MCDWTBS Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Jia Ran, Tell These Military Females—…

As Edwin’s words landed, gasps of shock rippled through the insectoid ranks, every gaze locking onto him and the handsome young male insectoid by his side.

Indeed, Edwin hadn’t explicitly named the male insectoid who marked him, nor had he openly confessed his “schemes” and “ambitions.” But at this point, who couldn’t see which male insectoid this female insectoid was “scheming” for?

This military female had advanced step by step, defying fate while on the verge of death. Not only had he gained the mark of one of the most powerful male insectoids in insectoid history, extending his lifespan, but he had also repeatedly used the male insectoid to confront the Church’s power, achieving something unprecedented: as a marked female insectoid, he had returned to the military to wield authority!

Even more astonishing was that the young male insectoid beside him, after hearing this wild declaration, still resolutely stood by this ambitious female insectoid, even… smiling so sweetly! It was all so absurd, almost unreal…

Whether watching the live broadcast online or present at the scene, the male insectoids were temporarily stunned into silence. The so-called conspiracy to coerce Edwin, to diminish his reputation and the legitimacy of his power, now seemed insignificant… Compared to the scandal of an illicit relationship with a male master in name, manipulating and seducing a male insectoid to gain power was clearly a more terrifying sin! How could a female insectoid harbor such ambition and employ such means? How dare he?!

In contrast, the perceptions of the female and sub-male insectoids were repeatedly subverted by Edwin’s actions challenging societal norms. Their values were constantly reshaped, and many insectoids even lost the ability to think, simply staring blankly at the calm, resolute, and powerful Edwin on the high platform.

Serra grasped Edwin’s hand, gently massaging the back of it with his thumb, conveying a message of comfort—he knew Edwin would feel guilty about this subtle misdirection, but he didn’t want Edwin to feel guilty. In fact, Serra was trying hard to suppress the corners of his mouth—though not very successfully—but he was truly falling in love with Edwin again and again in these brief moments.

The female insectoid he loved was strong, composed, brave, and unyielding. Looking at Edwin now, he knew he was no longer seeing the naive Edwin from their first encounter. Before him stood a warrior, one without weaknesses, unyielding and unrepentant, advancing fearlessly.

Only such an Edwin could lead the insectoid race toward a new dawn.

As for the misunderstanding of Serra deliberately created by Edwin, Serra didn’t care. Seriously, as long as Edwin accepted their accidental marking, accepted Serra appearing in Edwin’s life with a not-so-pure identity, what grievances could Serra have? Never mind playing the young male insectoid manipulated by Edwin, even playing Edwin’s dog would be fine.

He had secretly thought about it.

Putting aside emotions (which, for Serra, there was nothing to discuss), Edwin’s actions were actually very beneficial to the situation. Serra had always thought of himself as the more radical one between them. When Edwin remained calm, he would still argue with conservative female and sub-male insectoids on the network. But unexpectedly, this time, Edwin’s actions directly established a unique model for the entire insectoid race.

A standard that all insectoids who yearned for freedom and power could follow.

Just as Serra had repeatedly emphasized, what the morbid insectoid society needed was not a new, powerful male insectoid, carrying a divinely bestowed power, with the support and justice of the insectoid mother, ending this dark era with violence and war. The overturned privileged class should never lead a revolution. If a relatively better male insectoid defeated the bad ones and became the new leader of the insectoids, establishing new laws and morals according to his vision and beliefs, then history would simply fall into another cycle. Power corrupts the soul, and an incomplete revolution would inevitably leave hidden dangers for the continuation of civilization.

In this upcoming revolution, the leading roles should only be occupied by female and sub-male insectoids. This was also why Serra was working hard to help more sub-male and female insectoids awaken, educating them and facilitating communication—he never wanted to steal the limelight from the female and sub-male insectoids; he just wanted more insectoids to join this storm, becoming Edwin’s support.

This was also why the System from the Life Tribunal couldn’t stand him but was unwilling to give up on him.

