Chapter 54: Black Mud Swamp — Fire and Earth Double Counter?

The Mist Wasteland — true to its name — was nothing but a grey haze wherever the eye looked.

Visibility was extremely low, and the air carried a faint musty, damp smell.

"We're already in?"

Lin Mo looked around, unable to stop himself from frowning.

"What a lousy environment — all damp and sticky, it's miserable."

He opened the map and took a look.

The entire Mist Wasteland was enormous; two hundred examinees had been scattered at random across every corner, and bumping into anyone really did take a bit of luck.

"Forget it — I'll just wander around for now, find some monsters to grind, and sit tight waiting for Xia Qingyue to send over Zhao Yu's coordinates."

Lin Mo stretched lazily and walked forward with no particular destination.

He hadn't taken more than a few steps.

Rustle, rustle, rustle—

A strange sound came from the bushes ahead.

The next instant, two pustule-covered 【Rotting Corpse Hyenas】 burst out, jaws gaping with foul-smelling drool, lunging straight at Lin Mo.

【Rotting Corpse Hyena, Lv. 10】

"What a unique look."

Lin Mo curled his lip in distaste.

The next moment.

Boom boom—!!

The fireball split into two and instantly killed them.

【Killed Rotting Corpse Hyena, Points +20】

【Current Points: 3020】

Having previously cleared all thirty floors of the Trial Tower, at 100 points per floor, he had already walked in carrying a hefty 3,000 points.

That score was already a threshold most examinees might never reach even if they killed monsters until the end of the great exam.

"Even a mosquito's leg is still meat."

Lin Mo muttered offhandedly and kept ambling forward.

Ten minutes later.

【'Fireball' complained unhappily: This dump is way too damp, this one feels uncomfortable all over.】

Just then.

【'Earth Shield' jolted violently: Master! Look behind you! There's a clump of something red moving!】

"Something red?"

Lin Mo's steps paused and he turned to look.

A head of signature red hair stood out jarringly in the grey haze.

At that moment, the redhead seemed to sense someone was there and whipped his head around.

Their eyes met.

Lin Mo was delighted.

Wasn't this the very same red-haired lackey who had been trailing behind Zhao Yu in the plaza earlier, barking louder than anyone?

What was his name again… ah, forget it, doesn't matter — he's just free points anyway.

"Oh, if it isn't Young Zhao Shao's favorite red-faced sidekick?"

Lin Mo beamed and raised a hand in greeting. "What a coincidence? Lost your way?"

The redhead caught sight of Lin Mo's smiling face, shuddered all over, and went deathly pale in an instant.

"W-wtf?"

"Lin Mo?!"

The redhead felt his scalp go numb.

Without a moment's hesitation.

He let out a strangled yelp and turned to run.

"Gale Step!"

Rumble rumble—!

The flat grassland in front of the redhead suddenly exploded apart.

An earthen wall thrust up from the ground!

Bang——!!!

A dull thud.

The redhead slammed flat against the earthen wall.

"Shit, that hurts like hell…"

The redhead screamed, blood gushing from his nose, and slumped to the ground.

"Why are you running? Am I that scary?"

Lin Mo's voice drifted lazily from behind him, looking down at him from above.

The redhead mustered his courage and blustered:

"Lin Mo! Don't get cocky! Our Young Zhao Shao is already fully prepared — in a bit he's going to make you pay…"

Though the cruelest words poured from his mouth.

The redhead's trembling legs and body shrinking back frantically betrayed the fear inside him all too honestly.

Although the 'Soul Protection' was active, making death impossible, the pain was still very real.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."

Lin Mo shook his head. "What a good dog. You're so loyal; does your Young Zhao Shao know?"

【The 'Fireball' was already impatient: Why waste words on such trash?】

The Fireball instantly coalesced and flew out.

Boom—!

The firelight exploded.

The red-haired man was entirely engulfed by flames.

Immediately, a soft white light ignited, forming a thin, mist-like shield that wrapped around his entire body.

'Soul Protection' took effect.

Although it spared him from death, this shield also meant he had been eliminated and was in a state of absolute paralysis, unable to move, forced only to wait for the exam to end.

【The 'Fireball' sneered: Is that it? Weak, so weak! Even weaker than a monster.】

Lin Mo looked at the red-haired man wrapped in the shield. "Alright, just watch carefully later how your master gets eliminated."

【Defeated a candidate, plundered points +210】

"A pauper."

Lin Mo glanced at the points, shook his head in disdain, and then continued forward.

He hadn't taken a few steps before another group of poisonous frogs jumped out.

Lin Mo casually threw a Fireball.

