Chapter 82: Male Zerg Courtship Through Wings: This Is a Night Overflowing with Pheromones

Capital Star.

The Speaker's residence.

Aira lay obediently on the bed, hugging a pillow as he listened to the novel his Female Lord was reading aloud. Smiling, he asked,

"A relationship between a little albino Male Zerg from an orphanage and the son of a high-ranking official... Is this talking about us?"

Cassian thought it sounded remarkably similar as well.

Over all these years, through all the charity work he had done, Aira was the only albino Male Zerg he had ever met.

He was the little white moth kissed by the gods.

Thinking back, Aira said,

"The previous chapter mentioned it too... the little Male Zerg from the orphanage and the eldest young master of the Governor's family... An-shen is really writing about us€€!"

"It even says, 'Adapted from the story of a certain Male Association President.' Is that supposed to be me? Does An-shen think I'll become that amazing someday?"

Aira's eyes sparkled brightly.

Cassian found him unbearably adorable.

In his eyes, Aira was simply the very best.

That had nothing to do with the filter of a devoted Female Lord.

Aira had climbed step by step from an F-rank Male Zerg born with a genetic defect to where he was today. His excellence and perseverance were obvious for everyone to see.

"My Male Lord is the greatest. No matter what you do, you're amazing."

After praising him, Cassian received a mock reproachful glance before smiling and analyzing it seriously.

"An-shen has already written Xi'an's story. Adding a little about us seems perfectly normal. Besides, he even wrote a personalized signed blessing just for you. He knows you personally. Perhaps writing us into the novel was simply a little Easter egg prepared especially for you."

Aira had already been delighted.

Hearing Cassian say that made him even happier. His eyes curved into crescents as he shyly buried his face in the pillow he was hugging, unable to stop smiling.

Seeing him so happy made Cassian happy too.

He switched off the terminal screen, quietly leaned over, pulled the pillow out of Aira's arms, and replaced it with himself.

"My Male Lord... I've never seen your wings."

Speaking beside the Male Zerg's ear, Cassian's voice was low and gentle, carrying a hint of grievance and coquettishness.

Half covering his face, Aira revealed his rosy pink eyes and snow-white eyelashes as he replied softly,

"They aren't pretty. They're just ordinary white. They won't be attractive to you anyway."

There had always been a huge difference in their ranks, and most Zerg naturally preferred vibrant, colorful wings...

Pure white wings were simply too plain, carrying the sickly appearance of albinism. To an S-rank Female Zerg, they should have had no appeal whatsoever.

"You won't even let me see them. How do you know they aren't attractive?"

Cassian said,

"You've already captivated me. You've enchanted me so completely that I desperately want to see your wings. I can't even close my eyes from thinking about them."

As he spoke, he gently stroked Aira's back, lowered his head, and kissed his shoulder blades through the thin, soft fabric of his pajamas.

It tickled Aira terribly, making him laugh as he begged for mercy.

He had never been able to refuse Cassian.

"Alright... I'll let you see them. Just one look."

"How could one look ever be enough?"

Cassian negotiated with him.

"I just won't blink. Then it'll still count as one look."

Aira truly had no way to deal with him.

In the end, blushing faintly, he braced himself against Cassian before slowly releasing his wings.

Pure white wings unfurled, slowly drooping downward as they spread, covering them like gentle, pristine snow.

Cassian's eyes filled with amazement, reflecting that patch of snowy white.

"Is... is that enough?"

Aira's eyelashes trembled nervously.

"I'm going to put them away."

"My Male Lord!"

Wrapping his arms around him, Cassian said,

"No... stay just like this. Hold me exactly like this."

Aira opened his eyes in surprise, his eyelashes fluttering.

Their bodies were pressed closely together.

He could feel Cassian's excitement.

He could also smell his pheromones.

They smelled like sunlight and flames.

A moth could never resist light and fire.

Still, it was his first time doing something like this while in this form, and he was extremely nervous.

Cassian was equally nervous.

Those pure white wings were so beautiful...

...and so fragile.

He didn't dare touch them at all, leaving all the movement to Aira.

Fortunately, no matter how delicate Aira looked, he was still genuinely a C+-rank Male Zerg, only one step away from becoming a high-ranking Male Zerg. Spending the night with a Female Zerg wasn't much of a problem for him...

...even if that Female Zerg was S-rank.

The only thing he lacked was Psychic Soothing.

But Aira believed that was only a matter of time.

He was no longer lost.

No longer despairing.

His future was still wrapped in mist...

...but his god was guiding his path, and his partner was by his side.

There was nothing better than that.

Lowering his head, Aira placed a reverent kiss on Cassian's forehead.

Then he was almost devoured by the S-rank Female Zerg who had been waiting impatiently.

...

Meanwhile.

Heavenly Garuda Empire.

Imperial Palace.

The newly crowned Heavenly Garuda Emperor sat in a chair within the garden, brows slightly furrowed. His purple eyes remained fixed on the words displayed on the screen as he read aloud a forbidden book banned throughout the entire Empire in a completely emotionless voice.

"...He saw his wings... pinkish-purple wings outlined with dazzling golden edges..."

Only halfway through, the Emperor impatiently raised his head and glared at the male sitting opposite him, casually eating fruit with his chin resting on one hand.

"You can read yourself. Why are you making me read it?"

The male possessed the same purple eyes as the Emperor, but his hair was an extremely pale golden color, cascading down like a glowing platinum waterfall beneath the sunlight.

Their appearances were strikingly similar.

Only the male looked softer and more delicate, almost like a twin.

In fact...

They truly were that rare pair of twins.

The male lazily raised his eyes and sighed.

"I reviewed more than sixteen hundred documents for you today. I'm exhausted. The words are making me dizzy."

The Heavenly Garuda Emperor paused slightly.

