Chapter 21 He was once the insect closest to the king…

In the vast and profound universe.

A slender figure stood in the very center of the darkness.

He was so small that he seemed like he could be swallowed up by the surrounding storm at any moment, yet the aura around him was incredibly powerful, completely disproportionate to his size.

It is powerful enough to destroy the universe.

He gripped the skin in front of the insect core with one hand, and because he was gripping it too tightly, he left deep wounds on his body, and light blue blood seeped into the surrounding clothes.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, and his transparent wings trembled incessantly.

After a long while, he folded his wings, finally raised his head, and revealed a pair of deep blue pupils.

His eyes, which had always been calm and rational, rarely showing any emotional fluctuations, were now filled with vulnerability and brokenness.

Savile felt the completely out-of-control impact on the insect core, felt the uncontrollable urge within the insect brain to respond to the king's call, and his body tensed more than ever before:

king--

With Fiedlock by the king's side, the king will be very safe.

He slowly straightened up, all the emotions in his eyes struggling to transform into cold rationality:

He has waited so long, searched so long, he cannot die after only seeing the king once.

He wanted to receive the mark bestowed by the king, to become a lord accepted by the king, and to stay by the king's side for a longer time.

Savile gazed at the Aimor Galaxy ahead, a deep darkness shrouded his thick eyelashes:

Now, the king should be devouring Fidelock.

After devouring the lord, the king will officially enter the growth stage from the nascent stage.

The child is entering a growth period, which will take some time.

During this period, the carapace of the lords devoured by the king will transform into the hardest cocoon in the galaxy, protecting the sleeping king.

Nothing can break through this cocoon.

Saville lowered his eyelashes, letting the interstellar storm sweep past him:

Your Majesty, you are safe.

The king will not encounter any danger.

All he needed to do was be the first to respond to the king's call once the king awoke again.

He didn't need to care about Fidelock, who was the first to appear before the king.

because--

Fiedlock's fate was sealed: to be devoured by the king.

He is the one who will always stay by the king's side.

On the starship.

Fiedlock stood frozen in place, unable to move.

Wang's words kept echoing in his brain.

'Because of him'

Because of him, the core of the king's heart has become so urgent.

At that moment, he could hear no other sounds, only the thumping sound of his worm core pulsating violently.

He looked up at the figure that had already turned and walked away. The eyes that had always been cruel and fierce now held a hint of docility after being tamed.

This excessive focus on obedience only instills more fear and trepidation.

After calming Fedlock down, Ai Ying didn't dare linger and turned to walk deeper into the starship without hesitation.

She had no idea how much his brain had been affected by her words.

She walked forward step by step, her heart still pounding anxiously.

To survive in Fedlock's clutches, she had to get used to their interactions.

She had to force herself to stop being afraid of him, to stop her heart racing because of him.

She blinked silently:

Even if something is discovered to be wrong, it must be done only after Charlotte and the other insects have safely left Carlo.

Ai Ying exhaled, banishing all worry and fear from her mind:

We're already on the starship, what's the use of being afraid now!

But I can't just jump down right there.

She optimistically comforted herself:

In fact, Fidelock and everything on Carlo Star are essentially the same; they are all insects, and they all believe she is the queen.

At most, it's just much stronger than those insects.

Even if we take a step back—

Fiedlock, she can't beat him;

Could she possibly defeat the insects on Planet Carlo?!

Since they can't win anyway, what's the difference between Fiedlock and other bugs?

Thinking of this, her heartbeat strangely began to calm down.

Yes, she was able to survive on Carlo.

I'm sure I'll survive by Fiedlock's side too!

Ai Ying felt relieved and finally had the energy to look at the interior decorations of the starship.

She is now at the very center of the starship.

This is just one space in the very center of the starship, yet it is several times larger than the insect hive on Carlo.

At the highest point at the end of the space, there was a throne that was completely dark, but shimmered with a faint light.

