My mom is waiting for treatment, and you're summoning me to be a hero?

"Other contestants?"

Lin Mo frowned.

The second prince nodded, his smile becoming even more genuine.

That smile looked flawless on his fairly handsome face.

"After all, we'll need to work together in the upcoming matches. It's always good to get to know each other beforehand. Those players are all carefully selected from various places..."

Lin Mo suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint; the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"And what happened after the competition? How did Your Highness, the Second Prince, scheme against me?"

Lin Mo asked, his tone as casual as if he were chatting.

Upon hearing this, Li Yiguang's smile froze for a moment.

His gaze unconsciously shifted to the archbishop beside him, his eyes filled with scrutiny and wariness.

Could it be that the old man said something to Lin Mo?

Did his plan get leaked?

But the archbishop simply stood there quietly, his aged face expressionless.

Li Yiguang quickly looked away and put on a smile again.

He cleared his throat, making his voice sound more sincere: "How could that be? You are overthinking it. After the competition, I will lift the warrant for your arrest as promised, and I will also give you a considerable fortune. If you wish to settle in the capital, I can request a noble title for you; if you wish to travel the world, I will not interfere. Our relationship is one of cooperation and mutual benefit, how could I..."

Lin Mo listened to these words without any expression on his face.

But at the same time, his voice echoed in Yin Xue's mind:

"Lend me your power."

Yin Xue was sitting on his shoulder, swinging his legs listlessly.

Upon hearing this voice, her body stiffened slightly.

She turned her head to look at Lin Mo's profile.

His face remained unchanged, still expressionless as he stared at the Second Prince.

But having known Lin Mo for so long, she knew all too well what was hidden beneath that expression.

Do it!

Lin Mo is about to make a move!

Right here, right now, in front of Hunter Axe, I killed the Second Prince.

Yin Xue did not ask why.

They didn't try to persuade you that you were crazy or to reconsider.

She simply took a deep breath, and her blood-red eyes suddenly lit up.

The next instant, an immense and terrifying power, like a flood bursting its banks, surged wildly from her small body and poured into Lin Mo's body!

Lin Mo's body trembled slightly.

He had experienced that feeling once before, in Shiyi Village, when he faced the city lord Liu Sanguan.

But this time, the power is stronger, purer, and more irrational than before.

After collecting several soul fragments, Yin Xue's power was far greater than before.

All attributes instantly double.

Double it, and then double it again.

He could even feel the air moving more slowly, hear the sound of every leaf trembling in the night wind, and see every fine hair on the Second Prince's face.

He clenched his fist.

The knuckles made a slight clicking sound.

Then he spoke, interrupting Li Yiguang before he could finish:

There's a saying: "Strike first, strike hard."

Li Yiguang was stunned for a moment.

"To avoid being outmaneuvered by you, I've decided to outmaneuver you first."

Lin Mo looked at him with a calm gaze, as if he were looking at a dead man. The moment he finished speaking, he moved.

There was no warning, no buildup of power, and not even any energy fluctuation.

He simply vanished from his spot and then reappeared in front of Li Yiguang.

The Hunter's Axe reacted at lightning speed.

In that instant, he didn't even have time to swing his axe.

He instinctively held the giant axe horizontally in front of him, trying to block the path of the dark figure.

But he only saw a dark sword light.

The sword light flashed past his axe, so fast that he had no time to react.

Then, with a click—

The sound of shattering glass rang out.

A pale golden light instantly illuminated Li Yiguang's body, enveloping him completely.

It must be said that as the second prince, the royal family attached great importance to Li Yiguang's safety.

Not only did he keep the hunting axe by his side, but he also carried a refining artifact that could withstand a full-force attack from an 80-level expert.

Unfortunately, it was Lin Mo who made the move.

Under Lin Mo's sword, the light barrier couldn't even withstand it for a moment.

It was shattered like real glass by the dark sword light, turning into countless points of light that scattered in all directions.

Lin Mo's sword did not stop.

The sword tip pierced through the shattered light shield and plunged into Li Yiguang's chest.

puff--

The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out.

Li Yiguang's eyes widened suddenly, his smile froze completely, and was replaced by extreme horror and disbelief.

He lowered his head, looking at the black sword piercing his chest, his lips trembling, wanting to say something, but unable to utter a sound.

Lin Mo did not give him a chance.

He pounced on Li Yiguang and pinned him to the ground.

One hand tightly covered his mouth and nose, while the other gripped the hilt of the sword, pushing the blade in another inch.

