Chapter 28: Goodbye, Your Majesty (Two Chapters Combined)

“Huff! Huff!”

The air felt like it was filled with knives; every breath was sheer agony.

The copper tang of blood filled her nostrils, and every second, her life drained away.

‘The Lady Empress… should be safe now…’

K424 dragged her broken body through the air at a low altitude.

The wound where Shao Hua had severed her leg was smooth, and the piercing pain caused her consciousness to drift in and out.

Her mind was like a kite with a snapped string, swaying precariously.

In her daze, she seemed to see that woman again.

—

The Zerg was a broad concept.

The Zerg was actually divided into different subspecies.

The Tyranid Swarm, which had fought the Witches for thousands of years, was actually just one race under the Zerg umbrella.

However, since the Tyranid Swarm was the most powerful race of the Zerg, many Witches used the terms interchangeably.

The Tyranid Swarm had a strict hierarchy, roughly divided into three ranks: Soldiers, the Imperial Guard, and the Royal Family.

Tyranid Soldiers blotted out the sky, but they lacked intelligence; they were merely carriers of genes, machines of war.

The Imperial Guard served the Royal Family; ensuring the safety of the Royals was hardcoded into their genes from the start.

The Royal Family were the monarchs of the Tyranid Swarm, and their mission was to protect the Insect Hive, Oez.

Oez contained all the genetic templates of the Tyranid Swarm.

As long as the Insect Hive remained, the Swarm could be resurrected even if the entire army was wiped out.

Furthermore, Oez contained all the memories and knowledge of the past Empresses.

It resided within every Zerg Empress; only a member of the Royal Family chosen by the Insect Hive became the Empress.

But somehow, the Witches learned the secret of the Insect Hive.

They quickly organized an operation to find it.

An elite squad named Aunis nearly succeeded.

As a member of the Imperial Guard, K424 had no name, only a cruel and cold codename.

Her mission was to protect the Empress.

“Where is the Insect Hive?”

When the black-and-red tachi pressed against her neck, she laughed.

“Damned Witch, just kill me.”

The black-haired, red-eyed girl frowned.

Surprisingly, she did not kill her.

While she was confused, the other party suddenly grabbed her head, and her memories were instantly invaded.

“There.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed.

The tachi in her hand moved like a ghost, dealing a blow in an instant.

“No!”

She resisted with everything she had, but the Empress’s chambers were still found.

At that time, the Lady Empress was lying on a crystal coffin, her appearance mimicked to look like a mature, white-haired Witch.

The Tyranid Swarm had been betrayed.

She knew in her heart that the Witches could only have found this place if another Zerg race had betrayed the Tyranids.

The Tyranid Swarm was too powerful; if the Witches hadn’t suddenly broken through the walls of the Fourth Universe, the Tyranid Swarm likely would have become the sole Zerg race of that universe.

“Bastard! Get out!”

*Squelch!*

The Witch only sneered. K424 couldn’t even see the movement before half of her body was gone.

“K424!”

K423 rushed over.

“Run! Get out of here!”

She screamed in terror.

The Witch before them was a literal demon.

She had charged into the Insect Hive alone. If that fool K423 came over, it was suicide.

“Heh, don’t worry. It’ll be your turn soon.”

The girl’s face was expressionless, cold as frost.

But as the girl stepped into the Empress’s chambers, she suddenly smelled a rich fragrance.

The source of this scent was actually the Zerg Empress on the crystal coffin!

“How is this possible!”

The fragrance actually had an aphrodisiac effect.

The girl realized instantly that this was the body fragrance of a Witch.

The girl’s eyes soon became glazed.

Her body swayed as she approached the crystal coffin.

“Wei… don’t worry about me…”

“Captain, you must survive!”

The voices of her fallen teammates suddenly exploded in her ears.

“Damned bugs! Argh!”

The girl let out a heart-wrenching scream.

She held the tachi before her eyes; the smooth surface of the blade reflected her glazed red eyes.

She actually wanted to cut off her own nose!

But at that moment, the sleeping Empress suddenly opened her eyes.

“Just a little bit more…”

The Empress slowly sat up, her slender figure shrouded by thick, white hair.

Her emotionless, cherry-pink eyes looked at the girl, making the latter’s heart skip a beat.

“What is your name?”

The other’s voice felt impossible to resist.

The girl’s pupils instantly lost their light.

“Bai… Bai Wei…”

“Bai Wei, is it… Witch, I’m just a little bit away from being able to mimic a true Witch… What is it?”

The Empress murmured.

Bai Wei bit the tip of her tongue, instantly regaining her clarity.

“Ha, the answer is right there on the surface. The Zerg are born from the concept of breeding. How could I forget that?”

The Empress caught Bai Wei’s incoming tachi and gently squeezed.

To Bai Wei’s shock, the blade shattered into a thousand fragments.

