Sword Steel, Buying Medicine

【Sword Steel】

[Effect: After your sword successfully deals effective damage to an enemy, it permanently enhances your base physical defense.]

(Note: This effect is different from physical attributes)

[Active Release: Unleash a massive sword aura; the size of the aura increases with your physical defense.]

Before Lin Mo could fully comprehend this sudden change...

Suddenly, everything brightened, and my consciousness returned to reality.

"call--!"

He exhaled a long breath of stale air, which carried a faint metallic smell.

Open your eyes.

The sight before him startled him.

The room was filled with a dense, almost tangible, black demonic aura.

They tumbled and surged, yet seemed confined within the room by an invisible barrier, not a single drop escaping outside.

Yin Xue had somehow transformed into a young girl.

She was opening her arms, and dark red magic flowed from her hands, forming a thin film.

These restless demonic energies were firmly imprisoned.

Beads of sweat were visible on her forehead, indicating that she was not maintaining a relaxed posture.

The source of this demonic energy was the black longsword that lay quietly beside him.

As Lin Mo's consciousness fully returned, the black sword finally stopped emitting demonic energy.

The swirling demonic energy in the room quickly faded and dissipated.

"Haa..."

Yin Xue breathed a sigh of relief, dissipated her magic, and shrunk back to the size of a palm, landing beside the bed.

She was covered in sweat, her red hair was plastered to her forehead, and her clothes were soaked.

She wiped her forehead and spoke, panting.

"What just happened? While you were absorbing the essence, this sword suddenly started releasing demonic energy like it had gone berserk! Luckily, I reacted quickly!"

Lin Mo frowned.

He recounted how the skill selection interface was covered by the Dark Sword Cry, and how [Thick Skin] was forcibly distorted and transformed into [Sword Steel].

After hearing this, Yin Xue's little face was full of surprise and uncertainty.

She flew to the black sword and cautiously used her senses to probe it.

He then looked at Lin Mo: "The skill was forcibly modified? Or perhaps it was oriented in a direction that better suits your fighting style... 'Sword Steel,' drawing defensive concepts by slaying enemies... This is practically a passive skill tailor-made for you and this sword!"

She analyzed it.

"Could it be that this sword also felt that the tortoise shell's skill was unworthy of you, so it forcibly intervened and modified it?"

Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat: "If that's really the case, doesn't that mean I don't need to worry about skills anymore when I absorb the essence, since this sword might help me correct them anyway?"

"Don't get too excited!"

Yin Xue immediately poured cold water on the idea, her little face serious: "I'm just guessing! I can't even figure out the origin and abilities of this sword. Forcibly interfering with the evolution of the host's skills—I've never heard of such an ability before! Who knows if there's a price to pay for doing this? This time it was just lucky."

She looked at the black sword with a complicated expression: "The old demon king who forged it has been dead for who knows how many years... Those old demons all have some secret skills that no one knows about. Anyway, let's just consider this a stroke of luck! We can't rely on this thing in the future."

Lin Mo nodded; Yin Xue's caution was justified.

He experienced the new skill, [Sword Steel], once again.

It's as if an invisible metal mesh has been added under the skin, enhancing the hardness of one's body.

He clenched his fist and glanced at the silent black sword.

Luck?

maybe.

But in any case, the level has been broken through.

They acquired a unique skill that seemed to have great potential.

He picked up the black sword and gently wiped it.

The sword was cold, and his face was not reflected in it.

Suddenly remembering something, he said to Yin Xue, "I remember you said you could teleport me back to my original world when I reach level 100. Now, I want to send something to that world. Is that possible?"

Yin Xue was taken aback when he heard this, then frowned: "Theoretically, it is possible, but there will be a lot of losses. For example, if a large bucket of water is sent back, not a single drop may be left. Also, it cannot be used to send living creatures. In short, there are many limitations."

Lin Mo pressed further, "What about the medicine?"

Looking into Lin Mo's eyes, Yin Xue sighed after a long while: "Alright, I can give it a try, but don't get your hopes up too high."

