Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

Frillie stared at him for a long time. Then she turned and continued walking towards the lounge.

“Tell Genjiro,” Frilian said without turning her head, her voice calm, “if he really doesn’t want to hurt his allies, then he shouldn’t do anything that would make them turn against him. I’m not the only one watching Kassel College.”

Kuroda stood there, watching that slender yet upright figure disappear at the end of the corridor.

He pressed his earpiece and reported in a low voice, "Young Master, she has noticed."

A tired, youthful voice came through the earpiece: "I understand. Continue with the original plan. Make sure she is safe."

"Yes."

Ten minutes later.

Kuroda, carrying a tray with an exquisite Japanese set meal, pushed open the door to the VIP room.

A headquarters specialist named Frilian sat by the window, her long, pale silver hair cascading over her shoulders, and her calm, clear blue eyes, seemingly having witnessed countless years, gazed over. She nodded slightly to Kuroda, and her unique tranquility made the room, where she was effectively under house arrest, feel less oppressive.

After gently placing the food on the table, Kuroda did not leave immediately. Instead, he lowered his voice and said quickly in a volume that only the two of them could hear, "Miss Frilian, young master, Director Genjiro is not currently aware of the full plan. There is another force within the family that is in control."

As one of the few members of the Snake Clan who held a deep affection for Kassel College and advocated for honest cooperation rather than confrontation, Kuroda was filled with inner turmoil.

He looked at the girl in front of him, his childhood friend Inuyama Nashi, a senior he had been very close to during their time at Kassel College. Inuyama Nashi always said, "Although Miss Frilian always seems to be slow and sleepy, she is actually very reliable." He couldn't stand by and do nothing while Frilian was in danger.

“I don’t know exactly what they’re planning,” Kuroda said, his voice lowering as he warily glanced at the doorway, “but if the situation changes, and it really comes to the point of no return…”

He paused, his eyes hardening. "Please don't hesitate. Find a way to leave the Sumeru Throne. Head to the small speedboat berth on the west side; the security there is relatively weak. If, if anyone really chases after us, I will do my best to hold them off."

After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply, as if he had completed an important task, then resumed his respectful guard demeanor and silently left the room.

Frillie's gaze fell on the still-warm food, then slowly moved to the closed door. She picked up the miso soup and gently blew on it.

"I see," she murmured in a voice only she could hear, "She has Inuyama Nashi's scent on her. She's her friend. Are they already entrusting their affairs to each other? Honestly, young people these days, why do they all like to do such reckless things?"

Chapter 438 Deep Sea Journey

In the deep sea, the Trieste, like a lonely star, slowly sinks in eternal darkness.

The depth gauge pointed to 8500 meters, the reading still fluctuating. The cockpit was thick with damp, heavy air, the air whistling softly through the valves. On the instrument panel, dozens of needles moved rhythmically within their respective ranges; all the data was within theoretical limits, but this offered little comfort to the three people inside.

Caesar Gattuso stared into the darkness outside the porthole, his blond hair soaked with sweat and plastered to his forehead. He controlled the submersible's descent speed with precise and decisive movements. As the team leader, he had to appear calm, even though his mind was taut with tension.

“We’ve lost some oxygen, so we need to save time,” Caesar’s voice was exceptionally clear in the confined space. “Seize the opportunity to complete the reconnaissance, then return immediately.”

He spoke casually, but his driving style had become more aggressive than ever before. The Trieste approached the rift known as the Abyss at an unprecedented speed, its target the magma surface.

“Don’t drive fast,” Lu Mingfei swallowed hard. “I’m scared. Caesar, if you slip up, it’s game over.”

"You know, I drive very well."

"Driving a submersible is quite different from driving a car, isn't it?" Lu Mingfei said anxiously. "We're so close to the lava right now. If something happens to the Trieste, we'll fall into the lava. We're not here for an underwater barbecue!"

Chu Zihang turned his head from the observation window, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead in the dim light of the control panel. He maintained his usual composure, but his eyes also revealed vigilance: "Caesar, Lu Mingfei is right. Caution is the best policy."

“No one is that unlucky; it can’t happen again and again,” Caesar said, forcing a relaxed smile. “There’s an old Chinese saying, ‘Things don’t happen more than three times.’ The Trieste won’t experience consecutive malfunctions.”

Lu Mingfei sighed, "Things don't happen more than three times, which means there will be a second time! Please don't let that happen."

In fact, all three were well aware of how dangerous their situation was. The depth gauge reading had exceeded 8600 meters, and the Trieste had switched to its low-powered propulsion system, relying on lithium-ion batteries to power the propellers as they struggled to propel themselves through the high-pressure seawater. Looking out of the observation window, the seabed fissures below resembled a gruesome wound on the earth, flowing with golden lava that illuminated the darkness of the abyss.

This crack reminded Lu Mingfei of the Kinlunga Divide in Norse mythology. Before the world was created, there was nothing but an endless fog, within which lay the Kinlunga Divide, separating the Land of Fire from the Land of Fog.

