novelraw Chapter 207: Lady Shachel’s Supply Gift—A Future Dragon Knight?
Chapter 207: Lady Shachel’s Supply Gift—A Future Dragon Knight?
Chapter 207: Lady Shachel’s Supply Gift—A Future Dragon Knight?
Since the decision had been made, the plan to support Lania City quickly entered intensive preparation.
Unlike conventional city defense battles, their primary objective this time was to protect civilians, with the secondary goal being to eliminate and drive back as many goblins attacking Lania City as possible, then thoroughly settle accounts for the Lawrence Family's long-standing misdeeds.
Therefore, whether guards or adventurers like Lin Mo going to assist, their initial target wasn't Lania City's main city, but the surrounding villages and towns more vulnerable to goblin attacks.
With the Lawrence Family concentrating most of their forces in the main city, it was predictable that surrounding villages and towns would suffer heavier losses due to lack of defenders.
Hence, their support speed needed to be fast.
The guards had prepared in advance and were already ready to depart early the next morning.
However, adventurers might need more time for assembly.
Moreover, there might not be as many adventurers accepting this mission. After all, unlike defending Silverstream City, Lania City wasn't these adventurers' usual activity area - its goblin invasion wouldn't affect their personal interests. Plus, everyone had just been through a war, many wanted to rest for a while, Lania City was distant, and going to the battlefield carried considerable risk...
Even the Adventurers' Association, while still posting missions, wouldn't offer rewards as generous as during the previous city defense battle.
For these various reasons, the adventurer faction likely wouldn't become the main force in this operation.
Therefore, in the planned arrangements, the area assigned to adventurers wasn't large.
But it coincidentally included a place Lin Mo cared about - Roland Town.
Where everything began, the place where he first arrived.
Lin Mo had many unforgettable memories in Roland Town - Edgar the blacksmith who had invested in him, and his initial adventurer companions Bern, Evan, and Miriam.
Were they still doing well?
To be honest, Lin Mo was somewhat worried...
So early the next morning, he hurried to the City Lord's Mansion.
Sherfilia and Ellie followed behind him. Because they were setting out today, they hadn't practiced the 【Joint Cultivation】skill last night.
Sherfilia's desire to explore Lin Mo's ability through practice had to be temporarily set aside.
It was still early. When they arrived at Finnie's room, the girl was still curled up under the covers, wearing pink pajamas with a cute sleeping cap on her head, looking as soft and dazed as a little lamb.
"Young Mistress, it's time to wake up."
Sherfilia stood by the bedside, gently reminding her.
"Mmm... okay~"
Finnie did respond, opening her eyes a slit and answering.
But then she immediately pulled the covers up, covering half her face.
Sherfilia was used to this, though unlike usual, she didn't continue urging, instead saying calmly: "Master... Mr. Lin Mo is also waiting for you."
"Hmm~ Mr. Lin Mo... hehe~"
Hearing that name, the half-asleep Finnie suddenly giggled foolishly: "Mr. Lin Mo... want... want hugs..."
"......"
Lin Mo standing beside them immediately felt somewhat awkward. Although he'd seen Finnie's dazed state after waking up before, that was in the wilderness during their adventures - probably the girl had been somewhat consciously restraining herself then?
Fortunately, Finnie's bright mind finally processed what Sherfilia meant. She shuddered all over, opened her eyes wide, her gaze becoming clear.
Then she somewhat stiffly turned her head, just meeting Lin Mo's gaze.
The next second, like a boiling kettle, steam seemed to erupt from Finnie's head as her entire face including her ears turned bright red.
"Sorry, I... I'll get up right away..."
Lin Mo smiled and nodded, walking out of the room with Ellie.
Surprisingly, Sherfilia's eyes held a hint of amusement - the Young Mistress who usually needed her help to properly dress after waking up was now demonstrating astonishing speed changing clothes.
When they left the room, Finnie had already returned to her usual church sister appearance.
She wore a large white hat with the brim pulled low, covering half her face - clearly still embarrassed.
