A is in StarCraft, just disembarked from the Zerg Prince spaceship.

***********

......

Atticus calmly took the egg out and, taking advantage of an opportunity, registered the crown prince's official name as "Kel Lorius (Sky Blue)" according to ancient customs. He never let him see the little female insect offspring again.

On the day the blue hatchling emerged, he didn't send anyone to inform the Insect King. He simply lifted the newborn insect high in the air and decided to love it even more.

He already knew what kind of insect the Insect King was, and now he had no expectations of it anymore.

......

With a new pillar of support, the Queen Insect now has to raise her young insect offspring and defend the empire. She has no time for any dramatic love triangles with the King Insect.

He's very busy, and not only does the Insect King not help him, it also holds him back.

Atticus came and went in a hurry, beginning to ignore the absurdity of the Insect King, and straightened his back even more.

The Insect King became even angrier and intensified his actions.

That's all he's capable of.

Atticus, constrained by the mark and the threat of mental turmoil, accepted his abuse as if it were a task to be completed. It was just a little pain, which he could endure, and after he finished, he would continue doing his own thing.

Even though it was the Insect King who was abusing Atticus, he himself felt humiliated.

So they went even crazier.

He didn't really want Atticus to die, but Atticus was too strong and hurt his pride.

He tortured Atticus even more cruelly, refusing to allow him to receive treatment.

However, Atticus' old wounds were aggravated during a subsequent battle.

......

"...His Majesty Atticus...died in battle in the Damu Starfield on [Date and Time]..."

One day, an ordinary day that was no different from any other, he suddenly received a report.

The messenger was travel-worn and weary.

The report has a clear black electronic stamp confirming the death in action.

At first, he thought Atticus was just joking with him out of spite.

Then he saw a photo at the back of the report.

In the enormous, black coffin piled high with lilies, Atticus lay peacefully asleep.

The messenger, choking back tears, was still reporting that His Majesty Atticus's remains would be transported back to the central planet within ten days.

The Insect King sat in a large chair, with the report and the photograph spread out in front of him.

His hands remained motionless on the smooth tabletop.

His hands were cold, and his body was cold too.

Every word of that report felt like a red-hot steel needle, piercing his eyes.

The old injury recurred.

These words echoed and pounded in his mind.

He remembered Atticus kneeling on the cold ground, the whip he had lashed out, Atticus's taut shoulders, and his blood-soaked clothes.

So many male insects were attacking their females, Atticus... How could Atticus have died?

Why is it that only Atticus died?

For some reason, the Insect King felt a sharp, intense pain in his chest.

it hurts.

He suddenly felt as if he were drowning, with endless water engulfing him.

A strong, metallic taste rose from deep in his throat. He opened his mouth, wanting to gasp for breath, wanting to roar, wanting to deny it.

But he only let out a short gasp: "Atticus... Atticus..."

His hand, which was resting on the table, began to tremble uncontrollably. The trembling intensified until his entire arm began to spasm.

He tried to grasp something, his fingers scratching at the smooth tabletop with a harsh scraping sound, but he couldn't hold onto anything.

He couldn't hold onto anything; Atticus hadn't even returned with his body.

Atticus's herald stood below, head held high, lips trembling, unsure of what to say.

He saw the Insect King's face instantly lose all color, as if covered with a layer of deathly ashes.

His once gloomy and somber eyes became empty and sorrowful as he stared intently at the report.

With the death of the queen insect, order is rapidly collapsing and shattering.

There are still many things to handle.

The Queen's funeral, the announcement to the people, the transfer of imperial power, the arrangements for the front lines, and the confirmation of the future rulers of the empire... To put it bluntly, if no measures are taken, it's hard to say whether the royal family will still bear the Skilway name.

The crown prince is only four years old, and the insect king is a useless male insect who only knows how to indulge in debauchery and pleasure...

The Insect King has moved!

He abruptly raised his hand, grabbed the heavy ornament on the table, and slammed it down on the report with all his might: "I don't believe it! Atticus must be playing a trick on me! Where is Atticus?! Tell him to come out!"

"Clang!"

The ornament slammed onto the hard tabletop, cracking the crystal surface with a loud thud.

The ornament and the documents bounced off and rolled onto the ground.

The blood-stained report was crumpled into a ball, torn apart at the center.

The Insect King's hand froze in mid-air, trembling violently.

The messenger knelt, tears falling to the ground: "His Majesty Atticus... he has truly passed away..."