And at this moment, Edwin would become a towering mountain in the hearts of female and sub-male insectoids because of this tiny misdirection. Which female insectoid could challenge the secular world and stand at the pinnacle of power? Which female insectoid could manipulate the most powerful male insectoid, using him to achieve their goals? Which female insectoid could publicly promise to protect their compatriots, turning the tide and freeing the military female insectoids from the shackles of the Church?

Since ancient times, there had never been such a female insectoid, until now, they had Edwin.

There was no more powerful call to action than this. The light that Serra had been laying the groundwork for on the network for so long finally connected into a starry sky at this moment.

Serra almost applauded Edwin’s decisiveness and adaptability. The young male insectoid wasn’t ashamed but instead grinned, revealing a bright and exuberant smile to the audience. His fingers tightly interlocked with Edwin’s, his intention to show off overflowing—although no one else in the world could understand what he was showing off, everyone could understand his body language—this incredibly powerful young male insectoid was overjoyed, if he had a tail, he would be wagging it so hard it would be smoking.

A layer of sweat beaded on Edwin’s forehead. His body leaned slightly away, but he ultimately didn’t break free from Serra’s hand and his surging affection. The female insectoid tried hard to suppress the heat on his face, displaying a calm and composed demeanor, as if everything was under control. This kind of bluffing composure was one of the essential qualities for going to the battlefield, and now he was using it to deal with Serra.

The guilt he felt for demeaning Serra was intensified by Serra’s actions, accompanied by a hint of embarrassment. What happened today wasn’t in his plans. Edwin wasn’t good at social etiquette. For today’s inauguration speech, he repeatedly confirmed several times with Sison and Ilia through the network. Today’s plan was mostly envisioned by Ilia for him.

Compared to the female and sub-male insectoids who were almost blank slates in social and political matters, Ilia, as a prince, obviously possessed a stronger political sense and ambition. What Edwin possessed was only repeated deliberation over wording and his sincerity.

He hadn’t lied to his compatriots, that was his bottom line, even if he had concealed some facts.

When the male insectoid threw out malicious questions about his relationship with the male master, Edwin was flustered beneath his calm exterior. In fact, Ilia had also made many contingency plans for this question, but in the heat of the moment, Edwin couldn’t remember any of them.

His only thought was that he couldn’t ruin the current situation. For this situation, his insectoid child had died once in front of him, and countless insectoids had paid with blood and life for today’s victory.

He had no retreat. For his insectoid child, for his compatriots, he had to move forward steadfastly.

In desperation, he thought, if Ilia were standing in his position at this moment, what would Ilia choose?

Although Ilia was his junior on the battlefield, fighting with the elegance typical of royalty, he wasn’t considered a particularly brave or skilled warrior. But Ilia was the most calm, meticulous, and politically perceptive female insectoid Edwin had ever met. This was perhaps related to his background and Colean’s interference, but if Ilia hadn’t been inherently unique, Colean, such an arrogant, ruthless, and venomous male insectoid, wouldn’t have chosen Ilia from a pile of female and sub-male insectoid brothers from the beginning, nor would he have been entangled with Ilia for so many years.

Edwin remembered what Ilia had said to him when they first reunited in the Duke’s Mansion. At that time, Ilia mistakenly believed that Edwin wanted to use the young Serra to gain power, and Edwin was very surprised by this. He had always regarded Serra as his own child, never changing his view. But at this moment, he suddenly knew how he should respond to these male insectoids’Diao Lu.

He glanced apologetically at the young male master, who was full of enthusiasm and trust in him. He guided the entire insectoid race to believe that he was merely using Serra, without lying.

But he wasn’t that clever, and hurting Serra’s reputation almost made his heart ache.

He would definitely compensate Serra, Edwin promised himself. He would never use his own child like this, exploiting the child’s innocence and kindness to save his own life.

He would keep his distance from Serra, maintaining the distance that a male parent and a male master should have. He would not exploit Serra’s pheromones; he would let the immoral sin end… Serra would eventually understand.

