A deafening "boom" echoed through the canyon, reverberating and spreading outward in wave after wave, seeming to shoot straight into the heavens. Even the reddish-pink rope, possessing extraordinary tensile strength, was precisely severed by that shot. A large amount of dark red fluid sprayed from the break, scattering wildly like an uncontrolled high-pressure hose.

The fluid splashed onto the shore and slowly trickled over the hard rock, rapidly corroding it, emitting a sizzling sound and foul white smoke. A horrifying, bizarre sound of agony drifted up from under the water—a muffled noise, like someone repeatedly hiccuping. The ripples and whirlpools emerging from the depths suggested that this thing must be enormous!

Faced with this sudden assault, everyone in the team felt not panic, but intense excitement! Their previous victory against the Ant Queen had given them a delusion: the creatures here were nothing special; they just required serious attention and a combined effort to conquer easily.

Hedikuli and Aziza rushed over together, both simultaneously shouting a single name: "Bokan!!"

Bokan had just managed a brief rest, his MP not having recovered much, but at that moment, he immediately downed a Potion of Honor, chanting incomprehensible incantations at the top of his lungs while drawing a wand!

This wand was modeled after those from the Harry Potter world, resembling a conductor's baton, but its tip was inlaid with a fingernail-sized, earthy-yellow crystal. As Bokan chanted, the crystal emitted a blinding light. Everyone could clearly feel the earth shaking and trembling, responding to the movements of the wand in his hand!

As the chanting concluded, the ground violently convulsed. From the river, a rigid stone wall, one hundred meters long, suddenly erupted, arching to encase the area where Fang Senyan had been attacked. The river channel immediately narrowed by more than half, making the current more turbulent, while the water within the encircled section began to calm down.

Bokan slumped back down, exhausted, and loudly announced a number: "Ten minutes!"

This was clearly the duration for which the stone wall would hold.

However, it was soon apparent that the monster in the water was beginning to slam violently against the wall, causing it to tremble fiercely and even develop cracks. Yet, that was all the creature could manage against the barrier.

At some unknown point, Ronnie had quietly crept to within twenty meters of the river. He extended both hands, instantly outlining the silhouette of the underwater monster with perfect clarity. Above the creature's head, a massive phantom light signal—visible only to a Contractor's retina—appeared: a grimacing, gigantic skull illusion.

This was one of Ronnie’s abilities: Death Mark. Enemies marked by him lost all effects of invisibility, refraction, or illusion, and their critical hit chance was increased by 5%.

From Ronnie’s mark, it was clear that the attacker of Fang Senyan was a behemoth, standing no less than four meters tall. Its width was also considerable, and it appeared to be standing upright—likely some form of humanoid creature.

Having confirmed the target, Vasily, for some reason, was now hefting a visibly enlarged and reinforced version of a "Vulcan" cannon. This weapon was usually fixed onto famous fighter jets like the F-14, F-15, F-16, and F/A-18, driven by hydraulics, electrically fired, and utilizing a linkless feeding system, boasting a maximum rate of fire of 6,000 rounds per minute! Fang Senyan truly hadn't expected such ferocity from the seemingly refined defense expert, Vasily!

Amidst the roar of the cannon, a terrifying storm of metal poured out. Fang Senyan even noticed that some of the ejected bullets were enchanted with a flame effect. Even plunging into the water, multiple red streaks could be seen piercing deeply, hissing and sizzling, turning the underwater area completely red-hot. The monster tried to continue ramming the wall, but being pinned down and fired upon by the cannon at 6,000 rounds per minute from behind, the sensation could only be imagined.

It attempted to slip away in the murky water, but Ronnie’s Death Mark exposed it completely. Finally, with a painful roar, it stopped fleeing, instead leaping out of the water and lunging directly at Vasily!

With a huge "Splash!" the creature’s leaping ability seemed astonishing! Having bounded at least five or six meters high, it kicked up a massive spray of water before its thick legs slammed heavily onto the ground.

At this moment, the creature's full appearance became clear. It was undoubtedly a massive brute, possessing dark cyan skin covered in rugged, protruding warts, much like a crocodile's. This skin looked incredibly tough, as the cannon rounds couldn't fully penetrate it; as it moved, many bullets could be seen dropping off its hide with metallic dings.

