The official forum of "epoch" was currently undergoing an unprecedented Super earthquake.
Several hours had passed since the release of the video titled "One Person Against One Alliance! The Mysterious Great God 'Lin Mo's' God-Sealing Battle in Moonlight Forest!" but its popularity had not diminished in the slightest; instead, it had completely ignited the entire player community with a viral spread.
The post's click-through rate had exceeded a terrifying fifty million, and the number of replies had surpassed one million, directly refreshing all forum records since "epoch" launched, and this number was still skyrocketing at an astonishing rate.
The entire homepage of the forum was almost dominated by posts related to "Lin Mo."
[Technical Analysis Post: Frame-by-Frame Breakdown of Great God Lin Mo's Operations, Is This Really a Reaction Speed a Human Can Achieve?!]
[Data Emperor Decrypts: Reverse-Engineering Great God Lin Mo's Equipment and Attributes from Damage Numbers, Conclusion—This Person is At Least One Month Ahead of the Version!]
[Guild Section Explodes! Video of Mad Dragon Guild Leader Raging Dragon Howls to Heaven Kneeling Publicly Leaks, Guild Reputation Collapses, Mass Exodus of Members Has Broken Out!]
[Missing Person Ad: Seeking Great God 'Lin Mo's' Location with a Heavy Reward! I Am Willing to Offer One Hundred Thousand Real-World Currency, Just to Have the Great God Take Me Through a Dungeon Once!]
...Countless posts, from various angles, thoroughly analyzed Lin Mo's battle in Moonlight Forest. His every movement, every skill release, every psychological gambit, was hailed by players as a textbook-level example.
The name "Lin Mo," in just a few short hours, transformed from a mysterious symbol that was merely first on the level ranking into a living legend, worshipped by countless players!
He was given countless resounding titles—"King of Loners," "Poison God," "Shadow Reaper," "Guild Butcher"... Each title represented the highest praise and awe players held for his terrifying strength.
Of course, where there is worship, there is naturally jealousy and hostility.
The leaders of the major top guilds, after repeatedly watching the video no less than ten times, all fell into a prolonged silence.
They reached a unified, chilling conclusion: Lin Mo's strength and potential had far exceeded their control. He was no longer a simple expert who could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but a strategic-level player with the ability to single-handedly overturn the entire server's landscape!
An existence that must be recruited at all costs, and if he couldn't be recruited, then he must be destroyed at all costs!
For a time, the winds and clouds gathered.
Within the City of Glory, the elite teams of the major guilds were mobilized with unprecedented frequency, and countless Rogue players infiltrated various high-level leveling zones, solely to search for the figure of that black-clad assassin. An invisible net, targeting Lin Mo, had quietly unfurled.
The entire Chinese server of "epoch" was plunged into a strange atmosphere of intertwined fanaticism and tension, all because of one person's name.
However, as the center of this storm, Lin Mo himself seemed oblivious to it all... In the Shadow Sanctuary, in that dark passage leading to the outside.
A figure slowly emerged from the darkness, once again bathed in the bright sunlight of the City of Glory.
He was still dressed in a neat black leather armor, his figure tall and straight, his face calm. But compared to before, he now possessed an indescribable, powerful aura that was impossible to ignore.
The breastplate on his body was no longer plain leather, but a unique material that seemed to be woven from cooled lava and black metal. Dark red magic patterns, flickering like breathing, slowly flowed across the surface of the breastplate, emanating a chilling heat and majesty.
It was precisely the Level 20 Epic-grade armor—the molten heart breastplate!
This equipment not only brought him a huge leap in attributes, but its extremely cool appearance was like a lighthouse in the dark night, instantly attracting the gaze of all surrounding players.
"Look! Who is that person? His armor... Holy moly! It's purple equipment! Definitely purple equipment!"
"This luster, these effects... Damn, it's too cool! Which top guild's big shot is this?"
"No, look at his face... Why do I feel like it's a bit familiar?" A player who had just come down from the forum stared intently at Lin Mo's face, and suddenly, his pupils contracted sharply, as if he had seen something incredible, his voice becoming sharp due to extreme excitement!
"It's... it's him! It's Lin Mo! It's Great God Lin Mo from the video!!!"
This exclamation, like a deep-sea bomb thrown into a calm lake, instantly set off a huge wave in the surrounding crowd!
"What?! He is Lin Mo?!"
"It really is him! Exactly like in the video! My goodness, I actually saw him alive!"
