The battles continued to rage on for another year 6 months after that, then there was a short period of relative peace so that all of the remaining fleets could take a much-needed breather. It was at this time that Madam Zheng and the Zi siblings finally met up after not being able to for the past little while. This meeting would have Baron, Zi Bo, Zi Ji Ge, and Madam Zheng meeting up to discuss what their battle plans for the future would entail.
(MZ) "Nice to see you again Baron. It seems like you and these two seem to get along well if they agreed to let you be allies." Madam Zheng said in a sophisticated voice.
(BM) "Getting to learn from these two experts these past few months have been an incredible experience from my part. It has surely opened my eyes to the possibilities of what is possible to achieve on the open seas." Baron openly complimented the siblings.
(ZJG) "Humph, you better believe it! Though I must say that everyone in his group seems to be quite the quick learner. These past few months they went from having little to no experience to being able to hold their own against even mediocre strategists." Zi Ji Ge said in a flowery voice that did not suit her personality at all.
(ZB) "..." Zi Bo said nothing and looked around the room with his usual blank face.
(MZ) "Heh. Well, I'm glad to hear that. Now, I suppose we should get to the briefing of what we need to achieve in the coming months. First though, let's hear of what your group has accomplished so far, Zi JI Ge and Zi Bo."
(ZJG) "Yes, ma'am. We have managed to conquer the island that we first set our sights on within a few days of the battle commencing. Then, in the coming months, we had claimed lands as far west as the Vesper faction's Wu San Gui's territory, we are fighting them as we speak. Lastly, we have managed to make our borders line up with yours and we are able to merge with your group any time you please." She said with a sort of satisfied look.
(MZ) "Very good, I heard that you had many successes due to the ancient flamethrower against some of the fodder strategists, Baron?"
(BM) "Indeed, it is quite useful against ships made of wood, not so much for something like metal ships. Though I plan on fixing that once I get the formula for Greek fire. Rumors say that they are able to burn anything even underwater, though it may be exaggerated, it is a much stronger substance than whatever nonsense that I have powering my machine right now.
(MZ) "Is that so? Mind if you allow us to test a few of it later?"
(BM) "Not at all, I'll send 50 to you next week. Though they won't be able to melt most metals, it will still serve useful as many other types of attacks, as you will soon be able to see."
(MZ) "Excellent, let me tell you about our end of the situation before we talk about the future. So, as I'm sure that you know, we have taken over the majority of the west, northwest, and a bit of the central region of the maps."
(BM) "Yes, I heard that the people that inhabited the island on the northwest part of the map put up quite a fight when you guys showed up."
(MZ) "Indeed, we suffered a few minor setbacks but nothing too alarming. The problem lies with how the Vesper faction has seriously limited our ability to expand by taking over the majority of the central regions. This means that if we want to get past them to get at the rest of the resources beyond them, we will have to either wipe them off the map or cripple them. Doing either is no small task might I add."
(ZJG) "So what's the plan? Will we be doing traditional tactics or will we be going along with some scheme that you and your two hubbies cooked up?"
(MZ) "This era of peace will not last long. Even so, we have not been able to find a solution to taking them down. If we do nothing and allow them to grow stronger as we stagnate, then this is as good as lost. However, if we do decide to do something, we ourselves might be crippled so badly that we will not be able to continue on with the competition."
(BM) "It seems like there isn't much of a choice is there? Wait for Vesper to become strong enough to take us down or fight them head-on with neither side being at full power."
(ZJG) "Seems so, will the elders be joining us in our battle against Vesper then?"
(MZ) "It seems unlikely that will be the case. Vesper has been hounding them down for quite a while now and I don't think they will be able to hold back until the end of the first year. I've heard that Vesper has sent in some of their best to get rid of our elders right in the beginning."
(BM) "That's not good, especially since we will be needing every possible resource available to us to win against Vesper."
(MZ) "Quite right, but our elders are in a remote part of the other side of the map. We won't exactly be able to sneak past them in order to rescue our allies. Though it pains me to say it, they will likely be terminated by the Vesper faction and we can only sit by and watch as that happens. They are cornered and I believe that there are far more risks than I'd like to take if I were to mount any real sort of recovery mission."
(BM) "What If we didn't try to rescue them, but instead we launch a multi-pronged attack on one of the main bases of the Vesper faction?"