The Empire's Three-Way Split (4)

Most of the players who'd gained nothing from the invasion and lost fleets by the dozen limped back toward their bases in tatters — only to slam headfirst into the purge fleets and get thoroughly wrecked.

Aside from a handful who survived by groveling with genuine dogeza and swearing loyalty, the rest of the names on the purge list were reduced to absolute scrap.

Of course, people who'd been treated like that weren't about to sit quietly. They immediately set about lamenting their fate or trying to expose the "truth" about Humanity…

"What the fuck?!"

"THE BANNNNNNN!!!!!"

Just as had been mentioned beforehand, every single community-related function had long since been locked down by Antares. The pitiful purge targets — not only the spies and traitors, but the hardcore anti-Antares factions as well — were completely crushed and trampled underfoot by Humanity.

That said, once the maximum ban duration of fifteen days for a user-level armband privilege expired, whether they could actually contain the meltdowns of several thousand players was another question entirely…

Countermeasures for that had been prepared in their own way. The weak little spies (and various others) were crushed without a sound, never managing so much as organized resistance.

Meanwhile, within Humanity's top leadership, voices of concern were starting to surface over that merciless and thorough purge process. Not out of pity for the purge targets or any such softhearted nonsense, of course…

"But if we do this, won't we be short on forces when we stage the coup in the Earth Federation later?"

"A very interesting point."

The concern shared among Humanity's highest officers was precisely that — a potential shortage of military power for the planned Earth Federation coup.

But Antares, his inner circle, and the staff officers reassured them that it wouldn't be a major problem.

"Think about it. When we launch the coup later, won't there be fewer bastards waiting to stab us in the back?"

"Hmm…"

"Well, that's true, but."

"The potential traitors' forces go down, and in exchange our 'loyalist' forces go up — so practically speaking, this operation was a massive net gain…"

"I-is that how it works?"

It strongly reeked of the old monkey-and-chestnuts shell game, but once they heard it out, the logic wasn't wrong. The officers who'd voiced concerns simply nodded along to the staff's explanation and expressed their agreement.

"Yeah, it's not wrong."

"The Earth Federation's forces keep climbing in their own subtle way too. No reason to keep thousands of traitors on the payroll."

"We've got over fifty thousand registered members and still haven't pulled off the coup. Why do you think that is?"

"Hmmteresting."

As they themselves had started mass-producing cruisers, battleships, and carriers, their numbers had grown — and the Earth Federation, while nowhere near the pace of players like them, wasn't exactly sitting around like some collapsed nation in a 4X strategy game refusing to build a single ship either. The consensus that dominated among them was that preemptive removal of dissidents was inevitable, if only to keep pace with the growing enemy strength.

And while the Humanity Clan was cheerfully conducting its delightful great purge…

The southern Zenobia region — which, save for a few fringes, had effectively become unclaimed territory — was plunging into a pit of pure chaos.

In the areas where Justice held sway, at least, things stayed relatively calm. They'd only shown up with their main fleet to counter Humanity's invasion, but the players near their existing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠territory had decided that submitting to Justice beat getting crushed by Humanity, and had hastily pledged allegiance en masse of their own accord.

As a result, what had started as a mere check against Humanity had somehow become an opportunity for Justice to expand their influence. And since they had no intention of pushing deep into Zenobia Empire territory anyway, they didn't force anyone who refused to submit. Aside from the initial confusion, the region stabilized far faster than expected.

But everywhere else — specifically, the territory of the Magellan Clan, the rising star that had toppled Rotten Water and taken its place — was an absolute dumpster fire…

Unlike Justice, whose territory straddled both the Beastkin and Empire regions and thus had no particular need to cling to Imperial land, the Magellan Clan — the new power that had risen in Rotten Water's wake — was in a very bad spot.

"We're already short on places to conquer because of the areas Justice locked down!"

"Facts."

They'd already been scrambling to redirect their expansion path because of the Justice Clan. Then Humanity's invasion hit on top of that, and for Magellan it was like a fire landing squarely on their doorstep.

The result:

"You bastards, surrender to us already!"

"What the hell? Get lost."

"You little shit — so you're loyal to Humanity, huh?"

"?????"

"We're all Zenobia Empire here and we can barely stick together as it is — you think looking out for just yourselves is gonna cut it?"

"Oh my god."

…Following that bizarre chain of logic, Magellan pressed on with indiscriminate mergers for territorial expansion so aggressive it bordered on brainless, regardless of how the weaker clans responded.

The problem was that Magellan's merger campaign was vicious — far too vicious. Unlike Humanity, who'd invaded specifically to gobble everything up and thus had zero reason to treat the local players kindly, Magellan needed to consolidate control over internal Zenobia Empire territory, which meant they should have exercised at least some restraint.

But with Justice on one side and Humanity's invasion stoking their anxiety on the other, Magellan simply didn't have the luxury of expanding at a leisurely pace while cutting other players any slack. So they responded to anyone who resisted expansion at roughly eighty to ninety percent of Humanity's own ruthlessness…

And for the southern players who watched Magellan come charging in like wolves the moment Humanity withdrew, the conclusion was simple: every last one of these bastards was the same. Rather than resist individually and get crushed, they chose a different path.

"Players of all nations, unite!"

"That has a slightly red flavor to it."

"Still, nothing else sounds half as convincing, does it?"

"I'll grant you that."

Centered around the mid-tier clans that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had held out against Humanity's offensive using Level 4–5 and higher bases, the southern players and clans banded together and founded a separate alliance.

Naturally, Magellan flew into a rage at the sight — how dare they try to form their own little clique here — and launched an offensive. But for the coalition of weaker clans calling themselves the "Southern Alliance," Magellan's aggression only strengthened their solidarity.

At the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠same time, unlike the northern Zenobia region — which had seen little real combat either before or after Rotten Water's destruction — the entire south had become a battlefield. The players' fleets had leveled up extraordinarily well as a result. Magellan had assumed that after getting stomped by Humanity once, the southerners would have no remaining forces. But the Southern Alliance players, convinced that falling here meant the absolute end of everything, fought a true last stand and traded blow for blow with Magellan.

The resistance was fiercer than expected, and Magellan's southward advance ground to a halt.

And in that already dire situation, one more piece of bad news reached the Magellan Clan…

"I'M STILL ALIIIIIIIIIVE!"

"That bastard was definitely supposed to be completely wrecked?!"

Raksha — clan leader of Rotten Water, who had been surrounded by Magellan and its allied clans and had barely escaped — along with a few of Rotten Water's former officers, had managed to claw their way back to life from within the Southern Alliance.

Unlike the north, which had a track record of suffering under Rotten Water's tyranny, the south had never had any particular dealings with them. So Raksha naturally joined the Southern Alliance and thoroughly leveraged his own and his officers' outstanding mechanical skill. Through relentless guerrilla tactics, he ground Magellan's southern invasion force down again and again and again, fully displaying the dignity of the server's second-ranked player.

And unlike the days of Rotten Water, when enemies had been pouring in from every direction…

"Damn it, Rank 2! We love you!"

"I believed in you!!"

"You're a hero, Raksha!"

"Thank you!"

"Somehow these reactions feel like they're about to stab me in the back."

"Shh."

…now, even though their numbers had thinned somewhat from Humanity's invasion, the Southern Alliance fleets were handling Raksha's support and resupply. From Magellan's perspective, it was enough to make them absolutely livid.