Qianji was cursing someone. So scary. Wasn't our Qianji supposed to be very gentle?
Holding the grenade, Xu Jiang could feel it trembling.
"As a grenade, you don't even dare to explode. You've disgraced your surname."
"..."
"You never joined training, and whenever there was a battle, you hid behind Sparkles. How were you supposed to be a man?"
"..."
"You lack ambition and refuse to pursue the glory of machinery. You've brought shame upon our mechanical race."
"...Fine, I'll go."
After a round of scolding, the grenade finally compromised.
Looking at the densely packed horde of monsters on the bridge, Xu Jiang did not even know where to throw it. Could one grenade really change the battle? Whatever, he would give it a try.
Xu Jiang pulled the pin and flung the grenade. It traced an arc through the air, then flew back into his hand.
"Why did you come back?" Xu Jiang asked with a strange look.
"I-I'm a little scared. Let me calm down first."
"Calm down? I already pulled your pin. How are you supposed to calm down?"
Looking at the thing in his hand that was going sizzle, sizzle, Xu Jiang thought, If you didn't dare, you should've said so earlier! You aren't going to explode right in my hand, are you?
"Almost ready, almost ready. I just need to settle myself. It's my first time on the battlefield, so I'm a little nervous."
"With one bang, you'll be blown into pieces. What's there to be nervous about?"
"I think... I can still be saved."
"To hell with you!"
Xu Jiang could not be bothered to waste words on it and threw the grenade again.
Never mind how many it could blow up. Better throw it first, in case it exploded in his hand.
The grenade bounced across the ground a few times, rolled to the edge of the monster horde, and then stopped moving.
"...That's it? Could this be a dud?" Xu Jiang seriously doubted the grenade's abilities.
Yet Qianji had great faith in it. "Rest assured, General. Although Xiao Lei is somewhat timid, he is still very capable. I encouraged him a little just now. He'll definitely wipe out the enemy."
That torrent of abuse was called encouragement?
As Xu Jiang pondered this, he suddenly heard a pop! The grenade bounced half a meter into the air on the spot, releasing a puff of green smoke. It felt like a firecracker going off.
Was that all the power it had? Was it over already?
Just as Xu Jiang was feeling disappointed, the grenade went pop! again. This time, it was more powerful, and the force of the bounce brought it closer to the monster horde.
"Wait, could it be that he's...!"
Xu Jiang listened carefully.
Pop!
"I can still be saved! First Aid!"
Bang!
"I'm not dead yet! First Aid!"
Rumble!
"I want to live! First Aid!"
From the weakest firecracker to explosions with tremendous force, every blast was more violent than the last.
With its pin gone, exploding had become inevitable.
But after being blown apart, the grenade would desperately cast First Aid, repairing its body and keeping itself alive.
Explode, heal, explode again, heal again...
Through cycle after cycle, the grenade survived with an utterly unreasonable will to live.
"I can't die! I want to live!!"
With roar after roar of self-encouragement, the chain explosions began.
Rumble!!
It exploded when it hit the ground, and it exploded when it struck monsters. Using the force of the blasts, the grenade began bouncing repeatedly across the battlefield.
Once, ten times, twenty times... As long as its will to live remained unextinguished, the grenade's battle would not stop.
Xu Jiang nearly cried at that will to live. To honor the heroic grenade, he decided to give it a new name: Bouncing Bomb.
The Unstable Explosion trait made the grenade's blasts fluctuate between weak and strong.
But that was fine. If one explosion was not enough, then it could explode ten times, twenty times. Eventually, it would create a sea of flames.
Sure enough, after the thirty-second explosion, the random power reached its peak. A blast comparable to a bundle of C4 detonated on the bridge.
Every monster within a twenty-meter area was blown away. Lan Tie, who had been surrounded by monsters, barely endured the impact with Iron Totem.
Could he survive?
No, it was already too late.
That blast completely destroyed the bridge, which had already been on the verge of collapse.
Feeling the ground tremble beneath his feet, Lan Tie stopped struggling. Instead, he revealed a relieved smile and calmly faced death.
