Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 129: Tomb of God (2)

Dragon Raja 3

From the diving team to Chisei above them, and from Schneider and Manstein at the college headquarters, everyone was staring at the tower, which seemed to have stood there for millions of years, towering like a god yet also feeling incredibly lonely, inspiring a desire to worship just by being seen.

“That can’t be a human-made structure,” Caesar said hoarsely.

“Impossible,” Chu Zihang agreed. “Humans could never build such a gigantic tower at a depth of 8,600 meters.”

“A dragon city?” Lu Mingfei said, not even recognizing that it was his own voice.

As the Trieste ship moved forward, a majestic city emerged at the edge of their vision, appearing like a divine realm!

Crossing a seabed ridge, the ancient city unfolded like a painting below. It was centered around a tall tower, neighboring a river of magma, enduring for millions of years. The Trieste ship cruised above this ancient city, akin to a dirigible passing between skyscrapers. Half of the ancient city had already slipped into the river of magma, and the other half was left in ruins, with only the central tower stubbornly standing tall, symbolizing the former glory of the city. Even from the collapsed ruins, one could still glimpse its former magnificence: continuous buildings with raised roofs covered in iron-black tiles, which were engraved with swirling clouds and dragon-like beasts, with hundreds of meters of metallic chains hanging from the corners of the structures, adorned with black wind chimes that swayed in the currents, playing a silent music.

Everyone was overwhelmed by the ancientness and majesty of this city, breathless at the sight of such magnificent architectural style that they had never seen in all the world’s civilizations, yet those ancient civilizations that had been destroyed had all left traces of this style. The ancient city seemed to be sculpted by a god wielding a giant axe, etched into the rocks and decorated with black iron, bronze, and silver; the lines that remain today are still so simple and sharp, its aesthetics withstand the test of time.

Chu Zihang sketched on paper, mapping out the city. The layout of the city was faintly visible, with broad avenues dividing it into different zones. At the center of the ruins was a circular plaza reminiscent of a Roman coliseum, from which four royal roads extended in the directions of east, south, west, and north.

In the center of the plaza stood the initially discovered tower, adorned with intricate relief patterns, and its top featured a sharp spire that was several meters long, with similar spires on the tops of other buildings. Looking out, below were densely packed spires, resembling a thicket of cast iron thorns.

“The city expands outward from the central plaza as the center, with the four royal roads as the main pathways. The existence of roads suggests that this city was built on the surface and later sank to the seabed,” Chu Zihang explained. “The vast plaza indicates that dragons often held grand religious ceremonies.”

“What religion do dragons believe in? The Cult of the Divine Dragon?” Lu Mingfei asked casually.

“At a time like this, don’t make silly comments,” Chu Zihang replied.

Caesar piloted the Trieste ship above the ancient city: “Oxygen levels are still sufficient; let’s map out the city as much as we can, then descend into the structures to collect some samples.”

“Why did the dragons build such a tall tower?” Lu Mingfei gazed up at the towering structure, suddenly feeling a bit dazed.

“Dragons often record their wars on column-like structures in open spaces; if they win, they record their glory, and if they lose, they record their hatred,” Chu Zihang explained. “The tower also serves as an execution site. Dragons are known to nail criminals to the tower to dry out; it takes hundreds of years for a dragon to dry out. During that time, the convicted dragon is relentlessly humiliated by all its kin.”

Chu Zihang was still sketching, unaware of Lu Mingfei’s silence. Lu Mingfei pressed his forehead; images were flashing in his mind as if some beast were about to break free from its shackles.

Criminals nailed to pillars, endless humiliation, sorrowful winds, and mottled blood—all these seemed like something he had witnessed firsthand. In the underground of Beijing’s subway system, in Nibelungen, he had spent a quarter of his life summoning Lu Mingze. At that moment, images surged in his mind like the tide of the sea. Among them was a scene where he entered a ruined church, following a long corridor into the darkest depths of the church. There, he saw a white cross, a golden sword piercing Lu Mingze, while the little devil was bruised all over, blood staining the lower half of the cross. His black robes were torn, marked with humiliating symbols.

“You finally came to see me, brother.” The dying little devil lifted his head to look at him, his eyes were two blood holes. “I heard your footsteps; I know that in this world, you are the only one who would definitely come to see me.”

“All the sins and punishments in this world, we will bear together.” He chuckled lightly, a smile filled with sadness.

It was so similar to what Chu Zihang had said—the pillar, the nailed sinner, the endless humiliation… Yes, this scene seemed to have been replayed countless times in different places and times, and in the very beginning, it felt like it was in such a towering tower. He looked up into the clouds, the blood of the devil flowing like a red ribbon down the black iron tower.

“Lu Mingze, Lu Mingze, Lu Mingze…” He called this name in his heart, wanting to summon the little devil to ask.

No one answered, and he suddenly remembered that the little devil was on leave, and the train carrying the little devil was probably speeding across the land of the Inca civilization in South America. The little devil might be flirting with a female demon he occasionally traveled with. At a depth of 8,600 meters in the deep sea, Lu Mingfei’s cries for the little devil went unheard.

The Trieste ship passed by the side of the tall tower, and Chu Zihang was sketching the reliefs and those strange characters. The characters looked like pictographs, composed of serpentine curves. The writing and reliefs were intertwined, resembling a fierce beast wrapping around the four-cornered tower. Up close, the giant tower exhibited a distinct metallic texture; although small barnacles that looked like rust covered most of its surface, there were still some areas that gleamed like mirrors, causing the tower’s surface to reflect light intensely.

If it weren’t serving as a landmark, Caesar probably wouldn’t have discovered this city on the seabed across a ridge.

“A metal tower, submerged in highly saline seawater, and yet there’s no rust at all,” Caesar said.

“A tower this tall, and the main body of the tower is actually a single piece with no seams; even with today’s human technology, that’s impossible,” Chu Zihang replied. “This is not just an ancient dragon city; it might even be a royal city.”

“Perhaps it’s the birthplace of that embryo, returning here to hatch again,” Caesar said. “It’s time to activate the sulfur bomb. Lucky us, not only have we found the remnants of a dragon city, but the embryo is still very quiet. The only thing left is to find the embryo and throw the bomb.”

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