Chapter 58. They really are with the Zerg, no...

At first, the Darkrock tribe did not believe what the Zerg were saying.

They just thought this was a group of crazy insects who regarded the insect mother as the only one and would clap their pincers and cheer no matter what the insect mother did.

However, as the insects spoke more and more detailedly, and their voices became increasingly blissful, one of the tribesmen couldn't help but cautiously glance at the insects in front of him.

You can tell if an insect is being properly cared for.

Every hair on the velvets is soft and smooth, and their round eyes are full of ease and joy.

The native insects had hard, shiny carapaces, and their auras were strong and stable, showing no signs of the pain or numbness of being enslaved.

There were quite a few insects, each with a precious obsidian core that they had only seen once before.

Seeing this, a slight hint of doubt appeared in the eyes of the Dark Rock Clan members:

Could it be... that the insect queen really isn't that bad to these insects?

A member of the Darkrock Clan, suppressing his fear, asked:

"But your king made you work so hard to forge the core gem."

As members of the Darkrock Clan, they were acutely aware of how difficult it was to forge a Dumb Stone into a Core Gem.

Apart from human-made machines, other species could work themselves to death and still not necessarily forge one.

However, during this time, the Zerg forged several hundred core gems.

Even if not many insects die from exhaustion, they definitely don't live as well as they say!

That's right!

They must be lying!

"Hiss—a core gem?"

An indigenous insect tilted its head: "Hiss—is that the gem that falls out of the amusement park?"

A velvet caterpillar, upon hearing this, replied without hesitation:

"Hiss—Amusement park!!"

"Hiss—This is so much fun!"

Seeing the clueless look on the stones in front of them, a fluffy worm boasted about what the game machine looked like and how to play it.

Hearing his description of the amusement park, all the Dark Rock Clan members looked bewildered.

Every day after they open their eyes, all they need to do is mine for ore and then obtain food through labor.

They had never seen those machines before.

I never knew there were machines in the world specifically designed for playing games.

Even just hearing the Zerg's simple description, they could sense how interesting the machine was.

The life of the Zerg... is completely different from what they imagined.

How could they possibly be so happy?

How could they possibly be so happy?

A member of the Dark Rock Clan glanced at the scars on his body from digging in the rocks, then looked at the strong and powerful insectoids before him, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice:

"How long do you play video games every day?"

It must be more than ten hours or even longer!

The Queen of Insects is just a shell that gives her an interesting new way of oppressing the Zerg!

yes!

That's the queen insect!

For thousands of years, the Queen of Insects has been ruthless, brutal, and indiscriminately slaughtering the insectoid race!

As the Darkrock Clan members comforted themselves with the brutality of the Insect Queen, they heard voices from many Insects that seemed to have lost some of their strength:

"Hiss—The king has ordered that we can only play for three hours."

However, the Zerg quickly regained their spirits:

"Hiss—three hours, that's an incredibly long time!"

"Hiss—that's right, that's right!"

"Hiss—three hours, so happy!!"

The three-hour game time limit, for the Zerg, is an order given to them by the King, a restriction to prevent them from becoming addicted to the game.

However, the Dark Rock Clan members easily sensed the Insect Queen's intentions towards this group of insects.

It's clear that as long as these Zerg are kept playing in the playground, there will be a continuous supply of core gems.

However, the Insect Queen would rather forgo the core gem than allow these insects to stop and have time to rest.

Why would the insect mother do this?

Shouldn't you have as many core gems as possible?

A fluffy worm, looking at the stones in front of it with a bewildered expression, said in a tea-scented tone:

"Hiss—No way, really?"

"Hiss—did your king not provide you with any gaming equipment at all?"

"Hiss—how long will your king let you play?"

The Dark Rock Clan members dared not refuse to answer; they opened their mouths:

“We…mine ore every day.”

"I didn't play... I didn't have time to play."

Even a normally quiet native insect couldn't help but shake its head upon hearing this:

"Hiss—this is awful."

