'...0…'
Ronny's countdown was heard by his teammates while they were battling with their opponents. But there was a slight difference of time between when Renar and Viper heard it and when Belar heard it.
Belar heard the voice a few moments later than his teammates. As a result, he was delayed in executing what he was supposed to do. And coincidentally, he had been taken a bit further away from his allies by his opponent at the time.
But Belar didn't realize the delay. Having his senses focused on the immediate battle didn't allow him a chance to do so. He dropped the vials he was given the moment he heard the command. And that sealed his fate for him.
Ronny had given him a different set of vials than what he had given to Renar and Viper. It contained three vials of the D-Rank miasma potion he had received in the dungeon as one of his rewards. There were only two vials of the miasma potions of the same rank left with him now.
The same miasma potion that had put him under the illusion and dulled his senses.
The most advantageous effect of the potion was that it interfered with the ranker's mana sense. So whether or not the ranker falls under the illusion, their mana sense would be disabled for the time the miasma was surrounding them.
Since Ronny wanted to cover a large area in a short period of time, he had to go overboard with the three miasma potions. Because he wasn't sure where Belar would be at the time of the drop.
The three miasma potions of the D-Rank getting released at the same time killed Belar instantly. He didn't even realize what struck and killed him.
The area of impact was expanded at a faster rate than that of the soon-to-crash acidic bomb. That's because Belar was also given a pair of E-Rank potion bombs that he had used along with the miasma potions. The explosion of the potion bombs created a rippling effect that aided in spreading the miasma to the surrounding area at a faster rate.
**********
Jerry was watching Hilda engaging in mortal combat with Ronny with keen interest. He wasn't interested in watching a bunch of novices fight with each other. He would have the same amount of lethargy watching Hilda and Ronny fight too if it wasn't for the anticipation of getting his hands on a transcendent grade time-element treasure.
'There's no doubt about it. This kid is carrying a time-element treasure.
There are no signs of time-element spells getting cast. And yet his response time to incoming arrows is too impeccable for it to be a mere agility enhancement or perception enhancement effect granted by the potions or artefacts.
Forget about the Illuminati. I'd rather keep it for myself than give it to those pompous ass bastards. I can convince Gerish to coordinate with me. I will just give him something suitable for his rank in exchange. Hehe!'
Jerry was busy scheming and making plans to betray his organization for the sake of time element treasure. And nobody could blame him. That's because transcendent-grade potions and artefacts were too rare to be simply referred to as rare. They would be seen as the kingdoms' treasures as a result.
Owning a transcendent treasure was like securing a trump card your enemies would never see coming. Additionally, the higher the rank, the greater the power of the treasure. So an Adept ranker like him could make better use of the treasure than what he was seeing Ronny doing at the time.
**********
With thoughts of a small mutiny in mind, Jerry observed Ronny throw his daggers long and retrieve a new set of weapons. He then observed the butcher running towards Hilda while executing a different set of spells.
'That brat is up to something.'
Jerry had an inkling of mild danger out of nowhere as he saw Ronny changing his tactics. Therefore, he contacted Gerish immediately:
'Gerish, there's something wrong with the way things are going down. Prepare to move…'
Jerry wanted to expedite their eventual intervention in Ronny's fights. But soon he heard a loud explosion followed by a series of relatively smaller ones. Then his vision changed as he saw a light layer of fog wash over him.
The response times of Jerry and Gerish had been compromised when the series of explosions took place because they just happened to be conversing. As a result, Gerish was caught off guard by Reen and Jerry was trapped in a miasma. The former ended up dead and the latter was caught in an illusion without his mana sense to help him understand what was happening outside the miasma's area of effect.
************
Renar and Viper were fighting with their opponents at a distance from each other when they received Ronny's commands. They knew time was of the essence in getting out of the pickle they had found themselves in. That's why they just did what they were supposed to do and used those vials against their opponents and retreated to their left side using their movement spells.
The rush of adrenaline clouded their minds as well. So they didn't bother finding out how their teammates were doing. They prioritized their own safety for the time being and followed the instructions that were given to them to a T.
After retreating, they heard a much louder sound. But they didn't bother looking to see who had messed up. Both thought of Belar when the second explosion was heard. They assumed that he had messed up the timing of the drop. But at this point, there was nothing they could do.
The two Anthropes were lucky and escaped safely without getting caught in the miasma. Only after covering a sufficient distance did they look back.
At first, they weren't sure of what they were looking at.. Then they realized that there was more going on than meets the eye instead of assuming that Belar had screwed up.