Buy The Marshal Omega Chapter 2

The Distance Between Snowy Nights (2)

X01 had appeared at Lu Rong’s side suddenly after his accidental arrival in this universe.

It introduced itself as a system designed to help its host adapt to the universe, capable of assisting Lu Rong in achieving whatever he desired. The requirement was that Lu Rong had to provide it with enough Star Cores for power.

Lu Rong remained noncommittal about this. For one, X01’s charging state had persisted for nearly ten years and was still incomplete, making the promise feel like an empty dream. Secondly, he had always preferred to handle his own affairs. Regardless, X01 was undeniably practical as an assistant, leaving Lu Rong with no reason to complain, so he kept it in his service.

X01: It doesn’t seem to match our expected values. It’s much less.

Lu Rong: Yes.

Lu Rong looked at Lucas beside him and asked abruptly, “Is this all the Star Cores the Alliance managed to scavenge from the Empire?”

Lucas was drinking water and choked at the question, coughing several times. “You… you…”

Lu Rong remained indifferent to his shock, calmly exposing the truth. “I am aware of Planet Gladel’s cooperation with the Alliance.”

A drop of cold sweat rolled down Lucas’s forehead.

Planet Gladel had nominally maintained neutrality. This neutrality put guests at ease, ensuring they didn’t have to worry about political issues sparking conflict in the casinos, and criminals didn’t have to fear extradition. If Gladel drew too close to the Alliance, that neutrality would be shattered.

“The entire galaxy is in chaos right now, and Star Core mining operations haven’t resumed. I just came from the Interstellar Planning Bureau; I know exactly who holds the existing Star Cores.” Lu Rong ignored Lucas’s cold sweat.

Lucas knew Lu Rong had the capital to be confident. He had heard that Lu Rong had taken over the Interstellar Planning Bureau amidst the chaos. It was likely that eighty percent of the galaxy’s Star Cores would pass through Lu Rong’s hands in the future, so Lucas didn’t dare argue.

Lu Rong continued, “This batch of Star Cores can only be the Empire’s stockpile. The royal family hid them so well that no one knew their exact location. Since the Alliance found them, there shouldn’t be so few.”

An F-rank planet could produce about 200 to 500 Monk units of Star Cores, while larger planets could yield around 800. E-rank or D-rank planets could produce even more, though people generally avoided mining them. Doing so would destroy developing planets and civilizations, and such planets in their prime often harbored Flame Spiders—creatures that were difficult to handle, whose only natural enemies were said to be Feathered Serpents.

Regardless, given the Empire’s former reserves, there was no way the Alliance could only produce 810 Monk units to exchange for cash.

Lucas was extremely embarrassed. Seeing he couldn’t hide it, he came clean with a forced smile. “The Alliance certainly wouldn’t bring everything out. They have their own uses for them.”

Lu Rong looked at Lucas with a calm expression that nevertheless filled Lucas with an inexplicable dread.

Lu Rong said, “The Alliance is desperate for money. I heard they planned to hike the price to ten times the market rate because they knew I was coming. But this is still too little. Is this small amount enough for them to spend?”

Lu Rong had set his sights on this batch of Star Cores long ago. When he heard the Alliance had found the Kulkulkan Empire’s legacy reserves, he deliberately shorted several companies that provided the Alliance’s economic lifeline and intercepted several of their supply lines. This caused the Alliance’s capital flow to stall, forcing them to sell their Star Core inventory everywhere to stay afloat, while Lu Rong profited by buying them up.

Recently, the Alliance seemed to have caught onto his maneuvers and began manipulating the Star Core prices to make things difficult for him. Fortunately, he wasn’t short on money; he had taken enough capital from Gladel, and that capital had already snowballed several times over in his hands.

“How… how could that be?” Lucas’s face was the color of pig liver as he stammered. “You can rest assured, Gladel absolutely does not support malicious price-gouging! We resolutely protect the interests of our Golden Falcon members!”

Lu Rong didn’t argue. He pressed his hand onto Lucas’s shoulder in a seemingly comforting gesture. “I know it hasn’t been easy for you either.”

He looked down with a smile, his green eyes gentle yet cold, like frozen lake water. At his fingertips, where Lucas couldn’t see, a tiny green butterfly silently flapped its wings and landed on the back of Lucas’s neck. Green scales scattered, falling onto Lucas.

