Leo joining 'The Uprising' in their rebellion was a largely muted event.
His interactions were mostly limited to his men and Dumpy, which was why not many noticed him fighting for the cause publically.
Nonetheless, with him slaying dozens of enemies from the shadows, the fight for Briarhelm ended much faster than it would otherwise have taken, with the uprising securing a definite victory come log-out time.
While most players logged out having real life duties to attend to, Leo stayed back as he took the administration of the city into his own hands.
The first thing he did was close the city gates, cutting off any incoming military reinforcements, and once the gates were secured, he moved swiftly to round up all members of the Duke's old guard, imprisoning them at the Ducal manor.
There, they were presented with two straightforward choices:
The first was to resist the rebellion and face death.
And the second was to lay down their arms and submit to rebel rule.
Over 98% soldiers decided to choose life over a pointless struggle and death, however, a handful of them chose to die with honor, refusing to bow to the rebels.
To these idealistic NPC's, Leo granted them their wish of an expedited trip to the afterlife, as he cemented his control over the city with an iron grip.
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While Leo fought in Briarhelm, The Uprising also managed to win their fight in VineHaven, the largest port city in the Eastern Duchy.
VineHaven was the third and final target that Leo and ChaosBringer had deemed necessary to take control over Eastern Duchy and with its fall, the rebel takeover of the East was as good as complete.
With Fort Ironclad, Briarhelm, and Vinehaven all firmly in rebel hands, the Eastern Duchy had been brought to its knees.
The strategic importance of these three locations could not be overstated— as together, they formed the backbone of the Duchy's defense, economy, and governance.
With their fall, the remaining nobles of the East were left isolated, vulnerable, and utterly without options.
The fall of Fort Ironclad was the first critical blow. As the most heavily fortified military stronghold in the region, it had long been considered the Eastern Duchy's shield.
Positioned deep in the Eastern Forest, it protected vital trade routes and served as the primary defense against outside threats.
Its capture not only removed the Duchy's main line of defense but also provided the rebels with a secure base from which to launch further operations.
Without Fort Ironclad, the Duchy had lost its most impenetrable bastion, leaving the remaining cities and towns defenseless.
Next came the capture of Briarhelm, the political and industrial heart of the Duchy.
As the seat of the Duke's power, Briarhelm controlled both the governance and the production capabilities of the Eastern Duchy.
Its factories, foundries, and craftsmen supplied the Duchy with weapons, armor, and other essential materials for war.
By securing Briarhelm, the Uprising not only severed the Duchy's command structure but also cut off its ability to resupply and reinforce its forces.
But the final blow, and arguably the most devastating, was the fall of Vinehaven, the largest port city and economic hub of the Eastern Duchy.
Vinehaven was the lifeblood of the region's trade, connecting the Duchy to the wider Empire and beyond. Its docks were always bustling with ships, bringing in essential supplies, wealth, and reinforcements.
By taking control of Vinehaven, the Uprising had effectively strangled the Duchy's economic arteries. No more goods could flow in or out, leaving the rest of the region starved of resources.
This economic chokehold was sure to soon lead to shortages of food, weapons, and medicine, crippling the ability of any remaining noble forces to mount a meaningful defense.
With these three pillars—Fort Ironclad, Briarhelm, and Vinehaven—now under rebel control, the remaining nobles of the Eastern Duchy found themselves trapped.
Their territories, cut off from both trade and military reinforcements, were nothing more than isolated fiefdoms waiting to fall.
The Viscounties and Baronies that had not yet been touched by the rebellion had no means of organizing any significant resistance.
Strategically, the Eastern Duchy was now as good as conquered. The Duke's remaining loyal forces were scattered and broken, unable to coordinate any meaningful defense.
The logistical nightmare created by the fall of these three key locations meant that even if the nobles could muster their remaining forces, they would lack the supplies, organization, and strategic strongholds to hold back the advancing rebellion.
Furthermore, the death of the East Duke Victor had crushed any hope of political unity among the nobles.
Without the Duke, there was no central authority left to rally the remaining lords. Making any attempt at organizing a counterattack would be chaotic at best, with each noble fighting for their own survival rather than the Duchy as a whole.
The Eastern Duchy, once a formidable and prosperous region, was now crumbling from within, but this was only the beginning of Leo's revenge on the Empire, as with large chunks of both the East and South under the Uprising's control, he now commanded a significant chunk of land within the Empire.
The rebel movement that started as nothing more than a little disturbance with the capture of a few small Viscounty's had now grown into a full fledged tsunami, with the capture of entire Duchy's.
Leo understood fully well that with this win he had shifted the identity of the most important enemy for StrongHaven from the demons to the rebels, however, he did not care.
The Empire could focus all its energy on the rebels and he still had the confidence to sneak into the imperial palace alone and kill them all.
"You have killed my Master Ben, it's not a crime that can be punished by something as easy as death.
For you nobles, losing your land is more painful than losing your flesh, and hence, I will capture your lands and repeatedly humiliate you before granting you death" Leo muttered, as having tasted vengeance once, he now desired it more than ever.