“…Go to hell!”
The mech Silver Crown surged forward a single step. Its figure flashed like an afterimage as it appeared directly before the monster. The spear in its right arm erupted with power. Every ounce of mental energy in Milton’s body condensed into a single point, burning as it poured into the spear tip before driving downward with crushing force.
Boom!!!
The entire area was swallowed by the pressure of light. A shockwave blasted outward for hundreds of meters, and the sky rippled like water.
The monster shrieked.
A jagged black fissure exploded across its spine as its massive body was nailed into the ground. Its core suffered a devastating blow, and demonic energy surged backward in violent currents.
But it did not die.
Instead, fury erupted from it like wildfire. Its tentacles lashed wildly as its screeches echoed through the metal ruins.
Milton dropped to one knee, bracing himself with the spear as he struggled to breathe. Blood slid from the corner of his mouth. His entire right arm was numb, his mental sea violently shaking as his psychic power neared total exhaustion.
A piercing warning shrieked from Silver Crown’s systems.
He did not have the strength to respond.
“…It’s not over yet.”
He forced himself to stand. His eyes were still cold and resolute, though the tremor of severe injury could not be hidden.
The monster unleashed another psychic shock.
Milton’s mind jolted violently.
This was not mere pressure or impact. It was a tearing sensation that struck the deepest layer of his soul.
And suddenly—
He saw it.
The moment his mother died.
A memory he had tried desperately to forget was dragged out by the monster and forced into the open.
The once gentle and proud elder lay on a sickbed, so weak she could barely speak. The pride and hope in her eyes had vanished, leaving only pain and regret. Her gaze held nothing but reluctance and pleading.
The voice.
The despair.
The scent of death.
All of it seeped into Milton’s mental sea, dragging him toward an endless abyss.
Darkness spread across his mind inch by inch. Screams and cries from his memories echoed endlessly.
He could barely remember who he was.
Only waves of fear and emotion crashed over him again and again.
Pain. Chaos. Struggle.
His mental sea was tearing apart.
He was on the verge of losing control.
But at the very edge of destruction—
A light suddenly pierced the darkness.
Within the core of Milton’s consciousness, the nightmare shattered.
Countless images flashed before him like a rushing storm.
It was Gu Qing placing a bowl of steaming food in front of him, eyes filled with quiet affection meant only for him.
It was that snowy night when Gu Qing kissed him for the first time on his bed—gentle and unforgettable.
It was the two of them walking side by side through the military corridors, their fingers intertwined openly without the slightest attempt to hide.
And the dessert made just for him—Silver Dew Heart Custard, prepared with Gu Qing’s thoughtful care, only to make him smile and keep him from feeling jealous.
Every memory filled with warmth, love, and promise flashed and overlapped at impossible speed—
Until finally everything slowed.
The final image froze.
It was the night before their separation.
Starlight spilled softly through the room as Gu Qing pulled him into an embrace and kissed him.
The embrace was firm and deep, as though it could gather together every broken fragment of him.
Gu Qing looked at him, eyes deep as galaxies.
His voice was unbelievably gentle.
“…Yes, General. But you must promise me—”
“You have to come back.”
Those words drove into the deepest part of Milton’s consciousness like an anchor that could steady the ocean.
It became the only point holding him in place.
An invisible barrier formed, resisting the monster’s final psychic assault.
Milton’s eyes snapped open.
The strength born from love surged through his chest, washing the darkness from his mental sea.
Pain and clarity collided within his gaze.
Then his iron-hard battle spirit ignited once more.
“I promised you, Gu Qing.”
His voice was low but unwavering.
“I will go back. I still have to see him.”
Milton steadied the control stick, preparing to unleash the final strike of a desperate battle.
Grinding his teeth, he forced his chaotic psychic energy back into focus. With the last sliver of clarity he built a mental barrier, suppressing the mental sea that teetered on the edge of collapse.
The monster was already at its limit.
It launched a frantic counterattack. Tentacles twisted through the air, hurling metal fragments and flames as they struck wildly at Silver Crown.
The mech was nearly destroyed.
Its armor was scorched and cracked. The chest plate had been pierced several times. Its left arm was completely gone. Alarms screamed inside the cockpit as red warning lights flashed endlessly.
Milton’s body slammed backward.
The back of his head struck the cockpit wall, and blood spilled from his mouth.
His psychic power burned.
Silver Crown shattered.
The monster thrashed.
And he—
Still refused to fall.
