Just as she predicted, they came the following day. An army was easy to track after all, especially one that contained thousands of sopping wet soldiers that trampled the Earth wherever they went. Roxi was able to see the army fast approaching in her hiding spot. They were coming closer by the minute 10 kilometers out, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5… Finally, they were within her shooting range. At about a distance of 2 kilometers between them, Roxi began to aim. She fired indiscriminately. At this point, it wasn’t about how many soldiers she killed. It was about how much time she could buy. A series of shots rang out.

As she fired more rounds, her aim improved. Just as she hoped, the enemy forces stopped for a moment. However, they just spread themselves out more so that Roxi would not be able to hit as accurately as before. This only gave her an incentive to take longer to aim better. Bang! Bang! Bang!

She kept firing, but the soldiers were not slowing down any more than they were before. Something else had to be tried. If she could not unnerve the soldiers that were marching, then she would shoot at the cavalry. These people were more likely to be higher-ranking officers. Bang! Bang! Bang!

A few cavalrymen fell off their soldiers, a few horses got hit, a few regular soldiers got hit. However, the enemy kept encroaching on her position. When the distance between her and the French army narrowed to less than 1,000 meters, she had to make her move. The other place that she had set up was much better concealed. This was so that they would not be able to find her even if they did look for her, and when turned to leave, she would be able to snipe them from behind. There was no way that they had no idea where her first location was, this way, she could potentially stall them even longer.

Even for someone who killed as many as she did, Roxi’s heart started to beat faster the moment the 20,000 strong French armies came anywhere close to her position. She was hiding quite a distance away from the main road that the enemy was traveling by, but that was no guarantee of safety. When they were just a few hundred meters from her location, they did something that she did not expect. They spread out their entire army to search the area, presumably for her.

The way things were now, the only thing she could do was to hide and hope she was not caught. Thankfully, they did not stay long, pursuing an enemy still took priority, after all. As soon as they were a reasonable distance away, Roxi began to take shots at them again. From behind the army this time. Bang! Bang! Bang!

Even though Roxi did not manage to even kill all that many people, she felt that what she did was enough. When the French were out of her range, she stopped shooting and took it slow for the remainder of the simulation. Which turned out to be 2 days later. Baron, Roxi, and Jaxon emerged from their simulation victorious by successfully escaping with the Austrian troops.

Though victory was theirs, neither Baron, Roxi, nor Jaxon felt very good about it. For one, Baron’s stunt would’ve probably landed him in the Nuremberg trials for unnecessary brutality. For another, their victory wasn’t very solid, they had too many close calls. That seemed to be a theme for this entire tournament for them. Well, close calls and lucking out in many ways.

When they took off their simulation helmets, they quickly whipped out their ID’s and began to analyze what rank they were in and who else had won twice in a row. They were among the last to finish with 2 victories so there was a lot to take in. By the end of this round, only 99 teams out of the original 396 would remain undefeated. Baron’s team among them.

An interesting thing Baron noticed was that John Paul Jones, who beat Madam Zheng in the first round, was paired up with and beat Zheng He in the second round. This meant that one American team had knocked 2 Chinese teams out of the running for undefeated status in a row.

Once again, the American team had the most number of teams that had not yet lost a battle at 31 out of their original 33 teams. Followed by the Germans with 29 teams, Baron had knocked one of them out in the first round. Then came the French also with 29 teams, Russia with 28, the Chinese with 25, then the Indians with 23, and then the English with 21.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Ottoman, Japan, Mongolian, Greco-Roman, and Egyptian communities had already lost at least 10 groups each in only the second match. Not a promising start, but in this arena, quality trumps quantity immensely. If just a few teams were able to score 4 or 5 wins in a row, then they would be set, and they would be able to walk out of the tournament with their heads held high.

In his war room, Baron and the other group leaders decided to chat with each other before heading into the next set of simulations.

“So, It appears as if all of our groups have made it to the third round undefeated. Quite the coincidence if you ask me,” Toyotomi Hideyoshi announced to the other leaders with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

“Looks like it, old man. I’m kind of excited to see who will be the first of us to lose,” Nicholas Adams blurted out without any restraint as usual.

“I’ve lucked out so far, but I expect that to change very soon,” Joseph Slim guessed.

“Who knows what holds in our future. We might even have to fight each other if we keep winning,” Baron put the thought out there.

“Haha, Baron, the way I see it, you and I will have the highest chance of making it to the 4th or 5th round without losing,” Nicholas directed his comments to Baron, completely ignoring the other two sitting right next to him.

“Do you now? I must say I don’t share your trust in my abilities.”

“Nonsense, nonsense. I took a little peek into your last match. What you did was smart, effective, and the biggest reason why you are still in the running.”

“It was a terrible thing to do.”

“War is terrible, I don’t think anyone on this planet will disagree with that statement. And those who do only seek to profit from it. Those types of tactics may be looked down upon, but they are sometimes the best and only ways to win. I see no problem with using those types of tactics occasionally,” Nicholas expressed his thoughts in an understanding manner for once.

“You don’t think the two of us will be able to make it that far?” Toyotomi accused.

“For you, old man, I’m surprised you made it this far. I think this next match will be your first loss,” Nicholas explained. Then he turned to Joseph Slim, “I don’t think you care too much about winning anyway, do you?”

“No, I don’t, as I said previously, I am only here to be a guide to the future generations of the British community-”

“Wait just a moment, Nicholas. How are you so sure that I will lose in the next round? I’ve never even heard of Tiglath-Pileser, Hammurabi, and Sargon of Akkad from the Egyptian community,” Toyotomi remarked with a judgy tone.

