Dragon Raja: Reboot

Chapter 101 The Observer

The man looked around, tiptoed along the wall towards the water pipe, slid down the pipe to the second floor, jumped to the ground, and leaped into the bushes behind the academy.

With a leap, Jiu Demai jumped off the bell tower and chanted the dragon script in a low voice while in mid-air.

As Longwen chanted, Jiude Mai's figure grew increasingly dark, until it was as black as ink.

Words of Power: Illumination

The moment she landed, Mai Shude's graceful figure disintegrated, like a stain of ink being washed away from paper with a splash of water.

A wisp of black smoke silently followed Jiang Liu's footsteps.

Jiang Liu strode through the mountains and forests, glancing back to make sure no one was following him.

Although he didn't know which faction was holding him, they were clearly not friendly. They injected him with anesthetic every day. If it weren't for his unusual physical condition, which had developed some resistance to the anesthetic over the past few days, giving him a few extra minutes of time, he would still be lying in that makeshift "prison" room.

Jiang Liu first confirmed his location. He had no communication devices on him and needed to contact the outside world as soon as possible.

Ten minutes later was the time to administer the anesthetic, which also meant that the other party would discover his escape in ten minutes.

For some reason, Jiang Liu had a vague feeling that something was wrong, as if something was following him.

He kept turning around, but didn't notice anything unusual.

Apart from the occasional birdsong and insect chirps, the only sounds in the bushes were his own panting and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

Mai Shude followed Jiang Liu closely, about ten meters behind, moving silently. She was a ninja, and her specialty was close-quarters assassination. The first requirement for close-quarters assassination was, of course, the ability to silently infiltrate the target's vicinity.

She was waiting for her boss's instructions.

"Follow him. I want to see who he can contact," the boss said calmly.

Jiude Mai did not respond, silently following closely behind Jiang Liu.

As Jiang Liu swiftly descended the mountain through the trees, he suddenly heard a rapid bell tolling behind him. His heart tightened, realizing that his disappearance had been discovered, and that it had happened faster than he had anticipated!

No, we need to leave here as soon as possible and get to a crowded place.

Jiang Liu gritted his teeth and decided to use his biggest secret. He had long discovered that he was different from ordinary people, not only in terms of physical strength, but also in certain special powers.

When he enters a state of emptiness, he can feel the blood in his body burning and boiling, and some kind of divine power descends, as if he were possessed by a god or demon.

He dared not delay, racing against time to calm his breathing, clear his mind of distractions, and enter a meditative state. After discovering this special ability, he developed special training programs for it.

The wind in the mountains and forests suddenly stopped.

Mai looked up abruptly, her eyes wide with surprise and disbelief, goosebumps rising on her skin beneath her tight-fitting clothes.

She felt a power descend upon this place out of nowhere!

"Interesting." The boss's soft chuckle soothed her panic. "Let's see if we can kill him now."

Mai Shude drew her twin blades from her waist. She didn't know what changes had occurred to the other person, but as long as her boss was by her side, she feared nothing.

A wisp of extremely faint black mist drifted by.

With the speed and agility of a leaping leopard, Jiu De Mai arrived beside Jiang Liu in an instant, her twin blades flashing with a bright arc as they reached Jiang Liu's neck.

In a split second, she could slit Jiang Liu's neck!

But when the blade sliced ​​across Jiang Liu's neck, a blinding flash of light appeared, and the sound of metal clashing against stone rang out.

What is this?!

Instead of retreating, Mai Shude advanced, thrusting her short sword at his eye with her left hand. But this time she missed; a finger blocked the blade—if it could even be called a finger.

Black, horny claws replaced the man's fingernails, and behind the fingers were a pair of crimson-gold pupils, cold, tough, and disdainful. The completely different temperament made Jiang Liu seem like a different person.

Mai Shude decisively withdrew.

"No need to rush," the boss said softly.

After Jiu De Mai jumped back, she increased the distance between herself and Jiang Liu.

The thing standing in front of her at this moment could no longer be called a "person"!

The man's cheekbones and forehead bones had sharp protrusions that seemed ready to burst through the skin at any moment. Dilated capillaries were divided into the crimson of arteries and the bluish of veins, which covered his entire face like the tendrils of a plant.

The grotesque bone spikes pierced through his clothes, but his body shape didn't change much. His entire body was covered with a layer of blue sword-and-shield shaped scales, and he was covered in blood. Blood flowed along the newly grown scales, and the grotesque blood color and the cold iron blue color intertwined.