"Hiss—how long have you been mining?"

“We mine for sixteen hours a day,” a member of the Darkrock tribe answered softly.

At this point, another member of the tribe added, "We get eight hours of rest every day!"

They have it much easier than many species!

"Hiss—Oh my god!"

"They actually have to work for sixteen hours straight!" These insects had forgotten that they had once searched day and night for gifts while waiting for the king.

In their insect brains, only the happy life after the king appeared remained.

The insects eagerly chimed in:

"Hiss—The king has ordered that we must sleep eight hours a day!"

"Hiss—the king has also ordered us to play for three hours every day!"

"Hiss—every two hours we search for offerings, the king demands that we rest for an hour!"

"That's right, that's right! When we rest, the King will play music to heal our wounds!"

"Hiss—The king also ordered us to take good care of ourselves and not get hurt!"

Upon hearing this, the Dark Rock Clan members, who had been barely maintaining their composure, completely collapsed:

Wasn't the Queen said to be incredibly cruel and enslaving the Zerg?!

Didn't they say the Zerg were living in dire straits every day, suffering countless deaths?!

But why do these insects work less than eight hours a day and still have time to rest and play?!

The queen insect would even expend energy to heal them?!

The Darkrock Clan members looked at the radiant and powerful appearance of the Insectoids, then looked down at their own thin, bluish-gray bodies, emaciated from lack of food, and a layer of pale gray mist rose in their eyes:

It turns out that the species that truly suffers the most is themselves.

Just then, the previously quiet stone hall finally stirred.

The Darkrock Clan was not ordered to be destroyed by the Queen.

The Insect Queen led the Insectoid race away from Darkrock Star, taking with her three hundred members of the Darkrock race.

The conflict subsided completely with the Zerg's retreat.

*

Inside the insect nest.

Ai Ying listened to the report from a subordinate insect, a rare look of surprise in her eyes:

"You mean these Dark Rock Clan people are on their planet..."

"I can only sleep six hours a day, and I work the rest of the time. I can only get two hours of rest intermittently after I'm so tired that my body can't take it anymore?"

"And even then, the food they distributed could only fill half of their stomachs?"

The insect nodded respectfully.

"Yes."

Upon hearing his reply, Ai Ying glanced down at her arrangements for the Dark Rock Clan and blinked absently.

She stipulated that these tribespeople must work ten hours a day; food was provided in unlimited quantities, but it consisted of the lowest grade of energy stones; and their living quarters were extremely simple, consisting of only a simple stone cave...

Their treatment was less than a third of what the insects received.

She originally thought her rules were already very strict.

I never imagined that the Dark Rock Clan's leader could oppress his own people to this extent.

Ai Ying sighed:

"never mind."

"Add some intermediate-grade energy stones to the energy stones provided to them as a reward for the Dark Rock Clan members who work the hardest every day."

The insects never questioned the king's orders.

All they had to do was obey orders.

The subordinate insect knelt on one knee and respectfully responded:

"Yes, Your Majesty."

On the Dumb Stone Star.

All the Dark Rock Clan members dug the Dumb Stone with trepidation, not daring to rest for a moment.

As members of their tribe abandoned by their leader, they could only struggle to survive under the terrifying pincers of the Zerg.

If they do anything wrong, they could be killed by the enraged Zerg at any time.

In any case, the Dark Rock Clan doesn't need one or two more members.

If we kill them, the Zerg can just get some more from the Darkrock Clan.

Thinking of this, all the clansmen were filled with despair, but they dared not stop what they were doing.

At that moment, a Zergling responsible for watching them seemed to receive some command, its antennae twitching as it approached them.

Then, in an icy voice, he said:

"Hiss—the king spoke."

"You must work ten hours a day!"

"Your food can only be low-grade energy stones!"

Only the stone that works the hardest can obtain a mid-level energy stone!

"Do you understand?"

