The Male Zerg Cub Doesn’t Want to Be the Cannon Fodder Top - Chapter 7

“…”

The guilty cub lowered his nonexistent puppy tail, his round face wrinkling like a pinched bun.

Eliotte, the gold-eyed female bug leaning against the bed, looked down at the cub whose chubby hands were twisted together. His gaze lingered on the cub’s smooth face, which lacked any bug markings, and a sudden, inexplicable doubt flickered in his mind.

During the cub stage for both female and sub-female bugs, facial and neck markings were common. These were closely linked to their energy and development. Only upon reaching adulthood, when energy could be controlled at will, would these facial markings be hidden. This was largely because males disliked the fierce or strange patterns on a female’s face; they only reappeared during intense energy fluctuations in battle.

Only the faces of male cubs were smooth and unmarked.

Eliotte had grown up in the imperial palace. The complex political environment and a life of constant vigilance had taught him to think more deeply than most. However, he quickly dismissed his suspicions as groundless. After all, no precious male cub would be abandoned by his family, and no male cub would be cursed by the Mother Goddess with gray skin.

It was likely that the cub’s Fallen lineage from his female parent caused some abnormalities. The Fallen were a taboo among the Zerg. The royal family had done everything in its power to erase all historical records of them, so much so that most Zerg knew nothing of their existence beyond the superficial belief that gray skin was a symbol of the Mother Goddess’s curse. Although Eliotte was of royal birth, his knowledge of the Fallen was extremely limited; the cub before him was the first Fallen cub he had ever seen.

Eliotte also knew that every ten years, the reigning Emperors, including his brother, sent special forces to besiege the Chaos Galaxy where the Fallen congregated. As far as Eliotte knew, the Fallen had been pushed to the brink of extinction over thousands of years of conflict. The survivors eked out a living in the Empire doing the lowest forms of labor; most of them were wandering and living lives of hardship.

Eliotte hardly dared to imagine what this adorable, enthusiastic cub would face in the future. Though their meeting was brief and Eliotte himself was in a precarious position, he could not let go of his worry for the cub.

This cub was his compatriot, his junior. It was his own incompetence that left the cub with such a bleak future.

Eliotte composed himself, reaching out a snowy-white hand to rest it gently on the cub’s head. He softened his voice to comfort him.

“I am sorry, I scared you. I am not blaming you. I also did things that broke the rules when I was your age. But the laws of the Empire are strict, and the family laws of the noble males are even harsher. If you are caught, there will be consequences you cannot afford. I do not want you to fall into trouble for my sake.”

The gentle afternoon sunlight spilled into the wooden cabin, casting a soft glow over the female bug’s pale face. His voice was more melodious than a siren’s song, causing the college student’s puppy eyes to stare blankly again.

“No, it will not happen,” Maurice stammered, his face turning red as he offered a small sophistry.

“The ring belongs to my brother, Adam. He gave it to me himself.”

It was true that Adam had thrown it to him. As for whether it was voluntary, who cared?

“I did not go looking for trouble either! I originally just wanted to take an energy stone to power the medical cabin. Who knew what Adam was thinking? He just threw the space ring at me. But do not worry, he does not know where I am, and he does not know you exist! He is not very bright.”

The cub used his two chubby paws to hold the hand Eliotte had placed on his face. For some reason, he was reluctant to let go, so he pressed his cheek into Eliotte’s palm and looked up at him, pleading with his eyes for Eliotte to believe his story.

He thought Eliotte would relax after hearing that Adam was not bright. Instead, the female bug’s face turned even paler, like snow on a high mountain, filled with a chilling fear.

Eliotte, usually so poised and elegant, suddenly leaned forward. Under the gaze of the cub’s wide, green puppy eyes, he pulled the cub into a hug. His hurried breath brushed against Maurice’s fluffy hair. Being suddenly lifted off the ground made the cub let out a surprised “weh,” like a startled little fat dog.

The scent of fresh snow and sweet flag from Eliotte’s body filled Maurice’s nose, making his chubby face flush a deep red. His short hands rested awkwardly against Eliotte’s full chest, his eyes not knowing where to look.

“Did he do anything to you? Did he, did he make you exchange anything for it?”

But soon, the sound of Eliotte’s voice, trembling with lingering fear, reached his ears. The blush on the male cub’s cheeks faded as he realized the depth of Eliotte’s concern. He opened his small hands and gently gripped Eliotte’s broad shoulders, pressing his fleshy face against the other’s neck to comfort him.

“No, Adam is just a fool. When he gets into trouble, he only knows how to hide behind his female consort. I would not let that happen anyway. I am very capable.”

In his past life as a journalist, Maurice had seen plenty of the world’s filth. Incest and coercion occurred even in places where the law did not reach. He was not a real cub, so he immediately understood Eliotte’s fear and the deeper meaning behind that instinctive worry.

The female bug Maurice had picked up was too beautiful. Every movement was like a painting; even just breathing quietly, he had the ability to make his surroundings fade. His speech and upbringing were excellent, standing out in a Zerg society where family ties were thin and classes were strictly divided. He had clearly been raised by the top nobility.

But did such an upbringing come without a price?

