Spellcasting Gods

"Strange? Heh! You have no idea how interesting this is. Okay, let's leave this topic here for now. Tell me, have you deciphered the second half of the mural?" Zhang Cheng turned his gaze to the laptop screen.

It's important to understand that this wasn't some "old relic" produced in 2004, but a miniature supercomputer developed by S.H.I.E.L.D. specifically for field agents. It possessed many very practical and powerful functions, and with the right reference, it could quickly decipher completely unfamiliar text and images.

“Yes! It’s all done!” Mansa quickly put her laptop on the table and pointed to the document on the screen, explaining, “See these circular symbols that appear most often? They represent the sun god in Inca mythology, while the ones below that are missing a part represent the emperors of the Inca Empire. According to them, the emperors were direct descendants of the sun god Inti, so after the emperors died, both their souls and bodies would return to the embrace of the sun.”

"It sounds a bit like Egyptian mythology, doesn't it?" Zhang Cheng muttered to himself, stroking his chin.

“The first half is similar, that’s true, but the second half is different. Egyptian pharaohs believed their deaths were temporary and that they would one day be resurrected by the gods, so they built pyramids to protect their remains. But the emperors of Inca mythology were not resurrected. On the contrary, they would return to the embrace of the gods through a ritual. And the Golden City was the legendary transit point to the eternal kingdom of the sun god Inti, where the soul of every emperor would live until the appointed day arrived,” Mansa explained with a hint of excitement.

After hearing these interesting details, Zhang Cheng immediately pressed on, "What do you mean by the agreed-upon day? And who is the master of the Golden City?"

"The day of the promise refers to the sun god's promise in mythology that he would take all his direct descendants with him to enjoy eternal life and glory in his kingdom. As for the master of the golden city, it is not mentioned in the mural, but I think it should be the ancestral goddess Bachoe. Oh, by the way, I also found an interesting little thing during the interpretation process, which I believe you will be interested in."

As she spoke, Mansa quickly swiped the screen to the bottom, revealing a pattern composed of more than a dozen strange animal pictographic symbols.

"What is this?" Zhang Cheng asked, a look of interest on his face.

Mansa smiled smugly and replied, “I think it’s a spell. Notice these animal-like symbols? Try imitating the sounds of the corresponding animals, and you’ll soon feel an indescribable energy resonance. But I’m not an expert in this area; you are.”

"A spell?!" Zhang Cheng raised his eyebrows in surprise, and without saying a word, he immediately began to continuously imitate the roar of the first jaguar, constantly adjusting the tone and volume.

In no time, he found a relatively stable balance.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

As the last one was deciphered and the entire incantation was recited in its entirety, a golden light suddenly shone through the window onto the wall of the captain's cabin, appearing as one or two points of light.

One of them was about the size of a fist, while the other was slightly smaller, about the size of a walnut.

"This...this is!!" Mansa exclaimed excitedly.

“If I’m not mistaken, this should be a location spell. The one that’s constantly moving should represent our current location, and the other represents the location of the key to the Golden City. Turn the ship around; it’s time to end this long and tedious search.” Zhang Cheng gave his answer without hesitation.

As soon as the order was relayed, the fleet immediately changed course and headed southwest at full speed. It arrived at the designated location in about two hours and began to deploy deep-sea cameras to observe the surrounding seabed.

As it turned out, his deduction was entirely correct.

Just over 3,640 meters below the mooring location, there is a large galleon that has broken in two, and its prow is shaped like a woman wearing a crown and bathed in flames.

Without even asking, it's obvious that this must be the legendary Flame Queen.

Without any hesitation!

The two salvage vessels lowered their cranes and trawls to retrieve the scattered cargo piece by piece from the deep sea.

Before it even got dark, a golden mural covered with a thick layer of seaweed and shellfish was presented to Zhang Cheng.

Despite the passage of hundreds of years and the erosion of seawater, the murals show no signs of rust or oxidation whatsoever.

It was half a meter wide and a meter long, and its thickness was almost the same as a little finger. There were even some stone fragments stuck to the back. It was obviously pried off the wall.

The Spanish colonists seemed unaware of the true value of this golden mural, regarding it merely as an artifact to be transported back to the royal family for their collection.

Gently stroking the raised parts of the mural, Zhang Cheng felt a powerful force, a positive energy as warm and intense as the sun.

A full minute passed before he nodded in satisfaction and praised, "Well done! The rest of the salvage work is now in your hands. I need to return to New York to handle some very important matters."

“No problem! But I’d like to know, what are your plans for handling the gold and silver jewelry salvaged from the ship? If we go through the legal process, it could very well lead to international lawsuits, which would be quite troublesome,” Jag asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, just ship it back to New York. I haven't stooped so low as to let a second-rate European country take what belongs to me..."

