A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 369 No Promise

"Snapped!"

A crisp slap echoed through the intensive care unit. Uesugi Koshi was furious and slapped Tachibana Masamune hard. The sound of the slap was like a firecracker being lit during the New Year.

Uesugi Kotsugu slapped Tachibana Masamune so hard he flew through the air—no, he slapped Tachibana Masamune so hard he was spinning like a top in mid-air, his arms swinging like colorful ribbons from a mosquito repellent fan.

She managed to complete five difficult rotations in mid-air before landing with a thud back on the hospital bed. The ICU bed held up well, swaying up and down three times without collapsing.

Tachibana Masamune lay sprawled in the mattress, staring intently at the white ceiling, as if a ring of rapidly spinning stars were floating above his forehead.

Who is he? Where is he? Is he going to die? Can we save him?

The other three were stunned. Sakura Yabuki silently released her hand from the hilt of the throwing knife. Angers regretted not buying melon seeds. What was this? Genji's biological father brutally beating up Genji's adoptive father?

Genjiro was the most taken aback, his sadness completely overwhelmed by Uesugi Kotsugu: "U-Uesugi-san?"

Uesugi Kotsugu stared intently at Tachibana Masamune without turning his head. How dare he steal Uesugi Kotsugu's son? This slap was still too light: "Don't worry, Chisei, I know what I'm doing."

"The most urgent task is to uncover Erii's secret. You're so indecisive, you won't be able to do it well."

“I know that this person is very important to you, Zhisheng, and you can’t bear to see him suffer, so you can go out first. Um, you there? Little girl, take Zhisheng out.”

As he spoke, Uesugi Kotsugu counted on his fingers. As a retired movie star, the methods of torturing people and interrogating for information had long been forgotten by Uesugi Kotsugu.

However, if you delve deeper into his memories, Uesugi Kotsushi can still find some of his past skills.

Sakura Yabuki obediently moved closer to Genjiro: "Master, the matters concerning Uesugi and Erii are of utmost importance."

She originally wanted to say "head of the Uesugi family," but considering that the real head of the Uesugi family was still in front of her, Yabuki Sakura hurriedly changed her words.

Genji shook his head slightly, moved the instrument that Tachibana Masamune had kicked over earlier, and walked to Uesugi Kotsu's side: "I will not be deceived by Herzog again."

After speaking, he turned his head to the side, revealing a seemingly determined look in his eyes, but Uesugi Kotsushi could see deep weariness and sadness in them.

Uesugi was silent. What had this child gone through? In any case, no matter how much trouble Genjiro had gone through, most of it was probably caused by this Tachibana Masamune in front of him.
With that thought, Uesugi Etsushi charged forward with resentment, grabbed Tachibana Masamune's left hand, and crushed it in his fist!

"Awooo!!" In a daze, Tachibana Masamune was suddenly struck by the excruciating pain of shattered bones. The pain was excruciating, and his whole body trembled violently like a fish that had been electrocuted.

It's just like the trembling feeling you get when you dream of falling off a cliff.

Its wailing started at a very high pitch, then dropped rapidly, and soon only a whimpering sound remained in its throat.

Snot and tears streamed down his face; Tachibana Masamune simply lacked the willpower to fight the pain.

Angers wanted to laugh. Others might not know, but the Time Worm knew very well that in the original story, Tachibana Masamune could fight Deadpool and grab a sharp blade with his bare hands without fear of pain because Herzog had hypnotized this shadow warrior.

It was necessary for Tachibana Masamune, the shadow warrior, to sacrifice himself and die in front of Genjiro, so under Herzog's hypnosis, the clone Tachibana Masamune became fearless of pain.

Things are different now. Tachibana Masamune is under house arrest by Kaguya and the Fuma clan ninjas, giving Herzog no chance to hypnotize him.

As a result, Tachibana Masamune's current willpower and pain tolerance are basically equivalent to Herzog's original self.

How strong can a guy who has been hiding underground for twenty years be in terms of willpower?
When Uesugi Koshi crushed his bones, his extreme intolerance to pain caused Tachibana Masamune's body to spontaneously burst into tears and snot, making him look extremely pathetic.

A flash of disgust crossed Uesugi Kotsugi's eyes. This is it? The thought of his child being completely fooled by this scoundrel fueled his rage: "Will you talk or not?"

"Eri, what exactly do you want with Erii?!"

Uesugi Kotsugu spat out his doubts with a vicious glare, then flung Tachibana Masamune's left hand downwards. The shattered left hand bone slammed onto the soft hospital bed, sending another wave of excruciating pain through his body, forcing Tachibana Masamune to let out another wail.

Without hesitation, Uesugi Kotsugi walked around to the other side and gently grasped Tachibana Masamune's right hand, his meaning clear.

If you don't talk, I'll continue to break Tachibana Masamune's right hand bones.

"Ah, ah!" Tachibana Masamune screamed in pain, his face pale and beads of sweat the size of soybeans forming on his forehead. "No... I, no! I'll talk... I'll talk about everything."

“Eri, Erii…” As if the pain was truly piercing to the bone, Tachibana Masamune spoke slowly in agony: “It is… huff… it is the filter for becoming a god.”

"Filter? Explain yourself!" Uesugi Kotsugu was furious. What kind of filter was his daughter?
Upon hearing that it was related to becoming a god, Genji couldn't help but step forward: "What exactly happened?"

Despite being tormented by excruciating pain, Tachibana Masamune's face contorted with a vengeful pleasure upon seeing their reactions.

Perhaps the excruciating pain had clouded Tachibana Masamune's judgment, preventing him from experiencing what it meant to be at the mercy of others. That twisted, gleeful smile, masking both pain and pleasure, clearly enraged Uesugi Kotsugu. Without any restraint, Uesugi Kotsugu crushed Tachibana Masamune's right hand once more, numerous bone fragments piercing through his palm, leaving it almost a pile of mud.

