Chapter 129: Chapter 129

"Since that's the case, I'll have to trouble everyone to help guard this area. We absolutely cannot let the goblins' cunning scheme succeed!"

"Please calm down, Association President."

The man wearing mage robes spoke again: "Although the probability is quite high, this is still just speculation for now. It's not appropriate to concentrate all our personnel there based on this. What if the goblins' intelligence isn't as high as we think, and they still choose to attack from yesterday's mountain pass? It would be troublesome to redeploy defenses later."

Lin Mo also nodded: "To be conservative, we should first send some personnel to be responsible for vigilance. If the goblins really do what we suspect, these adventurers can temporarily hold them off while waiting for backup."

The Adventurers' Association President was after all no ordinary person. He had just been running around too much recently, too busy to think clearly. Under their persuasion, he quickly calmed down.

"Alright, but the route you two discovered poses too great a threat to the front lines to ignore. The first batch of adventurers going there can't be too few, and it would be best to have some relatively strong experts overseeing things."

As he spoke, he looked toward the man around thirty years old wearing mage robes.

In most people's impressions, mages were undoubtedly synonymous with power.

The man immediately understood and nodded, "Along with my team members."

Lin Mo immediately followed up, after which a series of adventurers volunteered.

Some adventurers chose to stay behind, assisting in the town's defense, ready to provide support at any time, or heading to yesterday's mountain pass where the goblins attacked to prevent them from making a comeback.

"The front lines are experiencing intense combat, local adventurers really can't be spared. I'll also need to head to the main battlefield later to help the lord. I'll have to trouble everyone with the other areas!"

After personnel assignments were completed, the Association President offered sincere thanks. After some brief pleasantries, everyone gradually prepared to depart.

When leaving, they seemed to see several more teams of adventurers arriving at Silvermoon Town—these should be the last batch for today.

With the setting sun in the sky and darkness gradually falling, the group headed straight for their destination.

Lin Mo roughly counted—there were 15 adventurer teams total heading with them, approximately 70 people in all, accounting for more than half of the total personnel.

This number wasn't small anymore. After all, if the goblins managed to flank the battle lines from the side, the damage would be too great to risk.

However, the strength of these adventurers was somewhat uneven.

The Rescue Decree itself had no strength restrictions—anyone who wanted to come could come. Combined with the decent base pay, some adventurers came with the idea of earning some basic rewards. These adventurers weren't very strong, and while most of them chose to stay in the town, more than two-thirds of those in their group hadn't reached professional-level strength.

This information was gathered through simple self-introductions during the journey.

Soon, it was Lin Mo's team's turn.

Facing everyone's gazes, Lin Mo said calmly: "We are the Silver Radiance Team, three people total, all professionals—two warriors and one priest."

More information wasn't convenient to disclose.

But his brief statement was already explosive enough.

A three-person team, all professionals?

And one of them was an extremely rare priest!

Even the leading mage couldn't help but look over in surprise.

"With a priest here, we don't have to worry too much about injuries..."

"Indeed, and a professional-level priest at that."

"Hello, Priest Miss."

"We might have to trouble you to take care of us later."

"Um... hello everyone..."

Faced with everyone's enthusiastic greetings, Finnie felt somewhat uncomfortable, but she still responded politely.

Next was the final team—the leading mage's team.

He smiled slightly and said: "Our team name is 'Azure Orchid.' I'm the captain, Landon."

As soon as he finished speaking, some people immediately showed understanding expressions.

"I guessed it was you earlier, haha! With 'Gale Landon' here, those goblins will just be sending themselves to their deaths no matter how many come!"

"He's that 'Gale Landon'?!"

Some had recognized him early, while others were naturally surprised. They hadn't seen this mage named Landon before, but most had heard rumors about him.

Gale Landon—this was quite a renowned name among Silverstream City's adventurer community.

It was said he had led the Azure Orchid Team to complete several D-rank missions!

Six years ago, at twenty-six years old, he was confirmed to have reached level 3. Now, five years later, many speculated his strength had reached level 4, possibly even approaching level 5!

No one expected such a strong adventurer would also respond to the Rescue Decree and come to support Silvermoon Town.

Hearing the surrounding discussions, Lin Mo also looked at him with some surprise. Although he had guessed this mage was strong, he didn't expect him to be level 4 or above!

With a level 4 powerful expert overseeing things, there shouldn't be any mishaps.

Moreover, Gale Landon's teammates were no pushovers either—among his four teammates, not a single one was level 1; all were level 2 or above professionals!

