Shen was waiting on Tar'Shalon's surface for the team he would join in the war.

"The Guardian System has different rules of engagement," Alyphan said in Syron. "The relevant one now is the Buffer Pre-War. When any race or B-rank organization declares war on another, the system sets some planets as a buffer fighting area. Those planets act as a wall that must be breached before the fight can be brought to each race's or organization's lands.

"On each planet, each side has teleportation circles that they can use to deploy troops. They can conquer enemy circles by defending them for a time. When they conquer every circle in the world, that planet leaves the game. When all planets are conquered by one side, they gain the right to invade any place they want from that other race."

Not only the drow spoke, but he also moved around Shen, jumped, crouched, sat down, and even took out different weapons. All the while, he used different intonations, gestures, postures, and looks.

Syron was not a language that could be spoken well by those without total control of their expressions.

"What if a race has only one last planet firmly under its grasp? If all other worlds are out of the game, doesn't it make this last-planet race incapable of getting to an enemy planet and thus stuck? In fact, shouldn't that last world be out of the game if they have it entirely under control?"

"Well noticed. Each party must always defend at least one planet with one enemy teleportation circle. If they lose it, they must pick another of the ones they previously conquered to receive an enemy circle. And so it goes until one side has conquered all planets."

Shen suppressed a frown. "That could go on forever."

"Only if both parties take their time or are too afraid of an all-out attack with their strongest."

The cultivator didn't get that. "Why would anyone not send their strongest from the beginning to finish things quickly? Staying at war makes one vulnerable to attacks from other fronts."

"To train their weaker members. Each party must determine the minimum and maximum ranks they'll send to a planet, and that information is available to both sides. The Alliance's teleportation circles are operated by the system, and it will accept nothing out of that range. If any race changes the range upwards, it takes three Standard days for the system to accept teleporting people of the new upper range to that world.

"Even in-world, if both sides are willing, they can assign certain areas to have sub-ranges. For instance, a world that will take E- to C-ranks might have an area where only D-ranks should fight. Either side can raise the sub-range of an area without agreement from the other party. If both agree, they can also lower it. In both cases, it takes a Standard day to come into effect."

Shen shook his head. "Why would anyone agree to it? Even if their weaker can grow stronger, it'll still pile their losses in a place far from their land, without their strong defenses."

"Naturally, not everyone agrees; some completely ignore the pre-war or its rules. In the Alliance, only the fear of gaining a Bounty or retribution from the other party can truly prevent misdeeds. But a slow pre-war is almost always a good deal for both parties. When it's over, both will have stronger warriors. It'll also weaken the other party, which is good for the winners. Lastly, Alliance law forbids whoever loses from getting completely annihilated, so those 'stronger weak people' will be better positioned to withstand the new times, usually as serfs, for a fixed period. They may even rebuild one day.

"As long as the winners aren't wicked A-ranks, of course. A-ranks can obliterate any race with little consequence; they merely need to provide a good justification. B-ranks are valued, but it pales in front of what an A-rank can do to protect us from the Void. They are almost untouchable."

The Drow Maiden's tale about the Dreamer confirmed that last part. The drow had been ready to give up a lot to kill the True Enemy, who was Titled. However, when the high-elven A-rank acted, it protected them from a political shitstorm. Not enough to avoid war, but enough that it wasn't a full-fledged Alliance subjugation war of the drow. Instead, some "righteous" races had united against the "evil" elves who plotted to kill a valued Titled member of the Alliance.

The cultivator was still unconvinced about some of the pre-war rules, though.

"That sub-range area thing... What stops anyone from killing anyone who's growing stronger in them?"

In other words, what was to stop a B-rank from killing him in a D-rank area?

"Again, well noticed. You lack social intelligence, but you properly use your head when it touches the Concept of War. I called the rules of engagement a game, but it's still a war. If you don't take care of your people, the enemy will obviously exploit your opening.

