Chapter 458 - 228: Advancing Again, New Skill: Meteor Sting
Chapter 458: Chapter 228: Advancing Again, New Skill: Meteor Sting
After dealing with that batch of Goblins, the party continued to search within Zone 8.
The afternoon sun filtered through the canopy, casting dappled, swaying spots of light upon the ground.
The party’s Assassin, Lin Mo, and Shefilya naturally shouldered the primary scouting duties.
Shefilya kept to the treetops, observing the surroundings, while Lin Mo directly used his Shadow Splitting Skill to create a Clone and search the area.
While adventuring, especially in high-risk areas, it’s a cardinal sin for party members to split up to search.
Doing so could easily lead to casualties and cause irreparable losses.
However, if the party members all stayed together, their scouting range would be limited, and their efficiency would inevitably drop.
Lin Mo’s Shadow Splitting Skill, however, perfectly solved this problem.
It allowed him to scout boldly without worrying about potential losses. The Shadow Splitting Skill was incredibly versatile; the Clone itself had decent Combat Power, and Lin Mo could swap places with it at any time.
If there was any drawback, it was that he only had one Clone.
Lately, whenever Lin Mo used his Shadow Splitting Skill, he couldn’t help but think, ’Wouldn’t it be amazing to have one, or even several more, of these powerful, useful Clones?’
However, as things stood, raising the Shadow Splitting Skill’s Skill Level only increased the percentage of his own Attributes the Clone inherited. Even when it reached a level that offered a choice of Evolutionary Direction, it wouldn’t increase the number of Shadow Clones.
’Maybe I’ll have to wait for the Skill to evolve again?’
’But that seems so far away...’
Besides Lin Mo and Shefilya, Little Wolf Girl Ali was also doing her part. Her sense of smell was exceptionally keen, and she was constantly sniffing the air, searching for the Goblins’ unique stench.
Compared to other Adventurer Squads, their party’s scouting methods were quite diverse. And since Zone 8 was Goblin territory to begin with, it wasn’t long before they had a lead.
The "Lin Mo" clone moved through the forest. Back with the main body, the Eagle Eye Skill was constantly active, which also enhanced the Clone’s vision.
The clear, broad field of vision was obstructed by the dense forest and couldn’t be used to its full potential. Even so, he could still spot many details that would normally be impossible to notice.
The veins on the leaves, the borer holes in the bark—all came into clear view...
And so, the traces of Goblin activity naturally couldn’t escape the clone’s eyes.
He suddenly stopped, squatting down to pinch a bit of soil between his fingers.
Ordinary Goblins often didn’t leave any tracks when passing through the forest, but Mutated Goblins—and especially Giant Goblins—were a different story.
When these larger Goblins crossed soft soil, their footsteps tended to compact the earth.
Continuing forward, he reached a patch of dense grass that bore clear signs of being trampled.
Using the dense forest for cover, the clone followed the tracks and soon spotted a troop of marching Goblins.
Unlike the previous batch, this group of Goblins was significantly larger.
Their numbers had nearly doubled to over two hundred, and their composition was much stronger.
The clone observed them carefully.
Within the dense, dark green mass, only about half were Ordinary Goblins. Of the remainder, there were over thirty towering Mutated Goblins, both sub-adults and full adults.
In addition, there were more than thirty Goblin Guards clad in simple Leather Armor and wielding clearly superior weapons.
Beyond that, the clone also spotted around ten Quasi-Bronze Level Goblins and three Bronze Level Goblins.
The most eye-catching one, of course, was an exceptionally enormous figure.
It was a head and shoulders taller than even the Mutated Goblins—a Giant Goblin standing well over three meters tall!
This group of Goblins didn’t appear to be carrying any food, so they weren’t a foraging party. They were most likely a patrol unit from the local Goblin Tribe.
In other words, they were the Goblins’ "regular army."
’Interesting...’
Lin Mo immediately relayed the location to the others. At the same time, before his Shadow Splitting Skill’s duration ran out, he instantly swapped places with his Clone.
He didn’t need any preparation or to use Gathering Strength, nor did he intend to take out the big one right away—Lin Mo was afraid that if the Giant Goblin died first, the rest would scatter, making them difficult to hunt down.
Lin Mo leaped down from a tree branch, his body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, aimed directly at the most densely packed area of the Goblin formation!
The sound of him whistling through the air caught the Giant Goblin’s attention. It turned its head and spotted Lin Mo’s figure.
It instantly let out a massive roar to warn its kin.
But it was too late.
Shrouded in crimson Qi and Blood, Lin Mo crossed several dozen meters in an instant, crashing down like a scarlet meteor.
Furious Jump Slash
BOOM—!
The moment he landed, a violent shockwave radiated out from him. A large crater was blasted into the ground, and countless cracks spread out like a spiderweb.
The Goblins closest to him didn’t even have time to scream before the terrifying shockwave shattered their bodies. They were sent flying like cannonballs, smashing into the Goblins further away and rupturing their internal organs.