Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

Chapter 241 Meeting

Lu Mingfei blew his whistle, and a radiant light appeared in the air. The spirit of the horse emerged from the mist. It was a spirit horse with bull horns on its head, a robust figure, a saddle, silver mane, and golden eyes.

Lu Mingfei bent down and hugged its neck, pressing his cheek against its forehead, while the spirit horse obediently lowered its head, its eyes filled with a gentle light.

"Long time no see, Toretto."

……

A knight clad in demon armor returned from the forest, riding a massive warhorse, carrying a dark blue greatsword, with two... dolls on his left and right shoulders respectively?

What Genjiro saw was this strangely styled scene.

The boy in the mini suit sat on the left shoulder, resting his chin on his hand and gazing into the distance, swinging his legs; the one-eyed girl stood on the other side, holding a knight's helmet, looking at Genji with a majestic air.

"Lu Mingfei?" Yuan Zhisheng didn't know who to look at for a moment.

“Herzog is dead, along with the curse of your race.” Lu Mingfei touched his face with his hand, flames erupting from his helmet, revealing his face beneath the flames. He smiled faintly and said, “Is the EVA project progressing smoothly?”

"As far as I know, Japan has stabilized, but the situation with the Secret Party is not over yet." Genjiro, like a dutiful secretary, respectfully handed all the pre-printed intelligence to Lu Mingfei with both hands.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you." Lu Mingfei took the documents and quickly flipped through them, stopping to examine them closely when he found keywords. Melina, perched on his shoulder, also joined in the look, while Lu Mingze seemed uninterested, humming a theme song from some anime.

"I need to borrow Uesugi Kotsugi for a bit. Can you handle things in Japan by yourself?" Lu Mingfei put down the documents and asked.

“No problem, Father is currently at Genji Heavy Industries headquarters with Angers.” Genji nodded.

……

Inside a large conference room at Genji Heavy Industries, sunlight streamed through the glass curtain wall, bathing everything in a golden glow.

Sitting at the far edge of the sofa was the former head of the Uesugi family, Uesugi Erii. She was wearing an immaculate shrine maiden outfit, with the "doll" Melina sitting on her lap. This taciturn girl had recently been learning about social skills, and at this moment she was staring motionlessly at Melina's fluffy hair, her face full of eager anticipation, yet she didn't dare to actually touch it.

Sitting next to her was Cesare Gattuso, but he was staring blankly at the sunlight, lost in thought. For an intuitive creature like him, deep contemplation was something only a blockhead like Chu Zihang would do. In his view, a true leader's victory hinges on a few fleeting moments; the remaining 99% should be about controlling the battlefield, the champagne, and the ball. When he meditates like a monk, he must be contemplating something extremely important.

The main seat in the conference room was a huge antique desk, where Angers sat, and opposite him was the "doll" Lu Mingze. Several thick, heavy books donated by Erii, such as "Psychology and Life," "High Emotional Intelligence Communication," and "The Art of Loving," were placed on the cushions of the spacious, tall leather chairs so that Lu Mingze and Angers could face each other across the desk.

Besides, Ye Sheng and Lu Mingfei were standing by the window exchanging intelligence about the Secret Party.

Angers looked down at the blue and white porcelain cup in his hand. The tea soup was clear and bright, with a bright green color and whole, plump tea leaves. "I heard that the warehouse of the Snake Clan was bombed and blasted through. If it weren't for the load-bearing structure that withstood the impact, the whole building might have collapsed. But they still had the leisure to bring us the finest Uji Gyokuro."

Lu Mingze raised his short arm, and the teacup in front of him floated to his lips, the tea disappearing into thin air. "So-so. I remember you still have two jars of genuine 'Imperial Eighteen Trees' in your tea cabinet, right..."

"Damn it, it seems like every old guy I know knows more about my collection than I do."

“Alright, my brother told me to be honest with people.” Lu Mingze met Angers’s unsmiling gaze with a hint of helplessness. “There’s no need to keep testing me. I have indeed lost my supreme position and will not regain it in the foreseeable future.”

Angers took a small sip of tea and said calmly, “The appearance of a doll is deceptive, just as I couldn’t predict that you could move a teacup and drink tea. No one knows what your body is made of or how much power you have. Moreover, you refuse to reveal any information about the dragon race to us. How can this trust be established?”

