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

************

......

The Second Prince was well served by Sasha, and when Sasha was satisfied, even his temper improved a bit.

The adjutant's meticulous service, almost anticipating all of his needs, greatly satisfied Orion's desire for control and egocentrism, and also reduced many trivial frictions that could have triggered his anger.

When most needs can be met instantly and most obstacles can be cleared away silently, Orion found that he didn't get angry as often.

It was all those idiots' fault after all.

If they could all be like Sasha, would he get angry at them?

Sasha acted like a resilient buffer, subtly altering the ecosystem around Orion.

Even the officials who had always supported only the eldest prince and not much of the second prince felt that the second prince seemed to have changed.

Although the second prince was still arrogant, at least he listened to his subordinates' reports instead of interrupting them by throwing things.

Although his questions and rebuttals were still sharp and sarcastic, they were truly incisive and logically sound, proving that he was not an ignorant fool.

While his tough approach to dealing with border conflicts or internal rebellions was brutal, it was also highly effective and could quickly stabilize the situation.

The Second Prince doesn't seem to be as arrogant as rumored, and he does seem to have the qualifications to succeed to the throne.

Putting aside his temper and terrible personality, the Second Prince is actually a very capable leader.

Officials began to try to observe the second prince with a more objective perspective.

Insects are drawn to strength. As long as someone is strong enough and their actions aren't too outrageous, insects will follow them.

Gradually, the Second Prince gained more and more supporters.

While benevolence is commendable, ruthlessness is not without its admirers.

The second prince seemed to believe that no matter how much he provoked, expanded his power, or tried to prove that he was stronger than his brother, his brother would never hit him and would obediently hand over the throne to him.

Stop talking. He's been spoiled all his life and thinks his brother will tolerate him indefinitely.

The best things all belong to him; his brother would never try to take them from him.

This blind self-confidence made him act increasingly recklessly.

He courted officials, suppressed dissidents, and even began to openly contradict Atticus on military and political decisions, testing his limits.

Atticus never actually laid a hand on him.

Until one day, the Second Prince's power became a threat to the First Prince—

Then came the empire's twin-empire power struggle, which everyone knew was bound to happen sooner or later, except for the second prince who thought it wouldn't.

Only then did everyone realize that they had seriously misjudged the eldest prince.

The benevolent eldest prince is not a sign of weakness; on the contrary, he is truly strong.

The eldest prince gave the second prince a good beating.

Orion was incredulous and felt that Atticus had bullied him.

"Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"

"As you wish."

The second prince got another beating from the first prince.

The second prince lost his mind and fought back desperately, roaring that he would fight him to the death.

A complex light flashed in Atticus's eyes, a mixture of heartache and helplessness, but ultimately it turned into resolve.

"Sizzle!"

A tearing sound that made your teeth ache.

Orion's forward charge suddenly froze.

He looked down in disbelief and saw a huge gash neatly cut open in the hard shell on his abdomen, revealing the soft tissue inside and gushing blood.

The excruciating pain instantly overwhelmed all his consciousness.

He fell straight down like a piece of wood.

The second prince was slashed open in the stomach by the first prince, rendering him unable to fight, and was carried away.

Atticus stood there, watching his brother, who lay motionless on the ground, being carried away like a dead dog.

You can't learn something just by being taught it; you can learn it after being taught it only once.

......

The eldest prince's claw tip got stuck in the second prince's shell and broke off. The doctor was going to perform surgery to remove it, but the second prince shouted that he wouldn't allow it to be removed.

Let it remain inside; he wants to remember this day forever.

Fine.

Sasha sighed and gestured to the doctor that if they didn't want to remove it, they wouldn't die. She told him to sew up the prince's belly first, since his internal organs were about to spill out.

The battle for the throne has come to an end; their Second Prince has lost.

According to the rules, the losing insect must become a worker bee for the winning insect.

The Second Prince found it very difficult to accept all of this.

For the proud and arrogant Orion, this was more unbearable than death.

He couldn't imagine himself bowing down to Atticus (or Atticus's designated successor), and he spent his days listlessly lying in his rock palace like a useless worm.

Wait, is he lying to the bug? Isn't he the Lord of the World?

Sasha served him tea and water as usual.

The second prince lay on the high cliff of the seaside palace, looking at the surging waves below. Without looking at Sasha, he said sullenly, "Sasha, would you like to come with me?"

Sasha didn't ask where they were going, but said, "I'm willing."

He has earned enough money to provide for his father-in-law's retirement; every day from now on is a bonus.

Looking at the sea, the second prince asked an even more shocking question: "What if you were asked to become a pirate?"

Space pirates are an existence that all civilizations in the universe must severely punish; they are bandits and outlaws.

Once you embark on this path, you must break with the entire orderly civilized society and live a life of pursuit, fighting, and displacement.

Sasha asked, "Will it affect my family?"

"It will be regulated, but the regulation is just right, so you won't have to worry about your stepfather being left unattended."

Once they become space pirates, the Empire will inevitably intensify its surveillance of their social relationships, including Sasha's foster father. But from another perspective, this surveillance is also tantamount to disguised protection and trusteeship.

To maintain stability and save face, the Empire would not use family members as a threat like space pirates do. Instead, to monitor their movements, it would ensure the safety of their families.

Sasha understood the point. He nodded and gave an affirmative answer: "Then I'm willing."

Orion nodded. "Okay."

......

The number of insects wanting to travel with the Second Prince far exceeded their expectations; there were quite a few, numbering in the thousands.

This is the defeated side going to become space pirates, displaced and homeless, not going to enjoy a life of luxury.

They initially thought that after this crushing defeat, with everyone scattered like leaves in the wind, they would be lucky to have even a few dozen loyal followers. But after the news was leaked through clandestine channels, the response came in droves.

Many of them are young fanatics who simply admire Orion's powerful strength and yearn for a free and unrestrained life.

Sasha sometimes felt that these young masters were just bored and had nothing better to do, but he wouldn't say anything, since the more subordinates their prince had, the better.

They fled for nearly a month before finally escaping the empire's territory.

First the insects were enraged, then the eldest prince also came to capture them, but the second prince was even more slippery than an eel and never met them.

The eldest prince was in a terrible predicament; he had tried everything, from kind words to harsh ones, but the second prince still refused to return.

Sasha always thought that the Second Prince was just throwing a tantrum at the First Prince. He believed that once the Second Prince had vented his anger or suffered some hardship outside, he would calm down one day, and there would still be room for maneuver.

He remained dedicated to his duties, managing the internal affairs of the exiled fleet meticulously and striving to maintain its operation.

Later on, their prince would occasionally go out with Chong and then return with valuables.

Sasha always thought they had gone out to rob, and that a robbery would at most kill a dozen or so insects, without causing too many casualties.

It wasn't until much later, when the eldest prince spoke with him, that he learned that every time his prince went out, he was actually leading some bloodthirsty subordinates to slaughter stars.

Atticus looked at Sasha with a deep sorrow in his eyes.

His disobedient younger brother is a big bad guy.

Star slaughter was their unspoken way of venting and having fun; they knew he couldn't accept it, so they had always kept it from him.

He always thought that his prince was just bad-tempered, but it turns out he really is a scoundrel.

......

Even if His Highness is a scoundrel, there's nothing he can do about it.

No matter how disheveled His Highness became later, all he saw was the Second Prince standing in the sunlight in his youth, arrogant yet sharp.

Your Highness, the path to the afterlife is not cold. Everything from the old era has vanished. Your subordinate is with you. Do not be afraid. Your most important and cherished father and brothers are already waiting for you in the distant beyond.

Perhaps seeing them will dispel any resentment?