Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 99: Gate of the Nibelungen (3)

Dragon Raja 4

Without hesitation, Nono pulled the trigger, and the bullet struck just above the raven’s eye. Black feathers scattered as most of the raven’s scalp was peeled away, and its golden eye exploded.

But despite black blood oozing from its beak, it continued stammering, “Caw… you’ve finally… caw… you’ve finally…”

Only when another raven descended from the sky and perched on Odin’s shoulder did the first one collapse into a pool of its own blood.

Lu Mingfei and Nono looked up. Above Odin’s head was a massive black vortex, with thousands of ravens silently circling, not making a sound.

So Huginn and Muninn were not special—they were simply the two ravens privileged to perch on Odin’s shoulders, and they could be replaced at any moment.

Suddenly, the thousands of ravens began to speak in unison: “You’re finally awake! You’ve finally arrived! Caw, caw! You’re finally awake! You’ve finally arrived! Caw, caw!”

Their voices echoed through the valley, and the trees on the mountainside seemed to sway their branches, joining the ravens in their chant: “You’re finally awake! You’ve finally arrived! Caw, caw! Caw, caw!”

Lu Mingfei instinctively felt that these ravens were howling because of his arrival. Though it seemed like a wild thought, there were clues. This was his hometown, and he was the monster born from this city. A vast, twisted space had been built around the monster, and Odin, the gods’ warrior, was stationed here. All the roads were dead ends, designed to prevent the monster from escaping the city. But what didn’t make sense was that he had grown up healthy and normal, coming and going countless times without ever encountering anything strange. Odin had always waved him through.

He turned to look at the little devil, confused. Could it be that Odin was waiting for the devil? That didn’t make sense either—after all, the little devil hadn’t appeared before he went to college, but during summer breaks, the devil had followed him home, and Odin had still let him pass. Yet Odin had stopped the car carrying Chu Zihang and his father.

Lu Mingze patted him on the shoulder. “You’ve already sold me three-quarters of your life. Your level of mutation is now something certain people can no longer tolerate.”

A large group of shadows slowly rose from the puddles around Odin. Every single one of them was draped in black cloaks, holding rusted weapons, looking like ringwraiths from The Lord of the Rings. Their hands, which gripped the weapons, were dry, pale, and clawed. In an instant, a black army had gathered around Odin, and golden pupils flickered like flames within the hoods of their cloaks. At the same time, two giant wolves, their fur like silver needles, emerged from the fog behind Odin, their bodies as fearsome as lions or tigers.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have killed his raven!” Lu Mingfei flexed his wrist. “In a war between two countries, you don’t kill the messenger, right?”

“Too late for that! Now let’s just hope no one else shows up from his family!” Nono said coldly.

“He has family? This guy looks like he’s been dead for thousands of years.” Lu Mingfei didn’t know where he found the courage to joke.

Maybe it was because Nono was beside him, or maybe he had simply grown used to living with fear. Surviving was something to be thankful for, and all things worth being thankful for were a matter of chance.

Odin had already raised his spear high. It didn’t even have a tip—just a bare branch—but it emitted a radiant glow like a star.

When he swung the spear down, Lu Mingfei’s vision turned blood red, as red health bars popped up above the heads of the wolves and shadows.

The little devil was using this to signal that a bloody battle was about to begin. Simultaneously, he himself rose into the air, as if commanding an army. On Lu Mingfei’s side, it was just him and Nono, while the opposing side was an endless horde of shadows surging down the steep slope like a black tide, like the entirety of hell had been unleashed.

“Doesn’t this guy have a son called Thor? The one with the hammer?” Nono skillfully adjusted her aim and fired, her armor-piercing rounds fanning out with precision.

Lu Mingfei’s Desert Eagle joined in with a roar, each shot releasing a half-foot of muzzle flare. The Gear Department had customized these guns based on Lu Mingfei’s specialty, lengthening the barrels, which slowed the rate of fire but greatly increased range and penetration. The difference in firepower was immediately evident—Nono’s bullets only caused the leading shadow to stumble, while Lu Mingfei’s first shot hit a shadow square in the forehead, shattering its hood with a blast of air. The bullet cleaved off the top half of its skull.

The dry skin stretched over its skull, its cracked lips exposing broken teeth. A half-destroyed Persian-style iron helmet still clung to its head, and ghostly flames flickered in its empty eye sockets.

Lu Mingfei suddenly recalled the legend of Valhalla, where Odin’s Valkyries collected the souls of warriors from all over the world, bringing them to the hall where they drank mead and fought in eternal combat, returning from death over and over again. Their skills were honed to the limit of human potential, all in preparation for Ragnarok, the final battle where they would march resolutely into the fray and become dust in the river of history. Perhaps the Einherjar never truly came back to life; Odin collected them not as comrades, but as weapons.