Adorably so.
Lin Mo gently placed his hand on her head, patting it through the hat.
Finnie's toes lightly gripped the ground, somewhat nervous, but soon relaxed with Lin Mo's action, subtly moving two steps closer to him.
"Let's go, time to depart."
But this wasn't the time for emotional exchanges. Lin Mo quickly became serious, leading everyone out of the City Lord's Mansion.
He hadn't forgotten what Madam Shachel said yesterday, so before heading to the city gate to take the carriage, he first went to Adventurer Street, to Madam Shachel's alchemy shop.
Pushing the door open, a clear bell rang.
Madam Shachel was dressed particularly elegantly today, as if attending some banquet, having even carefully styled her hair and wearing perfume.
"Here you are?"
She still sat in that reclining chair, nodding to Lin Mo as he entered, her gaze then falling on Finnie behind him, revealing a satisfied smile.
"Long time no see, Finnie."
"Um... Good morning, Aunt Shachel."
Finnie hid behind Lin Mo, greeting her somewhat stiffly as if they weren't familiar.
"Here, these are specially prepared for you."
Madam Shachel didn't waste words, directly pulling out a large package from under the counter, gesturing for Lin Mo to take it.
Lin Mo stepped forward and opened the package for a look, then exclaimed: "This much?"
No wonder he was surprised - the package contained a full hundred Primary Mana Potions! Just these potions alone were worth 2500 gold coins!
Moreover, there were many Intermediate Mana Potions. These cost 150 gold coins per bottle, with about 20 bottles in the package - another 3000 gold coins.
The total value of potions in that package exceeded 5500 gold coins!
"This... are you really giving these to us directly? This isn't appropriate..."
Lin Mo said this while already holding the package in his hands.
"Appropriate or not, you've already taken it, haven't you?"
Shachel rolled her eyes, "Earlier Beixi told me to prepare more potions, but the city defense battle went more smoothly than expected. I heard you contributed to that. Most remaining potions went to the city guard. These left with me aren't useful, so I'll give them to you... If you feel bad, have Finnie call me sister?"
So this was the catch.
Lin Mo shook his head somewhat helplessly. Actually, this Madam Shachel was quite good-hearted, having given him considerable help - quite a warm and friendly elder. She just seemed overly fond of Finnie, sometimes acting like a weird "uncle."
Sure enough, Finnie looked somewhat frightened again, subconsciously grabbing Lin Mo's clothes.
But looking at the package in Lin Mo's hands, she pursed her lips and said softly: "Thank you, Sister Shachel."
Shachel immediately looked up to the sky, sighing deeply with a expression of having no regrets even in death.
"Then we'll take our leave..."
Lin Mo estimated she might act even crazier if they stayed longer, quickly bidding farewell and leaving with Finnie.
On the way to the City Lord's Mansion, Lin Mo distributed the mana potions Madam Shachel had given.
Actually, only he and Finnie could use them - Sherfilia and Ellie were physical-based professions, so they'd be useless for them.
A total of 100 Primary Mana Potions and 20 Intermediate Mana Potions. While fairness suggested splitting equally, Lin Mo and Finnie had different levels, hence different mana potion needs.
After discussing with Finnie, Lin Mo gave her 30 Primary Mana Potions and 7 Intermediate Mana Potions.
The rest he kept for himself, directly storing them in his Spatial Ring.
It had to be said, since getting this storage ring, many troublesome aspects of adventuring had become much easier.
Finnie didn't need to worry either - she also had a storage bag. While its portability and space were inferior to Lin Mo's Spatial Ring, it was sufficient.
At the Adventurers' Association, Lin Mo had already notified Chairman Vic in advance. After Lena started work today, she would directly enter their team's information into this mission's task list, accepting the mission for them.
This saved the trouble of personally going there.
Of course, they weren't the only team going to support Lania City. When Lin Mo notified Chairman Vic, he also mentioned two other teams.
Indeed, precisely Landon's Azure Orchid Team, and the Raging Bull Team that came with him originally.
