Buy The Marshal Omega Chapter 18

Silent Stars (1)

Shen Danshi didn’t know what Lu Rong had written in Feinier’s palm. She soon saw Lu Rong take Feinier by the wrist and stand up. Then, the fierce and unruly Feathered Serpent was led out by Lu Rong, looking very obedient.

Shen Danshi backed away from the doorway to make room for Lu Rong. Yu Xiazhi, standing behind her, caught sight of the scene inside, his eyes widening in shock.

Lu Rong walked in front, with Feinier following meekly behind. As they passed the two stunned onlookers, Feinier seemed to sense the presence of others. He turned his head alertly, assuming an aggressive stance.

Lu Rong reacted quickly, grabbing Feinier and pulling him close to keep him in check. Shen Danshi immediately pulled Yu Xiazhi back to a far corner, where they stood like students in time-out.

Unable to smell the others anymore, the Feathered Serpent soon calmed down.

Lu Rong: (…)

The scene was quite amusing to Lu Rong. As he walked, he couldn’t help but look back at Feinier. He felt as though he were leading a well-behaved but vicious dog.

When his gaze swept over Yu Xiazhi, it took on a touch of sternness. “Go to the firing range for extra training.”

Yu Xiazhi was too ashamed to lift his head. “Yes, Captain,” he replied, looking down.

*

Lu Rong led Feinier back to the medical pod. X01 had already automatically activated the shuttle’s self-cleaning function, and the pod was now spotless.

Shen Danshi took Yu Xiazhi to change into isolation suits to mask their scents. Without the vomeronasal organ capturing the scent of others, the Feathered Serpent’s hostility faded significantly. However, he still refused to let anyone but Lu Rong touch him. He coiled warily inside the medical pod; whenever someone tried to touch him, he would subtly evade them. He was so skilled at this game of cat and mouse that Shen Danshi couldn’t even touch a single hair on his head.

Shen Danshi: …

She looked at Lu Rong, hoping he could find a way.

Lu Rong’s method was very primitive. He sat by the edge of the medical pod, took Feinier’s hand, and continued writing in his palm. This time, he wrote: “Let the doctor check your glands.”

After he wrote it three times, Feinier pulled his hand back. He neither nodded nor shook his head, but simply rolled over and submerged himself entirely in the healing fluid. Lu Rong got the distinct impression that he was being reluctant.

However, when Shen Danshi approached again, Feinier no longer showed an obvious intent to avoid her. The medical eye followed Shen Danshi’s movements, scanning Feinier’s glands layer by layer before performing a puncture biopsy.

On the other side, Yu Xiazhi had already prepared the workstation. Shen Danshi walked over and carefully examined the sampled specimen under the analytical lens.

During Feinier’s previous physical examination, Shen Danshi had discovered that his glands were not naturally releasing pheromones.

At the time, her palpation of the Feathered Serpent’s glands showed no abnormalities, though they were slightly small. Considering that an Omega’s glands do stop releasing pheromones when their physical condition is very poor—and that this usually improves on its own once the body recovers—she hadn’t intervened much.

Furthermore, the injury at the end of his tail had looked so gruesome that she had focused the treatment there instead.

Lu Rong studied her expression. “Is the problem serious?”

“Not exactly, it’s just very strange,” Shen Danshi said. “When did you complete the permanent marking with him?”

“Ten years ago,” Lu Rong answered.

Shen Danshi’s eyes widened. Yu Xiazhi accidentally snapped a glass slide. It was unclear what kind of drama the two of them were imagining.

On second thought, Lu Rong also realized how outrageous it sounded. He explained, “He was in a state of explosive heat back then, and his condition was terrible. The last episode lasted nearly a day. If I hadn’t marked him, he might not have survived until the next morning.”

“Afterward…” Lu Rong recalled, seemingly remembering the sunlight on the cliffside. “Once it was over, he left. He said he would wash away the mark. I thought he actually would.”

“I drew a vial of glandular fluid for him as an emergency measure. I really didn’t expect him to keep the mark all this time.” After saying this, Lu Rong fell silent.

While Lu Rong was lost in thought, Shen Danshi reviewed the specimen several times and had the medical eye re-examine Feinier’s glands.

She frowned and said, “I don’t know his medication history. He likely had a very professional team handling his body. Perhaps the glandular fluid you left him played a role.”

“Logically speaking, since he hasn’t seen you for so long after being marked, his pheromone imbalance should be severe. His glands should have lost function, atrophied, or failed. But looking at the state of his glands, it seems they’ve only been deprived of Alpha pheromone comfort for a year at most.”

“I’ve seen research on a new technology that can repeatedly replicate glandular fluid. His team might have used such technology to help stabilize the mark. This technology is expensive and hasn’t been widely promoted. I don’t know how he managed to maintain it for nine years, only stopping within the last year.”

Lu Rong thought back and caught a glimmer of a clue. The leak of Feinier’s Omega identity and the Kulkulkan Empire spiraling out of control had happened roughly a year ago.

The events of this past year had made the Empire’s precarious regime unsustainable, and it had finally collapsed. However, in Lu Rong’s view, the Empire had shown signs of decline long ago.

Firstly, Emperor Shaan’s father had led the Empire’s glory into its twilight. The reputation and majesty the Empire had accumulated over thousands of years had been exhausted during the father’s centuries-long reign. Unfortunately, that tyrant had lived a very long life, dragging the Empire into its sunset years.

Secondly, dictatorial rule is only suitable for a society in a state of extreme weakness and poverty, as it facilitates the concentration of resources for rapid development. Once development passes that stage, dictatorship becomes a negative influence. This was exactly the case with the Kulkulkan Empire. Many of the planets and star sectors under its jurisdiction had developed to the point where they could become independent political entities. They no longer needed to rely on the Empire; its existence even hindered their progress.

