Adam’s face twisted in rage. His hands clenched into fists, blue veins bulging on the backs of them, and he looked as if he was about to step forward and strike the worm-cub. However, he was stopped by his female monarch, Lim.
“Your Eminence Maurice, Count Schmidt requests your presence back at the manor for a discussion.”
The chubby worm-cub blinked, his gaze darting between Lim and Adam’s faces as a different suspicion crossed his mind.
“Hey, Adam, since when did you become the Count’s chauffeur? Did you actually have to come yourself to invite me back?”
The cub’s innocent, chubby face changed in an instant. Lowering his brow, he put on a fiercely adorable yet punchable expression. Unsurprisingly, this sent Adam, whose face was already distorted with rage, jumping in fury.
“You, you gray-skinned rat! You damned bastard! You embodiment of evil! Do you have any idea how gravely injured Male-Father is? Yet, he actually wants to redetermine the succession rights to the earldom! You must have bewitched him!”
Amidst Adam’s vulgar curses lay the exact information Maurice wanted to gather. Instead of being upset after being insulted, the cub curled his lips into a smirk, though there was no warmth in his crystal-clear green eyes.
As a journalist, Maurice had always liked peeling back layers to consider all possibilities and the motives behind behaviors. But for the Count to consider redetermining the succession rights right after his conspiracy had been exposed, and after Maurice had retaliated by having him publicly assaulted by a star beast, defied all common sense. Only an idiot like Adam would think the Count genuinely favored Maurice’s power and wanted a strong successor to elevate the family to greater heights.
Such a notion was pure fantasy within the Zerg race. Ever since he had transmigrated to this world, Maurice had been observing this society. He knew that, unlike humans, the Zerg had a rather indifferent view of affection and family ties. Because male Zergs were scarce, they defaulted to inheriting paternal titles and wealth. However, no male Zerg in his prime would ever sacrifice his own interests to pave the way or dedicate himself to his male successor.
To put it plainly, a male Zerg’s attitude toward his male offspring was largely a matter of mutual appreciation between peers, much like human males hyping each other up regardless of their true worth. But genuine affection was a luxury in Zerg society. When a male Zerg possessed no respect for the partner who birthed his offspring, how could he possibly possess a shred of parental love for his cub?
Therefore, there had to be a catch to this matter.
The cub gently raised a fleshy little fist. The ground beneath Adam’s feet suddenly trembled, and a psychic tentacle as thick as a century-old giant tree poked its head out of the earth. It shook threateningly before burrowing back into the soil as the cub flicked his wrist.
“Male-Father probably doesn’t think I’ll just give up without a fight, right? After all, he isn’t an idiot like you. Spill it. What are the conditions for me to go with you?”
Having flexed his muscles just a little, the attendants from the Count’s manor and the enforcement squad were so shaken they could barely stand steady. In all their lives, they had never witnessed such a powerful male Zerg psychic energy! It was practically divine power!
Burket, the traitor from the rebel army, had a gun from the enforcement squad pressed against his head, his face looking exceptionally grim and wretched. On the day of the Snake-Entwined Tree gathering, the rebels had been hunted down by the enforcement squad and the female Zergs of the First Army. During their escape, many Zergs had detected fluctuations in male psychic energy and space. However, because the sky had been dark and the scene chaotic, and because Ilya had quickly carried the male cub away, no Zerg had actually witnessed the cub using his psychic energy. It was impossible to determine his strength from the traces left behind.
On the day of Eliotte’s Path of Shame, the power of the male Zerg’s tentacles had been made manifest. However, watching a fire from across a river could never compare to facing a threat with one’s own eyes. Burket, who had unhesitatingly betrayed Eliotte and the cub, felt a wave of irrepressible regret rise in his heart, consumed by a crushing terror.
After being captured by the enforcement squad, Burket had been frightened out of his wits thinking about the various punishments the Empire inflicted on criminal Zergs. Resenting Ilya for not rescuing him, and driven by the desire to drag his companions down with him, he had quickly disclosed the cooperation between Ilya and the cub, as well as their hijacking of the criminal Zerg, Eliotte. He knew that what Count Schmidt and the eminences who had been humiliated that day wanted most was revenge, and he hoped this information would grant him a lifeline.
But at this moment, it was as if a massive wormhole had materialized before him, out of which a cosmic behemoth could leap at any second to rip his throat out.
Maurice didn’t give a traitor like Burket a second glance. Frankly, he felt disappointed by Ilya’s indecisiveness. If the rebel army couldn’t promptly deal with the troublemakers in their own ranks, their so-called revolution would be nothing more than a paper tiger.
His mind was anchored to Eliotte’s side back in the safehouse. Unless absolutely necessary, he was trying his best to avoid conflict and large-scale uses of power, terrified of waking Eliotte. The other party was still asleep in the medical pod, and Maurice saw an opportunity to secure an escape route for Eliotte.
He knew that Adam was the only fool present. Count Schmidt was no idiot; the man had witnessed his power and knew he wouldn’t surrender without a fight. Therefore, if the Count wanted him to give himself up, there would definitely be bargaining chips on the table.
For Maurice, that condition could only be Eliotte’s safe departure from this place.
