The continued defense of Saipan became exceptionally difficult now that the defending Japanese soldiers were faced with assaults on both sides. There was no time for hesitation now. Baron gave the signal for all of the remaining forces to set fire to everything around them and flee in all directions. Hiding in caves, the forests, anywhere really so they could stall their enemies for just a little longer.

In a matter of moments, the clear blue day filled with the burning of hundreds of acres of forests, and farmland. The sugarcane fields being one of the first to go. Anyone unlucky to be still inside would find themselves in danger at every step. This was a last-ditch resort to rally the men and get the American soldiers off of their back. Friendly fire was a given.

This worked for the enemy that was pushing inward, but the army that was pushing outward would not be so easily deterred. In a moment of desperation, Baron dispatched all of his remaining tanks to 5 locations that he was sure would be where the attackers would be. Under no circumstances would this corp of tanks separate. Strength in numbers was crucial, especially now.

The strategy that Baron employed forced both sides to retreat and regroup. However, the clashes for the rest of the day proved to be a stalemate. For now, Baron had managed to avoid total defeat. His men were scattered all around, with few ways of making contact with Baron without signaling the enemy of their location. Only a few of the men were granted special access to radios, so that wasn’t much help in gathering up the enemy.

Much of the tanks were destroyed in the process of fending off the flank as well. However, his allies showed their true prowess at war during that very night when Baron’s hands were tied. Jaxon’s naval battle with the remaining American fleet was just about to conclude, but just as he was about to secure victory, night fell. He knew that waiting for the following day was not an option, not after a whole chunk of Saipan island was now up in flames.

Therefore, he did not let the enemy have any breaks even after nightfall. This was partly since he had no time to spare and partly so that the smaller fleet he sent to loop around the American fleet would be able to dock without interruption. Truth be told, though his naval force was able to make it this far, they had sustained heavy casualties. He suspected that the strategist who led the first fleet to fight against him was none other than John Paul Jones.

Now, Jaxon did not excel in naval warfare, but John Paul Jones sure was. Similarly, Jaxon excelled in aerial warfare whereas John Paul Jones did not. This created an unusual conflict where Jaxon’s naval air forces dominated the skies, but his navy suffered huge losses. One advantage that he used to pull ahead was that the ships were a lot easier to hit than small fighter jets during the night. So he coordinated a lot of hit and runs during the night to demoralize the enemy.

That wasn’t to say it was all easy either, he estimated that if he were to allow John Paul Jones the luxury of fighting for 2 more days, then he would not have been able to claim victory. It was just a mixture of John’s unusual tactics and an exceptional grasp of naval warfare. Several times Jaxon thought he had won a decisive victory, yet did not turn out to be the case.

Eventually, the battle of attrition landed on Jaxon’s court due to one tactic that was not one devised by Jaxon. The kamikaze pilots. At this point, the Japanese had not started this tactic in their military use, but the idea was present in many of their minds. It took a little bit of Jaxon’s persuasion skills to sell the idea to most of the pilots on board. Eventually, all those suicide pilots had made a big enough difference that John Paul Jones was not able to recover and that was when Jaxon claimed victory and quickly rushed to Saipan to liberate Baron’s forces.

Since he knew the Americans did not have much left in the way of a naval fleet, he had sent a lot more men to go around and dock as soon as possible. This put himself at a major disadvantage in the sea, but in the interest of time, there was no other choice. If he had decided to go forth with his entire fleet to engage the enemy, then that would be wasting a lot of time. The invasion force had made it to another part of the island earlier that day but was instructed to remain unseen until nightfall and prepare their entire force for advance.

The moment the sunset, they made their move, with neither Baron’s men nor the American forces knowing what was to come. It was a night filled with bloodshed. American camps were completely devastated in the wake of an army so swift they were not able to warn their comrades. Halfway through the night, Jaxon’s navy finally beat their opponents and joined in. The Americans stood no chance after that. Especially since, presumably, John Paul Jones was dead or too far away to be of any real influence. The simulation ended with Baron, Jaxon, and Roxi’s victory.

For Baron and Jaxon, they were ecstatic about their win. But for Roxi, her mind was still so full of questions mostly from her great grandfather. He knew so much, he knew about her, but how? Even if the simulation was a perfect one to one replica of the events that unfolded on Earth, she wasn’t even born for another 45 years after the date of the simulation that they were in.

Even more curious, Cornelius Victor Blaze seemed to look like he hadn’t aged a day between World War 2 in 1944 and her death in 2080. So many unanswered questions. She had to know. There were just too many unknowns about the man called Cornelius Victor Blaze. For now, she would keep it secret. Some time to think about all of this would be good. She didn’t even know what to make of all the revelations that he had told her.

One thing was clear, she couldn’t ignore him forever, sooner or later she would have to confront him again. When that time came, she could not turn into mush the moment Cornelius returned. Now that she was out of it and had time to reflect, as soon as he said the first words, she was not able to control herself. It was as if her mind was alert, yet distant. Immediately after, she left the war room by herself.

Jaxon took this time to talk with some of the others in the room. The American group under Nicholas Adams seemed a bit more approachable than the Japanese team who didn’t seem all that pleased. Meanwhile, Baron took this time to go talk about the simulations with the other group leaders. Only Joseph Slim had not gotten out of his sim yet, but Nicholas Adams was already in a deep discussion with Toyotomi Hideyoshi about something. Toyotomi seemed a bit unhinged about some matter.

“Hey, what are you two up to?” Baron asked as he walked up to them.

