Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

Of course, beneath those low-level adventurers, there were even more low-tier people whose levels were only 1 or 2, or who hadn't officially become professionals yet. A few of them did come, but not many, because most didn't have the nerve or the confidence to show up.

War is brutal, especially for the weak.

If your strength is insufficient, even facing ordinary goblins in large numbers can drown you.

In short, by rough estimate, counting the majority of the adventurer population, the entire front line numbered over five million.

On just the crucial hundred-kilometer front line, there were more than a million!

That sounds like a lot, but they were facing a goblin army on the order of ten billion.

Ten billion goblins, even if you round down to a neat ten billion, still means a numerical advantage of two thousand to one!

However, in average combat power, the allied forces completely held the crushing advantage.

Among those ten billion goblins, roughly half were the most ordinary goblins, with threat levels below level 1.

Moreover, as events progressed and the Association continued publicizing the situation, reinforcements would keep arriving, so the current situation was actually not bad.

The premise being everything proceeds under normal circumstances...

Lin Mo hadn't forgotten the earlier reports: the Gnome Kingdom's advance this time was fierce and likely more than a simple expansion. Some gnomes had mastered a very suspicious power, an important intelligence item that absolutely could not be ignored.

If that power truly stemmed from the Dark Tide, then the course of the battlefield might not follow conventional logic.

But the specifics were still unclear, and worrying here served no purpose. They would take things step by step, meet force with force, and adapt as needed.

After wandering near the defensive lines for a while, Lin Mo headed toward the area where the Elven forces were stationed.

He had promised Velesia he'd show up, so he ought to at least make an appearance.

As he neared the Elven encampment, unsurprisingly he was stopped, but the elves who intercepted him bore little hostility—only cautious looks.

After all, if the elves had not received human help this time, even if their race weren't entirely wiped out, they would be forced to abandon the Elven Royal Court they had inhabited for thousands of years and be driven into exile.

So much of their previous strong hostility toward humans had been softened.

“Is there something you need?”

There was no point in pretending any longer. Lin Mo pulled back his hood and revealed his face.

“I’m Lin Mo. Princess Velesia should be here, right?”

At his words, the elves exchanged glances and hurried to report it.

They did not keep Lin Mo waiting long. Half a minute later, Velesia came hurrying over.

The moment she saw Lin Mo, she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and quickened her steps.

Although the situation had evolved beyond Lin Mo’s solo efforts, his role remained crucial. If not for Lin Mo—a figure with lots of public attention—raising enough heat, they wouldn’t have the current situation.

And in the previous battle, Ellie’s presence had also been important.

Putting aside the ordinary adventurers, many influential forces and geniuses showed up because of Ellie. If Ellie hadn't appeared, they might not have stayed in this region.

After spending some time together, Velesia had begun to understand Ellie’s character and still worried a little that Lin Mo might break his promise. Even so, seeing him in person eased her concerns.

Velesia led Lin Mo into her pavilion. Many elves saw him go inside, including several promising young talents.

Seeing a human enter the princess’s pavilion made some of them feel strange.

But they dared not complain. At a time like this, if anyone spoke ill of this man, the elders would tear them apart without him even needing to speak.

Not vocalizing it didn’t mean they were truly convinced. Especially those elves with exceptional talent—those who could have become elven princes and who might marry the princess in the future.

They knew very well that the one who suggested the princess sacrifice her personal happiness for the tribe’s sake was this man standing before them!

Of course this was not the princess’s fault; she sacrificed for her people. But the anger and discontent in their hearts needed an outlet, and Lin Mo naturally became the target of their hostility.

Daniel clenched his fist so tightly his teeth nearly ground: “We must protect Her Highness. We cannot allow the prince’s position to slip away and bring disgrace upon her!”

“That’s right. If we can secure first place in the upcoming gathering, we can protect Her Highness. Then those inferior humans will have nothing to say!”

The elven youths were roused to righteous indignation.

And they were not merely talkers; they had considerable confidence.

When the elves set the rules for the event, they stipulated human geniuses must be under thirty-five. Corresponding elf participants were filtered proportionally by their average lifespans.

But could that be fair?

An elf gains at least around level 25 once they reach adulthood, and can even be higher depending on bloodline strength.

The elven elders also left that rule partly hoping one of their own might take first—an advantageous loophole from the host.

Once inside the pavilion, Lin Mo released everyone from his Portable Space and chatted with Velesia.

They talked mostly about the war and synchronized recent intel.

Being on the front line, Velesia knew the Barbarian Forest’s shifting situation better than most.

“So by current inference, the Gnome Kingdom might launch an attack tomorrow, or at the latest the day after?”

“That’s how it looks, but the true situation is still unclear.”

Velesia nodded, then added, “Also, what’s appearing in mass right now are goblins. The gnomes haven’t shown themselves in a long time.”

Lin Mo nodded; he expected that.

