The players who were lingering around till the very end, were forced to log-out after they witnessed Sir Gareth's death as they simply ran out of log-in time.
This meant that the last scene they saw before leaving the game, was 'TheBoss' and his allies facing-off against thousands of royal army troops, who seemed nervous and agitated after the death of their leader.
In their minds, they expected to log-into the game world tomorrow and find 'TheBoss' somewhere within StrongHaven City, bruised and tired from his fight against the NPC's, however, they were utterly wrong in this assumption.
The world was about to turn upside down the next time they logged in, as 'TheBoss' was aiming to achieve the impossible.
*********
(Meanwhile Leo)
Leo knew that he did not wish to linger around for too long once the common players logged out of the game, and Sir Gareth was neutralized, and hence once those two conditions were achieved, he gave Ben the signal to activate the 'Escape' plan.
[Mirror World]
With both him and Ben, creating a single clone of themselves using the skill mirror world, the duo tacitly diverted the attention of the royal army soldiers towards their clones, while they themselves began to covertly exit the area alongside a shrunken-up Dumpy.
It took them a while to make their way through the immediate areas surrounding the bakery, however, after roughly twenty minutes of careful movement, they finally made their way out of the perimeter and were in the open to make their way towards the castle.
"Boy, I know you've already made-up your mind to do this, so I'm not trying to discourage you….. but I must warn you that the enemies we are about to face won't be as easy to kill as Sir Gareth.
The North Duke is very strong, and it's my understanding based on how the air around the castle is shimmering that Lady Vivienne is present within the castle walls too.
Both of them are fighters that are equal or surpass me in strength, so fighting them won't be easy.
Add the Virex Corps and the Royal Guards to this equation and this assassination becomes much more complicated than you think" Ben warned, as Leo nodded listening to his words with a smile.
He did not expect murdering the royal family to be an easy mission at all, however, it was something he had decided to do regardless.
"Any tips on how to take those two out should I face them?" Leo asked, as Ben thought about his question for a while.
"Vivienne is a mage, so getting close to her will always be beneficial. If you don't give her time to cast her spells, she will be akin to a toothless lion.
The North Duke is more complicated, that man has fought and held his own against various Demon Count's over the years and is hailed as one of the strongest swordsmen of the Empire.
Our best chance of taking him out is if we assassinate him in his sleep" Ben suggested, as Leo took his advice to heart.
Taking out the North Duke was a priority if they wanted to succeed and hence, Leo made-up his mind to try and take him out, the moment they infiltrated the castle.
**********
(Meanwhile within the castle)
Contrary to Leo's expectations, nobody within the castle seemed to be enjoying a peaceful night of sleep, especially with the ongoing ruckus in the city.
Ever since the massive fighting broke out city-wide, the North Duke Denver Willow was the first to monitor the situation, and he was nowhere close to being fast asleep.
"What do you think? Lady Vivienne? Is it smart to allow them to enter the castle? Or should we send the Virex Corps out to intercept them now?" The North Duke asked Vivienne, as the two monitored the movements of both Ben and Leo closely as they made their way through the streets of StrongHaven towards the castle.
Vivienne, through a magic crystal ball, had put a tracer spell on Leo while he caused a ruckus in the city, and although Leo managed to ditch the majority of the royal guards with his clone, he could not ditch Vivienne, who was still monitoring him constantly.
"I think we should let them enter…. Ben Faulkner was supposed to be dead, apprehending him will give us more clarity on what happened the night where the Emperor died…." Vivienne suggested, as Denver let out a deep sigh.
He did not wish to endanger the safety of the royal family as much as possible, however, Vivienne's plan seemed like the only possible solution to catching the two alive.
The current Virex Corps without Cedric to lead them were not the same as before, and although the Virex Corps were still a force to be feared, they were not up to the task when it came to capturing a man like Ben Faulkner.
"We need to protect the Young Emperor at any cost, also, we must not let them enter the Castle itself.
Cast a detection spell all around the castle perimeter, and prepare to intercept them the second they enter this area…. We will then fight them with all that we've got" Denver instructed, as Lady Vivienne began rubbing her palms with joy.
"Your request will require me to expend significant mana…. Perhaps if you can lend me a few high grade mana stones, it would be–"
"Yes, you can take 15 high grade mana stones from the treasury, but I expect your full cooperation during this raid.
We must detain Ben Faulkner and his disciple today and for that I'll need your unwavering support" Denver said, as Vivienne gave him a joyful 'OK' sign.
Helping the royal family was always a highly profitable endeavor and she had no doubts in her mind that by helping Denver Willow today, she was poised to receive significant gains in the future, especially if her contribution in taking Ben Faulkner down today proved to be noteworthy.