Chapter – 03
Olaira Palace
[In the midst of a hundred hardships, light will surely break through.]
*
Ely’s form remained at the Zerg equivalent of two years old, looking roughly the same as a human child of five or six.
Two years of experience gave the young Motherworm a new understanding of his status. Ely calmly accepted that the love of the Zerg race for him—this new Motherworm—wasn’t even enough to let him reach his juvenile stage. That is to say, among the tens of billions of Zerg living across the vast starfields, only a handful actually wished for his existence.
After fully accepting the Motherworm inheritance, Ely truly understood why his predecessors had been able to reach adulthood so quickly. For a Motherworm to enter adulthood required merely the sincere love and loyalty of a hundred Zerg—such a simple condition that most Motherworms hatched as fully grown adults.
But the current Zerg race couldn’t provide him with love.
Fortunately, the Motherworm wouldn’t leave his successor in an impossible predicament. Reviewing the inheritance, Ely had already formed a plan.
“Hai, I can control my mental energy now! Can I go out?” Ely tugged at the hem of Hai’s uniform, his ruby-like eyes sparkling with brilliance.
This ill-tempered young Zerg put down what he was holding and turned to whisper devilishly in his ear: “No~”
“Why? You promised me!” The Motherworm, who had practiced hard for so long to master his mental energy and was ready to start saving himself, was stunned.
“Did I? I changed my mind.” The black-haired Zerg was always willful in such matters, changing his orders frequently.
“How can you go back on your word! I worked so hard for so long!!”
“So what? What are you going to do about it?”
Green eyes watched Ely with interest, anticipating his reaction.
Having grown accustomed to Hai’s bad temper—so at odds with his handsome face—Ely still got angry with Hai from time to time. This time was no different.
Unlike his usual patience and acceptance of other matters, Ely’s reaction surprised Hai.
He cried out of anger.
Nearly three years of effort gone to waste made the young Motherworm, who had still held some hope for the future, break down emotionally.
Mist clouded his eyes, overflowed, and streamed down his cheeks. Ely raised his arm to wipe away the tears and, without looking back at Hai, ran straight to his room.
Hai was taken aback for a moment but quickly returned to normal. His voice carried distantly behind Ely: “Crying is useless. Don’t try any tricks.” Hai wouldn’t allow Ely to achieve his goals through tears.
The only response Hai got was the sound of a door slamming shut.
Hai left the place in some irritation and forbade Laff and Tia—the two medical Zerg who often took care of the Motherworm—from going to comfort the troublesome one. “Don’t mind him. Let him cry all he wants.”
After an unknown amount of time, having finished his work, Hai asked the smart butler, “Has Ely come out yet?”
[There has been no movement from the Motherworm’s room. Would you like to access the surveillance inside?]
Hai had given Ely good material conditions while also keeping a tight grip on his movements. Even a weak Motherworm would never have a moment of freedom.
Hai checked on Ely’s activity but got no information. The indoor surveillance had long been disabled—left untouched because it hadn’t been used.
The smart butler requested the next directive without a hint of guilt. Hai dismissed the useless thing.
He didn’t mention installing new surveillance devices to monitor the situation inside either.
After all that time together, Hai wasn’t entirely unmoved by Ely. Moreover, as a legion commander, he wasn’t about to be as perverted as the rules for Motherworm rearing set by the high-ranking Zerg.
At the dinner table, the atmosphere was cold and stagnant.
Ely was still in a cold war with the legion commander.
The two medical Zerg caring for the Motherworm, Laff and Tia, assessed this information.
Tia, expressionless, moved the food Ely liked in front of him closer. Ely paused for a moment before accepting Tia’s kindness, but he didn’t have much appetite. After picking at his food a bit, he was about to leave.
The three high-ranking Zerg frowned simultaneously.
It had been several days in a row now. Ely was eating less and less, not even getting the minimum basic nutrition his body needed. Ely, who had never had much flesh to begin with, was growing even thinner. The three medical Zerg could hardly bear to watch.
Laff and Tia looked at the other party involved, their gazes accusatory.