Li Yiguang's body trembled violently.

His hands pounded the ground in vain, making muffled "thump" sounds.

He wanted to shout, but he couldn't.

I tried to struggle, but I couldn't break free.

That face, which was originally quite handsome, was now distorted beyond recognition.

His face was as white as paper, and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

From the moment Lin Mo made his move to the moment Li Yiguang was pinned to the ground, it took no more than half a breath.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

Otem gaped.

He never expected that the first thing the eldest brother would do upon returning would be to stab the second prince.

The archbishop's hand holding the short staff trembled slightly, but he did not move or utter a sound.

Yin Xue remained perched on Lin Mo's shoulder, watching Li Yiguang struggle on the ground with a blank expression.

She was used to it long ago.

Mianmian lay on Lin Mo's other shoulder, her eight compound eyes staring blankly at the person convulsing below, not understanding what was happening.

The hunter was the first to react.

He roared and swung his giant axe.

With the force to split mountains and shatter rocks, it crashed down on Lin Mo!

The wind howled, tearing even the air itself.

But just as the axe blade was about to fall—

Lin Mo loosened his grip on the sword with his right hand and quickly raised it.

A cigarette butt had appeared in that hand at some point.

The hunter's giant axe stopped in mid-air.

His eyes were fixed on the cigarette, his pupils contracting sharply.

For the first time, a complex expression appeared on that rugged face, one that went beyond mere fighting spirit.

Lin Mo looked at him, her voice calm:

"You didn't follow Li Yiguang willingly, did you?"

The hunter did not answer. The veins on his hand, gripping the axe handle, bulged.

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have remained unmoved when I pointed my sword at him the first time we met."

A night breeze blew by, causing the remaining tobacco shreds in the cigarette butt to sway back and forth.

The hunter's breathing was heavy.

He looked at Li Yiguang, who was still convulsing on the ground, then at Lin Mo, and then at the cigarette.

He gave me that cigarette.

He took a deep breath and slowly lowered the giant axe.

"What exactly do you want to do...?"

His voice was hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out of his throat.

Lin Mo did not answer the question. He simply said:

"No matter why you follow Li Yiguang—power, money, or anything else—whatever Li Yiguang can give you, I can give you too."

Lin Mo's only goal now is to reach level 100 as soon as possible and then go home.

Therefore, he didn't want to wait another day, which is why he acted immediately.

Lin Mo remembered the pack of cigarettes he had that day, including the hunting axe.

Lin Mo was not bloodthirsty, so he had no hostility towards Hunter Axe.

More than anything, they wanted to take this opportunity to completely bring them under their control.

Hunter Axe stared at the cigarette butt in silence.

He looked at Li Yiguang on the ground, who had stopped convulsing and was only breathing faintly, and then looked at Lin Mo.

After a long while, he sighed.

"You're being too impulsive. Only the Second Prince can grant me what I want..."

Lin Mo's voice remained calm: "If it were that simple, it would be too easy."

Hunter Axe was taken aback, then Lin Mo looked at Otwood.

"come over."

Otem came running over excitedly, his face beaming: "Boss, you want me to..."

Lin Mo nodded.

"Dispose of the body properly. Make it look realistic."

Otem looked at the person on the ground who was still breathing and rubbed his hands together.

"Don't worry, this guy's skills are not even as good as Liu Sanguan's. I guarantee that no one will be able to tell the difference in the finished product."

After saying that, Otem pounced on Li Yiguang.

Li Yiguang's body twitched once, and then remained completely still.

Hunter Axe was stunned by what he saw: "You mean...?"

Lin Mo nodded: "From now on, I am the Second Prince."

Hunter Axe swallowed hard. He never imagined that Lin Mo, with his extraordinary strength, would be so ruthless.

However, if that's the case, then I can get into the Imperial Iron Prison as soon as possible.

This might not be so bad.

The courtyard fell silent again.

The night wind carried a faint smell of blood.

The church bells rang again in the distance; I had no idea what time it was.

Lin Mo stood up and turned to look at the archbishop.

The archbishop simply sighed, then turned and went back into the house.

He had already guessed that Lin Mo would make a move.

After spending a few days with him, he realized that Lin Mo was not the kind of person who would willingly let others scheme against him.

Yin Xue sat on Lin Mo's shoulder, glanced back at the Second Prince lying on the ground, and then looked at the Hunter's Axe leaning against the gate.

She muttered something excitedly in a low voice:

"This is going to be interesting."