Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei Returns from the Elden Ring

“Okay…” Lu Mingfei accepted the explanation. He slowly walked to face Tachibana Masamune, placed his hands on Tachibana Masamune’s shoulders, and stared directly into Tachibana Masamune’s eyes with his golden eyes. “One last question, Major Bondarev. Putting aside how to kill a god, you are Dr. Herzog’s old adversary. You both know how to resurrect a god and you also know how to kill a god. So, what are the ‘keys’ to resurrecting a god?”

"The key...the key?" Tachibana Masamune pondered for a moment. "Lord Lu, if we possess the sacred remains, according to the records in the Imperial Chronicles and recent research, all we need is the Emperor from the White King's bloodline as the vessel. We don't know the details..."

"Who exactly are the people who can become the vessel? Answer me with their names," Lu Mingfei said.

“Chisei… Minamoto Chisei, Chisei’s younger brother Minamoto Chisei, the former patriarch Uesugi Koshi…” Tachibana Masamune slowly uttered a number of names.

“What about Herzog?” Lu Mingfei asked. “He is a person who has been tainted by dragon blood. Can a so-called semi-evolved being carry the remains of a saint? After twenty years of planning, I don’t believe he did it just for a little bit of fetal blood from the resurrection of a god. He claims to be at the top of the food chain. Such a person has an extreme mindset. It wouldn’t be surprising if he wanted to evolve directly into a god.”

"I've speculated and assessed all of what you've said, but ever since he died once and became a 'King General,' he's become extremely cautious and cunning. I only have some of his old research data, so I really can't determine his purpose. To be honest, in your eyes, the blood of a god might be something unworthy of being discussed openly, but for ordinary White King bloodlines, it's something they wouldn't even dare to dream of." Tachibana Masamune sighed. "I understand, you actually want to ask about Erii, right? A White King bloodline contaminated by ancient dragon blood, locked up in a tightly protected medical laboratory every day, it all seems like a piece of some kind of plan..."

“The research you’ve done is very much like a mirror image of Herzog’s experiment. His subject was himself, and your subject is that girl named Erii Uesugi.” Seeing Tachibana Masamune’s frankness, Lu Mingfei shared his thoughts after reviewing those materials. “Even if I’m wrong, Erii is an excellent subject for studying Herzog, but you’ve been avoiding talking about her.”

“After all, she’s my daughter.” Tachibana Masamune’s voice was bitter.

“Yuan Zhisheng.” Lu Mingfei looked at Yuan Zhisheng.

“Yes.” Genjiro looked up.

"Notify Yuan Zhinü to let him come to Yuanshi Heavy Industries," Lu Mingfei said in a deep voice. "Now, take me to see Uesugi Erii."

Chapter 204 Erii

"I have to say, your little nuclear bomb is pretty awesome." Uesugi Kotsushi commented after waking up and learning everything. "But I have a question. If there really is a mastermind at the level of a full-fledged Dragon King, why doesn't he take action himself, whether it's resurrecting a god or usurping the power of a god... If he comes openly, we might not be able to resist him, and if he comes covertly, we have absolutely no chance of winning. Don't you think everything has been too peaceful so far?"

“That’s right. Mingfei’s plan seems to be a shift to a more aggressive offensive, but in reality, we’ve fallen into an even more passive position.” Angers sat down next to Uesugi Yue, taking a puff of his cigar. “The initiative to change the situation is in their hands; we can only build the best possible defenses…”

"The last one that was supposedly foolproof was the French Maginot Line, wasn't it?" Uesugi said, looking out the window.

They were in the back of a black Rolls-Royce, driven by a ninja from the Fuma clan. Outside, the streets were bustling; the rain had just stopped, and a throng of people filled the wet streets. This was a prosperous city, where all sorts of people had lived for decades, each believing that this way of life would continue... No one knew that disaster was about to strike.

"What does it feel like to have family again after decades?" Angers changed the subject.

"Don't jump to conclusions yet. I still need to get a paternity test done after they finish their business," Uesugi Kotsu grumbled. "If the test results show that we are not related by blood, I will still leave Japan."

“What if they really were your own sons?” Angers asked. “Would you live and die for your sons and for this city?”

"Whether I stay or not is of no use." Uesugi Kotsushi did not answer directly. "Tokyo is currently turbulent, and we are all fish in the sea. The Emperor is just a higher-ranking cannon fodder."

……

"When did this happen? Why are you only finding out now?" Genji shouted angrily.

