Eddie's stunning entrance shocked everyone. "Who is this now?" they wondered.
James, who didn't recognize Eddie, was intimidated by his terrifying brute force that easily overpowered Daniel. He asked in a low, urgent voice, "Who is he?"
Two young members of the Lin family, upon seeing the gruesome scene where Daniel's head was smashed, blood splattering everywhere, were visibly shaken.
One of them reached into his pocket, ready to pull out a teleportation scroll to escape at any moment. The other, in disbelief, cried out, "Impossible, no, this can't be happening!"
"Who is he, really?" James felt his heartbeat quicken, his palms sweat, and his muscles tense up in nervousness.
He knew the level of Daniel's strength. Although Daniel's strongest battle beast was the 'Ghost Fang Evil Eye', a beast-type summon rather than a strength-enhancing one, the bond still significantly boosted Daniel's physical abilities.
And Daniel had just been promoted to a third-level junior hero, possessing formidable combat power – certainly not someone who could be easily grabbed and smashed to the ground like a fragile egg.
The man standing before them, like a furious lion, was at least three times stronger than Daniel, and twice as fast.
Otherwise, he couldn't have possibly shattered Daniel into a bloody mess before Daniel even had the chance to react.
"Ugh!"
The Ghost Fang Evil Eye, hovering mid-air, seeing its master attacked, viciously flew towards Eddie, who had just picked up Sophia. It opened its massive jaws, revealing sharp teeth, and lunged at Eddie.
Eddie kicked up, bursting the beast's giant eyeball before it could close its eyelids in defense.
He then spun around, his leg striking the Evil Eye's round head like a windmill.
The Ghost Fang Evil Eye crashed to the ground with a thud. Before it could struggle, Eddie's foot, with the force of a thunderbolt, stomped down. In less than three seconds, the level-two beast was squashed into a pulp by Eddie!
In fact, Eddie had been holding back his anger for a few days. Whether in the Aries Palace or the Black Stone Labyrinth, he had no chance to fight, only watching Little Wenli, the Grey Wolf, and the Bull Shadow battle.
Returning from the Star Domain to the outside Warrior's Guild and seeing Sophia being bullied, his pent-up anger finally exploded.
He hadn't been able to fight for days, and now he could finally let loose.
Eddie's ferocious attack on Daniel left everyone in shock. They couldn't see clearly at first, but when Eddie ruthlessly slaughtered the level-two Ghost Fang Evil Eye with just his legs while holding someone, everyone saw it clearly and were dumbfounded. "This is an instant kill!" they thought.
"How powerful must this guy be to take down a level-two Ghost Fang Evil Eye with just his legs?" some wondered. "Could his summoning beast be a mammoth, one of the strongest in the enhancement category?"
Eddie quickly checked Sophia using his Qi and found she was just unconscious due to an excessive drain of spirit and Qi.
Yet, Eddie's heart still burned with rage. A few grown men ganging up on a young girl, knocking her unconscious, and arrogantly stepping on her chest – such actions were unforgivable.
As Eddie was about to unleash his fury, Grey Wolf and a blood-soaked Yehken finally arrived.
Yehken, startled at first upon seeing Daniel's bloodied form on the ground, quickly pounced and clung to Eddie's legs, urgently pleading, "Wait, don't be rash! On the first and second floors of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, you can't kill anyone. "
"If you kill someone, the laws of the tower will ban the murderer from entering for ten years! There are plenty of opportunities to take them down on the third floor, where you can kill without issue. But for now, don't. "
"The Heaven-Reaching Tower is a world where the strong rule. As long as you're strong enough, you can do anything. Once you reach the third floor and obtain the 'Sword of Judgment,' you can easily dispose of them like trash. But right now, don't waste your bright future over these nobodies!"
"Ah?" Eddie was genuinely unaware of such a rule prohibiting killing on the lower levels of the Heaven-Reaching Tower.
