The laws of survival in the universe are simple.
Never expose your coordinates.
If you do, you won't be met with friendly visitors—only endless slaughter and bloodshed.
…
Lingxi Star was an unremarkable planet in the Milky Way, under Odin's rule.
A race known as the Spirit Rhinoceroses lived on this planet.
They possessed human bodies and rhinoceros heads, stood around two meters tall, and had tremendous physical strength. Unfortunately, their intelligence was fairly low.
After thousands of years of development, they were still trapped in a slave society, barely reaching the Bronze Age.
As a result, in the eyes of the Lingxi people, the Asgardian gods—who could soar freely through the skies—were truly divine beings.
Today was the annual day of tribute.
Every year at this time, each city on Lingxi Star was required to offer sacrifices to the gods.
The offerings could be minerals, food, or rare local resources.
As long as the gods' demands were met, the city would survive the year in peace.
If not, a group of people would be taken away.
Those taken were always seen leaving—and never seen returning.
Even the slow-witted Lingxi understood that this was deeply ominous.
They had tried to resist in the past.
Each attempt was met with even bloodier massacres.
Over time, all those with backbone and pride were killed off, leaving only the obedient and the broken.
At this moment, in Tooth Tower City, a massive crowd of Lingxi knelt on the ground.
Before them stood six Asgardian warriors clad in gleaming golden armor, holding spears and shields.
The elderly Lingxi kneeling at the front was the city lord of Tooth Tower City.
His eyes were filled with terror as he pleaded,
"Respected gods, please grant us a few more days. We were not prepared for such a sudden increase."
"Recent bad weather has severely reduced the harvest of Titimi fruit. Please—just a few days. Once the fruit in the other fields ripens, we will send it to you immediately."
Titimi fruit was the tribute required from Tooth Tower City.
To meet this demand, vast stretches of farmland had been destroyed and replaced with Titimi trees.
No one knew how many tribe members had starved as a result.
No one knew how many had collapsed and died beneath those trees.
There were even rumors that beneath every Titimi tree lay ten Spirit Rhinoceros corpses.
They had prepared enough fruit.
But this year, the gods had suddenly demanded double the usual amount.
An impossible task.
The Asgardian warriors, however, were clearly tired of listening.
Their leader's eyes gleamed coldly.
"Today is the day of tribute," he said harshly."If you are unprepared, then accept the consequences."
The old city lord continued kneeling, his voice trembling.
"My lord, we truly had enough prepared. You doubled the demand without warning. We cannot produce it all at once. Please—just a few more days."
Impatience flashed across the Asgardian's face.
His spear moved.
Thud.
The weapon pierced straight through the old city lord's body.
Lifting the corpse with one hand, the Asgardian snarled,
"I don't want excuses. Bring the Titimi fruit now—or you all die."
He tossed the body onto the ground.
To the Asgardians, slaughtering inferior races meant nothing.
Like rats—kill one batch, and another would always appear.
What mattered was that the rats were useful.
This was the true face of the universe.
The law of the jungle.The Dark Forest.
Below, the Lingxi people stared at the old city lord's corpse, fury burning in their hearts.
He was a man worthy of respect.
It was because of him that Tooth Tower City could eat its fill.
Before that, they had starved while planting Titimi trees.
Every person in the city had benefited from his efforts.
But fear outweighed rage.
No one dared defy the gods.
Seeing this, contempt filled the Asgardians' eyes.
At the same time, murderous intent rose.
It seemed these inferior creatures had forgotten the wrath of the Asgardian gods.
They hadn't even prepared a single offering.
How was he supposed to explain this back home?
Especially when Odin himself was preparing a grand banquet—and had specifically requested this fruit.
That was why the tribute had been doubled.
If he failed and delayed Odin's celebration, punishment would surely follow.
And if he was punished, the natives would suffer even worse.
With that thought, he even considered wiping out the entire city.
Just then, a young Lingxi man raised his iron broadsword and roared,
"Avenge the city lord! Overthrow the gods' cruel oppression!"
The Asgardian warrior sneered.
He raised his spear.
A blue beam erupted.
The spear was merely a cold weapon in appearance—in reality, it was an energy cannon.
Poof.
A massive hole opened in the Spirit Rhinoceros's chest.
He stared in disbelief as the light faded from his eyes.
The next second—
Thud.
His body hit the ground.
"Young City Lord!"
Cries of grief erupted.
The fallen warrior was the old city lord's son.
More voices rose.
"The gods won't let us live—fight back!"
"Avenge the city lord!"
"I'd rather die standing than live on my knees!"
The six Asgardians exchanged excited looks, licking their lips.
In the next instant, an energy shield expanded outward, enclosing the area.
A battle erupted—
—or rather, a massacre.
Primitive warriors with melee weapons stood no chance against Asgardian soldiers protected by energy shields.
Every blast from an energy cannon tore through dozens of Spirit Rhinoceroses.
Blood soaked the ground.
But what the Asgardians didn't know—
Was that this entire massacre was being broadcast liveto Thanos, from a warship in orbit.
…
Seated aboard Sanctuary II, Thanos watched the slaughter with cold indifference.
Similar massacres were happening simultaneously on several other planets.
After observing for a while, he understood.
"No wonder Thor is always suppressing rebellions in the films."
Either they were putting down uprisings—
or on their way to put down the next one.
Given Asgard's rule, rebellion was inevitable.
It would be stranger if no one resisted.
The real universe was never as beautiful as it appeared in movies.
Even among the same race, slaughter was common.
Between different races, it was unavoidable.
After watching long enough, Thanos issued a single order.
"Launch the attack."
.....
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