Ruan Shu’s small body leaned against him, her delicate face buried in his neck for quite a while without moving.
After about ten seconds, the soft, choked voice of the little girl finally broke the silence.
“I’m so scared, and it hurts so much.”
The vulnerability and grievances she dared not show in front of strangers, or even in front of her recently acquainted cousin, were now completely exposed.
Warm tears dripped onto his neck as Ruan Shu sniffled, raising her small arms to hug his neck, her body trembling slightly.
“I thought I was going to die.”
Almer rubbed her head gently, his voice a bit hoarse. “No, I’ll protect you.”
He grasped Ruan Shu’s wrist, his expression dark and serious as he looked at the bandages wrapped around her hand.
“But I didn’t protect you well.”
The Holy Light Bracelet was not just a spatial bracelet; it was also a protective item.
Those gemstones of different colors were not ordinary stones but energy crystals.
Ruan Shu’s eyes turned red, and she looked at the bracelet like a little rabbit. “It protected me well.”
Her pale, somewhat translucent face replied earnestly.
“When we were running, so many heavy things fell. I’m so small, I would have been crushed and dead if it weren’t for this protecting me.”
A small vine on her wrist patted lightly, not wanting to be overlooked.
What about me? Don’t forget about me!
Ruan Shu’s eyes curved into a smile. “Little vine is also working hard to protect me.”
Almer glanced at the mutated vine, which was trying to assert its presence, and surprisingly didn’t show any disdain.
“What about Daddy?”
After crying from her grievances, Ruan Shu quickly regained her composure. She remembered that during the video call, her father was with Almer.
“He’s behind.”
He had used spatial shifting to get here, and it was rare that he didn’t get lost this time, but he still didn’t find her right away.
He had to ask the nearby soldiers before flying over.
Ruan Shu wanted to ask why her father didn’t come with him when a black hover car stopped not far away, and almost immediately, two figures rushed out from inside, darting towards her like the wind.
“Shushu!”
The old man then pushed the esteemed emperor aside and embraced his precious granddaughter.
“Thank goodness you’re okay, thank goodness.”
He remembered how he once single-handedly challenged hundreds of insects without being this scared; this time, it truly terrified him.
His granddaughter’s body was so fragile; what would happen if something really went wrong?
“How can you be okay? You’re so injured.”
Ruan Fengsi looked at the bandages wrapped around her and her pale little face, his heart aching terribly.
“Does it hurt?”
Ruan Shu nodded; it hurt.
“This hand, and here and here—my cousin sprayed anesthetic on me, so it doesn’t hurt, but other places hurt a bit.”
“Then why didn’t you spray more anesthetic?”
Ruan Shu replied, “I wouldn’t be able to feel anything then.”
Her hands and feet were still mostly numb.
After narrowly escaping disaster, Ruan Shu had been completely protected, like a fragile porcelain doll. After greeting her cousin, she was sent home.
Almer had long since informed his medical officer to wait at the Ruan residence.
Ruan Shu was exhausted. After getting checked and treated by the medical officer at home, she lay in bed, ready to sleep, but she was still concerned about the secretary.
Ruan Fengsi gave her some reassuring news: “Don’t worry; she’s fine. She was rescued and taken to the First Hospital.”
Only then did Ruan Shu smile, pressing her little lips together, before falling into a deep sleep.
She slept very peacefully, perhaps because she was still in some pain, with her small brows slightly furrowed.
“I sprayed some anesthetic on the bigger and deeper wounds so she could sleep better, but once the anesthetic wears off, she will still feel pain.”
After finishing up, the few of them tacitly left Ruan Shu’s room without making a sound.
“What’s going on? Why did space pirates and insect beasts break into the main star?!”
As soon as they left Ruan Shu’s room, Ruan He’s expression darkened.
The main star not only had a powerful energy shield for defense, but there were also patrolling warships in the surrounding space.
Almer’s expression was also grim. “It’s the rebels. There are spies and traitors within the Executive Council and the military. I only left after receiving news about the rebel forces. It seems that was a trap, but there is indeed a rebel base nearby. They exposed one of their bases as bait to carry out this plan.”
Ruan Fengsi asked, “But why are there insect beasts?”
Almer replied, “The rebels have a newly hatched insect king. It’s likely that they rushed to plan this war because that insect king is on the verge of death.”
Otherwise, if they controlled that insect king, they could have devised a much more refined combat strategy instead of this self-destructive attack that they resolved in less than a day.
What had come was merely a small part of the rebel forces, with the objective of using the dying insect king to inflict some damage on their main star. They were a bunch of madmen.
But let’s not forget, they were also a bunch of madmen.
“Traitors, never to be forgiven!”
Ruan He despised traitors the most.
“Who is it?”
“Speaker Daniel.”
Ruan Fengsi exclaimed, “I knew that guy was hypocritical and no good!”
“His wife is a spy for the rebels. She has evidence of Speaker Daniel embezzling funds and poisoning his competitors, and he has been drugged. This time, he used his position to access the control center and disabled the energy defense system outside the main star. Although it was only offline for less than a minute before being discovered and restarted, the rebels managed to get a warship with insect beasts onto the main star.”
“These are the facts we’ve uncovered so far; there’s more information to investigate. There are definitely more spies than just Daniel’s wife.”
Ruan Xiao was slow to return from space, carrying an aura of coldness as he rushed home.
“Where’s Shushu?”
Ruan He replied, “She’s asleep; don’t disturb her.”
Ruan Xiao pressed his lips together. “I want to go in and take a look.”
There was a determined look in his sharp blue eyes.
Ruan He snorted but didn’t stop him.
Almer turned to follow, but Ruan He quickly grabbed him and pulled him back out.
“Your Majesty has worked hard to get here; you should go have a cup of tea instead.”
Ruan Fengsi helped escort him as well. “Thank you for your hard work, Your Majesty.”
Almer: “….”
In Ruan Shu’s room, a man with a cold and resolute expression knelt beside the bed on one knee, carefully holding his daughter’s hand. He looked at the bandages that were somewhat stained with red, and a flash of pain crossed his icy blue eyes.
He gently touched his daughter’s tender and soft face, as if confirming that she was still there.
“I’m sorry.”
After a long moment, he finally spoke those two words in a hoarse voice.
He had promised to always protect her, but this time he had broken that promise.
The small figure lying quietly on the bed seemed to sense something. She rubbed her little face against his palm, her furrowed brow easing slightly, and she murmured, “Daddy.”
Ruan Xiao gently stroked her hair, his expression softening considerably.
But when he thought of the culprit responsible for his daughter’s injury, a murderous intent surged uncontrollably in his eyes.
After staying for a while, he left.
As a Marshal, there were many matters to attend to after the battle. Among them, what he wanted most was to thoroughly investigate the lair of the insect race and the hideout of the rebels.