"Shepherd Dog No. 7" Task Force.

The captain was Wang Meng, the battalion commander of the "Iron Fist" assault battalion. He was a man nearly two meters tall and as strong as a bear.

On his face was a hideous scar that stretched from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth—a medal he had earned in his past battles against alien monsters.

At this moment, Wang Meng was standing on the roof of his command vehicle, holding up a high-powered military telescope, observing the gloomy forest ahead.

"Report, Captain!" came the drone scout's voice from the communicator. "Coordinates 73.4 Northwest, heat source signal stable. Preliminary assessment: small human settlement, number 15-20 people. Vital signs... extremely weak."

A cold smile curled at the corners of Wang Meng's mouth.

“Very good.” He ordered in a deep voice, “‘Hunter’ assault vehicles, form a fan-shaped search formation and advance five kilometers. ‘Ripper’ vehicles two and three, flank from the left and right, and establish a fire blockade line. The rest of the units, follow me in the center to provide support. Remember, our mission is to ‘meet,’ not to fight. But if necessary, I authorize you to eliminate any non-human active threats!”

"clear!"

With Wang Meng's command, this team of steel began to advance towards the target area with a ruthless and efficient approach.

Three "Hunter" all-terrain assault vehicles, like three agile cheetahs, silently broke away from the main force. Their large tires could easily crush bushes and ditches, and the Vulcan cannons mounted on the roofs gleamed with a ghostly blue light, ready to spew death at any moment.

The Ripper infantry fighting vehicles on both flanks roared as their tracks crushed the damp earth.

They were like two mobile steel fortresses, easily smashing down trees that blocked their way and crushing all obstacles behind them.

This group's advance was completely different from the survivors' cautious pace. They made no attempt to hide or conceal themselves, exuding an absolute sense of power and oppression. They were the rule-makers of this forest.

Zhang Wei, along with two equally weak men, was desperately searching for water not far from the camp.

Suddenly, a deep, rumbling sound, like the heartbeat of the earth, came from afar.

"What's that sound?" a man asked in alarm.

Zhang Wei also stopped in his tracks. He listened intently, his face turning deathly pale.

He had never heard such a roar before, but the certain regularity and power contained within it instilled in him an instinctive sense of fear.

"Is it...is it a monster? Is it one of those big creatures?" The other man was already trembling with fear.

The roar grew closer, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

"Quick! Back to camp!" Zhang Wei shouted decisively.

The three of them scrambled and stumbled towards the campsite in the ravine.

When they rushed back to camp, they found that everyone had been startled by the sudden loud noise. They huddled together, their faces filled with apocalyptic fear.

"Boom—Rumble—Rumble—"

The sound was almost within reach. They could even feel the ground beneath their feet trembling like a sieve.

Suddenly, accompanied by a piercing metallic scraping sound and the loud crack of trees breaking, a huge and ferocious black steel head burst out of the dense forest in front of their camp!

It was an armored vehicle unlike any they had ever seen before, brimming with a futuristic feel. Its low profile, sloping reactive armor, and the twin 37mm cannons constantly rotating on the roof, as if patrolling its territory, all exuded a cold and cruel killing intent.

"ah!"

The survivors screamed in terror. They thought it was some kind of mechanical monster they had never seen before.

Zhang Wei was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, his body ice-cold. It was over. Everything was over. This was something they simply couldn't fight against.

However, what made them even more desperate was yet to come.

After the first armored vehicle appeared, two more identical steel behemoths slowly emerged from the forest on the left and right flanks, forming an encirclement around them.

The three cold turrets, like three cruel giant eyes, slowly turned and locked onto them, these ants.

despair.

Utter despair.

Everyone collapsed to the ground, some weeping uncontrollably, others losing control of their bladder and bowels. The shadow of death had never loomed over them so vividly.

Just then.

"laugh!"

The rear hatch of the central "Ripper" tank slowly opened with a sound of hydraulic pressure deflating.

A blinding beam of light shot out from inside the cabin, causing everyone to instinctively close their eyes.

Then they heard footsteps.

It wasn't the roar of a monster, nor the rumble of machinery, but the uniform, powerful sound of human military boots.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Every footstep was like a heavy hammer blow, striking precisely into everyone's heart.

Zhang Wei trembled as he barely managed to open one eye.

He saw it.

Bathed in bright light, a squad of soldiers dressed in heavy black combat suits and carrying futuristic-looking rifles emerged from an armored vehicle.

