Yes, if Caleb still thought that Noan was easily bullied if Caleb had not been cautious enough, he would have been killed by Noan without even realizing it.

    Caleb let out a sigh of relief. At this moment, he understood clearly that as long as Noan remained within his territory, Austin could not kill him.

    Moreover, even if Austin could somehow break through the invisible wall protecting Noan''s domain, defeating him would still be a formidable challenge.

    Suddenly, the Lava Lizard charged toward the invisible wall.

    BAM!

    Its head slammed against the wall with a resounding impact. The ground trembled slightly, and ripples spread across the surface of the invisible barrier, even more than when the molten sphere had struck it earlier.

    However, the concentric waves on the wall disappeared after a few moments, and nothing further happened.

    After all, the Lava Lizard was merely a rank D-Peak level 2 monster, while the protective dome over Noan''s territory could only be breached by a rank C level 2 creature.

    The difference between rank D-Peak and rank C was so vast that it hardly needed to be explained.

    However, Austin seemed to have gone mad. He refused to stop until the barrier was broken.

    His subordinates lay scattered on the ground, some even dead, yet he paid them no heed.

    His mind was consumed by fury. At this moment, he only wanted to shatter the invisible wall before him.

    Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!

    Suddenly, a sound like rain echoed through the air, followed by droplets falling from above.

    "Rain?!" Austin frowned, sensing something eerie about these raindrops.

    He stretched out his hand, letting the droplets land on his palm. But within seconds, a pool of blood had formed there.

    "Blood?! What the hell?"

    Austin looked up, and the sight before him nearly caused him to faint.

    Above him, numerous spider cocoons had turned crimson, their tightly wrapped contents squeezed so forcefully that fresh blood gushed out continuously, forming a rain of blood.

    Austin shuddered, fear gripping him so tightly that his legs trembled uncontrollably.

    Even though he had no idea what was happening, his instincts screamed at him to run—if he didn''t, he would die.

    However, Austin''s arrogance far outweighed the warning from his intuition.

    "Goddamn it!" he gritted his teeth and roared. "Do you think a cheap trick like this will make me afraid?"

    "Burn it all down for me!"

    The Lava Lizard obeyed immediately, spewing molten lava into the sky.

    The moment the others saw this, they shouted in terror.

    "No! Boss, stop!"

    "Boss! Are you trying to kill us all?"

    "Run! He''s lost his mind—he wants to kill everyone!"

    "Damn it! Hurry! Don''t let the lava hit you!"

    From a distance, Caleb was also startled by the scene. Even though he was over a hundred meters away from Austin, seeing the streams of lava erupting from the lizard''s mouth, he feared that the impact radius would far exceed a hundred meters.

    Without hesitation, he leaped down from the tree branch and fled even farther, accompanied by the Stone Golem.

    Caleb was lucky—far luckier than Austin''s subordinates.

    Before they could even attempt to escape, the molten streams struck the blood-soaked cocoons, triggering an explosion.

    Austin howled until his throat felt like it was about to tear apart, but still, no one answered him.

    "Boss... save me..."

    Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, making him freeze.

    He spun around and saw a young man wrapped inside a massive spider silk cocoon, hanging upside down with only his head exposed.

    What was even more horrifying was that the young man had lost one of his eyes, his mouth was void of teeth, and blood streamed endlessly from his empty eye socket and his lips like twin rivers.

    "Adrian?!" Austin gasped.

    He recalled that earlier, he had sent Adrian here to persuade Noan to surrender, but there had been no response from Adrian.

    At the time, he hadn''t cared about it. But now, seeing Adrian''s wretched state, a chill ran down his spine.

    Austin suddenly felt as if an enormous, unseen hand was manipulating everything.

    And he—he was nothing more than a fool, dancing in a circus for someone else''s amusement.

    "Boss... save... save me..." Adrian used every ounce of his remaining strength to plead with Austin.

    The chances of Austin saving him were so slim that it was almost impossible.

    But still, Adrian tried.

    Because... he had already fallen into utter despair.

    Hanging upside down, he had witnessed everything—how Austin had led his subordinates here and how, one by one, they had all been devoured by the raging inferno.

    He never imagined that Noan would be this terrifying.

    Noan hadn''t even shown himself, yet all of Austin''s subordinates had perished.

    Austin himself was now howling in desperation like a madman.

    "Get lost!"

    Austin had already been furious beyond measure. The sight of Adrian made him flinch for only a moment, but that moment quickly passed, and all his rage poured down on him.

    After all, Adrian had given him the information about Noan, who had assured him that Noan was nothing more than a cowardly rank-F lord.

    Austin had been cautious—he had gathered extra intelligence on Noan. And yet, in the end, he had walked straight into this massive trap.

    His fury boiled over as he swung his leg and kicked Adrian in the face.

    "No!" Adrian screamed as he saw Austin''s foot flying toward him. And then—

    BAM!

    Adrian''s already battered face took another blow. He lost consciousness instantly, his breathing weak, on the brink of death.

    "Goddamn it! I wouldn''t be in this mess if it weren''t for you!"

    BAM!

    BAM!

    BAM!

    Austin didn''t stop. Like a madman, he threw punch after punch at Adrian''s face.

    After a while, he finally stopped, panting heavily, his fists trembling.

    Adrian''s face was no longer recognizable. It was nothing but a mangled, bloody mess.

    Adrian was dead.