“From now on, you are my Prince Consort.”

The Empress pulled Bai Wei into her embrace.

Her rosy lips whispered softly against Bai Wei’s ear.

“Remember my name: Su Yao.”

—

“K424, Lady Empress…!”

K423 finished healing K424 and was about to rush inside, but to her surprise, she received an order from the Lady Empress for them to stand guard at the door.

Though they had many questions, the two loyally fulfilled their mission.

No one knew what happened in the chambers.

Three days passed in a flash.

During those three days, the offensive from the Witches and the other Zerg grew increasingly fierce.

The Tyranid Swarm was on the verge of collapsing.

Finally, there was movement in the chambers.

Bai Wei walked out, looking quite disheveled.

Her usually icy face was flushed red.

What made K424 feel like the sky was falling was that Bai Wei was holding a Zerg egg patterned with white and pink clouds!

“Bastard! You…”

“Wei, where is this?”

Suddenly, a voice spoke.

It was the Lady Empress.

Su Yao looked timid, her eyes filled with love and dependency as she looked at Bai Wei.

But what shocked K423 and K424 the most was that there was absolutely no Zerg aura coming from Su Yao.

The sweet, cherry-blossom-like scent on her seemed to tell them that the person standing before them was a true Witch.

“Move! We can’t let the Witches or the other Zerg find us.”

“Why should we listen to you?”

“Because my daughter is your Empress!”

Bai Wei’s crimson eyes were terrifying at that moment.

K423 and K424 looked at the egg in Bai Wei’s arms and fell silent.

“A new Empress… has been born?”

K424’s voice trembled.

The Insect Hive carried the memories and knowledge of every Empress.

When a new Empress was born, the previous Empress would lose her corresponding memories.

K424 looked at the currently oblivious Su Yao with a complicated expression.

But for some reason, she felt something was off.

Even if the previous Empress lost her memories due to the transition of the Insect Hive, she was still Zerg.

Why did Su Yao not have even a trace of Zerg aura now?

The mission of the Imperial Guard was to be loyal to the Empress.

They had no choice but to follow Bai Wei’s orders and carve a bloody path out through the surrounding Witches and other Zerg.

Bai Wei became a Deserter.

Many Witches saw her holding the egg.

No one knew what Bai Wei was thinking or why she betrayed the Witches.

She took Su Yao, K423, and K424 and fled to the First Universe, specifically to Azure Star.

Su Yao completely lost her Zerg memories.

She even gained a set of Witch memories that didn’t belong to her.

She seemed to have become a true Witch.

The egg soon hatched, and the child looked like she was carved from the same mold as Su Yao.

However, what confused K424 was that her new Empress had absolutely no knowledge of the Zerg.

Yet she was certain that the Insect Hive was inside the new Empress’s body.

—

“What happened to the Lady Empress? What exactly did you do a year ago!”

K424 finally couldn’t take it anymore and confronted Bai Wei.

“Didn’t I tell you to protect Ling’er from the shadows?”

Bai Wei frowned.

However, she still offered an explanation.

“Don’t worry, Ling’er is healthy. She will be your ruler, but not yet.”

“Ling’er is the hope for peace between the Witches and the Zerg. She is a new, unprecedented Empress.”

This scummy woman said a lot of other things that made no sense.

From K424’s perspective, this Witch had charged into the sleeping Empress’s chambers, done who-knows-what, and come out three days later with a daughter.

Looking at this Witch, she really wanted to punch her.

The answer was obvious.

This loathsome Witch had been blinded by lust and took advantage of the situation.

Seeing the former Empress while she was sleeping, she was overcome by desire and defiled her.

But now, she could do nothing against this scummy Witch.

The woman was the mother of the new Empress and the Prince Consort of the former Empress.

And somehow, Bai Wei had cast a spell over Su Yao.

Su Yao loved Bai Wei to death; her eyes were filled with nothing but love.

Every night, she and K423 could hear intense sounds coming from the room.

Sometimes K423 would ask curiously, “K424, what are they doing?”

“Don’t ask questions.”

K424’s face would darken as she snapped back.

Days passed one by one. She and K423 hid in the shadows, silently standing guard.

Because Bai Wei had slashed her back then, she had been healing ever since.

Her Mimicry could only reach a partial state, while K423 could manage a full Mimicry.

Soon, twelve years passed.

Bai Wei and Su Yao seemed to have become a real family, and Su Yao seemed to truly be a Witch.

Watching the smile Su Yao wore out of happiness, K424 fell silent.

In the past several hundred years, she had never seen Su Yao smile like that.

“I’m pregnant.”

One day, Bai Wei found her and nearly scared her to death.

“Don’t worry, it’s Su Yao’s.”

Bai Wei stroked her currently flat belly.

This ruthless person, who once dared to charge into the Insect Hive with just a single blade, now had a maternal smile on her face.

