Free Web NovelChapter 43: Chapter 43: Biological Warfare, Kid
"Surprised, Ron?" Ming Datiss’s eyes suddenly flew open. He sprang to his feet, snatching up the Gemstone. "You can scheme all you want, but you’re the one who walked right into a trap!"
"Your Dancing Light Magic might illuminate your surroundings, but to me, it was just a foolish way to give away your position! All it took was a little trick to lure you in close. Now, my sword is at your throat. Whether you live or die is up to me."
"You’re about to die. Any last words?"
Ron tried to resist, but with the slightest movement, the thin sword immediately pressed against his skin, sending a faint, stinging pain.
"I miscalculated," Ron sighed. "Seeing all those bodies on the way here, I thought you’d met the same fate. I never expected you to have survived."
"I should have made sure you were dead..."
"Your last words are so unoriginal," Ming Datiss sneered. "Is that all you’ve got? In that case, you can just go to—"
Ming Datiss hadn’t even finished his sentence when Ron suddenly tilted his head and shot upward, slamming a fist into Ming Datiss’s prominent Adam’s apple.
The Elf reacted instantly, but because of Ron’s sudden movement, the thin sword didn’t pierce his throat. Instead, it was off by a wide margin, only running him through just above his left collarbone.
"Ugh—" Ming Datiss stumbled back two steps from the blow, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Ron.
"You bastard! Aren’t you afraid to die?!" Ming Datiss coughed a few times, then settled into a fighting stance and charged Ron in a frenzy.
’How dare he resist? A mere human should just wait for death like an animal. How dare he fight back?!’
"It was off-target. It missed the artery and the cluster of blood vessels in my neck," Ron grinned, raising his right hand as a translucent shield materialized in front of him. "Even if it had hit, I wouldn’t have died instantly. But you are going to pay a price—Magic Missile!"
Three glowing darts formed from a Magic Force Field shot out from behind the shield. They flew from three different angles, carving bright arcs through the dim cavern, aimed straight at Ming Datiss’s back, groin, and head!
There was a reason Ming Datiss had survived that fall almost unscathed; his agility was truly impressive. Faced with the three Magic Missiles, he managed to wrench his body around, dodging nearly every fatal spot. But one missile’s trajectory was simply too vicious. As Ming Datiss gritted his teeth and blocked the other two with his arms, the third one struck him square in the right eye.
The Elf let out a bloodcurdling scream and collapsed to the ground. Forcing his eyes open through the agony, his Dark Vision was now a sea of red, and there was no longer any sign of Ron.
"Ron! You damn bastard! Aaargh!"
Ming Datiss began to channel the Gemstone in his hand. One Lightning Bolt after another slammed down indiscriminately around him, yet not a single one managed to so much as graze Ron.
Around a nearby corner, Ron was sitting on the ground, gasping for air with immense difficulty.
He’d just been bluffing. He was no master fighter—how could he have so precisely avoided a fatal blow? The sword had pierced through his shoulder and neck, injuring his lung.
The injury might not have seemed severe at first, but after Casting magic and the strenuous exertion, symptoms like a collapsed lung and labored breathing began to rear their ugly heads.
’This can’t go on... Even a guaranteed-hit Magic Missile can’t ensure a one-hit kill, and a Flaming Arrow is out of the question,’ Ron’s fingers dug tightly into the moss-covered ground as he tried his best not to make a sound.
’The Elf was in bad shape too, but he was armed, and his skill in close combat was far superior to my own. What was I going to do...?’
Ron raised his hand, looking at the dirt and moss on it. freёwebnovel.com
"Ron—where are you! Get the hell out here!" Ming Datiss, one eye squeezed shut, roared impotently into the cavern. His vision was severely impaired, and that, combined with the excruciating pain in his eye socket, greatly limited his search area.
"I’m right here!"
As Ming Datiss rounded a corner, he heard a distorted roar from behind. He whirled around just in time to see a fist, covered in some kind of moss, fill his vision before it smashed violently into his face.
"You motherfucker—" Caught by surprise, Ming Datiss swung his sword and hit nothing but air. "Why don’t you fight me for real?!"
Perhaps it was the blood loss, but Ming Datiss felt his right cheek go numb. He quickly pulled out a Healing Potion and drank it down.
’But strangely, the wound doesn’t seem to be getting any better. And what’s more, if Ron is lurking nearby ready for a sneak attack, why wouldn’t he have tried to stop me from drinking the Potion?’
What Ming Datiss didn’t know was that at this very moment, Ron was hiding in another corner, his ear cocked to listen for the sound of the empty Potion bottle hitting the ground, a strange smile playing on his lips.
’Go on, drink. Drink some more. Drink until you drop dead...’
Using all his might, he ripped off a length of vine, scraped its surface with his fingernails, and then wrapped it layer by layer around his palm. freёweɓnovel.com
The palm that had been covered in moss was already beginning to show a rash and was swelling up. It even felt a little numb.
But Ron’s hand had no open wounds, and he hadn’t taken a Healing Potion, so even wrapping these vines around it wouldn’t cause a severe reaction.
Others, however, were not so fortunate.
Gritting his teeth, Ron rushed out from his hiding spot again. This time, Ming Datiss was ready. The thin sword left several cuts of varying depths on Ron’s stomach and arm, but Ron couldn’t afford to care. He fought with the same reckless, do-or-die abandon as Sera, his right fist—his left was nearly useless—raining down on Ming Datiss’s face, every blow targeting the area around his injured eye.
However, Ron’s combat skills were still lacking. After only a few desperate exchanges, he could barely move. Ming Datiss kicked him to the ground and pinned him under his boot.
"You! You’re insane—" The right side of Ming Datiss’s face was swollen almost level with the bridge of his nose, making it hard for him to speak clearly. He just kept grinding his boot into Ron’s chest. "How can you still be smiling?!"
Ron could indeed smile. In fact, the smile on his face grew wider, even as his own vision began to fade to black. He knew that there was no way Ming Datiss would collapse any later than he would.
"Five... four..." Ron spat out a mouthful of bloody froth. In a twisted way, he had Ming Datiss to thank for helping him breathe; otherwise, he wouldn’t have even lasted this long.
The Elf, however, enjoyed no such ’help.’ Ron had only counted down two numbers when Ming Datiss’s vision abruptly went black. He collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.
"Biological warfare, kid!" Ron gasped, letting out a final, ragged breath before he passed out.
