"Reset the formation!"
Todd shouted.
Gustav wasn't coming to commit suicide either. Seeing that the [Obsidian Burial Butterfly] had limited effect, he had already run back into the guerrilla formation... That being said, neither Todd nor Gustav were foolish enough to believe that just a hundred or so guerrillas could defeat the Little God of War, no matter how skilled their hacking techniques were.
The Little God of War clearly thought so too. He looked at the guerrillas who were redeploying and restarting their anti-undead arcane magic, and smiled contemptuously. For some reason, perhaps because he had given the order, the undead giant hand remained dormant and did not launch another attack.
The attack was launched by the little war god himself. He rushed forward quickly and contemptuously—as if he were simply slicing a steak with a cleaver—and swung at Gustav.
But Todd raised his hand, drawing the Eye of Horus's mark in the air. The golden arcane shield they had used to defend against the Undead instantly reappeared, blocking the little war god's shot. Even so, Todd still felt a powerful, terrifying energy coursing through his body and brain. If Gustav and the other guerrillas hadn't supported him, he wouldn't have been able to stand at all.
The young war god stared coldly at them, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Then he raised his spear and brought it down with all his might. An even more ferocious energy surged towards the guerrillas' protective shield once more—no, the word "energy" is wrong. It was a force, a mighty, immense force capable of splitting mountains and seas! In an instant, the earth shook, dust and debris flew everywhere. When the dust finally settled, the spot where the guerrillas stood had become a small, smoking volcano.
Weak and powerless, Todd finally collapsed. But they were still alive, everyone was still alive.
The little war god was finally puzzled: "How did you do that? Your arcane magic isn't that powerful."
Dizzy Todd grinned bitterly: "Your gun has a gun head and eight tentacles, so each of us has to give up nine years of our life force to withstand every attack you launch."
There were about a hundred guerrillas here. When they considered themselves a whole of honor, dedicating their lives to resisting God's attacks, they were indeed capable of performing miracles.
The little war god also realized that this was actually a very common sacrificial magic technique for the South American pantheon, except that they were sacrificing a part of the caster's own life.
"You're really good at struggling to survive. But so what?" He found it laughable. "You only have a few decades of lifespan at most. I'll hit you a few times and you'll all die of old age. Instead of burning your life force to defend against attacks, you might as well use that life force to attack the undead giant hand blocking the door and clear a path for yourselves..."
Huh? Yeah, that's strange. Why didn't they use that sacrificial magic to blast a path and escape? Continuing to hold out would only result in an ugly death.
Unless they don't want to escape.
Unless they were planning something far more insane than just running away. That said, these guerrillas were clearly not foolish enough to believe they could defeat the Little God of War. They needed something else.
Where did that little goddess go?
Suddenly realizing what was happening, the Little War God used his divine power to sense things and discovered that Amu had somehow sneaked up behind him, seemingly plotting something. The Little War God didn't bother with anything complicated and simply swung his gun, sending Amu flying like a baseball.
But this time, as he was being knocked away, the Little God of War saw Amu reach out and touch his spear. The next instant, the tentacles on his spear froze. The eight tentacles, which had been as agile and responsive as if they possessed their own consciousness, even more so than the Little God of War himself, all went mad and began to tremble slightly.
This phenomenon... oh dear, it seems everyone has witnessed it before. Although the Little War God hadn't seen it before, he was still a god and reacted immediately. In a split second, he threw away his spear. The next instant, all eight tentacles coiled around the Little War God—his divine weapon had actually bound its master completely!
How did you manage to do it? Of course, it's because of your own divine power and your own divine artifact—sorry, yet another case of using your own spear against your own shield! But putting aside the source of power for now, how exactly did Amu technically accomplish this?
The answer is actually quite simple: she noticed something strange about the Little God of War's divine spear. Those eight tentacles were actually created by the Little God of War himself, using the brains and spinal cords of the gods he had previously killed, turning them into undead. They were undead creatures, yet also lifeless objects. So, Amu infused them with her arcane magic, instantly bringing these lifeless objects to life and making them work for her.
These eight tentacle corpses were not the little war god's close friends or relatives, but rather his enemies. Sure enough, after they came to life, they were all filled with resentment and immediately rebelled, binding the little war god to death!
Legends of gods having their divine artifacts stolen and then being beaten by those same artifacts are numerous throughout history and across cultures. Even the Golden Immortal Guang Chengzi was driven away by his own disciple wielding his magical weapon; it just goes to show how swift the karmic retribution can be.