After the insect finished speaking, it extended its pincers and pointed to a pile of energy stones not far away:

"Eat when you're hungry, don't let yourself be too weak to work!"

The Darkrock Clan member stared blankly at the insectoid creature before him:

Only working ten hours a day?

You can eat whatever you want without going hungry?!

And they might even occasionally obtain intermediate-level energy stones that they might never see in their entire lives?

Good heavens! Are they dreaming?!

Did they really come to the Zerg, or some kind of stone paradise?!

A few days later.

The Darkrock tribe discovered that what the Zerg said that day was true!

He didn't lie to them!

They only have to work ten hours a day, and they have an endless supply of energy stones!

After several days of 'rest', the skin of each tribesman became hard and shiny, and their stone bodies became strong and powerful as their energy increased.

Life here is something they never dared to dream of before.

One of the tribesmen, who had diligently mined the Dumb Stone and obtained three intermediate-grade energy stones, couldn't wait to see what would happen next:

If they work hard... is it possible to bring their families here as well?

On the planet Dumbstone, a blissful tranquility prevailed.

However, the interstellar relationships have become turbulent due to the Zerg's actions this time.

Many species have felt the energy fluctuations when Isaiah caused a mineral planet to explode, and know how terrifying the Zerg lords are now, with their queens.

They should have been increasingly afraid of and wary of the Zerg.

But……

After learning the whole story, almost all the species felt that the Dark Rock Clan Chief's stone head must be full of holes.

He actually dared to play tricks on the Zerg.

Doesn't he remember the terrifying deeds of the Zerg?!

It's already a miracle that those insects would pay star coins to sign a contract to buy the Dumb Stone.

The Dark Rock Clan Chieftain not only didn't secretly rejoice, but he even dared to secretly sabotage things.

What an ignorant and foolish stone!

The Darkrock Clan chieftain's actions were enough to enrage the Zerg so much that they wiped out his entire clan and destroyed all the planets under his control.

But the Zerg didn't even kill any of the Darkrock Clan members, let alone destroy planets.

Considering the actions of the Zerg, many species actually felt a strange sense of security towards them.

The Darkrock Clan chieftain committed such a grave error, yet the Zerg merely destroyed one of his planets and demanded the Dumbstone Planet and a small number of Darkrock Clan members as compensation…

If the human empire did this, they would only think that humans are truly greedy, and that their previous kindness and peace were all a facade.

But when it was the Zerg who did this, they only felt—

My God, the Zerg are so magnanimous!

Moreover, having experienced the shock of Isaiah's energy, and knowing just how powerful and terrifying the Zerg were, they couldn't muster even the slightest thought of resisting them.

Therefore, all species breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing the Zerg's 'tolerance'.

As long as the Zerg don't indiscriminately slaughter other species and plunder their resources as before, they can simply be more careful and avoid violating the Zerg's taboos, and they can coexist peacefully with the Zerg.

Especially after they discovered that the Zerg were not raising the price of the core gems they were selling, they even felt a sense of gratitude towards the Zerg.

It's important to know that the Dumbstone Star is currently in the hands of the Zerg, who can be said to have a direct monopoly on the production of core gems.

They could set prices arbitrarily, just like the human empire, and even if the prices were 50% or 60% higher, they would have no choice but to grit their teeth and pay in star coins.

However, the price of the core gem remained unchanged!

When the vassal insectoid selling the core gems uttered the words "The Zerg abide by the rules of the contract," the other species were almost moved to tears.

That's a great contract!

Remembering the Darkrock Clan, who suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Zerg for failing to comply with the contract, the other species had only one thought in their minds:

They absolutely must abide by the contract!

While other species secretly rejoiced, only the human empire was shrouded in a somber atmosphere.

Emperor Nergard of the Human Empire listened to the Knight Commander's report with a cold expression:

He would rather the current Queen of Insects be burning, killing, and looting, and behaving madly against other species, even slaughtering humans, than see a Queen of Insects that is 'reasonable and law-abiding'.

