Chapter 167

Chapter 167

...

"The live broadcast has started! Everyone, come quickly!"

In a remote area of the Empire's main planet, a family hurriedly gathered around a worn-out sofa, waiting to watch the coronation ceremony of the Empire's new monarch.

The grand and luxurious Saint Constans Hall was resplendent with gold and jewels, with red velvet drapes hanging regularly between the columns. Nobles and celebrities in various formal attire stood on both sides. The dazzling murals on the ceiling shone brightly, as if the goddesses in the paintings seemed ready to step out of the canvas and become the heralds of today's grand ceremony.

But outside the Saint Constans Hall, it was foggy, like the calm before a storm—cold and prolonged.

People saw the image zoom in, focusing on the handsome young man.

The main hall of Saint Constans was three times the size of the side halls, with a red carpet stretching a full hundred meters from the main gate to the high platform. The young man stood at the front of the red carpet, grasping the scepter that symbolized power, his silver hair cascading over his shoulder, his golden military uniform straight and upright.

The Duchess of Wenz, his elder, stood at the foot of the steps, holding the crown that only the Emperor of the Empire could wear.

As long as the young man walked this long path, placed the crown on his head, and ascended to the high platform, the coronation ceremony would be complete.

But for some reason, he remained standing still.

"What is His Highness waiting for?" a noble whispered, inquiring.

"I don't know, perhaps the time hasn't come yet."

"Is he waiting for the members of the Senate? Are they all here?"

Someone secretly craned their neck to look across, and indeed, most were present, except for General Lin Pei, who had returned to the Vanguard Legion two days prior and was unable to attend. Judge Ai Linya and General Moxi were there... Wait, it seemed one was missing.

"One of the Twelve Seats appears to be missing."

"Yiye Langley? How dare he be late for the new monarch's coronation, does he not value his life?"

"Who cares that he's the Empire's rising star? It's said he's close to Prince Peide. What if he's late? Would you dare to complain to the government? The government wouldn't dare to discipline him."

Whispers spread through the crowd. Peide glanced to his right, where the person who should have been standing at the end of the row was absent. He narrowed his eyes, his fingers tightening around the scepter.

"Your Highness, it's time to begin," a minister nearby whispered.

Peide came back to his senses and nodded to the other, "Let's begin."

The grand music filled the palace, the singers clasped their hands over their chests, their solemn hymns hung like heavy clouds. Under the dazzling light, Peide stepped onto the long path, step by step, drawing closer to the end. All eyes, intense and focused, whether in attendance or watching the live broadcast, were fixed on the monarch who was about to lead the Empire into a new era.

Peide Huang—this was the new Emperor they would bow to.

Wentz gazed at the young man now before her.

"Duchess of Wenz," Peide said, smiling faintly, then added softly, "Aunt."

Wentz did not speak, perhaps the light in Saint Constans Hall was too bright. As she looked at the young man's face, she felt a fleeting sense of unfamiliarity.

"Peide, you will be a good monarch, won't you?"

Peide asked, "Aunt, don't you believe in me?"

"..." Wentz pursed her lips, "I'm sorry, perhaps I'm too emotional."

Her hand, holding the crown, hesitated for a moment, but as the young man bowed his head, she placed the crown on him, then turned her head away, not looking at Peide, and did not see the shadow that crossed Peide's eyes.

Now, only one final step remained. As soon as he sat on that throne, everything would be settled.

He ascended the red-carpeted stairs, the throne of the empire's monarch within reach. After six years of meticulous planning, he had finally reached this position. Peide felt the weight on his shoulders lift, and even his breathing became lighter. His eyes gleamed with an unnatural white light.

He marched toward the throne, his pale fingertips brushing against the gold-carved armrests, the hard gemstones glinting with the light of power. His heart raced suddenly, and his fingers trembled violently...

In the next instant, he froze.

A strange pain, accompanied by a deafening gunshot, spread through his body. Peide's expression froze, his mind blank for a moment before he slowly lowered his head to look at his right chest.

Drip. Drip.

Crimson blood trickled down his collar, seeping into the soft red cushion.

He rose stiffly, turning his head slowly, following a beam of blinding light that shot into the hall, his gaze meeting a pair of pitch-black eyes in the distance.

Yiye, a hundred meters away, held a pistol and had shot him in the chest.

The belated member of the Twelve Seats had finally caught up to the grand ceremony at its very end. But instead of joining the celebration, he had drawn a gun and assassinated the monarch poised to ascend the throne.

