(Leo's POV)
After all the chaos surrounding the second evaluation and learning about his new job role in reality, Leo felt a sense of relief wash over him as he returned to the world of Terra Nova for a full day's worth of gaming.
Somehow, he had started to prefer being within the world of Terra Nova more than being in reality and after being unable to game properly for four full days, he found the idea of having a full day's worth of uninterrupted gaming to be very comforting.
Upon his return to his work office inside the Baron's mansion, the first thing he did was to pass the plans for more construction and development projects for the Barony, as he allocated even more funds out of his personal pocket to enrich the Barony's defenses.
Initially he had wanted to go for a slow and steady approach regarding development of his territory, however, with the next evaluation theme being 'Legacy', Leo made the snap decision to improve his Barony's defense situation at once as he anticipated a considerable wave of chaos to envelope the entire world of Terra Nova in the coming days.
Although he was no reincarnator like Cervantez, nor a strategic genius like Luke, he had strong instincts and currently, his instincts told him that improving the security situation within the Barony was an urgent priority.
Hence, although he needed to reach into his own pockets to fund these new projects, Leo decided to start with the construction of a basic brick wall around the Berkshire town and the two main villages of the Barony, alongside constructing additional security features like fences and ranger towers near the Barony's boundaries.
Currently, with the employment situation within the Barony improving and the local gangs being routed, the internal security of the Barony was better than ever.
However, in comparison it's readiness against external threats could still be considered as 'poor'.
Although the recruitment drive that he conducted a couple months ago for the army was a success and Leo was able to recruit 10,000 NPC's into his forces and an additional 500 men as internal security forces, these men were still untrained and not ready for a big war.
While Ben was training them, the first two months had only gone into him whipping them into shape, while he waited for the actual training facilities to be completed after which the real training was to begin.
At the current speed, Leo expected it to be a couple months more before the first batch of soldiers were functional, and in the meantime, Leo wanted to get-on with the wall construction project, which if completed swiftly could theoretically be completed in the next two weeks.
Currently Leo had several construction projects on-going within the Barony, with the Barony literally looking like it was undergoing development projects in every corner.
New roads were being built, new sewage drains were being constructed, new grannies were being erected, new administrative buildings were being constructed.
Everywhere one looked there was a new development project taking place, and Leo was now adding even more projects to the list of on-going ones, spending money like water for the enrichment of his territory.
Initially, he had only become a Baron to take life easy and enjoy luxury, however, this idea of his changed rapidly once he arrived at 'Crest-Hill' Barony.
Not only did he work hard to develop the land, but he almost spent all of his 2 million gold coins advance received from Shane in doing so.
The current infrastructure of the Barony was so poor that it could not even handle the influx of a few hundred newbie players.
The local motels could only accommodate a few of them, while the others were forced to log out on the streets, leaving them vulnerable to petty theft.
This abysmal condition of his Barony, left Leo feeling a sting in his heart, however, he knew that he could not actively interfere in such sectors.
There were only a handful of motels in his Barony because there was no demand for restaurants and motels in his Barony, with there being very few to none visitors in a calendar year.
Merchants did not wish to trade here and travelers did not wish to come here, which resulted in there being low demand for such occupations.
However, Leo knew that if he could make this Barony lucrative for trade and pay his workers fairly, then the disposable income that the commoners had would drive demand for luxury goods and experiences which would slowly transform this Barony on its own.
However, that process would take several months to years to complete and was not immediate, and hence he could only be patient to witness those changes.
For now, he could only continue developing infrastructure that was for the common good and hope that the transformation that he seeked, happened soon enough.
*********
( Meanwhile Dem Paltrow )
Dem Paltrow received the most tragic news when he received a letter from his immediate underlings that the 'Assassins Alliance' had disbanded.
With the Night Guild no longer being their natural leaders, there was a power vacuum left for the other members to fill and after a lot of infighting, it was decided that the alliance be disbanded.
[ Respected Night Guildmaster,
We are saddened to inform you that the Assassin Alliance has decided to disband and the headquarters underneath the forest has been looted and abandoned.
From this day onwards, there will be no mission sharing or information sharing between alliance members, while taking assassination missions against other factions will also be accepted.
There is nothing you can do to change this decision taken by the other guild leaders and hence we suggest that you accept this news with grace.
Also, it saddens me to inform you that the Virex Corps have pulled the 'wanted' flyers for Hollard throughout the Empire, which means that Hollard is most likely confirmed dead.
I offer my deepest sympathies for this sad news, however, it is the Night Guild's fault for letting him fall– ]
As Dem Paltrow read this letter, he felt like he had finally hit his last straw, as the leader of the Night Guild, finally lost his mind and became a vindictive beast hell-bent on seeking revenge.
"My life's work has crumpled apart. My best friend and my most trusted ally is dead.
My organization is in shambles and my alliance is no more.
I have utterly failed in my life's ambitions, However, I will fail no more.
While I may not be a good leader, I am a damn good assassin and it's time to remind the Empire of who exactly the master assassin Dem Paltrow is…." Dem said, as he kicked open the door of his underground cave and ventured outside into the streets of StrongHaven, in a disturbed state of mind.
"Lin Mu….. Ben Faulkner, Ben Faulkner's Disciple, The Virex Corps, The Emperor, The other assassin guild leaders... all of you have wronged me and I do not intend to spare a single one of you.
I will kill every last one of you with my own hands, even if it is the last thing that I do" Dem resolved, as he decided to cast away his identity as the Night Guild Master for good and turn into a rogue assassin to quench his thirst for revenge.