Although the Zerg were powerful in the past, they only knew how to use force to oppress other species.

This is tantamount to the Zerg pushing themselves to the opposite side of the entire interstellar space.

The human empire, on the other hand, did nothing; as a party also oppressed by the Zerg, it naturally became an ally of other species.

Therefore, no matter what harm humans do to other species, as long as the Zerg, their common enemy, exists, they will never have any thought of resisting the human empire.

It will also support the vast majority of the proposals and actions of the human empire.

But now, the Zerg have actually gained such a 'appeasement' Zerg Queen.

A Zerg race that knows how to make good use of the rules and win over other species would directly threaten the human empire's position in interstellar space.

The more reasonable the Zerg are, the better their reputation among other species, and the more passive humanity becomes.

Especially...

Emperor Nergard, thinking of the Dumbstone Star which now belonged to the Zerg, looked even darker than the sky outside.

He gripped the teacup tightly, the veins on the back of his hand standing out.

As expected of the Zerg Queen, who was born when the Zerg were on the verge of extinction, she is indeed ruthless.

Not only did she seize the entire Dumb Stone Star from the ground up, but she also earned the praise of all species for her actions.

The teacup in Nergard's hand shattered silently.

If the Empire wants to continue producing core gems, it can only purchase dumbstones from the Zerg.

This feeling of being at the mercy of other species made him extremely uncomfortable.

In hundreds of years, when has the empire ever suffered such humiliation?

If only I had known that when I first developed the machine for forging Dumbstone, I should have disregarded the Empire's reputation and simply bought Dumbstone Star.

In that case, the empire wouldn't be in such a passive position now.

Nergard looked at the still-dark sky outside and said expressionlessly:

"Invite all the dukes and generals here."

This imperial council lasted from nightfall until dawn.

But whether they were radicals or conservatives, no one dared to utter the word 'war' when faced with the emperor's questioning.

For the past three hundred years, the Empire has long believed that the Zerg would perish.

All the nobles had become accustomed to yielding to the dying insectoid race.

They felt it was a good deal to gain several years of peace by paying a small price.

Although the Imperial generals had prepared for a decisive battle with the Zerg, they hesitated after experiencing the Zerg's current strength.

Even with only a 50% chance of winning, they were willing to fight to the death for the empire.

But now...

They fell silent, recalling the energy data they had just detected of the Zerg lord Isaiah.

Lacking a legitimate reason for attacking and with extremely low chances of winning...

They cannot allow their soldiers to make unnecessary sacrifices.

Ultimately, the only advice everyone gave was to wait.

In half a month, the once-in-a-decade interstellar conference will be held.

Given the current attitude of the Insect Queen towards interstellar species, she will definitely attend the interstellar conference.

When we see the current insect queen, we will react according to her behavior.

Nergard listened to their answer after a long discussion, a deep unease hidden beneath his dignified expression.

But he knew that what they said made sense.

The Zerg, now possessing their Queen, are at the height of their power.

All the empire could do was temporarily avoid a direct confrontation.

He looked up at the already bright sky outside, and was just about to end the meeting when he heard the knights guarding the palace come to report:

"Your Majesty, Major Versera of the Third Branch Army of the Empire requests an audience."

Upon hearing this surname, many generals were momentarily stunned.

Long ago, there was also an admiral named Versella among the members of the Imperial Council.

She was a rare young talent; if it weren't for that accident...

Just then, with the emperor's permission, Major Versella, whom the knight had mentioned, entered the hall.

Upon seeing her, Duke Decker, who had been hidden among the many nobles at the meeting, suddenly widened his pupils.

At the same time, the newcomer's voice echoed throughout the conference room:

"Major Charlotte Visera of the Third Branch Army of the Empire has filed a formal complaint against Duke Decker for murdering his wife, Admiral Clysyl Visera of the Empire."

Emperor Nergard's brow twitched slightly.

