I Made Up Forbidden Spells, and They Actually Worked?

Hearing the sound of flapping wings, both Dean·Bruce and Nicholas·William showed expressions of shock.

From the shattered skull emerged dozens of insect-like creatures, their bodies larger than fireflies, glowing brilliantly as they rapidly dispersed in all directions.

A few of these insects even burrowed into the corpses lying nearby.

Crack...

Crisp snapping sounds echoed as the lifeless eyes of the corpses lit up, and they began to rise, just like the initial body had.

However, compared to the first corpse, their movements were much slower, reminiscent of the zombies Dean·Bruce had seen in his previous life. They moved lethargically, yet the power within them was alarming.

"The disaster you mentioned is likely not dead yet!"

Dean·Bruce shot a glance at Nicholas·William, clenching his fists, which sparked with electric light.

Boom!

In the next moment, the lightning burst forth. Before the newly animated corpses could react, it struck their heads, causing their skulls to explode.

The tiny insects flew out again, but Dean·Bruce was ready. He quickly switched to the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain spell, summoning roaring flames that instantly incinerated them to ashes, scattering them into the air.

However, while Dean·Bruce dealt with the situation, the remaining insects had already fled.

"Be careful; any corpses we encounter from now on may also be reanimated,"

Dean·Bruce warned. In reality, it wasn't a true resurrection; the insects were controlling the corpses. As long as their skulls were shattered and the insects were forced out, the bodies would remain immobile.

Nicholas·William asked in surprise, "What exactly is going on? How can those insects grant the corpses the ability to move?"

Having been bombarded by countless sci-fi films in his past life, Dean·Bruce was already accustomed to concepts like parasitic creatures. He wasn't the least bit curious or surprised; he had even begun to piece together a theory.

The Golden Empire must have created those insects inadvertently, and upon realizing this, they sealed off the entire city to prevent them from spreading.

According to the tropes in movies, such monsters usually had a mother creature, and once that was eliminated, everything would be fine.

"Let's keep exploring; we'll talk more once we enter the inner city." Understanding the situation, Dean Bruce refrained from elaborating further and stepped forward, searching the body adorned with opulent armor.

In no time, he found a piece of a golden token and held it up.

This confirmed that Nicholas William had not been lying.

He stored the token fragment in his system space and motioned for Nicholas William to continue deeper.

At this point, Nicholas William was hesitant to take the lead, aware that his own strength was too weak and he could easily meet his end.

Sure enough, just as Dean Bruce had predicted, after those insects spread out, the bodies lying along the passage could no longer be ignored.

Although they were also controlled by insects, these corpses seemed to possess some intelligence. They would wait until Dean Bruce and Nicholas William passed by before rising up to attack Nicholas William.

If it hadn't been for Dean Bruce's ability to cast spells instantly, those corpses might have succeeded in their ambush.

When the surprise attack failed, they were met with Dean·Bruce's fierce counterattack, which incinerated the corpses and the insects within their skulls, leaving no chance for escape.

As they cleared the corpses along the passage, Dean·Bruce and Nicholas·William passed through several checkpoints, collecting more and more fragments of the golden tokens.

Occasionally, bronze puppets would appear, but Dean·Bruce had already learned their weaknesses and faced them with ease.

Moreover, with the black-and-white armor in place, even if he were caught off guard by a bronze puppet, the automatically triggered defensive effects were remarkably strong, easily withstanding any attacks.

It could be said that they had a smooth journey, leading Nicholas·William to look at Dean·Bruce with eyes full of admiration.

As for traps?

After traveling so long without triggering a single one, Dean·Bruce had no further worries.

After thousands of years, it was normal for mechanisms to deteriorate.

Eventually, Dean·Bruce and Nicholas·William even found a passage leading to the inner city. The gate was slightly ajar; had they not been focused on collecting the four token fragments, they could have entered the inner city directly.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the fourth checkpoint finally came into view.

With the experience of the previous three encounters, Dean·Bruce approached confidently and activated the guarding corpse. Thunder erupted, flames scorched, and the body was thoroughly incinerated.

Not even a chance for the insects to escape!

