Chapter 646 Force-Feeding Poison to a Teammate

"Awoo—"

The sudden loss of hearing from the Deafness Potion made the Winter Wolf Fanny shake her head in discomfort, letting out a few awkward whimpers.

But since Xia Nan had already explained the mission process to her beforehand, she quickly adapted and returned to a combat-ready state.

In stark contrast to the reckless half-orc howling in pain and rolling on the ground ahead, she pressed her front paws down and lowered her body into an explosive stance. Instead of attacking blindly, she remained exceptionally cautious, crouching by Xia Nan's side with her wolf eyes carefully observing the battlefield.

Swoosh—A blur flashed through the air.

The straight sword [Ember Fall], which had been tightly gripped in Xia Nan's hand, was already sheathed. In its place was a dark brown wooden sword burning with fierce crimson flames, sending waves of heat surging in all directions.

[Azure Pine], from the Snake Den secret realm. As one of the oldest pieces of equipment currently on Xia Nan, it had once again encountered a powerful enemy that could bring out its unique effects as a blue-quality item—its first such opportunity since the Ember Secret Realm.

It was highly specialized, boasting excellent sunfire damage bonuses against undead, snake, and scorpion monsters. Even now, with Xia Nan's Class Level reaching Level 4 and his overall strength exponentially higher than when he first found it in the Snake Den, it could still replace the [Ember Fall] straight sword in certain situations and serve as his primary weapon.

Compared to Xia Nan's calm composure, the "Sulfur Dragon Breath" party was in a frantic scramble.

Their reactions were already half a beat too slow, making their attempts to down the Deafness Potion rushed and clumsy.

Due to the unexpected disappearance of their core leader, the three remaining party members had taken a heavy blow from the enemy's ambush right at the start of the battle.

"Gank! Drink the potion!"

Fighting through the echoing buzz in his skull as the Deafness Potion took effect, the bard Uriah practically screamed at the distant half-orc at the top of his lungs, unable to gauge his own volume without his hearing.

The agonizing pain of negative energy corroding his shoulder and back brought a sliver of reason back to the half-orc, whose mind had been clouded by battle lust and Rage.

He realized that their target—the banshee with the power to cause instant death—had finally appeared.

When Uriah's shout rang out from behind, Gank froze for a second before snapping back to his senses.

He reached for the leather pouch at his waist with his right hand, his only good arm.

A half-orc's fingers were naturally thick and calloused like short radishes. With the banshee right in front of him, her lethal wail could echo out at any moment.

In his frantic grab, Gank accidentally pulled out the second bottle of Deafness Potion, a backup meant for emergencies, along with the first.

Ignoring the mistake, he shoved both vials toward his mouth with his right hand. He didn't even bother to pull the stoppers, clearly intending to crush the glass with his teeth.

And right at that moment—

"Roar!!!"

Accompanied by a roar of pain and fury, the whistling wind of a heavy object moving at high speed erupted from behind him.

The bugbear, heavily wounded by the half-orc in melee combat, had entered a desperate, cornered-beast frenzy.

With bloodshot eyes, it completely ignored the lethal aura radiating from the banshee hovering in midair. Seeing the half-orc on the ground, it lunged out of pure instinct.

"Bang!"

"Crack—"

The dull thud of flesh colliding rang out almost simultaneously with the sharp crunch of shattering glass.

The good news was that Gank reacted quickly. Even severely wounded, the combat instincts of his half-orc bloodline allowed him to sense the ambush from behind and respond in time. Half-rising, he twisted his waist and swung his good right elbow backward.

The elbow strike landed dead center. With full force, he caved in the bugbear's chest. The monster spat blood as its massive body was sent flying backward.

The bad news—

Because of the subconscious force of his counterattack, the half-orc had squeezed too hard. The two bottles of Deafness Potion in his grip burst apart.

"Drip, drip."

Mixed with the shattered glass of the Softening Potion Vials, the pale blue liquid dripped through his fingers.

Gank opened his fingers, staring at the mess in his palm. His nostrils flared, his pupils shrank, and for a moment, he just froze in place.

He snapped out of it a second later. In a pathetic display entirely unlike his usual arrogant and domineering attitude toward commoners, he shoved his face down and licked his palm like a dog, desperately hoping to salvage the potion's effects.

Unfortunately, his strike had been too violent. He had crushed both vials to dust.

The vast majority of the liquid had already fallen to the ground, seeping into the muck of mud and goblin feces.

The tiny fraction left in his palm was nowhere near enough to make him fully deaf.

Not only would it fail to protect him from the banshee's [Withering Wail], it had actually impaired his hearing slightly.

Meanwhile, the banshee slowly drifting down from the cavern ceiling was never going to just watch the adventurers finish their preparations.

Her translucent body, wreathed in chilling mist, swayed as she lunged straight for Gank.

