Just a moment ago, when Murphy flew up to retrieve his rocket launcher, he also released four or five long swords into the air, kept afloat by a levitation spell. He waited until Alexei was too preoccupied to pay attention to Vitali before launching them. Although most of them missed, one sword ultimately fulfilled its purpose.
"Vitali..." The old shaman was momentarily stunned.
He didn't have a particularly strong memory of this student, but, nonetheless, he was a fellow countryman, his disciple, who was now killed by a foreign wizard in his own place of practice, right before his eyes.
"Damn it!" Alexei was furious.
He hadn't tasted such a feeling in a long time.
Originally, he just intended to stop the opponent and leave with Vitali, but now, all he wanted was to kill this invader in his homeland.
Alexei slammed his staff against the drum.
With a "thud", the sound of the drum spread, carrying the old shaman's voice far and wide.
"All things have spirits!"
"Spirit of the sky, Niebo! Spirit of the earth, Zemula! Spirit of the rivers, Berelika! Spirit of the forests, Les!"
With each name Alexei called, he struck the drum fiercely, the sound growing louder and more intense.
"Praise your true names! Listen to my command! Seal this land!"
Suddenly, Murphy felt a heavy burden on his shoulders, as if something was pressing down on him, while the air around him seemed to thicken, making it hard to breathe.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet, which had been solid, turned soft and muddy, quickly transforming into a swamp in a matter of moments.
He retreated two steps, only to be whipped by several vines and branches, forcing him to dodge quickly.
Next, a swarm of bees formed a dark cloud and rushed towards him.
Murphy instinctively raised his wand, "Flames, blaze!"
However, unlike the scene he had imagined where a fire would burn the swarm to ashes, only a small flame the size of a palm shot out from the tip of his wand. Although it startled the bees, it did nothing to stop their attack.
Murphy was shocked, realizing the close connection he usually felt with magical power had somehow disappeared, as if a wall had been erected between him and the magic.
Just then, with a "thud" of the drum, sharp stone spikes suddenly emerged from the swamp behind him. Instinctively, he transformed into a flash of lightning and appeared on the other side.
"Lightning power is still intact?"
He tried several spells in succession, but those that required the use of his wand were almost impossible to cast properly.
On the other hand, his innate lightning abilities seemed unaffected.
This meant that his own magical power wasn't the issue, but the communication between himself and the external magic was disrupted? Sealing magic too? What are these shamans really capable of?
How can ordinary wizards fight against this? Perhaps such abilities are rare even among shamans, otherwise Vitali would have used them earlier.
Another row of ground spikes attacked. The surroundings no longer had any intact ground, and Murphy suddenly appeared in mid-air, exactly what Alexei seemed to have been waiting for. Waving his staff, a vortex of fire appeared beside Murphy, about to engulf him.
At the same time, he saw Alexei raise his staff again, aiming the drum at him and striking it.
"Wind blades!"
Murphy had seen this move before and braced himself.
The next moment, "Boom!"
A blazing white lightning bolt struck Murphy.
When the light faded, a giant with hooves and horns appeared in mid-air. His eyes sparkled with electricity, and his bare skin was covered in black scales. The wind blades that could cut through thick trees only left shallow marks on the scales.
The doctors at the research facility had warned Murphy multiple times that transforming would severely aggravate his condition. At first, he had no intention of using his demonic form, but now, with his spells sealed and his wand useless, all he could rely on was this powerful body.
At that moment, he spread his black wings, and several spears of lightning gathered, rushing towards Alexei with him.
"Jiao, Jiao Shen?" Seeing this form, Alexei paused momentarily.
"Die!" Murphy, ready to crush the old shaman's head with his claws, was filled with hatred.
This transformation could cost him half his life, but he was now bitterly resentful of the old man.
But just then, a pair of large, translucent claws extended from behind Alexei, crossing in front of the old shaman, blocking Murphy's attack with a "bang." Although they were pushed down several inches by Murphy's onslaught, they still managed to stop him.
The lightning spears were also blocked a few inches from Alexei, dissipating into a burst of electrical fire.
What was that? "Ancestor Spirits, protect me," Alexei murmured, regaining his composure.
Even if the opponent was indeed an ancient deity incarnate, he would have to pay a price today!
The claws forcefully pushed Murphy away, and then a nearly three-meter-tall ghostly bear emerged from Alexei.
It looked like a phantom, its body half-translucent, but not in the usual wispy blue of common ghosts. Instead, it was a solid earthy brown.
Then, Alexei lifted his left-hand drum and struck it with his staff.
In an instant, three different giant spirits emerged from him.
One was a white wolf with flowing fur, another a blue crab seemingly made of water, and the last a flaming eagle.
"Ancestor Spirits?"
And earth, fire, water, wind? Elements?
But Murphy had no time to think more as the fire eagle screeched and surged towards him, raising the temperature dramatically. Meanwhile, Alexei retreated half a step, beating the drum and starting to sing an ancient song in praise of the ancestors. Murphy couldn't understand the words, but as Alexei sang, the fire eagle's flames rose several feet, changing from orange-red to bright yellow, its temperature soaring.
The four elemental giants, invigorated by the song, all underwent transformations, seemingly empowered.
The fire eagle reached Murphy, who instinctively punched it, "Bang!"
He actually hit it; it had a physical form! Despite the intense heat, the scales protected his fist from immediate pain.
"Is that all?"
Murphy laughed, throwing a punch into the mouth of the white wolf that was trying to bite him, unleashing a burst of lightning.
"Want to bite me? Taste a billion volts first!"
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