[There was a Zerg general on the starship?! Isn’t that practically trying to take their lives?]
[Is it only me who noticed that Marshal Huo said the Zerg general was sent to the Thirteenth Legion by His Majesty?]
[Maybe His Majesty didn’t know about it…]
Nestled inside Huo Jiuxiao’s arms, Ruan Bai wore a look of pure fury, his pretty cat eyes practically blazing with fire.
What on earth?
That spider was placed aboard the starship by the Emperor of the Empire?!
Wait, what could he possibly hope to gain from that?
Stunned into complete bewilderment, Ruan Bai followed Huo Jiuxiao’s icy gaze toward the old man seated upon the elevated throne.
The man was attired in a golden ceremonial robe, radiating an aura of dignified majesty throughout his entire person. His cloudy eyes, weathered by the passage of time, made him all the more inscrutable.
The Emperor wore a grave expression, looking as though he found it somewhat difficult to believe, “Frank is a Zerg general? Could there be some misunderstanding in all of this? Jiuxiao, I know you feel disheartened by Feng Hui’s betrayal, but… this is also…”
His tone carried a helpless cadence, as though attempting to pacify a younger generation he had watched grow up.
“I will definitely give you an explanation regarding the Feng family’s matter; I will tolerate no leniency.”
Ruan Bai almost laughed out of sheer anger. He wasn’t some naive little mountain cat demon who understood nothing of the world; he had witnessed all manner of worldly disputes, conflicts, and mutual scheming.
The old codger’s implication was clear: Marshal Huo was intentionally dragging out a Zerg general to pressure the royal family simply to pin responsibility onto the Feng family.
How utterly shameless!
“Even if Frank’s capabilities were somewhat lacking, there is simply no way he could be a Zerg,” the elder said, his eyes filled with disappointment, as if genuinely let down by the child he had watched grow up.
A cold, detached smile curved the corners of Huo Jiuxiao’s lips. Even standing below, the innate, effortless dominance in his aura made him appear to occupy the upper hand.
“If he is or isn’t, Your Majesty will know instantly upon reviewing the internal surveillance footage from the starship.”
With that, he had someone broadcast the surveillance video showing Frank transforming from a human into a Zerg. He edited out a brief segment so it didn’t capture Ruan Bai, but what remained was more than enough.
As that dozen-seconds-long video played out, the surrounding area plunged into absolute dead silence.
Netizens who had been closely monitoring the situation exploded instantly.
[Frank really was a Zerg general?!]
[He was even deeply valued by His Majesty… This, this is terrifying the more you think about it.]
Frank was far from being a nobody; netizens who surfed the interstellar network on a regular basis were generally familiar with him.
The man hailed from a remote planet of the Empire, possessed exceptional abilities, and was fiercely loyal to the royal family. The number of times he had appeared in public alongside the Crown Prince alone exceeded three separate occasions.
Upon hearing previously that he had been selected to join the notoriously strict and hard-to-enter Thirteenth Legion, quite a few netizens had marveled that the man truly had talent only to find out he had been forcibly shoved in?
Following this line of thought, a slew of individuals arrived at an unspoken suspicion: Was someone attempting to eliminate a specific person by using this Zerg general…?
Seeing the situation spiral entirely out of control, the Emperor of the Empire finally lost his composure. Rising to his feet with a face full of furious wrath, he grabbed the cup sitting beside his hand and hurled it squarely at Gu Jun.
“You disastrous wretch! Didn’t you say you investigated thoroughly and that Frank had no issues? Then what is the meaning of this?!”
Huo Jiuxiao wouldn’t be foolish enough to fabricate synthesized video footage to deceive the public at a time like this; fabricated videos in the interstellar era were far too easily detected.
With a pale complexion and an expression of utter disbelief, Gu Jun pleaded, “Forgive me, Father. This… Your son was simply too eager to recruit talent, and had no idea that Frank…”
Gu Changyu gazed at Gu Jun with profound disappointment, “How could you be so utterly negligent? Thank goodness nothing happened this time. For the next three months, you will reflect deeply upon your actions inside your own palace and offer a formal apology to Marshal Huo.”
Watching the so-called Emperor casually reduce the matter of a Zerg general to a mere “oversight” on Gu Jun’s part in just a few brief sentences, brushing the entire incident aside with a light penalty,
Ruan Bai felt nothing but pure irony. Even a millennium-old great demon like Tree Demon Grandpa wouldn’t dare casually meddle with demonic energy, terrified of plunging into eternal damnation with a single careless misstep.
Yet this human was truly daring actually colluding with the Zerg and plotting to murder Mr. Marshal, with zero fear of being consumed entirely by the Zerg in the end?
Sensing the arm wrapped around him tightening progressively, Ruan Bai wondered, for reasons unknown, if Mr. Marshal must be feeling deeply heartbroken right now.