During the time waiting for the decrypter to receive the bounty, the success rate of the method of cracking the Asimov Collar was repeatedly tested and steadily improved.
Nero returned to a busy state. With the entire territory of Marquis David in his hands, his next major goal was to create the Empire’s first highly mobile large legion in the Heka Star System.
If possible, he hoped to achieve about sixty percent of the combat strength of the Wolf Knights.
Back in the Capital, Heidrich continued to be his perfect assistant as always.
He was no longer the son of a disgraced official whom everyone avoided. Heidrich continued to make appearances in various noble social gatherings, entering and leaving noble estates with ease, becoming a social star in the Capital.
He grew close to Harrison Laud and his family with the aim of infiltrating the faction led by Grand Duke Harrison, while sowing discord among its members and using Grand Duke Harrison to strike against other major nobles.
Although Nero did not issue further orders, a certain tacit understanding between them led Heidrich to significantly reduce the frequency of secret meetings with Nero to avoid suspicion from the noble factions.
Occasionally, they discussed matters late at night via holographic screens, with Heidrich’s reports being concise and to the point.
The man always had a businesslike, indifferent expression, reporting the latest developments like a robot before quickly logging off, rarely engaging in the long discussions about the Empire’s future as he used to.
Though Nero sensed something was off, since there were no noticeable changes in the Hatred Points, he assumed Heidrich was simply changing his style and encouraged his General during their communications:
“I’ve noticed your recent reports are quite concise. This approach is very good and greatly enhances efficiency.”
Heidrich gave him a weary look: “…”
In his busy work, Nero also received good news from the Imperial Science Bureau.
The Asimov Collar cracking method had been successfully improved and applied in an experiment to remove Asaga’s collar.
Although the mechanism of the collar was excessively cruel and Asaga’s Zerg blood made anesthesia impossible, causing him to repeatedly pass out from the intense pain, the Zerg blood buff ultimately proved effective.
After the experiment, Asaga experienced about three hours of memory fog before regaining full consciousness and brain function.
The Minister of National Defense and Technology reported to him: “The first thing he remembered was your name, followed by other pre-experiment records. I believe this experiment has provided us with many ideas for improvement. When the method’s safety is nearly 100%, I will request permission to use it on ordinary people forced to wear collars.”
Nero nodded: “Good.”
He opened the Hatred Points panel and confirmed, amid the System’s squawking screams, that Asaga’s Hatred Points indeed dropped to zero the second the experiment ended.
This meant the experiment was truly successful.
Nero was very pleased and thought of the strong golden-eyed gladiator who, when asked about his past, relatives, and companions, could only mutter his own name. Nero felt a strange softness in his heart.
He told the Minister of National Defense and Technology: “This experiment’s success is greatly owed to Asaga for undertaking the task. Please tell him to rest and recover at the Imperial Science Bureau for a while. The Temple Festival is coming up; after the Festival, I will meet with him to convey the next stage of orders.”
The Minister of National Defense and Technology responded: “Oh, yes, Your Majesty!”
The minister then turned back to the method of cracking the Asimov Collar, completely forgetting the Emperor’s instructions.
A week later, when Nero returned from Delphi, he heard the name ‘Asaga’ again, but it was associated with ‘experimental accident.’
“No, no, it wasn’t the Asimov Collar cracking experiment that went wrong, Your Majesty!”
The Minister of National Defense and Technology followed beside the advancing White Wolf Knight, explaining rapidly like a machine gun.
“Escaping high-energy particles damaged the power core, surged through the energy conduits to every floor, and caused varying degrees of destruction, including on the 219th underground level where Asagah was located—”
Nero glanced sideways: “Were the researchers evacuated?”
The Minister of National Defense and Technology: “Yes, Your Majesty. All personnel on the accident floor have been evacuated, and 76 injured have been sent to the medical college, all in stable condition—however, Your Majesty! It’s said that when the accident happened, the soldier guarding Asaga didn’t turn off the electromagnetic shield, leaving Asaga alone inside… But the chief medical officer and rescue team were quickly in position!”
High-energy particles are essentially the ‘bullets’ of explosive energy guns. The beams emitted by the Wolf Knights’ explosive energy guns are made of high-energy particles. Being covered by a high-intensity high-energy particle stream, an ordinary person would hardly leave an intact corpse.
Nero asked no more questions and quickened his pace.
The core elevator descended rapidly. Nero waited for ten minutes before the glass walls of the elevator revealed the state of the giant experimental site where Asaga was located.
The experimental site was in chaos.
The high-voltage electromagnetic shield had been removed, and a sterile surgical barrier had been erected around the circular area with brain instruments and an operating table, illuminated by bright shadowless lights.
There were large bloodstains on the metal floor of the experimental site, which were smeared into shocking blood footprints by the hurried medical staff.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Your Majesty.”