Goblins’ favored method was to use overwhelming numbers to wear down opponents.

Once the war began, their attacks would not stop. They aimed to compress the defenders’ rest, draining human stamina, mana, and supplies.

When the humans were exhausted by this goblin sea tactic, the enemy would launch a real assault with high-level goblins and gnomes to try to break the lines.

This was a nearly insoluble ploy unless one could infiltrate deep behind enemy lines and eliminate the goblin leadership.

But in this war that was impossible.

Not only were the gnomes’ traces hard to track, but the enemy leader was the Gnome Emperor, a Legendary Level powerhouse.

He was guarded by many powerful gnomes. Even if humans sent Legendary Level warriors, it would be hard to kill him under such circumstances.

The gnome leader, while not as overwhelmingly superior to same-level humans as some Legendary magical creatures, was still overall somewhat stronger than human experts.

After all, he was the product of his entire race’s potential—a singular leader among the goblin legions.

Even if human Legendary Level masters slightly out-ranked him, escape wouldn’t be hard if defeat seemed likely.

And the human Legendary Level masters who existed publicly were not that far apart in strength; most had only recently entered the Legendary tier.

The reason was simple: lifespan.

Even top human geniuses find it extremely hard to reach Legendary. By the time they do, they’re often very old.

Human lifespans are simply too short.

Ordinary humans live only a few decades; even professionals live longer but usually remain under 150 years.

Except for epoch-making supergeniuses, ordinary top geniuses need more than a century to reach Legendary, and by then their bodies have mostly exhausted their potential. Even if some time remains, further growth is difficult.

Whether true epoch-defining geniuses who can leap further exist is unknown.

They might exist within top powers or the three great empires, but such figures wouldn’t interfere over something small.

For example, an empire would only act if its foundations were shaken, because those lives are nearly at their end; every act shortens their remaining lifespan.

In summary, after the defensive lines were established, the elves led many meetings with various powers. The conclusion was they must rely on frontal defense to win. Decapitation strikes weren’t possible—at most special teams could handle a few strong individuals threatening local lines.

They chatted more for a while, and as night fell the elves sent food.

It was quite ordinary—maybe not perfectly matched to human tastes, but far from inedible.

In fact, it was pretty good, just a bit bland.

“It’s getting late. We’ll head out now.”

After dinner, Lin Mo prepared to leave.

By prediction, the goblins might launch a formal attack as early as tomorrow, so tonight they needed to rest well; tomorrow there would be a huge amount of proficiency to grind.

“All right.”

Velesia nodded. Watching Lin Mo’s back, she suddenly remembered the Genius Gathering’s first-place prize.

After returning to her tribe, she realized Lin Mo’s suggestion seemed to be considerate of the elves and had worked well, but...

With his strength, shouldn’t first place normally be his for the taking?

Velesia realized she’d been outplayed.

Strangely, she didn’t resent it much.

Meeting Lin Mo again and spending so much time talking—even if mostly business—reconfirmed something to her.

She didn’t reject this human; she even felt an inexplicable closeness.

That familiarity was strange and complicated.

Right now Velesia knew she sensed in Lin Mo toward the elves and toward herself a subtle curiosity and desire to approach.

It wasn’t overtly utilitarian, nor fake pride. That authenticity made her comfortable.

But there seemed to be more reasons... She shook her head and didn’t voice these thoughts. After all, she and Lin Mo weren’t that close; they had only recently met.

Yet not long after Lin Mo left the elven camp and was planning to find a secluded spot to enter his Portable Space, a commotion rose in the distance.

Then a bright beam of light shot into the sky.

Lin Mo had learned about this during his talk with Velesia.

It was the allied alarm—a sign that the war had begun.

The goblins attacked earlier than expected, and they deliberately chose nighttime for the raid.

Clever… denying them a proper night’s rest to maximize physical and mental exhaustion.

Soon the allied forces along the line mobilized. Per prior drills, they prepared for battle.

The elves moved immediately. Velesia left the pavilion, nodded to Lin Mo and the others, then hurried off.

As the elven princess, with the queen absent, she would assist the elders in directing the operation.

This sector was the heart of the core—a flat, vulnerable zone—so defenses were especially strong. Not far off lay the Roxez Empire’s Third Infantry Guard station.

This guard normally defended the imperial capital, numbering thirty thousand, each member at least of Veteran Level strength—undeniably elite troops.

In large-scale war, compared to loose adventurer groups, regular troops of equal numbers and strength demonstrate far superior combat effectiveness.

That was evident once the alarm sounded.

The Roxez Empire’s Third Infantry Guard reacted quickly, forming ranks and preparing for battle,

while adventurers gathered in small teams—some leisurely, some flustered, some cursing as they organized.

Lin Mo took out a bracelet and fastened it to his wrist; Ellie and the others did the same.

This was a magitech device purchased by the elves from the Roxez Empire and issued to participants of the Genius Gathering. Of course not everyone qualified: besides the age restriction, one had to be at least level 15 to receive the bracelet and gain eligibility.

