Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

……

“Herzog’s experiments continued with funding from a Soviet family, and Bondarev was one of the test subjects during this period. After he came of age, he used various means to recover the brainwashed and erased memories he had when he left Black Swan Port. At that time, it was on the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Bondarev forged an identity and returned to Black Swan Port with a check for two hundred million US dollars,” Kazama Ruri continued. “The two old foxes met, and after some testing and confrontation, Bondarev finally gained Herzog’s trust.”

"Herzog's experiments, though facing bottlenecks, have progressed to the factory production stage; otherwise, he wouldn't be receiving a steady stream of funding. It's a huge nursery, with countless incubators like a honeycomb. Each incubator contains a frozen embryo, labeled with the source of its genes."

"An army?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“That’s right, an army of hybrids. The powerful figures who funded Herzog didn’t understand the secrets of the dragon race, and they underestimated Herzog’s ambition. He’s an ambitious man who only believes in strength and power. With such an army, he can conquer the world.” When Kazama Ruri spoke of Herzog, a bewitching light always flickered in her eyes, carrying a faint but deep-seated killing intent. “But that time, he encountered another ambitious man. Bondarev temporarily appeased Herzog with checks and began to promote his own plans. There was no place for Herzog in the Soviet Union, so Bondarev persuaded Herzog to go to Japan.”

Lu Mingfei was jolted awake. The connection between Black Swan Harbor and Japan had finally been made. It turned out to be a suggestion from a Soviet agent. "The Japanese mixed-race people, or rather the Snake-Headed Eight Families, should have been under the control of the Secret Party at that time. Angers supported the Inuyama family to suppress the remaining seven families. Why was Bondarev so confident that the Snake-Headed Eight Families wouldn't use them to curry favor with the Secret Party?"

“Because they possess a gift that the Snake-Headed Eight Families cannot refuse—ambition,” Kazama Ruri said. “Among Herzog’s experimental subjects, two are the most special, numbered π and ω respectively… that is, my brother and me. Our genes come from a man named Uesugi Kotsu, who was the patriarch of the Snake-Headed Eight Families and the only and most powerful emperor of the previous era.”

……

Caesar and Chu Zihang indeed found a Lamborghini in the underground parking lot. Caesar started the car smoothly. "Two teams are approaching us, but the most troublesome one should be the ninja outside. Norma's information says her name is Yabuki Sakura. Her Word of Power is unknown, so we can basically rule out her as a reconnaissance type. Otherwise, she should have acted when we left the room, instead of waiting for us to take down those two guards."

“She’s probably an offensive type of Word of Power. She doesn’t have any guns on her, and her movements are unnatural. I guess she’s wearing some kind of bodysuit under her clothes, which means she can only carry lightweight weapons, like a dagger or throwing knives.” Chu Zihang sat in the passenger seat, holding the map provided by Norma. “Lu Mingfei’s whereabouts are unknown. Is it too risky for us to just barge out like this?”

"Is this still the Chu Zihang I know?" Caesar raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chu Zihang, while simultaneously maneuvering the Lamborghini to circle among the vehicles to avoid the searchers and find a way out. "We don't need to worry about Lu Mingfei. Since we're going to investigate the Japanese, let's take the initiative. Even if we come up empty-handed, we can still disrupt the Japanese's plans."

The basement exit was right in front of us, and the light suddenly brightened.

The moment he stepped out, Caesar slammed on the gas, and the Lamborghini leaped up the hill like a blue ray of sunlight. At the same time, he looked through the car window toward the third floor of the low-rise building opposite the hotel.

Chu Zihang was right. Underneath Yabuki Sakura's suit and shirt was indeed a black fabric clinging to her body. It was a black bodysuit made of a mixture of microfiber and metal wire, clinging to her body like a second skin, with protective steel plates and various blades inserted into her vital areas.

She stood upright on the windowsill, legs apart, waving her hands repeatedly towards the driveway not far away. Each time her hand brushed against her full-body armor, four thin, sharp throwing knives would appear between her fingers, which she would then toss into the air, creating a sharp whistling sound as they flew through the air. Her Word of Power was indeed neither reconnaissance nor offensive; it was Word of Power: Yin Flow, which allowed the caster to control the direction of wind over a large area centered on herself, creating extremely thin but extremely powerful airflow channels at will.