But Serra beside him didn’t understand. The male insectoid didn’t comprehend the male parent’s love and restraint at all. He smiled radiantly at the female insectoid’s affirmation, almost revealing his tail hook, throwing out a promise to the Fourth Army:

“The Noah Duke’s Mansion will take over the logistics of the Fourth Army. In addition to the military pay issued by the Imperial government, the Duke’s Mansion will provide all the necessary supplies for all the military female insectoids, and will also issue compensation to the families of the military female insectoids who died in the army in the past five years. The Noah Duke’s Mansion has been vacant for a long time, and you all are still fighting for the Empire, you are the heroes and glory of the Empire. May the Mother Goddess be with you.”

As he spoke, the snake-shaped bone ring on Serra’s arm suddenly emitted a pearly white light, particularly dazzling on his black Dress. Serra was almost startled, but he quickly realized what it was.

His student seemed to have briefly possessed the ribs of the Mother Goddess. Sure enough, Yun Jia Ran’s voice quickly chattered in his mind:

“Teacher Lin, I’m here again! Hiss… Was that your partner just speaking? He’s so hot—”

“Cough, cough cough.” Serra awkwardly raised his arm, intending to conceal the strangeness of the ring, but thinking that there were cameras everywhere, it was probably too late, so he gave up.

“Still pursuing.”

He was too embarrassed to say that he probably wouldn’t be able to win her over. As a teacher, he wanted to save face in front of his former student, so Yun Jia Ran didn’t delve into it. She quickly noticed Serra’s environment, and she saw what was happening from Serra’s thoughts.

She quickly realized what everything in front of her meant.

Change, rebellion—freedom.

That might not be her freedom, but it was the freedom of life, a simple but tenacious power. She saw the trampled lives—just like she had been—bursting into light in the darkest moments. She saw hope like stars, burning in this barren and unjust civilization.

The pure white snake-shaped bone ring excitedly raised its head from Serra’s arm. Pure white light, like ripples of water, spilled from the bone ring. Yun Jia Ran’s almost neurotic giggling reached Serra’s ears, immediately raising all his hackles.

He knew that his student had also entered the state. Like he always said, every student he transmigrated with was a good kid that Teacher Lin trusted, but they were all outliers in society. Among them, Serra felt the most sorry for Yun Jia Ran. Compared to other male college students, she grew up in an extremely difficult environment, facing violence and persecution all the time. She faced everything in the most tenacious manner, but the destruction of her original family had left its mark on her.

She was a little neurotic. In some stimulating situations, she would fall into a stress response state, and clearly, this “awakening moment” for the oppressed made her feel right at home, even forgetting what she was here to do.

“This is great… great… Overturn everything, kill all these male—male insectoids, kill them all… Light up the palaces, let’s revel in the bonfire… Hiss… Hehe… Arise, you who refuse to be slaves… Peel off their skins, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth… Hiss…”

The ethereal whispers in his mind made Serra’s head throb, but he didn’t feel fear. He wasn’t afraid of his student, unlike the other teachers Yun Jia Ran had encountered on Earth. In his eyes, Yun Jia Ran wasn’t a high-risk individual with superior intelligence and strange behavior; she was a confused youth who had experienced unspeakable suffering, and she needed trust and understanding.

No matter what had happened to her, she had always been a youth of upright character.

“Jia Ran,” disregarding the burning white flames of the snake-shaped creature, wandering on his arm, and ignoring Yun Jia Ran’s strange hissing, Serra spoke, the tenderness in his words no different from Teacher Lin on Earth:

“Help Teacher with a favor, okay? Give these confused female and sub-male insectoids some inspiration, let them hear your voice—take them home, and they will eventually find you, returning to their Mother Goddess. They will gain freedom, and they will also give their God freedom.”

“Don’t let them fight for the male insectoids’ dirty power desires anymore, Jia Ran, tell them—fight for freedom, fight for life, fight for their Mother Goddess.”