Chapter 46: The First One To Lose
Ramon's score was 18.
Hannibal's score was 5.
Donald's score was 8.
Adam's score was 19.
All the eyes landed on Adam. This was an important decision.
However, it looked like he had already decided on who to choose.
"I'll attack Donald." Adam said casually.
"Argh..." Donald grimaced. 'I shouldn't have attacked Adam. That was a mistake on my part!'
They both picked up their marbles and prepared themselves for the next round.
Hannibal and Ramon picked up their marbles so they wouldn't be in the way.
As the fire crackled and the logs burned at the nearby fireplace, Donald and Adam counted from three and then rolled them across the table. They clashed at the center.
Donald's score was 11.
Adam's score was 12.
'No!' Donald called out inside his mind.
Crack-Donald's marble cracked, and it was now on the breaking point. It looked as broken as Hannibal's marble.
Smack!
A resounding slap landed on Donald's cheek, leaving a bright red mark that stung with pain. He was stunned for a moment, but it wasn't as strong as the previous slap.
Ramon picked up the two marbles from the center of the table and handed them over to Donald and Adam. It looked like he was too impatient and wanted to start the next round already.
"Let's roll!" He said excitedly, and after counting from three, they all rolled their marbles to the center of the table.
Cling, clang!
The numbers appeared inside the marbles, made of thick mist that slowly dissipated.
Ramon's score was 10.
Hannibal's score was 15.
Donald's score was 2.
Adam's score was 2.
A silence fell over the table as this was a shocking outcome.
Hannibal's smile froze as he began mulling over things.
'This is very interesting.' Adam thought to himself. 'As an attacker, Hannibal can't use his skip. If he loses, his marble will be destroyed...
'Will the so-called Undefeated Champion of the Killer Marbles be the first one to lose?'
After a short time, Hannibal smiled and said, "I'll attack Donald."
Ramon's and Adam's heads turned towards Donald.
Donald's face paled.
'I knew this would happen!' He clenched his hand into a fist. 'He wants me to use a skip so his attack turn will be skipped! A smart move-really fucking smart!
'I guess these two aren't just crazy lunatics that like pain. They have a brain inside their heads. Still, should I skip?
'If I manage to win this turn, his marble will be destroyed. But the chance of me winning is slim!
'Also, if Hannibal is out of the game, Ramon and Adam will definitely target me so they can fight each other for the victory. It would be basically 1v2; it is suicide!'
Donald touched his head as if he were having a headache and weakly said, "I'll skip."
'Now, if Ramon or Adam gets the attacker, they'll definitely target me as I don't have a skip, but that was the only choice I had. I am now in the worst position!'
Donald glanced at Hannibal, who was smiling carefreely, and then picked up his mostly- broken marble. He saw his broken reflection in the cracked surface.
"Hannibal, can we roll our marbles and see what scores we would've had?" Donald asked curiously.
Hannibal's eyebrow jumped, and he turned to Ramon.
"Hmm..." Ramon rubbed his chin. "Rules said that ain't allowed as it removes the suspense whether your decision was correct or not. However, this is for fun, either way, and I am also curious, so go ahead."
Hannibal and Donald exchanged glances, then rolled their nearly-broken marbles to the center of the table. They clashed at the center, and it was a shock that both of them didn't
shatter to pieces.
Numbers appeared.
Hannibal's score was 9.
Donald's score was 10.
It was Hannibal's victory.
"Whoo...' Donald breathed a sigh of relief after making the correct decision. 'That was so close...'
Hannibal scoffed.
"Alright, let's continue." Ramon said with a smile.
The four picked up their marbles and then, after the count of three, rolled them across the table again. They met at the center, and the numbers appeared inside the cracked marbles.
Ramon's score was 15.
Hannibal's score was 15.
Donald's score was 11.
Adam's score was 13.
"A tie?" Donald looked surprised and forgot that it was possible to have a tie when choosing
the attacker.
Adam chuckled and shook his head. 'Another rule they forgot to mention. This is the reason why making alliances during the game of The Mad Marbles is important.'
"Ah, right, I completely forgot about this." Ramon scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Since it is a tie, me and Hannibal are both attackers."
"Both of you are?!" Donald said in shock.
"Yeah." Ramon said with a chuckle. "We can either attack the same person, where the defender has to do two rounds of defending, or we can both attack different people. We can even attack each other."
'This is a big rule they happened to forget to mention!' Donald said with a pale face.
'Ramon and Hannibal are friends, so they will definitely work together. If I had known about this rule, I would've tried to make an alliance with Adam! This is very bad!
'Will they try to attack me to finish me off? I don't have a skip left anymore!'
"So, there is a chance that there can be three or even four attackers." Adam said.
"Yeah, but the chances are slim to none." Ramon laughed and turned to his friend. "Ready?"
"Ready." Hannibal chuckled. "I'll attack Adam!"
"I'll attack Adam as well!" Ramon said with a loud laugh.
'They're ganging up on him!' Donald shouted inside his mind. 'If Adam loses both rounds, he
is out of the game!'
"Who is going first?" Adam asked with a calm look.
"I'll do it." Ramon said with a laugh. "You ready?"
"Yeah," Adam said shortly.
Ramon quickly counted from the three, and then they both rolled their marbles.
As soon as the marbles stopped, numbers appeared on them.
Ramon's score was 9.
Adam's score was 15.
It was Ramon's victory.
Crack-as soon as Adam's marble cracked, a slap landed on his cheek.
"Ah..." Adam touched his stinging cheek and then turned to his cracked marble. It looked like
it was barely being held together by glue.
'He lost!' Donald thought. 'One more loss, and he is out!'
"Ready?" Hannibal said with a grin.
Adam picked up his marble with a cold look and nodded sternly.
'Whoever loses this round will be out of the game!' Donald was in shock. 'Will it be Adam or
Hannibal? Who will lose?!'
Ramon watched with keen interest, a smile playing on his lips.
At that moment, without counting down, they both rolled their marbles to the center of the
table.
They clashed with a gentle echo and came to a stop. Again, numbers appeared inside the
cracked marbles.
The surrounding players, the ones watching from the control room, and the four contestants
leaned closer to get a better look at the numbers inside.
As soon as the numbers appeared, there were shocked gasps from the crowd.
Hannibal's score was 10.
Adam's score was 10.
It was Hannibal's victory!
Crack-Adam's marble cracked one last time and then shattered into very tiny pieces.
Those pieces glowed for a moment, but then they turned into water and got sucked inside the
table, disappearing completely.
"H-he lost..." Donald looked at Adam in shock. "A-Adam lost..."