The Yin Stream itself has no extraordinary destructive power, but if the user throws aerodynamic miniature blades into the airflow channel, these blades will be accelerated to incredible speeds, producing astonishing destructive force. Yabuki Sakura was clearly a skilled user; in a short time, she launched all the throwing knives on her body, and the storm of metal flashed like a starburst in the sunlight.

Sakura Yabuki's target was the Lamborghini's tires. She had not received orders to antagonize the "distinguished guest" from headquarters. Her task as a monitor was to restrain the other party until her family surrounded them, and then gently persuade them to return to the hotel. This was her job as a monitor—dignified, and a belated warning or show of force.

The reason for going all out and using all the throwing knives was out of respect for the elites of headquarters and the caution that a ninja should have.

However, the Lamborghini accelerated, leaving a trail of smoke as it disappeared into the traffic. The throwing knives seemed to encounter some invisible obstacle as they approached the vehicle, failing completely. That's beyond the capabilities of the human eye; striking down those tiny knives one by one at an angle facing the light is no less difficult than a blind person trying to catch mosquitoes with chopsticks.

In a sense, Caesar did indeed do just that. He didn't even need to look at the target; the scythe brought back the slightest sound of airflow disturbance, and then the savage vampire scythe, guided by its scout brothers, shattered those overly fragile blades one by one.

Chapter 186 Conversation II

"Herzog was persuaded by Bondarev to go to Japan to continue his research and to destroy all the evidence before the chaotic government could react." The story told by Kazama Ruri was nearing its end.

In the part of the story that Lu Mingfei knew, only Lu Mingze escaped from Black Swan Harbor. If the explosion was caused by Bondarev and Herzog, everyone else in the harbor would likely have perished.

Renata… Lu Mingfei’s mind flashed back to the little girl being led by Melina. Now he could confirm that the illusion he experienced on the Beijing subway was Lu Mingze’s memory. In that cold winter, Lu Mingze escaped from that bloody prison, was then intercepted by the Secret Party, made a deal with Angers and disappeared until he became active again not long ago.

I never expected to obtain such valuable intelligence in Japan.

Lu Mingze's existence finally has a tangible basis. Whether it's the ancient dragon in Black Swan Harbor or the experimental subjects under Herzog, it can prove that the guy is not a demon or something that bluffs people around, nor is he a parasite of Lu Mingfei's mind or even a fantasy of his split personality.

Lu Mingfei's understanding of schizophrenia is not simply a neurological disease. He has personally witnessed the two sides of the goddess Marika and the former King of Elden, Radagan, and the two even gave birth to two divine beings: Michaela and Malenia. Although one of their offspring can never grow up and the other is tainted with crimson corruption.

"After blowing up Black Swan Harbor, Bondarev shot Herzog in the snow outside the port, but he made a fatal mistake, burying him under the ice after only piercing his heart." Kazama Ruri couldn't help but smile slightly as she said this, her eyes filled with resentment. "Bondarev happily boarded the Lenin with the ancient dragon embryo and Herzog's research results, heading to Japan."

"The Lenin eventually sank in the Sea of ​​Japan, which is the source of the dragon heartbeats being detected now..." Lu Mingfei vaguely felt that something was wrong. "Did the Japanese hybrids betray Bondarev and also want to seize Herzog's achievements?"

"Lu Jun overestimates the Snake-Headed Eight Families. Even the current heads of the families are nothing but fools blinded by their own limited perspectives. Not to mention, back then, under Angers' management, the Snake-Headed Eight Families were nothing but a bunch of spineless dogs." Kazama Ruri was extremely disdainful of the Snake-Headed Eight Families. "It was an ancient dragon embryo. As a top predator in the food chain of the mythical era, a perfect evolutionary form, how could it be so easily controlled by humans? The embryo bewitched the crew and then corroded the hull. Bondarev realized that he could not control a steel behemoth manipulated by an ancient dragon and was forced to initiate the sinking procedure."

Lu Mingfei finally realized what was wrong.

Throughout the entire event, without any external intervention, Herzog, Bondarev, Port Black Swan, the Lenin, and the embryo—these elements, existing within a closed system, formed a series of interconnected coincidences until the embryo was sent into the Sea of ​​Japan, much like the Greenland ice sea many years ago. Even hybrids know the value of the ancient dragon embryo, yet in this story it seems to be merely one link in a chain.

