Chapter 190: The Stranded Male Zerg × The Heavenly Garuda Emperor (10): "I Want to Marry You as My Male Lord, to Be My Empress."

【For an SS-rank like the Heavenly Garuda Emperor or Marshal Ulysses, unless a miracle happens, they'll never have an egg in this lifetime!】

Ulysses: "..."

He wasn't about to argue with a young Male Zerg fresh out of school. Children said foolish things. He'd simply bring him back and leave him to his guardian for a proper lecture.

As for eggs...

If the gods loved him, then one day he would naturally have one.

If the gods did not love him, then whether he had an egg or not no longer mattered.

The readers in the review section, however, were far more interested in something else.

[Has Lord Carl become more and more comfortable with intimate contact with the Heavenly Garuda Emperor?]

[Definitely. He's already thinking about what to do after they run out of condoms.]

[When will a Male Lord use up such a huge stack of condoms on me?]

[Are you sure? Being able to look but never truly have him, always one step short of complete satisfaction... wouldn't that be torture?]

[It's not that painful. Unless a Male Lord deliberately suppresses it, his body naturally releases pheromones. As long as a female can smell a Male Lord's pheromones, that's already enough to make him incredibly happy. Sure, you're still one step short. Your brood pouch won't be satisfied, and you won't be able to produce an egg. But if I could receive a high-ranking Lord's pheromones and be claimed by him, I'd gladly sacrifice that little bit of happiness.]

[You're even specifying a high-ranking Lord? You really want everything, don't you? (eye roll)]

[High-ranking Lords have stronger pheromones and stronger abilities... (shy) (fidgeting)]

[Lord Carl is A-rank. Strong abilities mean greater needs. That's simply the reproductive instinct of Male Zergs. And since the Heavenly Garuda Emperor is the only one beside him, of course he's sleeping with him. He doesn't exactly have another choice.]

[I know. The higher a Lord's rank, the stronger his needs. Most A-rank Lords have huge households. Lord Philor is the perfect example.]

[High-ranking Male Zergs like Lord Hill who only want a small family are incredibly rare.]

[I'm once again amazed by how well Iso has it. With so many high-ranking Lords' pheromones... can he even handle all that? Can he even appreciate it!?]

[Iso is S-rank, so he can definitely take it. But he's also a military female. He's constantly at military headquarters, and when missions come up, he disappears for months, sometimes even years. Even then, Lord Hill never looked for another female. He insisted on Iso alone.]

[This has to be a fairy tale. I'm crying.]

[He was probably traumatized by Lord Philor's enormous family. (quietly) (whispering)]

[Thank goodness. I thought Iso had bewitched Lord Hill or something.]

Several of the protagonists in An-shen's novels were devoted to one partner.

Xi'an had likewise declared he would marry only Claire, but they had only recently wed. Ul and Avis were far away among the star pirates, so little information ever surfaced. Enzo and Axel were still far in the future, and their relationship hadn't even begun; to readers, Axel felt more like a fictional character than a real one. As for Morris, things still weren't completely settled with the virtual Male Zerg.

Compared to them, Hill and Iso stood out the most. They had already been married for years in reality, their hatchling had grown up, and they still belonged only to each other.

[A-rank Lords have tremendous needs. High desire, endless stamina. Yet Lord Hill has stayed with only Iso all these years. Every protagonist in An-shen's novels is also one-to-one. It shows that desire can be restrained.]

[What? You're actually telling a Male Lord to suppress his instincts? What's wrong with you? Don't you care about the birthrate anymore?]

[No, that's not what I meant! I mean, if Lord Carl didn't like Ares, he wouldn't have to sleep with him. The fact that he's willing to spend all that energy on Ares means he likes him.]

[Of course! Our Emperor is overflowing with charm and kingly charisma! Even Male Zergs rush to serve him!]

(Reported. Please do not report again.)

[A Male Lord would never serve any Zerg or Heavenly Garuda! You people have let Heavenly Garuda culture rot your brains! Male Lords are noble beings! They're always the ones in control and the ones being pleased!]

...

【Ever since they ran out of condoms, Carl refused to become any more intimate with Ares, deliberately keeping his distance.

Unfortunately, whether he wanted to or not no longer mattered.

At some point, Ares had simply occupied his campaign cot, leaving poor Carl with no choice but to sleep on the sturdy Heavenly Garuda's body.

