Worthless piece of trash

6:00 PM.

 

Amidst the twinkling lights of countless homes and the return of fledgling birds to their nests, resting upon the dense black reef bordering the bay, was the Palace of Abydos—symbol of royal authority—stood towering and grand. Viewed from afar, the light and shadows from its circular glass windows shone brilliantly like a pillar of light, holding up the orange-pink canopy of heaven from high above.

 

“According to the protocol, prior to the official commencement of the ball, you and His Majesty Kaide will have ten minutes to spend alone. After you step inside, His Majesty will likely inquire about your age, species, and family background. You must strictly adhere to the training standards, greeting His Majesty with gentle politeness.”

 

The palace etiquette officer maintained a stern expression, repeatedly emphasizing the details.

 

He personally tied a silk bow tie on North. The creamy white hue complemented North’s well-behaved demeanor, and standing beneath the light, he fit the world’s most classic impression of an omega to absolute perfection.

 

Fragile, submissive, incapable of stirring up any trouble.

 

The etiquette officer couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Recalling last night’s news, he still felt a lingering fear.

 

Fortunately, that white-haired little rascal had been apprehended, allowing this pink-haired sea hare to step in as a substitute at the last minute. If things had proceeded according to the original plan, a massive disaster might have been unleashed.

 

An assassination attempt on the sovereign was trivial, but if he lost his job, his thirty-year mortgage would be the death of him!

 

“Ahem.” The etiquette officer coughed to cover his composure, raising his voice to state: “Hurry inside. You must behave yourself and obey His Majesty Kaide’s words.”

 

“Yes.” His eyelashes brushed lightly over his eyelids as North clasped his fingers tightly, appearing exceptionally nervous. He inquired with cautious care: “Sir, may I ask if there are many people inside? I… it’s my first time meeting His Majesty, and I’m afraid of addressing the wrong person.”

 

For an omega so abundantly steeped in omega virtue, harboring such a concern was entirely natural. Suspecting nothing, the etiquette officer offered a few words of comfort: “Relax. There should only be a single armed guard inside.”

 

“Huh? I assumed His Majesty would be flanked by a massive cohort of bodyguards, just like in the training videos.”

 

“The bottom right corner of the video explicitly stated ‘For Reference Only,'” the etiquette officer noted with displeasure. “Besides, with slender arms and legs like yours, how could a sea hare like you be worth a whole squad of bodyguards for company? A vast crowd of royalty and nobility has arrived outside, every one of them outranking you. The royal guard naturally prioritizes serving them.”

 

Believing North was grumbling about an insufficient entourage, the etiquette officer issued a mild reprimand.

 

In his eyes, North predictably lowered his head in shame, stating timidly: “I apologize, it was my ignorance.”

 

The etiquette officer nodded in satisfaction: “An omega has no need to be overly intelligent. Being a little ignorant will work to your advantage.”

 

Bearing the title of the most virtuous student in this year’s concubine training class, North wore an ignorant smile as he walked to a surveillance blind spot, tapping the micro-microphone hidden behind his earlobe.

 

“Hello? Moshi moshi, this is Persimmon No. 3. How are things on your end?”

 

A gust of noisy wind rustled through the earpiece, accompanied by the chaotic flapping of feathers, as someone answered panting heavily: “Persimmon received, we’re outside the window. My goodness, the wind against this outer wall is far too intense—it’s split my feathers right down the middle!”

 

“Keep it down, you smelly chicken,” Bai Ling slapped him with his wing.

 

The etiquette officer would never have guessed that the harmless, big-eyed North was actually a close comrade of the Empire’s number-one rebel faction—and was even willing to act as bait, infiltrating the ball to execute an inside-out kidnapping operation.

 

“Thank you for taking this risk for us, North,” Bai Ling whispered.

 

“It’s only right. I should be thanking you for taking my seafood companions along,” North offered a genuine smile.

 

Prior to this, they had secretly gathered the trustworthy omegas from the concubine dormitory, soundlessly packing them aboard the ship to take them away together. Upon learning they could escape this golden cage, the little omegas wept tears of gratitude, nearly bursting into tears on the spot. They immediately swore to keep the secret with their lives, strictly follow commands, and avoid causing Bai Ling an ounce of trouble.

 

Now, the boilers of the Eye of Horus were preheated, ready to ascend into flight at a moment’s notice.

 

Everything was prepared; all that remained was capturing Kaide.

 

At that moment, the gilded palace doors slowly glided open to both sides. As the Emperor’s private reception chamber, the decor within was dazzling to the point of being blinding.

 

It took North a couple of seconds to distinguish the man in the gold-embroidered formal attire from the gold-foil background wall.

 

Compared to the dignified image deliberately manufactured on the nightly news, the Kaide before him appeared far more “normal.” His demeanor was unfocused, with dark circles beneath his eyes, his entire face painted with the fatigue of overindulgence. Fanning himself with his speech draft, he gestured for North to approach.

 

North stepped forward two paces, performing a curtsy, while unobtrusively casting a glance at the royal guard.

 

There was indeed only a single guard.

 

“You may seat.” Kaide propped up his head, lazily appraising this new Omega. The youth looked quite well-behaved and endearing—precisely the type he typically favored.

 

Forcing himself to stay calm, North began his performance.

 

In Kaide’s eyes, the omega’s waist suddenly shuddered lightly, followed by his calves giving way as he unexpectedly collapsed onto the carpet. Clutching his chest, his breathing surged erratically, it was as if his fragile neck might snap at any moment.

