Scared Away!

The moment Lin Ming recognized it, the Ironclad Rhino Chief charging with its head lowered finally saw the face of the young human holding a silver spear in front of the woman with its blood-red eyes.

It was as if it had been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning! The Ironclad Rhino Chief's massive charging body suddenly lurched to a stop, its four hooves plowing four deep furrows into the ground!

The pupils in its blood-red eyes, filled with savagery and murderous intent, shrank to pinpoints the instant they saw Lin Ming's calm face!

A soul-deep, unforgettable terror instantly doused all its rage and ferocity like icy water!

It was that demon! That terrifying human whose single spear strike had nearly shattered its horn and slammed half its body into the ground! Why was he here?!

The Ironclad Rhino Chief was not lacking in intelligence. It clearly remembered the terror of being dominated by that spear that day.

That spear intent, heavy as a mountain and seemingly able to split anything apart; that killing intent, cold and devoid of even a trace of emotion; and its own miserable escape at the end, gravely wounded and near death, desperately burrowing into the ground...

It had thought it would never encounter that demon again in its lifetime. Yet who could have imagined that, out here in the middle of nowhere, it would run into him again just because it was chasing a seemingly harmless human woman?!

Run! It had to run! Immediately! At once! Get as far away from that demon as possible!

Without the slightest hesitation, under the stunned gazes of the woman, the bewildered mercenaries, and even Lin Ming himself—

The Ironclad Rhino Chief at the peak of the Second Realm, Ninth Layer, which just a second ago had been charging fiercely and swearing to crush the woman into pulp, suddenly let out a short, terrified cry utterly at odds with its huge body and ferocious appearance.

Then... it actually forced itself to stop, its enormous body making an awkward yet swift turn on the spot with agility completely disproportionate to its size.

Its thick tail was tightly tucked between its legs in terror. Without looking back, it scrambled frantically toward the mutated thicket it had come from, rolling and stumbling as it fled for its life!

It was even faster than during its charge just now! As if Death itself were chasing it from behind!

"Roar?! (Why is the boss running away?)"

"Whimper? (What's going on?)"

The other Ironclad Rhinos and Razor Boars that had been fiercely fighting the mercenary group were also dumbfounded.

Their limited intelligence could not understand what had happened, but when they saw their strongest chief fleeing in such terror, instinctive fear instantly spread through them.

"Awroo!"

"Hiss, hiss!"

No one knew which Mutated Beast took the lead, but the remaining beasts let out a series of panicked cries. They actually abandoned the attack, turning one after another to follow their chief as it fled. Like a receding tide, they surged into the depths of the thicket, leaving behind only a battlefield in ruins and a group of utterly bewildered mercenaries.

The battle... had ended just like that?

It had come suddenly, and ended even more strangely.

The mercenaries looked at one another, their hands gripping their weapons stiffening slightly.

They looked in the direction the Ironclad Rhino Chief had vanished, then at the young man being held by their young mistress, who was now frowning slightly as though even he found this unexpected. Their minds were a complete mess.

What was going on? Why had that monster suddenly run away? Had Captain Zhou frightened it? That did not seem right. Captain Zhou was brave, but he had only barely managed to hold it back.

Could it have been scared off by their stubborn resistance? That did not seem likely either...

The bald captain leaned on his greatsword, breathing heavily as he looked at Lin Ming with uncertain suspicion.

He had been the closest. He vaguely sensed that after the Ironclad Rhino Chief recognized this young man, its aura had instantly shifted from savagery to extreme terror! It definitely was not because of him! Was it because of this young man?

But this young man... looked far too ordinary. Though his bearing was somewhat cold, his aura did not seem particularly powerful.

Covered in dust, still so young, and alone in the Wilderness... no matter how one looked at him, he did not resemble some peerless expert capable of making a peak Tier Two Mutated Beast flee at the sight of him.

Only the bespectacled woman still held Lin Ming's arm. From so close, she looked at his calm, unruffled profile, which even carried a faint hint of regret. Why did it run? I haven't earned any Kill Points yet.

A woman's intuition told her that the Ironclad Rhino's strange behavior just now was definitely related to this mysterious young man.

With the crisis resolved, the mercenaries immediately got to work. Some kept watch of the surroundings to prevent the Mutated Beasts from making a return attack. The rest hurried to inspect the overturned off-road vehicle and the wounded.

The bald captain also composed himself and walked over to the woman, asking with concern, "Miss, are you all right? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Captain Zhou." The woman released Lin Ming's arm and adjusted her crooked glasses. Though her face was still somewhat pale, she had regained her composure. "It's thanks to this... friend. He stood there just now, and it seemed like... he scared that monster away?"

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Lin Ming again, filled with curiosity.

Captain Zhou and the other mercenaries also turned their eyes toward Lin Ming, their gazes full of scrutiny and wariness. In the Wilderness, strangers often meant danger.

Lin Ming felt everyone's eyes on him, but his expression remained calm.

He had not wanted trouble in the first place. Since the Ironclad Rhino had run away, he could not be bothered to chase after it. He lifted the Silver Frost Spear, turned, and prepared to leave.

"Young man, please wait." Captain Zhou spoke, his voice hoarse but carrying an unquestionable tone. "Who are you? Why are you here? And what exactly... happened just now?"

Lin Ming paused and turned slightly to look at Captain Zhou, then swept his gaze across the others' wary faces. His tone was flat and emotionless.

"A passerby. Passing through. Don't know."

Brief and to the point, he turned to leave again after saying that.

"Wait!" This time, the woman spoke. She stepped forward and blocked Lin Ming's path, a gentle and sincere smile appearing on her face. Her eyes behind her glasses curved like crescents. "Thank you for earlier... Even if you may not have done anything, I feel that you scared that rhino away. My name is Xia He. I'm a biological genetics researcher. These are friends from the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group, escorting me to the next base city."

She paused. Seeing that Lin Ming was travel-worn and clearly had suffered quite a bit, then looking at his young face, a hint of understanding flashed through her eyes. Her tone became even gentler.

"You're alone in the Wilderness, aren't you? Did you... run into some kind of trouble? For example, hiding from enemies?"

Her casual guess happened to hit the mark.

Lin Ming glanced at her without denying it, only saying calmly, "Something like that."

Xia He's eyes lit up, as if she had become even more certain of something. She quickly said,

"Then that's perfect! Look, we're planning to camp overnight in the Wilderness too. Meeting is fate, and out here, humans should help one another. How about... staying with us? You can eat something and get some rest. We brought plenty of food and clean water. It's much better than gnawing on dry rations by yourself."

"Miss!" Captain Zhou frowned deeply and reminded her in a low voice. People of unknown origin were the greatest taboo in the Wilderness.

"It's fine, Captain Zhou." Xia He insisted. She felt an inexplicable curiosity toward Lin Ming, along with a faint, indescribable sense of trust. "Mr. Lin Ming... doesn't look like a bad person. Besides, if he can survive alone in the Wilderness, he must be capable. One more person means one more bit of strength."

Lin Ming had originally intended to refuse. But when he heard "plenty of food and clean water," especially when he thought of the dry, tough, occasionally fishy Mutated Beast jerky he had been chewing these past few days, along with that murky filtered water... he hesitated.

The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art consumed an enormous amount of vitality and blood during cultivation. Although he could absorb the energy of heaven and earth to replenish himself, high-quality food was still important for recovering quickly and maintaining his condition.

Besides, these people looked well-equipped. Their meals should not be bad.