Chapter 0711 The Last Three Days

As dusk falls, the golden sunset casts its glow on the streets of New York, draping the world's financial capital in a beautiful cloak.

Lavern sat alone on a chair on the hotel balcony, sipping mead from Northern Europe and admiring the magnificent sunset.

As an old fellow who has lived for hundreds of years, most of the world's material enjoyments can no longer bring him any novelty or excitement. Only a very few of the most spectacular sights from nature can slightly touch his heart, which beats steadily all the time.

However, just as Lavern finished a bottle of mead and was about to summon his loyal servant, he suddenly felt a strong energy fluctuation appear in the room behind him.

Before he could even conjure the first bolt of lightning to give the intruder a big surprise, Zhang Cheng passed through the portal, holding the mural made entirely of gold, and greeted them with a smile: "Good evening! Look what I brought you!"

"A key?! You've found the key to the Golden City!" Lavern clearly sensed the unusual nature of the golden mural, his tone filled with surprise and delight.

How could I not be pleasantly surprised!

In fact, more than sixty years ago, when he first received clues about the City of Gold, he had already searched for this precious gold mural.

However, that was around the time of World War II, and technology was far less advanced than it is now, so in the end they found nothing.

"That's right! Do you know how much effort I put into finding it? That damned logbook was completely useless. In the end, it was only through the hydrological data collected by my men that we managed to find a few useful clues," Zhang Cheng complained, feigning frustration.

"Hahahaha! Sorry, that's all we know. Faust is particularly lazy. Apart from hunting down Heaven's forces and creating powerful undead creatures, he rarely moves." Lavern laughed as he took the mural and examined it carefully, his eyes revealing undisguised excitement and exhilaration.

Because he knew that having this thing meant he had taken the first step on the path to godhood.

The ever-observant Zhang Cheng keenly noticed this and jokingly said with a smile, "This isn't something that can be resolved with just an apology! You have to compensate me! You know what? While salvaging the shipwreck, I also retrieved quite a bit of gold and silver jewelry. In return, help me settle things with the Spanish government. I don't want to be involved in international lawsuits for years over some gold and silver."

“No problem! I’ll send Faust a message later, and I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to help you sort this out.” Lavern shrugged dismissively.

For ordinary people, it might be impossible to get a country with serious economic problems to give up billions of dollars worth of gold and silver jewelry. But for the higher-ups in the underworld, the only question is whether to use political power or supernatural power.

After all, strictly speaking, they are the true controllers of this world.

This eerie situation will persist at least until ordinary people widely perceive the existence of supernatural forces, launch a full-scale war that will likely involve thermonuclear weapons, and defeat the inhabitants of the underground world who have ruled the Earth for thousands of years.

Of course, Zhang Cheng didn't care at all about who would win if the ordinary people and the residents of the underworld went to war; he just wanted to figure out the next step of the plan as soon as possible.

Since the three of them were already allies, he asked directly, "When are we going to open the Golden City?"

“Three days! We have three more days! The entrance will open in three days. According to the Inca lunar calendar, a year has twelve months, each with thirty days. A week has ten days, so each month has three weeks. Five extra days are added each year, and one more day is added every four years. And this extra day every four years is the day the entrance to the Golden City opens.” Lavern gave the accurate answer without hesitation.

Clearly, he had done a lot of preparation work to enter the City of Gold, and even specifically learned the Inca's unique calendar.

"Three days?! So if I find the key any later, the whole operation will be ruined?" Zhang Cheng's lips twitched involuntarily.

"It's not going to be a complete disaster, at most we'll have to wait another four years. Don't forget what I mentioned before, every thousand years is a cycle, and in the first hundred years of the cycle, many previously hidden entrances to secret realms will gradually open. Some of these will only open once, and if you miss them, you'll have to wait another thousand years, but others will open repeatedly as long as the corresponding conditions are met. The Golden City belongs to the latter." Lavern raised his head and explained very seriously.

"I understand..." Zhang Cheng nodded thoughtfully. "In that case, I'll take my leave now and go back to prepare properly."

“You really should prepare yourself. You know what? The enemy we're facing this time is very likely a legendary god. Not the kind of earth god we encountered during the colonization of the Americas, but a true god with immense power. Believe me, this is unlike any enemy you've ever faced before, and the danger of fighting them is far beyond your imagination.”

"Is that so? I am very much looking forward to meeting these true gods and testing their mettle."

After saying this meaningful sentence, Zhang Cheng raised his hand, snapped his fingers, and instantly disappeared from the spot.