Which naturally made things very easy to get out of hand.

Clutching his clothes, Carl jumped down and pointed at him.

"You sleep down there!"

Ares slowly sat up, rolled his shoulders, displaying his broad chest and firm muscles as he replied,

"But this is my bed."

Carl's eyes widened.

"I'm a Male Zerg!"

"Mhm."

Ares acknowledged it calmly.

"That's why I'm letting you sleep on me."

If Carl had been a female, Ares would have kicked him straight out of the cave long ago.

...Then again...

If Carl had been born female, he probably would've resembled a Heavenly Garuda more than a Zerg.

Even among Heavenly Garudas, few were as passionate and uninhibited as he was. Most Heavenly Garuda females learned the cruelty of society and the harshness of hierarchy from childhood, struggling desperately their entire lives just to earn a mate of their own.

Carl, meanwhile, possessed the natural confidence of someone who believed the entire world ought to revolve around him.

Only the Zerg civilization could raise a Male Zerg this proud and carefree.

Still pouting, Carl carried his clothes to a corner and began building himself a little nest on the ground.

Ares looked surprised.

"You're really not coming back?"

"I'm not!"

Carl lay down atop Ares' military cloak and covered himself with the larger coat.

Seeing him wrapped up entirely in his own belongings like a little bundle, Ares found him adorable.

It was almost impossible to get angry.

"Come back up. I won't touch you."

Carl inhaled the pheromones lingering inside the cave.

As if I'd believe that.

Ares continued coaxing him.

"Our rank difference is huge. You won't get pregnant. It isn't that easy."

Carl knew that.

He had even used exactly that reasoning to convince himself before.

But when it truly came down to it...

He was still afraid.

There was always that tiny chance.

He didn't dare gamble on it.

Besides...

"If you already know I can't get pregnant, why do you still want to have an egg with me?"

Carl tossed the question back.

He genuinely wanted to know.

Ares fell silent.

Only after a long while did he answer.

"Because... you're the only Male Zerg here. Among Heavenly Garuda males, A-rank is already the highest. There's no difference."

Although the Empire refused to admit it officially, Heavenly Garuda males had declined even more severely than Male Zergs when it came to overall rank.

The only one who had ever approached S-rank was his own brother.

Beyond that...

A-rank was the absolute limit.

An A-rank Heavenly Garuda male and an A-rank Carl were essentially the same.

Compared to anyone else...

Ares would much rather try with Carl.

Even if all it accomplished was wasting his energy...

He would rather waste that energy on Carl.

Carl frowned as he listened.

So...

In the end, it was simply because he happened to be the only Male Zerg here.

Because their own country didn't have a higher-ranked, suitable male.

That was why Ares wanted to have an egg with him.

Of course that was the reason.

What else could it possibly be?

For some reason...

Carl suddenly felt irritated.

He wasn't happy.

"I'm going to sleep. I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Pulling the military coat over his face, Carl hid beneath it.

The clothing still carried faint traces of the female's pheromones.

It made his imagination run wild.

Holding his breath, Carl forced those thoughts back down.

Eventually...

Whether he calmed himself or simply became lightheaded from lack of oxygen, even he wasn't sure.

His consciousness gradually faded into darkness.

When he woke again...

He was lying on the campaign cot.

Only he was there.

The Heavenly Garuda was gone.

His clothes were still perfectly in place.

The other hadn't touched him at all.

He had simply carried Carl back onto the bed.

Carl's emotions became strangely complicated.

This Heavenly Garuda kept talking about wanting an egg with him...

Yet he had never forced himself on him.

For a Heavenly Garuda...

He could actually be considered rather honorable.

Applying a positive word like that to a Heavenly Garuda felt strangely unnatural.

It didn't sit quite right.

Shaking away the thought, Carl stepped outside to wash up.

While splashing water on his face, he saw another pillar of brilliant white energy erupt into the sky in the distance.

Exactly like before.

It was the signal the Heavenly Garuda Emperor had mentioned.

He sent one up every two days.

Lately he'd been doing it even more frequently.

He seemed just as eager to return home.

Not long afterward, the Heavenly Garuda Emperor returned.

Digging into the front of his bulging coat, he pulled out a bouquet of wildflowers and handed it over.

Carl froze.

The bright, soft blossoms looked utterly out of place beside the cold, ruthless Heavenly Garuda.