As a magic-forward nation leading the continent, the Roxez Empire’s magitech bracelet was powerful: it could identify an enemy’s level through combat energy signatures, confirm a kill by the disappearance of that energy, and detect the wearer’s own energy fluctuations to verify the kill was performed by the bracelet’s wearer.

In short, wearing this bracelet automatically recorded kills and uploaded data to a designated mana hub to confirm contestants’ scores.

This “high technology,” more precisely “high magic,” accurately showcased the Roxez Empire’s magical prosperity.

Of course, to protect the contestants, the rules did not forbid companions. After all, a chaotic battlefield differed greatly from a carefully designed contest.

Those companions were, in principle, not allowed to directly intervene to help a contestant score. But since this event was mainly a ploy by the elves to attract support, there were practically no strict enforcement measures.

In other words, as long as the final “kill” was done by the contestant, the bracelet would count it—leaving room for manipulation and de facto cheating.

Everyone—elves and contestants—knew this.

Whether to cheat depended on the contestants’ choices.

Lin Mo didn’t worry that this loophole would affect the final outcome. Maybe some placings would be influenced, but for him it made no real difference; he was clearly the top genius.

The reason was simple: most of this competition involved not powerful monsters but an enormous number of goblins.

Would anyone bother to weaken these fragile goblins and then let someone else finish them off?

That would be pointless.

As for later when higher-level goblins or gnomes appeared...

In the chaos of battle, few would dare risk escorting weak “young masters” into such dangerous situations.

If the young master himself lacked strength, confronting far stronger foes on a battlefield where anything could happen—even with powerful bodyguards—was far from foolproof.

And even if possible, being timid reduces efficiency.

In short, one must be strong enough; even helpful allies have limited impact in such conditions.

The goblin advance was faster than expected. Not long after the alarm sounded, a distant clamor could be heard.

The goblin horde was nearly upon them!

Lin Mo did not delay. He led the group toward the front lines.

“Everyone can act freely once we reach the front. Fight how you think best, just pay some attention to safety.”

As they walked, Lin Mo said.

Although the scale of the war was large, for those with strong power the danger wasn’t that high, especially in the opening moments.

Ellie and the others were already very strong and unlikely to face much threat.

Even if the unexpected happened, with Life Contract in place there was no need to fear disastrous outcomes.

They could therefore unleash themselves and use their full abilities. With their strength, most of them could place highly in this gathering and bring benefits to the elves.

Of course “free action” didn’t preclude team-ups among the girls—Sherfilia would certainly be with Finnie, Flora with Eve, and Ellie with Lily.

They headed toward the area assigned to adventurers.

At the front, the enemy noise drew closer; goblins’ shrieks, already unpleasant, grew headache-inducing at that scale.

Under nightfall, dust rose from the distant forest, and the atmosphere tensed.

These were battle-hardened adventurers; they were not intimidated, especially knowing their opponents were those weak green-skinned shorties, so fear was scarce.

“They’re coming!”

Voices grew nearer; everyone drew their weapons, ready to meet the goblin charge.

Using his Hawk Eye skill—now evolved into Far Sight—Lin Mo clearly saw a massive, crowded, chaotic line of goblins charging in the dark.

Many goblins stumbled and were trampled by their comrades, but that was no problem for the horde—

their numbers were enough!

Near the defensive line a dense ring of campfires glowed; in their light the black mass of goblins finally approached.

“Kill!”

Someone shouted and the call was echoed. In the next moment, many adventurers—some scattered, some in teams—rushed forward to clash head-on with the goblin horde.

Ellie had already become excited and shouted, the first to dash out beside Lin Mo.

Lily, who had agreed to join Ellie, glanced at Lin Mo and followed.

Next, the master-and-servant pair and the teacher-and-student pair moved out.

Lin Mo didn’t rush into combat. He watched Finnie and Sherfilia—master and maid—with interest.

Sherfilia remained steadfast in her maidly duty, closely protecting Finnie. As for Finnie...

The mild-mannered priestess raised her expensive staff and knocked it hard against goblin skulls.

She had fought like this before, but now it looked very different.

Back then Finnie’s strength hadn’t been much greater than the goblins—she was a frail priestess.

Until recently that hadn’t changed much.

But after Dual Cultivation evolved into Life Contract, everything became different.

Now Finnie was not only a Transcendent Level priestess but also possessed strength akin to a level 15 warrior, speed like an assassin, and defense like a knight.

Thus a combat priestess, mismatched with her class and gear, made a grand debut!

Finnie clearly enjoyed it. She swung her staff enthusiastically, happily bashing goblin heads.

Lin Mo shook his head and smiled lightly, then stepped forward and joined the fight...

After waiting so long, this massive war had finally begun, and he could no longer wait to start killing and grind massive amounts of proficiency!

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