Baron, Roxi, Guan Yu, Yue Fei, and Meng Wu were now shocked by the blatant insult that has been thrown their way, but something such as this was not worth any more of their time if this was how they felt about the situation. Zhang Da Zhi and Qi Ji Guang knew that what they just said was not the best way to respond to the situation and were not sure of what to do now. Guan Yu was the first to break the silence.

(GY) “Well, if that is what you feel, then I believe that that is all we have to discuss here.” Guan Yu gave them no chance to apologize.

(ZDZ) “Wait, don’t be like-” Zhang Da Zhi tried to get a word in.

(BM) “Tsk, tsk, tsk Zhang Da Zhi. If you are the leader of such loose-lipped men, then I seriously wonder how you managed to get third place in the naval tournament.” Baron teased.

(QJG) “Forgive me, that was not my intention. I was merely saying that the most powerful of your group isn’t here and that-” Qi Ji Guang started.

(BM) “Nonsense, I believe you have made your intentions quite clear. You know the way out, we won’t be seeing you out.”

Zhang Da Zhi and Qi Ji Guang looked at each other and gritted their teeth before trying to salvage the situation by saying that they had other meetings to go to and promptly left with Ding Lai Hang. This situation devolved quite quickly and everyone was surprised by the actions that Guan Yu and Baron have taken to kick them out. Roxi was the first to ask it out loud.

(RB) “So was there a reason that you guys had to chase those 3 out?” Roxi asked.

(BM) “I have seen their ways of treating these so-called “allies” from the hall of records that we visited before we came here. Let me tell you right now, they were not looking for allies, they were looking for sacrificial pawns that they could use whenever they wanted to.”

(GY) “Also that so-called equal terms leadership promise is nothing more than a way to sweet-talk others into joining. They are not good people, and I don’t think that their practices are that far off from Vesper’s.”

(YF) “Wait a minute, I just realized something. I have heard of those names before. Zhang Da Zhi is the leader of the Eternal Dragon faction that is most likely to win the land portion of the faction selection tournament. Qi Ji Guang is the leader of the Imperial Dragon faction and they are voted most likely to win the naval portion of the faction selection tournament.”

(BM) “Good eye, but what about that hot-headed aerial leader that was here also?”

(YF) “He isn’t voted to be likeliest to win, nor even the dark horse. However, Ding Lai Hang is registered with his own group called the Celestial Dragons. I suppose the three of them together they would be called the Combined Dragon faction.”

(BM) “Well, they have good names at least. I haven’t seen too much of the aerial nor land leaders fight, but if they are anything like what the naval leader is in terms of skill? We might even be outmatched.”

(GY) “Indeed, the records I saw were of the other two that you have not seen. The way I see it, the aerial leader, Ding Lai Hang, is quite capable in the air, but rather average on land. The land leader, Zhang Da Zhi, is the scariest out of all of them being completely versatile in all 3 aspects of war. Though he is not as skilled as the naval strategist, he is not far off. He will indeed be a tough opponent to defeat.”

(RB) “They won’t cause trouble for us so soon will they?”

(BM) “Unlikely seeing as they are a fair bit away from our base here. However, we should be wary of them nevertheless. Keep your mask and cloak on, Roxi. You do not want these types of people to know who you are.”

(RB) “Didn’t plan on it in the first place. So the official start time to begin the fighting is tomorrow at the crack of dawn?”

(BM) “Correct, this event is getting me so excited I can’t wait to see what we are able to achieve. The first month or two won’t be very interesting for us as we were fortunate that we did not buy our base in the vicinity of any large players like the Sun Alliance, or the Yellow Wang faction.”

(RB) “Are they the ones we need to look out for the most?”

(YF) “Not quite, if the Bair fighters keep their promise, they will be the most terrifying group out there. I’m unsure of whether the 5 members of the Bair fighters will be able to fend off these two groups at their current power if the two decided to work together.”

(BM) “Oh yes, any news regarding whether the Middle Kingdom elders came to try out the tournament or not? I’ve been wondering as to what is going on over there that they have to be so secretive about.”

(YF) “From what I gather, they were here for the last Sun Alliance tournament, but the ones who were participating were few and far in between. I don’t think there is much hope of those guys entering into this tournament in full force this year.”

(BM) “I see, everyone should get a little downtime before the beginning of the fighting tomorrow at dawn. Even if our bodies don’t need it, it will be good for our mind and soul.”

(RB) “Oh, when did you become a spiritual guru, oh great Baron. Haha.”

For the first time since Baron got here, he laughed wholeheartedly. There wasn’t much to laugh about in a world full of death and despair, but it seemed like Roxi was able to bring it out in him more often than not.