The hall was momentarily stunned before erupting into terrified screams. Everyone fell into chaos; some even fled in panic, fearing for their lives.

"The Twelve Seats has committed murder! Guards, where are the guards?!" "Yiye Langley, have you gone mad?!" "Save His Majesty!"

"Why..." Peide looked at him in disbelief.

"A life for a life," Yiye pointed the gun at his own right chest, which had once been pierced by a Zerg blade, and spoke word by word, "This is what you owe me, Zerg."

"Zerg?! Did I hear that correctly?! He just called Prince Peide a Zerg?"

"Twelve Seats, what nonsense are you spewing? Arrest him!" A minister roared at Yiye, his face livid. A group of guards charged forward with guns, quickly surrounding Yiye. But before the minister could muster a triumphant expression, he was suddenly kicked hard from behind, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Idiot," Kaiser rolled up his sleeves and pulled out a gun he had been hiding at his waist. "Say one more word, and I won't mind putting a bullet in you."

Even the Audria family was supporting Yiye?! The minister was dumbfounded. Had they all lost their minds?

He screamed hysterically, "Moxi! Are you just going to stand by and watch?!"

Moxi, however, merely frowned slightly, his tone scolding, "Impatient fool, did I instruct you to step forward now?"

"What... Moxi!" The minister's face turned deathly pale.

"Enough nonsense," Kaiser had long been disgusted by these old ministers who spouted endless drivel. He stepped on the minister's back, forcing him to look up at the front. "Take a good look and see who that person really is!"

The minister was forced to raise his head and look toward the high platform, his trembling pupils contracting.

Despite being shot in the chest and bleeding profusely, the silver-haired young man still stood firmly, his expression calm, showing no signs of severe injury.

He stammered in terror, "Your Highness... Your Highness..."

Peide didn't even glance at the minister, his gaze locked tightly on Yiye in disbelief. The young man's movement of raising the gun had been so swift and decisive. He hadn't missed his heart—he had deliberately aimed for the chest, the very spot Peide had once pierced through him, intentionally seeking revenge.

"Yi. Ye." Peide bit out the two words with force, raising his hand and tearing open the bullet wound with his fingertips. He dug into the bloody flesh, retrieving the bullet with steady hands, his expression cold as if he weren't tearing his own skin.

He pulled out the bullet and dropped it to the ground with a crisp sound, then the wound on his chest began to heal at a visible rate.

"When did you find out," he asked unwillingly, "Was it because of what I said that day?"

"Part of the reason," Yiye replied calmly, "You hid it well. If you hadn't taken me away from that cave five years ago, perhaps no one would have ever known your true nature."

He was well aware that the system's ability was only to keep him alive. But at that time, he was unconscious from the severe impact and couldn't possibly have the strength to leave the cave.

"But you took me out of there. I think it's because I'm still useful to your Zerg, so even if it meant death, you wouldn't abandon my corpse."

Peide, whether angry or mocking, gave a short laugh, his shoulders trembling. "Is that what you think? Yes, let's just say it is."

He wiped the blood from his hands. Aside from the bloodstains on his chest, he still looked like an elegant and dignified noble.

"You can’t kill me, Yi Ye." Peide threw away the blood-stained handkerchief, displaying a wild arrogance that clashed with his appearance. "You've seen it yourself, bullets can't kill me. I’ll offer you another choice. The Empire doesn't need you nor does it deserve you. Come back with me to the Zerg, and become one of us."

Yi Ye remained unmoved. "One of us, or food?"

"Of course, I won't eat you." Peide whispered, the rest of his words inaudible. "After all..."

"No one can resist delicious food. Save your high-sounding words for the deaf." Yi Ye tightened his grip on the gun and aimed it at him, whispering to Kaiser, "Get everyone out!"

Kaiser frowned but quickly dispersed the crowd in the Saint Constans Hall as Yi Ye instructed.

The terrified nobles immediately scrambled out in panic. Peide watched the fleeing figures, listening to their sharp screams and curses. The ugliness of humanity was exposed in that moment.

"I told you humans are pitiful beings. Look, they just found out I'm Zerg, and they show such fearful faces. Yet not a single one wants to stay and fight alongside you. Don't you feel disgusted standing in the same camp with these people?"

"In this world, people are divided into good and evil, but I hate all Zerg." Yi Ye's expression was cold. "I'd rather side with them than live with a bunch of Zerg."

Peide covered his face and sneered. "You’re too naive. You fight for them against me, and even if you die, they won't shed a tear for you. Didn’t you learn from the feigned death five years ago? This Empire isn't worth your effort."