"Quick! Quick screenshot! Quick record! Post it on the forum! Say Great God Lin Mo has appeared in the Slums!"
"Great God! Please sign! Please take a photo!"
Boom—!
The entire exit of the Slums instantly erupted!
Countless players, like sharks smelling blood, swarmed from all directions, surrounding Lin Mo so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass. Their eyes gleamed with fanaticism, worship, curiosity, and greed, as if they were watching a peerless fierce beast that had walked out of a myth.
Facing this sudden, overwhelming surge, Lin Mo's brows furrowed slightly.
He had expected his appearance to cause a stir, but he hadn't anticipated the scene would be so exaggerated.
"Trouble."
He uttered two words in a low voice, without the slightest interest in interacting with fans. His figure flickered, and he directly activated Stealth!
Under countless shocked gazes, his figure, out of thin air and eerily, transformed into a faint phantom, and then completely vanished into the air.
"Where is he?!"
"Holy moly! He just disappeared like that?!"
"Is this the Stealth of a top-tier assassin? Can't even see a shadow! Too strong!"
The crowd stirred and gasped in amazement, but having lost their target, they could only disperse dejectedly.
However, what they didn't know was that on the eaves above their heads, a figure almost integrated with the shadows was quietly looking down at them, his eyes as calm as an ancient well.
"It seems that from now on, I'll have to maintain Stealth in the main city."
Lin Mo thought to himself. Then, he identified the direction, and his figure flickered again, like a civet cat in the dark night, silently and swiftly moving towards outside the city through the intricate shadows of the buildings.
His goal was clear—the unknown area indicated by the Withered Snow Domain Map Fragment.
That not only related to the continuation of his hidden main quest but was also the best stage for him to test his current ultimate combat power!
...Half an hour later, outside the north gate of the City of Glory, in a Level 25 leveling zone called Icewind Canyon.
This place was perpetually enveloped by biting cold winds, with complex terrain. The monster "Icefield Starving Wolf" not only had high attack power but also extremely fast movement speed, making it one of the most dangerous leveling spots currently recognized by players.
However, at this moment, at a pass in a canyon, a well-equipped and well-coordinated five-person team was systematically hunting wolf packs.
Leading them was a Shield Warrior holding a tower shield and clad in silver heavy armor. He was like a mountain, steadily blocking all attacks from the starving wolves in front of him.
"Shield Bash!"
With a "boom!" he smashed a pouncing starving wolf leader, causing it to fall into a brief stun.
"Mage, focus fire!"
"Understood!"
At the back of the team, a female Mage holding a crystal staff let out a delicate shout, and ice cones accurately struck the starving wolf leader's head, dealing a series of high damage.
"-350!"
"-380!"
"-750! (Critical Hit)"
On their chests, they all wore an emblem with a burning golden flame—this was the symbol of the Blazing Throne, one of the top five guilds in the Chinese server of "epoch"!
"Haha, our teamwork is still the best, this Icewind Canyon is nothing much!" The Rogue in the team said with a proud laugh as he easily Backstabbed the stunned wolves.
"Don't be careless." The captain, the Shield Warrior named "Blazing Shield," said in a deep voice, "This is a high-level area after all; unexpected situations can happen at any time. Stay vigilant!"
Just then, the Archer in the team suddenly let out an "eh" and, pointing to a rock not far away, asked doubtfully, "Captain, look, is there someone there?"
Everyone looked over and indeed saw a black figure standing quietly in the shadow of that rock, seemingly having observed them for a long time.
"Who's there?!" Blazing Shield immediately became alert, raising his shield.
The black figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
His lava breastplate, with its dark red magic patterns, was particularly conspicuous against the pale snow, and an invisible sense of oppression rushed towards them.
"It's him!" The female Mage in the team couldn't help but let out a low gasp the moment she clearly saw who it was, her voice filled with shock and disbelief.
"Lin Mo!"
These two words, as if possessing infinite magic, caused the faces of all the members of the Blazing Throne elite team to change drastically!
"It's him! That Lin Mo who soloed the Mad Dragon Guild!"
"How is he here?!"
"Everyone be careful! Enter combat stance!" A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Captain Blazing Shield's forehead.
Although they were elites of a top guild, the pressure in their hearts facing this already deified legend was immense!
Lin Mo's gaze calmly swept over them, finally settling on the nervous female Mage.
"Hand over the ice soul core you just obtained," his voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable tone.
