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| The Beloved Little Mother Insect (LITTLE MOTHER) |
The Narga Empire's warships were launching with frantic urgency. Within this race that revered strength and maintained universal military service, the term "Mother Insect" was probably the only phrase that could make them show such panicked haste.
It's the Mother Insect, after all!
It's their New King, after all?!
Who could refuse?
Most Narga people couldn't refuse.
As the warships advanced toward the distant irradiated wasteland, Olovikin and Xagai on the same planet simultaneously received information transmitted by the observation spheres.
But because the radiation storm was continuously intensifying, the information they received was intermittent and difficult to piece together into coherent content.
Xagai, who had already gone mad with killing among the Beast horde, bared his terrifying mouthparts while his deep red pincer limbs ravaged through Beast corpses, covered in foul-smelling blood.
His compound eyes were turbid and filled with the brutality left by berserker erosion. Using violence to counter violence, he immersed himself in slaughter like a mad dog and enjoying the killing, and in his excitement, he sliced an observation sphere blocking his path in half.
Snap.
Another observation sphere was sacrificed.
Observation sphere: "...."
Narga people outside the camera view: "...."
Fine then, they should have known the mad dog Blood-burner couldn't be relied on. They might as well pin their hopes on Olovikin instead.
On the other side, Olovikin in the Eastern District also maintained his primal form. Platinum-gold scales covered his entire body, while massive hive wings half-unfurled behind him like a cloak forged from gold.
He gleamed with such splendor that he resembled a newly crowned emperor. Even in his most ferocious and primitive colossal form, he exuded an indescribable nobility and magnificence.
Compared to the mad dog Xagai, Olovikin retained his rationality, preserving the last traces of an aristocrat's elegance—for instance, after slaying the rampaging Beasts, he still remembered to shake the blood off his pincer limbs and elytra.
Listening to the intermittent information from the Observation Sphere, Olovikin—whose derangement was relatively mild—chose to head toward the Northern District after a moment's comprehension.
But... what could possibly be discovered in this barren and chaotic land?
Surely it couldn't be the Mother Insect that they were in such a hurry about?
...
As windswept sands swirled, Hui protected the little Artificial Human within his pincer limbs while Ega eliminated another wave of clinging Beasts.
—Imperial Assassin's excelled at silent, soundless slaughter.
Prolonged combat and violence had saturated Ega's nerves, darkening his compound eyes. Beast blood dripped from the Narga's tail hook, emitting a foul, rancid odor.
The yellow sands were nearly stained entirely with the blood of Beasts.
A sudden shift in the wind carried this unmistakable scent of blood. In that moment, the fairytale world constructed by Ega and Hui for their New King finally developed a crack.
Pearl's nose twitched slightly.
He couldn't help but crawl forward on his knees with his palms pressed tightly against Hui's pincer legs and softly asking the large being sheltering him: "D-did something happen?"
No matter how diligently Hui protected Pearl, as long as the endless hordes of Beasts persisted, Pearl would eventually notice something amiss.
【It's nothing...】
The cold murmur remained as clear as ever.
Hui's voice was steady as he cradled the Little Mother Insect within his pincer limbs as if holding precious jade. Only the blind Pearl remained unaware of the hellscape surrounding them.
Ega used his massive body to block the mountain-like piles of Beast corpses. Hui emitted a warning hiss, demanding his companion to clean up before approaching.
Pearl's brows twitched, and he suddenly spoke: "...Ega?"
Ega, whose rational thinking hadn't fully recovered, was like a sieve—barely maintaining the fairytale construction under Hui's suppression. But when Pearl's voice reached him, Ega instantly discarded his companion's warnings.
Like a seven-meter-tall giant dog, he thundered toward Pearl with ground-shaking steps and bending down before Hui could intervene to press his blood-stained tail hook against Pearl's soft abdomen.
Hui: Nothing worse than a teammate with the intelligence of a pig.
The damp tail hook pressed against his abdomen, staining his already tattered clothes crimson. Pearl let out a soft "ah," as his hands encountered wet, sticky moisture.
And the thick scent of blood filling his nostrils.
Pearl tensed sensitively and asked anxiously in his distress: "I-is he injured? Is Ega hurt?"
【He's fine.】
【It's not Ega's blood.】
【Pearl—my pearl, little pearl, please relax.】
【Nothing has happened.】
【Don't be afraid, alright? Please believe me.】
Even with Hui's naturally cold voice, that gentleness soothed Pearl's unease. For a young Beast as fragile as a newborn bird, he needed such tenderness.
A protected and well-treated fledgling easily entrusts its trust.
And Hui and Ega, who happened to appear, provided care, and never did anything excessive, received this gift from Pearl.
Ega, still in a dazed state, seemed to know he had frightened the Little Mother Insect. He twitched his mouthparts while emitting a faint buzzing sound and his bloodstained Tail Hook pitifully retracting with a somewhat reluctant air.
He shouldn't have dirtied Little Mommy.
"It's alright."
Pearl embraced the Tail Hook that was preparing to move away, completely unconcerned about being covered in bloodstains.
