Bold yet meticulous could be considered a reliable summary of Cheng Tian's outward appearance.
Before facing the Red Demon, he had already checked the effects of the Polymorph Skill three times, and the target and transformation forms corresponded to "Human = Ordinary Duck," "Zombie = Dried Zombie Duck," and "Man-eating Flower = Duck with Roots."
From this, it can be deduced that the Polymorph released by the Gentleman's Cane he possessed is at least influenced by the race status of the target organism.
But conversely, it can also lead to the conclusion that changes occurring while in the Duck form might also feedback onto the Main Body after the Spell ends!
As an Elite Demon, the Red Demon has a high HP of 200. Even if Cheng Tian struck it repeatedly with the original Vampire Killer, it would take a full 20 hits to kill it. Moreover, due to the extra resistance granted by the Elite Template, the Polymorph, which should have lasted 5 seconds, was weakened to only 3 seconds.
Even if Teacher Ma were here, he couldn't land 20 lashes in 3 seconds.
So, in a flash, Cheng Tian's Battle Instinct made him choose to hack at the "Xia Ya's" Wings first.
As a Fire Gargoyle of the Red Demon Clan, the Red Demon possesses high Agility mobility, in addition to two major Racial Talents derived from its Bloodline.
One is Fireball Projection; the Red Demon only needs to condense Magic Power to spit out small yet potent Fireballs.
The other is emergency Petrification under any circumstances.
In the Stone Statue Form, the Red Demon loses all ability to move, but the complete Petrification of its skin grants it high physical damage reduction at a Price, while it simultaneously begins to rapidly self-heal.
However, while the Polymorph turned it into a duck, it also rendered it fundamentally incapable of actively using its Racial Talents, which had been Skill-ified.
The Red Demon's Race did indeed influence the Duck form. A peck from this duck, possessing 10 Strength, would do more than just bruise the shinbone, but the Duck's physiological characteristics dictated that its flesh could not be as tough as its Main Body's.
Three seconds was enough time for Cheng Tian to swing three powerful chops.
In fact, by the time the second chop landed, large chunks of flesh on the Red Demon Duck's wings and back had been completely cut open.
The Demon Blood of the Red Demon Duck sprayed onto Cheng Tian's Knight Armor, staining a large area on his chest a strange Purple.
Sounds like the quacking of a butchered duck came from the Red Demon Duck's mouth. For it, a battle-hardened mercenary Demon, this was unimaginable agony.
The Turn into a Duck Skill seemingly degraded the Red Demon's pain sensitivity from the normally insensitive Demon level down to that of a Duck. At least in that instant, it could not resist this torment.
1 second passed... 3 seconds passed!
As the Polymorph completely failed, landing on all fours, the extremely disheveled Red Demon reverted to its Demon appearance.
However, what awaited it was Cheng Tian's merciless continuation of the assault.
Almost instinctively, the Red Demon wanted to flap its Wings and fly into the sky to put distance between itself and this damned Human again, but the lack of response from the end of its back, coupled with the intense pain that followed, jolted its entire body.
The blood-soaked Duck Wings, hacked off by Cheng Tian's two chops, had reverted to the Red Demon's pair of Bat-like Demon Wings, lying quietly on the ground. Furthermore, its Data Panel clearly displayed the description: "Maimed Limb, Flight Ability Lost."
But it didn't have time to mourn its Wings, as Cheng Tian was already upon it, violently Foot Stomping the Red Demon's jaw, the force aimed entirely at shattering its jaw.
Judging by that level of Foot Stomp, he must have been in a lot of street fights.
The Red Demon: Pained and enraged.
Cheng Tian: Cruel and cunning.
This time, he had gambled correctly again.
The trauma sustained in the Duck form of the Polymorph did indeed feedback onto the Main Body, but there was an unknown variable here.
That is, for the Red Demon, which possessed both arms and wings, when its Duck form wings were injured, did the damage feedback to the Wings or the Arms?
But then again, Cheng Tian simply didn't have time to consider such trivialities. Feedback to the Wings would naturally be best, but if it fed back to the Arms, that would still weaken the opponent's combat strength, and he could deal with the rest later.
Fortunately, the damage inflicted on the Duck Wings successfully fed back to the Demon Wings. Cheng Tian's two chops directly removed the opponent's Flying Ability, instantly eliminating its most unbeatable Air Superiority and forcibly turning it into a ground-bound chicken.
Even more terrifying was that the limb Maim was directly reflected on the Red Demon's Attribute Panel. Its 15 Agility, which was 1.5 times Cheng Tian's, was instantly halved, dropping to 8, which was two points lower than Cheng Tian's base Data.
It was clear that the Red Demon's Agility specialty was almost entirely centered around its Demon Wings; only when flying could it fully exhibit the standard of 15 Agility.
Like a young thug delivering a killing blow, Cheng Tian wasn't satisfied with one kick. The Little Demon Cleaver in his hand was already raised, aiming for the neck at the tip of its head.
Today, he, Cheng Mouren, was determined to be the one to take its head off!
However, at this most critical moment, the Red Demon made a choice it believed to be correct.
The sharp Cleaver struck directly at the Red Demon's neck, but the strange sensation feedback the next second made Cheng Tian's Tiger's Mouth tingle slightly.
Upon closer inspection, the Red Demon had already entered a Motionless, strange state, and the area struck on its neck only showed an inconspicuous white mark... much like a knife striking stone.
The Red Demon had activated its Racial Talent and entered the "Stone Statue" Form.
The wound on its back shoulder blades, which was still bleeding heavily due to the severed Wings, instantly stopped bleeding upon entering the Stone Statue Form. Its HP, which had dropped to 160 due to the Maimed Limb and continuous Bleeding debuff, froze and began to slowly trend upward.
The recovery rate in Stone Statue Form was about 1 HP per second. In other words, it would only take 40 seconds for the Red Demon to return to its theoretical full HP.
Furthermore, in the Stone Statue Form, the Red Demon's targeted physical damage reduction increased significantly. The Little Demon Cleaver couldn't break its defense at all; it wouldn't even deduct a single point of HP.
And because its biological nature had converted from Demon to inorganic Stone Statue, as long as the Red Demon didn't voluntarily deactivate it, it was no different from a real Stone Statue. Thus, even the Holy Damage temporarily Enchanted onto the Cleaver had almost no effect.
This prone posture was indeed quite pathetic, but the defensive effect it provided was substantial.
The Red Demon, filled with intense anger and killing intent, felt an equally intense sense of satisfaction and desire upon sensing Cheng Tian's helplessness.
At this moment, the Red Demon had decided: once its wounds were completely healed and the bleeding stopped by the Stone Statue Form, it would definitely violently tear apart this damned Human Can, roast him into Demon Realm charcoal, and swallow every last speck until nothing remained, only to be excreted by its intestines!
Since its birth in the Demon Realm, it had never so desperately wished for the healing effect of the Stone Statue Form to be faster.
As for the question of whether it could catch up after losing its Wings, the Red Demon, completely dominated by rage, couldn't even consider that.
But just then, the Red Demon sensed that Cheng Tian seemed helpless, standing still for six or seven seconds, and then, a two-handed Great Hammer appeared out of thin air in his hand—
The smile plastered on the Red Demon's Stone Statue abruptly vanished.