Chapter 140: “Just Based on Me.”
The scent of rosemary lingering in the air had grown faint.
Shen Zhuo’s lower abdomen began to feel uncomfortable again, accompanied by a dull ache in his waist, forcing him to adjust his posture.
In Nain Tute’s eyes, however, this looked like sheer arrogance—as if Shen Zhuo didn’t regard him as a threat at all.
Tyrant! Demon Queen!
“I will give you one last chance. Leave the Empire and never return, or I will end you right here.”
Shen Zhuo’s expression was cool and indifferent. Since becoming pregnant, he didn’t harbor the same taboos about life and death as other Omegas.
If he couldn’t even handle a situation this small, he wouldn’t be worthy of carrying his and Du Feng’s child.
“You force other countries to submit to you! You just want to rule all of humanity!!”
“Later on, will you even care about those other nations?! They’re nothing but cannon fodder you’ll use to resist the insect tide!”
“Even now, you haven’t made a single move. Isn’t it just for the sake of your own Empire? You’re going to push everyone from other countries into the fire!”
“Shen Zhuo!! I might not be able to kill you today, but there will be more of me! One day, you will die a miserable death!”
Nain Tute finally spewed out all the words he had been holding back in prison. His heart-wrenching roar attracted the attention of passing attendants.
Shen Zhuo, however, keenly sensed something strange.
Insect tide?
“Wait.” Shen Zhuo stopped the guards who were about to drag Nain Tute away. “Release him first.”
“What is this about an insect tide?” Shen Zhuo asked.
Nain Tute felt the intense pressure fade. He shook off the guards’ hands and staggered up from the ground.
“As expected of the Queen who rests easy on a high pillow; you don’t even know about the insect tide.”
Nain Tute stared into Shen Zhuo’s eyes, pulling a deeply mocking smile as he enunciated every word:
“In two months, a massive insect tide—a Mega Insect Tide—will erupt across the entire border of the continent. You people are sitting still right now just so you can use us as stepping stones for your borders, aren’t you!!”
Facing Nain Tute’s accusation, Shen Zhuo frowned. Nain Tute’s mental state seemed a bit unstable.
“Where did you hear about a Mega Insect Tide?”
If there were an insect tide, the Command Center would be the first to know, followed by Ares.
But right now, there was no news from either the Command Center or the military academy.
Nain Tute’s demeanor didn’t look like he was lying.
But Shen Zhuo didn’t fully believe him either.
“Heh.” Nain Tute let out a laugh, his hair hanging messily before his eyes from the earlier scuffle. “The predictions of the Nain Priest have never been false. Every single thing he said has happened.”
Shen Zhuo had heard of this. The Priest of the Kingdom of Nain held a status even higher than the King’s guard. It was said he could truly communicate with the heavens and foresee the future.
Perhaps it was due to his ability.
Shen Zhuo lifted a finger and waved it slightly, his gaze already leaving Nain Tute to look at the phone beside him.
Nain Tute was still shouting as he was being dragged away.
But after one glance from Shen Zhuo, his entire body went rigid.
Before Nain Tute was taken away, Shen Zhuo picked up his phone to send a message while speaking coldly to the prince being hauled off:
“The Empire will never exploit the lives of others. Humanity stands and falls together. If a Mega Insect Tide truly comes, I will go to the front lines and stand before all the soldiers.”
“Just based on you?!” Nain Tute still didn’t believe Shen Zhuo.
The boy slowly raised his heavy, long eyelashes.
For the first time, the oppressive feeling in the air manifested as tangible rank information.
Nain Tute’s body shook violently. Before his body could even react, the gland at the back of his neck had already sent out a signal of submission.
The intense tremors made it impossible for Nain Tute to even stand steady.
It was a power he hadn’t experienced even in front of Feng Muya.
The scent of Epiphyllum surged toward him with vast, turbulent power.
It was as if a towering, majestic divine mountain, covered in perennial snow and bathed in golden sunlight, had appeared before him.
atop that divine mountain, a pair of pitch-black, bottomless eyes slowly opened.
“Just based on me.”
He heard the divine mountain speak.
With an absolutely overwhelming, earth-shattering power.
Nain Tute suddenly lost the ability to speak.
He felt it. He felt the terrifying energy erupting from the Omega he had previously perceived as weak and bewitching.
Shen Zhuo was an S5.
No… S5 was merely the highest mark on the scale.
For the boy in front of him, he was labeled S5 only because the measuring instrument stopped at S5.
His rank was far higher than that.
Nain Tute’s expression changed.
“Let me say one last thing!” Nain Tute suddenly shouted.
Shen Zhuo glanced at the guards. The guards stopped.
Shen Zhuo’s gaze paused for a moment. “What are you doing?”
For the first time, Nain Tute voluntarily knelt.
With a heavy thud, he knelt before Shen Zhuo.
“…” Shen Zhuo couldn’t understand him. “What is this for?”
“If the Empire can truly refrain from treating the lives of people from other nations as tools, I will apologize to you for everything I have done.”
Shen Zhuo’s expression shifted slightly.
He had thought Nain Tute was just a stupid, spoiled brute.
Now it seemed that might not be entirely true.
He despised the Empire truly because he believed the Empire was cruel and inhumane.