Closing his eyes, he gathered every last fragment of reason and psychic strength, compressing it to an extreme point like a meteor shining deep within his mental sea.
Then he turned and faced the incoming psychic assault directly.
He allowed the monster’s tentacle to plunge deep into his consciousness.
He deliberately let it devour him.
In that instant—
The meteor exploded.
Forced resonance.
Backlash.
The monster’s psychic core trembled violently. Cracks spread through it as it shrieked in agony, its massive body flickering between reality and distortion.
“Ultimate Mode—Silver Crown!” Milton ordered through clenched teeth.
The mech’s chest core and spear erupted with blinding blue frostlight.
Milton’s ice-attribute psychic power was driven into overclock by the mech system. Every remaining drop of energy and mental strength gathered at the spear tip, firing a beam of absolute cold that carried the silence of death.
Boom!
The monster’s core was pierced completely.
Frost spread instantly across the wound where the spear passed, freezing everything in its path.
The creature released a collapsing scream that seemed capable of tearing the universe itself apart.
The explosion’s aftershock hurled Silver Crown hundreds of meters away.
Inside the cockpit everything went dark.
Communications were completely cut.
Milton’s consciousness drifted.
More than half of his mental sea had been torn apart, collapsing like a shattered frozen lake.
He could hear nothing.
The world seemed to be fading away.
Through the haze he thought he heard a child crying.
Someone calling his name.
Someone sobbing thanks to him.
The cockpit door of Silver Crown slowly opened.
An elderly refugee knelt with the support of a cane, his voice trembling.
“Y-You saved us… General Milton…”
Milton’s body could not move.
He forced his eyes open.
A faint, almost illusory smile formed on his cracked lips, as if he wanted to say:
Not me.
All of us.
But the next moment—
His consciousness sank completely into darkness.
At that very moment, aboard a starship, Gu Qing suddenly felt his heart jolt violently.
His brows drew together.
A deep sense of unease surged within him.
As a cultivator, he never ignored such omens.
He immediately ordered the Star Alliance to establish contact and determine Milton’s condition.
Moments later a holographic screen lit up.
But instead of military personnel, it showed Ir.
His eyes were red and his voice shook.
“An E-05 class monster… suddenly appeared near the western shelter…”
“The General… stayed behind alone to cover our retreat…”
“His mental sea has shattered. His life is in critical danger!”
Gu Qing’s pupils contracted sharply.
“Where are you?”
After confirming the coordinates, he made the decision instantly.
The starship was ordered to return at maximum speed.
Ace and Rehn followed immediately as the group rushed toward the temporary refuge like a streak of lightning.
When they arrived, many people had already gathered outside the medical wing.
Navien, Ir, Willy, and Felix all wore grim expressions.
The moment Gu Qing appeared, Ir rushed forward in tears.
“It’s my fault… all my fault… If it wasn’t for me—”
“Where is Milton?” Gu Qing interrupted coldly.
Felix took a breath, forcing himself to remain composed.
“He’s inside… the emergency ward. His mental sea has already… If a high-level male Zerg were present, it might still be stabilized… but now…”
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Qing strode toward the ward.
Willy shouted in alarm and instinctively moved to stop him.
“Wait! They’re still—”
“Move.”
Gu Qing raised his hand.
Spiritual power surged like waves.
The disguise of Lan Dai shattered like broken glass, revealing black hair, sharp brows, and a presence like an unshakable mountain.
It was Gu Qing.
Silence fell over the corridor.
Then chaos erupted.
“…Gu Qing?!”
“Lan Dai was him?!”
“He’s not a female Zerg—he’s a male Zerg?!”
At that moment Ace removed his own disguise.
His violet-red eyes shone firmly under the corridor lights.
“Let him go in.”
“He might… be able to save Milton.”
Ir stared blankly.
“Ace Mel… two male Zerg?”
“We actually let male Zerg fight on the battlefield?! If this is discovered, the entire army will be court-martialed!”
Felix staggered back in disbelief.
“So this is Lan Dai… no—Gu Qing… A male Zerg with this level of power?”
Rehn and Navien exchanged stunned glances.
“You… aren’t female Zerg?”
“How could male Zerg possibly be this strong?”
Ace did not answer.
He simply looked toward the hospital room.
And said quietly:
“Once he saves Milton…”
“You’ll understand.”
Ir’s voice trembled.
“…Can he really save the General?”
Ace lowered his eyes.
He said nothing.