Fortunately, they weren't unprofessional third-rate workers. Although a few workers were shouting, everyone actually maintained order and restraint. The experts immediately cast their most powerful barrier magic and simultaneously sent a message to the supervisor on the shore. The workers who were still able to fight stepped forward and formed a defensive formation.
Now that the numerical advantage has reversed, it's clear that an offensive is not an option; a defensive strategy is the only option. Even so, the odds of victory are slim, at best a 50/50 chance. Perhaps the biggest factor determining the outcome of this battle will be when reinforcements arrive from the shore.
"...What's the situation on your end?"
Just as everyone was thinking this, less than two seconds later, they saw Hayden, dressed in a gray robe and holding a staff, walk out from around the corner of the ruins road, looking astonished at the sight.
The workers were too busy fighting off the monsters to speak. An expert immediately reacted, shouting, "Prophet! So many strange creatures have suddenly emerged from beneath this tower! Help us!"
Fortunately, they no longer needed any further explanation.
Even as the experts cried for help, Hayden's gaze had already shifted to the fleshy monsters surrounding them. He paused for a second, then uttered sharp words.
"【Ruak (Wind/Spirit)】"
It felt like a gentle breeze brushing against my cheek.
A terrifying tornado instantly formed above Hayden's head. The piercing, eerie wind, unlike anything from this world, roared like a monstrous beast. For a moment, the scholars present seemed to be hallucinating, as if witnessing an ancient demon god wielding a great sword and with black wings appearing in the air currents.
"[Ao(Light/Day)]"
But Hayden immediately followed with a powerful second word. A brilliant silver-white light then surged from his body, spreading throughout the vast ruins. Whether it was the workers confronting the monsters, the scholars turning to look at Hayden, or even the monsters themselves, everyone now witnessed the entire process.
They all saw the power of wind and light manifest on Hayden's staff, gradually expanding until it became as majestic and magnificent as a deity.
Undoubtedly, Hayden is weaving and reshaping reality, controlling a divine power beyond the reach of any wizard. This is the divine wind and radiance that fought over this Dead Sea five thousand years ago. It is the pure power wielded by the spiritual ancient gods before they fell and became material.
"【Mavit (Death/Predestined)】"
This force, the wind and light of destiny, poured down upon the heads of the flesh-and-blood monsters.
There was neither an explosion nor a roar. The wind and light released swept over the monsters, causing their bodies and tentacles to shrink and disintegrate in an instant. They didn't even have time to scream before they shattered into pieces, turned into dust, and were then blown away by the wind and disappeared.
That's it.
"I tried to optimize the power of the ancient gods from beyond the heavens, which was just restored from the ruins, into magic and omit the ritual incantation, but it is still very difficult."
This undoubtedly placed a tremendous burden on Hayden. His right fingers were charred black, and the aura emanating from his body gradually weakened, but he still shook his head and said...
"That attack just now was less than one-tenth of its original power."
What can anyone else say now? What else needs to be said?
All they could do was gaze at their mentor, who was giving them power and constantly displaying new strength, with nothing but awe.
"Go back, let's leave work early today. Make sure the barrier is tightened."
Hayden flicked his charred fingertips, looked at the ruins of the tower temple, and then said,
"Something's not right about this place. Haste makes waste. Don't worry, I certainly won't abandon you."
Over the past month or two, his mindset has clearly become much calmer and more relaxed. Regardless of whether he's a charlatan or not, he's certainly taking on more and more of a prophet and mentor persona.
————————————————————————————
In conclusion, Hayden and his cheerful friends have been doing very well over the past month or so.
Sufficient resources and obedient manpower allowed Hayden's salt mining and research to progress smoothly. Through extensive data comparison and analysis, they have been able to reconstruct some of the power of the two ancient extraterrestrial gods from five thousand years ago.
Although there have been some setbacks, and not all the employees (mainly some workers) have been obedient, the overall situation is encouraging and very encouraging.
...This pleasant situation continued until the morning of the day after Hayden tried to blow up the monster with the new spell.
Someone suddenly contacted Hayden's private contact number.
This was someone Hayden knew very well, but he never expected this person to get involved at this time. He had no idea that this person was related to this matter, so much so that Hayden was somewhat taken aback for a moment.
Hey buddy, how's the gold rush going?