The ice soul core was one of the keys to open the Withered Snow Domain portal, and also his purpose for coming here.
"Why should we?!" The Rogue was both shocked and angry. "Great God Lin Mo, we respect you as a senior, but you can't be so unreasonable and snatch the materials we worked so hard to get, can you?!"
Lin Mo said no more.
He just slowly raised his eyes.
The next second, a grayish-white, eerie light, as if capable of freezing souls, suddenly lit up in his dark, abyss-like pupils!
queen's eye effect—Fatal Gaze!
Buzz—!!!
An invisible, terrifying pressure originating from the soul level instantly locked onto the still-shouting Rogue!
The angry expression on the Rogue's face instantly froze. He only felt as if his soul was firmly clutched by an invisible hand, then dragged into a world composed of endless grayish-white and dead silence!
His body, starting from his feet, was rapidly covered by a layer of grayish-white rock!
One second, two seconds... only 1.5 seconds of channeling time, so fast that people couldn't react at all!
"Crack!"
With a crisp sound, that arrogant elite Rogue, in the horrified eyes of his teammates, turned into a lifelike stone statue!
Petrification!
A 3-second, absolute, hard CC that could not be dispelled by any conventional means!
"Not good! It's a control skill! Priest, quick dispel!" Blazing Shield shrieked in terror, letting out a desperate roar.
However, it was all too late.
The moment the Rogue was Petrified, Lin Mo's figure moved.
Shadow Strike!
His body, transforming into a blurry black line, instantly crossed tens of meters, appearing behind the "stone statue."
Backstab!
Poison Blade!
-1250! (Critical Hit!)
-880! [Poison -105!]
Two terrifying four-digit damages floated up from above the Rogue's head!
Under the blessing of Lin Mo's high 210 spell power and his excellent equipment, his damage had reached an inconceivable level that players at this stage simply could not comprehend!
The Rogue's nearly three thousand health instantly bottomed out!
But, it wasn't over yet!
"Taste... despair."
Lin Mo looked at the statue about to be released from Petrification and gently snapped his fingers.
Poison Burst!
-2100!
An even more terrifying damage number soared into the sky!
The Rogue's body, before it even had time to revert to flesh and blood, was completely detonated from within by this destructive poisonous energy!
Boom—!!!
Stone chips flew everywhere!
The elite Rogue of the Blazing Throne was instantly killed on the spot without even a scream!
And the moment he died, a scene that made the remaining four people's livers and guts split occurred!
At the Rogue's death location, a dark green energy, condensed from twenty layers of poison and so thick it materialized, suddenly exploded! Immediately after, three dark green thin lines, like living poisonous snakes, linked instantly to the closest female Mage, Archer, and Priest with extreme speed!
Plague Link!
-105!
-105!
-105!
On the three of them, a gray poisoned icon appeared simultaneously without warning, and the number in the bottom right corner of the icon was—20!
"What is this?!"
The female Mage let out a horrified shriek; she couldn't understand why she had instantly gained twenty layers of poison when she hadn't even been attacked!
Lin Mo gave them no time to think.
A death-like smile curled at the corner of his mouth, and he gently snapped his fingers again.
Target, female Mage!
Poison Burst!
Boom—!!!
Another dull explosion, another soaring damage!
The female Mage followed in the Rogue's footsteps, instantly killed!
And the terrifying Plague Link triggered again!
This time, the linked targets were the remaining Archer, Priest, and... the Shield Warrior in the front, Blazing Shield!
"No... don't!!!"
Blazing Shield looked at the 20 layers of poisoned icons that suddenly appeared on him, feeling his health gushing away like flowing water, and let out a desperate wail.
He finally understood.
In front of this man, there was no difference between front row and back row.
Distance was also no guarantee of safety.
His poison, like the chains of Death, once it entangled one, would link all!
This was no longer a battle.
This was a one-sided, artistic... slaughter!
Lin Mo's figure, as if strolling in his own backyard, leisurely walked towards the last three, who had already completely given up resistance.
The third snap of his fingers sounded softly.
Poison Burst!
...Ten seconds later.
Icewind Canyon returned to silence.
Only five cold corpses and a ground full of loot remained, silently telling of the utterly one-sided, despair-inducing battle that had just taken place here.
Lin Mo slowly walked forward and picked up the dropped ice soul core, not even bothering to glance at the other equipment.
He raised his head and looked towards the deeper part of the canyon, that unknown area shrouded in wind and snow.
"So..."
"Who's next?"