Chapter 70
The current situation in the empire is peaceful on the surface, but in reality, private conflicts continue.
Yael was not deeply involved in this, but he also understood some of the progress.
Because of his stance and the fact that the eldest prince had accumulated a lot of strength over the past five years, the plan was able to proceed smoothly.
For him, the past half month has been a continuous success, but Cano must have been in a state of panic.
Soon, Yael received an email from the Male Protection Association, stating that he would begin to fulfill his obligations as a noble male insect and provide spiritual counseling for the female insects that were caught in the riot.
Xi Ze, who had originally said he would accompany him, looked a little apologetic after receiving a call.
"Sorry, Lord Xiong, something happened over there and I need to go there immediately..."
Yael took the coat that 015 handed over and put it on. He nodded in understanding and said, "Okay, you go first. Be careful."
The two suspended vehicles went their separate ways at the intersection.
One was heading towards a famous building across a city block, while the other was heading in the opposite direction, speeding towards the palace in the center.
Upon learning of his arrival, the Xiongbao Association had already made full preparations. After the suspended vehicle entered the specially built track, police officers were arranged to guard both sides of the road all the way.
"Good day, Your Majesty."
The worker insect bent down to open the car door, and respectfully took a step back to make room for the president of the Xiongbao Association behind him, so as to better welcome the arrival of His Majesty the S-rank male insect.
When Yael got off the car, he looked up and saw a middle-aged male insect standing in front of him. He was dressed elegantly and seriously, and had a temperament very different from the noble male insects he saw at the banquet.
"Your Majesty, I am the president of the Male Insect Protection Association. You can call me Card."
The middle-aged male insect stretched out his hand and shook hands with him respectfully.
"Just go in and talk as you go."
Raising his hand to stop the association president's plan to give him a grand welcome and entertainment, Yael went straight to the point and took the lead.
"Okay, come this way."
After passing through the spacious hall and several corridors, we arrived at the floor reserved for A-level males.
Yael turned his eyes slightly and saw the scene in a counseling room next door.
There were two insects, one sitting and one kneeling, in the counseling room. From the glass, one could see that the one sitting there was a young male insect who looked familiar. He had his eyes closed and looked a little impatient.
The female insect kneeling on the ground was trembling all over, and her situation seemed to be a bit bad. Her neck, hands and feet were tied with precise and sturdy shackles, which should be to prevent excessive stimulation during grooming and the sudden attack from injuring the male insect.
Yerdo looked at the male insect twice before he searched his memory for his name.
——Vito, the representative of the emerging nobility in Cizek’s words.
The young male insect happened to open his eyes, and did not look surprised when he saw him. He must have known that he was coming, but because he couldn't free his hands, he could only nod and apologize.
"Your Majesty, your counseling room is here."
The president of the association waited until he looked away before reminding him, pointing to the large counseling room next to him and explaining in a low voice.
"The number of counseling positions will be matched according to the level. The higher the level, the heavier the responsibility. There will be more female insects on the verge of going berserk. The A-level male insects have 50 tasks per month."
The counseling quotas are said to be randomly matched, but in reality they are basically obtained by wealthy and powerful people who paid a large price and bid in secret, and there are many tricks involved.
[Some military females need to use all their military merits accumulated over several decades to earn a chance to ensure that they will not die violently.]
Xi Ze looked somewhat silent when he explained it to him. Perhaps he had seen such things many times, but he was helpless in the face of such chaos.
Here, the president of the association considered it and did not directly tell Yael how much the task was.
"Due to your special circumstances, the association is prepared to let you try it out first, and then determine the specific amount of tasks based on the situation. What do you think?"
Seeing that Yael seemed a little unhappy, the president of the association coughed softly and clarified the unspoken rules that everyone knew.
"You don't have to worry about working for nothing. The association only takes 1% of the money that the female insects pay for the grooming quota, and the bulk of the money goes to you."
The young male insect hummed in an ambiguous manner, and his face was so cold that it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
He made up his mind and waved to the worker outside the door, signaling to start calling numbers. "Just do what you can. You can do as much as you want. Don't feel pressured."
Yael sat on the only small sofa in the counseling room, tapping the armrest with his fingertips absentmindedly, and watched the side door of the counseling room open.
The female soldier with the number tag was wearing a dark-colored everyday military uniform. She looked very unfamiliar and did not seem to belong to any of the four major legions.
He stood with his back straight, but still looked a little reserved. He must be the non-noble military woman that Xi Ze mentioned, who offered all her military achievements in exchange for a moment of counseling.
