A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 386 Atonement, Missed Opportunity

Uesugi Kotsugu's tearful explanation finally cleared up the misunderstanding and comforted Erii and Genjiro. Uesugi Kotsugu couldn't help but sigh that he, as an old father, seemed to have no status in his children's eyes, far less than his eldest son, Genjiro.

However, it's impossible for Uesugi Kotsugu to be jealous of Genjiro. Ultimately, it was because he failed to protect his own genes that the three children were created by Herzog, leading to a series of tragedies.

In this regard, Uesugi Koshi undoubtedly felt guilty towards his three children and was determined to fulfill his responsibilities as a father to make amends to them.

Genjiro, who was rubbing his stomach from time to time, did not complain about his father's elbow strike. He just looked at Erii with joy and said, "Erii, it's so good that you're alright."

"I thought you..."

Previously, when Genji saw Herzog manipulate Erii with the sound of a clapper and then perform a blood transfusion, he thought he was going to lose his little sister forever.

Unexpectedly, when he woke up from his coma, not only had Genjiro himself recovered, but even his sister, who was supposed to be dead, was standing safely in front of him, which made Genjiro overjoyed.

The joy of finding a lost loved one dispelled all the past mental stress, making Yuan Zhisheng exceptionally happy at this moment.

Uesugi Koshi and Genjiro had fallen into a coma earlier and were unaware of the subsequent changes. Genjiro briefly described what he saw before falling into a coma, which made Uesugi Koshi grit his teeth and search everywhere for Herzog, wishing he could grind her bones to dust.

"I'm fine." Erii happily gestured towards Xu Lie: "It was Xu-kun who defeated Herzog and saved me."

The warm smile on his face and the radiant expression when he mentioned Xu Lie made Uesugi Kotsu and Genji both wonder: Could this Xu Lie from the old church be...?
The father and son glanced at Xu Lie with perfect understanding, their eyes scrutinizing him for a moment before they saw Chen Motong, who had the same red hair as Erii, standing next to Xu Lie.

Uesugi Koshi subconsciously turned his head and looked at his son, Genjiro. At that moment, father and son seemed to understand each other perfectly: "Chisei, what do you think?"

“This Xu Lie appeared in the intelligence about the Battle of the Imperial Capital.” Genji said with a serious expression, “Judging from his current appearance, he seems to really like red hair, so we have to be careful.”

Uesugi was very satisfied and nodded repeatedly with satisfaction. He had finally found his precious daughter and didn't want to be separated from her so soon.

"Brother, what are you talking about?" Erii was very curious as to why her father and brother were bringing up hair color. After asking, Erii was still puzzled and picked up a strand of red hair, twirling it between her fingers.

Yuan Zhinv suddenly interjected, "Your brothers are thinking about important matters in your life."

Previously, Genji was convinced that Erii was an imposter and wanted to kill her as soon as possible. However, after learning that Erii was her younger sister, her feelings underwent a miraculous change.

Genjiro doesn't know how to get along with Erii, and even deliberately avoids looking at Erii, but subconsciously always wants to take care of Erii, just like when her older brother Genjiro took care of her when they were little.

Seeing Erii's curiosity, Genjiro answered her questions faster than Uesugi Kotsu and Genjiro Osamu.

The conversation between the second son and the third daughter made Uesugi Kotsugu quickly turn his attention to the second son: "Ahem, don't talk nonsense. Chisei and I are just worried that Erii will be deceived by bad people."

"I've been there, I know better than anyone that a man's words are deceitful."

Erii objected: "Xu Jun would never lie to anyone." This was a necessary defense. From Erii's perspective, Xu Lie had never deceived her, and all the promises he made to her had now been fulfilled.

Xu Lie led Erii out of Genji Heavy Industries to personally experience the beauty of the world. Now she has become a traveler, able to go wherever she wants and witness firsthand the beautiful scenery that she could only see on a computer before.

Everything is clearly true and accurate, how could Erii allow Uesugi Kotsu to slander Xu Lie?
"Ugh." Uesugi Kotsushi raised his hand to his heart with a slight angina, as if he had been dealt a critical blow by the saying "a daughter is not meant to stay at home once she grows up."

Genjiro had no time to care about his father right now, and looked at his younger brother with a rather complicated expression: "Chisel..."

“Brother.” Yuan Zhinu’s eyes were also filled with complex emotions, her pure, glass-like eyes overflowing with joy and guilt.

He was overjoyed that Herzog and Ince were both dead, and from now on, no one would manipulate or force him with the sound of the clapper.

He felt guilty for cooperating with Ince to kidnap his younger sister Erii, and for all the wrong things he had done in the past.

Even though the people she killed in the past were all part of Herzog's conspiracy, Genji still took some of the blame upon herself.

Sensing that the atmosphere between the two brothers was starting to get awkward, Uesugi Kotetsu stopped playing along with Erii's antics: "Child, why don't you come with me to a French convent and do some volunteer work? It'll make you feel better."

"And it also allows us to leave this place."

In these days, Genjiro told Uesugi Kotsugi almost everything, including how Genjiro was driven to a split personality by Herzog and became tainted with a lot of blood.

