Chapter 188: The Stranded Male Zerg × The Heavenly Garuda Emperor (8): "I Can Lay Twin Eggs," Said the Heavenly Garuda Emperor

【It was almost dark when Ares found the male Zerg by the stream.

The water was too cold, so Carl hadn't dared get in to bathe.

Ares was about to take him back.

"But I haven't bathed yet," Carl muttered, refusing to leave.

Ares turned around, walked back to the stream, stood on the rocky bank, heated the water for him, and told him to hurry.

Carl raised a hand to undo his clothes, only to discover the female was staring directly at him.

"Turn around."

This time, Ares refused to cooperate.

"We've already slept together. Is there any part of your body I haven't seen?"

Actually, there was.

Quite a lot.

At the time, they'd been too busy fighting over who was in control. He hadn't had the chance to properly appreciate the scenery.

The moment Carl heard "slept together," he got angry again.

It hadn't turned out the way he'd wanted at all.

He'd merely ended up sleeping with a... Heavenly Garuda female who happened to have an incredible body.

Though... that didn't actually sound like such a loss.

Meeting the female's frank gaze, Carl refused to back down. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the water.

He was a male Zerg.

Why would he be afraid of being looked at by a female?

When someone couldn't hold back anymore, it certainly wouldn't be him.

...Though he did feel a little overheated.

Carl rubbed his nose, deciding the water must simply be too hot.

All Ares saw was the male removing his clothes, exposing half his waist.

His gaze unconsciously shifted away.

His mind felt strangely blank, as though wrapped in warm mist.

Carl stared at the steam rising from the water, frozen for a moment.

Wasn't this water a little too hot?

Was the Heavenly Garuda trying to boil him alive?

After washing as quickly as possible, Carl stormed ashore. His skin had been scalded pink.

Furiously, he stomped on the female's shoe before getting dressed.

It felt as though some tiny young animal had stepped on him—even its paw pads were soft.

Feeling the fleeting touch on the top of his foot, Ares found himself unable to feel even the slightest anger.

The male dressed beside him. Losing his balance for a moment, he grabbed Ares' arm.

Ares naturally steadied him, his fingers brushing against the soft skin on the inside of the male's arm.

The silky smooth touch left him standing completely still, not daring to move.

Carl thought the Heavenly Garuda had been secretly watching him. He shot him a vicious glare—

Only to realize Ares had turned his head away.

"..."

Using the other's support, he finished dressing, then headed straight back to the cave without another glance.

The Heavenly Garuda didn't follow.

Only after Carl had already entered the cave did Ares finally return, a trace of moisture clinging to the ends of his hair.

The cave had already been cleaned.

Looking at the camp bed, Carl remembered everything that had happened on it and felt a little awkward.

Still, he wasn't in a position to be picky.

If he didn't sleep on the cot, he'd have to sleep on the ground.

The female had been sleeping on the ground these past few days and giving him the bed...

Whatever. He didn't care where the Heavenly Garuda slept. He could sleep wherever he pleased.

Carl sat back down on the cot, only to find Ares looking at him.

"What?"

he asked irritably.

Ares held out a red fruit to the male, who had barely eaten anything all day.

Only after Carl accepted it did he calmly say,

"Have an egg with me."

Carl nearly threw the fruit straight at his face.

One piece of fruit, and he thought he could buy him into having an egg together?!

Dream on!

"No!"

"Why not?"

Ares asked, genuinely confused.

"You won't have to raise it. I'll take responsibility."

Carl didn't care whether he took responsibility or not.

"I'm not having an egg with a Heavenly Garuda!"

He grew angrier with every word.

In the end, he still didn't throw the fruit.

Wasting food was shameful.

Holding it in both hands, he completely lost his appetite.

He'd only wanted to help the Heavenly Garuda examine his psychic domain.

Instead, everything had become a complete mess, and he hadn't even managed to enter the psychic domain in the end.

Ares still wanted to persuade him.

"I can lay twin eggs," he said.

Carl: "???"

How was that supposed to be a reason?

Unable to stop himself, Carl glanced toward Ares' abdomen before immediately realizing what he'd done.

"You're making things up!"

Twin eggs were incredibly rare.

Who could possibly guarantee they'd have twins?

Besides, what did the number of eggs have to do with anything?

"It's true."

Ares explained,

"My older brother and I are twins. Fraternal twins. That trait appears in inherited genes and increases the chance of producing twin eggs."

It actually sounded... somewhat reasonable.

"But that doesn't mean you'll definitely have twin eggs," Carl replied.

The odds of twin eggs were already tiny.

