Chapter 239: Tianjia Prince × Mixed-Blood Military Female (End): It Was the More Common Single-Egg Pregnancy, and Also Their Hard-Won Treasure

[It’s been a whole week since I’ve read anything from An-shen. Do you know how I’ve survived this past week?]

The StarNet readers who had waited forever without catching an update clutched their heads and wept.

[Something’s not right. An-shen’s update schedule might be unpredictable, but once he starts a story, he usually finishes it as quickly as possible. It’s rare for him to disappear for an entire week without any activity.]

[Caleb and the Prince might already be living happily ever after, but there has to be more, right? What happened to preparing for pregnancy and having an egg?]

[Don’t tell me An-shen ran out of inspiration??? (panic)]

[Thanks for asking. This Zerg is on Capital Star and just came from the Marshal’s residence. You absolutely cannot imagine how grand, luxurious, and beautiful the Marshal’s residence has become... It’s rare enough to see an iron-blooded military female like the Marshal care about what his home looks like, and the entire place has clearly been designed according to a male Zerg’s preferences. Those who know, know.]

[Know what? Know what?! I hate cryptic Zergs the most!]

Indeed, any experienced Zerg who had ever courted a male Zerg or considered marriage with one knew exactly what this represented.

Only the young single Zergs were still confused.

[Is this true? Have the Marshal and An-shen already progressed to... that stage?]

[This is joyous news worthy of celebration throughout the entire world! (throws flowers) (throws flowers)]

[So that’s why I haven’t gotten an update all week? (sobs) How is the Marshal going to repay what he owes me?! Forget it (wipes tears). For the Marshal’s happiness, I’ll make this sacrifice.]

[Sitting obediently and waiting for the Marshal’s wedding.]

[No, seriously? Everything you’re saying is speculation. Is there any actual proof?! If I can’t get my sugar from the novel, I’d happily take a bite of real-life sugar, but don’t bait me with fake stuff!]

[The rumors about the previous two Tianjia Emperors and the Prince sounded perfectly convincing too, and then the Prince turned around and married Lieutenant General Caleb!]

[Here’s some confirmed news: His Majesty the Emperor really is pregnant (attached news image).]

[???]

[!!!]

Every Zerg and Tianjia who clicked on the news image was stunned.

It was an ordinary military news image. Tianjia Emperor Ares was giving a speech as usual, but what particularly caught everyone’s attention was that the Tianjia Emperor’s powerful waist, normally tightly cinched by a military belt, was now merely covered by his normally buttoned military jacket, beneath which there was an obvious swell.

[Wait?! The Tianjia Emperor is pregnant? He doesn’t have an imperial consort! Whose are they?]

[Whose doesn’t matter. Tianjia only recognize their female parent. Tianjia don’t care who their male parent is.]

[But it matters when you’re shipping a CP!]

[I know. According to the novel, they’re Lord Carl’s.]

[Carl is just a fictional character from the novel! His prototype is €€€€ Lord Eugene, the only son of the former Archon and General Sorens. There’s no way those two could possibly have anything to do with each other, right?]

[Why is it impossible? Wasn’t it written in the book? They met while stranded, got to know and understand each other, and ended up together. Even though they were separated in the middle, they eventually reunited and had hatchlings.]

[I only have one question: what about pheromones?]

[They can just meet once a month!]

[...That’s more science fiction than an actual sci-fi novel. Even An-shen wouldn’t dare write something this sci-fi.]

The netizens’ attention was drawn away by the news from the Tianjia, and just as they were discussing it, an update notification suddenly popped up at the top of their terminals.

At the exact same moment, all across the universe, terminals belonging to Zergs, Tianjia, and other interstellar species lit up with update alerts from a specially followed account.

€€€€ An-shen had updated!

Discussion suspended. Time to read the update first.

...

【<What Happened Afterward ①>

Ever since Caleb married the Prince, the Tianjia relationships surrounding him had become increasingly complicated.

This became even more pronounced after the Prince’s breakthrough.

