Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

“When the Gnome Emperor appears carrying the vast majority of the Dark Tide’s power, I will burn my life’s origin. Using this power granted by the Goddess of Nature, just as she once helped the Goddess of Holy Light, I will temporarily seal the Dark Tide...” His gaze swept past the Elven Princess, past the Holy Son of the Church, and finally landed on Lin Mo. “I will buy this world a little more time.”

“High Priest...” Princess Velesia beside him looked at the elder with tearful eyes, her throat tightening so she could not speak for a moment.

“Do not cry, girl.” The High Priest smiled. “Partings are only a matter of time. If not today, perhaps tomorrow... Remember what I told you. You must work hard, and together with your mother, lead the Elven race to survive stubbornly.” With that he stepped forward and slowly closed his eyes.

A surge of intense life force radiated from him. From so close, almost everyone could clearly sense this invigorating energy. Their fatigue seemed like snow fluff under sunlight, vanishing in an instant, leaving them refreshed and uplifted. The High Priest’s life force spread quickly, rapidly covering a large nearby area and continuing to expand. It seemed he was using this method to confirm the positions of the gnomes.

Lin Mo watched curiously. Just then, the Church’s Holy Son approached him. “Hello, Brother Lin Mo.” Unlike his outwardly aloof and serious appearance, this Holy Son spoke in a down-to-earth way that made him easy to approach. His smile, however, looked slightly stiff, as if he did not often show his teeth.

Lin Mo nodded and smiled in response. “Is there something you need?”

“You might need to lend a hand later.” Holy Son Lyons hesitated. “That Holy Light power you used earlier...” To be honest, that question had been buzzing in his mind for a long time, but the situation earlier did not allow him to bring it up. After seeing Lin Mo use that almost godlike pure Holy Light, he had wanted to ask where the power came from. But he had been occupied maintaining the barrier to stabilize the battlefield, so he had no chance. Now, after communicating with the Elven High Priest, they had settled on a strategy: temporarily abandon the defensive line, sacrifice strategic space, and attempt to resolve the problem at its root. Thus, the overall army would adopt a posture of fighting while retreating and continue with that approach. If all went well, the farce would end soon. If something unexpected occurred, the army would maintain that pace and eventually regroup with the second defensive line set up at the border by the Lockesetz Empire and plan from there. In short, he finally had time.

“That question... I might take a bit to explain.” Lin Mo scratched his head, unsure how to put it. He was not part of the Church and did not fully understand its doctrines and beliefs. Speaking rashly might lead to saying something inappropriate. So he decided to leave it to a professional.

Lin Mo then pulled Princess Lily out from his Portable Space and had her explain instead. Lily gave a concise account. Judging from Holy Son Lyons’s rapidly changing expression during her explanation, Lily had not used particularly euphemistic phrasing. After that quick explanation, Lyons finally understood the long-standing mystery. No wonder... No wonder the Holy Light he used was so pure, far beyond even this Holy Son. It turned out Lin Mo had personally received the Saint’s inheritance and recognition from the Goddess of Holy Light—he was the goddess’s successor, the future New God! That explained the seemingly inexplicable things that had happened to him. He should be regarded not as a human, but in the perspective of a god.

Lin Mo waved his hand. “I’m not fond of formalities. It’s better to be natural, like earlier.”

“Ah... very well.” Although he complied, after learning the truth Lyons found it hard to view Lin Mo the same way as before. He could only try to act as naturally as possible.

“Now, about what you mentioned earlier...” But there was no time to debate those matters; the priority was how to get through the current crisis. Lin Mo had not forgotten that Lyons had come specifically to ask for help.

“It’s like this...” Lyons adjusted his words. “The Elven High Priest intends to burn his life to temporarily seal the Gnome Emperor, who has absorbed most of the Dark Tide’s power. That would temporarily solve the immediate issue and buy us time to develop and prepare.”

“The plan is feasible but with one premise: the majority of the Dark Tide’s power must be concentrated into the Gnome Emperor alone. The High Priest is certainly powerful; by burning his life’s origin he can, for a short time, obtain power far beyond his usual strength. But even so, he cannot seal the Dark Tide over a wide area. Only when all the power is focused into one point and used to the utmost could it be possible. Before that, he must not reveal his intention, otherwise the Dark Tide and the Gnome Emperor might detect it...” Lin Mo roughly understood his meaning.

“So what we must do is force the Dark Tide to consolidate.”