The guard-like man, his forehead beaded with sweat, couldn't lift his head under Genji's imposing presence. "Reporting to the young master, the patriarch summoned us to gather on the lower three floors. Everyone else except the construction team who could leave has gone, but Princess Kaguya didn't alert us at all. Given the tight surveillance on the ξ floor, even a mosquito flying in would be recorded..."

“Young Master, in Princess Kaguya’s records, there is a record of access for a white card of the highest level. Only you and the patriarch have this kind of access in the family.” Miyamoto Shigeo, who had just returned from Princess Kaguya’s server room, was also there. His expression was serious as he handed the analysis report extracted by Eva to Genji. The A4 paper used for printing was still hot. “The white card’s identification code is stored in Princess Kaguya’s underlying code. You are 01, the patriarch is 02, but this mysterious person’s code is 00.”

"Who were the people involved in the development of Princess Kaguya?" Genji asked coldly as he flipped through the report.

“The investigation is already underway. Young Master can go to the dungeon at any time to interrogate any of them,” Miyamoto Shigeo said.

"Since you have no intention of starting a war with me, why are you gathering people?" Lu Mingfei suddenly asked Tachibana Masamune. Tachibana Masamune had been suppressed by the dragon's power and was now somewhat listless, being supported by two guards.

“As the patriarch, how could I possibly gamble the fate of the family on the mercy of the enemy?” Tachibana Masamune said. “If you insist on annihilating the Hebi-Hachi family, I have already ordered most of the administrative staff to disperse and evacuate. About 30% of the family’s armed forces are here, which is enough to hold you back. The rest can establish a new main family in the Kanto branch.”

Lu Mingfei nodded and stepped into the laboratory alone.

Yuan Zhisheng's expression hardened, as if he sensed something, and he reached out to stop two of Miyamoto Shio's subordinates who were trying to stop Lu Mingfei from destroying the scene.

Before their eyes, fog suddenly gathered outside the window. Even though the rain had stopped and the Genji Heavy Industries building couldn't possibly be leaking, endless moisture poured in from every crack. Gradually, they couldn't even see Lu Mingfei's figure anymore.

In the fog, only Lu Mingfei saw the light. The burnt-out candle flowed back against gravity, and the flames ignited on the charred wick. Within the candlelight, figures flickered. People in white coats and guard uniforms carried a corpse backward, their expressions changing from solemn to panic to confusion to calm. Blood overflowed from the drainage system, and a stench wafted from the exhaust pipes... Amidst the layers of illusions, only Lu Mingfei remained unmoved, his eyes cold.

Finally, a figure appeared.

Lu Mingfei already knew the answer in his heart: someone who possessed the highest level of security authority in the Snake Clan's security system, someone who could be trusted by the dangerous "half-dragon" Uesugi Erii.

Tachibana Masamune and Erii walked slowly backward, one in front of the other. Tachibana Masamune was wearing a striped kimono, while Erii was wearing a red and white shrine maiden outfit and carrying a box containing unknown contents. They looked like a father and daughter about to embark on a journey.

Tachibana Masamune, with his alibi and ability to fabricate lies even under the might of a Dragon King, is truly fascinating.

Time has resumed its forward direction.

"Let's go, Erii."

Tachibana Masamune extended his hand to Erii, and the girl with deep red hair nodded.

The ground cracked instantly, and amidst the smoke and debris, a lightning-fast blade flashed, severing both of Tachibana Masamune's arms. Even Uesugi Erii, the "strongest demon" recorded as even more terrifying than Minamoto no Wakana, couldn't react to this attack. With a turn of her head, the girl saw the blood-soaked boy already holding a sword to Tachibana Masamune's neck.

"Death." (Longwen)

A realm beyond human knowledge of alchemy and the power of words was unleashed. Uesugi Erii waved her hand, and countless, extremely fine and thin shock waves formed in the air. Wherever they passed, the alloy walls were like fragile rocks eroded by the wind, with crisscrossing cutting marks gnawing at the originally smooth surface. It was practically a small, destructive storm.

Words of Power: Judgment.

However, when Uesugi Erii's golden eyes shone, they met a pair of deep brown eyes. She had never encountered anything like this before. When she unleashed the curse of death, she saw not awe, fear, or despair, but a calmness, as if she and her death were just something ordinary and commonplace.

The storm representing the will to die crashed into something invisible and vanished without a trace.

Royal Domain.

Lu Mingfei turned his gaze to "Tachibana Masamune". According to the testimonies of several people in Genji Heavy Industries and what Kaguya-hime's monitoring system saw, there should still be a Tachibana Masamune downstairs, who is making preparations for defense and negotiation.

"What exactly are you?" Lu Mingfei asked coldly.

……

One minute ago, underground at Genji Heavy Industries.