The female soldier looked quite young, but her eyebrows and eyes bore some traces of weathering, which were the marks left by being tempered by the harsh environment for a long time.
Exactly the same calluses and scars as those on Cize's hands.
He bowed deeply and addressed him respectfully, "Your Majesty."
Yael responded, then realized belatedly that the president of the association had not explained to him the method of remote counseling. He looked a little confused for a moment.
The counseling room fell into an eerie silence. The association president was confused for a moment, and then he realized what was going on when he met the male insect's gaze.
But before he could come forward to explain the specific method, Vito, who was leaning against the door, came forward.
"Your Majesty."
Vito smiled warmly, observed the male insect in front of him calmly, and took the lead in bowing, "I wonder if Your Majesty would allow me to demonstrate it again?"
"Okay." Yael glanced at him and raised his chin slightly, "Then this is yours."
Vito laughed and motioned the somewhat bewildered female soldier to put on the shackles. "Let's begin. Your Majesty, remember to watch carefully."
After confirming that everything was correct, he raised his hand and released a stream of mental power, which formed a line and drilled directly into the brain of the female soldier opposite him.
"Uh ah... Hehe!"
As if she was enduring great pain, the muscles in the military female's body instantly tensed up, causing the shackles to tremble continuously. Light flashed above them, increasing the intensity of the confinement according to the strength.
Yael saw clearly that Vito's mental power was clearly relying on the suppression of his level to directly invade the female insect's mental picture, ruthlessly sweeping away the mental sludge inside.
"Wait, something doesn't seem right..."
Vito murmured, feeling that his mental power had reached a deeper level, and the abnormality there made him frown.
The longer time passed, the more solemn his expression became.
“Crackle, crackle… hiss… snap…”
The female soldier on the opposite side had already turned half-insect, with her hard tentacles piercing through her military uniform and stabbing out, twitching constantly, looking terrifying.
"no."
Vito pulled out his mental strength and shook his head.
"His mental picture is almost torn apart, and the effect of spiritual counseling is very poor... There is basically no possibility of recovery."
The cracking of the mental picture would be accompanied by great pain. He couldn't imagine how the female soldier in front of him could endure such severe pain to come here without any insect noticing anything wrong.
"Is it that serious?"
Yael put down his hands and his expression became serious.
Realizing that the counseling was over, the shackles were automatically unlocked. The female soldier swayed for several times before steadying her body. Hearing this, she smiled bitterly, her voice hoarse and inaudible.
"Yes, that's why I wanted to take a gamble and see if there's still hope. Now it seems... forget it."
Vito sighed and felt a little uncomfortable, but he had seen many military women like this and was no longer emotional. He just turned around and said to Yer.
"Your Majesty, have you seen my method of guidance? It's very simple. Just let it go and experiment. I have already signed an agreement with those female insects to take responsibility for any casualties...Okay, the next one will come in."
However, Yer did not respond to him. He stared at the somewhat dejected back of the military girl with heavy eyes, and suddenly caught the thought that had just flashed through his mind.
He almost forgot that there should be a big price difference between S-level and A-level places.
The military woman in front of him might have spent all her money to get such a position, but he accidentally gave it to Vito, which was a huge loss for him.
Moreover, the female soldier's mental state has been severely damaged, and she may soon suffer from mental disorder. If the problem is not completely resolved this time, she may not have a chance to receive treatment in the future.
"Come back."
Yael suddenly spoke up, ignoring the surprised looks of Vito and the president, "I'm too lazy to wait, just come and give it a try."
The female soldier's back froze for a moment, then she came to her senses and trotted back, as if she was afraid that Yael would go back on his word, and she picked up the chain on the ground and was about to tie herself up again.
"No need to tie it up, just guide him like this."
Yael spoke out to stop his action, and without waiting for any insects to react, he raised his hand and released his mental power.
Blah--
Invisible spiritual waves resounded, as if a flooded tide hit a special wall and bounced back, stirring up a faint echo deep in the mind.
Apart from the mental pressure at the ball, it was the first time that Vito felt Yael's mental power at such a close distance, and he almost felt suffocated for a moment.
"!!!"
With his expression completely frozen, he couldn't help but take a few steps back and bumped into the association president, who was also stiff.
“…”
Yael stretched out his hand and gently clenched his five fingers——
The overflowing mental power instantly penetrated into the female soldier's mental picture, without revealing even the slightest fluctuation.
“Uh huh…!”
The counseling had already begun. The female soldier on the opposite side had no time to put on the shackles, so she could only spontaneously lock her arms behind her back, ready to endure the severe pain that was about to come.
