Chapter 278: The Banquet and the Lovers: In his plan, he needed to get pregnant with an egg first

As one of the protagonists from the original novel, Helios naturally received an invitation as well.

Helios himself simply didn't understand why.

As one of the Marshal's personal guards, he had known the banquet guest list from early on. Every invited guest was either a General from one of the Military Regions, a high-ranking government official, or one of the protagonists from that Lord's books. A mere personal guard like him seemed completely out of place among them.

The Marshal had personally handed him the invitation, his assessing gaze falling upon him. Helios lowered his head and felt that he understood what he was supposed to do.

And so, on the day of the banquet, while every other Zerg arrived dressed in either luxurious or fashionable formalwear, Helios stood in a corner wearing an ordinary, unremarkable suit, doing his best to minimize his presence and appear completely inconspicuous.

Felix's reconnaissance habits made him glance toward the corners when he entered the banquet hall. Beneath the dim light, he saw a pair of brilliant heterochromatic eyes gazing down at a wineglass. The atmosphere was so striking that Felix almost wanted to whistle.

"Wow, seriously handsome. Exactly the type my older brother would like," Felix remarked.

Lucas glanced over, then casually turned Felix's head back around.

"Hey, hey, hey? What are you doing? I said he's the type my older brother likes, not me."

Felix hurriedly explained himself to prove his innocence and no longer dared let his gaze wander.

He hadn't expected Lucas to get jealous over a single remark like that. Felix found it incredibly amusing and pressed even closer against Lucas, his eyes now revolving entirely around him.

Instead, Lucas was the one who became uncomfortable.

For a moment, he almost wanted to turn Felix's head away again and tell him to look at other Female Zergs instead, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to do such a thing... Although it made him uncomfortable, he liked having Felix's gaze glued to him.

All the guests arrived one after another. As the names from the books matched up with the Zergs standing before them, everyone present knew perfectly well why this banquet was being held.

The most unexpected guests, however, were the visitors from the Tianjia Empire.

The male Imperial Prince of the Tianjia Empire—Prince Metis—and his Prince Consort and Captain of the Personal Guard, Lieutenant General Caleb.

This was the first time in nearly a thousand years that the Tianjia Empire had sent such heavyweight figures on a visit to another race, and at such a special occasion at that.

Every General and government dignitary present was privately contemplating what this visit might signify.

...

Meanwhile, inside the dressing room, An Ruo made his final adjustments in front of the mirror.

He no longer needed anything like a stylist. During his year in prison, he had developed numerous applications for Psychic Power.

Including but not limited to sensory connections, psychic materialization, Psychic Power storage, group Psychic Soothing... and face sculpting.

Using Psychic Power, he subtly adjusted his appearance, distinguishing both his looks and overall aura from the "Psychic Soothing specialist" persona he had created.

The Psychic Soothing specialist resembled an aloof and serene doctor, his eyes carrying a physician's compassion for all living beings—or Zergs—while his entire body seemed enveloped in a sacred radiance.

The author An, meanwhile, possessed more of a scholarly air. Tranquil and refined, gentle as polished jade, standing aloof from the mundane world.

The reflection of Ulysses dressed in black-and-red formalwear appeared in the mirror. An Ruo smiled and turned around to ask him, "Can you recognize me?"

He blinked, feeling slightly nervous.

Ulysses cupped his face and studied him carefully, but couldn't detect anything different.

And so, with the straightforwardness of a Female Zerg, he asked, "Did you put on makeup? You look very good."

An Ruo: "..."

He had spent so long sculpting his face, and Ulysses apparently had terrible eyesight.

He turned back toward the mirror and examined himself carefully again. His entire style and aura had clearly changed. Even the corners of his eyes had been raised by several degrees. There were subtle changes to his other facial features as well, making the aura he gave off completely different.

He had also adjusted the shades of his hair, skin, and eyes to a certain extent. His hair was lighter now, almost silver-white, as cool and clear as moonlight. Previously, his long hair would reveal a warm, sunlit golden glow beneath the light, whereas its current shade was noticeably colder.

For a moment, An Ruo had actually considered giving himself black hair, but Ulysses seemed to like long, light-colored hair. He appeared to have a thing for light hair, so An Ruo had kept that particular feature rather than making any drastic changes.

After carefully comparing the two looks, An Ruo confirmed that they were definitely two completely different character styles.

Ulysses's eyesight really was hopeless.

Tolerantly forgiving Ulysses for his tiny little vision problem, he took his hand and led him outside.

Ulysses lowered his eyes toward him.

Of course he could see that his god's outward appearance had changed somewhat, but to him, it made no difference.

Even back when his god had nearly disguised himself as a Female Zerg, it had made no difference to him.

Even if one day his god truly transformed himself into a Female Zerg, or into some other incomprehensible life-form—like the indescribable gods spoken of in certain alien legends, possessing nothing but writhing, entangled psychic tentacles and no fixed form—he would still follow him wherever he went.

He was the god Ulysses believed in.

The male he loved.

That would never change.

The banquet hall fell silent for an instant when the Marshal appeared with An-shen.

Every gaze turned toward the same place.

The Male Zergs widened their eyes, somewhat astonished, yet simultaneously feeling that this was exactly how An-shen ought to look.

The Female Zergs also thought he perfectly matched the image of An-shen they had imagined, except his beauty surpassed every fantasy they had ever constructed in their minds.

Xi'an, Uriel, and the other Zergs who had personally seen his true appearance had somewhat complicated feelings. They didn't quite understand, but they respected his decision and instinctively chose to keep his secret.

