Spellcasting Gods

This means that unless the United States intends to drag all countries in the world, including itself, down with it, it simply doesn't have any good countermeasures.

Unless we test whether the other side really has the guts to detonate a nuclear warhead, what else can we do?

Of course, in exchange, Zarqawi, who launched the attack, must die.

He will become the scapegoat for the whole incident, taking all the blame.

As for whether the United States and the CIA will faithfully fulfill their promises in the future, Zhang Cheng is not worried at all.

After suffering a loss once, these guys will definitely work hard to gather intelligence, and they will not act rashly until they have gathered enough information.

“You’re right! Nuclear peace! Nuclear peace! No nuclear weapons, no peace. But I think the Americans’ decision to back down this time isn’t out of cowardice. On the contrary, they made the decision after careful consideration. If nothing unexpected happens, it won’t be long before all the world’s major powers receive information about us,” Leonid said meaningfully, stroking his chin.

"Hmph! What does it matter? Which country in the world would dare to make a move?" Zhang Cheng scoffed. "Someone once said that the greatest use of nuclear weapons is just sitting on the launch pad; once launched, they're nothing more than powerful bombs. But I don't agree with that view. Putting nuclear weapons on the launch pad is important, but what's even more important is letting everyone know that you have the guts to press the launch button. Sometimes, using them occasionally to give those restless guys a wake-up call is a good choice."

Leonid nodded in agreement: "Yes! I have fully realized this through these negotiations. Oh, by the way, the US military has asked us to provide Zarqawi's exact hiding place within five days."

"Don't rush! We don't need to do this ourselves. Remember Zarqawi's deputies? Give them a little hint, and then just wait patiently. You have to understand, religious fanaticism only works on those foolish commoners. Once they climb high enough, they'll quickly realize that money and power are everything."

When he said these words, Zhang Cheng made no attempt to hide his disgust for these religious extremists.

“Heh heh! I get it! You want these guys to stage a drama of betrayal, treachery, and infighting.” Leonid was incredibly clever and instantly realized the benefits of doing so.

Even after Zarqawi dies, he can continue to sell weapons and ammunition to the new leaders and acquire oil and minerals at low prices.

Finally, and most importantly, it's essential to maintain a sense of mystery to reduce the chances of the organization being infiltrated by the enemy.

"Alright, go about your business. Remember, don't touch Zarqawi for the next couple of days. I need him to help me find a place." Zhang Cheng raised his hand and opened a portal to the Pacific Base.

"As you wish!" Leonid placed one hand on his chest and bowed deeply.

But just as he turned around to step through the portal, he suddenly stopped and asked uncertainly, "What should we do with this secretly filmed negotiation footage? Are we really going to put it online and slap the US government in the face?"

“Be patient! Wait until the Americans sell our intelligence to other intelligence organizations before you upload this video to the internet. Don't forget, I said before that this time we would expose America's humility and weakness to the whole world. As a man, you have to keep your word.” Zhang Cheng's eyes gleamed with malice.

He could imagine how violently the world situation would be shaken once this information was disseminated.

Especially those countries that already possess nuclear weapons, or are actively preparing to do so, will be even more determined to research and develop more powerful nuclear weapons, using nuclear blackmail to force the United States to back down.

When the US-led global order begins to collapse, the whole world will descend into chaos, and the underworld will also be affected to some extent.

At that time, no matter how terrible things happen, no powerful force will stand up to stop or interfere.

That's right!

Zhang Cheng's true aim was to plunge the entire human society into division and internal strife.

After all, he didn't want to see those sleeping gods awaken and once again reaping the faith of mortals, or even making him an enemy of the entire human society...

Chapter 0845 The Second Seal

The Euphrates River is the cradle of ancient culture in southern Mesopotamia from the Sumerian to the Abbasid era.

The earliest human civilizations were gradually established and developed around it.

Right now, the river flows gently through Fallujah as usual, bringing precious water resources to this important city.

