Cub 059: The King of Holy Cas, the Interstellar Dark Tyrant—Amos Dwight

Because in the next second, another loud crash sounded, and many of the surveillance devices connected to this underground laboratory were destroyed.

The images before him disappeared one after another. He had been so confident, thinking he’d handled similar problems many times—wasn’t it always just some “materials” brought back, who realized their fate and put up one last, insignificant rebellion or riot, which would soon be quelled? Now, there was no more news from those guys.

Jiang Chao: ……

Hold on, let me sort this out.

The “materials” were almost used up, and these Holy Cas people still couldn’t be touched. He instructed his subordinates to find a chance to bring in some more “materials.”

Now the “materials” were back, but the subordinates either disappeared or lost contact—so it had something to do with those “materials.”

Then the question came: what kind of “materials” did that guy bring back????

Jiang Chao finally realized something was off.

He looked down at the damaged areas on the surveillance screens, destruction stretching from the starship docking area all the way to the experimental zone, still advancing—now arriving at Zone B.

Jiang Chao paused, raised his head, and glanced at the B zone sign above him.

Huh?

What’s going on?

Coming for him???

He gave an immediate order.

“All personnel, assemble on the road toward Zone B, capture all those ‘materials’ for me! Just wait and see what we’ll do to them!”

So, while this small Holy Cas squad advanced, they indeed encountered quite a few enemies.

They didn’t actually know the route to Zone B.

But there were road signs and area markers.

Amos quietly concealed his own presence, actually standing all along in the shadows very close to his own little cub, watching Little Chu Zao.

—Of course, this was already the greatest concession an emperor in cub-protecting mode could make.

He only occasionally confirmed the direction, and when necessary, directly used his own mental power to blast open walls, cutting the shortest path—even as the little cub loosed a string of little arrows and then turned around expectantly for his approval, he would affirm Little Chu Zao.

It was obvious—the effect was remarkable.

The little cub’s bow and arrows, symbols of love and peace as they may be, still showed his lack of expertise when firing at people. He might have secretly practiced his aim, practiced shooting at dead objects, and during training in Holy Cas, you could see that when the target didn’t move, he was fairly steady; but against actual, dodging enemies, the cub often had to fire two to three more arrows than usual.

This made the little fellow burn through his mental power quickly. Following the squad at a brisk pace, the five-year-old cub was already gasping, but he was summarizing his experience—growing at a rapid pace.

Given proper instruction from an early age, Amos thought it possible that Little Chu Zao at this stage could be even stronger than he himself was in his own cubhood.

Amos considered whether to step forward and pick up his little cub—in the past, for Zao Zao to reach such a level would already have been a great leap forward.

But the cub’s eyes were sparkling, and it wasn’t just him who was improving.

“Thank you, Your Highness! Your Highness was amazing—I didn’t even notice this side just now—”

“Your Highness, we’re almost there. With Your Highness here, we are advancing so quickly.”

At this moment, it was no exaggeration to say this band of tough men’s eyes were shining.

They looked at the little bow in the cub’s hand, at the little wings unfurling with excitement behind him, and the glittering, beautiful coronet on his head—like a coronation born of the stars.

As they advanced at lightning speed, praise poured forth, and the little cub grew shy, but Zao Zao loved to be praised.

No cub dislikes compliments, and Little Chu Zao drew his bow more energetically.

Holy Cas’s army always left other nations and planets with the same impression as Amos did—powerful, cold, an iron army obeying only the Crown Clan, fighting to the utmost for their goals.

Once, a clip of Holy Cas soldiers responding to provocation and invasion went viral on the Interstellar Net: obeying the Crown Clan’s order without hesitation, they charged into fire and smoke, and came out surrounded by countless flares.

Those fierce, resolute gazes amidst the blood and carnage had shocked countless souls across the interstellar, in a chaotic age ruled by interests—where, apart from a handful of major powers and alliances, many planetary governments were unstable, leaders changed by the day, laws were revised at a whim, and contradictions abounded. It was only after that, that Holy Cas drew fear not just from the Crown Clan, but on its own.

And now, this so-called war machine “raised by the Crown Clan” was feeling pure delight.

No wonder gaming needs support characters!

Even capable enemies, when faced with love and peace, were dazed for ages before being dealt with by Holy Cas’s army in a whirl of conflicting emotions.

The previously frustrated Legion Commander He Yue was charging at the front.

He took down several foes in a row and was now breaking through to the third hall of Zone B—just a bit further to go.

