Chapter 39

Chapter 39

A tangible flow of endless despair and agony meandered through the air.

For a moment, each insectoid seemed to lose their ability to react, standing still, taking a long time to regain their senses. Even the usually adeptly masked gentleness of Darian and Carisa was overshadowed by dark, obscure expressions, their eyes swirling with countless viscous intents to kill.

"How dare they…" Chloe murmured to herself, her voice ethereal like a valley, trembling slightly with sorrow, "What are they using the specimens for?"

Yet no insectoid answered this rhetorical question.

Or rather, they dared not bring out some of the too gruesome scenes for open discussion.

Experimental subjects, signifying being at the mercy of others.

Restrained in all attempts at free movement and will, drained of every last bit of value from their bodies, with even the right to live denied.

The joy of sitting in the hall with the Queen had vanished without a trace, and the natural brutality of the insectoids instantly tore through all pretense of rationality, leaving only one thought teetering on the brink of collapse.

The traitors must be killed!

"I apologize, Your Majesty," Darian quickly suppressed the brutality on his face, revealing a gentle smile as usual, but the smile seemed forced, covered with a cold shadow, "It seems my past decisions were too lenient."

To preserve the core strength of the insectoids, he chose to retreat.

Ignoring the residual power of the Monster insectoids, pretending to be benevolent and engaging in exchanges with the alliance.

All this seemed to give them the illusion that they could constantly push the boundaries.

Apart from Nathaniel, the other three high-ranking officials who had more contact with Rey had also roughly speculated about Rey's life before her return to the throne.

Rey had always been without an adapted cyber-brain and identity ID, as if completely detached from the social environment of the insectoids.

Based on the death location of the half-breed Rosa, they had concluded that Rey was born in the most dangerous Twilight Zone. A newly born queen lacking self-preservation skills, without guidance from her own kind, without a companion's protection, naturally found it hard to leave the Twilight Zone.

The traces of foreign species erosion in Rey's body might have been caused by fighting with alien species in the Twilight Zone.

The lack of sufficient food and a perilous living environment instead forged Rey's prematurely overdrawn, unbalanced power system.

But there were still many unexplainable doubts, and they couldn't understand why Rey always harbored a faint wariness and disgust towards the insectoids.

Even the most capricious of queens wouldn't detest her "own kind" without reason.

But now, all the alienation and loathing had found a logical explanation.

Seeing the mental states of these insectoids becoming increasingly unstable, Rey sighed softly and slowly rose from the throne, her gaze as if looking down upon all beings.

"I may have remnants of the queen's genes in my body, but I was initially just an ordinary and weak insectoid," Rey said indifferently, "You don't need to overthink it."

She inherited the frailty characteristic of a queen's birth, but wasn't a queen in the true sense, and naturally lacked the so-called sheltered treatment.

Rey smiled slightly: "Once my powers grew, I destroyed their base of operations and killed all the insectoids except myself. I lived on that planet for a long time before accidentally arriving at R27 star."

Even though these experiences eventually nourished Rey's growth, it didn't prevent her from condemning the Monster insectoids to death.

"I had no intention of revealing this," Rey said calmly, "But since you have offered your loyalty, I will try to let down my guard."

Upon hearing this, the insectoids, whose mental states were on the verge of collapse, finally calmed down a bit.

Rey glanced sideways at Carisa.

Carisa instantly understood Rey's meaning. However, Rey's words had greatly impacted her, and she spoke with an unsteady voice, "The meeting is adjourned."

Rey descended the steps and quickly left the meeting hall.

Apart from Carisa, who followed her, many insectoids didn't want to linger, preparing instead with displeasure and agitation to carry out Rey's commands.

As if by unspoken agreement, only the three high-ranking officials remained in the meeting hall.

"It seems I still killed too few," Nathaniel sneered, tapping his hand continuously, "Darian, you should have done as I suggested. The Monster insectoids dared to lay their claws on Her Majesty?"

Darian remained silent, his pale red eyes lost in deep contemplation.

"Carisa and I once analyzed Her Majesty's genetic sequence," Annas spoke, not with his usual relaxed demeanor but with a trembling voice, "She is undoubtedly our queen, but there are indeed special transformation traces. Darian, no queen eggs have been born on the main star for the last three thousand years. Many high-ranking insectoids have speculated whether the queen was born on another planet we haven't controlled."

