Chapter 58 Part 1

Overhead loomed dark warships, while fierce winds swept across the grassland beneath their feet.

Rustle—the elm leaves were blown into the air, along with the billowing white silver long robe draped over him. The gale raged between heaven and earth as Andre tilted his head back and quickly recognized the emblem of Red Blood. His brows slowly furrowed.

Shen Yu and Andre stood amid the vast long winds, their long hair scattered by the gale, golden and silver strands intertwining.

Gold and silver gleamed together, sunlight and moonlight entangled as they flowed and danced in the surging gusts, indistinguishable from one another.

Shen Yu followed Andre’s gaze, lifted his eyelids, and looked toward the pitch-black fleet pressing down from the sky.

Even though he never concerned himself with external affairs, the recent incident where Red Blood destroyed a military base had caused a huge uproar, and Shen Yu had heard a little about it. Seeing Andre’s expression, he asked, “Is this Red Blood?”

Andre pressed his lips together, unable to understand why Red Blood would return to the Imperial Capital Star System. His brow furrowed deeply, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the lead warship. Hearing Shen Yu’s voice, he nodded. “Yes.”

Shen Yu brushed aside the hair blowing across his face and observed the fleet’s direction of advance. He asked, “Are they heading to attack the base in the west?”

This guess was quickly disproven. The black fleet pressing down came to a halt overhead, and the warships began to change formation. Centered on the elm tree above them, the steel behemoths carried the wind as they rapidly descended, swiftly encircling the entire area.

The wind whipped the grassland into chaos, white doves scattered in fright, and the green meadow was instantly ringed by a black border.

Female insects in combat gear rapidly disembarked from the ships on all sides, their heavy footsteps stomping onto the lawn. The air pressure on the grass plummeted to its lowest point as they gripped their weapons and quickly surrounded the church.

An invisible oppression and fear were born in this space.

The church’s towering spire pierced the sky, sunlight once again streamed through the rose window, and the bell towers on either side still echoed with ringing bells. The garden outside extended to the portico, where the crowd was piled up, trapped in the lavish and bewitching garden by the suddenly arriving Red Blood legion.

“What’s going on?”

“Why would Red Blood come here?”

Hearing the key phrase, a male insect shrieked, “Red Blood—the Star Pirate Group that once hung male insects from the mast of their starship for all to see?!”

A male insect cursed, “Damn it, why hasn’t the Military Department wiped them out yet!”

The news felt like it was from yesterday, and the nightmare had descended today. The insects immediately opened their terminals, attempting to send signals outward.

[Sorry, signal cannot be sent.]

[Sorry, unable to connect.]

[Sorry, send failed.]

…

The successive terminal alerts rang out amid the crowd. Andre frowned and opened his terminal, glancing at the screen to see three red crosses on the icy display, indicating no signal.

If Red Blood’s arrival had put everyone’s hearts on edge, then this invisible signal jammer cast a layer of cold, cruel shadow over their suspended hearts. An ominous atmosphere enveloped the church.

Suddenly, someone spoke in a dry voice, “Are they here… to plunder male insects?”

No one knew the true reason for Red Blood’s sudden arrival, but at this moment, that reason seemed entirely plausible.

The male insects present instantly paled.

This was the engagement ceremony between an imperial major general and the male cub of the Sadro Family. The attendees were either high-ranking imperial officials or representatives of great nobles—every insect was either wealthy or noble, and undoubtedly all high-grade zerg.

High-grade female insects were powerful. Under normal circumstances, with so many formidable female insects on their side, they might have broken through the encirclement. But Red Blood’s fleet came aggressively—it was a force that could stand toe-to-toe with the Military Department!

Not to mention, rumors said Red Blood’s commander was an SSS-level female insect.

Without absolute power or the protection of absolute authority, the fate of the male insects was predictable.

What would become of them?

Would they end up like that male insect who had been bled to death alive? Or fall into an even more terrifying hell—

Panic was a seed long buried in their hearts, sprouting forth at this moment.

Fred’s face was grim and cold as he swiftly directed the other female insects to shield the panicked male insects behind them.

Demian, from the moment he crossed into the zerg world until now, had never seen a scene like this. He was somewhat frightened, somewhat dazed, feeling as if everything was unreal and intangible—until the icy gleam of a Ripper Gun reflected on his face, sending a chill through him.

Demian’s heart jolted heavily. His expression complex, one hand clutched his chest while the other pointed toward the center of the grassland. “Sadro—they’re still over there—”

Everyone was confined within the area encircled by Red Blood, not daring to act rashly. Only Shen Yu and Andre stood under the elm tree.

A familiar male insect noticed them, his face changing as he pushed aside the female insect shielding him. He took a step forward, then hesitated, his face ugly as he scanned the warships before hurriedly retreating.

He shouted loudly at the two:

“Sadro! Andre! Get back here quick!”

Andre heard the call and turned his head. His dazzling golden eyes flickered, familiar faces surfacing within them.