The Insect King looked at the kneeling messenger and the crumpled paper, and all the strength in his body seemed to be drained away in an instant. He slumped back in his chair, closed his eyes, and his chest heaved violently.

He recognized the messenger; he was one of Atticus's personal guards.

The council chamber was deathly silent, save for the insect king's heavy breathing.

The messenger knelt on the ground, utterly desperate.

The Insect King is a clueless person.

The imperial order that His Majesty Atticus has worked so hard to protect is probably truly doomed.

......

The news of the queen's death was announced to the people of the whole country.

The public reaction was stronger than expected, with spontaneous mourning flooding the entire country.

White lilies piled up on every street infested with insects, and the weeping never ceased day or night.

The candlelight that lit the night formed a mournful galaxy, illuminating the night sky of Lyrnia and guiding the Queen of Insects homeward.

The Queen's efforts over the years have not been in vain; the people will naturally protect the Skellway royal family.

At this point, any powerful noble family that could replace the royal family would be defying the world if they wanted to lay a hand on the widow and her young child left behind by the Queen.

The young mantis, the heir of the mantis family, is the study companion of the young crown prince. The mantis family quickly made their stance clear: they would protect the crown prince, and anyone who wanted to replace the royal family or take action against the crown prince would be considered a rebel.

If you want the throne, first consider whether you can defeat the Mantis Clan.

The powerful nobles who had been eager to seize the throne quickly suppressed their ambitions.

Rebellion at this time would come at too high a price. First, it would lose the support of the people, and second, the Mantis Clan would be watching with predatory eyes.

Moreover, the struggle for the throne is not something that can be resolved in a short time. By the time all the leaders are defeated, it's hard to say who will win, and even if they do win, they may not necessarily be able to sit on the throne.

The struggle for the throne made it difficult to divide the spoils, so the nobles quickly formed a noble council, also known as the royalist party.

Support the Insect Emperor to ascend the throne.

With the Queen dead and the Crown Prince still young, the King ascended the throne. Once the Crown Prince grew up, he would succeed the King. The royal family would remain the Skylaw family, having reached a temporary compromise with the Mantis family.

While the Crown Prince is still young and the Insect King is a useless piece of trash, we should seize as much as we can during this period.

It has developed to the point that even if the crown prince ascends the throne, he will not be able to touch them.

The atmosphere inside the palace was tense.

Atticus is dead; the Zerg King's greatest asset is gone.

The newly formed royalist nobles acted hastily.

The Insect King sat on his throne and became the spokesperson for the royalists, who confided in him.

Your Majesty, we are the royalists, and we are the ones who are on your side. Only when our royalist party's power grows will your position be secure.

The royalist nobles handed him documents, asking him to sign and stamp them.

"Your Majesty, this is a proposal regarding the reorganization of the administrative departments, and it cannot be delayed."

"Your Majesty, the resource extraction rights in the border star system need to be redistributed. This is the authorization letter; please use your seal."

Documents, one after another, were spread out beside him.

"Your Majesty, the families at the front need greater authority to increase troop reserves in preparation for a possible enemy counterattack. Please grant your approval."

One after another, one after another.

If the Legion hadn't been suppressed by the Mantis Clan, preventing the nobles from getting involved, they would have wanted to take over the Legion as well.

The Insect King signed them one by one.

Many unfamiliar royalist novices were placed in key positions in the administration, and the power of administration was quickly seized by the nobles.

Financial power also fell into the hands of the nobles, and a large amount of resources that originally belonged to the legion were taken away by the nobles.

The parliament began to make more and more decisions on imperial affairs. At first, they just offered him advice, but later he couldn't even see the official documents anymore. The nobles said they were all minor matters and asked His Majesty to take care of his health.

He knew this was wrong; he knew the nobles were hollowing out the foundation of the empire.

But he had no choice.

Atticus is gone.

He was not Atticus; he had no sword in his hand; he had lost his only shield and the confidence to intimidate his ministers.

The greed and ambition that Atticus had suppressed surged back like sharks smelling blood after his death.

If he doesn't join them, he'll be torn to pieces.

The mantis clan did not like him; they only wanted to protect the crown prince, and they would rather support the young crown prince to the throne than help him.

He can't care about that anymore.

He wanted to retain the position of the Insect King.

Those nobles needed his name, needed him to sit in that position as their spokesperson, and then they would treat him with utmost respect. As long as he signed and stamped his seal, he would gain supreme power.