“You best be careful with these three, Toyotomi. These three rulers might very well be some of the most ancient inhabitants of Planet 4. They have lived over 3,000 years before you roamed the Earth,” Baron warned.

“Not only that, but I had also heard that each one of these three has each played a major role in securing their own communities' three separate second-place finishes in the Death Match Tournament. That was before they immigrated to the Egyptian community. With help from the Egyptian community, I have no such confidence that any individual would be able to best the three of them at once in terms of pure strategy. Using blueprints would be a different matter though,” Nicholas revealed.

“Bah! Rumors are rumors. They tend to be exaggerated anyway. I’m sure that they aren’t as legendary as these stories make them out to be.”

“...I don’t know about that, Toyotomi. My opponent this time is a group from the Russian community that is not very well-known. However, I’d be damned if I let some commies beat me,” Nicholas affirmed.

“When I said my luck ran out earlier, I was not kidding. I am pitted against my countrymen in the next match. To be quite honest, I was never their equal to begin with, not to mention the much brighter pupils he has under him. I don’t think I will be able to create any small miracles this time,” Joseph Slim sighed.

“And I’m up against John Paul Jones....” Baron said as he checked for the first time. With the realization setting in, Baron did not feel any better about his chances.

“Hah! That wild card? You don’t have to worry about him. He just does random things until something sticks. I mean, that’s it.” Nicholas laughed while recounting what he knew about John Paul Jones, a fellow American strategist.

“Even if that is the case, he still has managed to beat two other groups from my community. Those two, Zheng He and Madam Zheng, are fairly decent strategists. I don’t know if I’m necessarily going to win this matchup.” Baron admitted.

“Just do the best you can, I mean, John is kind of loopy in the head. Do you remember that time he was supposed to be defending the colonies of America from the British Royal Navy?”

“I remember this!” Joseph Slim cut in, “Didn’t he lead his fleet all the way to British waters and essentially become a glorified pirate?”

“Oh of course I remember, it’s one of the more entertaining facts about history.” Baron shrugged.

“Are you three pulling my leg or is that actually what happened?” Toyotomi was quite confused.

“It’s real, alright.”

“We’re getting off track, Baron, my point is, don’t fall for any of his outlandish tactics. They are more nonsensical than practical. He wants to confuse you in any way he can. Heh, but to think he was able to draw three Chinese teams in a row, what ridiculous odds,” Nicholas said.

“Why are you telling me all this?” Baron questioned Nicholas’ intentions.

“Simple, I want to see how far you’ll be able to go. Few individuals have popped up in the last little while that can compare to me. In a way, we are in the same generation, Baron, I’d like to see just who is on top of my generation.”

“Umm, alright. How confident are you in your chances of winning all 5 matches, Nicholas?” Baron asked.

“If your lady friend over there sold her last creation with us, then I’d say close to 80%.”

“You mean Roxi? What are you talking about?”

“You’re kidding right? She was one of the most inventive weapons creators in the 21st century. Her greatest creation revolutionized the battlefield even more than the advent of aerial warfare. The mother of destruction.”

“I’ve never heard of this before.”

“Oh, you’re seriously unaware! That’s quite interesting. Maybe you won’t be able to get as far in this tournament as I thought. I was under the impression that you had her arsenal of inventions all under your belt, seems I was wrong.”

“Can you tell me what this invention is and how it revolutionized warfare?”

“It’s a funny story actually, though she developed it, she never sold it. However, many nations tried to copy her work after some of her weapon designs leaked. They never came close to the destructive power of her greatest weapon.”

“Could you perhaps be talking about the Brilliant Blue beam weapon?” Baron suggested.

“No, that weapon does not come close to the destructive power of her most devastating invention, it’s a mini explosive the size of an ant, but as powerful as 10 sticks of dynamite. I’m not sure if she ever used it on humans, but the trial runs that were leaked proved the uses for such an unbelievable piece of technology had almost universal applications. In a way, Roxi indirectly revolutionized multiple industries and advanced humanity like no other. However, the other side of the coin was that she was also indirectly connected to the massacre of half a million people in the Middle East, as well as another million in the Continent of Africa.”

“...You sure seem to know a lot about her.” Was all Baron could manage to say in the light of this revelation.

“Of course, she’s one the most influential people to live in the 21st century. For better or for worse.”

“I’m sold. Baron, if your friend is willing to sell, then I’ll gladly pay top dollar for such a game-changer,” Toyotomi spoke out.

“I probably won’t have enough funds to buy something that advanced, but that is certainly an interesting piece of tech,” Joseph Slim commented.

“Nicholas, you said that many tried to copy Roxi’s technology but to no avail. How is she able to do something that even governments aren’t able to replicate?”

“I’m not sure, Baron. I assume she must have some connections to some of the richest people on the planet given her line of work.”

“That does make sense. What a mysterious girl she is. I wonder what else she must be hiding.” For once, Baron was beginning to question just how little he knew of one of his greatest allies on this planet. Though it didn’t bother him too much, it would continue to pop up in his mind occasionally.

“Ah, look at the time, time to get into our third matches, good luck everyone.” Nicholas said before quickly rushing to his team and going into the simulation.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Joseph Slim said their farewells too and dived into the simulation along with their partners in a few mere minutes. That left Baron by himself thinking about all that Nicholas had said to him. Regarding John Paul Jones as well as Roxi. There was so much to this planet that it would take so long to uncover all of its mysteries. The planet, its inhabitants and its weird customs and rules, what was the point of it all? With that, Baron proceeded to his simulation helmet along with Jaxon and Roxi with many questions in his mind, and no answers.