Edited by: Kuro and Lille
Over the next week, General Silas felt a lot better but his body was still weak. He didn’t question where Grey got his food. He knew it was food from a previous world they were in.
General Silas was able to walk around a little but not for long. The wound on his abdomen was quite large and Grey was afraid that it would open due to physical activity. He was made to eat and sleep while Grey did all of the hard work.
He also didn’t ask why the original Grey had followed him to the planet when his mecha malfunctioned. He decided to wait for Grey to bring it up.
During the week, many Zergs came near the cave, looking for food. As “humans,” they smelled delicious. He didn’t know how the Zergs smelled but they always ended up coming to them.
Grey was able to take them down every time. They didn’t have a lot of Zergs in the area, giving Grey plenty of time to rest and take care of General Silas.
“Grey, have you seen any starships in the area?” General Silas asked. It was the first time he had asked this. It could be seen that he wanted to leave this backwaters planet with no people or facilities.
“Not yet. We landed far away from the others, so I’m not surprised it’s taking a long time for the rescue team to get here.”
The rescue teams had to sweep through multiple planets before getting to them. Being found within two weeks was already a blessing on General Silas’ part.
“When we get back, there are some things I would like to investigate.” General Silas had a glint in his eyes. He was going through the possible suspects that wanted him dead.
Grey said nonchalantly, “That makes sense. I was never told who threatened my family when they contacted me to kill you, so I would also like to know.”
General Silas was going to find out sooner or later, so he thought it was better sooner rather than later.
“I will be sure to capture those people and torture them. Do you remember what the person looked like when he was threatening you?”
The two talked about what Grey could remember and it wasn’t a lot. Just one day, someone came to his family’s home, beat his parents up, and told them to call him. When the original Grey rushed back home, his parents were begging him to help them.
Their family was poor but when the original Grey got into the military, he helped his father open up a business. A couple of years later, he found out that someone had tricked his father into getting a loan after his business failed. It was doing well at first but that began to change two years after his business started. A series of incidents happened from poisoning to even death. At one point, someone was trying to sue their family for causing the death of a child.
Because their family couldn’t pay back the loan, they demanded to see Grey.
The person’s words were, “If you don’t do this, we will kill you and your family.”
When the original reluctantly accepted, he was given a series of instructions to kill General Silas. He was also told of a malfunction that would occur in the General’s mecha after the battle with the Zerg Queen. The plan was for him to follow the malfunctioning mecha to a remote planet, and then kill General Silas while he was injured.
“To do it after the battle against the Zerg Queen… This person must have some sort of influence in the political circle.” General Silas concluded after hearing Grey’s story.
He said this because it was in everyone’s best interest to get rid of the Zerg Queen. If it was his half-brother who did this to him, he would be known as the brother’s Hero. This would bring up his prestige. If it was anyone else, they would want him to die during or after the battle so that he was no longer a hindrance.
Grey nodded his head. “I agree. Can you think of any enemies you may have?”
“Yes. A lot at that too.”
The two looked at each other in silence. It seemed that really was the case.
“Can you think of the top 3 people who would want you dead? Like the ones who would benefit the most?”
“I can think of three people...”
“Then when we get back, let’s focus on those three people.”
“Will you be coming home with me?”
“Of course. I will follow you no matter where you go.”
“Hmm, no worries. I will protect you.”
Silas and Grey looked at each other. No other words needed to be said, they already knew. Silas remembered. Grey felt there was no need to say any more than that.
System 225 covered his eyes and gave a sigh. He was still single! He was a single dog. There was no need to stuff him with dog food. He got the point 8 worlds ago. He never thought about finding a partner but looking at these two frolicking around in each world… he wanted to do the same! Then he wouldn’t be subjected to this single dog abuse.
[Ah, Grey, my signals just picked up some signs of Zerg activity. Eight Zergs are coming your way.]
‘More? Didn’t I just defeat some?’
[I think these Zergs have a way to communicate just before death. It’s not a coincidence that Zergs come every day.]
‘There needs to be more research on these Zergs…’
“Grey? What’s wrong?” Silas saw Grey go silent for a bit and was a little worried.
Grey snapped out of his conversation with System 225. He gave a sheepish smile. “I was just thinking it was strange how the Zergs know where we are. I wonder if we should move our little hideout. But we don’t know when the rescue team is coming.”
“Maybe there is a way that Zergs communicate with each other… But I think it would be best if we stayed here.”