 

“Ah… I apologize, my great Majesty. Your male pheromones are the most powerful I have ever smelled in my life; I simply cannot withstand a scent so… virile,” North’s eyes turned red, looking as though he were about to weep out of embarrassment for making a fool of himself. “I am sorry for making a laughingstock of myself before you.”

 

Kaide favored nothing more than an omega taking the initiative to display weakness. With his male ego thoroughly satisfied, he stood up to personally help North, comforting him:

 

“You are young; it’s entirely natural that you haven’t encountered an alpha as powerful as me before.”

 

Powerful.

 

Outside the window, tucked in the angle between the building’s stories, the two birds had to bite down hard on their beaks to refrain from laughing aloud.

 

North also bit his lip tightly, his eyelashes trembling lightly to obscure the emotions deep within his eyes.

 

He panted twice, doing his utmost to visualize a public restroom that hadn’t been cleaned for three days, clutching his heart to feign suffocation: “Your Majesty, you are too close to me. My heart is beating so fast I can barely breathe.”

 

“Honey Buzzard, open the window immediately,” Kaide acted as a gentleman for a rare moment.

 

Turning his head, Kaide arched his eyebrows and extended a salty hand toward North: “My concubine, let me feel just how fast your heart is beating…”

 

Click. The window that was typically kept tightly shut was opened by the guard.

 

That sound acted like a signal flare, exploding instantly in the wind.

 

“Go!” Before the word fully left his lips, the wings of the falcon and the eagle snapped open. Executing a backward flip, they were swept through the window at an exquisitely fluid angle by the fierce gust of wind rushing toward them. A two-meter wingspan swept forward, the shadow cast frightening the tyrant so severely that his courage nearly split. Instantly shrinking his neck, he turned to flee.

 

It was already too late.

 

In his field of vision, a terrifying cold glint flashed from the peregrine falcon’s talons, arriving before his eyes in the blink of an eye. That was the bird possessing the fastest physical speed in nature; no matter how slick a rat might be, it could never evade his fatal dive. Kaide watched helplessly as a single claw reached over, followed by a chill across his neck as his carotid artery was rapidly sliced open.

 

“GUARD, PROTECT ME!” Kaide shrieked in panic as he hit the floor.

 

A miserable scream rang out behind him. In under two seconds, that tall, muscular guard was rendered like an overburdened wooden barrel, his wrist snapped in a single motion under the strike of the eagle-owl’s massive talons. The particle gun slammed heavily onto the ornate carpet. In the next split second, Sava morphed into human form, hooking his toes to kick the weapon, catching it easily in his hand.

 

In under five seconds, the entire room was brought under control.

 

The guard sat up to take a look—whoa, three to two, and the two on the enemy side belonged to the tier of highly trained mercenaries.

 

After careful consideration, he made a momentous life decision—lying back down to play dead.

 

The two birds shifted into human form, rapidly dressing themselves.

 

Kaide’s lustful mind began to resurface, and he couldn’t help but cast two glances. One of them possessed a leaner waist, his remaining leg straight and slender. Yet when the other party turned his head, that face looking down in cold scrutiny nearly caused Kaide to scream aloud.

 

Bai Ling curled his lips slightly: “What, recognize me?”

 

He resembled a cat that had caught a mouse. Though physically disabled, hopping once or twice to sit against the back of the chair, his predatory aura was so overwhelming it made it difficult to breathe smoothly.

 

Kaide’s eyes bulged: “How is this possible… Impossible! You should have been hanged by now!”

 

“Then treat it as a vengeful spirit coming to claim your life,” Bai Ling took the gun handed over by Sava, his wrist hanging naturally low as the muzzle hovered between Kaide’s heart and forehead.

 

It was as though he were not facing the current Emperor of the interstellar Empire, but rather balloons set up at a night market stall. He was casually calibrating the angle, unsure where the first shot would be most interesting to hit.

 

That terror of not knowing where the bullet would strike rapidly shattered Kaide’s nerves.

 

“…You shameless, despicable thing! It must be that old demon who sent you, isn’t it… It must be! He just refuses to let me go—that demon in human skin!”

 

“You never let him go either,” Bai Ling leaned his upper body down, his gaze turning so cold it approached cruelty. “The ungrateful one was you, and the one who betrayed the nation was also you. What right do you have to call him a demon? The deeds you committed are a hundred, a thousand times filthier than his.”

 

Having spoken, he let out an uninhibited, cold sneer: “What ‘TGK’? Scatter a handful of rice over the keyboard, and a chicken could govern the country better than you.”

 

Kaide’s face turned ash-pale. Normally, he was surrounded by all manners of flattery, everyone addressing him as ‘The Great King.’ This was the very first time he had been berated to his face at such close range.

 

Grinding his teeth, he noted through gritted teeth: “I understand now. You’re that demon’s new minion. It was for your sake that he wanted to kill me.”

 

Bai Ling didn’t deny it, letting out a laugh instead: “So what if I am? Are you jealous?”

 

“You…!” Kaide nearly choked on his breath. The big demon hadn’t died yet, so why did a far more irritating little demon have to appear?

 

He noted indignantly: “Don’t get too pleased with yourself. He’s merely treating you as a new chess piece. Once he squeezes out all your value, he will thoroughly cast you aside, just as he did to me.”

 

“So you recognize that you’re a worthless piece of trash,” Bai Ling stated airily.

 

“……” Kaide was so furious his lungs nearly exploded, unable to squeeze out a single word.