As Landon revealed his famous name, everyone immediately felt much more at ease, the previously tense atmosphere fading considerably.

It had to be said—having a big brother leading the team felt great!

Before long, they reached their destination. The sky hadn't completely darkened yet, but the goblin attack had already begun.

Because they were close to the front lines, they could faintly hear the movements of the distant goblin army.

"This is ridiculous—we can hear them even here. Just how many goblins are there?"

"According to inaccurate statistics, just the number of goblins attacking Silvermoon Town this time has reached tens of thousands!"

"Which damned lord didn't clear out the goblins at all, letting them breed ?"

"Who else could it be but the Lawrence family from Lania City..."

It seemed even here, Lawrence's notorious reputation was well-known to everyone.

"Everyone, let's prepare first. The goblins could attack at any moment."

Landon reminded them.

Everyone immediately stopped discussing, simply dividing into front and back rows, and formed up their positions.

As the priest, Finnie was naturally protected in the very center, with two professional-level warriors specifically assigned to protect her.

One of them was Huck, one of Landon's teammates.

"Don't be nervous, Miss Finnie. I'll protect you!"

Huck laughed heartily.

Finnie nodded absentmindedly, her gaze still locked on Lin Mo's back.

Huck scratched his head somewhat helplessly. Well, it seemed this beautiful priest miss already had her heart set on someone.

Time passed bit by bit.

They lay in ambush beside that downhill path, set up traps, arranged scouts—but over an hour passed without any movement.

"Did we guess wrong? Those goblins actually didn't think that far ahead?"

"Seems quite possible... Even for goblin spellcasters, generally speaking, they couldn't be smarter than humans."

Landon also frowned, somewhat doubting his own judgment.

"Let's wait a bit longer, just in case?"

That's what he said, but hearing the various battle sounds from the distant front lines, many adventurers were already growing restless.

Another half hour passed, and impatience spread increasingly through the crowd.

"Maybe we should go back, or just go help at the front lines. Waiting around isn't accomplishing anything."

"Indeed, if the goblins really aren't coming, we can't wait all night..."

Since they responded to the Rescue Decree, they naturally wanted to help, while also earning some money, possibly even getting the lord's additional rewards.

If they kept waiting here pointlessly, those tempting rewards would have nothing to do with them.

Just then, a scout suddenly arrived, delivering a message: "Goblins have appeared again at the mountain pass they attacked yesterday!"

These words caused an immediate uproar. Everyone completely lost patience, discussing animatedly.

"Just as I thought—I knew goblin brains weren't that clever."

"We should still have time to rush back. Let's go quickly!"

"If we're too late, the personnel left in the town might not be enough."

Whether out of good intentions or self-interest, everyone's desire to return had grown too strong to stop.

Even Landon was increasingly wavering, almost about to speak up and lead everyone back.

Lin Mo felt similarly. Compared to other adventurers, besides rewards, he also needed to grind proficiency. Waiting here without gaining any proficiency was quite frustrating for him too.

Would things really be that simple?

Lin Mo felt the timing of the goblins suddenly attacking the mountain pass was somewhat too deliberate.

Generally speaking, surprise attacks should wait until the main battle is halfway through, when things reach a stalemate.

That would achieve the best effect.

When the goblins launched their surprise attack last night, it was already 2-3 AM.

But now, it wasn't even 11 PM yet.

"Little brother, what do you think?"

Landon walked over. He was growing impatient, but still maintained some degree of calmness, so before making a decision, he came to ask Lin Mo—who had earlier thought of this dangerous area at the same time as him.

Lin Mo frowned in thought for a moment, gazing into the deep night, then looked at the scout: "When you came over, what was the situation there? Was any investigation done on the number of goblins in the surprise attack?"

The scout froze for a moment, then shook his head: "Not sure. After discovering the goblin surprise attack, I was immediately sent over to deliver the message."

Lin Mo nodded and said: "I think we've fallen into a thinking trap..."

"The goblins might not necessarily choose only one place to attack."

Landon paused for a moment, as if opening up to a new line of thought: "What do you mean?"

"Lure the tiger away from the mountain."

Lin Mo immediately followed up explaining this term: "The reason they're attacking the mountain pass so early is probably just to deliberately attract our attention. If we really fall for it and return to defend, they can then send the forces they've already gathered to assault the battle lines without any worries!"

Landon immediately understood, then said: "But this is still just speculation, right?... What if they really didn't think that far and are actually concentrating their forces to attack the mountain pass."

"So right now we're gambling..."

