Volume 1 Hello, Lu Mingfei Chapter 68: Dragon Servant (Part 3)
"cheers!"
Lu Mingfei raised his glass and clinked it with Finkel. The two of them looked up and chattered happily in the same heroic posture. If you didn’t know better, you would have thought they were heroes from Liangshan, keen on eating big chunks of meat, drinking big chunks of wine and chatting about everything.
In fact, they were just sitting in a corner of the Kassel Academy restaurant to celebrate, because Lu Mingfei successfully passed all the tests including the 3E test yesterday. In return, Lu Mingfei invited the chief contributor Finkel and the caring and thoughtful Ling to have dinner together.
Lu Mingfei got an A+ in the shooting test. The teacher said that she was a rare talent and would become an excellent sharpshooter in the future. She only got a D in physical fitness. The teacher holding the record book said that he had never seen such a weak freshman. She ran like a dying snail. At the end, Lu Mingfei's legs went weak and she collapsed. It was Ling who helped her back. The most satisfying thing was that she got an S in the 3E test, a perfect score, and did not bring shame to the S-level title. Although she accidentally fell asleep in the middle of the test, fortunately, there were Finger's test questions, so she was still safe.
Considering that Finger said he was German, Lu Mingfei treated Finger to German food. German food has always been called the Northeastern cuisine of Europe by the Chinese. Sour pork and sausages are always on their table. From the ingredients alone, it feels like a big pot stew in the Northeast, but the cooking method is slightly different. Add in the white sausage with dark beer and pork elbow, and the meal has a unique flavor, which reminds Lu Mingfei of the time when she went to a restaurant with her uncle. The pork stewed with vermicelli served by the bold Northeastern boss could almost be described as a basin, which was full of flavor and quantity.
"Brother, eat as much as you want! I'll treat you!" Lu Mingfei patted her barren chest to show her generosity. Although the meal was a bit expensive, it was definitely worth it. She thought that the loser brother was just a repeater in Cassel, but she didn't expect that he could play the role of stealing test questions at the critical moment. Lu Mingfei was certainly not a serious girl. She would be a fool not to copy the answers, not to mention that this test was so critical.
"When it comes to food, you Chinese are the best!" Finkel chewed on a pork elbow and gave a thumbs up. "It seems like you can catch and eat anything alive, whether it's flying in the sky, running on the ground, or swimming in the water. You can cook it in a variety of ways. To be honest, I would rather you treat me to Chinese food than German food... but there's really nothing decent in this restaurant."
As a university founded by a German in the United States, Kassel's recipes have basically nothing to do with East Asia. It absorbs the essence of Europe and the United States. This makes Lu Mingfei's stomach not so adaptable. Not long after arriving, she actually began to miss the vinegar cabbage made by her aunt.
This is an experience that everyone has had. Before leaving home, you always yearn for the colorful world outside. After leaving, you will miss the bowl of plain noodles made by your mother in your hometown. In the future, you will become a person who hangs out in high-end restaurants every day, and spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a meal, but you will still think that the bowl of old noodles with only chopped green onions and eggs is the most delicious thing in the world. Not only is it free, but more importantly, you can also taste the love that blooms just for you.
"If I have the chance in the future, when I go to China, I can show you my cooking skills, and I guarantee you will eat all over China!" Lu Mingfei often cooks with her aunt. As a girl who is determined to be a good bride in the future, cooking is one of the few areas in which Lu Mingfei is relatively confident. Although her aunt is a narrow-minded housewife, she can cook home-cooked meals that are no less delicious than those in the restaurant. It is also because of this that she was able to tie down the fat uncle and raise Lu Mingze to a round figure of 160 cm tall and weighing 160 cm.
"Then I'll have to look forward to it!" Of course, Finkel was not polite when someone was so hospitable. While eating the meal in front of him, he was already thinking about the next meal in the distant future. What's more, as the saying goes, beauty is a feast to the eyes, and eating with a beautiful girl is of course doubly delicious.
"I want one too." Ling said calmly. She was always a very plain person, and only when delicious food was mentioned would she act a little cuter.
