136: I can transform twice more!
Hayden did not allow any other demi-humans to participate in this battle.
He wanted them to maintain the barrier and focus on dealing with the typhoon sweeper, so that the most important thing wouldn't be neglected.
This time, Pazuzu led a group of demi-human raiders to attack, but Hayden fought alone and made all sorts of preparations.
The sub-people of the King Kong tribe trusted their god from the bottom of their hearts and had no worries at all.
The newly joined Wind Chaser tribe members couldn't help but tense up upon hearing this. They had only been here for two days, unaware of the situation, and only felt that this mountain city was incredibly comfortable to live in, a paradise created by three gods. But today, they heard from the White Wolf God that Pazuzu was attacking, and that he would have to deal with him alone. They were terrified and extremely worried that the paradise they had finally settled in would be destroyed by the pursuing Pazuzu.
That's why the demi-humans of the Wind-Riding Tribe are now shocked.
Outside the tree wall on the second layer of the barrier, the battlefield was ravaged beyond recognition in an instant, resembling the end of the world. Within seconds, the atmosphere froze, flames raged, and thunder roared; each arcane orb contained the power to blast an entire street away. A hundred of them raining down would be comparable to an artillery battery's devastation.
Moreover, a blazing meteorite descended from the distant darkness amidst a constellation of stars, triggering a deafening explosion. The immense force swept across everything on the scene, reverberating deep within everyone's bodies.
The sub-people of the King Kong tribe had witnessed the strange events that Angela had performed, but the sub-people of the Wind Riding tribe were seeing this extraordinary sight for the first time—this overwhelming power—the power of heaven and earth changing.
The sand and dust whipped up by the explosion rained down like rain. A huge crater was left on the ground, sunken in the center and raised around the edges, like a small ring-shaped hill. The swirling dust testified to the violent impact of one hundred ninth-tier arcane bombardments.
The demi-humans could only watch the battle unfold at the foot of the mountain from the mountaintop.
The demi-human bandits who once fought tooth and nail with the Windrider Tribe and plundered them were now easily killed by Hayden. Even if these demi-human bandits had the combat strength of ordinary mercenaries, they were clearly no match for Hayden's incomprehensible fighting style this time.
One hundred consecutive shots of Tier 9 Arcane Arts, mass-produced in industrial settings!
This style of fighting is not combat at all; it is ravaging and slaughter. This catastrophic power is the power of modern arcane industry—the power of mass production and saturation firepower projection.
Hayden was an extremely clever and versatile wizard. But even he, if bombarded like this by a modern arcane army in an encounter, would be instantly reduced to ashes.
Simple and invincible. Suppressing and annihilating everything through sheer numbers and firepower. This is the power of modern arcane magic, something that cannot be countered with tricks.
Even the War God race, if caught off guard by such firepower in an unexpected encounter, could be injured or even killed.
However, Hayden also knew that there were still creatures in the world that could withstand this attack.
After the smoke and dust from the explosion cleared, an incredible sight was revealed.
The original number of about fifty demi-human raiders had now been reduced to charred remains, fragments, or scraps of flesh by Hayden's first wave of attacks.
Strangely, the half-human closest to Pazuzu did not die. Pazuzu also retained its human form, neither revealing its true form nor transforming into a demon.
These bandits were originally outcasts from various demi-human tribes, possessing only a slight fighting ability based on their experience and spoils from plundering. How could they possibly withstand Hayden's well-prepared, massive arcane bombardment? Under such bombardment, their unanimous choice was to cover their heads and fall to the ground, praying that the artillery fire would not land on their heads.
Strangely enough, despite this being the case, about twenty of them barely survived, though each one was badly beaten, with lacerations and bleeding heads. Some of the worst off had even lost arms or legs, or had large holes in their stomachs.
Such a miserable state caused these demi-human bandits to howl in pain, with several writhing on the ground in agony.