Yehken clung desperately to Eddie's legs, fearing that Eddie might crush Daniel's already battered head:
"You can't kill. If you kill one person, you'll be immediately expelled from the tower, and then you won't be able to take your revenge! Calm down. They must have used a rotating battle strategy to defeat Sophia, so we should do the same. They started it, and they can't refuse. Let's settle the score with a rotating battle!"
"Can't kill?" Eddie's eyes flashed coldly upon hearing this.
"If killing is forbidden, does that mean I can't torment them?"
" After I beat them down, I could break their bones one by one, twist their tendons, ruin their lineage, and turn them into eunuchs, leaving them begging for death. "
"Wouldn't that be more satisfying than just killing them? There are many ways to kill, and the quickest is not always the most satisfying."
There's a certain kind of killing that's slow and torturous. Compared to that, an instant kill would be a merciful release for these wretches!
I must not only kill them but also ensure they die painfully, disgracefully, and utterly humiliated. Even in death, they must suffer unimaginably.
"What? He's that loser? Blaze told me something entirely different. Are you sure you're not mistaking him for someone else?" James couldn't believe his eyes when he heard the two Lin family members identify Eddie as the infamous weakling of his family.
He couldn't fathom that the third young master of the Yue family, known as a loser in the Dragon Teng Continent, was as fierce as a lion and as powerful as a tiger.
"He looks the same, but he was never this terrifying," the two Lin family members trembled in fear, like patients with typhus in ice-cold water.
"I see!" Eddie, with his exceptional hearing, immediately realized Blaze wasn't there. He reasoned that if his cousin Sophia was being bullied, and Blaze, her cousin, was around and did nothing, it wouldn't add up.
With Blaze absent, Eddie didn't have to worry about someone identifying him as an imposter of the real third young master of the Yue family.
Looking at the young men in student uniforms across from him, pale with fear, Eddie's lips curled into a devilish smile.
"Who said I was going to kill them? Yehken, don't you know I'm a staunch pacifist? "
"How could I possibly kill someone? I'm far too kind-hearted, more benevolent than an elderly lady who's been a vegetarian for sixty years and never harmed a living thing. "
"Someone who loves life as much as I do, how could they possibly kill? Misunderstanding, all of you misunderstood me! Remember, I am super kind-hearted!"
While saying this, the traveler mercilessly stomped on Daniel, who was barely hanging onto life. One stomp, then another, blood splattering with each step.
In moments, Eddie ruthlessly broke Daniel's limbs under his feet.
The mercenaries around, hearing the gruesome crunching of Daniel's bones under Eddie's feet, felt a fear like they were wetting their pants. "Kind-hearted? This guy is a demon!" they thought. "No, he's worse than a demon. At least a demon doesn't claim to be kind-hearted!"
"Huh?" James was indifferent to Daniel's life or death.
In his eyes, Daniel was no more than a dog, better off dead by Eddie's hand.
That way, the rules of the Heaven-Reaching Tower would expel the 'useless' Eddie, rendering him powerless. His focus, though, was on the peculiar Grey Wolf.
A Bronze Level 3, no, Level 4 Iron Ridge Demon Wolf? Yet, strangely, it wasn't a contracted battle beast but an uncontracted pet.
Could it be that the Yue family's 'loser' had such a powerful beast but couldn't contract with it?
If James could contract it with a scroll, wouldn't that greatly enhance his power?
Initially startled by Grey Wolf's appearance, James observed more closely and felt a surge of glee realizing it wasn't Eddie's contracted beast.
"So the Yue family's loser really is useless, unable to contract even a Bronze Level 4 Iron Ridge Demon Wolf. What a waste! A perfect opportunity for me," he thought, smirking inwardly.
Out loud, he feigned outrage, "Who are you? Daniel kindly helped Sophia by eliminating a traitor, and not only do you show no gratitude, but you also attack him? Such ingratitude and bloodthirstiness, who are you, really?"
The mercenaries almost wanted to applaud James for his shamelessness. To be so utterly despicable was a feat in itself!