Shen Yu did not turn back. The wind lifted his disheveled silver hair as he raised his long lashes and looked ahead.

Not far away, a massive warship was parked.

Its hull was pitch-black, reflecting a cold, harsh light, its contours sharp and rigid, as if able to tear through the air.

The inky metal exterior was like an unobservable dark ghost, reflecting Shen Yu and Andre’s figures, distorted and elongated like two flames of different colors, flickering.

Andre’s gaze swept over Fred, and something suddenly flashed in his mind. His pupils contracted as scattered pieces of information surged into his brain, meshing together like gears with a crisp “click.”

Andre withdrew his gaze, whipped his head back, and grabbed Shen Yu’s wrist. “Sadro, tell me the truth.”

Shen Yu questioned, “What?”

When Andre had returned the entry ticket to Ludwig back then, he had sighed that all female insects in the world were the same and wondered what kind of male insect could captivate him.

Truth be told, even with Andre’s broad experiences, he couldn’t imagine what the male insect pursued by Ludwig looked like. But if—

Andre tightened his grip on Shen Yu’s wrist and took a deep breath. “Sadro, have you ever met a red-haired female insect?”

Before Shen Yu could answer, accompanied by a mechanical whir, the hatch of that distant warship opened.

A tall female insect in long military boots slowly stepped out from the warship. He was extremely tall, with broad shoulders, yet he carried an aura of slaughter and gunpowder, his presence utterly intimidating.

The moment they saw Ludwig, aside from a few in the know, the insects who recognized the female insect’s face had their pupils contract, their expressions freezing in an instant as massive waves of shock surged in their hearts.

Red Blood’s commander was actually the former Marshal Faen?!

Words like “astonished” were too mild to describe their current mood.

That former strongest female insect, who had conquered territories for the empire, repelled powerful enemies, been adorned with countless honors, and adored by innumerable people—was the same as the utterly vile, heinous leader of the Star Pirate Group—

Someone muttered, “Has this world finally gone fucking mad?”

It was too jarring, too contrary to their cognition—like an icy knife plunged into their brains, splitting them open.

No one spoke. It was a quiet, eerie abyss that swallowed all sound.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Ludwig strode forward expressionlessly in his long military boots, then paused, stopping in front of the two.

The female insect’s figure was like a heavy dark cloud, casting dim shadows.

Backlit by the light, but Shen Yu still clearly saw the face of the female insect before him.

Deep contours, shadows carving them sharper, accentuating the razor edge of his jawline like a blade tempered with cold gleam.

A familiar yet strange face.

The first time they met was in a filthy, dim rainy alley, where a hand reached out from the darkness and gripped his ankle tightly.

The second time was in the cerulean-blooming earl’s back garden in Pochidu, where the female insect looked up and handed him a blood-drenched arm.

During that second meeting, Shen Yu had felt a vague sense of foreboding, but he had never imagined—

This female insect, whom he had picked up like trash, wretched and destitute to the extreme, had now transformed into the Red Blood commander who terrified the entire interstellar.

Shen Yu pressed his lips together, recalling that extremely blurry photo he had glimpsed during the community research meeting. The photo was indistinct, but the dark red hair color matched perfectly.

Every encounter between them had been filled with horrific violence, pungent blood, hidden desires, and inscrutable killing intent.

The first two times, Shen Yu had remained steady. But at this moment, with Ludwig stopping right in front of him—

A chill instantly rose from his stomach, surging to his heart.

Shen Yu’s heart chilled. That icy sensation rolled from his chest to his throat. He opened his mouth. “Lu—”

That day, that day, he had heard a “Lu.”

Ludwig.

“Who am I?” Amid the surging desires rampaging through his body, amid the terrifying cravings exploding in his heart, he had grabbed his struggling hand and demanded.

You are Ludwig.

Shen Yu finally gave the answer.

His back tensed, and he slowly shifted his gaze. When it met those scarlet eyes, Shen Yu’s heart trembled, and he instinctively took a step back.

This step of his instantly stilled the air.

Even the elm tree overhead dared not sway, as if frozen.

Ludwig’s scarlet eyes, hidden in the shadows, narrowed slightly as he watched Shen Yu’s retreat. Within those eyes lurked two ferocious beasts.

On the way here, Ludwig had seemed in high spirits, directing the fleet to descend upon Imperial Star. But only he knew that the terrifying flame burning ever brighter in his heart had nearly incinerated his reason.

He had just prepared to take things slow, and Shen Yu had chosen someone else, speeding straight to the engagement ceremony.

This fact slapped him across the face like a scorching palm, mercilessly mocking every move he made.

Take it slow?

Heh.

Take it slow my ass.

Soft approaches didn’t work, hard ones didn’t either—so might as well go all in hard.

Did you think I’d obediently watch you with another female insect? Watch you enter the marriage hall steadily with a female insect, even lay eggs, and live happily ever after?