Este resumo foi retirado do site SparkNotes
Ender asks Bonzo not to hurt him in order to provoke an attack, and Bonzo jumps at him. Ender avoids the attack and hits Bonzo in the face with the top of his head. He has injured Bonzo and knows he might be able to walk away, but he does not want to have to fight the battle again. Ender realizes he must make Bonzo fear him enough never to fight him again. He knocks Bonzo to the ground and kicks him in the crotch, but Bonzo is motionless, and does not even respond. Dink takes Ender away, and Ender knows that no adult will ever help him. Ender feels terrible about how he hurt Bonzo, and begins to cry.
O golpe mortal foi realmente o que ocorreu na segunda frase acima.
No livro em si, quando o assassino está pensando na briga, ele diz (página 212 do livro):
All [he] could see, though, was the way [the other character] looked as [he] kicked upward into his groin. The empty, dead look in his eyes. He was already finished then. Already unconscious. His eyes were open, but he wasn't thinking or moving anymore, just that dead, stupid look on his face, that terrible look, the way [another character he killed] looked when I finished with him.
Além disso, quando ele mais tarde fala sobre a luta, ele diz
I think I must have pushed his nose back into his brain. The blood was coming out of his eyes. I think he was dead right then.
Esta é a quantidade de informação fornecida no livro. Embora o personagem não saiba que seu oponente morreu, sua opinião seria que foi o golpe antes do chute na virilha que foi fatal. No entanto, a opinião geral (pelo menos como encontrada pelo Google) é que matar alguém empurrando o nariz no cérebro é um mito. Um golpe strong na cabeça pode matar, mas também pode chutar a virilha. O livro nunca diz explicitamente qual golpe causou a fatalidade.