Maksim Mikhailovich Belov was no fool. He understood that his impressive display of strength and advanced blueprints would make him the target. However, this was what he had planned. His purpose in being so outrageous was to gather as much data for his blueprints. What situation could be better than a showdown of the best?

The moment it was clear that he had to fight the rest of the world was when he felt the most exhilarated. He had many technological marvels yet to be revealed, which he chose not to use. He would save it for another day. In all honesty, he had the confidence to win this simulation despite his current situation should he use everything at his disposal.

Given what he had seen so far, the simulation was just more of the same. No one had brought out anything resembling his robotics corps or anything past the 21st century. A massive disappointment, to put it mildly. He had been so sure that this was the place that everyone would show what they were capable of doing. Yet that was not so.

Could it be that they were hiding their strength? Or could it be that they were truly far behind where he had thought they were? If the latter was the case, then the other communities would not be much of a challenge at all. The only thing left for him would be the Jordsand community and Luca’s challenge. That said, he would still try his best to win this Sun Tournament. But he had to make it challenging for himself. It was the only way for him to get any benefit out of this more than he already had.

First, he used his five nuclear missiles to make the Suez Canal located in Egypt wider. This allowed more ships to pass through. It was more of a disadvantage for him since the Asian navies now had a faster route to Poland. The Suez Canal connected the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea. The border between Africa and Asia. Its importance as a trade route for centuries could not be understated.

The second thing that Maksim of Poland did was relying only on the code developed for his robotics corp instead of humans controlling them remotely. He had never attempted this full conversion before, but now was a great chance to try it out. If there were anything wrong with the code, then this would have disastrous results, but it was worth the challenge it presented.

Lastly, he ceded all territory in Africa that his ex-ally Sun Wu of Italy had taken. Instead, he chose to bunker himself in his part of Europe. Every manufacturing facility that was under his control was producing more of his robotic army. There were also many other small trivial things he did to lessen his chances of winning.

The full-scale invasion of European lands required trust among the invaders. Therefore, the coalition decided that if any nation broke the agreement, then every other member would each use one nuclear missile on the offender. It allowed them to trust each other a bit more, but there was another issue to address. It was that something of this scale would be impossible to plan effectively with differing goals. So, each nation would have only a few objectives.

China, India, and Japan would send their navy through the widened Suez Canal to take over the UK, Italy, and France. Meanwhile, their armies went to Russian lands to begin the land offensive. Japan and the Soviet Union also had to deploy many of their forces from the American continents. It made every nation participating in this war against Poland light in their home defenses, as well as occupied territories. It was a war for the ages!

The four-nation coalition did not have to fear their lands being encroached. Therefore, they could all focus primarily on taking down Maksim. They would beat him down then proceed to fight off those remaining to take home the victory. A European invasion on all fronts began on May 3rd of the 13th year since the simulation started.

Every firefight was bloody. Every bombing had numerous casualties. Every tit for tat was grim. However, this mostly applied to the invading forces. The robotics corp always seemed to have reinforcements. A stark contrast to their flesh and blood counterparts who had no such luxury. However, the invasion pushed on.

Japan was the one to make the most headway as their invasion of France was ferocious and lightning-fast. It did not even need three months to take the country. They pushed on even further with the same speed. Conquering the UK and Italy did not take too much longer for the Indian and Chinese troops, respectively. On the other hand, the land forces sent to pincer Poland from the east were having a bit more difficulty. Though they found some initial success, they could not replicate the results.

Every time one of Maksim’s robot manufacturing plants was stormed into, everything was already gone. It was the case in the nine plants in France, the 12 plants in the UK, and the four in Italy. Maksim had purposefully put in safeguards so that his opponents would not get any clues as to how they were created, how they were programmed, or how they operated. Such meticulous planning left nothing to be desired.

The leaders decided that Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland were to be left alone for the sake of time. Not long after, the advance into European lands slowed dramatically. The Indian forces moved on from Italy to Austria but encountered quite a few problems in doing so. It was apparent to Turenne that the forces he had fought before were nothing like the ones he was facing now. They seemed more organized, more prepared, more aware. He was confident in his skills, and he knew his limits. It just seemed unfathomable for robots to be this fearsome on the battlefield.