Dragon transformation?!

"Interesting, this is truly an unexpected find!"

The boss's delighted voice rang out. The last time I saw him so happy was when Lu Mingfei awakened.

But what discovery could compare to Lu Mingfei's spontaneous awakening from the body of a coward?

The river before her was completely unfamiliar to Jiu Demai. Although they weren't exactly acquainted, it was as if she were a completely different person compared to before.

His face should have been ferocious like a demon, but instead it was solemn and dignified, like a deity enshrined in a temple, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

"What's going on?" Mai asked in a low voice.

"An old friend has woken up," the boss murmured with emotion.

The boss's old friend? And not just "arrived," but "woke up"?!

Jiude Mai's gaze grew increasingly cautious as she stared intently at Jiang Liu.

"How dare you attempt to assassinate a god!"

With a deep, cold voice, Jiang Liu... no, it was the being that descended upon Jiang Liu who slowly turned his head, his pupils locking onto the alluring woman, his crimson-gold pupils indifferent and ruthless.

There was no fury, no surprise, only a vast and boundless, deep tranquility, as if a divine decree had been issued.

He simply stared at Mai Shude, and an immense pressure descended from the sky, landing on her shoulders. It was as if a voice kept repeating in Mai Shude's ears: "Human, come to pay your respects!"

Bowing my head, I pay homage to the gods!

Mai Shude felt death was so close, it was coming right at her, it was within reach!

She refused to bow her head and kowtow, so death was the only thing that awaited her!

Until a hand reached out from behind Mai Shude and placed on her shoulder, drawing a clear line between them, as if announcing to the world that this was his girl.

It was a dark figure, its face obscured, but it could be vaguely identified as a man. He stood behind Mai Shude, one foot on the edge between the girl and death, refusing to yield an inch.

The self-proclaimed "god" slightly changed his expression. He looked deeply at the man who was as blurry as a shadow, and after a long silence, said:

"have not seen you for a long time."

"Long time no see." The man smiled, his expression tinged with undisguised emotion. "I didn't expect you to still be alive. Now that you're alive, what about the others?"

The other party said calmly, "We will never truly die; only the 'cycle' can completely erase our existence."

"Thanks for the reminder," the man said politely. "Next time I'll put you into the 'loop'."

The other party scoffed and said, "If you can still do that."

He once again displayed a clear emotional shift, clearly indicating that he was not a true god; at the very least, he still possessed the joys and sorrows of mortals.

The man, completely unconcerned by the other's attitude, tilted his head and asked, "So, why are you here?"

Jiang Liu said coldly, "This child is the one I chose. I reside within his body. Did you capture him?"

"So what if you're a parasite? What do you mean by 'chosen'? Do you think you're a Digimon?" the man said with a smile. "I don't have time to bother you. You're the ones who insisted on barging into my brother's presence."

"...Your brother?!" Jiang Liu suddenly looked alert, observing his surroundings as if he were ready to turn and run away at any moment.

Mai even clearly saw the other person subconsciously take a step back.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, he's not here." The man smiled reassuringly, but his tone was like that of someone coaxing a child.

Jiang Liu grunted, clearly annoyed, and said, "What else is there? If not, I'm leaving. Tell your men to stay away from the child I've chosen."

"Don't rush me, I still have some questions for you," the man shrugged. "You really don't know why you're here?"

Jiang Liu said coldly, "We never speak recklessly, nor do we commit the original sin of fraud."

"Very good." The man clapped his hands approvingly. "Then I'll be frank. Someone specially sent the person you chose to us."

"Who is it?!" A chilling, hellish look appeared in those crimson-gold pupils.

"I don't know. Besides, Li Wuyue is after you."

"Li Wuyue?"

"The child my brother used to dote on the most. By the way, do you know what the person you chose has been doing all these years?"

"The sky and the wind?" He paused for a moment. "So it was Him. Over the years, I have indeed sensed that someone has been searching for us. We did not want to get involved in the trouble, so we could only try our best to hide our tracks."

"Has someone been searching for your trail?"

"Yes, and it's not just one force."

"Are you just passively avoiding and hiding?"

"Odin's chosen people have their eyes on us, and we do not wish to be enemies with Odin."

"It's not just Odin; you don't want to be enemies with anyone, but the ridiculous thing is that no one, except us brothers, is willing to let you go."

