[Group Chat]
[March 7th]: Hehe! Hey everyone, our very first stop on the trailblazing journey is an active war zone!
[Saeko Busujima]: Huh? March is in a war? What happened?
[Seitenshi]: Things got intense right off the bat?
[Marika]: How about streaming it so we can watch? What do you say, March?
[March 7th]: That's exactly what I was thinking!
[Group Notice: March 7th has started a live stream! Come join!]
The group members quickly poured into the stream to watch March's war unfold.
[Artemis]: Ahhh! I get to see handsome Yuki again! (Heart)
[Galacta]: Uh... Artemis, can you not? (Speechless)
[Raiden Ei]: What exactly caused this war?
[Nishino Akane]: Yeah, March, can you give a quick summary? The gear difference between your side and the enemy is pretty stark.
Through the visual feed of the stream, they could see the native resistance's weapons—shabby, outdated, and barely holding together. The Denizens of Abundance's gear, on the other hand, was clean, sleek, and brimming with highly advanced technology.
A single glance told you exactly who held the absolute advantage.
[March 7th]: No problem! We've got a little bit of time before it starts, so I'll explain. It all started when...
As March quickly summarized the situation, the chat group understood the grim reality.
[Dongfang Huaizhu]: That's terrible. These Denizens of Abundance just ruthlessly plunder other civilizations and violently steal entire planets!
[Galacta]: Yeah, it's awful. But out here in deep space? It's pretty common. Lots of interstellar races do it.
[Nishino Akane]: Still, these Abundance aberrations are pure scum! Go get 'em, March!
[Athena]: Blindly granting everyone exactly what they desire without discernment? That always causes massive problems. The Aeon of Abundance is no different.
As the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena understood the delicate balance of good and evil far better than the Abundance's indiscriminate, suffocating charity.
[Saeko Busujima]: Invasions exist with or without the curse of immortality. It is born of basic human greed. It has nothing to do with the Aeon's initial blessing.
[Marika]: You can't deny, though, the blessing endlessly amplifies that greed.
[Seitenshi]: True. There is solid logic to both sides. Let's not overthink the philosophy of Aeons. Let's just watch what March and the others do next.
The group set aside the philosophical debate over the 'curse' of the Abundance's immortality and focused intently on the stream.
Planet Gokan, the Northern Wasteland.
The two armies faced off on the barren wasteland. The atmosphere was incredibly tense—war could ignite at any second.
The resistance soldiers were visibly nervous. Even though this wasn't their first fight against the Denizens of Abundance, those undying monsters had left a horrific psychological mark.
The Abundance army, meanwhile, looked completely relaxed. These resistance fighters were the very last holdouts on this planet. Crush them, and the entire world was fully theirs.
Even if the Interastral Peace Corporation came investigating later, they could simply pin the dead IPC personnel on these native rebels and walk free. The IPC might suspect the truth, but with no surviving witnesses, they wouldn't dare touch the Denizens of Abundance. Getting entangled in a massive war over a few low-level corporate employees? It wasn't worth the trouble for the IPC executives. Of course, if the victims had been higher-ups, that would be a completely different story.
"Surrender! You have no chance of victory!"
A man dressed in solemn, sacred white robes stood before the Abundance army, arrogantly urging their surrender.
"Rather than dying a pointless death, join us! Embrace the Abundance! Become its children! Embrace eternity! Know no more suffering!"
He shamelessly dangled immortality as bait. It was a bad move.
Those who were still fighting here were the most steadfast and clear-headed. They knew the Denizens of Abundance's true ways. Join them? More people simply meant fewer resources to split. There was absolutely no way they would genuinely accept new, equal members.
What had happened to the other seven tribal leaders who surrendered? No one had seen or heard from them since. Everyone knew exactly what that meant. Did they really think the Abominations of Abundance were running a charity?
The resistance soldiers looked at the Abundance commander with pure, unadulterated contempt.
"Save your breath. We know your vile schemes!" Fyodor, the burly resistance leader, glared coldly across the battlefield.
The Abundance commander wasn't bothered in the slightest. He simply raised his hand and gave the brutal order.
"Attack. Since peaceful persuasion fails, we will simply eradicate them."
The Abundance army surged forward. Advanced guns and heavy cannons immediately opened fire, raining a devastating barrage down upon the resistance's trenches.
BOOM—! War erupted in an instant.
Deafening gunfire echoed across the wasteland. Deadly lasers of every color streaked violently through the air. Sand, rock, and debris were blasted high into the sky. All anyone could hear was desperate yelling and earth-shattering explosions.
The resistance fighters quickly hunkered down behind their makeshift barricades and energy shields, desperately returning fire.
But the Denizens of Abundance barely even bothered with defense. Their advanced combat armor handled most of the archaic projectile hits. And when it didn't? They simply tanked the lethal blows with their bare bodies.
Blessed by the terrifying power of the Abundance, they were near-unkillable. Knocked down with a fatal wound? A few seconds of gruesome, twisting flesh later, and they were right back on their feet, continuing the slaughter.
"Dammit! These unkillable monsters are an absolute nightmare!" Fyodor roared in rage as he watched elite enemies he had personally gunned down rise to their feet once again.
"Stay calm, Fyodor. We have the Express crew and the War-Goddess." Marko soothed him, then turned to look at Jingliu, Himeko, and March. "We are counting on you all." He nodded gravely.
"Leave it to us!" March was incredibly pumped. She hesitated for a brief second, then reached into her spatial inventory and pulled out Guinsoo's Rageblade.
A strange, imposing bow—black and white, heavily adorned with glowing golden, mystical patterns—materialized in her hands.
Himeko noticed the unfamiliar weapon and looked highly curious.
"March, when did you get a new bow?"
"Uh... recently." March brushed the question off casually, not entirely wanting to explain the chat group's inter-dimensional gacha system right now.
Himeko sensed there was definitely more to the story, but gracefully chose not to pry. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets.