forced then to turn , he flung the riven shield to his attacker 's left , and as the enraged figure beat at it , reducing the wood to flying splinters , the warrior leapt at him , the broken javelin gripped in two hands , a combination of the blind man 's clumsy momentum and the deaf 's resolute thrust driving the steel tip up through the lightly armoured belly , high behind the natural protection of sturdy ribs , exiting at the juncture of neck and chin in a spray of toneless blood that was absolutely , sickeningly quiet .