"Really?"

A look of delighted surprise appeared on Alton’s face as he turned to him.

Carson replied with a serious expression, "You know me, Captain. I never joke around."

Especially not in a situation this dire.

Alton halted his planned retreat and turned back, glancing into the distance as he continued to cut down Goblins.

And just as Carson said, the Goblin Army gradually began to lose its earlier, orderly formation.

In fact, the very idea that low-intelligence creatures like Goblins could form such neat ranks was ridiculous. After all, even human armies needed long periods of practice and coordination to form proper battle lines.

It just went to show how exaggeratedly powerful the Goblin Caster’s command over its kin was—it was almost like "Spiritual Control."

Ali’s face also lit up with surprise. ’If the Goblins are falling into chaos, does that mean...’

Alton had thought of the same thing, a wry smile touching his lips.

’So he didn’t just go to scout. He went to solve the problem.’

"Bull Run Squad, keep fighting!"

He took a deep breath, his spirits renewed. "Drive back every last one of these damn green-skinned runts!"

The other Adventurer Squads did much the same. Aside from a few severely wounded members, everyone gritted their teeth and threw themselves back into the fight, even those on the verge of exhausting their Physical Strength.

After all, they could finally see a glimmer of hope for victory.

It was the most difficult, yet most motivating, moment since the battle began. The people of Falling Leaves Village heard the news from the Adventurers. The injured youths, all who could still move, ignored the village Pharmacist’s advice and took up their weapons to rejoin the battle.

Ali swung her aching arms and charged forward, as if hoping to see someone.

The more seriously injured Carson was in charge of observing the battle. He stood on one of the village buildings, looking into the distance.

The Goblins’ ranks grew more and more chaotic. Crowding and trampling began to occur on various scales. Many Goblins started to retreat, only to collide with their kin who, not knowing what was happening, were still charging headfirst into the fray...

If they could just hold on a little longer—not for long, maybe ten minutes or so—the chaotic Goblins would no longer be able to mount an effective offense.

Sometimes, great numbers weren’t necessarily a good thing. With a commander, they could form a massive Combat Power, but without one, they would devolve into an even bigger, messier pot of porridge.

And amidst this tangled mess of a scene, one area seemed particularly out of place.

Ali stared into the distance, her nose twitching constantly. Finally, a familiar, somewhat warm scent reached her nostrils.

’He’s back!’

The Little Wolf Girl excitedly wagged her tail and broke into a run, charging in that direction.

"Ali?"

Alton was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face as if he realized something.

Ali, whose Physical Strength had been on the verge of giving out, was suddenly filled with renewed energy. She sprinted several hundred meters in one go and finally saw that familiar figure.

—It was none other than a very frustrated Lin Mo.

He had thought that with so many Goblins, he’d be able to grind his Skills to his heart’s content.

But after trying it out, he discovered that once a Skill reached the Excellent Level, it no longer seemed to gain Skill Level for every single Goblin killed, as it had before.

He activated Invisibility to kill Goblins, and only after killing four in a row did his Skill Level finally increase by one point.

That wasn’t worth it at all... Excellence Level Skills consumed a lot of Qi and Blood, and Lin Mo didn’t have much Physical Strength left. He couldn’t train them at all.

As for Resilience, that was even more of a lost cause. He had only gained 5 points of Skill Level fighting those Mutated Goblins earlier, and these Ordinary Goblins had no effect at all.

Cross Slash also consumed too much Physical Strength. So, after some thought, he had no choice but to take out the Small Round Shield he had casually bought from Edgar and start practicing [Shield Strike].

This Skill, at least, he had managed to train to Level 3.

"Skill [Shield Strike] Level 2 (20/20) has leveled up!"

"Current Skill: [Shield Strike] Level 3 (15/40)"

Received attribute points: Constitution +1

Lin Mo’s base Constitution was now 16.

"Lin Mo—!"

Just as he was continuing to practice his Skills, Lin Mo suddenly heard a shout that grew closer and closer. He turned his head and saw a humanoid "helicopter" hurtling toward him.

She was constantly swinging the Sword in her hands, cutting down any Goblins that blocked her path.

A smile couldn’t help but appear on Lin Mo’s face as he also hurried over.

The Goblins in his path were like speed bumps, easily crushed underfoot.

The two of them drew closer and closer until they finally met.

The surrounding Goblins began to retreat en masse. Lin Mo and Ali exchanged a glance, nodded, and continued to fight for a while longer. However, Lin Mo didn’t have much Physical Strength left, so once the Goblins had completely routed, he stopped and didn’t give chase.

The crisis was over. The moment the battle ended, Ali moved close to Lin Mo and gave him a thorough sniff-down from top to bottom.

