Chapter 54: Male School Heartthrob x Military Academy Student (15): Iso Became His Standard

There were fewer Garuda disguised as Zergs on StarNet.

Zerg netizens who frequently argued with the Garuda keenly noticed this.

[Has the Security Bureau finally taken action?]

[They're way too slow. One-star review.]

[No, wait. It looks like fighting broke out at the frontlines! The official announcement is already out.]

The Federation's official post was very concise.

They simply updated the interstellar map.

The meaning was equally straightforward:

Yes, our Zerg territory has expanded by another several tens of thousands of light-years.

A very Zerg-style announcement.

Back when the military was at its peak, reports like this appeared almost every month. Everyone was used to it.

But this time was different.

Because that region had previously belonged to the Garuda.

[Wait? We pushed all the way to the Garuda's doorstep?]

[When did this happen? Why wasn't there any news at all?]

[Didn't the Ninth Legion's expedition just end? And they weren't even headed in that direction.]

[Which Legion is this? They're unbelievably fierce.]

[The Ninth Legion just returned, so they're ruled out.]

[The First Legion is still stationed near Capital Star.]

[The Second Legion hasn't moved either.]

...

After ruling them out one by one, military enthusiasts could only speculate that it was likely the Third Legion and the Seventh Legion.

Most military enthusiasts were retired female soldiers who had served for decades, and their analysis was reasonable and well-founded.

But they weren't inside the Legions, so they couldn't know the exact truth.

Soon, someone noticed that the Marshal hadn't appeared publicly for many days.

Several occasions that should have been attended by the Marshal had instead been handled by Generals from other military districts.

[The Marshal personally went to war?]

That speculation shocked the entire Zerg race.

Yet, when they thought about that person's style of doing things, it somehow didn't seem strange at all.

The news greatly boosted morale.

When Ulysses had still been a General, he possessed a title universally recognized throughout the Zerg race—

God of War.

As long as he participated in a battle, there had never been one he couldn't win.

Even if he merely sat inside a warship without taking action, the soldiers under him could still unleash two hundred percent of their combat strength.

He was a military god.

As long as he was there, he was like a divine pillar stabilizing everyone's hearts.

Now, Zerg netizens weren't concerned about whether they would win.

They cared about how they would win—

And how overwhelming the victory would be.

As well as...

[The Marshal treats us like Garuda spies! (crying) Such a huge matter and not even a hint leaked out!]

[I was still arguing with Garuda online yesterday, only to find out the Garuda was me all along. (red-nosed Garuda emoji)]

[Thinking that the Garuda found out the Marshal went to war before we did makes me lose face.]

[Think positively. By the time they found out, the Marshal's artillery was already raining down on their heads. Doesn't that feel better?]

[Yeah, actually, it does.]

An Ruo also saw the discussions on StarNet.

Ulysses went to war?

He was somewhat surprised, but not really.

That was indeed the great villain's style.

He was never someone who sat around waiting.

If he anticipated that the Garuda would make trouble during the transition of power, then he would strike first and beat them into submission.

Only he possessed such decisiveness, courage, and absolute strength.

An inconspicuous sentence from the novel suddenly surfaced in An Ruo's mind.

——During Ulysses's rule, the Zerg territory expanded by more than threefold.

He truly deserved the title of God of War.

No one could stop his advance.

In the end, what killed him—

Was his own policy.

...

This was a war with no suspense.

An Ruo had forgotten most of the original plot, so naturally he didn't remember what happened on the Garuda side.

The only thing he could vaguely infer from the timeline was that this war directly led to a change of the Garuda throne.

Which had nothing to do with An Ruo, who was still in prison.

After all, the former Emperor's egg wasn't going to run into his hands.

An Ruo opened his document and started today's update.

...

[Isidore woke up on time, carried his own little stool to wash up, combed his hair, changed his clothes, and put on his shoes.

After turning himself into a clean and adorable little hatchling that made adults desperately want to cuddle him, he happily went downstairs to look for Dad and Papa.

Papa was cooking in the kitchen.

Isidore leaned against the doorframe and peeked inside.

He saw Papa lowering his eyes, a faint blush on his face, his expression particularly gentle, and a smile lingering on his lips.

Papa seemed very happy.

The kind of happiness that put him in an exceptionally good mood.

After transmigrating here, the first thing Isidore saw was Papa's cold side.

During that week, Papa rarely showed any expression, though his gaze softened a little whenever he looked at him.

