Chapter 185: The Stranded Male Zerg × The Heavenly Garuda Emperor (6): The Camp Bed Becomes a Battlefield as the Zerg and the Heavenly Garuda Wrestle Together

Ares had no interest in forcing himself on males.

Nor was he particularly interested in relationships between males and females.

Male pheromones meant far less to him than a satisfying battle.

At his level, worthy opponents were exceedingly rare.

Most of the time, combat only served as a bit of exercise.

The battles he encountered usually weren't much different from his daily training sessions.

Never enough.

Being stranded on a deserted planet had driven boredom to its absolute limit.

The wild beasts here could be crushed with the flick of a finger.

Ares had no choice but to find other ways to pass the time.

That noisy Male Zerg not only failed to stay as far away from him as possible...

He had actually volunteered to perform Psychic Soothing on him?

Ares found it both amusing...

And difficult to understand.

Male Zergs weren't known for trying to please females.

Especially not this one.

Had he offered because of those few pieces of fruit...

Out of gratitude?

And...

For his own safety?

The Male Zerg's reasoning made perfect sense.

But Ares' mental condition hadn't deteriorated to that extent.

He had merely suffered some injuries while breaking through the cosmic storm, leaving his Psychic Domain slightly unstable.

It was nowhere near the point of needing treatment.

Ares stared at the Male Zerg for a long while.

Only after making Carl visibly uncomfortable did he finally speak.

"Our difference in rank is too great. The success rate of Psychic Soothing is extremely low."

A-rank and SS-rank.

Exactly two major ranks apart.

Theoretically, Psychic Soothing was possible.

In reality...

The odds were slim.

The Male Zerg would most likely fail to even enter his Psychic Domain.

Carl hadn't originally intended to perform Psychic Soothing on a Heavenly Garuda.

He just wanted to take a look.

Just a look!

But the moment the Heavenly Garuda said that...

Carl became determined to prove him wrong.

"How would you know if we don't try? I'm really good at this! My Psychic Soothing is amazing!"

Seeing the Male Zerg proudly showing off like a little hatchling bragging about getting top marks, Ares couldn't help smiling.

"Fine."

"You can try."

Carl stared blankly at the corner of his mouth.

Had that cold Heavenly Garuda...

Just smiled?

His lips definitely curled upward for a moment, didn't they?

...Wait.

Why did he even care whether a Heavenly Garuda smiled?

Maybe he was laughing at him.

Carl immediately put on a stern face.

He swore he'd make this Heavenly Garuda understand just how capable he really was.

Ares packed away his tools, washed his hands in the stream, stood up, glanced at the Male Zerg, then walked toward the cave.

Carl hesitated for a second before following behind him.

A tiny bit of awkwardness lingered in his heart.

Was he really going to perform Psychic Soothing on a Heavenly Garuda?

He really was excellent at it.

After all, he'd been personally taught by his male parent.

Whenever his male parent came up with something new, he'd always teach Carl first.

Only after Carl had mastered it would his male parent organize everything into a manual and publish it as a guide.

Since childhood, Carl had willingly—or unwillingly—learned every imaginable skill.

He knew every hatchling training course.

Except one.

Group Psychic Soothing.

That thing was completely insane.

Carl couldn't imagine what kind of Zerg could write something so utterly evil.

Even his male parent had been shocked by it.

Before Carl ran away on his adventure, his male parent had still been in seclusion researching it.

Lost in thought the entire way, he returned to the cave.

The moment he looked up, he saw the Heavenly Garuda shrug off his outer robe and casually toss it onto the waterproof sheet covering the ground.

Turning back, Ares asked,

"So, how do we do this?"

Carl was speechless.

Don't make it sound like I'm dying to do you!

"I'll go in and take a look first," Carl said.

Seeing that the Male Zerg had no intention of making physical contact, Ares simply let him do as he pleased.

"As you like."

Carl cautiously extended a thread of psychic power.

Just as expected—

It was blocked.

He poured more psychic power into it and tried pushing forward.

Despair washed over him.

Was this a fortress wall made of solid steel?

Carl grew anxious.

"Can't you relax a little? Just let me in!"

Ares folded his arms.

"Heh."

This wasn't a matter of whether he chose to cooperate.

The gap between S-rank and anything above was simply too great.

The theories that worked below S-rank weren't necessarily applicable once you reached S-rank.

If the Male Zerg couldn't even break through his psychic barrier...

How could he possibly perform Psychic Soothing?

Even if Ares deliberately lowered his barrier and allowed him inside...

