In the Indian community, only one man could say that he was the local king of warfare. That man was the Buddhist emperor, Ashoka the Great. His strategic prowess in the military field remained uncontested ever since he stepped foot onto Planet 4. However, there was just one weakness that barred from him becoming an even greater figure than he already was. That would be his Buddhist ideals.

While he was still active on Earth, the suffering he inflicted on others through his actions horrified him. So much so that he converted to Buddhism. However anti-war his beliefs may have become, that did not mean he did not continuously hone his abilities as a commander.

Even after death, this practice continued. Everyone that sought to challenge him was defeated. Over time, he gained the reputation of the greatest the Indian community had to offer. If not for the simulations that this planet used, Ashoka would have never ever set foot onto the path of warfare ever again.

Another great figure in the Indian scene was that of Raja Anantha Padmanabhan, who was powerful in his own right but decided to become a subordinate of Ashoka. Also in Ashoka’s group was Chandragupta Maurya, the technical leader of the group, as well as Chanakya, the heavy hitter.

Then there was Pran Sukh Yadav who was renowned for his incredible skills in training strategists and soldiers alike in discipline, morals, and everything in between. Pran did not belong to any group, but he did like to hang around Ashoka occasionally.

The greatest rising group would be a newly formed girl’s group that consisted of Mai Sukhan, Vishpala, Mai Bhago, and Bibi Sahib Kaur. They excelled at combat with Mai Sukhan and her retainers as the main strategists. Currently, all of these influential figures were gathered together to discuss the mock deathmatch tournament.

“Oh, great Ashoka, how is the conquest of the Tamil Kings? Last I heard they were quite adamant about not merging with you.” Pran Sukh Yadav mentioned casually.

“Humph, those Kings will fall soon enough. They should have just accepted our offer instead of opposing us so fervently. Their downfall was thinking they had anyone close to the level of Ashoka.” Chanakya proudly announced.

“You big oaf, of course they refused your offer. At that moment in time, you were way less powerful than you are now, while they were nearly at the pinnacle of power.” Mai Sukhan said with an air of disgust.

“Mai Sukhan, if it were up to me, I would have you and every other woman in your group thrown out of here. You’re lucky that Ashoka thinks we have a use for you.”

“Hah! Thrown out? In your dreams-” Bibi Sahib Kaur tried to return a jab but was cut off by Ashoka.

“Please, everyone, we need to work together,” Ashoka spoke softly but clear as day. The weight of his words was enough for silence to fall upon the room for a few seconds before Ashoka’s second in command, Chandragupta Maurya, piped up to dispel the mist of awkwardness.

“Right, we need to discuss the mock tournament that is going to be held in the Chinese community. We have been quite busy as of late and have decided to push this meeting a bit longer than we would have liked. However, it is critical that we set everything straight right now.” Chandragupta said.

“Let me say something before you continue on Chandragupta. This mock tournament is a blessing in many ways, but it can also be a curse if we aren’t careful about how we approach this matter. Being able to see just how far our competitors have advanced these past few centuries will no doubt be a great opportunity. The bad thing is that our enemies will also be able to gleam how far we have come.”

“Ashoka, what are you saying?” Pran Sukh Yadav was quite confused.

“I’m just saying that we shouldn’t put our strongest line up when we decide who will be participating in this tournament.”

“I was just thinking the same thing, Ashoka. If the other communities haven’t figured this out yet, then they don’t really belong in this competition. The best solution I can think of to solve this problem would be to have Rajaraja, the leader of the Tamil Kings, take up the post of the only solo strategist.”

“Wait, can you explain how the lineup to us works? We are a relatively new group and have not yet been in any tournament of this scale.” Vishpala asked Chandragupta Maurya gracefully. To which he nodded in affirmation.

“Sure, sure, so there will be 100 strategists to participate in this tournament from each of the 12 communities, in the actual tournament, there will be 10 times as many people from each of the 200+ communities. There will be 33 groups of 3 people. As I’m sure you realize, that only equates to 99 out of the 100 participants. There will be one person from each community who will fight each other in a grand spectacle.”

“I’m sorry, but how is a winner determined?”

“The group competition will be one group versus another group round-robin style with each group competing with 5 other groups. The more times they win, the more points they score for their community. That is all for the group portion of the tournament. As for the solo portion, well, they all gather in one simulation and fight each other until one remains. Only the winner of that 12 man showdown will score points. The rest get nothing.”

“Only the winner gets points? Then how many points can you get in the solo round?”

“One-third of all points you can possibly get are from the solo match. This means that if you don’t win the solo match, then you will be unlikely to place first no matter how well you do in the group matches.”

“If you’re wondering, that is how the Jordsand community manages to win the actual tournament every time. They have yet to lose a match in the solo round, and if memory serves, they have only suffered a loss a handful of times.” Raja said as he felt that he was being ignored a bit too long.

