Perhaps because the journey was gradually nearing the northern region, even the moon on the horizon appeared colder than usual. The bleak moonlight filtered through the porthole glass and fell onto the ground, illuminating the female zerg imprisoned in the cage.
Blairand opened his eyes in the darkness; his usually light blue eyes now a deep crimson. He caught a faint sweet scent in the air, so delicate yet so distinct, like the rose candy he had eaten as a child, stirring the deepest desires hidden within his heart.
Blairand’s breathing uncontrollably quickened, and the pale zerg markings on his neck burned with a temperature akin to hot coals. He furrowed his brow, lowering his head and involuntarily letting out a pained grunt.
“Ugh…”
In the darkness, a rustling sound erupted, like a wild beast struggling within an iron cage.
Blairand tightly gripped the icy railing, and the thin blanket silently slipped off due to his movement, revealing a body covered in numerous scars. His complexion appeared unnaturally pale under the moonlight, hinting at excessive blood loss. His muscular back was crisscrossed with deep whip marks, their dark red hues contrasting vividly against his fair skin, resembling vibrant blood vines blooming in the snow, evoking a haunting sense of beauty.
Carlos had once used an iron hook to force him to spread his wings, drilling deeply into his right shoulder and leaving behind a gaping blood hole. But now, that sharp pain had ironically become a potent aphrodisiac, bringing forth a secretive, different kind of stimulation.
The scent of pheromones grew stronger and stronger.
A distinctly articulated hand slowly extended from the iron cage, bathed in a faint blue hue under the moonlight. Its fingertips were slender yet powerful, resembling a perfect piece of art carved by God.
The hand searched through the air, groping until it finally identified its “target”, landing on the sleeping figure of Ah Sui.
Ah Sui sensed an itch on his face but paid it no mind, thinking in his sleep that it was his junior apprentice practicing martial arts again. He raised a hand to scratch his face, rolled over, and continued sleeping peacefully, facing the iron cage directly.
At this moment, if Ah Sui were to open his eyes, he would meet a pair of eyes like those of a wild beast. Yet, he didn’t; he slept deeply and soundly.
Blairand’s fingertips carried a slight chill as he stroked Ah Sui’s smooth cheek. The sensation was warm, soft, and mixed with a sweet fragrance, like a fluffy marshmallow.
Instinctively, he felt the urge to “consume” yet the iron bars prevented any further action. Ah Sui, with his large stature, clearly couldn’t fit through the narrow gaps between the bars.
Blairand then gripped the young male’s wrist and gently pulled him closer to the cage. It was a rather dangerous move, as one couldn’t guarantee that their hand wouldn’t be bitten off by the “beast” confined within.
Blairand bowed his head and gently took Ah Sui’s fingertips into his mouth, attempting to extract more pheromones. His soft tongue delicately licked, faintly feeling the calluses left from martial arts training in the palm of the youth’s hand. However, this action was akin to scratching an itch through a boot.
He grew impatient and stopped licking, feeling increasingly restless.
The female zerg’s crimson eyes flashed with a dark glint, and his teeth suddenly became very sharp. Blairand bit down on Ah Sui’s fingertip, piercing the skin with little effort, and tasted a tangy sweetness of blood.
Ah Sui furrowed his brow as the sudden pain jolted him awake from his slumber. Confused, he opened his eyes and instinctively looked at his hand, only to see the female zerg confined in the cage, bowing his head and sucking the blood from his fingertip. His pupils dilated in shock.
Ah Sui: “?!?!”
Blairand, whether sensing something or not, slowly raised his head to look at Ah Sui. At that moment, his crimson eyes finally returned to their normal blue hue. His countenance, cool and serene like a snowy mountain peak, contrasted sharply with his ghostly, eerie appearance. Golden locks of hair cascaded down from his shoulders, shimmering with a silken sheen under the moonlight. A touch of crimson adorned his pale lips, lending him a haunting and bizarre allure.
Oh my god!
Ah Sui was startled and quickly pulled his hand back from the cage with a swoosh. He scrambled to the other side, wrapped in his blanket, surprised that this handsome man actually liked to bite people.
