Chapter 1362: 19.21 Second Red Star - Heroine
Back to the Federation Star...
The federation had finally learned of the massacre that had taken place in the village during the execution stage. A general named Barret Warren commanded a small number of human soldiers. Only the human remains, left to rot where they had perished, remained in the nearly empty community.
The human warriors grimace in disgust and wrath at the smell that permeates the entire area—a smell of blood, rotting flesh, and corpses.
Ugh!
"Who the hell did this!? They don't even spare the civilians!" A human soldier exclaimed.
General Barret surveyed the entire scene with his eyes. He saw that the executioners there were so terribly hacked that it was difficult to identify them. Their faces were filled with anguish and terror as their heads were even hung from the execution platform.
Additionally, he saw that the only thing in the vicinity was a pile of ashes, of which more than half had been scattered by the wind, rather than even a single halfling corpse.
Examining the wounds of the executed individuals and deceased civilians reveals that the person who carried out the procedure was well-versed in the intricacies of human anatomy. It may be one of the two: a soldier on duty or a doctor. With every whip and pistol wound, he witnesses no hesitancy. Therefore, he tends more toward the latter.
His expression darkened as he considered the idea that had caused his unfavorable premonition.
General Barret Warren commanded, "Clean up the scene. Just burn the corpses as there wouldn't be anyone taking them away."
"Yes, sir!" The soldiers under his command collectively responded.
He went to the side and reported the strangeness of this massacre at the dead scene to HQ. He informed the Marshals along the way of his results and his conjectures.
"Lord Marshals, this is a scene of revenge. Maybe a few more soldiers from the side of Cid Warlock were still alive. When they saw the execution happening, they lost their temper and massacred all humans in the village. There should be more than one. I just don't know where they have gone," General Barret said.
[This possibility might be correct. If they didn't leave, they would definitely go there.]
"Where, Sir?" General Barret asked.
[There's a military station near that area. This region is the nearest to the end boundaries of the human race's space territory. Cid Warlock and Private Lucas were imprisoned there. Check on them. If there are intruders, if they cannot be caught, kill on sight!]
"Yes, Sir!" General Barret responded.
General Barret halted his forces when the call finished and gave them the command just to set fire to the entire community in order to expedite cleanup. At first, the soldiers were apprehensive because they wanted to bury the remains properly, but they had to obey their superior's orders. The small town on this borderland was destroyed by fire that day.
General Barret was about to leave when he suddenly received a call from his sister, Silvana Warren, an S+ Guide.
[Brother, you promised me, you would find Cid for me.]
"I will find him. Don't worry, Silvy," General Barret said.
Cid Warlock's childhood sweetheart and buddy is Silvana Warren. They had gotten engaged. She was aware that Cid Warlock was a halfling, of course, but she chose to ignore this information. She has an obsession with him, especially after seeing Cid Warlock's stunning blue butterfly wings.
---
Somewhere in a certain spaceship...
A girl with long brown hair tied in a high ponytail on her back and dressed in a military suit stood in front of the livestream depicting her brother's condition in the village. She did not give a damn about the horrific carnage that took place in the village, since, in her opinion, they deserved it.
"You want to capture my Cid just because of that massacre in that small village? Those old men above think too much of themselves. They are already old and rotting but still want to rule the human race. Don't they know how beautiful a halfling butterfly zerg is? No matter what, Cid is mine."
It is Silvana Warren, this woman. Despite being a guide, she enjoys fighting. She is the Warren Clan's lone mutant. You may think of her as a sentry in the body of a guide. She likes beauty, and butterflies are the most delicate of all the species, which is why her infatuation with Cid Warlock borders on madness.
---
Human Star's Borderlands, Rainforest.
At the riverside, Queen Titania is playing with Lili, Lieutenant Solan's daughter. He was fishing with his other female zerg warriors. They relished the tranquility of the setting. Lili was not terrified of the people or Queen Titania. Even though most monsters possessed colored hair and eyes when in their human form, one couldn't deny how gorgeous they were in this form.
In the eyes of the little girl, Lili, a beautiful silver-eyed Titania is like a fairy.
Lili asked, "Fairy Queen, Lili knows you are not humans. Do you eat human children?"
"Hm? Of course not. The Queen doesn't eat humans. It's you humans who spread the news that our insect race eats meat. Most of us are herbivores. Especially for his highness, he likes eating flowers and not meat." A female zerg who was listening beside them spoke up.
Queen Titania glances at Lili with an expressionless yet gentle gaze. It's because of this that Lili wasn't afraid of the Zerg Queen. Someone with such gentle eyes wouldn't be a bad person. The Zerg Queen slightly pinched the flat cheeks of Lili due to malnourishment. She felt sad that such a little one had to suffer just because of their mixed bloodline.
"Little one, this queen doesn't eat children. I like children like you. I hope you little ones will live as peacefully as you could before growing up," Queen Titania said.