Some came to probe him, some wanted to befriend him, while others tried to curry favor with him, offering to share their assets with him in hopes of forming a family together...

There were especially many romantic rivals.

However, among the Tianjia, romantic rivals tended to behave more amicably toward the female, using benefits to win his approval.

A Tianjia household was headed by its Female Lord. An outsider only had a chance of receiving the Female Lord’s approval and being allowed to join the family if they showed sufficient friendliness and value.

But Caleb’s family was the exact opposite.

In his family, the Prince was in charge.

Unless the Prince wanted it, Caleb would never allow another female to join their family.

Supported by the Prince’s declaration that he “only wanted him,” Caleb naturally shut every other female out.

He had even personally resorted to force quite a few times, considering it a good opportunity to stretch his muscles.

After all those battles, Caleb gradually came to a realization.

His desire to protect the Prince and his determination to guard him had allowed him to faintly touch the threshold of S-rank through combat and improvement.

The Tianjia Emperor was the first to notice the change in him.

His Majesty was very pleased and invited him to spar.

Caleb: “...”

Silently glancing at His Majesty’s already visibly pregnant belly, Caleb didn’t dare agree.

His Majesty the Emperor was pregnant, and his belly was already quite obvious.

Caleb finally understood what the Prince had been so anxious about when he had hurried over during Caleb’s previous battle with His Majesty.

If something went wrong and the future imperial hatchlings were harmed, the Prince would never forgive him.

When Caleb refused, the Tianjia Emperor was about to say something else when he saw the Prince approaching from a distance and immediately fell silent.

The two tall females stood there stiffly, restrained and obedient, accepting the Prince’s inspection at the entrance to the combat room.

The Prince approached and swept his gaze over the two females. He knew exactly what the Tianjia Emperor was plotting. From an angle Caleb couldn’t see, he secretly shot Ares a warning glare. Yet his face remained elegantly smiling as he told His Majesty not to slack off and to go back to handling his military duties.

Then he politely excused himself and dragged Caleb away with him.

Only after they had walked some distance did Metis earnestly tell Caleb,

“Don’t fight him. If he invites you to spar, ignore him. He’s always using his higher rank to bully you!”

Caleb was astonished.

The Prince actually thought His Majesty was bullying him?

His Highness the Prince... was worried about him?

Caleb’s eyes brightened slightly, and he said emotionally, “Your Highness, don’t worry. It’s only ordinary sparring. His Majesty never uses his full strength. I won’t get hurt.”

Metis: “...”

Was this female an idiot?

Metis was furious.

Ares relied on his higher rank to fight Caleb, while Caleb couldn’t beat him and could only take the hits. Wasn’t that bullying?

Still angry, Metis pulled Caleb along and said,

“Teach me how to pilot a mech. Once he’s laid the eggs, we’ll beat him up together!”

Two against one, and Metis didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

Ares was SS-rank. Even if he and Caleb both broke through, they would only be two S-ranks. The gap between ranks couldn’t be compensated for by simple numbers, so it wouldn’t count as bullying Ares.

As for Metis himself... his mech-piloting skills might only be average, but his psychic power was still very useful. Interfering with Ares wouldn’t be a problem, so at least he wouldn’t drag Caleb down.

He could coordinate with Caleb’s movements, provide supporting fire from the side, cheer Caleb on, and subject Ares to psychic interference—including, but not limited to, broadcasting stories about Ares and the Zerg male directly into his mind.

The more Metis thought about it, the more feasible the plan seemed.

Although Caleb felt there was something rather inappropriate about openly discussing how they were going to “beat up His Majesty the Emperor,” he listened to the Prince.

If they really fought, he would protect the Prince, and His Majesty wouldn’t allow the Prince to be injured either. So it should be fine.

Thus, Caleb agreed.

Ares, who was only one corridor away: “...”

They hadn’t even walked a hundred meters before discussing how to beat him up. How was that any different from shouting their plans directly into his ear?

Not only did Ares have to go work and deal with military affairs, but he also had to listen to those newlyweds flaunting their affection with their partners right beside them. Ares inexplicably felt irritated, yet he couldn’t say anything when the Prince had taken over so much of his workload.