Lu Mingze glanced back at Melina, who was quietly reading, and sighed when he saw that she didn't move at all. He raised his hand, a crisp snap of his fingers rang out, and a folding knife with the color of the Philosopher's Stone appeared in his hand.

Angers touched his cuffs but said nothing.

“You should know about the folding knife left behind by that Kassel. It’s pure spiritual element, and it has a corrosive effect not only on things that flow with dragon blood, but also on most alchemical matrices…” Lu Mingze controlled the folding knife to slice directly across his own body. The cut was clean, and what flowed from the wound was not blood or cotton, but a bright ball of light.

“First, I am not in any form in the sense of a dragon. Second, even without my brother, Miss Melina can still restrain my existence. Now, can you let me into your dragon-slaying base?” Lu Mingze threw back his folding knife, looking like a rogue, and leaned back in his chair.

Angers clamped the folding knife between his fingers and tucked it back into the knife pouch in his sleeve.

After a moment of silence, he pressed down on a black card in the middle of the table and put it back in his pocket. It was the same black card that Lu Mingze had taken out at the beginning—a black card symbolizing his status as a member of the Board of Directors. Although Kassel College no longer existed according to the declarations of some families of the Secret Party, EVA was still under the control of the college, and the value of the black card was still recognized.

"It seems you've reached an agreement," Lu Mingfei said.

“It’s a compromise, I suppose,” Angers said noncommittally. “Everywhere is in chaos, and there’s no time to lose. This morning, a British Vanguard-class destroyer launched a D5 missile with a nuclear warhead in the North Atlantic. Fortunately, both missiles detonated in an uninhabited area of ​​the Atlantic.”

“I’ve heard about it; it’s a troublesome matter.” Lu Mingfei had already learned the general outline from Yuan Zhisheng’s files. “However, it’s not entirely a bad thing. At least the family conflicts in Europe have intensified as a result, even though they all claim that the other side’s forces launched the nuclear missiles. The Gattuso family has unusually remained silent in this conflict, yet the commotion they’ve created is the biggest…”

These were all intelligence pieces decrypted from the hard drive Nono brought back, including information about the nuclear plan to attack the Kassel College headquarters. This intelligence would be their trump card in their next operation, although everyone knew the real trump card was Lu Mingfei himself.

"So, have you made your decision, Caesar?" Lu Mingfei looked at the silent Caesar.

“The Gattuso family should be wiped off the face of the earth,” Caesar said slowly as he stood up. “But I must make sure no innocent people are implicated.”

Chapter 242 Good News

Everyone left. Before heading back to Kassel College, everyone had something to do: signing agreements, packing luggage, drinking and reminiscing... In the end, only Lu Mingfei, Melina, and Lu Mingze remained in the meeting room.

Before leaving, at Lu Mingfei's request, Lani created a stable doll body for Melina.

“Brother, let me give you a friendly reminder.” Lu Mingze sat down in Angers’ seat. “Throughout history, there have been times when humanity has been as united as it is now, and there have been times when they were supported by dragon kings… But all of history is the same: arrogant humanity will only fall into chaos and failure in the end, and the tower to heaven will never be built.”

“That’s always been the case, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right,” Lu Mingfei said. “Besides, I’m not trying to build any tower.”

“Because you don’t believe in heaven, you only believe in yourself… Oh, and Miss Melina.” Lu Mingze looked at Melina apologetically, then continued, “In that case, you should set off for the ‘Final Throne’, brother. Haven’t you always doubted my identity? All my secrets are there.”

"Black Swan Port?"

“No, it’s the cradle of the Doomsday Faction.” Lu Mingze snapped his fingers, and the paper and pen on the table floated up. After a brief scribbling, the note flew to Lu Mingfei’s face.

Lu Mingfei glanced at the contents and ignited it, "Let's deal with the Holy Palace Medical Association first. The Black King's flesh and blood that the Secret Party found back then is in their hands. Just like you've always said, Nidhogg is the final end, and Odin is just a schemer who hasn't succeeded yet."

"Let me give you one last reminder... In the war between kings, one can only fight alone in the end."

“I know, otherwise why would I have waited until now?” Lu Mingfei smiled.

