The Bug King Bared Its Fangs

"I will fill the world with the scent of love!"

Wearing a pink princess dress, Allen raised the Heart Scepter high.

The Lantern Corps hid far behind him. Having witnessed the embarrassing power of the Pink Lantern Ring, they had no desire to be caught up in it innocently.

Pink light washed over the battlefield.

In an instant, the insectoid army, previously consumed by savage bloodlust, fell silent. Pink hearts appeared in their eyes, and they immediately pounced on the insectoids beside them without shame or restraint.

The problem was that the insectoid soldiers had no reproductive organs, so they could only rub their carapaces together.

"Charge!"

With a point of the Heart Scepter, the Lanterns obeyed Allen’s command and charged at the insectoid army, which was busy panting and grinding away.

Now that the Lantern Corps had entered the fray, the situation grew more favorable with every battle.

With the pressure from the insectoid army greatly relieved, the Three Great Cosmic Empires mobilized elite forces to hunt down the ecological planets the insectoids used for reproduction, seeking to solve the problem of their endless numbers at its root.

At the same time, the Sparta Empire advanced with unstoppable momentum, swiftly capturing vast star regions and reorganizing its auxiliary armies.

It was evidently establishing bridgeheads and forming the first line of defense against a counterattack from the Three Great Cosmic Empires once the war ended.

Moreover, the Beast Ring offered strategic depth and could prolong the war.

The Sparta Empire had prepared exceptionally well.

Over the long years, it had continuously infiltrated its target territories to refine its war plans. Then the Three Great Cosmic Empires had encountered the insectoid crisis—it was simply a heaven-sent opportunity.

The outcome of this war had already been decided.

The insectoids’ defeat was inevitable.

In the end, there would surely be a war between the Sparta Empire and the Three Great Cosmic Empires.

"I refuse to accept this."

Ronan furiously pounded the control console.

His meticulous deployment should have put victory within reach, yet he could not understand why the Lantern Corps, which had originally chosen to stand by and watch, had entered the conflict. Worse still, the long-vanished Sparta Empire had reappeared, causing his entire plan to collapse.

The insectoid army was suffering losses far faster than it could replenish through reproduction.

Furthermore, more and more ecological planets had been discovered with insectoids growing and breeding on them, resulting in an extreme shortage of troops.

Suddenly, the hatch burst open.

A heavily wounded soldier staggered inside.

"Leader, the Guard Bugs have lost control! They’re slaughtering everyone in the base!"

Splat!

Before he could finish speaking, a bone blade swept across his neck.

A Guard Bug nearly three meters tall charged in, its four arms each growing a bone blade.

It resembled a fusion of insect and human. Its lower body was an insectoid form with six legs, while its upper body was a four-armed humanoid torso, topped with a vicious and horrifying insect head.

"Out of control!?"

Ronan stared at the Guard Bug in disbelief, then instinctively looked toward the Bug King in the hibernation pod.

To his shock, the Bug King had opened its four pairs of compound eyes and was staring straight at him.

This is bad!

A sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

Ronan suddenly recalled what High Evolutionary had said before dying.

Every word had been true. Unfortunately, he had realized it far too late.

"Kill!"

With a furious roar, Ronan raised his warhammer.

His explosive strength was astonishing, and every blow forced the Guard Bug to barely fend him off.

Pure-blooded Kree possessed exceptionally powerful physical abilities by nature. With systematic training, technological and pharmaceutical enhancements, battle armor, and weapons, they were equivalent to weakened versions of Superman, except they could not fly.

Within a few exchanges, the Guard Bug had been reduced to a pile of mush.

And Ronan was one of the finest among them.

He walked to the isolated hibernation pod, stared at the Bug King, and demanded, "You’ve been awake all along?"

"Yes."

A telepathic voice entered his mind.

The Bug King lacked normal vocal organs and could only communicate telepathically.

"What’s the point? You’ll still face defeat. Perhaps we should have cooperated from the beginning," Ronan said grimly.

"Was cooperation ever possible?"

There was a trace of mockery in the Bug King’s response. Clearly seeing that Ronan had regarded it as nothing more than a tool of war from beginning to end, it said bluntly, "Do you remember the Spatial Rift from decades ago?"

"The Insectoids!?"

Back then, Ronan had led Kree Empire forces to suppress the invasion and found many corpses in the battlefield ruins that looked both insectoid and human.

After biological experts dissected and studied them, they concluded that the invaders were insects evolved into an intelligent species. Even their level of technology had shocked and terrified them.

"More precisely, we are the Annihilation Swarm."

The Bug King said confidently, "The Annihilation race is already preparing for its second invasion. When that time comes, true slaughter and enslavement will inevitably descend upon this world."

"…"

The fury lingering in Ronan’s heart instantly vanished.

At that moment, a chilling terror ran down his spine.

He knew very well that their previous victory had been nothing but luck.

The Annihilation Swarm had not been fully prepared, allowing the Kree forces to win. Moreover, they had destroyed the Spatial Rift and prevented the enemy from returning.

Yet the Bug King dared to admit this so openly. It certainly would not make the same mistake again.

If that happened, the Kree Empire would have no chance of winning. It might even face retaliatory slaughter by the Annihilation Swarm.

Having obtained such vital information, Ronan turned and left the laboratory without hesitation.

The isolation chamber holding the Bug King had been built to the highest standards. It could withstand bombardment from conventional energy cannons. Even if he exhausted himself hammering at it desperately, he could never break through the isolation layer.

The only thing he could do was return to the starship and use the Star Destroyer Cannon to destroy the entire base.

Ronan had received a higher imperial education, so it was not difficult for him to infer that the Bug King was surely the medium guiding the Annihilation Swarm here. Perhaps killing it could prevent that terrifying race from descending.

He had ambitions of conquering the universe, but the Kree Empire was his homeland. He did not want it destroyed because of this.

He fought his way through the passage, rescuing many survivors along the way.

You could question Ronan’s military competence, but you could never question his character.

His military background had forged in him a nature that refused to abandon his subordinates. Otherwise, the Accuser Corps would never have chosen him as its leader.

After all, who would be willing to follow a selfish superior?

"Leader, go first! We’ll cover you!"

A squad of soldiers volunteered, forming a tactical formation and firing continuously to stop the large number of Guard Bugs closing in.

"You are heroes of the Empire."

Ronan gave them a military salute, showing respect for their willingness to sacrifice themselves.

At such a critical moment, there was naturally no time for tearful farewells.

Everyone squeezed into the jump pod. As its hatch closed, the squad of soldiers buying them time had already been swallowed by the insect swarm.

Boom!

The pod was launched by compressed air.

Like a cannonball, the jump pod shot straight into space.

The Guard Bugs could only watch helplessly as the pod soared skyward at tremendous speed, roaring in furious unwillingness.

The starship stationed in outer space detected the jump pod’s signal and immediately moved to receive it.

"Activate the Star Destroyer Cannon immediately. Destroy the military base."

The moment Ronan boarded the starship, he impatiently issued the order.

The Star Destroyer Cannon positioned along the starship’s flank swiftly entered its charging phase, dazzling energy gathering at its muzzle.

Once the accumulated charge reached the required level,

a dark-blue beam blasted toward the planet below.

The instant the beam struck, it resembled divine judgment. From a central point, it radiated outward in a circle, and blinding white light covered the planet’s surface, expanding continuously at a speed visible to the naked eye.