âMr. Lin Mo⊠Mr. Lin MoâŠâ
Dawn was breaking.
Finnie, who had been on the last watch, woke Lin Mo. He sat up quickly and rubbed his slightly swollen temples.
Maybe because he had rested too comfortably these past few days, he now felt a bit unaccustomed to shorter sleep. It was only a small discomfort, though. After all, he was a properly qualified Knight with strong constitution; at worst he was slightly mentally fatigued, which had negligible effect.
Finnie and Ellie also looked a little worse for wear, but after a quick wash and a bite to eat to shake off the drowsiness, they returned to normal.
Lin Mo straightened up and looked at the map in his hands.
Todayâs target: the Minotaur settlement!
This was a relatively challenging assignment. Unlike the goblin settlement, the Minotaur settlement might not have as many monsters, but even so, the difficulty was far greater.
The reason was simple: the basic combat ability between the two monster types differs a lot.
Ordinary goblins are roadside pestsâamong the lowest-level monsters. Aside from bullying Slimes, theyâre basically bottom-tier.
But ordinary Minotaurs are at the professional level and comparable in strength to adult Mutated Goblins.
When Lin Mo first advanced to the Warrior profession, fighting Minotaurs had not been easy for him.
Inside the Minotaur settlement, besides regular Minotaurs, there were the more troublesome Minotaur Vanguards and the strongest, the Minotaur Chieftain.
If he hadnât known Finnie would be protected, Lin Mo would not have accepted this task.
Facing those monsters, he might still be able to handle himself, but he could not guarantee Finnieâs safety a hundred percent.
So on the way he repeatedly reminded them, âKeep your distance at all times. Donât let those monsters detect you if possible. Ellie, be carefulâif you canât win, retreat first. Donât worry about me.â
âOkay.â
Finnie nodded seriously, and Ellie replied the same.
The Minotaur settlement wasnât very far from where they had rested last nightâonly about two to three hoursâ travel.
Perhaps because this area was within the Minotaursâ claimed territory, they didnât encounter goblins on the road. They only met a few other low-level monsters, which became practice targets for Lin Moâs Fireball.
About five kilometers from the target, the Silver Radiance Team moved more cautiously, slowing their pace and advancing under grass cover.
At this distance, they could run into Minotaurs.
Sure enough, less than a kilometer ahead a well-built Minotaur carrying an axe appeared before them.
Lin Mo signaled the two to hold their positions, then activated Vanish and slipped behind the Minotaur.
Thrust!
He did not choose to use Accumulated Sword Combo; he simply finished the monster off with Thrust.
Partly to save energy for the upcoming battle, and partly because although Accumulated Sword Combo had reached level 4, it still had a long way before maxing and evolving. In contrast, with recent effort, Thrust was close to reaching normal-skill max level 5.
At times like this, it made sense to prioritize skills that could level up faster.
Besides, with Lin Moâs current strength, even a basic skill like Thrust could instantly kill a Minotaur.
Vanish proficiency +8
Thrust proficiency +8
As expected, a Minotaur granted the same proficiency as an adult Mutated Goblinâ8 points.
Lin Mo checked his proficiency panel: Thrust needed 53 more points to reach level 5.
On the way, they encountered four more Minotaurs, all taken out in the same manner, and Thrustâs proficiency climbed to (79/100).
And their objectiveâthe Minotaur settlementâwas now in sight.
Lin Mo peered ahead. A few hundred meters away, a crooked wooden fence enclosed a large area. Inside, many tall Minotaurs were active; by estimation there were more than ten!
There were no wooden huts like in the goblin settlementâperhaps because Minotaurs are larger, or maybe their intelligence isnât high enough.
Compared to other monsters, goblins are actually rather unique.
They are highly social, and although most individuals are dim-witted, a few mutated ones can be highly intelligentâon par with humans. Ordinary goblins show strong obedience to these rare individuals, which makes goblins particularly dangerous.
If one had to compare, their ecological role is a bit like orcs: not as innately strong, but far more numerous.
Minotaurs, meanwhile, do have some social grouping, but their collective intelligence and organization canât match goblins.
If they could coordinate like goblins, Lin Mo might not have taken this assignment at all.
