Brass Dragons in the Dragon World

Ander wanted Angers to try first; he had used up too much magic today, so perhaps a physical method could be tried.

"Perhaps we don't need to do this; he means us no harm."

Angers looked at Chu Hao, who was half-dead from the magic, and felt a little reluctant to kill him.

Ander dismissed Angers' pity and tried to teach him some of the wisdom of an elder.

"Let me tell you, Angers, anyone who gives you a mission without giving you anything upfront is definitely not a good guy."

"Just watch, he'll definitely use some grand national cause and stuff to lure us into becoming cannon fodder, and then he'll follow behind and reap the benefits."

Angers looked at the agitated Ander and asked, puzzled.

"how do you know?"

"Because I've done something similar before, coaxing lawful and good guys to do work for me, and if they did a good job, I didn't have to pay them."

Um... At this moment, Angers understood the true meaning of the Chinese phrase "to judge others by oneself".

Just then, Chu Hao finally recovered from the control he had placed over humanity. He looked at the two people in front of him, and a forced smile appeared on his previously expressionless face.

"Mr. Lu, can we have a proper talk?"

Angers, being fluent in the language, could understand what Chu Hao was saying. He exchanged a glance with Ander and said in somewhat broken Chinese:

What is your purpose?

The man glanced at the rope binding his body and Angers poised to pounce beside him, his expression returning to its usual poker face. He calmly said:

"Mr. Lu, you have some impressive skills. I, Chu Hao, am also the second-in-command of the Demon Slaying Hall. Even when I encounter a powerful demon, I can put up a fight. Yet I was defeated by Mr. Lu's magic. I am completely convinced."

Ander, listening to the man's flowery language, felt a surge of anger. He slammed his hand on the table and shouted:

"You're a prisoner now, so tell me honestly, how did you know my name?"

The man didn't hide anything and honestly told the whole story:

"That's what the real person said. He told me to wait for you there, and that you are the key to the success of our Dragon Vein Project."

This statement reveals two pieces of information: first, it refers to a real person, who is likely a mixed-race individual serving as a strategist within the Heaven and Earth Society; second, it refers to the Dragon Vein Project, which is probably a plan to destroy the Dragon Vein.

Ander continued to ask:

"How did the real person know that?"

"The magic of the real man, which is what foreigners call the power of words, can predict the future. The method he forcibly calculated to break the deadlock using the ladder to the gods is you, Mr. Lu."

Ander looked at Angers, who recalled the periodic table of words he had seen before before answering:

"Word of Power: Prophet, able to see fragments of the future, then 'Stairway to Godhood' must be a secret technique similar to Bloodlust."

Ander clutched his head. He hated two kinds of people the most: those who couldn't even speak clearly and those who were behind-the-scenes pawns.

"A vague prophecy, a few desperate adventurers, and a seemingly lofty goal—this story is utterly rotten, like something the worst bard would concoct to scam money."

Angers couldn't help but laugh as he listened to Ander's complaints; the two of them were now clearly caught in an even bigger vortex.

"Where is the real person?"

Ander asked

"The immortal used the ladder to ascend to godhood, but his body couldn't withstand it, and he ascended to immortality."

There was no trace of sadness on Chu Hao's face; it was as if he were recounting an ordinary little matter.

"To ascend to immortality is to die."

Anders explained to Angers.

"I know……"

Angers seemed somewhat downcast, perhaps thinking of his fallen comrades.

Ignoring Angers, Ander continued to ask:

"What is that dragon vein, and why destroy it?"

A slight crack appeared on Chu Hao's usually impassive face; he seemed to be suppressing his inner sorrow and anger.

"The Dragon Vein is a large-scale formation set up by the Qing Demon, using us demon slayers as a guide to ensure that no one can destroy that Qing Demon."

The dragon vein appears to be some kind of alchemical formation, but it is unheard of for a formation to guarantee the longevity of a feudal dynasty.

"How does this dragon vein operate? How can it enable the Qing Dynasty to be invincible?"

"I don't know either, but the older generation said that there is a dragon vein, and the Qing emperor is a dragon, so no one can overthrow him."

It sounds like the dragon vein can bestow the emperor with dragon power. If that's the case, then what about all the uprisings in the Qing Dynasty?

"There have been quite a few rebellions in the past two hundred years, so this dragon vein is of no use, is it?"

Chu Hao shook his head and explained.

"You don't know this, but this dragon vein is meant to protect the Qingyao family. It won't be used unless it's a matter of life and death."

Ander was somewhat puzzled. Wasn't it already a critical moment of life and death?

“The old witch from the capital city has been driven out, and the dragon vein is useless now. Although the country is in danger, the emperor is still the emperor. As long as there is no revolution, the dragon vein will not be used.”

