Chapter 344 - 194: Epic Skill: Phantom Sword Dance
Chapter 344: Chapter 194: Epic Skill: Phantom Sword Dance
Although the Warrior Profession has relatively balanced Attributes, it ultimately prioritizes Strength. A Warrior’s Agility might not be very low, but you couldn’t call it high either.
So, in the hands of an average Warrior, while this skill was still quite powerful, it was difficult to reach its true potential.
But when Lin Mo saw this requirement, he couldn’t help but laugh.
’Agility Attribute? He had that in spades!’
Next, as was customary, came the choice for the skill’s Evolutionary Direction.
Please select an Evolutionary Direction—
Evolutionary Path 1: Sword Dance I: The maximum number of Sword Qi strikes is changed to 6 + Agility/14.
Evolutionary Path 2: Seeking Enemy I: The number of "Guaranteed Hit" Sword Qi strikes is adjusted to the final 3.
’What to make of this?’
Evolutionary Path 2, the "Seeking Enemy" effect, would improve the skill’s reliability to a certain degree. Meanwhile, Evolutionary Path 1 was a pure numbers boost, increasing the maximum number of Sword Qi strikes.
’One is a mechanical enhancement, while the other is a numerical boost...’
Ultimately, Lin Mo decided to choose Evolutionary Path 1.
The reasoning was simple. Sword Qi’s travel speed was tied to Agility. For an average Warrior with insufficient Agility, their Sword Qi might not be fast enough, thus requiring "Guaranteed Hit" to improve their accuracy. But Lin Mo’s Agility Attribute was so high that he didn’t feel he really needed it.
’Taking the raw stat increase was much more practical.’
Besides, Lin Mo’s current total Agility Attribute was 84. With the original formula of 5 + Agility/15, that would be 5 + 5.6, for a total of 10.6. But you can’t have a fraction of a Sword Qi strike, so it would only be ten strikes.
But after the upgrade from Evolutionary Path 1’s "Sword Dance I," 84 divided by 14 was exactly 6. This meant Lin Mo could now unleash 6 + 6 = 12 Sword Qi strikes, an instant increase of two.
’What was there to even hesitate about?’
Lin Mo made his choice without a second thought and continued hurrying in the direction his Clone had vanished.
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While the battle for Silver Stream City raged on, something else was unfolding under the cover of darkness in Lania City.
"Haha, who’d have thought we’d stumble into such a windfall!"
"You’re telling me. After all the trouble we went through to ’gather’ them, we just had to stand by and watch them get sent to those hideous Goblins. Such a waste."
"SHH—! Keep your mouth shut! Messing around is one thing, but don’t you dare question the higher-ups’ decisions. Watch your head, or you might lose it."
"Right, right... Thanks for the reminder, man."
The man finally realized his blunder, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Alright, alright, today’s a happy day, so let’s not talk about that. Come on, we’re going to have some real fun tonight... Boys, take your pick of whichever one you fancy, but remember to save the prettiest ones. A few of the bosses might drop by later."
"You’re always the thoughtful one. With a mind like yours, you’ll be getting a promotion before you know it."
"Yeah, yeah! When that happens, don’t forget about us. Put in a good word for us, will ya?"
"Of course, of course..."
The praise was clearly going to his head. He waved his hand dismissively, already acting the part of a leader.
They entered the gang’s headquarters and followed a hidden passage down to a sealed basement.
Torches hung on the walls, and they hurried down the long passage, guided by the faint, flickering light.
At the thought of what was about to happen, every single one of them grew excited, their pace quickening considerably.
"I saw this batch of ’cargo’ earlier. The quality’s top-notch. I heard a few of them are even the daughters of fallen nobles."
"Really? In that case, I’ll have to have a ’taste’ for myself. Never thought I’d get to sample the flavor of nobility!"
Chattering amongst themselves, they arrived at a dimly lit dungeon.
Torches hung on the dungeon walls here as well, but they were kept outside the cells to prevent the prisoners from using them to take their own lives.
The gang member in the lead held up a torch, illuminating the space behind the iron bars.
Inside this cell, three or four young women were imprisoned. They were bound in heavy iron chains, their limbs shackled and spread-eagled.
And throughout the dungeon, there were dozens of such cells.
At the sight of these men, the young women’s bodies began to tremble uncontrollably. They couldn’t speak, however, as their mouths had also been gagged to prevent them from killing themselves.
"Heh heh..."
The gang members broke into sinister laughter. "Well, well, little beauties. You’re in luck. There’s been a slight change of plans. You don’t have to be sent to the Goblins’ nest anymore."
As his words fell, looks of surprise appeared in the eyes of many of the young women, quickly turning to joy and relief.
The man in the lead watched the expressions on their faces change, and the smile on his own face grew more twisted. "But what a shame. This doesn’t mean you’ve been saved. The higher-ups want us to dispose of all of you. But don’t you worry. Before that, we’ll let you all experience what it’s like to be a real woman."
"HAHAHA! That way, you can all die without any regrets, right?"
The crowd behind him joined in the laughter. Amid the rampant cackling, the flicker of hope that had just sparked in the young women’s eyes was once again swallowed by a shadow of despair.
"You should be thanking us! You get humans instead of Goblins. You won’t have to suffer for months giving birth to Goblin babies. Instead, you get a clean death. Compared to the ones who came before you, you’re really quite lucky."