One year after the start of the tournament, there were still about 200 main groups that were still competing for the prizes. There were, of course, quite a few thousand more groups that were there, but weren’t really much of a threat due to either their low capabilities or their lack of soldiers and powerful blueprints. They were really just waiting to be devoured by another group at this point and their future would surely be dependant on how merciful their conquerors were. Out of all of the 200 main contestant teams, only a handful of them were alliances made up of a bunch of different strategists that had largely never seen each other. The rest of the groups were major factions that had many talented tacticians under their banner.

Zhang Da Zhi led one of these alliances and he had over 2,000 strategists that swore their loyalty to him. He knew all too well that was nothing more than a promise and as such, he was almost certain to be betrayed sooner or later. This was why he was extremely careful in promoting them as well as revealing who would get the battleplan first and who would get them later. With the rate at which he was going, he was planning on recruiting another 3,000 to bolster his ranks so that he would have a sizable force to challenge some of the tougher opponents.

Baron, Yue Fei, Chen Di, and Guan Yu also led one of these powerful alliances that would be nearly as powerful as a mid-tier faction. However, his group was not nearly as powerful as the one forged by Zhang Da Zhi and if it ever came down to it, it would be a difficult fight for them to take down Zhang Da Zhi along with everyone at this disposal. At this point, they had about 1,000 strategists, but how they differed from Zhang Da Zhi was that they had a screening process instead of just allowing anyone to enter. There were benefits and drawbacks to each way of doing things, but each believed that their way was better.

Again, the only exception this time around was the Bair fighters that had still not made a move after 6 months. So much so that no one was sure what their true intentions were regarding this tournament. In the aerial portion, they were extremely active, but they seemed to be lazy this time around. Were they planning something? No one knew the answer. Certainly not Baron when he got an unexpected visit from Biao Gong, one of the 5 strategists inside the Bair fighter group. Biao Gong was invited in and Baron and Roxi were the only ones to greet him and have a lively discussion with him.

(BM) “Biao Gong, elder. What brings you here?” Baron was quite confused.

(BG) “Well, my team really isn’t planning on doing anything for quite a while and honestly I don’t feel like being cramped up there any more than I have to. A year is my limit with those guys.” Biao Gong responded.

(RB) “Is that the one in the Bair fighter group you told me about?” Roxi whispered to Baron to which he only slowly nodded.

(BG) “Hmm? Whose this? Did you finally find someone that you feel is worth your time here? That is quite rare on planet 4, I’ll have you know. Congrats.”

(BM) “Thanks, but elder, might I ask what your plan for being inactive is? Do you just wish to ride it out until someone comes along to challenge you?”

(BG) “Kid, what we have in the works is something that you will not believe. It is just something that takes a great deal of time in completing. As much as I like you, I can’t tell you anything about it.”

(BM) “It was worth a shot, haha. Would you like to stay and be our guest?”

(BG) “Don’t mind if I do. Would it bother you if I saw what your army was capable of?”

(BM) “You mean willingly give reliable intel to my enemy? Sure, you could probably single-handedly destroy the alliance that I have made anyway so what’s the point in you knowing. Go ahead, I’ll be right along.”

Biao Gong made his way to the army camping grounds inside the base that Baron was in while Baron told Roxi to go take care of other business while he saw to Biao Gong. Then, he left to go catch up to Biao Gong.

(BG) “So Baron, tell me, what your entire alliance is capable of.”

(BM) “Well here, it is easier to show you than to tell you.” He said as he pulled out the statistics of his current army to show Biao Gong.

(BG) “This is quite interesting, looks like you were right about one thing. That I could take care of all of you myself. This is pitiful.”

(BM) “Well thanks, but I am pretty sure that is enough resources, for now, to stay in the game for just a little while longer.”

(BG) “I can see that you are trying to go for quality over quantity, but you must know, the quantity will eventually beat out quality if you go far enough. Take a book out of that Zhang Da Zhi fellow.”

(BM) “This time around, we are merely experimenting with a few new weapons that we have gotten our hands on recently. We know that it would be an uphill battle to try for anything big this time so we try to get the most out of this experience as we can. How long do you plan on staying with us, I do have to get to conquering within the next few days.”

(BG) “Sounds slightly better than what I have going in my territory, I think I’ll tag along with you to see what skills you have.”

(BM) “Alright, if that is what you wish. However, be warned that it might not be as exciting as what you are usually accustomed to, Biao Gong.”

(BG) “No matter.”