Chapter 176: Six Six
With the atmosphere already built up, Obsidian felt he had to say something.
He suddenly stood up, picked up a bottle of wine, and said to Bazel, "Now that you are a member of our Zerg, we haven't formally welcomed you yet."
Unlike Tanville and Caesar, Obsidian doesn't have a hundred schemes in his mind. His only thought right now is to fight this Bazel.
Aside from some resentment towards him, this was also a Zerg ritual.
A challenge is the best way to show respect to guests and friends.
In the days since Bazel was transformed, under Anno's guidance, he has gained a fairly good understanding of the Zerg's social patterns and habits.
He naturally understood that they wanted to fight him.
He poured himself a glass of wine, clinked it against Obsidian's bottle, and accepted the challenge.
Tanville raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Bai Yan; this was going to be interesting.
Anno sensed in the consciousness network that the two were preparing to fight, but did not stop them.
This is how the Zerg interact; she doesn't need to stop them, they're bound to fight sooner or later anyway.
On the mining plain in front of the royal palace, Anno sat on Momo, watching Bazel and Obsidian fight.
The two are evenly matched in skill. Obsidian has the ability to turn everything into a hard object, and in battle, he uses this ability to turn everything into a sharp weapon.
Bazel did not display any special abilities, but he was agile and moved freely among countless blades, and was even able to withstand Obsidian's attacks.
Obsidian used his superpower to see if he had awakened any superpowers. His consciousness had been completely open to the outside these past few days, so they hadn't seen what his superpower was.
It's also possible that he himself didn't know he had awakened his superpowers, and the other person wanted to help him activate them.
After exchanging blows for a while, he still couldn't use his superpower, so Obsidian withdrew it.
Even if you fight him using your superpowers and win, it won't be very prestigious.
Tanville and Baiyan stood together and said to him, "His skills are quite good, and he has a lot of combat experience. It will probably not be easy for Obsidian to win."
Bai Yan: "That's not necessarily true. Bazel only used to fight in the arena, but Obsidian can be a veteran of countless battles on the battlefield."
Tanville said slowly, "Bazaar knows best how to win when fighting in that kind of environment. Obsidian wants a fair fight, but Bazaar only wants to win. If Obsidian doesn't use his skills, even if he doesn't lose, he won't beat him."
Bai Yan turned his gaze to the two of them. Bazel's attacks were fast and ruthless, giving Obsidian no chance to breathe. Obsidian grew up in a combat environment, so naturally he would not let Bazel gain any advantage.
After watching for a while, Bai Yan's expression, which had initially been one of amusement, gradually became somewhat serious.
It seems that this Bazel is indeed quite strong; at least he's not the weakest among them.
Anno watched the two fight for a while. If it were a contest of skill, Bazel might not necessarily lose, but Obsidian would definitely be the one to last. The Zerg's physique was what it was, and with the energy boost, Bazel couldn't possibly beat Obsidian in that aspect.
She watched as the two of them knocked each other to the ground once again, both bearing numerous injuries, especially Bazel, who, lacking sturdy outer armor, was the most wounded.
She was wondering whether to call a halt. It was just a friendly spar, not a life-or-death battle; there was no need for it to end in a fight.
Just as she was about to call them to stop, she suddenly felt a huge energy fluctuation coming from beside her.
Tanville and the others also sensed it and looked in the direction of the energy fluctuations.
A portal opened not far away; it was Caesar's portal.
Caesar and Mingxiao walked out of the portal, with Mingxiao holding a child in her arms.
Upon seeing Caesar and the others return, Bazel and Obsidian automatically stopped.
"Your Highness!"
As soon as Caesar came out, he strode toward Anno.
Mingxiao also carried the child and followed behind Caesar.
The child, nestled in Mingxiao's arms, peeked out from behind the portal and looked in Anuo's direction.
Upon seeing Anuo, the child's eyes widened, and he struggled to jump down from Mingxiao's arms, exclaiming, "Xiao Qi!"
Anno stared at him in shock; it was Baroque!
How could he possibly come to their home planet?
Anno was filled with doubt and suspicion. He jumped off Mao Mao and walked quickly toward them.
