Chapter 96: Heavenly Garuda Male x Zerg Military Officer (End): A Zerg–Heavenly Garuda Hybrid — Hearing Thunder in Silent Places

[Everything's gone completely off the rails!]

[Since when does anyone call a female a "Female Lord"?!]

[And since when does anyone call a male a "Male Lord"?! (Heavenly Garuda confusion)]

[They're completely immersed in their own little world and don't care about anyone else anymore. I'm the only one getting mentally shattered here. cracks apart]

[Now there's both a "Male Lord" and a "Female Lord." Doesn't that mean the female has to serve the Male Lord every day, while the male also has to serve the Female Lord? Can they even keep up? Won't they end up fighting over who gets to serve whom first?]

[I can already picture them each carrying a cup of water, bowing politely to each other while insisting the other go first. They probably wouldn't fight—they'd first compete to decide the serving order.]

[Even in bed they'd take turns serving each other. The male works hard to satisfy the female first, then the female gets back up and serves the male in return.]

[They've got it that good? (Heavenly Garuda confusion)]

[So this is what an interspecies marriage is like... Why am I actually a little jealous?]

[Anyone who's jealous has something wrong with their head! Send them all for re-education!]

[Female Zergs and Heavenly Garuda males really don't have much conflict. Once you swap the genders, everything changes.]

[You mean male Zergs and Heavenly Garuda females?]

[How dare you curse a male noble like that. Reported!]

The Heavenly Garudas: ???

Although they weren't the ones being reported, somehow they still felt insulted.

[Your male Zergs may be arrogant, rude, all brawn and no brains, vain, shallow, completely lacking in self-awareness, and full of bad habits—but if one ever came to the Heavenly Garuda Empire, we'd still treat him well.]

The male Zergs: ???

What kind of delusional fantasy were these mentally unstable Heavenly Garudas having?

[Want a taste of the whip? Or do you prefer knives?]

[I'm applying to become an interrogation officer on the front lines right now. Every Heavenly Garuda that lands in my hands will be tortured into uselessness. You'll miss the days when you could still control your own pheromones.]

[Want to know what it feels like to have a dagger stabbed into your wing pouch? Do you know how unbearably itchy it is when your brood pouch drops but never gets satisfied? Want to experience the helplessness of having your pheromones burst out just because someone stepped on your stomach?]

[Why reward them? Just blow up their Psychic Domains.]

[That's so hot... I want to sleep with them.]

[Would your little male Zergs even be able to lift a whip in front of us? We're not those useless female Zergs who'll just stand there and let you hit us.]

[The only things worth looking at are your psychic power and pheromones. We'll prepare psychic suppressors to properly welcome you.]

[This user has been banned. Comment deleted.]

[This user has been banned...]

...

"What are they talking about? Why can't I see anything?"

In the Heavenly Garuda Empire, a male asked his Female Lord in confusion.

The female officer lowered his head and glanced at the light screen.

Under the male's Pure Mode, every piece of profanity had been automatically filtered out.

"It's nothing important."

Pure Mode for males really was necessary.

Removing his gloves, the female officer gently ruffled the male's short hair.

"A cross-species couple like Axel and Enzo is wonderful too, don't you think?"

the male asked expectantly.

The female officer glanced at the wall of profanity on his own terminal, where male Zergs and Heavenly Garuda females were cursing each other nonstop, and hesitated.

"...Probably?"

Only after saying it did he realize something.

He picked the male up and settled him onto his lap before quietly reminding him,

"Don't ever say something like that in public."

The male hurriedly covered his mouth, looked around, then whispered,

"I'll only say it to you."

"...All right."

Both the Zerg and the Heavenly Garudas had a tradition of bringing home eggs found on the battlefield and raising them as children of their own race.

In fact, there were Heavenly Garudas with Zerg ancestry.

Even second-, third-, and later-generation hybrids already existed.

The first generation, heavily influenced by inherited memories, usually found it extremely difficult to reconcile the conflicting worldviews and values. They often endured a long and painful adjustment period.

At the same time, they remained under close government supervision to prevent them from being recruited by the enemy or becoming infiltrators. Security reviews concerning them were far stricter in many areas.

Second-generation hybrids inherited memories from both sides and generally integrated much more smoothly. Occasionally they still experienced some internal conflict, but they were able to adapt.

By the third and fourth generations...

The two cultures were almost completely fused.

The Zerg and the Heavenly Garudas had originally shared the same origin.

They had never truly been that different.

The female officer lowered his head and kissed the male on the forehead.

Hearing the male's laughter, his own gaze softened.

It was a novel so shocking that no one dared mention it publicly.

People simply referred to it as the forbidden book.

Yet the more it was banned...

...the more widely it spread.

Within the Heavenly Garuda Empire, no one discussed it openly.

But throughout the Zerg StarNet...

Heavenly Garudas were everywhere.

Silent on the surface.

Thunder beneath.

...

【Later Stories 1

Axel and Enzo's wedding was exceptionally grand.

Everything had been arranged in a hurry, so Enzo's pregnancy wasn't announced beforehand.

Yet almost every guest who arrived asked about it with unspoken understanding.

After receiving Enzo's confirmation...

Every one of them wore an expression of sudden realization mixed with delight.

"What's wrong with them?"

Axel asked in confusion.

"Probably because of... a certain novel."

Enzo's eyes drifted away.

"A novel? Wasn't it a movie?"

