Chapter 52: Male Zerg Book Club: As the fame of spread far and wide, the upper circles of Capital Star were also filled with discussions about

Ulysses boarded the battleship, and General Cyril stepped forward to greet him.

“Marshal.”

Ulysses gave him a slight nod, but when his gaze swept over the strand of black hair beneath General Cyril’s military cap, he paused for a moment.

Distinctive black hair and black eyes were uncommon throughout the entire Zerg race.

And if there happened to be an A-rank male Zerg who had inherited those features, and who just so happened to be named “Hill,” then that was even rarer.

“General Cyril, it has been quite a while since you returned home, hasn’t it?”

Ulysses looked at him.

“Yes. It has been over a month.”

Cyril showed no particular emotional fluctuation as he said it.

Ever since receiving the Marshal’s orders, he had led the Third Legion deep into interstellar space outside Zerg territory, and it had already been more than a month.

Once they entered deep space, they had been disconnected from the Zerg StarNet and could only maintain contact through military radio channels.

It was an effective way to prevent information leaks.

Not only did the Garuda not know they were preparing to strike, but even Zergs outside the Third Legion were unaware.

The only drawback was...

He hadn’t replied to his Male Lord’s messages for over a month.

General Cyril could already imagine how many messages would flood his private terminal the moment he returned to StarNet coverage.

The pink-haired male Zerg at home was not easy to soothe once he started throwing a fit.

As though seeing through his thoughts, Ulysses said,

“Once this operation ends, you can go home and reunite with your family.”

Hearing those words, the light in Cyril’s eyes softened.

Rarely, he joked with his former peer and current supreme commander.

“If the Marshal truly cares for his subordinates, perhaps you could give us a bit more leave after the Legion Celebration.”

Ulysses looked at him in surprise.

The famous workaholic of the military, a staunch non-marriage advocate until nearly two hundred years old, was actually asking him for vacation now?

Female Zergs really did become different after gaining a Male Lord and hatchlings. Even their drive for career advancement declined.

If Cyril knew what the Marshal was thinking, he would definitely feel wronged.

He did want to pursue his career.

But he was basically already at the top.

Above him, only the supreme commander remained.

What was he supposed to do?

Work harder and overthrow the Marshal?

Ulysses said, “You’ll have your leave. As for the rest, that depends on this operation’s performance.”

The Federation’s five-hundredth anniversary military celebration naturally had to be grand.

As for just how grand and lively it would be, that depended on their results against the Garuda.

This battle—

Victory was mandatory.

Defeat was unacceptable.

“I shall not disgrace my mission!”

Cyril saluted.

...

There was still some time before the true operation began, so Cyril followed the Marshal to the command room.

Several Garuda battleships had been detected ahead.

Minor enemies like these didn’t require them to act personally. It was better to leave them to the lower ranks and give younger Zergs more opportunities.

The real war still lay ahead.

Ulysses sat in the command chair, observing the battlefield.

This sort of skirmish was hardly worth watching, but as his eyes swept across the battle, a black-and-gold mecha caught his attention.

He let out a soft sound of surprise.

“That is the commander of the Shadow Unit?”

“Yes.”

Cyril’s expression was complicated.

Pride mixed with a faint trace of dissatisfaction.

“Young and promising,” Ulysses praised.

Cyril kept a straight face.

“He still needs training.”

The intelligence analysts in the command room all looked over.

Seriously?

General Cyril was arguing with the Marshal?

How brave.

Ulysses looked at him with interest and suddenly said,

“I remember you have a male Zerg at home.”

Cyril: “...”

He had gone too far.

When a female Zerg suddenly became interested in a male Zerg, there were only two possibilities.

They had taken a fancy to the male Zerg.

Or—

They had taken a fancy to the male Zerg.

Cyril stiffly answered,

“Yes... He already has a Female Lord.”

The one you just praised.

The Marshal couldn’t possibly become a Male Attendant.

If this turned into some forceful seizure...

Whether Iso lived or died was one thing.

But his male Zerg absolutely could not be frightened.

Of course, he knew his male Zerg was outstanding. It was perfectly natural for anyone to fall for him.

But he truly hadn’t expected even the Marshal to set eyes on him.

Everyone knew that the Marshal’s taste in male Zergs had always been somewhat abnormal.

After his divorce, he seemed to have become normal...

Under ordinary circumstances, that would be a good thing.

But if the target was his son, then it was definitely not a good thing.

His male Zerg looked obedient, but he was actually stubborn.

He only wanted one Female Lord.

He only wanted a small family and a peaceful life behind closed doors.

If anyone tore him apart from his Female Lord, he absolutely wouldn’t accept it.

He would fight to the death.

And Cyril would die too...

Ulysses asked again,

“What about hatchlings?”

Digging so deeply?

Cold sweat was beginning to form on Cyril’s forehead.

Even sparring with the Marshal in the past had never pressured him this much.

“They have a hatchling too.”

He answered under immense pressure.

“Named Isidore?”

“Yes...”

Cyril was horrified.

Had the Marshal investigated his entire family?

“How old?”

Cyril had gone numb.

“Thirteen and a half.”

Ulysses calculated the age.

Transmigration ten years ago...

Three and a half years old...

Everything lined up perfectly.

What a coincidence.

How interesting.

Cyril was still tense with anxiety when he realized that the Marshal’s interest had suddenly shifted away.

He stopped asking entirely.

“?”

Military Region Prison.

An Ruo enjoyed a wonderful lie-in, sleeping thirty minutes longer than usual.