Before Adam could speak, his female monarch, Lim, said in a gentle voice:
“Your Eminence Maurice, there is no need to worry. Count Schmidt knows you were merely led astray. If you are willing to return home, the Count Schmidt Manor will no longer interfere with the matters regarding His Highness Eliotte and the First Army. A letter has also arrived from the Imperial Capital Star; His Majesty the Zerg Emperor misses his younger female brother and believes His Highness has learned his lesson. He will recall His Highness in a matter of days.”
Pausing for a moment, he added suggestively, “Though the First Army was defeated, His Majesty the Zerg Emperor is merciful; it was, in the end, a minor punishment meant as a warning. They will march out before long, and they certainly won’t leave their Admiral behind. Furthermore, the Royal Family’s Sky City is about to host its annual celebration. Word has already been put out that several princes of eligible age are looking to marry noble male Zergs. His Highness Eliotte’s name is prominently on the list.”
Maurice could understand the underlying meaning of these words. Eliotte’s older brother probably felt his younger brother had suffered enough, so he was putting on a show of rescinding the harsh punishments, expecting Eliotte to be deeply grateful and even more cautious. Yet, that royal interest exchange of marrying off female Zergs and sub-Zergs to other nobles was nothing short of a new round of torture.
“What?” Adam jumped up beside his female monarch and shouted loudly, “That criminal Zerg gets to return to the Imperial Capital Star just like that? What about the Path of Shame? What about our Count’s Manor’s chance to return to the Imperial Capital Star?”
Lim gently gripped Adam’s arm, barely managing to cut off his thoughtless words. Behind them, the captain of the enforcement squad escorting Burket also frowned. Though wary, he still raised an objection:
“This Eminence and the criminal Zerg Eliotte also severely harmed several other Eminences, among whom Eminence Yorde passed away due to organ failure! Both the planet and the Empire require an explanation. My Lord, Your Eminence, please hand over at least the criminal Zerg Eliotte. Before the Zerg Emperor recalls him, he ought to be punished.”
The ground suddenly shuddered as dark gray storm clouds gathered in the sky. But before the cub could react, Lim suddenly raised the particle gun in his hand and blew Burket’s head off with a single shot!
As fresh, sweet blood sprayed half a meter away, Lim said coldly:
“Since when is it the enforcement squad’s place to dictate the decisions of the Count’s Manor? Even if those Eminences were to show up in person, they would be nothing but nobodies before my male master and the Count’s Manor!”
The enforcement squad captain gritted his teeth. He had been assisting the First Army in hunting down the criminal Zerg Eliotte, yet he had allowed Eliotte to slip away right from under his nose twice. Among the male Zerg Eminences who had been harmed by Maurice and Eliotte that day, a noble Viscount could not bear the extraordinary humiliation and had promised him that if the enforcement squad brought back Eliotte and the perpetrator, he would grant him a position as a female concubine.
This was a temptation the enforcement squad captain could not resist. His physical level wasn’t low, and an outbreak of pheromone deficiency syndrome was imminent; he desperately needed a male Zerg’s marking and favor.
“My Lord, if I may speak frankly, it is true that you are Eminence Adam’s female monarch, but you cannot represent the Schmidt family! For you to actually speak over your male master is an act of disrespect!”
Adam looked left and right, completely clueless as to why his female monarch had suddenly initiated an attack. He also felt uncomfortable due to the splashing blood and brain matter, his expression turning sour. Maurice rolled his eyes helplessly and reminded him:
“Adam, he’s insulting your wife, your female monarch, and you’re just going to stand there and watch?”
Adam’s exceptionally stupid face went blank for a moment before he put on a fierce expression and barked loudly:
“Enough! You are my female monarch. What does it say about my dignity for you to be bickering and arguing with a lowly female Zerg?”
He scolded his female monarch, yet he did absolutely nothing to counter Lim’s decision. The enforcement squad captain’s face looked incredibly ugly, but he had no choice but to let the matter drop.
“I can return to the Count’s manor, but I have two conditions. First, have the enforcement squad pull out. If I sense them lingering around here, I will break the agreement. Second, I will wait until Eliotte wakes up to ensure he leaves safely without being threatened by the enforcement squad.”
Looking at the cub now, Adam’s expression twisted. He opened his mouth to object, but Lim spoke decisively ahead of him:
“Fine.”
Cursing with dissatisfaction, Adam still followed Lim step by step back into the airship. It was obvious who held the real authority between them, so Maurice wasn’t worried about them. Rubbing his chubby little face to wipe away any strange expressions, he took small, heavy steps back into the cramped yet cozy safehouse.
He and Eliotte had spent a peaceful month or so here. Eliotte never brought up the blood and vengeance of the First Army, and Maurice forgot about his mission and the news. They worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. Every day, the chubby cub would gather the most vibrant flowers blooming in the jungle to place by their simple bedside, while Eliotte would unbuckle a primitive long blade from his mecha and bring back fresh prey from the jungle each day.
At night, Eliotte would cradle the cub in his arms, turning the pages of the mechanical textbook he had written by hand to teach him. He worried about the cub’s body, which seemed as though it would never grow up, and wanted to build a miniature mecha for him, one that could be operated even with a poor physical constitution, to increase his chances of survival.
No matter how many times the cub told him not to worry excessively, Eliotte always thought ahead for him. Whenever that tender, somewhat paternal gaze fell upon him, the cub couldn’t help but think of the saying, “When parents love their child, they plan far into their future.”
Yet, all of this was built upon the foundation of the cub’s ever-escalating lies.