According to the mission description, there was a level 2.5 threat Minotaur Chieftain in this settlement. Taking it down with a sneak attack and assassination would be hard at bestâat most you could heavily injure itâŠ
But even if the chieftain were seriously wounded, a head-on fight would still be very unfavorable for them.
Lin Mo thought about the Minotaurs theyâd killed on the road.
Although these Minotaurs formed settlements, they didnât operate under the kind of division of labor and command that high-level goblin individuals enforced. Each Minotaur remained fairly independent.
Those earlier Minotaurs had simply been out foraging, not patrolling.
So they could wait patiently.
Lin Mo told Finnie and Ellie his plan, and the three crouched in the grass like hunters lying in wait.
Sure enough, not long after some Minotaurs started leaving the clan, though not heading directly their way.
Finnie and Ellie tacitly stayed put. Lin Mo followed one at a distance. When that Minotaur had left the tribe and penetrated deeper into the forest, he dropped Vanish and slit its throat from behind.
The Minotaur gave a muffled bleat and collapsed without fully comprehending what happened.
Lin Mo hurried back and saw two or three more Minotaurs walking out.
Same methodâhe dispatched them one by one.
After this wave, his Vanish skill proficiency jumped to Lv5 (79/180)!
And Thrust, as heâd hoped, reached max level.
âSkill [Thrust] Lv4 (100/100) upgraded!â
âCurrent skill [Thrust] Lv5 (Max)â
âAttribute points gained: Strength +2!â
âAutomatically evolved into a new skillâConsecutive Thrusts!â
âLearned skill [Consecutive Thrusts]! Strength +2!â
That proficiency gain felt great.
Lin Mo grinned at his new skill.
[Consecutive Thrusts] Lv1 (0/10): After mastering Thrust, you gain new insight into the âthrustâ action. When using Thrust, you may immediately add one extra Thrust, dealing a slight interrupt effect to the enemy!
The evolution of Thrust is similar to Slash: both execute two attacks in sequence, though the descriptions differ slightly.
Consecutive Thrusts is an optional additional thrust. Lin Mo could cast Thrust, then suddenly append another Thrust while the enemy was unprepared, forming Consecutive Thrusts and catching them off guard.
Plus the skill had an extra effectâa slight interrupt.
Lin Mo wasnât sure how much âslight interruptâ would actually do, but any special effect was better than none.
Overall, he was quite satisfied with Consecutive Thrusts.
With Thrust maxed and Consecutive Thrusts learned, plus the dual strength increases, his base Strength reached 27. With profession bonuses that became 33!
Add the Black Swordâs +2 Strength and Finnieâs Lightâs Assistance providing +1, and that brought him to 36 Strengthâundeniably at or above the level of a level 3 Warrior!
Minotaur Chieftain, huh?
Lin Mo sneered inwardlyânow he had the confidence to take it down directly.
At that moment, the remaining Minotaurs in the settlement began to sense something was wrong.
The hunters who had left earlier should have been back by nowâwhy were they so late?
The Minotaur Chieftain, sitting in the center of the settlement, stood up as if to go check.
Lin Mo and Finnie exchanged glances. The girl nodded in understanding, and a flash of Holy Light granted him Lightâs Assistance.
Lin Mo then Vanished and headed straight for the Minotaur Chieftain.
Compared to ordinary Minotaurs, the chieftain was noticeably larger and more muscular, its skin darker than the others, its face painted with strange patterns using its preyâs bloodâclearly a dangerous, brutal leader.
Indeed, its confidence matched its strength. The chieftain wandered toward the forest with little guard, not expecting anything here to be bold enough to attack their settlement, nor thinking the other hunters had met troubleâonly that they were slow and had wasted time.
From its posture, it looked like it intended to scold them.
But just as it was about to step into the woodsâ
A barely perceptible breeze brushed his ear. The chieftain didnât have time to notice anything amiss before its vision suddenly ârolled.â
A massive head hit the ground, rolled a few times, and the chieftainâs wide eyes, at the last moment, caught sight of its own falling body. Blood gushed forth and it crumpled to the earth with a thunderous collapseâŠâŠ