Chapter 145: Ying Shuo
After finishing their tasks, Augsis and Seville went straight to the palace room where Anunu was.
As they approached the door, they unconsciously slowed their pace. Sensing Anunu's calming consciousness, the two felt a pang of tenderness and stood at the door, gazing into the hall.
In just half a day, the palace was completely transformed. There was much more wooden furniture, plush carpets, and various ornaments with an ancient, insect-inspired style. The cushions and seat cushions scattered everywhere were all in darker colors like gray, burgundy, and brown, no longer the bright and cute style of before.
The wall lamps hanging along the walls and some crystals scattered on the ground illuminated the room, but the light was still rather dim in the vast palace.
The innermost wall of the palace was made into a wide fireplace, with wood burning inside, crackling and popping in the quiet palace.
In Anno's subconscious, she actually preferred this warm and dim environment. Although she had been missing for three hundred years, to her, she had only experienced sixteen years since she was born.
Apart from the six months she spent living in Beihe, she had lived on Earth for the previous sixteen years.
The environment of the ancient Earth after the apocalypse was harsh, and she spent most of her time living in relatively cold regions. The warm fireplace and dim light, the soft sofa and blankets, were like a cozy cabin in a blizzard, and the burning wood gave off a comforting smell and sound.
Augustus and Sevier could feel her consciousness and emotions, and a wave of heartache washed over them.
Seeing Anunu curled up asleep on the sofa, they walked slowly to her side.
Her consciousness was much calmer than before, but her emotions were still like a taut string, and the heavy sadness surrounding her could not be dispelled.
Caesar and Secris were sitting beside her, and when they saw the two lords approaching, they immediately stood up.
Sevier gave them a look, indicating in the consciousness network that they didn't need to be so reserved around Anunu. Anunu had been wandering for so many years, and now that Anunu was home, they wanted Anunu to be more relaxed and at ease at home.
They can do whatever Anunu wants, as long as she's happy.
Sevier sat down beside her, gently brushing aside the long hair beside her cheek. Her cold and stern gaze softened at this moment. As the queen of the Zerg, she was like a cold, hard, and sharp knife, an abyss that no one dared to look directly at. Even when facing Augsis, she rarely smiled.
Anunu is the only tenderness in her heart, the one for whom she would give everything. Anyone who dares to touch her Anunu will have their throat bitten off and be shredded with her claws.
During this preparation period, she will spend more time with Anunu. Once the alliance war begins, she will personally go and conquer the Northern River system.
Anno sensed the presence of her father and mother and opened her eyes from her deep sleep.
When Sevier saw that she was awake, she gently stroked her head and asked, "Anunu, are you hungry?"
Anno stared at her blankly for a while, then hugged the pillow in her arms tightly, curled up again, and looked at the flickering flames in the fireplace.
Sevier saw that she didn't speak or bother her. They had a network of consciousness, in which they could sense all of each other's conscious emotions and even senses.
Although Anunu didn't talk to them much, her consciousness was always around them.
After a long while, Anno unconsciously nuzzled his head against Sevier, and his hand somehow found itself gripping Sevier's whip. This was a gesture of dependence that the Zerg showed to their kin. The way the Zerg expressed their feelings was very direct and simple. In the consciousness network, their emotions could not be concealed, so they often did not need to speak, but expressed their closeness and affection through physical contact.
Although Anno has regained her Zerg identity and the Northern River genes in her body have been completely devoured, her personality has been formed over the past ten years. She is wary and resistant to others, but in front of her family, she is a shy and somewhat awkward child.
Sevier sensed Anno's movement and pulled her into her arms. Whenever her Annu showed even the slightest affection, she was thrilled and quickly hugged her tightly, afraid that Annu would leave her side at any moment.
Augustus, who was sitting on the other sofa, immediately moved over, wanting to sit close to the mother and daughter, but was glared at by Sevier and had to sit one seat away from them.
He knew that Sevier still resented him for not keeping a close eye on their Anunu.
He also blamed himself, especially after learning about the hardships Anunu had endured since leaving them. He resented himself even more for not watching over Anunu and causing her so much suffering.
Sevier held Annunu in her arms. She was two meters tall and had a very tall figure. Annunu was still just an immature Zerg cub, and he was tiny in Sevier's arms.
Augsis was about the same height as Sevier. Although he was a male insect, he was not from the same species as Sevier, and his original size was only slightly larger than hers.
The Zerg have many subspecies, and Zerg from different factions can also mate. However, the offspring of the Zerg are like opening a blind box. Even among Zerg from the same faction, there is a high chance that offspring of other species will be born. Therefore, they do not care about the species. To them, the species are just different in appearance and ability.
Anno belongs to a smaller race, and this race is an ancient branch among the Zerg. It is also known as the Glowing. The original form of the Glowing is translucent, and it emits a brighter light than other races. Unlike other races, the Glowing do not have hard shells and sharp claws. Their bodies are very soft, their claws are also very fragile, and they have soft and cute antennae and tendrils.
The defining characteristic of the Sparkling branch is its ability to enhance Zerg combat power and heal wounds, making it essentially the strongest support among the Zerg.
Among the Zerg, various combat forces have clear divisions of labor and are assigned positions in the army according to their abilities. Due to its species, the Sparkling has relatively weak combat capabilities and is generally protected most closely in the rear during battles.
Nowadays, this branch of the Zerg is extremely rare. More than three hundred years ago, when Sevier gave birth to Anunu, she was both happy and worried when she learned about her species.
What is joyful is that, as the queen of this branch, her birth will correspondingly make this branch stronger and more prosperous; this is the queen effect.
Each Zerg branch has the potential to produce an Overlord. If the current Overlord is unable to produce a successor, or if the successor dies prematurely, an Overlord will randomly be born in one of the Zerg populations before the current Overlord weakens and retires.
Sevier's concern is that the Anunu branch of the race is relatively weaker in combat and much smaller in size than other Zerg.
The Sparkling branch greatly benefits the Zerg's combat power and is a very precious race among the Zerg, but she would prefer her Anunu to be of a different species, one with a strong body.
It was because Anunu's energy was very weak when she was born that she used her primordial energy to nurture Anunu. And because Anunu was born weak, she cherished her even more and almost poured everything she had into protecting her.
At that time, wars broke out between the alliances, and no star system was at ease in this war. Her original energy was consumed too much, so in order to avoid unexpected situations, she went to the abyss to sleep and repair the original energy in her core.
Now that Anunu has returned to the Zerg, the branch she represents will gradually grow stronger. Moreover, she has also brought all the sparks of the North River system under her control.
After learning about the characteristics of the Fire Seed in the Northern River System, Sevier and Augsis learned the secret of the Fire Seed.
Several eons ago, the Zerg genes within the Fireseed were extracted from the Firefly branch.
The light band behind the Fire Seeds' ears, the dim insect markings on their bodies, and their abilities were enough to indicate that this fact had been revealed to them.
The humanoid forms of Firefly and Sparkling are almost indistinguishable, except that the purebred Sparkling has more pronounced insect markings and subtle differences in its light bands. The light emanating from its body is also slightly brighter, but overall they are very similar.
Now that Anunu has returned, the Zerg genes within the Northern River Fire Seeds have been awakened, making them even stronger. However, this is no longer the Fire Seeds of the Northern River, but rather the glimmer of their Zerg race.
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