The frogmen quickly left, and the transport ship also left the frogmen's fleet, returning to the depths of the sea of stars.
After making sure that they were out of sight of the frogmen's fleet, Lian Luo hurriedly woke up the short man who had fainted. "Sir, sir, are you alright?"
The short man jumped up like a carp. "I'm fine. Hurry up and start the accelerator. Let's go back as quickly as possible …"
His voice suddenly stopped, and his eyes widened as if he had seen something shocking.
Following his gaze, in the middle of the empty space, a person suddenly appeared out of thin air in the originally empty cabin. This person was definitely Ding Meng.
Previously, no one could see him because the Heart Manipulation Spell of the Green Spirit Spell had automatically activated, blinding everyone's eyes and creating an illusion that there was no one in the cabin. However, in reality, Ding Meng had been lying inside the cabin the whole time.
"What's going on?"
Lian Luo waved his hand, and all the soldiers in the hall picked up their weapons. They were all cold weapons like forks and hammers.
"Don't hurt him!" The short man who had been staying in the corner suddenly spoke.
The short man knew that there was a reason, so he hurriedly asked, "What's going on?
Do you know him? "
The short man's eyes revealed a hint of surprise. "This is Big Brother Ding Meng. He took special care of me in the concentration camp. If it wasn't for him, I would have died long ago."
The short man's expression softened, and he immediately waved his hand. Thus, the group of people put down their weapons.
"Ding Meng?"
Lian Luo finally remembered who this person was. "Yes, isn't this the miner we sent to planet 1?"
"Officer Lian Luo, your memory is not bad!" Ding Meng suddenly spoke from inside the cabin.
Hastily, he jumped and asked, "Why are you here?"
Ding Meng ignored him and directly sat up. He looked at the short man, and his gaze became gentle. "I didn't expect you to still be alive."
This steel mane short man was Xiao Bai, who had been mining with him in the Akasina concentration camp.
Little White immediately ran over. "Big Brother Ding Meng, you're still alive! That's great! We all thought you died on the Rain Forest Planet."
Halfway through, he was stopped by the short man. The short man looked at Ding Meng warily. "Be careful, he's dangerous!"
This short man was indeed someone with some strength. He could see some clues. In his perception, Ding Meng was really unfathomable. How could such a person enter the escape pod?
Ding Meng smiled. "If it wasn't for Officer Lian Luo helping me deal with the frogmen just now, you wouldn't even be able to feel it if I really attacked you."
Lian Luo regained some of the vigor he had in the concentration camp. "Ding Meng, you're Sam's soldier. Why don't you come over and greet the Lord?"
Ding Meng smiled and suddenly waved his hand. There was a clatter in the hall as the forks, hammers, and sabers in the hands of the Steel Mane soldiers were sucked into his hand.
He exerted more force in his palm and dozens of weapons melted into molten steel and then turned into smoke.
Everyone's eyes widened. The Steel Mane Empire might not be very good at military affairs, but they were very fond of metals. Even the weapons of the normal soldiers were much better than the cold weapons of the Empire and frogmen. However, Ding Meng could melt so many weapons with just a casual wave of his hand.
In the eyes of the Steel Mane soldiers, Ding Meng's move was no longer a godly skill. It was more like magic.
Even though Lian Luo was a ferocious elder, at this moment, he was so scared that his face turned pale.
The short man was also shocked, but Xiao Bai ran to Ding Meng happily. "Don't worry, Big Brother Ding Meng won't hurt us."
He had always treated Ding Meng as a friend because Ding Meng had saved his life with the blood generator. He had always been grateful.
"Xiao Bai, why are you on this ship?" Ding Meng was also curious.
The short man walked over and gave him a look. "Master Ding, let's talk over there."
He changed the way he addressed Ding Meng. The Steel Mane Empire was the same as the Empire. The strong were respected, regardless of age. Ding Meng looked young, but he was very powerful. Even the short man had to call him master. Only those who were close to him could call him brother.
Ding Meng, Xiao Bai, and the short man walked into the main passage and stopped by a window.
The short man looked at Xiao Bai, and Xiao Bai nodded. "Big Brother Zhan Feng, it's okay. Big Brother Ding Meng is not an outsider. Can you tell him?"
Zhan Feng bowed slightly to show respect. "Master Ding, I am a member of the Steel Mane Empire's royal guards. I came to the rainforest to bring His Highness back."
Ding Meng was shocked. He had heard of the Steel Mane Empire's royal family, but Zhan Feng called Xiao Bai His Highness. Could Xiao Bai be a member of the Steel Mane Empire's royal family?
Ding Meng said, "Actually, I suspected it before. Xiao Bai's skin color is abnormal. He shouldn't be an ordinary member of the Steel Mane Race."
Zhan Feng smiled bitterly. "The Steel Mane Race has always respected the color black and viewed the color white as ominous. Therefore, His Highness's birth was seen as a bad omen by the royal family. Thus, His Highness was abandoned and sent to the border of the Exiled Star."
It was no wonder that when Ding Meng asked Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai didn't know anything about his background or even his name.