The more complicated and tedious government affairs had always been handled by the Prince on his behalf. Ares only needed to concern himself with military matters, which had already saved him an enormous amount of trouble.

Toward this elder twin brother of his, Ares had always felt gratitude as well as guilt over the past. Seeing Metis finally find a female he trusted and was willing to spend the rest of his life with genuinely made Ares happy for him.

It was just that watching the affectionate Tianjia couple constantly appearing together only made his own solitude stand out all the more.

Ares gazed into the distance and sighed inwardly.

He wondered when he and Carl would finally be able to live together without any obstacles between them.

He raised a hand and stroked his abdomen.

These two eggs had barely gotten the chance to spend any proper time with their male parent.

Hopefully, before they hatched, everything would finally be settled.】

[What does “everything will finally be settled” mean? Is His Majesty planning to attack the Zerg Federation? Conquer the Zergs (shocked)!?]

[There’s no way it means that. Don’t forget that in the book, His Majesty and the Zerg Carl are a couple. He deeply loves the male Zerg Carl and even makes an exception to interact with the Zerg race because of him, promoting cooperation and exchange with the Zergs regarding Psychic Soothing. I seriously suspect that if this keeps developing, the Tianjia and the Zergs will establish diplomatic relations just like An-shen wrote in his previous novel.]

[Is there any possibility—and I’m just saying possibility here—that the eggs the Tianjia Emperor is carrying in reality also belong to a Zerg?]

[Before the Prince and Caleb, I would’ve said “absolutely impossible,” but now... I’m not sure either. An-shen’s sci-fi stories always correspond with reality in the strangest places. It’s getting impossible to tell what’s reality and what’s science fiction.]

...

【<What Happened Afterward ②>

The Prince and Caleb were close in rank, so their chances of conceiving an egg were very high.

Even Ares had managed to become pregnant despite the enormous rank difference between him and the male Zerg Carl, and he had conceived two eggs at once.

Metis saw no reason why he couldn’t manage it too.

Yet several months passed without any success.

Caleb checked his body every day to confirm whether he was pregnant. Metis couldn’t bear seeing the disappointment on his face every time the result came back negative, so he secretly contacted Ares on his terminal to ask for advice—even though Ares was already close to giving birth and was still running around outside having fun.

“How to get pregnant on the first try?”

When Ares saw the Prince’s question, even he was somewhat dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected his imperial brother to come asking him about something like this...

Glancing at the sleepy male Zerg beside him, who was yawning from exhaustion, Ares seriously thought it over before raising his hand and typing a reply.

[Ares]: First you have to... then you have to... In short, both the female and the male Zerg’s performance are very important in this matter. And if you happen to catch the female during his heat, the probability of conceiving an egg increases significantly.

The Prince stared solemnly at the information Ares had sent him, carefully studying it while doubts arose in his heart.

Was that really how it worked?

It sounded almost mystical.

And the male needed to show initiative in this kind of thing and actively participate...

The Prince thought back on their usual experiences. It did seem that Caleb normally did most of the work.

As for heat, how were they supposed to conveniently time it so they happened to catch one?

Troublesome.

Meanwhile, Carl had just finished an intense round of activity. Having thoroughly exceeded his usual exercise quota, he was exhausted and sleepy, barely able to keep his eyes open. Through his sleepy haze, he saw that Ares was still messaging someone and asked in confusion, “What are you talking about?”

Ares turned off his terminal, pulled the blanket over both himself and Carl, and whispered beside his ear with a trace of amusement,

“About how capable you are.”

Carl’s sleep-deprived brain was moving sluggishly. Hearing this, he proudly nodded.

He really was extremely capable.

...

Metis remembered that the male also needed to show initiative to increase their chances of conception, so over the following days, he became exceptionally proactive and diligent.

Finally, when Caleb broke through to S-rank, they conceived their first egg.

It was the more common single-egg pregnancy.

And also their hard-won treasure.

(End)】