From the perspective of Nain Tute and the many small nations, facing the possibility of being used by the Empire until their countries were destroyed, Nain Tute was like Jing Ke attempting to assassinate the Emperor of Qin.
“If it’s you, you can do it.” Nain Tute looked at Shen Zhuo firmly. “Please, protect humanity.”
Shen Zhuo looked back at him.
“Even if you didn’t ask, I would do so.”
Nain Tute’s lips twitched a few times. He seemed to have something to say but was embarrassed. After holding it in for a long time, he finally said awkwardly:
“If I return to my country now, I’ll be swept up in the turmoil of succession. Let me stay here. When the war starts, I can lead my soldiers as a unit of your military…”
Nain Tute paused for a long while before speaking again, softer than before, “I can follow your command.”
Shen Zhuo pursed his lips. After a while, he said:
“You might die on the battlefield.”
Nain Tute met his gaze without fear.
“I was born to die like that. This is the responsibility of all S-ranks, and also our fate.”
Shen Zhuo’s surprised gaze was now tinged with appreciation.
It was rare to hear ideals identical to his own from someone whose methods were completely hostile.
Once understood, Nain Tute could actually be considered pure-hearted.
It seemed that everything Nain Tute had done before could be forgiven.
Nain Tute truly saw him and Du Feng as tyrants whose slaughter would lead to the devastation of all living things.
“So the assassination at the banquet was actually arranged by you?”
Nain Tute suddenly fell silent. After a long while, he said in a muffled voice, “Yes.”
“Good acting.”
Shen Zhuo had activated [Mind Listening] at the time and heard nothing because Nain Tute had long researched methods to prevent his thoughts from being transmitted.
“When the insect tide ends, if I’m still alive, you can kill me.”
A stubbornness appeared on Nain Tute’s youthful, not-yet-fully-matured face.
He truly did resemble the young general beloved by the people of the Kingdom of Nain.
“But before that, I will fight.”
Shen Zhuo didn’t dislike the current Nain Tute.
“I will have someone arrange a place for you to stay. If the insect tide information is true, you can take your people and fight alongside me.”
As Shen Zhuo spoke, he offered a rare smile in front of an outsider.
“I can swear to you, I will use everything I have to create a peaceful world.”
Nain Tute’s lips moved, looking like he wanted to say something more.
But in the end, he nodded and left with the guards.
Once Nain Tute’s figure disappeared outside the door, another figure appeared.
“Nain Tute is right. He received information about the insect tide from the Nain Priest while in prison, and the Command Center detected it this morning.”
“In two months, there will be a Mega Insect Tide across the entire border.”
Du Feng had been standing at the door the whole time. He knew Nain Tute had something to say, but if Nain Tute had actually made a move, he would have snapped the man’s neck without hesitation.
As soon as the man entered, he filled the room with pheromones to the highest concentration again.
The discomfort in his lower abdomen immediately subsided. Shen Zhuo reached out to Du Feng, who sat by the bed.
Du Feng leaned forward, supporting the boy’s waist as Shen Zhuo wrapped his arms around his neck.
His wife had been exceptionally clingy lately.
Du Feng was very happy about it.
“What are the military’s preparations?” Shen Zhuo leaned on Du Feng’s shoulder, absorbing the pheromones, his body finally becoming comfortable.
Du Feng said, “Ares will conduct a grade-wide assessment next week. Those who pass will be directly granted military ranks and incorporated into the troops.”
“This is a tough battle. It requires the Empire, and even the combat power of the entire continent, to join in for a chance at victory.”
“So for the next two months, I will be very busy.”
Du Feng stroked the boy’s back.
“I’m sorry, Baby. I’ll have less time to accompany you.”
Shen Zhuo shook his head side to side.
Du Feng was always like this, wanting to shoulder everything alone.
The Alpha subconsciously pushed him into a harmless zone.
Shen Zhuo knew this was an expression of love, but he couldn’t sit idly by.
“I don’t want to be alone with nothing to do, and I won’t let you bear everything alone.”
“I am the strongest Omega.”
Shen Zhuo raised his head, cupped Du Feng’s face, and kissed his lips.
“After the Ares assessment is over, wait for me in the military.”
“I will stand side by side with you, whether in the Royal Palace or on the battlefield.”
Du Feng absolutely loved the Omega’s confident and flamboyant appearance.
His wife had finally become an eagle soaring in the blue sky without any restraints.
Du Feng lowered his head, responding to the boy’s kiss.
At such a close distance, they seemed to feel the hot, beating pulse in each other’s blood.
Whenever Du Feng wanted to encircle Shen Zhuo in an absolutely safe zone, the latter would tear through all obstacles and respond to his ‘weakness’ with a resolute gaze.
A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
Du Feng finally sighed as if compromising, but a very alluring smile hooked up the corners of his lips.
“Then I will wait for you, Madam.”
Shen Zhuo really wanted to kiss Du Feng hard a few times, and naturally, he did exactly that.
By evening, Shen Zhuo received the notification for the Ares early assessment, scheduled for five days later.
The assessment included theoretical knowledge and practical combat capabilities.
Shen Zhuo touched his lower abdomen. Taking advantage of Du Feng’s absence, he asked An to postpone the surprise a little longer.
At this critical juncture, he could not be absent.
Going to the front lines was something he had to do.
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