( Leo's POV )
Initially, Leo had no intentions of joining the 'Uprising'.
He was not a believer of their mission to liberate the Empire from the rule of the current Emperor, nor was he interested in financing rebellion against the crown, however, all of that changed when he received the Global Announcement, that the 'Milwaukee Viscounty' had been annexed by the Uprising successfully, marking the beginning of a rebellion movement.
Upon receiving that notification, something within Leo's head clicked, as he realized that while most players only had the option to choose one side, either the rebels or the Empire, he could choose both.
For many days prior to this global announcement, Leo had been deeply pondering on how he could stage a show as big as the Demon King, where he slowly fooled the crowd, leading them on to one defining moment, that would become the climax of his legend.
However, while he tried to come up with a great act, he lacked the inspiration to stage it properly.
That was until he was enlightened upon hearing the Global Announcement, which provided him with the inspiration that he lacked.
'While others can only pick one side, I can pick both. Playing them against each other to benefit off them–' Leo thought, as thanks to his dual in-game identity as 'TheBoss' and 'Leo Skyshard', he realized that he had a unique opportunity to play both sides.
As 'TheBoss', he could remain an Empire loyalist, a loyal servant of the crown, while as 'Leo Skyshard', he could play the role of a Rebel Sympathiser who financed their cause.
Naturally, he could not let his public image be tarnished as a 'Rebel Sympathiser' and hence it was important that he strong-armed the leader of the rebellion into subservience before he joined the group, so that in the end everything operated exactly how he wished for it to operate.
And hence began his plan to strong-arm the leader of 'The Uprising' into becoming his personal lackee, as he reached out to him over PM, with his 'TheBoss' account.
***********
ChaosBringer was happy celebrating his victory in capturing the 'Milwaukee Viscounty', when suddenly his PM lit up with the most unusual message.
"If you don't respond to this text within the next 5 minutes, I'm going to write a message on the global forums, that 'TheBoss' is not affiliated with the 'Uprising' and that your organization is a sham using my, and my master's name—"
Upon reading this message, ChaosBringer started to quake in his boots, as 'TheBoss' and 'Ben Faulkner' being part of the 'uprising' was the backbone of the entire organization.
If news broke out that the claims of them being a member were fake, then the credibility of the organization would take a big hit, with lots of members feeling like they had been cheated and lied to.
ChaosBringer knew that it could trigger a mass exodus in his organization, and that just when things were starting to get good, all his future plans could halt abruptly if 'TheBoss' went public with this message.
"Wait! Wait! Please don't go public…. Let's talk as civilized gentlemen here" ChaosBringer replied, not even trying to bull-shit his way through this situation, as he understood just how fragile his current position was.
If he tried to play it cool, and anger 'TheBoss', the man could make a public post on the global forums which would spell doom for him, and hence ChaosBringer decided to take no risks whatsoever, playing ball right from the get-go.
"Tell me why have you been using my and my master's name? And who authorized you to do so?" Leo asked, as ChaosBringer immediately croaked like a parrot.
"It was not my plan to use your name, however, when the organization was just starting out and was lacking any authenticity, I realized that attaching your name brought me a lot of street cred.
Back then I did not think that we would grow to this scale someday but we did and so did your reputation.
Amongst the common players, you are almost like a mythical god currently who can do no wrong and having you affiliated with my guild gives me lots of advantages…." ChaosBringer replied, as he did not dare deceive Leo even slightly.
Reading his reply, Leo chuckled, as he understood that his importance within the uprising was even more than he could fathom.
Initially when he texted ChaosBringer he did not think that it would be this easy and he had prepared himself for a tough negotiation, however, judging by how shook his counterpart was, Leo understood that the 'uprising' needed his street cred more than anything in the world.
"Please don't go public with this information…. The uprising is a very strong organization and with your support it can become the greatest force in the Empire.
While I'm a rebel, I don't have any aims for the throne and if you support me, I promise to make you Emperor one day–" ChaosBringer texted, as he almost begged Leo to not go public with this information and showed that he was willing to go to any lengths in return.
"Hmmm… I have no plans to rebel against the Emperor, nor do I have my sights set on the throne. What I want is something different entirely…" Leo replied, as he tried to keep his 'TheBoss' persona detached from joining the rebel cause.
"What do you want?" ChaosBringer replied immediately, just as Leo expected him to, as with this text, he played directly into Leo's hand.
"What I want will depend on the capabilities of your organization and what it can give.
For now, I'm going to place my own man within your organization… His name is 'Leo Skyshard' and he is a renowned merchant.
Integrate him into your group and consider him to be my representative within the network" Leo replied, as with that text he blocked 'ChaosBringer' from his 'TheBoss' ID and sent a friend request to the same using his 'Leo Skyshard' ID.