"Heh heh!" Tachibana Masamune could still cry out in pain before, but now he really couldn't even let out a single groan. He could only squeeze out a few lingering sounds of pain from deep in his throat.

"Hurry up! Keep talking!" Uesugi Kotsugu grabbed Tachibana Masamune's right upper arm with both hands.

Tachibana Masamune's tears and snot fell down his face. He was a complete mess. His hands were in excruciating pain, with broken bones and mangled flesh. He was in so much pain that he couldn't speak at all!
That sight made Uesugi Kotsushi want to vomit: "You son of a bitch!"

"A clown like you, the former patriarch of the Snake-Headed Eight Families? You don't deserve it."

"Show some manly spirit, you bastard! What are you sobbing about? What are you crying for? You're spineless!"

As Uesugi Koshi roared, Tachibana Masamune slowly recovered from the excruciating pain.

Feeling the intimidation of the person gripping his arm tightly, Tachibana Masamune finally learned his lesson this time, and dared not show the slightest smugness on his face: "Say it, I... huff... say it, no, huff huff... stop hitting me."

"The White King, the White King's sacred remains, research, yes, to house the White King's consciousness... I can't, I can't steal it directly... Huff... I need, I need a container, I... I need a blood transfusion."

The pain was excruciating. Driven by his will to survive, Tachibana Masamune, despite the excruciating pain in his hands, managed to utter the key words in fits and starts.

Although his words were fragmented and disorganized, after uttering a few key words, the audience could barely understand them.

Herzog had always wanted to steal the White King's power for his own use, but after research, Herzog discovered that the White King's spirit, or rather, consciousness, resided within the White King's remains.

Since the White King is not completely dead, he cannot directly devour the Holy Remains. Anyone who dares to devour them directly will be parasitized by the White King, or rather, possessed, becoming the foundation for the White King's resurrection.

Therefore, there must be a container, a container to hold the White King's consciousness, to trap the White King's consciousness inside the container, so as to ensure the safety of Herzog himself.

Finally, Herzog can exchange blood with the vessel to safely and without any hidden dangers steal the power of the White King.

Erii, who inherited the blood of Uesugi Kotetsu and may even surpass him, is destined to be the vessel that the White King is most satisfied with, and will inevitably be the first target that the White King's spirit wants to possess.

This is also what Herzog most urgently needs and requires: a filter before becoming a god.

Genjiro's deep sorrow welled up in his eyes. It wasn't just about him; even towards Erii, Tachibana Masamune had been completely exploitative, never treating Erii as a human being, but merely as a vessel, a filter.
Was all the pampering of Erii just a lie?

That claim about risking public condemnation by raising Dead Servants solely to cure Erii's illness was also a lie. Hah, it's laughable that Genji actually believed such nonsense back then.

They didn't kill Tachibana Masamune, they only cut off his five fingers, and later they even invited Tachibana Masamune back to the decision-making level of the Snake-Headed Eight Families to offer advice.
Haha, what a joke! The more Yuan Zhisheng thought about it, the sadder he became, his heart filled with indescribable sorrow.

After understanding, Uesugi Kotsugu unleashed a terrifying aura like a landslide and a tsunami, but Genji remained unmoved, as did Angers.

Sakura Yabuki and Masamune Tachibana couldn't withstand it. The former retreated and bowed her head, while the latter was sweating even more and his heart was beating faster. He couldn't even resist the oppressive aura of the imperial blood and accidentally lost control of his bladder.

The stench made Uesugi Koshi suppress his imposing manner, but he still had a question to ask: "Where is Herzog?"

Everyone says that clones don't know the location of the original, but what if they do?
Unfortunately, Tachibana Masamune was stunned upon hearing this. What? Where? He's right here!
"Stop pretending. You're just a clone. Where is the real Herzog? Or rather, where did you come from? Which lab do you visit most often?!"

Uesugi Kotsugi's continuous, angry questioning shattered all of Tachibana Masamune's defenses, causing him to panic completely: "No, I... it is... the real body... how could it be, no!"

Seeing Tachibana Masamune so frightened, Uesugi Koshi and Genjiro exchanged glances and did not press the matter further. They could both see that Tachibana Masamune's defenses had crumbled at this moment, and he had fallen into a kind of self-doubt and madness, making it almost impossible for him to lie.

They truly did not know the whereabouts of Herzog's real body.

"That wretched sewer rat, don't let me catch it!" Uesugi Yueyue became angrier and angrier. How could a mere little rat cause them so much trouble!

Following the example of Masamune Tachibana, he destroyed two expensive medical devices.

If Uesugi Koshi really manages to capture Herzog, the fate of these two instruments will be the same as Herzog's fate.

“Mr. Uesugi.” Genji stopped the furious Uesugi Kotetsu in time, as this was all family property: “I am also very anxious and worried about Erii.”

“But according to Tachibana Masamune, Erii is not in danger now. Ince also wants to steal the White King’s power and knows Erii’s secret. He will definitely use Erii as a vessel, just like Herzog.”

"Ince shouldn't harm Erii until the White King's remains are found."

"The most urgent task is still finding people." After saying that, Genjiro went out, wanting to lead a team to search Tokyo, find Ince, and rescue Erii. More than that, he was subconsciously running away, not wanting to stay and face Tachibana Masamune.

Seeing this, Sakura Yabuki hurriedly followed. After watching the two leave, Uesugi Kotsugu's face was full of disdain. He then smashed Tachibana Masamune's skull with a single punch!

Such scum has no reason to live!
(End of this chapter)