“During this process, Bondarev’s daughter, Uesugi Erii, was corrupted by dragon blood and became a half-dragon, half-human monster. He infiltrated Japan with the secret of Black Swan Harbor and three children, appearing before the Snake-Headed Eight Families under the identity of Tachibana Masamune, and bringing with him two children who possessed the bloodlines of the upper three families of the Snake-Headed Eight Families.” Kazama Ruri said expressionlessly, “He lost an ancient dragon embryo, but discovered something even more valuable in the Japanese hybrids.”

"You are the child Bondarev hid. Your brother, Genjiro, and Bondarev's daughter, Uesugi Erii, were gifts he gave to the Snake-Headed Eight Family. And what about you?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"They call it a gift, but it's really just a tool. My brother has excellent bloodline, but he's not very quick-witted, while Uesugi Erii is a monster that's been raised in captivity. Now, the Snake Clan seems to have three upper families, but in reality, it's Tachibana Masamune's one-man show." Kazama Ruri said calmly, "My brother and I are a pair of 'mirror images' used for comparison in the experiment. We carry the exact opposite dragon genes. He is the brilliant and majestic Amaterasu, while I am the corresponding strongest oni."

"Your bloodline is extremely unstable?" Lu Mingfei stared at him. "Bondalev wants to hide you as a mole?"

“No, I was merely abandoned. Perhaps Bondarev had similar thoughts, but he already possessed the Eight Serpent Clan and the perfect Amaterasu. My existence would be more detrimental than beneficial,” Kazama Ruri continued. “This is the second story, the story of me and the King…”

"Wang Jiang, the leader of the Demon Clan, appeared around the same time as Tachibana Masamune. He was actually a demon who escaped from Black Swan Harbor... Herzog was corrupted by dragon blood. A bullet did not kill him. He crawled out from under the ice and chased after Tachibana Masamune. After learning of Tachibana Masamune's existence, he changed his name to Wang Jiang and saved the Demon Clan, who were driven to the brink of despair by the Snake-Headed Eight Families."

At this point, the story of Black Swan Harbor and the story of Japan are completely connected, and what is hidden beneath the embryo of the ancient dragon is truly "rich and colorful". Before going to Japan, Lu Mingfei had a long talk with Angers, who shared with him all the secrets of the Japanese Snake-Headed Eight Families and the White King's bloodline that he had learned from his years of investigation. So at first, he just thought that the Japanese hybrids were doing some unwise little things driven by ambition, but he did not expect that it would involve so much.

"As far as I know, the Hebi-Hachi family has never revealed that Genjiro has a younger brother," Lu Mingfei said. "Only Bondarev and Herzog knew of your existence. Bondarev chose to keep you hidden because Herzog brought the Oni to you, the Hebi-Hachi family took away their Amaterasu, and the Oni obtained the strongest oni?"

“Bondarev only valued my brother’s stable bloodline, but he was actually a failed product. Herzog wanted a demon with bloodthirsty genes. As long as he could find a way to control the demon, he could create a terrifying army. He didn’t want to create an emperor; I was the successful product he truly wanted.” Kazama Ruri called herself a “successful product,” but there was no trace of pride in her eyes. “He found me, abandoned by Bondarev and my brother in a mountain village, and lured out the demon within me. I hunted down fourteen girls in total.”

At this point, he observed Lu Mingfei's expression, but Lu Mingfei did not show the fluctuation he had expected.

“My brother returned from Tokyo, assigned by the Enforcement Bureau to complete this mission that happened in his hometown. He stabbed me through the heart and buried me in a wastewater well.” Kazama Ruri smiled again, recounting his most bitter memories, yet a sweet, poisonous pleasure flowed through his body—resentment and revenge, sometimes these two emotions are enough to sustain a person’s life. “That’s all that’s happened so far. What are your thoughts?”

"Is your brother really that stupid?" Lu Mingfei stood up.

"You think so too?" Kazama Ruri looked up at him, a strange look flashing in her eyes.

“Sometimes even Deadpool can’t kill you by piercing your heart. He should cut off your head, and he doesn’t even realize that now.” Lu Mingfei looked down at Kazama Ruri.

Kazama Ruri's face was flushed, and she narrowed her eyes. Lu Mingfei didn't exude a trace of dragon might, but in Kazama Ruri's eyes, Lu Mingfei was like a drawn sword, the killing intent permeating the room even stinging her cheek. If this were a confrontation between two samurai, Lu Mingfei's sword would already be half-drawn from its sheath, ready to strike at any moment.

