A month had passed since the great battle that had ravaged the entire mantle.
Although the world's ascension had increased the difficulty of monster incursions, delaying the second chapter to two and a half years later, the world had undergone numerous changes within this month.
And between the nations, after losing the means of communication due to the falling satellites, the entire world had become eerily quiet.
Having lost contact with the world, and with the internet that could have turned the entire Blue Star into a village gone, people instead focused more on the present reality.
Beyond the Imperial Capital, on the vast, boundless grasslands,
A herd of giant deer, numbering in the dozens, was finishing their day's meal on the lush grass.
Apart from the shortest among them standing at two meters tall, these deer appeared unremarkable at first glance.
But their colossal size, at least two meters tall, was in itself the greatest anomaly.
Considering that under high gravity, the larger the creature, the more terrifying the gravitational force it had to endure.
If these giant deer were placed on the Blue Star before its ascension, each of them could likely wrestle with an elephant.
A charge from these dozens of giant deer could potentially overturn tanks from the previous world.
However, these giant deer, which were terrifying upon closer inspection, were cautiously observing their surroundings during their feeding breaks, as if they felt extremely insecure.
This speculation seemed laughable; did these fearsome giant deer, each capable of wrestling an elephant, have to be on edge just to eat grass?
But, that was precisely the case!
*Buzz!*
A long spear forged from profound iron, carrying a piercing whistling sound, flew towards them at high speed!
The moment the leading giant deer spotted the spear, it raised its head and let out a startled cry!
Upon their leader's alarm, the deer herd showed no intention of resisting and instead broke into a run with their long legs.
However, the spear was too fast. Even though the leader's cry was urgent, one giant deer was ultimately pierced through its torso with great force.
*Pfft!*
Blood gushed out from the giant deer's body like a fountain.
The scalding hot blood splattered on the lush green grass, while the rest of the herd had already fled into the distance.
Only the injured deer remained, gradually losing its strength to struggle amidst its mournful cries.
"Damn it! These damned things are truly cunning! They even charged at us wanting to feast when we first met, now they bolt just at the sound!"
Reflected in the gradually dimming eyes of the giant deer were the figures of several individuals clad in crimson armor.
And this was the last image the giant deer saw in its life.
Li Wei casually pulled the spear out of the giant deer's body and called out to his companions,
"Come on, everyone, let's hurry and process this big guy first, otherwise it'll be troublesome when the blood solidifies!"
As he called out, several men dressed in crimson armor walked over with smiles, skillfully using the short knives at their waists to dismantle the giant deer's hide and flesh, leaving the useful parts.
"Hey! Leave that whip intact for me!"
Chen Xuan, the deputy captain of the hunting team, excitedly shouted to a newcomer who was about to slice it up like sausage.
After a slight twitch of his mouth, the newcomer directly cut it from the root, leaving the whole piece for the deputy captain who wished to strengthen himself through this method.
Li Wei, who had been on alert since pulling the spear from the giant deer's body, heard this and cursed with a laugh,
"Little Chen, take my advice, that thing is too big, you can't handle it. Practice your pelvic floor exercises with me more, it's more useful than eating that."
The ten-person team before them was all clad in crimson armor.
The captain and deputy captain, even without considering the stacked buffs from their equipment, possessed the strength of a first-tier elite.
The remaining members, though also wearing crimson armor, were much younger, most not even having officially entered the first tier.
The captain and deputy captain were both veterans from the Starfire City-State, while the other eight were newly recruited soldiers after the expansion.
...
After the Imperial Capital was reorganized, combat and logistics were completely separated and restructured.
Under the overwhelming power of the Lord of War, it was ensured that every Great Yan person could find their place in the new system.
The elders, having regained their youthful vitality, were able to adapt to all the work alongside the younger generation.
Except for the children who were sent to school, everyone, regardless of gender, was incorporated into the combat sequence.
In the current Imperial Capital of twenty-five million people, a standing combat force of ten million had been assembled.
This force of tens of millions was centered around the initial hundred thousand crimson armored soldiers.
The army was divided into numerous combat groups, constantly carrying out exploration and combat missions across the vast land.
The remaining ten million people were engaged in logistics and support work within the Imperial Capital and the Starfire City-State.
The ten-person hunting team before them was one of the units responsible for regularly clearing threats around the Imperial Capital.
Although the weakest of the hundred thousand crimson armored legion possessed the strength of a first-tier elite, the more than twenty million civilian residents of the Imperial Capital were basically level 0 ordinary professionals.
And this Mr. Deer, which had contributed a whip, possessed at least elite-level strength.