Chapter 113 Summer Mass (Part )

“Perhaps it is because I do not know the meaning of dreams that the displaced people chase after illusions.” This sentence echoed in Chu Zihang’s heart like an ancient spell. He lowered his head and his eyes fell on the huge wound on his chest. The burning blood slowly flowed out of the wound like a flood. If it were not for the sharp dragon claws that tightly blocked it, I am afraid that the blood in the heart would be drained away in an instant, without a drop left.

“Didn’t expect it?” Xia Mi asked softly, with a hint of amusement and sarcasm in her voice, as if she had already anticipated this moment.

However, the girl who fell into Chu Zihang’s arms was no longer the angelic girl. She was naked, slender and delicate, but her whole body was covered with iron-blue scales. With every breath, the sharp scales slowly expanded, like a sharp blade flashing cold light in the sun. Those scales that pierced the skin tore the originally white Bohemian dress into pieces. The front of her feet, which were originally frozen red, were replaced by black claws instead of the round toenails. The claws of her right hand pierced deeply into Chu Zihang’s left chest, and the claws of her feet pierced into Chu Zihang’s knees. She tilted her head and looked at Chu Zihang with an almost playful look, as if she was appreciating his pain at the moment. There was a cold smile in her golden pupils. It was a chill from the abyss, enough to freeze everything.

Lu Mingfei, who should have rushed over to serve as a “light bulb” for the couple, now stood blankly in the distance, with empty eyes, unable to believe his eyes. What he saw was no longer the lively, lovely, and sunny Xia Mi, but a Dragon King exuding the breath of death.

“Your real name.” Chu Zihang’s voice was hoarse and low, as if every word carried a thousand pounds of weight.

Xia Mi suddenly pulled out her claws, and Chu Zihang pressed his palm against the wound to prevent the blood from gushing out of his body in an instant. He stumbled back a few steps and sat down weakly, with no expression on his bloodstained face. He just stared at Xia Mi intently, probably wanting to see clearly who or what it was before the blood stopped flowing.

Xia Mi walked slowly to the dead dragon, gently stroked its huge head, and said in a gentle and sad voice: “He is my brother, the dragon name is ‘Fenrir’, the king of the earth and the mountains.”

“Fenrir is the wolf born to the evil god Loki and the giantess Anberda in Norse mythology.” Chu Zihang said in a low voice, his voice echoing in the empty space with a barely perceptible tremor.

“Yes, so you also guessed my name, right?” Xia Mi turned her head to look at Chu Zihang, a smile on the corner of her mouth. There was both pride and helplessness in that smile.

“Jörmungandr.” Chu Zihang leaned weakly on a broken stone pillar, his voice weak but firm, “Fenrir’s sister.”

“Yes,” Xia Mi nodded, with a complex light flashing in her golden pupils, “I am Jörmungandr, the Dragon King Jörmungandr. In your human mythology, I am the snake that surrounds the ‘Garden’.”

“You should also have a sister, Hela, the goddess of death.” Chu Zihang continued. Although his voice was weak, every word was clearly heard by Xia Mi.

“Hela hasn’t been born yet,” Xia Mi narrowed her eyes, with a hint of regret in her tone, “but it will be soon. Today is the day she is born, right here.”

She glanced at the dumbstruck Lu Mingfei and suddenly started to giggle. Her laughter was full of cold sarcasm, just like a girl laughing at a boy who was peeking at her.

“Don’t worry, senior brother. There won’t be a third Dragon King tonight. Your inference is correct. The thrones of the four great monarchs are all twins.” Xia Mi finished laughing and said coldly, “Hela, the Goddess of Death, is the fusion of my brother and I. It’s tonight, right here.” She leaned over and kissed the dragon’s destroyed eyes. Her eyes were full of tenderness and sadness, as if she was saying goodbye to a loved one. The dragon’s huge eyeballs had shriveled up, and the blood and other liquids inside had drained away, leaving only a dark crack, as terrifying as a hatched insect egg.