The legendary most beautiful Carlo stone unearthed from Carlo Star was nothing more than one of the most ordinary gems among the countless jewels laid out on the steps leading to the throne.

The floor surrounding the throne was also paved with countless rare gems.

The dome in front of the throne is a projection of countless stars in the universe.

Stars and rivers flow, the universe is vast.

The miniature landscape visible from the throne, in reality, all belong to the king.

Ai Ying suddenly closed her eyes, concealing the shock and ignorance within them:

She had never seen such a scene in modern movies!

At this moment, Fiedlock finally snapped out of his daze after hearing Ai Ying's words, "Because of you."

He dared not ask, for fear that he had misunderstood the meaning of the king's words.

He carefully hid those three words inside the insect's core, to remember them forever.

He walked step by step, loyally and meekly, to the king's side.

When he came up behind the queen, the first thing he noticed was not the queen's gaze toward the throne, but her pale face.

The wound on Wang's arm had just scabbed over, and he was very weak.

In its early stages, the king was still very weak.

Fiedlock looked at her with a paranoid and terrifying worry in his eyes.

The king... did not want to devour him.

His pulsating worm core unconsciously carried a hint of disappointment.

He could not remain a part of the king's body forever.

But he soon remembered what the king had said.

He covered his dark purple left eye with one hand, and a purple flame seemed to be dancing excitedly in his eye.

Wang liked his eyes.

Wang hoped he could always see his eyes.

He will not go against the king's expectations.

Fiedlock gazed at the projection of cosmic stars within the starship, his expression slowly turning cold:

A king must devour a lord in order to enter its growth phase and become powerful.

He must capture a lord and have the king devour him.

Ai Ying, who had just sat on the throne, froze on the throne upon hearing Fidelock's words:

What did he just say?

Find her...another lord?

Fidelock, a mere lord, was more than she could handle.

If another lord comes, will she still be able to survive?!

During those few seconds of silence from Ai Ying, Fidelok knelt on one knee, his gaze filled with worry as he looked at the figure on the throne.

The jet-black throne made the king's blood appear even redder, and also made his aura seem even weaker.

His voice, deep and hoarse, carried a chilling tenderness on the empty starship:

"Your Majesty, you can only enter the growth stage by devouring a lord."

"You are too easily hurt in your early stages."

“Whenever you need it, Fiedlock will bring other lords to your side for your enjoyment.”

Hearing his words, Ai Ying was filled with shock:

The king of the Zerg actually needs to eat Zerg?!

No wonder Fedorok made her eat him the moment they met.

She didn't understand what the king's early life and growth period really meant.

All she knew was that she didn't want to eat insects, and she couldn't eat insects.

The lord is such a powerful being that even if she dared to eat him, she would be burst by his energy.

Besides, she's a fake queen; even if she survives eating the insects, she won't enter the growth stage.

Ai Ying took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled:

If another lord comes, she'll definitely find a reason not to eat him.

Moreover, with two lords watching over her, the probability of her identity being exposed is even greater.

Without much thought, the answer came to her:

reject!

You must find a reason to refuse!!

Seeing Fiedlock kneeling on the ground in submission, Ai Ying seemed to have thought of something.

She rested her chin on one hand, her voice laced with a hint of unease:

Do you think I'm weak right now?

Fiedlock was instantly frozen in place by Ai Ying's words.

When Wang questioned him about this matter, his insect brain froze, and he could no longer think of anything else.

How could he possibly think Wang is weak?!

He simply hoped that Wang could successfully navigate his growth period and avoid any further injury.

He raised his head, and his dark purple eyes, which were always filled with fierce darkness, trembled slightly in panic.

He was afraid of being misunderstood by the king, and even more afraid of being disliked by the king.

Ai Ying saw the panic and pleading in his eyes, and her fingertips twitched silently.

She knew that he probably wouldn't bring up the matter of devouring lords again anytime soon.

