Chapter 626: Most Wanted
Chapter 626: Most Wanted
Chapter 626: Most Wanted
Over the following days, Leo rarely logged into the world of Terra Nova, dedicating most of his time to meditation and to the practice of his real-world combat skills.
However, in his absence a few major events unfolded in the game world, first and foremost of which being that he was branded as the ‘Rebel Leader’ and public enemy number one by the Empire.
His face was plastered in every Empire-controlled town square, his bounty fliers were sent to every major adventurer and mercenary guild and the common populace was brainwashed against him.
Branded as an outlaw and the worst form of criminal, he was slapped with a massive bounty of 100 million gold coins, which was unprecedented throughout the history of the Empire.
His wanted poster saw the text “WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE” at the top.
A photo of him in his signature black cloak, Virex mask and daggers at the center.
And a bounty reward of 100 million gold written in bold at the bottom.
It was a rather flattering photo of him, taken during the grand tournament, where he looked rather handsome slashing his dagger, however, while Leo was happy with the wanted photo, he was surprised to learn that the system operators had decided to fuck him over big-time, and that too in the worst way possible.
4 days after the call of Briarhelm, as he logged into the game to check on the progress of the uprising, Leo was shown a system notification, which was the single most restrictive and unfair message he had ever read.Apparently, the system operators had woken up and decided that if he were to be captured by the Empire or their forces in his capacity as the ‘Rebel Leader’, he would be immediately imprisoned indefinitely, bringing an abrupt end to his gaming career.
For a moment, as Leo realized that the game wanted to screw him over again, he hurled out a stream of vicious curses, however, once he realized that it was doing him no good, he calmed back down.
As per the new system announcement, given his current status as the rebel leader, if a bounty hunter killed Leo within rebel territory, they would instantly receive a bounty of 1 million gold coins from the system with no strings attached.
In this case, Leo would still respawn within rebel territory, only suffering the loss of a few levels and items, but nothing critical.
However, if he was to be killed in Empire-controlled territory by any player, the consequences would be far worse.
Instead of respawning as usual from the nearest respawn point, Leo would automatically reappear within the Empire’s prison, captured forever.
The bounty hunter responsible for putting him there would earn the full reward of 100 million gold coins for delivering him dead and Leo would be imprisoned indefinitely, unable to escape his imprisonment unless the rebels staged a rescue and bust him out.
Conversely, if he were captured by the Empire’s soldiers or NPCs instead of players, the end result would still remain the same as long as he was taken down in Empire controlled lands.
As from this moment forward each step he took into Empire lands would carry the risk of jeopardizing his entire gaming career, with the ever-present possibility of a permanent confinement awaiting him.
Thankfully, he wasn’t the only player to suffer such a grim fate, as there were several rebels with a bounty on their heads who also suffered the same fate
Most of those who got this notification held the minimum rank of a Captain or higher within the Uprising’s military system, however, none of them had it as bad as Leo.
While their bounties were a measly 1 million gold coins at best, Leo’s bounty was astronomically higher in his capacity as ‘Rebel Leader’, making him the biggest target to take down.
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Secondly, and more positively the campaign against the remaining Eastern Lords progressed very smoothly for the rebels, with them being able to conquer over 70% of the Eastern Duchy in under 4 days, with 12 baronies being defeated with ease.
With Fort Ironclad firmly under their control, the Empire was unable to send any reinforcements to help the remaining Eastern Lords pushing back against the rebellion, as with the Demons to the Empire’s boundary cutting off their chances to flee and the rebels pressing in on them from all sides, the Eastern Lords failed to hold onto their lands.
Baron Gregor and a couple other Baron’s were the last bastion of the Empire’s loyalists, however, ChaosBringer anticipated that even they would fall within the next week, if nothing unexpected happened.
Unfortunately, taking control of the Eastern Duchy also meant that the rebels were now forced to hold the lines against the Demon Army, as with the Empire’s forces decimated or dispelled, the rebels were forced to guard the boundaries.
On the plus side, securing the Eastern Battlefront against the demons presented the rebels with the unique opportunity to gain tonnes of levels on a routine basis, and with millions of rebels fleeing from all over the game map towards rebel strongholds, many felt interested in holding the boundary.
However, on the down side, the rebels now found themselves tied down to a long war against the demons, which would force them to always position a large fraction of their troops to safeguard the Eastern lines.
Gone were the days where they could easily relocate their forces as per the battle they needed to fight, as with the Empire heavily restricting their movements within their lands and the demons being a constant source of threat on the other side, the rebels were forced to consolidate their positions in the East, regardless of their own ambitions.
The game’s meta was undergoing a rapid shift and with leveling opportunities becoming scarcer and scarcer by the day, the rebel movement was the final catalyst needed to ignite the flames of war that would envelop the entire game.
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/// A/N – Guys we have a real shot at finishing within top10 of GT rankings this month. Please support the book with as many tickets as you can.
If we do make it to the end within top10, I’ll do a 5 chapter mass release on 1st November as a thank-you! ///