Such a gentle kiss, just like a little girl touching her kitten with her nose, but for some reason, Lu Mingfei felt creepy. He seemed to see the horrible truth hidden under Xia Mi’s gentle appearance, which was a power that could subvert the world.

“You want to devour him.” Chu Zihang said in a low voice. Although his voice was weak, every word hit Xia Mi’s heart like a hammer.

“Yes, I didn’t expect that humans could deduce this secret from fragmentary history. Our power comes from our bloodline. But purebloods are not like you lowly half-bloods. You still have to try to improve the purity of your bloodline. We have reached the peak. The only way for us to strengthen our bloodline is to mix in the blood of other purebloods.” Xia Mi sat on the ground, hugged the huge dragon head, and rubbed it gently with her face. Her face was wrapped in tiny scales, but it was still so beautiful. However, this beauty hides endless sadness and despair. “When I eat him, our bloodlines will merge, and Hela will be born. Hela is not Jörmungandr, nor is she Fenrir. She is the sum of the two of us, but she is stronger than the two of us combined.”

“Will you eventually evolve into gods?” Chu Zihang asked, with a hint of curiosity and awe in his voice.

Xia Mi nodded, “Well said. The so-called Goddess of Death is the Queen of the Nibelung. She can open the doors to all the kingdoms of the dead in the world. That will be the return of the mythological era. It’s very beautiful, but it’s a pity that you can’t see it.”

“You told me about your brother… You said he trusted you very much, and you were everything to him… He had a chance to fight back, but he was surprised because you stood in front of him.” Chu Zihang’s voice was thin, and his blood-stained hair drooped down, blocking his eyes. “You could have devoured him a long time ago, why did you wait until today and go through so much trouble?”

Xia Mi covered her mouth and chuckled. She suddenly pounced on the dragon head and beat her “brother’s” facial bones, as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. However, her smile concealed endless sadness and pain.

“Because I love him.” Xia Mi suddenly stopped smiling and said softly. There was a tremor and firmness in her voice, as if she was telling an eternal oath. “Don’t you think he doesn’t look like a dragon at all? He is so stupid, and his IQ is like that of a four or five-year-old child. He has unparalleled power, but he doesn’t know how to use it. He can only follow you around and call you sister, sister, and say he wants to go out to play.” Xia Mi raised her face and let the tears flow down. Her golden eyes became more and more blazing, and her facial bones made a slight “crackling” sound and twisted. Her mouth became larger, and her teeth protruded like sharp thorns. She was rapidly transforming into a sad and angry female dragon, “But he is my brother! Why don’t I love him?”

Her voice echoed in the empty field, carrying endless sorrow and anger. She seemed like a child abandoned by the world, struggling to find her own light in despair.

“But you keep him here… You are actually the gatekeeper of this alchemy maze, right? You keep him here as food… You have been prepared to devour him one day, right? You are waiting for him to hatch completely.” Chu Zihang said softly, with a hint of blame and helplessness in his voice.

“Shut up!” In just a moment, a series of shadows flashed by, and Xia Mi rushed to Chu Zihang, picked him up and lifted him into the air. Her speed was so fast that it seemed to transcend the constraints of time.

It was no longer possible to call her “Xia Mi”. Various dragon characteristics were revealed on her body. Her clothes were torn by scales and bone spurs. She was naked, with muscles as strong as steel, jagged bones protruding from her forehead and jaw, her knees bent backwards, and her beautiful calves should now be called “strong hind legs”. She had just used these hind legs to suddenly accelerate, and her figure could no longer be seen by the naked eye.

She is the Dragon King, Jörmungandr. She has the power to overturn the world, but at this moment she is trapped in endless struggle and pain.

“Did I say something wrong? I made you so angry.” Chu Zihang actually smiled softly and coughed up a mouthful of black blood. “Isn’t he your food? The feast is waiting for you, why don’t you hurry up and take your seat?”

“Shut up!” Jörmungandr screamed, her voice filled with endless anger and despair. Red water flowed from the corners of her eyes, and it was unclear whether it was dragon tears or blood. “Do you know the despair of the abandoned people? Thousands of years of sleep! Endless recurring nightmares! In the deepest darkness, there is only you!”

