Blood spurted out—this claw had struck a vital spot, and Grant closed his eyes forever. Witnessing a comrade die right before their eyes, the other mercenaries could no longer hold back; blades flashed and swords clashed as they all charged at the magical beast together.

The shouts of men and the roars of the Sword-armored Tiger echoed, making the entire forest tremble. This was the first time Ryan Bennett had witnessed the cruelty of death with his own eyes. Blood splattered everywhere, and two more mercenaries were thrown from the fray. The Sword-armored Tiger was even harder to deal with than expected—not only did it have sharp fangs and claws, but its most troublesome feature was its defense. Its body was covered in a layer of hard armor—not completely impervious to blades and spears, but ordinary weapons could barely harm it. Only Captain Nick's battle aura and another strongman's giant axe could make it wary; the beast was nearly immune to the other mercenaries' swords and knives.

“Damn it!”

The mercenaries fought with real fury, but the difference in strength only led to more casualties. Nick's eyes turned red; as captain, seeing his comrades fall one after another drove him to the brink of rage.

“Kill!”

With a loud shout, Nick unleashed his battle aura, its intensity much greater than before. Facing the beast's sharp claws, he didn't retreat; instead, he lowered his body and thrust his sword forward with all his might.

Crimson blood flowed—Nick's shoulder was slashed open, but his bravery paid off. The magical beast was struck by the sword, and battle aura was not to be trifled with; even its tough scales were pierced, and the once-arrogant Sword-armored Tiger was wounded.

The situation seemed to improve, but just then, something unexpected happened. The force of that sword was a bit too much, and the beast was sent flying by the impact. Normally, this would be a good thing—the greater the force, the heavier the beast's injuries. But by sheer misfortune, the Sword-armored Tiger was flung toward the group of merchants.

“Ah!”

A young girl cried out in panic as the beast hurtled toward her, growing larger in her field of vision. Terrified, her legs went weak and she completely forgot to dodge. The people around her were frozen in shock—none of them had ever seen such a scene. Because they were too far from the mercenaries, Nick and the others had no time to rescue her.

The situation was extremely dire; a beautiful flower was about to wither. The girl closed her eyes in despair, but at that moment, she felt a force push her aside, pulling her back from death's embrace.

Boom!

The Sword-armored Tiger landed at her feet, smashing a pit into the hard earth. The beast quickly got up, glaring menacingly at the humans before it.

Ryan Bennett wore a wry smile—he had just played the hero saving the damsel, but now... his own situation seemed rather dire.

“Don’t move!”

Nick quickly warned. Things looked bad, but they were too far away; any move the boy made could provoke the beast, leading to irreversible consequences...

What should he do?

Ryan Bennett was extremely nervous. The excitement he’d felt upon first seeing a magical beast had long since vanished, replaced by a trace of fear in his eyes. It wasn’t that he was cowardly—think about it: facing a magical beast twice the size of a tiger, covered in spikes, who wouldn’t be afraid? All those stories about becoming a fearless hero after transmigrating, taming dragons as underlings at will—utter nonsense. Ryan Bennett felt that the fact he hadn’t collapsed to the ground in terror was already quite brave.

By the firelight, he could see the beast’s teeth—each as long as a finger, so sharp they made his heart race.

Roar!

A piercing roar made his head spin. The Sword-armored Tiger was clearly growing impatient—it was about to attack...

Was he really going to die here?

Ryan Bennett's mind went blank. Amid his fear was a hint of sorrow—was his luck really this bad, even as a transmigrator?

A foul wind rushed at him as the beast lunged, its teeth growing larger in his vision. But Ryan Bennett was unwilling to give in; his survival instinct made him roar in defiance.

Boom!

Something unexpected happened—a whirlwind appeared out of nowhere. Though not very large and with a limited range, it enveloped only Ryan Bennett, but its power was astonishing. As soon as the Sword-armored Tiger touched it, the beast let out a pained howl and was flung far away, crashing heavily to the ground and lying motionless.

The whole process happened in a flash, catching everyone off guard. It was a long while before Nick came to his senses. He and another mercenary cautiously approached, only to be shocked to find the Sword-armored Tiger was already dead. Strangely, there were no obvious wounds on its body.

Confusion reigned. Nick was a veteran mercenary, but he had never seen—or even heard of—such a thing. The Sword-armored Tiger was a fourth-tier magical beast; how had it died? He glanced at Ryan Bennett—could this boy actually be a hidden master?

But the look of panic on his face didn’t seem faked.

What on earth had happened?

It was a pity there were no magicians present; otherwise, they would surely have worshipped Ryan Bennett like a god. That so-called whirlwind just now was actually a storm generated by spiritual power. Think about it—just using spiritual power to create a tangible storm, without any magic, and instantly killing a fourth-tier magical beast—such a feat was beyond not only ordinary people, but even the strongest magicians, the legendary Archmages, could never achieve it.

Though they didn’t understand the difficulty, everyone now looked at Ryan Bennett differently, regarding him as a powerful figure hiding his true identity.