Thinking of this, she stood up and gave a reason for not devouring other lords:

"I don't want to see those useless insects who can't even hear my calls."

Upon hearing her words, Fidelock's insect core flinched.

He awoke from his ecstatic joy at seeing the king and suddenly realized:

He did not hear the king's call.

It was Savile who conveyed the king's call to him.

At that moment, he heard Wang Wenrou's voice:

“You are different from them.”

When he heard the king's praise, his eyes were not filled with joy, but rather with fear:

He is no different from them.

Ai Ying originally intended to comfort Fedorok with words at the end.

But for some reason, after hearing her words, the aura around him... seemed even more terrifying.

She suppressed her panic, feeling that her previous reassurance wasn't clear enough, so she added:

"You are special."

“Fidlock”.

Upon hearing the king's words, Fiedlock suddenly clenched his fists, black insect blood flowing down his fingertips before being instantly swallowed by the black energy surging from his hands.

The king disliked the sticky blood of insects.

The queen dislikes useless insects that cannot hear her calls.

Fiedlock lowered his head, his dark purple pupils deepening to a deep blackish-purple.

He is not special.

Savile was the only special insect who heard the king's call.

Savile.

Fiedlock lowered his head, concealing the surging murderous intent in his eyes:

Saville did not want to be devoured by the king, so he passed on this call to him.

He actually backed down when being devoured by the king was such a glorious and honorable thing!

How can such a cowardly creature, clinging to life, be worthy of hearing the king's call?

How could she be worthy of being by the king's side?!

The fear and panic in Fiedlock's eyes gradually transformed into a cold, resolute determination:

He was the only insect to answer the king's call!

He was the only insect who stayed by the king's side!

He was the one most favored and special among all the insects!

Fiedlock looked up and gave Ai Ying a sweet smile.

Against the backdrop of a starry sky, his dark purple pupils lost some of their fierceness and gained a more radiant devotion.

He wouldn't let the king know about Savile's existence.

He wouldn't let the king know where he heard her call from today.

He will forever enjoy the king's favor.

The king's...favoritism.

The energy around Fiedlock was dissipating outwards uncontrollably.

These four words represent the lifelong wish of countless insects that they can never fulfill.

And he has it now.

The satisfaction deep within his blood and soul dispelled all his unease.

"king."

Fiedlock looked at the slender figure in crimson and white before the throne. A black energy swirled around the figure, carrying a Zerg potion that could heal wounds and replenish nutrients, and presented it to the throne.

He must protect the newborn king and give him the best nutritional medicine!

Ai Ying looked at the liquid in the bottle in front of her, still boiling and churning, and tried to raise the corners of her lips... but didn't move them.

"What's this?"

Fiedlock looked at Ai Ying with a puzzled expression, as if wondering why the king didn't recognize this thing:

"This is the Zerg nutrient solution that can restore the King's health."

"The king is still in its early stages and needs to be given more nutrition."

Ai Ying noticed the confusion on Fedorok's face.

This should be common knowledge for the Zerg.

But she wasn't a real insect; all her knowledge about the insectoid race came from Charlotte.

Charlotte couldn't possibly be so knowledgeable as to know even what the Zerg like to eat.

Ai Ying looked at the Zerg nutrient solution in front of her, feigning dislike, and turned her face away with a frown:

She knows too little about the Zerg.

Even if she manages to get away with it this time, she'll definitely encounter other problems in the future.

Who knows what kind of weird stuff Fedorok will hand over next?

Moreover, this is something that only insectoids eat. Wouldn't she, a human, be seriously injured if she ate it?

She had to find a way to resolve the issue once and for all, ideally one that would prevent Fedorock from questioning her identity based on common sense.

Thinking of this, she maintained her unhappy expression and pushed away the bottle of boiling Zerg nutrient solution:

"I've never eaten this before, and I don't want to eat it!"