He glanced indifferently at Duke Dirk not far away.

Duke Decker quickly stepped forward. As a duke who had served the emperor for so long, his voice was not flustered, but rather full of sighs.

He gave a wry smile:

"It was my fault."

“I feel that Charlotte is the child I have watched grow up. Even though she has been my biological son for more than 20 years, I still can’t bear to give her up.”

"I never expected that she would still be dissatisfied, and she almost killed my child."

He sighed:

"I have no choice but to expel her from the Duke's mansion."

"I never imagined that seeing her again would be like this."

In just a few words, he portrayed Charlotte as an ungrateful wretch who wanted to frame him because he had done something wrong.

Charlotte didn't even glance at him, nor was she angry at his words.

She knelt on one knee and calmly presented the evidence she had found:

"This is the residual energy monitoring data of the starship before Admiral Visera's death, as well as the abnormal data on the fluctuations of the black hole storm at that time..."

She took a deep breath, suppressing the hatred in her heart, and said, word by word:

"These are all evidence that Admiral Versella was murdered by Duke Decker. Please take a look, Your Majesty."

Given Dirk McLeish's status, if he is to receive the punishment he deserves, this evidence must be handed over to those who have the authority to deal with him.

This evidence is sufficient to convict him.

Emperor Nergard glanced indifferently at the dozens of generals and dukes in the conference room.

After seeing the changes in the eyes of many generals, he finally looked up at Charlotte.

He slightly raised his hand, and the knight commander behind him quickly presented the evidence to the emperor.

After briefly probing the contents with his mental power, Nergard said authoritatively:

“If your evidence is true, then the Empire will naturally avenge General Versella and kill those who killed her.”

Seeing the satisfaction in the generals' eyes, he calmly gave the order:

"Separate Duke Decker and Charlotte and hold them in separate custody until the judge determines the evidence and tries the crime."

After everyone left the meeting hall, Nergard expressionlessly tossed the evidence in his hand to the knight commander behind him.

His voice was icy:

“Give these to Duke Derek and let him clean up the mess.”

"Also, tell him..."

"Always do things cleanly and efficiently, otherwise you'll end up like today, with endless troubles in the future."

Duke Decker was a useful tool in his hands, and he still needed him to do many things.

Now is not the time to destroy this knife.

Moreover, the best outcome for Krystal Visera's daughter would be to die like her.

It's time for the military to get busy.

When you get busy, you won't pay attention to trivial matters.

Soon, after the presiding judge's investigation...

He discovered that the evidence Charlotte presented that was unfavorable to the Duke of Decker was suspected of being fabricated.

Furthermore, given her identity as the daughter of a fake duke, she had a strong motive to frame Duke Decker, and ultimately all the evidence was rejected.

Just as the incident had subsided and the Duke of Decker was trying to kill Charlotte discreetly to prevent future troubles, his 'love story' with Admiral Visella began circulating online.

The rumors that he had killed General Visella after gaining the title of Duke through her military achievements intensified.

Interspersed among them were some pieces of evidence that Charlotte had presented to the emperor.

Duke Decker's face darkened; he knew this was Charlotte's backup plan.

As expected of Visera's daughter, she's just as difficult to deal with as her.

However, his anger quickly turned into mockery.

However, Charlotte never imagined that the emperor was his true reliance.

With His Majesty's support, no matter what Charlotte does, it will be useless; it's like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

No matter how she escaped from the Zerg's pincers, her final fate was already sealed.

Finally, thanks to Duke Decker's flawless preparations and plans, Emperor Nergard agreed to his approach.

They are preparing to hold a public trial for Charlotte's crimes on the StarNet.

Meanwhile, on Merton.

Upon hearing the news from Bilia, Ai Ying suddenly stood up, her eyes filled with surprise and joy:

"You found Charlotte?"

How is she now?

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Author's note: I picked up all my darlings and gave them a big kiss, mwah~~

Today's red envelopes are given out in sequence! Love you all!