Spellcasting Gods

……

Meanwhile, Zhang Cheng himself was hiding in the old house that Congressman Miles had given him before his death, engrossed in reading the three books he had just acquired.

In particular, the primitive Druidic magic that circulated among the surviving Celts after the destruction by the ancient Roman Empire opened an interesting door for him.

To be precise, it was the Druids' profound understanding of plants, animals, and souls, and how to transform these powers into readily available resources, that offered a refreshing new direction for exploration.

Combining this with the knowledge he gained from the Children of the Forest ruins in A Song of Ice and Fire, he quickly created several interesting spells.

It includes healing wounds and removing diseases, as well as manipulating animals and plants, and even some form of shapeshifting magic.

Although it cannot generate the terrifying power that comes from combining with arcane and psychic abilities, it has the advantage of low energy consumption, concealment, and no violent energy fluctuations.

Just as Zhang Cheng was completely immersed in the joy of creating new spells, a phone call ruined all his fun...

Chapter 0550 The Sudden Murder

"Master! Something terrible has happened! A horrific murder has just occurred in our jurisdiction. A woman stormed into Old Bass's shop, stole an antique, and killed seven unfortunate people, including the shop owner and his customers. The bodies were arranged in a strange shape, and then a line of ancient Latin was written on the wall in blood. It translates to: 'The descendant of Selma has awakened, and she will cleanse all traitors with blood and death.'"

Polman's urgent tone came through the phone.

You could tell he was very nervous; his voice was even trembling slightly.

“A descendant of Selma? At this time?” A hint of surprise appeared on Zhang Cheng’s face.

Ever since his first meeting with Miles, he had heard the rumors about Selma's vicious curse before her death and had always believed that this guy hiding in the shadows would cause trouble in the Fragment World.

But who would have thought that the other side would not follow the usual path? Now that the fragmented world has collapsed and most of the lords and residents of Brooklyn have died inside, Selma's descendants have come out and started causing trouble again.

“That’s right! You’d better come and take a look as soon as possible. After all, this situation is quite complicated and has alarmed the ordinary people living around, so it won’t be long before the New York Police Department gets involved,” Polman warned in a low voice.

"Okay, I understand." With that, Zhang Cheng hung up the phone, reluctantly put down his research, left the old house, and drove straight to the scene of the incident.

As a legislator, his responsibility is to maintain order throughout Brooklyn, especially to ensure that the underworld is never exposed to the public eye.

Therefore, this matter must be dealt with as soon as possible; otherwise, once government agencies begin a thorough investigation, things will become increasingly complicated.

After speeding along the main road for about forty minutes, the streamlined sports car finally stopped at a small shop that looked ordinary on the surface, but was actually a shop selling magical items.

The shop owner called himself Old Bass, but no one knew how long he had lived or where he came from.

Anyway, he had been running his shop ever since the house was built, and he almost never went out, paying taxes to the local lord on time every month.

Not long ago, Zhang Cheng had met the other party once. He was an old man with a somewhat eccentric temper, but he was very principled.

As soon as he opened the car door, Polman, who was guarding the entrance, hurriedly pushed aside a guy who was trying to rush in to take pictures with his camera. He came up to him, panting, and said, "Master! Let's go in quickly! The police should be here in a few minutes."

After all, it was 2003, and most mobile phones were not yet smartphones, nor did they have cameras or photo-taking functions. Taking photos still required digital cameras or primitive film cameras.

"Lead the way!" Zhang Cheng didn't waste any words and casually threw a Mind Blast into the commotion of the crowd. Then he pushed open the door and went inside.

moment!

The ordinary people who were originally making a ruckus and wanting to see the crime scene inside suddenly fell into a strange state of daze, standing still as if they had been dumbfounded.

The two underground residents guarding the entrance immediately opened their mouths wide upon seeing this scene, their faces filled with disbelief.

Although they could use their own strength to keep these ordinary people out, they could never do it so easily, as if they could solve everything with a wave of their hand.

Of course, this Mind Blast is not a shadow spell used by priests in Azeroth, but rather a psychic ability that the Mind Flayers of Faerûn are most skilled at.