Standing on the bridge, Zhang Cheng looked down at the ceaselessly flowing river and asked expressionlessly, "Are you sure what I'm looking for is underwater? At the bottom of the river?"

“That’s right! According to the map, there should have been a temple here from the ancient Babylonian period, but the river channel seems to have changed, so it was completely submerged and eventually sank to the bottom of the river. Now, unless the river is cut off, it is impossible to carry out excavation work.” A very old scholar quickly gave an affirmative answer.

It must be said that the Middle East has given birth to countless brilliant civilizations, including Surme, Babylon, and Assyria. They are ancient and full of mystery, even surpassing the birthplaces of most human civilizations in the world.

But now, most of the ruins have disappeared, replaced by war, killing, hatred, and countless mosques.

Thinking of this, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly, and directly instructed Yelena behind him, "Give them the money! Then let them leave!"

"Are you sure?" Yelena frowned instinctively.

Although she wasn't quite sure what her boss was looking for, her first instinct as a spy was that killing him to silence him and prevent the information from leaking out was the safest course of action.

"No, no need. Besides, you'd better take your men and leave this area as soon as possible, otherwise I can't guarantee your safety if something happens later." Zhang Cheng clearly didn't intend to explain much, only giving a small hint.

"Understood! I'll lead the retreat immediately." Yelena wasn't stupid; she immediately realized something big was about to happen. Without saying a word, she took out bundles of US dollars from her bag and distributed them to the experts and professors who had been working for a long time.

Although over 90 percent of these Sunni Muslims are anti-American, they do not reject the US dollar, the most produced commodity in the United States.

Of course, in addition to the US dollar, there are also various weapons and ammunition produced in the United States.

In fact, just like Professor Wang's "law of true fragrance," the vast majority of so-called boycott activities are ultimately just a show and have no chance of success.

The reason is simple: the value of an item is determined by the market, that is, by the buyers themselves.

More than 80 percent of buyers, when making a purchase, tend to focus not on the place of production, but on the quality and overall cost-effectiveness of the product.

……

Watching everyone gradually disappear at the end of the road, Zhang Cheng took a deep breath, cast an underwater breathing spell on himself, and leaped off the bridge.

thump!

With splashing water, he finally reached the bottom of the river and began to look around for anything suspicious.

A small cross on a map often means a river that is actually more than ten kilometers long.

Moreover, the Euphrates River is no small river; it is a super-large river with a length of over 2,800 kilometers, and can almost be considered the lifeline of the Middle East.

Add to that the various aquatic creatures and algae that get in the way, and finding a temple that was completely submerged thousands of years ago is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, Zhang Cheng has been able to confirm a general location, which is the distance between Liufeilujie city and the city center.

To speed up the exploration, he used his almost limitless magic to create thousands of arcane minions.

Although these creatures have virtually no intelligence, they are exceptionally sensitive to energy; even the smallest amount can attract their attention.

Under the relentless, carpet-like search by the math olympiad's henchmen, Zhang Cheng found a highly suspicious spot in about twenty minutes.

This place is located in the middle of the city, above which lies Resala, the largest district in Fallujah.

The riverbed may appear calm on the surface, but it is actually emitting a mysterious, inexplicable energy that keeps aquatic life at bay.

As a grass carp passed by, it seemed to encounter a mysterious, invisible force field, and as a result, it swung its tail and made a huge circle.

"Looks like this is it!" Zhang Cheng thought to himself.

However, he did not rush to take action. Instead, he carefully checked the surrounding environment to make sure there were no protective measures or traps before forcefully inserting the divine artifact, the Supreme Authority, into the mud.

Before long, the large amount of silt, clay and gravel at the bottom was washed away by the strong water flow, slowly revealing the buildings hidden underneath.

To be precise, it was a temple used to worship some unknown god.

In the very center of the temple, there is a bronze column that remains as good as new, without rust or algae or shells growing on it from the constant flow of the river, and it radiates a golden light.

