After the entire naval competition between Wu Zi Xu, Madam Zheng, and Zheng He ended, the three of them got together to discuss and convene about the events that had unfolded in the simulation. Of course, the latter two weren’t exactly very happy about losing so one-sidedly, but what could they do? For this civil discussion, it would just be the three of them, no one else.

They met up after bidding their allies goodbye at the office of Wu Zi Xu. Being one of the closest aides to the Overlord of the Chinese community, he enjoyed many benefits, including having an office space even more luxurious than either of his two guests. Only the finest of furnishings, decorations, and blueprints were on display. Some so precious Zheng He and Madam Zheng would need to sell off half of their guild to buy.

There was a grand round table in the middle of the room in which the three of them sat across from each other. As if still opposed to recognizing their existence. Wu Zi Xu saw this and began the conversation with a straightforward statement.

(WZX) “I’m sure we know quite a bit about each other due to our information networks, so let’s just get to the main point. Both of you witnessed just how powerless you were against me didn’t you?” Wu Zi Xu said while looking at his guests.

The only thing that followed was Zheng He and Madam Zheng glaring at each other with an endless amount of hatred.

(WZX) “Look, I’m sure you two had your fun while I was away. However, now that I am back there is no way you two will be able to claim the title of the best naval strategist in the next little while. So, as loathsome as it is for me to do this, I don’t really see a need for you two to participate in the Strategist Death Match tournament coming up.”

This immediately caused Zheng He and Madam Zheng to glare at him and they finally broke their silence.

(MZ) “You can’t be serious!” Madam Zheng was alarmed.

(ZH) “This joke isn’t funny Wu Zi Xu.” Zheng He was just about to burst into an outrage. He had been able to control his temper before since he knew he couldn’t insult a top echelon member of the Sun Alliance, but this was not something he could stand for.

(WZX) “On the contrary, I’m not joking. You two are young and have yet to even be old enough to witness such a tournament of this scale yet. Thus, I don’t really blame you for not knowing the political and economic importance that our result in this tournament has. If we do not fail to achieve the top 5, we will lose much more than just respect. It would be a sign that we are growing weak and the others are growing stronger at a much faster pace than we are.”

(MZ) “We already knew this before, that is nothing new. What exactly is your point?”

(WZX) “My point is that if we take too big of a drop in the rankings, then we will lose the support of the other great communities and it may very well have a snowball effect that could lead to our demise.”

(ZH) “Impossible! We are Chinese! There are few that can rival us in military dominance and the quality of strategists. Our weapons and vehicles of war are top-notch as well. How is it possible for us to sink so low as you are talking about?”

(WZX) “Again, on the scale of this planet, you two are but children. You have yet to even venture out of the Chinese community. What could you possibly know about the happenings of the other communities? I don’t doubt your information network inside our community, but have either of you actually set anything up in any of the other communities?”

(ZH) “Yes I have a few but-”

(WZX) “I’m not talking about a few, I’m talking about thousands in each and every community. The centuries-long journey that we in the Sun Alliance have was to partially strengthen our connections in this regard. However, it is difficult to even us.”

(MZ) “No way, even with all of the manpower and resources under your command you have trouble with this?”

(WZX) “Indeed, isn’t that a scary thought? But anyway, let’s get back on topic. Allow me to answer your previous question, Zheng He. It is a very real possibility for the Chinese community to fall that low. In fact, it has happened before.”

(ZH) “I don’t believe you.” Zheng He said resolutely, but deep in his heart, he was beginning to feel fear.

(WZX) “I don’t know if you had heard of this rumor before, but a very long time ago, the Greek community was near the peak in terms of power relative to the others. However, their meteoric ascent to the top soon became a meteoric crash out of even the top 10. In their place, came the Romans. Well, that was only to 2 or 3 Death Match tournaments ago.”

(MZ) “They were in power only that recently? Then, where are they now?”

(WZX) “At one point in time, they each held the title as second place in the Death Match tournament, just below the Jordsand community. However, they are nowhere near their peak. The two communities have banded together into one and even then, they have only barely managed to crack into the top ten. A far cry from their glory days.”

To this statement, there was no response. Zheng He had felt that the odds of his community managing to grow and prosper forever were pretty high. However, that was now out of his mind as the once behemoth entities that Wu Zi Xu had told them about were now struggling to stay afloat. This was similar to Madam Zheng’s thoughts.

(WZX) “I’m glad you two understand the gravity of the situation, so let me remind you that blind patriotism will get us nowhere. The stakes are getting higher and higher for each community to put more and more of their resources into developing more and more powerful weapons. Of course, if we do not at least match the other communities, we will lose our spot as the current top 3.”

(MZ) “Wait a moment, have you visited the Greek and Roman community? How are they doing now?”

(WZX) “I have, and the secret to their downfall was not that they lacked capable strategists. Nor was it that they lacked brave soldiers who fought on the frontlines, in fact, I’m willing to bet that their fighter strategists have us beat in the quality department. No, the main thing was that they did not invest their resources properly, also, the number of strategists reincarnating here after their deaths have slowed down almost to a grinding halt as well.”

