(Next day, Terra Nova Online)
The next day, as players returned to the world of Terra Nova, they were surprised to see that there was no new notification exposing TheBoss's live location.
Apparently, 'TheBoss' had safely made it back to the safe-zone over the night, completely dashing all hopes that the righteous faction harbored to punish him.
"This is unfair…. This game is rigged… how can one man get away with so much slaughter? Is he really stronger than an entire faction?"
"As a righteous faction player, I'm ashamed to belong to this faction today…. If we cannot collectively bring down one man, we deserve to lose the faction war."
"What do you mean he killed yet another world boss? That's four of them now!"
The righteous faction players were greatly disheartened to find out that Leo escaped, their collective morale sinking to an all-time low.
But as they began to complain on the forums to try and blow off some steam, they quickly realized that his escape was the least of their current problems.
Reports began flooding in about rebel forces surging across the borders, with them attacking every major town and village along the line of control, which made the righteous faction players feel extremely concerned over their immediate future.
Stronghold after stronghold fell with unprecedented speed, as the righteous faction's debilitated forces failed to mount effective resistance.
"Another outpost lost at the Southern Front. The rebels are pushing directly toward MudStomp village!"
"They've taken Hempstead Keep too… How is this happening so fast? The fighting at Hempstead started only a couple hours ago!"
The death of the Emperor had thrown the righteous faction into utter chaos, and the rebels wasted no time exploiting the vacuum.
With the righteous faction NPCs debuffed 50% and the players 35%, the rebels managed to steamroll through their outposts with ease, as the first day of fighting seemed to be overwhelmingly in their favor.
With every outpost they conquered, the rebels gained resources, ground, and most importantly, momentum.
While the righteous faction players, weakened by the stat debuff and plagued by internal disorganization, found themselves scrambling to defend territory that was slipping away faster than they could react.
"Forget chasing TheBoss. If we don't regroup now, there won't be a faction left to defend!" one guild leader exclaimed in desperation, as he called on help from the righteous faction players to come help him defend the village he was an administrator for, however, his call for help remained unheard.
With the rebels marching along every major road, every major route. There were dozens of villages under siege under any given moment and helping just him out was not possible.
To make matters worse, righteous faction guilds began to backstab other righteous faction guilds in these times of unrest, as a massive civil war broke off in the northern and western duchies, with major guilds taking up arms against one another.
********
(In the North)
Leo's allies in the North were the three biggest guilds in the region, who already controlled over 20% of the lands, administering them under the authority of the North Duke.
However, with the North Duke dead, these guilds wasted no time turning against their former allies, as in a move that sent shockwaves through the region, they declared independence, citing the lack of leadership and protection from the central government as justification for their rebellion.
Then, riding out of their territories with thousands of guild members and well-armed NPC mercenaries under their control, they launched a coordinated series of attacks on neighboring regions.
Their strategy was ruthless and efficient: striking key supply depots, capturing strategic outposts, and overwhelming local defenses in a well-planned pincer hold.
The local defenders, already weakened by the 50% stat debuff and disheartened by the death of their leader, were caught completely off guard.
Dozens of outposts fell within hours, as the defenders found themselves betrayed by the very people they once considered allies.
"Traitors!" one commander yelled as his small garrison was overwhelmed. "The North will burn because of you!"
But the guild leaders showed no remorse. Their goal was clear—to seize as much land and power as possible before order could be restored, as they knew that in this chaos, whoever controlled the most territory would dictate the terms of the future.
What made the situation even more dire was that these guilds weren't the only ones betraying the righteous faction.
Across the Northern and Western Duchies, smaller guilds and independent NPC lords began to splinter off, either joining the rebels outright or carving out their own fiefdoms.
Villages that had once been under the protection of righteous faction guilds found themselves looted by the very forces meant to defend them, as the common farmers and merchants were left to fend for themselves, caught in the crossfire of a civil war that seemed to have no end in sight.
"How can we hold the line when our own people stab us in the back?" a righteous faction player vented in frustration on the forums, however, the guilt shaming stopped noone.
The righteous faction was a sinking ship and even the rats were ready to jump overboard now.
The backstabbing made it impossible for the remaining loyalist lords to mount any meaningful resistance, as every time they attempted to muster troops to push back against the rebels, they were blindsided by another betrayal from within.
In the end, what should have been a united defense quickly devolved into infighting, with guilds prioritizing personal gain over the survival of their faction.
Within a single day, Leo's three allied guilds in the north, who had been preparing for this fight for months, expanded their territory under control from 20% to 35%, making massive strides all around.
They were condemned for their greed, however, nobody knew yet that they planned to eventually bend the knee to Leo, as that piece of news were reserved for after StrongHaven fell.
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/// Bonus chapter for hitting the coin target. Counter now resets at 300/2500. ///