Rowan was about to die again. If he didn't find something to eat, perhaps he wouldn't make it past tomorrow. His calf had been bitten by something unknown; the wound had now festered.
Yellow-white pus mixed with blood reeked of a strong, foul stench, oozing from the open wound.
Due to the infection, he had been running a high fever since last night, and even now, his whole body was aching and falling apart.
Occasionally, he shivered with chills, his lips dry, cracked, and pale, his throat parched. The craving for water and food had reached its peak.
An intense will to survive made Rowan tremblingly open his eyes, prop his hands on the yellow earth, and lean against the wall to slowly sit up.
He let out a sharp breath, thinking that today he must leave this place.
The pride of a top-tier Alpha in the universe was rising; he would not allow himself to die miserably like this. At the very least, it should be like his previous life, heroically sacrificing himself for the Empire and the people.
And in reality, he had done exactly that.
Rowan's entire life was spent fighting for the Empire; he was a war machine trained by the Empire.
He had never met his parents, only knowing that he was born in the Science Research Institute and identified as an SSS-rank Alpha the moment he came into the world.
The Empire where Rowan lived was constantly harassed by the Insect Race at the borders. Due to millions of years of mutation and evolution, the Insect Race's reproductive ability had degraded.
It had been a very long time since a new Queen of the Insect Clan was born; the new generation of the Insect Race was all born from Omeginas captured from the Empire.
The war between the Empire and the Insect Race had lasted for many years. Unfortunately, the tide of battle suddenly changed. The front lines sent word back: among the Omeginas captured by the Insect Race, someone had given birth to an Queen of the Insect Clan.
The Prime Minister of the Empire realized the severity of the problem. The existence of an Queen of the Insect Clan meant the Insect Race would multiply ceaselessly; the Empire's situation was extremely critical.
He issued an urgent order to Rowan, as the Marshal, to lead the army into battle and destroy the Queen of the Insect Clan at all costs.
When he led the mecha fleet, continuously performing space-time jumps to reach the border, the Queen of the Insect Clan had already matured.
The number of the Insect Race had doubled. Rowan piloted the mecha Phoenix, his face expressionless as he slaughtered the insects rushing straight at him; thick green blood splattered everywhere, looking nauseating.
The number of the Insect Race grew increasingly large; they swarmed in densely, impossible to kill them all.
The corps he commanded was besieged by relentless encirclement tactics and had begun to exhaust their strength; the number of Alphas killed in action was rising.
Rowan's expression was tense as he decisively ordered: "All units break through the encirclement, retreat."
He piloted Phoenix like a dark spirit, leading the mecha corps to nimbly charge out of the heavy siege and withdraw to the rear.
Back at the base, everyone's morale was somewhat low. From the situation of this probing battle, it was clear that the Queen of the Insect Clan's reproduction speed was too fast, and the newly born insects grew very quickly. The Queen of the Insect Clan had to be destroyed first.
In the meeting room, Rowan sat in the Marshal's presiding seat, wearing a solemn military uniform.
He looked at his subordinates with a gaze that allowed no refusal: "Organize an elite suicide mecha squad to fully surround the Insect Race's lair and lure the insect soldiers away to cover me while I kill the Queen of the Insect Clan. We depart tonight."
Hearing this, General Orion's expression changed, and he immediately tried to stop it: "No, you are the Marshal. At this time, it is best for you to stay in the rear to command. Moreover, the number of the Insect Race has now skyrocketed. With the Queen of the Insect Clan present, their defense will not be lax. This method is too reckless."
The generals present also clamored in agreement.
Rowan remained unmoved. Powerful SSS-rank pheromones instantly flooded the meeting room; the cold scent of cedar pierced through skin and flesh, seeping into the very marrow of their bones.
The generals sitting there broke out in cold sweat, nearly unable to hold on and almost kneeling down; fortunately, they were sitting, so they didn't actually have to kneel.
Rowan's cold voice etched itself into everyone's heart: "I am not negotiating with you; this is an order! The Queen of the Insect Clan must be dealt with immediately. With its current reproduction speed, the army at the border cannot hold out."
If they didn't quickly destroy the Queen of the Insect Clan, the final outcome was already laid out before their eyes.
Furthermore, the Empire had researched and created him specifically to deal with the Insect Race. As a war machine, when had he ever not been the first to charge into the fray?
This time, the Prime Minister pushed him out, claiming it was to lead the army to destroy the Queen of the Insect Clan, but in reality, he was telling him to go die, because only he had the chance to rush in front of the Queen of the Insect Clan to confront it.
If the Science Research Institute could create one Rowan, there would be thousands, tens of thousands of other Rowans. At the most critical moment, sacrificing him alone was no big deal.
The Science Research Institute might feel a little regret, as he was the highest-ranked among countless failed products, but the Prime Minister wouldn't care that much.
"Only I can kill the Queen of the Insect Clan. As for how to kill it, don't you all know better than I do? Before departing, those old foxes in the Empire already spoke to you guys sitting here, right?"
Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, a glint of sympathy and admiration flashed in the generals' eyes. Knowing the truth yet still willing to sell his life, it truly commanded respect.
General Orion wiped his sweat, his brows furrowed tight: "I will do it right away."
Rowan nodded, stood up, and walked straight out without looking back, leaving behind only a solitary silhouette.
Night fell, and the elite combat mecha squad quietly departed from the base's airspace.
The Insect Race's lair looked like a giant ant nest hovering among the stars. Insect soldiers patrolled around the lair, wrapping the "ant nest" tight as a drum.
General Orion took the vanguard, piloting his mecha to bombard crazily with enhanced energy cannons. The other elite warriors also piloted their mechas to follow suit.
The Insect Race discovered them. In the blink of an eye, thousands upon thousands of insect soldiers poured out ceaselessly, risking their lives to rush up and attack.
General Orion and his comrades attacked while continuously retreating to lure the insect soldiers.
But the insect soldiers did not fall for the trap; realizing something was wrong, they stayed to attack rather than blindly chasing. After all, they were sworn enemies who had confronted each other for many years.
Rowan had never counted on those people. The moment General Orion attracted the firepower, he had already piloted Phoenix to nimbly dodge through the battle.
He continuously destroyed the insects blocking his way, pushing his mental power and pheromones to the limit, breaking through every obstacle, and rushing straight into the enemy's lair.
Rowan lived up to his reputation as the top-tier Alpha in the universe, charging single-handedly deep into the Insect Race's lair.
Milky white threads growing from the Omegina's body spread throughout the lair, interwoven intricately, forming a bizarre shape in the center.
His small, jade-like face looked even paler against the white shirt. His abdomen protruded high, looking as large as five Alpha hands clenched together in a circle. With this level of insectification, he could no longer be considered an Omegina.
It was the Queen of the Insect Clan!
Notably, beside him were four male insects that looked quite slender. Rowan could sense that the mental power of these four male insects was very strong.
He piloted Phoenix to approach silently, suddenly attacking the Queen of the Insect Clan while simultaneously unleashing mental power to attack the four insects.
This fierce battle lasted for a very long time. Rowan could feel his mental power and pheromones were about to run dry.
Phoenix's warning flashed continuously: "Insufficient energy, insufficient energy, insufficient energy!"
The red light of the mecha illuminated Rowan's cold face. His gaze was steadfastly locked on the target, his right hand quickly pressing the button to activate the self-destruct device. Blinding firelight instantly swallowed the entire starry sky.
It was over!
The moment he pressed the button, he felt no fear of death; on the contrary, his body became incredibly light.
A sense of freedom and release spread from his heart to his limbs.
For the first time, Rowan felt that he was truly living.