Terra Nova Online: Rise of The Strongest Player

Chapter 727: Consequences

(One Week Later, Briarhelm)

Nine days after Leo killed the Emperor, the rebels succeeded in fully unifying the Southern Duchy under their control.

With relentless progress each day, it took them just over a week to eliminate the final holdout—an NPC viscount—securing absolute dominance over the Duchy.

This victory had significant geographic implications, as now the rebels effectively cornered the Empire’s forces from two fronts, cutting them off completely from the East and South.

However, while the rebel victory in the south was concerning for many who resided in central and western regions, it was even worse for the righteous faction players who were still stuck in the south, as they had been stripped away of all their rights and relegated to the status of prisoners of war.

Many among them began to regret their choice to remain in the South and resist the rebels, as in hindsight, they realized their beliefs had been naive at best and delusional at worst.

Raised on platitudes like “Wars are not won by the number of soldiers fighting them” and “Courage can overcome any adversity,” they had clung to the hope that sheer determination and heart could halt the rebel advance. But the harsh reality proved them wrong.

The rebel advance was unstoppable, and with higher numbers and greater physical strength, the rebels sweeped any battlefield they entered cleanly, with the righteous faction players having no chance to effectively fight back.

Once captured and defeated, the righteous faction players in the South were presented with two stark choices by the system.

The first option allowed them to surrender and pledge their allegiance to the rebels, effectively jumping ship and changing sides, but to do this, one had to pay a steep cost.

Every player wanting to take this route had to forfeit 50% of the items in their inventory, which included their hard-earned weapons, armor, rare items, and even in-game currency or other assets that many had spent years acquiring.

The items were to drop randomly, with the victorious rebels who captured them being allowed to loot it freely.

However, if one felt unsatisfied with this choice, the second one was even worse.

The second option that the system offered was an outright 30 day gaming ban, which for many was too harsh of a penalty to accept.

The second penalty was essentially a forced exile, severing one from the game’s progress and community, significantly reducing their chances for a promotion during the next evaluation.

Hence, stuck between a rock and a hard place, the majority chose to convert and endure the humiliation of surrender, rather than not playing the game at all.

This meant that the defenders became the predators, with the rebels gaining hundreds of thousands of new members, all of whom were deployed straight into battle into the central regions, while the winners of the South looted their dropped spoils.

Many of the rebels openly boasted about their newfound riches and mocked the righteous faction players’ years of effort on the forums, and how their effort was now being reduced to nothing but loot.

However, the humiliation didn’t stop at simply looting.

Former righteous faction players were paraded before their peers as symbols of the rebel victory, and public executions of NPCs loyal to the Empire were made before the common masses to serve as a grim warning against armed civil unrest.

The rebel victory was not just a conquest of land but a brutal dismantling of morale, leaving the righteous faction players broken, looted, and humiliated in its wake.

“Years of grinding gone in minutes. I can’t believe this is how it ends,” one defeated player muttered in despair on the forums, his post quickly gaining hundreds of likes from others who shared the sentiment.

“I had two unique grade items—both now gone! This system is a joke. What kind of choice is this? Either lose everything or get banned. How is that fair?” Another added, his case being similar to that of many.

“That’s what you get for standing in our way. Thanks for the loot—I’ve never been this rich before.” A rebel player gloated, as hundreds others joined in the mockery, sharing photos of their new loot on the forums with one even gleefully posting, “Southern gear firesale, courtesy of the righteous losers. Come and get it!” ℞âΝÔβΕꞩ

Such gloating after months of online banter between the two sides only made the rivalry worse as the righteous faction players felt like they were being subjected to unprecedented social oppression.

“We need to hold strong in the central territories. The rebels are winning now, but they can’t maintain this momentum forever.” One righteous player wrote, trying to rally support, however, others weren’t so optimistic.

“What’s the point? They’ve got hundreds of thousands of our faction’s players already switching sides. It’s over.”

“Honestly, they deserve it. The righteous faction has been the more privileged side for years now. But it looks like it’s our turn to suffer.”

“This isn’t justice; it’s cruelty. If the rebels win this way, they’re no better than the Empire they’re fighting against.”

No longer did the righteous faction players have the same brashness and arrogance about their texts as they did a month ago, as slowly but surely, their voices seemed more humbled.

Among the chaos, a troll chimed in: “LMAO, righteous faction players crying? Just take the ban and touch grass for 30 days. Problem solved.”

The forums buzzed with posts debating the ethics of the rebels’ actions, the righteousness of their cause, and the hopelessness of those who had been caught in the crossfire.

Mixed reactions painted a vivid picture of a player base divided, each post revealing a different perspective, but Leo simply looked at all this mess unfolding with emotionless eyes.

Having logged into the game a full 9 days after his last adventure, Leo felt the online discussions ongoing on the forums to be utterly pointless, as to him, yapping and complaining when nothing positive was ever going to come from it seemed pointless.

“Fools…” he muttered, closing the chat, as he finally made his way through the gates of Briarhelm, to finally return safely to his temporary base of operations.

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