"Oh, they're here, they're here..."
When the group reached the city gate, the Azure Orchid Team members were already waiting for them.
Seeing them approach, Huck immediately waved toward them, with Solan from the Raging Bull Team also present.
Landon and Alden also smiled and greeted them: "The carriages are already prepared, you can board directly."
Lin Mo nodded, leading the three onto the carriage.
The vehicles passed through the city gate, following the main road straight toward Roland Town.
They had traveled this road to reach Silverstream City. Though it didn't seem that long ago, it felt like ages had passed.
Perhaps because they experienced too much in Silverstream City. Beyond that, the improvement and changes in strength were earth-shaking.
The Bloodsea Gang that once worried me had long become roadkill, with even the Bloodsea Gang leader captured by me incidentally during some unimportant minor mission long ago.
And that arrogant Lawrence Family would soon meet their end.
Thinking this, his anticipation grew stronger.
The journey, as expected, proceeded very smoothly.
After all, the goblins had concentrated almost all their forces on Lania City, and due to the recent goblin rampage, the ecological environment in Roland Forest was severely damaged, greatly reducing monster numbers.
Only when approaching Roland Town's territory did they finally encounter their first roadblock.
Surprisingly, the blockers weren't monsters or goblins, but a group of bandits.
These guys were ambushed here, clearly intending to rob refugees from Roland Town and surrounding villages. Unexpectedly, someone came from the other direction - three luxurious-looking carriages no less, leaving them dumbfounded.
"Boss, look, these carriages are so beautiful!"
"How much would carriages like these be worth? How rich must the people inside be?"
"Yeah yeah, if we rob them..."
"Smack—! Smack—!"
The leader directly slapped these two subordinates.
"Are your brains filled with sewage? The people in carriages like these - could they be ordinary folks?"
Though he sought to profit from the "war," he knew his limits well.
Rob ordinary people fine, but provoke real tough customers? They wouldn't even know how they died.
He hurriedly had his underlings put away their weapons, then saw a carriage curtain lift, spotting two stunningly beautiful women and a half-orc inside.
Besides them was the young man who lifted the curtain.
He looked really young, probably under 20, but his clothes were clearly extremely luxurious.
"Gentlemen, is there something?"
Lin Mo squinted, looking at these bandits who had set traps and barriers on the road.
"No, nothing..."
The leader immediately waved his hands repeatedly: "Young Master, it's all a misunderstanding! My brothers and I just arrived, saw someone left these things here without public morals, and were preparing to remove them!"
He said this so convincingly it almost seemed true.
If Lin Mo hadn't used his 【Eagle Eye】skill early, seeing their fierce expressions and subsequent change, he might not have been 100% certain they were villains.
"In that case, continue removing them quickly."
Lin Mo glanced at him indifferently, not rushing to act.
"This..."
The leader's expression stiffened - they had just set these traps and barriers.
But the current situation left no room for hesitation, so he could only have his men work diligently.
Removal is always easier than construction. Soon, the road was cleared.
"Young Master, see, we've cleared it for you. You can pass directly..."
The bandit leader nodded and bowed.
"Hmm."
Lin Mo nodded satisfactorily: "Well done."
The bandit visibly relaxed: "Your satisfaction is enough."
It seemed this hurdle was passed.
Yet the next second, Lin Mo suddenly changed tone: "Since the work is done, keeping you serves no purpose."
The man was shocked, wanting to say something, but when he looked up, he saw a flash of lightning.
The lightning instantly pierced through his skull, leaving a large bloody hole in his forehead.
The bandit leader fell powerless to the ground with a stunned expression.
The remaining bandits panicked, trying to scatter and flee.
But Lin Mo simply raised a hand, a 【Spiral Wind Vortex】flying out, sucking them all in. The sharp winds immediately shredded them to pieces.
People who harm their own kind during crises are even more despicable than external enemies - of course they couldn't be spared.
Surprisingly, killing these bandits actually increased his skill proficiency considerably.