However, this little war god was also quite formidable. Even with his divine artifacts and powers stolen, and his eight tentacles binding him tightly, he still struggled fiercely to break free, shouting angrily as he struggled: "Do you really think you can defeat a god with such tricks? This will only trap me for a few minutes at most, and you won't be able to kill me during that time!"
Gods aren't so easy to kill. The Little God of War still has his assets, and his armor hasn't exploded (it just has a few more cracks). Even if Amu wanted to kill him, it would take him quite a bit of effort.
“It was a bit difficult.” Todd asked Gustav to help him up, grinning as he said, “But we broke the armor of a true god of capital, injured his face, and tied him to the ground with his own artifact… Overall, it was still a good deal.”
“You have taken the soul and life of my companion.”
Gustav's tone, however, was icy.
"So I'm going to take away your worthless arrogance. It's certainly not a good deal... but once I get Dolly and the crocodile's souls back, we'll barely make a deal."
That being said, the guerrillas aren't entirely out of the woods yet. No matter how fast they run, they can't get very far in a few minutes. Judging from the little war god's current gnashing of teeth, it seems that once he breaks free, he'll chase after them relentlessly and slaughter them, leaving them wishing for death.
"You just wait. Once I break free, you won't survive even if you escape to the heavens or the earth!"
Oh dear, how terrible! What should we do?
Everyone turned to look at Todd, hoping he could come up with a solution. But Todd scratched his head, hesitated for a couple of seconds, and then took out his phone: "At this point, it seems like the only option left is the dumbest one."
----------------
A few minutes later, Hayden's clones Fenrir and Angela teleported over together. He looked at the little war god who was still bound to the ground by tentacles and couldn't help but sigh: "This is the first time I've seen the protagonist called in by his teammates not to save the day, but to help collect the boss's corpse."
As Angela helped the guerrillas replenish their blood, she said happily, "This proves that they really have their own skills, and that they can do without you. Isn't that great?"
That's true. If everyone hadn't sealed the little war god in place for a few minutes, even if they had called for help, by the time Hayden arrived, it would probably have only been time to collect their bodies.
So Hayden scratched his chin, but didn't refute it.
This time, they truly won a victory through their own efforts in Hayden's (the protagonist's) absence.
347: An Unexpected Gain
Although they defeated the young war god Brukchabtan, Todd, Gustav, and about a hundred guerrillas are now half-dead.
On the one hand, it's because they sacrificed a huge amount of their life force.
On the other hand, it's because they dared to hack into and steal the artifacts and assets of a capitalist god!
The latter is something no ordinary person can easily accomplish; even a god would find it difficult. Even if Todd's hacking skills are now on par with Alastor's back then, he would still have to pay a huge price to do such a thing. Infringing on the copyright of the god of capital would bring even more terrible backlash.
Sacrifice is a powerful magic, and it has never been a primitive thing. From ancient times to the present day, even in the super-capitalist magic, the "sacrifice A to gain B" mindset is a paradigm present in everyone's mind.
Similarly, when you are willing to bleed for a friend without considering your own interests, even willing to burn your own life, this selfless sacrifice is also very powerful. Loyalty, friendship, and love are real and powerful. But at the same time, true self-sacrifice therefore requires a real price, like a forced sacrifice, and is even more powerful.
Todd and the guerrillas burned many of their belongings today.
Thankfully, Angela is here. Thankfully, Angela is invincible, invincible, invincible when it comes to healing!
Now that Hayden and Angela have arrived, the guerrillas no longer need to rush to escape.
Hayden swiftly cast several spells to block all external communications from the secret base, and then sealed the little war god inside a gourd—capturing him alive was certainly more valuable than simply killing him.
Then he looked around at the guerrillas receiving treatment from Angela, and at Amu, who was slumped on the ground, covered in wounds. She had taken two shots from the Little God of War = 9 x 2 = 18 attacks. Although gods, like mountains and seas, are not easily killed, even if Amu was only the weakest god, being knocked away twice like that still hurt a lot.
"I won't criticize you anymore, let me ask you something more positive first."
Hayden walked over to her, squatted down, and asked...
"After all that effort today, do you feel you've gained anything?"
Am blushed. Hayden's question made her feel like a little girl nervously handing in her first assignment for review.
But she still obediently replied, "I shouldn't underestimate ordinary people. They are actually the same as me."