Lu Mingfei, who was confronting Odin, froze for a moment, and blood-red cracks spread all over his body. But just a moment later, his body returned to normal, leaving only bloodstains to prove that it was not an illusion.

“Interesting. With your current physique, you can actually withstand the backlash of time reversal.” Odin clicked his tongue in amazement. “Is this Norton’s method… To be able to imitate to this extent after only a few observations, are you really not some kind of thing used to replace your father?”

Chapter 205 Monster Tachibana Masamune

"So decisive, using the ultimate alchemy with unknown consequences just because of a girl who is suspected to be the vessel of the White King... Aren't you afraid that this is my scheme?" Odin stared into Lu Mingfei's eyes, trying to see any wavering in them, but all he got was eagerness. "Well, it's fine this way. In the past thousand years, there has finally been someone who can break out of the script. It adds a bit of fun for us before that day."

"Aren't you going to make a move?" Lu Mingfei straightened up. "My injuries are worse than they were in the Beijing subway. Why not give it a try? You're already here. Kill me. You don't need to devise such a complicated plan. Just kill me, and your Deadpool army will be enough to destroy hybrids and humans."

“I’m not as reckless as you,” Odin shrugged. “What if it’s a trap you set?”

As the spatial barrier gradually dissipated, Odin's figure began to blur. In two different timelines, he made the same choice to evacuate.

This time, however, Lu Mingfei did not continue to the battlefield between Angers and Friedrich. Instead, he broke through the Genji Heavy Industries and headed straight for the ξ-level where Uesugi Erii and the second Tachibana Masamune were located.

……

In the Genji Heavy Industries building, Tachibana Masamune, who was sitting calmly in his office, suddenly opened his eyes.

As the headquarters of the Snake Clan, this building was filled with Kaguya's sensors. Just seconds later, a 3D model from Kaguya's computational simulation was sent to Tachibana Masamune's computer. The architectural structure of Genji Heavy Industries appeared on the screen. The entire building was transparent, outlined with dark blue and light blue lines, clearly showing everything from the 22nd floor where Kaguya's mainframe was located to the hidden floors storing the murals.

In this model, a "passage" leading directly from the ground to the ξ layer is marked in a striking red, as if a bunker-buster missile had pierced through more than twenty floors, yet strangely, it went from bottom to top.

Tachibana Masamune's gaze completely ignored the danger points marked with red or yellow exclamation marks by Princess Kaguya on each of the breached floors. He stared intently at the unknown warning on the ξ floor, where, at this critical moment, the security system was offline.

"Notify...notify all Fuuma clan ninjas, executive bureau agents, and clan guards to surround the ξ layer from both above and below. Call in the nearest air force to seal off the airspace. Remember, live ammunition!" Tachibana Masamune calmly ordered Kaguya-hime.

"The battle plan has been formulated," Princess Kaguya replied. "The first action team has been fully staffed and the remaining teams are assembling."

Tachibana Masamune nodded. "Princess Kaguya, give me a few minutes of personal space."

As he spoke, he inserted a white card engraved with the Tachibana family crest into the card slot. This meant that his actions would receive the highest level of response from Princess Kaguya. Clear instructions could not be misinterpreted, while vague instructions had to be executed in all possible ways without contradiction.

"From now on, the head of the household's office and the two floors above and below will be outside my surveillance range," Princess Kaguya said. "The surveillance system is offline. Power is being cut off, the isolation door is being closed, and operation logs are being deleted. Over."

As Kaguya finished speaking, the entire office fell into darkness.

……

Upon receiving the order from their patriarch to assemble, Sakurai Nanami, Miyamoto Shio, and Fuma Kotaro took the elevator to the floor where the Awakening Temple was located. However, the elevator lights flickered out amidst a violent tremor. Immediately afterward, they received an alarm that Genji Heavy Industries had been invaded. Princess Kaguya had already deployed a countermeasure plan, with the three patriarchs each in charge of different action groups.

The elevator slowly came to a stop and then began to descend to the target floor, ξ.

At this moment, a piercing alarm blared from the ξ floor, the fire alarm was triggered, and smoke with an acrid smell spread through the corridor. Complex circuits were exposed in the broken walls, and blinding sparks occasionally flashed in the walls.

Opposite Lu Mingfei and Uesugi Erii was a monster with twisted limbs.

"Tachibana Masamune" was carrying an injection device for the evolution drug used by the Oni Clan. Despite having both hands severed, he somehow activated the device and quickly transformed into a dragon. Lu Mingfei immediately severed its head, but incredibly, "Tachibana Masamune" was able to survive even without its head, with a tumor covered in dragon scales replacing its head.