With all four tokens in hand, Dean·Bruce wasted no time and began to piece them together.

No system notification chimed, but Dean·Bruce could distinctly sense a peculiar energy emanating from the complete token.

With a quick thought, Dean·Bruce took a bronze puppet from the system space and inserted the crystal core into it.

Buzz—

A unique wave rippled through the air, and the bronze puppet instantly regained its mobility. However, this time it did not attack Dean·Bruce or Nicholas·William; instead, it lowered its head before Dean·Bruce.

Clearly, he had acquired the ability to control the bronze puppet.

Upon further sensing, Dean·Bruce realized it was a fluctuation of the soul!

Confirming his newfound control over the bronze puppet, Dean·Bruce couldn't help but feel a surge of joy; in future confrontations, he wouldn't even need to lift a finger himself!

However, he also sensed that during the activation of the bronze puppet, the absorption of power from the crystal core was immediately interrupted.

Even though Dean·Bruce possessed considerable wealth, activating a puppet of this caliber demanded a high quality and tier of crystal core, and the consumption rate was anything but slow!

Since there was no immediate need for combat, it was wiser to store the bronze puppets away for now.

"Hehe, teacher, with so many puppets, could you allocate two or three for me?"

Nicholas·William asked playfully.

"Alright, we'll discuss it after we get out," Dean·Bruce replied without hesitation. After all, this place was discovered by Nicholas·William; without his input, Dean·Bruce wouldn't gain any benefits. Sharing a bit was only fair.

Moreover, having his disciple grow stronger would benefit Dean·Bruce as well.

Focusing his mind, Dean·Bruce and Nicholas·William turned back toward the passage leading to the inner city.

Upon returning to the passage and seeing the door slightly ajar, Nicholas·William excitedly rushed forward. However, just as he was about to touch the door, Dean·Bruce suddenly reached out and pulled him back.

For some reason, as they approached the door leading into the inner city, Dean·Bruce's heart raced, thumping like a drum, filling him with unease.

After carefully observing and sensing for a moment, he found no magical fluctuations, leaving him in doubt.

"Teacher, what's wrong? Do you sense danger inside?"

Nicholas·William asked, looking at Dean·Bruce with surprise but no hint of dissatisfaction.

Dean·Bruce shook his head and replied quietly, "No magical fluctuations, and I don't feel any danger; it's just a sense of foreboding."

After a pause, Dean·Bruce said solemnly, "Let's retreat. There's definitely something off here! Even if it's not too dangerous, it might cost us a lot of time! It could delay our main objective!"

"Let's back off. Next time, I'll bring someone with me!"

Dean·Bruce immediately thought of Claire·Raymond.

With Claire·Raymond's strength, even if there were dangers, she should be able to hold her own in a fight.

"Ah?" Nicholas·William replied, frustrated. "But if we leave now, I don't know when I'll get a chance to return here!"

Dean·Bruce glanced at him and said softly, "Don't worry, when I come to investigate this place again, I'll definitely call you. After all, you're the only one who knows how to get here."

Nicholas·William shook his head. "No need, teacher. If you can't wait, you can come directly. I'll tell you the special route into this space."

"Let's go, and get away from this place quickly." Dean·Bruce trusted his instincts and turned to leave.

But before he could take a step, a rumbling sound erupted, and looking down, they saw the stone slabs they were standing on tremble violently. Blood-red liquid began to flow from the stone slabs at the entrance.

Pffft—

As the blood-red liquid overflowed, white smoke immediately billowed up from the stone slabs, quickly dissolving them.

Clearly, the blood-red liquid had an incredibly strong corrosive effect!

Moreover, above the passage, the blood-red liquid cascaded down like a waterfall, instantly blocking their escape route.

In other words, Dean·Bruce and Nicholas·William were trapped in the passage by the blood-red liquid and unable to leave!

A trap!

Dean·Bruce realized that the mechanism he had been wary of for so long had triggered just as he was about to leave!

"This is bad; this is the Blood of the Cursed Dragon. It's not only highly corrosive but also carries a curse. Once it touches you, even if you don't die, you'll be cursed for life!"

His exclamation made Dean·Bruce narrow his eyes in concern.