“Anyway, we have to get back on track. Ashoka, I know I am the leader of our group, but you are my senior when it comes to fighting prowess. How much longer do you need to convince the Tamil Kings to come and join our side? Tell Rajaraja that he will get the chance to be put in the solo matches if he agrees to join us in the next few years. That fool knows nothing but prestige and glory, this should be enough.”

“Alright, I agree. The strategists that are under him are quite powerful too. Should we substitute a few more of our people with his so that he would be more inclined to join us?”

“Oh? Are you planning on us hiding our strength to such a degree that you would give them so many benefits, Ashoka?”

“Winning a battle and winning a war are two different things. The Tamil Kings are a battle that would be best won sooner rather than later. But the war we are in with the other communities will go on perpetually. That is something we have to take into account when we pick and choose our small battles.”

“Wise words as always, Ashoka, I don’t care if I participate in this mock tournament or not, but I would like to be part of the group that gets to witness this spectacle.” Pran Sukh Yadav chimed up.

“Don’t worry Pran, the portal that we mainly use for receiving our new recruits and transporting our people to the actual deathmatch tournament will be opened again for this occasion.”

“Oh! That is fantastic. How many people are you planning on taking with you?”

“We are thinking soft limit of 10,000, but up to 50,000 if that ends up being the case.” Chandragupta patiently revealed.

“Are you sure we should be allowing that many people to go? They are bound to spend at least some amount of money in the Chinese community and that will surely make the Chinese economically stronger.” As usual Chanakya, the voice of opposition, had to say his piece.

“I’m almost certain that is going to be the case, Chanakya, but our people will become stronger as well. Such a large gathering of people within the Chinese community will attract quite a bit of attention. This will lead to many people not from the participating communities to come to check it out as well. I dare say this event will become the second most important tournament on this planet if everything is played out well. Which merchant would be willing to give up such a rare opportunity?”

“Economically speaking, we have much to gain from sending as many of our people over. I’m not sure if any of you at the top are aware, many of the regular folk are sick of being cooped up in this community. After all, they don’t have the money to relocate to another community, nor do they have the skills to move up in rankings.” Mai Bhago said in her unique combination of forcefulness and intelligence.

“Right, not to mention this might just be the event that motivates them to work harder. After all, just one new blueprint or watching one new fight can be the difference between indifference to this reality and wanting to be on top of it.” Bibi Sahib Kaur added on.

“Looks like you ladies are pretty sharp, alright, since I am mostly in control of the community, I’ll allow 250,000 people to cross over. Perhaps up to half a million. Ashoka, what do you all think?”

“Operating the portal like that will cost us a small fortune, but with the way that this community is heading, I don’t think we can really afford to be stingy with our community funds. That is a good decision Chandragupta, thank you, ladies, for such a brilliant solution to this problem we have been trying hard to combat.”

“Hang on, what will happen if our strategists decide to stay in that community? We can’t exactly force them to come back either. That way, we will have spent an enormous amount to cultivate that person, but we won’t reap any of the benefits.” Chanakya continued to be the voice of doubt.

“I don’t think that will be too much of a problem, Chanakya, all we have to do is beat the Chinese community. They may have beaten us in the last tournament, but I think with the surprises we have in store for them this time, we have a chance to come out on top.” Raja replied matter of factly.

“Forgive me for doubting you, Raja, but given what my intelligence network has revealed to me, this might be more difficult than you first imagined.”

“What have you been told, Ashoka?”

“The new generation of Chinese strategists are quite promising. There appears to be a lady pirate who took less than two centuries to catch up with their second-best naval commander, who has been established for nearly half a millennium. Then there is one by the name of Baron Magellan who has established a sect that is on the fast track to becoming one of the most powerful in the community.”

“How big of a deal are those two? We have a couple of new blood that is comparable to the pirate, this Baron fellow might be a bit of a problem though. However, they are still young, they won’t be able to contest us just yet!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, according to some reports, this Baron fellow has actually managed to take out Bai Qi, one of the top 20 elders within the Chinese community,” Ashoka mentioned, serene as always.

“Bai Qi, the human butcher? How could my rival lose to those shrimps? I refuse to believe that such a thing ever happened. Worst case scenario, Bai Qi was severely disadvantaged in that fight.”

“Believe it or not, many reports claim it to be the case. If you ever face them in battle, don’t you dare underestimate them!” Chandragupta warned Chanakya.

“Is there anything else that we need to discuss? If not, I’ll head over to discuss these matters to the Tamil Kings. I still find it strange that they decided to not just come to this meeting. They must be quite the pouty bunch, haha.”

“That is all, Ashoka. The rest need not concern you.” Chandragupta bowed his head to Ashoka while Ashoka left the room. Chandragupta then turned to everyone else who remained in the room, “Alright, now we get to decide just who gets to participate in this mock tournament. Remember, you all are guaranteed a few seats along with a few of your picks, but we need to reserve a few seats for our rising talents.”

“Let’s get to work,” Raja said to signal his approval. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement as well. It would take them another few days to hash out the big details, and another month to get through some of the finer details. After everything was decided upon, they all set out to work coordinating the preparation effort before the mock tournament commenced.