Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

A magnificent and dazzling firework truly appeared in the sky. All the golden spears exploded at the same time, and the golden shockwave carried glittering glass shards like stars. The enormous dragon body at the center of the explosion suffered tearing damage from the explosion. Its cervical vertebrae exploded one by one, and its steel-like tough muscles tore apart. After the arc shattered, it lost its support and fell to the ground.

"Whoosh!" Nono raised her hands and cheered for the fireworks display.

In a dimension unseen by everyone, Lu Mingze squatted on the ground, picking up Odin's severed limbs piece by piece. He held bones of all sizes in his hands, some intact, some broken in two, and some still with pulsating blood vessels and muscle tissue remaining. If it weren't for the thick, oil-like dragon blood covering every corner around him, he would look like a little boy diligently gathering firewood.

Lu Mingze piled up a bunch of bones in front of Lu Mingfei, almost as tall as a person, and then put his hands on his hips and said, "Look, this is your father, brother."

Lu Mingfei: ...

"Don't disbelieve me, consider this your reward for helping me this time, brother." Lu Mingze clapped his hands, his body clean and spotless, without a trace of blood. "The reason Odin was able to condense a dragon body on him is because he planted the triple beacons of spatial creation, spiritual reconstruction, and causal separation... It's hard to explain to you, but in short, with these three things on him, from a higher-dimensional perspective, he's no different from a pure-blooded dragon. As long as you kill that old dog Odin, brother, I can help your little brother revive Chu Tianjiao, but I can't guarantee that the revived one will still have a human will and memories."

Lu Mingfei bent down and picked up a bone from among the many bones. This bone was different from the others. It was impossible to tell which part of the body it belonged to. It was covered with bluish-black blood vessels and a thin layer of muscle tissue on the surface. When he stared at the gathering of blood vessels in the center of the bone, he actually felt a sense of being watched.

“That’s a half-finished ‘core’.” Lu Mingze shrugged, then looked at the white storm at the edge of the Nibelungen. “What a nostalgic sight… Brother, now that this is over, I’m off.”

"What exactly is chasing you?" Lu Mingfei guessed that the so-called "memories" that Lu Mingze entered were not simple, but he didn't understand what in the memories that had become established history could threaten this little devil.

"I can't call her by her given name, but she's an old acquaintance of yours, brother... I can't say anything more," Lu Mingze sighed.

He jogged to the edge of the cliff, turned around and opened his arms as if to embrace the sky, but his body leaned back and he fell into the abyss.

"I hope that when we meet again, Odin will be dead by my brother's sword."

As Lu Mingze departed, the aura from another world dissipated. Lu Mingfei lost his power and was about to fall to the ground, but a fierce gale rose from the ground, holding him steadily in mid-air. He was the controller of the elemental world, and could change the flow of elements with just his will. To achieve flight, he only needed to stir a small peak of the wind element.

Neither alchemy nor the power of words can comprehend this simple way of using power. Alchemy requires spells and matrices, while the power of words requires dragon runes and bloodlines. Ultimately, they are all indirect methods. There must be various intermediaries between the caster and the element, among which dragon runes are the most efficient medium.

Lu Mingfei, or any complete Dragon King, does not need an intermediary; they directly command the elements with their will.

"Don't we need to bow?" Nono nudged Caesar with her elbow as she looked at Lu Mingfei, who was approaching with a gust of wind. "Don't you know the inside story? Who exactly is this god?"

"You really believe in God?" Caesar asked with a strange expression.

“In our human mythology, there are dragons, so of course I don’t have any reverence for them… But you saw all those exaggerated divine powers this guy just used,” Nono said in a low voice. “He’s an enemy of dragons, possesses world-destroying power, and even has a personality… Damn, I suggest the principal build a statue of him and enshrine him.”

Chapter 174 The Protection of the Golden Tree

Caesar thought Nono was really carefree. Seeing Lu Mingfei's almost miraculous power, she actually figured it out in just a few minutes and made the same judgment and choice as the principal... As for whether Lu Mingfei was a god, he had no idea. It seemed that every time Lu Mingfei showed his power, it was more exaggerated than before.

What bothered him most was that Nono, who had the ability to profile, described Lu Mingfei as having a personality.