So Hayden looked more closely and finally noticed something: after each demi-human bandit died, even if it was just remains, a black smoke-like substance would flow from their corpse and be injected into the bodies of the remaining surviving bandits. It was this black smoke that saved the lives of the remaining half of the demi-humans.
Pazuzu, however, didn't care and didn't even turn around to look at his subordinates.
"Arcane Firepower. The Power of the New God."
Instead, it focused intently on Hayden, appearing quite pleased.
"You're not a pure Old God mage, are you? A city dweller? A New God's white glove, setting up a base in the wilderness at this time? Kid, fighting you is getting more and more interesting!"
Pazuzu had been relaxed and carefree during her magical duel with Hayden, and now her expression is one of pure joy.
"Alright, alright, alright! The last time we fought remotely was boring, let's see how you deal with this one this time!"
It laughed heartily, then raised its silver-adorned hand and snapped its fingers, from which black mist surged forth. The black mist was neither sick nor poisonous, corroding and melting away all the nearby flames, ice, and lightning.
One of the advantages of modern mass-produced arcane magic is its structural stability. This time, Pazuzu couldn't dismantle all of Hayden's hundred arcane orbs in an instant, but it used the [Plague] ability to collide head-on with Hayden's bombardment, using pure energy to erode and neutralize each other, yet still managed to block them all head-on.
...Strange. Everyone on this wasteland is starving; even if they were raiding demi-humans, they couldn't possibly be that fat. Where does this great demon get so much energy to waste?
However, since his initial move hadn't yielded significant results, Hayden needed to find a new approach to solve the problem. Fortunately, he had prepared in advance, with each step of his plan meticulously written down.
The black fog, as if it had eyes, spread towards Haiden. The once vibrant grasslands at the foot of the mountain were now filled with dark, chilling energy. Wherever it went, change ensued. Grass and trees withered, rivers dried up, the earth changed color, and light was extinguished. That dark, sick wind, like heavy lava, swallowed everything beautiful it encountered.
However, it was not beyond Hayden's original mental preparation.
He planted the Yin-Yang Scepter in the ground, pulled out the rowan wood staff hidden behind his back, raised it high, and emitted moonlight.
Then he began chanting incantations, uttering twenty-seven syllables inaudible to human ears. Around Hayden, bathed in moonlight, the trees began to sway in the wind, inhaling toxins and pollution while exhaling more life. They sensed the approaching death, disease, and poison in the wind that swept through their leaves. They would not stand idly by.
The ground around Hayden began to tremble, and tree roots burst forth. First the nearby trees, then almost half the mountain of trees—oak, ash, willow, birch, camphor, maple—they whispered in the wind, rising from the earth, stumbling and rushing toward Pazuzu!
Pazuzu burst into laughter and waved his hand, "Go, go! My men, hurry up and get going!"
The instructions and the scene were truly bizarre.
These twenty or so demi-human bandits were already torn apart, their flesh ripped and intestines spilling out, leaving them with almost no fighting power.
On the contrary, those towering trees, with their branches swinging out, each strike had the power to split mountains and shatter monuments, tearing iron and stone apart like bread. It was as terrifying as watching an old tree's century-old movements condensed into a few seconds.
Sending Asian bandits to deal with the towering tree would be like sending them to their deaths.
In reality, those demi-human bandits probably thought the same thing. They cried and howled, unwilling to fight, but strangely enough, their bodies betrayed their true intentions. While clutching their protruding intestines and stuffing them back into their stomachs, they charged towards the tree, still wailing. With a loud "smack," the demi-human bandit at the forefront was struck by the tree, his bones broken and tendons snapped.
But he didn't give up. Dragging his mangled body, he howled and continued charging forward, desperately wielding the ceramic longsword he had stolen from the Wind-Riding Tribe. Unfortunately, the bark of these trees was extremely thick, much tougher than ordinary tree bark, making sword cuts and slashes completely useless.