C Qtlaf Qbio Bcluta ktb tjv yffc byrfgnlcu atf fzqfglwfcaji rlaf jqqgbjmtfv Rfgb’r fjg jcv ktlrqfgfv, “Ktf qbkfg rbegmf bo atf rtlfiv lr bearlvf. Aevulcu ys lar mbcvlalbc, la tjr yffc vjwjufv ys atf tlut-fcfgus qjgalmif ragfjw.”
Rfgb kjr rajgaifv jcv ibbxfv lc atf lcvlmjafv vlgfmalbc.
Vegf fcbeut, yfrlvf j qlif bo ygbxfc uijrr kjr j aklrafv, rwbxlcu rtlfiv qbkfg rbegmf. Lf gfjilhfv atja frmjqlcu tlut-fcfgus qjgalmifr mbeiv vfragbs jcs qbkfg vfnlmf, lcmievlcu atf rtlfiv’r oecmalbcjilas.
Even if the soldier responsible didn’t turn off the shield, whether intentionally or not, the subsequent destruction of the shield by high-energy particles meant that Asaga, with his Zerg blood constitution, had a good chance of escaping.
The young Emperor frowned, showing a puzzled expression.
Seeing a medical officer run away from the operating table, Nero supported himself on the White Wolf Knight’s shoulder, lifting his body slightly to see the situation on the operating table.
Asaga’s condition was extremely dire.
His body looked as if it had been bombarded by explosive energy guns for an hour, almost unrecognizable.
His wet, black curly hair hung over the edge of the bed, and the floor around the operating table was covered in dark red blood.
However, everyone could see that the dark golden patterns on his remaining skin were glowing rhythmically, like a difficult heartbeat.
The shattered parts of his body were visibly regenerating.
At the same time, the relentless pumping of his damaged heart produced an ominous long tone from within the sterile barrier.
“Beeeeep—”
In that instant, everyone in the rescue team and the experimental site froze.
“What are you standing around for?”
The silver-haired Emperor’s stern shout snapped everyone back to reality.
The chief medical officer immediately yelled, “Get me the life support system and defibrillator!”
The sleek black life support system was quickly pushed to the bedside.
Originally designed as an emergency device for space expeditions, it resembled a black liquid metal bodysuit.
It could cover and protect the entire body in a vacuum or extreme cold, generating auxiliary organs inside to forcibly maintain breathing and heart rate until effective rescue was available.
The life support system unfolded over the man’s unmoving bronze chest, instantly enveloping Asaga’s upper body, with the respirator tightly covering his mouth and nose.
The defibrillator’s electrode pads were placed against his heart, and the rising charging sound filled the air.
“Prepare for first defibrillation, energy 200 joules…”
As the high-voltage current hit, the man’s muscular chest convulsed violently, tense like two hard rocks.
The dark golden patterns on Asaga’s body seemed to grow, even spreading to his face.
After two defibrillations, the man’s body suddenly jerked on the operating table, and his golden eyes unexpectedly opened.
His monstrous vitality startled the medical officers, who collectively stepped back.
Nero heard Asaga mutter dreamily:
“…No… don’t… heal me…”
Then he fainted back into the pool of blood.
The experimental site fell silent, and the medical officers resumed their frantic work only when the heart monitor beeped back to life.
As the heartbeat stabilized, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Some speculated that the Emperor valued this specimen highly, sneaking glances at Nero’s expression.
They saw the silver-haired Emperor gazing thoughtfully at the severely injured man on the table, his jewel-like red eyes narrowing in contemplation.
…
Asaga awoke to a crimson sky.
He blinked slowly, recognizing the unique blood-red night sky of the Sante Planet.
He was about eight or nine when he was sold here by Star Pirates and faced his first gladiatorial match. Pitted against an adult Sante Beast, he endured a night of brutal combat, his chest and abdomen slashed open, collapsing alongside the beast in a pool of blood.
His first owner, assuming he was surely dead, discarded him in an alley of refuse outside the arena. But on the fourth morning, he opened his eyes again amidst excruciating pain.
Touching his healing chest, he glanced at the abandoned corpses around him and then at the fiery sky of the Sante Planet.
That was when he first realized he was different from ordinary people.
The realization was deeply upsetting. He had always harbored a fantasy that he might have been a child stolen from his parents by Star Pirates.
If he were taken, maybe someone would come looking for him one day.
But if he was a monster, no one would ever come for him.
…No, he shouldn’t be on the Sante Planet now.
He opened his eyes again to see the gray metal dome of the experimental site.
Asaga obediently thanked the guard who brought his meal. Since the Emperor’s last visit, both the researchers and the guards had started treating him a bit better. Although their newfound kindness was reluctant, the meals had at least become warm.
