Spellcasting Gods

Before it could bite, the light on the serpent-like monster's body began to inexplicably become brighter and brighter, followed by the release of an energy field that was indistinguishable to the naked eye.

Before the poor giant squid could even react to what was happening, it was suddenly pushed away, with two of its tentacles being torn off.

It's important to know that this is not the kind of delicious food served on the dining table. Each suction cup is over forty centimeters long, and there is an extremely sharp ring of small serrations around the edge. The suction force generated instantly and the maximum pulling force that the tentacles themselves can withstand are not much less than those of high-strength cables made of special materials.

Even so, it was still torn apart in an instant, which shows how strong the force field was.

Moreover, this place is more than 4,000 meters underwater. The enormous water pressure alone greatly limits the power of force field magic. If it were at sea level, this move would probably tear apart thousands of meters of sea surface, recreating the spectacular scene of Moses parting the Red Sea in the Bible.

Without a doubt, this strangely shaped monster is a magical creature.

Whether it was born with it, mutated under some special circumstances, or swallowed some powerful magical item, remains unknown for now.

Seeing that the giant squid had lost two tentacles, the strange fish did not hesitate at all. It rushed forward with lightning speed, opened its blood-red mouth and bit down hard. Then it continued to release force fields to push its prey outward, tearing it apart and swallowing it with the interaction force.

In less than five minutes, the giant squid, hailed as a top predator in the deep sea, became its meal.

"Incredible! I never imagined there would be such fascinating life forms in the deep sea. Now let me see where your power comes from..."

As the last word slipped out!

Zhang Cheng immediately unleashed his psychic abilities to the maximum extent, controlling the strange fish that was trying to hide inside the sunken ship. He then slowly approached and released various complex detection spells.

A short while later, he found a foreign object near the bottom of his head, or more precisely, a small stone statue, about the size of an adult's palm.

Given its rather unusual location, removing the statue would most likely cause irreversible damage to the magical creature's brain.

Perhaps someone else would hesitate slightly between the two.

But for Zhang Cheng, who had already embraced darkness, there was no hesitation. He simply stretched out his finger and cut a deep gash that revealed the bone, then took the statue out from inside.

The instant the statue separated from the strange fish's body, a large amount of white, viscous, unidentified substance suddenly gushed out, tearing its thick body into pieces and generating an unparalleled and powerful repulsive force!

Even the seawater churned and surged in the face of this force, with towering waves rising on the sea surface, almost like a storm.

Under these circumstances, Zhang Cheng, protected by magic, was like a giant ping-pong ball, constantly spinning around with the ocean currents, unable to stop at all.

Of course, he could freeze the nearby sea with his almost limitless magic, but doing so would undoubtedly bring too many unpredictable consequences, the most obvious being the impact on the global climate.

Unless all the weather satellites in every country in the world go blind, they can observe what is happening here with 100% certainty.

Left with no other choice, he had to abandon his exploration of the shipwreck and quickly teleport back to the captain's cabin on the yacht.

"Damn it! You're finally back! Tell me quickly, what exactly happened down there? Why did the sea suddenly start to surge with huge waves for no reason?" Mansa, the first to discover Zhang Cheng's sudden appearance, couldn't help but swear.

She was desperately clinging to the railing fixed to the wall, trying to secure herself with a rope. Her revealing tank top and shorts were soaked with coffee and alcohol, making her look extremely disheveled.

Yelena, not far away, was in no better shape. As the yacht rocked up and down, she covered her mouth tightly, her face deathly pale, as if she might vomit at any moment.

Those who have never experienced a sea storm can never imagine how uncomfortable it is for people on a ship when the sea whips up waves tens or even hundreds of meters high. Almost everyone will experience severe seasickness.

"Don't worry, these turbulent waves won't last long. They'll gradually calm down in about ten to half an hour," Zhang Cheng said with a smile, reassuring the two ladies while observing the sea outside the window.

As expected, the powerful force field generated in the deep sea turned the surrounding area for several nautical miles into a living hell!

Even the fish and shrimp in the water couldn't escape the disaster. They were thrown out of the water by the upward force and slammed onto the hull or deck. One of the bluefin tuna, weighing several hundred kilograms, was stuck in the middle of the railing and couldn't move.

The only saving grace was that there were no signs of a large whirlpool forming on the sea surface yet; otherwise, he wouldn't have cared about concealing his identity and would have definitely made the nuclear-powered yacht fly to avoid being swallowed by the sea.

Chapter 0697 The Statue of Unknown Origin

It took more than an hour for the raging sea to finally calm down and return to its usual tranquility and peace.

Although no one went missing or died, the sailors and divers on the two salvage ships were still quite frightened, and many of them even began to regret taking on this dangerous job.

