Although the defenders here, mainly the Black Sun Group and a large number of Newbie players, had learned what was coming in advance,
the sheer ferocity of the assault still left them stunned beyond words.
After all, the Mountain River Star Sector had become the starting area for all Players.
The Moon-Drinking Azure Wolf and the Black Sun Group now administered the region together.
They had also introduced laws and practical rules to help new Players grow stronger and carry out missions.
Once the newcomers had their fill of this relatively safe region, they would have a chance to experience fiercer battles.
Dedicated Teleportation Gates sent Players from here straight to the Imperial Core every day.
There, they could experience the wildest, most intense battles in the cosmos.
That was why most Players still in the Mountain River Star Sector were Newbies, alongside commercial and lifestyle Players who preferred noncombat pursuits.
Despite all the time they had spent in the game, they had never faced an interstellar battle on this scale.
They often ran into scattered fighting, but it usually amounted to small skirmishes with stray cultists or wandering space pirates.
Now three Redstone Empire fleets advanced in overwhelming numbers, looming like Behemoths that blotted out the sky.
Only a tenth of their forces were the Empire's distinctive warships, carved from glaring red crystal.
The other nine-tenths were the vast numbers of vassal troops they had cultivated over the years.
Those troops came in every variety, including many Orc warriors clad in all kinds of armor.
Many Players even spotted old acquaintances they had driven completely out of the Mountain River Star Sector,
including the Shadow Soul Hunters and the Death Cult.
Yet every one of these beings, despite their different faiths and factions, was shrouded in a layer of