Her words were filled with endless sorrow and anger, as if she was telling an ancient and tragic story. Her eyes flashed with red light, which was the fire from the abyss, burning with endless pain and despair.

“And your brother is holding your hand… are you willing to sacrifice him? He is the only one who has been with you for a thousand years, for so many years! Only him… on the throne of the Forsaken Clan, only the king hugged the king for warmth…”

She burst into tears, like a madman, or a girl who had lost her beloved doll. Her cries echoed in the empty field, carrying endless sorrow and despair.

“But you still want to devour him, don’t you?” Chu Zihang whispered, with a hint of helplessness and sadness in his voice. He seemed to see the reincarnation of fate and the inescapable destiny.

“Do you really need to say so many fragile words to a human like me? Can I still comfort you? You are a dragon. Even if there are only two of you left in the whole tribe, you will sacrifice the last person who keeps you warm to gain power and authority… You are a tribe that relies on the strong to survive. Therefore, you are stronger than us fragile humans. Only the strong can survive to the end, and the weak will become food for the same tribe. You have already succeeded, and successful people don’t need to shed the tears of the weak.”

There was a long silence. Jörmungandr held Chu Zihang up. The two blue-gray figures covered with scales stood at the end of the lonely platform, like some meaningful sculptures.

“This boring farce should end.” Lu Mingfei’s voice was like the cold wind in winter, without a trace of warmth, but it clearly penetrated every inch of space. This sentence was simple and direct, but it was like a heavy hammer, ringing the bell of the end. His tone revealed a calmness and determination beyond his age, which made the dragon and the man – Jörmungandr and Chu Zihang, who were originally tit-for-tat and had complex emotions in their eyes, turn their heads involuntarily, with doubts and confusion written on their faces.

Jörmungandr, the best of the ancient dragons, was standing proudly in the world in the shape of a dragon. His strange vertical pupils suddenly shrank when he saw Lu Mingfei. In her perception, the young man in front of her seemed to have been reborn overnight, no longer the poor kid who was always teased by fate and unable to resist. He exuded an unprecedented majesty and power, which was the breath of a monarch, a sign of returning to the world and subverting all order. Jörmungandr felt an inexplicable chill in his heart, a tremor from the depths of his blood, and a fear and awe of unknown power.

“What are you talking about?” Jörmungandr’s voice was deep and powerful. She gently placed Chu Zihang, whose ribs were pierced by a sharp sword and whose life flame was swaying, on the ground, and then approached Lu Mingfei step by step, each step seemed to be in the cracks of time. Her eyes were complicated, with both disdain for the word “farce” and dissatisfaction with humans daring to challenge the authority of the dragon clan. “Farce…Human, this is not a farce, it is a choice of fate, a contest between life and death.”

Chu Zihang witnessed Jörmungandr’s sudden strong hostility towards Lu Mingfei. His face, which was slightly pale due to weakness, instantly showed a complex expression of panic and indignation. He called out anxiously: “Jörmungandr! You can’t do this–” His words carried an unquestionable stopping intent.

Jörmungandr stopped moving forward at Chu Zihang’s gentle but firm rebuke, but it was not entirely out of concern for Chu Zihang. In fact, as the distance between her and Lu Mingfei continued to shorten, an indescribable sense of fear gradually spread in her heart. This fear came from her increasingly clear perception that under the seemingly ordinary human body, a huge terrifying force that could shake the world had been lurking.

“You…you are definitely not the Lu Mingfei I used to know. Who are you?!” Jörmungandr’s eyes were fixed on Lu Mingfei’s calm face. As a noble dragon king, she was like a trembling kitten facing an unknown threat. All her former majesty was gone.

Facing Jörmungandr’s question, Lu Mingfei’s face showed deep emotion, as if his soul had gone through thousands of years of wind and frost, witnessed countless ups and downs, and finally woke up from a dream and returned to the Nibelungen that was tightly bound by fate. He spoke slowly, with a hint of indifference after experiencing vicissitudes of life in his voice: “Who am I? Yes… Junior Sister, your question is really meaningful…”

(End of this chapter)