"Both sides must monitor, protect, and be prepared to kill everyone in a sub-range area. That said, whoever breaks the rules receive teleportation penalties like a longer teleportation time, increased prices, or a limit of people they can teleport during a period. Such penalties always accumulate as pre-wars progress. Wars aren't about rules, and even the pre-war system acknowledges this. It's all about striking at the perfect moment to maximize gains and minimize costs. Some rich races even create their own teleportation network to bypass said rules, but it's a costly endeavor and usually not worth it.

"Likewise, some will bypass the buffer planets and directly attack the other party. They have to pay for that with Management Points, so it's very, very seldom done.

"On that note, piracy and border conflicts can happen between two parties not at war without a war starting. At least one side must declare war for the Buffer Pre-War to start. Some races would rather lose some planets than declare war on whoever is doing it. The Buffer Pre-War is meant to give the weaker side an advantage, not forcing them into a fight they can't win."

While all that made sense, Shen still had some questions.

"Can the loser attack the winner's lands?" If so, someone could just not defend their buffer planets and be done with it.

"Yes, but they can't use the Guardian System to teleport there. Also, every Standard year the war goes without a resolution, the loser can ask for a Buffer Counter-War. The concept is the same, but the rules are different: each side has only one planet, and no ranks are enforced.

"The rules are in place to make the actual wars—after the pre-war—quick. If you take your time, you risk giving the losing race an opportunity to strike back. A counter-war lets them send all their strongest against your planet to conquer it and gain themselves another Standard year to recover their territories or rest and prepare."

Shen approved of not prolonging things forever, leaving a race at the mercy of the other without a conclusion when there was a true enemy out there—the Void.

"How many planets are there in a Buffer Pre-War?"

"The system takes into account each participant's number of Guardians, overall strength, highest ranked being, owned land, population, and titles. Each side picks whether they want those factors to directly or inversely proportionally affect the number of planets, their size, and how far each teleportation circle is from each other. Each party can also use however many favors they want to add or subtract a planet, one favor each. In the end, there will be anything between three to thirty-three planets. Their sizes will range from tiny to colossal. And each teleportation circle will be anything from a few miles to hundreds of thousands away from each other—and different planets can have circles in different distances from each other, too."

That made things even more strategic. This pre-war was a real-life large-scale chess game with multiple boards. One might decide to spread their troops on multiple worlds or defend only one if they believed they were up to the task. They might want many words to a few. They might pick more circles to defend or almost none.

As interestingly, while the Buffer Pre-War favored the weaker side, it also made things more convenient for the stronger side. They had to worry less about attacks on their borders and could focus on one place. Of course, this was still a war, and no matter the penalties, one would likely kill the enemy leaders if possible. But it made things simpler.

As Alyphan had suggested, the best part was the sub-range areas. The Concept of War let Shen easily see how useful that was for everyone, especially the Alliance as a whole. It couldn't or wouldn't prevent infighting but had created a way to let stronger ranked Guardians be the survivors. That's what they needed to fight the Void.

"A few last questions," he said. "First, you mentioned costs. So people must still pay to get to those planets?"

"Yes. Teleportation costs start the same for both sides, no matter how far they are from the buffer planets, which are usually—but not always—placed at the midway point between the races. It can also be paid in Management Points rather than AP; then, the costs are taken from each side's vaults."

So, wars were still expensive affairs. Good. That way, people wouldn't just kill each other for no reason.

"One last question: why didn't I know about that? All Alliance laws were injected into my mind."

"That's a touchy subject. These aren't Alliance laws; it's all on the Guardian System. Some say a group of people rules over it; others that it is artificial intelligence. Whatever the case, the system one day enforced these rules, and that was it. The system is considered S-rank in Alliance law, so only S-rank laws can force it to do anything. The powers that be never reunited to change things or to officialize these rules of engagement. That led to even more factions arguing the system had too much power, and a political storm ensued. The drow agrees with the sentiment but takes full advantage of the Buffer Pre-War, so we have no desire to see things change."

Shen didn't stop his frown this time.

Indeed, while the Pre-War was a step in the right direction, enforcing it that way sounded wrong. The good thing about laws, even tiered ones like in the Alliance, was their predictability. Everyone knew about it or could find out what was expected of them. But if some rules could be hidden elsewhere...

