The land competition had officially begun, and things were already getting so heated for Baron and the rest of the team on just the first week. As with many of the other groups that were in the competition, they chose to simply defend their land from any invaders while training their soldiers a bit more. There were benefits and drawbacks for those who chose to do this and those who chose to start conquering right away.

Those who started launching offensives right from the get-go, the successful ones, were able to get more land, more resources, and more soldiers to continue their conquests. The downsides of this tactic were that there was no guarantee that the territory that you are invading will be an easy fight. Not only that, if you get overwhelmed by the defense and had to retreat, there was a really big chance that someone who had been watching from the sidelines would swoop in and take the opportunity to finish you off. Generally, although this way of going about the tournament was more rewarding, it also carried along with it a bunch of risks.

As for those who chose to hunker down and keep a low profile, they would have the benefit of being less likely to be targeted and therefore would more likely to survive a bit longer. However, the downside was that the longer they defended, the harder it would be for them to go on the offensive since there were many groups out there who had a head start in gathering more resources. This tactic was very popular for those who knew they had no chance of being recognized in the tournament and was just in it to gain experience or be part of something bigger if the ones who conquered them were willing to take them in.

Baron and the rest of his group chose to do it this way was because Roxi had made a very interesting discovery. She found out that Meng Wu, the leader of the Men of Meng and the one in charge of keeping all of them safe from harm, had the physique and many other qualities for a special weapon that Roxi was in the middle of developing. Therefore, she took Meng Wu and had him tested on along with her experimental weapon. She had not completed this weapon, but she did develop it enough so that it was usable, just not practical.

Roxi took meng Wu into testing for a solid 2 and a half months before the two of them left the testing grounds and were back to interacting with everyone else. While they were off doing their own thing, Baron and the rest did not take a step out of their own territory and instead just trained their own men in physical training and drills. They did have a few groups come to challenge them, but after a few fights, no one was willing to attack them anymore.

What was worrying was that the Combined Dragon faction that was originally a bit far off from them start to move in their general direction. This issue would normally not be a problem if it was just them, but they were bringing along with them nearly 50 other groups to challenge them. Not to mention conquering and absorbing anyone in their way.

The other groups that they brought along were no doubt those they had made alliances before the start time, but it seemed to be that those who they made allies with were those who were especially close to the position of Baron’s base. This would be a tough fight especially considering that Baron’s group did not conquer anything while Roxi and Meng Wu were busy and they would be severely outmatched if they did nothing to prepare for what was likely an all-out war. Of course, there was a distinct possibility that the Combined Dragons were not really coming for them, but that would be naive thinking. It was better to get rid of real competition as soon as possible so that they would not be a threat later on. That was exactly what the leaders of both sides were thinking.

As soon as those two were back, Baron and the rest of the gang went on a nonstop conquest in the areas directly adjacent to them. This sudden offensive caught their neighbors off guard and they were taken over within only a few days. They continued to do this until they were almost touching the Combined Dragons’ alliance borders. All the while training their new troops and mass-producing new machines intended for war. The Combined Dragon alliance was closing in on them and they would be within striking range soon.

Everything was going on at maximum speed in Baron’s newfound territory up until the point that the alliance that was marching against them was about to make contact. Then, Baron ordered all of the troops, civilians, vehicles, strategists, and everything else to within the range that he had told them about previously. This range was but a fraction of what he had in total and he believed it to be the right choice as the smaller land they have to defend, the greater their chances of success were.

This reason was partially why they did not allow any of the conquered strategists that they had fought to join them in their conquests. The other big reason was so that there was no chance of a spy getting a hold of their plans and intentions. Even if they chose to swear loyalty to Baron or anyone else in his camp, it was not a guarantee that they would be completely loyal. Therefore, this amounted to nothing more than a pinky promise.

Coincidentally, this was usually offered if the conquerer did not have confidence in his or his own group’s skills, that’s why they get strangers to help them become stronger. Baron felt that he was still in this categorization, but he felt that he would only need to do this at a much later point in the tournament than he had done in the past.