The church bell rang. Lu Mingfei turned her head and looked out the window. A large group of white pigeons poured out from there, a bit like the group of peace doves released at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The lawn and the sky were covered with pale feathers. Students passing by stopped and looked up at the flock of pigeons flying in the sky.
Lu Mingfei had been in this college for three days, and the church bell had never rung, so Lu Mingfei thought it was just a decoration. Now the bronze bell kept swinging, and the low bell sounded for a long time, like a naughty child who couldn't stop no matter how others persuaded him.
"Let's go." Finkel said in a low voice. He stopped smiling and eating. He had just been eating the pork elbow with his mouth full of oil, but now he put down the bone and wiped his hands silently with a wet towel.
"What's wrong?" Lu Mingfei found something wrong. At this noontime that should have been a beautiful and pleasant time, the students in the restaurant stopped eating after the bell rang, put on their coats and walked out of the restaurant.
"Someone has left us forever." Finkel held the remaining half bottle of dark beer in his hand. "I don't know who it is, but it should be someone from the executive department. The work there is the most dangerous in the entire academy. They are dragon-slaying heroes who face the dragon clan head-on."
This senior brother who always looked so frivolous suddenly became very serious at this moment. Lu Mingfei followed behind him and inexplicably felt that the back of this loser became tall and majestic, although he was already very tall.
Outside the restaurant, all the students maintained a silent state. They took off their school uniform bow ties and scarves and tied them on the lawn or garden fences, bowed their heads in silence, and Finkel drank the bottle of dark beer in big gulps. With his appetite, he should be able to finish it easily, but this time he drank a lot and still maintained that posture, as if he would never finish drinking.
"I don't mean to alarm you, but you have to know that Kassel is such a place. It has been like this since the birth of the hybrids in the distant past. Dragons and humans are mortal enemies, and it is our mission to bury them. If you are afraid, you can choose the equipment department when you graduate or stay in school to continue your studies and become a teacher, but even so you may not be absolutely safe. The academy is a military fortress, and one day the dragons will come to our door, and no one can avoid it. The only choice is to kill them before they kill us!"
Not sure if it was an illusion, but Lu Mingfei seemed to see a crack on the wine bottle that Finkel was holding, starting from where he was holding it and extending silently outwards.
"Brother, you were also a very capable person in the past, right?" Lu Mingfei asked.
I still remember that at the station, the conductor said that Finkel was once an A-level student. From what I have seen in the past few days, those who can be called A-level students in Kassel Academy are all top-notch talents, such as Chu Zihang and Caesar. It is hard to believe that someone like Finkel could once compete with them.
"It was only once." Finkel finished the last sip of dark beer and threw the bottle into the trash can. From a distance of more than three meters, he sent the bottle into the trash can very accurately.
Last night, Yangtze River, Three Gorges.
The black helicopter was hovering above Kuimen. On the undulating river surface, the Moniah had completely capsized. Its hull was covered with claw marks several inches deep. One such wound might not be fatal, but when the entire hull was plowed through by such trauma, the Moniah was like a layer of steel skin had been shed.
Professor Mans sat hunched over on the wreckage of the Moniach. The helicopter lowered the ladder and a slender black shadow descended the ladder. He held up a black umbrella, covering himself and Mans.
Mans barely raised his head to glance at the shadow and smiled with difficulty: "Principal."
Principal Angran squatted down and pulled open Mans' clothes. The horrifying sword mark pierced his side waist, almost cutting it in half. Every time Mans breathed, new blood spurted out. If it weren't for the strong vitality of his dragon bloodline, he would have died on the spot after being hit by this blow.
There is no doctor in the world who can save Mance, because death is not a disease. No matter how brilliant the medical professors are, they can only shake their heads helplessly. They cannot even find a remedy.
"You are going to die." Ange said softly.
"Yes, so let me finish the final report, just like the sacrificed hero in the movie." Mans whispered, "Dragon King Norton is actually a girl. I think we can finally add gender issues related to the dragon clan to our future topics. Ye Sheng and Aki failed to come back. While we were waiting, Norton attacked the Moniach and all the crew members died. Norton should have killed me immediately, but he just left them next to me after severely injuring me. We have to find a way to fight her again. Norton is still alive in the water system of the Three Gorges."