Ding Meng said, "Then why are you here to bring him back?"
Zhan Feng said seriously, "I am here on the orders of the War Sky Military Governor. His Highness's parents were the Imperial Treasury Ministers. Unfortunately, they passed away a few days ago. According to the Empire's tradition, their last wishes and assets should be passed on to their children. Therefore, the War Sky Military Governor sent me to bring His Highness back."
Ding Meng said, "Just you?"
Zhan Feng quickly explained, "His Highness has two older brothers and an older sister. The War Sky Military Governor was worried that they would harm His Highness, so he ordered me to come secretly to avoid alerting the other forces."
Ding Meng immediately smelled a conspiracy. However, this was normal. The disputes between the royal family and the nobles were sometimes like outer space. It was always good to be careful. This also explained why Zhan Feng pretended to faint. If the frogmen found out about Xiao Bai's identity, the War Sky Military Governor might take the opportunity to make a fuss.
Xiao Bai said, "Brother Ding Meng, but I don't really want to go back."
Ding Meng knew him well. Xiao Bai grew up in a garbage mountain and was used to living a hard life. He would definitely not be able to accept the sudden change from a laborer to a noble.
Zhan Feng was scared out of his wits. "Your Highness, please think of the big picture. After you return to the Empire and deal with the wishes of the two lords, you can live however you want."
Xiao Bai said, "Brother Ding Meng, why don't you come with me to the Empire?
I haven't seen you for a few years. With you around, I won't be so scared. "
Zhan Feng quickly said, "Yes, Lord Ding. You are good friends with His Highness, and you know the language of the Steel Mane Race. Why don't you come to the Empire as a guest?"
He was smart. He could tell that Ding Meng was skilled in martial arts. With such a human as a friend, Xiao Bai's safety was guaranteed.
Ding Meng pondered and said, "Zhan Feng, let me ask you. Can the Steel Mane Royal Family get a better starship?
The kind that can travel for a long time? "
Zhan Feng immediately understood what he was thinking. This human friend of His Highness definitely wanted to go back to the Norse Empire. But this was normal. He had just come out of the escape pod, so he must have encountered some kind of disaster. His ultimate goal was to return to the human world.
"Yes!"
Zhan Feng answered decisively. "His Highness's parents had a good relationship with the lords when they were alive. You can borrow or buy them in His Highness's name."
"Okay, then we will go to the Byron Family!" Ding Meng made his decision.
This was a helpless move. The current situation was complicated. The first thing to do was to avoid the frogmen army and find a place to settle down. Then, he would slowly find a way to return to the Norse Empire and find the boss of the Hidden Front to settle the score.
The Steel Mane Empire was a good place to go. Didn't the boss of the Hidden Front think that he had nowhere to go?
Even the Fifth Lord would not have thought that he would sneak into the Byron Family.
The capital of the Steel Mane Empire was located on Planet No.1 of the Byron Family. The Byron Family consisted of 23 planets with harsh environments. Compared to the other 22 planets, Planet No.1's environment was considered good. At least it was much closer to Planet Lieyang. The basic sunshine was still guaranteed, and the temperature had risen. Of course, there were only a few hours of daylight, and most of the time, it was night.
The capital was called Jinyuan City. This name represented the dream of the Steel Mane Empire. They imagined that there was an endless supply of rare metals to develop and grow, but in reality, it was not the case at all.
A few years ago, Ding Meng stayed on Planet No.20 for a short period of time. The city-states there were densely packed villages, and the capital, Jinyuan City, was just a larger village. It could not even be compared to the Federation's Blue Pole Star City.
Looking down from the sky, all the buildings, streets, and ports were made of black metal and stacked together like building blocks. If there was a difference in the capital, Ding Meng could see that there were at least 20 to 30 stories of tall buildings here. That was the only difference.
When Ding Meng got off the ship, he found that there were many starships of the Federal Empire on the tarmac. Of course, they were all outdated and worn-out flying units. There were even some ghost ships. On the ground, there were many Steel Mane Empire people and many humans. At a glance, he could tell that these humans were explorers, mercenaries, and interstellar refugees who came to make a fortune.
Ding Meng also knew this. The Steel Mane Empire was a relatively tolerant country. It did not reject the humans of the Federal Empire because the Steel Mane Empire was a vassal state of the frogmen. Every year, they had to pay a large amount of rare metals to the frogmen, which made it difficult for the country to develop. In addition, the Steel Mane Empire was in a state of disunity and could not organize a large-scale military force. Therefore, the overlords of the Steel Mane Empire welcomed human explorers to come here and make a fortune together. This could even promote the development of the Steel Mane Empire.
The frogmen also turned a blind eye to this. As long as the military force of the Norse Empire did not interfere with the Byron Empire, they could not be bothered to care about these things. Just as the leaders of other countries thought of the Steel Mane Empire, this was a country that stirred up sh * t. It had some influence, didn't it?
It could not make any waves at all, but if you did not pay attention to it, it would be really embarrassing if it had a little bit of presence.