The "Throat of Cinder" lived up to its name.

Dust and pulverized rock filled the air, choking the sunlight. The canyon floor, previously silent, was now a chaotic mosh pit of violence.

"Shield Wall! Don't let them flank us!" Kaelen screamed, his voice booming with the authority of a 5th Order Warlord.

He wasn't struggling against the small fry. His silver plate armor glowed with a blinding aura as he swung his lance.

CRASH!

With a single sweep, Kaelen shattered three Rock Golems into gravel. The "elite" monsters that would have terrorized a normal party were nothing but pests to him.

"Is that it?" Kaelen laughed, arrogant even in battle. "I expected a challenge!"

However, Damien, not hearing his laugh, couldn't help but want to slap himself

"Idiot! Don't you know that's a death flag!"

Unfortunately, it was too late

RUMBLE.

The ground beneath him exploded.

From the magma pools deep within the canyon fissures, something massive erupted. It wasn't a scorpion. It wasn't a golem.

It was a Magma Drake.

A Tier 5 Beast.

It was sixty feet long, covered in obsidian scales that dripped liquid fire. It didn't have wings like a dragon, but its massive, lizard-like body was built for crushing.

Just standing in front of it, everyone felt a terrifying pressure wash over their bodies

"ROAR!"

The Drake unleashed a sonic scream that shattered the remaining Golems instantly. It locked its burning yellow eyes on the strongest energy signature: Kaelen.

"A Drake?" Kaelen's smile vanished. "Defensive Formation! Mages, buff me! Now!"

Staring at this beast, Kaelen knew he couldn't run.

If he dared to turn his back, not only would he give the drake and easier target, but his teamates might accidentaly get killed.

Although unwilling, but this was a fight he could not back out from.

"Damn noble! You better increase my pay for this!" he yelled, gathering mana in body.

"Silver Art: Lunar Thrust!"

Kaelen charged. His lance turned into a beam of silver light. He slammed into the Drake, aiming for its throat.

BOOM!

The collision shook the canyon walls.

Kaelen's lance pierced the Drake's obsidian scales, spraying magma-blood everywhere. The beast screeched in pain, thrashing wildly.

But a Tier 5 Beast would not go down that easily.

While Kaelen was stuck in the follow-through, the Drake whipped its massive tail.

WHAM!

It hit Kaelen like a siege engine.

The Knight was launched across the canyon. He smashed into the cliff face, burying himself ten feet deep in the rock.

"Captain!" The Silver Lance Mage screamed.

The Drake lunged at the mage, its maw opening to unleash a breath of fire.

"Get... OFF!"

Kaelen exploded out of the rubble. His helmet was gone. His armor was crushed on the left side, and blood poured from his forehead, blinding one eye.

He ignored the injury. He flashed forward, intercepting the Drake.

"Intent Release: Silver Bulwark!"

He didn't attack directly; instead he projected his Aura. A massive, spectral shield appeared between the Drake and his team.

FWOOSH!

The Drake's fire breath hit the shield. The heat was intense enough to turn the sand to glass.

Kaelen gritted his teeth, his boots sliding backward. His skin blistered. His mana drained rapidly.

"DIE!"

Kaelen roared, pouring his life force into one final strike. He thrust his lance upward, driving it into the Drake's underbelly.

The Drake shrieked. Realizing this prey was too thorny to eat without dying itself, the beast thrashed, dislodging the lance, and burrowed back into the magma vent, fleeing to the depths.

It was gone.

"Hah... Hah..." Kaelen dropped to one knees. He used his lance to hold himself up.

He had won. He had driven off a Tier 5 disaster.

But the cost was high.

His left arm hung uselessly by his side, shattered. His mana was empty. His team was scattered and terrified.

And the battle wasn't over.

The Drake had fled, but the noise and the blood had attracted the swarm.

Hundreds of Magma Scorpions and Rock Golems, sensing the weakened state of the "Alpha," began to close in on the injured mercenaries.

"Damn it..." Kaelen wheezed, trying to lift his lance again. "Formation... regroup..."

"You look tired, Sir Knight."

A calm voice drifted down from above.

Kaelen looked up.

Sitting on the roof of the black carriage, parked safely on a high ridge, was Damien. He was eating popcorn.

"You..." Kaelen grit his teeth. "Help us! The Drake... I drove it off! But the swarm... we can't handle the numbers!"

Damien swallowed his snack.

"You did well, Kaelen. Driving off a Tier 5? Impressive. Truly."

Damien stood up, dusting off his coat.

"A bit more competent than what I had in mind."

He looked down at his team.

"Lyra. Isabelle. Leona. Clean up."

"Understood!"

The girls moved.

Isabelle jumped from the ridge. She landed in the center of a scorpion swarm.

"Gravity... Crush."

SQUELCH.

Fifty scorpions were instantly flattened into paste.

Lyra unleashed a volley of Phantom Arrows. They curved through the air, piercing the eye-slits of the Rock Golems with surgical precision.

Leona, eager to stretch her muscles, leapt down and smashed the remaining golems with her bare gauntlets.

In thirty seconds, the threat that would have wiped out the exhausted Silver Lance was gone.

Damien shadow-stepped down from the carriage. He landed in front of Kaelen.

He didn't look like a protected noble anymore. He looked like a boss inspecting his employees.

He reached into his Void Gem and pulled out a high-grade healing potion. He tossed it to Kaelen.

"Drink," Damien ordered. "I paid for a bodyguard, not a corpse."

Kaelen caught the potion with his good hand. He looked at the dead monsters. He looked at the uninjured girls.

He looked at Damien, who hadn't even drawn his sword.

Kaelen realised the truth. He hadn't protected them. They had been evaluating him.

"Thank you... Young Master," Kaelen whispered, his pride shattered along with his arm.

"Good," Damien smiled, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Now get up. The Drake opened the path forward, no time to rest."

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