Edited by: Kuro and Lille
The rescue team, aka General Silas’ comrades, finally found their General on a remote planet. They saw the strange migration of Zergs and found two people surrounded by them. At the top of the mountain, they saw General Silas sniping down Zergs from the top of the mountain. They saw an SOS sign and an arrow pointing downward.
When they looked at the base of the mountain, they found a lone soldier. Everyone recognized the man as Grey, the only one who went after the General. Grey was fighting the Zergs without his mecha, a gun, or a knife. He was wielding the Zerg’s scythes as a weapon. He chopped down Zergs like he was reaping down wheat. When the scythe was worn out, he would grab another from who knows where to continue his conquest.
General Silas’ right-hand man, Lieutenant General Christoph Drai, commanded their comrades while General Silas was absent. It was something that he was used to.
Christoph was a man with blonde hair, brown eyes, and freckles. He was cute, but his presence was a little small, so he didn’t stand out too much. His strength made up for his lack of presence though. He was the heir to the Drai house, Earls, who followed the Ebunox family into countless battles. Though his father retired from the military, he was still able to protect his territory.
Lieutenant General Christoph ordered, “Claus, Kian, and Jamar, go to General Silas and check on his well-being. Make sure you give him a substitute mecha for him to make it back to the spacecraft. The rest of us will assist Sir Grey. Wipe out all the Zergs in the area.”
Since they were here, it didn’t hurt to sweep through the area of Zerg. He also saw the large Zerg, assuming that it was their leader on this planet.
“Yes, Lieutenant General!”
Claus, Kian, and Jamar flew towards General Silas, while the rest landed either in front of Grey or at the top of the other two mountains. Since they were surrounded on all sides, they had to split their troops accordingly.
“Sir Grey, take this substitute mecha.” Christoph threw a metal box that was 3 inches wide and tall. “Don’t worry about the Zergs and make sure General Silas makes it back to the spacecraft.”
Then he gave a sigh of relief. “You did a good job protecting General Silas and making it out alive.”
“Understood, Lieutenant General!” Grey saluted the higher-ranked man and activated the mecha. “Thank you!”
He heard System 225 say, [Congratulations on completing the Side Mission: Keep the General alive until the rescue team arrives. Keep up the good work.]
Grey gave his thanks and activated the mecha.
A mecha that was slightly better quality than the one he originally had covered his body from head to toe. Using the original’s memories, he turned on the mecha and jumped off the boulder. He followed behind Silas and the three men who went to save him.
“Alright, let’s clear the area of Zergs!” Christoph commanded in their intercoms.
“Ayee!” The other soldiers responded.
They took out their weapons, some used swords while others used guns, and began to sweep through the praying mantis Zergs. With their mechas, the Zergs didn’t pose much of a challenge. It was nothing like the Zerg Queen and her army of Zergs.
Though they weren’t difficult to kill, there were a lot of them, so it still took a few hours to make it to the leader of the praying mantis Zergs. In the end, Christoph beheaded the leader Zerg and brought everyone back to the spacecraft.
*****
Grey and Silas were taken to the med bay. Both Grey and Silas were riddled with injuries. Silas was doing alright, but Grey suffered from slashes from the onslaught of Zergs. The doctors and nurses wondered how he was still standing.
Grey could only say it was pure adrenaline…
He did his best to avoid the Zergs, but he was frequently surrounded by them. His weapons could only attack so many Zergs at once. He dodged all life-threatening attacks and let the others slip by if possible.
“Don’t you dare try to get out of here!” The head doctor scolded Grey and Silas, “Stay in the nutrient fluid for the next few days. General Silas, how dare you move around with that wound. Look, you almost opened it!” It was like the head doctor disregarded who Silas was.
Grey and Silas obediently followed the doctor’s orders and went to their respective spots without complaining. They looked at each other aggrieved but still listened.
“Let me see your wounds, General Silas.” Even though the doctor said that he was already grabbing at Silas’ clothes.
Silas looked over at Grey with eyes that were begging for help. Grey shrugged slightly and closed his eyes in the nutrient fluid. He was already submerged. It was like the slimy liquid from the apocalypse world. He couldn’t even talk in it, much less move properly in it. He obediently stayed there pretending he didn’t see Silas’ eyes crying for help.
“I see someone did their best to apply first aid. You are lucky. If Sir Grey was not there, this wound would look a lot worse! You may have even lost your life due to an infection.”
The head doctor was a single father who nagged his children all the time. Even so, his children knew he came from a place of love, so they could only listen to it even if they didn’t want to...
“Next time, try not to move so much. You could have healed a lot faster if you had obeyed the rules of the injured.”
“There are rules for the injured now?”
“Of course there are! Rule number 1…”
The doctor went on a whole rant about the rules that the injured should follow, leaving Silas speechless. He recited the rules while cleaning, medicating, and changing his bandages. His wound wasn’t serious enough for the nutrient fluid, but Silas still needed to rest.
When he finished dressing the wounds, he gave a sigh. “General Silas, you must take good care of your body from now on. You are our General. Without you, we will not be able to be together as the family we are now.”
