When the Judgment passed through the final guided zone of the East Sea Defense Line, all the defensive arrays on both sides had switched to green.
Below the warship, Great Xia patrol vessels automatically formed into two lines, creating a standard top-level welcoming formation.
The navigation lights at the bow lit up in unison, laying a path of light across the sea.
Zhou Lie stood on the landing pad, with more than three hundred defenders lined up in square formation behind him. Their armor had been polished to a shine, and they stood perfectly straight.
Since the East Sea Defense Line had been established, it had never received anyone with such solemnity.
The Judgment's landing gear touched down.
The moment the hatch opened, Li Zhengyang stepped out.
Zhou Lie strode forward and slammed his right fist heavily against his breastplate, producing a dull thud.
After hesitating for a long while, he finally forced out a sentence through trembling lips.
"Minister Li, welcome back."
Li Zhengyang patted his shoulder without saying much, then stepped aside and gave up the hatchway.
Chen Yan was the first to jump down.
Behind him, six survey team members escorted a long line of prisoners out of the cargo hold.
The first group consisted of low- and mid-ranked Alliance Martial Warriors and Northern Union soldiers.
They were filthy and bedraggled. Their battle armor had long been stripped away, leaving only thin inner layers, with shackles still fastened around their wrists.
Several young soldiers in the defensive formation could not help swallowing.
They recognized them.
The dirt-covered man at the front still had the emblem of the Alliance Arbitration Squad on his collar, the symbol the International Martial Warriors Alliance was proudest of.
Back then, these people had practically held their chins up to the sky.
Now,