Aside from his own scent, all she smelled was the foul, bloody stench of filthy Goblins.

’Mm, he’s not injured...’

The tail behind Ali wagged so fast it was practically spinning. She didn’t look like a wolf at all; she looked more like an adorable puppy.

Lin Mo really wasn’t used to this kind of proximity. Especially when she crouched down, tilted her face up, and got close to his thigh, he almost... stood to attention.

He quickly tried to distract himself, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Alright... Ali, don’t worry. I’m not hurt..."

Lin Mo quickly helped her up. The little Wolf girl looked at him with a bewildered expression, her nose still twitching as if she hadn’t had enough.

’What in the world are you sniffing?!’

Lin Mo facepalmed. ’Young lady, do you have no sense of personal space at all?’

Lin Mo returned to his teammates with Ali in tow. Alton hadn’t seen the... indescribable scene from just now, but he could clearly sense the ambiguous atmosphere. He teased, "You’re finally back. You have no idea, with no word from you, Ali was about to cry from worry..."

Lin Mo glanced at the girl trailing behind him. Ali blinked, her face slightly flushed.

’So she does get embarrassed. She’s acting normal now.’

"What’s the situation?"

Carson leaped down from the roof, aggravating his wound. He winced in pain, but in order to maintain his cool demeanor, he didn’t make a sound.

Besides, he was wearing a mask; as long as he kept quiet, no one would notice.

"There was indeed a Goblin Caster, with a few Mutated Goblins by its side... Harlek was seriously injured by them, but he had a Life Potion. His injuries have stabilized, so he should be back soon."

"Then... the Goblin Caster..."

Alton couldn’t help but ask.

"I took care of it. But most of those Mutated Goblins got away."

"Hiss—!"

Lin Mo’s nonchalant reply was met with a series of sharp intakes of breath from those around him.

They were all veteran Adventurers. Even if they had never seen one, they had all heard how formidable a Goblin Caster was, not to mention one with so many bodyguards.

If they had encountered such a situation, they probably wouldn’t have even been able to escape. It would take several squads working together just to stand a chance.

But this guy?

He went in alone, took out their boss, and still wasn’t satisfied. He was even complaining that he didn’t kill enough.

’Is that something a human should be saying?’

Alton clapped him solemnly on the shoulder. ’My intuition was right. Lin Mo has gotten stronger again...’

He had noticed Lin Mo’s changes during those few days of sparring; after all, he had been the last sparring partner.

And when they set out this morning, Lin Mo’s aura was clearly different from how it was when they finished sparring yesterday.

As a Professional, Alton was familiar with this kind of change and knew that Lin Mo must have achieved some sort of breakthrough.

But the most terrifying part was that, compared to this morning, the current Lin Mo seemed... once again...

Alton didn’t dwell on it. His gaze merely shifted between Ali and Lin Mo as if he were pondering something.

The Goblins had completely retreated. The villagers had no time to celebrate; they hurried to move and care for the wounded under the direction of the medics.

The bodies of those who had unfortunately died had to be properly prepared and returned to their families for burial.

After overseeing everything, the village chief walked up to the group and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, you brave Adventurers!"

With tears in his eyes, the elderly village chief lamented, "We pleaded with the Lord in town for aid more than once, but no rescue ever came. If it weren’t for you..."

Alton helped the old man up. "The Association posted a quest, and we accepted it. We only did what we were supposed to."

"No, it’s not like that..."

The old village chief shook his head repeatedly. Though he was at a loss for words and didn’t continue, the look on his face said it all.

Ordinary adventurers would indeed be unlikely to take such huge risks and persevere for so long.

"Get some rest for now, Village Chief. We can talk about everything else tomorrow."

Pain said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We should rest, too."

"Yes, of course. I’ll arrange a place for you to rest right away..."

Although many of the village’s buildings had been destroyed by the Goblins, thanks to the adventurers’ timely arrival and the villagers’ swift counterattack, nearly half of the village remained intact.

The Adventurers were given the best houses in the village to rest in. Herrick, who had been injured earlier, also returned safely with the young women.

A crisis had been averted... or had it?

Lin Mo lay on the relatively soft bed. They had successfully defended Falling Leaves Village, the quest was complete, and his own strength had increased significantly once again. But for some reason, he still had a bad feeling.

’Is it just my imagination...?’

The day’s exhaustion quickly made Lin Mo’s eyelids heavy. His consciousness grew hazy, and before he knew it, he had closed his eyes and fallen into a deep sleep.

Because he was overworked and sleeping in a house in the village rather than out in the wild, he slept very soundly.

So soundly that he didn’t even notice when, in the middle of the night, a drowsy figure rubbed their sleepy eyes, followed their twitching nose into the room, and plopped down on the bed beside him.