Emboldened, seeing His Majesty indulgently watching Little Chu Zao train while hidden in the shadows with the squad, he called out to Little Chu Zao: “Your Highness, let me have a go next! I can do anything!”

It used to always be their own people suffering. Now—others were finally experiencing the terror of being “ruled” by love and peace.

Awesome! So damn awesome!

All hail the Gate of Love!

The little cub’s tiny arms and legs worked hard to keep up with the others, short legs flying. When he lagged behind, he’d leap up, flapping his little wings to fly for a bit.

Bounding and fluttering, grasping his little bow, he puffed out his cheeks with exertion and declared, “Zao Zao, amazing.”

Before, Little Chu Zao was told never to point a weapon at others, or he’d be banished, and everyone inside the Angel Realm would be told he was a bad, bad little angel—back then, the cub grew timid through endless hopes and letdowns, but still nursed a thread of wishful thinking about being accepted as they said.

Too young, and already somewhat frightened of new relationships—by that point, nobody needed to watch over and control him tightly; he wouldn’t dare leave the Angel Realm.

But now, Zao Zao was strong; Zao Zao was useful.

The little cub took aim at another, giving He Yue an opening.

He Yue finished the job cleanly—without even using his gun. They’d disguised themselves as a civilian starship, so they couldn’t carry much weaponry, much less conspicuous arms, yet their advance went smoother than ever.

Awesome!!

He Yue was thinking this, unaware his brothers were glancing at him with strange expressions.

Who started it, who knows.

Suddenly they shouted from behind.

“Your Highness, one more time! Give me a shot—Legion Commander can do anything!!”

“Your Highness, me too—Legion Commander can do anything!!”

“Your Highness, Legion Commander’s got nothing left to lose, give us a chance, he can do anything—”

He Yue: …?

Who’s got nothing left to lose?! He was still clean—clean!!!

Holy Cas’s army was as efficient as ever, though rarely with such an easy mission.

But no matter what—

Amos, who had hardly made a move, watched all this—his eyes soft but tinged with the mildest… anxiousness of an old father.

His cub was growing quickly, which made him happy, but also made him anxious: would a bit more growth mean he’d stop clinging to papa, stop loving papa so much? Altogether, Amos had cared for Little Chu Zao for less than half a year.

He wanted so badly for him to always stay in that affectionate, milk-drinking phase, reaching out for hugs as soon as he opened his eyes—so he could hoist him overhead, let him sit on his shoulders and survey every inch of his “territory.”

Perhaps this was the subtle bitterness every parent hid as they watched their child grow.

*

Just a while ago, Area A of the hidden planet’s underground laboratory.

A young man in a cloak sat before a lab table, listening to a report from the organization’s researchers.

He was not among the top seven virtues of the Hymn Organization, but his status was quite high—a member of the second tier, representing the spirituality of the Eight Knights.

As he frowned at the experimental summary, a sudden quake swept through.

In an instant, everything stopped.

“What’s going on—?”

His voice was very hoarse, intentionally so. Under his hood, a pair of dark, brooding eyes occasionally reflected the light.

“N-no idea, sir.”

The lab worker froze for a moment, clumsily grasping the nearby instrument in panic.

The shaking lasted just a moment before all was still again. The group exchanged glances, offering their guesses.

“Was it an earthquake? When we built this lab so deep, we made some modifications to this planet—maybe that’s why.”

Spirituality finally nodded: “We need to speed up, strengthen ourselves, and deal with the immortals, proceed with the divine sacrament for the god as soon as possible, for our great cause.”

After these words, the nearby lab personnel’s eyes grew increasingly fanatic.

“Hymns to the god!”

“Our greatest threat on this path is the Holy Cas Crown Clan. Though on the verge of collapse, clinging on beneath broken coronets, they’ve survived for years. Many of our comrades have given their lives to the god for this—they have another National Day coming, we can’t let it go on…”

But last time’s events made Holy Cas reinforce security across the board, and there were no new usable spatial activities for now.

So next, they would send a big gift for Holy Cas’s National Day…

Whether it be plague…or some other thing.

The materials at their disposal, amassed over the years, were plentiful—

Then Spirituality received the latest news, visibly freezing for a moment when listening to his subordinate’s report.

“What do you mean, all gone?!”

“We—we barely escaped, it was Holy Cas’s army. We don’t know why the Holy Cas army was in these places—sir, the base was destroyed, two important labs annihilated too, these soldiers move like ghosts, their actions unpredictable, you never know when they’ll show up—right now we’re withdrawing under cover, experiments on hold—”

“Okay…I get it.”

Spirituality grit his teeth slightly.