It was a strangely wonderful feeling.

As though they now shared a secret with An-shen, making them just a little closer to him than everyone else.

Aira had imagined countless scenarios for his meeting with An-shen.

He would surely rush impatiently toward An-shen the moment he saw him and tell him all about his love, reverence, and gratitude.

But in reality, his eyes filled with tears, and he froze where he stood, unable to take a single step.

At that instant, the fog dispersed.

He saw his future once again...

In that vision, he and Cassian walked together beneath the sunlight, through green grass and a sea of flowers. He threw himself onto Cassian's back and demanded that Cassian carry him. Cassian obediently lifted him onto his back, helpless yet indulgent, laughter filling his eyes.

There were no flames.

No death or destruction.

In this future, his sun walked beside him, its light and warmth falling softly over his body, embracing him and loving him.

It was as though some invisible shackles had fallen away from him, and everything in his heart suddenly became clear.

He touched the threshold of B-rank and sensed the opportunity for advancement.

But Aira couldn't spare a thought for any of that.

Tears spilled from his eyes.

"Male Lord?"

Cassian was the first to notice that something was wrong. His heart immediately tightened with worry, and he hurriedly fumbled for a handkerchief to wipe away Aira's tears.

A hand as luminous and flawless as white jade held a handkerchief out before Aira.

Through his tear-blurred vision, Aira saw that sacred, radiant figure.

"An-shen..."

Aira choked on his words as he accepted the handkerchief An-shen offered him. He clutched it in his hand, unable to bring himself to use it.

He wanted to throw himself into An-shen's arms and pour out everything in his heart, but he was afraid his tears would stain An-shen's formalwear, so he didn't dare move.

In the end, it was An-shen who took the handkerchief back out of his hand, wiped away his tears, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, gently patted his shoulder and back, and comforted him in a warm voice.

All the Zergs gathered around, concerned about what was happening.

"Are you just too happy?" An Ruo asked him gently.

"Yes, yes." Aira nodded repeatedly.

Yes.

He was too happy.

He should be happy.

Almost overwhelmingly grateful.

At this moment, he had been given a new life.

His god had brought him that new life.

Aira opened his tear-cleansed eyes and struggled to keep fresh tears from falling. Reserved yet full of hope, he asked An-shen, "May I hug you?"

An Ruo paused slightly, then met his gaze and nodded.

Aira threw himself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

Cassian stood frozen beside them, his raised hand still hovering protectively near Aira. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, so he merely gave An a grateful yet apologetic look.

Some Zergs secretly glanced toward the Marshal to see his expression.

Ulysses stood behind An, his silver eyes fixed on the Male Zerg whose face was buried against An's shoulder as he secretly rubbed against him. He watched Aira's arms wrap around An's waist and back, holding him tightly and refusing to let go.

His ability to maintain his composure was first-rate, and nothing unusual appeared on his face.

Privately, however, his back teeth clenched involuntarily.

He had known that all the protagonists needed to be guarded against.

He hadn't realized that a Male Zerg who wasn't even a protagonist also needed to be placed under special surveillance!

Once the albino Male Zerg finally calmed down, Ulysses quickly pulled An away and unobtrusively half-shielded him behind himself.

On the other side, Cassian took over comforting Aira, speaking softly to him.

Ulysses had originally thought there was no need to emphasize it deliberately, but now he clearly needed to make an announcement to every Zerg present.

His gaze swept across everyone in the banquet hall. He turned slightly to the side, revealing An beside him, and said,

"This is An. He is my..."

His male.

His god.

His partner.

Ulysses's chest rose and fell, the declaration already at the tip of his tongue.

But he wasn't certain how An defined their relationship, leaving him caught between advancing and retreating.

An Ruo met his gaze and immediately understood what he meant.

He took Ulysses's hand of his own accord, then smiled at everyone and said,

"We're lovers."

It was an answer that satisfied Ulysses.

His turbulent heart settled with those words.

None of the other Zergs found their relationship surprising either.

They were lovers who were currently dating. Later, they would naturally become a married Male Lord and Female Lord.

Considering the shadow cast by the Marshal's previous marriage, no Zerg asked anything like, "When are you getting married?"

Perhaps they would marry once the Marshal was ready to enter another marriage.

An-shen also seemed perfectly willing to accompany him and wait.

They were clearly a pair of lovers who loved each other deeply and were constantly thinking of one another.

No one was worried about their relationship or their future.

They all believed that the obstacle preventing the two Zergs from marrying lay with the Marshal.

In reality, it was exactly the opposite.

Ulysses had the courage to scheme and plan for their relationship, even to profane his god with his own body, but marriage had always remained an uncertainty in his mind.

He wasn't certain whether his god would be willing to establish a marital relationship with a Zerg like him.

Of course, regardless of whether there would ever be a marriage, he would never let go.

But his plan had to proceed one step at a time.

According to his plan, he needed to get pregnant with an egg first.

Once they had a hatchling, given An's responsible personality, he would certainly consider marrying him.

And then...

He would have a hatchling.

He would have a Male Lord.

He would have a home.

And his Female Father was gradually returning to normal as well.

For a Female Zerg, that was an exceptionally complete and happy family.

Ulysses looked at General Cyril's visibly swollen belly, then at the little hatchling held in General Enzo's arms, and finally at Isidore, who had already entered adolescence and stood beside Hill and Iso...

He would have all of this too.

Someday.