He didn't care what would happen to the future empire; all he wanted to preserve was the present.

The Insect King signed his name on each document and stamped it with his imperial seal.

He watched helplessly as the empire slid into an unknowable abyss.

As the parliament grew stronger, everything spiraled out of control, and he was swept along by the power bestowed upon him by the royalists, continuing down the wrong path.

Regret is useless; there's no going back.

......

The memories before death are like a worn-out, torn roll of film, ultimately frozen in boundless darkness and deathly silence.

The Insect King lay in his own pool of blood, his heartbeat having stopped and him vanished without a trace.

Even after the heartbeat stops, there will be a short period of consciousness.

The coldness spread from my limbs and bones, penetrating deep into my marrow.

He sank into the bottomless icy sea.

He finally moved his fingers, as if trying to grab something.

But he had lost control of his body; his arms were as heavy as if they were filled with lead, completely still, with only his fingertips twitching slightly.

Atticus... Ouch.

The insect king died with its head bowed.

......

***********

......

Gao Tian, ​​who was in a coma, was taken to Blackwater Star, the pirate stronghold of Orion.

This is a desolate planet covered entirely in seawater.

The Black Rock Cliff was bare and lifeless, consisting only of black stones, without any sign of life.

Because of its high water vapor content, the sky over Blackwater is always overcast, and the sun is never visible.

Blackwater Star is Orion's pirate stronghold, where Orion built a new Rock Palace on the shore of Blackrock Isle.

Below the rock palace is a cliff-side prison, embedded in the mountainside.

Gao Tianbi, Shen, and Lu Jianan are all imprisoned here.

......

The black seawater pounded against the black reefs at the edge of the island, producing a dull rumble.

The white foam appeared briefly and then quickly disappeared.

Orion's Rock Palace is built against the cliff, taking advantage of the natural, massive mountain terrain, with the dark sea in front of it.

The huge natural cave on the mountainside below the Rock Palace is the prison.

The cave entrance is located on a nearly vertical cliff face, fitted with a heavy alloy door. Inside is a natural cave, and outside the entrance is a precipice with bottomless, dark seawater below.

The huge cavern space inside the mountain is divided into countless individual rooms with alloy railings along the mountain wall. It is spacious, cold, and the stone walls are rough and damp, with water droplets seeping and dripping from the cracks in the cave ceiling.

Tick, tick.

The air was thick with the salty, fishy smell of the sea, and the musty odor emanating from deep within the rocks. A cold, white, high-powered light shone from the cave ceiling, its glare blinding, and heavy alloy chains were fastened to the cave walls.

Gao Tian was locked in a private room deep inside, his hands tied high up.

He was still unconscious, suspended there without awareness.

Lu Jianan was hung opposite Gao Tian. He was conscious, twisting and struggling, watching Gao Tian being brought in and hung up with a mixture of fear and trepidation.

Lu Jianan stared intently at Gao Tian's injuries, her eyes bloodshot: "Gao Tian—"

Bishen was imprisoned to Lu Jianan's right, also in a suspended position, but his chains seemed heavier.

He didn't struggle; he just watched quietly as Gao Tian was brought in and hung up.

Oh dear, is this Barbie Q?

Orion's men locked Gao Tian up and left.

Lu Jianan called out for a long time, and Gao Tian's eyelashes trembled slightly.

Lu Jianan had been keeping a close eye on Gao Tian and immediately noticed it.

"High heavens, high heavens, high heavens, high heavens, high heavens—"

The clanging of chains, Lu Jianan's screams, and the sound of waves crashing outside the cave mingled together.

Bi Shen glanced at Lu Jianan's excited face, then turned back to the front, his brows furrowing slightly.

Even with a hoarse voice, he's still yelling.

In his dazed state, Gao Tian seemed to hear his unfilial son calling him "Father." His eyelids twitched a few times, and he struggled to wake up from his coma.

Lu Jianan, who was locked up opposite him, was screaming and yelling at him in a highly agitated manner. Bi Shen, unable to bear the noise, said to him speechlessly, "Awake?"

Amid the clanking of chains, Lu Jianan's shrill cries, and the sound of waves, the eldest brother's voice remained deep and steady, as if they were not locked in a cold, damp cliffside prison, but standing in an ordinary corridor.

They're all here.

This is how things calmed down when the situation got so bad.

Is there anything worse than their situation in the world?

Gao Tian didn't want to speak, so he sighed first.