Hayden raised an eyebrow at this: "What do you mean 'actually the same'? You are a god, you are much more powerful than them. You were largely responsible for taking down Brukchabtan. It is impossible for a mortal to hack into a divine artifact in an instant with just their brain; their processing power is insufficient. Even now, you are still stronger than all of them combined."
“That’s true, but…” Am racked his brains to organize his thoughts, and then said honestly, “Although I’m stronger than the guerrillas, and seem to be superior to them, and seem to be able to take advantage of them… compared to a stronger god, I’m just something that can be exploited at will.”
Twenty minutes ago, Isham had told Todd that she should be the guerrillas' guardian and that 80% of all the profits they had taken from the company should be given to her.
Just now, she was suddenly confronted by a company "war god" who demanded she kneel down and act like a dog, offering her a 90/10 split of profits. He threatened that if she didn't kneel, she wouldn't survive until tomorrow.
Any truly rational person, once they realize in this experience, "Damn it, who would do this for you?", will reflect on their past actions...
...It's hard to say for sure. Many people in the world think, "If I'm arrogant and domineering towards others, then I'm powerful; if others are arrogant and domineering towards me, then they're wrong."
But at least Am is a child who can admit her mistakes and correct them. After what just happened, she has somewhat come to her senses.
Gods, in theory, should be at the top of the food chain in capitalist society, the rulers. The billions of people below (including the gods) are subject to their life and death. Capitalist gods are, in theory, the freest and most powerful beings in the world. However, in practice, the greater gods still exploit and oppress lesser gods, just as lesser gods exploit the gods, and the gods oppress mortals. If you act like a scoundrel, there will always be a bigger scoundrel than you.
If one rolls the spell well and has good luck, mortals may become gods, and gods may become true gods, breaking boundaries and rising in rank. But breaking free from the cage one is in only leads to an even bigger cage, and freeing oneself from the chains only leads to even longer chains... The whole world is a nested hell, like a Russian nesting doll.
So what should I do? Climb to the top of the world, become the king of bastards, and bully everyone?
Obviously, it's not that easy. Besides, climbing to the top and becoming the king of bastards isn't a permanent solution. The bastards below will continue to covet your throne, and you'll become its slave, making your world a living hell.
Isam isn't really stupid.
Her true form, Mikt, was never a human being. Mikt Tikashiva had never experienced fear, never relied on the help of others, and never felt the harshness of society—at least not until today.
Today, Micket's true form experienced an unprecedented sense of powerlessness during the duel with the main gods. She is still experiencing it.
Amu's situation was quite different. After today's events, she realized that her thoughts had indeed changed slightly... but she was still unsure what to do.
The old ways are no longer viable.
Hayden nodded and continued, "So what do you plan to do after you understand?"
“Well, I’ll apologize to Todd and the others. I shouldn’t have talked to them about splitting the spoils 20/80.” Am glanced at the guerrillas receiving treatment, then pondered again. “The rest… I’m not sure yet.”
She had initially acted instinctively, wanting to gather resources and divine power, naturally striving to become stronger and climb the ranks. This experience, however, made her realize that this approach was ultimately futile—she wouldn't succeed this way. She needed to find another method. She needed to rethink her approach.
But Amu hasn't figured out exactly how to do it: the old ways are no longer viable, but where exactly is the new way?
As an "assignment" for the teacher, this answer seems rather inadequate.
But Hayden reached out and patted Amm on the head with delight: "Very good. You've learned a lot today."
Now it was Amu's turn to be confused: "What did I gain today? Besides a body full of injuries?"
“Today you’ve learned what you are not. That’s something many people never know in their entire lives.” Hayden said, stroking his chin. “Oh dear, I’ve said something that sounds like Professor Albion today, and it sounds quite wise.”
Am stared at him speechlessly for a while, then shook her head and went to apologize to Todd.
Hayden shrugged, not minding at all—what's so strange about children not understanding their elders' good intentions? She'll understand when she grows up!
This will be a long and interesting process.
What's even funnier is that a while later, Todd actually came to him, his eyes gleaming, and asked, "Mr. Hayden, I'll be frank. Did you deliberately put Isham in my guerrilla group so that she would act with us, did you expect this outcome?"
"Right?" Hayden replied seriously, "Letting her cooperate with you will make her realize that she's not much different from ordinary people. Hahaha."
Instead, Todd looked at Hayden with a puzzled expression for a while before going back to command the guerrillas.
These kids are really annoying.
Hayden shook his head and went back to his work. After all, he hadn't come to help the guerrillas rob the company's assets.
He came to find out what the smoke mirror was up to, and more importantly, to save people.
