Everything fell into place at that moment - not that Yi Qiang had expected anything else. His construct's jagged teeth immediately sunk into the soft roof of the Eartheater's mouth, and the bottom of the mouth was soon to follow.

Immediately crippled, the colossal worm flailed haplessly in the air for a second. Instinctively, it bit down on Yi Qiang's apparatus, only serving to make its fangs bite deeper.

Gravity was quick to take hold on the beast, who, now devoid of its previous bulky grace, the Eartheater crashed to the ground like a blindly thrashing meteor. Even from his spot several hundred meters away, Yi Qiang could feel the ground shake - no longer did the worm open its maw and slide through the earth. Instead, its mouth now occupied, it could only land on the ground, helpless to do anything but pound on the ground with shocking strength.

Crimson blood welled up on the ground - the Eartheater's injuries were only aggravated by the pain-induced frenzy. Yi Qiang watched coldly.

Easier than I expected.

While the archer was depleting his Qi at quite the quick rate, it was nothing he couldn't handle, especially when mitigated to some extent - courtesy of his regeneration rate.

What was also surprising was the sheer vigor of the titan that Yi Qiang was to fell. Even as blood poured out of its mouth, it managed to maintain its futile struggles for quite a long while. Even more impressively, for ten minutes or so, they seemed to get stronger.

Thankfully, there were no further complications - perhaps scared away by the powerful vibrations that reverberated through the earth under the Eartheater's violent movements, no other of the giant worms came close. As such, the marksman watched as the death throes of his prey weakened little by little, before it finally collapsed, exhausted and bled out to death.

His Qi was at around a third of his maximum capacity, which was a surprising expenditure, but nothing genuinely concerning. And a smile couldn't help but form on Yi Qiang's face as he looked at the tremendous bulk of experience he earned himself with that kill.

The death of this single creature netted him two whole levels, an incredible amount this late into his progression. If not for his specific task and the limited time here, as well as a steadily mounting concern of something going wrong, Yi Qiang would consider staying here for quite the long while and likely level up at incredible speeds.

The wisp of the smile that had already formed only grew as the marksman approached the site of his kill, eyeing the dust that remained - or, more specifically, the two gleaming pieces of equipment left in it.

He was quick to stoop over and pick them up, scrutinizing the bracers and ring. Analyze revealed just how much of a jackpot upon which Yi Qiang had stumbled.

Eartheater's Affinity

Epic

+120 Vitality

+40 Constitution

- The wearer of this ring gains the skill "Burrow" at full mastery as long as it is equipped.

Burrow:

Use 10 Stamina a second to slip through the earth at the rate of 3 meters/second. Maximum depth achievable: 2000 meters below the surface.

Bracers of Earthen Power

Epic

Defense: 200

+60 Strength

+50 Vitality

+50 Constitution

Yi Qiang raised an eyebrow. Not only were these of Epic rarity, but they were incredibly potent compared to his previous gains. The stat bonuses alone were terrifying, not to mention Burrow. The possibilities granted by that skill... his mind was spinning with them. Just the ambush potential alone would serve him very well.

The marksman slipped the two items on, grinning at the invigorating rush of power he received. As much as they were simply external sources of strength... he could get used to them.

Three, he said? This will be easy.

Yi Qiang sat down on the ground, watching Colossal Eartheaters fly through the air occasionally with the confidence of a reaper.

The Absolute frowned a few dozen miles away.

"That cheeky kid had such an easy time with that first kill... how about we make it a little harder for him?"

His foot tapped as the powerhouse bit his lip in thought. "Hmm... got it."

The Absolute waved his hands idly, a satisfied smile on his face as he looked over the situation again.

In the meantime, Yi Qiang's Qi quickly replenished itself. Ready to get back into action, the marksman stood up and conjured another of the small beads of energy.

He closed his eyes for a short while, feeling the vibrations of the earth below him, before determining where next an Eartheater would hop out of the ground and leisurely walking just close enough to get an easy shot.

An easy shot it was; as the titanic creature burst out of the ground, he simply flicked the bead up for the construct to get caught in its maw.

Wait; what?

What was originally to be effortless suddenly became downright impossible as the shining golden sphere simply bounced off the Eartheater's closed mouth.

Baffled at this extremely inconvenient development, Yi Qiang blinked dully before realizing what must have happened.

"Oh yes, because may the heavens forbid I have too easy a time with that idiot's task."

The marksman could swear he heard a sadistic chuckle as he said so, but he now had bigger things about which to worry.

Now that they're closing their mouths - the assumption that if one was doing it, all of them were, was confirmed by a few seconds of watching the other flying Eartheaters - I no longer have such an easy target.

He didn't even get the window of opportunity of that instant a Colossal Eartheater had to open their mouth to dive back into the ground. Under whatever the Absolute must have done to screw him over, they not only stretched their maws by the bare minimum but also at the last possible moment. With the amount of leeway that gave him, there was no point. His previous avenue was all but sealed off - Yi Qiang had to kill the two another way.