"...What's this?"

"Flowers."

"I heard males like them."

The Heavenly Garuda Emperor stuffed the large, colorful bouquet into Carl's arms.

Carl: "..."

Back at school, he had been every female's dream.

He'd received countless luxurious, beautiful bouquets from admirers.

But never...

Not once...

Had he imagined such an obvious act of courtship coming from the Heavenly Garuda Emperor.

For the first time in his life, he found himself holding flowers without the slightest idea what to do.

"You're seriously... so annoying..."

"You keep bringing me completely pointless things..."

Using the flowers to hide half his face, Carl lowered his nose into the bouquet and took a deep breath.

They smelled wonderful.

"You can't eat those," Ares reminded him.

"...?!"

Carl exploded.

"Who said I was going to eat them?! Do you seriously think I'm some glutton who stuffs everything into my mouth?!"

The angry Male Zerg's cheeks flushed bright red.

His beautiful face was even more dazzling than the flowers.

"Alright."

"You're not."

Ares nodded calmly.

"I'll make fruit-roasted meat for you later."

Carl: "..."

That infuriating Heavenly Garuda.

He still thought he was a glutton.

The fruit-roasted meat turned out tender and delicious.

The flowers remained fragrant and beautiful.

That night...

Carl finally stopped insisting they sleep separately.

He allowed the Heavenly Garuda to enjoy his pheromones once.

And afterward...

He willingly took care of him in return.

Carl had never imagined he would one day do something like this for a female...

Much less a Heavenly Garuda.

The female was frustratingly slow to respond.

Carl worked for a long time before finally bringing him to release.

Half-reclining there, Ares felt momentarily dizzy.

For Heavenly Garuda females, this kind of intimacy was more about the psychological pleasure of being attended to by a Male Zerg, together with the stimulation brought by Male Zerg pheromones filling the air.

The physical sensation itself was actually quite limited.

Even so...

He still found himself pleasantly lightheaded.

Exhausted, Carl leaned over and rested against his chest.

Ares wrapped his arms around him, feeling the steady heartbeat beneath his chest where the Male Zerg lay pressed against him.

Then he quietly said,

"I want to marry you as my Male Lord."

"I want you to become my Empress."

Carl: "...Get lost!"

Everyone said you could never trust what a Male Zerg said in bed.

Once overwhelmed by pleasure, they'd agree to anything and say anything.

How was it that Heavenly Garuda females were exactly the same?

Just nonsense spoken in the heat of the moment.

Thinking that, Carl glanced suspiciously at Ares.

Did he actually... enjoy that?

That shouldn't be possible.

Females weren't supposed to get much physical pleasure from it.

Ares rested his forehead lightly against Carl's, holding him tightly, as though he truly cared.

Carl thought about it for a while.

Then decided it was ridiculous to take something like this seriously.

He could never marry the Heavenly Garuda Emperor.

Much less marry into his family.

Whether he became a Male Lord, a Male Attendant, an Empress, or an Imperial Consort...

At the end of the day, they'd all simply be possessions belonging to the Heavenly Garuda Emperor.

He would never belong to the Heavenly Garuda Emperor.

No female could ever own him.

He belonged only to himself.

Rejected yet again, Ares slowly frowned.

The words had escaped him in a moment of impulse.

Part emotion.

Part sincerity.

Part something he himself couldn't completely control.

Yet the Male Zerg had casually discarded that sincerity without a second thought.

Ares loved Carl's freedom.

His confidence.

His lack of restraint.

But when those same qualities were turned against him...

They hurt far more than he expected.

"...Why did you refuse?"

Carl burst into laughter.

He was actually asking why?

Propping himself up, Carl hooked a finger beneath the Heavenly Garuda Emperor's chin, adopting the flirtatious pose of an experienced Male Zerg.

"What if I married you as my Female Lord instead, hmm?"

"Besides..."

"I can even promise not to keep too many Female Attendants, sweetheart~"

Carl winked exaggeratedly, deliberately acting cute just to disgust him.

The Heavenly Garuda Emperor stared at him with tightly furrowed brows.

Carl reached over and pinched his handsome, icy face before smoothing the wrinkles from his brow.

"So..."

"Let's not say things that'll only make both of us unhappy."

"Just enjoy ourselves."

"Don't drag any other kind of relationship into this."】