The person who contacted him at this time was surprisingly Adam.
Want to discuss a business deal?
Hayden's "good buddy" grinned on the phone's projection screen, showing him his white teeth.
209: Moonlight×Orb
Today should have been an ordinary day, although Hayden had felt something was off from the start.
For example, this morning, Hayden had just gone down to the research lab in the slums (where they had built a lot of new facilities for convenience) when Abigail came to him to report something: "Some refined Secretfire Salt blocks have gone missing before they were even delivered to the research lab."
what?
Hayden listened to Abigail's report with a frown, but he was somewhat puzzled.
If we only look at the surface of the matter, then the situation is very simple and clear. Everyone had already built seawater refineries in the slums, pumping water directly from the Dead Sea to refine the Secret Fire Salt in factories on shore, and sending it to research labs for various applications.
However, Abigail's surprise inspection of the warehouse storing materials early this morning revealed that some refined salt blocks, which had not yet been delivered to the research lab, were missing. There were no signs of use, clearly indicating that someone had taken them without proper authorization.
As for whether it was stolen by someone else in the slums, at least the people working here didn't seem to notice anything unusual.
"Could it have been stolen by the workers and sold on the black market?"
To be honest, Hayden didn't know much about workers embezzling materials, so he just guessed: "The Secret Fire is very valuable after all."
The witch sighed, "Silly boy, even in the black market of Fallen City, no one would openly buy and sell Secret Fire Salt. These things are strategic reserve resources."
Although these Secret Fire Salt blocks are not very pure, their low purity does not change their essential nature as strategic resources. No one dares to openly sell Secret Fire, nor does anyone dare to openly acquire it... However, on the other hand, there are certainly people who would dare to do it behind the scenes.
Hayden and Abigail weren't stupid; they naturally understood this.
However, we cannot draw any conclusions about this matter hastily.
"...Could it be that opposition workers or some other force are secretly plotting this?"
He rubbed his temples and asked,
"If someone is deliberately trying to harm us, they can just throw the stolen salt back into the sea without leaving a trace."
If it wasn't for the purpose of stealing to sell for money, there would be no need to risk taking it away. Throwing the salt back into the sea, even a god couldn't detect it.
But Abigail shook her head: "The amount of salt stolen this time isn't large in proportion, but it's actually not small either. To say that the workers threw it all into the sea would be incredibly resolute—that's a resource more valuable than its weight in gold. Would any worker do that just to oppose us?"
So, after much deliberation, the thought process ultimately returned to the possibility that some workers might have stolen the items and resold or transferred them to certain individuals.
“These workers are not completely obedient yet, and they are too loyal to each other, making the investigation a bit troublesome. After all, it’s not good to push them too hard.”
The witch then added.
"But I'll handle this. Don't worry, I'm just letting you know first."
Hayden nodded in understanding.
That being said, this is not a good sign after all.
After the witch left, Hayden remained in his office, frowning as he pondered the matter. Unfortunately, before he could think for long, his phone rang.
Hey buddy, how's your underwater gold rush going?
The person who contacted him at this time was actually Adam.
Want to discuss a business deal?
Hayden's "good buddy" grinned on the phone's projection screen, showing him his white teeth.
How strange! How did Adam know that Hayden was "fishing for gold underwater"?
What business do you want to discuss with me?
So Hayden took the opportunity to ask...
"Instead of asking, how would you know what I'm doing? I haven't been advertising it anywhere."
These words only made Adam's smile widen: "Of course. Dude, from the highest-class orbital space stations to the fallen city of Fallen Angels, where aren't my friends?"
噫
The implication of those words was incredibly strong. In an instant, Hayden recalled the material anomaly that Abigail had just reported, and his heart sank.
No way?
Could Adam be behind this whole thing? But how did these workers even get in touch with Adam? Abigail should have thoroughly investigated this; she didn't find any connection between these workers and executives of the large company. Besides, the witch is quite familiar with Adam.
Unless... unless the Adabit Guild had been in contact with Adam long ago and had their own secret communication methods, it would be impossible to evade Abigail's inspection.
Thinking about this, Hayden began to understand—they had previously suspected that the guild in the slums was tainted, and Abigail had also suspected that the guild's unique magic was related to the devil. Could it be that these things were with Adam?
After all, everyone (on Hayden's side) knows that Adam had long had many connections with the devil.
