Huo Jiuxiao’s expression turned icy, his pitch-black, fathomless eyes growing terribly dark, resembling a beast of prey ready to devour someone at any moment.
His manipulation of the starship’s attacks grew increasingly fierce and ruthless, the laser fire launched by the vessel striking fast and accurately against the surrounding Zerg.
Noticing that Huo Jiuxiao’s onslaught was so ferocious that the Zerg showed signs of trying to avoid his sharp edge,
Ruan Bai immediately stopped tangling with the surrounding Zerg.
After swatting a gigantic praying mantis flying with a single swipe of his paw, he rapidly formed hand seals, channeling his vast spiritual energy to instantly form a white flash of lightning that forced the Zerg surrounding the starship back with an overwhelming, mountain-toppling momentum.
With his spiritual power on the verge of exhaustion, Ruan Bai zipped back into his original form with a swoosh, returning inside the starship.
The moment he reappeared on the control console, his internal spiritual energy was completely depleted.
How close, he almost hadn’t made it back.
Having just fought a battle against those bugs, he was now exhausted.
Just as he wanted to hunker down and rest properly, his body suddenly lifted into the air.
Before he could react, he was pulled tightly into Huo Jiuxiao’s embrace.
“Meow!”
Too tight!
Struggling, Ruan Bai attempted to shake off this “suffocating” embrace.
He was about to run out of air.
Sensing Ruan Bai’s struggle, Huo Jiuxiao hurriedly loosened his grip.
Only then did Ruan Bai manage to catch his breath, lifting his head to glare angrily at him.
Just as he was about to say something, he caught sight of the reddish rims of Huo Jiuxiao’s eyes and his dark, brooding gaze locked heavily onto him, as though terrified that he might vanish into thin air.
A slight shiver ran through Ruan Bai’s heart, and he leaned forward to nuzzle him gently.
Don’t worry, I’m fine.
“Xiaobai, don’t leave me. You have to be good, be good…” Holding him tight, Huo Jiuxiao spoke in a low, almost murmuring tone.
Sensing keenly that the man’s state of mind was off at the moment, Ruan Bai didn’t overthink it, instead offering quiet, soothing meows to pacify the man’s uneasy emotions.
Given how wonderfully Huo Jiuxiao treated him, how could he ever bear to leave him?
Yet Ruan Bai had no way of knowing that there would come a day in the future when he would have no choice but to leave.
After passing through the wormhole, the warriors emerged from their hibernation pods one after another, and order was restored across the starship.
Huo Jiuxiao’s state had also returned to normal.
Upon arriving at the Capital Star, Huo Jiuxiao stopped the security forces from reporting upward.
“I heard His Majesty is holding my funeral at the Marshal’s estate. Reason and propriety dictate that I should go take a look.” Huo Jiuxiao’s tone was cold, brook-no-objection indifferent.
Wearing a bitter smile, the commanding officer of the security forces had no choice but to agree.
The royal family had indeed acted despicably this time around.
Marshal Huo was the youngest among the empire’s marshals, as well as the only individual discovered thus far to possess 3S-grade mental power.
For years on end, he had led the Thirteenth Legion to battle the Zerg along the borderlands.
He was hailed as the Empire’s Sharpest Blade.
When misfortune befell Marshal Huo, the royal family not only failed to actively search for him, but they even rushed impatiently to cement the narrative of his death.
During this period, the military’s relationship with the royal family had plummeted to freezing point, and several high-ranking military officers held deeply critical views of the royal family’s maneuvers.
Inevitable resource struggles persisted among the major legions.
Yet this time, simply to secure command over the Thirteenth Legion’s military authority, the royal family had actually attempted to directly cement the death of the Empire’s Sharpest Blade, completely disregarding the bigger picture.
They hadn’t even stopped to consider how they would deal with the Zerg and the Federation both deterred solely by 3S-grade mental power once Huo Jiuxiao was gone.
Truly foolish!
The hovercar came to a halt right at the entrance of the Marshal’s estate.
Seeing Huo Jiuxiao reach out with the intent to scoop him into his arms, Ruan Bai dodged swiftly out of the way.
Sinking his waist and kicking off with his hind legs, he leaped directly onto Huo Jiuxiao’s shoulder.
Using his two front paws to grab hold of the hair on Huo Jiuxiao’s head, he began a laborious upward climb.
The Marshal, realizing exactly what the kitten intended to do: “…”
The moment Ruan Bai was plucked off by Huo Jiuxiao with a swift grab, a pair of large, wide-open eyes stared fixedly at him.
I want to go on your head.
Meeting his gaze, Huo Jiuxiao’s dark, fathomless black eyes seemed to conceal heavy, churning emotions. After a few seconds of mutual staring, Huo Jiuxiao ultimately conceded defeat.
Ruan Bai was deposited onto his original destination right atop Huo Jiuxiao’s head.
Reaching out to pat down the Marshal’s hair, he curled up into a neat little ball right on top, settling in comfortably.
Deputy Commander Qin, who had just opened the car door for his Marshal: “…”
Had the Marshal lost his mind? Why on earth did he top his head with Xiaobai?
“Marshal, should I…” Staring at the crown of his Marshal’s head, Qin Lang trailed off, hesitating.
“No need. Go check on how Peier’s investigation is coming along,” the Marshal ordered in a cold voice.
He had tasked Peier with investigating why such a massive swarm of Zerg had suddenly materialized right along the Capital Star’s transition wormhole.
Dismissing Qin Lang, the Marshal strode into the estate with an aloof, freezing air.
A massive crowd had gathered to attend the funeral: members of the royal family, high-ranking military brass, nobility, and influential media outlets.
Just as they were publicly mourning the loss of the Empire’s Sharpest Blade while secretly scheming over who knows what in their hearts,
they saw a tall man, exuding an impenetrable aura that warned strangers to stay away, stride through the entrance.
A collective jolt rippled through the crowd; catching sight of Huo Jiuxiao felt identical to seeing a ghost.
Marshal Huo is still alive?!
Their gazes instinctively drifted upward.
Hss! The Marshal’s expression looked truly chilling.
Spotting the white, fluffy creature perched atop Marshal Huo’s head, they were thoroughly and utterly startled.
The Marshal had appeared at his own funeral, and he was even topping his head with a cat?