Caesar grabbed Baroque by the back of his collar, stopping him from lunging at Anno.
"Caesar, let him go!"
Upon hearing Anno's command, Caesar loosened his grip, and Baroque immediately limped towards Anno, throwing himself into her arms and wailing as he hugged her waist.
"Waaaaah, Xiao Qi, I thought I'd never see you again!"
Hearing Baroque's wailing, Anno felt a pang of sadness.
She stroked Baroque's head, comforting him gently, "Okay, don't cry, you're safe now."
She could sense Baroque's fear and unease. He was filthy, his delicate face covered in soot, his clothes tattered, and he had injuries.
Most of them were superficial injuries, but his left leg was broken, and Mingxiao and the others had already treated his wound.
She immediately mobilized the energy in her body to help him heal his wounds.
In just a short while, all his wounds had completely healed.
After healing his wounds, she looked at the obvious worm-like markings on his neck.
This is why Baroque was able to come to the Zerg homeworld with Mingxiao and the others.
Most races in interstellar space are unable to adapt to the environment of the Zerg. If the Northern Star people were to arrive on a Zerg planet, they would be crushed by energy.
This is a defensive energy formed among the Zerg. Even without this defensive energy, people like Baroque, who are from the North River, would be affected by energy that is not suitable for their bodies and would be unable to live a normal life.
This is why she was unable to return to the Zerg after losing her core. Having lost her core and being affected by the genes of the Northern River people, her body became extremely fragile.
She looked at the insect markings on Baroque's neck and felt the energy in his body. This was no longer an ordinary mark; he had successfully transformed and become a branch of the insectoid race like Bazel.
Besides her, only her parents could mark outsiders.
But she marked the Fallen on that asteroid once, and Baroque was only ten years old and so young, how could he possibly become a Fallen?
Moreover, the aura emanating from this mark is hers...
She looked at Caesar and Mingxiao: "What happened? Where did you find the Baroque?"
Caesar: "Your Highness, we found it while arranging a new branch on asteroid G751."
In other words, Baroque was among these fallen beings at the time, and her group mark had also marked him.
She looked down at Baroque, who was crying incessantly. No matter how she tried to comfort him, she couldn't. Even though he had been converted, he was still too young to understand what it meant for him.
He felt a natural affinity for Mingxiao and the others, but also a vague sense of fear.
When he was on the main planet, he met some adults who were like this. He was rather shy and timid, so he didn't know what the markings were.
Anno couldn't directly connect with his consciousness right now. What she was most worried about before was facing her adoptive parents and these older brothers and sisters.
Because they now have different identities, and the Northern River and the Zerg are enemies.
She couldn't connect to Beihe's Skynet and had no news of them, so she could only ask Mingxiao and the others to look for them, at least to know that they were safe.
She couldn't let them be punished by the Northern River because of her.
The Zerg have always been clear about their gratitude and resentment. She will not let go of anyone who has hurt her, but she will not forget those who have been good to her.
She asked Mingxiao to find news of her adoptive parents in order to protect their safety.
But I never imagined they would become part of the Zerg...
Those corrupt species were marked because they had formed their own race, had little to do with the Northern Star people, and deeply hated the Northern Star system.
When they were marked, they all chose to transform without hesitation and become members of the Zerg.
But how could a normal Northern Star person possibly want to become another race, especially an enemy one?
Seeing Anno's somewhat melancholy expression, Caesar knew what was troubling her and comforted her, "Your Highness, before the transformation, Baroque was a fallen being."
Mingxiao also said, "Your Highness, I was the one who found him. He had just been converted and was staying with the other fallen beings."
After saying that, he linked his consciousness with Anno's, allowing her to see his memories.
In his memory, Anno saw that when he met Baroque, Baroque was huddled among a group of corrupted creatures awaiting their fate; these were all new branches of the Zerg that had been converted.
Baroque is a hybrid, with the body of a deer. In his memories, he has a pair of antlers on his head and deer ears protruding, making him a half-beast.
Generally, most Fallen species are beast species, and very few alien species become Fallen. Moreover, Baroque has a very high genetic level and is very young, so how could he become a Fallen?
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