"Shhh—"

A crisp sound dissolved into the rhythm of the wind.

The man's mouth hung open, but no more words could come out. Air whistled through his punctured throat, emitting faint "hah—hah—" sounds.

Lin Mo gently supported his body, holding him against his chest like a lover, then slowly laid him flat on the ground.

[Stealth] Proficiency +1

"Skill [Stealth] Lv1 (10/10) has leveled up!"

"Current skill [Stealth] Lv2 (0/20)"

That's right—Lin Mo had been quite lucky, just happening to encounter three goblins along the way.

Using warm-up as an excuse, he had his party members leave these goblins to him, grinding 3 proficiency points for both skills.

Including the one he just took down, his Stealth skill had just reached Lv2.

[Stealth] Lv2 (0/20): Having mastered slacking off, you now learn to reduce your presence in any situation. Remain out of enemy sight for a period to enter stealth state. While stealthed, you won't be prioritized as a main target, reducing detection risk. Attacking while stealthed breaks stealth and grants your next attack +6% physical damage bonus.

Compared to level 1 Stealth, the level 2 version only increased the damage bonus by 1% numerically.

That's right—Lin Mo had been quite lucky, happening to encounter three goblins along the way.

Percentage increases paired with skills like [Slash] could often achieve much greater effects.

And it wasn't just about the numbers—the stealth effect itself seemed somewhat enhanced, meaning reduced chances of enemy detection. For a functional skill like [Stealth], this was what mattered most.

In the distance, the three watching Lin Mo's fluid movements all felt their scalps tingling with apprehension.

Including the one he just took down, his Stealth skill had just reached Lv2.

He put himself in that position—if Lin Mo had ambushed him like that, he probably wouldn't have reacted in time either.

This was exactly the significance of the assassin class—weak in frontal combat but exchanging it for viper-like treacherous ambushes that killed with one strike!

But the problem was, didn't this kid seem like a warrior yesterday?

Bern was starting to understand why he had asked about mastering two classes.

Regardless, their prearranged tactic had worked successfully—a good beginning.

One down, five remaining.

"Prepare for battle!"

He gripped his sword and shield tightly, whispering the reminder.

Evan held his sword with both hands, ready to strike at any moment. Miriam drew her bow with arrow nocked, prepared to draw the string taut at any second.

......

Meanwhile, in the leader's camp.

"It's been over a minute already, right? Does taking a piss really need that long?"

"Who knows? Maybe he likes to dawdle?"

"He's not some woman—no matter how much he dawdles, it shouldn't take this long."

Pat slightly frowned, vaguely sensing something wrong.

He stood up and walked toward the tent entrance.

One step, two steps, three steps...

The moment he reached the tent flap, a faint blood scent entered his keen nostrils. In the next instant, his pupils contracted as he raised his shortsword.

"Ding—!"

With a clear ring, an arrow was deflected by him, embedding into the muddy ground at his feet.

"Enemy attack!"

Now everyone reacted, grabbing their weapons and rushing out of the tent.

The moment they charged out, Miriam had already drawn her bowstring again, firing an arrow straight toward the center.

"Heh, petty tricks."

The man standing in the center was their leader. He sneered coldly, not even bothering to draw his sword, simply reaching out to catch the arrow bare-handed, then crushing it with a squeeze.

"Seeking death!"

The ranger standing behind the leader seemed provoked, quickly drawing an arrow from his quiver to return fire.

Bern blocked in front of Miriam, deflecting the arrow with his shield, his expression grave as he looked at the burly man in the center.

He felt tremendous pressure from this person.

Even if not a full professional, he was probably not far from it.

"You two need to be extremely careful."

Implied meaning: he probably couldn't spare any energy to protect them.

"It's them!"

At the same time, the rapier warrior Mero recognized them, pointing ahead and exclaiming: "These are the people who took down North and the others!"

"Never thought they'd actually dare to come."

Pat tossed his shortsword up and caught it reverse-grip, glancing at his companion's corpse nearby: "So, where's the one who killed Master Taine?"

Mero looked around: "He doesn't seem to be here... wait, he's hiding!"

"How interesting..."

Pat smiled slightly: "Leader, leave this hiding guy to me, no problem?"

"Suit yourself."

The leader glanced at him, not planning to stop it.

Although Taine was indeed his teacher, and the other party had killed Taine, Taine was after all getting old, his physical abilities somewhat declined compared to his prime. Meanwhile Pat had been improving rapidly with age—around half a year ago, he had already surpassed his teacher, and now he was naturally even stronger.

And he too had found his target.

"That guy who looks like a knight seems somewhat capable. I'll test him."

With that, he charged forward directly.

"To make the leader take it seriously—looks like the other side has some skills after all."

The ranger stroked his chin, speaking with keen interest.

"Only those two though. The other two look quite weak."

"Right."

Mero joined in: "These two aren't very strong—could even be called rookies."

"Boring..."

The ranger shook his head, "Let's make this quick."

As they spoke, the leader and Bern had already clashed head-on.

The moment sword met shield, Bern's expression drastically changed, his body forced back two steps uncontrollably.

The opponent's strength exceeded his expectations!

If he boasted himself as a 0.8-level professional, then this "leader" before him was undoubtedly above him—closer to a 0.9-level professional.

Troublesome...

Evan and Miriam were after all still too young, especially Miriam who was practically a novice. Having them fight one-on-one or two-on-two, they probably wouldn't last long.

While he wouldn't lose immediately, he couldn't see any hope of winning either.

It all depends on Lin Mo now!

Besides believing, there was no other choice.

He gritted his teeth, pushed aside these distracting thoughts, and fought with all his might against the opponent before him.

Meanwhile, Pat scanned the surroundings, his gaze constantly searching every corner.

The man standing in the center was their leader. He sneered coldly, not even bothering to draw his sword, simply reaching out to catch the arrow bare-handed, then crushing it with a squeeze.

He half-squinted, body tense, ready at any moment to respond to the other's assault.

He wasn't some agility-lacking warrior—as a fellow assassin, he was fully confident he could react in time, counter the ambush, even retaliate...

However, just as he grew more excited, preparing for a great battle—

"Ah!"

A short, sharp cry suddenly came from behind.