“Stop.” Hai called out to Ely, pointing at the leftover food. “Finish your meal, and I’ll allow you to go out.”
Ely didn’t stop moving and ignored the black-haired Zerg.
His forward motion was forcibly halted as Hai picked him up, suspending him in midair. Red eyes looked back at Hai with displeasure.
Hai, for once speaking gently, asked, “What do you want?”
“I want to go out whenever I want from now on! And you can’t go back on your word again!!” These two demands had clearly been prepared for a long time.
Hai raised an eyebrow. “Fine. But you can’t use this method to rebel anymore either.” Acknowledging the negotiation had reached an agreement, Hai put Ely back in his seat. “Eat well.”
Ely swung his legs under the table, listlessly forking a piece of meat and nibbling at it, still muttering under his breath, “You still haven’t apologized for breaking your promise!”
“I’m sorry, I was wrong, I won’t go back on my word again.” The black-haired Zerg gave an insincere promise.
Ely complained to the two female Zerg that Hai’s attitude wasn’t sincere enough. Laff smiled gently as she watched them go back and forth in their little squabble, her worries easing.
*
The two medical Zerg usually had important duties to attend to. Since Hai happened to be off duty that day, he took Ely out to familiarize himself with the surroundings.
Hai changed into casual clothes and took Ely for a stroll.
Ely was still in his juvenile stage, not yet emitting the Motherworm’s specific pheromones, and his mental energy was perfectly restrained as Hai had required. No Zerg discovered his identity as the Motherworm when they went out.
Hm?
Ely stopped in his tracks, nostrils flaring slightly as if sensing something, and looked in a certain direction.
Before him lay a magnificent complex of buildings, extravagantly luxurious—a castle built of pure energy stones, adorned with all sorts of rare treasures. Bene the sky, a hexagonal transparent protective shield shimmered faintly; particle cannons stood ready atop the towers; stern-faced Zerg soldiers stood on high alert, monitoring movements from all directions.
What drew the Zerg’s attention most, however, was not these things, but the faint but pervasive scent emanating from deep within the castle.
Ely wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he only knew it smelled wonderful—comforting like gentle, unwarm sunlight. He couldn’t help but draw closer.
Of course, the sea also smelled that scent. He knew all too well that it was the lingering pheromones of the dead Mother Queen that had yet to dissipate completely. That castle complex was the Mother Queen’s royal nest, and also her tomb. The body of the deceased Mother Queen would transform into jade, forever remaining within the castle.
That place had once been the holy land that the Zerg race dreamed of. Countless Zerg had gone there one after another in the past to offer their supreme love and loyalty to the Mother Queen who resided in the castle. But now it had become a restricted zone, heavily guarded, also to prevent certain radical Zerg from destroying it directly.
After all, it still contained records of the Zerg’s historical changes. Only with a verifiable civilization could the right path for development be found.
According to the treatment of past Mother Queens, this was also where Eli’s nest should have been.
Unfortunately, times had changed.
The sea lowered his head and extended an invitation with ill intent: “Want to go in and take a look?”
Eli sensed the sea’s ulterior motives, but he found it truly hard to resist the temptation. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and replied, “Yes.”
The sea found Eli’s walking too slow, so he scooped him up, spread his bone wings, and flew over directly.
[Fifth Corps Commander — Sea requests to visit.]
[Identity verification approved.]
[Welcome to the O’Laira Palace.] O’Laira, its name.
The sea took Eli on a casual tour through the palace complex of O’Laira.
[Mother, mother, mother, mother…]
Upon arriving at the O’Laira Palace, numerous voices calling out to him appeared in Eli’s spiritual domain, continuous and unceasing.
At the same time, he received so much love that Eli could feel his body beginning to show signs of growth.
As he moved, he gradually couldn’t control his body’s growth. Eli stopped walking and took the initiative to inform him: “Sea, I think… I can’t control my spiritual power anymore! It’s growing so fast!”
