Alex had no prior idea how to use the Qi cannon. He had never seen it in action before. Fortunately, Merrick had done a good job explaining every detail to him.
However, there was one thing Alex seemed to have forgotten about this weapon: its recoil. As he pulled the trigger, a bright yellow light appeared at the cannon's barrel. The light grew larger and brighter, blocking Alex's view completely. Then, the booming sound came.
Boom!!!
After the explosion, everything went blank for Alex. He hadn't passed out, but his entire surroundings were filled with intense light, and a high-pitched ringing echoed in his ears, making it hard to focus.
One sensation, however, was clear—he felt his body being pushed upwards, higher than he ever expected.
Gradually, his senses returned. His vision started clearing, and soon he could see the town below, now in utter chaos.
"Town... this height... am... am I falling?" Alex suddenly realized the problem.
The recoil from the cannon had been so intense that it had sent him even higher into the sky.
"If I fall from this height, I'm not sure I'll survive it," Alex thought, panicked.
He was about 500 feet off the ground, and even as a Stage 1 Paragon, he knew a fall from this height would be deadly.
Desperate, Alex tried swinging his arms to steady himself, but he couldn't feel them. A surge of fear ran through him as he looked down at his arms, worried they might be gone. Thankfully, they were still there—but they were swollen like balloons, red and bruised from the force of firing the cannon on his own.
'I have to do something... I can't die here,' he thought, pushing back the panic.
Quickly, he started channeling his qi to his legs, focusing all his energy there as he descended. The ground was rapidly approaching.
"Peace energy... better do your thing," Alex murmured, closing his eyes in concentration.
Bang!
His feet slammed into the ground, sinking slightly into the earth and sending a spray of dark, thick blood around him. Alex stood there like a statue, his body battered but still standing.
Slowly, Alex opened his eyes and looked around at his surroundings.
"I didn't feel anything?" Alex thought, confused. He had fallen from a height of 500 feet, and he wasn't expecting a safe or painless landing. Yet, somehow, his landing had been surprisingly smooth, maybe even the safest one could imagine after such a fall.
But then, as if something inside him had suddenly broken, his legs gave out, and he collapsed into the pool of blood beneath him. His legs were no longer responding, as if they'd just quit on him.
Despite his legs, Alex's attention was drawn to his surroundings.
The ground around him was painted red-black with blood. Scattered across the area were chunks and pieces of trees, torn apart from the blast. Just a short distance away, there was a large crater that stretched across both sides of the road, its depths filled with thick, dark blood.
Meanwhile, Stan and Peter had been watching the fight closely. The moment Alex pulled the trigger on the cannon, a massive explosion had ripped through the area. Unfortunately, the drone sent by Nad to monitor the battle was destroyed in the blast, leaving the screen blank.
"What... is going on? Quick, Theron, go check on Alex and see if he's okay!" Stan instructed urgently.
Meanwhile, someone else had been watching the fight from a distance. Right now, this person was lifting a large concrete slab off himself as he stood up, covered in a few bruises.
"What kind of weapon was that? Even at this distance, I couldn't stand the shockwave," the man thought.
Soon, he heard footsteps approaching. A group of three men arrived, looking around with shock.
"What happened here? Did that loud bang come from this direction?" one of the new arrivals asked.
The man looked back at them. "Root... I don't think Root will make it out of that one alive. Let's go check it out first," he said, motioning towards the tree. He started walking, and the three men followed closely behind.
Meanwhile, Alex was still taking in his surroundings. The destruction from the qi cannon was far beyond what he had expected. It was easily twice as powerful as a normal cannon, almost like a small atomic bomb had gone off.
All the buildings around him were gone, cars that had been parked along the street had been thrown far away, beyond where Alex could even see them, and even his Astral Body was nowhere to be found.
The biggest problem now was that Alex was helpless. Firing the qi cannon had paralyzed both his hands, and falling from a height of 500 feet had left his legs in the same condition. All he could do was sit there on the street, hoping someone would come to help.
Just as he was about to call for help, he heard footsteps approaching. Four men appeared in front of him, stepping out from the shadows.