This was Lu Rong’s spirit body, a species of Ulysses butterfly whose specific genus was unknown to others. Its abilities were hypnosis, confusion, and soothing. Its name was Falling Leaf.

Lucas’s expression froze for a moment before becoming warm again. A strange feeling washed over him; he felt he should provide more information to his “old friend” Lu Rong. He spoke involuntarily, “Actually… there’s a reason why there are so few.”

“Why?” Lu Rong asked with a beaming smile, following his lead.

Lucas’s expression twitched unnaturally. He said, “Because after overthrowing the Empire, the Alliance couldn’t find the location of all the Star Cores. Even after interrogations, they only obtained a portion.”

A year ago, the Alliance leader, Gourmet, had launched a coup during his engagement ceremony to the Imperial Marshal, Feinier, thereby replacing the regime that had ruled the galaxy for centuries.

It was said that Marshal Feinier had fled with Queen Catherine and Crown Prince Shaxi, while Emperor Shaan was killed on the spot. No other members of the royal family were left alive.

From that perspective, it was understandable why the Alliance couldn’t find the stored Star Cores; no one was left to talk.

Lu Rong thought for a moment and noticed something strange in Lucas’s words. “Interrogation? Who did they interrogate?”

Lucas paused, seemingly resisting Falling Leaf’s control, but few could escape the mental hypnosis of the butterfly spirit body. His expression distorted, and his voice became choppy. “They interrogated… Marshal… Feinier, of course.”

Hearing that name so suddenly, Lu Rong’s thoughts stalled for a moment. It had been so long since he had heard anyone mention it that he almost thought he had misheard.

The quiet X01 reacted violently, as if someone had suddenly hit its power button. “How is that possible?! Didn’t you help him and send him away from the Seventh Star Sector?”

Lu Rong didn’t respond to X01’s roaring in his mind. He remained silent for a while before continuing to question Lucas. “Didn’t Marshal Feinier… lead a fleet to break through and escape?”

Lucas shook his head. “How could the Alliance let everyone escape? That was just the public story. I heard the Marshal stayed behind to buy time, fighting desperately to cover Queen Catherine and Prince Shaxi so they could leave.”

“After he was captured, Gourmet handed him over to his lover, the person code-named ‘The Wanderer.’ They interrogated him for half a year but only dug out a tiny bit of information. He wouldn’t say anything. Later, they used memory capture technology to grab fragments of his memories and find some of the Star Core storage points.”

“But… but…” Lucas sighed, hesitating.

Lu Rong snapped back to reality. “But what?”

“You know, Gourmet and Feinier had a political engagement. So ‘The Wanderer’ was likely acting out of jealousy and was extremely cruel…” Lucas shook his head, his expression somber.

These words felt like a mouthful of river mud, making it hard for Lu Rong to swallow. Something he had been certain of had suddenly spiraled out of control.

He still remembered the scene from a year ago when he led his team to the Seventh Star Sector.

Feinier was attacked from both sides, surrounded by the Alliance, yet he commanded the flagship with absolute authority. The Imperial army followed his every move, swarming like insects toward the Alliance’s weak points. They even held a slight advantage in the struggle, but the Alliance had overwhelming firepower. In the face of absolute force, even superior strategy could only do so much; the situation could flip in an instant.

Lu Rong had watched in silence.

Feinier had saved him once during a moment of mortal peril. During the seven days they spent together, many things had happened between them, including a crude, makeshift complete marking.

Seven days later, he and Feinier returned to being strangers, not even acknowledging each other upon meeting. To Feinier, he was like a snowstorm experienced in a distant land—something seen, felt, and passed through. Once the snow melted, nothing remained.

Occasionally, he would wonder what Feinier was doing. From time to time, he would have X01 capture news about Feinier to report to him. Upon learning that Feinier was to be wed to Gourmet and that Gourmet was planning a coup, he had come here on a whim.

Perhaps he should help Feinier, as a way of repaying the debt from that snowy night.

The thought was fleeting. Lu Rong had led his vanguard in a stealthy strike—the first time the secret army of Broken Star City had been deployed. Like ghosts, they moved without a sound. Lu Rong quickly crushed the Alliance’s offensive and eliminated the pursuers trailing Feinier’s fleet, buying him a chance at survival.