"Which eye of yours saw me being ungrateful? "
"Which eye saw me being bloodthirsty? "
"Is this cruelty? I'm just inviting this good friend to enjoy a 'shoe sole and crushed bone meal.' Look how happily he's eating. Am I cruel?" Eddie's foot pressed heavily on the unconscious Daniel's chest, crushing his ribs and causing a gush of blood from his mouth and nose, making him look on the verge of death.
"Go easy, easy!" Yehken pulled out the cheapest healing stone he had, crushed it, and let the healing light shower over Daniel's body. He had bought it before passing through the Imperial Dragon Valley and had been too reluctant to use it even when injured.
He never imagined that the healing stone would end up being used on someone he'd rather chop up and feed to wild dogs!
Yehken was genuinely afraid Eddie might stomp Daniel to death. If Daniel died, Eddie would be expelled from the Heaven-Reaching Tower, leaving the unconscious Sophia behind. How could Yehken and the injured Ly family brothers protect Sophia alone?
So, no matter what, Daniel couldn't die!
What Yehken didn't know was that Eddie was very skillful in controlling his strength. He could break Daniel's bones and tear his tendons without actually killing him. In short, Daniel couldn't die easily without Eddie's permission. Wanting to die would be a luxury he couldn't afford!
The mercenaries watched in awe as this demonically strong man spoke and acted with such absolute ruthlessness. Indeed, it takes a villain to suppress other villains. These arrogant students had met their match in this demonic figure.
"Yehken, keep an eye on Sophia. I'm going to invite these good friends for a meal. Grey Wolf, wait here, I'll reward you with some meaty bones later!" Eddie carefully placed Sophia down, entrusting her to Yehken and Grey Wolf, then briskly stepped forward.
He didn't care who was in front of him; anyone who provoked him would suffer if not killed instantly. They needed to learn he wasn't just a pushover.
"Slurp, slurp," Grey Wolf didn't need instructions from Eddie, immediately starting to lick the blood off the ground. Yehken had to intervene to prevent it from biting Daniel, fearing the blame would fall on Eddie.
"Prepare for battle, a group fight, defend together!" James thought. He wasn't confident in a one-on-one fight against Eddie, whose ferocity and demonic aura were chillingly at odds with the rumors. But in a group battle, the combined strength of the remaining seven could overwhelm Eddie.
No matter how strong he was, how could he stand against over a dozen battle beasts? The only concern was the Level 4 Iron Ridge Demon Wolf, but since it wasn't a contracted beast, James could try to contract it during the fight, enhancing his own power.
"Boom, boom, boom, boom!"
While James was plotting, a deafening series of crashes rang out. Looking up, he saw all his companions, even those who were quickest to summon their beasts, knocked to the ground by Eddie. Teeth shattered, blood spilled – the Lin brothers had barely reached for their summoning crystals before being taken down.
Eddie's foot rose high and then crushed down mercilessly, breaking the Lin brothers' arms in their despairing eyes.
"See how good I am to you? I'm afraid 'Five Finger Pancakes' and 'Heart-Pounding Buns' aren't enough, so I'm treating you to 'Sole-Crushed Bone Noodles.' Tell me, where else can you find such a generous friend like me? Please wait here; I need to greet Mr. James. Ah, so you're James! I've long admired your reputation, especially for not paying after hiring companions. Such heroism is truly a role model for us all! James, I've heard that 'Brain and Blood Wine' is quite nutritious. Have you tried it? Come, let me treat you to a drink. It's fate that we've met today, let's drink to our hearts' content!" Eddie's face showed a sincerely bright smile.
If one only saw his radiant smile, they would believe him to be a warm-hearted, worthy friend. But looking at the blood-spattered ground and the students lying in agony, everyone felt a chill.
Of course, there was also a thrilling excitement.
Indeed, it takes a villain to deal with other villains. These arrogant and shameless students had finally met their match!