"That's it...that's it...You high and mighty judge, are you going to kill me?"

Kazama Ruri sat up straight, even beginning to tidy his disheveled long hair and clothes. His trembling hand stroked the lotus bud, which slowly opened, a pale pink hue suddenly dispersing into tiny specks of vermilion at the tips of a dozen white jade petals. The flower, a symbol of purity, was exquisitely beautiful. Kazama Ruri picked it from the vase, gently inhaled its fragrance, and smiled, saying, "May I have a moment to ponder my farewell poem?"

“No, I won’t kill you. I’ll lure the king out as atonement for your sins.” Lu Mingfei shook his head.

He felt no pity for a madman like Kazama Ruri, especially one who had committed a blood feud. However, he had orchestrated this meeting because he couldn't find any clues about the King himself. Kazama Ruri couldn't die before the King appeared. If this madman continued to seek death after the matter was over, he wouldn't mind granting his wish.

Lu Mingfei has killed many madmen and villains, so one more won't make a difference.

“I can’t find the King, and you can’t find him by monitoring me either. Every time we meet, he’s the one who takes the initiative to find me.” Kazama Ruri still smiled. “The kind of person who values ​​his life has a sense of smell that’s even more sensitive than a hunting dog. However, if you kill me, you can greatly disrupt the King’s plans and thus take the initiative.”

"Hmm." Lu Mingfei's tone softened considerably. "Maybe so."

As the killing intent reached its peak, Lu Mingfei's power was overwhelming like a tsunami. Kazama Ruri closed her eyes and softly recited, "The hazy moon is covered by clouds, the clouds disperse, and finally the moon sets in the west."

"The end of the moon at the end of the mountain", Takeda Katsuyori's death poem when he was defeated and committed suicide, Kazama Liuli wanted to die in front of Lu Mingfei. She seemed to feel that what Lu Mingfei brought to him was absolute death, so she felt as calm as ever.

But instead of the sound of a knife cutting through air and bone, Kazama Ruri heard a dull thud as something heavy hit the table.

He opened his eyes and saw a quartz glass tube containing a jet-black liquid placed in front of him.

“Drink it,” Lu Mingfei said. “You’re just as stupid as your brother. Since Herzog is a hyena who values ​​his life, he won’t panic because of your death. He’ll just hide.”

Without blinking, Kazama Ruri unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp. The dark blood burned with a scalding heat. Veins began to bulge on his neck, and black capillaries appeared on his face. Some intense and painful change was taking place in his body, but his expression remained unchanged, showing a hint of bewilderment and disappointment as he knelt on the ground, looking up at Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei remained expressionless, neither of them caring that an evolution of immense significance to the dragon race was taking place in the strongest of the White King's bloodline, the Ghost.

Ruri Kazama's long hair turned snow-white from the roots and grew at a visible speed. The dragon blood, stimulated and activated by the Dragon King's blood, was completely destroying his body while rebuilding it. He looked so pale and thin, but when the evolution was complete, he would be on par with the Dragon Prince.

“Just think of it as a coin toss,” Lu Mingfei said nonchalantly. “If you survive this evolution, you’ll live on for now… Actually, if you want to die, you can kill yourself anytime. As a ghost, you know best how to kill a ghost.”

"No..." Kazama Ruri's voice was hoarse, "A demon who dies with resentment will not rest in peace... Only death bestowed by the gods is peaceful. Otherwise, demons can only burn the world to ashes with resentment. There is no other choice, none!"

His final roar seemed to come from extreme struggle and pain, as if he were urgently trying to explain something to someone, yet it was also tinged with disdain and panic.

"Our meeting is over." Lu Mingfei put away the recorder. "Do not try to leak this conversation in any way, or you will be killed by the dragon blood in your body. This is a warning."

"Wait." Kazama Ruri struggled to her feet, stumbled to a corner, pulled out a thick document, and handed it to Lu Mingfei. "I have a third story in my hand. If I die here, the first two stories will be considered my autobiography or confession. But since you want me to witness this war, this document is Japan's biggest secret right now, about the White Emperor, about the gods, about all the beginnings and destinies."

Lu Mingfei took the document without saying anything. A gust of wind swept through the room, and the next second his figure disappeared.

Kazama Ruri sat down again, stretched out her hand, and when she opened her eyes again after closing them, her golden pupils were as dazzling as crimson gold. Dense scales pierced from under her skin, and bloody bone spurs were ferocious and sharp.