Thus, the responsibilities of the companions also changed.

Darian often engaged in diplomatic negotiations with the alliance, not only for the development of the insectoids but also with an ulterior motive of investigation.

"But who would have thought..." Annas murmured, his expression filled with immense pain, "The Monster insectoids might submit to the queen, but they won't easily spare a female insect with the queen's genes. In their eyes, she's just a tool for sustaining their survival."

Rey's words left out many details.

How many times of torment and narrowly escaped lethal backlashes must the Queen have endured to survive in such an environment?

"We indeed have been too restrained," Darian suddenly said, his voice carrying a bone-chilling coldness, "As per Her Majesty's instructions, we shall first exterminate all traitors, clear out the production of sedatives and half-breeds, and then gradually reclaim what we've lost."

Annas said, "Her Majesty seems to be particularly lenient towards those weaker half-breeds. Nathaniel, you should restrain your madness until we receive clear orders."

Nathaniel snorted coldly but said nothing more.

"Let's return," Darian said indifferently, glancing at the throne on the stage, the panic in his heart still lingering.

A miss by a whisker leads to a loss by a mile.

Just a slight error and they would completely miss the opportunity to align with Her Majesty in this era.

*

After leaving the meeting hall, Rey thought for a moment and then said to Carisa, "Take me to the arena to have a casual look."

She was curious about the extent of the difference in the insectoids' combat abilities.

"Yes," Carisa replied gently.

The arena was located outside the palace, at a moderate distance.

Upon arrival, Rey discovered that it was actually a huge arena for combat.

Screens hovered in mid-air, listing the participants of different matches.

Rei and Carissa entered their exclusive room with an excellent view. Despite the vastness of the arena making it impossible to oversee everything, the room was equipped with real-time projections, offering various angles and scenes.

"All insectoids who register for the guard qualification review must pass through rigorous background and genetic screenings, forming an initial shortlist. Then, through various forms of assessments, we evaluate their combat characteristics and adaptability," Carisa explained, "Every stage is crucial; otherwise, they won't qualify to stand beside Her Majesty as guards."

Carisa suddenly changed the subject, "Your Majesty, Ural has been waiting in the arena these past few days. Though he is less than a year old, his strength has already far surpassed many higher-ranking insectoids."

This is the difference between a companion and ordinary high-ranking insectoids, an invisible chasm of power, difficult to bridge.

"Just that…" Carissa paused, seemingly hesitant.

"What's the matter?"

Rey sat at the edge of the viewing platform, curiously watching a round of competition below.

But before Carisa could answer, the room's system suddenly transmitted a request from an insectoid to enter.

"Let him in," Rey said without turning around, already knowing who the insectoid was from the aura in the air.

Ural, dressed in combat gear, walked towards Rey with a face full of expectation, stopping consciously two steps away from her, gazing at her eagerly, his throat emitting a few whimpering sounds like a young animal, "Rey, I've missed you."

Carissa's normally gentle expression momentarily sharpened, showing slight disapproval.

How could he casually call Her Majesty by her name?

But remembering that this was the first companion to sense Her Majesty, and seeing that Her Majesty didn't seem to have any particular emotional reaction, Carisa had to temporarily suppress her complex thoughts.

Rey glanced at him coolly. Ural's appearance was still the same as half a year ago, as if his growth had halted in time, exuding a purely innocent youthful vibe.

"What do you usually do on R27 star?" Rey asked curiously.

Rey hadn't allowed Ural to come back and stay by her side before, and Ural hadn't struggled much but quietly complied with her arrangements.

"Sometimes I fight with troublesome insectoids, but most of the time I'm completing tasks assigned to me," Ural answered obediently.

Many relatively high-status insectoids on R27 star already knew of Ural's identity, inevitably leading to jealousy, and thus, brutal conflicts naturally occurred.

The outcome of these battles was self-evident.

Rey observed him for a while longer. The black-haired boy always looked at her innocently, his eyes filled with pure yearning, not particularly annoying.

But Rey suddenly understood Carisa's unspoken words; she probably thought Ural was not mentally mature enough.

"Come back to the palace with me later," Rey said indifferently, "There will be many tasks for you in the future."

Though his thinking was naive, it was also the purest.

Untainted by anything she detested, giving everything unreservedly, and naturally knowing how to maintain a proper distance.

So, she decided to let him stay.