Ange brought up the two objects soaked in water, a bronze jar and a rectangular black box, slightly smaller than a suitcase.
"That was not the Dragon King Norton, but a dragon servant, an immortal spirit guarding the Dragon King's soul. The dragon that Gongsun Shu saw that year was not the Dragon King himself, but the dragon servant." said Angé.
"But why would the Dragon Servant give us the Dragon King's things?"
"The history of dragons has always been written by violence, war, and betrayal. Even Nidhogg could be betrayed by the White King, so it's not surprising that the second generation would betray the first generation."
The black box was tightly closed, but it was not difficult to open it with Ange's violence. Once a gap was pried open, the gears began to turn slightly, and the dark golden light was so dazzling under the helicopter's spotlight.
There are seven swords of different shapes displayed in the box: ice silk, pine needles, flowing clouds and flames. Each one has different patterns. They have been placed in the Bronze City for a thousand years and now appear in the world again. The cold light of the blade is as sharp as when they were just cast.
"There are seven alchemical swords, each of which symbolizes a sin. Legend has it that the King of Bronze and Fire created seven ultimate alchemical swords in the early 21st century AD. He killed the elementals and then reconstructed them to create weapons that could not be imitated or surpassed. They were used in wars between dragons and were created to kill other dragon kings."
"This copper jar is a bone jar." Ange read out the words on the copper jar, "'I offer my bones and blood to the great Majesty Nidhogg, who is the supreme, powerful, and virtuous being who rules the world with destiny.' Inside this jar is the dragon king's egg. You said that the dragon servant gave the weapon that could kill the dragon king and the dragon king's own egg to humans at the same time. I can guess that this dragon servant betrayed her own monarch. Norton sealed her in the Bronze City against her own will, so she wanted to take revenge on Norton and killed him with the help of humans."
"Why doesn't she do it herself? The Dragon King is just an egg, and she has the weapon that can kill the Dragon King." Mance asked.
"Dead living spirits have no bloodline. To use the alchemical sword forged by the Dragon King requires a very high bloodline, otherwise you can't even pull out the sword. Ye Sheng and Jiude Aki may have become sacrifices forced to awaken the living spirits, but even so, the Dragon Servant still can't do it." Angers said, "And the one in this jar is not Norton, so there is no need for the Dragon Servant to kill him."
"Not Norton?"
"The four great ancient dragon kings all had twins sitting on their thrones. This is a secret for the members of the Executive Division, because it means that we have to kill each dragon king twice. Once is already a huge challenge, and twice might make people timid. Only when there is no way to retreat on the real battlefield can this secret be made public."
Mance was silent for a moment, "Principal, you are a bit of an asshole."
"In ancient times, the rebel armies were often initially filled with hooligans, criminals and villains, because only such people were fierce enough. Slaying a dragon is a long and difficult road. In addition to like-minded comrades, we also need some means of guidance. A true dragon-slaying hero will not choose to give up just because the opponent is too strong. It is easier to boost the morale of the army if some things are concealed from the beginning."
"Then continue to do this to the end." Mans said, "Don't tell the students about the failure of the Kuimen operation. This kind of thing is still far away for them. There is no need to make future heroes mourn for the dead. They should still think that slaying dragons is an interesting and passionate career, worth fighting for a lifetime."
"We are all the same old bastards. We personally train our beloved students and then personally send them to the battlefield where they may never return." Ange said softly, "They only know about Ye Sheng and Jiude Aki, but to make up for this lie, we have to find someone to substitute for you."
"Let Schneider go. He really wants to continue being a professor." Mans raised his head, and endless rainstorms fell in his pupils. "Tell the students that we are going to carry out a new mission. Anyway, the world is big, and there are dragon ruins everywhere. We can always say that they are busy with new adventures. Time will dilute the memory."
"Okay, I'll do as you say."
Mance didn't say anything. Angé folded his umbrella and put it on the ground, then sat next to Mance. He lit a cigar and watched the smoke drifting in the rain, as if this could take away his worries and troubles.
"Goodbye, my old friend."