"If the Empire isn’t worth it, are you?" A voice suddenly interrupted Peide.

Yi Ye turned in surprise, seeing Kaiser and Bush Meihua returning after dispersing the crowd. But what he never expected was to see Eugene.

The two didn't embrace or shake hands. Eugene simply gazed deeply at the young man’s face whom he hadn't seen in five years. After a long time, those downturned eyes showed a familiar expression. When expressionless, he seemed to regard people as ants. Five years had passed, and it was still the same.

"I knew you’d survive."

Yi Ye didn't expect to see him and was momentarily stunned before laughing. "I thought you were dead."

"Hmph." He pulled up the corner of his mouth with a gloomy face. "I'll only die a second before you."

After the Blue Star accident, Eugene always felt he was the one who caused Yi Ye's death, plunging him into despair and leading to several suicide attempts, all of which were thwarted by fate. He believed he was destined to linger on death’s edge, so fate deliberately made him suffer. But upon learning Yi Ye was alive, he found light in his life, not just endless pain.

But the funny thing was, he was foolishly too afraid to even see Yi Ye.

It sounds stupid, right? He's Bishop Eugene, who has lived in nightmares and death since childhood, with hands stained with blood and corpses. Yet he was foolishly too afraid to even see Yi Ye. Had Bai Chuan not found him, he might not have come here today.

But what was he afraid of? Was he afraid Yi Ye would blame him for not stopping him back then, or afraid of seeing Yi Ye's cold expression?

Actually, neither. Eugene knew exactly what he was afraid of. He was afraid of his own guilt towards Yi Ye.

"Yi Ye, do you hold it against me?" Eugene tried hard to maintain his composure during the reunion, but looking at the young man's face, he couldn't help but speak. "If I had stopped you, you wouldn't have suffered for five years, wouldn't have been forced to perish with the Zerg."

Yi Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, his black hair falling by his sharply contoured cheek.

"I find you all really strange. All along, it's been my own choices, but you all blame yourselves, thinking you caused my suffering." He shook his head slightly. "Eugene, I'll tell you one last time. As long as I don't want to die, no one can kill me. I'm not someone else's fate, I'm my own."

He stood here, facing the Zerg.

With a gun in hand, he shot Crown Prince Peide before the entire Empire, not because anyone forced him, nor because he had to. But because he wanted to.

I am true to my courage; I don’t leave my fate in others’ hands, so no one dares to betray me.

He’s always been that kind of person, unwavering from start to finish.

Eugene was so stunned by these words that he stayed silent for a long moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. This is Yi Ye! The one who crushed him in the military academy league, the one he couldn’t shake from his mind for over a thousand days and nights.

He tightened his grip on the gun and took a deep breath: "I regret not coming to see you earlier."

"Move aside," Kaiser stepped forward, "Let’s see if you’ll even live long enough to take down this Zerg."

Bush Meihua rubbed his temples, his patience wearing thin at the sound of their bickering: "We’ll have time to talk later; for now, let’s deal with the enemy." He looked at Yi Ye, "The rest of the Senate has moved out as planned. It’s just the four of us against one. Think we can take down an advanced Zerg?"

Yi Ye shrugged, "I can take it on my own."

The sleek, black gun twirled effortlessly in his hand. He crouched slightly, his calves snug in military boots, then launched himself forward like a darting swallow—

At the same moment, the young man on stage burst open, and a massive silver Zerg erupted from the human shell! Its silver compound eyes gleamed, its back riddled with gruesome burn scars, and its mouth oozed a thick fluid that hissed into smoke as it landed. Its blade-like wings swiftly deflected the bullets. The M500 revolver, famed for its firepower, barely left dents on the Zerg’s wings!

Yi Ye’s face stayed calm as he subtly signaled Kaiser from behind.

Both were alumni of the Imperial Honor Military Academy. During training, Yi Ye had casually come up with a few hand signals. Kaiser recalled them instantly and seized the chance to flank the Zerg, searching for an opening. The Zerg’s weak spot is its head, but an advanced Zerg’s head is far tougher than a regular Zerg’s. A pistol and bombs alone won’t cut it.

Gunfire erupted in Saint Constans Hall, smoke billowing, sparks flying, like the empire’s grandest fireworks display. After a tense standoff lasting over ten minutes, the silver Zerg began to tire. Yi Ye seized the moment, charging through the smoke and gunfire straight into the fray. His gun empty, he tossed it aside, pulled out a short knife, and in a few quick moves scaled the Zerg’s back, driving the blade down with all his strength!