A large tree slapped down again, smashing the demi-human bandit's head. No matter how resilient these demi-humans were, they could only obediently die after taking this blow—but only at this moment did Hayden finally understand what Pazuzu was up to.
A series of nauseating, grotesque noises rang out, and a plume of black smoke suddenly erupted from the headless demi-human bandit's body, spraying directly at the tree that had smashed his head. The tree-man, rising from the ground, was immediately contaminated by the black smoke and its toxic wind, withering and dying instantly. The agonizing scream it let out as it fell was so heart-wrenching it was almost unbearable to hear.
So every demi-human bandit was actually a plague bomb from Pazuzu!?
Damn it, no wonder these demi-human bandits were crying and refusing to go up. It turns out they have all been infected with Pazuzu's plague and are puppets and carriers controlled by Pazuzu with the plague!
Hayden was taken aback, but he was no longer able to command the trees to stop. These towering trees were summoned by Hayden using Karen's divine power and the energy circulation of the entire mountain. They were the forest standing up in response to the call to resist the disease, not puppets completely controlled by Hayden.
In other words, when these trees were provoked, Hayden couldn't control them! They roared furiously, the sound alone enough to shatter rocks, and even Hayden didn't know how the trees were making that roar. Before Hayden could even try to calm them down, these towering trees had already swept across the entire battlefield like a whirlwind!
The twenty or so demi-human bandits were completely controlled by Pazuzu's plague magic, unable to even escape. In just a few rounds, they were all smashed to pieces by the trees! Black smoke and diseased winds gushed from their miserable corpses, dragging more than a dozen trees with them as they withered and died. Their filthy blood, carrying countless viruses and bacteria, also flowed on the ground, causing even the grass stained with blood to wither.
Looking at this scene, Pazuzu burst into laughter: "Your city barrier is really powerful! If this were outside, the death of these guys would cause a plague for thousands of miles, but this is far from enough!"
What a terrible demon of the plague winds!
"I was wondering before what you were doing with your abilities and these useless subordinates. Turns out you're a host of the plague and a suicide bomber."
Hayden remained seated, his brow furrowed.
"Their deaths on enemy territory are already weakening the enemy and spreading the plague. Not only do they pollute my city's barrier, but their twenty worthless lives also drag twenty of my great trees down with them."
In all calculations, Hayden lost twenty brave and valiant tree-men, and the land at the foot of the mountain was polluted. Pazuzu, on the other hand, only sent twenty worthless minions, who were already destined to die anyway. By any measure, Hayden suffered a huge loss.
However, from another perspective, Hayden's energy cycle is endless. On the other hand, Pazuzu's plague hosts are limited, and Hayden has already consumed them all.
"Now that things have come to this, and I've wiped out all these plague hosts, it's time for you to take the stage yourself. I'm looking forward to seeing your skills."
So Hayden said coldly. Pazuzu was more powerful than him, so Hayden had always taken the initiative to attack first when fighting Pazuzu. But now, for some reason, he was holding the Moonflower Staff and had switched from offense to defense, waiting for Pazuzu to make a move.
However, upon hearing Hayden's words, Pazuzu clapped his hands and laughed heartily, looking smug: "Kid, you don't understand. What's the point of going to the trouble of preparing something if it only has one use? It should at least kill two birds with one stone to be considered a masterpiece."
This demon is quite insane and rather lewd.
Upon hearing this, Hayden instinctively felt something was amiss. He became alert and immediately asked, "What kind of double-eagle method?"
“You know my primary attribute is [Plague], and you see that my subordinates are hosts of the plague. You know I am a demon, but I am now clearly in human form. You know that even if you kill my subordinates, they can still pollute your city and harm your lives.”
Instead of answering directly, Pazuzu shook his head and chuckled, saying...
"Then why can't you figure out what this 'killing two birds with one stone' means?"
No sooner said than done. By the time Hayden reacted, Pazuzu had already made his move.