But today's Papa was just like the Papa Isidore remembered.

What had caused such a huge change?

As he was wondering, Papa spoke without turning around:

"Isidore, go wash your hands. Breakfast is ready."

Caught!

Isidore hadn't expected to fool an adult's ears anyway and obediently stepped out from behind the door.

Looking around and finding the living room empty, he couldn't help asking,

"Where's Dad?"

Iso paused slightly before returning to normal and calmly said,

"Lord Hill is still resting. I'll go wake him up in a bit."

"I'll wake Dad up!"

Isidore volunteered enthusiastically and ran off.

The next second, his collar was seized.

Papa picked him up without explanation, put him on a chair beside the dining table, set down the tray in his other hand, untied his apron, wiped his hands, and said,

"You stay here. I'll wake Lord Hill."

"Okay."

Supporting his chin, Isidore watched Papa head upstairs.

Papa had always been like this.

He never allowed Isidore to disturb Dad in the mornings.

Isidore was used to it.

He had thought this Papa was different from the one he remembered and wouldn't have so many rules.

Yet it turned out to be exactly the same!

Morning and evening Dad belonged to Papa.

Isidore only got to have Dad during part of the daytime.

Likewise, evening Papa belonged to Dad.

After Papa returned from work, Isidore could only enjoy a brief period with him.

Except during family vacations.

 Hill was sitting on the bed, staring at the transfer displayed on the light screen.

He had already been awake for a while.

He simply hadn't mentally prepared himself to face Iso downstairs.

He didn't know how to face him.

Whether his eyes were open or closed, all he could see was Iso kneeling before him.

First he remembered those lowered brows and eyes.

Then the upper lip and cheeks.

And lower still—

Collarbones and chest muscles.

The jewelry had also been dazzling and eye-catching.

Back then, in order to become Hill's painting model, Iso had worn no concealment whatsoever.

He was completely bare and open to view.

Hill buried his burning face in a pillow.

He had completely gone crazy.

Iso hadn't missed a single inch of him.

Meanwhile, Iso had only dirtied his shoes and trouser cuffs, like spilled paint in a studio.

And it was the most precious white paint.

Iso apologized, carried him back to his room, and voluntarily took responsibility for washing his shoes and pants.

Hill had tossed and turned all night without sleeping.

He only dozed briefly at dawn.

When he woke up, he found a transfer of Star Coins.

Iso had sent it.

Because they had no marital relationship.

Therefore, the female Zerg had to pay the male Zerg.

Even though Hill hadn't performed Psychic Soothing.

And even though he hadn't properly given his pheromones where they were supposed to go.

It made him feel like an extremely irresponsible male Zerg.

Hill wanted to return the money.

But Iso firmly refused.

He was especially adamant about this.

Iso told him that if a male Zerg rejected a female Zerg's gift of Star Coins afterward, it meant the female Zerg hadn't served well enough.

And that female Zerg would remain trapped in the shadow of being rejected by a male forever, never able to hold his head up again.

"Was my service not good enough?"

Iso had asked him.

Hill's face instantly turned scarlet, leaving him unable to utter a single word.

Of course not.

He had been very, very good.

Hill couldn't imagine anyone better.

Iso was his only experience.

Iso was his standard.

Rejecting him would hurt his feelings.

So Hill could only accept the Star Coins.

Even though Hill had little concept of money, he knew this was an enormous sum for ordinary people.

It might even be all the earnings from selling Iso's artwork.

And he had given all of it to him.

Female Zergs really had it hard.

Hill couldn't help thinking.

If every act of intimacy with a male Zerg required spending so much money, then marriage really was preferable.

Sleep with a male a few times and go bankrupt.

Or lose all your property at once, but permanently gain the right to sleep with him.

Comparatively speaking, the latter option seemed slightly better.

Of course, choosing the lesser evil between two terrible options was meaningless.

Still, Hill didn't want Iso to go bankrupt.

On the contrary, he wanted to spend money on Iso.

He wanted to share all his money with Iso and let him spend it.

Just imagining it made him feel happy.

...]

Readers swarmed in the moment An-shen updated.

At first, they were all smiling, finding the hatchling adorable, envying Iso's good fortune, and teasing him over his reaction.

But by the latter half, they were utterly dumbfounded.

[Is this right, Lord Hill?]

[What male Zerg spends money on female Zergs? Lord Hill, calm down!]

[A male Zerg who wants to spend money on a female Zerg... that's unprecedented.]

