Venerable Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Chaos in the Camp

Read chapter 17 of Venerable by Jade_White on NovelPedia.

Dustin gritted his teeth as an intense, blinding pain assaulted him. The impact of the heavy stone against his liver sent shockwaves of pure agony through his entire body. He forced himself to take a ragged breath, used all of his remaining willpower, and finally stood back up. He gripped his steel daggers tightly just as the monkey charged. Clang. Dustin crossed his blades and barely managed to block the monkey's heavy downward strike. The force of the blow rattled his bones. He immediately pushed back and slashed forward, forcing the giant ape to dodge by jumping away. Dustin quickly scanned his surroundings. The area in this part of the cavern was almost completely empty. The floor was flat and smooth. There were no big stones or thick pillars behind which he could hide. He could not use the same hit-and-run tactics he had used to kill the previous giant monkey. Silent Steps was completely useless without cover. He was entirely on his own, forced to rely strictly on his raw fighting skills and his Agility. The fight dragged on. After another few brutal rounds of exchanging blows, both Dustin and the monkey were panting heavily. They were losing their stamina at a rapid pace. Dustin had not taken any more vital damage since that thrown rock. That projectile was a trick he had not expected, but it forced him to become even more vigilant. As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher, and pain makes sure you never forget the lesson. The giant monkey was not looking good either. It had several deep cuts bleeding across its golden fur. Two of those wounds were huge. One was a massive gash across its left waist, and the other was a long slice down its broad back. The pain and the drawn-out fight were making the beast impatient. It roared and kept launching wild, heavy attacks at Dustin. Dustin stayed focused. He defended against the brutal swings and managed to land a few more shallow cuts every now and then. Even though the monkey's physical strength was immense, it possessed very low intelligence compared to Dustin. Because of that lack of intellect, the beast simply became angry and rushed its attacks. Dustin was looking at the bigger picture. He stayed calm, focused on his footwork, and patiently waited to find any openings while strictly defending his vital spots. As time passed, both of them grew incredibly exhausted. The cuts on the monkey kept increasing, which made the beast more and more agitated. Dustin remained quiet and calculating. However, the toll on his body was severe. Even though the monkey could not land a clean punch on his body, the sheer force of its fists crashing against the sides of Dustin's daggers was doing damage. Dustin's hands had started to ache terribly, and his legs burned from constantly darting around the cavern floor. After a few more intense rounds of fighting, the angry beast finally overextended itself. It threw a massive, looping hook that missed entirely and left its guard wide open. Dustin did not waste this precious chance. He glanced at his system interface and saw he had less than ten Stamina points left. This was his final opportunity. He lunged forward with everything he had and swung his blade upward. Slash. He delivered a deep, long cut that started from the monkey's face and dragged all the way down to its thick neck. Hot blood sprayed across the stone floor. Screech. An intense pain assaulted the giant monkey. It screamed in absolute agony and began attacking Dustin completely blindly, throwing its massive arms around in a furious frenzy. Dustin quickly tried to jump back to avoid the wild thrashing. He planted his foot to push off, but he stepped directly onto a loose, smooth stone. He slipped. Before Dustin could even manage to balance himself, gravity pulled him down to one knee. The giant monkey saw the opening and immediately brought its massive fists down like a hammer. Dustin raised his dagger to block the crushing blow, but his tired arms were moving just a fraction