Even if the probability increased, it would only rise by a few percentage points.

It was still an unlikely event.

"Then why don't we try?"

Ares suggested.

Carl almost let himself be talked into it.

For one brief moment, he actually wanted to agree.

But he immediately came to his senses.

Who cared how many eggs Ares could lay?

He wasn't having eggs with a Heavenly Garuda.

"No!"

The first round of negotiations ended in failure.

Ares sighed with regret.

His imperial brother had only told him to find a male and have eggs.

He'd never said what to do if the male refused to cooperate.

...】

["Twin eggs? Seriously? Even I'm tempted."]

["I looked up the families that produced multiple sets of twin eggs over the past several centuries. It actually does seem to be hereditary?"]

["First come, first served! I've already sent dating invitations to every female from twin-producing families."]

["??? Since when are females first come, first served too?"]

["So if I marry a male Lord from a family with a history of twin eggs, does that mean I have a chance of having twins too? Two hatchlings at once! (Faints from happiness)"]

["No, it depends on the female, not the male. It's the female's genes that matter. And the family has to have a history of fraternal twin eggs. Identical twins don't count."]

["Looking at it that way, the Heavenly Garuda Emperor's genes really are impressive."]

The Heavenly Garuda were inexplicably proud.

["Of course. Our Emperor is great at laying eggs."]

["He can lay two!"]

Not to be outdone, the Zergs fired back.

["Our Marshal can lay ten!"]

The Heavenly Garuda: ["???"]

["We have the 'Federal Female Parent Medal' as proof! An-shen has the Male Parent Medal. The Female Parent Medal must have been quietly kept by the Marshal. Rounded up, that means the Marshal laid ten!"]

["Our Marshal has to be better than the Heavenly Garuda Emperor at everything!"]

The Heavenly Garuda: ["...Wait. Does Ulysses know you're making things up about him?"]

["Our Marshal is broad-minded and magnanimous. He won't care about something this trivial."]

["Besides, the male Lord won't have eggs with the Heavenly Garuda Emperor. So having twin-egg genes is useless. But An-shen will definitely have eggs with our Marshal!"]

["By then, you Heavenly Garuda won't have a single egg, while our Marshal will have everything!"]

The Zerg netizens proudly declared victory.

They had won the online battle.

...

After boarding the warship and finally sitting down to rest, Ulysses glanced at his light screen.

His Lord had updated the novel.

In the story, the Heavenly Garuda Emperor had tried to tempt the male into reproducing with him by mentioning twin eggs.

It hadn't worked.

As for the comments...

The Federation's citizens really had remarkable confidence in him.

Ulysses opened the chat interface and quietly sent his Lord a message.

Do you think I could live up to the honor of the Federal Female Parent Medal?

Back in the prison, An Ruo stared blankly.

"?"

The Federal Female Parent... Medal?

He seemed to have one just like it.

Ulysses himself had awarded it to him, thanking him for his contributions to the Zerg birthrate.

Still...

The phrase "Federal Female Parent" somehow sounded incredibly cool when associated with Ulysses.

It had the aura of an ultimate Daddy.

A godfather—

No, more like the founding father of a nation.

An Ruo typed his reply.

[An]: Of course. All the Federation's citizens are your hatchlings. You're the female parent of every citizen—the Federal Female Parent!

According to the original story, Ulysses would become the founder of the military government.

Calling him the nation's founding father wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Ulysses: "..."

Thank you.

But what he actually wanted... were hatchlings of his own.

The moment that thought surfaced, even Ulysses was slightly startled.

Since when had he started thinking about hatchlings?

Without a stable family environment, it wasn't suitable to bring hatchlings into the world.

But when you met someone you truly liked...

A male...

You naturally wanted to have hatchlings with him.

Ulysses rested a hand over his abdomen, his expression growing complicated.

...

In the Heavenly Garuda Empire.

The Prince snatched a rare moment of free time to read the novel.

He was nearly struck senseless by the very first lines.

【His imperial brother had only told him to find a male and have eggs.

He hadn't said what to do if the male refused to cooperate.】

The Prince: ???

Did someone really need to teach him that?

Then again...

He hadn't expected his brother to choose a male Zerg.

Male Zergs and Heavenly Garuda females were completely different by nature.

His Majesty would simply have to wish himself good luck.

...

【"So boring..."

Carl lay sprawled across the grass, sighing for what felt like the hundredth time.

His terminal couldn't connect to StarNet.

He couldn't read novels.

He couldn't play games.

The few novels he did have had already been reread countless times. Now he simply played them aloud.

Today's story was about a Heavenly Garuda male and a Zerg military officer.

