The Male Zerg Cub Doesn’t Want to Be the Cannon Fodder Top - Chapter 6

Just moments ago, Maurice had been fretting over how to solve the medical pod’s lack of energy stones. Adam’s pathetic attempt at provocation ended up solving his urgent problem.

“You, you!!!”

Adam looked as if he were being strangled, his face flushing a bruised purple before settling into a terrified, deathly pale. Maurice tucked his chubby little paws behind his back, lifted his round face, and glared at him with extreme ferocity.

“I what? If you do not hand over the energy stones right now, I will beat you up!”

He avoided the female insects and sub-females surrounding Adam, feeling a deep sense of sympathy for them. It was purely out of respect for this “sister in law” that he did not give Adam a public thrashing. Of course, his current status of having short arms and legs was also a hindrance. Heaven knew how much Maurice missed his 188 centimeter height.

Maurice’s gaze swept across the room. Most of the insects present looked shocked and terrified, as if the four head tall cub had suddenly transformed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He felt a bit helpless. He had clearly been very restrained in using his power. Seeing Adam summon two tentacles, he had only summoned two as well. He had not expected to scare the others to such an extent.

Maurice could not help but wonder: to what extent had the so called “divine power” of the male insects in this world weakened? Given the strength Adam displayed, even if mental tentacles were a high dimensional power, they could not possibly support a male’s brutal reign over trillions of insects. It was no wonder the Rebel Army, the Dawn Organization, could occupy territories and stage open uprisings. It turned out the rebels had seen through the males’ hollow bluster.

The chubby cub wore a look of disdain, waving his small hand to urge Adam to hand over his belongings. He stood tall with his head held high among a group of cowering, tall adult insects, a scene that looked quite comical. However, Adam was in no mood to appreciate the absurdity. He continued to scream in disbelief.

“How can a mongrel like you have such strong divine power? You are a blasphemer, a Fallen Species abandoned by the Mother Goddess! This is impossible! This is impossible!”

Maurice rolled his eyes, having no intention of addressing Adam’s “collapse of faith.” Adam’s female consort, however, looked anxious. He gathered his courage to grasp Adam’s arm and whispered a plea.

“Lord Husband, Maurice is a male and should also enjoy the Empire’s treatment. Energy stones are expensive but common. Your safety is more important.”

“Useless!” Adam violently shook off the female’s touch, his face twisting. “To think you were once a Major General of the Second Army, yet you cannot even protect your Lord Husband! Bah, I actually wasted the position of female consort on a useless thing like you.”

The brown eyed female lowered his head, his voice remaining steady. “My Lord may deal with me however he wishes.”

Maurice clenched his small fists, ready to ignore the size difference and pounce like a fat kitten to give Adam two punches, delivering justice to a man who had failed at being a jerk while insulting his partner. But then he saw Adam glare at the kneeling female. Eventually, Adam looked away with resentment, viciously pulled a ring from his finger, and threw it at Maurice. He then stood up, leaning clumsily on the female’s shoulder.

Maurice caught the ring, somewhat surprised that Adam had folded so quickly. Sheltered behind the females and sub-females, Adam could not help but shout one last taunt.

“What are you looking at? A mongrel like you has never seen such pure energy stones or the Empire’s most advanced space folding technology in your life, have you? The treasures inside are enough to buy half a planet! So what if your mental tentacles are strong? You ignorant hillbilly!”

Adam’s female consort looked at Maurice nervously, using his body to shield the cowardly yet provocative Adam. He looked exhausted and helpless, offering Maurice a silent apology.

Maurice was too lazy to get angry at an idiot like Adam, but he truly pitied his “sister in law.” He used his mental power to erase Adam’s mental imprint, claimed the ring for himself, and stored the medical pod inside. He then moved his short legs, preparing to leave.

“Where are you going?”

After a few steps, Adam’s voice rose again in disbelief. “You actually dare to leave the manor? Are you not afraid of being discovered?”

“What should I be afraid of?” Maurice lowered his brows, speaking wickedly. “If anyone should be afraid, it is you. If I am caught by the Imperial Law Enforcement, I will give them the name of the Count’s House. The House of the Count harboring a blasphemer and being related to me, not a single one of you will escape. And you still want to take advantage of the situation to marry Prince Eliotte? Keep dreaming!”

With that, the chubby cub nimbly vanished into the hunting grounds outside the manor, turning a deaf ear to Adam’s angry screams.

To be honest, although Adam was repulsive, he was at most a jumping around bit player. Whether it was the plan to plot against Eliotte, link up with the royal family, or harbor Maurice the “blasphemer,” it was all Count Schmidt’s idea. Maurice was unsure of his “father’s” goals and knew nothing of his own biological female father’s identity or whereabouts, which made him even more wary of this cheap male father.

However, compared to investigating a clearly ill intentioned father, Maurice had a more pressing matter: taking care of the female insect he had rescued. After confirming that the idiot Adam had no brains to track him, Maurice set off to return to the wooden hut as quickly as possible. His tentacles had the power to traverse space, allowing Maurice to wrap his body in them and move rapidly without a flight vehicle. At the same time, this covered his movements, making them undetectable even by monitoring devices. This was why the chubby cub could always come and go freely in the chaotic Lower District.

“System, what did Adam mean by the ‘Path of Shame’? It is not what I think it is, is it? The insect version of a public parade?”