(ZH) “Are you saying they would’ve been able to hold on to their position had they invested more of their resources into research and development?”

(WZX) “For a time, yes. Not forever though. The rate at which they receive new strategists would have come into effect either way, but had they been smart about it, they would’ve at least slowed down their descent from the number 2 position. You must remember that no one stays powerful forever, not even Jordsand. Eventually, they too will be defeated. It might take another few thousand years, but they will inevitably fall.”

(ZH) “Just who are they? The Jordsand strategists? Have you been able to find anything regarding them on your travels?”

(WZX) “Honestly, I’ve no clue. That bunch is really troublesome. They have information networks in just about every community, ten times as big as any of the ones we have. Plus, the people that they employ aren’t their own. Rather, they come and convince our own to spy for them.”

(ZH) “Hmmm… They seem to have come out on top in the past few Death Match tournaments, has that always been the case?”

(WZX) “I’m surprised you don’t know this. There have been about 13 Death Match tournaments, well, that we know of anyway, that has occurred, each 1,000 years apart from each other. The Jordsand community has won every single one by a landslide. If there have been any tournaments before that, no one really remembers. Funnily enough, our community has only ever won second place once, so have the Greek, the Romans, the Indians, the Egyptians, and the rest have been lost to the passage of time.”

(MZ) “The Jordsand community sure are a secretive bunch. One of my allies has only recently transported here and he says that the world in which he lived was one filled with information available from every corner of the planet. This coupled with the fact that he has researched just about everything warfare related in his short time there, even he has no idea who these Jordsand strategists are.”

(WZX) “Strange, when I was on Earth, information was extremely limited, even to the richest 0.01%. I’ve no doubt that was also the case for you two, but if what your friend is saying is true, then this might just be the biggest conspiracy ever in the history of planet 4… Enough on that topic for now. The actual reason that I wanted to meet you two is that I am willing to offer you two a chance to become a subsidiary of the Sun Alliance.”

(MZ) “As great as that sounds, Wu Zi Xu, I don’t think that will be possible for me. I have raised all of my men through painstaking effort, and not just in this lifetime. I’ll have to pass.” Madam Zheng said immediately and left no room for further discussion.

(ZH) “Though I may not be able to say the same as her, I am of the same mind. There is no way that I can follow someone else. Even if that means that my faction won’t be able to participate in the Death Match tournament.”

(WZX) “I suspected as much. It’s a shame. However, we are doing something very different this time around. We will only be selecting the top 1,000 individuals for the tournament. Instead of having 10 of the top factions choose 100 individuals themselves. There will still be 1,000 strategists going, but this should allow us a greater chance at securing second place.”

(ZH) “Given our skill, I take it that means the two of us will be allowed to join in?”

(WZX) “Of course, I will allow both of you to take 4 others with you. However, this means that all of you answer to me and me only. If you have any objections, then state them now.”

This caused Zheng He and Madam Zheng to pause a moment and weigh the advantages and disadvantages. Clearly, gaining experience was of the utmost importance. However, to give up their roles as leaders were going to be a bit hard to accept. After all, they had been the leaders of their large size factions for centuries, to suddenly take orders from another was kind of an insult, even if it was from their senior.

(MZ) “As unwilling as I am to agree to these terms, I accept. Who knows how the next millennia will treat us? I’m not waiting for that long to get into the next Death Match tournament.”

(WZX) “A wise choice, but just know that the mock deathmatch tournament that is coming up is only going to be a fraction of the intensity and bloodshed that the actual tournament will hold.”

(MZ) “I’m planning on it.” Madam Zheng replied finally willing to sacrifice some liberties to advance her own career.

(ZH) “I suppose I’m in as well. It looks like there is no other way. At least this way I still get to keep my faction.”

(WZX) “Good to have you with us as well. Let’s toast to this happy occasion.” He said as he poured out some red wine into 3 wine glasses. “This is a souvenir from the French community. It seems they love food culture even more than they love war. Even though they do not require sustenance as we do, they will go out of their way to eat every day. An interesting bunch.”

The 3 of them continued their talks and chatted up quite lively for the next little while. Just as Madam Zheng and Zheng He was about to leave, a messenger came to inform Wu Zi Xu about a very interesting development.

(M) “Sir Wu Zi Xu, Sun Bin has called off the aerial tournament!”

(WZX) “What?” Wu Zi Xu was quite surprised at the turn of events. “Sun Bin was extremely excited to see this event go through, why would he ever consider calling it off?”

(M) “He says that he has encountered a fellow that is unmatched in aerial warfare in the Chinese community.”

(WZX) “If that were true then that could only mean that he found someone so powerful that going on with the tournament would be a waste of time. I have to go and see who this person is. Are they inside Sun Bin’s office?”

(M) “They are.”

(WZX) “Alright, Madam Zheng, Zheng He, you two are welcome to join me, but I will not mind it if you two decide to leave now.” He said as he fast-walked out of his own office. The other two quickly followed, not willing to miss out on such a big development. Whoever this new fellow was, it would be a gamechanger.”

Once they got to the office, Madam Zheng recognized 2 familiar faces.

(MZ) “Baron? Roxi?”