Upon hearing Yin Xue's reply, Lin Mo rarely showed a smile: "Thank you."

Lin Mo then sheathed the cleaned black sword and muttered to himself.

"After that, I should go find the medicine I need to prepare for my mother."

He had barely finished speaking—

"ah--!!!!"

A terrified scream suddenly came from the direction of the gray-white church not far away!

In the stillness of the night, the sound was particularly jarring and terrifying.

Immediately afterwards, a figure dressed in a priest's robe was seen tumbling and crawling out of the church door.

His face was ashen, as if he had witnessed something terrifying.

Staggering as he ran, he screamed in a distorted voice, "No...it's terrible! People are dead! The priest...and the heroes...they're all...dead!!!"

This shout was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up towering waves.

The tranquility of the night in Mingbei City was completely shattered.

The nearby residents were alarmed, and their windows lit up.

Frightened whispers arose.

Further away, the footsteps of the patrolling city guards suddenly became more frequent as they rushed towards the church.

Three brave warriors came to help.

In addition, a pastor from a local church.

He died a horrific death inside the church!

This kind of thing is too heinous to be suppressed.

We will absolutely not allow ourselves to be suppressed!

The city lord's mansion reacted with astonishing speed.

Just half an hour later, sharp bugle calls rang out throughout the city, signaling the highest level of martial law and curfew.

The heavy city gates slammed shut and locked.

A massive magical barrier faintly appeared above the city walls.

Squads of fully armed soldiers with grim expressions poured into the streets, beginning to impose martial law and conduct checks in designated areas.

"Bang!"

The door to the tavern where Lin Mo was located was violently pushed open.

A squad of soldiers dressed in the standard armor of the city lord's mansion stormed in.

The squad leader held a scroll of parchment bearing the city lord's seal in his hand.

His sharp gaze swept across the tavern, his voice loud and cold:

"By order of the City Lord! A city-wide manhunt is underway for the murderers of the hero and the priest! All adventurers and mercenaries level 30 and above must immediately assemble at the City Lord's Mansion for investigation! No delays allowed!"

The tavern owner hurriedly nodded and bowed, handing over the guest register to cooperate with the inspection.

The soldiers quickly checked the records, their eyes focusing on the few names that had been written down.

A burly man with a fierce face and carrying a giant axe stood up and tried to negotiate: "Sir, I just received a commission to escort a caravan out of the city today, and it's the deadline. Could you please make an exception for one day and wait for me to return..."

"Stop talking nonsense!"

The squad leader's eyes flashed sharply, interrupting him.

"The city lord has ordered that anyone who dares to disobey or delay will be treated as an accomplice! Come with us immediately!"

The burly man and the other adventurers who were named and whose auras were not weak changed their expressions.

In the end, they had no choice but to leave with the soldiers.

They knew that in Mingbei City, the orders of the City Lord's Mansion were paramount.

This is especially significant because it involves the death of a hero.

Lin Mo sat in the shadows of the corner, quietly watching everything unfold, understanding the situation perfectly.

According to the logic of the city lord's mansion, it is possible to kill three powerful heroes silently inside the church.

The killer's strength must far exceed theirs.

The level is at least 30 or higher.

Therefore, the first priority was to control all high-level combat forces within the city for investigation.

It is the most direct and conventional approach.

Unfortunately, they never imagined that the real "culprit" had just broken through level 21.

The soldiers did not linger.

After taking away the people on the list, a few more people were sent out to roughly inspect each room in the tavern.

It was said to be a search for suspicious items or traces.

Lin Mo's room was not spared either, and was ransacked.

Fortunately, Yin Xue remained hidden inside his collar, while Aotemu shrank to the size of a palm and hid in the gap of the bed board.

With the soldiers gone, the tavern returned to its quiet state.

The room was so messy that you couldn't even step inside.

Lin Mo gave a wry smile, having no intention of cleaning up.

He glanced at the already brightening sky outside the window and muttered, "The medicine shops should be open by now. I'll go to the market and see if there's anything suitable for Mom."