This life should end here. Holding back the monsters at the final moment, giving Xu Jiang time to blow up the bridge and cut off their pursuit... that counts as a good deed.
Sinking into the river after death instead of being torn apart by monsters was not a bad ending.
Feeling the weightlessness of the fall, Lan Tie peacefully closed his eyes. Then he heard a loud shout.
"I found Lan Tie! Watch me pull him over!"
Pull him over? Pull him where?
Lan Tie's eyes snapped open. He found himself already shrouded in a beam of dim light, and the source of that light was Pess's huge eye.
Don't save me!!
Lan Tie roared inwardly, but Pess could not hear him. A tremendous force seized him and yanked him toward the shore.
That was right, one yank. Not an inch more.
It was as though Pess had run out of strength. After one hard pull, the force vanished, leaving him to complete a parabola and crash heavily onto the shore.
Bang, rumble rumble~~
He rolled across the ground several times before reaching Xu Jiang.
"I'm sorry, I didn't have enough strength! I really couldn't hold on for the last stretch! I'm sorry!" Pess ran over in a panic and used her hand to wipe the mud from Lan Tie's face.
This airheaded kid—if she knew she lacked the strength, she should have let him die in peace!
He had been fighting drenched in blood just moments ago, but now he had become a mud man. His injuries had worsened, and Lan Tie felt as though he could not even die properly. His face seemed to carry an extra layer of grievance.
Xu Jiang crouched down, intending to help this Old Tie up, but received a resolute look instead.
Let me die! Fulfill my Ten Lifetimes of Heroic Souls talent!
Old Tie's eyes were filled with determination. Dying like this was the best ending.
Xu Jiang nodded and did not try to persuade him further. Everyone had their own aspirations. Since the other man had a talent for dying, Xu Jiang could not delay his fast-forwarded life.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of Xiao Fang."
Having received that promise, Lan Tie smiled. He could feel his life slipping away. This life was finally about to end.
Lan Tie closed his eyes. He felt so tired.
"Whew~~ General, I'm back. Huh? Why is there a severely injured patient here? It's fine, I'll save you. First Aid! First Aid! First Aid!"
Lan Tie opened his eyes. He somehow did not feel tired anymore.
But why was that? Lan Tie turned to look at Xu Jiang.
"Ahem, sorry. There was a minor accident just now due to technical issues. How about you live a little longer?"
Pfft! Lan Tie fainted from sheer anger.
The battle was over. With the bridge blown apart, the three of them were temporarily safe.
Xu Jiang had now witnessed the grenade's strength.
According to the grenade itself, fifty casts of First Aid was its limit. After fifty explosions, it had to stop and recover. In other words, Xiao Lei could unleash fifty consecutive blasts in one go. It was extremely powerful.
It was just that Old Tie had taken a bit of a blow. Once again, he had failed to sacrifice himself. Hugging his totem, he looked like a resentful little wife who had been abandoned.
"Don't lose heart. If you can't die this time, work harder next time. The next target will be stronger, very suitable for you."
Lan Tie raised his head and looked at Xu Jiang with complete wariness. "Promise me. This time, you absolutely, absolutely cannot save me."
"Don't worry. Last time, I didn't make things clear enough. Next time, I'll definitely make sure you die thoroughly."
Saving Lan Tie had been an accident. Who knew the grenade would be so eager to help others?
Still, this was good. At least Lan Tie could be a great help in the coming battle.
Using his talent, Pess had scouted out the enemy's situation. "Things will be more troublesome ahead. The exit is where the Calamity energy is most concentrated. The enemies wandering nearby probably won't be easy to deal with."
"It's fine. I still have a trump card for dealing with these evil things." Xu Jiang patted his waist, full of confidence.
Thank you all for your recommendations, favorites, and continued reading.
Since this is a new book, this little author dreams of getting onto two rounds of recommendations, so the update speed cannot be too fast. I want to line up behind the big-name authors.
Once I have some results, I'll definitely add more chapters. Please continue supporting me—please keep reading and recommending!
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