But the waves were warm, like the boundless sea illuminated by the sun, which could easily heal all the pain. I couldn't help but relax my body and completely sink into it.
The female soldier's body remained rigid, but the expression on her face gradually relaxed.
“情況确實有點糟糕……”
耶爾低聲道，将一片狼藉的精神圖景探查了一遍後，五指收攏更緊。
那些盤旋着的精神力一股股凝結成無比精純的能量，開始仔細填塞和修補那些深邃的縫隙。
——那片快要失去生機的荒地近乎饑渴地汲飲，拼命醞釀新的生機。
“……”
确保釋放出的精神力被徹底吸取後，耶爾收回了手，神情語調都平靜至極，“好了。”
一旁的維托早已經回過神來，眼睜睜看完了一整個流程，但不等驚嘆耶爾對精神力的精妙掌控力，就被這兩個字震住。
“好了？什麽好了……冕下把那破爛精神圖景修好了？！”
那軍雌直愣愣地站着，沒有發狂也沒有露出痛苦的表情，好像已經傻了一樣，看起來也不像是好了的樣子啊？
維托不信邪地釋放出精神力，侵入軍雌的精神圖景掃視了一遍，但越探查越心驚，“那些裂縫，居然真的消失了……？”
協會會長也跟着釋放出了精神力，仔仔細細搜尋了一番。
他到底擔任了協會會長多年，對各種不同尋常的現象都略有了解，思索了許久後，有些難以置信地喃喃道。
“難道冕下的精神力……具有治愈能力？”
每個高等級雄蟲的精神力，或多或少都會具有一些屬性，但都很微弱，基本沒有什麽輔助作用。
他還是第一次見到具有這麽強烈屬性，而且還是治愈系的強大精神力——
堪稱整個帝國最獨一無二、無比珍稀的精神力。
“呃……”
那個軍雌被兩股精神力入侵，有些吃痛，被迫從那股舒服的狀态中回神。
“我的……精神圖景……冕、冕下？！”
他搖了搖頭，內視了一下自己的精神圖景，臉上的神情逐漸從震撼到頓悟，再變成深深的感激。
軍雌眼含熱淚，臉色漲紅到了極致，幾乎說不出話來，最終萬分激動地向耶爾敬了個禮。
“好了，下去吧，叫下一個進來。”
耶爾臉上終于露出了點笑意，他點了點頭回禮，看向旁邊仍然沒回過神的兩個雄蟲。
“我應該會了，謝謝你的引導……會長，這次一共開放了多少個名額？”
首次名額競選情況應該不是特別激烈。
在他的實力不明但陣營已經很明确的情況下，很多貴族都還在觀望，再根據情況判斷實際利益價值。
需要展現出幾分實力，增加更多的籌碼才行。
想起西澤和他說最近勢力動蕩的事，耶爾沉吟片刻，決定要裝就裝個大的——
“一次叫幾個雌蟲來吧，我試試能不能同時進行。”
*
“昨天夜裏，陛下突然遭遇刺殺，一時不慎被刺中了胸口造成大出血，淩晨才脫離危險，這個消息很快被壓下去了。”
白朗坐在駕駛座上，一邊簡單描述了當時的情況，一邊将奧格斯格傳來的資料隔空傳輸給元帥。
“那個刺殺的蟲被發現的瞬間就自殺身亡，是捆綁最新研制的彈藥自焚而死，風一吹連灰都沒留下，無法确認真實身份。”
西澤點開光腦屏幕，劃過一張張刺殺現場的圖片，眉心不自覺皺起一道刻痕，似乎若有所思。
他的視線長久停留在一張照片上，神色似有頓悟，嗤笑了一聲合上了光腦。
“這次對我們應該挺有利的，全速前進，別讓難得的機會溜走了。”
懸浮車蓄滿了能量，流行般沿着星軌劃過半空，向着那所金碧輝煌的宮殿而去。
已經有精兵将這間宮殿嚴密地圍了起來，确保一只蒼蠅都飛不進去，經過層層篩查，西澤才終于踏入宮殿內。
“怎麽回事……”
“明明兩位殿下就在隔壁，怎麽會一點都沒有察覺到呢？這次的刺殺真的很蹊跷……”
外廳站着被一些被請出去的大臣，或愁眉苦臉或暗藏幸災樂禍地讨論着這場刺殺，顯得有些嘈雜。
看到他進來，那聲音驀地靜了一瞬，西澤沒有理會，徑直走進了內廳——
“喲，這是誰來了？”
倚靠在牆壁上的迦諾一眼就看見了進來的軍雌，挑了挑眉嗤笑道，“迫不及待來看犯罪現場了？”
西澤的視線粗略掃過大廳內的蟲，對上了迦諾滿懷惡意的視線，沒有一絲停留地劃過去了，反倒多看了眼站在角落處的二皇子。
這份不加掩飾的輕視讓迦諾的臉扭曲了一瞬，但想到很快就能重新将平靜又高傲的臉踩在腳下，他就忍不住又笑起來。
