Terra Orbit—Imperial Fleet
The Imperial ships fired long-range magnetic cannon salvos at the stellar dragon, one humming bolt after another.
These cannons were both ultra powerful and diabolically precise, though they were limited by only being capable of firing one shot at a time before needing a moderate recharge time. This limited their usage to huge targets like cruisers and battleships, making them slow and awkward weapons against agile targets like corvettes.
But only ultra-heavy weapons like these could pierce the thick skin of a stellar dragon!
And when every magnetic cannon fired upon the same target, this slow pace of fire became almost meaningless. After thousands of cannon shots blasted through the void to pelt the shell of this titanic, petrified creature, the stone surrounding it began to break under the impact.
***
Azerof's Mothership
While the salvo happened outside, Azerof met on the bridge of his ship with the admirals of the Imperial fleet.
One admiral, staring at the combat analysis readout with excitement, said, "We've done it! We've just pierced the thick layer of cryogenic stone that was protecting this creature!"
Azerof was relieved to hear that his strategy had worked. He'd been worried that some unknown property of the shell might have rendered it invulnerable to even weapons as powerful as a magnetic cannon. Finally, some good news! He said, "Perfect, continue the shooting rhythm! Ensure that there's no gap. The creature can likely regenerate its defenses if we give it the opportunity. Ensure each ship is diverting sufficient power to its weapon-cooling subsystem."
Then he turned to another officer. "Vice Admiral Vega, do you estimate our firepower will be enough to kill this creature before it wakes up from its sleep?"
The Vice Admiral was looking at his own data readout, peering at all the information his subordinates were sending him from their databases. "It's hard to say at this time. From my studies, if this type of creature completely wakes up in such proximity to a planet, there won't be much left to save. Whatever our chances are, the only possible strategy must be to continue our efforts. We must eliminate it before it becomes a threat."
Suddenly, another grouping of shots impacted one of the stellar dragon's stony wings right where it connected to the body. The huge appendage snapped off and spun in space, shattering against the body itself! A field of broken pieces several kilometers in diameter floated away, occasionally interrupted by another magnetic cannon shot.
Azerof let out a cheer. "Yes!" Finally, he could fix the mistake he'd allowed to happen.
Everyone else on the bridge burst into triumphant cheering as the wing shattered. This was proof that their weapons would destroy their target! Though there was no bringing back all those who had already died because of this thing's appearance, it seemed like a sure thing now that their weapons would be more than adequate to prevent anything further from happening.
Azerof turned and with an authoritative voice said, "Congratulations, everyone! Once the dragon is totally destroyed, don't forget to send a squad of elite troops and scientists to extract its heart. That sort of prize is worth several billion."
Suddenly, an officer said with alarm, "My Lord! We're detecting a gravitational anomaly! A fleet is approaching through hyperspace!"
Azerof answered with surprise, "What?! How is that possible?! All admirals cease fire! Turn your ships towards the coordinates my ship is broadcasting and get into battle formation!"
But it was too late. The Federation's massive armada was already emerging from hyperspace.
The data officer said, "It's... it's Grand Admiral Oskiol's Federation fleet! Accompanied by millions of civilian ships, I think! They're broadcasting no military signatures!"
Azerof couldn't help himself, but began throwing a tantrum. "How is that possible?! We've already defeated them! Their fleets must be inoperative for at least several months!"
One admiral said, "Lord Azerof! The unidentified corvettes are attacking from the front line on the right flank!"
Azerof could hardly believe his ears. "What?! Suicide attacks?!"
Another admiral said, "The left flank is overwhelmed! Oskiol's fleet is attacking us savagely, with hardly any respect for defensiveness!"
The data officer suddenly gasped, "Lords! These corvettes… they're being piloted by Eternals! Their energy signature is increasing exponentially on the planet!"