……

"Young Master, Caesar and Chu Zihang have been wandering around aimlessly." In the communication channel, Sakura reported the whereabouts of the headquarters duo to Genji. "Princess Kaguya cannot lock onto them. Norma used a higher-priority command to disable some of her functions. In her eyes, the headquarters trio simply does not exist."

"They didn't wander into dangerous areas, did they?" Genji asked.

“Our people have been following them, and they don’t seem to have any intention of shaking us off completely, otherwise the Fuma clan’s ninjas wouldn’t have been able to catch up with them… I think they’re just playing games with us.”

Yuan Zhisheng raised an eyebrow slightly. "It's only been a few days, and you've already given them such a high evaluation?"

"It's my fault for not handling things properly."

Even over the phone, Genji could picture Sakura with her head bowed. "Don't blame yourself. The family's operation is about to begin. I'll personally go and invite them back. Tell me their location."

Chapter 187 Younger Brother

"The Snake Clan has retreated." Caesar frowned. His Kamaitachi Domain had now expanded to an astonishing extent, giving him complete knowledge of the two vehicles that had been following behind and the dozen or so hybrids moving with bizarre agility among the surrounding buildings.

"Looking at Google Maps, there's a Kabukicho ahead." Chu Zihang received real-time assistance from Norma via his tablet. Norma had marked various "underworld terms" on Google Maps, such as the fact that Kabukicho ahead was an asset of the Hebiki Hachike. Although the Hebiki Hachike was the head family of the yakuza, they didn't directly control all businesses with yakuza connections. Some businesses were directly operated by the head family, while most others were either invested in by the head family or simply subject to the head family's management and rules.

This Kabukicho is a business directly managed by the main family.

“According to the information provided by Norma, although the Snake Clan is united, the families, except for the top three, are on equal footing,” Caesar said. “Perhaps we have entered the borders of their respective family territories?”

"No, the people tracking you have formed an encirclement and deliberately increased the distance." A third voice sounded inside the car.

Caesar and Chu Zihang in the passenger seat both focused their attention on the car stereo. "Lu Mingfei?"

"I'll wait for you at a small shop nearby. A big shot from the Snake Clan is coming," Lu Mingfei continued. At the same time, a highlighted route appeared on the map navigation in Chu Zihang's hand, leading directly to a... sex shop in Shinjuku?

Caesar skillfully turned off the electronic stability program, switched the operating mode from street to sport, accelerated, braked, and counter-steered. The Lamborghini was like a nimble blue shark in the traffic, drifting and changing direction beautifully, heading towards the location Norma had indicated.

"They changed direction and notified Group C to be on guard. The young master's vehicle is about to enter the 'hunting ground'." The ninjas of the Snake Clan were constantly monitoring the Lamborghini's movements through the communication channel. Every time the Lamborghini slowed down, there were at least two visual monitors in different directions to ensure that the people in the car were not secretly switched.

……

Caesar pushed open the door, and with a jingle, the small bronze bell on the door rang.

This is a newly opened toy store, but the store information on Google Maps hasn't been updated yet, so it shows as a sex toy store.

Lu Mingfei was sitting in the comic book section, flipping through an ongoing action manga. There were two other people in the store: a girl in a shop assistant's uniform and a man in a flashy white trench coat. They stood side by side in the corner, heads down, avoiding Lu Mingfei. Chu Zihang, who used to be the student council president at Shilan Middle School, often saw students like this standing outside classrooms when checking eye exercises or self-study sessions; they were basically being punished by their homeroom teachers.

"Welcome," the girl said in a trembling voice.

"Hello." Caesar could understand simple Japanese, but he could only respond with simple English. Chu Zihang, standing next to him, simply nodded to the girl.

“They are my friends, Miss Aso, you don’t need to worry.” Lu Mingfei put down the comic book in his hand and spoke up, breaking the tense atmosphere in the store.

“Okay,” Aso Makoto said, bowing.

“Ms. Aso Makoto? I didn’t know you understood Chinese. Hello,” Caesar said.

But Aso looked completely bewildered.

“She doesn’t understand Chinese, but she can understand what I mean,” Lu Mingfei explained to Caesar.

At his current level, spiritual elements are as easily controlled as earth, water, wind, and fire. Directly transmitting information to a person's consciousness is as simple as someone with the Word of Power, the Serpent, connecting to a wired communication device.