Its head resembled a toad's, with a streak of blood flowing from the corner of its mouth. Now everyone could guess what had ensnared Fang Senyan earlier—it was clearly this thing's tongue. Its overall appearance was that of a humanoid toad, with two massively muscled legs poised to contract and unleash enormous energy for escape or attack.

It must be mentioned that it possessed terrifying claws. These claws were extremely sharp, but their inner surface was covered with strange, spiral-like indentations, reminiscent of petrified, solidified octopus suckers. To put it plainly, these claws grew from its palms like Wolverine's, incredibly sharp and awe-inspiring.

As Fang Senyan activated his detection ability, a series of data was scanned: Slime Toad Creature | Health Points: Very High | Defense: Moderate (Thick, warty skin secretes venom and provides excellent defense) | Speed: 4 m/s, Jump Speed: 15 m/s (Must rest 30 seconds after each jump) | Attack: Strong (Includes armor-piercing effect), may possess biological abilities. | Biology: Extra resistance to Water-element attacks. | Attributes: Strength 80 / Agility 35 / Stamina 40 / Intelligence 30 / Spirit 30 / Charisma 10 / Perception 70 | Environment: Wide water bodies, rivers | Organization: Small groups (4~10 heads) | Value: Congealed Venom (Bufotoxin), Hide, Claws, Tongue | Biological Ability: Not yet collected (May exist) | Potential Loot: Possible. This humanoid semi-elemental creature possesses high intelligence and has learned to protect itself with various armors and weapons. | Description: This is a powerful humanoid creature. They are chaotic and evil; do not expect friendship or alliance. Upon encountering one, you have only one choice: fight bravely, because even if you flee, turning your back means being ensnared by its tongue and chewed into dessert. | Do you wish to spend 50,000 Universal Credits to immediately obtain its biological ability data from the online database? Yes/No?

Observing this torrent of data, Fang Senyan certainly was not going to spend fifty thousand Universal Credits. It was obvious this creature was no easy opponent, likely several tiers above the Cockatrice Beast. Thankfully, with the team's support, eliminating it should present no major issues.

Fang Senyan had been bound by the Slime Toad Tribe’s tongue earlier, but William had shot and severed it, allowing Fang Senyan to successfully break free. He could now control the duration of his potion effects, so he promptly tossed a Potion of Enhancement into the crowd, signaling everyone to enter the rising potion mist. This would grant everyone a +8% bonus to all attributes, at least a 6-point boost to base attributes, lasting for thirty minutes.

Then... having completed his support role, he naturally began to "loiter," positioning himself between the magic-casting Contractors and the firearm Contractors to act as a protective screen. No one could fault Fang Senyan for this, as he had perfectly fulfilled his core duty.

After leaping high, the Slime Toad Tribe landed and immediately lunged toward Vasily, who had been blasting it with continuous screams of pain.

Although Hedikuli and Aziza were already prepared, it seemed they had planned to lure the monster onto the shore, as they appeared almost idle, watching from the sidelines.

Vasily, however, showed no fear, raising his Vulcan cannon and continuing to bombard the monster fiercely, seemingly unconcerned about the rapidly closing distance. As the Slime Toad Tribe was attacked, it went nearly berserk, its eyes filling with a terrifying, blood-red mist. It reached Vasily, raised its claws high, and brought them down with tremendous force.

Had that strike landed true, Vasily would have been severely wounded, even if not killed outright!

But just then, Hedikuli suddenly extended his hand, pressing it gently toward Vasily. Instantly, a faint purple connecting line bizarrely appeared between them. That line rapidly expanded to the size of a large bowl, finally forming a profoundly deep, pitch-black tunnel. A flash of light, sharp as an electric arc, suddenly sparked through it. In that instant, Hedikuli and Vasily bizarrely swapped positions! The two, separated by over thirty meters, suddenly exchanged places!

In that critical moment, Fang Senyan, also a Main Tank (MT), narrowed his eyes. This seemingly simple move, for an MT whose primary focus is a teammate's safety, was a game-changing life-saver in critical moments—a god-tier skill! If this move could be used on enemies, it would be comparable to an S-rank skill when deployed appropriately!