The reality could also be completely opposite.

But that mountain pass required a long detour; relatively speaking, gathering goblins there would be much more difficult, making it more likely to be a decoy.

Lin Mo somewhat helplessly spread his hands: "Ultimately, the initiative is in their hands."

Landon pondered for several seconds: "How about this—some teams withdraw to assist in defense, the rest continue waiting here for a while to see how things develop. What do you think?"

"Then our team will go back first."

Compared to staying here, the already restless adventurers clearly preferred going back to kill monsters directly.

Fortunately, Landon still had considerable influence. In the end, only three teams were sent back, while the remainder continued waiting here.

Unconsciously, another hour-plus passed.

The messenger scout had long since returned, and no new messages had come from over there.

The adventurers waiting in place were nowhere near as spirited as when they first arrived.

They had already been traveling all day, and now had waited pointlessly for several hours—it was really difficult to maintain vigilance.

"Let's go back. I don't think the goblins are coming..."

"You're right. I should have just stayed in the town—I might have killed dozens of goblins by now."

Such voices grew increasingly numerous, and Landon's pressure mounted. He was already having some difficulty suppressing the adventurers' complaints.

"Wait a bit longer, please everyone, just a bit longer..."

He could only repeatedly say such things. In fact, even he himself very much wanted to leave.

A scout suddenly emerged from the forest, rushing over breathlessly. Seeing the many adventurers before him, he immediately relaxed: "Thank goodness you're all still here... The attack at the mountain pass suddenly weakened after continuing for a while. The commanding officer thought there might be a trick and sent me to notify everyone..."

As soon as he finished speaking, dense footsteps suddenly came from the distance.

Lin Mo's spirits immediately lifted.

As expected—he had guessed correctly!

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Landon felt a belated fear. Just a little bit earlier—if not for Lin Mo—he would have definitely led the adventurers back already. In that case...

He didn't continue that line of thought. Picking up his staff, he looked fiercely toward the direction of the sounds.

After waiting so long and bearing considerable pressure, he had long been holding back his frustration.

Landon now only wanted to fiercely use magic to tear those goblins to pieces!

Soon, a large group of goblins appeared in the adventurers' sight. They advanced quickly under cover of night, their target quite clear!

Landon roared angrily. Cyan-green magical power gathered on his staff, and a small tornado immediately appeared, sweeping up the dozen-plus goblins at the front.

The wind cyclone continued forward, affecting more goblins. The sharp winds tore through their bodies like blades, functioning like a meat grinder, leaving behind scattered remains everywhere.

Just this one spell directly eliminated over thirty goblins.

He really was strong!

Lin Mo looked somewhat enviously at that spell wreaking havoc everywhere.

This had to be an exceptional-grade skill, right?

This "Gale Landon" definitely had good reason for his formidable reputation.

Landon's magic acted like a signal, instantly sounding the adventurers' charge.

In an instant, the adventurers who had been holding back their anger all rushed out, swarming forward to kill those goblins.

Lin Mo remained calm.

He didn't use powerful skills like [Vanish] or [Accumulated Sword Combo] to vent his frustration. Instead, he put on his mithril gloves, unhurriedly extended his hand, and flames gathered in his palm, transforming into a fireball that flew forward.

The fireball accurately hit its target, instantly eliminating two goblins close together.

Landon was immediately startled.

He remembered this team only had one mage—himself.

Following the direction the fireball flew from, he saw Lin Mo gather another fireball and hurl it at the goblins before him.

His attire clearly indicated a warrior, and during self-introductions he said he was a professional-level warrior. Who would have thought he could also use magic?

And his level wasn't low either—probably not far from professional level. Dıscover more novels at novel※fire.net

But after his surprise, he continued throwing himself into the battle.

Lin Mo's guess was correct—attacking the mountain pass was just a feint. The number of goblins coming here was clearly greater!

After the initial venting of frustration, Landon stopped wasting magical power extravagantly and began more conservatively using ordinary-grade spells.

His magical power was strong—a simple wind blade could slice through several goblins' heads.

Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry here, leisurely using the goblin horde to accumulate his fireball proficiency.

Because the goblin numbers were sufficient and distributed densely enough, the efficiency was quite high. Each fireball guaranteed at least two goblin kills; sometimes with good luck, he could even take out three!

[Fireball] proficiency +2

[Fireball] proficiency +3

Lin Mo's current magic attribute had reached 7 points. Ordinary fireballs didn't consume much for him. One after another, his skill proficiency climbed steadily.

In a short while, it had increased by 48 proficiency points.