K424 felt her world go dark.

“She’s a half-Zerg, half-Witch hybrid. She’s different from Ling’er, but she is also a Royal of your Zerg race. You have a responsibility to protect her as well.”

“Wait, what do you mean?”

K424 quickly sensed something was wrong.

What did she mean by “different from the Empress”?

“You’ll understand in the future.”

“If the day comes when I am no longer here, I hope you will protect them well.”

“Hmph, you don’t need to tell me that.”

At the time, she didn’t realize the gravity of the scummy Witch’s words.

Her Highness the Second Princess hatched successfully.

As Bai Wei said, she was a hybrid.

Perhaps because of her hybrid status, Her Highness was born blind.

What terrified K424 the most was that Her Highness also had absolutely no awareness of the Zerg.

If she had dreamed of the scene from ten years ago every night, she might have even become delusional and thought this truly was a family of Witches.

She had vaguely realized that during those three days ten years ago, many things must have happened.

But she knew nothing.

K423 was the same as ever, happy-go-lucky every day.

For that idiot, as long as she could stay by the Lady Empress’s side, it was enough.

“Wow, K424, Her Highness is so cute. I really want to hold her.”

“Hehe, the Lady Empress is so beautiful and smells so good. If she would just pet me once, I could die happy!”

“…”

—

Time flew by, and the Empress and the Second Princess slowly grew up.

Life seemed blissful until a year ago, when that woman suddenly disappeared.

No one knew where that scummy Witch had gone, nor did anyone know what she had done to incur so much debt.

Debt collectors soon came to the door, and the Lady Empress’s mental state began to fracture.

She wanted to reveal herself to protect the Lady Empress, but at that moment, she received a message left by that woman.

“If you see this letter, it means I am in a dire situation, perhaps even dead. Remember, as long as Ling’er and Miao Miao’s lives are not in danger, you must never show yourselves. If you do, you will certainly attract the attention of the Witches, and Ling’er and Miao Miao will be in great danger.”

This letter was like a bucket of cold water, instantly calming her down.

She didn’t care at all whether Bai Wei lived or died, but for the sake of the Lady Empress, she had to endure.

The Lady Empress’s mental state became increasingly unstable, and many different personalities began to emerge.

However, a pleasant surprise soon arrived.

The Zerg bloodline within Her Highness was on the verge of awakening.

This left her ecstatic.

If Her Highness was about to awaken, did that mean the Lady Empress was close as well?

“K424, I’ve decided. I’m going to make money!”

For the Lady Empress’s sake, K423 started earning money.

She picked up cheap perfume discarded by Witches in the garbage, sprayed it on herself, and started working desperately to make money.

“You idiot, how much can you earn doing that?”

“Hehe, it’s fine. Every little bit counts. Since I can’t show myself to protect the Lady Empress, I should at least help her pay off her debts.”

K423’s simple-minded words felt like a lump in K424’s throat.

She was still injured and couldn’t achieve a full Mimicry, so she could only hide in the dark corners.

“Don’t worry, I won’t get caught. I just want to help the Lady Empress.”

K423 laughed lightheartedly.

In her small world, as long as the Lady Empress was there, that was enough.

K424 looked at K423’s figure, her eyes full of envy.

She also wanted to help the Lady Empress.

Being loyal to the Empress was the mission they were born with as the Imperial Guard.

But in the end, she still made a mistake.

—

“Heh, as expected, I’m the real idiot…”

In what seemed to be a final burst of clarity before death, her consciousness recovered slightly.

She remembered K423’s silly smile and the Lady Empress’s stubborn, determined look as she tried to keep her broken home together.

In the end, she hadn’t been able to hold back and revealed herself.

She clearly wanted to help the Lady Empress; she clearly thought that if she just killed the debt collectors, the Lady Empress would be free.

But she had still messed everything up.

“Lady Empress…”

In her daze, she seemed to smell the fragrance of the Lady Empress.

‘Was it an illusion…’

It was no illusion!

Her six clouded eyes were now filled with shock.

Right in front of her, a bus had stopped.

Inside the bus, she could clearly see the terrified expressions of everyone.

And those cherry-pink eyes met hers in that instant.

“Su Ling!”

Suddenly, a roar came from the side.

Her residual biological instincts told her she was in mortal danger.

But she looked at the newcomer and smiled.

She completely relaxed her body, dropping all her defenses, exposing herself raw and unprotected to the newcomer.

“Huo Huan!”

Burning heat distorted the air.

A fist wreathed in roaring flames slammed into her body.

*Boom—!*

The terrifying impact instantly tore the half-human, half-insect monster’s body into fragments.

The aftershock shattered the bus windows into countless pieces.

Among those shards, she saw one reflecting Su Ling’s shocked cherry-pink eyes, and another mirroring Ji Lingyuan’s face, which was filled with rage.

“Goodbye, Lady Empress…”