Chapter 280: Tianjia Bound by Blood: Axel Will Understand Him Too, Right?

Prince Metis of the Tianjia Empire was the most unusual guest at this banquet.

As a Tianjia, appearing at a banquet filled with Zerg military officers and generals could hardly be called a risk-free endeavor.

But perhaps because of the special nature of this banquet, those Generals who had fearsome, brutal reputations in Tianjia news reports were actually fairly mild and courteous toward him.

They could hardly be called enthusiastic, but the fact that they would politely nod and exchange greetings with him already exceeded anything a Tianjia could have imagined.

After all, throughout history, whenever the Tianjia and Zerg met, either the air was thick with gunpowder or severed limbs went flying everywhere.

Perhaps this also had something to do with the fact that he was a male.

Zerg generals were hostile toward the Tianjia, and the Tianjia were equally hostile toward the Zerg, but no matter how intense their hatred, it would never extend to males/Male Zergs.

If the one standing here were the Tianjia Emperor, or any female general or high-ranking official, the atmosphere could never have been this harmonious. They might even have started fighting at any moment.

When it came to peaceful diplomacy, males, seemingly the weaker party, actually possessed a unique advantage.

Metis keenly took note of this and decided that after returning, he would increase the number of male diplomats. At the very least, every diplomatic delegation should have one or two males permanently assigned to it.

Metis also discovered quite a few interesting Zergs in the banquet hall.

For example, there was a certain Male Zerg who had openly shown up wearing the insignia of a star pirate crew...

He had simply appeared like that at a banquet in the Marshal's residence. The Zerg generals who passed by merely gave him an extra glance before tacitly looking away, as though nothing had happened.

There was also a Male Zerg who curiously asked where he'd bought his wolf-ear hat, only to have the other party take the initiative to give him one.

And so, that pink-haired Male Zerg also put on the Wolf Crew's signature hat. The Female Zerg beside him, who should have been the General of the Third Military Region, wore an exceptionally complicated expression. He looked as though he wanted to say something several times, but in the end, he said nothing and simply let his Male Zerg swagger around in a Wolf Crew hat.

Another Male Zerg was particularly eye-catching. He was performing a fingertip fireworks show for his Female Zerg.

Metis stared blankly.

He was certain this was a Male Zerg. He could sense the unique psychic fluctuations of a Male Zerg. But setting off fireworks from one's fingertips was something no Male Zerg could possibly do, right?

Only after taking a closer look did Metis realize that this was a bionic robotic Zerg.

He was as lively and lifelike as a real Zerg, to the point that even Metis, with his powerful Psychic Force, had difficulty distinguishing real from fake.

He was unquestionably a miracle among virtual lifeforms.

He also saw Eugene, his younger brother's Male Zerg—the Zerg military doctor.

The other had been secretly sneaking glances at him the entire time.

Metis knew that he looked very much like Ares. They were twin brothers, and in appearance, each was practically a gender-swapped version of the other, differing only in hair color. Ares had stylish black hair, while his was pale gold.

Metis quietly smiled at that Male Zerg and watched the other's face instantly turn red.

Ares had said he was a firecracker that exploded at the slightest touch, a hot-tempered little chili pepper, but Metis thought this Male Zerg was rather adorable.

No wonder Ares liked him.

Yet among all the Zergs present, the one Metis cared about most was that... little blond hatchling being held in someone's arms.

The little hatchling was also hiding in the Female Zerg's embrace and looking curiously at him, peeking over the military Female Zerg's arm. Two pairs of similar purple eyes met across the room.

The sensation of blood calling to blood passed between them.

Originally, Metis had only been guessing. But now that they had met, in the face of this unmistakable bloodline resonance, all that remained was certainty.

This was the hatchling of his eldest imperial brother.

The hatchling of Chaos, the former Tianjia Emperor who had disappeared on the battlefield.

Even if he wasn't Chaos's hatchling, he had to be the hatchling of another close blood relative. There was essentially no difference.

And judging by the timing, Chaos was still the most likely possibility.

Metis walked toward the Female Zerg holding the hatchling.

He knew that Female Zerg—the General of the Zerg Federation's Fifth Military Region, Enzo.

Memorizing the information on every high-ranking Zerg general was a basic lesson for every Tianjia ruler.

As a high-ranking male, Metis naturally possessed an exceptional memory. He not only remembered all of Enzo's biographical information, but also remembered everything from the novel.

Which made his feelings exceptionally complicated...

This was the Female Zerg who, in the book, would become both his nephew's "Female Lord" and "Female Consort," while right now, he was filling a role more akin to that of a "female parent."

"Prince Metis." Enzo noticed the approaching Tianjia Prince and turned to give him a polite nod.

Or rather, he had noticed this unusual Tianjia Prince the moment they entered the banquet hall.

Not because the other was a Tianjia, nor because he was a male prince, but because little Axel in his arms had been staring at him the entire time.

No matter where Enzo carried Axel, the little hatchling would laboriously twist his head around to find the prince, as though he had a built-in Metis tracker.

And whenever he saw the prince, the expression on the little hatchling's adorable bun-like face became especially complicated. He would anxiously chew on his tiny paw, and Enzo had no idea what was going through that cute little head of his.

After Enzo rescued the hatchling's paw from his mouth for the third time, Prince Metis walked over.

"What an adorable little hatchling. Hello, I'm Metis."

The prince greeted them—or more specifically, the little hatchling in Enzo's arms—with a brilliant smile.

He waved at the little hatchling, then raised his eyes to Enzo and asked, "May I hold him?"

Enzo saw that although the little hatchling in his arms looked conflicted, his large, grape-like purple eyes were fixed intently on the male before him, and he didn't seem particularly resistant.