Lu Mingfei slowly landed on the rock pillar and first handed a jar-shaped glass container to Chu Zihang, saying, "You can keep this safe."

"What is this thing? Is it a gift from the bones of a god to a mortal? It's getting more and more like a myth." Nono leaned closer and saw the bone covered with blood vessels.

She claimed to regard Lu Mingfei as a god, but she showed no respect whatsoever.

"Those things are getting closer, how are we going to get out?" Seeing that one of his teammates was completely indifferent, another was heartbroken over a bone, and yet another was just stirring up trouble, it was Caesar who finally brought up the imminent crisis. That thing could devour even the earth and the sky; in human understanding, perhaps only a black hole could achieve such a feat.

“Hope.” Lu Mingfei answered Nuonuo’s question first, then looked at the white storm in the distance. “That is a pure elemental storm. It devours the entity of the world to grow itself, like a wildfire on the wasteland. It will not stop until all the nutrients are burned away.”

The remaining three people, including Chu Zihang who was holding the glass jar in the shape of an urn, were all drawn to him and waited for him to continue, waiting for that "but".

"I'm sorry, I'm not absolutely certain I can protect you through the storm..." After hearing Lu Mingze's vision for the future, Lu Mingfei subconsciously felt that the fight was over and the elemental storm in Nibelungen was nothing to worry about. But that was based on the premise that he was an elemental master. The others present were all fragile hybrids.

“Don’t worry.” A fifth voice rang out among them, “Lord Lu Mingze has already told me the method.”

Melina appeared.

Nono stared wide-eyed at Caesar and then at Chu Zihang, but all she got in return was a "Oh, it's you" response.

The translucent golden phantom, if not a 3D projection created by Norma using a projector, would seem in her understanding to be nothing more than a soul, so ethereal that even the power of the dragons could not explain it.

"Greetings, everyone. I didn't introduce myself last time. I am the priestess under the throne, and my name is Melina."

Melina greeted everyone politely, then noticed Nono's fixed gaze.

"Are you... are you a soul?" Nono asked softly, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

“It’s a bit special, but in this world I am indeed a ‘soul’,” Melina replied.

"Okay, I was just asking." Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Nono didn't say anything more. The most important thing right now was the life-saving method Melina had mentioned.

“Lord Lu Mingze said that elemental storms can destroy everything in this world, but they cannot affect forces from outside the world,” Melina said, looking at Lu Mingfei. “Your Majesty, I need to borrow your power.”

Lu Mingfei summoned his twin swords. After Lu Mingze left, the twin swords, which had originally merged into a great hammer carrying the power of the Golden Law, returned to their original form. He flicked his wrist, and golden flames spread along the blades, burning fiercely.

There was not a breath of wind within a radius of several hundred meters centered on Lu Mingfei, yet Melina's cloak slowly fluttered. She closed her eyes, clasped her hands together as if holding a pool of clear spring water, and a soft light shone from her palms.

No one uttered a sound; in fact, everyone held their breath, unwilling to break this beautiful scene. If Lu Mingfei's divine magic was a painting of thunder, judgment, war, and death, then Melina at this moment was like a portrait of a goddess from the Renaissance, imbued with humanity—serene, beautiful, gentle, and carrying a touch of tender maternal love.

Melina opened her arms, and starlight slowly rose. A small tree grew from her feet, its entire body as brilliant as golden glass. As the stars rose, the tree sprouted branches and buds, its dense canopy spreading above everyone's heads, and its thick trunk piercing straight up into the sky.

Nono reached out and approached the tree trunk that emitted a faint golden glow. The luster on the tree's surface flowed slowly like liquid gold, or like the soft glow of the setting sun, covering her hand with a golden halo. Even a ray of light shining through her fingers was as beautiful as silk.

"Nono?" Caesar frowned, grabbing his fiancée's hand. "Are you alright?"

Nono stared at him blankly, then touched her cheek, finding it wet. She was a mad, red-haired witch; no one who knew her could imagine her crying.

She was actually quite similar to Caesar; both lost their mothers at a young age and both underwent a drastic personality change after witnessing their mothers' deaths. The difference was that Caesar became as fierce as a lion, while Nono became extremely cold.

She seems interested in everything.