Fiedlock stood there, stunned, as the black energy, carrying the nutrient solution, slowly receded.

"What does Your Majesty like to eat? I will serve it to you now."

Ai Ying tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, her face carrying an air of self-righteous arrogance:

"It's that kind of light-colored thing, packaged in a bottle, that you can eat to keep yourself from going hungry."

"There's also that pink water that makes you feel comfortable after eating it, and you won't feel uncomfortable anymore."

At this point, as if remembering something, she added:

"It's something my human pet can eat!"

Upon hearing her description, Fedorok felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, and his body trembled uncontrollably.

He covered the spot where the insect core was, feeling that the pain there was ten or even a hundred times worse than when he had scratched the insect core himself.

What Wang was describing were human nutrient solutions and repair solutions.

That kind of thing has almost no nutritional value, little use, and even lower insects wouldn't eat it...

Did the king eat such garbage during his early life?

His voice trembled slightly, barely suppressed:

"Your Majesty, have you been eating those things all this time?"

"Your Majesty, don't you think that their inability to provide energy might cause you to feel unwell?"

Ai Ying recalled the days when she first arrived on the wasteland, when she went hungry three meals a day, and nine meals in three days, and said with genuine emotion:

"It's good enough to have food."

"Whatever it is, it's better than going hungry."

She wanted to use a past unknown to any insect—the early days of the king, as Fidelock called it—to solidify her identity as 'king'.

As a queen who was not born into the Zerg race, she has never seen many Zerg since her birth.

It's normal that she doesn't know the basics about the Zerg;

It's normal that she doesn't like Zerg food;

It's normal that her preferences are somewhat similar to those of humans because of her pet Charlotte.

As for the Zerg king, will he have inherited memories?

She is not the true king; she doesn't know that.

But these insects aren't kings, so how could they possibly know that?

After figuring this out.

Ai Ying's expression grew increasingly self-righteous, and she said imperiously:

"I don't want to eat something I've never eaten before."

"I want to eat the food I've eaten before."

Just as she thought she could use this method to complete her 'king' past, she saw the expression on the insect kneeling in the distance, looking so sad that it was about to cry.

When Fedrock heard about the hunger he had experienced in the past, an unprecedented sour feeling welled up in his insect core.

Black energy points flickered in his dark purple pupils:

His king...

They used to be able to survive only on human nutrient solutions.

Even this inferior nutrient solution can only be consumed occasionally.

They also often went hungry.

If even eating is like this, then what about everything else...?

The Fidelock insect trembled slightly:

Their king should have grown up surrounded by countless insects.

She should have lived in the most luxurious insect hive, eaten the most nutritious food, and enjoyed everything a king should enjoy.

Instead of the way it is now.

Despite the pain from the insect core, Fiedlock raised his head. Upon seeing Ai Ying's frail figure, the black energy flickering in his eyes shattered abruptly.

He's useless.

He should have found Wang sooner.

He should have been by her side when the queen was born.

After a few seconds of silence.

He searched through the insect web for all of humanity's nutrient and repair fluids, then tore through space and, with uncontrollably trembling black energy, delivered these items to the king.

Looking at the familiar, seemingly ordinary nutrient solutions in front of her, Ai Ying finally felt at ease.

This is the kind of food she can eat.

She hadn't eaten anything all day, either because she was frightened by the Zerg or because she bled herself.

She selected a few of her favorite flavors from countless nutrient and restorative solutions, sipping them contentedly.

As she absorbed the nutrient solution and repair fluid, her complexion gradually became rosy, and the wound on her arm healed completely at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Fiedlock watched her drink this inferior liquid with little energy and seemed to enjoy it, and felt a deep loathing for himself for only now appearing before the king.

He muttered to himself in self-loathing:

"It was my fault."

"I should have found you sooner."

Ai Ying almost choked when she heard his words.

If Fedlock had found her earlier, she probably wouldn't even have bones left by now.