Fireball's progress reached Lv4 (94/100)

Only 6 more proficiency points needed to level up!

However, continuously casting so many spells was manageable magic-wise, but Lin Mo's spirit was somewhat struggling to bear it. He felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Gritting his teeth—only this little bit left—push through!

So enduring that uncomfortable feeling, he released another fireball, accurately hitting two goblins.

[Fireball] proficiency +2

Lin Mo conjured another fireball, feeling his vision go black for a few seconds before recovering and hurling the fireball at the goblins.

This fireball happened to hit a goblin that had been tripped by its companion in the chaos. Several nearby goblins suffered as well—four were killed at once.

[Fireball] proficiency +4

The moment he saw the prompt, Lin Mo's eyes immediately cleared, that groggy feeling dissipating by more than half.

"Skill [Fireball] Lv4 (100/100) leveled up!"

"Current skill [Fireball] Lv5 (Max)"

Gained attributes: Magic +1, Spirit +1

Automatically evolved into new skill—[Explosive Fireball]

Comprehended new skill [Explosive Fireball], Magic +2

[Explosive Fireball] Lv1 (0/10): Gather and compress fire elements to create an "Explosive Fireball." Upon impact, it explodes, dealing damage to enemies within a nearby area.

Simply put, it was an upgraded version of fireball with greater power that would explode and affect a certain area upon impact.

The move itself was relatively ordinary, but its actual power and effects should be quite considerable.

Merely increasing spirit by 1 point couldn't have restored Lin Mo's mental state so much from being near its limit.

The main reason he suddenly felt better was that he had advanced!

That's right—the 1 point of magic from [Fireball] reaching max level, plus the 2 points of magic from [Explosive Fireball], added up to exactly 3 points, bringing his original 7 points of magic exactly to 10 points.

Combined with [Fireball] reaching max level, he directly met the requirements for advancing to a professional mage!

"Promotion conditions met. Obtained profession—Mage (lv1)"

"Gained profession attribute bonuses: Agility +1, Magic +4, Spirit +1!"

"Gained profession skill—Mage Heart!"

This was Lin Mo's fourth profession. At this point, he already held four professions simultaneously!

Lin Mo eagerly checked Mage Heart's effects.

[Mage Heart]: The mysteries of elements begin here; the glory of spells shines upon you!

Skill effect: Magic recovery speed increased by 10%, mental load from casting spells reduced by 10%

Although there were no very direct boosts, it provided some improvement for the mage's two biggest pain points—lack of mana and mental load.

Lin Mo's face showed delight, and he eagerly released his newly acquired skill—[Explosive Fireball].

He saw a massive amount of fire elements quickly gather and compress in his hand, transforming into a fireball similar in size to the regular fireball but with a deeper color.

Outwardly, without careful observation, there wasn't much difference.

But like [Lightning Strike], it actually consumed 4 times the magic.

So, what about the effects?

Lin Mo aimed at a densely packed area of goblins and launched the [Explosive Fireball] from his hand.

The [Explosive Fireball] accurately hit one goblin, along with an unlucky companion nearby, directly burning them beyond recognition, killing them on the spot.

But this skill clearly didn't stop there...

The next moment, a roaring explosion sounded. The [Explosive Fireball] exploded like a grenade, blazing flames spreading out, affecting about ten nearby goblins.

Several died directly in the explosion. The remaining goblins slightly farther away were also engulfed in flames, burning all over, screaming continuously. Within seconds, they too fell silent.

[Explosive Fireball] proficiency +12

"Skill [Explosive Fireball] Lv1 (10/10) leveled up!"

"Current skill [Explosive Fireball] Lv2 (2/20)"

Even Lin Mo himself, the perpetrator, was shocked.

One spell directly eliminated 12 goblins. With this power, even sub-adult mutated goblins could probably be instantly killed.

Even adult mutated goblins would have more than they could handle.

On one hand, this was of course due to the spell's own powerful strength; on the other hand, his mithril gloves and Lin Mo's 25% fire element affinity were also taking effect, greatly enhancing the spell's effects.

Of course, such a powerful spell came with quite unappealing consumption and mental load.

Although Lin Mo just gained 2 spirit points, he couldn't withstand such consumption. To prevent his fatigued spirit from affecting subsequent battles, he decided to temporarily not use this new spell for now.

But he could probably use ordinary-grade spells a few more times...

Lin Mo turned his gaze toward a spell he hadn't used since learning it—[Earthen Shield].

He had a peculiar idea that could be tested out right now.