【The 'Fireball' was somewhat annoyed: It's those wet monsters again, all sticky and disgusting! Can't we get something dry?】

【The 'Earth Shield' comforted him: Big brother, just endure it; the environment is like this, we must overcome difficulties.】

Lin Mo looked around and stopped.

"Strange..."

"It's been twenty minutes; by all rights, Zhao Yu should have started calling for reinforcements long ago."

"Why hasn't Xia Qingyue made a single move?"

"Could it be that this girl landed straight into a box?"

Thinking this, Lin Mo casually edited a message and sent it over.

Meanwhile,

the Monitoring Command Center.

"Old Lin, look at Zhao Yu's side!"

Su Wan shook Lin Tianhao's arm.

Lin Tianhao turned his head to look at Zhao Yu's split screen.

On the screen, Zhao Yu was standing in a low-lying swamp area.

Around him, more than a dozen candidates had already gathered one after another.

Moreover, the monitoring map showed that even more light spots were moving rapidly toward that direction.

"Gathering manpower?"

Su Wan asked with a furrowed brow.

Lin Tianhao narrowed his eyes; as a veteran monitoring officer, he was no stranger to this situation.

Although the Grand Exam allowed PVP, everyone was a competitor; under normal circumstances, they would guard against each other.

The only reason so many people could lower their guard and group together immediately...

... was a massive lure of profit; there was no second reason.

Lin Tianhao glanced at Zhao Lei and said with implied meaning, "It seems our Commander Zhao really went all out for this Grand Exam."

Xu Wenchang also stroked his chin, lost in thought:

"Ambushes targeting the top scorer for points have appeared in past Grand Exams, but one on this scale is indeed rare."

Lin Tianhao naturally had one hundred percent trust in his son:

"Good then; it saves Mo'er from having to search everywhere. This group has delivered themselves to our door, saving quite a bit of trouble."

Just then.

Zhao Lei suddenly spoke in a sinister tone:

"Old Lin, aren't you getting happy too early?"

"Didn't you notice what kind of place this is?"

Lin Tianhao and Xu Wenchang paused for a moment and looked closely.

"Black Mud Swamp?"

Lin Tianhao frowned.

Zhao Lei laughed heartily; he had already sent Lin Mo's situation to his son when the first phase of the Grand Exam ended.

"The Black Mud Swamp is the area with the harshest environment in this region, shrouded in water vapor year-round with extremely high air humidity."

"Under such conditions, the activity of the Fire element is suppressed; the power of any Fire-type skill is reduced by at least 30%!"

"Moreover... the Earth element is also countered by the swampy terrain here; Earth mages here cannot erect any Earth Walls or Earth Spikes."

"Do you know what that means? Commander Lin."

Zhao Lei's face was full of pride.

Even if Lin Tianhao knew now, it would be useless.

Once the assessment officially began, they, the proctors, were forbidden from sending any messages to the candidates to prevent anyone from using the map to direct candidates and cheat.

Hearing this analysis, Xu Wenchang suddenly understood:

"So that's how it is..."

He glanced at Zhao Lei, a hint of surprise in his eyes:

"Old Zhao, it seems your son came prepared, setting up a trap specifically targeting Lin Mo's 'Fire and Earth dual elements'!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Tianhao's expression changed slightly.

But he quickly steadied his mind and retorted:

"Zhao Lei, are you so certain that Mo'er will definitely go to the Blackwater Swamp?"

"The Misty Wasteland is so vast; as long as Mo'er doesn't go, your so-called trap is just a joke."

"Hahahaha!"

Zhao Lei laughed with extreme arrogance:

"Old Lin, you are too naive. Since it is a trap, there must be bait."

"As for how it was done... you need not worry about it."

Su Wan worriedly tugged at Lin Tianhao's sleeve. "Old Lin, what should we do? If Mo'er really goes, he will be a fish in a jar..."

Lin Tianhao snorted coldly and fired back.

"Zhao Lei, stop spreading alarmist talk. In the face of absolute strength, what use is a brain?"

"Terrain suppression? Let me tell you, stop dreaming. Even if the power is halved, even if Earth Flow Wall cannot be used, my Mo'er can still wipe you all out!"

Although his words remained tough, Lin Tianhao's heart was now in his throat.

The Fire element being nerfed was of little consequence.

Originally, Lin Mo's output was already off the charts, severely overflowing.

The key was the Earth element being crippled...

In a one-versus-many situation, Earth Flow Wall with a five-second cooldown was a very useful skill for battlefield segmentation.

Now it couldn't be used either...

He stared fixedly at Lin Mo wandering on the screen, his palms covered in sweat.

"You brat... you absolutely must not crash..."

"If we lose this round, your old father's face will truly have nowhere to rest..."