Clash

"Pssh—"

A crisp sound dissolved into the cadence of the wind.

The man's mouth hung wide open, but he could no longer speak. Air passed through his pierced throat, producing faint, broken "Hah—hah—" sounds.

Lin Mo gently supported his body, letting him lean against his chest like a lover, before slowly laying him flat on the ground.

Stealth proficiency +1

"Skill Stealth Lv1 (10/10) leveled up!"

"Current skill: Stealth Lv2 (0/20)"

That was right—Lin Mo's luck was pretty good. He had happened to run into three Goblins on the way.

Using a warm-up as an excuse, he had asked the party members to leave those Goblins to him, earning 3 proficiency points for both skills.

Including the one he had just taken down, his Stealth skill had risen to Lv2.

Stealth Lv2 (0/20): Having become adept at slacking off, you have begun to learn how to reduce your presence in any situation. After remaining out of the enemy's sight for a period of time, you can enter Stealth. While in Stealth, you will not be the enemy's primary target, reducing the risk of being discovered. Attacking while in Stealth will break Stealth and grant your next attack a 6% physical damage bonus.

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

It did not look like much, but anyone who had played games knew that bonus damage and multipliers were calculated multiplicatively.

Percentage increases, when paired with skills like Slash, often produced greater results.

And it was not merely a matter of numbers. The effect of Stealth seemed to have improved to some extent as well, meaning the chance of being discovered by enemies had decreased. For a utility skill like Stealth, that was what mattered most.

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

Even an experienced adventurer like Bern could not help breaking out in a cold sweat.

Putting himself in Lin Mo's shoes, if Lin Mo had ambushed him just now, he might not have been able to react in time either.

That was precisely the value of an Assassin: weak frontal combat ability in exchange for venomous, underhanded ambushes—killing in a single blow!

But the problem was, had this kid not looked like a warrior yesterday?

Bern felt like he understood a little better why Lin Mo had asked whether someone could hold two professions at once.

No matter what, the tactics they had discussed on the road had worked. It was a good start.

One had been dealt with. Five remained.

"Prepare for battle!"

He gripped his sword and shield tightly and gave a quiet reminder.

Evan held his sword in both hands, ready to charge at any moment. Miriam nocked an arrow, ready to draw her bow to its fullest.

Meanwhile, inside the captain's camp.

"It's been over a minute already, hasn't it? Does taking a piss really take that long?"

"Who knows? Maybe he likes to dawdle?"

"He's not a woman. No matter how much he dawdles, it shouldn't take this long."

Pat frowned slightly, a faint sense of unease rising within him.

He stood up and walked toward the tent entrance.

One step, two steps, three steps...

The instant he reached the tent flap, a faint scent of blood entered his sensitive nostrils. In the next moment, his pupils contracted, and he raised his dagger.

"Clang—!"

With a crisp ring, he knocked aside a Feathered Arrow, which sank into the mud at his feet.

"Enemy attack!"

At once, everyone reacted. They grabbed their weapons and rushed out of the tents.

The moment they emerged, Miriam drew her bowstring again and fired an arrow straight at the center.

"Heh, childish tricks."

Their captain stood among them. He sneered, not even bothering to draw his sword. Reaching out directly, he caught the arrow barehanded and snapped it in two with a squeeze.

"Courting death!"

The Ranger standing behind the captain seemed to take offense. He swiftly drew an arrow from his quiver and returned fire.

Bern stood in front of Miriam and blocked the arrow with his shield, his expression grave as he looked at the burly man standing in the middle.

He felt immense pressure from that man.

Even if he was not yet a professional, he could not be far from becoming one.

"You two, be extremely careful."

What he meant was that he likely would not have the spare attention to look after them.

"It's them!"

At the same time, Melo, the warrior wielding a rapier, recognized them as well. Pointing ahead, he cried out, "These are the ones who took out Noss and the others!"

"I didn't expect them to really dare come."

Pat tossed his dagger into the air, then caught it in a reverse grip. He glanced at his companion's corpse not far away. "So, where's the one who killed Master Taine?"

Melo looked around. "He doesn't seem to be here... No, he's hiding himself!"

"Interesting..."

Pat smiled faintly. "Captain, leave this hidden guy to me. No problem, right?"

"Do as you like."

The captain merely glanced at him and had no intention of stopping him.

Taine was indeed his teacher, and the other party had killed Taine. But Taine was old now; his physical abilities had declined somewhat, and he was no longer as strong as he had been in his youth. Pat, on the other hand, had improved more and more rapidly with age. About half a year ago, he had already surpassed his teacher. As for now, he was naturally even stronger.

He had also found his own target.

"That guy who looks like a Knight seems to have some skill. I'll go test him."

With that, he charged forward.

"To make the captain get serious, it looks like the other side has some real ability."

The Ranger stroked his chin and spoke with interest.

"Only those two. The other two look pretty weak."

"That's right."

Melo picked up the thread. "Those two aren't very strong. You could even call them rookies."

"Boring..."

The Ranger shook his head. "Let's end this quickly."

As they spoke, the captain had already clashed head-on with Bern.

The instant sword and shield collided, Bern's expression changed drastically, and he could not stop himself from staggering back two steps.

The other man was even stronger than he had expected!

If he had bragged that he was a Level 0.8 professional, then this "captain" before him was undoubtedly above him—a Level 0.9, closer to becoming a professional.

This was troublesome...

Evan and Miriam were still too young. Miriam especially was practically a newcomer. If they fought one-on-one or two-on-two, they probably would not last long.

Though he would not lose in the short term, he could see no hope of winning either.

They could only rely on Lin Mo!

Other than trusting him, there was no other choice now.

He gritted his teeth, cast aside those distracting thoughts, and faced his opponent with all his strength.

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

"Where exactly are you hiding?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, his entire body taut as he prepared to meet the other party's attack at any moment.

He was not a warrior lacking in agility. As an Assassin himself, he was fully confident that he could react in time, defuse the other party's ambush, and even counterattack...

However, just as he grew more excited and prepared for a fierce fight—

"Ah!"

A brief cry suddenly came from behind him.