Sometimes she would concentrate on sculpting polymer clay for an entire afternoon; other times she would sit on the windowsill singing like a little madwoman, drinking half a bottle of whiskey with Susie; sometimes she would go to a bar alone and dance all night, her red hair swaying, attracting a dozen boys to surround her; and sometimes she could sit solidly in the library all day, studying textbooks, wearing black-rimmed glasses, looking like an academic girl who knew nothing about the outside world.

When she does something wholeheartedly, she is always immersed in it. Because she doesn't care about anything else, her profiling makes the whole world seem like a big library in front of her. She can pick up any book and immerse herself in different stories, but she never belongs to any one story. She is the reader, and readers belong to the world outside the library.

She reads different books and feels sadness or joy, but in the end, she has to return to the world outside the books, a world of nothingness.

"Have I told you about my first 'psychic vision'?" Nono asked.

Caesar shook his head. He only knew that Nono was calm during the 3E exam, but he didn't know what her spiritual vision had seen.

“My first 'vision' happened when I was very young. My mother was lying in bed, and a shadow came over and took her soul away. She died,” Nono said softly.

Caesar listened attentively, never expecting that Nono had a similar experience to his.

“That 'spiritual vision' was incredibly real. I not only saw someone take away my mother’s soul… but I also saw that person’s face clearly.” Nono turned her head to look into the distance and whispered, “It was my father.”

At this moment, the white elemental storm arrived at the Golden Tree, and the boundless white void devoured everything around it.

“I always thought there was no such thing as a soul in the world. Even the great dragon kings needed eggs made of flesh and blood as a material basis for their resurrection... But this tree can clearly protect souls.” A trace of confusion appeared in Nono’s eyes. “Maybe there really is a underworld and a world of the dead. My mother could have received such a gentle and radiant blessing, but I let her soul be taken away.”

Chapter 175 (4.6k words)

In the scorching air and billowing dust, Fenrir looked up at a sliver of light shining through the crack. Something deep within his consciousness that had brought him comfort had gone out. It was difficult for him to comprehend this phenomenon with his intelligence, but feelings of unease and anxiety flowed through his veins and permeated his entire body.

The rocks parted in front of him, and he dragged his aching body to where his sister was lying.

His body was covered in sharp broken bones and scales, and even his arms were broken, so he had to bite his sister to protect her.

Burning sensation...

The thick, dead dragon's blood was the bitterest and spiciest thing Fenrir had ever eaten; the broken bones and viscous black blood corroded his tongue and throat.

This should have been the moment when the complete throne was born, but the girl's body had the form of the Holy Grail but not its substance. The only thing concentrated in her bones was the cursed dragon blood. The highly corrosive blood entered Fenrir's wounds, replenishing his strength and repairing his injuries, but it did not allow him to complete his wisdom and become Hela.

This was the moment when Fenrir's fear and pain reached their peak.

"call--"

Fenrir spewed out flames half a meter high, leaped up from the soft sofa, and even his wings grew back and stood upright.

"Fenrir, don't worry, Old Liu just brought the groceries over." Old Tang, wearing an apron, poked his head out of the kitchen. "Wait another half hour."

Old Liu was arranged by Su Enxi to deliver living supplies to the group. On the surface, he was a business owner engaged in wholesale trade, but in reality, he was an A-level mixed-race person in the sense of the Secret Party. After spending half a year together, he was basically half a friend of Old Tang, and now even Fenrir knew him.

Fenrir's memory wasn't bad, but rather incredibly precious. The reason Old Liu was able to leave a trace in his limited brain capacity was entirely thanks to Su Enxi's regular procurement of local, seasonal ingredients from around the world.

"Xia Mi, have you looked at those alchemy blueprints that Brother Lu sent me before?" Old Tang shouted to the second floor.

The kitchen entrance is located under the glass staircase in the living room on the first floor. Above the staircase is a gaming room with four computers, where Constantine and Xia Mi are currently playing a game together.

"Oh, I was just saying it offhand. Brother Lu shouldn't be in a hurry, right?" Xia Mi's voice came through the door, sounding a little muffled. "Don't go up to Xiao Kang. Let's start fighting. I need to take some medicine first."