Now, they are suspended above this mythical place.

"I hear thunder," Lu Mingfei suddenly said, tilting his head to listen. The sound was deep and distant, like a muffled rumble coming from the depths of the earth.

"It wasn't thunder, it was just seawater vaporizing due to high temperature," Chu Zihang explained.

Lu Mingfei nodded, seemingly understanding, his gaze drawn to the strange sight below. Between the golden lava and the black seawater, there was a band of light. Near the band of light, creatures were swimming. Groups of dark red shrimp lingered near the lava, and some dark purple symbiotic organisms were attached to the shrimp.

"How is this possible?" he murmured. "How can there be life next to lava?"

"This is a miracle of life," Chu Zihang said. "Krill can withstand temperatures of over 400 degrees Celsius and live on nutrients produced by underwater volcanoes."

"Is the rift in the sea in Norse mythology?" Lu Mingfei blurted out.

"Yes, that's what the professors at the college think," Chu Zihang recalled the biology classes he had taken.

"Isn't this where dragons were born?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"Correct."

Just then, the Trieste shuddered slightly, and the three of them immediately became alert.

“It’s just a change in the ocean currents,” Caesar said, checking the instruments. “The water temperature is 224 degrees Celsius. It’s really hot.”

"Even with an insulation layer, we can't withstand the high temperatures if we continue to get close to the magma," Chu Zihang said, wiping his sweat.

"If the temperature keeps rising, none of us will survive," Lu Mingfei thought, feeling his combat uniform was already soaked through.

The scene inside the cockpit began to become somewhat chaotic. The extreme heat caused all three to be drenched in sweat, and each of them felt as if they were trapped in a steamer about to boil over.

Caesar was the first to remove his combat uniform shirt, revealing his muscular physique, sweat dripping down his lines. Chu Zihang hesitated for a moment, then loosened his collar, but kept his belt fastened and his long sword tucked into his belt. Lu Mingfei was in an even worse state, left only in his underwear.

"I took off my underwear, how should I put it?" Lu Mingfei asked hesitantly.

"Whatever, nobody's watching you," Caesar said, shrugging.

Without further hesitation, Lu Mingfei pulled down his underwear and threw it away, immediately feeling much more relaxed.

"Wow, how magnificent!" Caesar exclaimed in astonishment.

"So-so," Lu Mingfei said shyly, covering his face. "I'm fine."

"I mean the buildings outside."

Lu Mingfei said "Oh" twice and then looked outside.

Tower, a colossal tower, stands beside the lava.

“My God, prehistoric humans could build such structures,” Caesar said, his voice filled with disbelief.

“It can’t be built,” Chu Zihang echoed in a low voice. “Humans alone cannot build a giant tower in the deep sea.”

"So that was made by a dragon?" Lu Mingfei interjected, his throat dry and his heart pounding in his chest.

Caesar adjusted the course of the Trieste, slowly approaching the giant tower. As the submersible advanced, the majestic city gradually emerged on the horizon, appearing before the three intruders as a divine kingdom.

The buildings stretched out in a continuous row, their roofs covered with tiles engraved with patterns of swirling clouds and dragons. At each of the four corners of the buildings stood a hundred-meter-long chain, adorned with countless bells.

Thousands upon thousands of bells swayed with the current, awe-inspiring everyone present.

Chu Zihang took out paper and pen and began sketching the city. The city's layout was vaguely discernible: four roads divided the city, and a giant tower stood in the center of the square. There was also a central area resembling the ancient Roman Colosseum.

"The entire city was built around a central square with four roads as pathways, and it was repeatedly expanded," Chu Zihang explained as he drew the map. "If there are four roads running east, west, south, and north, then the city was originally built on land and later sank into the water, somewhat like Atlantis. The architecture, similar to the Colosseum in ancient Rome, suggests that religious activities were held here."

"Dragons have faith too, right? Take the Black and White Kings, for example. They'll grant you three wishes if you find seven dragons?" Lu Mingfei asked casually.

Chu Zihang raised his head and glanced at Lu Mingfei expressionlessly: "Don't joke around. You can drive it however you want after the mission is over."

Lu Mingfei awkwardly touched his nose and turned his attention back to the spectacular view outside the window.

Caesar switched to autopilot mode. "Let's prepare to collect some samples. The Trieste has a robotic arm for scientific research."

"This tower is huge. Was it built to create a spectacle?" Lu Mingfei looked at the giant tower, an indescribable feeling welling up in his heart, as if something deep in his memory had been touched.

"The first function is recording. Dragons often erect pillars to record their past," Chu Zihang answered without looking up, his pen moving quickly across the paper. "The second function is execution."

Chapter 439 Takamagahara (Part 1)

Chu Zihang was still focused on sketching and didn't notice Lu Mingfei's unusual behavior. Lu Mingfei had a splitting headache and felt like there were two versions of himself fighting in his head.