They were indeed hurling themselves suicidally at the Imperial fleet… because for them, dying only served to reinforce their troops on the planetary surface! Azerof angrily replied, "Damn Feds! They're allied with the Eternal Coalition! Do they have no self-respect?"
An admiral said, "My Lord, we're being overrun on every flank! We must retreat or we'll suffer catastrophic losses! All our weapons systems are tuned to attack the dragon. Most of our ships are still struggling to prime short-range and medium-range weapons!"
Azerof, still furious, replied, "We will never retreat, you coward! Alert our ground troops of the Eternal reinforcements… and prepare nuclear missiles! Those don't need to be warmed up. If we fail today, the Eternals will slaughter our people on Terra as they did on Era and Cronos I! I refuse to die like a sheep. We will fight to the end!"
***
Ruins of the Valor Temple—Respawn Zone
The temple had long-since been leveled by all the fighting. Nobody who looked upon the zone at this point could possibly believe that it had ever been sacred ground, nor that it had ever contained incredible treasures like the Skill Books which players had once studied.
At this point, the Imperial Army controlled the entire area. Anti-personnel mines had been laid out by the millions surrounding the area, so that even someone who escaped the soldiers themselves would be blown to pieces before they got very far.
To contribute to this containment zone, every remaining building in the area was riddled with snipers. They lost no time in firing every time an Eternal appeared, draining their levels without any opportunity to react.
As soon as a player reached Level 1 and the cosmic light that shone on their forehead dimmed completely, a Special Forces squad captured that player and brought him outside, where he was deposited into a heavily armored vehicle which deported him to a specially designed prison.
An Imperial sniper had just finished his daily "tour of duty." He and his companions joked about this due to the sheer number of kills they acquired in a given day. It was as though they killed an entire war's worth of enemy combatants in a single shift!
As for today, the sniper had single-handedly killed a good hundred players. Less than some days and more than others. He climbed up to the roof of his "nest" with the rest of his unit to take a rest. They were watching a beautiful spectacle in the skies above, a blossom of fire as a nuclear missile exploded.
The newcomer said to his commander, "It seems those Federation dogs still want to shed the blood of the human race on Terra! Can't they just roll over like good dogs and accept their deaths?"
The commander replied, "Bah. No wonder, really. They supported that traitorous Chancellor Souley even at the end. A man who wanted to replace our race with filthy xenos from abroad! Without the Supremacists, humans would probably have disappeared years ago.
The sniper replied with a contented sigh, "Hail Azerof!"
The commander answered, "Hail Azerof!"
Suddenly, landmine explosions burst from down below!
The commander became immediately alert."What?! Anti-personnel mines! An Eternal is trying to escape! Everybody at his post!"
But before anyone could react, a surge of bright cosmic energy surged from the temple ruins, illuminating the whole area!
Somehow, millions of players with strong cosmic signatures burning on their foreheads had all respawned at once.
The commander gasped, "How is this possible?! There shouldn't have been even a thousand players of such a high power level left on Terra!"
Above them, in the atmosphere, one could see trails of fire and hear the sonic booms of ships entering the atmosphere.
Hundreds of thousands of corvettes were descending from above!
Suddenly, the commander's radio buzzed. It was an emergency communication from Azerof!
"To all Terran forces! The enemy has overwhelmed us and is attempting to invade Terra! I order all Imperial forces to repel the attackers! For the Imperium of Humanity!"
***
At that moment, all players received a message.
Server Announcement: The conditions are set for a large-scale PvE event on the planet "Terra" in the system "Terra Prime."
Server Announcement: The event "Liberation of Terra" has begun. All participants will receive double EXP and GC rewards for Imperial NPCs killed in the event zone. This event will last for 3 hours.
The players' corvettes wasted no time in pelting the gathered Imperial Army below them using laser cannons. At the same time, the newly respawned players eagerly surged toward the last few buildings still standing in the area, thirsty for the blood of the NPC bastards who had tormented respawning players for far too long.
The time had come to take back their destiny in the world of