“陛下剛才叫您進去。”
守在寝殿門口的貼身侍從小跑幾步，低聲傳達陛下的命令。
“我知道了。”
西澤并沒有感到意外，跟在侍從身後穿過走廊，很快就見到了站在門前的奧格斯格。
和雌蟲隐秘地交換了一個眼神，猜想得到印證後，西澤面不改色地和他擦肩而過，進入了被層層把守的寝宮中。
沉重的大門在身後轟然關上，光線昏暗了些，他往前走了幾步，聽到帷幕後面嘶啞的咳嗽聲。
“陛下。”
西澤在床榻前一段距離停下，行了一個禮，卻沒有再開口說話。
這位看似一輩子被勢力來回操控，卻在位置上坐了差不多一百多年的老者，其實并沒有外界批評的那麽昏庸和無能。
他精于各種宮鬥手段，從無數場刺殺和奪權中安穩活到現在。
至少手段如此拙劣的一場刺殺，不會看不出來幕後主使是誰——
他最縱容溺愛的小雌子，菲利克斯。
好半晌，那咳嗽聲才停下來，整個寝宮陷入了一片昏沉的死寂。
“你拿着……這個令牌。”
一只蒼老的手從雪白的帷幕下伸出來，将一塊令牌丢在了地上。
上面赫然纂刻着一個獨特的标志，很是眼熟。
西澤瞳孔微縮，沉默着俯身将令牌拾起。
“去吧，蒙特元帥，你得到了最大限度的允許。”
或許在生死面前，這位老者終于看清了溺愛所帶來的惡果，又或者從始至終都沒有多少溫情——
他終于動搖了中立的立場，下定決心要割掉寄生在帝國裏的毒瘤了。
“感謝你一直以來為帝國做出的貢獻，也很抱歉沒能堅持徹查那場戰役，讓帝國的光白白流落在外五年……”
蒼老的聲音從帷幕後傳來，帶着經久歲月留下的痕跡，因為重傷而顯得遲鈍無力，就連感激和悔恨都表達不出對應的情緒。
西澤倏地笑了笑。
不知道是告訴他還是告訴自己——
“很快了，很快一切都将結束。”
這場戰役再艱難，也終有結束的時候，而他們在黑暗中摸索多年，終于看到了一絲勝利的曙光。
鮮血能洗刷曾經的恥辱，也能造就一個全新的帝國，盤旋的陰霾終将散去，榮耀的輝光會重新灑滿這片土地。
“陛下，別擔心，這個帝國會在明君的帶領下，重新煥發生機。”
西澤不鹹不淡地道，語氣卻不容置疑。
帷幕後的聲音靜了一瞬，突然爆發出撕心裂肺的咳嗽聲，而後嘟嘟囔囔地道。
“我知道，奧格斯格這孩子有很好的資質，未來一定會成為英明的帝王，是比我更好的……”
他從小到大都沒有把視線放在奧格斯格身上過，此時卻不得不承認自己的大雌子具有明君之質。
也不知是不平還是什麽。
“陛下，您休息吧，我就不打擾了。”
背對着他的軍雌聲音平靜，徑直推開門走了出去，動作間沒有一絲留戀不舍。
……
西澤回到內廳，剛才還在的蟲基本都還在，此時正神色不一地看着他。
菲利克斯組織的這次刺殺沒有告知任何蟲，很可能也并不知道自己已經被發現，被養廢的草包唯有在搞砸一切上如此擅長。
“你也太心急了，就算想要奪權也應該慢慢來嘛，想直接刺殺然後上位，哪有這麽容易？”
迦諾似笑非笑地看着他，神色輕蔑地上下掃視着雌蟲，“不過我倒是沒想到，你居然還能翻身。”
“我覺得你應該感謝我，沒有那些痛苦，怎麽成就現在的你呢？”
他攤了攤手，致力于羞辱和惹怒眼前的雌蟲，雖然每次都得不到想要的回應。
“如果沒有經歷背叛，怎麽抛去那些不切實際的天真，成為一把合格的利刃？”
這次西澤卻倏地擡起眼，輕笑了一聲，“頭上的傷這麽快就好了？”
這句話意有所指，瞬間讓迦諾想起被頭骨破裂的劇痛，一時間神色扭曲起來。
“你得意什麽？！真以為S級雄蟲會一直站在你那邊嗎？他知道你被踩在泥裏的賤樣嗎？你猜他會不會嫌你惡心，恨不得像扔垃圾一樣甩開你……”
西澤直接無視了他的詛咒，看向從頭到尾都沉默着的蘭斯公爵，聲音低沉，“好久不見。”
那形容溫潤的雌蟲擡起眼，兩雙幾乎一模一樣的金眸對視片刻，他率先移開了眼睛。
“好久不見，希爾澤。”
西澤卻不是來和親親雌父敘舊的，幾乎是公然敲打道。
"It must be hard to see all the businesses you have run for so many years being wiped out one by one. Maybe even without me taking over everything, the Duke's Mansion will already be unable to support itself and be heavily in debt."