At the top of the pillar, there is a rectangular groove, the size of which matches the stone slab obtained earlier.

Clearly, this is the entrance to unlocking the second seal.

By embedding a stone slab covered in cuneiform script into it, one can enter the ancient seal set up by the ancient gods of Mesopotamia and face the powerful guardians.

"Master, are you planning to go in alone?" the Supreme Authority suddenly asked through the mental link.

"Why not? Do you think I can't even beat a mere guard right now?" Zhang Cheng frowned and asked back.

“No! What I mean is! Why not call Adam here? He can help analyze the battle and get a rough estimate of the gods who have fallen into slumber,” the Supreme Authority offered.

Upon hearing this tempting offer, Zhang Cheng hesitated for a moment before immediately shaking his head and refusing, "There's no need for that. I wouldn't be foolish enough to open more than four seals and awaken all the gods from their slumber before I have sufficient strength. My plan is to open one seal first, confirm what these sealed powers are, and then decide what to do next. You must understand that the woman who claims to be the creator is not only not my ally, but may even be my enemy."

"Oh? You mean... these gods might not be enemies, but rather potential allies?" The supreme authority's tone was full of surprise.

"That's right! Remember my usual approach? Before you figure out the truth, it's best not to choose sides too easily, otherwise..."

"Otherwise, you'll become a fool who gets used by others!"

"Yes! I don't want to be used by anyone unless they can afford the price. But unfortunately, this Creator seems to only see me as free labor and wants to dismiss me with a few words."

"Hehe! I think she'll regret her stinginess one day."

Chapter 0846 Guardians

As different civilizations that rose to prominence in Mesopotamia, the ancient Babylonian mythology and the Sumerian mythology likely originated from the same primitive pantheon, differing only in the names given to the various gods, much like the names given to the Olympian gods by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

At least in Zhang Cheng's view, the story of Gilgamesh was once passed down in both ancient Babylon and Surme, with the former even creating the world-renowned Epic of Gilgamesh using clay tablets.

That's right!

He's the guy known as "Gilgamesh" in a certain anime, hailed as the oldest king in the world, a hero who's half-human and half-god.

Of course, from the perspective of modern archaeology, he is indeed the earliest known record of a king to date.

The history recorded in writing alone exceeds four thousand years, not to mention the time when the stories took place, which was far before that time; otherwise, it wouldn't be called an epic.

Driven by intense curiosity about Surme and ancient Babylonian mythology, Zhang Cheng carefully embedded the stone slab into the top of the bronze pillar.

moment!

The characters carved on the pillar began to glow, eventually converging into a crack less than twenty centimeters wide.

Without any hesitation!

He passed directly through the crevice and arrived in a vast primeval forest.

In the middle of the forest, a wide river flows through it, its rushing waters constantly crashing against the banks, making a tremendous noise.

"Where am I? Somewhere on Earth? Or..."

Just as Zhang Cheng was marveling at what he was seeing, a commotion suddenly broke out in the dense woods in the distance.

Countless birds took flight, and countless herbivores and carnivores scattered in panic, including some powerful magical creatures unique to the mythical era.

Before he could even react to what was happening, a gigantic python suddenly snapped a large number of trees, revealing its unparalleled body.

This snake was so astonishing; its body was as thick as a four-story building, and its length was so great that it seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance.

Even more terrifying, the enormous snake's mouth was filled with its still-struggling prey.

No wonder the animals in the woods were all running around like madmen; they had encountered a natural enemy.

"Be careful! This is no ordinary snake!" the supreme authority warned softly.

Zhang Cheng rolled his eyes in annoyance: "Nonsense! Just from its size, you can tell it's definitely not an ordinary snake."

"No, no, no, what I mean is, its vitality is too strong, too strong to exceed the limits that mortals can possess," the supreme authority hurriedly explained.

"Oh? Tell me, what did you discover?" Zhang Cheng stood motionless, staring at the giant snake, neither choosing to flee nor launching an attack.