They were like celestial warriors straight out of mythology, each one tall and imposing. Their faces were covered by tactical masks that concealed all expressions, revealing only pairs of cold, sharp eyes.

They marched in perfect unison to the survivors, spreading out in a semi-circle. The muzzles of their rifles were slightly downward, but the aura of absolute discipline, soaring killing intent, and fanatical faith formed an invisible wall that made all the survivors hold their breath.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Zhang Wei's mind went blank. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

Who are these people?

Are they human?

How could such a godlike army possibly exist in this hellish forest?

Just then, the most burly man, with a hideous scar on his face, stepped out from the line.

He wasn't wearing a mask; he simply scanned the terrified survivors with his hawk-like eyes.

Wang Meng's gaze lingered on Zhang Wei for a moment.

He didn't speak, but simply made a gesture behind him.

A soldier immediately stepped forward, placed a military backpack on the ground, took out several high-energy nutrition bars and a bottle of purified water, and placed them in front of Zhang Wei.

The aroma of food and water wafted through the air instantly.

These survivors, who had been starving for who knows how long, made a beast-like "grunt" sound in their throats, and their eyes gleamed green.

But no one dared to make a move.

Faced with a dozen dark gun barrels, any instinctive impulses were suppressed by absolute fear.

Wang Meng nodded in satisfaction at their reaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted. First, crush all their will to resist with absolute power, then bestow upon them an irresistible gift.

He finally spoke, his voice deep and authoritative, clearly reaching everyone's ears through the helmet's loudspeaker:

"By order of His Majesty Lin Feng, King of the Kingdom of Stars."

"We have been ordered to come here to find and save all our fellow human beings scattered here."

“Our king has decreed: all who voluntarily submit to the kingdom will be given new life, protection, food and dignity.”

“Those who rebel will be regarded as enemies of the kingdom.”

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the accompanying "educational specialists" immediately activated the holographic projection equipment that had been prepared beforehand.

"Buzz!"

A huge screen of light unfolded above the survivors' heads.

The magnificent city of Chengtian, bathed in golden sunlight and with its clean streets, is a steel torrent that blots out the sky during the "Sacred Grace Day" military parade!

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The perfectly synchronized marching steps, the thunderous shouts of "Fight for the King!", and the "Black Tortoise" tanks that seemed to move like mountains...

Every scene had a mind-blowing impact on these survivors struggling in the mud.

Finally, the image freezes.

The image of Lin Feng, the man who slowly stood up from the viewing platform, opening his arms as if embracing the whole world, is frozen in time.

His figure, set against the backdrop of a crown made of colorful clouds in the sky, resembled that of a true god.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

In the light screen, the thunderous roar of tens of thousands of people kneeling in worship perfectly overlapped with the action of the black-armored soldiers in front of them, who "whoosh" knelt on one knee and placed their right hand on their chest.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Wang Meng and his soldiers paid the most fervent respect to the figure in the light screen.

This completely shattered the last psychological defenses of Zhang Wei and all the survivors.

Their eyes widened and their mouths gaped as they stared at the incredible, mythical spectacle before them, their hearts filled with a profound sense of awe.

A country...

Such a magnificent city...

Such a powerful army...

And a...king who was worshipped by all...

It turns out they weren't the only survivors.

It turns out that our compatriots had already established such a magnificent civilization on this alien land!

“God…miracle…” a survivor murmured to himself. He looked at Lin Feng on the light screen, his eyes slowly changing from initial shock to awe, and finally to fanatical worship.

"thump!"

He was the first to kneel down, not out of fear, but from the bottom of his heart, prostrating himself before the man in the light screen and before these "divine soldiers" who had pulled them out of hell.

"Thank the gods... Thank the king..."

His actions were like toppling the first domino.

All the survivors, including Zhang Wei, knelt down on the ground. They wept bitterly and kowtowed repeatedly.

After experiencing endless despair, this sudden, miraculous rescue led them to regard everything before them as divine grace.

And the man in the light screen, Lin Feng, in those few short minutes, went from being an unfamiliar name to becoming the only, supreme god in their hearts.

Wang Meng stood up and coldly looked at the group of "compatriots" who were prostrate on the ground, full of gratitude.

The corners of his mouth curled up again.

The sheepdog found the first flock of lost lambs.

And this is just the beginning.