Hawkeye pulled out a bottle of paralysis potion and smeared it on the blade of his battle axe. The potion emitted a unique sheen, and its effect would last for about ten minutes. In the next moment, Hawkeye shouted in a low voice, “Don’t be afraid of it, get in there! Brothers, don’t be scared! If we kill this bloodthirsty tiger, our commission will be enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives. You could live in a mansion and even keep three or four concubines without any problem!”

Seeking fortune in danger, a group of mercenaries charged forward with their weapons, and even the archers had put down their longbows, gripping spears as they rushed in together.

“Roar!”

The bloodthirsty tiger let out another furious roar, fiery red energy swirling around its neck.

Olivia Carter felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly leapt into a nearby hollow, holding Olivia Walker in his arms.

“What’s wrong?” Olivia Walker exclaimed in shock.

Olivia Carter pressed her down, not letting her speak.

In the next instant, with a booming sound, the surrounding temperature soared, flames swept across the grassland, and Olivia Walker stared wide-eyed at Olivia Carter, whimpering. The flames swept over Olivia Carter’s head, even singeing a strand of his hair.

“Ah Yu…”

Olivia Walker was stunned.

Olivia Carter’s eyes were full of calm. He rolled over and lay on the ground, enduring the pain as he extinguished the flames on the back of his head, taking a deep breath. He thought to himself that the firepower of a bloodthirsty tiger in reality was definitely much stronger than in the game—how terrifying!

Olivia Walker cautiously stretched her neck over the edge of the hollow to take a look, only to be utterly shocked. On the open ground, more than twenty mercenaries from the Flame Eagle Mercenary Group had all been burned to charcoal by a single blast of the bloodthirsty tiger’s fiery breath. Their bodies were still standing, propped up by their weapons, but completely charred and emitting a strong burnt stench.

“Ah…”

Olivia Walker collapsed to her knees. She had never seen a dead person with her own eyes before, but now she was confronted with so many corpses at once, all of them people who had been alive just moments ago.

……

“Hold steady!”

Hawkeye was still holding his battle axe, growling, “A 4,000-year-old bloodthirsty tiger needs at least three minutes before it can breathe fire again. This is our best chance! Men, use the iron net formation—trap that beast for me!”

A dozen or so mercenaries had already mounted their horses, spurring them forward, each holding a corner of the iron net. With a loud shout, they charged at the bloodthirsty tiger. As they drew near, they spread the net—“buzz”—a net nearly ten meters long was cast, instantly covering the massive body of the bloodthirsty tiger.

“Roar!”

The iron net was elastic. The bloodthirsty tiger struggled fiercely, but the more it struggled, the tighter it became. Gradually, it stopped moving.

“Hmph, a beast is just a beast—truly stupid!” one mercenary laughed loudly. “Boss, now’s the time! Let’s go together and slay this 4,000-year-old spirit beast. It’s been ages since anyone in Silver Fir City or even the entire Seven Star Forest has managed to hunt a 4,000-year-old spirit beast. We’ll be the first! Haha…”

Hawkeye said nothing, gathering his true energy with a low shout. Flames blazed on his battle axe as he charged forward, leaping up and bringing down a full-powered strike on the bloodthirsty tiger’s skull!

“Bang!”

The iron net was slashed and snapped apart, along with a tuft of the bloodthirsty tiger’s fiery red fur and a spray of fresh blood. At last, the bloodthirsty tiger was wounded—a gash split open on its head.

But at the moment it was injured, the bloodthirsty tiger showed no anger at all. Instead, its brown eyes were filled with calm—or perhaps even a mocking expression. For a moment, Hawkeye was almost frozen in place. What he saw was not a beast, but almost a person. This 4,000-year-old spirit beast possessed human-level intelligence. In fact, it had deliberately let him attack, using his strength to break the iron net!

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, the bloodthirsty tiger burst out of the net, lunging and biting down on Hawkeye. There was a miserable scream and a spray of blood as Hawkeye was knocked to the ground, writhing and struggling. In the next instant, his entire right arm, along with the axe, was torn off by the bloodthirsty tiger.

“Captain!”

The mercenaries cried out in anger and shock, each brandishing their weapons and charging forward, stabbing spears and swords into the bloodthirsty tiger’s body. Once wounded, the tiger’s hide lost much of its defensive power and could no longer withstand the mercenaries’ attacks. Among these mercenaries, there were some truly skilled individuals—Olivia Carter and Olivia Walker watched wide-eyed as several of them actually used martial techniques!

That’s right, martial techniques aren’t something ordinary people can learn. At the very least, one must break through the first realm of the human stage to even qualify to learn them!

……

“Roar!”

The bloodthirsty tiger roared in fury, slaughtering left and right. In the blink of an eye, the remaining dozens of mercenaries were nearly all killed.

“It’s over… it’s all over…”

Grace Brooks gripped his longsword, but it was as if all his strength had left him. He shook his head repeatedly and said, “This 4,000-year-old spirit beast is just too strong. The Flame Eagle Mercenary Group has been completely wiped out. Retreat… fall back!”

Four guards wearing the insignia of the Purple Violet Empire nodded in unison, escorting the young city lord onto his horse before riding away without the slightest intention of helping the gravely wounded mercenary captain.

A wave of intense pain shot through Olivia Carter’s arm. He hurriedly helped Olivia Walker to her feet and said, “Olivia Walker sis, let’s go quickly… otherwise, the bloodthirsty tiger will never let us go…”