Perhaps because he and Lu Mingze had only exchanged a quarter of their lives, Lu Mingfei's pain subsided after a while, and the strange sights stopped appearing.

"Are you there, Lu Mingze? If you are, call 1," Lu Mingfei called out in his mind, but there was no response. He then remembered that the Little Devil was on vacation and was probably traveling by train through South America, chatting up the female demon he had encountered. 8600 meters below the surface, his call could not reach the Little Devil.

The Trieste slowly glided past a tall tower, and Chu Zihang intently recorded the tower's reliefs and serpentine script. The patterns resembled ferocious beasts coiling around the tower. Upon closer inspection, the tower revealed its metallic texture; although covered in rusty shells, some areas remained as smooth as mirrors, reflecting light intensely. Without its guidance, Caesar might not have discovered this ancient city hidden behind an underwater ridge from such a distance.

"It's amazing that the metal tower doesn't rust even when submerged in highly saline seawater," Caesar said.

"The tower is formed in one piece without any seams, which is difficult to achieve even with modern technology," Chu Zihang added. "This is not just an ancient city of the dragon race, but more likely a royal city."

"Perhaps this is the birthplace of the embryo we're looking for, and it has returned here to hatch anew," Caesar said. "It's time to activate the sulfur bomb. We've been lucky; the embryo has been quiet so far. Now all we need to do is find it and drop the bomb."

He connected to Genji's channel: "Calling Sumeru, can you see this city?"

“We see it. Norma and the Moonlit Princess system are analyzing the images you transmitted. Please continue filming; every second is invaluable. This is the first direct observation of the ancient dragon city, crucial for studying dragon history. Professor Schneider has reported to the Board of Trustees. Based on your remaining oxygen levels, you can move around for another 30 minutes. Please search for the embryo as soon as possible,” Yuan Zhisheng replied.

"The embryo is indeed in these ruins, but the city is so big, where do we even begin to search?"

"Try using a sonar system to detect the embryo's heartbeat."

Caesar activated the sonar, and the submersible began receiving sound signals from its surroundings. Seawater is an excellent medium for sound, and the sonar should have been able to pinpoint the embryo's location precisely. However—

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Caesar said, frowning. “There are so many echoes, heartbeats coming from all directions.”

"Are there embryos everywhere?" Lu Mingfei felt uneasy.

“If dragons could be mass-produced, humans wouldn’t exist,” Caesar replied. “The heartbeat came from beneath the city ruins, not from a single point, but from the entire ground shaking, as if the city had its own heartbeat.”

"Shall we just drop the bomb?" Lu Mingfei suggested. "I really don't want to stay here any longer."

“Don’t rush, Lu Mingfei. An embryo can’t be the same size as a city. I must have misheard. It’s probably a heartbeat that caused the entire ruin to resonate,” Caesar dismissed Lu Mingfei’s suggestion. “Search carefully again.”

"Look ahead, isn't that a Japanese torii gate?" Chu Zihang pointed to a spot.

Ahead of the submersible stood a leaning metal structure, resembling a torii gate in front of a Japanese shrine, but fifty meters high, its surface gleaming with a bluish-black sheen. The lower half of the structure had been melted by magma, the molten iron solidifying into a grotesque shape.

Chu Zihang adjusted the focus to see the intricate carvings on the surface, a realistic depiction of a war between ghosts and gods, with monsters with human bodies and snake tails entangled and spewing fire, creating a tragic and bizarre scene.

When the photos reached headquarters, Schneider and Manstein were astonished. These kinds of carvings were key to reconstructing ancient civilizations, but the human-bodied, snake-tailed figure had never appeared in any records of dragons.

The carvings depict various demons and gods in battle scenes, with swords drawn and poison and fire used against each other.

Interspersed among these battle scenes are scenes of everyday life: creatures with human bodies and snake tails sit around a huge round table for a grand feast; they gaze at the starry sky from a high tower; they forge weapons by a lava river; they conduct solemn ceremonies in a plaza.

“These carvings likely record the history of this civilization,” Chu Zihang said in a low voice, his voice transmitted to headquarters through the communication channel, “from creation myths to daily life, and then to war and destruction.”

Caesar steered the Trieste forward, bypassing the massive torii gate. The submersible slowly entered the city streets, flanked by the ruins of collapsed buildings. Even in their dilapidated state, the grandeur of these structures was still evident. Some buildings still retained complete reliefs on their walls, depicting scenes of human-bodied, serpentine creatures engaging in various activities.

"These buildings are so tall," Lu Mingfei murmured. "Even the doors are over ten meters high. Are the people living here giants? Just how tall are they?"

Chu Zihang observed the measurement data: "Based on the building's proportions, these humanoid creatures with snake tails could be between four and six meters tall when standing upright. If we include the length of their snake tails, the total length could exceed ten meters."

“No wonder they need such a large city,” Caesar exclaimed. “To them, we are like dwarfs in a land of giants.”