The atmosphere froze, and Jiang Liu's face twisted in pain.

But the boss continued slowly, "Do you know Martin Niemöller, the pastor during World War II? Humans always manage to say some interesting things. I think you should remember the inscription he wrote."

A thought struck Mai Shude; she had heard of this name before, and she had also heard of that famous inscription:

When they came to arrest the Communists, I didn't say anything because I wasn't a Communist;

When they arrested the Jews, I did not speak because I was not a Jew;

I didn't speak when they arrested Catholics because I'm not Catholic;

Later, when they tried to arrest me, no one stood up for me anymore.

……

Jiang Liu's breathing was heavy. He said in a low voice, "Perhaps you are right. We have lost contact with several of our companions, such as Gulweg. The child she chose disappeared more than twenty years ago, along with her."

The boss said calmly, "Tell me everything you know, and you can leave."

"I do have some intelligence, but what will you offer in exchange?"

"forgive."

"...Are you willing to forgive our neutrality back then?"

"No, there's no neutrality, that's betrayal." The boss shook his head, denying his statement. "What I'm willing to forgive is your betrayal."

Jiang Liu was silent for a moment before saying, "You've changed. The old you would never have said such a thing."

"Because I don't care about you anymore," the man said lazily. "My brother forgave me, and the world is full of light again. As for you, you're nothing but roadside weeds, not worth a second glance."

"...First, the administrator of the Hunter Website is ID Ndio, but don't be misled. The person behind this website isn't Odin, or even a single force; it's a coalition of multiple forces. Second, Loki usurped Odin's power and sealed him away in a certain Nibelungen region. However, Loki also fell into a trap and was forcibly imprisoned in a Nibelungen region. But Loki still extended his reach outwards; he's been building his own 'Valhalla,' and the Hunter Website is partly his doing. His last move dates back to 1900. Third, Li Wuyue represents the Elder Council. The Elder Council and Loki have a cooperative relationship. Loki's ability to seize Odin's power owes a large part to the Elder Council; they had a backup plan back then. Fourth, and finally... the child chosen by Gulveig, before disappearing, left us with three words—'In the North!'"

Jiang Liu told the man all four secrets they knew in one go.

"This is the information we have that will be useful to you."

The boss frowned and asked, "Where did you get your information about Loki?"

Avalon is an extremely secluded Nibelungen region, known to very few.

"From a woman's mouth."

"A woman?" The boss's voice became more cautious.

"Yes, a woman who claimed to be like us. But we're not sure of her identity; I've never seen her before."

"Like you? Does that mean escaping fate?"

"We only met her by chance and chatted briefly, but that woman was very interested in Loki and Odin."

The boss fell silent.

He began to suspect that the woman the other person was talking about was the one from Avalon.

"I have told you everything I know. If there is nothing else, I am leaving."

Jiang Liu glanced one last time at the shadowy figure behind Jiu De Mai and whispered, "The reason we know so much about the Hunter Website is because we're partly behind it. If one day a bounty for Martin Niemöller appears on the Hunter Website, remember, it means we're in danger. This is the last warning we can give you."

That's all.

He didn't linger, turned around and quickly disappeared into the dense forest.

……

……

"Boss, is it convenient to reveal the identity of that person just now?" Mai asked cautiously.

She had overheard the entire conversation; the boss hadn't hidden anything from her, and this information was almost enough to shatter her worldview.

The man standing behind her slowly stepped back, his figure fading into the air like ink, leaving only a soft laugh.

"Bloodline is of paramount importance to the dragon race. Most bloodlines are willing to dedicate their lives to their patriarch. However, there are always exceptions. Some dragons wander in the mortal world, detached from fate. They call themselves 'observers of the mortal world'."

Suddenly, the color of the wine-drinking clothes changed.

She could feel the twisting and bursting power behind her, almost crushing her to death, but the man stopped her at the crucial moment.

Boss... what happened?!

The man, who was supposed to leave, suddenly stopped for some reason.

He stood silently behind Mai Shude, and after a long while, he muttered to himself in confusion:

"The same? The observer?"

Because I'm currently preparing to finish writing the Dragon 3 route, all the plot holes about the identities of the two brothers will be revealed in the Dragon 2 route, which means they will be gradually revealed in the future. I don't even plan to put them in the Dragon 3 route.

(End of this chapter)