38 Guan Yu

(BM) "You're suggesting that we should pull a fast one over your elders?" Baron asked Li Xin skeptically.

(LX) "You are thinking too far ahead of this. My elders have already received the reward from the Vesper faction. They don't really care if I do or don't use everything in my arsenal to suppress the Forever Pirates. As long as I show any form of progress they will leave me to it."

(BM) "Alright I suppose, that would be the best way to go about this situation. But.... "

(LX) "Do you still not trust me?"

(BM) "Well... "

(LX) "Let me tell you something that no one else on my faction knows. I may act like a fool to my faction members, but I am in no way inferior to even some of my elders. I'm only in those lowly position because I have no reason to want more responsibility."

(BM) "Oh that's good, then I'll leave it up to you. The blueprint will be delivered to you once I see some results."

(LX) "You have nothing to worry about since I'm personally taking matters into mu own hands."

The two men chatted for a whip longer, said their farewells, and Baron went back to report the matter to Madam Zheng.

(BM) "Greetings, Madam Zheng. The task is done."

(MZ) "You got Li Xin to withdraw from suppressing my faction?" She said excitedly.

(BM) "Unfortunately no, Li Xin advised that even if he were to stop then another subsidiary faction will come in to suppress you even harder."

(MZ) "Then what exactly did you accomplish?"

(BM) "I've made a deal with Baron that involves him only suppressing certain parts of your faction. The parts that aren't very profitable anyway. Plus he will try to stall as much as possible to hive you ample breathing space to resist Vesper."

(MZ) "That's actually a pretty good deal, what did you prose h I'm return? I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but I doubt he'd do this for you withoutgetting at least something in return."

(BM) "I had to give him the blueprint for the repeating crossbow. Of course, he would get it after he kept his part of the deal."

(MZ) "You did well this time, I'm glad that I called upon you to take care of this task. Now that I owe you a favour, what would you like? Is there something naughty on your mind?"

(BM) "Careful there, your two husbands are right outside this door. Let's not go there. As of now there is nothing that I require from you. Perhaps you could help me with a matter in the future."

(MZ) "I was kidding when I said that, but sure. I'll come to your aid in the future if you need it."

Madam Zheng and Baron Magellan talked about a few other matters and Baron departed from Madam Zheng's room. He returned to his own HQ, the HQ of the future faction Under 1 Banner. Upon entering he greeted the four other members and was puzzled when he saw another figure he didn't realize standing in the room.

(HX) "Ah Baron you're back. I'd like you to meet one of my close allies. In fact he's my only ally aside from the four of you. His name is Guan Yu."

(BM) "Wow elder Han Xin, I've gotta say. You sure do have an eye for trustworthy people."

(HX) "Haha,do I? "

(BM) "Out of everyone in Chinese history you have chosen perhaps two of the most trustworthy allies. That is quite an eye you've got there. Greetings elder Guan Yu."

(GY) "No need for honorifics with me my friend. We're already dead, no need to be so polite."

(BM) "Alright then Guan Yu. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The two of them shook hands when Yue Fei suddenly piped up.

(YF) "As I was saying, Guan Yu is also an elder in the Chinese Community. He is also way higher ranked than me at rank 72. While I myself am at rank 93, I'veranked up a bitthanks to Baron for providing those blueprints for me to auction off."

(BM) "Haha, it's only natural that I help you all out. We do need as much elders in our ranks as soon as possible. Hopefully Han Xin, Ban Chao, and Xu Da can rise into the elder position beforethe faction selection tournament officially begins. Of course I won't force any of you into the elder position if you don't want to." He said as he looked expectantly at Han Xin who had a history of conserving his strength and secrets.

(HX) "I'll think about it Baron. Now what do you say? Is Guan Yu in or not?."

(BM) "Sure, I'd love to have him in our ranks. He should be quite the strategist according to all my research. Just one question though, have you been in any other factions?"

(GY) "Yes , but I've mainly been drifting through factions helping in any way I can. Most of the times though I'm a factionless strategist."

(BM) "Oh interesting. Does that mean we are a passing fancy as well?"

(GY) "We'll see, but I have a good impression of you guys. I'll stick around for a bit and see how things turn out."

(BM) "You may be an extremely well versed strategist, but I hope you can understand that we can't just share our secrets to people who like to faction hop."

(GY) "Yes that makes sense to me. How about I help you guys out with some other matters and not interfere with your secret?"

(BM) "Alright then. If you do decide to stay with us long term then you are more than welcome to join us in our exercises."

(GY) "I'll take that into consideration thanks."

(BM) "For now Han Xin will show you what to do in the meantime." Baron said as he motioned for Han Xin to guide Guan Yu away.

(HX) "Come on Guan Yu, this way." Han Xin said as he lead the other to a separate room. Once there Guan Yu couldn't help it any longer.

(GY) "How come this young fellow is ordering you around? aren't you his senior?"

(HX) "Oh that? While I may be his senior, he is the figurehead that will lead our faction from the shadows."

(GY) "Shadows? Who will be the public faction leader then?"

(HX) "We will announce it as a cooperation between me and Yue Fei."

(GY) "Ah, I see. So what did you want me to do then?"

(HX) "Actually that was just meant to get you out of the room so he could brief the others on what to do next, and also for me to have a talk to you regarding your future with us."

(GY) "You already have that deep of a bond with him that you can tell his motive just from what he said?"

(HX) "Yea I guess that's just how much we understand each other after just a few months of close proximity. I'll tell you now that if you don't seriously consider joining us then I think it's better if you leave. I really think Baron can achieve great things here. I just know it."

(GY) "He must've been real persuasive if he even got you on board. How about I test his abilities a bit? Just to see how good he is."

(HX) "You should know that this fellow is not so simple. He died when he was 20, yet he was able to fight me to a draw after witnessing me for a few simulations. Don't underestimate Baron."

(GY) "Thanks for the warning, judging by what you all told me earlier, Baron seems like he has a lot of blueprints in his collection."

(HX) "Oh, you've got no idea just how much blueprints Baron has. Even I don't know the full extent of his collection."

(GY) "You don't even know? Then that means he could be more of a monster than even some of the top 20 elders. Even if his experience is a bit lacking. Alright then, let me have a little simulation with Baron to test him myself."

(HX) "I think that's a great idea, but I must warn you. If you win, then that only means Baron hasn't pulled out his true ace cards yet. He gave me a Mark 7 tank like it was nothing, I honestly have no idea just how advanced this fellow is when it comes to the even newer blueprints like missiles, and the like."

(GY) "That's a bit hard to take in. You aren't joking with me are you old friend?"

(HX) "Oh, I'm dead serious this time Guan Yu. His knowledge of modern warfare is like the endless universe compared to what we understand."

(GY) "If that's true then we might finally be able to do better in the Death Match Tournament once he is old enough to participate."

(HX) "Yea, it seems like a true force of nature has finally descended upon our community. We have to make sure that Baron stays safe until then. So you must decide now, join us and change our future forever, or be left out."

(GY) "That's a difficult question to answer Han Xin. I'll make up my mind once I've had a proper simulation against him."

(HX) "Naturally."