Looking at the spot where he had just disappeared, Lavern couldn't help but smile and sigh, "Youth is wonderful! You never know what fear is! I hope you can maintain this mindset after exploring the City of Gold."

After saying that, he took out his phone and dialed one of the numbers.

About a minute later, Faust's lazy voice came through the microphone: "Old friend, tell me you've got the key, or I'll get angry."

“Yes! Our little ally just delivered the golden mural!” Lavern stated the news that the other party most wanted to hear directly.

as predicted!

Upon hearing this news, Faust's tone immediately became excited: "He got the key?! Unbelievable! How did he do that?"

"How he did it doesn't matter; what matters is that we can get started. Old buddy, bring your most powerful undead army; a thrilling hunt awaits you."

"Hunting? No, no, no, I just want to bring slaughter and death to those so-called gods, and then use their corpses to create powerful undead creatures."

"You'll get what you want. You should know there aren't many enemies in this world who can stop the three of us working together. Also, I must remind you, you must keep this a secret no matter what. I don't want to face opportunists after a tough battle."

"Hmph! Who dares to come after us, Big Sister? Those idiots from the Wizarding Association? If they dare to come, I wouldn't mind spending a little more effort to make a few more lich succubi..."

Chapter 0712 The Vacation is Over

Inside a rather dirty-looking apartment building in Brooklyn, two men with ill intentions were following a beautiful woman with long platinum blonde hair, seemingly planning to rush in and rob her of her money and sexual assault when she opened the door.

As one of the most dangerous and dangerous neighborhoods in New York City, heinous crimes such as robbery, murder, and rape occur almost daily.

Normally, the police will just come and register you briefly, then check if there are any security cameras around.

If they had the means, they would review the surveillance footage to find the suspect, issue an arrest warrant, and then forget about it. They wouldn't waste their time and energy on a bunch of poor people who don't pay much tax.

This is why the poorer the neighborhood, the more criminals there are, and the more ruthless they are, showing no fear of legal repercussions.

In some places, people ranging from the elderly in their seventies and eighties to children as young as ten years old all rely on criminal activities to obtain the money they need to survive.

In such a harsh environment, if a person wants to survive, he must first learn two things.

First, let your conscience, morality, guilt, and other superfluous emotions go to waste. Never meddle in other people's business, and never think you can be a hero, because in real society, more than 90% of heroes are equivalent to martyrs.

Second, always be vigilant. Even a neighbor who seems friendly during the day may turn into a thief after dark and steal all your valuables.

Without a doubt, Bernie Tesh, who lived in the first house near the entrance, was such a reclusive man who had long lived in a poor neighborhood.

Despite being a skilled hacker and having already observed this scene through a camera secretly installed in the corner of the corridor ceiling, he took no action and did not even try to remind the goddess he had been secretly in love with for more than two months.

On the contrary, a strong sense of anticipation rose within him, and he wanted to witness what was about to happen.

Just as he saw one of the men rushing forward with a switchblade through the screen, the woman, who had been keeping her eyes closed, suddenly raised her left foot without warning and stomped hard on the man's vital spot between his legs with her five-centimeter-high heel.

next second...

"Aaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!! Fuck! Fuck!"

The poor, unlucky fellow lay on the ground, his face flushed red, spewing out all sorts of filthy and obscene words to vent the pain coming from his lower body.

Seeing that his companion had lost the ability to fight, the other man immediately pulled out a pistol and shouted nervously, "Hey! You little bitch! If you don't want your head to explode, put your hands up and slowly turn around and kneel down right now."

"Oh? Are you talking about me?" The woman turned her head, revealing a stunningly beautiful face.

Clearly, he was none other than Hilna, the elven demon hunter who disguised herself as a human using the Orb of Deception.

"My God! It's so beautiful!" Bernie, sitting in front of the computer, subconsciously swallowed.

Although it wasn't the first time he had seen the other person's face, his breathing still became rapid involuntarily, and he felt as if he wanted to pounce on the screen and lick it.

The man with the gun was undoubtedly seeing his prey's face for the first time. He stood there stunned for a full minute before snapping out of his shock. His eyes lit up, and he whistled, exclaiming, "Wow! Buddy! We're in for a treat today!"

"Idiot! Shut up!" The man, whose little brother had been severely injured, struggled to his feet.

Just as the two of them were about to push Hilna into the house and lock the door, a loud crash suddenly came from the end of the corridor.

boom!

The already dilapidated wooden staircase was torn in half by some powerful force, scattering wood chips and dust everywhere, making it impossible to see what had happened.

A few seconds later, a young man slowly walked out, waving his arms and muttering, "Damn it! I hate this old apartment! The interior space is too cramped; there's no way to teleport accurately."

"Owner?!"