He carefully traced the fine Scales on the Tail Hook, trying to envision the other's form, "You can... press close to me, as... as long as you like."
The Narga People in their primal form twitched his mouthparts again and his Tail Hook encircled the Artificial Human's overly slender waist, tightly drawing warmth from the Mother Insect.
So fond... truly so fond.
Of course, Ega also felt sorry for dirtying the Little Mother Insect's clothes.
For a beast, the best way to clean was probably licking, right? He could lick Little Mommy clean... from top to bottom.
His slender, forked tongue, like a snake's, coiled and brushed against Pearl's arm and neck, only to be caught by the tiny Artificial Human's hand.
Laughing, he used his wet, saliva-coated hand to pat Ega's massive head as it leaned in, showing no trace of offended anger.
Hmm... like a little sweet cake.
With this demeanor... would he really get angry?
Watching Ega incessantly licking the miniature Pearl with his tongue, Hui sighed softly in his heart.
He realized that the Narga's newly born king seemed too gentle and with a soft appearance that invited indulgence—a stark contrast to the previous Mothers Insect in Narga history.
Such a beautiful and tender Little Mother Insect should learn to be more assertive; he ought to control them, or else greedy Offspring would devour this little pearl... including himself.
Hui thought, if...
If no one stopped him, he too would be unable to resist, and be like Ega, demanding more from the delicate Mother.
Seeing that the Little Mother Insect was temporarily captivated by Ega, Hui carefully handed him over to the other's forelimbs and began dutifully cleaning up the Beast's corpse.
They would definitely be resting here tonight but the scent of blood also attracted Beasts. If not cleaned up, the next wave of Beast hordes would likely arrive even faster.
The one with a restored mind handled the aftermath, while the one still dazed... was currently snuggling in Pearl's embrace.
Heaven knows how a giant over 7 meters tall managed it—
He cupped the frail Little Mother Insect with his Pincer Legs, as his massive, skull-like manta-ray-shaped head lowered and the slightly protruding snout connected to his mouthparts pressed down, resembling a canine's head that nuzzling into its owner's embrace waiting for a pat.
And Pearl, completely unaware, was stroking the monster's head.
Utterly bizarre.
Loose sand became the most convenient weapon for burying the Beast corpses. Hui deftly used his massive pincer legs to dig pits, pile up bodies, and cover them—a process he executed with such proficiency that in less than half an hour, the hellish scene transformed into an ordinary barren desert.
By now, the sky had darkened.
Distant stars twinkled in the deep void, but they were veiled by a sinister black-purple haze from the radiation storm, as if layers of gauze were steadily accumulating. When the entire sky was completely shrouded, the storm would reach its peak.
After the peak, all things would settle into stillness.
Hui withdrew his gaze and urged Ega to bring Pearl over to rest.
The desert temperature plummeted at night, which posed no issue for the Narga People, whose physiques had evolved to the pinnacle, but it was a significant problem for the fragile and slender Artificial Human.
The two giants crouched low, their massive bodies forming a secure, sheltered enclave—a refuge from wind and rain—encircling the Little Mother Insect within the space defined by their tail hooks and pincer limbs.
Pearl sat atop their scales, which were hard and cold, yet gradually warmed by the soft warmth radiating from the Artificial Human’s thighs, slowly taking on the heat unique to mammals.
Ega rotated his dazed compound eyes, fixing them intently on Pearl’s soft but somewhat dry white hair. Pale and lackluster, like faded wall plaster, its color and texture were far from ideal, yet it stirred a pang of tenderness in Ega.
Almost under Hui’s watchful eyes, he witnessed the agitation in Ega’s psionic power—caused by frenzy—begin to subside slightly.
The Mother Insect… the king of the Narga People, was nothing short of a miracle.
Hui twitched his mouthparts, letting out a silent sigh.
This Little Mother Insect—gentle, timid, slow-moving, with an exquisite appearance, holding no aversion or prejudice toward monsters like them…
No, perhaps it was because he hadn’t yet seen their true forms.
Hui’s compound eyes darkened slightly. He glanced at Ega, who was idly toying with his tail hook as if braiding the Little Mother Insect’s hair, then finally averted his gaze and began to rest and recuperate.
Once he truly saw what they looked like, even the gentlest and softest Mother Insect would glare at them fiercely, curse them as monsters and devils, and demand they stay away…
It had always been that way.
Hui tilted his head, his deep blue scales momentarily darkening—a fleeting change.
He reined in his chaotic thoughts and simply watched their newly born king quietly.
Their… mother?
Night fell, and all sounds faded into silence.
Deep within the yellow sands ten thousand meters away, strange rustling sounds persisted. After a few seconds of abrupt quiet, sand grains suddenly flew upward as a massive, fifty-meter-wide pit collapsed into the desert.
The sea of sand churned, revealing the enormous form of a five-hundred-meter-long Sandworm. It raised its gaping front end and, after a brief pause, abruptly accelerated northward.
It had caught a scent—so very sweet.
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