During that time, Feinier’s flagship had sent him a communication request. Lu Rong didn’t answer; he only replied with two words: “Take care.” Then he remained suspended in space, a barrier between the Alliance and Feinier, clearing the path for him.

After receiving the message, the other side didn’t request communication again. They turned and sailed into the depths of the universe. Lu Rong watched Feinier leave the Seventh Star Sector, believing he had confirmed his safety.

He thought that would be their final encounter, that there shouldn’t be any more surprises.

X01 couldn’t help but speak: How… how could this happen?

Lu Rong turned Lucas’s words over in his mind and looked up at him, calm and cold, as if asking a casual question. “Have you seen Feinier?”

Otherwise, why would he know so much about Feinier’s condition?

Lucas glanced at him, hesitating. “Didn’t you look at the auction catalog? You should take a close look at Item 10.”

Lu Rong indeed hadn’t looked closely at the catalog. When he heard Gladel had Star Cores, he only had X01 pull up the data on them, noting that the Star Cores were Item 07. He knew nothing about the other items. As for Item 03, the Vientiane Compass, he was only bringing it back because his vice-captain, Niyin, said it would be useful.

Before he could decide whether to look into Item 10, Lucas had already pulled up the electronic catalog on his terminal and eagerly handed it over.

Lu Rong opened the catalog.

Likely to avoid revealing too much information, the live display for Item 10 was blurred. In the darkness, inside a metal cage, a dark and blurry figure was suspended like a sacrificial offering. One could only vaguely see that this black silhouette had a pair of upright wings on its back, and the lower body was a winding snake tail. It was a single white streak that trailed to the ground, coiling and stacking like a sword plunged into the heart of the earth.

It was a semi-beastified Feathered Serpent.

Lu Rong recognized the Feathered Serpent in the photo as Feinier at first glance because he had seen that snow-white tail before.

A Feathered Serpent could only fail to maintain a full human form when they were extremely fragile. Clearly, the Feathered Serpent in the photo was already very weak.

When the Empire fell, only the news that Feinier was an Omega was leaked. The fact that he was a Feathered Serpent shouldn’t have been known to anyone. Lu Rong glanced at Lucas, pretending not to recognize him. “This is… a Feathered Serpent?”

Lucas smiled. “It seems you didn’t know? Feinier is actually a member of the royal family. The Empire kept this news hidden, and he always used a disguised appearance in public. What you see now is his true form.”

Lu Rong said nothing. Not only did he know, but he also knew that Feinier was the elder brother of Crown Prince Shaxi—they were twins.

“He looks far too quiet.” Lu Rong stared at the live feed for a long time. Feinier, hanging in the cage, looked as lifeless as a decoration. “If I recall correctly, Feathered Serpents have incredible recovery abilities. No matter the injury, they can heal.”

Lucas shook his head, seemingly in pity. “Then have you heard of how the black market handles violent beastmen?”

Many types of beastmen possessed extraordinary beauty but lacked the ability to protect themselves. Beauty invited disaster; they would be hunted and turned into commodities.

This industry was strictly forbidden during the Kulkulkan Empire’s reign and was considered a capital crime, yet it persisted despite the bans. The specific trade secrets involved were outside Lu Rong’s knowledge, but X01 was very efficient. In just a few seconds, it found the answer.

X01: For particularly uncooperative beastmen, the black market has a specialized workshop. Depending on the type of beastman and their abilities, they are turned into “Preserved Flowers.” A “Preserved Flower” does not mean they are dead; rather, they are kept in a fresh state—silent, voiceless, and senseless—becoming a very safe collectible. Under good maintenance, this state can generally last for 100 to 200 years.

The search results didn’t detail the process, but Lu Rong felt an instinctive wave of discomfort upon hearing it, his brow furrowing slightly.

Lucas didn’t notice Lu Rong’s discomfort and continued, “It’s said that ‘The Wanderer’ has a medical background, so he’s very skilled in this method. Beastmen handled by him are exceptionally safe.”

Seeing Lu Rong repeatedly looking at the catalog and asking several questions, Lucas’s eyes darted around. He asked tentatively, “Would you like to see him? You’ll know once you see. This item is available for viewing. Although it’s not a popular item, quite a few people are interested.”

“Of course, we don’t open viewings to ordinary attendees. Only for guests like you… would we…” Lucas smiled suggestively.