One called the other "Female Lord," while the other replied with "Male Lord." Both competed to serve each other.

When Carl had first read it, he hadn't thought much of it.

Listening now...

It sounded like nothing but a fairy tale.

How could Zergs and Heavenly Garuda ever get along so harmoniously?

Axel and Enzo were the fairy tale.

He and the Heavenly Garuda Emperor were reality.

Just then, Ares happened to walk past.

Hearing the novel playing aloud, he gave Carl a look that was impossible to describe before continuing on his way.

Carl was instantly furious.

He sat upright.

"What's with that expression?!"

He had become so bored that he now needed arguments with the Heavenly Garuda just to entertain himself.

Unfortunately, Ares had long grown used to Carl exploding at the slightest provocation and had no intention of responding.

Carl pounced on him, jumped onto his back, wrapped an arm around his neck, and started a fight.

To Ares, it felt no different from a tiny cub practicing hunting skills—leaping onto an adult female's back and trying to bite with its little milk teeth.

Completely harmless.

He easily lifted the male off him.

The moment he let go—

Carl pounced again.

The male clung to him as though determined to become a decorative accessory.

After repeating the process several times, even Ares grew annoyed.

Finally, he simply pinned the male to the grass with one hand.

Looking down, his deep violet eyes rested upon the dazzlingly beautiful male beneath him.

"Stop moving," he murmured.

His Adam's apple bobbed.

His mouth suddenly felt dry.

Carl refused.

He had tolerated this cold-faced, towering Heavenly Garuda constantly wandering around in front of him for long enough.

He wanted to argue.

Fight.

Anything.

Then...

He was kissed.

Looking at Ares' handsome face drawing closer, Carl froze.

His mind exploded into blankness.

For a moment, he completely forgot how to react.

Ares imitated the way the male had bitten his lips before and kissed him.

Very soon, Carl frowned in dissatisfaction and glared at him.

"What now?"

Even Ares had no idea where all this patience was coming from.

"You bit me too hard."

Carl sounded thoroughly dissatisfied.

"Didn't you do the same thing before?"

Ares replied.

Then he remembered the physical differences between males and females.

Although he'd already restrained his strength as much as possible...

Perhaps he had still hurt him.

So he quietly asked,

"Then... should I be gentler?"

His tone carried an almost tentative note.

Carl realized Ares genuinely wasn't trying to bully him.

He simply had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

That struck him as strangely amusing.

An emperor.

Someone who could have as many males as he wanted.

Someone who carried so many condoms with him wherever he went.

And yet...

He was a complete beginner at this?

Granted, Carl wasn't much more experienced.

But he'd certainly seen enough.

He beckoned Ares closer and began teaching him how to kiss.

At first, Ares was completely bewildered.

His eyes were both cautious and unfocused, entirely led along by Carl's rhythm.

His whole body remained stiff.

But before long...

His progress became astonishing.

Relying shamelessly on his superior lung capacity, he bullied Carl until Carl couldn't even catch his breath before another kiss arrived.

Carl wasn't someone who admitted defeat.

If he couldn't outdo him that way...

He released his pheromones.

Against females, that weapon was devastating.

It greatly weakened their combat ability.

When compatibility was especially high, the effect was extraordinary.

Somehow...

The two of them ended up rolling together.

Overall, Ares still maintained the upper hand, firmly occupying the dominant position.

Even when Carl stood up and shoved him against a tree—

Ares was still taller.

The only disappointment...

Was that the male put the condom back on.

Ares found it increasingly irritating.

He almost wanted to tear it apart.

But when the male truly pressed against him...

He forgot all about those thoughts.

After all the commotion, Carl spread out his arms and lay flat on the grass, staring up at the blue sky and drifting clouds.

He felt as though he had truly become a wild male.

Then he lazily kicked the Heavenly Garuda.

Ares wiped the corner of his mouth and stood up.

Having at least partly made up for the regret caused by his pheromone deficiency several times over, he looked at the male lying there so defenselessly.

His brows drew together slightly.

He picked up his own clothes and draped them over Carl before lifting him into his arms and carrying him back to the cave.

"So... you're really not going to have an egg with me?"

he asked.

"No."

Half-asleep, Carl yawned and refused again.

Ares placed him on the camp bed before counting how many condoms he still had left.

For the first time...

He actually hoped the rescue team would take a little longer to arrive.

Once they returned...

Convincing the male to have eggs with him would only become even more difficult.

Out here on this barren planet, there were only the two of them.

The male had no other members of his own species nearby.

The only one he could give his pheromones to...

Was him.

...】