"Damn it! Uriah, hurry!"

Things had reached a breaking point. Seeing a teammate about to take a fatal hit, even the usually silent and aloof Rogue Treebrook couldn't hold back. Turning into a blur to rush to his aid, Treebrook shouted at the bard in the rear.

The Deafness Potion had already taken effect, so Uriah couldn't hear what his teammate was saying. But years of fighting side by side had built an absolute synergy between them. Just glancing at Treebrook's lips, the equally anxious bard hurriedly brought his vertical flute to his mouth.

His cheeks puffed up, and he blew.

Toot—A melodious, crisp flute note suddenly echoed through the Goblin Cave.

A black wolf phantom surfaced around Xia Nan. Even though he had a poor impression of the half-orc, seeing him in such lethal danger made Xia Nan decide to lend a hand, fulfilling his duty as a teammate. He was just preparing to charge in with [Fang Hunt] when—

—he felt the magic particles in the air churn. Then, as if drawn by some invisible force, they rapidly condensed over his skin.

Even the flame-wreathed [Azure Pine] seemed empowered by the magic.

A brilliant, bright yellow light enveloped his body and the edge of his blade.

—1st-Circle · Transmutation · Dawn Flute Melody!

It was an exclusive spell ability of the bard class. By playing a bright and melodious tune that manipulated magic particles, the bard surrounded allies on the field with glowing musical notes, granting their attacks an additional "radiant damage" bonus.

This was exactly one of the reasons why the "Sulfur Dragon Breath" party dared to accept this commission even knowing the target was a banshee.

Banshees boasted massive resistance to the vast majority of elemental damage and were outright immune to some types.

Standard physical attacks would simply pass harmlessly through the banshee's translucent body, much like Gank's earlier counterattack, dealing negligible damage.

But in the end, it was merely an undead creature with a Challenge Rating around Level 4. Having such comprehensive resistances was already the absolute limit of its capabilities.

It wasn't entirely without weaknesses.

Force damage was an obvious exception, but radiant damage—a type almost as difficult to resist and typically wielded only by celestial beings—was also notably absent from the banshee's list of resistances.

Empowered by the bard Uriah's enchanted flute, the members of the "Sulfur Dragon Breath" party finally gained the ability to deal highly effective true damage to the ethereal banshee.

Compared to standard spells, his [Dawn Flute Melody]—channeled through his instrument—boasted a much wider area of effect.

In an instant, it enveloped the entire cavern.

From the half-orc Gank at the front to the bald Ranger Tal in the rear, everyone was covered. Even the surface of Fanny's fangs and claws glowed with a dazzling bright yellow light.

"Whoosh!"

His primary warhammer had been tossed aside before his fight with the bugbear. Facing the banshee's assault after carelessly crushing his potion vials, the half-orc showed absolutely no intention of giving up.

The momentary despair welling in his heart was instantly wiped away by the sound of the flute, replaced by an even more surging tide of battle lust and Rage.

Refusing to dodge, he braced himself against the banshee's descending claws and threw a direct punch at her.

"Skreeee!!!"

The bright yellow light swirling around his knuckles struck the banshee's translucent form. It was like plunging molten iron into freezing water; thick smoke billowed out alongside a violent, agonizing shriek.

A shrill, ear-shattering scream tore from the banshee's throat. The excruciating pain of the radiant damage made it impossible for her to close the distance, forcing her entire body to drift backward.

From afar, it looked as though the Barbarian's glowing punch had struck a sheet of thin silk—the kinetic force was completely absorbed, but the brilliant light radiating from his fist punched straight through her body.

"Arghhh!"

He should have pressed the attack, but after throwing the punch, Gank let out a howl of pain matching the banshee's.

His left shoulder had already been rotted dead by the earlier ambush. Now, his right hand, which had made close contact with the banshee's physical form during the punch, was corroding from negative energy. Specks of ashen gray stubbornly pushed past the yellow glow, spreading from his knuckles inward.

Swish—A sharp, vicious slash, equally wrapped in bright yellow light, drove the mid-air banshee back even further.

Treebrook, the Rogue positioned closer to the half-orc, wielded a short dagger in one hand. With the other, Treebrook pulled a backup Deafness Potion—identical to Gank's—from a waist pouch. Using the refined physical control of a Class Holder, the Rogue tossed it to Gank with a swift but incredibly gentle arc.

Gank's rage-filled eyes reflected the vial tumbling through the air. For a fleeting moment, reason overpowered his battle lust and the agonizing pain in his hand.

Gank hurriedly took two steps forward, putting his hands together palms up to catch it.

His catching motion displayed a level of caution entirely at odds with his massive frame—almost comically so, terrified he might shatter this bottle too.

With a flick of his thumb, the cork popped off.