A trace of guilt flashed through his eyes.

Silently reopening the screen, he continued reading.

"...The surface of the wings shimmered brilliantly, reflecting purple light beneath the sun, making them exceptionally dreamlike..."

Seeing that the Emperor still hadn't realized anything, the male could only remind him.

"Don't you think something's wrong, Your Majesty?"

"What?"

The Emperor looked up in confusion.

The male was speechless.

"The wings! That description of the wings! Those are the wings of the Heavenly Garuda Imperial Family!"

The Emperor paused before replying matter-of-factly,

"I've never seen a male's wings before... Female wings don't look like that."

Female wings were all terrifying weapons.

They certainly weren't described as dazzling and dreamlike.

As he spoke, he looked toward the male opposite him.

The moment the male noticed that gaze, he immediately crossed his arms over his shoulders.

"Not showing you!"

The Emperor, who wasn't particularly interested in the first place, calmly looked away.

"So? What exactly are you trying to say?"

The male nudged him under the table with the tip of his foot.

The Emperor said,

"...A novel written by the Zerg describing a Heavenly Garuda male used the Imperial Family's wing description? It's only a novel. It wouldn't be difficult for Zerg intelligence agents to obtain that information."

The male fell silent.

He knew his younger brother lacked common knowledge regarding males and females.

He just hadn't expected the deficiency to be this severe.

"Males don't casually reveal their wings in public. That's precisely the most private kind of information. Even you don't know what they look like, yet a Zerg novel describes them in detail. Don't you find that strange?"

The Emperor's purple eyes settled on him.

"What are you implying?"

"The late Emperor... our imperial elder brother... disappeared while carrying a Male egg."

The Emperor's expression grew more serious.

"Even if that's true, that egg still hasn't hatched."

"That's exactly why it's strange..."

The male rested his chin on his hand as he thought.

"Judging from several points mentioned in the novel, the timeline takes place twenty years in the future... and the male protagonist of the story was picked up from the Heavenly Garuda battlefield, right after the war between us and the Zerg ended."

"It's obvious."

"The Male Zerg protagonist in the novel is actually based on a Heavenly Garuda prince."

"Our... nephew."

Listening to the analysis, the Emperor was astonished by the leap in his brother's reasoning.

Even so...

It was still only a novel.

He simply assumed the male missed his remaining blood relatives.

So he said,

"The Zerg brought back a batch of Heavenly Garuda eggs from the battlefield. That Male egg might be among them. Should we negotiate with them and bring it back?"

They would certainly have to concede certain benefits.

But if it was what the male wanted...

It wasn't entirely unacceptable.

The male considered it before shaking his head.

"No."

"I do want our family reunited. After all, we don't have many blood relatives left alive."

"But perhaps he'll live a better life among the Zerg than he would here in Heavenly Garuda..."

"And besides... if we brought him back, then he'd discover that we killed all his other uncles and brothers."

"That would be rather awkward."

The Heavenly Garuda Emperor fell silent.

Even someone as decisive and ruthless as he was found that joke rather dark.

...

For both the Zerg and the Heavenly Garuda...

...it was a sleepless night.

That night, countless Female Zergs saw a Male Zerg's wings for the very first time.

The sight shook them to their cores.

They were so excited they nearly fainted.

Their pheromones poured out uncontrollably as they longed to cling to their Male Zerg until the very end of their lives...

...or at least until the very end of their brood pouch.

Some of the larger Male Zerg households were even livelier.

Philor sat on the modeling platform his son used for painting.

Behind him spread his beautiful pink-to-purple gradient wings.

His Female Lord and Female Attendants surrounded him in a circle, treating him like some rare creature as they admired him with eyes full of amazement, praising him every few moments.

As it happened, the war had just ended.

His Female Lord and all his Female Attendants were home tonight, making the entire house unusually lively.

"Are you done yet? I want to go to sleep!"

Philor impatiently shook his wings.

As clingy as he usually was, being stared at by so many Female Zergs from his own household still made him feel awkward.

His Female Lord reached out, lifted him down from the platform, and asked,

"Who are you sleeping with tonight?"

Instantly...

Many pairs of eyes landed on him.

Philor:

"..."

That...

...was a difficult question.

...

Small families didn't have that kind of problem.

Emerald Star.

Inside the lakeside villa.

Xi'an proudly showed Claire his enormous fiery-red wings.

Most Male Zerg wings had long since degenerated and lost the ability to fly.

They existed merely as beautiful ornaments...

...private ornaments that Male Zergs almost never revealed to others.

But he was different.

He could fly fly fly fly fly€€€€

Holding onto Claire's shoulders, he beat his wings and lifted himself off the ground.

Claire looked up at him nervously, afraid he might fall.

Those gorgeous flame-like wings spread open before him, filling his vision.

His Xi'an...

...was as proud as an immortal phoenix.

It had to be admitted that Male Zerg physiques varied enormously.

Most Male Zerg wings couldn't even support their owner's own body weight.

Yet one exceptionally gifted military Male Zerg could actually fly using nothing but his wings.

"I can take you flying too."

Xi'an extended a hand toward Claire.

Claire didn't dare actually let him carry him.

Instead, he took Xi'an's hand.

Behind him, the Female Zerg's silver-white wings spread open.

They rose into the air together.

His wings were silver-white.

Larger than Xi'an's.

Sharper.

Like cold machines built solely for war.

Yet now, those wings that had conquered countless battlefields carefully concealed all their deadly edges, matching the Male Zerg's movements as they soared upward together.

Then they slowly folded inward...

...wrapping around the Male Zerg.

It resembled the ancient nuptial flight performed by male and female insects in ages long past.

In the end...

...they would descend back to the ground.

And there, they would complete the most primitive union.

This was a night overflowing with pheromones.