Not long ago, Lu Mingfei, who had experienced the Battle of Odin, returned to stay for a while. He brought a lot of broken dead wood and studied the extremely complex patterns for a long time. When Xia Mi passed by, she casually mentioned that she seemed to have memories of Jormungandr researching similar things. Lu Mingfei then grabbed her and assigned her a bunch of tasks.

Old Tang sighed. He used to feel like the eldest brother, but now he felt like a parent.

Back in the kitchen, the broth from the braised pork ribs in the pot was already bubbling away. Fenrir followed the aroma to the kitchen door, flapped its wings, and jumped onto Old Tang's shoulder, squinting at the billowing steam, looking quite content.

……

Late at night, the Norwegian Sea.

The massive crane ship rested amidst the deep blue-black waves of the Norwegian Sea, waves churning on either side of its hull with a deep, powerful thud. On deck, towering cranes stood, using steel cables to suspend the enormous black alloy cabin, placing it steadily above the waves.

A gentle sea breeze, carrying the salty scent of the sea, swept across the ship's hull. The crew operating the crane felt a chill and looked up at the woman standing on the deck. Under the searchlight, the woman, dressed in black, leaned against the steel crane frame, her legs incredibly long, her waist incredibly slender, a faint blush between her brows, and two straight-bladed short knives at her waist.

A few days ago, a Los Angeles law firm approached them, commissioning them to handle this deep-sea operation. After agreeing on the price, the person in charge sent by the firm was this Asian woman dressed as a ninja. The crew had handled similar jobs before, but what made this one special was the client's exorbitant offer—reportedly 1.5 times the average price. The only requirement was that the operation be conducted at night.

Several searchlights focused on the alloy cabin, and the rippling waves crashed against its surface, creating white spray. Upon receiving the command, the crane slowly began to operate, and the 12-meter-long, 3-meter-diameter alloy cabin began to descend, the seawater gradually submerging its specially coated, black hull.

As the alloy cabin was completely submerged by seawater and gradually disappeared into the surface of the water illuminated by the searchlights, Mai Shude took out her phone and called Chip Girl. "The server is sorted out. How's it going on your end?"

“If you’re talking about a big purchase, I’ve already ordered several boxes of cod, whitefish and other local specialties and sent them to our Dragon Kings… His Highness Bronze and Fire will figure out how to cook those fish.” Su Enxi stammered during the call, as if she was chewing on something. “To be honest, I’ve watched his cooking skills improve day by day.”

"Don't make monitoring others every day sound so endearing..." Mai Shude was speechless. "What are you eating?"

"Lamb stew with rice, a local specialty," Su Enxi said. "It's a century-old restaurant in the area, and it's said to be the authentic taste that the King of Norway ate."

"Let's get down to business. Is there any progress on the Prince Gauguin ship?" Mai said. "That was the last thing the boss asked me to do before he left."

“We’ve investigated. Both elderly people have passed away. Even if they were alive, we wouldn’t be able to find out anything about their son. They moved here a few years ago, but both developed Alzheimer’s before they died.” Su Enxi sighed. “It was a cursed voyage. It’s too difficult to find clues through this method.”

"Alright, leave me some hot food, I'll be back soon," said Mai Shude.

"Hey long-legged girl, how about staying a few more days?"

"Why?" Mai Shude frowned.

"Midsummer Festival is just around the corner. Since we don't have any missions coming up, why don't we take a break like Lu Mingfei and the others?"

Midsummer's Day is usually celebrated a few days before or after the summer solstice, the longest day and shortest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. For high-latitude countries like Norway, the arrival of the summer solstice means a long period of sunshine and a warm summer. On the evening of the festival, people light huge bonfires outdoors, dance and sing around them to celebrate the victory of daylight and the arrival of summer, and there are also parades.

"We actually have a day when we're so idle that we don't know what to do..." Mai Shude complained, looking at the helicopter in the distance. "I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life working myself to death for my boss."

Under the watchful eyes of the crew, the helicopter lowered its ladder, and Mai Shude grabbed the soft rope with one hand as the helicopter ascended into the sky.

High above, the night sky and the sea seemed to merge into one, with only a few lights on the distant coast serving as a dividing line.

"Then let's stay a few more days."

……