(The next day, Briarhelm)
2 days after Leo killed the Emperor, the fighting across the Empire only grew more fierce, with the rebels making gains everywhere apart from the West.
Cervantez, and the DarkSky guild having prepared in advance for this eventual attack, did not allow the WhiteSaber guild members to run wild in the West, becoming a stubborn thorn in their side.
Having already dug-up defensive posts and stocked up on significant ammunition, the DarkSky guild was not afraid of a prolonged battle of arbitrage, and were prepared to face a long siege.
However, despite them holding the advantage in these early stages, for now, the war in the West was only starting and too soon to call, as the fall of a couple villages could easily turn the tide against them.
******
Sitting in his office, ChaosBringer glanced over all the new pieces of news coming about the war, when suddenly he heard a knock on his door.
*Knock*
*Knock*
"Come in" ChaosBringer said, as an informant wearing the Uprising's uniform walked in, appearing slightly out of breath as if having sprinted here with urgency.
"Lord ChaosBringer, it's confirmed, someone has spotted Ben Faulkner and Lord Boss's pet entering the gates…." An uprising member said, as he informed ChaosBringer of Dumpy and Ben's arrival.
"And what about the lord himself?" ChaosBringer inquired, as the informant shook his head in denial.
"Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be with them, but with how stealthy he is, I'm not sure if we can rely on our eyes to detect him" he informed, as ChaosBringer dismissed him with a curt gesture.
"Our Lord is back home victorious! This is a cause for great celebration…. I must go at once!" ChaosBringer said excitedly, as he straightened his attire and began to fix every last loose strand in his hair.
"Perfect–" he declared after a while, as he exited his office and began making his way towards Leo's quarters where he stayed with Ben and Dumpy alone.
**********
(Outside Leo's residence in Briarhelm)
ChaosBringer arrived outside Leo's residence in Briarhelm, just before Ben and Dumpy made their way there, allowing him to greet the duo and congratulate them on their victorious return.
"Agh, this lowly one greets Master Ben Faulkner and the esteemed Lord Dumpy on their victorious return from a legendary adventure.
If it pleases you, this lowly one plans to hold a grand feast in your honor tonight in Briarhelm, you only have to give a command" ChaosBringer said, bowing politely, as Dumpy beamed listening to those words.
"I remember you… lowly human, you're one of the few sensible ones that greet my Lord Father correctly…. I will accept your congratulations" Dumpy said, as ChaosBringer bowed even deeply when being acknowledged by the mythical beast.
"Through my own visual device, I tracked your adventure, and I must say, it was quite the treat to watch, your strength and intelligence knows no bounds–" ChaosBringer said, as although he did not use terms like 'Livestream' before an NPC, he conveyed the fact that he had watched Dumpy in action, which quite pleased the narcissistic frog.
"My failures are mine, however, my achievements only belong to my Lord Father. It's because of him that I'm strong today, so all the credit must go to him" Dumpy said, while growing a few inches in size as he visibly puffed up from the compliments.
Ben however was more measured and did not seem too impressed by ChaosBringers flattery, as he simply dismissed ChaosBringer with a few short words.
"We are tired after a long journey, there's no need for elaborate banquets tonight, you can perhaps host one when my disciple returns" Ben said, as ChaosBringer bowed, getting the message.
It seemed like 'TheBoss' had not travelled with them back to Briarhelm and was going to take a few days more to return.
"I will not disturb you then, I have held you long enough" ChaosBringer said, backpedaling as he left, as he did not dare turn his back on Ben or Dumpy, as it would be a great sign of disrespect.
Only when the two of them were out of his field of vision, did ChaosBringer finally turn and let out a deep sigh, as he seemed slightly disappointed that 'TheBoss' did not return with his crew.
"I wanted to talk about strategy with God Boss… his immeasurable wisdom would be invaluable in such important times. However, I must make-do now with my own instincts.
He's already done enough, if I cannot topple the Empire even now, then I probably don't deserve the 'instigator' class" ChaosBringer murmured to himself, as he made his way back to his office.
*********
(Meanwhile Cervantez)
Only now did Cervantez feel the backlash of letting Luke walk out of his guild, as once the war officially began, Luke's absence started to be sorely felt within the guild.
Luke was the DarkSky guilds foremost strategist and with him overseeing missions, Cervantez used to be quite mentally free.
However, ever since Luke had left, he had to pick-up the workload of the vice guild master as well, making his usual work day extremely busy.
On the bright side, the light faction seemed to be imploding, with every region but the Western Duchy suffering massive losses, which was perfect for Cervantez and his vision to make the West the last holdout.
However, on the down side, it seemed as if the leadership skills of his core team were not as good as Luke's, as despite having better positioning to defend villages and frontier territories, the guild still faced massive daily losses in their fight against the WhiteSabers.
Hence, while the bigger picture that Cervantez had for the guild, which was to turn them into the last resistance against the rebels, was still intact.
The execution of those plans seemed to be not up to par, putting additional stress on him as their leader.
—-----
/// A/N – Hey guys! I have some great news to share.
Webnovel has invited me to China for the WSA award ceremony and are flying me out on this 14th for the same.
I have already prepared a stockpile of chapters so that normal releases won't be affected, however, there is a great firewall in China, so in case the chapters are delayed or I have trouble connecting to the outside internet, please be patient.
I'll be back on 21st, so I'm just going for a week, and I don't expect updates to be interrupted at all.
I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping to win gold as I know you guys have voted and supported me all through the year and I'm very grateful for the same. Whatever the result is now. I'm content, so cheers! ///