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"Thank you for your understanding, Teacher," Nicholas William sighed. "It\'s just that some matters involve my family. Without my elders\' permission, I really can\'t say much. But please believe me, I trust you completely and have no ulterior motives."

Dean Bruce felt he could trust Nicholas William\'s assurance. Honestly, he sensed an unusual level of respect from him.

Regaining his focus, Dean Bruce reached out and touched the bronze puppet, squeezing it, but it didn\'t budge.

Confirming that the material was solid, Dean Bruce stored it in his system space.

As Nicholas William said, these puppets were indeed valuable!

After stowing the puppet away, Dean Bruce took another look and noticed that behind the wooden door wasn\'t an open pathway, nor were there any buildings—only a space about ten feet long containing a rotting table and chairs, with a wall behind it.

"This must be the outer city," Dean Bruce exclaimed in surprise. "This means that this city once held considerable status to have both inner and outer districts. There must have been quite a few soldiers guarding it!"

Typically, cities don\'t have distinctions between inner and outer districts; even Saint Laurent City doesn\'t, as passing through the gates leads directly to the main area of the city.

Building inner and outer districts not only requires more resources but also more manpower to guard them!

"That\'s right," Nicholas William added. "In addition to soldiers and the bronze puppets, there are many traps. We\'ll have to pass through several layers of defenses to truly enter the inner district! The real treasures are all in the inner district!"

After a pause, Nicholas William softly said, "After all these years, the soldiers are surely long gone. There\'s no need to worry about them. The traps are likely to be damaged, so our main concern is the bronze puppets!"

Dean Bruce remained silent as he stepped through the wooden door and surveyed his surroundings. What met his eyes was indeed a spacious corridor.

Without needing to guess, Dean Bruce could tell that the layout of this city was akin to a lake encircling the entire island—the outer district formed a ring that completely surrounded the city.

To enter, one had to pass through the multiple defenses of four gates!

[Could this place be the capital of an empire?] Dean Bruce thought, feeling a surge of excitement. Treasures within an imperial capital would surely not disappoint.

Nicholas William stepped in alongside him, glanced around, and said, "Teacher, we need to proceed clockwise through four layers of defenses and obtain recommendation letters from the gatekeepers to enter the inner district. However, since everyone is dead, we don\'t need the letters. We just need to collect all four tokens."

"Follow me; I know the way!"

Nicholas William took the lead, heading directly east.

As Dean Bruce and he delved deeper, the environment remained unchanged, with broken armor and skeletons of soldiers scattered about, lying still on the ground.

At first, Dean Bruce worried that they might spring to life like skeleton monsters and attack, but seeing their skulls corroded and devoid of any light, his fears were quickly alleviated.

Eventually, they came across a checkpoint.

Unlike the previous corpses, these bodies were posed as if in battle. One figure, clad in distinct armor that set him apart from the soldiers, was frozen mid-action—one hand thrusting a sword while the other propped a spear against the ground.

"That\'s the general responsible for guarding the outer district! One of the tokens is in his grasp!" Nicholas William exclaimed, rushing forward to search the corpse. "Teacher, if there are enough bronze puppets, could you give me two or three?"

"..."

Dean Bruce was about to respond when he noticed something amiss. As Nicholas William rummaged through the body, it seemed to stir.

His pupils constricted as he focused intently and saw faint red light flickering in the once-dark eye sockets.

"Not good, step back!"

Dean Bruce shouted, swiftly stepping forward to cast The Compassion of Heaven and Earth.

Nicholas William hesitated for only a moment; even without finding the token, he quickly retreated, distancing himself from the corpse.

Whoosh—

The sound of slicing air echoed as the corpse swung its sword, a fierce gust of wind sweeping across the area. Even though Nicholas William retreated quickly, he was still grazed, his shoulder torn and blood spraying forth.

If he had hesitated even a moment longer, the injury would have been much worse!

Of course, there was no real danger to his life, as his ancestor would intervene.

Nicholas William, not a child, clutched his shoulder and quickly fell back, his face a mask of shock. "How is this possible? Even if they were powerful in life, they were still mere mortals. How could they survive for thousands of years?"

Dean Bruce\'s expression grew grave. If mortals couldn\'t achieve this, it meant some other force was at play allowing the corpse to move!

Looking again at the body, it stood still, sword in one hand and spear in the other.

The red light in its eyes intensified, and a low growl erupted, "Intruders of the Golden Empire shall be slain without mercy!"

"..."

Dean Bruce furrowed his brow upon hearing this. The fact that it could speak negated the possibility of a mere external force controlling it.

After all, such a force might not possess any intelligence!

Unless the entity pulling the strings was nearly as sentient as a human!

Moreover, the name "Golden Empire" rang a bell for him; he felt he had read about this empire in some book, but had overlooked it.

"Roar!"

As Dean Bruce pondered, the corpse raised its spear and charged forward with lightning speed.

Feeling the chilling intent to kill, Dean Bruce wasted no time. He cast "The Compassion of Heaven and Earth," causing the surrounding earth to coalesce into a sturdy wall right before him.

Additionally, he invoked "Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain," enveloping himself in crackling lightning.

In the next instant, Dean Bruce leaped forward, aiming to collide with the corpse just as it struck the earthen barrier.

Having watched countless videos in his past life, he knew that lightning had a restraining effect on dark and undead beings.

However, before the thunderous impact could connect with the corpse, the left hand of the body swung a sword, unleashing a crimson arc that raced toward Dean Bruce.

Swish—

Hearing the slicing sound, Dean Bruce realized the sword\'s edge was incredibly sharp and activated "Thousand Mountains Fortress."

Buzz!

In an instant, his body felt as solid as a mountain. Even though the sword light bypassed the lightning, striking him directly, he felt no pain.

This was where the benefits of his tenfold comprehension of magic truly shone.

Any other magician, even at the level of a great Magus, would find it nearly impossible to achieve this.

Boom—

With the sword light pressing against him, Dean Bruce crashed into the corpse, the lightning exploding in a blinding flash. The tremendous force shattered the heavy armor into fragments, revealing a skeletal structure beneath.

Nicholas William was left in awe at the scene, and even Shelly William within him expressed a sense of admiration.

However, the corpse did not stagger back; instead, it let out a roar and swung its sword directly at Dean Bruce\'s chest.

Dean Bruce was astonished. The armor had been shattered, and some bones were broken—how could it maintain its balance and even launch an attack?

With a quick glance, he noticed the crimson light in its eyes intensifying, appearing increasingly eerie.

Without hesitation, he maintained "Thousand Mountains Fortress," clenched his right fist, and channeled lightning energy, smashing it down onto the corpse\'s head.

Bang!

Almost simultaneously, the sword struck Dean Bruce\'s chest while his electrified fist collided with the corpse\'s face.

A loud explosion echoed as the helmet shattered, and the skull was instantly obliterated, sending it flying away.

Yet, the sword still pierced Dean Bruce\'s chest due to the momentum, causing Nicholas William to gasp in shock.

Clang—

The sound of metal on metal rang out as Dean Bruce\'s magical robe tore apart, sparking and dazzling Nicholas William\'s eyes.

He couldn\'t believe that Dean Bruce, a mere magician, possessed such immense physical strength!

In that moment, Dean Bruce\'s power seemed even more terrifying in Nicholas William\'s eyes.

Glancing down at his tattered robe, Dean Bruce ripped it off, revealing a muscular torso, his gaze fixed on the flying skull.

The corpse had fallen, indicating that everything was connected to the skull!

Slash!

Suddenly, the crimson light on the skull dissipated with a loud explosion, accompanied by the sound of countless wings flapping.