However, given the intimidating presence of the fully armed combat team, there has been no indication that they have attempted to violate the contract and return to base; they have only been muttering foul curses under their breath.

Zhang Cheng magnanimously chose to ignore this minor offense, which had no practical effect, and focused all his attention on the statue in his hands.

Without a doubt, this thing is not carved to resemble a human, but rather a peculiar figure with the lower body of a snake and the upper body of a woman.

She wore a golden crown adorned with feathers, exquisite rings on her feet, one hand held aloft a weapon resembling a short-haired spear or javelin, while the other gripped a strangely shaped sacrificial dagger. The gems embedded in her eye sockets seemed to possess a soul, constantly shimmering with an eerie luster.

Clearly, this is a statue with typical Inca influences, but it is unknown which god or powerful priest it is dedicated to.

After all, as an extension of primitive religious beliefs, both South American and North American Indians have animistic traditions and customs. For example, seeing mountains, they believe there are mountain gods; seeing lakes, they believe there are lake gods; seeing rain, they believe there are water gods; seeing salt, they believe there are salt gods...

In short, any great power that cannot be explained by common sense will have a deity as a spiritual anchor for worship, and even wild beasts are no exception.

Under this animistic belief system, it can be said that there are far more gods in the Americas than anywhere else in the world, but most of them are third-class gods who are not worthy of being mentioned, and are even inferior to humans who possess powerful supernatural abilities.

Many such deities were killed when the European Parliament invaded this land, so there's nothing to be surprised about.

What's truly interesting is that this statue actually contains incredibly powerful energy, capable of manipulating and altering the surrounding force field.

This means that the god behind the statue is not dead; he is either asleep or still alive in some corner of the rainforest, with a large number of devout followers.

"Interesting... Could this be the legendary ancestral goddess of the Musca people, Bachue?" Zhang Cheng stroked his chin and muttered to himself with great interest.

Given the devastating destruction of records related to the entire Inca civilization and mythology by the Spanish colonists, he was not entirely sure how many gods there were in Inca mythology, which of them had declined long ago, and which had continued to this day.

The only certainty is that the storm mentioned in the logbook was likely not a real storm, but a terrible disaster caused by this idol.

"Hey! What are you holding in your hand? Treasure found from a shipwreck?"

Mansa, who had just finished showering and came out of the bathroom, noticed the statue and quickly picked up a magnifying glass and other tools to examine it closely.

Zhang Cheng didn't hide anything and nodded slightly: "Yes! I found it inside the body of a strange fish near the shipwreck. You might not believe it, but after that strange fish swallowed the statue, it seemed to gain a very powerful superpower, able to release an energy field to forcefully push away enemies. I saw it with my own eyes; a giant squid nearly forty meters long was torn to pieces like that."

"What?! You encountered such a terrifying monster and you're still alive?" Mansa looked up, her eyes wide with astonishment.

“Don’t make such a fuss! You need to understand, I’m not an ordinary person. Many monsters that are invincible in the eyes of ordinary people are completely harmless to me. Especially these kinds of low-intelligence beasts, I can easily control them with just one or two mental spells. By the way, have you made any valuable discoveries about this statue? Or to put it another way, can you help me confirm who she is?” Zhang Cheng pointed at the statue, his eyes filled with anticipation.

One of the reasons he decided to hire this young woman was because of her extensive knowledge of archaeology.

"Wait a minute! Give me some time!"

Mansa carefully examined the gold ornaments on the statue's ankles and the carvings on its headdress with a magnifying glass.

After a good seven or eight minutes, she explained in a somewhat uncertain tone, "This statue should be around 800 to 1000 years old, an ancient religious symbol from the early days of the Inca Empire. The exact date needs further investigation. Only during that period would the Incas use stone to create such small statues, while the gold jewelry, headdresses, and weapons were added later. You can see they are completely different styles. Furthermore, according to recent archaeological research, the Inca Empire began using large quantities of gold, silver, and other precious metals to reshape the image of their gods around the 13th century, a very significant difference from the former..."

“You should know that what I want to know is not this dry archaeological history, but who this statue actually represents,” Zhang Cheng interrupted impatiently.

As a pragmatist, he didn't care about the rise and fall of the extinct Inca Empire; he only cared about information that was useful to him.

“I’m sorry! Inca mythology is very chaotic. Apart from the gods that are commonly worshipped by Native Americans, there are many unique gods, and their images change over time. I need to consult some experts in this field before I can give you a satisfactory answer.” Mansa shrugged helplessly.

no way!

Although human civilization has only existed for a few thousand years since the earth-shattering war in ancient times, it has given rise to countless branches, and even the world's top archaeology professors cannot be proficient in the history of all regions.

Normally, we focus our efforts on selective research.