The sea frowned, pulled Eli’s arm over, and examined it carefully. The Mother Queen’s body stretched and lengthened before him, growing from infancy to adolescence, ultimately stabilizing at a size equivalent to a Zerg child of about seven or eight, or a human child of eleven or twelve. The rapid physical growth brought with it a meteoric rise in spiritual power. Eli struggled to control his spiritual power to keep it from spilling out, but his deliberate suppression only catalyzed a spiritual backlash, making the situation even harder to control.
Sea’s ability could only supplement the energy deficiency caused by the Mother Queen’s overly rapid growth, at best pulling various nutrients from his spatial storage and injecting them into Eli’s body to keep him from fainting due to malnutrition. But when it came to the Mother Queen’s spiritual backlash, he was helpless.
In the past, Zerg spiritual backlashes were only cured by the Mother Queen’s soothing. Even though drugs could now assist in calming them, no drugs targeting the Mother Queen had ever been developed. The Mother Queen was born the master of spiritual power; aside from Eli, no Mother Queen had ever experienced such a loss of control. Naturally, no one had researched related medications.
It wasn’t that there was no solution at all. A name flashed through Sea’s mind.
Ivan, the Second Corps Commander, spiritual ability user, who also happened to frequently visit the O’Laira Palace.
Before Sea could even summon Ivan, Eli had already lost control. His vast, spreading spiritual power took no time at all to completely envelop the Fifth Star Sector. In an instant, all Zerg in the Fifth Star Sector were forcibly connected to the Mother Queen’s spiritual link.
A childish voice appeared in the brain’s public channel.
[It hurts, it hurts so much!] The spiritual backlash was even harder to bear within the Mother Queen’s already fragile body.
It was the Mother Queen’s voice. The Zerg clearly recognized this fact. The new Mother Queen had finally been unable to resist establishing a spiritual connection with them.
The strange tremor brought by the voice was instantly suppressed, followed by a cacophony of various voices within the public channel.
[Wasn’t the Mother Queen supposed to be controlled? Why is he being given the chance to establish a connection with us?!]
[Is the Mother Queen about to die? I hope so!]
[I don’t want to hear the Mother Queen’s voice!!]
[…]
There were no shortage of voices curiously inquiring about the Mother Queen’s condition, but they were all drowned out by the torrent of abuse.
Eli hung his head weakly, enduring the pain, forcibly restraining himself from making any more sounds in the brain domain. Because of the spiritual backlash, Eli’s face was pale, and even his magnificent, beautiful pupils had lost their luster.
[Everyone, shut up!] A familiar, cold scolding voice appeared in the brain domain, instantly suppressing the multitude of voices.
[Ivan, if you’re in the Fifth Star Sector, get to O’Laira immediately.]
“I’m here.”
His body arrived, but his ability came first.
Gentle energy surged into Eli’s body, helping to calm his turbulent spiritual domain.
The violet-haired, semi-long-haired young man flashed before the juvenile Mother Queen. Ivan placed his right hand on Eli’s head while his left hand operated on a panel that appeared before him, multitasking with ease.
Sea patiently used his ability time and again to promote Eli’s absorption, ensuring his body returned to normal.
Such a troublesome Mother Queen.
Ivan put away the panel, bent down to get closer to the juvenile Mother Queen, and spoke slowly: “With spiritual power this formidable at the juvenile stage, once you reach adulthood, we truly won’t be able to control you anymore.”
“He won’t have the chance to reach adulthood. I’ve just injected him with growth-inhibiting factors.”
“This will be his last growth spurt.”
Ivan felt the head beneath his hand move slightly. He gently rubbed the juvenile Mother Queen’s hair a few times. “Then I won’t need to destroy the Mother Queen’s spiritual domain.”
The newly recovered Mother Queen’s eyes flew open in shock, unexpectedly meeting those silver-grey eyes. The elegant young Zerg greeted him amiably with a smile: “Hello there, little Mother Queen.”
He made no move to introduce himself, even though Eli already knew that the high-ranking Zerg before him was named Ivan.
Ivan, such a malevolent Zerg, he actually wanted to destroy the Mother Queen’s spiritual domain!
Without spiritual power, a Mother Queen would be worse off than a disabled Zerg, more cruel than killing him outright!
*
[Fate favors you.]
