Chapter 106: Chapter 106

Without acting impulsively, Lin Mo retreated from the small wooden hut and hid behind it to carefully consider his options.

Factoring in his profession bonuses, his current Strength attribute was 23 points. Adding the 1 point provided by the Wolf Bone Sword brought it to 24.

Beyond that, there was also the 24% physical damage increase provided by his already Level 4 [Vanish].

Combining all of these, paired with a fully stacked [Accumulated Sword Combo], it might just be possible to instantly kill that strongest Mutated Goblin.

Even if he couldn't kill it outright, he could at least inflict serious injuries. As long as he could disable the enemy's strongest combatant, the subsequent battle would become much easier.

Conversely, if he just played it safe and took out an ordinary adult Mutated Goblin, he would soon have to face that big guy head-on. Even if he could win, he would be tied up for a long time. With the remaining numerous goblins, the other team members would likely struggle to cope, even if they managed.

Lin Mo made his decision, activated [Vanish] again, and entered the largest central wooden hut.

This time he looked more carefully. Besides being taller and stronger, this Mutated Goblin seemed to have bluish-gray patterns on its body.

Without a doubt, the goblin before him had surpassed the category of ordinary Mutated Goblins; it was on the same level as that goblin spellcaster.

The only difference was that one was a warlock, and this one was a warrior. Furthermore, the one before him was clearly much stronger.

With the Wolf Bone Sword in hand, Lin Mo entered a charging state. Qi and Blood continuously flowed into the sword blade as energy steadily accumulated...

The goblin suddenly opened its eyes, its sharp gaze looking forward, but it saw nothing. A puzzled expression immediately appeared on its face.

Was its intuition wrong?

Just as it was about to close its eyes and continue resting, its peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of something—

The branches covering the wooden hut couldn't completely block out the sunlight. The midday sun shone directly down, leaving scattered patches of light and shadow on the ground. Among the interwoven shadows, one area seemed to be blocked by something, completely devoid of light spots.

It quickly raised one arm while its other hand reached for the blade placed beside it. At the same time, Lin Mo's charge finished.

Six successive sword energies abruptly materialized out of thin air, aimed directly at its vital points.

The first sword energy sank into the raised arm. A sound like tearing cloth rang out as blood spurted forth, leaving a deep wound that reached the bone.

The second and third sword energies followed closely behind, striking its forearm from almost identical angles.

Accompanied by a crisp "crack" sound, half of the goblin's forearm flew off.

The remaining three sword energies now had no obstruction, heading straight for its face!

The goblin let out a miserable howl as its entire lower jaw was sliced off, its throat nearly severed, leaving it covered in blood.

Lin Mo frowned slightly. At the last moment, this guy seemed to have noticed something and blocked with its arm.

Otherwise, it should have been a clean instant kill.

Or if his sword swing angle had been just a little better...

He could only say that warrior-type skills weren't really that suitable for assassination. Although powerful, they weren't clean and decisive enough.

Only after learning powerful assassination skills later could he truly become a qualified assassin.

But that was for the future. Right now, the enraged goblin was swinging its several-hundred-pound heavy blade, hacking toward Lin Mo.

Lin Mo had no desire to test how much [Fortitude] proficiency he could gain at this moment. He immediately retreated to evade, directly exiting the wooden hut.

Amidst a series of crackling sounds, the front of the wooden hut was completely shattered by this single slash. The previously drowsy goblins in the settlement all woke up, grabbing their nearby weapons and rising to attack Lin Mo.

Lin Mo glanced around. This wasn't the time for a prolonged fight; it was better to withdraw first.

If he wanted to leave, of course no goblin could stop him. With a flicker of his figure, he instantly vanished on the spot, leaving the surrounding goblins utterly bewildered.

By the time they regained their senses, Lin Mo had already broken free from the encirclement. He even casually executed a [Thrust], skewering two goblins like "candied haws on a stick."

The severely injured goblin leader roared furiously, commanding its subordinates to continue the pursuit. Lin Mo remained completely unflustered, his movements crisp and decisive. Holding his sword in his right hand, flames blazed in his left as he launched a [Fireball]. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel·fıre·net

Using [Ice Spike] to instantly kill goblins required aiming for vital spots, and there simply wasn't time for precise aiming in this situation.

Simultaneously, the others behind him stopped waiting and joined the fight directly.

Solan drew his bow and fired an arrow that pierced straight through two goblins.

Rick, holding a large shield, charged directly toward Lin Mo, knocking aside several goblins blocking his path along the way.

Ellie moved with fierce precision, her figure agile and swift. With a few leaps, she arrived at Lin Mo's side, her sword sending several goblin heads flying with one swing.

Alden was more steady, not rushing forward hastily but staying back to protect the two rear-line members.

Although Finnie was a priest and no one in the team was injured yet, she wasn't just watching the show. She raised her staff, a golden light element shimmered, then transformed into points of light that merged into everyone's bodies.

