Star Valley, Starfall Bastion.
Hell Howl led nearly three hundred members of the Hell Legion through Star Valley, fighting their way forward. After more than five hours, they finally arrived at Starfall Bastion.
Starfall Bastion, after over two days of restoration, had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.
Not only did the entire fortress look as good as new, but with its magic formation fully activated, the whole of Starfall Bastion was enveloped in a thick layer of mana. For the mana-sparse Star Valley, it was like an oasis in the desert. Moreover, a thin layer of mist lingering around the outer walls lent the fortress an additional air of mystery and ancient grandeur.
"This ancient fortress is truly impressive—able to gather such dense mana. If we could train here long-term, our control over mana would definitely improve significantly."
"It's not just about improving mana control. If I could live and train here long-term, my combat level would probably jump by a huge margin."
"No wonder headquarters insisted on sending the Hell Legion personally. If we could seize control of this Starfall Bastion, the inner and core members of our Netherworld Empire would see tremendous improvement. We wouldn't need to frantically fight for spots to enter the Magical Mist Secret Realm every week—everyone could simply live in Starfall Bastion and push their strength to the limit."
The members of the Hell Legion gazed at Starfall Bastion not far ahead, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
Mana was extremely scarce on the Western Continent. Locations with dense mana were targets that every major power fought tooth and nail to control.
In areas with dense mana, players' affinity for mana increased. The denser the mana, the more agile the mind became, which was enormously helpful for mastering mana control.
Because of this, any discovery of a mana-rich location on the Western Continent would trigger guild wars—and even superpowers wouldn't hesitate to go to war over them.
The previously known mana-rich locations were laughable compared to the current Starfall Bastion. Even this dense mana was of great help to experts of their caliber.
"Guild Leader, this Divine Tribulation is acting strangely—they've only stationed a six-player team at the main gate, not even sending a single Third Order NPC guard. Are they really not afraid of someone forcing their way in?" A Third Order Ranger in dark blue leather armor used Eagle Eye to observe the six Second Order players from Divine Tribulation guarding the gate of Starfall Bastion, feeling thoroughly baffled.
On the Western Continent, even for fortresses garrisoned by NPC guards, the controlling guild would station many Third Order guild guards alongside them.
The main gate was the most vulnerable point of any fortress, even with the defensive magic formation activated.
If someone attacked the main gate before its defensive mechanisms activated, it would be easy to destroy the gate and gain entry to the fortress.
Therefore, any faction that held a fortress would station powerful Third Order guards at the gate to prevent players from destroying it in the opening moments.
But Starfall Bastion was the complete opposite—not only were there no Third Order NPC guards, but only six Second Order players were watching the gate. It was practically handing the entire main entrance to anyone who wanted to seize the fortress.
And even setting aside the risk of players damaging the gate, the entrance was an extremely important location.
At the gate, players entering the fortress had to pay an entry fee, and those fees were stored at the gate before being transported to the City Lord's Manor.
If the fees were stolen by players mid-transport, or if players breached the gate's storage room, the losses would be catastrophic. So every major power, upon obtaining a fortress, would dispatch NPC guards with strong combat capabilities to guard the gate.
"That's not our concern. Everyone get ready—we're moving in." Hell Howl couldn't have cared less.
In his view, whether or not Starfall Bastion stationed Third Order NPC guards didn't make a shred of difference to the Hell Legion.
If they wanted to do something to Starfall Bastion's main gate, Divine Tribulation wouldn't be able to stop them.
After speaking, the members of the Hell Legion summoned their guild's advanced mounts—Magic-Horn War Horses—and marched in an imposing column toward Starfall Bastion.
These Magic-Horn War Horses were enormous, each standing two to three meters tall, like elephants.
When nearly three hundred Magic-Horn War Horses moved together, the ground trembled beneath them, as if an army of millions were passing through—a terrifying sight.
And when the Hell Legion, mounted on their Magic-Horn War Horses, arrived in force before the gates of Starfall Bastion, the six-person guard team at the gate stood like wooden mannequins. They showed no fear or reverence toward the imposing Hell Legion, simply blocking the cavalry's advance and walking calmly up to Hell Howl.