Sensing the enemy’s immense strength, Paige Summers didn’t charge in. Instead, she discreetly retreated a few steps, took out a flare gun, and handed it to Sean Raines.

She pointed to a spot beyond the distant rocks.

He immediately understood what she meant. ’She wants me to draw the Alpha Beast’s attention so she can launch a surprise attack! It’s a plan, I guess, but it’s incredibly risky for her, the one on offense!’

Sean Raines hesitated for a few seconds. Paige thought he was afraid luring the beast out would be too dangerous, so she quickly mouthed, "Go far, you’ll be fine!" Of course she wanted him to draw the enemy out so she could seize the initiative, but from that distance, there was no way he would get hurt. In fact, it was safer than staying this close!

Sean Raines didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’I have my own ways of staying alive. If I can’t win, I can always escape. I was just worried about her! How did she mistake me for a coward who’s afraid to die?’

Without further hesitation, he ignited a Taoist talisman paper and vanished on the spot.

Paige Summers breathed a sigh of relief. She stowed her long knife and other items in her dimensional space, then wedged herself into a crevice in the rocks, concealing her body.

’Sean Raines might be a good ally, but having him around comes with too many complications. Besides, I can’t gauge his background or his true strength. In a situation like this, it’s better to be alone. I can be more flexible that way!’

A moment later, a red flare shot silently into the sky. It burst, scattering a crimson light that could be seen from thousands of meters away.

From her crevice in the rock, Paige Summers aimed her Crossbow. Everything was ready.

"GURK... GURK..." A strange cry soon echoed from behind a pile of rocks. Following the sound, the rock formation exploded with a loud BOOM, as if a stick of dynamite had been lit!

Paige quickly pressed her body tighter into the crevice. She heard a cascade of rocks falling all around her, followed by heavy, thudding leaps. THUD! THUD! THUD! It sounded as if a behemoth had been awakened and was now charging forward in a rage.

She peeked out and saw a Mutant Beast leaping onto the pile of shattered rocks.

’Is that... a toad?!’

It resembled a frog, but its back was covered in protruding, semi-circular warts. It was enormous—nearly three men tall—and its body looked incredibly heavy. The only part of it that seemed agile was its tongue. Right now, it was extended over twenty meters long. When the tip of its tongue struck the cliff face, the rock shattered violently as if hit by a bomb...

Shards of rock flew past Paige. ’If it does that again,’ she thought, ’I could be buried alive under the rubble.’ Though shocked and astonished, there was no time to hesitate. Combat instincts took over, compelling her to raise her Crossbow, aim, and fire!

Her target: its eye!

The target was small, the beast was enormous, and her angle of attack was too low. Paige’s aim had been honed to near perfection, but even she couldn’t guarantee a hit. ’But the arrow is coated in poison,’ she thought, ’pure, undiluted Poisonous Liquid. Even if I miss the eye, a graze should be enough to have some effect!’

But as it turned out, Paige had underestimated her opponent.

The toad sensed the attack and tilted its head back slightly, causing the Crossbow Arrow to just graze past it.

Paige saw it clearly. The arrowhead had definitely made contact, but there was no wound, no reaction at all. Instead, the toad seemed to get angry, letting out a loud "GURK!" in her direction. Then, one of the warts on its back suddenly shot out a stream of liquid, arcing down toward her!

Seeing this, Paige burst from her cover, dodging rapidly to the side. As she moved, she fired her second Crossbow Arrow.

When the first arrow had struck the beast’s body, it had made a sound like metal striking metal. This made her realize the toad’s hide was incredibly tough and difficult to penetrate. The fact that the Poisonous Liquid had no effect was also deeply disappointing.

’This is much harder than I expected!’

’But at least I can use this opportunity to disrupt its command over the other Mutant Beasts... Otherwise, even if Marcus Monroe and the others see the flare, I can’t be sure they’ll be able to break through the encirclement and get here in time.’

Her second arrow flew toward the creature’s slightly raised chin!

’I remember frogs are white from their chin to their belly,’ she thought. ’This toad should be similar. That spot has to be softer than the rest of its body—it must be a weak point!’

Just as she’d predicted, the toad didn’t passively dodge this attack. Instead, it shot out its tongue like a whip, deftly coiling it around the arrow’s tail from the side...

Meanwhile, as Paige dodged the stream of liquid, her speed was hampered by the shattered rocks. She was just a beat too slow, and a few droplets splattered onto her clothes. It was then that she discovered just how terrifying this toad truly was.