Chapter 496: Song Qi's Detonation
*Thud!*
Earth Rabbit's massive body crashed to the ground, thick black smoke billowing from his arms.
"Damn it..." He gritted his teeth and stood up, staring at Song Qi in disbelief. "You actually have 'Detonation'... when did you get this ability?"
"Oh?" Song Qi smiled faintly. "Do you know the previous owner of 'Detonation'?"
"You..." Earth Rabbit choked back the words he wanted to say, swallowing them down. "Your conviction isn't bad... that little stone unleashed far more power than I imagined."
"Thanks." Song Qi nodded. "I've been praised by many people in my life, but now that I think about it, praise from an Earth-level 'Zodiac' is the most valuable."
Earth Rabbit looked at his forearms. He had taken off his suit jacket earlier, and now his shirt was completely burned away. His skin was hot and red, emitting wisps of black smoke.
Even though an Earth-level 'Zodiac's' body was reinforced, it probably couldn't withstand this kind of ruthless destruction too many times.
"Didn't expect my 'Detonation' to be so effective on you," Song Qi said. "Even if you use a pistol to shoot a bear, you'll eventually kill it, right?"
"Too bad. First, I don't believe your conviction can succeed one hundred percent..." Earth Rabbit rubbed his wrist and sneered. "Second, I don't believe you can hit me every single time."
"So I was already prepared from the moment I opened that door." Song Qi pulled another small piece of wood from his pocket, but this time he didn't throw it directly. Instead, he crushed it into tiny fragments in his hand.
Seeing Song Qi preparing explosives, Earth Rabbit quickly rushed forward and tried to grapple him with both arms. Song Qi ducked low and slipped past Earth Rabbit at a dangerously close angle.
The distance between them instantly widened. Just as Earth Rabbit turned to chase, a cloud of wood shavings was thrown at him. A chill ran down his back. He closed his eyes tightly and shielded his face with both arms.
A series of explosions mixed with smoke erupted in the room. Countless wood chips turned into tiny detonating bombs, exploding all over Earth Rabbit's body.
Smoke filled the room, making it hard for both Earth Rabbit and Song Qi to see.
"Cough... you little punk..." Earth Rabbit felt it was still just superficial damage, but the burning sensation on his body was getting worse. "Your tricks are way more than that old acquaintance of mine..."
"You flatter me." Song Qi stepped back a few paces and pulled out more small fragments from his pocket.
He knew his ability was at a disadvantage in a confined space. If he was too close to the explosion, he could easily get caught in the blast.
And his physique was worlds apart from Earth Rabbit's. The other could withstand many explosions, but Song Qi could only take one hit.
While Earth Rabbit was immobilized, Song Qi quickly stroked the fragments in his hand. The fact that he had succeeded twice in a row was half luck and half mental state. If he panicked or feared death now... he really would die.
"Just a big roasted rabbit..."
Song Qi slowly closed his eyes, steadying his mind. He had experienced countless battles, but none were more dangerous than this.
A 'Reverberator' using his ability alone to kill an 'Earth-level'—how absurd was that?
When Earth Rabbit charged again, Song Qi didn't strike immediately. He waited until the rabbit was close before throwing the stone. But Earth Rabbit had clearly changed tactics. Just as he was about to reach Song Qi, he suddenly changed direction, dodging the flying stone and lunging from the side.
Song Qi sneered. He had executed countless missions in the 'Land of Endings,' giving him immense combat experience. His moves were often dodged by agile opponents, so he had trained himself to always keep another stone in his left hand. Whether the opponent dodged or his 'Reverberation' failed, he always had a backup.
When Earth Rabbit was off guard, Song Qi threw the small stone in his left hand at his feet.
*Boom!*
The explosion sounded again, erupting between them. Earth Rabbit felt a searing pain in his foot and involuntarily stopped.
Song Qi took advantage of the blast wave and the thick black smoke to conceal himself, moving further away from Earth Rabbit.
"Damn it... have you been trained?" After several rounds of this hunt, Earth Rabbit finally understood what was strange about this team.
They not only had a strategist, clever plans, and teamwork, but each of them also had some combat skills.
Was this some newly formed 'Strategy Team'?
The others in the adjacent rooms heard the explosions and knew Song Qi had started fighting Earth Rabbit. Their expressions grew tense.
Song Qi wasn't Jiang Shi. Once he chose to fight, it would only end with one of them dead. But Song Qi's chance of dying was clearly much higher than Earth Rabbit's.
"Little Song... you made your move..."
Chen Junnan lowered his head, thinking about the current situation. He and Jiang Shi had regrouped, and the other three team members must have already obtained the last artifact.
Now the most important task was to get the flute from Earth Rabbit's neck, and second, to safely escort little Jiang Shi to Room '16'.
After all, little Jiang Shi was holding Lü Dongbin's sword and had Iron Crutch Li's cane stuck in his neck. He was essentially a walking artifact and couldn't be left halfway.
Chen Junnan pondered for a moment, then suddenly felt a brilliant idea pop into his head. He turned to Jiang Shi with a mischievous grin and asked, "Little Song and the rabbit are fighting in Room '6', right?"
"Probably." Jiang Shi nodded. "Right next to us..."
"Little Song, keep it up, hey!" Chen Junnan shouted through the door. "Blow him to bits! Let him show off in front of me!"
There was no response from the next room. Chen Junnan turned back to Jiang Shi. "Little Jiang Shi... I just thought of a great idea..."
"A great idea...?"
"Exactly!" Chen Junnan smiled and nodded. His smile sent a chill down Jiang Shi's spine. All this leader's plans were improvised—could they really work?
...
Song Qi kept dodging around the room, widening the distance from Earth Rabbit, and casually throwing various fragments, posing a considerable threat to him.
But as the fight dragged on, his conviction seemed to falter. Twice in a row, Song Qi threw wood shavings without any effect, and his whole demeanor seemed a bit dazed.
Earth Rabbit took the chance to grab Song Qi by the collar, but Song Qi twisted and tore off his leather jacket, still evading Earth Rabbit's grip.
Seeing Song Qi's bare upper body, Earth Rabbit noticed something strange. His torso was almost entirely covered in burn scars.
"Oh?" Earth Rabbit patted out the sparks on himself and chuckled. "The 'Land of Endings' doesn't keep scars... every rebirth gives you a brand-new body. So those scars... were they from before you came in?"
"I don't recall being familiar enough with you to share such personal matters."
Song Qi took a few deep breaths, steadying his heartbeat and his scattered thoughts. Then he patted his pocket again. He had expected a prolonged battle with this monster, but he hadn't anticipated it would be this long. Several explosions had barely done any real damage, and the fragments in his pocket were running low.