Dragons begin with courage

"A military base!?"

Chu Tianjiao nodded and said, "Yes, Kassel College not only collects and destroys the relics and traces of the dragon race, but also trains hybrids into dragon-slaying soldiers. You should be able to sense that, right?"

Lu Mingfei nodded. He naturally understood that, after all, Caesar had told him just yesterday that slaying dragons was an honor, and that entering Kassel College without slaying a dragon was worse than dropping out. That wasn't a passionate slogan, but a cold reality.

"And Principal Angers's idea is to launch a great purge of all dragons and completely exterminate all dragons." Chu Tianjiao continued, "I do not oppose the principal's idea; on the contrary, I strongly agree with the extermination of all dragons."

"Then why..." Lu Mingfei was puzzled. They shared the same ideals and were both powerful, so why leave?

Chu Tianjiao exhaled a puff of smoke, speaking slowly and deliberately, each word like a nail hardened with ice: "I left Kassel College because I discovered that Kassel had been infiltrated by the dragons, even reaching the decision-making level. Some people sitting in conference rooms, deciding the direction of missions and the allocation of resources... I can't tell whether they are human or dragons in human skin."

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Lu Mingfei felt his blood run cold in an instant. He thought of Caesar's face in the Amber Hall, a face etched with "glory" and "mission," of Nono's nonchalant yet all-seeing eyes, of Angers' deep, ancient eyes in the principal's office, of Professor Guderian's enthusiasm, Professor Manstein's rigor, and even the cafeteria auntie's smile—what if one, or even several, of these people were not human but dragons?

Just then, an image flashed into his mind like lightning—that little boy. Wearing a black suit, sitting on an empty desk, swinging his legs, staring at Lu Mingze with his pale golden eyes.

"Principal Angers' goal is to launch a purge, to exterminate all dragons, and to subdue the Dragon King... But," Chu Tianjiao said with a solemn expression, "if Kassel College, and even the high-ranking officials of other countries, have already been infiltrated by dragons and controlled by the Dragon King, then there will only be one winner in this purge... a dragon."

Lu Mingfei's mind was buzzing. He thought of his parents' mysterious disappearance, the sudden acceptance letter from Kassel, Nono's dramatic appearance in the movie theater, and even the "full-map cheat" that Lu Mingze gave him during the 3E exam—what if all of this wasn't a coincidence, but rather a carefully orchestrated scheme by an unseen hand?

Chu Zihang, who had been listening in the background, suddenly spoke up and said, "Lu Mingfei, it was I who notified my father in the library and told him the map of Bronze City that you revealed with your 'Word of Power'. That's how he knew the exact location where Ye Sheng and the others left and intercepted the Bronze Jar in advance."

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized, "That's right, no one knows where Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji escaped from Bronze City, but Chu Tianjiao got there first. So that's why!"

Chu Zihang said, "My father and I both suspect that if Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji infiltrate Bronze City and bring that bronze jar to Kassel College, it will trigger unimaginable disasters and chain reactions. This mission may not be as simple as it seems on the surface."

Lu Mingfei asked, "What exactly is that bronze jar?"

"Bone flasks. The secret to the Dragon Kings' immortality." Chu Tianjiao stubbed out his cigar, stood up, and walked to the huge transparent container, pressing his palm against the cold glass. "After the four Dragon Kings are killed, they are reborn in bone flasks they have prepared beforehand. To completely kill the Dragon Kings, you must find and destroy the bone flasks. Principal Angers' goal should be this—find Norton's bone flask and then end him."

"The principal wants to kill the Dragon King?!"

"Yes, but strangely, Norton isn't in his own Nibelungen. The Bronze City is empty. Nibelungen is an independent space constructed by dragons through alchemy. Its spacetime rules are completely different from the real world, requiring a special interface to enter, and it is usually created by a dragon king or a high-ranking dragon." Chu Tianjiao said, "That rainy night, we entered another dragon king's Nibelungen—Odin's."

Lu Mingfei now knows that with Chu Tianjiao's S-level strength, how could he possibly have been in a car accident? What he didn't expect was that the hellish place was actually the Dragon King's lair!

Recalling that rainy night, Chu Tianjiao's scars throbbed with pain. He said in a deep voice, "Odin, the Dragon King, is an invincible being. That day, besides picking up and dropping off Zihang, I was also on a transport mission for Kassel College. I thought it was just an ordinary transport, but I never expected... it was to deliver him to the Dragon King."

This is also the trigger that led Chu Tianjiao to leave Kassel and realize that Kassel had been infiltrated.

It's not like you can just wander into Nibelungen. Besides, rather than saying Chu Tianjiao accidentally entered Odin's Nibelungen, it's more like Odin was already waiting for him there!

"That wasn't an accident, Lu Mingfei." Chu Tianjiao stared at him, a cold flame burning in his golden eyes. "It was a meticulously planned sacrifice. Someone—someone from within Kassel—used the guise of an Execution Department mission to have me deliver something to Odin's Nibelungen. I died, a martyrdom; the item was delivered, the mission was a success. A perfect closed loop."

The training ground was deathly silent. The only sound was the low hum of the ventilation system, like the breathing of some giant beast.

"It's a pity I survived." Chu Tianjiao touched his left chest. "I'm missing three ribs, my left lung is permanently damaged, and—" He tapped his temple, "some truths I shouldn't know."

"I sensed the same thing about this Bronze City mission." Chu Tianjiao walked back to the container, looking at the bronze jar and black box inside. "The same top-secret level, the same 'accidental' risk, the same... key items. Only this time, the delivery people changed from me, an S-rank specialist, to Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji, two A-rank specialists."

He turned, his gaze sharp as a knife: "Tell me, if Ye Sheng had successfully brought the bone vials and the Seven Deadly Sins back to Kassel, where would these things be now? In the equipment department's vault, or have they already slipped into the hands of their true owners through some 'special channels'?"

Everything points to a chilling conclusion.

"No wonder there was a map..." Lu Mingfei murmured, a wave of fear rising from his spine to the top of his head. He had originally thought that his "full map cheat" had saved Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyaji, but what if the rescue itself was part of the mastermind's calculations? What if the Bronze City was just waiting for someone to open it and bring out what was inside?

wow-

Chu Tianjiao suddenly reached out and opened the sealing valve of the transparent container. The hydraulic device emitted a low hum, and the front cover of the container slowly rose. The water drained out along the guide channel, completely exposing the bronze jar and the black box to the air.

Chu Tianjiao took out the two items with both hands, turned around, and solemnly placed them on the table in front of Lu Mingfei.