The only one who would end up injured...

Would be the Male Zerg.

Psychic barriers protected not only females.

They also protected males.

Carl tried knocking here and scratching there, searching everywhere for an opening.

Finding none...

He simply planted a hand against the Heavenly Garuda's chest...

And shoved him.

He didn't move an inch.

Ares looked at him in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

Annoyed, Carl pointed at the camp bed.

"Go lie down!"

Ares immediately understood what he intended.

He looked at Carl with visible surprise.

The SS-rank female's psychic barrier had dealt the Male Zerg quite a blow.

Enough for him to decide to resort to stronger measures.

Ares cooperatively walked over to the camp bed and sat down.

He wasn't interested in intimate matters between males and females.

But if it meant teasing this Male Zerg...

He was happy to play along.

As for Psychic Soothing...

He wasn't expecting much.

The camp bed had been specially designed for SS-rank Heavenly Garuda.

Supporting both their weights wasn't a problem.

It was simply rather narrow, leaving little room to move.

Carl had begun learning Psychic Soothing at the age of three.

This was the very first time he'd ever needed to use such underhanded tactics during Psychic Soothing.

It was the greatest humiliation of his life.

Bracing himself, he walked over and reached out to push the Heavenly Garuda down.

Ares had intended to cooperate.

Halfway through the movement, however, he looked up at the Male Zerg standing over him beside the bed.

Something about it felt... wrong.

He straightened back up.

"Why aren't you the one lying down?"

Carl blinked.

"...?"

What was wrong with this Heavenly Garuda?

Why was he making everything so complicated?

...

Wait.

He was a Heavenly Garuda.

Then it wasn't strange after all.

Female Heavenly Garuda preferred taking the dominant position in relationships.

Including in bed.

The Zerg were exactly the opposite.

Under normal circumstances, a Male Zerg wouldn't mind lying down while the female did all the work serving him.

But Heavenly Garuda females clearly weren't the type to provide proper service.

They'd definitely only care about satisfying themselves.

Carl absolutely refused to accept that.

"This kind of thing should have the Male Zerg on top!"

Ares disagreed completely.

The Heavenly Garuda mindset wasn't actually all that different from the Zerg.

Females liked to dominate.

To control everything.

But occasionally they didn't mind letting the male serve them while they simply lay back and enjoyed watching the little male work hard.

Even while lying down...

The real control still rested in the female's hands.

This situation, however, was different.

The Male Zerg standing before him was obviously trying to wrest control away from him.

Their gazes collided in midair.

Neither was willing to yield.

"Then..."

"We'll let ability decide!"

Carl lunged forward.

Grabbing the Heavenly Garuda by the collar, he shoved him backward.

With that momentum...

It looked less like he intended to perform Psychic Soothing...

And more like he wanted to strangle the Heavenly Garuda to death.

Ares refused to back down.

With a quick roll and a sweep of his leg, he effortlessly pinned the Male Zerg beneath him.

Carl immediately transformed his psychic power into a direct attack and slammed it against Ares' psychic barrier.

He knew perfectly well that the Heavenly Garuda Emperor's barrier couldn't be broken.

But he could absolutely make him suffer.

Grinding his teeth, Ares pressed a hand against his aching forehead.

His faintly reddened eyes locked onto the Male Zerg beneath him.

His own temper finally flared.

Today...

He was absolutely going to teach this impossible Male Zerg a proper lesson.

Ares reached out and grabbed for the Male Zerg's collar.

Carl lowered his head and bit his hand.

His legs kicked wildly.

Even while pinned down, he still tried to kick him.

His hands clawed at Ares' sleeve—

Ripping off an entire section and exposing his firm, powerful arm.

Never before had anyone managed to inflict battle damage on an SS-rank Heavenly Garuda Emperor like this.

Ares let out a cold snort through clenched teeth.

The camp bed had completely turned into a battlefield.

Ares pinned down the Male Zerg's body.

Carl used psychic attacks to force the Heavenly Garuda into a brief lapse.

Seizing that instant...

He broke free.

One Zerg.

One Heavenly Garuda.

The two became thoroughly entangled in a wrestling match.

More specifically, Carl kicked him, bit him, and even tried ripping off the Heavenly Garuda Emperor's trousers.

Meanwhile, Ares exhausted every possible method to pin him down without actually hurting him.

After finally managing to restrain both the Male Zerg's hands and legs, he let out a breath of relief.

Only to have the furious Male Zerg viciously bite him on the lips.

...