Resurrection Empire

Chapter 1442: Chapter 544: Every Life Deserves Respect

"This..."

Kui Sheng was stunned for a long time.

At first, he wanted to thank the great Earl Red Blade for his benevolence, but he sensed an indescribable bit of reluctance and anger from Ren Zhong’s seemingly arrogant declaration.

Even though it was just their first meeting, and he had almost died at the other’s hands before, Kui Sheng suddenly felt that he somewhat understood this new earl.

However, looking at the calm expression of Ren Zhong, Kui Sheng felt he was probably overthinking.

Under the intense gaze of Ren Zhong, Kui Sheng slowly gathered his courage and stood up, although he still subconsciously kept his head very low.

He understood the reasoning, but his body still wouldn’t listen.

"Leader Kui, do you know why I chose to meet you first?"

Seeing his demeanor, Ren Zhong knew it would be too difficult to expect someone to comfortably sit and talk with him like others, so he stood up too, walked next to Kui Sheng, and asked.

Kui Sheng still had his head bowed, "I don’t know. Please enlighten me, my Lord Earl."

Ren Zhong turned around and smiled, "Because among all the pirate groups of the Five Elder Clan, the base pirates under your Kui Xing Pirate Group have the best living conditions. Your original surname is not Kui. The management rules of your Kui Xing Pirate Group are unlike any others; they focus on ability, not bloodline. Only the person who inherits the pirate group’s leadership changes their surname to Kui. This is a truly democratic system. You have achieved what the Empire cannot. You even have a disaster relief plan for gravitational disasters, which has been implemented for many years. These reasons make me highly appreciate you. Even when we were enemies, I could destroy your ships one by one or kill millions of you in a minute, but that was only a matter of stance, not hatred. Now that you have chosen to submit to me, I will not be stingy with my praise. Therefore, you can raise your head, there’s no need to be so servile."

Upon hearing Ren Zhong say so much in one breath, Kui Sheng finally felt reassured.

He confirmed that the surrender accepted by Earl Red Blade was not just talk, and the promise of incorporation as auxiliary citizens was not mere words.

Kui Sheng raised his head and said respectfully with a slightly excited tone, "On behalf of all the people of Kui Xing Pirate Group, I thank you, my Lord Earl, for your kindness."

Then, Kui Sheng honestly recounted many things to Ren Zhong, including the power distribution, background, and resource locations and hidden bases of the Five Elder Clan pirate groups, as well as some other relatively old large-scale pirate groups.

Vincent Fanhuoyi, who was in charge of the First Expeditionary Army’s stationed base, was well aware of Ren Zhong’s ambitions, but the in-depth investigations over the past decades were not as detailed as the content provided by Kui Sheng, an insider, in a two-hour oral account.

Ren Zhong was very satisfied with Kui Sheng’s performance.

He checked the time again.

Kui Sheng understood the hint and knew the Earl had other plans, so before this conversation ended, he hurriedly asked, "My Lord Earl, can we proceed to Shattered Star Ring now? We are still too close to the exit of the Star Cluster fold jump channel here, and I’m afraid Nanxiang Marquis will notice the battle situation and make a move."

Ren Zhong shook his head, "No need to rush. Even if Nanxiang Marquis’s scouts see us boldly parked here, he won’t dare to do anything. Liu An seems domineering and forceful, but he actually has some brains. When he sees me alive and well, his first task will be to understand why the battle direction differs so much from the predictions of his military combat system. Before figuring out what my trump card is, and making thorough preparations, he won’t act. He can’t afford another failure. As for departure, we’ll have to wait a few more days; the gathering and placement of surrendered soldiers aren’t completed yet."

Hearing this, Kui Sheng felt a bit puzzled and asked subconsciously, "Haven’t they all been gathered already?"

"Not at all." Ren Zhong shook his head, "Only those who were easy to gather have been settled, but there are still many trapped on damaged ships. Some people are even floating in space wearing single soldier battle armors. All these people must be rescued."

"Huh? Everyone needs to be rescued?" Kui Sheng was full of astonishment.

This time, it was Ren Zhong who was confused, "What do you mean? Not rescue them?"