Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 167: Lord of Blackstone (4)

Dragon Raja 3

Seated between the beams of light was a majestic figure—a regal lord clad in black lacquered armor with golden flowers, wearing a crescent moon-shaped helmet. A servant was helping him adjust his attire. Outside, the sun shone brightly, and a large cherry tree shaded the mansion’s roof, occasionally showering the vast Sagami Bay with scattered petals.

“Today’s sword is by Horikawa Kunihiro,” the servant said, placing the katana into the lord’s sash, “to enhance your might, my lord.”

The lord sat silently, his massive wings folding behind him like a screen. His skeletal form was a deep, reddish bronze, as if it had been tempered by flames many times. Though only a skeleton remained, his majesty was undeniable. One could easily imagine how fearsome he must have been when alive.

“Such a pity, Norton,” the servant said, gazing at the skeleton. “Look at you now. No matter if you were once a god or an emperor, in death, you’re no different from a toy.”

The King of Bronze and Fire, Norton—this Dragon King, once capable of turning the world into a fiery inferno with his ultimate Yanling, “Dragon Candle,” was now reduced to a mere relic for amusement.

A gust of wind blew outside, and the sky darkened as rain began to fall, petals swirling in the rain. There was a hint of sadness in the boss’s eyes, reminiscent of the melancholic tone in Kawabata Yasunari’s The Dancing Girl of Izu, where a student in high heels wooden sandals walks alone through a rain-soaked mountain valley, encountering a young, wandering dancer. She is only fourteen, her hair tied in an ancient style, her makeup bold and traditional. Between the boy and girl lingers a faint and sorrowful connection because from the moment they meet, their parting begins.

“You’ve arrived, ladies. It’s been a long time,” the boss turned to them. “You’re still as beautiful as ever.”

With just that turn, his mood brightened again, and he wore a radiant smile as warm as thirty degrees Celsius.

“Mai, did you find the treasure I asked for?”

“I found the wreckage of the Lenin at the bottom of the abyss. The embryo was in the cabin, but it had already mutated. I extracted its core, but I’m not sure if it can form a new embryo.” Mai handed over a black case.

When the case was opened, a cloud of white, cold vapor poured out. Inside was a cylindrical stainless steel container submerged in liquid nitrogen at minus 200 degrees, its surface covered in thick frost. The boss picked up the steel container with his bare hands. Normally, if a person touched an extremely cold object like that, their skin would instantly freeze to it, but the boss remained unaffected. As he wiped away the frost, a web of blood vessels became visible on the surface of the container.

Mai was startled. “It didn’t look like this when I sealed it!”

“Killing a king is never that easy,” the boss said, gently stroking the steel container. “It’s already regaining vitality and beginning to corrode its surroundings. Truly an outstanding specimen, even among the primordial species.”

“Hello again, my dear pet,” he whispered, pressing the container to his cheek with a voice full of tenderness. “It’s been such a long time, and yet neither of us is dead. Isn’t that wonderful?”

His voice was so lonely, as if he were speaking from a time millennia later, when trees had aged, and old friends reunited with white hair.

He placed the steel container back into the case and handed it back to Mai. “This creature is very violent. Keep it sealed for now. The cold will keep it asleep, and under no circumstances should it come into contact with anything like adrenaline.”

“Understood.”

The boss reached out and patted Mai’s head. Mai, who was as tall as a supermodel, even slightly taller than the boss, had to bow her head to accommodate him.

“How’s our foundation running? Are we still making money?” the boss asked, turning to Su Enxi.

“You know as long as we have enough to spend, that’s all that matters. You’ve never had the patience to look at the financial details. Since the foundation was established, I’ve been making the money, and you’ve all been spending it,” Su Enxi complained. “But spending a hundred million dollars in one go to intercept the Death Servitors was way too extravagant!”

“Wasn’t it the U.S. government’s money? Didn’t we steal those Tomahawk missiles from the Seventh Fleet?” The boss widened his eyes. “What?! I didn’t know we were spending my money! I would never spend my own money to clean up after Yamata no Orochi!”

“The missiles were indeed stolen, but breaking into the Seventh Fleet’s fire control system cost us at least a hundred million dollars. The fire control system will definitely be patched now, so we’ll have to spend more to break it again next time,” Su Enxi said.

“But we also spent nearly a hundred million dollars buying Blackstone Manor,” the boss pressed his hands on Su Enxi’s shoulders. “If the Death Servitors had landed, Blackstone Manor would’ve been destroyed. That would have been a huge investment loss!”

“Is Blackstone Manor really an investment? Over the past decade, how much have we spent maintaining that building, and only two cats live there! It pains me, as a Taurus, to see every penny spent. You Pisces and Scorpios will never understand!” Su Enxi couldn’t help but vent.

Both Mai and the boss instinctively covered their ears with their hands.

“Forget it, I’m done talking to you two!” Su Enxi turned her head away. “So, what kind of nonsense work are you giving us this time?”

“Keep babysitting Caesar’s team.”

“Is that necessary?” Su Enxi was startled. “We just rescued them from the depths of the abyss and spent a hundred million dollars wiping out the Death Servitors. Those fools should be thankful they’re still alive and quickly buy a ticket back to the U.S.”

“It’s not that easy to return to the U.S. They’ve returned from the realm of the gods. Ever since Takamagahara sank into the sea, the road to the divine realm had been cut off for many years, until the Trieste descended from the sky,” the boss said. “They know too many secrets. Yamata no Orochi won’t let them leave Japan easily.”

“Yamata no Orochi isn’t a threat to them,” Mai said. “Caesar and Chu Zihang together could even kill a Dragon King.”

“I know they’re dragon-slaying heroes, but think about the dragons they’ve killed. Constantine was just a child who only knew how to seek comfort from his brother. Norton had already gone mad after his brother’s death. And Fenrir… Can they really call slaying a mentally handicapped child ‘dragon slaying’? As for Jörmungandr—perhaps I should call her Xia Mi—she was so beautiful, so stubborn, so adorable, truly a heart-melting maiden.” The boss shrugged. “If they were to face a real dragon, those three clowns wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“A real dragon?” Su Enxi was taken aback.

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