Glancing down at his fingers, Ah Sui discovered a deep tooth mark and instinctively looked at Blairand inside the cage. He saw Blairand suddenly grip the iron bars and agitatedly shake them, seemingly attempting to escape from within.
“Boom!”
The iron cage emitted a loud, dull noise from the impact.
Ah Sui had previously cared for injured animals in the mountains, and those creatures would often struggle to escape when temporarily housed in cages. Typically, offering water and food would suffice. But this time, there was a full-grown person inside the cage, and Ah Sui was momentarily at a loss for how to soothe him.
“Shh, stop shaking the cage. How about I give you some biscuits?”
Ah Sui quickly crawled to his seat, clutching his blanket, and rummaged through his backpack. He pulled out a few pieces of compressed biscuits and an untouched bottle of juice. Carefully, he passed them through the bars to Blairand, a bit apprehensive of being bitten again. Eventually, he placed them near the door and cautiously poked them in with the sword lying on the ground.
“Let me out!”
Blairand leaned painfully against the bars, his voice hoarse as he growled. His gaze unfocused, he looked outside the iron cage and saw a young male crouching with a blanket wrapped around him. His black hair was messy and slightly tousled, giving him a disheveled look. His face was innocent and tender, quite different from the red-brown-haired interstellar pirate who had tortured him before.
Ah Sui squatted barefoot on the ground, looking somewhat troubled at Blairand’s request. “The key was taken by Brother Cenfeng. Can I let you out tomorrow?”
He hoped the handsome man would quiet down; there were many interstellar pirates sleeping outside, and it wouldn’t be good to wake them up.
Ah Sui, in order to increase credibility, even raised his hand and swore earnestly, “I swear it’s true, if I lie, I’m just a puppy!”
However, Blairand couldn’t grasp the meaning of Ah Sui’s words at this moment. He slid down slowly against the bars, fingertips tightly clutching the wound on his right shoulder, drenched in cold sweat and visibly in pain.
As Blairand gradually reverted from his zerg state and regained his sanity, fragments of memories flashed rapidly through his mind.
…
“Major General, traces of interstellar pirates have been detected ahead. Shall we proceed with the capture?”
The officer stood in front of the control panel and zoomed in on the tracking screen. Among the snow-covered mountains, a red dot was flashing. As they approached closer, they realized it was a female wearing black interstellar pirate attire fleeing. Clearly aware of the military pursuit, he glanced back at the sky, revealing a blurry profile on the screen.
[Ding! Facial information of tracking target extracted, currently identifying…]
[Identification successful]
[Tracking target name: Sang Ya
Gender: Female
Identity information: Former Major General of the Third Army in the year 2760, awarded First Class Military Merit 12 times. Sentenced to death by the Empire in 2763 for killing a male zerg without cause, escaped on the eve of execution. Later joined the pirate organization Klayt Alliance, rising to the position of second-in-command.
Wanted Level: S]
A brigadier general in white military attire had been observing distant movements through a telescope. Upon hearing the automated identification system’s broadcast, he involuntarily paused, glancing subconsciously at the tracking screen ahead.
The aide inquired again, “Major General Blairand, shall we proceed with the capture now?”
Blairand snapped out of his reverie but responded unexpectedly, “No need. You all go clear out the main forces. I’ll handle the capture of this pirate myself.”
With that, he set down his telescope, changed into his combat gear, and walked straight to the rear, opening the hatch. The biting cold wind instantly rushed in, causing his coat tails to flutter wildly.
In the land of Salaranfa, there were many tribes, large and small. Among them, the southern tribe was renowned for its gentle temperament and exquisite beauty. They were not skilled in combat, but their unmatched speed and keen senses made them adept at reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.
Blairand stood at the hatch, unfolding his semi-transparent wings behind him. As he flapped them, they shimmered with iridescent light, their beauty unable to conceal their sharpness. Braving the cold wind, he leaped down into the valley, searching amidst the vast snow and wind for Sang Ya’s whereabouts. Finally, he spotted his trail, accelerated forward, and gracefully landed in mid-air with his wings tucked as he touched down.
Blairand’s black military boots landed silently. He directly blocked Sang Ya’s path, his light blue eyes staring coldly at him, his expression somewhat grave.
