Chapter Six: The Darkness Beneath the Torrent of Falling Rain (6)

Thanks to the myriad Marvel movies of later generations, Lu Mingfei was by no means unfamiliar with the image of Odin, the lord of Norse mythology.

But why would such a deity appear in the Nibelungen?

The man clearly saw this lord of Norse myth as well, yet he showed no sign of slowing down; instead, he pressed the accelerator all the way to the floor.

In his previous life, Caesar had once severely damaged Norton, the Bronze and Fire King, inside the Three Gorges Dam using a 2.6-ton storm torpedo traveling at 200 knots.

Now, this 2.7-ton Maybach was charging straight at Odin at nearly 150 knots.

Even if the figure opposite was comparable to the original Dragon King of the first generation, being directly hit by such a Maybach could hardly be taken lightly!

But the problem was, Lu Mingfei and his companions did not possess the bodies of gods. Even if they were hybrids, their physical attributes enhanced by dragon blood to the human limit… they were still human.

If the Maybach collided with Odin, the deity might be seriously injured… but they would certainly die!

Suddenly, Lu Mingfei understood. This man was gambling—betting that Odin would not dare to take the full brunt of the Maybach’s impact and would instead choose to make way for them.

Damn it, why did Kassel Academy always breed lunatics like this!

Lu Mingfei gripped the car’s roof handle tightly, watching as the Maybach closed in on Odin, only a few dozen meters away, unable to hold back any longer, he shouted the little demon’s name.

“Lu Mingze!”

Lu Mingze did not appear, and Odin did not yield.

Just as the two were about to collide, Odin’s eight-legged steed suddenly reared its front hooves.

In an instant, the surrounding rainwater converged before Odin, the flow reversing like a waterfall, crashing against the front of the Maybach.

Within mere meters, the enormous kinetic energy of the Maybach was completely dissipated.

Luckily, their bones had been strengthened by dragon blood; otherwise, the recoil from the vehicle’s sudden halt would have snapped their necks.

The moment the water pushed the Maybach away, swarms of dark figures emerged from behind Odin.

Pale faces, hollow eyes—the same death servants as before.

They surrounded the Maybach from all sides, encircling Lu Mingfei and the others completely.

“How dare you charge at the throne of a god,” Odin’s voice thundered from ahead.

“You probably don’t have a driver’s license and don’t know how to drive, so you don’t know that rainy days are the most prone to accidents. The road’s slippery; you can’t stop the car easily.”

The man stepped out of the car, holding a long knife in one hand and gripping Chu Zihang’s wrist with the other, speaking calmly:

“No worries. This car has top-tier insurance. If you get hurt, just tell me. After establishing liability, I’ll help you claim from the insurance company.”

“Impertinent!” Odin’s voice seemed to fall from a distant place, clearly not amused by the man’s joke.

“Can’t even joke around? How dull,” the man shrugged. “You want that thing, right? No problem. As long as you let us go, we’ll hand it over to you.”

He turned and patted Chu Zihang’s head, addressing both Chu and Lu Mingfei:

“There’s a black box in the trunk with a silver emblem on it. Help me get it out.”

Chu Zihang nodded, and Lu Mingfei jogged behind him. Opening the trunk, sure enough, there lay a black briefcase.

Lu Mingfei recognized the silver emblem on the box as very similar to Kassel Academy’s crest.

Only, while Kassel’s emblem depicted a half-decayed World Tree, the silver mark engraved on this case was a flourishing World Tree.

Chu Zihang handed the box to the man. The moment he received it, the man whispered to the two of them:

“You’ve ignored me many times before, but this time you must listen. Remember, don’t stay too far from me, but don’t get too close either. When I say run, both of you head towards the car, and don’t look back.”

“Okay,” Chu Zihang answered, trembling.

“If you have questions, ask Lu after we get out of here… though if possible, I hope you never have to ask.”

Suddenly, Lu Mingfei had a feeling that after tonight, he and Chu Zihang might never see this man again.

He seemed like an ancient soldier about to go to the front lines, aware that his life was about to end, sharing a final farewell with his son at home.

So that dirge by Lu Mingze was for this man, Lu Mingfei thought.

For a moment, Lu Mingfei wanted to strike a deal with Lu Mingze.

But just before the Maybach nearly struck Odin, he had tried calling Lu Mingze, yet he had not appeared.

Moreover, Lu Mingze had said before that this time he would not trade with him.

While Lu Mingfei hesitated, the shadowy figures closed in, wrapping around the three of them as they moved forward.

They whispered among themselves in strange, rhythmic tones, as if speaking an ancient language.

Though Lu Mingfei couldn’t understand, he faintly recalled that this language was similar to the one Professor Gudrian had once spoken to him.

Dragon Tongue?

Lu Mingfei did not grasp the meaning, but Chu Zihang gradually understood what these death servants were saying.

“Humans again…”

“That child’s lineage…”

“Truly tantalizing flesh and blood…”

“…”

They stopped about a hundred meters from Odin. The man held the long knife behind his back with his right hand, raised the briefcase above his head with his left.

“The thing you want is here.”

Odin’s voice came over: “Then, present yourself, human.”

“But I don’t think even if we give it to you, you’ll let us go.”

“I promise you life. Gods never lie to mortals.”

“You mean becoming death servants like them?”

“Your bloodlines are far superior to theirs. You will be stronger.”

“…”

The man glanced back at Lu Mingfei curiously.

“No negotiation?” he raised an eyebrow.

“You should feel honored to become servants of the gods.”

The man sighed, then suddenly turned to Chu Zihang:

“Son, I heard you’re a center forward on the city team, good at breaking through defenses?”

Chu Zihang nodded nervously.

“If you don’t understand something, ask Lu. Remember every word I say.”

As he spoke, the man took the briefcase from Chu Zihang’s hands, unusually showing a tender expression as he stroked Chu’s head.

Then, his expression abruptly shifted, and with a sharp slap on the backsides of Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang, he shouted:

“Kids, run!”

Chu Zihang turned wildly and sprinted toward the car, Lu Mingfei clutching his own behind, following after him.

For a long time, Chu Zihang had stopped trusting the man’s words.

But on this rainy night, holding the warmth of his hand, he suddenly reverted to a child relying on his father.

The man threw the briefcase toward Odin, as if it were bloody flesh attracting hungry wolves.

Countless shadows scrambled forward to cluster around the case, while others chased after the fleeing trio.

The man ran with Chu Zihang and Lu Mingfei, but perhaps due to middle age, he couldn’t keep up, gradually falling behind the two children.

Watching Chu Zihang’s retreating back, a faint smile appeared at the corner of the man’s mouth:

“Running fast, you little brats.”

He suddenly stopped, spun around, and swung his knife, the blade cutting a crescent arc through the rain.