Lin Mo felt his spirits lift, and the considerable stamina he had just consumed seemed to recover somewhat.

She doesn't just know healing spells? She has this skill too?

As expected of the daughter of a wealthy family—high talent and access to learn many skills...

Finnie continued without pause, another holy light shining forth, illuminating Lin Mo.

Lin Mo immediately sensed the change and opened his status panel to look.

Behind his Strength, Constitution, and Agility, an additional "+1" had appeared.

Holy crap, a god-tier skill! Buffing three attributes at once!

Having buffs on during fights from now on, that's really great...

Lin Mo's confidence surged even more. Ignoring the ordinary goblins, he headed straight for the remaining Mutated Goblins.

Finnie cast "Enhancement" once more, this time on Ellie. The consecutive spellcasting made her feel a bit dizzy, with some tightness and swelling sensation at her temples.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Miss Finnie. Save some energy; we might still need your healing spells later."

Alden said this while cutting down goblins that charged at him.

Finnie nodded, looking somewhat nervously toward the battlefield ahead.

This was her first time truly participating in combat. Previously, the magical creatures they encountered on the road had basically been handled by Lin Mo alone.

Suddenly facing such a large-scale battle, as a newcomer, Finnie couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed.

[Accumulated Sword Combo]!

With [Vanish] active, Lin Mo charged in front of a sub-adult Mutated Goblin. Without needing to charge, he directly unleashed the original version of [Accumulated Sword Combo]. Three sword energies were enough to instantly kill it.

[Vanish] Proficiency +3

[Accumulated Sword Combo] Proficiency +3

Although it was a bit discounted, getting proficiency points was still good.

Immediately after, he repeated the method and took out another one.

The injured leader, seeing its subordinates being killed, grew frantic. Disregarding its continuously bleeding wound, it charged at Lin Mo again.

Lin Mo wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Raising the Wolf Bone Sword, he activated [Fortitude], turned on [Vanish], and engaged it head-on.

[Accumulated Sword Combo]!

Thanks to having learned [Rapid Charge], Lin Mo had managed to accumulate one additional sword energy during the brief moment before the clash. Four sword energies flew out together, colliding with the goblin's large blade.

The blade directly struck the first sword energy, easily dispersing it. However, the second and third that followed were more than it could handle.

By the time the fourth sword energy hit, the several-hundred-pound heavy blade was knocked from its grasp. The residual edge of the sword energy struck its arm, leaving a long bloody gash.

This Mutated Goblin's strength was indeed impressive, far exceeding the estimated Level 1.5 mentioned in the mission intelligence. Its threat level was at least Level 1.8 or even 1.9, infinitely close to Level 2 standards.

If it hadn't been injured, facing it head-on would have been quite difficult for Lin Mo. While he could still win, it would definitely have taken a considerable amount of time.

And if he, the team's strongest combatant, was tied up for too long, the remaining 2 adult Mutated Goblins, 4 sub-adult Mutated Goblins, and nearly 200 ordinary goblins would have been extremely difficult for Alden and the others to handle.

While there probably wouldn't have been any safety issues, the mission likely wouldn't have been completed successfully.

But now, because Lin Mo's sneak attack had inflicted serious injuries, its condition was greatly affected. Moreover, the wound was continuously causing blood loss, making it weaker and weaker. If not treated promptly, it would bleed to death without Lin Mo even needing to lift a finger.

But clearly, the sudden outbreak of fighting gave the enemy no chance to recuperate.

Lin Mo snorted coldly and pressed his advantage directly.

He had originally planned to deal with the other Mutated Goblins first, but since it came to him, he might as well take it down first.

He swung his sword to strike again. The goblin hastily picked up the large blade from the ground, barely blocking this attack.

However, the next moment, Lin Mo suddenly twisted his wrist, the sword blade exerting force sideways to deflect the heavy blade, then thrust forward sharply with a [Thrust], striking right in the center of its chest!

This strike pierced straight through its heart, making it realize it had no chance of survival. So it roared furiously, intending to launch a final, desperate counterattack before death.

But Lin Mo had already withdrawn, disappearing into the crowd of goblins. Then he used [Vanish] to hide, running to the side to watch the show.

The goblin waved its blade and chased after him, slashing wildly, but it was nothing more than helpless rage. Besides accidentally injuring several of its own kind, it accomplished nothing.

Only after its final surge of adrenaline ended and it was completely exhausted did Lin Mo suddenly appear behind it. With one [Accumulated Sword Combo], he perfectly secured the kill.

[Vanish] Proficiency +14

[Accumulated Sword Combo] Proficiency +14

Lin Mo's eyes immediately lit up. That was a really generous amount—nearly double what a typical adult Mutated Goblin gave—which also proved from the side just how strong this opponent truly was.

Just from this one instance, [Accumulated Sword Combo] was almost ready to reach Level 3.

Reaching Level 4 would grant another attribute increase.

Lin Mo didn't stop moving, continuing to charge toward the remaining few Mutated Goblins.