Chapter 1358: 19.17 Second Red Star - Royal Butterfly Tribe
Chapter 1358: 19.17 Second Red Star - Royal Butterfly Tribe
These halfling soldiers had gone crazy after suddenly losing their families. They slaughtered every human in the vicinity after taking the lives of the human soldiers carrying out the execution operations. Hatred blinded them, and they did not spare the kids. When they actually attempted to kill the kids, the zergs intervened. Killing children would be wicked, regardless of race.
The Zerg race, at least, never touched children—not even during battle.
Regarding the rumors, they are merely human conjectures that the zerg race is consuming humans. It is a bug race, the Zerg race. They will not consume human flesh unless they absolutely have no choice. They mostly exclusively eat grass and pollen. In the case that there are zergs that consume humans, they were heretics who were expelled from the colony.
Queen Titania said it with a tone one couldn't deny. "You can't kill the children!"
Sadly, the three men's anguish had driven them insane. They were in such excruciating grief that they were unable to feel any compassion for these kids, who had also witnessed the beheading of their loved one on the execution site.
"Stop being a hypocrite! You can kill all humans who become enemies. Have you even spared the children!?" Lieutenant Solan retorted.
The children and their general were safeguarded by the Zerg Queen's subordinates. Even though they are of the same race, female zergs are more in affection for kids and have never hurt them. Regardless of race, children are valued beings in their eyes.
"Watch your tongue, human! We have never harmed any human child before!"
"Even if we have found one, we send them to safety immediately. Killing adult humans is enough!"
As if confused by something, Kian also spoke up and asked, "Don't you zergs eat human flesh?"
"Don't say something disgusting! Killing is one thing. You want us to eat you! Most of us are herbivores; even the spider-type zergs can only eat beef, pork, or chicken as an omnivore!"
"What the hell!? Then who are the zergs I saw eating humans before?" Roan exclaimed.
Queen Titania said, "You might be talking about heretic zergs. Those are impure zergs who had mixed blood with beasts and couldn't hold back their thirst for blood and flesh. That kind of zerg doesn't exist in the hive, as I gave a killing order to exterminate them on the spot. There might be some who had escaped and propagated in some desolated star."
"In the first place, Heretic Zergs are different from us. They don't have human forms, and their shells are deep red due to overeating blood and flesh. Those madmen!" A subordinate of Queen Titania added.
Lieutenant Solan questioned the confusion. "How can this be? Then what is the reason for this war between races?"
"Aren't you guys the first ones to initiate the fight against the Hive? Even after you killed the Zerg Emperor and the Zerg Empress, the hatred between the two races became permanent. The first emperor and empress visited personally on the human star to repair the relationship between the two races. You humans ambushed them and killed them!" Queen Titania said.
Humans in the present day are unaware of the specifics of past events. Perhaps the elders above covered it up on purpose, so the younger generation only understands that the Zerg race is their enemy. However, it differs from Solan and Cid Warlock's other subordinates. It was only after years of being in the hive that they realized there was actually no human flesh or organs for sale in their market.
The majority of the time, they sold various leaves, fruits, veggies, and flowers. There are only four types of meat: chicken, beef, hog, and shellfish. They eat less meat and more vegetables as a main source of nutrition. Since the Royal Zerg Tribe is a Butterfly Zerg Tribe, their primary food sources are flowers and sweets. Those omnivores have the ability to consume some insects and meat.
These halflings were astonished at the Zerg Queen's statements. They were unaware of the specifics of the past, but they were aware of the valiant actions taken by the Warlock and Odin Clan to eliminate the Zerg Emperor and Zerg Empress. Who would have guessed there was more to the conspiracy concerning historical events?
Even though they find it hard to trust what the Zergs are saying, they are also unable to fully refute it.
The scene, which was littered with bodies and blood, fell silent. Before they hear a small girl's wail beneath the piles of dead bodies among the executed, there is an uneasy feeling among the group.
"Help. Save... me."
Queen Titania, who noticed such a faint voice, looked at the pile of corpses near the execution stage.
"I heard a voice. A little girl's voice. It's coming from that pile of corpses."
The halflings exchanged glances and, at first, did not think it was real until they seen a tiny hand emerging from the mound of dead. Startled, they rushed to the corpse and began dragging it away. They were startled to see a small child with a high fever whose features resembled Lieutenant Solan's.
Lieutenant Solan was cleaning the young girl's face carefully when he shook when he noticed that her face was covered in blood. It is his daughter who has vanished. He had no idea how his wife had done it, but it appeared that she had been successful in hiding their daughter among the bodies. The inhumanity with which people treated the traitors' corpses was well known.
Their corpses would be dumped into a forest to feed the beast after they were made an example of. He had imparted some self-defense and skills to elude wild animals to his wife and kids. It is possible that his wife saw this as their daughter's last chance to be saved.
"L-Lili?"
Tears streamed down his old face as he held his tiny girl in his arms. His heart was gradually becoming less filled with sorrow and rage and more filled with relief and contentment. His daughter had made it through at least.
"D-Daddy?"
Lieutenant Solan said, "Yes, Lili. It's Daddy. Daddy is back."