“What’s going on, ever since the Crown Clan got that cub—every update is bad news?”

Another communication came.

“Sir!! Our pursuit of the last Spirit Eye squad was interrupted by a crashing Holy Cas team!! Should we muster forces for another hunt?”

“What? Let him escape? What are you even doing?! The Spirit Eye Race has only this one left—you want our sacrament to be flawed? Gather nearby forces, continue searching, I’ll report to the Virtue masters—”

“And, among the outsiders there’s one called Shenghua, who contributed a lot in this operation. We also lost a lot. Investigation shows no issues. She seems to hate the Spirit Eye clan, no fondness for immortals either. Should we consider recruiting her?”

“We’ll discuss this later, I’ll suggest it above.”

Once the line went dead and the place fell silent, the hooded man got up at last to contact his superior.

Soon, a figure in a hood was projected—thinner, with a different hood style.

Spirituality bowed.

“Hymns to the god, my lord.”

“What is it?”

A clear female voice, lightly smiling.

“Our Crown Clan National Day plan can’t proceed for now. The last Spirit Eye survivor, Barney, escaped our hunt—all thanks to a freak Holy Cas force.”

He gritted his teeth.

“That was my prepared National Day gift for Holy Cas… ruined now.”

“Oh, my friend, don’t worry so much,” said the amused voice, “Holy Cas is a bizarre place—immortals shelter humans while humans worship immortals madly. Only one such state in all history. Wrecked by accident? You know, that happens constantly—Feeney Dwight, a freak lacking empathy, moody and odd-minded, always making bizarre decisions to disrupt our plans. This has gone on for ages, not just with you.”

She mused, “I guess it’s almost the same this time—the Crown Clan always releases troublesome things to roam the stars. All so full of agony, yet like indestructible cockroaches—”

Her fresh voice twisted with malice, but soon turned gentle again.

“We shall annihilate these thieves who obstruct the god’s coming, who stole pieces of divinity. As for the Spirit Eye Race, our forces infiltrate everywhere, we’ll hunt them down…and Holy Cas is not exactly united—beside Amos, loyalists to the last emperor Clansis remain. His idea is for Holy Cas to endure—not necessarily with the Crown Clan. Sowing discord, that’s our specialty; finally, we deal with the little royal cub.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Spirituality calmed down, exhaled deeply.

“And my lord, the one who offered up that old Spirit Eye president’s eye, performed strikingly this time. All checks show she only bears grudges toward immortals—we are her salvation. Such talent seems ripe for recruitment.”

“I’ll consider it. I have things to do; the rest is yours now.”

Communication ended.

Spirituality turned to speak, but was interrupted by a new round of tremors.

“What now?!”

He called Jiang Chao.

Jiang Chao looked equally puzzled.

“No, sir, we just brought back a starship of lab material, they put up a little resistance, but things are still under our cont—”

He hadn’t finished speaking when Spirituality saw the door behind Jiang Chao kicked open, Jiang Chao’s team rising with heavy weapons, a golden arrow streaking by.

Spirituality spotted, hidden amid the disciplined troop, the tiny golden coronet—

“Idiot! Those are Holy Cas—You brought the little royal cub here!”

With the little royal cub here—what about the other Crown Clan members?

Would they come too?

Spirituality couldn’t be sure. This generation’s Crown Clan seemed unskilled at raising children; they’d slipped up before, and only strengthened care later. So now—he wasn’t clear if this was another oversight by the Crown Clan.

Spirituality personally hefted a mid-sized mental power energy cannon, charging for Zone B’s high ground.

Jiang Chao’s call cut off. Stunned, he looked at the screen, then the band at the door: “Impossible…Isn’t Holy Cas about to celebrate National Day? Why’re they running rampant??”

And the Crown Clan???

As he spoke, a lackey abruptly leaned over and kissed him out of nowhere.

Jiang Chao: ????

Damn!

What the hell?!

He was surprise-kissed, recoiled in disgust, and saw his team being quickly wiped out.

Now, he truly felt—things had gone south.

“They’re here to save people! Take hostages! If you can’t, kill them!!”

The vicious order made Holy Cas soldiers curse as they stormed in.

The little cub’s eyes were shining as he stood behind the Holy Cas squad, but then he spotted the people lying not far away.

Most wore plain clothes, only a few in Holy Cas uniforms, stained with blood—their bodies twisted. Some were awakened by shaking and noise, others moaned in pain half-awake.

One wounded Holy Cas soldier slowly opened his eyes.

They had never met him—but the soldier clearly recognized them from former broadcasts on neutral planet live streams.