Suddenly, from the corpses or remains of those dozens of dead demi-human bandits, a black column of smoke flowed out from each of them, spreading like shadows from the ground and the air, and surging into Pazuzu's body.
Its body, which was originally covered in human skin, instantly expanded several times its original size, and then burst open as if exploding. A pillar of dark hurricane began to rise from its body.
Hayden finally understood.
So far, Pazuzu's primary power has been [disease]. And a [disease], of course, requires a host. Since those demi-human bandits became plague bombs, it's clear that Pazuzu stored its [disease] within those subordinates.
Hayden didn't know the specifics, but the fact that his subordinates were riddled with so many "diseases" might have originally been Pazuzu's "batteries."
Now that all the demi-human bandits are dead, not only have Hayden's tree people been wiped out, but the city has also been polluted. Furthermore, the [diseases] stored and parasitized in the bandits can be recovered—this is not just killing two birds with one stone, but a vicious scheme that kills three birds with one stone!
"Kid! I can transform twice more! Do you know what I mean? Hahahaha!"
With a burst of Pazuzu's maniacal laughter, the black pillar of wind exploded open. What emerged from it was not a giant lion-headed monster, but something that made Hayden groan in horror at the mere sight of it.
Tens of millions of red-eyed locusts swarmed out, their dark mass obscuring the sky. They danced like fallen dark clouds, ready to devour everything in their path. Trees, people, and blades of grass—all were to be completely devoured by this army of locusts.
This is the second form of the great demon Pazuzu, and also its second supernatural power:
Locust plague!
137: Super Hayden vs. Super Pazuzu
Pazuzu is a great demon that brings disease, locust plagues, and droughts.
Droughts and locust plagues have occurred simultaneously since ancient times. Because locusts prefer warm and dry conditions, locust plagues often accompany droughts. After a drought comes a locust plague, after which all the grass and leaves are eaten, a great famine follows. These are all interconnected disasters, one after another, and then three more.
They are the nemesis of all plants. It goes without saying how devastating drought is to vegetation. But swarms of locusts, darkening the sky and obscuring the sun, can turn fertile fields into barren wastelands.
Now, Pazuzu has transformed into its second form, which is also its second supernatural power, [Locust Plague]. It manifests as tens of millions of red-eyed locusts swarming out, darkening the sky. They descend upon the world like a calamity cloud, intending to devour all the green grass and trees on the mountain.
Pazuzu transformed into a swarm of locusts, laughing loudly. Even though he was no longer in human form, it was unclear where the laughter was coming from.
The swarm of locusts it transformed into using its supernatural powers was not just ordinary locusts, but incorporated the concept of a "locust plague." Everything in the world has its counter. What had once withstood a typhoon's sweeping machine, seemingly an indestructible second layer of protection, was now being devoured and pierced by countless swarms of locusts, a natural disaster.
Before Hayden could even stop it, the "second barrier" had already been broken.
The locust swarms, a natural disaster, were about to break through the tree walls and penetrate deeper into the city. If these locust swarms were allowed to break in, reach the places where the subhumans lived, or rush towards the apple trees on the mountaintop, then it would be impossible to stop them, and the situation would spiral out of control.
Of course, Angela is singing under the apple tree on the mountaintop right now. Who knows, Pazuzu might rush up and get blown to death by her breath—but can you gamble on that? What if Pazuzu causes even more trouble?
Fortunately, even in this critical situation, Hayden wasn't entirely without options, as he had prepared numerous plans and strategies beforehand. Hayden raised his Moonlight Rowan Staff, planted it firmly in the ground, and simultaneously transformed using the earth's ley line energy into a gigantic white wolf beast god, hundreds of meters tall. Its head was like a small mountain, its teeth like sword blades, and its eyes gleamed with a sharp light. It roared loudly, "Awoooo ...
The earth shook violently, spewing out a cold wind mixed with snowflakes.