“Uncle Gio…”
Doctor Gio gave a sigh. “I watched your parents raise you up, watched you lose them one by one, and then finally join the military while taking care of the Ebunox territory. You need to cherish yourself more. Be kinder. We are all relying on you.”
“I… I will.”
Silas saw Gio as a father figure. After his mom died, his father remarried and never treated him like a son again. Only Dr. Gio was there for him in his hardest times. Even when his father died, Dr. Gio was the only one to care for him. His stepmother and half-brother took turns trying to ruin him. And when the stepmother died of illness, his half-brother did everything he could to kill him.
Dr. Gio was the reason why he was still here today.
“Good. I may be old but I still have good eyes. You have someone you want to take care of now. You can’t protect them if you are dead.” These were harsh words, but he had a good point.
“I understand. I will do my best to live so that I can cherish, love, and protect them.”
“Alright. When you decide to formally introduce them to me, let me know. I will be ready.”
“Thank you, Uncle Gio.”
“Alright, enough sappy talk. Rest up and recover. Don’t make this old man worry any longer!” He pushed Silas into the bed, tucked him in, and walked out of the room. He still had injured patients to take care of so he couldn’t stay for too long.
Silas, who was stuffed into the bed like a burrito, felt his heart warm. He had the best father figure, a beautiful lover who was loyal, strong, and kind, and his soldiers who he fought through hell with. He couldn’t ask for more. He had everything he needed.
He looked over at Grey who was floating in the nutrient fluid. He was only in his underwear so he could see the wounds that Grey had gotten from battling the Zergs for hours on end. They looked gruesome and it made his heart ache. Grey got those from protecting him.
Silas regained his memories while he was recovering from his wounds in the cave. He didn’t need to tell Grey because he knew Grey already knew.
This time, he would be the one to protect Grey…
Meanwhile, in the nutrient fluid, Grey and System 225 were having a conversation.
[Now that I have access to some electronics, I will do my best to figure out who is the one God System has told us about out of the three.]
‘Thanks, System 225.’
[You’re welcome.]
From what Grey could remember, Silas had three people in mind. The first was his younger half-brother, Caspian Ebunox. His mother had killed Silas’ mother to become the Duchess of Ebunox territory. Afterward, Silas’ father and his stepmother died together in a spacecraft accident of some sort but at separate times. He didn’t try to figure out what happened, but Caspian had been bitter ever since. He especially wanted to take everything Silas loved and cared for.
The next person was Norton Hanover. He became the Marquise of Hanover when his father retired. Norton was always at odds with Silas. Actually, the whole Hanover family was at odds with the Ebunox family for generations. The only thing the Hanover ancestors and descendants wanted was the downfall of the Ebunox family so that they could be the most powerful family after the Royal Family.
Lastly, it was the Crown Prince of the Fedrana Empire. He was another S-rank individual in the Empire, but his mental strength seemed to outshine his physical strength, so he focused more on politics.
The Fedrana Empire was one of the main forces in this interstellar world. The Crown Prince, Amory Fedrana, was a “childhood friend” of Silas. Crown Prince Amory had silver hair and purple eyes, just like the Emperor. He was handsome just like Silas. Though Amory was always at odds with Silas because Amory was always second best compared to Silas who was good at everything. It was like a one-sided rivalry that lasted for decades. Silas wouldn’t be surprised if Amory harbored some resentment from always being compared to him.
‘I don't think it’s the Crown Prince, but I think you should check anyway.’
[Why not? If I was compared to someone all my life, I would want harm to befall them.]
‘System, you are seeming more and more human as we go through these worlds together. Let me tell you why. If in all these years, he still hasn’t done anything but see Silas as his rival, maybe he wants to win against Silas fair and square. Or he wants Silas to see him as his equal? Regardless though, I would need to meet the Crown Prince to know for sure.’
[That… does make sense. I will check the other two first. They seem more suspicious than the Crown Prince anyway.]
System 225 was right. The other two had more of a motive to attack Silas after the fight with the Zerg Queen. If they were working together, then it was more likely that they would be able to make the mecha malfunction.
‘After you get the proof, let me know so I can go through it. Afterward, I will send it to Silas.’
[Understood, Grey! I will do my best to help you.] After that, System 225 went silent.
Grey also decided to stop talking and get some rest. He was exhausted from fighting hundreds of Zergs nonstop for hours.
Grandpa Marky: Hi hi everyone~! I've been procrastinating and I have been writing Arc 13 >.> Arc 12 was a lot longer than I thought it would be but oh well xD Anyway, though I made the goal to finish my novel by Dec 31st the last chapter, if I don't make it, it's not the end of the world! yeah that's what I think anyway. Anyway, aside from that, I'm freaking tired but I have an appointment with my doctor. I think I cracked the code on whats going on with my body so let's hope my doctor believes me! If not, I can just go find a place to cry or some shit. >.> ah, that's it from me, see y'all next week :D have a lovely day/night my beautiful grandchildren~!