Then again, that did come under the purview of what was allowed to S-rank organizations or people. It didn't cross any boundaries. It was just a loophole being taken advantage of, which sucked.

"They are here," Alyphan said.

Shen couldn't see or feel anyone. He turned and glimpsed at his new companions for the first time.

The six drow were all D-ranks like him and had come prepared.

They all wore a matching plate set, dark gray with white details. The armor wasn't as impressive as many Shen had seen; rather, it looked functional, giving protection without restricting movement too much or looking bulkier. It resembled more a sci-fi get-up than medieval armor.

They also held their choice of weapon. One wielding a sword and shield, another a halberd and shield, and four carried wooden staves. The staff was favored by drow mages for its relative simplicity; they could focus on magic and still train on some kind of close-range physical defense.

While only rarely would you find a pure mage or pure physical fighter in the Alliance, everyone picked one of those to focus on. Magic required delving deep into the secrets of Reality and accumulating intellectual knowledge. Physical fighters had to learn how to use their bodies effectively, including with mana or qi.

Shen quickly assessed every way that group could be developed and concluded that it was likely a specialized strike group rather than random foot soldiers in an army.

Alyphan moved beside Shen and demanded, "Mages, tell me your main element."

Each of the four produced an elemental orb floating before them. One created a flame, another lightning, the third something transparent, and the last ice.

Then, Alyphan pointed at each drow in sequence. "Your call signs will be Halby, Swordy, Fiery, Lighty, Soundy, and Icy."

The cultivator was dumbfounded. "Really?"

"Easy to remember. You're Stabby. This is squad 939. Here is your gear."

An armor set like the newcomers' materialized on his hand, except the details were light blue rather than white. It was left floating while Alyphan took a spear and a tiny metallic plate from his Inventory or spatial ring. The spear's shaft was also dark gray, and the spearhead was light pink metal.

"Inspect," Shen said.

Elite Drow Armor Mk. 486 (C-)

Enchantments: Self-Repair (C-), Resistance (C-), Agility (C-), Strength (C-), Thinking Speed (C-)

Standard drow armor given to their elite D-rank warriors.

Elite Drow Spear Mk. 210 (C-)

Enchantments: Self-Repair (C-), Resistance (C-), Elasticity (C-), Piercingness (C-), Sharpness (C-)

Standard drow spear given to their elite D-rank warriors.

Elite Drow Communication Echo Plate (C-)

Enchantments: Self-Repair (C-), Wet Stickness (C-), Quantum Encrypted Connection (C-), Precise Tremor Converter (C-), Mental Interface (C-)

Standard drow communication device given to their elite D-rank warriors.

Being standard didn't make that equipment any less impressive. It was indeed elite equipment. He wondered if he could even move comfortably inside that armor; he wasn't used to C- stats, after all.

The spear looked even better than the one he had for his level; it didn't have a Core Law, so it could display its C- prowess without depending on him understanding any Law.

Lastly, the communication device—the metallic plate—was fascinating in how intricate the mana inside felt.

"Put everything on," Alyphan ordered. "Start with the echo place. It goes on the mouth ceiling. It'll transmit your words to your squad and send them to your ears through your skull." While Shen obeyed, the man turned to the newcomers. "Stabby is drow."

"Stabby is drow," the others said in unison.

That was a sign of someone recognizing his identity. A drow vouched for him, and the others accepted or not. Not everyone had to accept, but they had to make it clear before it became an issue.

Their armor was thick enough not to let their voices go through the air, but Shen had already put the echo plate in his mouth, and the sensation was weird. He could feel his bones trembling and his ears hearing their voices, each one unique.

He couldn't feel the quantum connection between them, but he had accepted the mental interface enchantment, and it pushed some information into his mind. He got the position of everyone his echo plate was connected with, knew who was talking to him, and could pick who he was talking to.

The four mages were female, the others male. He knew that meant nothing because the Maiden was a physical fighter like him.

Shen guessed tremors were used for communication, instead of the mental interface, as a safety measure, though he wasn't sure exactly how that worked.

"Stabby will be your squad leader," Alyphan continued.

"Wait, what?" Shen asked, baffled.