Hideki Tojo led his forces to take on North Germany, while Herbert Plumer split his Chinese troops to take Frankfurt and Munich in the south. Similarly, they faced the same problems that had plagued their allies. The defending forces they fought before was nothing compared to what they were dealing with now. It irked them why Maksim would not send out these soldiers instead of the ones they already fought. Maksim would have been able to stall longer if he had done that.

Since the advance slowed considerably, they could only prepare for sieges of the major cities and other key strongholds. Once again, everything inside the manufacturing plants mysteriously disappeared just days before being raided. They tried everything, but they were always too slow. Either Maksim had some insane foresight, or there was something else at play here. Three years into the European campaign, they finally managed to take all lands, minus Poland itself. No doubt Maksim had fortified his country the most.

All forces moved in together on all fronts. Unleashing the fury of the world upon Poland. As expected, the robotics corp seemed to have an unlimited supply of soldiers in their homeland. On the other hand, the invading forces had been taking losses for years. Then, something unexpected popped up in every major city across the world. It was an outpouring of the robotics corp. Their objective was unknown, but it was likely to cause instability everywhere, create a cause for concern for those invading Poland, or a million other things.

The way it stood, the cities would be under the control of Maksim soon. Many soldiers previously in national defense for their country had been recruited to join the effort to wipe Poland off the map. Now it had caused them to have a shortage of available soldiers to fend off the attack. It was a blow to the coalition.

What could they do?

To return their soldiers home meant breaching the alliance. Continuing to fight on could risk the robotics corp going for more than just cities. Bad choices with equally bad results. Before consulting the others, Herbert Plumer led the majority of the Chinese troops back home. He had worked so hard to gain the trust of the people. Failing them now would lead to many more troubles up ahead. Propaganda could only go so far. If Herbert could not be relied upon during these moments, it would not take long for the Chinese to create another revolution. By god, the Chinese people loved revolutions.

The alliance seemed to deteriorate with the withdrawal of the Chinese forces. News traveled fast. Those soldiers still fighting on the front lines heard of the situation soon after. No matter how hardened these men were, they knew there was only one place worth fighting for now. It wasn’t their country anymore. It was their home. Mutinies and disobeying the chain of command skyrocketed during this time, but the response differed a lot.

Hideki Tojo had done such a phenomenal job brainwashing his soldiers with propaganda that it was not difficult to quell. By making an example out of those who did not fall in line, of course. In the end, none of the Japanese forces withdrew, and they even seemed to have a newfound fire inside them. He did not care about losing his conquered lands, retaking them would be simple enough. However, if Japan itself was lost, that would tarnish his image. They decided that all soldiers not on the frontlines would go over to defend Japan. Leaving the other nations of the Japanese Empire to fall.

Turenne of India decided to take actions similar to Herbert Plumer. He knew that word had spread in his army and navy already and that there was no point in denying it. So, he chose to split his army in half. One half would be entrusted to Herbert to defend Indian cities. The two of them were still allies, after all. Meanwhile, he would continue to push into Polish lands.

Muqali of the Soviet Union decided to be the brashest of them all. There was no action that he took. He just continued as if nothing had happened. His lack of action was influenced by the men he had left behind in the motherland. They were trained by himself. He knew that his nation could hold its ground. Additionally, they were so close to taking Maksim out. Their victory was so close.

The three remaining armies now had a new reason for fighting harder. If Poland lives on, they would not have a home to return to. It ends here. With the reduction in manufacturing plants that could produce the robotics corp, the invasion became smoother and smoother. There were fewer and fewer casualties, and they won more and more engagements.

Eventually, there was only one option left for Maksim to make. Whether or not he should make his citizens take up arms to fight off the enemy. It would not have made a difference this late into the fight. His citizens had been so comfortable the past decade of the world war that asking them now would be akin to shooting their mother right in front of them. Which is to say, a lot of shocked reactions and a lot of anger.

Regardless, that was it for Maksim. The robot corps he shifted from his manufacturing plants to overseas could have been used to fortify his nation more, but he decided against it. Even if he lost, he didn’t feel bad about it. His community, on the other hand, might not be so forgiving. Especially after the show of disadvantaging himself immensely. Now, there were only four remaining, but not for long.