...Thinking about it this way, it does explain why the unions in these slums have been able to survive. Is their background actually that of Adam and the rebellious devil?
The above are all speculations, but Hayden still intuitively feels that the accuracy rate is not too low.
“Don’t get off-topic.” He quickly tapped the desk and continued, “What business do you want to talk to me about? I don’t need anything here, and I don’t have anything to sell you—I’m busy with research.”
I'm doing research; I'm not thinking about starting a business.
This reason is Hayden's ultimate trump card, and almost everyone has to buy into it, given Hayden's considerable previous research achievements.
However, Adam immediately raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Really? I thought you'd want to buy a batch of absolutely obedient clone workers. After all, your current workers aren't exactly well-behaved."
草
This statement really left Hayden somewhat bewildered.
What is Adam doing? Why is he bringing this up?
Could this be the legendary tactic of the thief crying "stop thief!"?
[The new type of bio-cloning worker has been completed, and we are currently conducting trial sales. These clone workers are equipped with the physical and technical skills required for chip installation and employ a work ethic focused on diligent labor.]
Adam, however, continued with a smile as he explained.
Your workers have recently suffered considerable damage from combat and environmental hazards. While no one has died yet, and they can all be revived before they stop breathing, what if they die instantly?
Hayden currently has no way to resurrect someone whose head has been instantly blown apart. In fact, the technology doesn't exist anywhere in the world yet—if consciousness wasn't uploaded before death and the brain was severely damaged, resurrection is simply impossible.
[In that case, I think you might need some cloned workers to replace the current heavy manual labor and reduce losses... Doesn't that make sense? Your current workers aren't trustworthy; they have other masters besides you, and they're prone to dying, needlessly ruining your mood. Wouldn't it be much more cost-effective to switch to cloned workers?]
His words left Hayden completely baffled.
What the hell is this? Smoke grenade tactic?
“You know I don’t like mass-produced, brainwashed bio-clones, right? They’re disgusting. They don’t fit my aesthetic.” So Hayden quickly waved his hand. “What exactly are you trying to say, Adam? Are you saying you’re not human anymore? Can’t you just be blunt?”
Okay. Let's get serious then.
Only then did a serious expression appear on Adam's face, projected onto the communication screen.
I know you're studying demons, trying to master their power; and I'm studying them too, trying to defeat a great demon. Why can't we cooperate for mutual benefit?
……ah?
what! ?
Adam's accusation that Hayden was studying the devil was embarrassing—but it was true. The devil wasn't necessarily an ancient god from beyond the heavens. But almost all the ancient gods who fell from the heavens were now devils. Even Astaroth, the ruler of the fallen city of Babylon, was no exception.
Thinking of this, another strange idea popped into Hayden's mind: Adam said he was going to take down a great demon?
Which great demon?
Hayden had long known that Adam was connected to the devil, but he had no idea how many devils Adam was involved with. As for Adam having to deal with a great devil, this infighting was hardly surprising.
The problem is, Hayden almost never deals with the devil. How could this conflict of interest involve him? Unless…
"The great demon you mentioned, could it be referring to Astaroth, the lord of Fallen City?"
Hayden asked tentatively.
This statement, however, made Adam frown: "How could you say such a thing? Astaroth has long since surrendered to capitalism. Besides, she is the core of this fallen city of Babylon."
[This Fallen City appears to be the largest black market for exchanging interests among numerous large corporations, and also a tourist hotspot, but in reality, it's entirely maintained by Astaroth's connections and divine power. Once she's defeated, the Fallen City will undoubtedly be the first to be destroyed, losing all its value. This would benefit no one, and no one would want to do such a thing.]
Yes, but you said "solve" it, not "kill"... That being said, Hayden didn't really think Astaroth was worth much right now. She was already miserable enough, living like a property manager.
“If that’s the case, then what great demon is there here that we can both benefit from and fight together?” He raised his eyebrows and asked casually, “I have no reason to help you fight the great demon.”
Why isn't it there?
Unexpectedly, Adam smiled again.
Do you really think it's just a coincidence that your research materials have been stolen so often lately? That's merely the surface. As your good buddy, I'm here today to kindly remind you—a big devil is lurking behind your workers, constantly instigating them to secretly sabotage you.
This was even more unexpected for Hayden.
What?