The end of this tournament was near. Battle cries rang throughout the battlefield. Explosions, screams, curses, and sinking of ships was a very common occurrence now. Madam Zheng had started out this tournament on top, how did the situation deteriorate to this? She was being pushed back by the many forces Vesper and she could not see a way out of it.

There were just too many unknown variables to this battle, like who was that mysterious lady, what relationship does she have with Zheng He, why was Zheng He employing the tactics that he said he despises now of all times? When things were already at this stage. Was someone familiar with these tactics helping him use it? Too many unknowns for her liking. She had lost many of her elders by this point, it was becoming clearer with every moment that she was being overwhelmed by the forces of Vesper.

Madam Zheng had won the last few of these tournaments so she might have thought a little too highly of herself, but the facts still stand that she essentially lost. It would only be a matter of time before they were completely overrun by their foes. What was she to do? Then, she figured it out. If her enemies were using pirate tactics, then she would use anti-pirate tactics to counter.

After she had given up the life of a pirate back on earth, her then second husband came to become a naval general under the government that would hunt down pirates regularly. She stayed on land, for the most part, but she now had an idea of what to do. The Second husband was ordered to immediately take full control of all of the ships and use anti-pirate counters.

At first, this was a bit difficult as the soldiers were not trained in these maneuvers and such, but slowly they were getting the hang of it and things started to turn around. From being pushed back to having the advantage, they were making a fantastic comeback. The battle continued to rage on until Zheng He ordered the supreme commander of his forces to be changed to someone under him. From this point on, the tactics used by the Vesper fleets were much different than before, and the Second was once again not making much progress in terms of taking down their opponents. The tides were now favoring the Vesper faction again.

Unfortunately, with this new pressure exerted by the Vesper’s, Zheng Zhi Long and multiple other elders were wiped out. In a surprise turn of events, the First’s ship was actually hit from quite a distance away and he was injured so badly that he had to leave the battlefield. Similarly, even some of Vesper’s inner circle members, the truly elite, were wiped out as well. Both sides were now only left without some of their best fighters and strategists. The fight continued on with either side continuing to pour on their last bit of resources to fight each other.

Now, it was time for Madam Zheng to once again take the lead and order her troops around. The situation became stable once more with neither side being able to push each other any further than they were battling now. Both sides were now dangerously low on soldiers, ships, and just about everything else. This extended for another 2 days before the Vesper faction decided to stop the fighting and retreat a few kilometers. Still visible to the naked eye to the pirates, but just far enough away that hitting each other would be a hard task, even with Madam Zheng’s infamous accuracy.

The pirates did not know what to think of Vesper’s temporary retreat. Perhaps they had had enough of this war? Perhaps they wanted to test out one of their new blueprints? Something else entirely? An hour passed while they waited for Zheng He and his fleets to make their move. Then, Madam Zheng received a radio message from Zheng He. This was an unusual experience as Zheng He had not done this before, ever. She answered with her one unharmed remaining husband left by her side.

(ZH) “Queen of the Pirates, how do you do?” Zheng He said in a condescending voice.

(H2) “What is the meaning of this maneuver that you have ordered of your men?” The Second responded in confusion.

(MZ) “Have you started to get cold feet or something?”

(ZH) “I assure you that is not the case, little one. I have simply grown tired of this tournament.”

(MZ) “Then why not have your men all forfeit?”

(ZH) “Well, I still want to win. Plus, why did you think I let others control my fleets? I was looking for a show.”

(H2) “A show you say? This tournament is a big deal, even for the likes of you. Why are you so nonchalant about the whole situation?”

(ZH) “Heh, well, it’s just that I have no need to be so serious when I have already won.”

(MZ) “How do you mean?”

(ZH) “Telling you my plans is certainly a foolish thing to do given how many years of my experience that I have. Let me just say though, the mysterious lady that you almost captured has left you with a present, and I fully intend to give it to you, hahaha.”

(MZ) “Enough of this charade, who is she?”

(ZH) “I do hope you believe it when I say, I’m not entirely too sure either. Even I call her the mysterious lady as I do not even know her name. However, I do know that she is not of our community and that she is powerful enough to warrant me to give her a few of my best ships and strategists.”

(MZ) “How did the two of you team up together then?”

(ZH) “I think I’ve said enough to you, Madam Zheng, my nemesis. I will tell you one more thing before I cut this channel though. Her skills are far beyond what you and I are capable of, don’t think that you were the one to make her forfeit. She did so of her own accord.” He said as the channel went down.