So Enzo nodded in agreement and carefully passed the hatchling into the Tianjia Prince's hands.

Yet the instant Enzo tried to hand him over, the little hatchling suddenly turned around and clung tightly to his arm, refusing to leave. His eyes looked anxiously at Enzo as though he were afraid of being abandoned, while his mouth babbled away in hatchling language.

For a moment, Enzo didn't know what to do. His first instinct was to take the hatchling back and soothe him, but he was also afraid that doing so in front of a male prince would be too disrespectful and might upset the other.

Seeing this, Metis said to him, "Leave it to me."

Then he lowered his head and gently spoke to little Axel in the Tianjia language:

"Don't worry. I'm not going to take you away from your 'adoptive father.'"

Only after hearing this did Axel stop struggling and allow Metis to take him.

Watching this scene, a complicated emotion flashed through Enzo's heart.

The inherited memories of the Zerg and Tianjia were not interconnected, and there were certain differences between their languages. Not long after Axel hatched, Enzo had discovered that he didn't seem to understand much of the Zerg language. For many things, Enzo had to accompany his words with gestures, slowly repeating and teaching him one simple word at a time.

Enzo had never mentioned this to any Zerg.

Yet just now, the prince had spoken a sentence in the Tianjia language, and Axel had seemingly understood him, releasing his grip and allowing the prince to hold him.

Enzo had already suspected something before, and now...

It made no difference.

Axel was the hatchling he had incubated. He was a Male Zerg registered in the Federation's official records.

He would only ever be a Zerg.

No Tianjia could take him away.

Metis had realized something immediately after speaking that one sentence, so he switched to speaking only in the Zerg language with Axel. And all he said were simple, everyday things like, "You're so adorable," "Such a sweet, soft little male," and "You're the cutest in the whole world," utterly meaningless things of that sort.

These were also things Enzo often said to Axel. So even though Metis was speaking the Zerg language, little Axel could understand most of it, and after being showered with praise, the entire little Zerg practically began floating on air.

Watching from the side, Enzo awkwardly looked away, his gaze drifting into the distance.

But the way Metis was truly communicating with Axel was actually within their psychic seas, using the unique Psychic Force of males.

【Do you like it here?】 Metis asked him.

Axel had experienced psychic communication before. Back when he was still inside his egg, a Male Zerg had used Psychic Force to soothe him and communicate with him.

That had been his doctor, as well as the one he'd once mistakenly believed was his male parent.

Coming into contact with this familiar method of communication again, Axel was confused for only a moment before his gaze focused on the elegant and beautiful male before him, realizing that he was the one "speaking" to him.

His inherited memories and the innate "bloodline resonance" told Axel their relationship the instant he saw this male.

They were family.

Just as he knew that Enzo, the "female parent" currently taking care of him, wasn't related to him by blood.

But he loved Enzo and felt extremely close to him. He wanted to live together with him forever.

So when faced with Metis, his real "family" who was connected to him by blood, he instead had no idea how to react.

Listening to Metis's question in his mind and meeting his concerned gaze, little Axel slowly nodded.

Metis visibly relaxed. He gathered Axel into his arms, kissed him on the forehead, and said, 【Since you like it here, I can rest easy.】

Then Metis suddenly put on an evil expression meant to frighten a hatchling, revealing one tiny fang as he said, 【Now I can abandon you without worrying!】

Little Axel almost burst into tears.

Laughing, Metis handed him back into Enzo's arms. Finally, he stroked Axel's fluffy little head and said goodbye:

"Goodbye, Axel."

With that, Metis bid farewell to Enzo and left, walking toward the Tianjia female waiting for him nearby.

Enzo watched his departing back and suddenly remembered that he had never actually told the other the little hatchling's name.

Yet the prince knew the hatchling was called Axel.

Enzo lowered his head and met the little hatchling's gorgeous purple eyes. Suddenly, something flashed through his mind.

It had to be because of that book!

Enzo thought helplessly.

That book had actually spread this far—even the Tianjia knew about it!

How in the world was he supposed to explain to them that the contents of the novel were purely fictional?

Forget it. Modern society changed with each passing day, and technology and culture developed far too quickly. Whatever was trendy now would be outdated within a few months and naturally forgotten by the public.

By the time Axel was a few years older, everyone would have mostly forgotten that book.

No Zerg would remember it anymore.

Thinking this, Enzo shot a resentful glance at "An-shen" in the distance.

How could it possibly be such a coincidence that the hatchling in the other's book had the exact same name he'd given his Zerg egg—Axel?

After all, before that, Enzo had never told any Zerg this name. Yet such a coincidence had happened anyway. Or perhaps the meaning of "peace" simply happened to suit the subject matter perfectly, so he couldn't exactly blame anyone else.

But then, by another sheer coincidence... the Zerg military officer in that book was named "Enzo."

One coincidence after another left Enzo wanting to shut himself away from the world.

The name Axel was still easy enough to explain. After that book became wildly popular, hatchlings named "Axel" started appearing everywhere. Enzo alone had already heard of several.

But military officers named "Enzo" were much rarer.

In any case, no matter what, he absolutely would not read that novel.

Reading a novel whose protagonist had the same name as him would be far too strange. Probably no Zerg could stomach reading something like that. Even when he came across related discussions online, he would immediately skip past them.

And he wouldn't let Axel read that book either. For precisely that reason, he strictly controlled little Axel's hatchling terminal and had set up quite a few blocked keywords.

Enzo thought this was absolutely necessary.

There was far too much complicated information on StarNet. Any responsible parent would pay attention to such things and prevent their hatchling from being exposed to all that chaotic information too early.

Once Axel reached adulthood, it would be fine.

When Axel grew up, he would understand him too, right?