Unfortunately, Native American civilizations were precisely the kind of civilization that Mansa was least skilled at...

Looking at the girl's innocent expression, Zhang Cheng sighed helplessly: "Sigh, alright. I'll give you three days to use the ship's satellite network to contact the so-called experts you know as quickly as possible. If necessary, just throw money at them."

“Understood! I swear I will give you a satisfactory answer in three days,” Mansa assured her confidently.

"I hope so. Yelena, notify the two salvage ships to begin salvage operations tomorrow. First, bring up all the wreckage from the discovered vessel, and then activate the robotic arm in the lower deck of the yacht." Zhang Cheng gave the order without turning his head.

"Yes, sir! I'll have people keeping an eye on them!"

Yelena, who was also wearing a bathrobe, stood at attention and gave a standard military salute as she walked out of the bathroom.

Although the turbulence an hour earlier had made her vomit everything in her stomach, and she still looked terrible, she remained meticulous in carrying out orders, her eyes never leaving the surveillance camera on the electronic screen.

Chapter 0698 Retrieving the Treasure

The next morning, less than two hours after the sun rose above the sea, two large salvage vessels had sailed to the corresponding coordinates, secured the robotic arms made of advanced Hydra technology to the end of the huge cranes, and then slowly lowered them into the bottomless black seawater.

Based on the discussion between the two experienced salvage ship captains, they decided to first use the detection camera on the crane to locate the sunken ship, and then pull up the broken hull so that all the cargo inside could be clearly seen.

After all this is done, a sturdy salvage net is lowered, and a crane is used to sweep the surrounding seabed area. After about a few rounds, about 70-80% of the items can be brought up.

As for those that are heavier or buried deep in the silt, they will be handled separately.

It must be said that these guys' professionalism is indeed worth the high price they pay. They handle everything in an orderly manner without the employer having to worry about anything.

Before long, the first net of precious metal coins, shimmering with dazzling gold and silver, was pulled up, weighing several hundred kilograms.

Especially the irregularly shaped 16th-century gold coins, which immediately made everyone's breathing quicken.

These little gadgets, which demonstrate how rudimentary the minting technology was at the time, were precisely the kind of cargo that would be found on treasure ships transporting gold and silver back to Spain during the height of the Spanish Empire.

Because people at the time were not yet fully aware of the relationship between currency and the economy, and the hyperinflation caused by the massive influx of precious metals, the more prices rose, the more desperately the Spanish transported gold and silver into their homes. The more gold and silver they transported, the higher prices rose. In just a few decades, the prices of various daily necessities increased several times over.

What's even more alarming is that having so much money led to a misconception in Spain: that because they have money, they can buy everything and not develop their own handicrafts and manufacturing industries.

As a result, after losing its naval power, it quickly became a second-rate country and never rose again to become a European power.

It can be said that every treasure ship was like blood containing a slow-acting poison, injected into the body of the first British empire of the Age of Exploration, making it weaker and weaker until it finally collapsed.

But for modern people, every treasure ship sleeping in the depths of the ocean is like a treasure waiting for adventurers to discover, which can make them rich in an instant.

money!

reputation!

Attention from all over the world!

These treasure ships could fulfill almost everything that a normal person desires.

Several crew members couldn't resist raising their cameras and pressing the shutter repeatedly, wanting to capture all the treasure in the net.

As for those inappropriate thoughts, they were all suppressed by the fully armed personnel standing guard nearby.

Keep in mind that this is international waters, the vast Atlantic Ocean.

Murder and dumping bodies here is incredibly easy, and afterwards all you have to do is blame it on the strange storm last night. So no one dares to make a move, and they can only hope that the employer will have a change of heart and give everyone some extra bonuses or profit sharing.

This is why Zhang Cheng brought along these intimidating-looking combat personnel. In reality, it was to prevent the sailors on the salvage ship from being greedy for money and taking risks, forcing him to either kill them all or forcibly control them with his psychic abilities.

Never underestimate the dark side of human nature that can emerge in the face of enormous wealth.

Given the adventurous and selfish nature of modern Western society, it would be strange if things didn't go wrong.

However, with sufficient armed personnel overseeing the situation, all of this was nipped in the bud.

Anyone with a modicum of common sense would not believe that dozens of unarmed sailors could be a match for a dozen or so professional combat elites.

Moreover, each of the two platforms of the super-large yacht has a helicopter fixed to it. Even if they succeed temporarily, they will not be able to escape the pursuit of the helicopters on the vast sea.

Standing on the deck of one of the salvage ships, Yelena stared coldly at every man who approached. When one of them tried to stuff a gold coin into his sock, she spoke up, saying, "Captain! You'd better keep your men in check. I don't want to break the current atmosphere, which is still quite harmonious."