Seeing the complex look in Genji's eyes, Uesugi Koshi seemed to understand the guilt and remorse in his second son's heart, because Uesugi Koshi felt the same way. For sixty years, Uesugi Koshi had not only worked as a ramen chef, but also frequently volunteered at the Vatican's monasteries, all in an attempt to atone for his sins and redeem himself for the unjust war he had waged sixty years ago.

When Uesugi faced Genji, who was burdened with guilt, he could empathize with her deeply, as if he were seeing himself sixty years ago when he had just come to his senses.

If Genjiro is truly moved, perhaps leaving Tokyo for France to atone for her sins through volunteer work would be a good idea. But then again, her brother is in Tokyo, and Sakurai Kogure is waiting for her in Osaka.

We can't just walk away.

While the royal family discussed the matter of atonement, the half-bloods from various factions who had fallen asleep gradually woke up.

The Gatuso people were the most worried. When questioned by their patriarch Pompeii, they were all clueless and unable to answer anything. Even through the phone, they could feel Pompeii's anger.

As for the mixed-race individuals from various factions, they were completely bewildered, wondering what had happened.
The hybrids only remembered that, with the help of the Tokyo diocese, they were happily killing members of the Oni Clan when darkness suddenly descended and they lost consciousness. Many of the hybrids even had sweet dreams.

When they woke up, they could only see an eight-headed monster that seemed to come from ancient times lying in front of them. Its huge corpse lay motionless on the edge of the red well, giving people a sense of physical oppression.

The air was filled with the smells of gunpowder, mercury, blood, and some indescribable putrid fumes originating from the monster itself, making one want to vomit.

Orochi is dead? The White King's remains incident... just ended in a dream without us even realizing it?
The White King's remains that they coveted were probably taken by the person who killed the serpent long ago. Such an important treasure was once right in front of them, but they fell asleep and missed it. The regret in their hearts was too great.

Among the various factions, many mixed-race individuals were filled with regret, feeling an endless sense of loss, as if they had missed out on a fortune!

Why did I fall asleep?!

The faces of the Secret Party's high-ranking members turned extremely grim. Several of the Secret Party's founding families were millennia-old dragon-slaying families, with each generation taking dragon slaying as their mission. For example, the St. George family and the Beowulf family had both missed the most brutal dragon-slaying battles.

In ancient families like St. George and Beowulf, which value honor and heritage, this kind of 'missed opportunity' is almost a dereliction of duty!
To them, 'missing out' was only slightly better than deserting when facing dragons.

The head of the St. George family could not tolerate such a missed opportunity. He immediately ordered with a cold face, "Take stock of our personnel casualties and equipment losses." He tried to use routine work to cover up his inner turmoil and divert the attention of his people.

The Beowulf family patriarch was even more furious: "More training! Everyone get more training when we get back! Immediately increase the training, including the training where you have to endure Frigg's bullets without sleeping!"

Those smaller forces, such as individual small families united by Southeast Asian mixed-race families, or warriors from single tribes of the six tribes of North Africa, woke up to find everything was over, their expressions mostly blank and incredulous.

"Ugh! What's that smell? This...this Yamata no Orochi? It's already dead? The White King, the White King...is he really...completely dead?"

"The White King? That's it? How can this White Emperor be compared to the Black King Nidhogg? The Black King on Bellow Island is far stronger than this thing!"

"No, that's not right. This isn't the White King. Don't forget, the White King is long dead, leaving only a piece of his sacred remains. The Yamata no Orochi might have been formed from a piece of the White King's remains. Just think, if a single piece of the White King's remains is this strong, wouldn't his complete form be comparable to the Black King?"

After a moment of disorientation, the hybrids gradually regained their senses and gathered around the corpse of the Yamata no Orochi, discussing the differences between the Black and White Kings.

They didn't share the same sense of shattered honor as the Secret Party's high-ranking members; their chances of obtaining the White King's remains were already extremely slim.

Most people from smaller factions who are of mixed blood basically think, "What if? What if a windfall falls from the sky and hits me? Wouldn't that mean I'd take off immediately?"

Therefore, most of these hybrids have a magnanimous attitude of "if I get it, I'm lucky; if I lose it, it's fate." After the initial confusion, they can now calmly look at the corpse of the Yamata no Orochi and laugh.

At this moment, Genjiro finally realized that he was still the head of the Snake-Headed Eight Families, so he led the members of the Snake-Headed Eight Families to receive the corpse of the Yamata no Orochi.

Strictly speaking, the Yamata no Orochi was indeed a spoil of war of the Snake Clan. Its wounds were all inflicted by Genjiro, and its eight heads were severed by the other three royal bloodlines. The other hybrids, recalling Genjiro's performance in the bloody battle against the Yamata no Orochi, dared not have any objections.

Everyone mistakenly believed that it was Genjiro who dealt with the Yamata no Orochi.

At most, they might mutter a few complaints in their hearts about the Snake Clan hogging all the spoils, but no one dared to openly voice their opinions in front of Genji.

The Serpent Clan doesn't care about them. Now that the four royal bloodlines are gathered together, they're just hogging the spoils. What can the other forces do about it?

What else could they do? Seeing this, all parties could only reluctantly leave, hastily ending their trip to Tokyo.

(End of this chapter)