Chapter 189: The Stranded Male Zerg × The Heavenly Garuda Emperor (9): SS-Ranks Like the Heavenly Garuda Emperor and the Marshal? Forget About Ever Having Eggs!

The Heavenly Garuda Emperor was truly terrible at kissing.

Ulysses considered himself the clear winner in that regard.

At the very least, he wouldn't bite a male hard enough to hurt him. He knew how to keep his teeth in check, how to press his lips gently against a male's, and how to slip his tongue deeper only after receiving permission.

And yet...

He had still been rejected.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Garuda Emperor, whose kissing was so clumsy, had actually received personal instruction from the male.

Ulysses' mood soured.

He didn't want to keep reading.

As for having eggs...

With the fertility rates of high-ranking Zergs and Heavenly Garuda, how could pregnancy possibly happen so easily?

But protagonists were always different.

Just as there were always exceptions.

These "protagonists" always possessed absurdly high compatibility.

The kind of 100% compatibility that billions of citizens might never encounter in a lifetime—they could simply turn around and find it. Even if they couldn't, some invisible thread would eventually pull them together across billions of light-years.

Just like the eggs ordinary Zergs longed for but could never have.

The protagonists might conceive one the moment they let their guard down.

They were simply born to make others jealous.

He had to hurry.

...

【Carl felt a chill run down his back.

Every time he'd done something bad as a child and his male parent was about to catch him, he'd had this exact feeling.

He couldn't fall back asleep.

Grumbling, he climbed out of bed.

That awful Ares.

After serving him, he hadn't even cleaned him up properly or changed him into pajamas.

All he'd done was pile those Heavenly Garuda military coats over him.

The Heavenly Garuda females would all score zero in caregiving!

His female parent had at least scored twenty back then!

...Well.

Better not expose his female parent's embarrassing history.

After getting dressed, Carl walked out of the cave.

His body didn't actually feel too uncomfortable. The Heavenly Garuda had probably wiped him down.

The only problem was that he still smelled strongly of female pheromones.

Ares was grilling fish.

It smelled wonderful.

Thank goodness.

This Heavenly Garuda had finally learned to cook something besides the same old dishes.

Carl walked over and sat beside him, waiting to be fed.

At first, he'd always stayed as far away from the Heavenly Garuda as possible, waiting until his portion was brought over.

Now...

He was sitting right next to him.

Carl glanced sideways at the handsome profile beside him.

Maybe...

Sleeping together really did make people feel different.

Ares handed him the grilled fish.

The end of the little wooden skewer had been wrapped in leaves before being placed into Carl's hand.

"Careful. It's hot."

"Mhm."

Carl blew on it before taking a bite.

To his surprise...

This grilled fish actually had seasoning.

It was sweet and delicious.

If the Heavenly Garuda had possessed spices all along, there was no reason to wait until now to use them.

Carl guessed Ares had gathered local ingredients that could enhance the flavor.

Male Zergs were physically fragile.

Unlike females, they couldn't simply eat anything they wanted.

Especially unfamiliar ingredients—they had to be extremely cautious.

Yet Carl didn't hesitate at all.

Whatever Ares handed him...

He ate.

Seeing the male eating so happily, Ares found himself strangely satisfied.

Originally...

His only goal had been to feed the male enough to keep him alive.

Now it was different.

Feeding his male brought an entirely different sense of fulfillment.

He offered Carl several more kinds of food.

Only after the male couldn't eat another bite did he finally clean everything up.

Then he took Carl to the stream to wash his hands and face.

Before the rocky bank...

He kissed him.

"Again?"

Sensing that Ares wanted to take things further, Carl pushed against him in protest.

"I just finished eating. I'm completely stuffed."

Ares glanced at the slight rise of the male's stomach.

The instant Carl noticed where he was looking, he hurriedly tugged down his shirt, sucked in his stomach, and glared fiercely at him.

Was that something you could casually stare at?

Didn't male Zergs have any dignity?

Damn Heavenly Garuda!

He didn't understand the first thing about respecting a male!

Ares understood.

Male Zergs weren't like females.

Food couldn't be converted directly into energy.

They needed time to digest.

He lifted the male onto his lap and gently massaged his stomach.

Carl secretly held his stomach in for quite a while before finally relaxing.

He let Ares continue.

It felt...

Far too comfortable.

"I didn't expect Heavenly Garuda to know how to take care of people," Carl teased.

Ares replied,

"Every Heavenly Garuda female takes caring for his male very seriously."

Carl had no idea whether that was true.

He simply snorted.

"Of course you'd speak well of Heavenly Garuda. You're one yourself."

"Haven't I treated you well?"

Ares asked sincerely.

...He actually had.

But Carl still found something to complain about.

"You were mean to me before!"

Back then, their relationship had been terrible.

At the time, Ares had exhausted himself and desperately needed rest to recover his energy.

Meanwhile, the male had been noisy, troublesome, and constantly courting disaster.

His head had ached from all the commotion.

Ever since he'd recovered physically—and after their relationship had become more intimate—

He had never really been harsh with Carl again.

At most, they argued over who would be on top whenever they slept together.

Even then...

He'd gone easy on the male many times.

"You weren't exactly nice to me either."

"We're even."

Male Zergs weren't known for being reasonable.

Carl certainly wasn't about to let things end there.

"You have to lie down and let me take you once."

That was his condition.

Originally he'd wanted to say kneeling.

But there was no way this Heavenly Garuda would ever agree.

So he settled for making him lie down.

After a moment's hesitation, Ares made a request of his own.

"No condom."

"No way!"