"Then there's nothing more to say." Lu Mingze shrugged. "You're really cold-blooded. If your righteous allies were to have a heart-to-heart talk with you, they'd probably be shocked, wouldn't they?"

Lu Mingfei looked out the window at the sky, and after a moment said softly, "Angers probably won't, and there's also Fingel."

“That’s fair, brother.” Lu Mingze’s doll-like face was cute, but a strange coldness emanated from his words, as if they were steeped in a thousand years of loneliness. “Those forgotten nights of bitter wind and rain, on the cold stone flower bed, raindrops fell from the leaves above our heads, we sat in the dark, hugging each other tightly… But that was fake. You have always been alone, and so have I.”

"The aftereffects of the corpus callosum incision, right?" Lu Mingfei didn't turn his head. "I've investigated in detail. The consciousness of the left and right hemispheres is independent of each other, but our states of consciousness are still continuous. I was alone in the rain, and you were alone locked on the cross, but I saw you appear in the rain when I was most upset, and I saw you going to that sanctuary to look for you."

“Yes, the difference is that you’re immersed in it, while I have to face reality. You’re not sad because I’m sad for you. It’s cruel, isn’t it?” Lu Mingze said.

Melina rose gracefully from the sofa, choosing to join the conversation as an observer and listener.

“Everyone lives in the reality they choose, but Wang can’t.” She leaned back on Lu Mingfei’s shoulder, expressing her stance.

“That’s exactly what I wanted to say.” Lu Mingze shrugged.

……

Kassel College, Central Control Room.

All entrances and exits were locked, and no unauthorized personnel, not even those from the executive department, were allowed to approach. A top-secret team moved in a week ago.

Su Enxi, Jiu Demai, Finger, the vice principal, and Schneider are the leaders of this team. They have been here for many days, and everyone looks disheveled, relying on fast food and carbonated drinks to survive. They are dealing with emergencies all over the world coordinated by EVA. These red dots lit up on the virtual globe are all either attacking or defending.

Since EVA announced the Angers team's gains in Japan, the intensity of the war escalated dramatically, only to drop back to an even lower level in a very short time.

"Damn it, how could someone take pictures of a nuclear explosion? How is this kind of thing still on the internet?" someone shouted from a workstation in the smoking area. The guy at the next workstation handed him a document through the noisy environment and the swirling smoke. "The British government has issued an official statement denying the rumors of a mistaken nuclear missile launch. They said it was an exercise."

"Boss, when are we going to let our media team take the stage?" The deputy head of the news department found Fingel among a pile of Coke cans.

"How's the public opinion going? Get tens of thousands more comments, try to steer it towards conspiracy theories like an alien invasion." Fingel was beaming; in the realm of news, he was the master of the battlefield. After dismissing the deputy minister, he immediately summoned another subordinate, "What about the information on the submarine's captain and first mate?"

Someone immediately handed over the documents.

Above is the personnel list of the Vanguard-class nuclear submarine that launched the nuclear missile. The backgrounds of the captain and first officer have been thoroughly exposed, ranging from their elementary school sweethearts to the tobacco suppliers they used during university. Beneath the original documents is a fabricated "sex scandal" by the press department, which claims that during a mission in the North Atlantic, the captain, first officer, and an assistant weapons engineer had an "inappropriate relationship" on board the nuclear submarine, leading to negligence and the accidental launch.

The news report used euphemisms to describe it as follows: In the officers' quarters on the submarine, they committed this disgraceful act while drunk.

With photos, videos, testimonies from other officers, and endorsements from several mainstream media outlets, this news story will ignite already discontented public sentiment and successfully mask the most troublesome chaos in this unprecedented mixed-race conflict.

In this operation, all the executive and equipment department members who had disobeyed the school board's orders were mobilized. Across the ocean in Britain, countless politicians, military officers, and media editors were bribed, threatened, and hung under the night sky of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

"Ah, I've never fought such a rich war before," Fingel said smugly.

In reality, most people in this control room are doing public opinion work. The real commander is EVA. This supercomputer can process several orders of magnitude more information per second than all of them combined. She just lacked the necessary permissions before.