【Lightning Strike】proficiency +1
【Spiral Wind Vortex】proficiency +9
But thinking carefully, this made sense. These were both excellent-grade skills without proficiency decay, and these bandits, while not powerful, were easily comparable to ordinary goblins compared to normal adult humans.
"Time is late, let's continue."
Lin Mo checked the sky - probably around 4-5 PM.
If they hurried slightly, they might reach their first destination before sunset today.
Previously, traveling from Roland Town to Silverstream City took over two days, but that was with many people including Alden's family, and using very ordinary carriages, so naturally slower.
But this time was different - their carriages were specially provided by Silverstream City, pulled not by ordinary horses but a domesticated monster - Gale Steeds.
Including their previous trips to battlefields or the mithril mine, they rode carriages pulled by these monsters.
Gale Steeds were agility-specialized monsters. Their combat power was weak compared to same-level monsters, but exceptionally fast with decent stamina, hence domesticated for pulling carriages.
Of course, their speed was much slower than Lin Mo and Sherfilia's, but for long journeys, carriages were more comfortable, conserving energy. The team included professions like Finnie and Ellie with lower agility, for whom Gale Steed speed was quite good.
But if possible, Lin Mo wanted a faster mount...
Preferably matching or exceeding his speed, even better if more handsome.
Like tigers, lions, or even dragons.
Having come to a fantasy world, how could he not dream of being a dragon rider?
Imagine riding a majestic dragon, overlooking enemies below - just the aura would provide overwhelming advantage.
But for now, dragon riding remained too distant.
The dragon race was among the continent's most powerful races. Even monsters with trace dragon blood started at high Lord Level.
Dragons themselves reached at least upper Epic Level upon adulthood, equivalent to top-tier Heroic Realm human experts.
Normally, if human Heroic Realm experts clashed with dragons of same level, victory chance was almost 0.
Dragon bloodlines were too powerful, with many racial "traits," "talents," and "blessings."
Compared to ordinary monsters and professionals, dragons had almost no attribute weaknesses.
Strength powerful, constitution robust, agility somewhat inferior to the former two but still strong, with some dragon races having special speed blessings.
Just their powerful bodies made them nearly invincible against same-level opponents, with very few races able to confront them directly.
Moreover, dragons all mastered magical power, each type excelling differently, hence classified as ice dragons, fire dragons, earth dragons, etc.
If anything, spirit attribute was relatively weaker for dragons.
But only relatively weaker.
To illustrate dragon power, just look at Lin Mo's current weapon.
A single scale from an underage dragon could become material for Epic-tier weapons!
And this Frost Dragon Scale Sword's effects were extremely powerful.
But according to Lin Mo's growth curve, continuing to level up would essentially make him a human-shaped dragon, perhaps even surpassing them!
Dragons didn't have six profession stacking bonuses.
As he leveled up further, accumulating more profession bonuses, even against dragons of same level, Lin Mo confidently believed he could defeat them relatively easily.
When stronger later, he must try being a dragon rider...
Amid Lin Mo's various imaginings, the carriage continued at top speed.
As Lin Mo predicted, as evening glow first shone upon them, they reached a village within Roland Town's territory.
This village was Falling Leaves Village, which Lin Mo had previously supported.
Back then, Falling Leaves Village suffered severe goblin disasters - Lin Mo's first encounter with a Goblin Spellcaster.
The Village Chief had commissioned him with a spell scroll as reward to rescue girls captured by goblins.
Lin Mo remembered this quite clearly.
The carriage stopped about three-four kilometers from Falling Leaves Village.
After securing the vehicles, everyone hurried toward the village.
As expected, the Falling Leaves Village before them was in complete disarray.
Over half the houses destroyed, roads in chaos - clearly reduced to ruins.
Fortunately, not much blood or many corpses were visible, suggesting many villagers had evacuated early.
The question was - where were the goblins?
Walking through the ruin-like village with confusion, soon a green-skinned shorty figure suddenly appeared before the group.