At the same time, Hayden Wolf leaped into the swarm of locusts in the sky and pounced on them with the wind!
Hayden's wolf-transformation sorcery was originally stolen from the Russian mafia. Although Hayden had improved and optimized it considerably, it still contained a strong element of the "North Wind" concept. Now, by using the earth's ley line energy, that is, the power of nature itself, to cast this sorcery, its power has been raised to its limit. Not only can it make wolves fly on the wind, but it can also create a biting, icy north wind.
The north wind was so fierce that it almost froze the air. Hayden, transformed into a wolf, pounced on the swarm of locusts that Pazuzu had become. The temperature plummeted wherever the wind reached, causing the air to howl piercingly, and the red-eyed locusts froze to death one by one.
These locusts were transformed from Pazuzu, and were all part of its energy and soul. So when Pazuzu saw Hayden transform into a white wolf and pounce on it on the north wind, it actually cried out "Ouch!" and didn't fight back, but simply started to run away.
Swarms of locusts scurried through the air like a black cloud, with the giant white wolf riding the wind and chasing after its tail. Both forms were manifestations of supernatural powers and magic, and they fought and chased each other across the sky.
The tribe's sub-people stood atop the mountain, gazing at the battle, all speechless.
The locust plague, a demon incarnate, was chased and torn apart by the wolf god in the sky, whipping up icy winds, flames, and lightning, with magic and supernatural powers erupting and wreaking havoc. Even the slightest aftershock of any of these events could easily claim the lives of countless demi-humans.
What kind of scene is this?
This is a myth.
Therefore, when the tribe members saw this scene, their hearts pounded and they held their breath. They all knew that at this moment, they were witnessing a myth that would be passed down in the future.
"awesome!"
The swarm of locusts that Pazuzu had transformed into was chased and bitten by Hayden wolves, and frozen by the cold wind. It was about to be forced into a corner of the barrier, where it would have no way to escape.
However, it still smiled happily.
"Your transformation spell isn't arcane anymore. This [North Wind] really counters my [Locust Plague], oh no! I have to use my third move right away!"
Upon hearing this, Hayden's heart skipped a beat. He intended to kill this demon, not to engage in a magical battle or play tricks with it. How could he possibly stand by and watch Pazuzu conjure up another supernatural power and form? The tree wall had already been breached; what if it caused even more trouble?
Thinking of this, Hayden immediately increased his effort. The north wind grew stronger, and he seized the opportunity to pounce, guiding the cold air to envelop and pull at the swarm of locusts, freezing them, and slamming them to the ground!
With a deafening crash, the white wolf and the swarm of locusts simultaneously struck the ridge. Taking advantage of the moment, the Hayden wolf opened its massive fangs and bit down on the locusts. If struck by those sharp, wintery teeth, even the smallest insects would be frozen solid!
However, when Hayden took a bite, he bit into a mouthful of wind.
The locusts were gone. Pazuzu had transformed again, becoming the dark wind once more, slipping out from between Hayden's fangs. Hayden, now the North Wind Wolf himself, was not afraid of the dark wind and immediately exhaled a cloud of icy air to freeze it.
But this time, Pazuzu didn't dodge or evade; instead, it laughed loudly and blocked the attack head-on! The northern wind exhaled by Hayden collided directly with the dark wind it had transformed into, and the two devoured each other like a white snake and a black snake fighting each other.
After a brief moment of neutralization, the icy north wind dissipated.
The dark winds roared and spun even more fiercely, expanding and growing even stronger, laughing loudly!
This was completely unexpected by Hayden.
The black wind broke through the north wind and rushed towards him. Hayden's [North Wind] was broken, and his own magic power was at least a notch below Pazuzu's. Even with energy circulation, it was only endless, and his output was still limited in an instant. Now, he suddenly felt an immense force pushing towards him like an overturned tidal wave, carrying with it a scorching undercurrent. He immediately knew something was wrong.
Why should we?! Aren't we all just the wind?!