Tilting his head back and opening his mouth, the half-orc prepared to down the potion.

The lifesaving Deafness Potion hovering just above his lips brought a sudden surge of security. His intense focus, previously dedicated entirely to catching the vial, subconsciously relaxed.

His gaze naturally drifted upward.

Before him stood the half-elf Rogue who had just driven back the banshee to buy him time.

But Treebrook had turned around, no longer facing the enemy, but facing him.

The Rogue was pointing frantically over Gank's shoulder with one hand while waving the other in a desperate gesture.

Treebrook's mouth was moving, clearly screaming something.

With his hearing already muffled from licking his palm earlier, Gank poured the entire Deafness Potion down his throat while straining to hear what the Rogue was saying in the final few seconds before the potion took full effect.

It took him half a second to realize it.

Treebrook was screaming two words: "Run! Away!"

Oom—It was as if the world had been put on pause.

Time froze.

The entire Goblin Lair seemed split into two halves.

On one side, the banshee hovered in midair, a scorch mark blistering her side. The ghost fire in her eyes flickered violently, and her dress—melting into the surrounding mist—thrashed wildly.

Her mouth was already wide open.

There was no obvious warning sign, no flashy visual effect. But between those parted, bloodless, pale lips lay a pitch-black void like a deep-sea vortex. It radiated a lethal aura that even the most thick-skulled green-skinned goblin could sense.

With a twenty-four-hour cooldown and an absurd mechanic that forced anyone who heard it into a death save, it was the banshee's exclusive, signature ability:

[Withering Wail]!

In the middle stood the half-elf Treebrook, who had moved in to help, and the half-orc Gank, who had just swallowed the Deafness Potion but hadn't yet felt its effects.

On the other side were the bard Uriah and Xia Nan. Xia Nan had unleashed [Fang Hunt], intending to use his absurd burst speed to cross the distance from the rear and arrive at the half-orc's side at the exact same time as the much closer Treebrook. However, his high Perception warned him of the danger. He had abruptly aborted his charge midway, grabbing the Winter Wolf Fanny and the Ranger Tal to fall back to the bard's side instead.

Even without their leader, the "Sulfur Dragon Breath" party was still an elite team with an average Class Level of 3. When facing a monster with instant-death mechanics like a banshee, they might not have had a magical trinket like Xia Nan's [Fate Glimmer] die, but they did prepare a third contingency plan beyond the [Dawn Flute Melody] and Deafness Potions.

—2nd-Circle · Illusion · Silence!

Its effect allowed the caster to designate a point within range, creating a twenty-foot-radius spherical zone where absolutely no sound could be produced or enter.

It certainly wasn't redundant. When dealing with a banshee's instant-death mechanic, one could never be too careful.

The double layer of protection—"Deafness Potion" plus "Silence"—was the strategy the "Sulfur Dragon Breath" party had drawn up before they even set out.

However, unlike [Dawn Flute Melody], which covered the entire underground cavern, [Silence] could only blanket a twenty-foot-radius sphere. Furthermore, Uriah's casting range was strictly limited by his own ability, making it impossible to reach the banshee far away on the other side.

And right now, thanks to the half-orc's reckless charge, the battlefield had been split into two distinct groups.

One group was Uriah himself, along with Xia Nan and the others.

The other was Gank and the Rogue Treebrook.

This meant that to use [Silence], Uriah had to make a definitive choice between the two.

From a bystander's perspective, there was obviously nothing to hesitate about. Aside from Gank—who had just choked down the potion from the Rogue and was still waiting for it to kick in—everyone else had already temporarily lost their hearing. They had a high probability of completely ignoring the banshee's [Withering Wail].

By centering [Silence] on the half-orc Gank, Uriah could ensure that he, too, survived the wail, bringing the whole team out alive.

But from Uriah's own perspective, his Constitution was already the lowest on the field due to his bard class. If he were caught in the [Withering Wail], he would almost certainly fail the saving throw.

It was like having a bottle of poison that had a 99.99% chance of doing nothing and a 0.01% chance of killing him if he drank it, but a 50% fatality rate if someone else drank it.

Between his own "0.01%" risk and his teammate's "50%" risk, Uriah chose absolute safety for himself. He force-fed the poison to his teammate.

'I think I just heard something. The Deafness Potion might not have fully taken effect.'

Surrounded by a dead, silent world without a single sound registering in his ears, the bard comforted himself with this thought.

The next second, the frozen moment of decision ended, and time flowed once more.

Oom—Magic particles surged. Reflected in Gank's stunned gaze, the translucent barrier of [Silence] materialized, securely enveloping Uriah, Xia Nan, and the others.

"Skreeee!!!"

Behind him, the banshee's [Withering Wail] churned the mist, transforming into a visible, rippling wave of sonic destruction that swept out in all directions.