Under these circumstances, the Empire’s weakness was inevitable, as was its demise.

After Emperor Shaan took the throne, he had to take over all of this. Perhaps he knew it was inevitable, but in his position, he had to act. He had indeed tried hard—marrying into noble families, vigorously supporting the royalists to stabilize the regime, and training Feinier to be his vanguard.

Before Feinier’s gender was leaked, Emperor Shaan had indeed relied on Feinier’s violent suppression to keep the various factions in check, gradually steadying the Empire’s tilting foundations amidst the rebel forces. As the fastest-rising marshal since the founding of the nation, Feinier was decisive in his slaughter. Anyone who disobeyed would find blood spilled within three steps. Many called him the guillotine of Emperor Shaan’s tyranny.

But even if the building was straightened, the foundation was already rotten to the core. Beneath a dangerous building, one only needs to remove a single steel beam for the Empire to lose its grip on power.

After the news broke that Feinier was an Omega, the oppression from the previous tyranny backfired with redoubled force. Public opinion surged, the House of Representatives issued stern condemnations, and citizens held banners at the palace gates, cursing Shaan for being militaristic and lazy and calling Feinier a fraudulent and lowly person.

At first, Shaan attempted to continue using violence to suppress public opinion, hoping Feinier could use force to crush the voices of rebellion. He ordered Feinier to bathe the square in front of the Silver Royal City in blood, intending to make an example of them. But the result was negative because this time, the noble factions—primarily controlled by Alphas—no longer supported Shaan. Alpha chauvinism made it impossible for them to accept an Omega as the leader of the military. They even dug up ancient laws stating that Omegas serving in the military should be tried for treason to judge Feinier.

This constitution had been written by the founding emperor of Kulkulkan and had been updated through generations. But when the powerful want to judge someone, they will dig three feet into the ground to find a piece of evidence.

Feinier faced the risk of imprisonment, and Shaan was caught in a dilemma.

Perhaps it was from that moment on that Feinier cut off the treatments that could handle his glandular issues. After all, at such a critical juncture, if it were revealed that he had already been permanently marked, there was no telling how many more complications would arise.

“But a year is a long time for an Omega to suffer damage. His glands are already showing signs of atrophy. It’s possible they stopped secreting pheromones some time ago. Moreover, his body is currently in a state of stress, which compounds the effect on the glands. I can see pathological signs of apoptosis in his glandular cells.”

“If this continues, the situation might not be optimistic,” Shen Danshi said euphemistically.

Lu Rong looked at Feinier, who was lying quietly in the healing fluid. “Do I need to continue drawing pheromones for him to use?”

He wasn’t entirely ignorant of Omega physiology. He knew what happened to an Omega who lacked Alpha comfort after being permanently marked.

Glandular failure was only the first step; the final result would be organ failure and sudden death.

The usual treatment was to wash away the mark or use biological replacement therapy. The first option was clearly not suitable for the current Feinier, so only the second remained: he would have to periodically collect glandular fluid to create biological pheromone agents.

Shen Danshi shook her head. “In his current condition, biological agents cannot reach the concentration required for treatment.”

Lu Rong looked back at Shen Danshi. She nodded seriously, confirming his inner suspicion.

That left only one final method, which was actually the most conventional one: the Alpha who gave the mark had to soothe the parched glands and comfort the Omega.

Lu Rong leaned against the wall and didn’t speak, unsure of what to say. Feinier lay in the healing fluid and opened his eyes. Feeling a bit bored, he blew a round bubble. The bubble rose to the surface of the fluid and popped. He couldn’t hear, nor did he know what the people outside were worrying about.

“So,” Lu Rong smiled and sighed. At this point, it was impossible for him to give up. “What would be the best way for me to do this?”

Shen Danshi hadn’t expected Lu Rong to agree so readily. Her expression held a trace of hesitant curiosity, but she didn’t ask further, only offering professional guidance.

“Giving him a temporary mark right now isn’t realistic either. An excessive supplement of pheromones would also be a shock to him. Just stay by his side normally and release your pheromones naturally,” Shen Danshi said.

Lu Rong nodded. He raised his hand to look at the inhibitor ring on his wrist and asked, “Which setting would be ‘appropriate’?”

Shen Danshi glanced at it from a distance and replied, “Don’t wear it at all.”

Lu Rong: ?

Since the first time he started wearing this inhibitor ring, he had never taken it off. It was the most secure inhibitor ring he had ever seen, preventing any and all possible accidents.

Shen Danshi was clearly serious. She recited a technical definition: “The pheromone concentration released by a gland when no inhibitory measures are used is called the ‘general therapeutic dose concentration.'”

“If you don’t wear it, you’ll also be able to sense when his pheromone release function recovers. Once he starts secreting pheromones, we can move on to the next stage of treatment. This is already the third stage,” Shen Danshi sighed. “It’s been fast, and it hasn’t been easy.”

As she spoke, Shen Danshi spread her hands. “And I can’t get too close to him. You know how vigilant he is. If we rely on medical instruments for detection, it won’t be as fast as your own perception.”

Shen Danshi spoke with such professionalism that Lu Rong couldn’t entertain any stray thoughts.

He looked down at the inhibitor ring that had accompanied him for many years. This ring had originally been given to him by Feinier. Later, he had given it to Vice Captains Niyin and Nishi, letting them study it before mass-producing many similar bracelets for use on the Lutes and Broken Star.

This bracelet had greatly improved the situation of passive control between Omegas and Alphas, preventing many unnecessary accidents.

Lu Rong took off his bracelet. For a moment, his wrist felt empty, and he felt a distinct lack of security.