[Even the Garuda can't produce males like this! Their males are supported by females too! Surely our Zerg females aren't inferior to the Garuda!]

[Damn that Iso! What kind of love potion did he feed Lord Hill?!]

[If this were the Imperial Era, a female Zerg who made a male spend money would've been sent to a correctional facility!]

The female Zergs were panicking.

This completely overturned their worldview.

Female Zergs were supposed to spend money on males.

That was how they earned a male's attention.

That was the meaning of their existence.

Even the Iso they were cursing had proactively transferred Star Coins to Lord Hill.

But why were Lord Hill's thoughts completely different from everything they knew?

[Calm down. This is just An-shen writing science fiction.]

[Whew, I see. That scared me... The writing was too realistic. I almost thought it was real. Thanks for reminding me.]

With that comment, the atmosphere became relaxed again.

[An-shen always writes science fiction, but this one goes a bit too far.]

[(Rewarding 10 Quantum Cannons) Honestly, it's pretty fresh. Nobody else could think up such a plot. An-shen actually came up with it. Science fiction is all about innovation.]

[Exactly. If this were an ordinary novel, I'd criticize it for being unrealistic. But since it's An-shen's science fiction, it's fine. If science fiction were realistic, what would be the point? (Rewarding 1 Spaceship)]

[Seriously? How can anyone enjoy reading such absurd stories? I don't understand. (Watering 20 Nutrient Solutions)]

[↑↑↑ Isn't it obvious who's enjoying it?]

[→ Sorry, I confess. I actually like it (crying).]

Naturally, there were readers who couldn't accept it.

[I still can't accept a male spending money on a female! (angry) Supporting Lord Male's extravagance is a female's duty!]

[Poster above, I'm a B+ male Zerg. I'm visiting your area and need a guide. Come pick me up at xx airport. I'll cover all expenses.]

[Yes, Lord! I'm coming right now! (blowing kisses)]

[...]

[Didn't you just say you absolutely couldn't accept males spending money?]

[I'd want to go too.]

[Lord Male above, look at me! (crying)]

"Hehe, I'm already flying to the airport."

[+1.]

[Wow, so many competitors. Let's see who gets there first.]

[Wait? You people? Beware of online scams!]

[Stop trying. Male Zergs fool females every single time. Even knowing it's a trap, a crowd of female Zergs will still fight to jump in first, terrified they'll be too late.]

The topic in the comments had completely derailed.

No one paid attention anymore to the obviously "unreasonable" plot of a male wanting to spend money on a female.

After all, An-shen's novels had always been science fiction.

This one even involved time travel.

A bit more fantasy didn't matter.

Besides, this novel couldn't possibly become reality like Xi'an and Claire's story.

And besides—

Lord Hill only wanted to spend money.

He hadn't actually spent any yet.

It was simply a beautiful fantasy brought on by a male's first intimate experience and the effects of pheromones.

[Damn, I'm even more jealous of Iso now. He got to enjoy such a pure Lord Male.]

[Using this method, he carved an unforgettable place in Lord Hill's heart. Even if they separate in the future and Lord Hill gets more females, he'll still remember him.]

Previously, most female Zergs believed experienced male Zergs were better.

It meant they were capable, popular, and able to provide better experiences.

But now they found themselves unusually envious of Iso.

Damn it.

How lucky must someone be to receive a Lord Male's first service?

That was practically equivalent to being a male's guide.

Some males had guides accompany them during physiological awakening and help them through that period.

Afterward, those males trusted and relied on their guides deeply.

Other males either couldn't find suitable guides or deliberately avoided excessive dependence and chose to challenge themselves with strong willpower.

Those males would endure the awakening alone.

Lord Hill clearly belonged to the latter category.

[Iso really hit the jackpot!]

[But didn't Lord Hill mention that Iso had originally been on his guide list? He just chose not to have a guide.]

[Damn! You're right! After all those twists and turns, it was still him! What kind of fate is that?!]

[Iso definitely has some heavenly luck. Next time I apply for a date with a Lord Male, I won't pray to Claire anymore. I'll pray to Iso.]

[??? You can do that? Which race taught you that mysterious ritual? Does it work?]

[No idea. I found it online. Anyway, before applying for a date, you always try every possible method to improve your chances. Doesn't matter if it works or not. Trying costs nothing.]

[True. I'm going to worship Iso too. Wish me luck that I successfully date Lord Hill in my dreams tonight.]

[...Iso will come into your dreams tonight and challenge you to a duel.]