The male cub did not dare to think further. Anger burned fiercely in his small chest. The usually sunny college student had never known he possessed such bitterness. His puppy-like nose was buried in the hollow of Eliotte’s collarbone, his forehead brushing against the pitch-black, brand-like collar on Eliotte’s neck.

Maurice suddenly felt a powerful urge to tear off that eyesore of a collar and use his own spiritual power to erase the cold, lingering scent of other males from it.

His chubby paws were almost touching the collar, but he stopped. Instead, he gently hugged Eliotte’s neck. Beneath his small paws, he could feel the female bug trembling. They shared their scents, and for a moment, neither spoke.

Before today, Maurice would have thought hugging an adult man was the most awkward thing a straight guy could do. In reality, he felt no discomfort at all. He used his chubby body to hold Eliotte as best he could, providing warmth and comfort more effectively than a large service dog.

“I am fine, and you will be fine too! Did you know? I am a super lucky bug. Now that you have met me, your luck is going to change!”

He had returned from the dead; who was luckier than him? Maurice did not mention anything about the past that might sting the trembling female bug. As he had said before, he was a journalist, but he was not a pervert who pried into private matters.

“I brought the medical cabin. Can you go use it, please?”

The cub coaxed in a soft voice. “I swear, nothing bad will happen, not for you and not for me.”

After a while, Eliotte’s beautiful voice finally spoke.

“I know. Thank you. I, I will do everything in my power to protect you.”

Eliotte whispered a promise. Given his current status and situation, his promise might seem cheap or absurd, but he had never been more serious.

He might only have his life left, but he could use that life to do something he wanted to do, something right.

After speaking, he gently patted the cub’s soft hair and set him back on the ground. Under the cub’s eager gaze, he entered the medical cabin and let the healing spectrum envelop his body.

Seeing the wounds on Eliotte begin to close under the healing light, Maurice felt relieved and ran to the other room to prepare their food for the day.

Seasonings were still limited, so Maurice tried his best to bring out the original flavors of the ingredients. Today’s main dish was still venison, but he chose the brisket, slow-stewing it with forest berries, herbs, and the mead Maurice had brewed himself. Because he had noticed yesterday that an adult female bug required a lot of energy, he had gone out of his way to catch two wild rabbits and three wild chickens, and even found a nest of eggs.

He roasted two rabbits and two chickens, leaving one cleaned chicken to make a pot of soup for Eliotte’s late-night snack. In addition to the main course, he made a pot of Italian vegetable stew with eggs and baked a fragrant, sweet honey cake.

Because of the female bug’s presence, Maurice could not use his spiritual tentacles to cheat. With his short limbs, he hopped around preparing the ingredients. By the time the main dishes were on the table and only the soup and cooling cake remained, the chubby cub was sprawled across the dining table like a flat little bug-pancake, drawing on a floating screen with an electronic pen.

The energetic college student had not forgotten his system mission. According to his original plan, he should have already infiltrated the First Army’s garrison, approached Eliotte, and found a way to earn his trust. Now that he had other concerns, he could only delay the plan and search for more information.

He listed all the news he had found and arranged the clues on a large, low-energy display. The cub stood on a mechanical arm, resting his small chin in his hands as he pondered the reasons Eliotte had ordered the retreat and the hidden cards held by the rebels.

In the blink of an eye, he saw the female bug, who was supposed to be in the medical cabin, standing behind him. He was wearing his damaged but still crisp military uniform, his face pale.

“Weh!” The cub was startled. His chubby legs slipped, and he nearly fell off the mechanical arm. Eliotte reached out to steady him, but his gaze did not leave the display showing the clues.

“You are studying Eliotte’s defeat?”

Eliotte’s voice carried a hint of disbelief, the beautiful rhythm gone, sounding instead like a taut, dry string. Maurice scratched his head with a sheepish laugh. He did not think there was anything wrong with what he was doing, nor did he want to hide it. From the moment he decided to help the female bug, he was prepared to be honest about part of it and bear the consequences.

He just did not know how the gold-eyed female bug, a competitive soldier who could not tolerate failure, would view Eliotte.

“Hehe, I have actually been studying the conflict between Prince Eliotte and the rebels. After all, the failure to suppress the rebellion on Planet Tiangong is called the most humiliating defeat in Zerg history by the Empire. Who would not be curious about that?”

The chubby cub scratched his head. He jumped down from the mechanical arm, brought the entire pot of stewed venison to the table, and pressed a potato the size of a fist into Eliotte’s cold hand to serve as a staple.

Eliotte’s fingers were too cold. The steaming potato made his fingertips tremble, an abnormality that finally caught the cub’s attention. The puzzled cub looked up, but Eliotte turned his face away, avoiding his gaze.

“Yes, he is indeed a disgrace,” Eliotte whispered in agreement.

The cub paused. Although he knew the female bug before him was a soldier who did not want to be associated with losers, he still spoke up softly for Eliotte, his future partner and revolutionary brother.

“Actually, I think the truth is not like that. There are many definitions of failure. In the eyes of the Empire, failing to achieve victory is failure. But sometimes, a tactical retreat to preserve strength is the wise choice.”

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