Confused, trembling, his voice full of disbelief: “Your Highness…? Brothers…?”

Zhong Zhiyi, lying closest, slowly woke up amid the agony.

A new round of torture—starting again?

It hurts…it hurts so bad…she’d rather it end here. No, she had to fight—a total failure, an unlucky life, she couldn’t cause trouble for anyone else…

She saw a familiar savage face, but in the next instant, a golden arrow streaked past her eyes—

What?

Zhong Zhiyi wondered—such bright colors.

Then she saw that savage face distort, suddenly turning full of longing.

“How could I…how could I hurt you like this, ahh, my heart aches…”

Zhong Zhiyi: …????

Ugh…disgusting…emo mood interrupted, maybe dying would be better?

Then blood splattered on her face.

Someone nearby helped her up, someone laid her back down, someone shoved hemostatic medicine into her mouth—a blood-soaked soldier in Holy Cas uniform asked how she felt—

“I told you—we’d be rescued…”

A revived colleague sobbed with joy behind her.

But Zhong Zhiyi only stared blankly at it all, as if unable to believe it.

She had terrible luck, beset her whole life by hardships and setbacks—every step took ten or twenty times more effort than others just to reach her goal.

“Don’t fear them—they only have light weaponry. Cover each other, and watch for that little royal cub’s weird golden arrows—that thing’s tricky—”

Jiang Chao deserved his little boss title—a power here amid chaos and partition.

He quickly grasped the little cub’s arrow effect, watching the leaping, puff-cheeked youngster who looked ready to fire a line of arrows at once, instantly realizing Little Chu Zao’s unique mental power.

At this moment, on the lab’s upper second floor, Spirituality, hiding his presence with expert mental power, took up a vantage point, observing. He spotted no Crown Clan members apart from Little Chu Zao.

He raised his energy cannon, aiming at Little Chu Zao—no matter what, if he could kill this cub before he grew up, it would vastly benefit the Organization.

But someone with even greater stealth—Amos, hidden in the shadows—seemed to sense something, calmly turning his head.

Meanwhile, Jiang Chao was quickly cornered. He gritted his teeth—“I still have a trump card!”

He whipped an operator out of his pocket, hitting a button.

Instantly, tremors shook the ground.

“Haha, I’ll destroy Zone B—bury you all with me!”

He grabbed a lackey and chucked him out, then made a quick retreat himself.

The self-destruct was built in—enough to collapse half a little planet. They’d researched a distinct system that could separate zones and use destruction as a weapon; nobody would survive such a collapse.

Zhong Zhiyi, amid the shaking, saw the ceiling crumble apart, dust raining down, golden arrows whirling mid-air; straining, she looked over—

A little royal cub, seen only on screens, stood there—a glimmering coronet, wings flapping anxiously, bow in hand. The cute little face—full of anger?

The cub watched it all—still too young, not understanding why these people were so bad, but knowing they were bad.

“Baba…”

A soft, milky voice called Amos, the little bow uncertainly aimed at the collapsing ceiling overhead—

He needed Baba’s help…Zao Zao didn’t know how to use that black power.

Then the little cub heard Amos calmly, unhurriedly, utterly reliably reply—as if right at his ear.

Little Chu Zao’s agitation faded at once.

His tiny wings folded in a bit, the golden light wavering with a streak of black flame.

In Zhong Zhiyi’s eyes—little golden cub’s coronet began to burn with black fire; holding the bow, the golden arrows were set alight by black flames, each shot changing—from golden meteors to burning meteors skimming the ground, spearing into the collapse.

A few massive explosions—

Through the cracks, Zhong Zhiyi saw the pitch-dark sky outside, and all that collapsed beneath the arrows turned to dust.

“Baba—Zao Zao learned it!” That soft, tender voice, not far from her, carried a bit of excited childishness and a note of comfort, “Don’t be afraid, uncles and aunties—”

Zhong Zhiyi’s eyes widened, looking up at the sky torn open above her—

At last, she felt what her teacher’s words meant—“The darker the sky, the brighter your hope shines.” That was why, for centuries, they had pursued the Crown Clan, from beginning to end.

Standing on the second floor, Spirituality cursed.

The collapse here, along with his attack—was blocked, not just by that little royal cub, but by another power—an enraged force bent on protection.

Out of the shadows, a tall figure strode forward, unhurried, a sword spinning once into his hand, a silver-black coronet on his brow aglow. He raised his eyes indifferently to meet Spirituality’s arrogant stare.

That was the king of Holy Cas—the interstellar dark tyrant, Amos Dwight.