Zhao Chen looked at Red Eyes, who had removed her mask.
On the left side of her forehead was a red horn, and there was actually one on the right side as well, but it was broken off, seemingly cut by some sharp weapon.
The right cheek, which had been covered by the mask, wasn't much different from the left cheek and also had some black stripes.
It seemed the mask was meant to conceal the red horns on Red Eyes' forehead.
Red horns... black textures on the cheeks...
A piece of knowledge from his studies at the North Star Starship Military Academy surfaced in Zhao Chen's mind.
The Demon race, naturally possessing strong combat abilities, was once called a natural warrior race. Their species was similar to the Human Race, but they had innate horns and irregular black textures.
"You are of the Demon race?" Zhao Chen asked.
Red Eyes nodded. "Yes, I originally belonged to the Demon race, but due to certain reasons, my parents' branch of the clan was hunted down and fled the Demon race.
Decades ago, we wandered into the territory of the Galactic Alliance."
"Wandered here? According to records, the interstellar fleet of the Demon race once appeared in the territory of the Galactic Alliance, but for unknown reasons, they never appeared again later," Zhao Chen inquired curiously.
"The place where the Demon race lives is very far from here, in terms of direction.
The Mechanical Race is located right between the two, making a single voyage extremely difficult. Additionally, the Demon race is constantly at war with their natural enemies.
It's similar to the relationship between your Galactic Alliance and the Mechanical Race, so naturally, they have no time to involve themselves in the affairs of other distant parts of the universe.
This is also why my parents chose to flee here.
Because here, as long as we disguise our horns, basically no one can recognize us as members of the Demon race," Red Eyes explained.
So, Red Eyes had such a story behind her.
"Report, the target Starport has been completely secured by us. The Eldest Brother Big Eye King of the Slave Merchants has been captured by our mecha squad and is being transported here!" Secretary Officer Lilith reported from the side.
"End the battle as quickly as possible. They likely sent distress signals to their masters earlier. We must hurry to finish the battle and withdraw from here," Zhao Chen ordered.
He then looked at Red Eyes beside him. "We'll discuss your matter in detail after we return. For now, continue with your assigned tasks."
Red Eyes stared at the commander in disbelief.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Chen asked, noticing her surprised expression.
"You... aren't going to punish me? I... kept it from you... that I am of the Demon race..." Red Eyes asked cautiously.
Zhao Chen chuckled. "What's the issue with that? Everyone has their own secrets. I just need to know that you, Red Eyes, are working diligently and responsibly for me.
It has nothing to do with whether you are of the Demon race or whether you have horns on your head."
"But... the Galactic Alliance here... has always been wary of us. Ever since that visit by the Demon interstellar fleet long ago and its subsequent disappearance.
Our Demon race has become one of the interstellar races they closely monitor and search for," Red Eyes said with a bitter smile. "That's why I wear a mask and disguise my identity."
Zhao Chen shrugged. "For the sake of its own security, it's understandable that the Galactic Alliance would be somewhat wary of mysterious existences like the Demon race. There's nothing wrong with that."
But I believe in you, because you, Red Eyes, are now my starship crew."
After saying this, he tapped Red Eyes on the head and urged, "Alright, hurry up and get back to work. I don't care if you're some kind of demon race; if you slack off on duty, your salary will be docked."
Zhao Chen couldn't resist adding a teasing remark at the end.
Feeling that Commander Zhao Chen's attitude toward her hadn't changed at all, Red Eyes smiled.
This was the first time she had smiled so happily since putting on her mask.
So, in this land, there really were people who didn't mind their existence at all.
"Yes, Commander!" Deputy Captain Red Eyes replied seriously, then returned to her post.
The battle was still ongoing, but it was now nearing its end.
Under the relentless onslaught of the T3 Blizzard, T2 Snow Mastiff, T2 Black Rhino, and the overwhelming swarms of stellar fighters and interstellar drones, the slave merchants' interstellar fleet could no longer hold out.
Gradually, they lost the will to fight and began to flee in disarray.
But times had changed. Zhao Chen now had enough starships to hunt down these fleeing enemy vessels.
After all, when it came to speed, who could outrun the T3 Blizzard?
"Advise the enemy ships to surrender. Tell them that any starship that shuts down its star engines and surrenders will not be destroyed," Zhao Chen said to Secretary Officer Lilith.
"Yes," Secretary Officer Lilith immediately relayed the order.
Soon after, the Fierce Dragon Fleet's surrender announcement echoed across the public channel of this star sector.
This led to a large number of starships surrendering. After all, they couldn't win the fight, nor could they escape. Their only option was to surrender obediently and seek a chance at survival!
Meanwhile, the three people imprisoned in cages had already been transferred to the shuttle hangar of the T3 Phoenix-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
"Lilith, I'll leave things here to you for now.
Try to gather as many interstellar transport ships as possible. After the battle ends, transfer all the rescued slaves onto the transport ships," Zhao Chen instructed Secretary Officer Lilith.
"Yes," Secretary Officer Lilith replied.
Zhao Chen then turned to Red Eyes. "It's time for us to meet our three opponents. I bet they're still completely baffled by this sudden battle.
At the very least, we should let them die with some clarity."
Red Eyes nodded.
Soon, Zhao Chen and Red Eyes arrived outside the hangar where the three "prisoners" were being held.
Even before entering the hangar, they could hear a shrill voice shouting.
"I'm warning you! We have the Second Prince and Third Prince of the Stellar Glory Empire backing us! If you dare lay a finger on us, the Second and Third Princes will not let you off easily!" Zhao Chen looked over and saw that the speaker was a scrawny man.
Zhao Chen had reviewed the intel. This man was the second-in-command of this group of slave merchants, nicknamed Skinny Monkey.
To his left and right were Eldest Brother Big Eye King and Third Brother Scarface.
The appearance of Zhao Chen and Red Eyes also caught the attention of the three.
Especially Zhao Chen, as he was the only male they had seen since arriving here.
But when they noticed Red Eyes beside Zhao Chen, their initial confusion quickly turned to shock.
"You're Red Eyes from the Bloody Mary Mercenary Corps!" Third Brother Scarface was the first to recognize the woman's identity.
Because Red Eyes wasn't wearing a mask at that moment, although they didn't recognize her identity at first, when they saw the highly symbolic sword at her waist, they realized it was Red Eyes.
"Never thought we'd meet here, did you? When you ordered the massacre of my Bloody Mary Mercenary Corps headquarters, you never imagined you'd have a day like this, did you!" Red Eyes gripped the hilt of her sword, her eyes filled with fury.
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