“Sang Ya—”
Standing opposite Blairand was a female with gray hair and silver eyes. His hair was braided and tied up in a high ponytail. He wore the distinctive interstellar pirate uniform of the Klayt Alliance, exuding a fierce aura that spoke of a life accustomed to dancing on the edge of a blade.
“Blairand, I knew you would catch up,” he said.
From his tone, it seemed they were familiar with each other.
Sang Ya was holding a bloody object, which he promptly tossed at Blairand’s feet after speaking. Blairand looked down and saw that it was a head, and he couldn’t help but be a bit shocked. “You killed Klayt?!”
Sang Ya held a thin blade between his fingers, twirling it in a dazzling display. “Aren’t you in charge of eradicating the interstellar pirates? I’ll trade Klayt’s head for my freedom. Pretend you never saw me. What do you say?”
Blairand, however, drew his gun and aimed it at him. “Absolutely not!”
Sang Ya glanced at him, his voice tinged with mockery. “Absolutely not? A year ago, if you hadn’t opened the cell door, I wouldn’t have escaped prison so easily.”
Blairand silently tightened his grip on the gun. Seeing his former comrade reduced to this state, he couldn’t tell if he felt more heartache or anger. He spoke each word with a heavy voice, “Sang Ya, a year ago, I let you go so you could live a good life, not to become a despicable interstellar pirate!”
Upon hearing Blairand’s words, Sang Ya narrowed his eyes coldly. Suddenly, he drew his gun and fired wildly at the ground, blasting Klayt’s bloody head to pieces. He glared at Blairand, his eyes filled with dark hatred, and questioned him angrily, “Live a good life?! Blairand, tell me, how is a female zerg supposed to live a good life after having his wings torn off by a male? I can’t fight on the battlefield anymore, I can’t fly anymore. Why should I have to endure all this? Just because I’m from the South? Just because I’m a fallen noble and deserve to be bullied by them?!”
Sang Ya’s heart-wrenching questions left Blairand in silence. His expression changed slightly, his wrist trembled, and he almost lost his grip on the gun.
The precious wings of the southern female zergs had long become coveted collectibles among the nobility. Sang Ya and Blairand were once comrades in arms, but Sang Ya’s family fell into decline, leaving him without protection and making him an obvious target. During one mission, he inadvertently offended a noble male from the Imperial City. He had him secretly sent to a hospital where his wings were forcibly removed. In retaliation, he killed the male, but was subsequently imprisoned and sentenced to death.
At that time, Blairand couldn’t bear to see him suffer, so he secretly used his connections to help him escape. He never imagined that a year later, they would meet again as adversaries.
Sang Ya, perhaps sensing Blairand’s hesitation, stepped directly in front of him and coldly reminded him, “Blairand, don’t cling to your useless compassion. If you don’t find a way to break free from fate, one day you’ll end up just like me. Those ‘noble’ butchers won’t care about your status as the southern young lord!”
“If you’re going to shoot, then shoot. I can’t fight you without my wings, but I’ll never go back to that cage!”
With that, Sang Ya holstered his gun, turned, and walked away into the swirling snow without looking back. Blairand didn’t pursue him. He stood there for a long time, until his eyelashes were coated with frost, before finally lowering his gun.
A terrible fate.
That was what Blairand thought.
Southern female zergs were the gentlest of all races. They were naturally kind and disliked war. But when had this trait become the original sin that made them targets for exploitation?
Blairand looked down at the head Sang Ya had shattered and chose to ignore it. Frowning, he unfolded his wings and was about to return to his troops. Suddenly, a large number of dark shadows appeared in the distant sky—a swarm of female zergs flying toward him, all wearing Klayt Alliance uniforms. These were interstellar pirates who had escaped the encirclement!
A barrage of gunfire erupted, echoing through the mountains.
The Klayt Alliance was the most powerful of all the interstellar pirate organizations, making them extremely difficult to eradicate. They had been evading capture for years. This time, the operation to exterminate them took place in the Boliman Snow Mountains, where visibility was limited by the snow. The unfamiliar terrain gave the pirates an advantage, and the military suffered continuous setbacks. Blairand, separated from his unit, was ambushed and captured by Carlos, the second-in-command of the interstellar pirates, becoming their prisoner.
