Over the next few months, Madam Zheng would continually send snippets of information that she had received from Wu Zi Xu. Until the big reveal of when the big battle would be taking place. It was supposed to just be a few months before the tournament that Sun Bin had planned and announced for all to hear. This would make sense as a battle between a few big names would be easier to organize than one that required many times more strategists to enter. However, this one battle between the 3 great naval legends was the far more anticipated one. Many hard days and nights followed for the organizers of the event before they were able to finally push the event to the start of the battle.

For Baron, he would be going into this without Yue Fei or even Guan Yu by his side as he had the privilege of doing for the past few important battles. This was just as much of a learning opportunity as it was a chance for him to grow as a strategist. He had grown a bit too reliant on the comfort of his allies’ presence and abilities. He needed something that gave him a challenge, what better way to do so than to be pitted against completely unknown enemies who he had little to no experience fighting before.

Madam Zheng was making her way to the main meeting hall before the battle began with her two husbands, Baron, Zheng Jing, Zheng Zhi Long, and a few other elders. Just as they were about to go inside, Zheng He came out of nowhere to greet his enemies.

(ZH) “Ah, looks like the Forever Pirates and their queen has finally shown up. Are you all doing alright? I know that betrayal from one of your candidates must be so hard,” Zheng He said in an extremely condescending tone, elongating every word so as to make his message really sink in with the elite of the Forever Pirates. Behind him were a few elders that Baron didn’t realize, and a few that he did know. Zhang Da Zhi who was an ally of Zheng He was there, along with the great elder of the Vesper faction, Wu San Gui, and Ho Yang.

(MZ) “Pay that little mishap no mind, Zheng He, after all, I was able to consolidate my own power a lot more than I could have if that event had not occurred.” Madam Zheng responded calmly.

(ZH) “Heh, how fortunate for you. Still, it must be a shame that you had to lose both brother and sister, I understand it you planned on one of them taking up the mantle of the elder position.”

(MZ) “That is true, but it is nothing more than a minor setback. Nothing devastating in the long run. A pretty minor inconvenience.”

(ZH) “Heh, looks like you brought your cute little ally with you this time,” Zheng He said making eye contact with Baron.

(MZ) “I see you have as well,” said Madam Zheng glancing over at Zhang Da Zhi.

(ZH) “What do you think? Is Wu Zi Xu doing this for us or for them?”

(MZ) “I’m inclined to believe it is about us, but I don’t doubt that they are using this as an excuse to have a meeting with them.”

(ZH) “After you, Madam Zheng,” Zheng He said as he ushered his enemies into the room first.

(MZ) “How kind.”

After Madam Zheng and allies all proceeded inside the room, Zheng He and his allies followed. Inside sat Wu Zi Xu, Sun Bin, Sun Wu, and a couple of other important figures.

(WZX) “Haha! I welcome all of you. Don’t worry, there is really no ulterior motive I have other than seeing how each of you stack up to me. However, let me give you a brief introduction as to who is here on my side. There id me, Wu Zi Xu, Sun Wu, and Sun Bin, we three are some of the closest and most trusted allies of Sun Tzu. There is also elder Yu, elder Gu, and elder Bu.” Wu Zi Xu mentioned in an extremely cheery voice.

(ZH) “Greetings I am Zheng He, leader of the Vesper faction. Behind me is the great elder of my faction, a few young genii Ho Yang and Wu San Gui, and finally a rather new ally in Zhang Da Zhi. Oh yes, there are a few others, but they aren’t really important.”

(MZ) “Greetings, elder, my name is Madam Zheng. I have brought one of my allies, Baron, here at your request. Along with a few elders in Zheng Jing Zheng Zhi Long, and my lieutenants, my two husbands.”

(WZX) “I have no doubt that a bewitching woman such as yourself is able to seduce many men but to have done so to two minds as great as theirs is quite an achievement in and of itself. I trust you know that sentiment has no place on the battlefield?”

(MZ) “No need to worry about me, we were successful when we were alive, and now that we are here, we will be even more so.”

(SW) “I have seen many things while I have been here, young miss. You should know, there is no guarantee of success. Even if you are the biggest and brightest of any community, sooner or later, your fall is inevitable. It is only a matter of time.” Sun Wu said in a very depressing tone.

(WZX) “Dude...stop with this depressing talk, please. This is my event and I’d really appreciate it if you could not ruin it in before the battle even began.”

(SW) “Apologies, but that is a life lesson everybody has to learn. The greats of one era pave the way for the next, it is an eternal cycle that only stops when everything grinds to a halt.”

(WZX) “Wow. You know what? All of you are free to go for today. The event will begin tomorrow. I suggest you make whatever preparations you need if you haven’t so already and prepare for your biggest battle to date. I’ve got a few presents that will surprise all of you.”

Both Zheng He and Madam Zheng’s parties bowed to show their respect and left the room to go to their living arrangements. The next time they met, it would be on the battlefield.