The first group of snipers from the Snake Clan arrived at the ξ floor. Ninjas and guards armed with various light weapons blew up the security door and were confronted by "Tachibana Masamune," whose body was spurting out bone spurs.

Instinctively, everyone opened fire at the same time, and bullets rained down on the monster.

"Tachibana Masamune" was covered in dense dragon scales. The copper bullets could not even leave a dent when they hit the scales. Only the kinetic energy of the bullets penetrated the scales and acted on "Tachibana Masamune", pushing it backward. This undoubtedly angered it. It lost its eyes and mouth, but it could still exude dragon might. That was actually a domain.

Words of Power: Coagulation.

But before its domain could take shape, flames erupted from its body, the astonishing heat incinerating its flesh and blood, leaving only its gleaming bronze bones. Among the barely discernible remnants of human skeletal structure, the monster's skeleton was still incomplete; its spine branched into seven vertebrae, plus the one connecting to the fleshy growth on its head, making a total of eight.

The ninjas and guards who witnessed this scene were all somewhat frightened. As descendants of the White King of the Snake Clan, they had known the legend of the Yamata no Orochi since childhood. Seeing an eight-headed monster born from a human body was undoubtedly a mental shock.

The flame within "Tachibana Masamune" is the King's Flame, created by Lu Mingfei. Now, dealing with enemies without a King's Domain is actually very simple for Lu Mingfei. Unlike hybrids who utilize elements, he is the master of fire elements, which means he can create high temperatures or flames in any desired location, including the relatively vulnerable bodies of dragons, without needing words or domains, relying solely on his will.

He hadn't originally intended to end "Tachibana Masamune's" life; keeping it alive for interrogation or as evidence would have been more useful than killing it outright. It was the mutation within its body that caused it to die. Like a Deadpool whose will was stripped away by dragon blood, when "Tachibana Masamune's" bloodline was elevated to a certain level, its faint human spirit quickly extinguished.

Erii Uesugi's face was pale, not entirely from fright. She had subconsciously unleashed her full power of the Word of Judgment to save "Tachibana Masamune" from Lu Mingfei's blade, and now the dragon bloodline within her was activating.

Lu Mingfei could clearly sense slight elemental disturbances around her, and at the same time, her body was also changing. Tiny pale scales were emerging from her exposed skin, and bright red blood beads were seeping out from the gaps between the scales.

She and Herzog are both corrupted semi-evolved beings with extremely unstable bloodlines.

The White King's blood could save them, and so could Lu Mingfei's blood. For example, the liquid he gave to Yuan Zhinü was blood he had concocted using alchemy.

However, Uesugi Erii is different from Genji. Uesugi Erii is not a villain. Drinking Lu Mingfei's blood means becoming Lu Mingfei's kin. Her life, death, and free will are all in Lu Mingfei's hands, which is not fair to an innocent girl.

"Mr. Lu Mingfei!" The operations team leader, Fuma Kotaro, finally arrived at the scene.

Chapter 206 Healing Erii

Kotaro Fuuma was unaware of what had happened. The entire security system on the ξ-layer was offline, and Princess Kaguya had not recorded any trace of "Masamune Tachibana." By the time the first batch of guards arrived, "Masamune Tachibana" had already transformed into a monster. Based on the information he possessed, he was even more inclined to conclude that Lu Mingfei was in league with the monster.

However, he did not show any hostility towards Lu Mingfei, and even gave Lu Mingfei a way out.

"Thank you for saving Miss Uesugi. Her condition is not ideal. Please hand her over to us." Kotaro Fuuma ignored the terrible signs of destruction. His anxiety was palpable, and Erii's condition had changed significantly. "Her situation is special and requires special medical care."

Lu Mingfei hesitated whether to hand Erii over to the Snake-Headed Eight Families. The so-called Snake-Headed Eight Families, a hybrid lineage among the White King's descendants, on par with the Secret Party, now seemed to have been infiltrated from top to bottom; even the heavily guarded ξ-layer could be easily breached. Returning Erii to them and getting her on the carriage now, he couldn't guarantee she wouldn't be resold to the King or something controlling Tachibana Masamune.

However, it is also true that Uesugi Erii's condition is extremely unstable.

Lu Mingfei supported the little girl who was undergoing dragon transformation, then cut his own wrist. Uesugi Erii had been confirmed as the key to the White King's resurrection, and among Genjiro, Genjiro, and Uesugi Echizen, she was the one who needed to be closely guarded. He could not hand her over to the incompetent Snake Clan.

As he collected the blood, he suddenly paused, his expression blank.