Chapter 83: The Death of Eliot

A dark green iron rod, winding like a black dragon, struck Elliott’s face with brutal force, abruptly silencing his furious roar. Overwhelmed by the sheer power of the blow, his defenses weakened and his mind lost to rage, he failed even to raise his shield. Elliott’s body was sent flying five or six meters, and as the rod slammed into flesh and bone, a dull impact echoed with a clear, brittle snap of breaking bones.

Sprawled on the ground, Elliott ignored his torn jaw, his single eye blazing with murderous hatred fixed upon the mop-headed dwarf. If looks could kill, the raging fire in that eye would have reduced the wretched little man to ashes.

At that moment, the mop-headed dwarf who had swallowed Popeye’s spinach underwent a rapid transformation. Inside his body, currents of immense energy surged, swelling to the size of a volleyball before rushing into his arms and legs. Once frail and scrawny, his biceps and thighs ballooned, muscles swelling far beyond even the burly villain’s, giving his form a surreal aspect—a slender torso, grotesquely joined to limbs of monstrous strength.

“Wow!”

The spectators outside the gladiatorial arena erupted in astonishment. The dramatic change over mere seconds exceeded all expectations; the dwarf’s transformation after eating the green, vegetable-like spinach awed them, prompting eager inquiries about this miraculous item.

For the first time, Visak, captain of the Orc team, showed both shock and fury.

Elliott stared in disbelief at the dwarf whose limbs had grown several sizes. His mind screamed: “Impossible! Why did I sneeze just then? How could I have sneezed at such a crucial moment!”

Gritting his teeth, Elliott scrambled to his feet, immediately consuming a Wind Leopard potion to boost his agility by five points. He steadied his shield, fending off the summoned enemies, and launched a sudden attack toward Wang Ling.

In this dire moment, Elliott knew his only hope for survival lay in killing Wang Ling directly. If he could slay his opponent, the death match would end instantly, and no matter how many summoned creatures remained, they would be powerless.

With unyielding momentum, Elliott charged at Wang Ling. Yet the mop-headed dwarf, empowered by the spinach, blocked his way, his muscular arms raised like a crab’s massive pincers.

A single, ordinary straight punch sent Elliott staggering backward. Despite raising his shield, the white man transformed by demonic power felt as helpless as a child assaulted by an adult—he simply couldn't hold his ground.

The mop-headed dwarf’s original strength was fourteen points; after eating the spinach, it soared to eighty! Even Elliott’s post-transformation strength of fifty-one couldn't withstand such a blow, especially now, burned and weakened, with his physical attack and defense halved.

Off balance, Elliott was struck again and again, blood spraying from his mouth. He hastily used a combat recovery item to replenish his depleted life.

“What should I do…”

His failed assault left him battered, as Wang Ling retreated to safety, flanked by the beautiful Blue Moon and the fire-spitting Peach Fairy. Surrounded by the dwarf, the strongman, Wang Long with his coiling dragon staff, and Chen Heng wielding the meteor chain, Elliott saw any chance of breaking through and striking his foe was lost.

Frustrated by his ill-timed sneeze and desperate for a way to survive, Elliott was suddenly seized around the waist by the villainous strongman. He hammered the giant’s head with his iron knuckles, splitting flesh and bone, nearly cracking the skull. Yet the strongman, undeterred, held him with all his might, determined to keep him pinned.

“These people, like that fat man… Why do they fear death so little!”

Elliott struggled violently in the villain's embrace. The mop-headed dwarf seized the opportunity, slipping behind him where the shield offered no defense, and unleashed his skill:

“Rapid Punch!”

Previously, the dwarf’s fourteen points of strength meant this E-rank skill, with its flurry of ten punches, barely tickled his foes. Now, with eighty points, it became a deadly barrage.

In a torrent of blows like rainfall, each punch forced blood from Elliott’s mouth, until, after more than ten strikes, he collapsed in a limp heap. His spine, shattered under the relentless assault, broke into fragments, and the force of the blows ruptured his internal organs.

Had Elliott not used demonic transformation, his natural ninety-one points of stamina would have let him survive such a barrage, perhaps suffering only minor injuries. Yet the transformation cost him nineteen points of stamina, his defense was crippled by burns, and weakened by prior wounds and combined attacks. The dwarf’s eighty-point strength was simply too much.

Lying on the ground, Elliott vomited dark blood mixed with shards of his own organs, his health bar reduced to a thin sliver. The mop-headed dwarf, having finished his skill, drew the meteoric iron spearhead from his pocket, gripped it in both hands, and plunged it through Elliott’s throat, piercing clean through his neck so the tip protruded from the back.

This final blow erased what little life remained. Elliott’s single eye widened, his lips moved, and from his perforated throat issued a feeble sound: “Why… did I… sneeze… I… refuse to accept it…”

With these last words, his head slumped to the side. Death claimed him; the green hue faded swiftly, and his demonic transformation vanished with his passing.

“He’s dead? He’s really dead! Impossible—someone with such high stats and powerful bloodline skills, killed by a rookie who’s only completed two mainline missions?”

Outside the arena, Bai Feng stared in disbelief at the scene. It felt as if the sky were falling; her mind reeled in blank confusion, vision blurring, her body swaying, barely able to stand.

The core members of the Orc team, with Visak among them, wore faces dark with gloom. Elliott, slain by a rookie in a death match—this was an unprecedented disgrace for the team. Losing their foremost tank dealt a devastating blow to their strength.

“Captain, Elliott’s been eliminated. What do we do?” A core member, chest heaving with rage, spoke in a low, tense voice.

“That useless waste! All those resources wasted on him! The enemy is just a trash summoner—identify this rookie, announce his details to all Orc team members and allied dreamers, and put him on the kill list!”

Visak’s teeth ground together; his cold, bloodthirsty voice erupted: “Daring to kill a core member of the Orc team—I’ll show him the meaning of fear and hell!”

Unlike Bai Feng’s despair, the Orc team’s fury was met with excitement from most spectators, eager for drama and gloating over Bai Feng’s fate. All eyes turned to the victorious newcomer, wondering how he would deal with Bai Feng, whose beauty and power were unmatched.

“Is he really going to defile her?” More than a few entertained malicious thoughts.

Inside the arena, Wang Ling finally relaxed. He hadn’t expected Elliott’s last item to be so dangerous! Fortunately, he had used the Trouble Maker to trigger a massive sneeze, then made the mop-headed dwarf eat the spinach. Had Elliott, in his transformed state, eaten the spinach, perhaps even all their abilities combined would not have prevailed against his amplified power.

“Hehehe, relying only on summoned creatures, burning five sliding turtle shells, a firebomb, plus innate ability and the white iron musket’s skill—I managed to take down such a powerful opponent. I am truly remarkable!” Wang Ling was quite pleased with himself. Trouble Maker’s innate ability was unique; no other dreamer would guess the cause. Surely everyone believed Elliott’s bad luck made him sneeze at the crucial moment.

Throughout the fight, Wang Ling never revealed any of his own abilities, and no one could imagine the depth of his hidden power.

At that moment, his Dream Badge issued a prompt: “You have slain Dreamer No. 7648. Your killing degree increases by one point. Because you killed your opponent in a death match, you may receive the following rewards:”

“One: All of the opponent’s currency points, attribute points, and skill points.”

“Two: A 100% chance to obtain one item from the opponent’s equipment.”

“Three: You can randomly acquire items from ten slots in the opponent’s spatial bag. If a slot holds stacked items, only one will drop; if empty, nothing will drop.”