“Then I will do my best to defend our base until the rescue team arrives.”
Grey had already built the metal door to block the cave. It was a little strange looking, but it blocked the cave from the elements like rain and wind. There was a hole at the top for ventilation too. He also made a trap that would create a semi-circle of boulders around the cave entrance. It would not only squish incoming intruders but give room for them to escape upward. There was also a wire rope he secured in place in case he needed Silas to escape on his own.
He had already built the SOS sign to let the rescue team know where they were. It was at the top of the small mountain the cave was in. It also had a note saying they were at the cave at the base.
Everything seemed in place, so it wouldn’t be ideal to move. They didn’t know what was on this planet so it was best to stay around the crash site.
‘Hopefully, everything goes according to plan.’
*****
“Cousin, have you heard any news about Silas?” A man said, sitting at his desk.
This man had black hair and blue eyes, a different shade from General Silas. He had similar features though. He was sitting in formal attire, a form-fitting suit and tie with gold-rimmed glasses.
He was leaning back in his chair, legs crossed, holding his head up with his right hand. He looked tired in the seemingly empty room. A holographic screen was in front of him with the face of another man.
He was one of the people who set up General Silas. Another of the conspirators was on the holographic screen.
The other man had blonde hair and blue eyes. The eyes were a similar shade to the person he was talking to.
“I have not. There’s no news from the first legion other than killing the Zerg Queen His Majesty ordered them to come back, but they reported there would be some delays.”
The man was the General of the Second Legion. The Second Legion was tasked to stay behind and protect the capital, making them well-versed in politics. He and General Silas were the same age, 45, but General Silas was more successful. Throughout his life, he was always compared to Silas, making his temper worse and worse as the years went on.
What made the blonde hair man even more annoyed was that General Silas was S ranked and he was only A ranked. When they found out their ranks, everyone began comparing the two of them even more. He wanted to stab Silas for always being better than him in every aspect!
“Maybe they haven’t found Silas. It’s better that way. The longer they take, the more sure we can be that he is dead.”
“Knowing him though, he is as tough as a Zerg Queen. Hard to kill.”
The two looked at each other, thoughts were unknown to one another, but they didn’t want to say much. The enemy of an enemy was your “friend” but in the end, it was better to backstab each other when they finished cooperating. Who knew what the other would do behind their back?
The General of the Second Legion was the first to hang up, leaving the man in the office all by himself.
“You think you could use me, but just you watch. When Silas is killed, I will be sure to wipe your family out of existence.”
He was an ambitious man who did not care for his allies or enemies…
*****
Somewhere on the remote planet, on a huge tree that towered over a large part of the planet, Zergs gathered around. It was unknown as to the reason why they were gathered.
Buzzing and chirping could be heard from them. It seemed like they were communicating with one another.
Then they all turned to the direction of the small mountain where Grey and General Silas laid. Buzzing sounds continued before the largest-looking Zerg hissed. All the other Zergs stopped moving.
It could be seen that this Zerg was their leader.
Only the Zergs knew what their leader said, but they all buzzed and screeched at the sound of their leader’s command. After that, they trudged toward the direction where Grey and Silas were. The leader was in the back but they all walked forth forward like an army marching forward.
Vegetation was cut to provide space for the large army of Zergs. The ground shook with momentum as they uniformly moved across the land. The speed was quick, but it still took a day to reach it since they were far from their destination. Animals fled from their homes in the trees and bushes, avoiding the powerful Zergs that sat at the top of the food chain…
Thousands of Zergs marched toward the high-energy food source fit for their leader…
Small theatre by kuro_kama:
Zerg 1: Bzzz…buzzz…zzz
Zerg 2: zz…z…bzzz…
Zerg 3: Buzzzzz…zzz…bz
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Zerg 231: zz…bz…buzzz
Grandpa Marky: Hello my lovely grandchildren! I hope you all are doing well. Honestly, was debating if I should update because I injured my elbow this morning >.> it hurts so damn badly, I've been having these intense tingly pains going from the tips of my fingers all the way to my shoulder. Well, just gritting through the pain at this point. I don't think I fractured anything seeing how there's no bruise or swelling but lord it hurts so much. When story protags are like "I hit you in a way that doesn't show bruising or internal damage, but it hurts like a bitch." I thought that was bullshit until it happened to me with my elbow XD. I hope this goes away soon... Anyway, that's it from me... see yall next week hopefully lol...