None of the four adults said anything at first. They stood there, staring at the pool of blood in the crater and the scattered body parts around them.
"No way... that's really Root, killed by a Stage 1 warrior?" one of them said with disbelief. He chuckled and added, "If he were here, I swear I'd tease him back to death." The others joined in, laughing at the thought.
Then, one of them turned to their leader. "So, Agent, what do you think we should do with this helpless guy in front of us?" he asked, gesturing toward Alex.
He seems to have some interesting weapons with him," the leader noted, especially the one he used to kill Root. But, besides that, he's part of the reason we're here." The man's expression hardened as he gave his order. "Kill him."
Alex's eyes widened. He had heard the man's words clearly, and his heart pounded with fear. He knew his life was in danger again. But there was a problem he was still completely vulnerable. His hands and legs were useless, leaving him no choice but to sit there helplessly as the four men closed in.
One of the men began to transform. His body started shaking, muscles bulging as he grew larger, his clothes tearing apart to reveal black fur covering his skin. Two horns curved upward from his head, emerging from his nose, which now resembled that of a pig. Letting out a beastly roar, the man charged straight at Alex.
Alex shut his eyes, bracing himself for the end. He had already accepted his fate, knowing he couldn't defend himself.
The man leaped into the air, ready to strike Alex. But just then, a long rope wrapped around the pig-man's legs, yanking him backward with immense force.
The rope didn't just stop him-it lifted him up completely, swinging him high and pulling him toward a figure standing behind them.
The figure, a young woman, caught hold of the pig-man with ease. "You bully," she said, her voice filled with anger. "I've heard you guys love picking on those weaker than you. Now, let's see how you do against a Stage 5 warrior." She grabbed him firmly by his two horns, twisting with a loud snap. Then, with a swift kick, she sent the pig-man flying back to where he had come from.
Seeing someone dressed like their target appear, the others didn't hesitate to attack. They didn't transform like the first man; instead, they charged straight at Gwen.
The first man to move forward suddenly dropped to the ground. Looking down, he was shocked to see his lower body completely gone.
"Ganging up on us, huh?" Tamsin said, stepping forward. "Don't worry; there's an opponent here for each of you." With that, he swung his weapon, slicing the man's head clean off his shoulders.
The remaining two realized they were in serious danger. Panic filled their faces as they turned to run, but before they could take a step, their bodies exploded into pools of blood.
"Hahaha... Looks like I still have more kills than you two," Merrick said, pointing at Tamsin and Gwen, grinning with satisfaction.
Gwen ignored Merrick's boast and walked over to Alex, who was still lying exhausted on the ground. She knelt beside him, looking him over.
"Were you really the one who fired that cannon?" she asked, reaching down to help him up.
"I'd say you're lucky it didn't tear your arms off," Merrick said with a smirk, though Gwen shot him a cold stare in response.
Seeing Gwen's caring expression and the hidden concern on the boys' faces, Alex felt a bit of relief. Today had been a tough day, one he'd likely never forget.
"Guys… something's happening," Tamsin said, alerting the others.
Everyone turned to where Tamsin was pointing and noticed tiny glowing lights rising from the dead bodies in front of them. Even the black pool of blood in the crater had a faint glow.
Soon, five tiny balls of light floated in the air. After a moment, they vanished into thin air.
"Those lights… I think that's the effect of spoils collection," Merrick informed the others.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere on Earth, a group known as the Triple G's sat around a table with Lucius, who had a small box in front of him.
After a few moments, the box glowed slightly before dimming, and Lucius leaned forward to open it.
Inside were five rings, each unique in design.
"Well… it seems they failed the mission," Lucius said calmly.
"Fortunately, this was only a test, and they failed," he added, a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"What's your next plan?" asked John Wyndham, the leader of the Triple G's.
"This wasn't the only group I sent on a mission," Lucius replied. "The second team I sent to hunt for portals has discovered one in Brazil. Now, all you need to do is choose worthy men because once we start mining stones from this new portal, we'll be paying a visit to that Egyptian portal again," Lucius explained.