“Yes.”

The system remained cold, and it was unclear if it was even listening, but this did not affect the chubby cub’s enthusiasm for communication. “Holy cow, that is disgusting! Victory and defeat are common in war. When they win, the Empire does not give the military females the respect they deserve, but when they lose, they set up a shaming parade. Can the males be any more shameless! Argh, it is infuriating!”

The righteous college student jumped up and threw two punches at the air, then said huffily.

“Besides, there must be more to this story. The Fourth Army, which was supposed to suppress the rebellion along with the First Army, defected, and the Third Army was wiped out. Only the First Army led by Eliotte survived. It is possible Eliotte did this to preserve the First Army. I just do not know what he is afraid of. Is the Rebel Army really that powerful?”

The male cub babbled on. After a while, he suddenly asked.

“System, my mission target Eliotte is the protagonist of this world, right? My mission is to help him achieve his mission, expose the truth, and change the world, correct? But System, you know the future. Why must you help Eliotte through me instead of telling him the truth directly?”

“Do you think changing the future is an easy task?”

The system’s non existent veins popped. “Leaking and changing the future comes at a price. Tampering with the timeline brings extremely tragic consequences. System tasks are possible ways to reverse the ending derived through universal level calculations, but the implementation can only rely on the insects of this world. The system is restricted in this space time, so the task requires you to explore on your own. Remember, even a failed mission is better than blind action.”

The system highlighted the phrase “I am more annoyed by your blind initiative than by those who slack off” in bold red in Maurice’s mind. It startled the short limbed chubby cub so much that he stumbled, nearly tripping over flat ground into a little insect pancake.

“So, the future Eliotte discovered the truth too late and was powerless to stop the destruction of civilization?”

Maurice patted the dust off his hands, feeling regret and sadness for Eliotte.

“You could say that,” the system admitted. “You do not need to change Eliotte’s original destiny. You only need to make the event of Eliotte discovering the truth happen as soon as possible. Discovering the truth earlier was the only dying wish of the future Eliotte.”

The noisy male cub fell silent for a rare moment. The system thought he had turned over a new leaf and become steady and reliable, but soon, the energetic, noisy voice rang out again.

“So Eliotte is a great warrior fighting a lonely battle! Do not worry, System. I will definitely complete the mission and will not let him down!”

By the time Maurice had unilaterally harassed the system into silence, he had returned to the wooden hut. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the beautiful military female he had rescued yesterday attempting to get out of bed. Pale toes rested among the messy blankets of the hut, and the youthful veins on his feet looked like flower stems dipped in snow water.

He was in great pain, but he stubbornly remained silent. Cold sweat caused several strands of curly black hair to stick to his pale cheeks. The strong black and white contrast struck the chubby cub’s heart, making it feel as if thousands of butterflies were flapping their wings at once.

“Do not move! Watch your wounds!” Maurice calmed his strangely frantic heartbeat, put down the crossbow he was pretending to carry, and approached, wanting to use a clean handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from the female’s face. Before he could climb to the necessary height, his short, fat paw was gently caught by the female.

“Where did you go? Even if Count Schmidt does not care that you occupy the hunting grounds, there are many high level beasts in this forest. It is too unsafe for a cub to be alone.”

The black haired female’s voice carried a rhythm unique to nobility, yet it did not sound pretentious at all. It was as soft and comforting as a spring rain, like warm spring water soaking into the college student’s silly, happy heart. He remained in the position of having his chubby paw held by the female, his light gray face turning red, but his eyes watched the female without blinking.

“I, I am very strong. Do not worry,” the cub said haltingly, then suddenly remembered something and cheered up.

“Look, I brought a medical pod! You will heal faster!”

The cub stuck out his little bottom, pushed the messy blankets in the bedroom aside, activated the space ring, and placed the medical pod on the floor.

“First, I will take off your bandages and change your medicine. Then you can lie in the medical pod for a while while I cook!”

After finishing all this, the soft, chubby cub stood before the black-haired female with his round little face tilted up, smiling to reveal eight tiny teeth like a round puppy seeking credit, his eyes full of trust and affection for his master. If he had a tail behind him, it would surely be wagging faster than a propeller.

However, Eliotte’s face turned visibly paler, even looking a bit grim. The etiquette carved into his bones kept his expression decorous and gentle, but his fingertips dug slightly into his palms. He showed no joy at the appearance of the medical pod.

“Did you steal the medical pod from Count Schmidt’s manor?” His voice was still beautiful, but it allowed the sharp journalism student to sense something was wrong. His invisible propeller tail slowed down, and his puppy eyes blinked as he whispered.

“Not exactly. I took it from my old room. It is an ancient version from over a decade ago that was discarded by the Count’s House.”

“And your space ring? This model is the latest released by the Kleim Space Technology Group of the Imperial Star, with a market value of seven hundred-million-star coins. It is impossible for the Count’s House to be so negligent as to lose track of this.”

The female’s face was startlingly pale from blood loss, and cold sweat gave his skin a sickly luster. His exquisite features made him look more like a masterpiece displayed in an art gallery, quietly imprisoned in a frame. However, his golden eyes carried a soul piercing clarity, pinning the guilty, chubby cub to the spot.

Damn it, Adam is truly deserving of death for throwing him such a conspicuous space ring!

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