She put down the empty IV drip she was holding and offered him only half-hearted words of comfort:

"You are the first lord to discover my existence."

Perhaps she was particularly bad at comforting insects, because after she finished speaking, Fedlock's head drooped even further.

If he had antennae, they would be drooping down his head by now.

Just as she was wondering if she had overlooked something, she saw Fedorok raise his head again.

His eyes were like those of a little insect she once kept; though they were fierce when looking at others, they were exceptionally obedient and docile whenever they looked at her.

As soon as she reaches out her hand, the little bug will jump up and try to touch it.

But this insect is definitely not something you can touch casually.

While she was lost in thought, Fiedlock was already considering countless ways to replenish the king's nutrients within the insect's brain:

"Your Majesty, would you like to go to my territory?"

"The Beardsley Galaxy will forever be at your command."

The mere thought of the king coming to his territory filled Fiedlock with a restless excitement.

"I'm not going."

Ai Ying adopted a queenly demeanor and refused decisively.

What's the difference between going to Fiedlock's territory and going to your death?

Fiedlock was momentarily disappointed, but then chose another planet with abundant energy, suitable for Wang to recuperate:

"Does the king want to go to Kerdar?"

Ai Ying still seemed uninterested.

After he mentioned more than a dozen planets, she finally heard a familiar name.

Amphiso Star.

Charlotte had told her about this planet.

The only human planet she could be certain of.

She nodded:

"Let's choose this planet."

It's safer on a human planet than on a Zerg planet.

Perhaps she still has a chance to escape.

Fiedlock paused for a moment:

"This is a..."

"Human planet." Ai Ying stepped down from the throne, her voice filled with curiosity. "I also want to see what the planet where my pet lives is like."

Fedorok hesitated before answering:

"yes."

However, a doubt unconsciously arose in his mind:

The pursuit of power is the Zerg's instinct.

But why does the king seem to be resisting this instinct?

He soon found himself unable to remain doubtful.

Because his king came to his side and looked at him with a smile.

She said:

"This is a journey for just the two of us insects."

Aren't you looking forward to it?

Fiedlock was no longer capable of thinking:

Only the king... and him.

He leaped around like an exploding insect nucleus.

*

A few days.

Savile seems to have become a sculpture in the universe.

He waited stubbornly and anxiously at the place where he first heard the king's call.

But nothing came of it.

King Mingming should have already passed his growth period—

King Mingming will likely summon other lords—

But there was nothing there.

Saville could no longer suppress his longing for the king and went straight to the place where the king had first called him.

The planet Carlo was desolate.

There were no more living beings here, only a tiny insect nest standing in the distance, built by all the lower insects who had exhausted their resources.

Saville immediately sensed the lingering scent of the king's blood in the air.

The king... is injured!

All his clarity and rationality vanished the moment he learned that Wang was injured:

That good-for-nothing Fedorok actually managed to injure the King!

Who hurt the king?!

How badly was Wang injured?

Has the king's injury healed?

Did Wang successfully complete his growth period?

All the anger and worry turned into an anxious desire to see the king:

Where is the king?

The invisible energy within his wings swept across the empty insect nest, and then across the entire Aimor Galaxy…

Not in the Aimor system, not in Fidelock's territory, not in any other lord's territory—

Where is the king?

In the vast universe, Saville could not find a trace of a king.

He was once the insect closest to the king.

But now, he can't find the king.

He could not see the king.

All reason was torn apart by the panic of not being able to find the king.

The pain of gaining and then losing something caused fine cracks to appear in his deep blue pupils.

king--

Where are you?

-----------------------

Author's Note: My darlings, because I need to get on the new book's 1000-word ranking, tomorrow's update will be changed from midnight to 11 PM. The update will be at 11 PM on the 8th.

Updates will continue every night at 9 PM after the 8th.

This chapter includes red envelopes for everyone! Thank you to every lovely reader who's made it this far, love you all~~