The Scorpion submachine gun and Desert Eagle spat fire in steady rhythm, their flames illuminating Lu Mingfei and Nono’s expressionless faces in turn. Once their magazines were empty, they turned and sprinted toward the Ferrari.

They had no chance of winning this fight. Modern weapons did limited damage to the shadows, and even if they worked, their bullets would soon run out.

As he ran, Lu Mingfei grabbed two grenades from his bag, pulled the pins with his teeth, and tossed them over his shoulder without looking back. A blinding wall of fire erupted behind them, swallowing up the skeletal warriors. The Gear Department’s explosives were always ahead of their time—these grenades had red pins, indicating they were special versions. But just seconds later, the undead warriors charged through the still-burning fire. Their black burial robes were destroyed by the flames, exposing their mangled, grotesque bodies.

Black shadows slowly rose from the water between them and the Ferrari, getting up from a kneeling position. Lu Mingfei looked up at the sky. The raindrops seemed black as ink—was there a soul yearning for battle inside each one? Though the Einherjar were silent, Lu Mingfei felt like he could hear their painful, joyful roars… Blood! Fresh blood! They were so thirsty, thirsting for so long! But at the same time, he seemed to hear a voice screaming in terror… No… no… don’t go near him! That is… that is… that is…

Time has a way of playing tricks. Back then, Nono was a knight in shining armor, riding her red horse, pulling Lu Mingfei onto the saddle, and taking him to distant lands, telling him, “You can be a king of knights!” Years later, that fool is almost becoming the king of knights, while the once shining lady knight has dismounted and is preparing to marry into a wealthy family, embarking on a new life. She tells you that there’s more than one way to live… It really feels like time is a flying blade, a blade that has seriously messed with things.

As Lu Mingfei’s mind wandered, his hands stayed busy. He fiercely kicked one of the shadowy figures in the groin, but the opponent rooted himself with a solid horse stance, taking the blow head-on. Seems like this guy must have been a tough bodybuilder in life. Odin’s massive Valhalla plan truly accepts all—everything from Egyptian sickle swords to Southeast Asian whip swords was represented in the hands of these spirits. It was like a veritable army of eight nations.

Lu Mingze wasn’t wrong. If they kept fighting like this, defeat was inevitable. Rather than continue, they might as well go crazy and challenge the god directly!

To escape from a god’s wild hunt would require immense luck, but if anyone was the king of dumb luck, Lu Mingfei claimed second place—no one would dare say they were first!

Lu Mingfei swung his blade, forcing the shadowy figure back, then stood up straight, striking a pose like a tree standing tall. He pointed his sword at the distant Odin. “Hey! You dog! Stop hiding behind your minions!”

After thinking it over, Lu realized he was still insulting Odin’s mother… Lu Mingze laughed so hard he doubled over, clutching his stomach.

“That won’t work, big brother. To challenge a god, you need to mark it with blood.” Lu Mingze clapped his hands, and suddenly time slowed. Only Lu Mingfei and Lu Mingze could walk freely within the stillness.

Lu Mingze stepped in front of Lu Mingfei and drew a short vertical line on his forehead. He had no nails and didn’t use a blade, yet effortlessly cut open Lu Mingfei’s brow. Then, he bit his own finger, letting his blood mix with Lu Mingfei’s, and with this blood, he painted ancient totems on Lu Mingfei’s face. When Lu Mingfei glanced down at the water’s reflection, he saw the face of a jaguar warrior from the jungles of Mexico. The mysterious patterns were both savage and profound, resembling the structure of dragon patterns.

Slowly, he lifted his head to meet Odin’s gaze, and in that instant, the god trembled.

Lu Mingfei could clearly feel the decaying mask shift as Odin’s fearsome eyes slowly opened. A whirlwind emanated from him, blowing outward in all directions.

Odin’s sky-blue cloak flapped violently in the wind. Beneath it, he wore tattered armor, and his body was wrapped in corpse cloths inscribed with blood-red runes.

The magnificent warhorse slowly stood up, snorting, and fine sparks of lightning sprayed from its enormous nostrils. It had been kneeling before, but now its full form was visible, with eight slender and powerful legs. Its luxurious mane flowed down like a battle flag, and muscles rippled beneath its scaly skin. This was a mythical creature known as Sleipnir, said to gallop freely across the earth, sea, and sky—there was no place in this world it could not reach.