Any unfortunate soul with a weak will will lose their ability to think and appear frozen as soon as they are within the spell's range.

……

Upon entering the store, Zhang Cheng immediately smelled a pungent odor of blood.

Old Bass was stuck to the wall by a magical energy, with an icicle emitting a chilling aura stuck in his heart, and his mouth was inexplicably sewn shut.

Beside him were several guys who looked like customers, their feet pressed together in a blooming shape like a sunflower or the sun.

As for the cause of death, they were all frozen to death. Their entire bodies were covered in a layer of white frost, and it is estimated that the slightest touch would cause the corpses to shatter into dust on the spot.

Such a bizarre method of murder, filled with a mysterious sense of ritual, finally piqued Zhang Cheng's interest.

He carefully examined the condition of each corpse and the lingering fear in Old Buss's eyes before asking Polman without turning his head, "Are there any security cameras here?"

“No! Old Bass is a very privacy-conscious person and extremely averse to modern technology. Forget about surveillance equipment, he doesn’t even have a single household appliance here, except for the lights,” the latter replied with a pained expression.

Clearly, having fully integrated into modern society, he simply couldn't understand someone like Old Buss who was so out of touch with the times.

"Then what about the lost antiques?" Zhang Cheng asked again, stroking his chin.

"It is said to be half a disc made entirely of gold, with some strange patterns and symbols engraved on it."

"So this was a planned murder and robbery. The perpetrator knew this store well, and he also knew Old Bass. Let's leave, clean up the scene; there's no more valuable information here. Also, get me some surveillance footage from other nearby locations to see who was passing by when the killings occurred."

Zhang Cheng knew that such meticulously planned operations usually made it difficult to find the murderer quickly, so he decided to return to the base first to slowly sort out his thoughts.

Based on his judgment, since this guy had openly claimed to be a descendant of Selma, he would not be willing to remain silent, and it wouldn't be long before the second massacre would take place.

The more people they kill, the more their Ma sect will be exposed, and they'll be caught sooner or later.

What's more, that guy also stole a mysterious antique gold disc, so he's probably planning something big.

“Got it! Leave this to me.” Polman quickly beckoned to one of the young Latinos at the door.

The latter immediately ran in and began to spray scalding steam at the corpse. In no time, the frozen corpse returned to normal and even emitted a faint aroma of roasted meat.

Old Bass, who was stuck to the wall, was forcibly pulled down and laid flat on the ground.

Once everything was settled, the two immediately left the shop and began asking around at nearby businesses or individuals that had CCTV cameras.

By the time the police arrived, they had already taken several hard drives and left.

Of course, everyone's memory, including those who came to watch the commotion at the door, had been altered. No one remembered that Polman and Zhang Cheng had ever entered the shop, let alone the terrible damage the former had caused to the crime scene.

Even if the best forensic experts came now, they probably wouldn't be able to figure out what happened nearby, or why these people were so brutally murdered...

Chapter 0551 The Murderer

"Master! We've found her! The murderer is this woman!"

Two hours later, Polman finally identified a young woman with long black hair wearing a black trench coat from numerous surveillance videos. He then used software to sharpen the blurry image, printed it out, and sent it to the top floor room of the base.

Unfortunately, the woman seemed very alert, keeping her head down the whole time, so the camera couldn't capture her face, but her height and weight could still be roughly estimated.

Looking at the alluring figure from behind, Zhang Cheng smiled and immediately ordered, "Send a copy of this photo to all the councilors and lords in New York, and another copy to the Supreme Council. Make it clear to them that a dangerous person claiming to be a descendant of Selma has appeared."

“Understood! I’ll have someone take care of it right away. Also, are you sure you don’t need to issue an arrest warrant and have the entire underworld search for him?” Polman asked cautiously.

"No, no need. We'll talk about it after the auction. You should go home and spend Christmas with your family. They probably don't know your real identity yet, right?" Zhang Cheng waved his hand dismissively, his eyes never leaving the woman on the A4 paper.

He had a premonition that the other party would bring him unprecedented excitement and entertainment in the coming period of time.

That's right!

