin Mo.

It was worth mentioning that after reaching level 2 priest and with the increasing proficiency of the 【Light's Assistance】 skill, the attributes Finnie could now provide to Lin Mo had increased significantly.

A full 3 points of strength, 3 points of agility, and 2 points of constitution!

These attributes might not make a huge difference on Lin Mo's current self, but remember—Finnie was only a level 2 priest! Imagine what kind of boost this buff skill would provide if placed on a level 2 warrior, knight, or assassin profession?

It would be a complete qualitative change.

Although the priest profession wasn't strong in direct combat, its role in healing and support was truly significant.

Otherwise, this profession wouldn't be even more popular than mages.

【Consecutive Thrusts】 proficiency +1

【Swift Rushing Punch】 proficiency +1

...

The proficiency growth rate for melee skills wasn't as fast or intuitive as large-area damage magic skills.

In this short time, the recently leveled 【Consecutive Thrusts】 had already gained another 47 proficiency points.

【Swift Rushing Punch】, which was used less frequently but had a lower base level, directly leveled up.

"Skill 【Swift Rushing Punch】 Lv2 (20/20) leveled up!"

"Current skill 【Swift Rushing Punch】 Lv3 (4/40)"

"Gained attribute points Strength +2!"

This skill's power shouldn't be underestimated, and it could consume additional qi and blood to enhance its power. As long as enough qi and blood was consumed, it could unleash power comparable to exceptional-grade skills.

Moreover, because it took the form of a rushing punch, the attack speed was extremely fast, often catching people off guard in close-quarters combat.

If Lin Mo didn't have so many other skill options, this would actually be a quite useful and formidable skill.

As an excellent-grade skill, after reaching level 3, this skill also provided Lin Mo with 2 strength attribute points.

The sounds of weapon clashes and goblin screams gradually subsided...

It seemed that after a period of attacking with zero results, the goblin command had simply given up on breaking through this area and instead redirected their forces elsewhere.

Simply put, the goblins were now the attackers, and they were the defenders—they could only passively respond.

However, if only one or two people left, it wouldn't be a problem.

Just as other adventurers had some consumption from the previous battle and needed time to rest, Lin Mo discussed with them and took the Silver Radiance Team members to leave first.

They were going to support other more difficult battlefront areas.

For such situations, the battlefront command naturally had contingency plans, so soon a scout responsible for intelligence transmission proactively contacted them and informed them of the areas needing assistance.

After hearing this news, Lin Mo was actually somewhat puzzled. Were the goblins planning to directly break through Silverstream City's defensive lines from the front?

This approach certainly had no problems and indicated that side was quite confident in their own strength.

In fact, the front lines had indeed borne considerable pressure because of this, with the battlefront once forced to retreat. Fortunately, scattered adventurers came to support later, barely withstanding the goblins' fierce assault.

He had always been a relatively cautious person and wouldn't attribute this to the enemy being simple-minded. Instead, he began considering potential risks.

Silverstream City placed considerable importance on the outer areas of the battlefront, and the speed of intelligence transmission and force mobilization was very fast. So before gaps appeared in their forces, they basically eliminated the possibility of the goblins launching surprise attacks from the flanks to create openings.

But this didn't mean the front of the battlefield was easy to break through. On the contrary, because the central area of the battlefront consisted of Silverstream City's regular army—while they might not be as strong as adventurers individually—they were well-trained, had excellent coordination, and relatively larger numbers, making it actually the hardest area to break through.

If Lin Mo were commanding the battle, he would most likely choose to use large numbers of ordinary goblins to wear down the human side first through sheer quantity.

But now the goblin side was clearly doing the opposite—as if pursuing quick results, they immediately sent out their elite troops.

Such urgency must have a reason...

Lin Mo didn't continue pondering and directly headed toward the front lines.

Just as large-scale goblin siege events erupted in Silverstream City, Lania City was currently calm and peaceful.

However, beneath this surface tranquility, many undercurrents were stirring.

"Second Boss, this batch of tribute has been collected. What do you think..."

"Hmm?"

The middle-aged man with a pale, beardless face frowned and looked at the other: "What did you just call me?"

The man's eyes shifted, then he realized: "Look at my brain... You're now the Great Boss of the Bloodsea Gang."

"Mm."

The middle-aged man nodded with satisfaction: "I never expected—before I could even prepare properly, that trash actually died on his own over in Silverstream City. Heh... But it did save me quite some trouble."

The former second-in-command of the Bloodsea Gang, now the boss, immediately changed expression and stood up to welcome them outside.

He saw a person in black robes standing outside the courtyard.

"Envoy, we've prepared everything here and will immediately send the 'goods' over."

The person waved a hand and said in a somewhat hoarse voice: "I came to tell you on behalf of Lady Caroline that this batch of tribute doesn't need to go to the forest."

The Great Boss was stunned: "Then... where should it be sent?"

"Naturally, disposed of."

After saying this, the black-robed person turned to leave: "As for how to dispose of it, I shouldn't need to teach you, but I think you understand very clearly... Lady Caroline doesn't want those *goods* to suddenly appear someday, nor does she want any unwanted information reaching her ears. Otherwise..."

After saying this, the black-robed person turned to leave: "As for how to dispose of it, I shouldn't need to teach you, but I think you understand very clearly... Lady Caroline doesn't want those *goods* to suddenly appear someday, nor does she want any unwanted news reaching her ears. Otherwise..."

The middle-aged man, who had just been immersed in the joy of becoming the Great Boss and feeling light-headed, now looked nervous with cold sweat soaking his entire back.

"That envoy... haven't seen him before?"

"Yes, Great Boss... The pressure he gave off just now was immense—I almost couldn't breathe..."

The Great Boss completely agreed with his lackey's words.

That guy gave him a very strange feeling—just standing before him made him feel a sinister chill in his heart, as if he were in a graveyard.

The pressure he felt from him was even greater than when he had met Lady Caroline before.

Moreover, his form of address for Lady Caroline was just "Lady Caroline."

Forget it—he better not casually speculate about matters above his station to avoid bringing trouble upon himself. Just do what needs to be done...

"Do I need to repeat it for you? Hurry up and dispose of them."

"Before disposing of them, shouldn't we...?"

The man's eyes shifted, a lecherous smile appearing on his face: "Wouldn't it be a waste not to use them..."

"As you wish."

The Great Boss waved his hand: "Just don't waste too much time."

Having worked in gangs for so many years, he certainly understood that he had to give some benefits to those below to make them willingly submit, making his position as boss more stable.

Later, after finishing his official business, he might also take a trip to the dungeon to release some pressure.

The Great Boss didn't notice that in the darkness, a figure stood on the rooftop, watching him with cold eyes.

After leaving the Bloodsea Gang headquarters, the black-robed person suddenly turned his head and meaningfully glanced upward, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Interesting... Things are getting more and more interesting..."

Although he had discovered clues, he actually didn't plan to alert anyone about anything.

What was important was that there had to be losers—for him, as long as losers appeared, that was enough.

If possible, he would love to stir the waters even muddier, preferably making all three sides lose completely.

Cress lowered his hat brim and walked into a dark alley, then snapped his fingers. A skeletal warhorse wreathed in black flames slowly emerged from a summoning circle with complex patterns...