Axel asked.

"...Mm. A movie."

Only then did Enzo remember.

The movie had actually been remade and released around this time.

Rumor had it that the male lead this time was played by a Heavenly Garuda male actor.

As for the female lead...

They had directly pulled someone out of his own legion.

"Shall we go watch it together afterward?"

the male asked, blinking his beautiful eyes.

"...Sure."

"After the egg is born."

Enzo finally gave up resisting.

...】

The readers immediately noticed something.

[Wait a second. This movie they've mentioned several times... could it be...?]

[Is An-shen promoting his own upcoming movie?]

[I heard Lord Xi'an's movie has already begun filming. Maybe it'll premiere during the Legion Festival.]

[But Axel and Enzo's story hasn't even finished yet. A movie is still nowhere in sight.]

[Haha, true! I can't wait for Lord Xi'an and Claire's movie! Lord Xi'an posts so few pictures of himself. He only ever uploads photos of Claire's completely unphotogenic cooking. I've practically licked the color off the few selfies he has posted.]

[I want to know whether An-shen will attend the Legion Festival.]

[With this level of popularity, he'll definitely receive an invitation. The moment An-shen appears, with the god-tier looks personally confirmed by Lord Xi'an, he'll instantly crush that Psychic Soothing specialist from the rival side and take first place on the beauty rankings.]

[Keep dreaming. rolls eyes Only someone who's never seen Lord Annor in person could say something like that.]

[I absolutely love An-shen's novels, but comparing looks is unnecessary. Lord Annor's peerless beauty dominates heaven and earth. An-shen should just keep focusing on writing. sends flowers]

[@Moderator Are you even doing your job? Fans from the rival side have already invaded the review section!]

[The moderators never care about this stuff. They're not even efficient at banning Heavenly Garudas. The review section is full of fake Zergs every day. They're only fast when reports involving male nobles are filed.]

For once, the Zerg readers were fighting among themselves.

The Heavenly Garudas simply watched the spectacle unfold.

They also knew the Zerg possessed an extraordinarily powerful Psychic Soothing specialist.

But there was too little information.

To them, it sounded no different from a myth.

They had no real sense of it.

Nor did they understand the ranking everyone was arguing about.

They were far more interested in the continuation of the novel...

...and the movie Instructor.

After all...

That was Xi'an.

The Zerg military's legendary male.

They had coveted him for a very long time.

Reality was obviously impossible.

But dreaming through a movie wasn't bad either.

...

【Later Stories 2

The moment the egg was laid...

Axel hurriedly began incubating it.

At the same time, he still had to take care of Enzo after childbirth.

Once again, watching the movie had to be postponed.

Axel sat on the bed with the egg in his arms.

Around him lay piles of soft, pale-colored clothing.

He carefully wrapped the egg in one of Enzo's shirts.

That was exactly how Enzo had incubated him.

Beautiful patterns covered the shell.

It was a female egg.

Suddenly remembering something, Axel turned toward Enzo, who was sitting on the sofa nearby.

"Our egg counts as a hybrid, doesn't it?"

Enzo had never really considered the question.

Thinking about it carefully...

It truly was.

"...Yes."

Axel lowered his head to look at the egg carrying both his and Enzo's scents.

If it had been a pure-blood Heavenly Garuda female...

He might have been a little scared.

But a hybrid...

Their own child...

That was different.

Pressing his cheek gently against the egg, Axel cuddled it.

Then quietly whispered,

"When you grow up, you mustn't bully me."

"And you mustn't bully the other male Zergs either."

"You can't bully the females, either."

Then he hugged the egg even more carefully.

"You don't have to be afraid either."

"I'll protect you."

"Your female parent will protect you too."

Enzo sensed his anxiety.

Walking over, he wrapped both Axel and the egg together in his embrace.

A tiny Heavenly Garuda male...

Growing up alone in the unfamiliar world of the Zerg...

There must have been countless lonely and frightening moments.

Now those emotions had been projected onto their child.

He feared their hatchling would become a fierce Heavenly Garuda female...

Yet he also feared the child would suffer the same loneliness and helplessness he once had.

Enzo felt deeply ashamed of °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° himself.

When Axel was little...

He hadn't always been by his side.

Axel had spent half his childhood in an orphanage.

So many insecurities had taken root there.

"...I didn't do well enough before."

"From now on, I'll always stay with you."

"And with our child."

"We'll never be separated again."

Because Axel had been too young to meet the adoption requirements...

He couldn't grow up entirely beside Enzo.

But their own child could.

History would never repeat itself.

He and Axel would give their child all the security they deserved.

Axel looked up happily and kissed Enzo.

At that moment...

A faint little movement came from the egg in his arms.

It carried a feeling of protection.

Their hatchling was telling him...

That they would protect him.

Axel smiled brightly.

Hugging the egg, he praised it,

"Good egg, good egg~"

Then he suddenly realized something.

Looking up at Enzo, he asked,

"Shouldn't we give the baby a name, Female Lord?"

Among the Heavenly Garudas, hatchlings were traditionally named by their female parent.

But among the Zerg, important hatchlings were named by their male parent.

"You should choose."

Enzo said.

"No, you should."

"You're the Female Lord."

"You're the baby's female parent."

"No, you should."

"You're the Male Lord."

"You should name our child."

The nameless little hybrid good egg:

"..."

Such unreliable parents!

(The End)】