"Gentlemen and ladies," Su Enxi said wearily, taking the hot printout from the printer and holding it high. "Great news! The Gao Tinggen family is now one of us! We now officially hold more school board black cards than they do!"

Even the stern-faced Schneider showed a relieved expression upon hearing such good news.

Chapter 243 Invitation

Charles de Gottingen walked out of the meeting room looking utterly defeated. He was completely overwhelmed by the Lady of Laurent, and was forced to agree to cede his family's technology, land, and wealth, and was also compelled to sign a written agreement.

He didn't know what had happened to the Duchess, but she was completely different from the "gentle older sister" he had met at the ball. She was like a younger version of Angers. If it weren't for his S-rank uncle behind him, he would have almost thought that his heart would stop in front of those golden eyes.

Once inside the car, my uncle picked up the satellite phone, dialed the number, and waited two seconds.

“Everything is going smoothly, Patriarch. The family’s efforts are within acceptable limits, and we have received reliable information.” He paused for a moment, “confirming that Lu Mingfei killed the White King in Japan.”

For a while, the only sounds in the car were the breathing of the uncle and nephew.

"I understand." After a long pause, the person on the other end of the phone replied, "Lu Mingfei has arrived at Kassel College, and I will go to see him. You have done a great job, and your family will reward you."

The call ended, and Charles was somewhat dazed, not knowing what had happened. "Did I succeed? But I've caused so much damage to the family..."

“No sacrifice is too great.” His uncle patted him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you beforehand, but the family is in a delicate situation right now. We can’t show weakness, but we can’t really start a conflict either. We can only let you act as the negotiator.”

This means that no sacrifice is too great to bear. The family has already set a price; the important thing is not to let the Laurent family know about it.

“You’ve secured the patriarch’s attention for the family, which will be crucial in the coming turmoil,” the uncle said with a sigh of relief. “Do you know what the second half of that saying is? ‘No treachery too small.’ Mr. Lu Mingfei, who faces dozens of serious charges, is now the ‘dictator’ of the Secret Party.”

……

Under the bright sunshine of Kassel College, the shocking traces of the explosion have been repaired, with only a slight difference in color between the old and new lawns remaining. However, in just one week, they will blend into one. The college seems to be hosting a celebration or ball, with extravagant colorful balloons, fresh flowers, and artificial flowers adorning every prominent spot.

After the war, the school finally resumed operations, but there were only a few student activities on campus. Professors walked between the teaching buildings and the alchemy laboratory, each with an expression of excitement or confusion on their face.

The camera stopped on the asphalt road at the school gate and focused on a Maserati.

Hilbert Jean Angers, the former principal of the Kassel College, seems to be enjoying the sunshine in the driver's seat, still wearing that pure black suit with a delicate rose on his chest.

"Damn it, even though it's just political propaganda, this old guy is being way too perfunctory. Who would be sunbathing at the school gate? Especially in a Maserati!" A discordant voice muttered off-camera.

"Principal Angers, what would you like to say or offer your blessings to the new Kassel College under the leadership of the new principal?" The actual interviewer extended the microphone and spoke to the silver-haired elderly man in the car.

The old man straightened his tie and gave a very professional smile. "From now on, we are all walking history."

What was supposed to be a perfunctory and harmonious interview suddenly turned into a camera frenzy. Uesugi Kotsugi, sitting in the passenger seat, leaned out and, like a model student speaking in class, said at breakneck speed, "I am Uesugi Kotsugi, my son is Genjiro, and we shed blood for the Secret Party!"

"Cut this part out, cut this part out," he muttered to the interviewer.

The camera shakes for a moment, then transitions to the corridor between the Alchemy Machinery Simulation Laboratory and the Academic Affairs Office.

Chu Zihang, the president of the Lionheart Society, was wearing a school uniform and carrying a black box with the emblem of the Alchemy and Mechanical Academy. He was hurrying around, swiping his card at the entrance of the laboratory.

"What are the Lionheart Society President's thoughts on the academy's change of principal?" The microphone was almost pressed against Chu Zihang's face.

"An interview... Did you schedule one with Susie? It's not on my schedule." Chu Zihang said expressionlessly, exuding an aura of unapproachability. "The Alchemy and Mechanical Engineering Department is already in its internship week. I have experiments to do, so please don't waste your time, thank you."