Blairand was imprisoned for ten days, enduring ten days of relentless torture. During this time, he overheard the interstellar pirates discussing that their leader, Klayt, had been assassinated, and the second-in-command, Sang Ya, had escaped and gone missing. The remaining leaders were fighting fiercely for the top position, only for a skilled male to take advantage of the chaos and seize power.
To curry favor with the new leader, the newly appointed second-in-command, Carlos, wanted to take Blairand’s wings as a tribute. However, no matter how much he tortured Blairand, he refused to transform into his zerg form, leaving Carlos no choice but to abandon the idea.
On the eleventh day, Carlos suddenly ceased whipping Blairand and spoke to him with a cryptic tone, “If you’re smart, you’ll serve our new leader well. After all, he’s a male, and you’ll be the one benefiting.”
Blairand didn’t understand the meaning behind Carlos’s words at the time. He only felt a sharp pain in his arm as he was injected with a muscle-relaxing agent. Then, he was placed into an iron cage and lost consciousness.
He felt like he was trapped in a long and painful dream, unable to escape no matter how hard he tried. Eventually, he smelled a sweet, candy-like fragrance and began to gradually awaken from the nightmare.
It was the morning of the second day. The red sun pierced through the dark sky, bringing some brightness to the otherwise dim interior of the starship.
Blairand opened his eyes groggily and found himself inside an iron cage. Through the bars, he saw a black-haired young male in a white robe sitting cross-legged on the ground, holding a long sword in his arms. The boy’s silent and expressionless demeanor gave him a somewhat cold aura.
Blairand paused for a moment, a realization dawning on him. He recalled hearing the interstellar pirates discussing the appointment of a young male leader in the Klayt Alliance while he was imprisoned. It seemed that was indeed true.
To Blairand, this news was not a good one. Males, in addition to seizing the wings of females, also forcibly claimed their bodies. Between the two forms of humiliation, Blairand couldn’t decide which was worse.
He lay in the cage with a blank expression, barely opening his eyes. He looked like a corpse still warm to the touch. Sunlight streamed through the porthole, highlighting the scars crisscrossing his bare torso and giving off a sense of decay and ruin.
What should he do?
Ah Sui sat on the ground, instinctively clutching the sword in his arms. He had cared for injured birds, chickens, small dogs, and rabbits before, but he had never taken care of a fully grown person.
The beautiful person in the cage had been rattling it all night, trying to get out. Ah Sui hadn’t dared to sleep, and now that he had finally quieted down, he felt a bit frightened.
At that moment, an interstellar pirate came to bring Ah Sui breakfast. The cook carried a tray and began introducing the various instant foods to Ah Sui, explaining them one by one. The new leader, being from a rural background, was unfamiliar with these items and had almost mistaken a heating packet for candy last time.
Cook: “Big Boss, this is high-calcium milk.”
Ah Sui nodded expressionlessly, maintaining his aloof demeanor in front of the interstellar pirates. “Mm.”
Cook: “This is strawberry-flavored bread.”
Ah Sui continued to nod without expression.
Cook: “This is steamed egg custard, and this is Lulubeast meat soup. The small one is a lollipop, milk-flavored. Just tear open the wrapper and it’s ready to eat.”
Ah Sui nodded without changing his expression. “Got it.”
The plump cook displayed a satisfied smile and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’ll take my leave then. If you find yourself needing more food, let me know, and I’ll prepare more.”
With that, he placed the bowls and utensils neatly and exited the starship, the hatch closing slowly behind him. The air fell back into a state of silence.
Throughout the entire exchange, Blairand remained unmoved.
He heard the male zerg and the cook conversing behind him, their voices cold and indifferent, with not a word more than necessary. The second-in-command, Carlos, was already vicious, and this new leader’s methods of tormenting females might be even more brutal.
A hint of irony and self-mockery flickered in Blairand’s eyes.
It seemed that Sang Ya’s guess was accurate after all—he had indeed followed in his footsteps.
Support me on ko-fi for more additional updates~ ʚ(´꒳`)ɞ
![The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_2021-09-11_143139.png "The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao")