Ander understood somewhat. The dragon vein was like a nuclear bomb, which would be activated once the Qing emperor was about to be overthrown. No wonder the Heaven and Earth Society wanted to destroy the dragon vein.

"So Lu Shanyan, he..."

"Brother Lu had planned this scheme long ago. He traveled across the ocean to seek funding for the plan and to buy equipment for the brothers, all in order to blow up the dragon vein."

So Lu Shanyan joined the Secret Party to make money by selling antiques—what a simple goal indeed.

“I am Lu Ande, Lu Shanyan’s second uncle. I went abroad to do business in my early years, so you probably haven’t heard of me.”

Ander introduced himself, not caring whether the other party knew Lu Shanyan or not, he wanted to first establish their seniority.

Chu Hao was a sensible person, and replied, "Greetings, Second Uncle."

Ander was very satisfied and continued:

"Do you know that Lu Shanyan is dead? He died at the hands of a dragon king."

Chu Hao's body trembled, he clenched his fist, then relaxed it, and said:

"Brother Lu died slaying the dragon, truly a role model for us all."

Ander shook his head:

"No, no, no, he was murdered."

"By whom?!"

Do you know Friedrich?

The man slumped in the chair as if his bones had been removed.

“I knew it. I shouldn’t have let that foreigner go to Tongwan City. I shouldn’t have let him go looking for the dragon vein.”

As Ander listened to the man's words, he suddenly recognized a familiar location.

"Where do you suggest we look for dragon veins?"

"Tongwan City!"

Chapter Twenty-One: The Origin and Development

Inside the Secret Service's safe house, a naked man was tied to a chair, while André and Angers sat opposite him, whispering to each other.

During the previous interrogation of the man named Chu Hao, Ander and Angers learned that a group of mixed-race people from China had been plotting to destroy an alchemical array built by the Manchus: the Dragon Vein.

The reason why Lu Shanyan appeared in Europe with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and joined the Secret Party was to complete the plan to destroy the dragon vein.

Most importantly, the suspected traitorous member of the Secret Service, Friedrich von Long, also seems to be connected to the Dragon Vein, and even went to Tongwan City in search of it.

After a discussion with Angers, Ander looked at Chu Hao, who was still bound.

"It seems we have a common enemy. Now think it over and say what you need to say."

A bitter smile appeared on Chu Hao's poker face. Perhaps he was stimulated by the news of Lu Shanyan's death. He took two deep breaths and began his story.

In China, those undead who have surpassed the bloodline limit are called demons, while the dragons that have been given the blood of hybrid dragons are called great demons.

Due to its geographical location, China had limited interaction with the outside world, which led to the formation of its own hybrid organization, the Demon Slayers.

These demon slayers lived among ordinary people, fighting the demons in obscurity, until more than two hundred years ago, when the Tartars entered the pass. The Qing demons, through some unknown means, established a dragon vein belonging to the Qing demons.

Dragon veins are not without cost; they require a large number of hybrids to function. Therefore, after the Tartars established their state, they captured hybrids from all over the country to sacrifice to the dragon vein in order to prolong the Tartars' life.

Throughout history, the Qing Dynasty was not the only dynasty that attempted to establish a dragon vein, but it was extremely costly, and only the Qing Dynasty successfully established one.

"So if you can't beat the government troops, you can't run away?"

Ander was a little confused. Hybrids are much stronger than normal humans. If they can't beat someone, can't they just run away?

Chu Hao sighed. How could they possibly be no match for those ordinary soldiers? But when the Qing demons established the dragon vein, they received guidance from a master. That dragon vein could not only protect the fortune of the Daqing, but also control the demon race.

"Controlling demons, do you mean those Dead Servants?"

Ender was somewhat surprised by the Dragon Vein's abilities. This thing could not only act as a nuclear bomb to destroy the enemy, but also control the mindless Deadpool.

"Yes, according to Westerners, demons are indeed also called Deadpool."

Chu Hao continued, saying that the Daqing rarely used the power of the Dead Servants. Apart from mobilizing some Dead Servants to capture hybrids, he had never seen the Dead Servants deployed.

"It's like the old witch was driven out of Beijing, and none of the demons came out to save her."

Chu Hao explained

It is precisely because of the constant hunting and killing of mixed-race people by the Tartars over the past two hundred years that mixed-race people are so rare in China.

"My parents were also captured by the Qing demons and forced to join the dragon vein, leaving only my brother and me to depend on each other for survival."

As Chu Hao spoke, the muscles on his face twitched as he tried to hide the sadness in his eyes.

Seeing Chu Hao starting to play the victim, Ander had no choice but to steer the conversation back to the main topic.

"And what about Friedrich?"

Chu Hao remained silent for a while, seemingly calming himself down, before continuing his story.

"Brother Lu introduced Mr. Fu, so we naturally dared not neglect him, but we would never do something as wasteful as selling off one's ancestral land..."