In his view, the descendants of Selma, who had caused huge casualties to the North American Council, were at best slightly stronger minor figures, far from stepping out of the chessboard to become true players.

To be precise, even among the members of the Supreme Council, few have seen through the true nature of this world.

Only a very few old men like Faust and Laffern, who had seen through the secrets hidden in history, understood what true power was, and even yearned from the bottom of their hearts to transcend the limits of mortals and become a true god.

greedy!

envy!

Ambition!

desire!

Although many people regard them as the root of evil and the dark side of human nature, they overlook the fact that it is precisely these things that have led humanity from primitive barbarism to civilization, accomplishing one miracle after another that even the gods admire.

In some ways, greed, envy, ambition, and desire are humanity's most precious assets.

Only when you truly desire something will you strive and fight relentlessly, unleashing your full potential...

Polman, clearly unaware of what his patron was thinking, revealed a rare gentleness on his face: "That's right! I haven't told them yet, and I'm not even sure if I should. They probably don't know about the underworld, and living an ordinary life is fine. Of course, if any of my children awaken, that's a different story."

"Hehe, being a parent is really not easy, is it?" Zhang Cheng teased in a half-joking tone.

“Yes! Thinking back now, I don’t know how my parents put up with all the stupid things I did during my adolescence. Oh, by the way, I’ve prepared a small gift for you. Merry Christmas.” With that, Polman pulled an elegant gift box from his pocket.

Zhang Cheng took it and opened it, discovering it was a dagger inlaid with exquisite mother-of-pearl emeralds, emanating a faint magical aura, as if the soul of a powerful animal was sealed inside.

“The Zanka Dagger is said to be the weapon of a 14th-century Voodoo healer from North Africa. It is said that wielding it grants the power of the animal spirits sealed within. While it may not be of much use to you, it is the best gift I could obtain,” Polman explained with a smile.

"Thank you! It's a very nice weapon! As a return gift, here you go." Zhang Cheng casually took out a bottle of potion that could enhance the body's maximum absorption of magic power from his magic pouch and tossed it over.

"This is!?"

Sensing the intense energy emanating from the vial, Polman's eyes gleamed with disbelief.

Others may not be aware of the young master's talent in alchemy, especially in concocting magical potions, but he is very aware of it.

In the underworld, many people are willing to kill each other in order to obtain even the lowest-grade healing or mana-restoring potions.

In just a few short months, more than thirty or forty unfortunate people have lost their lives because of this.

"It's nothing, just a little gadget that can permanently increase your magic power. You can drink it yourself or give it to your children. Alright, no need for thanks. You can go home once you've finished this. Finally, Merry Christmas."

As he uttered the last word, Zhang Cheng walked straight out of the office and took the private elevator to the underground parking lot.

Before he could even take out his keys, he saw a beautiful figure standing next to the car, smiling and staring at him.

"Lady Venus? Were you waiting for me?"

“Of course! How about it, how about taking me for a drive?” Venus offered the invitation.

“No problem! I also have something I want to tell you.” Zhang Cheng said, opening the car door and gesturing for you to enter.

Venus climbed into the passenger seat without hesitation and asked with interest, "What's up?"

Zhang Cheng skillfully started the car and slowly drove out of the parking lot. He drove aimlessly along the main road for a good seven or eight minutes before handing the printed picture to the other party: "Take a look. A woman claiming to be a descendant of Selma has appeared. She not only killed Old Bass and the customers in the shop, but also stole half of a gold disc, which is said to be covered with mysterious symbols and ancient script."

“A descendant of Selma?!” Venus had clearly heard about the curse and raised her eyebrows in slight surprise.

However, she quickly regained her composure and dismissively curled her lip: "Whatever, it has nothing to do with us anyway. If she really is a descendant of Selma, she will only go and kill the blood relatives of those who betrayed her, giving the Supreme Council and those ancient families a headache."

"Oh? So you're not planning to participate in the capture of her?" A hint of surprise flashed in Zhang Cheng's eyes.

“Not necessarily! It depends on what price they offer. If the price is high enough, I don’t mind becoming a bounty hunter myself. Also, could you please drive me to this address?” Venus casually handed over a note.

"OK!"