“Nothing much. Just explaining to Toyotomi here how he messed up his simulation very early on without him noticing it. Judging by your non-depressed attitude, you’ve won your third match in a row as well?” Nicholas Adams inquired.

“Yes, yes. Certainly, it could have gone either way. My allies really pulled their weight. Which I am extremely grateful for. What’s this about Toyotomi messing up early on?”

“Let me explain this to you in as simple terms as I can. He traded the mutual destruction of one of his most maneuverable units right from the first engagement. It was not until a week later that he realized that his sacrifice was not smart, but by then it was too late,” Nicholas explained quickly.

“Yeah, yeah, alright. Looks like you were right about me losing in my third match. Those Mesopotamian rulers sure are resourceful. I’ll never make those mistakes again. But man, the results will haunt me for a long time,” Toyotomi sighed with resignation, he had embarrassed himself in front of essentially the most powerful people on the planet. Not a good look after centuries of isolation. With this defeat, only 7 Japanese teams remained undefeated. With all of Hideki Tojo’s group still going strong.

“That’s unfortunate, but this is one of the biggest tournaments on the planet. Losing is almost a given. There are forces here which scare even me,” Nicholas said as he glanced at Baron, then to Jaxon, and around the room for Roxi, but she had already left.

“Easy for you to say, your community is the most prosperous community ever,” Toyotomi pointed out.

“That may be true, but honestly, a big part of my prowess has to do with my nature. I never do things in half-measures. The many stunts you pulled with your men during the last match was horrific to watch. I don’t even know how you managed to win twice, might just be your luck.”

“That’s not true!”

“Could it be, you’re out of practice?” Nicholas interrogated Toyotomi.

“Pashaw! Utter nonsense.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. This world is constantly changing and evolving with technology and techniques of war that has never been applied before. If you let yourself fall behind, it will be one hell of a climb back up to your previous position,” Nicholas lectured.

“I agree,” Baron affirmed, “the world is very different from your time. You may have been one of the best, but if you allow yourself to get outdated, then there really isn’t a point to being on this planet.”

“Bah! Whatever! I’m going to go get some drinks,” Toyotomi Hideyoshi declared then loudly made his way out the door, signaling his teammates to follow. Which they did. Jaxon was still talking to Nicholas’ group in the other corner. They seemed very into their own conversation.

“Well, it doesn't look like the old-timer can take criticism,” Nicholas observed.

“No, I suppose not,” Baron replied.

“So, your match with John Paul Jones. How difficult was it?”

“I don’t believe I ever met him in battle, I think he lost against Jaxon over there isolated from the rest of us.”

“Did he now? Well, props to your ally over there. Not many people are able to beat John Paul Jones in the water. Zheng He didn’t manage it, and neither did Madam Zheng. It’s unbelievable that he had to go up against Chinese teams three times in a row though.”

“Haha, what odds indeed. How was your match against that German team? I heard they dominated their first two simulations.”

“You mean Gebhard von Blucher? Well, he himself is a very headstrong man and loves to rush forward without thinking of the consequences. So it wasn’t very difficult to set up a trap and ambush him. Honestly, his two allies alone would probably put up more of a fight without him.”

“It only takes one to ruin the experience.”

“I agree. That is why my two allies are people who have fought with me for the better part of a century.”

“I understand, Roxi and Jaxon being in my team is a blessing. I don’t think many other individuals are able to understand my intent on the battlefield better than those two.”

“Those are some good allies you have there. Be careful, there are a lot of people poaching talents to other communities. Now especially. Their terms are often very desirable, and I have nearly fallen for it a couple of times. Heck, you might even get to experience it yourself. Seeing as you have won 3 matches in a row now.”

“Not to worry, I know where my allegiance lies.”

“I don’t doubt that, Baron. So tell me, do you plan on exploring Planet 4 and visiting the other communities?”

“Umm, well, I had planned to go see it sometime. But, there’s a lot of interesting things happening now that I just don’t have the time to go.”

“Take it from me, you shouldn’t stay in one place for too long. I don’t mean to never return, just it’s good to visit some of the other people that are different from you. From beliefs to tactics to customs to attitudes. When I went on my first journey, it was a real nice breather for me. All the competition in the states really did a number on my drive to get to the top.”

“Is that so? Which communities did you visit, Nicholas?”

“The first one was the British community. Lovely folk, but they have their own set of problems. Then I travelled to various other European places. After that, I stayed in the Chinese community for a few years. By the way, I saw you kill Bai Qi, pretty impressed,” Nicholas mentioned it as if it was no big deal, but it took Baron by surprise.

“You were there for that? Were you one of the participants or were you watching from the sidelines?”

“Sidelines. Although, I have to say, the mysterious group from the Jordsand community sure wiped the floor with your entire community.”

“Yeah...no point in saving face. We stood no chance against such tactics and advanced weaponry. At the time. I think we might put up more of a fight now as a community, but I’m not sure about securing a victory.”

“Well, they are a tough bunch. But as I was saying, I think you should go take a break after this is all over and treat yourself to a nice little getaway. Constantly being in those simulations will mess anyone up. Endless warfare benefits no one.”

“You are right. I think I will take a break after this Sun Tournament. God, I don’t even remember the last time that I took a little time for myself. It’s just been nonstop work the past few centuries.”

“If you have the time to visit the American community, I promise you won’t regret it.”

“I will if I am able to. For the sake of my mental health.”

“That is the most important thing to look after on this planet, Baron. Since our physical bodies need not for anything.”

“Indeed.”