Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 260: Divine Hall of Murals (14)

Dragon Raja 3

The Execution Bureau officers were closing in, and Lu Mingfei had no other choice. He quietly slipped away from the crowd, turned down a side passage, and began sprinting. After navigating through a series of winding staircases, he found an unmarked silver-white door.

He brought his phone close to the card reader. “Verification passed. Access to the ξ floor granted. Welcome back, Execution Bureau Agent Ricardo M. Lu,” a robotic female voice announced as the silver door opened with a boom.

Hilbert Ron Anjou held a glass of Hennessy Richard brandy, turning to look out at the storm raging outside the window. Lightning slithered through the black clouds, and it seemed as if the sky itself had split open. Tokyo trembled like a giant fearing divine retribution as tremors continued to strike.

Sitting across the table from him was a manager from Mitsui Real Estate, his face clearly showing unease. Though an earthquake of this magnitude wouldn’t collapse Mitsui’s solid office building, he was still anxious to find a place to take shelter. However, Anjou was leisurely enjoying the stormy night, and the manager didn’t dare to rush him. After all, Anjou was a high-paying client, having spent millions of yen on this transaction. A few more minutes, and the final 2 million yen would be in hand.

“How common are earthquakes of this scale in Tokyo?” Anjou asked calmly.

“Oh, quite common. They may seem scary, but Tokyo’s buildings are highly earthquake-resistant. It’s only the old, neglected ones that might have problems,” the manager replied with a forced smile.

Since the client had come to Mitsui Real Estate to buy property in Tokyo, no real estate manager would ever say, “Tsunamis and storms are everyday occurrences here, and we have frequent earthquakes. If you want to live here, you’d better get life insurance—and maybe consider signing an organ donation form too.” Still, Tokyo had experienced quite a few earthquakes in recent years, and the manager was starting to think about moving to a safer city.

“I heard that the land you mentioned is full of old buildings,” Anjou said.

“Yes, yes, they’re all pre-World War II structures, most of which are vacant. It’s such a waste for such valuable land in the college district. If you plan to buy it, you’d definitely want to develop the area. The old buildings can be demolished easily, and since the property rights are clear, the city hall will support the demolition,” the manager enthusiastically highlighted the benefits. “It’s rare to find undeveloped land in such a bustling area. Without your guidance, even we wouldn’t have found it.”

“Every city has places that bury secrets, like graves. It’s best not to demolish them carelessly,” Anjou said as he took out an envelope containing 2 million yen in cash. “Now, may I take a look at the deed?”

The manager accepted the cash, placing a manila envelope in front of Anjou respectfully. “I’m terribly sorry for taking up so much of your time, but this deed was kept in a safety deposit box at Mitsubishi Bank. It was quite a challenge to obtain it, even with Mitsui’s connections. However, I must be honest—the current owner has no intention of selling the land. If you really want to buy it, we’d need to persuade him personally. The price would likely be no less than 1.2 billion dollars, plus a 3% commission for us…”

Anjou took out the thin deed and glanced at it. The thick paper made from mulberry bark had yellowed and become brittle with age. The deed listed the boundaries of the land, the name of the owner, and the date, which was the 14th year of the Shōwa era—about seventy years ago.

“The land boundaries were defined using landmarks from that time, but those landmarks no longer exist. I can sketch it out for you. The land is located behind the rear gate of the University of Tokyo, a narrow street,” the manager explained while drawing on a Tokyo map. “There was a shrine on that street back then, called Kuroten Shrine, but it’s since been converted into a church. I sent someone to take a look this afternoon—it’s just a small, run-down community church, so it shouldn’t interfere with your plans for demolition.”

Anjou placed the deed back in the envelope and handed it to the manager. “Alright, a 1.2 billion dollar deed shouldn’t be left with me. Return it to the safety deposit box at Mitsubishi Bank. Our transaction is now complete.”

“You… you’re not interested in the land?” The manager was stunned. He had assumed that once the land was found, they would proceed with the acquisition, which would have netted him a large commission.

“No, as I said earlier, every city has places that bury secrets, like graves. I have no interest in buying graves. I just wanted to know where it was. The owner of the grave, or the landholder, is an old friend of mine. I need to see if he’s still alive,” Anjou said as he finished his brandy and set the glass down on the table. “There’s no better time to visit old friends than on a stormy, earthquake-ridden night.”

“Sir, sir, you should take shelter during an earthquake! Especially since… you’ve been drinking!” the manager exclaimed in panic.

“On a night like this, I doubt anyone will be checking for drunk drivers,” Anjou said as the building trembled again. He glanced at the rain-soaked city. “Besides, I’m running out of time.”

Caesar fired his gun repeatedly, six bullets leaving the barrel in 0.2-second intervals, forming two overlapping arcs. The muzzle flash lingered in the air, as if two flaming fans had suddenly opened before him.

Without warning, Chisei “collapsed” to the ground! He flashed underneath the bright “fan” of bullets. The gleam of Kumogiri rose from below, aiming at Caesar’s chin. Chu Zihang intercepted with a horizontal slash, blocking the blow. Caesar’s guns slipped from his hands, clattering to the ground, as he drew his Dictator.

Caesar’s Inch-Hand Cavalry Slash.

Chu Zihang’s Thirteen Consecutive Blade-Breaking Slashes.

Chisei’s Kagami-shin Meijin-ryū: Reverse Rolling Blade.

In the blink of an eye, the three weapons clashed multiple times, with sparks bursting amidst the flashes of blades and swords. The three of them rapidly switched positions, their blades moving so fast they seemed like mere shadows.

Caesar employed an assassination technique developed to counter cavalry, learned from the Assassins, who in turn had studied attack techniques from the Kushan dynasty’s battle manuals. The Assassins used long daggers, no more than a foot in length, to fight against cavalry wielding spears and greatswords. The secret of this technique lay in sidestepping the enemy and, in that instant, cutting the horse’s neck vessels. With this precision technique, Assassins would charge into cavalry formations, severing the arteries of horse after horse with lightning speed, turning into arrows that pierced through the cavalry ranks, eventually assassinating the general, creating one of the most legendary chapters in the history of assassins.

Chu Zihang and Chisei also utilized their most proficient sword techniques. Chisei had earned his first “Menkyō Kaiden” in Kagami-shin Meijin-ryū, a style known for its graceful footwork. But it wasn’t just about beauty—Okada Izo, infamous for his deadly skills, also came from this school. In his era, “Izo” was a name synonymous with terror. As Kumogiri slashed and cut, its blade reversed, moving in an eerie arc unlike any other sword technique. The secret of Reverse Rolling Blade lay in the “reverse coil,” as if silk was wrapping around the blade. Chisei seemed to be winding layers of silk around the blade with each delicate movement of his wrist. While the well-known Coiling Blade Style grew faster and tighter, Reverse Rolling Blade appeared slower but exponentially increased the force behind the blade.