Only when the little robot bug arrived with breakfast did he slowly get up to wash.

Then he casually opened his terminal and browsed StarNet news.

The latest headlines were still about public security problems.

A certain female Zerg had gotten high on pheromones at home and howled loudly in the middle of the night, disturbing the neighbors. When the law enforcement team arrived, he refused arrest and fought them while still pulling up his pants.

One against thirteen.

He beat the entire squad.

Such news appeared endlessly, leaving An Ruo clicking his tongue.

The public security situation among the Zergs was really that terrible?

Unmarried female Zergs were indeed terrifyingly powerful.

Below that article were reports about booming sales of male Zerg pheromones and products aimed at female Zergs.

Unexpectedly, despite all those products selling like crazy, the marriage rate had also increased.

Female Zergs had become more focused on a male Zerg’s attitude toward hatchlings and his character when choosing mates.

They wanted someone with “good father vibes.”

PS: Young fathers were acceptable too.

An Ruo: ???

As for the male Zergs...

They had all fallen in love with painting.

One after another, they set up studios at home and invited female Zergs to model.

The bold ones directly invited military academy students.

The shy ones only painted the female Zergs in their own households.

And the female Zergs were more than willing to model.

Recently, both female Zergs and male Zergs had been eating very well.

An Ruo scrolled through the news and unexpectedly noticed that military reports were unusually scarce.

Especially those involving Ulysses.

Logically, after taking over as Marshal, he should have been at his busiest and most visible.

Yet when An Ruo clicked on related articles, he found they were already somewhat old.

What had the great villain been busy with lately?

Having forgotten most of the original plot, An Ruo thought seriously for a while and remembered nothing.

Anyway, the original protagonist still hadn’t appeared.

No hurry.

After washing up and eating the prison’s exquisitely prepared breakfast, An Ruo headed out for today’s Psychic Soothing sessions.

Right.

He should tell Uriel to stop arranging these “refined male Zerg breakfasts.”

His stomach couldn’t stand such suffering.

Eating them once or twice was novel.

Too many times, and one lost all love for food.

...

Capital Star.

Male Zerg Club.

Today, the Male Zerg Club was holding a book gathering, and many male Zergs had been invited.

Lord Aira disliked going out during the day and politely declined.

Thus, the most eye-catching figure today became another lord...

A-rank male Zerg, Philor.

Philor had always been known throughout Capital Star’s upper circles as a lucky male Zerg.

Born on an ordinary first-class star, he came to Capital Star to visit relatives after reaching adulthood and happened to attend a banquet.

There, he was noticed by General Cyril of the Third Legion, who had just returned from an expedition.

Cyril invited him to dance.

After one dance, the famously anti-marriage female Zerg broke his principles and asked Philor to become his Male Lord.

Over the years, Philor had lived in the luxurious estate built for him by the General.

Pampered by his Female Lord.

Spoiled by his Male Attendants.

His life was simply blissful.

One beautiful Male Attendant after another.

One hatchling after another.

The only issue was perhaps that his Female Lord’s possessiveness was rather strong.

Every Male Attendant came from among his own followers.

But that wasn’t really a bad thing.

All handsome.

All good-looking.

All high-ranking.

And each with different hair colors and styles.

General Cyril seemed to be collecting cards, gathering Male Attendants of every possible type for his Male Lord.

Though no one could guarantee that this bright and beautiful pink-haired male Zerg himself wasn’t also one of General Cyril’s cards.

Still, everything his Female Lord possessed was shared with him.

Sleeping with beautiful Male Attendants.

Playing with adorable hatchlings.

Spending his Female Lord’s endless fortune...

There was simply no time left for worries.

Thus, although many people secretly spoke sour words behind his back and complained that his Female Lord controlled him too tightly, that he had no freedom, and that even the female Zergs he slept with had to be approved by his Female Lord—

Their envy was equally genuine.

Nobody truly thought Philor lived a miserable life.

If Philor’s life counted as suffering—

Then let them all suffer like that.

And now, after so many years, Philor had once again become the center of everyone’s attention.

Because...

Of a novel.

“That’s An-shen’s new book!!!”

“How did he manage to get An-shen to write a custom story for his family?!”

“Didn’t they say even generals from other Legions asked and never received a reply?”

Although neither General Cyril nor Philor was ever named directly in the story,

Anyone familiar with the family knew.

It was about them.

It was about their son.

Nobody understood the transmigration part.

But they knew Hill.

He was the only son of Philor and General Cyril.

Also an A-rank male Zerg.

Gifted beyond compare.

Though his personality was somewhat withdrawn and unsociable, male Zergs were right no matter what they did.

Being withdrawn meant he was aloof and transcendent.

Not fitting in meant he was exceptionally outstanding and wonderfully unique.

They didn’t know much about military academy student Iso.

But the title of Shadow Unit Commander was well known among families with senior military officers.

The fastest-rising female Zerg in the past twenty years.

The most talented and outstanding among the new generation.

According to rumors, he was likely to become General Cyril’s successor.

As <School Heartthrob> became famous, Capital Star’s upper circles became filled with discussions about the book and Hill’s family.

General Cyril and Iso spent most of their time in the military.

Hill never attended such gatherings.

But Philor could be invited.

Thus, all the male Zergs eagerly waited for that lord’s arrival.

They were simply too curious.

How had Philor’s family managed to obtain a custom novel from An-shen?

Were Hill and Iso truly as sweet as the book portrayed?

And the hatchling, the Underground District, living inside a mecha, psychic paintings...

There were simply too many questions they wanted answered.