Lili suddenly hugs the Zerg Queen and says, "Fairy Queen is very kind. You don't look at me like others as if I'm disgusting. You guys don't throw rocks at me. You aren't like those adult humans and little humans. They are bad. They killed mommy~ Wuwuwu~"
Queen Titania felt sorry for the little one and hugged her back while gently patting her back in comfort. With a soothing voice, the Zerg Queen whispered, "Don't cry. It's not your fault. Your mommy just returned to the sky. You can always see her sparkling at night watching over you."
"Sniff! Really?" Lili asked.
Queen Titania tried to smile. It was only a bit, but it made her gorgeous face even more exquisite. "That's right. Your mommy will always watch over you. She loves Lili the most, after all."
Lili had never heard such a toned voice since her mother died. That kind human grandma, who sometimes gave her candies, was also killed. That big brother who brought her out to play was also captured. In the end, even she and her mother were caught. That day, when her mother was crying in fear, she asked her to hide within those piles of sleeping bodies.
Among the pile were the kind grandma and big brother, whom she knew. She didn't know that those people were already dead. Her mother said to hide with them, so she did. She waited for her mother to pick her up but she remembers her saying, don't come out. She was already feverish from suffocation due to lack of air and the disgusting scent of blood that assaulted her nose.
She felt sick and ended up becoming sick. In her delirious state, she heard her daddy's voice and reached out to call for her daddy.
The little girl fainted from crying, and the female zergs all panicked. Only when Queen Titania assured them that the little girl was okay did they finally calm down. Almost all female zergs in the hive yearn for children.
A child is a treasure they wanted the most in their lives, but in the past, the standing of the females in the Hive was so low that having children would depend on their male master.
In addition to how hard it is for them to conceive and the endless war between the human race and the insect race, the hive barely had cubs.
"General, will the little one wake up for lunch?"
"Just save some for her. I heard human children like to take a nap in the afternoon. You can almost make something sweet. They love those kinds of things," Queen Titania said.
His subordinates gladly put together lunch and a treat for the child. Since Lili resembles the cub in their visions, they genuinely enjoy her presence. Lili has to be cared for since she is too delicate for these maternal figures. They desire to do things to please her as a result.
However, Queen Titania intervened, returned everything to her spatial ring, and embraced the sleeping Lili before they could be content. They all spread their wings and stealthily soar through the air. The Zerg Queen saw a party of humans walking into the rainforest.
From the sky, Queen Titania and her subordinates saw a group of at least fifty human soldiers entering the rainforest. They saw them pass by the space they were staying in just now. One of the female zergs actually forgot to extinguish the bonfire.
"Forgive me, General. I was just worried about Lili and forgot about the fire."
"Don't worry. It wasn't a problem. I want you guys to sneak in and assassinate them silently. Don't wake Lili up," Queen Titania ordered.
His soldiers saluted, "Yes, your highness!" In their stealth mode, these female zergs sneaked into the group of humans secretly.
On the other hand, the humans on the ground look around while on guard. They noticed that the bonfire in the middle of the forest was fresh, and there were traces where the tent was erected just now.
"General, there are traces of people living here. The bonfire is fresh and the footprints are also clear. They must still be around."
"But there are no traces beyond this area; even the trees had no trails of someone climbing up. Did they disappear on the spot?"
"G-Ghost?"
"Ghost your ass! Don't scare yourself for nothing!"
General Barret thought so as well, but aside from this campsite, they saw no traces of footprints running out of this area. It could only mean that the people just here had disappeared on the spot or flew. Humans are incapable of flying unless they use a tool. There are only two races capable of flying: the insect race and the bird tribe from the beast race.
Both races aren't supposed to appear in this place, as this is the human star owned by the human race.
This human general made an impossible guess, which he himself doesn't believe. Among the two races he thought of, the Beast Race wouldn't come over in their place as they are under a treaty with them. Plus, they don't need to hide if they notice them coming, as they can be considered allies at least.
Then that leaves the insect race, but the footprints are mostly humanoid, and in the hive, only a high-class zerg can possess such a form.
Just the thought of a high-level zerg with complete human form, he only thought of the royal class zergs. General Barret's face turned pale upon this realization. He realized the danger they were in.
"Scatter! They sneaked into our group!" General Barret exclaimed.
As if answering his warnings, pained groans were heard in the middle of the group. The Female Zerg soldiers started killing in the middle while hiding in the crowd.
A dying man questioned, "W-Why... did you...!?"
"It wasn't me!!!" said the terrified soldier who witnessed his comrade's sudden death.
"Watch out! Spread out! Don't crowd; they can hide within the group. Scatter and meet me in the military barracks of this region. Stay in three or five. Dispersed!" General Barret commanded.
Throughout the rainforest, the human soldiers dispersed and fled in all directions. Additionally, General Barret fled since his gut told him it was unsafe to stay there. As anticipated, he sees a man with two enormous white butterfly wings on his back and a sleeping child in his arms when a strong figure suddenly comes into his field of vision, standing above a tree.
Those inhumane, silver eyes cast a harsh, cold gaze on him.
General Barret trembled upon meeting the eyes of the Zerg Queen.
"Z-Zerg Queen," he mumbles in fear.