Lance's eyes narrowed, and he raised his eyes to look at the military girl in front of him, only to find that Caesar's eyes had never moved away.
"Do you really think that I will be trapped in that illusory desire forever and never be able to get out of it for the rest of my life?"
Xi Ze stared at the profile of the female insect in front of him, but found that the outlines and lines that he once remembered were blurred and even became unfamiliar.
"I shouldn't have given birth to you, or I should have strangled you to death right after you were born. I was too soft-hearted at that time. I shouldn't have abandoned you on the garbage planet. I should have thrown you directly from the mecha."
Lance smiled slightly, his whole face looked gentle, but he uttered extremely vicious words mercilessly, trying to hurt the child who, in his opinion, would never grow up.
"I should not have been the one to be punished. You should have been imprisoned in an interstellar prison decades ago for abusing and abandoning a child under ten years old."
The female soldier in front of him suddenly smiled, but her expression was not the resentment or resentment that Lance had imagined, but rather resolute and calm, so calm that it suddenly made him feel frightened.
The image of the helpless cub who would try to please his dam has completely disappeared from him, leaving only an unprecedented strength and maturity.
——He had even obtained the happiness he wanted, breaking free from the cage that he had set up with false love in an attempt to imprison those white wings forever.
Xi Ze lowered his eyes and looked into his eyes, speaking word by word.
"I will never beg for your love again, my father, no, the Duke of Reims. From now on, the royal family and the nobles will no longer have a place in the Duke's Palace."
"Take care of yourself."
In the moment of passing by, he finally threw down these four words and walked straight out of the palace gate.
Bang--
The heavy palace door closed behind him, and before him was a large expanse of warm golden sunlight, dazzling and flowing for thousands of miles, almost melting everything.
And every time he encounters such good weather, Xi Ze will think of a figure.
He suddenly wanted to see Yael.
*
On the other hand, Yael finally completed the mental counseling for the fifty female insects who had won the quota. The whole process took thirty minutes.
Almost all the insects in the Male Protection Association were stunned, and some noble male insects came here because of its reputation.
At this moment, all the insects present looked at the male insect in the counseling room with a slight awe, and the atmosphere was silent for a moment.
Yael pulled the last bit of his mental power out of the image of the female insect, pinched his numb fingers, and felt the remaining mental power.
Well, there are still plenty. It doesn’t seem to be difficult to groom so many female insects at one time.
He simply ignored the insects lying outside the glass and looked at the association president, "That's all, is that all?"
"No, no more."
The president of the association hesitated for a moment, then quickly said, "After this, the money from the auction and the property will be transferred to your name..."
Yael nodded casually, apparently not taking it seriously. "Then this counseling session is over. My family member said he would come pick me up, so I'll go down first."
He walked out the door, and the surrounding insects subconsciously made way for him and watched His Majesty leave in almost silence.
Vito finally came to his senses, but his face suddenly changed and he took a few quick steps to catch up.
"Your Majesty!"
Yael turned around and saw the male insect standing behind him, looking a little hesitant, as if he wanted to say something, "What's wrong?"
"You... I just noticed that your mental power seems to be a little unstable. Next time, you should not use your mental power so much to avoid any accidents."
During the spiritual counseling just now, the sunlight shone through the glass onto the male insect, making him look as if he was glowing, and even the corners of his body were covered with golden fluff.
But for some reason, Vito couldn't help but feel a moment of palpitations. He inexplicably felt that the male insect's vitality was quietly fading away, as if it would disappear from this world in the next second.
Yael was stunned for a moment, not knowing why he said that, but he still accepted the kindness, "Okay, thank you for the reminder."
He caught a glimpse of a floating vehicle parked outside the door. He said goodbye hurriedly, turned around and walked into the large expanse of golden sunlight outside the door.