“Exactly.” Lyons nodded. “To do that, on one hand we must put enough pressure on the Gnome Emperor so he will actively draw more Dark Tide power into himself. On the other hand, we can use Holy Light to drive and guide the Dark Tide, exploiting its instinctive fear of Holy Light. But for that the Holy Light of Princess Lily and myself are still lacking.” Although they could have some effect, the efficiency would be hard to guarantee. Lyons had expended a lot maintaining the Holy Light barrier earlier and could not recover quickly. Lily’s strength was still much weaker, so she could not contribute much. Lin Mo, however, had both sufficient strength and god-level Holy Light—this primordial Holy Light was precisely what the Dark Tide dreaded most. Therefore his role in the upcoming operation was crucial.

After listening, Lin Mo nodded. “Alright, I understand. I’ll do my best.” Lin Mo had already spent a lot of Holy Light building a temporary barrier to slow the Dark Tide, but the war had gone on for some time since then, so his Holy Light had recovered considerably. In addition, his strength had increased significantly during this period. Holy Light is a special energy, but it relies on the user. The stronger the user, the more Holy Light they can manifest. With recovery and growth, Lin Mo’s Holy Light reservoir was now relatively full. How large the Dark Tide’s scale truly was, no one knew. Lin Mo had not done this kind of operation before, so he could not be certain—only that he would try his best.

At that moment, the Elven High Priest, who had kept his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A flash of sharp light burst from his somewhat clouded old eyes as he looked toward the northeast side of the battlefield. “Found it!” With those words, he slammed his staff into the ground. A moment later, towering vines shot up, lifting everyone into the air. Behind them, a Wind Element mage released a powerful gust that propelled the group toward where the High Priest had pointed.

Earlier it was said that even when the High Priest used nature’s power to scout, the Gnome Emperor’s location could shift during the message transmission and escape. But now that the High Priest himself had joined the battle with human mages assisting, the situation changed. Driven by that strong wind, they moved rapidly toward the Gnome Emperor’s location. The wind control was precise: it fully supported them while pushing them forward, and at arrival gently set them down—showing remarkably skilled and delicate mana manipulation. That was to be expected; everyone present was a Heroic Realm powerhouse. Except for the somewhat exceptional Lily, everyone below Heroic Realm had not participated in this action.

In this special surprise-attack context, they finally confronted the architect of this war, the Gnome Emperor. From his appearance, he did not seem intent on fleeing. If he had tried to leave, even with this combination technique they might not have caught him; they would likely need the High Priest’s ongoing nature detection for pursuit. But he had not chosen to depart; he clearly intended to fight them here.

Judging by the situation, the Dark Tide had indeed absorbed outrageously abundant nourishment, giving the Gnome Emperor considerable confidence. “Welcome, everyone...” The Gnome Emperor looked at them calmly, a faint smile curving his mouth. “I have awaited your arrival for a long time.”

“Heh—then why did you look like a stray dog running everywhere earlier? Just filthy insects; why ape the mannerisms of other races!” A cold sneer cut through. The taunting voice was not some hotheaded adventurer but Holy Son Lyons. Lin Mo cast him a surprised glance—this did not match the image he had formed of Lyons, but he did not take it seriously. Facing this “cockroach” leader, indignation was humanly understandable.

Indeed, in Lin Mo’s view, goblins were akin to cockroaches or rats. If all the cockroaches on Blue Star had a single leader, and all the cockroaches were being guided and controlled by it, it was not hard to imagine how viciously locals might speak of this “cockroach king.” So the Holy Son’s anger was comprehensible. Everyone present wore expressions hard to conceal. The Gnome Emperor, pricked by Lyons’s taunt, flew into a shame-fueled fury. “Shut up, you lowly insects! You are nothing but inferior creatures, while I... the great gnomes, am destined to be this world’s future masters!”

Normally a monarch should carry themselves with regal composure. The Gnome Emperor clearly did not. Born as the repository of the gnome bloodline’s greatest power, receiving unquestioned worship and absolute obedience from his people, the position had coddled him into being a giant spoiled child. He had never met anyone who dared resist him; arrogance and contempt for others were unsurprising. The Holy Son had exactly struck a sore spot: being looked down upon by humans and elves was a festering wound in the gnome or goblin psyche. The more one lacks, the more one likes to overcompensate—this “inferiority-fueled arrogance” is laughable to outsiders.

Faced with the Gnome Emperor’s sudden hysterics, the group decided not to argue further. “No more talk. Attack!” With the Lockesetz Empire’s Royal Astrologer’s words, he moved first, raising his staff as a chilling cold spread from him. The chill was terrifying, as if the air itself would freeze, yet he controlled his Ice Element expertly to avoid harming allies.

“Icy Fall of Heaven!” A massive pillar of ice descended from the sky with a thunderous crash, plunging straight toward the Gnome Emperor. The power of this strike made everyone present, except the Elven High Priest, wince inwardly. This was true Legendary-Level strength. If such an attack landed on any of them... What would the Gnome Emperor do in response? The Royal Astrologer had hoped to probe his strength with this move, testing the opponent.

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