Xuan Feng and his closest allies looked on at the army that was marching at their orders, though they were definitely overkill for just taking out these opponents of theirs, it was a great way to show some of the recently recognized talents that no matter how well versed their strategy, there would always be someone who would be better. Currently, the four of them were together while their underlings were taking care of their massive army combined into a single 2.5 million man army. They were discussing Baron, Zhang Da Zhi, and Commander Ke's performance over the last few days of what they had heard about.
(XF) "So, what do you think of these foes of ours this time?" Xuan Feng, Baron's opposing enemy general, asked his allies.
(JZF) "Eh, from the few days that Jiang Yan and I were there, it didn't seem like Zhang Da Zhi and his two right-hand men were anything special. In fact, I don't really think that his faction the combined dragon faction is anything super special at this point in time either. Just slightly better than average at best." Jie Ze Fang the buff master of glaive spoke plainly.
(JY) "While their strategic prowess is only slightly above average, I believe that the independent fighting skills that they employed were something to behold. Sure, nothing as powerful as ours, but not too shabby. Plus, I don't think that they would have even won if they hadn't got any reinforcements." Jiang Yan, the master bowman added.
(LH) "The two commanders that I had faced off on the first few days were interesting, to say the least, they were a pair of offense and defense specialists. Other than that though, I think that they were the worse half of the coalition of alliances that Baron gathered. What about you and that Baron fellow, Xuan Feng." Lun Hu, the most legendary figure of them all, said with a sort of monotonous voice.
(XF) "Honestly, I don't know what to think. The first time that I battled this brat, he was definitely nothing special, but this time, it seemed like he would give even my second or third inner circle member a real run for their money. I still don't believe that he would have won if I were personally there though. The gap is still too huge."
(LH) "Teacher, it looks like your interest in this Baron fellow was not a waste of time in the end."
(XF) "Oh of course not, I could see something in his eyes when I went to go watch the replay in the hall of records. It seemed like it has calmed down somewhat, I'm not exactly sure why."
(JZF) "Hahaha, well, I think that this drill worked amazingly. We got some results that we were looking for and some not so much. We now know which one of the few promising strategists will be able to be allowed into our inner circle. Granted, a few of them were disgraces. I'll have to tell someone to kick them out of the faction later."
(LH) "That's a bit harsh. We did set them up to fail after all, and it didn't seem like any one of them really stepped up to be something exceptional. A shame really, I was really rooting for a few of them."
(JY) "As was I, but alas, the reality was that they all performed on par, nothing more, nothing less. What do you think, should we try to get Baron or Zhang Da Zhi to try and try out for one of our positions? They more than fit the bill already."
(XF) "I don't really think that is appropriate, after all, they both have expressed interest in actually trying out for forming a faction for themselves, with Zhang Da Zhi being a dark horse for the land portion, and Qi Ji Guang being a dark horse for the sea portion. I don't think that the other one has any chance of making it since that is where Baron and his group are planning on trying their luck."
(LH) "Oh, that's really interesting. Wasn't Wang Yi posted there to disrupt that from happening? He might not be one of our most powerful assets, but he is plenty enough if he only has to stop someone of Baron and his allies' caliber."
(XF) "My thoughts exactly, but it turns out that this was put there was that some of our elders were bribed into this by a few of the elders of the Vesper faction. Honestly, what a bunch of morons."
(LH) "The Faction Selection tournament is not that far away, just a few more years and that matter will be decided. Should we interfere or just let things play out as it is? If even you think that Baron is so special, then I'd very much like to see just how much he will be able to do given a few more decades. Oh, by the way, how long has Baron been on this planet?"
(XF) "With what little digging I had my men do, it seems to be less than one hundred years. Another point of interest would be that he seems to be in a rather special relationship with Madam Zheng."
(JY) "That is rather peculiar, how do you mean?"
(XF) "I mean that on the surface, it doesn't really make sense that just Baron giving a bunch of blueprints to her would necessitate her to do so much for this less than one-hundred-year-old child. Word on the streets is that he died on earth while he was only 20 years old, so how was he able to convince Madam Zheng on only his month here? Is there something else about him that we do not know? LIkely."
(JZF) "Such a mysterious person, yet, he doesn't openly seem to have anyone strong backing him, excluding Madam Zheng, and even then I'd argue that she isn't all that powerful, just that she has an important part in our political system."
(XF) "Indeed, just what is it with this boy?"