All of Alex's fighting so far was being watched closely by Peter and Stan as they analyzed his performance.
"Facing two stage 3 entities back-to-back… isn't that too much for him?" Stan mumbled.
Peter rotated his chair to look at Stan, then turned back to the small laptop screen displaying the fight. "What are you waiting for? You could order Tharon to end this fight immediately, but you haven't. Maybe you're curious too—a stage 1 warrior going up against a stage 3 Mage and surviving, only to now face another stage 3 creature."
Peter glanced at Stan. "I know you're worried about him, but honestly, you shouldn't be. You can't pamper him forever. If you want him to grow, then he needs challenges like this," he said, pointing at the laptop screen.
Stan's fists were clenched, but he didn't say a word as they continued watching.
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the town, where the fight was currently happening, a group of four men stood on top of a rooftop, observing the burning buildings and occasional collapsing structures.
"Do you think we should make our move now?" one of the men asked.
"Not yet. They still have a lot of energy to fight. And remember, we're outnumbered. Our plan was to wait until the battle is over and then swoop in to take out the remaining survivors. That's still the plan," another replied.
"Speaking of being outnumbered, it seems we're even more outnumbered now, since one of us isn't here," another man noted.
"It's Root. His communication lines have been off since we arrived," he explained.
"That arrogant fool. Ever since he got that ring, he's been trying to use it for every little thing. I'm sure he's already engaged," another man muttered.
The one who appeared to be the leader of the four spoke up. "You guys stay here. I'll go look for him," he said, then jumped down from the building to search for Root.
---
After being sent flying by the tree, Alex quickly pulled himself together. He studied the beast carefully and concluded that fighting it head-on might not be the best approach right now.
Having come to this conclusion, Alex pulled out something he hadn't used since the fight began—the qi cannon.
The qi cannon, similar to the qi guns, could release powerful qi attacks, but it was far more devastating in its destructive power. This weapon was so intense that Alex, even with his current qi core, couldn't produce enough qi to fully charge it for firing. Thankfully, before they left the base, a faction member had fully charged it for him.
Alex felt confident that this weapon would finish off the beast in front of him. Just holding it made him feel like he was gripping a bomb. He hadn't used the qi cannon on Horrik because he was certain it would kill the mage, and he wasn't ready to bear the weight of taking another human's life just yet. But when it came to killing a beast, he felt no such hesitation.
"Yeah… I have the weapon that can kill the beast, but I only get one shot. I can't miss it," Alex thought to himself.
Since he had only one chance, missing was not an option. If he missed, he'd have to come up with another plan to handle the beast.
"I need to get closer to ensure a hit, but if I fire at close range, I could get caught in the explosion. That means I need the Astral Body."
As Alex prepared, the beast moved to attack him, but then it suddenly paused, seeming to see multiple versions of its target. This momentary confusion was exactly what Alex needed.
"Astral Body, move!" Alex commanded.
At once, the Astral Body dashed toward the beast, catching its attention. The beast reacted quickly, sending more branches and roots toward the Astral Body.
Meanwhile, Alex stayed back, watching closely as the Astral Body skillfully dodged every branch and root that came its way.
Peter and Stan watched everything, stunned.
"That's a clever boy with a lot of battle IQ. He's using the Astral Body close to the beast, planning to swap positions, shoot at his target, and then swap back just in time to avoid getting caught in the blast," Peter said, as if he could read Alex's thoughts.
"But he has to be fast enough to pull that off," Peter added, a hint of worry in his voice.
Meanwhile, another figure arrived at the scene of the fight, catching sight of Alex charging at the massive tree.
"Damn you, Root… Can't you just wait and enjoy the fight later?" the man thought angrily, though a sense of helplessness crept into his mind. "You better finish this before the others arrive."
The Astral Body skillfully dodged each of the tree's branches and roots. Any that managed to connect passed harmlessly through it, as usual, since they couldn't touch its ghostly form. Now, the Astral Body was close, right in front of the tree.
"Alright… swap!" Alex commanded internally.
In an instant, he swapped places with the Astral Body, positioning himself right by the tree, his cannon aimed directly at it. But just before he could pull the trigger, one of the roots shot out and wrapped around his leg, lifting him off the ground. The tree slammed him into the dirt repeatedly, like a rag doll, pounding him down hard before hurling him high into the night sky.
With Alex still airborne, the tree's branches and roots coiled tightly around its main trunk, forming a thick bundle over the top. Suddenly, they shot forward like a massive spear, aiming straight up at Alex in the sky.
"Damn it… I can't let this hit," Alex thought, gritting his teeth.
Despite being dazed from the impact, he held tightly to the Qi cannon. Biting down hard on his tongue, tasting the sharp tang of iron, he forced himself to focus, snapping out of his dizziness. He steadied his aim, pointing the cannon at the tree far below.
Boom!!!
A massive explosion erupted, sending shockwaves through the entire town. The ground trembled, and a sharp ringing filled the air, echoing in everyone's ears. For a moment, all fighting stopped as the shockwaves spread.
"That sound… That's the sound of a Qi cannon going off…" Merrick said through the system, sharing it with the others.
"Alex has the Qi cannon!" Gwen's voice came through, alerting everyone.