Humans find it difficult to overcome their instinctive aversion, especially towards a species that appears inherently dangerous. Asaga’s formidable physique, his strange golden eyes, and his terrifying regenerative abilities were particularly hard for the Empire’s people, who had never encountered the Zerg, to accept.
Asaga was used to being regarded with fear and had long since stopped caring about it. However, this made the silver-haired youth, who had declared that humans should not wear such things while holding a dog muzzle, seem even more radiant in his eyes.
He ate quietly, savoring the warmth of the food. The Emperor’s words and actions had left a deep impression on him. Nero’s willingness to remove his collar, to treat him with a measure of dignity, contrasted sharply with how others treated him. It wasn’t just about the physical discomfort of the collar; it was about what it represented—a restraint on his freedom and humanity.
Asaga’s thoughts wandered back to the Emperor. The memory of Nero’s determined expression as he ordered the collar removed was one he often revisited. It was the first time someone had treated him as more than just a dangerous creature. The Emperor had seen something in him worth saving, worth respecting.
Despite the fear and aversion he evoked in others, Asaga found himself driven by a desire to prove the Emperor right. He wanted to show that he was more than a beast, more than a tool for fighting. He wanted to be worthy of the trust Nero had placed in him, to repay the kindness he had been shown.
As he continued to eat, Asaga felt a glimmer of hope. The path ahead was uncertain, fraught with challenges and the ever-present threat of being seen as nothing more than a monster. But for the first time in a long while, he felt that he had a purpose beyond mere survival.
The image of the Emperor, his fierce red eyes full of resolve, remained in Asaga’s mind. He would not let that light fade. He would become someone worthy of standing beside Nero, someone who could look up to his conqueror with pride and loyalty.
In the silence of the experimental field, Asaga made a vow to himself. No matter what it took, he would earn his place. He would show them all that he was not just a creature to be feared, but a warrior with a heart and soul.
…Nero Augustus Kaises.
No matter whether he needed to prepare for experiments, Asaga would wash himself thoroughly with shampoo every day, silently hoping that Nero would come again.
But at the same time, he was incredibly fearful.
When the Asimov Collar drove him to almost twist Nero’s slender neck, it was the only time in his life he experienced what fear truly felt like.
Even when he fought hundreds of consecutive battles in the arena for Archie Donovan, with his intestines spilling out from his abdomen, pierced by fragments of the cockpit, he never felt panic. He only thought about how he could, in the brief moment of freedom from the collar’s control during near-death, tear out Archie’s throat.
When would he be able to remove the collar and, with his most sincere heart, look up to his conqueror?
He wondered expectantly and anxiously.
No matter how many times he scrubbed, the memory of the bloody scent clung to him like a shadow.
“001, please describe the most memorable event from your adulthood.”
“…”
“…If you can still remember, it was in this very arena where you turned my son into a bloody pulp.”
When he reopened his eyes, the lead-gray dome of the experimental field suddenly cast down a crimson spotlight.
In the silent room of instruments, coarse shouts of ‘Kill! Kill! Kill!’ echoed.
“Do you know what it looks like when every bone in a human body is broken, and even the organs are mashed into a pulp?”
The elderly man opposite him was emaciated. Standing across from the lion-like Asaga, he looked like a weak, dying old deer.
Go. Asaga clenched his fists, his face expressionless, but his heart was screaming in despair. Go quickly.
“Like a water-filled sack—when I carried him to bury, he made sloshing sounds on my back.”
The old man laughed. He stretched out his hands as if pleading for something from Asaga.
“I searched for him for 26 years, and this was all I found in the end. Tomorrow is meaningless to me, but I really want to know his last feelings. Perhaps in his final moments, he remembered the hugs he received as a child. If I follow the same path, maybe my soul can catch up with him.”
“An old dog barging into my arena, babbling nonsense,” came the tired voice of Asaga’s master through the micro-communicator on the collar.
“Asaga, how long did it take you to torture that gladiator last time? Ten minutes? Twenty? Then kill him within ten minutes, but don’t let him die until the time is up.”
The Star Pirates in the audience roared with laughter.
“This old dog won’t take a single punch. I bet he’ll be dead in three seconds.”
“I bet ten seconds!”
The monster in the collar was speaking.
“Kill him, Asaga.”
His body started to move forward.
His fist rose.
His feet stepped into the blood and mire, forever sinking into the stinking, dark water.
…
Thanks for the chapter
Absolutely wonderful 🥲
Poor Asaga </3
I’m glad Asaga met Nero earlier 😭😭 I can’t imagine what it must have been like in the original
Praise be for thyne updates 😍♥️
Thanks for the chapters! 💛
I can’t believe I caught up to 65 chapters so quickly 😔😔 but thanks for the chapters! I’m looking forward to your translations!
I wonder how Yestin could be involved in all of this. Was a related to the pirates?
i know the science bureau is filled with geniuses but im surprised nero isn’t punishing them for how badly theyre treating asaga 🙁