The silver Zerg thrashed wildly, letting out a shrill, ear-splitting screech. Losing his balance, he was hurled off by the Zerg, but Kaiser caught him just in time.

Under relentless fire, the Zerg’s massive frame gave out, and it crashed to the ground with a thunderous thud. It lay there, its red compound eyes turning, coldly staring at him.

"Yi Ye... do you really think you’ve won?"

A muffled, indistinct voice echoed in his mind. Yi Ye instinctively frowned.

He had heard this voice before, on Blue Flower Star!

"Where did you hit?" Kaiser asked anxiously.

"I’m fine," he shook his head, then heard the voice again, pushed Kaiser aside, and stood up, looking at the Zerg whose head was soaked in blood.

It was his voice.

All the voices he had heard on Blue Flower Star came from this Zerg.

"Why you and I..."

"You said the Zerg are a lingering existence… Yi Ye… you’re not wrong. But for survival, we will stop at nothing, even if it means killing everyone in the empire."

Yi Ye found it laughable: "For survival, you must take away others' right to survive?"

"It’s just the survival of the fittest."

The Zerg staggered to its feet, Eugene immediately stepping in front of Yi Ye. They watched the Zerg’s movements, but it showed no intention to attack. Instead, it raised its head to the sky and let out a high-pitched insect cry.

"This is—" Bush Meihua's expression turned grave, "It’s calling for reinforcements!"

As soon as the words fell.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The ground began to tremble faintly, the intense vibrations not seeming to come from beneath, but rather like a resonance.

Look at the sky!

They all quickly looked toward the door.

The protective shield enveloping the planet appeared to be under attack, rippling with waves of energy. A deafening roar that shook the heavens filled everyone with dread.

"Yi Ye, this is a battle to the death."

The silver Zerg looked at him.

"One of us will die."

"And the fate of the entire empire and the Zerg hangs in the balance."

An explosion erupted!

After the Zerg finished speaking, an explosion suddenly erupted before them. Yi Ye quickly shielded himself from the flying debris. A huge black shadow emerged from the smoke and vanished in an instant.

Kaiser and Eugene tried to pursue it, but Yi Ye stopped them: "Let General Moxi deal with it."

Bush Meihua turned to him: "Were you just talking to that silver Zerg?"

Yi Ye nodded. "It’s complicated—I’ll explain later." He then changed the subject. "Has Bai Chuan already left?"

"Yes, the civilians should be in the shelters by now. The shield’s reinforced, but it won’t last forever. If the Zerg continue to attack, its destruction is inevitable."

"We can’t let the Zerg make this a battlefield."

Yi Ye clenched his jaw. "I’ll go find Bai Chuan. You contact General Lin Pei."

With that, he strode out.

...

Meanwhile, in the main city's shelter, most civilians had been evacuated. Bai Chuan checked the time, eager to finish his task here and go find Yi Ye. The shelter was chaotic, with arguments that hadn't ceased since they began. Among the crowd were not only ordinary people and homeless individuals but also many nobles and wealthy merchants. The nobles refused to mingle with the commoners, their shrill screams unbearable.

"Why are these homeless people here? They’ve ruined my clothes! These people should be dragged out and left to die!" A fat merchant kicked a homeless man's head forcefully. "You’re disgusting—get out!"

The homeless man's face hit the ground, blood splattering everywhere. He shrank back, trying to get up, seeing the merchant angrily approaching him, he begged for mercy while retreating.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out near the merchant's ear, an indescribable pain exploded, and the obese man fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

"My ear, my ear! Ahhhhh!!"

The homeless man was startled by the writhing figure, his gaze stiffly lifting.

Bai Chuan holstered his gun, expressionlessly glancing at the pig on the ground: "Anyone who wants to end up like him, feel free to make a scene."

The air was dead silent, even the crying children were too scared to speak.

Bai Chuan coldly scanned the room, then turned and walked out.

The sky's energy shield flickered with the blue light of an alarm under the impact. Under such intense bombardment, it could only last for three more days at most. Bai Chuan withdrew his gaze from the oppressive sky and strode towards the palace.

But after only a few steps, a surge of blood rose in his throat, and he couldn't hold it back—a mouthful of blood sprayed out. Excruciating pain spread from his internal organs, Bai Chuan groaned in pain, supported himself against the wall, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"Xiao Bai!!"

A distant voice suddenly called out.