"Daddy, Mommy was taken away. They slapped her and wanted to beat us up. Humans. They are bad guys. Worse than the insects. Daddy said they were bad."
"I know. Daddy is wrong. Baby, sleep. When you wake up, everything will be over," Lieutenant Solan said while trying to hold back his tears but failing.
For the first time in his life, Lieutenant Solan looked like he had found the most important thing in his life. He isn't willing to lose it for the second time.
Queen Titania approached him fearlessly and threw medicines for children at him.
"If you trust me, give that to your child. His fever is obviously not good to be left like this."
Solan pivoted to gaze upon the Zerg Queen. He sees little human youngsters staring at him fearfully and clinging to his clothes. They had seen how he and his friends massacred their family members and brothers, after all. It might be argued that in the children's perceptions, he is the monster and not the Bug Queen standing next to them in their relationship with the Zerg Queen.
Even though they are humans, Lieutenant Solan observed that the Zerg Queen may be icy toward them but kind with kids. He sent his underlings and the children who were still alive, and watched.
"Send them to the nearest human village," Queen Titania commanded.
"As you wish, Your Highness!"
With no further hesitation, the human lieutenant gave his daughter the medication. He observed the immediate result, which significantly reduced his ill daughter's temperature. Regarding Roan and Kian, they collected and cremated their family members' remains. Their loved ones' ashes were taken away by them.
They are not willing, at the very least, to leave their remains on Earth only to have them desecrated by humans once more. When they discovered that the small girl was the only survivor, they also set fire to the remainder of the halfling's corpse.
While they waited for Lieutenant Solan's daughter to wake up, they concealed themselves somewhere in the forest. They are currently in the closest military brigade, which Kian and Roan broke into. Their goal was to locate Cid Warlock and Lucas. All of them, even Cid Warlock, are halflings, Solan admitted.
Even though they were unaware of the specific zerg lineage that Cid Warlock held, he is similar to them in that he has mixed blood.
Nightfall has already arrived, and the female zerg soldier constructs a couple tents for them to use in the wilderness. Considering that one of them is a sick child, they allow him to travel to Solan and his group. While Kian and Roan were enjoying the bonfire with the others, Solan is taking care of his daughter.
While one is sharing intelligence with the Zerg Queen, the other is hard at work hacking the closest military brigade station and satellite.
Queen Titania commented, "No wonder the King said that Cid Warlock was mixed when he caught him before. So he is a halfling."
"Sir Warlock met the Zerg King. Is the Zerg King so powerful that an S-class Sentinel can't even kill him?" Roan mumbled.
Queen Titania glanced at him and said, "I can't even see the depths of the Zerg King's strength. I had an inkling that he might be stronger than me. His vessel just holds him back."
"The Zerg King's mental energy is unparalleled. We saw how he made a few nobles who made him angry explode into a blood mist!" A female zerg soldier added.
Kian's face had gone gloomy; he had just finished hacking the adjacent military station and satellite. He had witnessed Cid Warlock in a vegetative state, surrounded by human doctors who had taken his flesh, blood, and hair. Even though these ancient items instantly mend his wounds, a guinea pig would not suffer more from this treatment. Lucas is in the worst condition of all.
His skin is ripped in every region from having been tormented nearly every day. Even though he is still alive, he is a gory mess.
"The military is cruel. How could they treat them like this?" Roan shouted.
Queen Titania commented calmly, "If they don't see you as equal and something lower than them, then this treatment is normal. If they saw the halflings as equal from the start, you wouldn't be living at the borders. As for your boss, they keep him alive because of his Warlock bloodline. His human bloodline is from that family who killed the Zerg Emperor and Zerg Empress."
Kian and Roan are former Federation soldiers. They never thought that after going into a coma, even their boss would be treated in this manner. However, they now genuinely know why their boss shied away from the federation.
Queen Titania spoke, "If you want to save them, go. We won't get involved and wait for you here. If you want to return to the Hive with us, come back to this place. We will only wait until sunset tomorrow."
Finally, the one with the highest standing among the three comes out. Lieutenant Solan, after making sure that his daughter is asleep, finally comes out of the tent. He had been listening to their conversation all along.
Lieutenant Solan said, "I wish to leave my daughter by your side while we try to save the boss and Lucas. The Federation is no longer our home."
"Would your boss agree to your words? Even if he is a half-zerg, half of his bloodline is your race's hero. The heads of this star wouldn't easily let him go," Queen Titania said.
The Zerg Queen and Solan looked into each other's eyes, looking for any changes in their emotions. All of a sudden, they heard a female zerg soldier walk past Kian and scream.
"Impossible!"
Queen Titania turned around and looked at his subordinate, who just screamed. "What's wrong? For you to shout like that?"
"Your Highness! Look at this Halfling's wings! It's blue. The shade of the sky and sea!"
After being taken aback, the Zerg Queen got to her feet and turned to see the video that Kian was watching. The state of Cid Warlock is being streamed live. How the human scientists forced Cid Warlock to display his zerg wings was a mystery. However, Queen Titania was taken aback when she noticed Cid Warlock's blue wings.
The Zerg Queen mumbles in disbelief, "Blue Morpho Butterfly Tribe. That's a Royal Butterfly Tribe in the Hive."