Not having eggs together was Carl's absolute bottom line.

There was no room for compromise.

He didn't know whether he'd ever get the chance to return home.

But if he did—

And the Heavenly Garuda Emperor brought one of his eggs back with him—

The consequences would be unimaginable.

If it were a female egg...

That would mean adding another powerful warrior to the Heavenly Garuda.

The hatchling might grow up to kill Zerg soldiers on the battlefield...

Or be killed by the Zerg himself.

If he lived long enough to outlast the current Emperor and inherit the throne...

He would become the Zerg's greatest enemy.

Carl couldn't accept that outcome.

If it were a male egg...

That was even worse.

Never mind the rumors about the Heavenly Garuda royal family's chaos.

Just looking at the lives Heavenly Garuda males led...

Carl couldn't bear the thought of his own hatchling being trapped there.

Forced to marry multiple females.

Or monopolized by one powerful female who would continue taking additional male attendants.

It sounded horrible.

Even if he could never return home and remained stranded on this barren planet forever...

He still wouldn't want hatchlings.

He remembered that question from the dream.

If only one Zerg and one Heavenly Garuda remained in the world, would you be willing to have eggs together to continue your races?

But in reality...

If only the two of them remained...

Their species were already functionally extinct.

There was no point in having eggs anymore.

Even if they succeeded...

One day the hatchlings would grow up and realize that no intelligent life existed beyond their own family.

They would never find mates.

They would never pass through mating season.

That kind of future was unbearably hopeless.

And if things became even more twisted—

Like the stories surrounding the Heavenly Garuda royal family—

Carl found it even more unacceptable.

He would rather end everything before it even began.

Thinking of that, Carl sat upright and questioned the Heavenly Garuda Emperor.

"Does your royal family... actually do that?"

"?"

Ares looked confused.

"I mean..."

Carl couldn't even bring himself to say the words.

"You know... inbreeding. Line breeding. Whatever you call it... preserving the purity of the bloodline. Ugh."

He really hadn't meant to gag.

He was just so full that the thought made him nauseous.

Ares' expression darkened.

It was obvious Carl had struck a sore spot.

Carl instinctively shrank back, worried he might get punched, and tried to escape.

But Ares caught him.

Holding Carl close, he explained quietly,

"My imperial brother and I never did."

"As for the other members of the royal family..."

"They're already dead."

Carl: "..."

Well.

That was certainly one straightforward method of purifying the bloodline.

He had nearly forgotten how many Heavenly Garuda this man had slaughtered to seize the throne.

None of them were good people.

Scary.

Ares lowered his head and kissed the male's forehead.

Still holding him close, he made no move to let him leave.

He simply promised,

"That will never happen again."

Carl believed him.

Even so...

There still couldn't be any eggs.

Seeing the male's spirits sink, Ares voluntarily agreed to the condition Carl had proposed earlier and lay down for him.

He also stopped insisting on doing it without a condom.

Instead...

Afterward, Carl found himself worrying.

Only three were left.

What were they supposed to do after that?

The rescue team still hadn't appeared.

Who knew how much longer they'd remain stranded?

Once they ran out...

There was no way he was actually going to tear waterproof fabric apart and make one himself.

Ares would kick him to death.

As for the alternatives...

People said animal intestines could be used.

Just imagining the preparation process sounded awful.

He had no idea how to make one.

His male parent certainly hadn't taught him A Hatchling's Guide to Making Condoms.

He also wondered whether Ares would eventually agree to other methods.

Carl quietly glanced toward Ares' lips.

Letting him absorb pheromones once or twice...

He'd probably be happy enough.

But if it continued indefinitely, he'd definitely lose his temper.

Even if Carl willingly took equal care of Ares in return, it wouldn't help.

The sensitive point of female Zergs and Heavenly Garuda females wasn't on the outside.

Carl sighed.

Seeing the male staring worriedly at the remaining packets of condoms, Ares tried to reassure him.

"Don't worry."

"It's not easy for high-ranking Zergs and Heavenly Garuda to conceive."

"Besides, there are two whole rank tiers between us."

"That's the sort of gap that could take centuries of trying without producing an egg."

Carl: "..."

Thanks.

That somehow comforted him...

And somehow hurt even more.

He was basically saying Carl was weak!

Carl puffed out his cheeks.

He was an A-rank male Zerg!

A-rank was already excellent!

The only problem was...

This guy was an absurd SS-rank monster.

The higher the rank...

The harder reproduction became.

General Cyril was S-rank.

His A-rank Male Lord had only produced one hatchling—Senior Hill—for many years.

After that, they had spent decades trying before finally conceiving a second egg.

And that was with similar ranks and an exceptionally loving relationship.

People like the Heavenly Garuda Emperor and Marshal Ulysses—

Both SS-rank—

Unless a miracle happened...

They'd probably never have eggs in their entire lives.

Thinking about it that way...

Carl relaxed considerably.

He had spent so much time worrying.

In reality...

The chances had always been infinitesimal.

Even if they took no protective measures whatsoever...

He and Ares would never have eggs together.

He still couldn't even enter Ares' psychic domain.

For a moment, Carl wasn't sure whether such a huge rank difference was a blessing or a curse.

The good part...

He could now be physically close to Ares without barriers.

The bad part...

He couldn't perform Psychic Soothing for him.

If Ares ever lost control one day...

...

Carl let out a heavy sigh in his heart.

He still hoped they could somehow solve Ares' psychic condition.

Not just to save Ares.

More importantly...

His own safety depended on it too.

Yes!

That was definitely the reason!

...】