So what could be more suspicious than this secret base, and this enormous, silvery-white, bowl-shaped, upside-down hemisphere about 300 meters high within it?
This looks like they're up to no good!
So Hayden squinted, looking at the large, silvery-white hemisphere. He could see a vague power floating on the sphere, and interestingly, it didn't seem to be the power of the Smoke Mirror... nor the power of an immortal god.
It was a whiter, more vibrant energy. And this subtle sense of déjà vu gave Hayden a sudden premonition, a kind of prophetic feeling, making him vaguely aware that there was indeed some mystery of the Smoke Mirror here, but he couldn't put his finger on the specific connection.
“Smoke Mirror shouldn’t realize we’ve raided this place for a while, but we can’t keep dragging this out.” So he turned and ordered, “Todd, you guys continue preparing. You can take whatever you want, but stay alert. I’m going to go inside this ‘giant egg’ and take a look.”
“Brukchabtan said that even minor gods can’t get into this building,” Todd said, frowning. “Mr. Hayden, even you could fall into a trap.”
“We can only know how, and whether, we have defeated them if we understand their objectives,” Hayden replied. “Besides, I am not a minor god.”
Before he finished speaking, Hayden had already reached out and touched the silvery-white hemisphere.
An incredible thing happened in that instant.
The silvery-white spherical barrier parted like water, allowing Hayden to walk directly through. Moreover, with each step he took, the path ahead continued to part, while the wall behind him closed simultaneously, gently closing again behind him, almost without creating a ripple.
Only Angela was allowed to go in with Hayden, and this time she even volunteered to come along.
After a brief moment of darkness, the scene before him suddenly opened up, surprising Hayden. What appeared before him, placed within this enormous, silvery-white hemisphere, was—a pyramid!
That's right, it's a pyramid! Not the pointed Egyptian kind, but the American-style pyramid with a flat top and stairs leading up to it! It stands proudly in the center of a hemisphere, about fifty meters high, with a stepped shape, and is built entirely of pure white stone.
At the same time, a strong life energy kept surging out of the pyramid, almost like a howling hurricane.
This force couldn't stop Hayden, but instead made him even more puzzled: why would someone build a pyramid, then put a dome over it, and then add a wall of separation?
Is this really what he's looking for? Or has he gone to the wrong place?
So Hayden approached the pyramid and reached out to touch it—once he touched it, Hayden could let his magic flow in to explore further. But before he could touch it, Angela spoke first: "Master, be careful. It is alive."
That wasn't hard to guess. He examined the white stones of the pyramid closely. The stones were covered with dense, tiny vines, but upon closer inspection, it became clear that they weren't real plants, but blood vessels, pulsating slightly to a degree imperceptible to the human eye. The white stones weren't real stones either, but had extremely fine pores, with air breathing in and out. This was actually bone, an exoskeleton.
This pyramid is like one of those flesh-and-blood biological factories that are found all over South America; it's a building with living flesh and blood. And intuitively, Hayden was quite certain that this thing was definitely not a flesh-and-blood biological factory.
“I was thinking of interrogating Brukchabutan later when I had more time, but I think I was wrong.” Hayden frowned. “How am I supposed to know what use this place is without someone to guide me?”
Now that the little war god has been released, it should be enough to force him to introduce himself. Although there's an inevitable risk of attracting the attention of the Smoke Mirror, Hayden has come this far and doesn't want to leave empty-handed. He reached for the gourd at his waist... but Angela had already grabbed his hand.
"That's it, I understand!"
Angela suddenly said happily,
"So this place wasn't a prison after all!"
Huh? What do you mean it's not a prison? Why does your thinking always jump around so fast?
Before Hayden could react, Angela had already walked up and gently blew a breath toward the pyramid.
Now that they knew the pyramid was alive, what would happen after Angela breathed on it was actually quite predictable. It immediately began to tremble slightly, as if a sleeping behemoth had been awakened. Hayden quickly pulled Angela back a few steps to keep their distance.
He saw the top of the pyramid open, widening until it formed a huge black hole. Something was moving inside, rustling and sliding upwards from the depths of the pyramid, crawling out.
It was a giant serpent, its entire body a vibrant green, gleaming with the dazzling light characteristic of venomous snakes. Its body was as thick and long as a train, and for some reason, it possessed a pair of seven-colored wings, which, when unfolded, were both fluffy and enormous. In the center of its forehead was a conch shell, its spiral pattern symbolizing the movement and swirling of the wind, overflowing with the breath of life.